Shocking! The actress was dragged to the regent's bedchamber every night.

When checking out, the clerk packed the pajamas and underwear separately into clean paper bags.

As I walked out of the shop carrying the bag, Wen Yan was still chattering on about some gossip she had recently heard about a certain director.

Su Wuli agreed, but her thoughts were wandering.

"We've finally managed to get out of the house, let's go get a coffee," Wen Yan suggested.

"Okay, sure." Su Wuli nodded in agreement, pulling herself out of her thoughts.

The afternoon sun shone through the coffee shop's glass windows.

Su Wuli sat on the sofa, sipping her coffee.

Wen Yan sat opposite her, smiling as she showed her a video on her phone.

"Look how silly it is."

On the screen is a fluffy little dog rolling around in a ball.

Su Wuli glanced at it and nodded with a smile, "You seem to have gained weight."

"That's not true at all." Wen Yan talked about her dog non-stop, "In the past few months on set, everyone has been feeding it from time to time. I've lost weight, but it's gotten fatter."

Upon hearing this, Su Wuli couldn't help but laugh.

Just then, the wind chimes at the entrance of the coffee shop rang out crisply.

Su Wuli subconsciously looked up.

The next second, his body tensed up almost imperceptibly, and his fingertips resting on the cup suddenly tightened.

All of my senses went off in an instant.

She lowered her head, trying to make herself less noticeable.

The coffee shop was nearly empty, so she and Wen Yan deliberately chose a corner seat.

"Oh, who do we have here? They look so familiar."

A woman's voice, tinged with exaggerated surprise, suddenly rang out, drawing the attention of everyone else in the store.

Su Wuli's breath caught in her throat.

Sitting across from her, Wen Yan's words became muffled and indistinct; she couldn't hear a word she was saying.

The voice, tinged with laughter, pierced through with unparalleled clarity.

"Su Wuli? It really is you." The voice grew closer, accompanied by the clattering sound of high heels on the floor.

"It looks like him from a distance, but I never expected it to be our big star classmate."

Upon hearing this, Su Wuli had no choice but to look up.

Three stylishly dressed young women walked towards us; the one in the lead was named Zhou Ruoying.

She wore trendy makeup, a new seasonal dress, and carried a designer handbag.

A warm smile graced his face.

Those slightly upturned eyes held a hint of superiority.

Su Wuli recognized the two people next to her; they were always by Zhou Ruoying's side back then.

At that moment, their gazes swept directly across her face.

Su Wuli saw the other person's lips curl into a half-smile, and her hand clenched unconsciously.

Sitting opposite her, Wen Yan realized what was happening, her voice filled with obvious surprise and a hint of displeasure at being disturbed.

"May I ask who you are?"

"Oh, we're high school classmates from Wuli." Zhou Ruoying immediately turned to Wen Yan with a bright smile, her tone warm.

"It's been so many years since we last met. I never expected to run into you here. What a coincidence!"

As she spoke, her gaze returned to Su Wuli.

"Wuli, you're really something now. You can see us on TV and on your phone. Our old classmates are all saying they're so happy for you."

As Su Wuli listened to her sincere tone, which sounded as if they were close old friends, her nails dug slightly into her flesh.

My throat felt like something was blocking it; it was dry and painful.

She tried to twitch the corners of her mouth and respond with even a perfunctory smile, but her facial muscles were too stiff to obey her commands.

He could only nod very slightly and utter a soft reply, "Mm."

"Wu Li is still the same... not very talkative." The woman with wavy hair next to Zhou Ruoying said with a smile.

"That's called being low-key, you know?" another short-haired woman immediately chimed in, with a hint of teasing, "Unlike us, so loud and boisterous."

Su Wuli listened to their conversation without showing any expression.

Zhou Ruoying chuckled twice, then her eyes lit up.

"I was so busy talking that I had to take a picture with her since it's such a rare opportunity. That way, I'll have proof when I tell people I'm classmates with the big star Su Wuli, right?"

