Professional Stand-in, With an Hourly Salary of 100,000

70 - What a Small World

"I only fell for you because I wasn't clear-headed." Song Shiyu's eyes remained firmly on the road ahead. "All you wanted to do is control me. Are we even friends?"

"... Stop the car," Ji Xinxin said with a quivering voice.

Song Shiyu eyed the roadside and replied, "There's no place to stop here."

"Song Shiyu, stop the car right now!" Ji Xinxin slammed the glove compartment in front of her, causing the documents inside to scatter all over the ground.

Something sharp nicked Ji Xinxin's legs, causing her eyes to become teary. "Song Shiyu, have I ever mistreated you? What have I done to deserve such humiliation? Are you regretting having fallen in love with me now? Have you forgotten that I was always the one turning you down? I never asked you to like me!"

"But the kindness and intimacy you showed misled me into believing that you were simply in a tight spot." Song Shiyu tightly gripped the steering wheel. "You have been leading me on all this while. I was only able to see the truth when you left for Paris..."

"What truth? That you're now in love with Ji Fanyin?" Ji Xinxin pointed to the road behind her and exclaimed, "Wake up, Song Shiyu! The Ji Fanyin you like is someone who has everyone dancing in the palm of her hands! She's no longer the meek girl who doesn't dare stand before you, only able to peek at you from afar! Can't you tell that they aren't the same person?!"

Song Shiyu felt hysterical at Ji Xinxin's sudden outburst. "It's normal. People change. Also, I ought to tell you that I've been meeting up with her, even in the past."

Ji Xinxin felt a lurch in her heart. "You two... did what?"

"We have been meeting privately all along," Song Shiyu repeated himself once more as he steered the car toward the right.

"... Why? Were your feelings for me a lie all along?"

"No, my feelings for you were real. I treated her as your shadow back then." Song Shiyu stopped his car at a temporary parking lot before turning to look at Ji Xinxin's face. "... But now, I don't know why, but I think you're more like her shadow instead."

Those innocuous words filled Ji Xinxin with terror, and she started trembling.

I'm... her shadow?

Song Shiyu spent a moment in thought before supplementing, "But you don't really resemble the current Ji Fanyin either."

More like a warped and crude imitation.

Ji Xinxin mustered all of her strength to fling her hand at the unguarded Song Shiyu, giving him a tight slap. The manicured nails that she had done at the mall yesterday left two long cuts on his left cheek.

While Song Shiyu was hissing in pain, Ji Xinxin quickly undid her seatbelt and scrambled out of the car. She didn't forget to slam the car door in her wake.

Barely after taking a few steps, she turned around to take a look, only to see Song Shiyu's car moving out of the parking lot. She shot a sharp glare at his car before whipping out her phone to hail a cab.

However, she changed her mind at the last moment and instead dialed Li Xiaoxing's number.

Secretary Fan received the call.

Ji Xinxin was able to recognize the other party's voice. It was the personal secretary who attended to Li Xiaoxing's every need. She recalled that he had a below-average face and was balding despite his young age.

"What's Xiaoxing doing? Can I visit him now?" She made her voice sound slightly tearful.

There was actually no need for her to put on an act. Her voice was already nasal after her aggravating encounter with Song Shiyu.