Chapter 56
Vanessa successfully got Rachel's signature and took a photo with Rachel. She was so excited that she almost forgot Shawn, who was still waiting for her in the parking lot.
Vanessa and Emily walked among the crowds until Rachel got into the van on the street with the staff. The crowd drifted away soon.
"She's so beautiful, more than she is on TV."
Emily watched the Van drive away, rejoicing in the happiness she had seen Rachel. "Can you believe it? She's almost 50 years old, as same as my mother, but she's so well-preserved that she looks at least ten years younger! It's so good to be a star that she even has a longer youth than the ordinary people."
"She not only takes care of her face," Vanessa held the care with Rachel's signature and looked at the taillight of the leaving van. Her eyes were shining with excitement. "I went to her concert last year. Her performance lasted for more than two hours, but she wasn't panting for breath at all. She must have a lot of physical training! Her physical strength is much stronger than mine! No wonder she became a superstar!"
"But why didn't she get married?" Emily said curiously, "I knew her since I was a kid. Many stars of her peers all got married and were away from the entertainment industry, but she still gives a concert every year... Have you heard that? I've read a report in a magazine, and it said that she actually got married without telling anyone and has two sons."
"It must be a lie! There's no truth in the gossipy magazine!" Vanessa didn't believe in any of this newfangled nonsense. "I feel so ashamed of those media that always talk nonsense and gossip. I mean, come on, Rachel released so many albums and held so many concerts these years. She didn't even have time to give birth to a child!" Vanessa said indignantly.
Then, Vanessa left.
Emily caught her up and said, "Even you said so, but do you remember the photo of Rachel wearing a diamond ring that circulated on the Internet several years ago."
Vanessa snorted with disdain. "So what? It's just a diamond ring! It doesn't mean that she got married. Rachel is so rich, and it probably is that she likes the diamond ring and bought herself one. By the way, she issued a statement to clarify that rumor, and the diamond ring was offered by the sponsor!"
"Well..." Emily was almost convinced, but she suddenly remembered the gossip she had heard before, so she said, "But what about her song 'Dear Gift'? It was clearly written for kids!"
This familiar song was actually released many years, but it was still a favorite song sung by many mothers to express their love for their children.
There were no words like "child", "baby", or "mother" in the lyrics, but that song perfectly expressed parently love.
Therefore, the song had always been thought of as evidence that Rachel had a child, even though she had always denied it.
"Come on! Are you really a journalism student? How would you believe such ridiculous gossip?" Vanessa said indifferently and thought what Emily said was total nonsense, "It is called artistic creation. Who says the songs that singers sing must be their own experience? If so, then what a miserable life the singers who always sing the love songs would have? Besides, Rachel isn't the songwriter of 'Dear Gift', she's just a singer. Look, I write the articles about hundreds of billions of dollars of financial projects every day, but I actually have nothing with the money!"
Emily didn't say anything but felt that Vanessa was right.
In the end, Vanessa said, "So, don't listen to the gossip. Rachel lives a happy life alone. I swear on my honor that she definitely doesn't get married and have a child!"
Emily was amused by the certainty of her tone. She carefully put the card with Rachel's signature in her bag and pulled Vanessa toward the taxi stand.
"Don't be so serious! You don't have to do that!"
Vanessa said, "Well, I don't think so."
Then, she pulled Emily toward the parking lot in the opposite direction. "Come with me!"
Emily asked with confusion. "What are you doing?"
Vanessa made no answer and just dragged Emily all the way to the parking lot. She pointed to a car in the distance and raised her chin. "Do you know who's in that car?"
Emily blinked and said, "Of course not!"
Vanessa whispered near Emily's ear and patted her shoulder. "It's my boyfriend."
Emily said nothing.
Vanessa continued to say, "You should treat me to a meal!"
Emily still said nothing.
Vanessa continued, "Or buy me a drink."
Emily kept silent.
...
In the car, Shawn looked at the bouquet of roses, feeling a bit upset for himself.
He went to buy flowers for Vanessa at once after work and then came to pick up Vanessa without a break, but in the end, he was left waiting in the parking lot for half an hour.
And Vanessa still stood in the distance with her friend whispering.
When they finally walked over, Shawn put the flowers back in the passenger seat and opened the trunk.
Then, he got out of the car, walked straight up to Emily, and held out his hand.
Realizing that Shawn was trying to help her put the suitcase in the trunk, Emily shook her head nervously and said, "Don't bother! I can do it myself!"
The last time she saw Shawn, Emily could laugh and joke with him, but this time, as soon as she saw Shawn, Emily remembered what she advised Vanessa before.
She felt so embarrassed that she didn't dare to let Shawn help her.
