Pei Shaocheng finally felt a little better, the wrinkles between his brows gradually smoothing out, and he sighed contentedly. Just as Wen Yuhan was rubbing his earlobe, he suddenly grabbed the other's hand and brought it to his lips, pecking at it gently.
As the kiss deepened from light and gentle, Wen Yuhan was flipped over and pinned to the sofa by Pei Shaocheng.
Outside the window, it was freezing cold, but inside, it was sweltering hot. That night, they exchanged fewer ambiguous sweet nothings; instead, there was a silent yet overwhelming invasion and acceptance.
Perhaps because he was drunk, or perhaps because he was under too much pressure lately, Pei Shaocheng was inevitably more assertive than usual. Wen Yuhan was biting her hand, but Pei Shaocheng pulled it out of her mouth and replaced it with his strong arm.
Once he regained his senses, Pei Shaocheng quickly leaned over to check if he had hurt Wen Yuhan.
"I'm sorry, I..." Pei Shaocheng was filled with remorse and asked with heartache, "Does it hurt, Xiaohan?"
Wen Yuhan raised her arm to cover her eyes, her breathing still somewhat rapid.
He put his arm around Pei Shaocheng's neck and obediently let the other carry him toward the bedroom.
She slightly curved her lips into a smile and replied softly, "It doesn't hurt."
That night, after Pei Shaocheng fell asleep, Wen Yuhan quietly got up, put on her coat, and went to the balcony to smoke all night.
As dawn broke, he seemed to have finally made up his mind. He took out his phone, opened the text message dialog box, and typed out a sentence:
—Attorney Sun, I'm withdrawing from the lawsuit. Thank you.
Then, press send.
...
Chapter 37
Wen Yuhan's wrist was gripped by Pei Shaocheng, whose gaze was as dark and lifeless as still water.
"Does it hurt?" Pei Shaocheng tightened his grip a little more, and Wen Yuhan gripped the back of the sofa in discomfort, his whole body leaning forward involuntarily, but he still didn't utter a sound.
Seeing that Wen Yuhan's lips had been bitten until they bled, Pei Shaocheng silently released his grip. Wen Yuhan let out a low, panting sound, swaying as she struggled to her feet.
At this moment, Yi Li, who had witnessed the whole thing, was filled with mixed feelings.
He had previously been secretly pleased by Pei Shaocheng's dislike of Wen Yuhan, thinking that they should never be together again. But when he saw Pei Shaocheng unable to suppress his emotions, which he never showed to others, when facing Wen Yuhan, and knew that there was still a very deep bond between them, a bond that was hard to break and untangle.
Yi Li lowered his head, wiped his hands, which were stained with lychee juice, with a damp towel, and said softly, "Senior Wen and Senior Brother must have a very close relationship."
He didn't understand why he was asking such a question when he already knew the answer; perhaps he was hoping to hear the answer he wanted from the two of them.
Pei Shaocheng did not answer, but stared at Wen Yuhan, wanting to see what he would say.
Wen Yuhan was still in pain. She turned her back, picked up a cigarette from the ashtray, lit it, and leaned against the wall, slowly smoking it with her left hand.
A wisp of white smoke enveloped him, his gaze distant, lost in thought.
Just when Yi Li thought he probably wouldn't get any answers from the two of them, Wen Yuhan suddenly smiled and chuckled.
His face had already reverted to its usual nonchalant expression, and he said lazily, drawing out the last syllable, "Very intimate..."
He flicked his cigarette ash, nodded, and said, "That's true, after all, we've slept together."
Pei Shaocheng's pupils trembled slightly, and he felt a breath catch in his throat.
Using the wall for support, Wen Yuhan straightened up, returned to the table, and sat down, picking up her pen once more.
"Bed partner? Or casual sex partner... what do you think, Pei Shaocheng?"
The last glimmer of light in Pei Shaocheng's eyes vanished without a trace as Wen Yuhan spoke. This person truly did not disappoint him.
He laughed, tilted his head back, finished the glass of red wine, uncorked it, and refilled his glass. Then, loosening his tie, he said coldly, "Shouldn't this be the most satisfying work?"
"You're more accurate."
Pei Shaocheng took a deep breath and slowly introduced to Yi Li, "Your senior, Wen, was very willing to dedicate himself to art back in college. In order to find inspiration, he climbed into many men's beds. He is a recognized genius among us..."
At this point, his eyes darkened, and he said, word by word, "She's also a public prostitute."
"Hahaha……"
Wen Yuhan suddenly burst into laughter, his shoulders bobbing up and down as if he had heard some incredibly funny joke.
His hand seemed to unconsciously clench the shirt at his chest, and the ash from his cigarette fell onto the carpet as he trembled.
Pei Shaocheng's brows furrowed even more as Wen Yuhan laughed, and his heart ached dully.
Wen Yuhan wiped away the tears welling up in her eyes, stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray, and shook her head with a sigh: "This is the first time I've heard you say that... It's quite a novel idea."
He curved his lips into a smile, as if remembering something, and turned his gaze to Yi Li, recalling, "I remember back then, everyone claimed to have slept with me, and your Senior Brother Pei would run over with a red face and beat them half to death... So, Pei Shaocheng, someone actually told you what kind of person I am a long time ago, so why are you only willing to believe it now?"
