Showbiz Scandal: The Official Announcement of My Ex and Myself

Chapter 491: Our First Meeting

The first two questions addressed "separation" and "taking the next step," discussing both ultimate outcomes of a relationship.The last topic was the initial meeting.

"You know, compared to the question of breaking up, deciding whether to agree to marry someone can better reflect each other’s true feelings.

Now, forgetting about the future, let’s talk about the scene when you first met each other and recall why you were initially moved."

Everyone knew about Qian Ling and Ling Yan’s famous "sharing an umbrella outside the cinema" story, although it was Qian Ling who had told it then.

This time it was Ling Yan’s turn to speak, and she attributed her feelings to the atmosphere created by the rainy weather, which soothed her anger into calmness just as she met Qian Ling.

And thus they had a dramatically love-at-first-sight moment.

"The feeling was quite vague at the time, but I could indeed feel some affection towards him. Since I liked him, I wanted to give it a try. This world is vast, and it’s not easy to meet someone you like. Who knows when the next chance will come if I pass it up this time, so I acted on impulse then."

Speaking of love at first sight, Liu Yicheng had a similar story.

"Come to think of it, Zhou Yu and I started the same way. She wore a red dress and passed by the milk tea shop, her smile exceptionally beautiful. Out of nowhere, I ran to add her as a friend.

Back then, we were newcomers in the entertainment industry, hanging around filming bases every day looking for opportunities. The weather was exceptionally good that day. I had just watched the first drama I acted in at the milk tea shop outside the base; originally, I had ten minutes of screen time, but it was cut down to just two seconds. I was in a bad mood, and she came in wearing a red dress. Everyone’s eyes followed her as she walked, and I was no exception. To say I was dumbfounded is not an exaggeration. I could barely speak when asking for her contact information."

Zheng Jinjin, who had spent a month on this show without finding an ideal match, ruthlessly shattered the pink-tinted memories he’d crafted.

"So, the person you fell in love with at first sight, you finally won over, only to spend seven years showing how not to cherish someone and how to torment them until breaking up?"

Liu Yicheng’s smile froze.

Yu Xia almost burst into laughter.

Zhou Yu didn’t come to his rescue, allowing him to stew in embarrassment until his face turned pale.

She didn’t even want to recall those initial memories. Standing in a position where she was pitied, she received care and comfort from everyone.

Zheng Jinjin was much different from the gentle and agreeable image she presented at the beginning of the show and had no intention of comforting Zhou Yu, ignoring her tearful expression.

With no choice, the atmosphere easer turned their gaze towards Yu Xia and the others, hoping their recount of first meetings would break the awkward tension.

But Yu Xia and Xie Qingci remained silent, not knowing what to say.

It wasn’t that they were enjoying a good show, they genuinely didn’t know how to put it.

Their initial meeting took place on an evening during Xie Qingci’s eighteenth summer, yet what the public knew was that they first met on a talent show.

So, what to say?

If they shifted the first meeting to the talent show timeline, then the original love at first sight should evolve into a story of love growing from familiarity.

And having taken this step, once you start lying, you’d need more lies to cover that up.

Should anything slip in public, and someone deduces they were lying, it would be a devastating blow.

That’s why neither of them spoke immediately.

With Ling Yan pointedly bringing them into the conversation, Yu Xia took a slight breath and began, "We..."

"I first met her when I was eighteen," Xie Qingci suddenly cut in.

Yu Xia paused, looking at his calm profile.

Others were also surprised, hesitantly saying, "Weren’t you guys acquainted during that talent show you participated in?"

Xie Qingci maintained a calm demeanor as he explained slowly.

"But that wasn’t the first time I met her."

"It was around this time three years ago when I spotted her standing on the opposite side of the street on my way home. By then, she was already very popular, with ads and posters of her everywhere. She might not have known it, but she was standing in front of a life-sized poster of herself. So even though she was heavily disguised, I still recognized her."

Zheng Jinjin became intrigued and asked, "Then what? Did you say hello, or did you just fall in love at first sight then?"

Ling Yan was even more excited, "Could it be you entered the entertainment industry because of her?"

Xie Qingci dodged those questions, chuckling as he said, "It was the first time I saw a living, breathing star. I stood there comparing her to the poster behind her and couldn’t help admitting she truly was a star, looking incredibly beautiful.

Plus, the setting sun was behind her, its halo enveloping her, making her shine. People were rushing past, yet there she was, leisurely dazing, impossible to ignore. Perhaps I stared too long; she noticed and glanced this way, at which point I pretended to look away, realizing then that the bus I was waiting for had already passed by twice."

Initially, Yu Xia worried about what would happen if he just laid it out like that, with people speculating and guessing the truth.

But listening to him recount the event from his perspective, she felt it didn’t matter if the truth came out.

At worst, so what? Why fear? After all, it happened, and after all, he had come back to her side.

She kept her gaze upon Xie Qingci’s profile, watching every drop of his eyes, every flick of his eyelashes, as he slowly painted the scene of their first meeting.

It felt like they had been together for many years, standing at a distant point in time, looking back, still able to see two people looking at each other amidst the fleeting summer lights.

It was also a kind of enjoyment.

Listening to him, Ling Yan, still unsatisfied with the drama, continued to probe, "So, did you really enter the talent show for her? Gosh, that’s too romantic."

This, to fans, wouldn’t be called romantic; it would elicit endless criticism.

Xie Qingci fixated on Ling Yan, half-smiling as he said, "Ling Yan, you seem particularly fond of believing in men’s sweet talking."

Ling Yan gave a flustered, fake smile, "What do you mean?"

"If Qian Ling said he worked hard, earned diligently, and climbed the fame ladder for you, would you believe it too? It seems to you that anyone can live on love alone.

If not for you, would he not work hard? Would he not strive to earn? Without you, does he intend never to achieve fame?

You mistake everyone for those who consider love above all else, making it easy to deceive you. They don’t even need to craft elaborate lies, just say it’s all for you, and you’d willingly believe it. I thought only people in Utopia would believe such things."

His words were sharp and direct, and people nodded continuously, leaving Ling Yan’s expression looking uncomfortable, unable to retort.