Pei Shaocheng recalled how he used to love to grab the other person's ankle and forcefully drag them back when they were being tortured to the point of despair and wanted to escape. He would watch them be driven to tears and beg for mercy, watch their beautiful eyes fill with an unyielding, enchanting light, and watch their mouths, which could have been so infuriating, fall silent, leaving only broken breaths...
He touched the feet, which were cooler than those of ordinary people, through the warm water, and felt that the pads of his toes were gradually becoming hot.
Lying on the bed, Wen Yuhan noticed the other person's unusual behavior and frowned, trying to pull her legs back. However, the other person gently gripped her ankles, making it impossible for her to move.
"Pei Shaocheng, what are you up to now?" Wen Yu asked coldly.
The next second, he felt his instep suddenly covered by a warm, soft covering, filled with tenderness and reverence.
A look of surprise flashed across Wen Yuhan's eyes, and for a moment she forgot to pull her foot back: "You!"
It is said that some believers will kiss the feet of the gods to show their piety.
And now, this high and mighty movie star is actually kneeling in front of him, kissing the tops of his feet...
Wen Yuhan's mind was in complete chaos, and she immediately felt overwhelmed by a thousand complex emotions.
“Pei Shaocheng…” His eyelashes trembled, and he took a breath, “What exactly do you want to do?”
"I love you."
...
A note from the author:
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 73
A warm breeze carried a small swallow kite into the clear sky. If you stopped what you were doing and listened carefully, you could hear the laughter of children in the distance.
The withered reeds along the riverbank are already showing signs of turning green again, and a cluster of forsythia is unfurling its tender yellow petals, indicating that spring is just around the corner.
However, there is one place where spring never seems to shine through.
Inside the cold iron bars, a handsome boy was looking up slightly at the small, book-sized air vent above his head.
His expression was serene and peaceful. His long, soft hair covered his forehead, obscuring his gentle, clear eyes, which resembled those of a lamb. The mole at the corner of his eye shone with a faint pink hue in the light streaming in from the skylight.
Hearing the door open through the iron bars, the boy turned his head slightly to look at the newcomer, revealing a sweet smile, and called out, "Senior brother, you've come."
But even her seemingly harmless appearance no longer aroused any pity in Pei Shaocheng. He knew what kind of extreme and terrifying soul resided beneath that angelic exterior.
Pei Shaocheng gave Yi Li a deep look, then politely exchanged a few words with the detention center police officer who had accompanied him. The officer nodded, turned, and left, closing the door behind him. Pei Shaocheng glanced at Yi Li again, slowly walked towards him, pulled up his trouser leg on the other side of the iron bars, and sat down.
"Has Senior Brother had breakfast?" Yi Li asked with a smile.
Pei Shaocheng was unwilling to talk to him any longer. He tapped his fingertips lightly on his knee twice and said in a deep voice, "There's something I still don't understand. Why is Han Shu so eager to ruin Wen Yuhan this time? It's not just about forcing him out of the industry. Even though Wen Yuhan has already left, she still wants to kill him again and again. In the end, it's just a matter of his work. It's unreasonable."
Yi Li sighed softly upon hearing this: "So this is all you came here to tell me?"
"I have nothing more to say to you," Pei Shaocheng said coldly. "Yi Li, this is your last chance. You know that the court's final verdict will largely depend on Xiao Han's side."
“Xiao Han…” Yi Li murmured, “You call her that so affectionately.” He paused, then suddenly smiled strangely and said in a low voice, “Brother Cheng, your Xiao Han is nothing special except that she’s a bit fairer and thinner.”
Pei Shaocheng's pupils suddenly darkened, and a chilling killing intent emanated from the surroundings.
"Try saying another word." His voice was chilling, like that of a living demon.
"Hehehahaha..." Yi Li let out a light laugh, but deep in his smiling eyes lay an unyielding despair.
Pei Shaocheng suppressed the urge to grind the man before him to dust, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He hadn't forgotten the purpose of his trip, and his fingers tapped rapidly and impatiently on his knees.
Yi Li stopped laughing: "Brother Cheng, in your eyes, Han Shu's hatred for Wen Yuhan might not be this much, because you are a recognized genius by everyone. But do you understand the despair and resentment of someone who passionately loves their major, only to find that no matter how hard they try, the other person's minimum standard is still an insurmountable ceiling?" He paused, "Of course, I don't understand Han Shu in this respect either. But from an emotional point of view, we are actually the same kind of people."
At this point, Yi Li's tone turned resentful: "The person I followed with all my might, the one I cherished so dearly, the one I was afraid of even dirtying, only ever saw the back of another. Even though that other person didn't care about him at all, I still insisted on giving everything for him. How could I not hate and resent him?"
"Don't change the subject." Pei Shaocheng interrupted Yi Li. "It's none of your business what I do with Xiao Han." He looked down at the other man, discerning the subtle emotions in Yi Li's eyes, and said slowly, "In my opinion, Han Shu's actions this time seem more like fear than resentment."
