Bai You had long suspected Xu Zifan, but she was in a hurry to leave and didn't have time to ask. Who knew that their conversation the night before had been recorded! How could Qiao Zixin possibly help her after hearing the recording? They were just there to see her make a fool of herself!
Qiao Zixin stared at her, unwilling to give up, and asked, "Bai You? Why exactly?"
Bai You clenched her fists and leaned back in her chair, taking a deep breath before meeting Qiao Zixin's gaze. "Fine, if you want to know, I'll explain it to you clearly."
"Qiao Zixin, you've never had a better life than me since we were little. I wore new clothes, while you could only wear hand-me-downs from relatives; I made good friends, while you could only squat by the door playing alone; I participated in school performances, while you could only sit below with envy and jealousy; I ranked in the top three in my class, while you could only be at the bottom. Besides your good looks, what do you have that I don't? Huh? But you, after graduating from high school, started making movies, became a Best Actress at 18, and can earn hundreds of thousands just by shooting a commercial, while I? I worked so hard to finish a top university, and I can only find a job with a monthly salary of 10,000! Why?!" Bai You's face was twisted, glaring at Qiao Zixin with resentment.
Qiao Zixin's fingers curled slightly under the table, her face expressionless. "Because I'm doing better than you, you're resentful? Bai You, don't forget, when you complained about how hard the job was, I made you my assistant, with a monthly salary of 50,000 yuan, plus clothes, jewelry, and handbags as perks. You come and go as you please, taking a salary without doing any work. What have I said? I haven't wronged you in the slightest."
"Heh." Bai You sneered, "You're secretly pleased with yourself, aren't you? Your neighbor, who always looked down on you, is now under your thumb and has to accept your handouts. You must be secretly laughing every time you give me something, right? Laughing at me for going to such a good university and still having to be your lackey with a high school diploma, laughing at me for having no dignity and earning less than a fraction of what you earn! If you really wanted to help me, why didn't you take me to act in movies? How much do you earn per film? You're trying to fob me off with 50,000 yuan? You don't even want me to get ahead! You treat me like this, so why should I be nice to you?"
Qiao Zixin was momentarily dazed. The aggressive woman before her was so unfamiliar, as if all the memories of their years together were fabricated; she had never truly understood her. But upon reflection, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible. Bai You had always been arrogant, enjoying a privileged life in her small town. Only after coming to the big city did she realize she was nothing, even being bullied by neighbors she had never respected. Ultimately, her current state stemmed from jealousy.
Qiao Zixin suddenly felt utterly bored and finally understood why the person who had never liked hanging out with her was so enthusiastic when they met again in Yanjing. She had thought it was a chance encounter with an old friend in a foreign land, but it turned out that Bai You had deliberately approached her to try and get something out of her. She said calmly, "Whether you believe it or not, I recommended you to the director, but he didn't want to use you. We've known each other for over ten years. Tell me, who told you to scheme against me?"
Bai You glanced at her, her eyes filled with schadenfreude. "It's Liu Jie, huh? You're dating a boyfriend openly and honestly, and this woman calls you a homewrecker. All those scandals about you were fabricated by her. Ha, didn't expect that, did you? A rising starlet ruined you like this. Guess how many people are kicking you while you're down? Tsk tsk tsk, how bad is your character? Just like when you were a kid, you don't have a single true friend. If it weren't for your face, would you have had all that success these past few years? Look, you've been brought back to reality as soon as something happened, haven't you? You've lost everything, you're even worse off than me!"
Qiao Zixin got the answer she wanted and never wanted to see that annoying face again. She took out her sunglasses and put them on, as if drawing a line between herself and everyone else, creating a safe distance. She stood up and said to Xu Zifan, "Let's go."
Xu Zifan responded, opened the door and walked out with her. He didn't say a word from beginning to end, just stood behind Qiao Zixin as her strongest support.
Bai You's face turned ugly, and she stood up abruptly, shouting, "Stop! You still haven't explained what happened last night! You were the ones who called the police and reported me, weren't you? Qiao Zixin, where did you find that wild man? You sound so innocent, but weren't you just plotting against me with him? What right do you have to question me?"
Xu Zifan ignored them and pulled Qiao Zixin away. Bai You tried to chase after them but was stopped by the police. She could only shout at their backs, but the two men didn't respond, making her look like a clown!
The greatest humiliation is being ignored, as if she was never qualified to stand on the same level as Qiao Zixin. So even if she betrayed her, Qiao Zixin could leave lightly, as if she didn't know her.
At this moment, Bai You's resentment reached its peak. She angrily pushed the police officer, wanting to catch up and see Qiao Zixin's face. She couldn't believe Qiao Zixin was unmoved. How could someone who had been betrayed by everyone, who had lost everything, be so calm?
The police pinned her to the ground, and she suddenly became disoriented and began convulsing. She was experiencing drug withdrawal!
Qiao Zixin paused when she heard the voice behind her. Xu Zifan looked down at her and said, "Let's go. She brought it on herself."
Qiao Zixin nodded and went to find the police again. Many news reports were implying she and Bai You were using drugs together, something that was extremely offensive to the public. She was being attacked online and could be convicted almost without concrete evidence. Therefore, she voluntarily applied for a drug test, and the result, of course, was normal, with no signs of drug use.
