What Does True Love Mean to You?

They had arrived backstage at I Am a Singer.

All five singers were eagerly preparing.

Shen Jin had not arrived particularly late, but she looked listless and wore a bitter smile. Despite the bustle backstage, she was dressed in the same disguise she had worn to the hospital that day. The white baseball cap, dark sunglasses, and black mask covered her completely.

Her expressive eyes looked utterly drained. By now, she no longer craved the championship quite so much. She had only come because she wanted to get the competition over with as soon as possible.

"Qingxi, have you seen that white scarf Shen Jin is wearing before? Why do I feel like I've seen it somewhere?"

When Shen Jin got out of the car, Liu Yi had studied her carefully, hoping to find something she could use to attack and smear her.

"That scarf does look familiar. That day at the hospital, wasn't the woman beside Yun Xiaoran wearing a scarf just like that?"

Since he was her former boyfriend and only two days had passed, Liu Yi found the sight extremely familiar. When she pulled up the photograph of Yun Xiaoran and that woman from her gallery, she froze in shock.

The woman Yun Xiaoran had cared for so attentively at the hospital that day was none other than Shen Muge, the Top Diva of Chinese Entertainment and the nation's beloved goddess. The matching scarves, figures, and wisps of hair at their temples allowed Liu Yi to be completely certain.

"Impossible."

Li Qingxi rejected the idea outright, her voice trembling. She stared at the photograph, stunned for a long time. She had never imagined that just three days after leaving her, Yun Xiaoran would find a wealthy woman-and one with even better prospects than her.

She began recalling every detail of Yun Xiaoran's departure. Just like Shen Muge on the day she had mistakenly registered her marriage with him, she, too, fell prey to the Barnum Effect.

From the moment suspicion took root, she kept guessing and finding confirmation:

"No wonder he didn't beg me. He already had a better fallback. No wonder he didn't want the five hundred thousand. He'd already found someone better!"

Li Qingxi had no idea how Yun Xiaoran had gotten involved with Shen Jin, but there was one thing she could be sure of: she now had a photograph that could destroy Shen Jin's public image.

"There's no rush. As long as we have this photo, Shen Muge won't have a single day of peace."

"But before that, I can take my ex and his current girlfriend down a peg!"

Now that Li Qingxi had decisive evidence, she was in no hurry to post the photograph online. If she was going to crush them, she would grind both their pride and their reputations into the dirt!

"I can't help becoming a stubborn fish, swimming alone to the very end..." By the time Shen Muge took the stage, she had achieved seventy percent mastery of the song, complemented by the distinctive presence of a diva.

A diamond necklace adorned her flawless, snow-white swan neck, while her shimmering pink-and-white mermaid gown made her the focus of the entire venue.

Holding the microphone in her fair hands, she gave the performance everything she had. Her sweet voice commanded the entire room.

Listening backstage, Sister Hua was astonished. She could hardly believe that her Jin'er could bring out the song's potential so well.

Still, she had spent the past two days diligently practicing at home. Although her sprained ankle continued to hinder her movements, a mermaid gown only allowed for small steps anyway.

Instead, it made Shen Muge look like a fairy descending from the moon, moving with graceful poise. Her clear, flawless eyes sparkled like sapphires beneath the lights.

The song ended.

"Let's hurry home. I don't feel like moving at all." Having stayed up late in the breeze the night before, Shen Jin went from a fairy singing in the heavens to a jewel fallen into the mortal world the moment she left the stage. She held the railing and murmured to herself.

Sister Hua hurried to support Shen Muge. As both her assistant and manager, she murmured reassuringly:

"All right, all right. We'll go home right now, without any delays. Jin'er, you did wonderfully today."

Shen Jin perched weakly on the chair and smiled back, looking at Sister Hua.

"Yun Xiaoran."

For some reason, someone backstage had spoken her husband's name.

Shen Jin instinctively turned around, only to meet Li Qingxi's gaze. Though alarmed, she forced herself to look composed, wondering where Li Qingxi could have discovered the truth.

Sister Hua stood in front of Shen Muge, her expression steady.

"What's wrong, Shen Muge? Do you know this person?" Li Qingxi gave a confident smile. She finally had a chance to disgust Shen Muge, and this time she held the advantage.

"The same sunglasses, hat, and scarf at the hospital that day. Wasn't that you?"

"Well..." Before Shen Jin could think of an answer, Li Qingxi called her out directly.

"If this photograph hasn't been circulated, I'll pay five hundred thousand for it." Shen Jin lightly clenched her teeth and, after carefully weighing the consequences, named a high price.

This was an unwritten rule among the three entertainment companies. If someone caught hold of another person's dirt, a reasonable round of extortion was acceptable. Once it reached the paparazzi, the resulting cost in time and money would far exceed what five hundred thousand could settle.

Li Qingxi was not short of money now. Her appearances, stage shows, variety programs, and advertisements had earned her enough to buy an expensive villa in the first-tier city of Linshun City.

"I don't need five hundred thousand."

