Chapter 111 — Preparing the Plan to Win Her Back...

An An gradually stifled her laughter, straightened her posture, and looked at Cheng Yishu with a serious expression. Cheng Yishu calmed down slightly as well, sitting opposite her with a look of impatience.

“Honestly, that new hairstyle suits you pretty well!” An An said with a light laugh.

“Don’t tell me you came all this way just to compliment me! What’s the matter?” Cheng Yishu asked, staring directly at her.

An An shrugged and replied, “Don’t be so cold. Since we’re putting on a show, we have to make it convincing... Since you’re stuck in Yunnan, I’ll just take on more of the work! Our drama is about to air soon. Whether it’s for promotion or increasing buzz, we have to be together for there to be anything worth talking about.”

“That again? I say, can’t your company ever rely on real talent? Aren’t you tired of these staged publicity stunts?” Cheng Yishu was speechless, closing his eyes in frustration. He regretted drinking too much at the wrap party—so much that someone snapped a photo capturing his expression and movements perfectly, making it look strikingly like he was kissing An An.

What made it worse was that neither of their companies issued any statements or denials after the photo was leaked.

As a result, the rumored romance between the rising star Cheng Yishu and the new actress An An was naturally accepted by the public.

“What do you mean ‘your company’? This was approved by both companies, you know!” An An rolled her eyes and added, “Don’t worry, once the show’s over, we’ll clear everything up... like no one’s clamoring to be tied to a cold fish like you!”

Undoubtedly, Cheng Yishu was handsome, charismatic, and talented.

But he was clueless about romance—cold and blunt. How many girls could stand that?

“But now my private life is being affected!” Cheng Yishu shouted in frustration.

“Private life?” An An’s eyes lit up. Her innate curiosity as a girl was piqued, and she straightened up to ask, “You mean that girl just now? Is she your girlfriend? Your first love? No, Tan Jing was your first love, right? But that girl seemed ordinary, nothing special... maybe just a fan?”

“What business is that of yours!” Cheng Yishu waved his hand impatiently, ignoring An An’s mention of Tan Jing, and continued, “I don’t care. You figure out how to explain this. Xiao Wen and I can’t have any more misunderstandings. Her coming to Yunnan to see me was my one chance... and now you’ve messed everything up!”

An An cried out, “What do you mean I messed things up? Don’t you know there were cameras outside the door, hidden in the shadows... so I had to act convincingly!”

“Cameras?” Cheng Yishu sighed inwardly, narrowing his eyes. “If I’m not mistaken, your company hired them, right?”

Chen Kai was at the hospital and wouldn’t be paying attention to this side of things, so Cheng Yishu’s guess made sense.

Hearing the tone that was almost accusatory, An An shifted uncomfortably and murmured, “Like I said, acting has to be convincing. We’re professional actors, after all.”

“Miss, I’m asking for your help here. Your boyfriend is in the business, so he understands your work, but my girlfriend might not. She might not understand or accept what my work entails, you know?” Cheng Yishu pleaded.

“Hey, hey!” Hearing Cheng Yishu mention her boyfriend, An An’s eyes widened, and she interrupted him, “Why drag me into this? If your girlfriend wasn’t properly prepared, that’s your fault, don’t blame others... Do you even want to keep working together? Seriously!”

“No!” Cheng Yishu jumped up with disdain. “Let’s never work together again. And better yet, don’t see each other privately either!”

“All right, all right!” An An looked at Cheng Yishu’s flushed face, still red from anxiety, with a sigh and said, “Honestly, I never thought the big star Cheng Yishu would be so serious about love. Tsk tsk... If your fangirls knew you fell for such an ordinary girl, they’d be devastated.”

“What does that have to do with you?” Cheng Yishu looked at her with displeasure.

“Hey, Cheng Yishu, I’m a girl too, you can’t talk to a girl like that!” An An protested. No one had ever spoken to her that way.

“Whether you’re a girl or not is none of my business! Besides Xiao Wen, everyone else, male or female, is the same to me!” Cheng Yishu looked at her with an air of self-righteousness, even a hint of pride.

“Unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable...” An An nodded repeatedly, too incredulous to even look at him, then sat down again, smoothing her skirt and letting out a heavy sigh. “Fine, for the sake of our partnership, and because you care so much about this relationship, I’ll help you explain things to Xiao Wen, okay?” She looked up at him as if claiming credit.

Cheng Yishu’s face lit up like hearing a divine revelation, and he eagerly leaned forward. “Are you sure? You won’t back out?”

“Why would I?” An An glared at him unconcernedly. “My grandmother always said, ‘Better to tear down ten temples than ruin one marriage’... I’m not about to be the bad guy!”

Suddenly, Cheng Yishu found that this pampered girl, An An, wasn’t so annoying after all.

“Then it’s settled. Let’s go,” Cheng Yishu said without waiting, grabbing An An and heading out.

“Stop, stop!” An An forcefully pried his hand away and exclaimed, “Why are you in such a hurry? Do you even know where to find them? Besides, I just got off the plane. Even if I’m your fake girlfriend, you don’t have to drag me out right now.”

An An’s protest made sense, and Cheng Yishu found himself momentarily puzzled. He really had no idea where Su Nian would take Lin Xiaowen.

“Lost, huh?” An An suddenly laughed and said, “Here, this is for you!”

Cheng Yishu looked up and saw a small card held between An An’s fair fingers.

Curious, he took it. It was just a string of numbers — definitely a phone number.

“What’s this?”

An An grinned triumphantly. “That’s the number of the guy called Xiao Wen. He left it on the sofa before leaving, but you were so focused on your precious girlfriend that you didn’t notice. I found it!”

Stretching lazily, An An looked at Cheng Yishu with exhaustion in her voice. “I’m too tired. I need to go back and get some sleep. My room is right next to yours. Later, I’ll refine the ‘chase-wife plan’ and tell you about it.”

“What ‘chase-wife plan’?” Cheng Yishu was baffled, eyes full of question.

“Oh my goodness!” An An looked at his dumbfounded expression in disbelief. “You’ve been in so many idol dramas, read countless scripts, and still can’t pick up a few tricks?”

Seeing Cheng Yishu still confused, she shook her head and, opening the door, tossed over her shoulder, “Forget it. Watch me. We’ll talk later... slam!”

The door closed forcefully, clearly feeling wronged.

Cheng Yishu stood with his hands on his hips, beginning to ponder the meaning behind An An’s last words...