Whoever Falls in Love First is the Dog - Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Shu Yun, I Am Not Your Toy!

Chen Yanxing closed her eyes and forced out the last tear hanging at the corner. When she opened her eyes again, she nodded slightly.

She realized she had indeed been too narrow-minded.

She had been judging Xia Lingxuan using the most common template of a traditional Chinese mother. Any ordinary mother would not tolerate her daughter behaving recklessly like this. But Xia Lingxuan wasn’t an ordinary mother—she was a mother who had lost her child for nearly twenty years.

Her love and indulgence came from twelve years of guilt and longing. It was the most instinctive form of bias and tolerance a mother could have for her child.

Xia Lingxuan wasn’t a conventional parent. Because she had missed out on her child’s upbringing, she desperately wanted to make up for it.

Shen Mengke didn’t have good manners? It didn’t matter—Xia Lingxuan would teach her little by little. She would allow Shen Mengke to correct herself gradually under the umbrella of indulgence. But she would never force Chen Yanxing to find someone who fit her own ideals.

The phrase “love me, love my dog” probably described this best.

Seeing Chen Yanxing nod, Xia Lingxuan finally smiled, but her grip on Chen Yanxing’s hand tightened slightly—perhaps afraid she might leave again.

The living room was quiet for a moment, until suddenly a noise came from upstairs.

Shen Mengke had changed clothes and was stomping down with a fierce expression, still on the phone.

“Yes, now. I want to meet you all.”

She ended the call as she stepped off the last stair. Looking up at Chen Yanxing in the living room, she said, “I have something to do. You guys…” Her eyes shifted to Xia Lingxuan. She pursed her lips. “Do as you please.”

Then, without giving anyone a chance to respond, she changed shoes and left.

Shen Jingli stood on the second floor, leaning on the railing. He shouted down, “You’d better go after her. She’s really unstable right now.”

Chen Yanxing looked up toward the voice, then instinctively glanced at Xia Lingxuan.

Xia Lingxuan nodded with a smile. Only then did Chen Yanxing rush out.

Shen Jingli came down and stood by Xia Lingxuan. “So you two talked it out?”

Xia Lingxuan smiled without answering. “Let’s go home.”

“Okay, I’ll go get Aunt Lin.”

Shen Mengke hadn’t gone far—just to the café outside the neighborhood, the same one where she’d signed a contract with Chen Yanxing before.

When Chen Yanxing walked in, she saw Shen Mengke hugging a coffee cup, lost in thought.

She ordered a glass of milk, walked over, and set it in front of her. “It’s so late. You’re still drinking coffee?”

Shen Mengke looked up dazedly, squinting. “Done with your family stuff?”

Chen Yanxing nodded. “More or less.”

Shen Mengke let out a tired laugh. Her lips moved, but her eyelashes drooped. She looked utterly exhausted.

She took a sip of her coffee. “I realized today—I’m really not cut out to be an actress. I’m terrible at acting.”

Chen Yanxing didn’t respond. She just quietly took the coffee from her hand and replaced it with the milk.

Shen Mengke shot her a dissatisfied look but said nothing.

“I’m so tired, Chen Yanxing. Why don’t I have your kind of luck? First the Chen family, then the Xia family—it’s like going from one Rome to another.”

With every sentence, she sighed, looking completely defeated. But Chen Yanxing just listened silently, frowning slightly as she finished the coffee she’d taken.

She had never liked coffee and didn’t understand how anyone could enjoy something so bitter.

Shen Mengke didn’t notice that her coffee was gone. She just held the milk like a hand warmer, soaking in its faint warmth.

The silence stretched out. Long enough for Shen Mengke to become aware of the café’s background music:

“Can’t save you from breaking down time and time again, almost dying…”

She closed her eyes and took a sip of the milk.

Shu Yun arrived, along with Fan Shi—both summoned by Shen Mengke.

The moment Shu Yun saw Chen Yanxing, her gaze chilled. She had always had a poor impression of her, from their very first unofficial meeting and the media storm that followed.

But she remained composed and walked over calmly. “Mengke.”

Shen Mengke opened her eyes at the sound and saw the two of them. She smiled. “So you did come together. Sit, let’s talk.”

Chen Yanxing tactfully stood up, holding her empty cup to give up her seat.

“Don’t go,” Shen Mengke said.

Chen Yanxing looked down at her. Shen Mengke just smiled and reached across the table, offering her hand.

Chen Yanxing took it, and Shen Mengke said, “Come sit here.”

Time froze for a moment—even the air seemed to hold its breath. But when Chen Yanxing moved, everything started flowing again.

Still holding her hand, she walked around the table and sat next to Shen Mengke.

