"Mr. Wu? You... " When faced with Wu Linzhi's unexpected scrutiny, An Qi felt uneasy.
She felt that celebrities like Wu Linzhi must have been accustomed to living in the spotlight. Hence, their every pore must be glowing, and they could not be afraid of being seen in public. But, An Qi was different. Although she was already a mother, she still felt like a little girl in her heart.
"Shh…" Wu Linzhi shushed her before she could finish talking. He placed his elongated index finger at the center of his lips and winked his right eye at her in a most charming way.
He felt that her face was far more tender and fair than any woman he'd ever seen. Even though Wu Linzhi was not An Qi's idol, she could feel her heart beating a little faster under his scrutiny. After all, he was a professional! As such, she could clearly imagine myriad innocent young girls falling for him.
After a while, Wu Linzhi asked, "An Qi... Are you the An Qi from C High School?"
An Qi had not heard of the place for many years. It was both Yu Hao's and her alma mater, the place where they first fell in love.
Since their separation, Dong Manman had carefully avoided mentioning the place to An Qi as much as possible. After all, she did not want to make An Qi sad.
Unexpectedly, Leng Jin had actually brought someone who had actually seen An Qi at C High School before! It was indeed a small world!
An Qi nodded her head, confirming the validity of his question. When he saw An Qi nod, Wu Linzhi smiled broadly. Leng Jin quickly captured the moment in a photo, pressing the shutter button with quick click.
"So… You've seen me there before?" An Qi asked.
Upon hearing her question, Wu Linzhi asked with a dejected look, "Don't you remember me?
An Qi looked a little awkward as she struggled to recall the face before her. Seeing that, Leng Jin put down his camera and tried to mediate the somewhat awkward situation.
"Actually, I'm quite puzzled that you don't recognize his face, An Qi! Since you were in Paris for so many years, I can understand why you don't know me. But… Linzhi's posters are hanging in the streets and alleys everywhere. The most famous one even won an award! In that specific poster, Linzhi's eyes looked very expressive and memorable. Don't you have any impression or recollection of that?" Leng Jin asked, while trying to possibly jog her memory.
"Err... I'm sorry. I may have been busy with Yufei and simply didn't notice the world around me!" An Qi gave a bitter laugh as she replied to Leng Jin.
"Well, that makes sense. Besides, you only had eyes for Yu Hao at that time anyway!" Wu Linzhi chimed in at that moment.
Oh my god! This good-looking guy actually knows Yu Hao, too! An Qi was stunned. This surprising piece of news made not only An Qi curious about his identity, but Dong Manman, too.
"Hey, I was a student at C High School, too. So, why do you only ask An Qi about it and not me? Is it because of my looks?" As she spoke, Dong Manman waved her fist in front of Wu Linzhi.
Wu Linzhi's charming eyes immediately flashed with sadness. He was not afraid that Dong Manman would beat him up or anything, but was instead worried that she would be like his other female fans, who secretly wished to knock him unconscious and carry him home as a prize!
"Hey, if you don't reply, then I'll have to take that as a yes! Well, you know that designers like us naturally age faster." Dong Manman searched for some excuse that would allow her to save face at the moment. After all, it was not easy for a woman to acknowledge that she was getting old, especially in the fashion world, which was so focused on looks.
"Manman, can you stop changing the subject and listen to what Mr. Wu is trying to say?" An Qi was really curious about this person now, so she wanted her friend to hush so that she could find out more about him!
If it had been anyone other than An Qi who had interrupted Dong Manman, Dong Manman would have gone up and scratched that person's face! However, Dong Manman chose to keep quiet out of respect and care for her friend.
"An Qi, I know you couldn't possibly remember me at all. After all, I didn't end up staying at C High School for more than a month. But, my time there was the happiest time of my life." As Wu Linzhi thought back to that time, he smiled. It was like his whole world had lit up in that moment.
Despite his words, An Qi could not help but still raak her brain to try to remember his. However, still failed to recall the presence of such a person around her back then. Logically, she should not have forgotten such a good-looking guy's face!
Seeing An Qi struggling to recall him still, Wu Linzhi sighed and said, "An Qi, you don't need to rack your brain. Maybe my original name, Wu Xian, will jog your memory?"
Wu Xian...
Wu Xian?
Wu Xian!
"Oh! You are Xiao Xixi!" After An Qi mulled the name over in her mind for a few moments, both she and Dong Manman shouted out in unison!
"I do remember this name, now that you mention it!" An Qi said.
Wu Linzhi smacked his lips helplessly, as if he had expected this result but did not wish to see it.
"Xiao Xi... What elixir did you take... Or... Did you perhaps go to some foreign country for plastic surgery? How can you look so different from back then?" Dong Manman pinched Wu Linzhi's face while she teased him. Since he was her old classmate, there was no need for her to be formal.
As Wu Linzhi was accustomed to this kind of public harassment, he simply ignored Dong Manman and turned address An Qi, saying, "An Qi, in fact, I made my most famous work, 'Finding The Girl In Memory,' in honor of you."
"Oh! Wow! Really? I'm truly honored..." An Qi tried to disguise her feelings by drinking a mouthful of water, but drank it too fast and almost spit it out!
Wu Linzhi handed her a towel. He was pleased to meet someone who was so genuine and could not be fake or easily hide her true feelings.
"An Qi, you don't have to feel guilty for not really ever talking to me back then," Wu Linzhi said. "At that time, I was short and not very fond of laughing. Also, as I had such a strange name, my being bullied was inevitable."
"Wu Xian, don't say things like that. Back then, I wanted to stand up for you, but Yu Hao kept me from doing so. Hence, I could only do my best by helping you with your homework after class. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to convince you to stay at our school in the end..." An Qi looked down, feeling regretful about the past.
It was certainly true that, in the past, everyone had looked up to Yu Hao, and it seemed that, because of this, many people were indirectly hurt…