I'm Interested In Your Friend - Chapter 34
34
Tan Suran’s Secret.
Why did Yu Mu want to tell her Tan Suran’s secret?
Moreover, why did she think that Zhu Jingxiang’s affairs wouldn’t interest her, but Tan Suran’s secret would?
Yu Lili’s mind raced. She walked out of the company building and directly called Yu Mu: “What exactly do you want from me?”
Yu Mu paused for a moment before replying, “Lili, I wanted to apologize to you in person on behalf of some of my fans. Their extreme actions hurt you.”
“Do you even care about that?” Yu Lili laughed coldly.
“Of course I care. Not just me—my management team, the company, the platform, and even the authorities care. Right now, there’s a campaign for a cleaner online environment, but my fans did something like this. So please, let me apologize to you in person.”
The implication was clear: the fans’ actions had consequences for the idol. Because of the fans’ extreme attacks, Yu Mu had been summoned for a talk by the authorities.
Yu Lili: “That’s your problem. Why do you think I’d agree to meet you?”
Yu Mu tightened her grip on the phone, steadied her emotions, and continued, “Do you remember the birthday gift you received when you were seventeen?”
Why was this turning into a Q&A?
Yu Lili: “Just say what you want to say. Stop playing games with me.”
Yu Mu was furious but forced herself to stay calm. “At your seventeenth birthday party, half the elite circle of Lihe attended, including the Tan family. Tan Suran even brought you a birthday gift. But you gave that gift to me. After that, Tan Suran and I became close friends. Don’t you want to know why? What gift did she give you? And why, even though you two weren’t on bad terms as kids, you became almost like strangers later?”
As if afraid Yu Lili would refuse, Yu Mu bombarded her with questions.
If this had been the old Yu Lili—before she became Anna—she definitely wouldn’t have entertained Yu Mu.
But now…
“Fine, I happen to be free. But don’t even think about pulling any tricks.”
Yu Mu: “You’re overthinking it. I just want to clear things up. I’ll text you the address.”
After hanging up, Yu Lili didn’t rush back upstairs. Instead, she wandered around the lawn, lost in thought.
She rarely reminisced about her teenage years.
Because those memories weren’t particularly pleasant, she had buried them deep. Over time, they had yellowed like old newspapers, crumbling into fragments at the slightest breeze.
Her memories of Tan Suran were sparse. The most vivid one was when she discovered Yu Mu’s true nature—seeing Tan Suran standing by Yu Mu’s side, she had lumped them together in her hatred.
Had their relationship as children really not been that bad?
Yu Lili couldn’t quite remember.
A gust of wind lifted her black hair.
The sky was painted with fiery red clouds, stretching endlessly.
For a brief moment, she wondered if she should just ask Tan Suran directly.
But whose identity should she use to ask?
Anna or Yu Lili?
The storyline suddenly felt tangled.
The truth she had decided to reveal remained unspoken.
Her phone buzzed twice in her hand.
Yu Lili slowly raised it.
Tan Suran: [Just finished a meeting.]
Tan Suran: [What do you want for dinner?]
Tan Suran: [I wish it were the day after tomorrow already.]
Messages popped up one after another.
Yu Lili didn’t ask why “the day after tomorrow would be better,” and Tan Suran didn’t explain.
But the gloom from her call with Yu Mu completely dissipated.
The sky was dyed red by the sunset.
The breeze was gentle.
Yu Lili placed a hand over her chest.
Inside, her heart—the one that loved Tan Suran—was beating wildly.
…
The next day.
Yu Lili took half a day off from Olivia and went to meet Yu Mu at the agreed location.
It was a luxury apartment Yu Mu’s parents had given her before she left the Yu family.
Yu Mu said she had something to show her.
“You chose to apologize here? Who’s going to see it?” Yu Lili pushed open the door with a finger and leaned lazily against the doorframe.
Yu Mu’s door wasn’t locked, as if waiting for someone.
Yu Mu was folding clothes in the living room. She smiled gently and pointed to a camera with a blinking red light nearby: “I’ll just record a video.”
Yu Lili scoffed. “Do you think people are stupid? Who records something like this?”
Yu Mu put on an act, stepping forward: “I was rehearsing a scene earlier and forgot to turn it off. It’s not recording.”
