Shen Yunmian's sudden move threw Lin Ruoyan into complete panic. She anxiously responded to various issues on her phone, irritation written all over her face.
Her manager, Wang Mingyu, pushed the door open, looking grim.
"Ruoyan, something's happened!" Wang Mingyu said urgently. "Those paparazzi studios we've been working with long-term—none of them can be reached! Then someone secretly passed word that Shen Group's legal department stepped in directly, suing them for defamation! Now they're panicking and turning around to demand hush money from us. Otherwise, they'll expose everything about how we paid them to hype up rumors about you and President Shen!"
"What?!" Lin Ruoyan shot up from the sofa, all color draining from her face. "Yunmian… why would she suddenly…" Fear choked off the rest of her words.
Shen Yunmian had never interfered with this before!
Why was she suddenly being so ruthless? Could it be that Yu Sheng had said something?
Flustered and at a complete loss, she grabbed her manager's arm. "Sister Wang, what do we do? What do we do now? We absolutely can't let them expose this! Otherwise… otherwise I'm finished!"
If everything were laid bare in front of Shen Yunmian, the consequences could be devastating.
Lin Ruoyan was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
Wang Mingyu frantically made calls to negotiate, but eventually put down her phone helplessly. "They're demanding five million. Otherwise, they'll expose everything."
"Give it to them!" Lin Ruoyan screamed, her voice trembling.
"And next time?" Wang Mingyu was more composed. "This is a bottomless pit. Who can guarantee they won't blackmail us again? Ruoyan, the priority now is to figure out President Shen's attitude! Why did she suddenly act so harshly? You need to test the waters!"
"How do I do that?" Lin Ruoyan was on the verge of breaking down. "Yunmian must know something. It has to be Yu Sheng telling her something."
"You can't panic!" Wang Mingyu grabbed her shoulders. "Just act like you know nothing. Go to her and ask, pitifully, if you did something wrong—why Yu Sheng has been targeting you lately. Show weakness! Act vulnerable! That always works on her!"
Like someone grasping at a lifeline, Lin Ruoyan forced herself to calm down.
Right—act weak, act innocent.
She couldn't lose Shen Yunmian as her backing.
She carefully put on a delicate, pitiful makeup look, changed into simple, elegant clothes, and went to Shen Yunmian's office.
Along the way, her heart pounded as she rehearsed what to say.
At the door, she took several deep breaths before finally gathering the courage to knock.
"Come in," Shen Yunmian's indifferent voice came from inside.
Lin Ruoyan pushed the door open, her face instantly shifting into a look of grievance.
"Yunmian…"
Her voice was soft and light, carrying a faint trace of suppressed sobbing.
Shen Yunmian stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, her back slightly tense.
Hearing her, she turned around. When she saw it was Lin Ruoyan, her brows knit ever so slightly, her eyes showing a hint of fatigue and distraction—her thoughts clearly elsewhere.
"Something wrong?" Shen Yunmian asked flatly, almost perfunctorily.
Her mind was filled entirely with Yu Sheng's sudden change; she had no attention to spare for anything else.
Lin Ruoyan faltered at the overly indifferent response, nearly losing her prepared opening.
She quickly followed the plan, her eyes reddening slightly as she stepped forward, her voice trembling. "Yunmian, did I… do something wrong to upset… President Yu? She seems to have been targeting me lately. I heard… I heard you're clearing up those rumors about us… is it because of that? If I did anything wrong, just tell me—I'll definitely change…"
She carefully observed Shen Yunmian's expression, trying to glean something from it.
But Shen Yunmian merely rubbed her temples, her tone still flat. "It's just handling unnecessary trouble. It has nothing to do with Yu Sheng's attitude toward you. Don't overthink it."
Lin Ruoyan's heart sank, feeling like she had punched cotton.
Unwilling to give up, she decided to follow her manager's advice and shift the blame onto Yu Sheng.
She sniffled, her voice thick with tears as she began to complain. "But Yunmian, things have really been hard for me lately. Ever since… President Yu took over Qiyun Film and television, everything's changed. Several projects that were already negotiated have been inexplicably shelved. Good resources don't come to me anymore. Now I can barely even get ordinary commercial appearances…"
As she spoke, she secretly watched Shen Yunmian, hoping to see dissatisfaction toward Yu Sheng.