Yi Li's eyes darkened slightly, which Pei Shaocheng caught precisely. Pei Shaocheng continued, "And Wen Yuhan's existence undoubtedly poses a huge threat to him, which is why he was so eager to eliminate Wen Yuhan completely."
"Then guess what it is?" Yi Li grinned, which was actually an admission of Pei Shaocheng's guess, but he was unwilling to tell him easily.
"Tell me, what do you want me to do to tell me?" Pei Shaocheng stared at Yi Li with his dark eyes.
Yi Li stared at him for a moment, then turned his head back to the vent that let in the sunlight, and said softly, "I actually don't like spring at all. The temperature is neither too hot nor too cold, which always makes me feel sleepy. Just like my life, I am loved and anticipated by all those who don't know the truth, but they don't know that in this kind of spring, I am like a frog being boiled in warm water, and I have to pretend to be happy after everything is reviving, to satisfy everyone's expectations... But Brother Cheng, I'm so annoyed, I'm really annoyed to death."
Pei Shaocheng listened expressionlessly. He knew that if he didn't let Yi Li finish saying what he wanted to say, he wouldn't be able to negotiate with him.
“Then you appeared, and slowly, I regained my senses from numbness. Those feelings of trepidation, excitement, tension, and even pain made me feel alive, and so you became my only, my sole reason for living…” Yi Li’s voice choked with emotion as he buried his face in his handcuffed hands and trembled as he said, “Brother Cheng, I really don’t want you to hate me… I really don’t want Brother Cheng to… Why did he have to come back…”
“Yi Li, tell me everything you know. Perhaps,” Pei Shaocheng paused, then said in a low voice, “there might still be a chance.”
Yi Li shook his head and laughed: "You're bluffing me. I know you want to kill me right now..."
That was true. Pei Shaocheng's jawline tightened, and he pursed his lips, remaining silent.
His silence extinguished the last glimmer of hope in Yi Li's heart. He kept laughing in the pillar of light until the trembling light in his eyes gradually faded into death, becoming dim and empty. But the smile on his lips remained, too lazy to hide it.
After an unknown amount of time, so long that Pei Shaocheng thought he wouldn't get any more information from this trip, Yi Li finally spoke again in a low voice. He turned to look at Pei Shaocheng, his eyes now clouded with gloom, and said coldly, "I can tell you, as long as you can find a way to let me finish that show at the end of the month."
He paused again at this point, a slight smile playing on his lips: "And also, you're coming."
"You mean 'Sinking Lake'?"
Yi Li nodded: "I actually participated in the creation of that play myself, and I made adjustments to the original story and character lines... When my senior brother came to watch me rehearse that day, I was really happy. You know, that play was specially performed for you." His unfocused eyes fell on Pei Shaocheng's face, as if trying to see through his skin and into his soul, "The beloved Lake Demon King deeply loves the Shepherd God in the forest at the end of the lake, but he cannot go ashore. He can only swim across the swamp full of water snakes and bones every day to secretly catch a glimpse of the Shepherd God. But the Shepherd God Pan is always obsessed with an unreal dream and a water spirit that does not exist in the dream."
"It's settled then." Pei Shaocheng agreed calmly and stood up.
Yi Li is unworthy to speak of the Shepherd God and his water spirit. This so-called "Sinking Lake" is nothing more than the Lake Demon King's own wishful thinking.
Pei Shaocheng coldly looked at Yi Li: "I will find a way to make you finish performing 'Sinking Lake'. Now you can tell me Han Shu's purpose."
Yi Li lowered his head and remained silent for a moment before looking up again: "Han Shu has been abroad for many years, and he actually wants to reshape the character of Andrew and revive that play from back then. This can also be seen as a way to prove to the world, to Liu Zhengju, and to himself that he is talented, and that his talent is no less than Wen Yuhan's."
Pei Shaocheng narrowed his eyes, waiting for Yi Li to continue.
“He’s returning to China next month, bringing with him this play and a completely new version of the character. He won’t allow Wen Yuhan to ruin his years of hard work,” Yi Li said slowly. “Your senior brother guessed right. Han Shu is indeed terrified right now because he’s still not satisfied with the character he’s created. He’s afraid that after watching his new version, people will not only fail to appreciate it but will also miss the previous version, which would completely prove his mediocrity and incompetence. He’s also afraid that Wen Yuhan’s presence will cause any problems during the performance, but he has to do it after years of painstaking research because he wants to know the outcome, but he’s also afraid of knowing the outcome…”
"If we can't surpass him, why not eliminate him first?" Pei Shaocheng felt a surge of disgust; Han Shu was truly despicable.
Yi Li: "Han Shu once said that there can only be one version of Andrew in this world, and that version can only belong to himself."
"Heh." Pei Shaocheng sneered.
There is indeed only one Andrew in this world, and that is Pei Shaocheng.
Pei Shaocheng, Wen Yuhan.
...
A note from the author:
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 74
When Pei Shaocheng returned to the hospital ward, a nurse was pushing a medical cart in to change Wen Yuhan's dressing.