Yu Lili brushed past Yu Mu and walked to the sofa. “Alright, hurry up.”
Yu Mu glanced at the empty hallway behind Yu Lili, a triumphant smile flashing across her face.
As she closed the door, the latch hit the frame and bounced back slightly—the door wasn’t fully shut.
Ignoring the camera in the corner, Yu Lili endured Yu Mu’s dramatic apology, where she lamented her failure as a celebrity to control her fans.
Yu Lili: “Enough. Now let’s talk about Tan Suran.”
She stood up to turn off the camera.
“Wait.” Yu Mu stood. “There’s one more scene.”
Yu Lili frowned, sensing something off about Yu Mu’s expression.
Despite the bright room, a chilling cold seeped in.
Light footsteps sounded behind her.
Before Yu Lili could turn around, Yu Mu grabbed her hand and threw herself onto the sofa, making it look like Yu Lili had pushed her.
Yu Mu cried pitifully, “I’ll stay away from Jingxiang from now on, okay? Please don’t hurt my fans anymore.”
“What are you doing?”
Yu Lili turned her head.
A pale-faced woman she had never seen before charged over furiously.
She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and pressed it over Yu Lili’s nose and mouth.
…
Helipad on the top floor of Huanyu.
Tan Suran geared up, ready to head to Nancheng—Susan’s stronghold.
There, Susan’s family, friends, enemies, and the evidence to bring her down awaited.
If things went smoothly, Huanyu would no longer be under threat by tomorrow.
Assistant Lin held up a phone: “President Tan, it’s Susan. Should I answer?”
Tan Suran braced a hand against the helicopter’s body and coldly took the phone.
Susan: “President Tan, do you have time today?”
Tan Suran: “Not today. Tomorrow.”
Susan: “President Tan, as I’ve said before, my patience is limited.”
“Then I’m sorry. I really don’t have time today.”
Susan’s tone turned icy. She leisurely changed the subject: “That young lady we ran into outside the hospital the other day… her whereabouts might interest you.”
Meanwhile, the bodyguard assigned to protect Yu Lili rushed over in a panic: “Miss Yu is missing.”
Tan Suran’s voice was sharp: “Where is she?”
Susan: “She’s… Oh, I suddenly can’t remember. Hopefully, I’ll remember before it’s too late.”
“If I could see President Tan in person, maybe I’d remember.”
Tan Suran gripped the helicopter’s door tightly: “Where are you?”
“President Tan is not only smart but also sentimental.”
…
Conference room.
Susan thought Tan Suran would take time to consider.
She leaned back in her chair, swinging her legs leisurely.
But Tan Suran flipped to the last page of the contract, uncapped a pen, and signed her name swiftly.
Susan hadn’t expected it.
The contract she had schemed so hard to secure was signed just like that.
She smirked triumphantly: “President Tan is decisive.”
From start to finish, Tan Suran only said three words: “Where is she?”
Susan gave her an address.
Before leaving, Tan Suran’s gaze was frosty: “If anything happens to her, you won’t get away with it.”
“President Tan, don’t blame the wrong person. I rushed to tell you as soon as I heard. But I’d advise you to hurry—time waits for no one.”
Tan Suran’s figure disappeared in a flash.
…
When Yu Lili woke up, her limbs were stiff and numb, tightly bound to a chair.
She couldn’t move at all.
Her head throbbed painfully.
As her vision cleared, the surroundings came into focus.
Sounds reached her ears.
“What are you doing?!” Yu Mu’s terrified voice.
Yu Lili turned her head toward the sound. The woman who had knocked her out was now restraining Yu Mu, tying her up.
Yu Mu struggled and shouted, “Aren’t you my fan? How could you do this to me?”
The pale-faced woman tied Yu Mu up and laughed coldly: “Who said I was your fan? I’m a fan of XiangYu.”
Yu Mu pointed at herself: “That’s me!”
The woman’s eyes were bloodshot, her breathing ragged. Her expression was almost manic: “You’re not! If you were, why did you tell me to let that woman who seduced Xiangxiang go? You even called someone secretly—you’re trying to harm me!”