To Shen Jin's surprise, Li Qingxi turned down that considerable sum.

Li Qingxi had originally intended to sell it straight to the paparazzi, but Liu Yi had stopped her. She was also worried that exposing Yun Xiaoran would enrage him into retaliating. She had lived with him for three years.

He knew everything there was to know, and the damage he could do to her would be no less than what she could do to Shen Muge.

"What's your relationship with him now?" Unexpectedly, Li Qingxi's next question was steeped in curiosity about the gossip, leaving Sister Hua, who stood in front of Shen Muge, bewildered.

She had turned down five hundred thousand just to ask about their relationship. What was she trying to do?

"This isn't a good place to talk. Let's go somewhere else." Hesitation showed on Shen Jin's face as she held the railing and spoke. Seeing how weak she was, Sister Hua took the opportunity to agree:

"Exactly. Shen Muge is too weak right now. Let's find a hotel and book a private dining room at a five-star restaurant. We can talk over dinner."

After weighing the pros and cons, Li Qingxi agreed. There were too many people backstage. If someone happened to photograph them, she might end up getting smeared herself.

That evening.

At the Tianhe Hotel, they occupied two private dining rooms. Sister Hua and Liu Yi were in one, while Li Qingxi and Shen Muge were in the other.

Both Shen Jin and Li Qingxi had asked to speak alone. Even though Sister Hua and Liu Yi were beside themselves with anxiety, they could only sit in the other room, eating the delicacies before them distractedly. The food tasted like wax.

Shen Jin sat elegantly, still wearing the mermaid gown from her afternoon performance. She carried herself with dignified composure. After gathering her thoughts, she said softly, "Yun Xiaoran is already married to me. He's my husband."

"Yun Xiaoran married you?" Confusion filled Li Qingxi's face. "Impossible. He couldn't have married you." She had sacrificed love while trying to climb her way up from the second tier, yet Shen Muge, whose career was soaring, was already married!

"Because I love everything about him. Most importantly, his talent."

Shen Jin had been taking small bites of the beef on her plate. As though she already knew what Li Qingxi was thinking, she unlocked her phone and began playing a song from the previous night in the dining room.

"It's been so long. What role do I play now? Carefully dressed, the buttons on my white shirt were a gift from you."

"How would I know? Yun Xiaoran and I were in love for four years, from university until now. Of course I know." Li Qingxi grew a little excited as she said this. For once, she had something in which she could completely outshine the diva sitting before her.

Looking down at her plate, Shen Jin's eyes trembled with an indescribable mix of uncertainty and confusion. She had known Yun Xiaoran would have an ex-girlfriend, but she had never imagined it would be Li Qingxi.

"His family was pressuring him to get married, so he wanted to marry me. I refused, and we broke up. Don't you know he only married you to get his family off his back?"

Li Qingxi spoke to Shen Jin with absolute confidence, watching Shen Muge closely. She wanted to make it clear that Yun Xiaoran did not love her.

Yet the information Li Qingxi offered allowed Shen Jin to piece together Yun Xiaoran's original intentions.

When Yun Xiaoran married her, he had not known she was Shen Muge. He had simply wanted to find someone to marry so he could appease his family.

"I... of course I know."

Shen Jin had lost her earlier calm and composure. Her eyes remained fixed on the dishes in front of her, and her teeth pressed tightly against her closed lips.

"Yesterday, I went to tell him clearly that he should stop pestering me. Before that, we'd run into Yun Xiaoran at an expensive restaurant in Seaside."

Li Qingxi continued speaking.

"At the restaurant, he said he had a wife who loved him. I'm curious, too. What exactly is your marriage like?" Listening to the song, Li Qingxi smiled as though she had finally let go.

"Yun Xiaoran loves me very much. He makes breakfast for me and takes care of me when I fall. And what you don't know is that yesterday, he gave me an expensive gold bracelet. He paid for it with the money he earned making videos on VA Station." Shen Jin spoke with unhurried composure. As the Top Diva of Chinese Entertainment, her powerful presence commanded respect without any show of anger.

"Is that all? Do you even understand what love is?" Li Qingxi challenged Shen Muge. "A little effort and sacrifice moved you that much? You think that makes it love?"

A long silence followed. After those words, the entire dining room fell deathly still.

"When notes confessing love aren't allowed, eyes can convey love.

When holding hands is forbidden, a confession slipped beneath a desk is love.

When embracing is forbidden, holding hands is love.

And when kissing is a sin, a sincere embrace is love."

Seated in her chair, Shen Jin showed a rare flash of anger. Decisive and clearheaded, she looked at Li Qingxi and said:

"Love isn't measured by what the other person brings to the table. If one day even sex no longer counts as love, does that mean only death can prove it? If so, that would be truly tragic."

Li Qingxi sat silently, her fingernails turning white. She was just about to speak when she was mercilessly interrupted.

"If your mind is filled with all kinds of sexual experiences, then of course his blushing wouldn't count as love in your eyes."