“Qinhuai’s Riverbank has been invited to join next year’s film festival. As far as I can tell, it has also been nominated for best pictures. I have looked into our competitors. We have a shot at winning a lot of awards.”


  “Film festival?” Ye Zhen’s heart throbbed. “When next year?”


  “Sometime in April.”


  “Sometime in April…” Ye Zhen thought about it and frowned. “That will be within a month of me giving birth. I don’t think I will be able to make it.”


  Ye Zhen was the producer of Qinhuai’s Riverbank. She would love to be there now that her movie had been nominated for the film festival. She was a little disappointed that it didn’t look like she would be able to make it.

  “Okay. I get it. Thanks for keeping everything in line. Let me know if you need anything. I am going to go now.”


  Ye Zhen felt a little blue after she hung up on the phone. She stroked her protruding stomach as she thought about the film festival that was well-talked about among the entertainment circle.

  What a bummer.

  As the weather got colder, Ye Zhen’s stomach had also gotten bigger. For safety’s sake, Ye Zhen moved into the hospital a month before her due date.

  That was when Ye Zhen got the best news from the doctor since the beginning of her pregnancy.

  – She must have a cesarean section.

  That was, undoubtedly, good news for Ye Zhen who was traumatized from when she gave birth to Zhouzhou. Once she was anesthetized, she would not be suffering for a long time.

  Many came to visit her while she was staying in the hospital, but all of them were turned away by Mother Lu.

  When Meng Jie got there, Ye Zhen had just finished up with a routine examination. She was getting closer to her due time, and the doctors and nurses took this more seriously.

  “Qin Zhiyun mentioned to me that you have picked up a few movies and some endorsements. How do you have time to come over?”


  “That’s silly talk. Everybody looks like they are so busy that they don’t even have a minute of free time. But, c’mon, you could always make time when you try. Anyone who says otherwise is just lying.” Meng Jie sat down next to the bed and looked at Ye Zhen’s protruding stomach. “Can I touch it?”


  “Of course.”


  As she stroked Ye Zhen’s protruding stomach and occasionally felt the movement of the baby, Meng Jie’s eyes were filled with envy.

  “I am so envious of you. You are going to be a mother again. And twins this time? Is it a boy and a girl?”


  Ye Zhen kept her guessing. “You will see after they come out. What about you? How have you been?”


  “Running around from filming location to filming location. My days have been quite fulfilling.”


  “You know that wasn’t what I was asking.” Ye Zhen frowned. “I mean in terms you’re your relationship. How’s that coming along?”


  Meng Jie smiled and said, “You wanted to ask about You Jing and I, right?”


  “I wasn’t asking about him.” Ye Zhen shrugged. “I figured that you had already booted him out of your life.”


  “You are right about that. You Jing really is not part of my future. Specifically, there are no relationships in my future.” Looking at Ye Zhen, she smiled tenderly and said, “Thank you for giving me another opportunity to get back up. If it wasn’t for you, I would still be sitting in a dark room, being depressed. I would never have the courage to walk out of my situation.”


  “You sure you won’t even consider it?”


  Meng Jie shook her head, “Nah. It all feels so… pointless.”


  Rubbing her baby bump, Ye Zhen looked at her quietly.

  “Looking back, I was quite silly. Being in a relationship seemed to have brought me nothing but hassles. In fact, it almost made me lose everything I have right now. I am good where I am right now. All day long I will be filming, reciting scripts, or on my way to a filming location. My days are very fulfilling. I have no time for anything outside of work. I already have a career, money, and fame. Things couldn’t be any better so why would I want to repeat my mistake and be in a relationship?”


  Ye Zhen thought about it some and agreed with her. “Makes sense.”


  “See? I am envious of your life and your current state but I know full well that none of these are necessities for me, and that there is no need for me to waste too much time on them. I definitely have more freedom being single.”


  “Is You Jing still pining over you then?”


  “I guess so. I didn’t really pay that much attention. You had arranged an agent and bodyguards for me. They will block those who I don’t want to meet. I don’t need to worry about that.”


  Ye Zhen raised her brows. She was happy for this confident and strong woman sitting in front of her.

  She was like a whole different person than that one she had met four years ago.

  “Do you know that I have been nominated for the film festival?” asked Meng Jie as she looked at Ye Zhen. “What do you think my odds are?”


  Ye Zhen smiled. “100%”


  “I think so too.”