At first, Shen Yunmian seemed not to hear at all, her gaze still distant.
But as Lin Ruoyan went on and on, complaining about how Yu Sheng was "suppressing" and "excluding" her, every word filled with insinuation and belittlement—
"…She's clearly targeting me on purpose. Yunmian, if this continues, my career will be completely ruined! She must be jealous that you treat me well, so she's deliberately trying to destroy me…"
"Enough!"
Shen Yunmian suddenly snapped.
The sharp reprimand made Lin Ruoyan fall silent instantly, staring at her in disbelief.
Shen Yunmian turned around and finally looked at her directly.
Yu Sheng's distance and indifference had already pushed her to the edge of frustration. Now, hearing Lin Ruoyan repeatedly speak ill of Yu Sheng only made every word grate on her nerves.
"I know my wife. Yu Sheng is not that kind of person."
Lin Ruoyan muttered unwillingly, "But… she really did cancel a lot of my resources. My manager can prove it…"
"Your manager acted without boundaries and crossed the line multiple times. She has already been dismissed by the company."
Shen Yunmian cut her off directly. "As for you—" She paused, looking at Lin Ruoyan, whose face had turned deathly pale. Without mercy, she made her decision: "You don't need to take on any work for now. Take some time to rest. Don't worry, the Shen family won't treat you unfairly. Your living expenses will be fully covered."
Those words struck like a bolt from the blue, leaving Lin Ruoyan completely stunned.
Firing her manager? Halting all her work?
Wasn't that essentially blacklisting her—cutting off her entire acting career?!
"Yunmian! No!" Lin Ruoyan panicked instantly, no longer bothering to act pitiful. She rushed forward, trying to grab Shen Yunmian's arm. "I know I was wrong! I'll behave from now on, I won't speak carelessly again! Please don't stop my work! Sister Wang, she—"
"Don't make me repeat myself a second time."
Shen Yunmian abruptly shook off her hand, her voice cold. "I've got plenty on my mind lately. Behave yourself—it won't do you any harm."
That gaze was icy to the bone, carrying the unquestionable authority and oppressive presence of someone in power.
Lin Ruoyan had never seen Shen Yunmian look at her with such a terrifying expression—there wasn't a trace of the past affection or tolerance left. She understood now. Shen Yunmian was serious this time, and the root cause was most likely Yu Sheng.
Not only had she failed to turn things around, she had completely enraged Shen Yunmian.
"Yunmian… don't be angry, I… I understand."
All her scheming and performance crumbled in the face of absolute power.
Lin Ruoyan's face turned pale as paper. Under Shen Yunmian's icy stare, she didn't dare say another word. She turned and fled the office in a panic, utterly disheveled.
Shen Yunmian closed her eyes tiredly and rubbed her throbbing temples.
Then her phone vibrated—it was a message from her grandmother: "Yunmian, bring Sheng Sheng home for dinner this weekend. Grandma misses you both."
Such a simple message, yet at this moment it weighed like a thousand pounds.
She stared at the screen for a long time before slowly typing a reply: "Okay, Grandma."
As if she had finally found an excuse, Shen Yunmian hesitated for a moment, then dialed Yu Sheng's number.
The phone rang for a long time before it was picked up. Yu Sheng's cold voice came from the other end: "What is it?"
Shen Yunmian tightened her grip on the phone, her palm slightly damp with sweat.
She forced her voice to sound as calm as possible, even adding a hint of deliberate softness. "Grandma just called. She said it's been a while since she's seen us and wants us to go back and have dinner together."
She paused, holding her breath, then carefully added, "Are you free tonight?"
Yu Sheng replied with a single indifferent word: "Okay."
Shen Yunmian's expression softened instantly, even carrying a trace of quiet joy.
At this moment, President Shen was still naively thinking that as long as she was willing to lower her head, there was still hope for reconciliation between them.
Ending work early, Shen Yunmian couldn't wait to send Yu Sheng a message:
"What time will you be done? I'll pick you up and we can go together."
