Huayu: Starting with Hextech

Beijing, Sanlitun

Liu Shishi sat in a corner of a coffee shop, with a latte that had gone cold in front of her.

She stared at her phone screen, which displayed the WeChat message she had just sent to Yang Mi:

"Mimi, let's meet. I have something I want to tell you."

The message shows as read, but ten minutes have passed without a reply.

The afternoon sunlight outside the window was dazzling, shining through the French windows onto the table and reflecting her pale fingers.

The café wasn't crowded; there were only a few young people with laptops and a couple talking quietly.

The background music was laid-back jazz, which should have been relaxing, but instead it only made Liu Shishi more anxious.

My phone finally vibrated.

Yang Mi: "Where are you?"

Liu Shishi immediately sent the location.

Twenty minutes later, the door to the café was pushed open, and the wind chimes tinkled.

Yang Mi walked in.

She was dressed casually today—a black short-sleeved T-shirt, ripped jeans, a baseball cap, and a mask—but her signature fox-like eyes and the swaying aura she exuded when she walked still caught the attention of the barista behind the counter.

She sat down opposite Liu Shishi, took off her mask and hat, revealing her bright and delicate face.

But today, there was no smile on that face as usual, only a faint, almost scrutinizing calm.

"What's the rush?" Yang Mi asked, her voice devoid of emotion.

Liu Shishi bit her lip, gripping the coffee cup tightly with both hands. The cup was so cold that her fingertips turned white.

"I..." She took a deep breath, "I sent Lin Xiao a text message."

Yang Mi raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly: "What text message?"

"I meant to send it to you, but I sent it to the wrong person." Liu Shishi's voice was very soft. "I mean... I think I've really fallen for him."

The air was still for a few seconds.

Yang Mi stared at her, her eyes deep, as deep as an ancient well, making it impossible to tell what was churning beneath.

"So?" Yang Mi finally spoke, her tone flat. "Are you here to brag to me, or to apologize?"

"No, that's not it." Liu Shishi shook her head. "I'm here to confess."

She looked up and met Yang Mi's gaze:

"Honey, I like Lin Xiao. I've liked him since 'Chinese Paladin 3'. I know he has Tang Yan, and I know you two... have a very good relationship. But I can't control myself."

She spoke slowly, but every word was clear:

"During the three months of filming 'Scarlet Heart,' the feeling between me and him... grew stronger and stronger. I tried to restrain myself and keep my distance, but I couldn't."

Yang Mi didn't say anything, but simply picked up the iced Americano that the waiter had just brought and took a sip.

Her fingers were steady, but Liu Shishi noticed that her knuckles, which were gripping the cup, were slightly white.

"So," Yang Mi put down her cup and looked at her, "you called me here today because you want me to keep your secret, or because you want me... to back out?"

The question was so direct that Liu Shishi was stunned.

She hadn't thought about any of that.

She just felt that, as her best friend, she should be honest with her.

As women who have fallen for the same man, they need an honest conversation.

"I didn't mean for you to back out," Liu Shishi said softly. "And I have no right to ask you to keep it a secret. I just... don't want to hide it from you anymore."

Yang Mi smiled.

The smile was faint and cold, carrying a sense of detachment that Liu Shishi had never seen before.

"Shishi, you know what," she leaned back in her chair, her gaze drifting out the window, "I actually noticed it a long time ago. Ever since 'Chinese Paladin 3,' the way you looked at Lin Xiao was off. Later, when I visited him on set in Hengdian, the way he was filming... that focus, that undisguised radiance, it's something you wouldn't expect from an ordinary friend."

She turned back and looked at Liu Shishi:

"I just didn't expect you to actually dare to say it."

"Why don't you dare?" Liu Shishi asked. "Is it wrong to like someone?"

"That's right." Yang Mi shook her head, "But liking someone who already has a girlfriend, especially your best friend's boyfriend... that's a problem."

That's a very strong statement.

Liu Shishi's face paled even more.

"I know this is wrong," she said, lowering her head, "but I can't control my heart."

"Have you thought about Tang Yan?" Yang Mi pressed. "She's our best friend. What would she think if she knew you'd fallen for her boyfriend?"

Liu Shishi had thought about this question countless times.

Each time, the answer broke her heart.

"I don't know," she said honestly, "but I don't want to hide it from her. I don't want to be her best friend while secretly eyeing her boyfriend."

"So you're going to tell her?" Yang Mi's eyes sharpened.