Qiao Zixin requested that the police clarify things for her when announcing Bai You's charges, as this was really important to her. She was already in that private room, but left early, so clarifying things would be in accordance with regulations, and the police agreed without hesitation.
The two left the police station. Qiao Zixin sat in the passenger seat, eyes closed, enjoying the breeze and the car's speed. Suddenly, she felt she had left that worthless friendship behind, no longer suffering over it, no longer questioning why. Because some people just hurt others without reason, and even think they're right. There's no need to get to the bottom of it.
She looked at Xu Zifan, who was driving intently, and felt a strange sense of peace. She said softly, "Thank you. If it weren't for you, I might have collapsed today. I consider her my best friend. The Liu Jie she just mentioned is Lin Yan's ex-girlfriend and the third party who broke up our relationship. I've always wanted to know why Lin Yan treated me like this, and what deep-seated hatred Liu Jie has for me. The company has turned its back on me, and my parents also suspect that those news reports are true. It feels like everyone has abandoned me. This feeling is really painful."
Qiao Zixin laughed self-deprecatingly, took a deep breath, "Luckily, you were willing to believe me and face these things with me, letting me know that I'm not alone. Otherwise, I think I might have rushed to confront Lin Yan and Liu Jie, and without evidence, I might have made a fool of myself."
"Of course you're not alone. You have many fans who support you just like me. You need to cheer up and get through this. Actually, if you don't take them too seriously, it's not a big deal, right?" Xu Zifan glanced at her and saw that she looked alright and didn't seem depressed, so he felt a little relieved. "Seriously, you should stay at my place for now. I'll help you protect yourself from the paparazzi. Take a few days to calm down, don't act impulsively, and think carefully about what to do next."
"Okay, thank you." Qiao Zixin nodded subconsciously, then was somewhat surprised that she had agreed so easily, as if she had forgotten her mistakes and had readily trusted a complete stranger. But she was too tired; all the bad things that had happened these past few days had weighed on her, and she couldn't bear it anymore. Since she felt safe with Xu Zifan, she didn't want to overthink things. Even neighbors she'd known for so many years couldn't be truly trusted; this time, she'd trust her intuition.
Qiao Zixin stared blankly out the window, not saying where she wanted to go. Xu Zifan simply took her to contact a real estate agent and open an account to buy stocks. Of course, Qiao Zixin didn't show up; she just sat in the car, as if she were going for a drive to clear her head. Xu Zifan took out 2.3 million yuan to buy stocks, keeping the remaining 50,000 yuan for later use. He was very confident in his choice and invested almost all of his money.
After running around like this, most of the day had passed. Whenever Qiao Zixin was feeling down, Xu Zifan always managed to find a topic to distract her. After a few times, she forgot about those worries and became very curious about what Xu Zifan was doing that kept him so busy.
After finishing the business, Xu Zifan checked his watch and asked, "What do you want to eat? It's definitely inconvenient to eat out. Let's order takeout when we get back. Or we can make something simple. I can fry eggs and cook seafood noodles."
Qiao Zixin asked in surprise, "Scrambled eggs and seafood noodles are not in the same league, are they? You can make both? Then I'd like to try seafood noodles. Is it easy to make? I can help."
Xu Zifan looked at her expression and suddenly laughed out loud, raising an eyebrow and saying, "It's very simple, you'll see when you see it."
Xu Zifan first drove to the supermarket and bought a large bag of things, in a black plastic bag, which Qiao Zixin didn't know what was inside. After returning home, Xu Zifan told Qiao Zixin to watch TV in the living room while he went into the kitchen, closed the door, and started making seafood noodles. Qiao Zixin's eyes were on the TV, but her ears were listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen. She couldn't figure out what was going on inside. She thought that crabs and squid should make the sound of a knife chopping vegetables, but why was it so quiet?
Completely absorbed in the seafood noodles, she forgot all about her troubles. Before long, Xu Zifan came out with a bowl. Qiao Zixin walked over in surprise, "So fast? What did you put in it…?"
She saw the "seafood noodles" in the bowl, and choked halfway through her sentence, "This is seafood noodles?"
"Yes, crab sticks, shrimp balls, fish tofu, kelp strips, and lobster steaks—it's all seafood flavored. What else could this be but seafood noodles?" Xu Zifan smiled as he placed the bowl in front of her and gestured for her to try it. "Please, beautiful Miss Qiao Zixin, try this bowl of seafood noodles and give me your feedback on my cooking skills."
Qiao Zixin was amused by his exaggerated manner, took the chopsticks, sat down properly, picked up a few strands of noodles, and put them in her mouth. The taste was very fresh, with a perfect balance of saltiness. Although it wasn't the same as regular seafood noodles, it was quite unique and delicious.
Qiao Zixin smiled, her eyes crinkling with tears, "Delicious! This is the best noodles I've ever eaten."
"If it tastes good, eat more."
Xu Zifan went to the kitchen to serve himself noodles. Qiao Zixin looked up at his back, a smile unconsciously playing on her lips. In her lowest moment, someone had personally made her a bowl of steaming hot seafood noodles—truly the best noodles she had ever eaten, warming her heart. She thought she would remember that comforting taste for the rest of her life.