Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Junior Sister’s Temperament

Outside the hotel entrance, Xie Yu Qian waited until Elder Qu’s car merged into traffic before he turned back toward the elders’ vehicle.

The moment he slid into the back seat, Old Madam Qian fixed him with a look. “Xiao Qian, why did you interrupt us just now?”

He didn’t bother pretending. “Great-Aunt, do you really think Junior Sister would’ve told the truth?”

Old Madam Qian’s lips pressed together. The answer was written on her face.

“With Junior Sister’s temperament,” Xie Yu Qian continued quietly, “once she’s decided on something, it’s hard to change her mind. Especially in a setting like that.”

If Qiao Qing Yan were the kind who ran crying to her parents whenever life got hard, she wouldn’t have clawed her way through the entertainment industry for four years and ended up like this.

And—

“Xiao Qian.” Elder Ji’s brows were drawn tight, the lines at his temples deeper than usual. “Before I leave the Capital, you need to get to the bottom of your Junior Sister’s situation.”

“Yes, Master.”

Elder Ji’s voice hardened. “She told us not to interfere in what happened a few years ago. So after she entered the industry, no one knew about our relationship. Now that I’m retired, I don’t care what outsiders say.”

“But your Junior Sister can’t swallow this grievance.” His hand tightened on the cane handle. “Even if she quits the industry, she should leave with her head held high. Those people can’t be allowed to fabricate things and slander her.”

Xie Yu Qian nodded once. “All right. I understand.”

Even if Elder Ji hadn’t said it, Xie Yu Qian had already decided he wouldn’t stand by this time.

Since Junior Sister was back, then some things needed to be taken back, too.

Old Madam Qian looked from Elder Ji to Xie Yu Qian, worry creeping into her eyes. “Old Ji… do you think it’s possible Xiao Qing Yan is truly exhausted by all the scheming? That she really wants to quit?”

“What she’s gone through these four years—ordinary people couldn’t bear it.”

Elder Ji turned his gaze to the window. The Capital rushed past in a blur of neon and headlights. Even as the night deepened and the city lights came on, the streets remained loud, restless, alive.

Over these four years, what had happened to Qiao Qing Yan had unfolded right in front of them—close enough to see, yet always out of reach. Back then, the two elders had assumed something unspeakable had happened to her, something that made her refuse to ask them for help.

Who would’ve thought it would keep escalating until it became…

They had tried again and again to reach her, only to be turned away by something unseen. Someone would always have an emergency. Or by the time they arrived, she would already be gone.

If not for the nomination at the Jin Ying Festival, it might’ve remained impossible to see her even once.

Old Madam Qian’s voice softened. “If she’s truly tired and just wants to rest, then let her rest. We’ll clean up the mess for her.”

Leaving that circle might even be a good thing. With Xiao Qing Yan’s ability, once she stepped away, she might finally have a stage wide enough for her to spread her wings.

Elder Ji didn’t answer right away. His eyes stayed on the passing lights, and when he finally spoke, it was a tired exhale.

“If only I hadn’t taken her as my final disciple back then.”

Old Madam Qian’s heart lurched. “Old Ji…”

“Then she wouldn’t have—”

“Master.” Xie Yu Qian’s voice cut in, steady and clear. “Even if you hadn’t taken Junior Sister as your disciple, if she wanted to enter the entertainment industry, she would’ve found a hundred ways to get in.”

Elder Ji’s jaw worked. He knew it. He had always known it. That girl—once she decided something, no one could pull her back.

Still, the grief lodged deep. He had watched that star ignite with his own eyes and rise high in the sky. And he had watched, with the same helpless clarity, as it slowly dimmed.

Old Madam Qian couldn’t stand the look on his face. She quietly pulled out her phone and sent a message.

*

Ding-dong.

In a dim room heavy with intimacy, a notification sound cut through the silence like a blade.

Under pale moonlight, two figures were tangled together on a spotless white bed. The graceful woman lay on top of the tall man, pinning him down as if she’d always belonged there.

One hand braced against his chest; the other pressed into the sheets beside him.

The air was thick with heat. The world beyond the room might as well have ceased to exist.