Shawn knew why Emily had reacted like this. Looking at her guilty look, Shawn felt a bit funny so he didn't know what to say for a moment.
Therefore, he glanced at Vanessa.
Vanessa soon understood his meaning and said, "Just let him help you, or he'll be afraid I'm going to find a gentleman to be my boyfriend!"
Shawn was speechless.
This time, Emily came here just for a short business trip, so she only carried a small suitcase. After Shawn put it into the trunk, Emily thanked Shawn repeatedly. Then, seeing that Shawn looked at Vanessa, Emily got into the back seat, leaving space for Shawn and Vanessa.
Before the car.
Vanessa was about to get into the car, and Shawn suddenly pulled her back.
It was a bit cold in the evening, and the cool breeze in the empty parking lot blew Vanessa's hair up.
Shawn grabbed Vanessa by the wrist unhappily, in no hurry to get into the car.
"You like Rachel so much?"
"Yes!" Vanessa blushed with excitement at the thought of the photo with Rachel. "I told you that when I first came to your house. I said the truth, not just to hit on you."
Seeing that Vanessa didn't notice his displeasure, Shawn was amused.
"So, you left me here for so long time just for her?" He smoothed Vanessa's hair on her cheeks. "But you told me that you like me the most!"
Vanessa made no reply.
She tilted her head and rubbed her cheek against Shawn's palm.
She acted cutely and joked with a complaint, "She's a woman! You don't have to be so jealous, Shawn! Besides, you also like her! There's a lot of her albums at your home."
Then, Vanessa grinned and continued to make fun of Shawn.
"You're not jealous of me because you didn't take a photo with her but I did, are you?"
Shawn said nothing.
He snorted and turned to get in the car.
Vanessa opened the car door and got in the car. She put the flowers in Shawn's arms and said while wearing her seat belt, "Well, I can see my boyfriend every day, but I may only get the only chance to see Rachel at such a close distance in my life, so you can understand me, right?"
She knew that Shawn just felt upset about being left out, so she explained to him.
However, Shawn just said, "Sorry, I can't understand!"
As a man who had known Rachel for more than twenty years, Shawn really didn't quite understand Vanessa's fanaticism toward Rachel.
Vanessa reached for her flowers, held them in her arms, and muttered, "You are so unreasonable."
Hearing what she said, Shawn chuckled and said as he drove the car, "I am unreasonable, and you know that!"
He said in a calm tone as if what he said was just a casual response to Vanessa, but Vanessa held the flowers tightly, and her heart missed a beat.
She looked at Shawn and opened her mouth, but she didn't know what to say.
Vanessa wasn't sure if there was a hidden meaning behind Shawn's words.
But Vanessa was clear that what Shawn did after he met her was really unreasonable.
All those hidden worries came to her mind now.
However, she was not only addicted to the indulgence and gentleness given by Shawn for no reason but also felt insecure when he chose to stand beside her despite the lies she told before.
As the one who did something wrong, Vanessa got more than forgiveness without paying the price. It made Vanessa feel so unreal like she was stepping on the soft and warm cloud but could fall at any time when Shawn suddenly came to his senses and wanted to correct his life. Vanessa was so afraid.
Vanessa held the flowered tightly and didn't speak for the rest of the way.
...
Shawn was busy today, and he just made time to pick up Vanessa, so he didn't have time to have dinner with them.
Emily was going to have dinner with Cheryl, and since Vanessa was now alone, she decided to take Vanessa with her and have dinner with Cheryl together. Therefore, Shawn dropped them off before the restaurant and then hurried back to the office.
It was a foreign restaurant. Emily and Vanessa waited there for an hour, and then Cheryl arrived.
As a makeup blogger with millions of followers. Cheryl had a good taste in dressing, so when she walked into a restaurant, she immediately drew people's attention.
"Sorry, I have to update a vlog today. It took me a lot of time to watch the editor working, and I just got off work. It's my treat today!"
Cheryl walked over to them with enthusiasm, looked like an old friend.
She put her bag down and paused when she saw Vanessa. "Vanessa?"
Vanessa was used to waiting for people, so she didn't feel impatient for Cheryl's late. She smiled and said to Cheryl, "Long time no see."
"You haven't changed at all!" Cheryl said in surprise and almost forgot that she came here today to talk to Emily about a collaboration. "What do you do now?"
"You know," Vanessa poured her a glass of water and said, " a journalist in Financeweek."
"What?" Cheryl was surprised and then joked with a smile, "Why don't you come to do the citizen journalism with me? It's a lot more profitable than being a journalist."
"Sure," Vanessa said casually, "You can teach me at that time."
Then, Emily and Cheryl got down to business and talk about the cooperation.