The message sank like a stone into the sea, with no reply for a long time.
It wasn't until close to the agreed time that Shen Yunmian finally received a short response: "No need, I'll go by myself."
Shen Yunmian held her phone, her fingers tightening slightly.
She drove alone to the old residence, her mood heavy the entire way.
When she arrived, she found that Yu Sheng's car was already parked in the courtyard.
She had actually arrived earlier—just to avoid riding in the same car with her.
In the spacious dining room, the atmosphere didn't become warm just because Grandmother was present.
The long table was filled with exquisite dishes, but the air felt frozen.
The old lady looked at the two sitting across from each other, clearly separated and barely speaking, and sighed inwardly.
She tried to ease the tension, first asking about Yu Sheng's health, then about Shen Yunmian's work, trying to find common ground.
Yu Sheng answered politely and flawlessly. "Thank you for your concern, Grandma. I'm feeling much better."
"As for Yunmian's work, I'm not too familiar with it. You can ask her directly."
She subtly deflected every topic that might connect them, her attitude gentle yet carrying an insurmountable distance.
Shen Yunmian, on the other hand, seemed distracted. She responded to her grandmother, but her gaze kept drifting toward Yu Sheng.
Under the light, Yu Sheng's profile looked calm and distant. That complete indifference was more suffocating than any argument.
The meal was tasteless.
As soon as it ended, Yu Sheng immediately picked up her napkin, wiped the corner of her lips, and smiled. "Grandma, there's an urgent online meeting waiting for me at the company. I'll head back first. Thank you for dinner."
The old lady looked at her with a complicated expression, but in the end could only nod. "Sheng Sheng, no matter how busy you are, take care of your health. Be careful on the road."
"I will. Goodbye, Grandma." Yu Sheng stood up, picked up her bag, and walked out without the slightest hesitation.
Shen Yunmian almost immediately stood as well. "Grandma, I—"
"Go see Sheng Sheng off," the old lady waved her hand.
Shen Yunmian hurried after her.
In the courtyard, Yu Sheng was pulling open the car door, about to get in.
"Yu Sheng!" Shen Yunmian rushed forward and grabbed her wrist, her grip a little out of control. "Wait!"
Yu Sheng stumbled from the pull, frowned, and tried to shake her off but couldn't. "Let go. What are you doing?"
Shen Yunmian was stung by the impatience in her eyes. Her voice carried suppressed pain and confusion. "Yu Sheng, tell me! What exactly do you want me to do? Do we really have to be like this?"
Looking at Shen Yunmian—who had finally lost her usual composure—Yu Sheng felt a fleeting sense of satisfaction.
But more than that, she felt tired.
The matter of her rebirth couldn't be explained, and those deep-seated injuries and despair couldn't be laid out one by one.
She didn't want to keep entangling herself anymore. She just wanted to cut through everything cleanly.
So she curled her lips into a mocking smile, her tone light yet biting. "What do I want? I want you to stay as far away from me as possible. We maintain a surface-level marriage and stay out of each other's lives. Is that so hard to understand?"
"Shen Yunmian, do you still not get it?"
"You're like a stone that can't be warmed—cold, dull, always clinging to your rigid, icy logic, completely devoid of any warmth or feeling. Being with you is simply a waste of life."
"I must've been blind to like you before. Now I've woken up." She paused, her voice filled with undisguised disdain. "So stop asking me these pointless questions. Maintaining the status quo is best for both of us."
After saying that, she didn't look at Shen Yunmian's face, which had turned deathly pale.
She forcefully shook off her stiffened hand, got into the car, started the engine, and sped away.
Leaving Shen Yunmian standing there alone, feeling the cold numbness spreading from her heart through her entire body.
Yu Sheng's words echoed in her mind like the cruelest curse.
"A stone that can't be warmed…"
"Cold, dull…"
"Devoid of feeling…"
"Blind to have liked you…"
Each word was like a poisoned blade, precisely piercing through all her pride and confidence.
She had never been denied so completely, so mercilessly—especially not by the person who was, by law, her closest partner.
Was she really… that unbearable?
That detestable… to the point of being called a "waste of life"?
An unprecedented wave of self-doubt swallowed her whole.
—
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