Chapter 253: So This Is the Reason Behind It

Yu Qianxia smiled mischievously.

The makeup artist stood nearby, having eaten her fill of their public displays of affection. When would she ever get a sweet romance like that?

Just as Yu Qianxia was chatting animatedly with Jiang Yunting, a figure walked in.

But when Yu Qianxia saw the newcomer's reflection in the mirror, her lips trembled, and her eyes grew slightly red.

She turned her face away in a huff, not wanting to acknowledge him. "Get out."

The person who had appeared was Lu Lei.

Faced with Yu Qianxia's angry scolding, he set down the fruit basket somewhat awkwardly and said, "I just came to congratulate you on holding your concert."

"I don't need your congratulations." Yu Qianxia glared at Lu Lei. "You're not welcome here."

Jiang Yunting looked at his wife, so agitated toward the newcomer, and immediately moved to protect Yu Qianxia.

It was the first time he had seen Yu Qianxia this agitated and angry.

Although Yu Qianxia had been a demon of an older sister before, incredibly sly, she would never get angry for no reason.

"Leave," said Jiang Yunting, naturally protective of Yu Qianxia.

Lu Lei took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Yu Qianxia.

This was entirely unexpected to Yu Qianxia.

Yu Qianxia stared at Lu Lei in disbelief. Lu Lei was such an arrogant person—when had he ever lowered his head to anyone?

"What exactly are you planning to do?" Yu Qianxia found it absurd.

"I heard you're not singing 'Stars to the South' anymore," Lu Lei said obscurely.

"That's right." Yu Qianxia was ice-cold, staring at Lu Lei with a frigid gaze. "But what does that have to do with you?"

Faced with Yu Qianxia's hostility, Lu Lei looked deeply remorseful. "I'm sorry. I brought you harm before. I'll say it here: I'm sorry."

Yu Qianxia turned her face away, not wanting to acknowledge Lu Lei at all.

"I haven't lived well these past years, and I've come to feel I was too unfair to you back then. But our personal grievances shouldn't drag 'Stars to the South' into it." Just as Lu Lei unconsciously stepped closer to Yu Qianxia, Jiang Yunting grabbed him by the collar.

"I don't care what's happened to you. She's my wife now. There's no way you're rekindling any old flame!"

Jiang Yunting's furious appearance gave both Yu Qianxia and Lu Lei a shock.

Yu Qianxia laughed until tears came. "Hubby, what are you thinking? You're my first love. I like you the most. How could I possibly fall for him! My taste isn't that bad!"

Lu Lei looked somewhat embarrassed. "I don't like women."

Jiang Yunting: "…"

Sorry for the interruption.

As long as he wasn't the one feeling awkward, the awkward one was someone else.

To salvage his dignity, Jiang Yunting coughed. "Then don't make it so easy for me to misunderstand, you two. What exactly is going on?"

He looked at Yu Qianxia, then at Lu Lei, his gaze sharp.

"Ask him." Yu Qianxia turned her face away arrogantly, arms crossed.

Lu Lei smiled awkwardly at Jiang Yunting. "I was her boss back then, and also the producer of 'Stars to the South.'"

After some back and forth, Jiang Yunting finally learned the whole story.

It turned out Lu Lei had originally been the boss of a record company. After Yu Qianxia stopped acting and transitioned to singing, he had signed her.

The first gift he gave Yu Qianxia was "Stars to the South," produced by an exclusive team, with even Lu Lei personally composing. The album exploded in popularity as soon as it was released.

Combined with Yu Qianxia's already considerable popularity, she had always been the company's money tree.

However, Lu Lei ran into a financial crisis, and the record market wasn't doing well either. To ease the crisis, without Yu Qianxia's consent, he packaged her up and sold her to a rival company.

After being sold off, Yu Qianxia was shelved in the cold for several months. In the end, she paid a high price herself to break the contract, and finally made a comeback in the entertainment world with the new film Above the Cliff, pushing her popularity to yet another level.

This matter had left a shadow in Yu Qianxia's heart. She deeply resented Lu Lei's business practices, and so she stopped singing "Stars to the South."

After all, Lu Lei had been the one who recognized her talent. She had never mentioned this matter publicly, and even Jiang Yunting didn't know about it.

When Jiang Yunting heard his wife's words, he exploded with rage and stepped forward to beat Lu Lei up. "You bastard, you still dare to show up here, huh? Want me to give you a good beating?"

Lu Lei was terrified and quickly explained, "I can explain this! I really had no other choice. Back then, I spent a lot of money pushing 'Stars to the South' through overseas channels. I didn't have much money left. I was forced into it."

This matter had become a knot in Lu Lei's heart.

Perhaps this was heaven's retribution.

His company went bankrupt, he fell from the clouds, and he was doing poorly in the industry.

Yu Qianxia's eyes still glistened with tears as she pointed toward the door. "Leave."

Lu Lei sighed. "I've wronged you, but your fans haven't wronged you. Even in your hardest times, they remembered you. I hope you won't let them down. You can go check the poll on the Music Hall forum. 'Stars to the South' won by a landslide."

Yu Qianxia's lips trembled. She watched Lu Lei leave the dressing room, then bit her lower lip and said nothing more.

Jiang Yunting was certainly the one who doted on his wife most. He took Yu Qianxia's hand and comforted her. "It's all in the past. Blame me for not knowing any of this had happened. But now that I'm here, an episode like this won't happen again."

Seeing his wife looking so out of sorts, his brow furrowed again. "Do you want to go check the Music Hall forum?"

The Music Hall forum was an anonymous forum for music fans.

To avoid affecting herself, Yu Qianxia rarely visited the site.

But with this opportunity, she still took Jiang Yunting's phone and took a look.

She found that "Stars to the South" really was the No. 1 golden song people most wanted to hear.

"So many people voted…" Yu Qianxia thought of the purpose behind Jiang Muye's visit, then thought of Leng Ruoli, and seeing so many comments below, her eyes grew slightly red.

She had never imagined so many people still remembered this song.

"Not just them—I'm looking forward to it too." Jiang Yunting held Yu Qianxia's hand, gazing seriously into her eyes.

The makeup artist nearby chimed in, "I'm looking forward to it too! I grew up listening to this song!"

She was so excited that it took her a moment to realize she'd said too much, and she immediately corrected herself. "Of course, you debuted early—I grew up alongside you. Anyway, I really want to hear this song."

"Stars to the South" had been a hit everywhere, a memory of so many people's youth.

It also captured Yu Qianxia's youthful face. When she watched the MV again, her eyes held longing.