After saying goodbye to Agent Li (Li Zhenwei) and Fang Xiaocheng, Muyao settled into her new celebrity trailer. As the driver arranged by Xia Xuexing slowly drove them out of the audition studio toward the Lin manor, the car was unusually quiet. Muyao stared out the window, watching the city blur past, her thoughts tangled between excitement and exhaustion. The audition had gone better than she had expected, but the weight of the day still pressed heavily against her chest.
In moments like this, when the world was silent around her, Muyao's mind often drifted back to what had happened nearly two years ago—when Lu Luoli had suddenly passed away.
It's been almost two years now, Luoli. Have you been well in the other world? I miss you so much… Why haven't you come to my dreams and met me? she thought, her heart tightening with longing
The city lights streaked past, casting fleeting shadows across her face. Muyao pulled her phone from her bag and unlocked it, then opened a gallery app she had downloaded specifically to hold memories of her and Luoli. Inside were photos—moments captured just for her to revisit: laughing on the rooftop of their school, sharing ice cream at their favorite café, shadows of them standing under the glow of streetlights after self-study in high school, going on vacations together, and countless lazy afternoon selfies. Each image felt like a delicate fragment of a world she could return to anytime, a private space dedicated solely to their memories.
As she scrolled through more photos, tears slowly slipped onto her phone. Muyao didn't even realize she was crying until her vision blurred. She wanted to cry out loud, but the quiet of her celebrity trailer—and the thought of her family worrying—kept her silent. Each photo of Luoli—the laughter, the secrets they both shared, the quiet afternoons—pressed on her heart, a private ache she carried alone as the city lights streaked past.
Lin Muyao's personal driver, Chen Wei, kept his eyes on the small screen embedded in the rearview mirror—a live feed from the trailer's interior camera. He saw Muyao curled slightly in her seat, clutching her phone tightly as silent tears streaked down her face. Chen Wei's grip on the wheel tightened, and he let out a soft, restrained sigh, but he didn't speak. He had been Muyao's father's driver for over fifteen years and had watched over her as she grew up. He knew the transformation she had undergone—from the lively, cheerful girl she once was to someone who had closed her heart after Lu Luoli's death. Seeing her like this now, the weight of her sorrow tore at him. He had tried to help Muyao move on from Lu Luoli's passing, and though she had agreed in words, he knew deep down that she never truly had.
Chen Wei kept the car moving steadily through the quiet streets, the hum of the engine filling the space between them. He stole glances at the monitor, watching Muyao wipe at her tears and press her phone to her chest as if her phone were everything to her.
He remembered the vibrant, energetic girl she had been—laughing freely, dragging him along on countless adventures, never afraid to speak her mind. And now… this quiet, fragile version of her haunted him. He knew the audition had gone well, that it was supposed to be a step forward, but the grief she carried didn't vanish with applause or praise.
Chen Wei sighed softly again, more heavily this time, and murmured under his breath, "Little Miss… You don't have to bear it all alone."
But Muyao didn't hear him. Her gaze remained fixed on the blur of night scenery passing by—the glowing streetlights, the distant silhouettes of buildings, and the faint reflection of her own tear-streaked face in the window. Her shoulders trembled ever so slightly as she wiped the tears from her cheeks, only for more to gather and fall.
The phone in her hands was still lit with the photo she had paused on—she and Luoli smiling under a golden sunset, their shadows stretched long behind them. A moment so warm it felt unreal now. A moment so distant it hurt just to look at.
Luoluo… would you hate me if you saw me entering the entertainment industry? Did you see it? I actually got a supporting role in Director Zhang's script. If you were still alive… you'd be proud of me, right? You always said I was born for the entertainment industry because my acting came naturally.
Her fingers tightened around her phone.
It's been almost two years since you left… and it still feels unreal. Everyone tells me to move on, to keep living, but it's so incredibly hard. I know everyone worries, so I pretend I've gotten over your death and even try to hypnotize myself into forgetting that you're gone. Isn't that ironic? How could I ever forget you?