Emily was working in a cosmetics company now and in charge of product marketing, so she had been looking for social media influencers on the internet to promote the products. During the conversation, Cheryl kept asking Emily for information about the products and didn't even have time to drink the water.
When the dishes were served, Vanessa reminded them to have dinner first, and then they stopped talking to take a breath.
At this time, Cheryl noticed the flowers beside Vanessa.
"Wow! Did Jackson buy the flowers for you?" Cheryl bit the straw in her cocktail and smiled strangely. "I remember that he always liked to give flowers to you in college. Unexpectedly, he's still so romantic!"
Emily suddenly coughed.
Vanessa calmly shook her head and said. "Not him! I broke up with him."
"Broke up?" Cheryl was surprised, but Vanessa saw something else in her eyes.
Vanessa nodded and said casually. "Yeah! We broke up last year."
Cheryl drank the cocktail while looking at Vanessa with a strange smile.
After a while, she rested her chin on her hand and stare at Vanessa while saying, "Well, since you broke up with him, and I don't have much to do with you. I'll tell you something about him."
Hearing what Cheryl said, Vanessa suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Oh? What's it?"
"When we were in college," Cheryl fiddled with the straw, smiling with sarcasm. "Jackson chased after you for a long time, like two or three years, right?"
Cheryl smiled more oddly as she thought of what happened years ago. "But he actually had a thing with me at that time."
The knife and fork in Vanessa's hands suddenly fell on the table, and she looked at Cheryl in surprise.
"But don't worry! There was nothing else between us at that time!" Cheryl said casually as if she totally moved on. "I was just a backup for him at that time. Every time he was rejected by you, he would talk to me all night. When he failed to ask you out on the holiday, he would come to me! I was also very silly at that time and willing to be his backup. After all, he's handsome and smooth-tongued, so although, he never said that he loved me, I still felt like I was different in his heart."
After a short shock, Vanessa suddenly felt sick of Jackson.
She frowned, and before she said anything, Emily was so furious that she said loudly.
"Why didn't you tell us that at that time?"
"Why should I?" Cheryl felt a bit ridiculous. "You know, I don't know Vanessa very well. Besides, I was just an ordinary girl in college. You wouldn't believe me at that time. Maybe you would think of me as a bitch if I told you that at that time!"
After hearing what Cheryl said, they all fell into silence.
Cheryl was right. When they were in college, Cheryl looked so ordinary that no one would notice her in a crowd.
The reason why she became so popular now was because of her great ability in makeup, but she learned how to use makeup after graduation.
So it was natural for her to be attracted by someone like Jackson easily at that time.
Cheryl looked at Vanessa and said, "Anyway, it's been a long time, and I'm not afraid to be laughed at by you. In fact, I thought I was his soulmate at that time and even thought that I could be his girlfriend one day, but when you finally agreed to have a date with him, Jackson immediately lost contact with me. Then, I realized that I was just his backup."
After saying everything to Vanessa, Cheryl finally felt relieved. She glanced at Vanessa and said, "I told you about this not for having an argument with you but for reminding you to think twice if Jackson wants to get back together with you! I can tell that he really likes you, and I believe that he will go back to you!"
Maybe she also found what she said a bit ridiculous, so Cheryl laughed and nodded. "Well, of all the options, he likes you best. He probably thinks he's very affectionate in his heart. After all, in his eyes, there were plenty of girls who like him, but he still chose you!"
Hearing what Cheryl said, of course, Vanessa was in a foul mood.
She used to think she got into a perfect relationship with Jackson, but it just didn't last for a long time.
However, it turned out that she was cheated by a jerk.
"Well, let's stop talking about that!" Cheryl turned to Emily and said, "It's time to continue to talk about the business. So, what is your marketing plan except for the product placement?"
Emily glanced at Vanessa with concern, but Vanessa just waved at her and said, "Go ahead! I'm okay."
Even though she said so, Vanessa still drank a lot subconsciously during the meal.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Emily tried to stop her. "You've drunk a lot."
Vanessa took Emily's cocktail away and smiled. "Don't worry! I'm not sad at all."
She just felt a bit funny!
Besides, she liked the cocktail here.
After dinner, Emily went to pay the bill. When she came back to the table, Vanessa fell asleep at the table.
"What's the matter? Is she really drunk?" Emily asked Cheryl while patting Vanessa on the back. "But she only drank two glasses of cocktails!"
"Cocktail is still mixed wine, not a drink, so it's normal to get drunk! I wondered that Vanessa probably drank it as the juice."
Cheryl stood up and looked around. "Let's take her home together! This wine has a strong delayed effect, and she will feel uncomfortable later."
"Don't worry!"
Emily checked the time and said, "Her boyfriend will come to pick up her later."
