"What are you looking at, so intently?"
It wasn't until her friend He Ailin's voice sounded in her ear that Jian Ran snapped back to reality, pulling her gaze back from the window.
"Oh, nothing. Just spacing out."
He Ailin followed her line of sight but didn't notice anything unusual.
She let out an "oh" and sat down across from Jian Ran, propping her chin on her hands as she looked at her.
"So, how was Yuncheng? Fun?"
Jian Ran nodded. "Yeah, it was fun. The air was great, the scenery beautiful—completely different from Jing City. You should go sometime if you get a chance."
"Tsk—now you've really got me tempted. I have to check out those photos you posted on your Moments again."
With that, He Ailin actually pulled out her phone and scrolled to Jian Ran's nine-grid photo post from that day.
Jian Ran said helplessly, "If you want to go, just go. Look at you, looking so pitiful—anyone would think our studio is drowning in debt and about to close down."
He Ailin immediately took offense at that.
"Nonsense! Our studio is doing great! I just signed a big voice-acting contract a couple of days ago. You, the major shareholder, can rest easy. With me here, I'll definitely fill your pockets to the brim!"
Jian Ran chuckled. "Well, that's good to hear. I'm counting on you, Boss He, to make me rich."
He Ailin raised her chin smugly. "You bet!"
He Ailin was her high school classmate, and they had co-founded the voice-acting studio in Dongcheng. Now He Ailin was in charge of management.
Actually, their relationship in high school had been mediocre, and they didn't attend the same university.
But He Ailin had been obsessed with the second dimension since middle school and started working part-time at a voice-acting company in her freshman year. Somehow, she found out that Jian Ran was studying broadcasting and hosting, so she tried to recruit her as a part-time voice actor—and that's how they reconnected.
Later, after some events, they decided to open the studio together.
Back then, Jian Ran was relatively well-off, so she invested a sum of money, hired a few voice actors, and did some voice work herself.
He Ailin handled finding projects and running the studio. That's how the small studio was born, and they gradually grew it to a decent scale.
However, in her senior year, Jian Ran had a change of heart and returned to the embroidery workshop to apprentice under her master, stepping back from the voice-acting studio but retaining her shares.
So, in a sense, she was still one of the studio's owners.
He Ailin scrolled through the nine photos several times before finally putting down her phone, satisfied.
"I'll wait until this busy period is over. Lin Hui will have his annual leave by then, so we can go together."
Lin Hui was He Ailin's boyfriend. They had been together for years, and their relationship was steady.
Jian Ran smiled. "That works too."
That place did seem perfect for couples.
They chatted idly for a while. He Ailin glanced at Jian Ran several times before hesitantly speaking up.
"A few days ago, I ran into Zhou Yu and that woman at a restaurant. They seemed to have just finished meeting a client."
She paused, unsure, and described the woman's appearance. "Is it her?"
Jian Ran nodded. It was indeed Su Yan.
He Ailin curled her lip in disdain. "Zhou Yu has terrible taste. That woman is clearly not as good-looking as you, not as fit, and doesn't seem as wealthy. He must be blind."
Jian Ran gave a wry smile. "It's fine. Different flowers appeal to different eyes."
To be fair, Su Yan was pretty in her own way—the pure, innocent, pitiable type—totally different from Jian Ran's style.
Back when she first learned the truth, she actually felt a tiny bit relieved that they weren't alike. If they were, she'd have suspected being a replacement, which would have been even more pathetic.
But He Ailin clearly still fumed. "You really should have called me when you broke up!"
Jian Ran was confused. "Why would I call you?"
"To catch the mistress, to catch them in the act!" He Ailin said matter-of-factly, looking eager.
Jian Ran couldn't help but facepalm. "Catch what? They hadn't actually done anything."
At most, it was boundaryless flirtation—not enough to warrant catching them in the act.
Besides, given Zhou Yu's meticulous nature, he wouldn't have let things get that ugly.
Maybe if she hadn't broken up with him, he would have brought it up soon anyway.
He Ailin let out an 'ah,' clearly surprised.
She only knew they had broken up, but Jian Ran had only said that Zhou Yu had someone else in his heart—nothing more.
"If they hadn't done anything, why did you break up?"
That would just be making it easy for them.
Jian Ran shrugged. "No particular reason. I just found it annoying. I don't like that kind of entanglement."
He Ailin thought about it and agreed. It was indeed annoying.
"True. With your qualities, you can find anyone you want. The more you entangle, the more they'll play it up, making their love seem stronger."
Jian Ran laughed. That was probably true.