As she spoke, she very naturally took out her phone from her bag and turned on the front-facing camera.

Su Wuli watched as the other person's body leaned towards her very naturally.

With his arm outstretched, as if searching for the right angle, he said, "Come on, look at the camera! Miss Wen, come along too! It's such a rare chance to run into two big stars."

The sudden and overly familiar actions left Su Wuli completely stunned.

A group photo? With them?

She wanted to refuse, to say no.

But Zhou Ruoying held up her phone with a warm smile on her face.

Under the watchful eyes of many people, several people secretly took out their phones to take pictures.

Under such circumstances, it would be impossible to refuse a seemingly reasonable and enthusiastic suggestion from an old classmate.

Su Wuli could only manage an extremely forced smile.

Although Wen Yan felt it was a bit abrupt, she moved closer to cooperate.

"Wu Li, smile a little. Are you unhappy to see your old classmates?"

Zhou Ruoying held up her phone, adjusted the angle, and urged him affectionately.

"Look here, look here... one, two, three..."

Click.

"Alright, alright." Zhou Ruoying looked at her phone screen with satisfaction.

Then her fingers flew across the keyboard, "I'll post it in the class group so everyone can be envious. Don't worry, Wuli, I'll definitely take a beautiful picture of you."

Su Wuli did not respond upon hearing this.

Zhou Ruoying's gaze lingered on the screen for a moment before she looked up at it.

Her smile deepened. "By the way, the class monitor is organizing a reunion next week, and everyone's been clamoring to see you. We have photos to prove it, so you absolutely have to come, or everyone'll say I lied."

A class reunion?

Su Wuli's heart sank suddenly.

"My work schedule is quite full, so I might..." she instinctively began to refuse.

"No matter how busy you are, you have to make time. Everyone's looking forward to it, so it's settled."

Zhou Ruoying made the decision without giving a chance to argue, and then waved her phone.

"I've posted the photos in the group to let everyone know you agreed to go, so we won't bother you any longer. Remember to keep in touch, Wuli, bye-bye."

She waved and, with her two companions, turned and left, satisfied.

The air around her seemed to start flowing again, but Su Wuli felt a sense of suffocation.

"Them..." Wen Yan frowned even more as she watched the three figures leave.

She clearly sensed that something was wrong with Su Wuli. "Why do your classmates seem a bit..."

She carefully chose her words, "Was that too enthusiastic?"

Su Wuli lowered her eyes slightly, shook her head, and spoke in a low, hoarse voice.

"...Yes, he's a classmate, but we're not very close."

She finished speaking and looked at the latte in front of her, which had long since gone cold.

The milk foam had completely dissipated, and the surface of the brown liquid was calm and still.

Su Wuli tried her best to put those emotions aside.

Back in the apartment, I washed all the new pajamas and underwear I had bought.

The weather was nice, and most of the clothes were dry by evening.

Su Wuli changed into a set of light gray pure cotton pajamas.

Her phone screen lit up just before she went to sleep; it was a message from Zhou Wenyan.

How do the new pajamas look on me? Quickly post a photo of yourself practicing health and wellness to prove your innocence.

Su Wuli looked at the screen, paused, and typed a reply.

[Fully armed, I feel like I can enter Zen mode immediately.]

After hanging up the phone, she went to sleep with a feeling of unease.

The jade Buddha objects that were obtained through begging had absolutely no effect on Yu Chen.

And she can't stay awake forever...

She instinctively pulled her pajamas tighter around herself.

I don't know how much time passed, but a rusty, fishy smell suddenly choked me.

As her consciousness began to clear, Su Wuli slowly opened her eyes and found herself next to a screen in the inner room.

The screen wasn't closed properly, leaving a gap.

The moonlight sliced ​​a spot of light across the ground.

At the edge of the light spot, a pool of almost black liquid was silently spreading.

Upon recognizing what it was, her breathing suddenly stopped.