CHAPTER 295: NEW GAME

She was heartbroken and sad. After that, she never saw Lin Ning again. He didn’t take the college entrance exam; he went to study abroad, reportedly with his fiancée. Cai Xiaojing completely gave up hope.

Later, her parents divorced. Her sister went with their father, and she went with her mother and stepfather, even changing her name. From her given name to her surname, everything was changed, as if she had no connection to her past.

After that first love, her personality changed a lot. The gentle, lively, and lovely girl she used to be was gone.

Later, she heard many things about Lin Ning. She heard about his philandering, his promiscuity, and his cruelty to women. She secretly laughed at her own foolishness, realizing she really was just a curious prey for him, nothing more.

She slowly began to forget the man.

Later, she had boyfriends in high school and college, a total of seven or eight of them. She also started to play the field, telling herself it was just for fun. She had the assets to play this game.

Good looks, good body, smart, and resourceful, playing the field was not a problem.

In her second year of college, her stepfather’s family went bankrupt. He fled with the money, leaving her and her mother to face a huge debt, crying without tears. She was forced to drop out of school to work and pay off the debt. Although her stepfather had fled, he had been good to her during those years.

Cai Xiaojing willingly took on the debt. She had studied finance and wanted to find a related job. By chance, she saw Lin Ning... At that time, Lin Ning was already a big star in the entertainment industry. She didn’t like watching movies, listening to songs, or watching TV shows. She had almost no entertainment. She accidentally saw Lin Ning when he was with his team, promoting his new movie.

Cai Xiaojing learned that he was a director at Anning International.

She had already found a decent job but resolutely turned down the offer and joined Anning International as an agent.

She was lucky to have met her mentor, Cheng Anya.

And that’s why she was where she was today.

From the moment she took on her first artist, she was very successful. The artists she managed at the time all became famous, and her own reputation grew. She received more attention from Cheng Anya, who had her specifically manage newcomers, four or five at a time. Once they became famous, she would hand them over.

Han Bi was one of the newcomers she managed back then.

Gradually, she heard more about Lin Ning at Anning International. This man was just as he had been before: philandering, promiscuous, discarding women after he was done playing with them. He and Su Ran, Lin Diyun, Tang Shuwen, Director Gu, and others were notorious playboys, loved and hated by women.

Time had been very kind to him; at over thirty, he didn’t look old at all. He had more style and presence than the male stars he directed, as handsome and captivating as ever.

The more she heard about him, the more she felt that her first love in her youth was completely due to her lack of life experience.

The first time she saw him at Anning International, she was there with Han Bi to discuss a movie with him. He was frivolous and flirtatious, which she found very repulsive. Yet, subconsciously, she wondered if he still remembered her from before.

Unfortunately, his eyes held a complete and utter unfamiliarity.

It was as if he were flirting with a stranger. At that moment, Cai Xiaojing suddenly felt how foolish she had been all these years, playing the field because of this man. It was completely not worth it.

He had completely forgotten you. Who were you spending time and energy seeking revenge on?

It was nothing but revenge on her own naive, young self.

Everyone was young once; there was no need for revenge.

Breakups happened every day. Without him, she would still live a good life.

From then on, she truly calmed down. Her heart no longer beat for him, and that past memory became just that: a memory.

She fully understood that she had grown up, and her mindset had changed.

He had also matured, but he hadn’t changed at all.

Later, due to work, he and she gradually became acquainted. He was an international big-name director, and she was an agent. There was no harm in networking with him. They were also at the same company, seeing each other often.

So for all these years, they had a friendly relationship, occasionally greeting each other but not deliberately visiting.

Unexpectedly, after she started managing Wen Nuan, their paths crossed again.

And this time, what was he playing at?

It was still that curious game from his youth.

Please, she was past that age. After so many years in the entertainment industry, filled with cunning and schemes to make her artists famous, and having gone through more than ten relationships, she was now completely impenetrable.

If he was going to play the same tricks as he did when he was young, she scoffed.

Cai Xiaojing smiled coldly, "Let’s see who can outplay who."

He was interested in her now, wasn’t he? She would make him fall completely in love with her, then she would abandon him. Since he wanted to play, she would see it through to the end.

The bicycle slowly rode past the camphor tree path, and after a bend, they arrived at a farm.

It was a very beautiful farm, connected by a stone bridge. The river was clear. After crossing the stone bridge, they were on a farm surrounded by water on all sides. There were many vegetable patches by the river, growing many vegetables like cucumbers, bitter gourds, and green eggplants, all in a row. A little girl was watering the vegetable patch.

The girl was around twelve or thirteen years old, with her hair in two braids. She was wearing a white shirt, a small yellow jacket, and overalls underneath. She didn’t look as fashionable as city girls, but she had a unique charm.

Lin Ning waved and greeted the little girl. He stopped the bicycle and walked into the girl’s vegetable patch. Cai Xiaojing didn’t know what he was doing and followed him. The vegetable patch had small tomatoes growing in it, a row of small, red tomatoes hanging from the branches, all looking very healthy.

"Little girl, do you sell your tomatoes?"

The girl blinked, a little confused as to why he would ask that. Did he want to sell tomatoes?

Cai Xiaojing pulled his sleeve. "What are you doing?"

"These tomatoes are delicious. This farm’s crops are all naturally grown, without pesticides. The small tomatoes are much sweeter and tastier than the ones sold in the market."

"I don’t like to eat them raw." The scenery was beautiful, nestled among mountains and water, but she had never eaten them raw, only in stir-fried eggs.

"Big brother, do you want to buy some small tomatoes?" the little girl asked sweetly. Cai Xiaojing laughed out loud. "Little girl, you should call him uncle, not big brother. He might be even older than your father."

Lin Ning turned around and glared fiercely at Cai Xiaojing. The little girl laughed innocently in surprise. "How is that possible? My father is thirty-two, and big brother looks so young."

Cai Xiaojing held her stomach, laughing at this man who was trying to look younger than his age.