Yu Mu was at a loss. She forced herself to calm down: “No, you’ve misunderstood. I know what she did was wrong, but we’re on the same side. There are other ways to punish her, okay? I’m worried about you—I don’t want you to get hurt.”
The woman panted: “Then what do you suggest?”
Yu Mu put on a pleading expression: “Let me think. Can you untie me first?”
The word “untie” set the woman off. She screamed hysterically: “You’re lying! You just want to let her go, don’t you?”
The woman leaned in close to Yu Mu’s face: “She ruined your pure, sacred love, and you still want to spare her? You’ve trampled on my heart! You—you—”
The woman rummaged through the room, smashed a plate, and picked up a sharp shard.
The glass cut her hand instantly, bl00d dripping down. Yu Mu was on the verge of panic.
What was happening?
She had just wanted to find an obsessive fan to stage a scene where she heroically saved Yu Lili from harm. How had things spiraled out of control like this?
Yu Lili, who had been silently observing since waking up, roughly understood the situation.
But this deranged woman was an uncontrollable danger.
Yu Lili gave up on reasoning with her.
She pretended to close her eyes, subtly working to loosen the ropes binding her hands behind her back.
She had only taken half a day off.
If she didn’t return soon, Olivia and the others would come looking for her.
So she had to stall—buy as much time as possible.
The room was filled with Yu Mu’s fearful sobs and the woman’s furious panting.
As the panting grew louder and closer, a sinister aura approached.
Yu Lili felt a primal dread, as if being watched by a malevolent spirit.
She slowly opened her eyes.
Before her was a head of black hair and a hunched back.
From this angle, the woman seemed to be bent over, examining something.
Given the distance, it looked like she was staring at Yu Lili’s bound hands.
Yu Lili’s heart skipped a beat.
The next second, the woman straightened up, meeting Yu Lili’s gaze with a chilling grin: “Found you.”
If this woman was this unhinged toward her idol, she’d be even worse to Yu Lili.
Without hesitation, Yu Lili threw her entire body—along with the chair—at the woman.
The woman struggled beneath her. Yu Lili shouted at Yu Mu: “What are you waiting for? Come here and untie me!”
Yu Mu’s bindings were loose. With trembling hands, she quickly used a glass shard to cut Yu Lili’s ropes.
The woman on the floor howled and thrashed: “Yu Mu! Yu Mu! Don’t you dare run! I’ll never let you go!”
Yu Mu frantically shook off the ropes.
Yu Lili was still on the ground, the woman’s struggles making her bounce slightly.
Yu Mu helped pin the woman down.
The woman’s hands were covered in bl00d, like a demon crawling out of hell.
Yu Lili urged anxiously: “Hurry, untie me!”
Yu Mu’s hands shook as she sawed at the ropes.
The woman clawed at the floor, producing a screeching noise. She flailed like a fish out of water, threatening to break free at any moment.
As she worked, Yu Mu thought: If we both run, will this madwoman chase us?
What if she catches me? What will she do to me?
Panic set in.
The glass shard slipped from Yu Mu’s fingers.
Yu Lili only had one leg left to free.
The woman hissed: “Yu Mu, if you let her go, I’ll haunt you even as a ghost!”
The shard landed near the woman’s bloody hand.
Yu Mu stumbled back in terror.
She grabbed her phone from the coffee table.
“Y-you hold her down. Wait a second.”
“I-I’ll call for help.”
Yu Lili cried out in despair: “Yu Mu!”
But Yu Mu fled without looking back.
The woman laughed bitterly, mustering all her strength to throw Yu Lili off.
Yu Lili took the chance to free her last bound leg and bolted for the door.
The woman hurled a chair at her back.
At the same time, hurried footsteps echoed from outside.
Just before the chair hit Yu Lili, a figure dashed forward, wrapping her in their arms and turning to shield her with their back.
Thud!
A muffled groan.
Even through the other person’s body, Yu Lili felt the impact.
Perhaps the lingering effects of the drug, combined with the blow, made her vision swim.
Black spots danced before her eyes.
Her body went limp, collapsing uncontrollably.
Before losing consciousness, she heard a frantic cry:
“Lili!”
It sounded like Tan Suran’s voice.
But how could it be Tan Suran’s voice?