As a public figure, Pei Shaocheng had already arranged for the hospital to keep his comings and goings confidential. The medical staff responsible for caring for and treating Wen Yuhan were also specially arranged, and their abilities and clinical experience were beyond question.
"Mr. Wen, let me change your dressing."
"Okay, thank you." Wen Yuhan smiled at the nurse, then took off her shirt and put it aside. She cooperated with the nurse to remove the bandages from her body, then said calmly to Pei Shaocheng, "You've seen him."
Pei Shaocheng nodded, his attention still focused on the wound on Wen Yuhan's abdomen. Looking at the stitched scar, he felt it was particularly glaring and heartbreaking.
"Does it still... hurt?" The words trembled slightly as they came out.
"It doesn't hurt much." Wen Yuhan watched as the nurse wiped his wound with a cotton ball soaked in iodine, and he still gasped slightly due to the discomfort.
While treating the wound, the nurse said, "How could it not hurt? The wound is so deep. Luckily, it didn't damage any internal organs."
Upon hearing this, Pei Shaocheng wished the knife had been stabbed into his own body. A dark cloud once more filled his eyes, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, and a deep sigh escaped his chest.
"It's really okay." Wen Yuhan finally breathed a sigh of relief after the nurse changed her dressing and wrapped the bandage. She then said gently, "It's just that it was really itchy at night, but I didn't dare to scratch it."
"That's the wound healing, but yours is quite deep, so it will itch more than a regular external wound." The nurse threw the old gauze into the waste bin and wrote a few words on the medical record. "I'll tell Director Xie about the situation and ask him to prescribe some more medicine for you. Remember, don't scratch the wound."
"Yes, I know, thank you." Wen Yuhan nodded to the nurse, who also had a good impression of him. After all, who doesn't like someone who is good-looking and always has a smile on their face? So she gave Wen Yuhan a few more instructions before pushing the trolley out of the ward.
After the nurse left, Wen Yuhan picked up his shirt and was about to put it back on when Pei Shaocheng took it from him and put it on for him, then helped him button it up one by one.
Wen Yuhan tried to block with her hand, but after her fingertips collided with Pei Shaocheng's, she hesitated for a moment and then slowly withdrew her hand.
“Actually, you don’t need to come every day.” He sighed softly. “Xiao Yang came this afternoon…”
"I want to stay by your side."
Wen Yuhan paused for a moment, but couldn't help but ask, "But I feel uncomfortable with you here. The New Year is over. When are you planning to go back to Yancheng?"
"Let me stay by your side, okay?" Pei Shaocheng looked up to meet Wen Yuhan's gaze, his usually arrogant eyes now showing a hint of weakness and pleading.
Wen Yuhan's Adam's apple bobbed, then he looked away and said indifferently, "Whatever." In the end, he couldn't bear to see Pei Shaocheng with that expression.
"What do you want to eat tonight? I'll make it for you." Seeing that Wen Yuhan was no longer trying to shoo him away, Pei Shaocheng quickly asked in a conciliatory manner, "How about stir-fried bamboo shoots and ham? Your wound is still healing, so you can't eat spicy or stimulating food."
"Just buy something at the hospital cafeteria."
“No.” Pei Shaocheng interrupted, “Your stomach isn’t good, let me do it. I know your…”
Wen Yuhan turned her face and looked at him with a half-smile. Pei Shaocheng's heart sank, and he couldn't help but think of how he had once held Wen Yuhan's chin in that huge suite and forced him to drink a whole bottle of red wine.
Sure enough, Wen Yuhan chuckled lightly with a rising tone at the end: "I really do... have a Schrödinger's stomach problem."
These words undoubtedly dealt another heavy blow to Pei Shaocheng's heart, but he couldn't refute them. Fortunately, Wen Yuhan didn't dwell on the matter any longer and changed the subject, asking, "So what did Yi Li say to you?"
"I asked him why Han Shu was so persistent in pursuing you this time."
Upon hearing this name, Wen Yuhan's body involuntarily tensed up.
Pei Shaocheng placed his warm palm on Wen Yuhan's shoulder. Seeing that she did not refuse, he opened his arms and gently pulled her into his embrace. His deep, magnetic voice, filled with reassuring tenderness, comforted her, "Don't be afraid, no one can hurt you anymore." Including myself.
Wen Yuhan closed his eyes. Although he knew it was wrong, when he leaned against that warm and broad chest, it felt like a small boat that had been drifting on a turbulent sea for who knows how long had finally reached the harbor, feeling comfortable and relaxed.
"Did he tell you?" When Wen Yuhan opened his eyes again, his gaze had returned to calm. "I'm afraid it won't be that easy."
"He made it a condition that I could attend the premiere of the new play as scheduled." Pei Shaocheng patted Wen Yuhan's back. "I agreed."
Recalling the first time she met Yi Li, seeing his exceptionally talented performance and his passion for the stage, a trace of regret flashed in Wen Yuhan's eyes: "He should have..." Wen Yuhan wanted to say that he should have had a brighter future, but she stopped midway through her sentence.