Chapter 60

The barbecue restaurant was located near a film set, specifically an area commonly used as a filming location for historical dramas. Not only the crew of "The Tide Decree" was shooting around here.

The person who approached wore exquisite makeup, with a red floral pattern painted on her forehead. She was dressed in casual clothes, yet it was still obvious that she had just stepped off a set.

A few people at the table recognized Cen Meng.

The public storm between Ning Yuxuan and Cen Meng on Weibo had been a massive spectacle back then, and gossip among insiders spread even faster than among internet users. Naturally, they had all caught wind of it.

Everyone exchanged glances, guessing that the newcomer meant trouble, and kept quiet.

"Yuxuan," Cen Meng said with a smile on her face. "It's been a while. There are too many people here; would it be convenient to step aside for a chat?"

The curve of Cen Meng's smile was no different from before, but after suffering such a heavy blow, even while forcing herself to put on a bold front, she lacked her former radiance.

However, since she dared to come over and strike up a conversation with an "old acquaintance," she had naturally made thorough preparations.

Cen Meng slid her hand into her pocket, confirming that the voice recorder inside was tucked away securely.

While she was speaking to Ning Yuxuan, Ning Shiyue's reaction was much more pronounced.

"Cen Meng!" Ning Shiyue abruptly stood up from his chair. "How do you still have the face to show up here?"

The young man's eyes were filled with disgust and vigilance.

To this day, Ning Shiyue had not forgotten the text message Cen Meng had sent to Ning Yuxuan's phone number—ridiculous and malicious, yet impossible not to guard against.

Cen Meng had said she would ruin Ning Yuxuan completely.

Ever since then, Ning Shiyue had kept his guard up.

Cen Meng's target today was Ning Yuxuan. As for how to deal with Ning Shiyue, she had her methods prepared as well, though not for right now.

Still, if Ning Shiyue happened to say something damaging to his image and she managed to record it, killing two birds with one stone wouldn't be a bad outcome.

With this thought, Cen Meng said nothing, instead casting a bold glance at Ning Shiyue.

Nearby, Ning Yuxuan stood up leisurely and patted Ning Shiyue's hand soothingly.

"Ning Shiyue," Ning Yuxuan said calmly, "don't be impulsive."

Ning Shiyue: "..."

Ning Yuxuan's tone was flat, devoid of any superfluous words, yet it effectively calmed Ning Shiyue down.

Having been through so much together in the past, Ning Shiyue knew that Ning Yuxuan would never let Cen Meng walk all over her.

Ning Shiyue gritted his teeth and gave a slight nod.

However, he didn't sit back down, remaining standing right beside Ning Yuxuan.

If Cen Meng made any move detrimental to Ning Yuxuan, he could react immediately.

Having reined in Ning Shiyue, Ning Yuxuan turned her gaze back to Cen Meng: "Sure."

A flash of delight crossed Cen Meng's eyes as she motioned to the side: "I noticed it's quieter near the back door. Let's go talk over there."

Ning Yuxuan turned her head and gave Ning Shiyue a look: "Together?"

Ning Shiyue was slightly startled.

Ning Yuxuan certainly shouldn't be afraid of Cen Meng.

Since she was asking him to come along, it meant she had her own intentions.

Hesitating for a moment, Ning Shiyue picked up his phone from the table and followed.

There was an open space beside the back door of the barbecue restaurant, isolated from the noisy environment and forming a sharp contrast with the commotion inside.

Cen Meng stared intently at Ning Yuxuan, her gaze burning: "Yuxuan, times have changed. Seeing me here like this now, do you find it both shocking and confusing?"

Ning Yuxuan's expression didn't flicker in the slightest: "Shocking, confusing?"

She curved her lips slightly: "What makes you think your appearance would cause such a massive emotional wave in me?"

Cen Meng's brows trembled slightly.

"Isn't it?" Cen Meng retorted. "Everything you did before, wasn't it to ensure I could no longer survive in this industry and would lose everything I had? My fans, my endorsements, and even my roles—all gone because of you. Now that you see me appearing here, aren't you surprised? Don't you want to know why?"

Upon hearing this, Ning Yuxuan lifted her eyelids and glanced at Cen Meng with utter listlessness.

"You called me over just to say these things?"

The nonchalant tone struck Cen Meng's heart as if she had been punched.

Clearly, she had come simply to record useful material so that Ning Yuxuan would suffer public disgrace just as she had.

Yet seeing Ning Yuxuan look at her with such indifference, bordering even on pity, still caused her to lose control of her emotions to some extent.

Uncertain whether it was to enrage Ning Yuxuan or purely to vent her own feelings, Cen Meng said harshly: "Ning Yuxuan, stop putting on this high and mighty act. Seeing that I can still get acting jobs now, you must be furious, right? But I hate to disappoint you, I still managed to secure a role for myself. Do you know what it is?"

Ning Yuxuan did not answer, but Cen Meng continued on her own: "A homewrecker! Just like the label you slapped on me, a mistress! But I'm not afraid. As long as I can still act, I will never give up!"

After the previous scandal broke out, to mitigate risks, the production crew of the originally high-budget, well-connected drama had canceled their cooperation with Cen Meng.

However, another Xianxia web drama had taken a fancy to Cen Meng's notoriety and high search traffic, casting her as a mistress in the series to use as a marketing gimmick.

Such a low-budget production and such a character setting were things the former Cen Meng would never have deigned to look at.

Worse still, taking on a role like this might cement the "mistress" label on her permanently, making it impossible to shake off for the rest of her life.

