The wealthy military officer spoils his wife excessively

Now it was Suwen's turn to be stunned. She opened the envelope and saw that it was an invitation to the Golden Eagle TV Festival. The TV series they had filmed before had been quite popular, and with Zhou Xiaochuan's recent car accident, the series had become a hot topic again, so she, as the second female lead, had also received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

But winning awards is just not for her. She never even won a box of tissues in a lottery when she was a kid, let alone a big prize like this. She'd probably just be there to make up the numbers.

"Can't we not go?" Suwen asked with a pained expression.

“Okay—” Xiao Ai drawled, “but once Ye Zi arrives in Shanghai, even a god won’t be able to save you, a man of such loyalty and affection.”

This girl holds a grudge and is subtly badmouthing her.

After tidying up, we got into the van and drove towards the hotel.

"This is your first time appearing at a formal awards ceremony in China. Even if you don't win any prestigious awards, you should still prepare well. When the trailer for Director Wei's new movie is released, you will definitely be one of the topics of conversation that night, even if you don't win an award."

For female celebrities, walking the red carpet is basically a major life event, just like getting married.

"What about the dress? Should we bother Brother Jia?" Considering Brother Feng's current situation, she really couldn't bear to trouble him with such a matter.

"No need for that. Sister Ye gave me the phone number of a designer in Shanghai, and she'd like you to visit him when you have time. And jewelry... Oh, didn't you become the spokesperson for Yan's Jewelry? They should be sponsoring it, right?"

Even after arriving at the hotel, Xiao Ai was still rambling on and on.

Suwen stood in front of the elevator and said goodbye to her: "Alright, I understand. These are special times these days. If any reporters come looking for you, remember to keep your mouth shut."

"I understand." Xiao Ai nodded and watched her get on the elevator.

Suwen was studying the invitation to the TV festival with her head down when she heard the elevator "ding" and stepped down. It wasn't until she was taking out her room card in front of her room that she noticed a pair of men's leather shoes under her gaze.

She gasped, her back stiffening in fright. Looking up, she saw Xue Shaofeng staring intently at her.

After a while, she looked back at the floor and then at the room number. She hadn't gone to the wrong room. Then, patting her pounding heart, she asked, "Brother Feng, why aren't you resting in your own room?"

Xue Shaofeng stared at her for a while, and seeing that her expression remained unchanged, but rather seemed somewhat disappointed, he simply and clearly said, "I came to see you."

Suwen felt embarrassed and said, "How long have you been here? Come in and sit down." She then took out her room card and opened the door.

Xue Shaofeng was invited into the room. Su Wen immediately noticed the newspapers that she had left scattered on the bed that morning. She quickly tidied them up, looking embarrassed.

Xue Shaofeng must have seen it, but he remained quite calm: "This kind of thing happened exactly as I expected."

He was clearly referring to these reports.

Suwen responded awkwardly and sat down on the edge of the bed, ready to listen.

“Ah Lin was the first woman I ever fell in love with.” Xue Shaofeng was even a little embarrassed. “It sounds like a fantasy. I only started dating a girl properly after meeting Ah Lin. I had no idea what to do when pursuing a girl or how to please her. We couldn’t make our relationship public, so we were always on edge, and there was a thrill of keeping it a secret. Looking back now, I think I was crazy back then.”

Xue Shaofeng was scouted and signed by a talent agent while still in school, and has been undergoing a closed-door artist training program ever since. Huayi Brothers also has many such trainees now, some starting as young as seven or eight, but not debuting until they are seventeen, eighteen, or even twenty. Artists raised in this environment typically have limited romantic lives and a naive attitude towards relationships; they tolerate rumors but cannot truly date.

Suwen felt a pang of sympathy: "I didn't have a first love either; I wasted my youth." Lu Zheng was the only bright spot in her bleak life.

However, Xue Shaofeng was lost in memories, his expression fluctuating, seemingly unable to pull himself away: "Back then, I was young and impetuous, a bit arrogant. I always felt I could give her everything she wanted, so when I won the first weight class award, I proposed to her. Ah Lin was wonderful; she gave up a lot for me, but all I could give her were flowers and a diamond ring. We even registered our marriage secretly in Las Vegas; no one knew she was my wife. After we got married, I continued making films to earn money, while she stayed home to manage the household. I thought we would be very happy, that when I could no longer act, we could walk hand in hand in the park like an ordinary couple. Until Ah Lin broke up with me..."

Su Wen raised an eyebrow: "Did she bring it up first?"

