“Are you angry?” Bryce Shaw lifted her chin gently, tilting her face to meet his gaze.
Li Qiuchi’s fox-like eyes were deep and enchanting—a single look could steal one’s soul, even in silence.
Hearing his question, she gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “Why would I be angry? Even if President Shen got married tomorrow, I’d have no right to be upset.”
The truth was, they were worlds apart. He was the boss, and she was just a money-making asset—she didn’t even dare to imagine marriage.
Bryce Shaw’s face darkened. “Is that really how you see me?”
“Isn’t it?” Li Qiuchi forced a smile. “I’m just an actress. How could I ever dream of real affection?”
Bryce Shaw’s grip tightened on her chin. “So what if you’re an actress? Does that mean you’re not worthy of sincerity? In your eyes, is true feeling impossible?”
He was angry—not at her words, but that she always looked down on herself. In his heart, Li Qiuchi was the best woman there was, and he refused to let her demean herself.
Li Qiuchi was stunned, staring at him until her phone rang and snapped her out of it.
It was Rong-jie, her manager. Bryce Shaw released her and walked away.
Li Qiuchi answered the call.
“Feican is about to launch a new product, and they’d like you as their spokesperson. The brand’s pretty well-known—they usually hire foreign faces, and you’d be their first domestic ambassador.”
Rong-jie was calling to get her opinion on the offer.
Li Qiuchi trusted her manager—if Rong-jie thought the endorsement or a film role was good, she would always go for it.
“Mhm, you decide. I’m fine with whatever you think is best.” After hanging up, she glanced at Bryce Shaw. “Don’t let me keep you. I need to shoot a commercial this afternoon, anyway.”
Bryce Shaw had calmed down by now. “About earlier, I…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Li Qiuchi smiled, touching up her lipstick. “I know you were just caught up in the moment.”
“Qiuchi, marry me.”
The lipstick in her hand stilled for an instant. Recovering quickly, she offered a flawless smile. “Let’s not rush, okay? Once things settle down, we’ll talk.”
Once outside his office, though, her smile faded completely. She let out a long, weary sigh and left the building.
That afternoon, Lauren Shaw dropped by the studio to watch Li Qiuchi shoot her commercial. She had questions, but kept them to herself—Li Qiuchi was an A-list star, after all, and celebrities tended to be cautious about their relationships.
“Director Xue.”
Hearing a voice, Lauren Shaw looked up to see Mandy Snow heading her way, eyes locked onto her.
Lauren Shaw’s brow twitched. Her instincts told her this woman was up to no good.
“Designer Li, can we talk?”
“Director Xue, I really don’t think we have much to discuss.” Lauren Shaw smiled—but her eyes remained cold and guarded.
This woman was even more formidable than she’d expected—always elegant and composed, no matter the situation. Lauren Shaw felt she simply couldn’t play along with such hypocrisy; she’d rather avoid trouble than stir it up.
But Mandy Snow wouldn’t let it drop. "As the company’s design director, I wanted to discuss the press conference with you."
What press conference? More likely, she wanted to talk about Eva Snow. Lauren Shaw wasn’t about to fall for it.
When she didn’t react, Mandy Snow lowered her voice so only they could hear. “I know where Eva Snow is. I’m not here about her—I’m here on behalf of the Shen family. If you don’t want to see a feud between the Xue and Shen families, you’d better come with me.”
Lauren Shaw shot her a suspicious look but followed her into the corridor nonetheless.
“What are you trying to say? What’s this about the Xue and Shen families turning against each other? What’s it got to do with me?”
With no one else around, Mandy Snow’s expression turned sinister.
“Lauren Shaw, I’m honestly impressed—you managed to convince Yancy Shaw to risk offending the Snow family just to remove Eva Snow.”
“That’s only because Eva Snow went too far. She brought this upon herself. Funny how no one cared about that when she was after me.”
“So that’s why you sent her to Country F?” Mandy Snow shot back. She wouldn’t have dared say this to Yancy Shaw, but she wasn’t afraid to grill Lauren Shaw.
“What else could I have done? If you think there was a better option, you tell me.”
For a moment, Mandy Snow was speechless.
“Yancy Shaw warned her more than once. You can’t possibly say you didn’t know what she was up to? In fact, you encouraged her. Frankly, the Snow family shares the blame for her ending up like this.”
Lauren Shaw was nothing like before; she was sharp, her words icy and pointed.
“You keep targeting me because you think I’m easy to push around. But let me be clear—the fate of the Snow family has nothing to do with me. If you think you can threaten me with it, don’t waste your time.”
With that, Lauren Shaw turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Mandy Snow staring after her in shock. What surprised her most was that Lauren Shaw, in this moment, truly resembled Yancy Shaw.
After wrapping up the shoot, Lauren Shaw returned home, only to find that Yancy Shaw hadn’t arrived yet. She switched on the TV and drifted into a heavy sleep on the couch.
Ancheng First Hospital.
At 9:30 p.m., the doors to the operating room opened.
Vivian James rose from her seat and hurried over to Yancy Shaw, her eyes red from crying.
“Dr. Shen, how is he?”
Yancy Shaw pulled off his surgical mask. “The operation was a success.”
With those words, Vivian James could finally breathe. She sighed in relief, offering her heartfelt thanks to Yancy Shaw.
“You’re welcome,” Yancy Shaw replied coolly.
Standing beside Vivian James, Cindy Hunt kept silent. Next to her was an elderly couple—Toby Ward’s parents, by the looks of it.
Upon hearing the operation was a success, they rushed to thank Yancy Shaw for saving their son’s life.
After he left, Cindy Hunt scoffed under her breath, “He’s just a doctor. What’s with the attitude?”
Her words were quiet, but Vivian James caught them. Impatience sparked in her eyes as she snapped, "He saved Toby Ward’s life. Without him, Toby Ward might not have survived the operating table. How can you still talk like that? I can’t believe you’re my mother."
Cindy Hunt hadn’t expected her daughter to rebuke her over a grumbled comment. Was that really necessary?
“Fine, so now you’re joining outsiders to criticize me. Great. Just great!”
Vivian James turned away, refusing to acknowledge her mother anymore.