Cherished in One’s Heart [entertainment circle] - Chapter 03

Chapter 3

When Huo Chengyan returned home, she was momentarily stunned by the familiar layout.

Because she couldn’t find a place to stay upon her return to Mu City, she asked Xia Qing for help. Unexpectedly, Xia Qing arranged for her to stay in the house where she used to live alone.

A warm feeling welled up in her heart.

Then she threw herself onto the sofa and collapsed, feeling the soreness intensify.

Wen Siheng…

She couldn’t help but wonder, when did this name become intertwined with hers?

In her sophomore year in high school, she wanted to hide in the girls’ restroom to avoid the 800-meter run. But she accidentally heard a noise from the adjacent boys’ restroom and thought someone needed help, so she mustered up the courage to enter. Little did she know, it was Wen Siheng’s sports pants that had ripped.

That was their first encounter.

Afterwards, he approached her with a calm face, seeking her help. She went to the classroom to get his spare pants for him to change into, but unintentionally bumped into someone else.

The next day, the names “Huo Chengyan” and “Wen Siheng” spread throughout the school.

Since then, it had been ten years.

Lost in a daze, she quickly drifted off to sleep.

Huo Chengyan had a long dream.

In the dream, there were many faces that were familiar yet unfamiliar to her. Their tones were impatient, tinged with sarcasm.

Someone in a mocking tone said to her, “Huo Chengyan, you have no heart.”

She wanted to escape, but there was nowhere to run. At the end of the dream, someone reached out their hands to her and said, “Chengyan, come to me.”

Those hands carried a familiar warmth, scorching and burning, but Huo Chengyan couldn’t see the person’s face clearly.

Soon after, she was abruptly awakened and found that it was already dusk.

She touched her stomach and realized she was already hungry.

So she got up, casually put on a jacket, took her key and went out to find something to eat.

There was a somewhat popular mall near the residential area. Since she had just woken up and her mind was still unclear, she was suddenly stopped as soon as she entered.

“Excuse me, miss. We are from Ding Sheng Media. Can we interview you for a moment—”

Huo Chengyan was taken aback but still agreed, “Okay.”

“We are conducting a survey on the sex lives of college students. Can we ask you whether you think it’s appropriate for college students to live together during their dating period?”

“Huh?”

Huo Chengyan didn’t react immediately to what he said about “sex life” and “college students”.

Seeing her hesitate, the other person thought she didn’t want to answer and whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry, we only upload to YouTube channels, not domestic websites.”

Although she didn’t quite understand the cause and effect in this sentence, she still said, “It’s quite normal…”

“Do you have any concerns about safety measures?” He paused and continued, “What measures do you usually take?”

After asking, Huo Chengyan felt that she was almost sexually harassing her, so she said “Sorry, I’m in a hurry” and walked into the mall.

Walking into the mall, she felt a cool breeze on her neck. When she looked down, she realized why the host had looked at her that way – she had forgotten to wear a scarf, and the marks on her neck were too obvious.

Fortunately, she wasn’t wearing a low-cut shirt today, so she could only try to pull up her collar as much as possible. She was about to turn back when she heard someone calling her, “… Chengyan?”

She looked up and saw a familiar face, “Xiaomeng?”

Gu Xiaomeng was also surprised to see her here, “You’re back in China? Do you live nearby?”

“Yeah…”

“Do you have time? Let’s find a place to meet up?” Gu Xiaomeng asked, “No rush, right?”

“Of course.”

At this moment, Huo Chengyan’s gaze was still focused on Gu Xiaomeng’s neck. After a while, he struggled to speak, “Xiaomeng, can I borrow your scarf… just for a moment?”

Later, she found a Hong Kong-style tea restaurant with Gu Xiaomeng.

After they sat down and ordered, Gu Xiaomeng sighed and said, “Chengyan, after graduating from college… it seems like we haven’t seen each other much.”

Huo Chengyan and Gu Xiaomeng were college roommates. They had been classmates for four years, and among their group of four, their relationship was the closest.

“Yeah,” Huo Chengyan sighed, showing a hint of guilt. “Later, because of work, I didn’t have time to come out and meet you guys.”

“So you’ve made achievements, while I’m still just drifting through life,” Gu Xiaomeng laughed as if she didn’t mind.

Gu Xiaomeng remembered that the first time she saw Huo Chengyan in the dormitory, she knew they were not from the same world: she was beautiful and came from a good family background.

During their four years of university, Huo Chengyan had no shortage of suitors. But unlike her strikingly beautiful face, Huo Chengyan’s romantic experiences were different – she had only dated one boyfriend in college, and their breakup was very unpleasant.

Gu Xiaomeng always thought that people who looked good should have an easy life, but now it seemed that it wasn’t necessarily the case.

“Speaking of which, this time you came back, are you planning to continue being a manager?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I want to be an actress.”

“Oh…” Gu Xiaomeng didn’t think much of it. “Did you sign with a company?”

Huo Chengyan replied with an indescribable emotion, “He asked me to sign with Sheng Entertainment.” Gu Xiaomeng instantly understood who the “he” in Huo Chengyan’s words referred to.

From her appearance, it seems like she’s not very happy. Gu Xiaomeng asked in confusion, “You don’t want to?”

Then she noticed the marks on her neck.

