Chapter 1

Shen Youwei hadn’t had that dream in a long time.
In the dream, she was ten again, climbing Mountain Qingjing with Guan Shanyan, who was two years older. The weather was beautiful that day, spring flowers blooming along the path. She’d been so happy, posing for a photo, when she slipped and fell.
Thankfully, Guan Shanyan had quick reflexes. He caught her hand and pulled her back from the edge.
They never did make it to the top that day, and after that, Shen Youwei never climbed another mountain.
There was, however, one thing she never told anyone,
That day, she could’ve sworn she fell twice, and the first time, Guan Shanyan hadn’t caught her.
That was the version she’d just dreamed of.
When she jolted awake, it was already 11:30. A thin sheen of sweat covered her forehead, and her temples throbbed faintly.
She lay in bed for a while, then picked up her phone. The screen was filled with unread messages.
BREAKING NEWS!
Top fashion influencer Shen Youwei steals her assistant Xu Qairan’s boyfriend, ten years of sisterhood destroyed overnight!!
Shen Youwei gave a small, humorless laugh as she read the post sent by He Man.
Right on cue, He Man’s call came through. Shen Youwei answered, eyes still closed as she turned over lazily.
“...Hello.”
“Oh my god, don’t tell me you just woke up?” He Man’s high-pitched voice blasted through the receiver, shrill enough to wake the dead. “Did you see the post I sent you? All my group chats are buzzing about your scandal!”
Shen Youwei said nothing.
“So, is it true?” He Man pressed. “You and Xu Qairan actually fell out?”
“Yeah.”
“Because of Chen Qing?”
“Yeah.”
“…” He Man was silent for a good five seconds, trying to process that simple yeah. “What, did Chen Qing cast a curse on you two or something?”
He Man had met Xu Qairan’s boyfriend Chen Qing twice, some rich second-generation heir, decent-looking, but with a reputation that couldn’t be worse.
Listening to her friend’s bewildered questions, Shen Youwei couldn’t help a cold laugh. “Didn’t you say real best friends should have different taste in men? That way they won’t fight over one?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, you were half right. Turns out they can also fight because they think each other’s taste is too awful.”
“…”
He Man remembered Shen Youwei complaining before, that Chen Qing gambled, owed money, and once, drunk, had even hit Xu Qairan. Disgusting was putting it lightly.
“So what exactly happened between you two?”
Thinking back to last night made Shen Youwei’s blood boil all over again. “Xu Qairan saw this influencer spot online and wanted to go ‘catch the sunrise’ there with Chen Qing. But when they got there, it turned out to be a random dirt mound that looked nothing like the photos. They started arguing.”
“…”
Okay.
“But what’s that got to do with you?”
“Great question. I wish it didn’t.” Shen Youwei flicked her hair and sat up, still furious. “After the fight, Chen Qing drove off and left her there, alone in the middle of nowhere at night! I got woken up by her call and had to drive all the way out to pick her up!”
“Wow.” He Man was impressed despite herself. “And then?”
“And then?” Shen Youwei gave a short laugh. “Then I called Chen Qing and told him exactly what kind of trash he was. He got all defensive and said he’d break up with Xu Qairan. So Xu Qairan panicked and told me to apologize to him, for being too harsh!”
He Man: “…”
“What a joke. Not punching him was already me being civilized. And she wants me to apologize?”
“Right, right. Calm down,” He Man said quickly, afraid Shen Youwei might actually go find Chen Qing and make good on that threat. “So that’s why you two fell out? But how did that turn into a story about you stealing her man?”
“Who knows.” Shen Youwei rubbed her temples and flopped back onto the bed. “The poster probably heard half a rumor and filled in the rest. Maybe Chen Qing hired someone to slander me, wouldn’t put it past him. Great way to raise his own market value.”
He Man fell silent again. Yeah, she could see why Chen Qing might’ve snapped after that phone call.
“So what are you gonna do? This thing’s all over the industry now.”
“My head already hurts,” Shen Youwei muttered. “I’ll just hand it to my lawyer. I’m not wasting time arguing online.”
“Fair. But are you still posting your video at noon?”
Shen Youwei’s posting schedule was famously consistent, and today was her regular update day. Still, with the scandal trending, He Man worried that posting now would only feed the trolls.
Shen Youwei didn’t even hesitate. “Of course. You think some lowlife like Chen Qing can stop my uploads?”
“Right. Then good luck.” He Man decided her energy was better spent talking sense into Xu Qairan.
…
By noon, Guan Shanyan was sitting alone in a restaurant. Passing women glanced at him discreetly, but he paid them no mind, his eyes were fixed on his phone, refreshing the screen again and again.
Shen Youwei’s new video was supposed to drop at noon. It was already a minute past, but there was still nothing.
He frowned slightly, deep in thought, and didn’t notice when Gu Fei slid into the seat beside him.
“Designer Guan,” Gu Fei drawled, “when you said lunch, I didn’t think you meant the cafeteria downstairs.”
When he noticed what Guan was looking at, he leaned over for a peek. “Oh? You follow Shen Youwei too?”
Click. Guan Shanyan locked his phone instantly.
The screen went black. Gu Fei blinked, then grinned. “What’s with the secrecy? She’s a legit fashion influencer, not a porn account.”
“I’m just embarrassed to be seen with you,” Guan said evenly, setting the phone aside.
“Touche.” Gu Fei chuckled, flipping through the menu. “Speaking of her, did you see the gossip this morning?”
