I'm Interested In Your Friend - Chapter 7
7
Yu Lili, hands in her pockets and wearing a gray hoodie, hopped down the stairs one step at a time.
Under the green elm tree outside the apartment building, a small figure crouched, looking pitifully dejected.
It was unclear how long Jing Xiang had been waiting there.
Almost as soon as Yu Lili reached her, Jing Xiang looked up.
Her bright, delicate face had slightly downturned eyes, and the teardrop mole at the corner of her eye shimmered in the dim light.
Zhu Jing Xiang spread her arms and clung to Yu Lili like an affectionate puppy: “Baby.”
Her body, more than her mind, was accustomed to this embrace—this scent.
As Jing Xiang inhaled the familiar faint jasmine fragrance of Yu Lili, her nose tingled with emotion, and she tightly grasped Yu Lili’s hand: “Lili, I missed you so much. After finishing filming, I didn’t even go home—I came straight to see you.”
Yu Lili’s gaze flickered as she looked at the person before her.
Jing Xiang was stunning, with a beauty so striking it bordered on aggressive. To outsiders, she might seem aloof, but in reality, she was clingy to the extreme.
Yu Lili slowly pried Jing Xiang’s hands away and looked at her lover of two years, speaking in a calm voice: “Have you decided to tell me the truth?”
Jing Xiang averted her eyes: “I… I really didn’t.”
The wind blew quietly.
The dark shadows of the trees suddenly seemed desolate.
Jing Xiang’s expression was earnest: “Lili, you know I only love you. I really don’t want to break up. Lili, I can’t lose you.”
Yu Lili smiled brightly: “But I’ve slept with someone else…”
Perhaps because she had seen Jing Xiang the night before, Yu Lili dreamed about her all night.
Back in college, Yu Lili loved taking photos of people. She and Jing Xiang had met during a photoshoot.
On the day they first met, pink cherry blossoms filled the sky, the blue was rich, and golden light intertwined in the air.
Two beauties with completely different styles—one fresh and natural, the other radiant—drew countless admiring glances.
For the sake of the scenery, Jing Xiang posed on a moss-covered stone. Slipping on the damp spring stone was only natural.
Just as Jing Xiang lost her balance and was about to fall, Yu Lili dropped her camera and reached out to catch her.
They tumbled into each other’s arms.
Jing Xiang said it was at that moment she fell in love.
Yu Lili didn’t remember it as clearly. More than that little incident, she recalled the lighting, the scene composition, the camera’s ISO settings, and the dry skin on her lips.
Jing Xiang, having been pampered since childhood, decided to dabble in the entertainment industry after graduation. Though the industry was a chaotic mess, it didn’t stop Jing Xiang from calling or video-chatting her multiple times a day.
Until that day.
Wanting to surprise Jing Xiang, Yu Lili secretly visited her on set. But when she knocked on Jing Xiang’s hotel room door, she saw lipstick marks on her face and the fleeting silhouette of a naked woman behind her.
Raised with propriety, Yu Lili couldn’t bring herself to confront Jing Xiang or scream accusations. Heartbroken, she turned and left.
Jing Xiang chased after her in hotel slippers the entire way.
Yu Lili had only one question: “Why was that person in your room?”
Jing Xiang stammered.
“I need time to think. Let’s take a break.” Yu Lili said, using a handkerchief to wipe the lipstick off Jing Xiang’s face before leaving her with those final words.
Perhaps because of the dreams, Yu Lili woke up the next morning with a heavy head.
“Lili, you’re famous!”
The moment she stepped into the office, excited shouts greeted her.
Yu Lili was baffled.
Amy held up her phone: “Check the trending list!”
At the top of the trending list was [Song Yu’s Avatar].
Popular celebrities could make headlines with the slightest action.
Yu Lili: “What does this have to do with me?”
“Wasn’t her avatar taken by you?”
Yu Lili clicked into Song Yu’s Weibo.
Song Yu had set one of the photos from that day’s shoot as her avatar and even posted a dedicated tweet:
[Got some amazing photos—so happy!!! Thanks to the incredibly talented photographer @LiliIsMe!]
The tweet included a selfie of Yu Lili, making it easy for anyone who knew her to recognize her.
After Song Yu’s post, floods of her fans swarmed Yu Lili’s Weibo to shower the photographer with love. Yu Lili’s follower count skyrocketed.
Amy said enviously, “You actually have a connection with Song Yu?”
Not wanting to drag Sela into it, Yu Lili replied, “We just happened to meet.”
“This background looks familiar.”
“It’s so blurred—how can you even tell?”
Amy looked up, surprised.
Yu Lili nodded: “That day, at Pictorial.”
Amy couldn’t fathom why a big star like Song Yu would agree to shoot in a set meant for another celebrity and then flaunt it on Weibo.
Luckily, Song Yu had the sense to blur the background. If the magazine’s exclusive set was leaked before publication, no one would be spared.
The incident passed lightly for Yu Lili. She had gone viral before when clients posted her photoshoots, experiencing overnight fame and gaining tens of thousands of followers.