“Ahem, Cheng Yan, this… “ Gu Xiaomeng pointed at her neck, “Could it be… Wen Siheng?”

The name Wen Siheng was known to her since the day she met Huo Chengyan. Their relationship was said to be close, but they never crossed the line between being friends of the opposite sex, nor did they engage in any intimate behavior beyond friendship.

No one knew why.

As a result, the names Wen Siheng and Huo Chengyan had always been a hot topic during their four years at T University.

At this moment, the wonton noodles and roast meat platter they ordered arrived. Huo Chengyan picked up a chopstick full of noodles and sighed, “He’s is so nice…”

“It’s so good that I can’t help but feel…”

“…that I’ve stained him.”

Gu Xiaomeng: “…”

Upon hearing this, Gu Xiaomeng felt that she couldn’t laugh or cry, and asked, “So, are you two planning to be together now?”

Huo Chengyan sounded a bit lost as she replied, “I don’t know…”

Wen Siheng had been by her side for almost ten years. They understood each other better than anyone else. However, despite being friends for so long, should they be together just because they had slept together once?

It is perfectly normal for men to love a women.

Moreover, if they were to be together, what Huo Chengyan owes Wen Siheng would be more than just the simple act of him helping her clean up her mess a year ago.

If they pretend it never happened, they can still be friends.

At this moment, Gu Xiaomeng, with a seriousness that she had never shown before, interrupted her deep thoughts and said, “Chengyan, to be honest, in the four years of college, I have never seen anyone better than Wen Siheng.”

She paused and added, “… At least for you.”

Seeing Huo Chengyan’s conflicted expression, she could only continue to comfort her, “I think, you shouldn’t think too much about it. Since he wants to be good to you, just accept it for now.”

This time, as soon as Huo Chengyan came back, he slept with her — anyone with a discerning eye could see Wen Siheng’s determination to break the boat.

And knowing Wen Siheng’s personality, since he had done this, he wouldn’t just let her off easily.

She smiled and said, “There will be challenges in the future.”

Afterwards, they didn’t mention Wen Siheng again. They casually chatted about the recent situations of some acquaintances, ate, laughed, and then parted ways.

After returning home, Huo Chengyan messaged Wen Siheng:

[I’ve made up my mind. Let’s meet at Sheng Entertainment tomorrow to talk.]

She quickly received his reply: [Okay.]

The next day, just as the sun was rising, Huo Chengyan woke up.

She specifically put on delicate makeup today, and paired it with clothes and accessories that were different from her usual style, choosing a pair of feminine pearl earrings.

It wasn’t until she squatted in front of the mirror and saw her different self that she realized – why did she bother to dress up like this just to meet Wen Siheng?

And then, as if feeling a little annoyed, she changed back into her usual style of clothing and earrings.

Gold circle earrings, a short black windbreaker.

It looked much more pleasing to the eye.

This was her first time coming to Wen Siheng’s office.

The office had a huge floor-to-ceiling glass window, and the simple color scheme of white, gray, and brown made the whole office feel much warmer.

The blinds were halfway closed, allowing a faint light to shine through.

“Have a seat.”

As she was about to sit on the sofa, she heard Wen Siheng say, “Sit here.”

He pointed to two large chairs on the side of the desk, indicating that they should sit side by side.

She didn’t make a fuss and sat down.

“Siheng,” she called his name again, extending her hand to make a “three” gesture. “I can agree to sign with Sheng Entertainment, but you have to agree to three conditions from me.”

“Go ahead,” he replied.

“First, you assign a suitable manager for me, but don’t directly interfere with me.”

“Second, I decide what kind of roles I want to take on, and you can’t reject them on my behalf.”

“Third…”

Huo Chengyan wanted to continue, but Wen Siheng interrupted her. “Chengyan.”

He calmly analyzed each condition. “First, you are the best manager for yourself. There is no better candidate, so only I can manage you.”

“Second, not letting me oversee your choices means you want to do kissing scenes…” Wen Siheng paused and leaned in, looking at her. “Or even nude scenes?”

She bit her lip and argued, “If necessary, kissing scenes are also normal.”

Wen Siheng, rarely forceful, said, “No.”

She didn’t insist any further, turning her head and continuing defiantly, “And the third condition.”

He cut off the words she hadn’t spoken yet. “I disagree.”

Huo Chengyan turned her head, and at this moment, Wen Siheng was very close to her, close enough to kiss her with just a slight tilt of his head.

She pressed her hands against his chest angrily : “Wen Siheng!”

This man now looked at her with even more undisguised eyes.

Huo Chengyan continued to resist stubbornly and said, “If you don’t agree… then I won’t sign with Sheng Entertainment.”

“Then where do you decide to sign? Huh?” Wen Siheng continued to stare at her motionlessly. “Huo, the little beggar.”

“…”

Before she left, she offended many people, and now she returned with no power, no influence, and no financial resources.

It would be easy for Wen Siheng to make other talent agencies to reject her.

She had no choice but to be an actress.

Seeing that she no longer refused, Wen Siheng stood up and said, “I’ll take you to sign the contract.”

But Huo Chengyan pulled him back, clearly indicating that she didn’t want to trouble him. “You’re so busy, I can go by myself.”

The woman’s soft fingertips gently rested on his wrist.

He didn’t insist anymore, only caressed her cheek and withdrew his gaze without a word. “Then I’ll find someone to take you there.”