Xue Shaofeng nodded: "The period right after we got married was the rising period of my career. I was often traveling between the mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Later, I took on several films in mainland China and spent most of the year living there. At first, we would call each other every day. Later, when I was filming night scenes, I sometimes couldn't answer the phone in time or I was too tired to call her. She was understanding and told me that I could call her once a week from now on."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Later, the frequency dropped from weekly to monthly, or even only once every two or three months. We were never together, and when the phone connected, we didn't know what to say; it just felt awkward. I was exhausted from filming all day, so naturally I couldn't listen to what she and her girlfriends had been doing or what clothes they had bought. And after she retired, she didn't want to hear me talk about anything in the industry anymore; she was afraid she would feel resentful. This stalemate lasted for a while, and then we simply stopped calling each other. Our dependence on each other slowly disappeared. Sometimes, when I finally managed to go back to my home in Hong Kong, she wasn't home; she was with her girlfriends and didn't come home at night. I had no right to blame her because I was the one who was most often away from home. We became so distant that we couldn't even argue anymore. The last time we sat face to face together, I remember it clearly, was this year's Valentine's Day. I was filming out of town and thought I wouldn't be able to make it back, but the whole crew stayed with me for three days to finish filming, and finally, I managed to find some time that day to fly back to Hong Kong."

His memories stopped there. He had a gut feeling the story behind it wasn't some romantic tale, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. It was best to avoid rubbing salt in the wound. When she finally looked up, she realized Xue Shaofeng had been watching her intently in the shadows.

Suwen rarely opened the curtains in her room; perhaps this is a habit common to celebrities, who are always afraid of a camera peeking out from somewhere. Therefore, the room was dark even during the day, with dim, indistinct light faintly outlining her features.

Xue Shaofeng's voice stopped so precisely at the right moment, yet so inappropriately. The two looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

Suwen changed the subject, got up to pour him a glass of water and handed it to him: "Have a glass of water, moisten your throat before we talk."

Xue Shaofeng remained silent, clenching the cup in his hand, his gaze fixed on the water inside.

Champagne, fine wine, flowers, and candlelight—it all seems like yesterday. The scenes from that night are still vivid in my mind.

He thought it was a surprise his wife was planning for him, until he saw the man sitting at the other end of the table.

That feeling… he still finds it hard to describe. It wasn't an incredulous shock or pain, just a calm contemplation, finally…

Yes, not originally, but finally.

It was as if all of this was bound to happen sooner or later, and he had finally waited for it.

He didn't let go of the suitcase, didn't say a word, and went out again with the suitcase. Then he flew back to the mainland the next day to continue filming.

On set, he remained unchanged, still the "workaholic" everyone knew. If he didn't like a scene, he could reshoot it a dozen times without getting tired. Until filming wrapped, he never returned to Hong Kong or called home once. Even the divorce papers were sent from there; he simply signed them and handed them to his assistant.

What would be a devastating divorce for others was like an intravenous injection for him. There was only a slight sting when the needle first went in, followed by a cool sensation that seeped into his veins. The coolness was gradual, so much so that it wasn't until much later, at a wrap party on set, when he got drunk, that he truly felt the pain for the first time.

That day marked his second consecutive win of the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor, and the film crew and company prepared a surprise celebration banquet for him. Amidst the blessings of confetti cannons, flowers, and champagne, his phone suddenly rang.

That was the first time Daisy had contacted him since the divorce.

The text message was very simple, just six words: I'm sorry. Congratulations.

The few words were their only contact during the months they had been separated.

Love is not complicated; it boils down to just three words: I love you, I hate you, let's call it quits, how are you, I'm sorry.

A relationship he thought would last a lifetime ended so abruptly; anyone would feel sad. But the sadness came too slowly; by the time it subsided, it was too late. So he woke up, and the next day continued. He didn't even ask her who that man was, how they met, or how many people knew about it. Besides their parents, agents, and assistants, very few people knew anything about it.

Life goes on, and he remains the ideal idol in the eyes of countless young girls.

He and Dai Lin broke up amicably; their marriage and divorce were both kept quiet. Later, he simply moved to mainland China to develop his career, so no one suspected anything.

Until a month ago, he learned through her agent that Dailin was actively preparing for a comeback. When the agent told him this, she seemed cryptic; after all, Dailin hadn't appeared in the entertainment industry for three or four years—in short, a has-been. To make a comeback, she would likely have to rely on her ex-husband's name. He didn't care much at the time; even if they couldn't be husband and wife, they could still be friends. If she really needed his help, he would do his duty—simply out of friendship.

However, Dailin insisted on joining Huayi Brothers and developing her career in mainland China. The company has a fixed process for signing people through agents and the contract department, and he had no right to interfere. Even when Dailin chased him to Shanghai, he still said the same thing: "I'm sorry, I can't help you."