...
Actually, Vanessa wasn't totally drunk, and she was just a little dizzy and weak.
Therefore, when Shawn arrived to pick up her, she stood up and followed behind him with the flowers in her arms.
"Why is your face so red?"
After getting into the car, Shawn noticed Vanessa's rosy cheeks in the dim light and then asked, "Are you drunk?"
Vanessa raised her hand and showed Shawn with her fingers, "Just a little bit! I'm not drunk!"
"Oh? Really?" Shawn drove the car while touching Vanessa's face with his hand.
"Look at your cheeks! You're obviously drunk."
Vanessa pressed her cheek against his hand and whispered, "I just feel a bit hot. Roll down the window so I can get some air."
Since Shawn didn't smell alcohol on Vanessa's breath, Shawn really thought that Vanessa didn't drink much and rolled down the car window.
After being blown in the night wind all the way, as a result, Vanessa could barely stand when she got out of the car.
Seeing that she staggered on the road, Shawn then walked over and carried her in his arms.
"Do you still think that you're not drunk?"
Vanessa felt a bit embarrassed and quietly nestled her head against Shawn's chest.
She threw her arms around his neck, silently feeling the warmth from Shawn.
Vanessa closed his eyes in a gloomy, downbeat mood.
After they got home, Shawn put her on the sofa and bent over to her. Then, he asked, "What happened?"
Shawn noticed that Vanessa was in a subdued mood.
Vanessa kicked off her shoes and curled up. "Nothing," she croaked, "I just heard something about Jackson from my old classmate today."
Shawn paused for a moment.
Then, he said, "You still have a feeling for him?"
"Of course not!" Vanessa rubbed her eyes. "I... I just feel glad for myself that he's a jerk so that I can have a chance to meet you!"
Vanessa hated to admit it, but it was true.
"So, you got drunk just for this?"
Vanessa sat straight up and held Shawn's hand. Then, she said in a low voice, "No, I'm just glad and afraid right now."
Shawn held Vanessa's hand tightly and said, "Why are you afraid? Are you afraid of meeting another jerk?"
Vanessa stared at Shawn and didn't know what to say.
After a while, she said, "No. I know you're not that kind of person. Besides, if you're a jerk, you should have fooled me, had sex with me and dumped me in the end."
Shawn made no answer.
Vanessa then asked, "Do think that it's a good idea?"
"Sounds good!"
Shawn's eyes darkened with a meaningful look.
Vanessa suddenly became nervous at Shawn's words.
She suddenly felt that she was a bit silly to mention the thing they'd been avoiding for so long!
But she could never feel at ease until Shawn made it clear.
She looked at Shawn with guilt, like a sinner awaiting her doom.
However, what she got in the end was a gentle kiss on her forehead.
Shawn sighed a breath and said, "I do want to have sex with you!"
Vanessa trembled slightly.
She held her breath out of nervousness.
After a while, Vanessa said.
"I just want you not to lie to me! It really feels not good to be cheated."
Then, Vanessa paused and lowered her head. "I knew that I lied to you before..."
She was a liar before, then how could she require Shawn to not lie to her?
"Vanessa!" Shawn put his hands by her side and swallowed. Then, he looked down at Vanessa and said in a husky voice.
"It won't happen!"
Vanessa was drunk, and it took her a while to understand what Shawn said.
Vanessa suddenly didn't know what to say.
She also didn't know how to express her feelings at this moment.
She raised her head, and her arms crept around his neck. Then, she kissed Shawn's lips.
In the beginning, Shawn just tried to comfort her, so he gently responded to Vanessa's kisses.
However, Shawn's passion was soon aroused.
In the end, he pinned Vanessa on the sofa and kiss passionately. Vanessa was a bit breathless.
She was drunk, and she lost her breath for so long that she felt a bit dizzy.
Then, Vanessa pushed Shawn.
"I can't take it anymore..."
"It's just a kiss!" Shawn moved his lips to Vanessa's ear and whispered, "Then what if we have sex in the future?"
In fact, Vanessa just thought she was sweaty today and felt a bit embarrassed to have such intimate contact.
"I feel so hot. I want to take a shower now," she said awkwardly while trying to push Shawn away.
But Vanessa forgot that her struggle would only arouse a man's desire to conquer.
Shawn grabbed her hand and pressed it on the bed, showing no intention of letting her go.
The closer Shawn approached her, Vanessa felt more need to take a shower.
She only wanted to be a perfect girl in front of her boyfriend.
She struggled to free herself, but she failed.
Meanwhile, Shawn whispered near her ear, "Honey, just don't move and enjoy it."
"No! I just want everything to be perfect when we're being so intimate!"
Shawn made no reply.