Guan’s brow twitched. “What gossip?”
“You don’t know?” Gu Fei looked up, surprised. “Says Shen Youwei and her assistant fought over a guy. It’s everywhere.”
Guan had been busy all morning and only just sat down for lunch. He hadn’t seen a thing. But he did know Shen Youwei’s assistant, Xu Qairan. The two had been friends since middle school, more than ten years.
“They fought over a man? Impossible.” His expression darkened. Gu Fei had never seen him react to any woman like this, which only piqued his curiosity.
“See for yourself,” he said, forwarding the post. It was from a niche fashion forum that occasionally dabbled in insider gossip. The last time it had blown up was over a famous designer’s domestic abuse scandal.
Looked like Shen Youwei really was trending lately.
“So who’s this Chen Qing guy?” Guan suddenly asked, voice cold.
Gu Fei perked up. “Oh, I actually know that one. Saw him at a show once, the Chen family’s third son. Came with his mother. Dressed well enough, but rumor says he’s a gambler who always loses. His family used to bail him out, but now they’ve cut him off. Just a rich boy in name, drowning in debt.”
He frowned thoughtfully. “You think Shen Youwei got duped by him or something?”
Guan didn’t answer. He couldn’t understand how she, of all people, could ever fall for someone like that.
Three years apart, and this was how her taste had changed?
While Gu Fei was still browsing the menu, Guan quietly opened WeChat and sent Shen Youwei a single message:
[.]
A red exclamation mark appeared immediately.
He stared at it for a long moment, then gave a soft, humorless laugh and locked his screen again.
Shen Youwei’s video went up ten minutes later than usual that night, and, as expected, the moment it did, a swarm of gossip-hungry onlookers flooded in.
There were plenty who came just to insult her too. Shen Youwei skimmed through the comments, then coolly posted a lawyer’s statement to the same gossip forum, declaring that evidence had already been collected. If the original poster didn’t delete their post and issue an apology, they’d proceed with legal action.
That post sent another wave rippling through the forum. Shen Youwei didn’t bother to check the chaos that followed. She closed the site and ordered herself an indulgent takeout dinner.
Halfway through eating, He Man called again. Shen Youwei peeled a shrimp while answering, “What is it now?”
“I just called Xu Qairan, tried to talk to her,” He Man said. “But she still sounds really mad.”
“Oh.” Shen Youwei’s tone was calm as she popped the shrimp into her mouth.
“She said you called Chen Qing,“ He Man hesitated, then quoted word for word, “a ‘tiny sparrow, yet full of poison.’”
Shen Youwei didn’t even blink. “Am I wrong? Isn’t he full of poison?”
“That’s not the problem,” He Man said after a pause. “The problem is, you said he’s tiny.”
“???” Shen Youwei frowned. “Are you seriously making that dirty?”
“Cough.” He Man cleared her throat. “Well, apparently Chen Qing was furious. Said he couldn’t believe Xu Qairan even told you something like that.”
“…” The line went quiet for a moment before Shen Youwei’s voice returned, dripping with mockery. “So I was right? No wonder he’s so touchy about it, ‘super-sensitive skin,’ huh?”
“Uh”
“Then why isn’t she dumping him already?”
“…”
After lunch, Shen Youwei opened the forum again. The original poster still hadn’t taken down the rumor, and the topic was only getting hotter, so much so that it had pushed her name onto the trending searches.
Seeing her name climbing up the hot search list, He Man called again, worried about her mental state.
“I’m fine.” Shen Youwei said, lounging back and glancing at her rapidly growing follower count. “Not only did I not lose followers, I gained them. A bunch of new fans said they came for the drama, but stayed after watching my videos.”
“…” He Man sighed. Of course. That’s Shen Youwei for you.
Shen Youwei had first gone viral with a casual video she made back in college, helping her roommate with a full image makeover. The transformation was so stunning that it blew up overnight. After that, she started posting outfit videos. With her natural beauty and sharp fashion sense, her popularity had skyrocketed like a rocket.
Her videos had always been high quality, so it didn’t surprise He Man that this mess actually brought her more fans.
After they hung up, Shen Youwei cleared the table, grabbed her takeout boxes, and went downstairs to throw out the trash. On her way back, she ran into a delivery guy in the elevator.
He wore a helmet and mask, head down, and when she stepped in, he immediately shifted to the corner. Shen Youwei paused, she hadn’t bothered with makeup or a mask just now. She wondered if he recognized her.
Trying to play it cool, she coughed lightly and used her hair to cover her face. The elevator rose slowly. Out of the corner of her eye, she stole a glance at the delivery guy, he still hadn’t looked up. Seemed like he really didn’t recognize her.
Maybe she wasn’t as famous as she thought.
When they reached the fifteenth floor, the delivery guy got out. Shen Youwei continued upward, forgot all about it, and went back to her apartment.
Until, that is, a group of police officers arrived in the neighborhood, and the community group chat exploded.
[Oh my god! Someone in Building 8 got stabbed, it’s a small celebrity!]
[I’m right here! So many cops! There’s blood everywhere!]
[Holy crap, they’re not dead, right? Hope this doesn’t hurt property values.]
[They’re alive, thank god. The attacker pretended to be a delivery man, stabbed her once, and ran.]
[Building 8? Don’t tell me it’s Shen Youwei?! She was just on the trending hate list, someone must be after her!]
Shen Youwei: ?
So she was too famous after all.