Yet she had no choice. Right now, she couldn't find any other production crew willing to take her in, leaving her with no option but to fight desperately for survival as a last resort.

As long as she could drag Ning Yuxuan down into the mud, there would still be room for a turnaround.

Netizens always loved to the extreme and hated to the extreme.

If she could prove that Ning Yuxuan was merely a selfish, calculating villain, and make the netizens despise Ning Yuxuan as well, public sentiment toward herself would naturally execute a 180-degree turn.

By then, with just a little guidance of public opinion from her end, all her past so-called "black marks" would be reframed as frames and plots orchestrated against her by Ning Yuxuan.

And this mistress role would transform into a choice forced upon her by Ning Yuxuan's persecution, earning her even more sympathy from netizens.

At this thought, Cen Meng looked at Ning Yuxuan with hatred, yet her eyes simultaneously harbored a faint glimmer of anticipation—

Say it. Admit how much you hate me, how much you want me dead.

In a place where no one could see, Cen Meng's fingers clutched viciously at the voice recorder.

Ning Yuxuan glanced at the fingers tucked inside Cen Meng's pocket and spoke unhurriedly: "Cen Meng, I've realized that you and Gu Yunhao are truly cut from the same cloth."

Cen Meng's voice trembled slightly: "You... why bring him up?"

The name Gu Yunhao remained a sore spot for her even now.

After being unilaterally ghosted and broken up with by Gu Yunhao, she had tried seeking him out many times, and even asked Gu Yunhao's friends to intercede on her behalf.

At first, she still held hope; after all, in the past, every time she acted spoiled and used a few tricks, this man would obey her every word.

Yet this time, Gu Yunhao seemed hardened of heart, refusing to pay her any mind no matter what.

If Gu Yunhao had even a shred of pity left for her, she wouldn't have stooped to playing a mistress in some shabby production just to scrape together a comeback.

Ning Yuxuan's tone remained casual: "Because you are just like Gu Yunhao—both of you love to live in your own delusions. Being a homewrecker, taking on mistress roles, or treating someone else's books and houses as your own props to show off—those were all your own choices. Yet you insist on claiming that I caused all of this."

Cen Meng's fingertips dug fiercely into her palms.

Again. Ning Yuxuan was looking down at her from that lofty perch once more, speaking these words to her so effortlessly.

She hated this look on Ning Yuxuan the most!

Ning Yuxuan possessed such an enviable family, a mother and younger brother adored by everyone, and had lived a life free of worries since childhood. She had no idea what she, Cen Meng, had been through!

She wanted to fight through her own hard work for the things Ning Yuxuan had possessed since birth—what was wrong with that?

Having come here with the intent to provoke Ning Yuxuan, Cen Meng found herself provoked first instead.

Cen Meng's voice turned shrill: "What gives you the right to judge me with that tone? Do you think I *wanted* to be a mistress? Gu Yunhao clearly loved me, but he ended up with you because of his grandfather's expectations! You had Old Master Gu's support, but I had nothing! I had no choice but to fight for it myself!"

The woman's chest heaved violently, her eyes burning red.

She practically roared at Ning Yuxuan: "And that book! That house! Things you could get so easily, yet I had to rack my brains and exhaust every effort to acquire, only for you to snatch them back in the end!"

Ning Shiyue finally lost his temper completely: "Cen Meng, can you have some shame? Which of the things you mentioned ever belonged to you to begin with? Even that piece of trash Gu Yunhao wasn't yours to start with."

Cen Meng hadn't expected the usually silent Ning Shiyue to suddenly speak up.

She stared blankly at Ning Shiyue: "You—"

Ning Yuxuan burst into laughter.

"Part ways for three days, and one must look at them with new eyes," Ning Yuxuan said with a smile to Ning Shiyue. "Your skill at tearing people down has improved immensely."

Ning Shiyue let out a light hum: "I've always been like this, just never had the chance to showcase it before."

Ning Yuxuan: "Showcased quite well. I'll reward you with two more skewers of roasted potatoes when we get back."

The two bantered back and forth in a relaxed tone.

Since they hadn't returned for a while, Zhuang Yiming walked over and asked if they were done.

Ning Yuxuan didn't even look at Cen Meng: "Are my roasted eggplants ready?"

Zhuang Yiming chuckled broadly: "Ready, ready! Fresh and hot, just brought to the table. We knew you love eggplants and saved them all for you. Sister Yuxuan, you can go back and eat right now!"

"Alright." Ning Yuxuan smiled and asked Ning Shiyue, "Shall we head back then?"

Ning Shiyue: "Mm."

Cen Meng stared in disbelief at the group, an overwhelming sense of absurdity washing over her.

She had stood here making emotional accusations against Ning Yuxuan, yet Ning Yuxuan and Ning Shiyue acted as though completely unaffected, even cracking jokes with each other.

Even Zhuang Yiming—a minor nobody whose status used to be far below hers—didn't bother to give her a proper look.

Suddenly, Cen Meng felt like an absolute joke.

The remaining words she had intended to say lacked all strength to leave her mouth.

Watching the backs of the three as they returned, Cen Meng made no move to stop them.

She touched the voice recorder.

Although things hadn't gone as smoothly as she hoped, she had managed to record some material, at least.

...

The crew dinner for "The Tide Decree" lasted until ten-thirty in the evening.

The group split into several cars for the return trip.

Ning Yuxuan and Ning Shiyue naturally rode together, joined by Zhuang Yiming. The three hailed a cab back to the hotel.

Zhuang Yiming sat in the front passenger seat alone, leaving the back row entirely to the siblings.