"I haven't decided yet," Liu Shishi shook her head, "but at least... I don't want to hide it from you anymore."

The two fell silent again.

The jazz music in the café changed to the classic "Fly Me to the Moon".

A languid female voice flowed through the air, but it couldn't soothe the tense atmosphere.

After a long silence, Yang Mi suddenly spoke:

"Shishi, do you think Lin Xiao likes you?"

Liu Shishi's heart skipped a beat.

She remembered the text message that was sent by mistake, that Lin Xiao might have already seen the sentence "I think I really have fallen for him", that he looked so painful and drunk on the night of the wrap party, and that he said, "The three of you... I think I can't let go of any of you."

"I don't know," she finally said. "Sometimes I feel like he has feelings for me, and sometimes I feel... it's just an extension of the emotions in the play."

"Can you tell the difference between on-screen and off-screen?" Yang Mi pressed.

This problem is fatal.

Liu Shishi recalled the private kiss after the kissing scene, the warmth of their intertwined fingers in the darkness, and the eager look in his eyes when he chased her to the dressing room.

Can she tell the difference?

she does not know.

"I can't tell the difference," she honestly admitted, "which is why I'm in so much pain."

Yang Mi looked at her with a complicated expression.

There was sympathy, understanding, helplessness, and a trace of something... that Liu Shishi couldn't understand.

"Shishi," Yang Mi's voice suddenly softened, "Take my advice and settle down. Lin Xiao isn't right for you."

Why?

"Because he has too many people in his heart," Yang Mi said. "Tang Yan, you, me... and maybe even others. He's too greedy and too cowardly. He wants them all, but he can't promise any of them."

That's a very insightful point.

Liu Shishi recalled the night of the wrap party when Lin Xiao said, "The three of you... I feel like I can't let go of any of you."

He was indeed greedy.

And indeed, he was cowardly.

"And what about you?" Liu Shishi suddenly asked, "Mimi, what are your feelings for Lin Xiao...?"

The air froze again.

Yang Mi's eyes flickered for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Me?" She laughed, a self-deprecating laugh. "I just see him as a friend, a business partner. At most... I have a little crush on him, but it's not to the point where I can't live without him."

That's said very casually.

But Liu Shishi didn't believe it.

She recalled the way Yang Mi looked at Lin Xiao when she visited him on set in Hengdian. The undisguised possessiveness and provocation were definitely more than just "a little bit of affection".

But she didn't expose it.

Some things are better left unsaid.

"So," Yang Mi leaned forward, looking at her, "what are you planning to do? Continue to like him, or try to let go?"

Liu Shishi remained silent for a long time.

The coffee had gone completely cold by the time it was ready, and the sunlight outside the window began to slant westward.

"I don't know," she finally said, "but I'll try... to keep my distance."

"What about Tang Yan?" Yang Mi asked again, "Are you going to tell her?"

This time, Liu Shishi answered very firmly:

"No."

She looked at Yang Mi, her eyes clear:

"It's my business that I like Lin Xiao. But I won't try to ruin their relationship. If they can be happy, I'll wish them well. If they break up... it won't be because of me."

That's a very polite way of putting it.

But Yang Mi understood the subtext—she was waiting.

Wait until Lin Xiao and Tang Yan break up, until the day she can stand openly by his side.

"Okay." Yang Mi nodded. "Then let's pretend we never met today and never said these things."

She stood up and put her mask and hat back on.

"Shishi, remember what you said today. Don't do anything you'll regret, and don't... hurt Tangtang."

After saying that, she turned and left.

The wind chimes tinkled again.

Liu Shishi sat alone, watching Yang Mi's figure disappear outside the door.

She picked up her phone and opened the chat window with Yang Mi.

The last message she sent was still the same one: "I have something to tell you."

The question Yang Mi had just asked her kept echoing in her mind:

"Does Tangtang know?"

She replied, "I don't know, but I don't want to hide it anymore."

But in reality, she still kept it a secret.

She didn't mention Tang Yan at all.

It's not that I'm afraid, it's that I can't bear to.

That innocent and kind girl, who was devoted to Lin Xiao, shouldn't have to suffer this kind of harm.

Liu Shishi put down her phone, picked up her now-cold coffee, and took a sip.

very bitter.

Her suffering mirrored her current state of mind.

Outside the window, dusk descends upon Beijing, and the sky is dyed orange-red.

It was beautiful, but its beauty was fleeting.

Like some relationships that should never have started.

Its brilliance lasts only a moment, and will eventually fade away.