Shu Yun looked at them, her eyes calm on the surface, but there was clear anger flickering beneath. She watched their clasped hands without saying a word—if looks could kill, Chen Yanxing’s hand would’ve been cut to pieces.

Shen Mengke met Shu Yun’s gaze and smiled slightly, like she was provoking her.

She didn’t speak, just stared. Eventually, Shu Yun gave in first and sat opposite her.

Fan Shi followed suit. Shen Mengke looked back and forth between them for a long moment before finally speaking.

“When did you two start scheming together?”

Shu Yun’s eyes hadn’t left their hands. She stayed silent. If looks had weight, hers could’ve crushed them.

Fan Shi didn’t want to speak first either, so she asked, “It’s so late—what’s going on?”

Shen Mengke turned to her, letting out a mocking laugh. “Sis, Fan-jie. I trusted you, and you stabbed me in the back?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Fan Shi was confused. Shen Mengke had urgently called her to come over, and when she arrived at the door and saw Shu Yun, she knew something must be up.

Shen Mengke snorted coldly. “Still pretending? What’s going on with Journey of the Heart? You think I’m some circus monkey?”

At that, Shu Yun finally looked at her. “So you found out.”

Not a question, but a statement.

Shen Mengke nodded. “I did some digging. JING—it’s a small company owned by your Shu family, isn’t it?”

Her eyes didn’t blink as she spoke with unsettling calmness. “I never understood why the company treated me so well when I wasn’t even popular. Why paparazzi were always around. Why I had so many fake rumors and scandals when no one even cared about me. Now I get it.”

“Someone told me JING might be behind it all. I didn’t believe it at first…” She let out a bitter laugh and nodded. “Now I do. You never wanted me to succeed, did you?”

Shu Yun frowned. “What are you talking about? No one cares about you more than I do…”

“This is your version of caring?” Shen Mengke suddenly slammed the table, losing all her usual grace. In a public place, she yelled at Shu Yun across the table, “Shu Yun, I am not your toy! I won’t keep playing the obedient puppet just to please you!”

“We both know what Journey of the Heart is. You used that show to try to put me back under your control, didn’t you? Afraid that while you were abroad, I stopped obeying you? Stopped doing everything your way?”

“That time in college, when a director liked me, you said to wait until graduation. But you? You started acting early too!”

“You were so ‘good’ to me—step by step, guiding me into your trap. Were you afraid that if I got too popular, you wouldn’t be able to control me anymore? You think I’m the kind of person people would pay to suppress? I’m not even famous! Only you—only you would spend money on me…”

Tears rolled down her face, falling onto the table and soaking the cloth.

She said everything. But across from her, Shu Yun remained calm, like she’d heard it all before. Her face was unreadable.

The room was awkwardly silent. Though there weren’t many customers at this hour, some people had already raised their phones to record.

Shen Mengke was still gripping Chen Yanxing’s hand tightly, preventing her from moving. Chen Yanxing glanced at Fan Shi, hoping she’d finally fulfill her job as a manager. Then she took out her phone and contacted Ren Zhou.

Shu Yun and Shen Mengke didn’t seem to care about their surroundings. They were trapped in their own world.

Shu Yun took a sip of coffee before finally speaking. “Mengke, you misunderstood me.”

“You said it yourself—only I’m willing to spend on you. What’s wrong with finding a decent company to support you?”

“JING really is under the Shu family. That just makes it easier to ensure your safety, doesn’t it?”

“As for all that other stuff, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She smiled. “Mengke, were you tricked by someone?”

Shen Mengke took a deep breath. “Will Journey of the Heart be aired?”

Shu Yun laughed, like she’d heard a joke. “What kind of question is that? Why film something if it’s not going to air?”

“Oh really? Then how come I heard that someone was told before signing the contract that the show wouldn’t be aired? That the reason was ‘deviation from core values, not in line with public morality’? I should’ve realized… Even Director Qing’s same-s3x drama had to be filmed so cautiously—why would your queer dating show get a pass?”

Shu Yun kept smiling, but her eyes were icy. “Mengke, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“You don’t?” Shen Mengke turned to Fan Shi. “Then I’ll talk to someone who can understand.”

“As my agent, why didn’t you inform me of this clause before I signed the contract? Was it even in the contract?”

She had been too emotionally overwhelmed at the time. She didn’t want to do the show in the first place, so she hadn’t bothered reading the terms carefully. And now, she’d fallen right into their trap.

Fan Shi opened her mouth but couldn’t get any words out. Instinctively, she looked at Shu Yun—only for Shen Mengke to slam the table again, startling her back.

“Why are you looking at her? Look at me!”