Our moms met at the same postpartum care center, and that's how we first met. We grew up together, got into trouble together, did everything together… How could you just leave me alone in this world? I miss you so much… Why haven't you come into my dreams even once? Just once… let me see you again.
Lin Muyao cried harder, silently.
Muyao thought back to the last time she had seen Luoli. It was during a break after filming a movie. They went to their favorite café, sharing ice cream like they always had, laughing and catching up on the latest happenings in their lives. Later, they had a sleepover at the Lin villa, staying up all night watching movies and gossiping about the latest news in the entertainment industry.
She never told her family why she suspected Luoli hadn't actually died by suicide. The day before Luoli's death, they had spoken on the phone—Luoli had promised she would come to Muyao's birthday the following month. Luoli always kept her promises. But when Luoli passed away, there was no record of that final call anywhere. That inconsistency gnawed at Muyao's mind, a shadow she kept hidden from everyone, even her own family.
She knew her family would help her if she told them—but everything shattered when the Lu family suddenly went bankrupt. That news broke the last bit of hope she had been clinging to. Muyao knew, deep in her bones, that the same person who caused Luoli's death was behind the Lu family's downfall as well.
When the Lu family collapsed, it felt like someone had taken a knife and carved the remaining light out of her world. The final thread she'd been desperately holding onto snapped.
That night, Muyao had wanted to die. Hopeless. Directionless. Unable to ask anyone for help, unable to explain the truth she herself could barely grasp.
She had stood on the edge of her memories and grief, drowning silently while the world around her kept moving forward.
But fortunately, her parents and siblings had been keeping a close eye on her during that time. So when Muyao attempted suicide for the first time, they were able to rush her to the hospital just in time.
After Muyao's first suicide attempt, the entire Lin family—and even the Xia family—began watching over her around the clock. Someone was always with her, day and night. But even with constant supervision, Muyao still attempted suicide a second time. That time, she remained in the hospital for a full month.
After the second incident, her parents wanted to send her abroad to study, hoping a change of environment would help her heal. But Muyao refused. She promised them—swore to them—that she would never attempt suicide again. In the end, her parents relented and chose to believe her.
But within just two months… it happened again.
The third attempt was the most severe. Muyao stayed in the hospital for three months. On the day she woke up, Xia Xuexing—who had never once raised her hand against Muyao—slapped her for the first time in her life. Tears streamed down her face as she grabbed Muyao's shoulders, screaming in anguish, asking why she had broken her promise, why she had chosen to leave them even when the entire family was holding on to her so tightly.
Xuexing sobbed uncontrollably as she told Muyao how terrified everyone had been, how they stayed awake night after night worrying if they would lose her. She begged Muyao to stop shutting them out, to stop hurting herself, to face the truth instead of running from it—and to not let both families lose a child they loved so deeply.
As Muyao drifted deeper into her memories—those bright days with Luoli that now felt like a past life—Chen Wei carefully steered the celebrity trailer through the quiet night. The road gradually widened, the city lights fading behind them as they approached the outskirts.
A few minutes later, the familiar gates of the Lin family manor came into view—an elegant estate where Muyao's grandparents had settled after retiring. The security guards recognized the vehicle immediately, opening the gates without hesitation.
Chen Wei slowed the car further as they entered the peaceful grounds. The warm lights of the manor glowed from a distance, soft and steady, like a beacon waiting for its lost child to return home.
Inside the trailer, Muyao wiped her tears with the back of her hand, unaware that her destination was only moments away. The memories still clung to her—Luoli's laughter, their last phone call, the warmth that had vanished from her world in an instant.
Chen Wei cast one more glance at the monitor, his chest tightening at the sight of her red eyes and trembling breaths. But he said nothing. Instead, he guided the vehicle gently toward the front entrance, where someone already seemed to be waiting.