Rebirth Begins with Rejecting my Childhood Friend - Chapter 482

“Really? You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”
Xu Xiuwen smiled.

He looked at Bai Yue’er, who was only half a foot away from him, suddenly reached out his hand, patted her on the head, and said with a smile, “You don’t trust me?”

Bai Yue’er hadn’t expected him to pull off a sudden head-pat.
If it had been another man, she would definitely have made him regret it.
But because it was Xu Xiuwen.

Even though she didn’t want him to think she was easy to handle and wanted to pretend to be angry,
she simply couldn’t pull it off.

Her mouth seemed to have a mind of its own, twitching uncontrollably upward.
It kept curving into a smile.

In the end, Bai Yue’er was surprisingly well-behaved. She nodded lightly and said, “Oh.”

The assistant in the front seat had been paying attention to the backseat the whole time.
Seeing Bai Yue’er act so differently from usual,
she understood everything.

When they got back to the hotel,
Xu Xiuwen, worried about being photographed by paparazzi, originally didn’t want to go directly into Bai Yue’er’s room.
But under her invitation, he eventually agreed.

After entering her room,
the assistant, Ban Chan, had already left to buy boxed meals.
Xu Xiuwen looked around, taking in the state of the room.
When he noticed the messy bed, he couldn’t help but say, “If your fans knew how sloppy you usually are, let’s see who’d still like you.”

Bai Yue’er huffed, “My fans wouldn’t stop liking me over something like this.”
But even as she said that, her face quietly turned red.
Taking advantage of Xu Xiuwen’s inattention, she slipped her hand behind her and discreetly stuffed a small black piece of fabric under the blanket.

Xu Xiuwen walked over and sat down on a chair.

Bai Yue’er asked, “Why are you here? Aren’t you busy?”

“I am. But no matter how busy I am, I can’t forget your birthday.”

Hearing this, Bai Yue’er couldn’t stop her lips from curling into a smile.
But the next second, she pouted.

Xu Xiuwen added, “Because you’re our moneymaker. I have to take good care of you.”

Bai Yue’er felt annoyed, her voice stifled. “Is that the only reason?”

“Mm, why else?”

Hearing that, Bai Yue’er felt both upset and angry.
She bit her lip, glaring at Xu Xiuwen.
She looked like an angry little bunny—
not intimidating at all.

Xu Xiuwen suddenly shifted his tone. “I’m just teasing. Of course, there’s another reason.”

“What reason?”

Xu Xiuwen suddenly fell quiet.
He gazed into Bai Yue’er’s eyes.

Bai Yue’er immediately sensed something.
She fell silent as well.

In the quiet room, their gazes locked.

Finally, Xu Xiuwen was the first to look away.
This made Bai Yue’er a little unhappy.
She muttered to herself, Coward.

She huffed lightly, “Say something.”

After shifting his gaze, Xu Xiuwen said, “The other reason is that… I haven’t seen you in a while, and I kind of missed you.”

As soon as he finished, Xu Xiuwen awkwardly rubbed his nose.

Hearing this, Bai Yue’er felt her heart bloom with joy.
But she didn’t want to make it too obvious and tried her best to restrain herself.

Bai Yue’er replied indifferently, “Oh.”

The room fell quiet again.

After a while.

Xu Xiuwen broke the silence. “How have you been feeling lately? Are you very tired?”

As soon as he mentioned it, Bai Yue’er started complaining, “I’ve been running around to events every day. I’m exhausted.”

“You’ve worked hard. Just hang in there a bit longer. It’ll get better after this period.”

“Mm, I know.” Bai Yue’er nodded.

“What about you? How’s the distillery doing?”

“We’ve signed quite a few big contracts. For now, we’ve secured a solid foothold in the provincial liquor market.”

“Oh.”

Silence fell once again.

Xu Xiuwen added, “By the way, I’ve already discussed your next drama with Hang Fei.”

“My next drama? What is it?”

“The title is Coffee Prince No. 1. It’s my sixth novel, and I’m still writing it. It’ll take me another two weeks or so to finish.”

“Mm, well, you’re the boss. I’ll just go with what you decide.”

Before seeing Xu Xiuwen, Bai Yue’er had practically been complaining about him every day, repeatedly calling him “Xu the Slave Driver.” She’d even planned to vent her frustrations when she finally saw him.

But now, actually being with him, and alone at that, she suddenly didn’t know what to say.

Xu Xiuwen noticed her nervousness.
So he brought up a funny incident Bai Yue’er had experienced during a recent shoot—something he had, of course, heard from Ban Chan.

Bai Yue’er was surprised Xu Xiuwen even knew about it. She quickly realized it must’ve been Ban Chan who told him. This left her with a small twinge of dissatisfaction but also an undeniable sense of delight.

She began recounting the details of the incident to him.

