Chapter 27: Bubble Clouds

Yu Ling stepped out of the car at the entrance of the police station. She was wearing a mint-green skirt that day, which made her skin appear even fairer. As the breeze stirred the hem of her skirt, she looked from a distance like a white tulip blooming in the warm sun—fresh, elegant, and swaying with the wind.

Chu Ming stepped out of the car with a bare face, having taken no protective measures at all. Li Wan hurriedly pulled out a face mask to help her put it on, muttering, "Oh, put your mask on quickly. Let’s not have you recognized."

"Even though we're C-list stars, we're trending on social media right now. Times have changed, so we still need to be careful."

Yu Ling was slightly taller than Li Wan, so she lowered her head obediently, letting her put the mask on. Zhang Yue parked the car and ran back, breathless.

"Sister, Zhou..." Zhang Yue realized it wasn't appropriate to address him by his first name, so he swallowed the 'Yan' that was on the tip of his tongue. He rephrased it and said to Yu Ling, "Sister, Mr. Zhou wants you to go in now."

Yu Ling nodded and prepared to move forward. Li Wan had already explained it to her on the way; she knew the Mr. Zhou that Zhang Yue mentioned was Zhou Yan, Chi Ran's manager.

Zhou Yan called out to her again, "Wait."

Yu Ling turned back and looked at him, puzzled. "What is it?"

Recalling the adjectives Zhou Yan had used, Zhang Yue added, "Mr. Zhou wants you to pretend to be very sad, heartbroken, desperate, and dejected."

Yu Ling pondered these words for a moment and nodded. She didn't ask why, but she followed instructions obediently. The moment she turned around, her eyes reddened. Suddenly, Li Wan rushed over, grabbed her arm, and pulled her into an embrace.

Yu Ling's performance nearly broke, and she looked at her in confusion. Li Wan offered a crafty smile, winked, and whispered in her ear, "I'm helping you."

Yu Ling caught her meaning and returned the crafty smile. Then, she leaned weakly into Li Wan's arms, letting her support her as they walked. Zhang Yue followed carefully behind them, looking like a guardian from a distance.

By the time they finished the statement, it was already dark. Yu Ling once again cooperated by letting Li Wan support her as they walked out. The streetlights shone alone, casting a cold, white glow. Under the light, Yu Ling's complexion was deathly pale; her lips were colorless, and her eyes appeared hollow and lifeless.

Li Wan, being the closest to her, was the first to notice that something was wrong. She took Yu Ling's hand and realized it was freezing cold.

Li Wan stopped and gave Zhang Yue a look. Zhang Yue hurriedly found a coat in the bag and handed it over. Yu Ling was still in a daze, and it wasn't until Li Wan draped the coat over her that she blinked, a flicker of clarity returning to her eyes.

Li Wan touched her forehead with concern, but Yu Ling pulled her hand down. She smiled and shook her head, though that smile appeared incredibly fragile. "Sister Li, I'm fine."

Before Li Wan could speak, she added, "Let's go quickly. Xiao Ming is still waiting for us at home."

Li Wan looked worried, but she could tell that Yu Ling was intentionally preventing her from asking further, so she tactfully held her tongue. Who doesn't have secrets and vulnerabilities they don't want others to know? Since she didn't want to say, she wouldn't ask.

Just before getting into the car, Yu Ling suddenly felt a burning gaze fixed upon her. It was filled with intense possessiveness, as if weaving an airtight web to wrap her layer by layer. Yu Ling frowned, feeling a sense of unease, and glanced in a certain direction as if by instinct.

At that one glance, she froze. That area was a blind spot, untouched by the streetlights. In the darkness, a tiny dot of scarlet flashed and fell to the ground. Yu Ling looked again, but this time, she saw nothing.

She sighed to herself, as if pouring out her helplessness to the night. Chi Ran—he had been watching over her all along. This realization made Yu Ling's heart feel both sour and full. More than that, her heart felt as if it had been soaked in dense, soapy water, turning into a soft, light, bubbly cloud. With a gust of wind, the cloud took flight, and the grievances of the day seemed to dissipate with the breeze.

Li Wan also glanced in that direction, but saw nothing. She asked Yu Ling, "What's wrong? Aren't you getting in?"

"Let's go." Yu Ling smiled at her and got into the car. This smile felt a bit more sincere.

Li Wan muttered to herself, "Why is Yu Ling acting so strange today?" Yu Ling heard her but didn't know how to explain, so she pretended not to.

Once both were inside, Zhang Yue called out to the back, "Hold on tight." Then, the car shot off like an arrow from a bow, merging into the boundless night.

Yu Ling leaned against the car window, looking at the endless night view, her mind filled with swirling thoughts. *He must have been busy for a long time because of my situation, right?*

In her mind, the image of that falling scarlet dot kept appearing; it was clearly a dropped cigarette. He was smoking—was he in a bad mood? Yu Ling couldn't help but worry about him. After a moment of thought, she opened her phone and drafted a text message.

[Thank you. Please go home soon.]

She hit send, locked her phone, and placed it on her lap, not looking at it again. Because, right now, her mind was entirely occupied by one question: *Will he reply to my message?*

Yu Ling bit her lip, not wanting this to affect her. She was just expressing her gratitude; it was the right thing to do. As for anything else, that shouldn't be within the scope of her considerations.

Yu Ling forced herself to stop thinking about it. The events of the day had been too overwhelming, and she felt exceptionally exhausted. However, she couldn't fully relax just yet. She had intended to scroll through Weibo for a while to see how people were insulting her, but decided it wasn't worth the misery and chose not to.

The colorful live stream comments scrolled rapidly before her eyes. Yu Ling realized that during the few hours at the police station, she had been too nervous to look at them. She felt quite annoyed, wondering if she had missed any important information during those hours.

[Chi Ran, I really pity you. Yu Ling knew he was there, but she still got in the car without looking back. The poor puppy has been hurt again, and again, and again.]

Yu Ling frowned. Had she hurt him again? But she had sent him a text message.

[To the person above, update your info! Chi Ran hasn't been sad for a long time; he’s currently staring at the message Yu Ling sent and grinning like an idiot. His face is practically splitting from the grin.]

Yu Ling felt slightly relieved. As long as he wasn't sad.

But the next comment made her face turn bright red instantly.

[If a single text from his wife can make Chi Ran smile like a love-struck fool, what will happen when she kisses him or does 'that' with him later? Will he be able to handle it? Will he just smile his face off and get packed up to be sold on a re-post?]

Every cell in Yu Ling's body seemed to ignite. She raised her hands to cover her burning cheeks. She looked at the comments with an accusatory expression—why did these people always say such strange things? Who wanted to kiss Chi Ran, or... do "that" with him?

[Wow! Celebrate everywhere! The good days for Lin Mianmian and Mu Chenbei are over! Yu Ling's studio has directly released Yu Yang's apology video and Wang Sun's confession video from the police station. Weibo has exploded!]

Wang Sun—that was the man who had faked his voice.