Atlas Studios

  Atlas Studios

  He slowly walked over to Yun Na. Following Gu Xingze’s example, he gentlemanly covered her with his outer coat.

  Yun Na was surprised and touched by this gesture. She smiled gratefully through her tears. “Li Jiuxian, thank you!”


  “Come, dry your tears. Your makeup is going to be ruined,” he kindly reminded her.

  She hung onto his shirt cuff as if he were her last straw of hope. She implored, “It’s unintentional; please believe me. I really didn’t do it on purpose.”


  He nodded seriously. “Yes, I saw that it’s really unintentional.”


  He then turned to Yun Shishi with a reproachful look. “She didn’t do it on purpose, yet you drenched her with your wine. Don’t you think your action is a little vicious?”


  She raised an eyebrow in mock surprise. “Oh, I’m vicious?”


  Tang Yu, who was standing at one side, added to Li Jiuxian’s defense, “Yun Shishi, that is too much! Do you think you can get away with it just because you are given preferential treatment? You are such a bully!”


  Gu Xingze frowned at their accusation and looked at Yun Shishi, who looked calm and collected in his arms. He was about to confront the two, but she stopped him.

  Holding on his arm, she calmly told the rest, “I am not a bully.”


  Li Jiuxian did not believe her. “Why did you do this to her, then?”


  “That’s right! Why did you do that to her? You probably want to embarrass her.”


  “Hmph! Isn’t the pot calling the kettle black? Both rookies are dressed to kill tonight. Such arrogance!” someone viciously commented from the side.

  “I agree. She must’ve done something to make Gu Xingze be taken with her. I heard Director Lin looks highly to her, too. I wonder if the two of them have something going on……”


  “.……”


  On the second floor, Mu Yazhe was observing the spectacle below from behind the banister with condescension. His eyes, cold and stern, were locked on to Yun Shishi.

  His grip on the banister tightened when he saw Gu Xingze held her close in his arms.

  Mu Wanrou was right next to him. Her brows furrowed as she watched the commotion.

  “Thief!”


  An icy voice could be heard from the hall.

  Yun Shishi stared bleakly at Yun Na and repeated, “You are a thief!”


  That accusation jolted Mu Wanrou. She stood rooted to the spot as her memories returned to that scene in the orphanage fifteen years ago. The past was re-enacting before her now.

  At that time, the children in the orphanage sided with her as she haughtily and heartlessly accused Yun Shishi. ‘Xiaoshi is a thief!’


  This was history repeating itself. She took an unsettling step backward as guilt flooded her from the inside.

  Mu Wanrou, slightly trembling, held her arms across her shoulders. Her face was grave and serious.

  Mu Yazhe turned and looked at her, expressionless. Her eyes were bleak as she was caught up with the nightmare recessing in her memory.

  In the center of the hall, Yun Na tried to deny unconvincingly, “I’m not a thief……” Her face was wan with fright and alarm as her steps faltered.

  “You took my necklace and my evening gown, yet you dared claim that you are not a thief?” Yun Shishi shot her adoptive sister a dirty look. “Isn’t that called stealing?”


  “No, that’s nonsense! I’m not a thief!” Yun Na was still desperately trying to deny everything.

  Her adoptive sister tilted her head in a half-jest. “Are you calling this a slander, then?”