Before long, Ban Chan returned with the boxed meals, and Bai Yue’er stopped talking.

The three of them began eating lunch.

Since Bai Yue’er had an interview in the afternoon, she only took a couple of bites.

Seeing this, Xu Xiuwen couldn’t help but comment, “That’s all you’re eating?”

“I want to eat more, but if I do, I’ll look bloated, and that’s no good on camera,” Bai Yue’er replied, her voice soft and tinged with a nasal tone—gentle and a bit pitiful.

Xu Xiuwen said, “After the interview this afternoon, I’ll take you out to eat and make up for it. I’ll also give you three days off so you can get some rest.”

“At least you’ve got a shred of decency,” Bai Yue’er said playfully.

Normally, after lunch, Bai Yue’er would take every opportunity to nap.
But today, she didn’t want to sleep.
She wanted to spend more time talking to Xu Xiuwen.

Still, she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open.

Xu Xiuwen noticed and urged her to rest.

In the end, Bai Yue’er listened to him and obediently went to sleep.

The afternoon interview started at 3:30 PM and ended at 4:30 PM.

Xu Xiuwen waited outside the interview building until 4:30.

When Bai Yue’er and Ban Chan came out together, Xu Xiuwen said, “Let’s go. Dinner’s on me.”

“Mr. Xu, I’m not feeling too well. I think I’ll pass and head back first,” Ban Chan said suddenly.

She was tactful, not wanting to play third wheel, so she came up with an excuse.

Bai Yue’er knew Ban Chan wasn’t actually unwell.

Xu Xiuwen knew it too.

Ban Chan looked perfectly fine—nothing about her face suggested she was feeling unwell.

They both understood she was deliberately leaving them some alone time.

Bai Yue’er felt a nervous tension, as if her thoughts had been seen through. Her cheeks flushed red.

Xu Xiuwen, on the other hand, remained calm.
“Alright, go back and get some rest. If anything comes up, remember to call me.”

“Got it, Mr. Xu.”

With that, Ban Chan left, leaving just Xu Xiuwen and Bai Yue’er behind.

Xu Xiuwen glanced at Bai Yue’er.
Bai Yue’er happened to be looking at him too.
Their eyes met, and Bai Yue’er’s face turned red as she quickly looked away.

Xu Xiuwen took a deep breath and said, “Let’s go. Time to eat.”

“Mm, okay,” Bai Yue’er nodded, quietly following beside Xu Xiuwen.

She neither walked too far from him nor too close, leaving just about a fist’s width of space between their arms.

Neither of them spoke.

Xu Xiuwen kept his gaze forward,
while Bai Yue’er occasionally stole glances at his side profile.

“Is it nice to look at?”

“What?” Bai Yue’er was startled.

Xu Xiuwen smiled and asked, “Haven’t you been sneaking glances at me?”

Bai Yue’er’s face instantly turned red. “When did I ever sneak glances at you?”

“Then I must’ve seen wrong?”

“Of course! Don’t make things up. Why would I sneak glances at you?”

“Alright, if you say so.”

They walked a little further.

Bai Yue’er pouted and asked, “Xu Xiuwen, where are you taking me? How much longer do we have to walk?”

“You’re already tired after walking this little?”

“Mm, I’m exhausted.”

“Heh, I was planning to take you shopping before dinner, but since you’re tired, let’s skip it and go eat directly.”

“Ah!” Bai Yue’er exclaimed, “You were going to take me shopping?”

“Mm, that was the plan.”

Bai Yue’er blinked and said, “Then let’s still go shopping.”

Xu Xiuwen suppressed a laugh and said, “But aren’t you tired?”

“Doesn’t seem like I’m that tired anymore.”

“Haha…”

Bai Yue’er’s face flushed, and she glared at Xu Xiuwen. “Stop laughing! Are you going or not?”

But she couldn’t keep her stern face and ended up laughing too.

The next second, Bai Yue’er suddenly grabbed Xu Xiuwen’s arm, lightly shaking it as she pouted, “Shopping! Shopping! Let’s go shopping~~”

“Alright, alright. Let’s go.”

“Hehe,” Bai Yue’er beamed with happiness.

The pedestrian street wasn’t far, less than a ten-minute walk away.

It was one of the most famous pedestrian streets in the country, bustling with luxury and trendy brands, yet also featuring affordable small shops to cater to people from all walks of life.

As a result, it was always crowded.

Fortunately, today was a Tuesday, so the crowd was a bit thinner than usual.

Inside a luxury clothing store, Bai Yue’er, at Xu Xiuwen’s urging, reluctantly took a dress and headed into the fitting room.

After quite a while, Bai Yue’er finally stepped out.

She was wearing a simple pale-yellow spaghetti-strap dress, paired with her naturally styled wavy hair. The youthful vibe was unmistakable.