Amy peeked over from her desk: “By the way, Sela’s on a business trip to France.”
Yu Lili: “What for?”
Amy: “Shooting an Oscar-winning actress. When she gets back, her rates are going up again.”
In the restroom.
“Remember those two interns with their fancy foreign master’s degrees? So full of themselves when they first joined. Now look—they’re not even as good as Yu Lili. At least Yu Lili’s photographed a big star.”
“Exactly. Su Mianxin was so arrogant when she started, acting like we were beneath her. Only after failing to cozy up to Sela did she start sucking up to us again.”
A flush sounded from a stall.
The two elbowed each other and slipped out.
Yu Lili pushed open the stall door and stepped out.
She placed her hands under the sensor-activated faucet.
What a coincidence—the one time she overheard office gossip, it was about her.
Water rushed over her fingers.
Just then, the restroom door creaked open again.
Yu Lili glanced up to see who it was.
The other subject of the gossip emerged from a stall.
Talk about awkward timing.
Yu Lili wasn’t embarrassed, but she had nothing to say to Su Mianxin either.
Su Mianxin bit her lip, hesitating before speaking: “Lili, do you hate me?”
Yu Lili blinked: “No.”
Su Mianxin smiled and reached for Yu Lili’s hand: “Then let’s hang out more. Otherwise, people will think we have issues.”
Yu Lili recoiled in surprise: “You haven’t washed your hands yet.”
“Besides, not hating you doesn’t mean I like you.”
“Yu Lili, don’t think you’re better than everyone just because you photographed some celebrity.” Su Mianxin shouted after her.
Yu Lili ignored her. She wasn’t some naive fool who forgot past grievances.
Pretending to be besties with someone she knew was trouble? No thanks.
Her phone buzzed several times.
Since waking up, Jing Xiang had been bombarding her with messages, insisting on meeting at noon to talk in person.
Yu Lili rubbed her phone screen, her eyelids drooping.
She thought they had made things clear last night.
At 10:30, One, another senior photographer at the studio, held a brief meeting to assign tasks.
Just as the meeting was about to wrap up, Su Mianxin suddenly spoke up: “Teacher One, I have a question.”
One nodded: “Go ahead.”
Su Mianxin scanned the room: “Is it allowed to use a magazine’s exclusive set—meant for a celebrity—to privately photograph another celebrity?”
The answer, of course, was no.
At the time, Yu Lili hadn’t thought much of it, especially since Sela was there. She hadn’t expected Song Yu to post the photo on Weibo.
Thankfully, the background was blurred. Unless you were there, you wouldn’t connect Song Yu’s photo to Yu Mu’s shoot.
Everyone knew who Su Mianxin was targeting.
One gave Su Mianxin a cool look: “Meeting adjourned. I’ll discuss this with you separately.”
As they left the conference room, Amy muttered, “What’s Su Mianxin’s problem?”
Yu Lili shook her head.
Amy: “Technically, it’s not allowed. But Song Yu’s post is fine—it’s too blurry to matter.”
At noon, Yu Lili didn’t join Amy and the others for lunch. Instead, she walked around to the back of the company building, where a low-key Ferrari F90 pulled up in front of her.
The high-performance sports car glided smoothly along the road, but the interior was dead silent.
Yu Lili glanced at Jing Xiang, opened her mouth, then closed it again.
At a private restaurant with excellent confidentiality and a tranquil ambiance, lush potted plants snaked through the space.
Yu Lili and Jing Xiang sat across from each other, wordless.
Dishes arrived one after another.
Yu Lili picked up her chopsticks and ate unhurriedly: “If you have nothing to say, I’m leaving after this.”
Jing Xiang: “I don’t mind, Lili.”
Yu Lili set down her chopsticks and stared at Jing Xiang: “But I do.”
Their conflict had started that night at the hotel. Jing Xiang refused to address it, leaving the root of the issue untouched.
Yu Lili didn’t know if Jing Xiang truly didn’t mind or was just trying to keep her around. But she couldn’t be so magnanimous and carefree.
They had rehashed this conversation too many times. Repeating it was pointless.
Since Jing Xiang wouldn’t talk, Yu Lili wiped her mouth with a napkin and smiled politely: “I’m done. I’ll head out first.”
“Lili.” Jing Xiang chased after her.
“Let’s pretend nothing happened and start over, okay?”
“We have so many beautiful memories. Are you just going to throw them all away?”
“Give me… give me another chance, Lili.”
Yu Lili’s fingers clenched, then slowly relaxed.
This was her first love too.
She wasn’t that heartless.
A soft thud came from the corner.
Yu Lili and Jing Xiang looked over.
At the end of the hallway stood two familiar figures.
Tan Suran and Yu Mu.
Yu Mu walked over with a bright smile: “Long time no see.”
Yu Lili forced a smile but didn’t engage. She was about to lead Jing Xiang away when Yu Mu added:
“Oh, Jing Xiang.”
Yu Mu grinned: “Your earring from last time is still with me. I’ll bring it next time we meet.”