Chapter 4

After leaving the company, I threw all my energy into my side business.

I had often shared fashion and beauty tips on Instagram and TikTok.

As time went on, I gradually gained a loyal following.

Now, I decided to try live streaming—at home, fully in control of my time.

When I worked, I always used busy as an excuse to turn down suggestions from fans. During that time, Ethan was often at my house, and live streaming wasn’t convenient.

Now, the room was quiet, and I set up the lights, camera, and makeup table. I took a deep breath—this was my time, my choice.

On the first day of the live stream, my old fans were excited, and the chat was full of comments:

"Julie, your skin looks amazing!"

"Julie, your lip color is gorgeous, what’s the shade?"

After a few days, my live stream’s popularity stabilized at a few hundred viewers.

In the evening, I opened the live stream as usual.

This time, a new fan entered the room.

She hardly spoke but subscribed to my highest-tier membership, sending Super Chats during every broadcast, pushing my popularity.

After a few days, she became the Top Gifter in my live stream room, silently supporting every new product launch.

Just as I was about to end the live stream, a mysterious account appeared.

No comments, just a flood of gifts before disappearing.

The other day, I went to an offline event.

When I arrived at the venue, I felt a strange calmness, as if everything around me was surreal.

From a distance, I saw Lily, arm-in-arm with Ethan.

My heart didn’t race, nor did I spare them more than a glance.

She walked towards me, smiling brightly, as if sunshine itself had landed in front of me. But I could smell the overwhelming sweet fragrance of her perfume—a scent so sickly it made my throat itch.

"Hi, it’s nice to see you again," she said, her voice sounding like finely crafted perfume, overly sweet and fake.

I nodded, replying in a neutral tone, "Hello."

Ethan stood beside her, his expression restrained, yet still polite.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "You know Ethan, right?"

I glanced at him. His eyes flickered for a moment, but quickly moved away.

Lily smiled at Ethan and asked, almost as if testing him, "Unless you delete her photos, I’m afraid I’ll have to tell my dad about this."

Ethan frowned slightly and replied calmly, "I’ve already deleted her photos, you’re mistaken."

Lily let out a soft chuckle, her voice sharp like a blade. "Really? But just a few days ago, I saw you drunk, staring at her photo on your phone," she leaned closer to Ethan, continuing with a taunting tone, "Could it be I was mistaken?"