The shop assistant standing next to Xu Xiuwen praised, “Sir, your girlfriend is stunning. She has a great figure, and this dress highlights all her best features. It suits her perfectly.”

When the shop assistant referred to Bai Yue’er as his girlfriend, Xu Xiuwen didn’t refute or explain.

He glanced up and down at Bai Yue’er and calmly agreed, “It does look pretty good.”

Having just stepped out of the fitting room, Bai Yue’er naturally overheard the shop assistant’s words. Seeing that Xu Xiuwen didn’t deny it, her heart suddenly began racing.

After hearing Xu Xiuwen’s approval, the shop assistant turned to Bai Yue’er and said, “Miss, this dress really suits you.”

Bai Yue’er nodded. “I think so too.”

“If you like it, then we’ll buy it,” Xu Xiuwen said.

At that moment, something caught his eye on a nearby rack—a bucket hat. He walked over, picked it up, and returned to Bai Yue’er’s side.

Xu Xiuwen placed the hat on her head. The yellow dress paired with the brown bucket hat gave her the air of a carefree traveler—full of youthful energy and charm.

Bai Yue’er looked at herself in the mirror and liked what she saw. She decided to keep the hat on.

Xu Xiuwen pulled out his card and handed it to the shop assistant. “We’ll take the dress and the hat. Please charge the card, and also wrap up the clothes she changed out of.”

The shop assistant took the card with a bright smile and said, “Of course, sir. One moment, please.”

Two minutes later, the shop assistant returned with Bai Yue’er’s old clothes, neatly packed, along with the receipt and card.

Xu Xiuwen walked over to Bai Yue’er, who was still admiring herself in the mirror, and said with a smile, “Alright, stop admiring yourself. Let’s go.”

Bai Yue’er wrinkled her nose at him and said, “You’re the one who’s vain! I’m naturally beautiful!”

What followed was Xu Xiuwen fully embracing his role as a generous spender.

He took Bai Yue’er to seven or eight more stores, buying at least one item at each place.

By the end of their shopping spree, Xu Xiuwen’s hands were completely full of shopping bags.

After making the final payment in the last store, Xu Xiuwen asked the staff, “Would it be possible for you to deliver these to the hotel?”

At this store alone, Xu Xiuwen had just spent nearly 20,000 yuan.

The staff, eager to please, immediately agreed without hesitation.

Xu Xiuwen gave them the address of Bai Yue’er’s hotel.

Even after all this shopping, Xu Xiuwen still wasn’t satisfied.

He was the kind of person who either didn’t shop at all or went all out in one go.

If it were shopping for himself, he wouldn’t have this much enthusiasm. After all, trying on and taking off clothes repeatedly could get exhausting.

But shopping for someone else didn’t have that drawback.

Xu Xiuwen even came up with a perfectly reasonable justification for himself.

As the company’s top star, Bai Yue’er had to attend various events. She couldn’t keep wearing the same inexpensive, ordinary clothes. She needed outfits to match her status.

Buying clothes for Bai Yue’er wasn’t personal—it was purely for the company’s image and her own public appearance.

With this justification in mind, Xu Xiuwen shopped with even greater abandon.

He took her to another seven or eight stores, amassing another pile of clothes.

Finally, Bai Yue’er couldn’t take it anymore.

She suddenly stopped in her tracks and declared, “I’m done shopping!”

“What’s wrong?” Xu Xiuwen asked, pretending not to understand.

“It’s not you trying on clothes—I’m the one doing it, and I’m exhausted! I can’t do it anymore. If you want to keep shopping, go ahead, but I’m not coming!”

At this moment, Bai Yue’er truly felt what it meant to experience both pain and joy at the same time.

Xu Xiuwen had bought her so many things, most of which were clothes, with a small portion being shoes and other items.

And he hardly considered the price. As long as he liked it and she didn’t mind, he paid without hesitation. It was more straightforward than buying vegetables.

Bai Yue’er quietly calculated the cost.

In just a short while, Xu Xiuwen had already spent 100,000 yuan on her.

She thought back to the last time she had gone shopping with Xu Xiuwen.

That day, she had been excited the whole time, even when trying on clothes, without a hint of impatience.

But later, she found out that the clothes weren’t for her. They were for Tang Weiwei. She had only been called in to try them on.

Bai Yue’er couldn’t remember her exact thoughts at the time, but she did recall feeling very unhappy. She felt that Xu Xiuwen hadn’t valued her at all.

Today, however, Xu Xiuwen had given her enough attention. She was certain that all the clothes he was buying today were for her.

But somehow, she didn’t feel as happy as she thought she would.

Why was that?

Was it because he was already someone else’s boyfriend?

“Yue’er?”

The sound of her name being called snapped Bai Yue’er out of her thoughts.