Not far away, a woman dressed in a dark blue one-shoulder cocktail dress, wearing white pointed stilettos, walked over slowly.
The seductive blue set off her fair skin, making it even more delicate and luminous. The exquisite makeup was just right, making every look and smile irresistibly charming.
It could be said that her appearance made countless men on site stop their tasks at hand. And her, as if unaware, was only busy greeting Sister Chen.
Such handling of the situation won Sister Chen's favor just right.
Indeed, not long ago, Sister Chen, who stood proudly among the staff with a leader's posture, had already taken the initiative to walk towards her: "Xuan Ling, you've arrived just in time. I heard you're from Beiling, so I specifically found an assistant for you who is also from Beiling!"
"Also from Beiling?" Upon hearing Sister Chen's introduction, the woman whose gaze had been gentle suddenly turned cold.
The sudden change puzzled Sister Chen: "Hmm, is there a problem?"
"No... I wanted to say, Sister Chen is so thoughtful!" The woman's expressions could change in the blink of an eye. In one second, her demeanor was as cold as frost. In the next, a warm smile graced her face again, filled with tender emotions.
Even Sister Chen, who had been in the entertainment industry for many years, felt that Xuan Ling's coldness might have been her own illusion...
After patting the back of her hand apologetically, Sister Chen said, "You've come at the perfect time, your assistant is right here! Let me introduce you..."
"Sure!" The glamorous woman nodded obediently.
But the next second, the smile she had carefully maintained stiffened. Only because she heard the name she least wanted to hear.
"Keren, come here for a moment!" Sister Chen called out this name, Xuan Ling was startled. Then, even the elaborate makeup couldn't hide the instant pallor of her face.
Because, at Sister Chen's casual summons, a girl wearing a white blouse and blue jeans walked slowly towards them.
"Sister Chen..."
In response to the girl's greeting, Sister Chen simply nodded and then introduced her to the beautiful woman beside her: "Xuan Ling, this is Keren, your assistant!"
But neither of them seemed to hear Sister Chen's introduction. They just stared at each other, their gazes odd.
"Say hello to each other!" Sister Chen urged, noticing the situation.
Especially on Xuan Ling's part.
"Xuan Ling, what's wrong? Say hello quickly." In Sister Chen's mind, Xuan Ling was not only beautiful but also very tactful in speaking and handling matters.
Otherwise, Ceng Shixin, the head of Yushan Media, wouldn't have taken a keen interest in her and claimed he would make her China's number one actress.
For this reason, Xuan Ling was the actress at Yushan Media most likely to become top-tier. Her status there was somewhat special; most people had to curry favor with her.
This was also one of the reasons why Sister Chen considered using someone from her hometown when arranging an assistant for her.
But Xuan Ling, who Sister Chen saw as very tactful, today couldn't react for quite a while.
Only because Mu Keren, standing in front of her, had witnessed the most disheveled period of Xuan Ling's life. And those were precisely the past Xuan Ling, now a contracted artist, wished most to bury.
Furthermore, there was another point, involving both Xuan Ling and Mu Keren with Nanling State's Vice Governor, La Chuan.
As long as La Chuan didn't break up with Mu Keren, Xuan Ling could only be their third party. Such a role was the last thing a public figure would wish for. One misstep could potentially ruin her entire career path.
And now, Mu Keren had suddenly appeared in Nanling State, and even in the media company she had signed with. Especially the way Mu Keren looked at her, the usual intimacy was gone.
All of this worried Xuan Ling. Could it be that Mu Keren already knew about her affair with La Chuan?
If it had been anywhere else, Xuan Ling would have not been afraid of Mu Keren knowing and looking at her with that kind of gaze. But not here!
This was the talent agency she had signed with; they were planning to build her up as a pure and innocent screen goddess! If the animosity and history with Mu Keren were exposed here, she feared...
At this moment, the only thing Xuan Ling could do was to wait for Mu Keren to speak first. After all, no movement from the enemy, no movement from me!
Xuan Ling could keep her composure, but Sister Chen couldn't.
"Keren, say hello." Since Xuan Ling was not planning to initiate the conversation, it had to start with Mu Keren.
To Sister Chen's expectation, urged by her, Mu Keren indeed spoke first.
But the first sentence she said made Sister Chen freeze.
"Xuan Ling, I didn't expect it to really be you..."
"Oh, so you two actually know each other? Just now Keren was saying how this actress looked like someone she knew!" Sister Chen teased after hearing Mu Keren's remark.
"Yes, Keren, come to think of it, we haven't seen each other for quite a while!" Sister Chen's comment had Xuan Ling clenching the hand resting on her thigh into a fist, but in the presence of Sister Chen, she couldn't display all her emotions.
"You came to Nanling State, why didn't you let me know so I could pick you up at the airport!" Maintaining a superficial smile, she stepped forward and took Mu Keren's hand. The intimate gesture made people think their relationship was good.
In fact, their relationship was indeed good. But that was only in the past!
"Notify you? Then, wouldn't I have missed seeing your true face?" Seeing the hand covering her own, Mu Keren almost instinctively pulled away.
Xuan Ling's approachability and Mu Keren's withdrawal were nothing short of a dramatic turn of events. As a result, they became the center of attention for those around them.
"Keren, you really love to joke!" Xuan Ling could naturally hear the hidden meaning in Mu Keren's words, but with so many people around, she couldn't admit the truth and destroy her own future, could she?
After saying that, she didn't wait for Mu Keren to react and said to Sister Chen, "Sister Chen, I don't have a shooting task this morning, so can I leave the company for a bit? Keren is a good friend of mine from Beiling, and it's not often she comes here. I want to take her out for a bit!"
Xuan Ling's respect for Sister Chen instantly won her favor.
So on this matter, Sister Chen did not make it difficult for her: "Go ahead, but be careful!"
With Sister Chen's approval, Xuan Ling quickly dragged Mu Keren out of the Yushan Media building.
However, Xuan Ling did not take Mu Keren out for a walk as she had said, but instead pulled her into a coffee shop.
Once seated, she offered with a smile, "Keren, how about a cappuccino? I remember it's your favorite coffee!"
But the warm face was still met with the cold butt.
"Having coffee with someone like you, I'm afraid I'd be disgusted." Since the meeting until now, Mu Keren's gaze towards her was utterly cold.
This reaction made Xuan Ling inwardly panic. But to maintain a semblance of calm on the surface, she could only keep her composure, "Keren, what's wrong with me? We used to be close, didn't we?"
Hearing this, Mu Keren lifted the corners of her lips in a self-mocking curve, "Yes, I used to be really close with someone like you! Don't blame you, blame myself! Blame my naïveté for not knowing a person from a dog..."