Pei Shaocheng's breathing became heavy, while Wen Yuhan continued to laugh to herself.
The ink smudged the paper again, but he didn't care, crumpled the page of the script, and tossed it into the corner.
“Hmm…a recognized genius…a public slut…” Wen Yuhan said with a laugh, biting the tip of his pen. “How did you come up with such an interesting and clever word? I’ve requisitioned it.”
"Stop laughing." Pei Shaocheng interrupted him darkly, exuding a sinister aura.
Yi Li couldn't help but shrink back, fear showing in his eyes.
However, Wen Yuhan seemed completely oblivious and continued to laugh uncontrollably.
His right hand gripped the edge of the table, and each breath brought even more intense pain than before. Yet, strangely enough, he felt much better.
That's truly beyond redemption.
Pei Shaocheng suddenly stood up, walked quickly to Wen Yuhan, grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up.
"I told you to stop laughing." The threat was forced out between Pei Shaocheng's teeth, but Wen Yuhan laughed even louder as the oxygen became increasingly scarce.
Perhaps he really shouldn't have come back. He kept deceiving himself, telling himself that he couldn't let go of his beloved theater and movies, and that he was unwilling to live a mediocre life. But ultimately, it was just because he wanted to see the person in front of him again.
Everyone has to pay the price for their mistakes; this whole thing was just a self-inflicted, melodramatic farce.
It's not worth writing about, it's not worth sympathizing with.
Seeing that Pei Shaocheng was serious, Yi Li was afraid that something might happen to him, so he quickly stepped forward to pry Pei Shaocheng's hand off and said urgently, "Senior Brother Pei, let go! Someone will die!"
His voice was indistinct in Pei Shaocheng's ears, sometimes near and sometimes far. Pei Shaocheng stared at Wen Yuhan with red eyes, his rationality gradually disappearing with the other's laughter.
Wen Yuhan, do you really look down on me that much?
He's clearly the best liar in the world, yet he wouldn't even stoop to telling me a single lie.
“Pei Shaocheng…” Wen Yuhan’s laughter stopped abruptly. He looked at Pei Shaocheng with pity, a mocking smile on his lips, and softly uttered, “You deserve it.”
We all deserve it.
...
At this moment, Xiao Yang's room was also filled with the smell of smoke. He had never smoked before.
The ashtray was filled with a thick layer of ash, and cigarette butts were haphazardly twisted onto it.
Xiao Yang kept coughing, but he couldn't help taking out new cigarettes from the cigarette box left by Wen Yuhan, lighting them, and imitating him by exhaling smoke.
The phone lying to the side suddenly lit up. Xiao Yang thought it was Wen Yuhan and quickly grabbed the phone. After seeing the caller ID, he was slightly taken aback, but still pressed the answer button.
"President Lu." Xiao Yang's throat tightened as he spoke, and he coughed again.
Lu Yanheng paused on the other end of the phone and asked, "Do you have a cold?"
"No, Mr. Lu, please speak."
Lu Yanheng hummed in agreement and said slowly, "I haven't been able to get in touch with Xiaohan, and I'm a little worried. Are you two together? Is he alright?"
"Uh..." Xiao Yang didn't reply for a long time.
Lu Yanheng frowned, his tone becoming more serious: "What happened?"
"Ahem..." Xiao Yang finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "Oh, Teacher Wen... is revising the script, he probably didn't notice his phone."
"I see." Upon hearing this, Lu Yanheng breathed a slight sigh of relief and gently instructed, "Then I won't disturb him for now. It's damp and cold in the south, and it looks like it's snowing again. I'm worried that Xiaohan might have a stomachache, so please take good care of him."
"Hmm..." Xiao Yang's eyes reddened, and he pressed his fist tightly against his chin.
"That's all for now, I'm hanging up." Lu Yanheng was about to hang up when Xiao Yang hurriedly called out, "Mr. Lu!"
"What's up?"
Humiliation was evident in Xiao Yang's eyes. As a man himself, he had to ask someone else to help Teacher Wen, which was extremely shameful.
However, he also understood that right now, only Lu Yanheng could keep Pei Shaocheng in check.
What does it matter if we sacrifice our dignity for the sake of being teachers?
Xiao Yang took a deep breath and said in a hoarse voice, "There's something I'd like to ask you for help with, it's about Teacher Wen..."
...
A note from the author:
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 38
In the middle of the night, Yi Li fell asleep on the sofa. Pei Shaocheng woke him up and told him to go back to his room to sleep, but Yi Li insisted on waiting for Wen Yuhan to finish revising the script and read it through before he could rest.
Seeing him tilt his head back, clearly sleepy but still trying to look awake, Pei Shaocheng pondered for a moment and ultimately decided not to force him.
He brought over a blanket and covered Yi Li with it. Yi Li obediently thanked Pei Shaocheng softly, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and closed them again.
Pei Shaocheng sat down on the sofa next to him. In the dim light, his dark eyes were fixed on Wen Yuhan's thin back the whole time.
As he got up to pour more wine, Yi Li quietly opened his eyes, all his previous sleepiness gone. He calmly and clearly observed the person writing at the desk, seemingly lost in thought.
After finishing another page, Wen Yuhan found the plaster on her wrist annoying and tore it off.
His wrist was an unnaturally red color and was very swollen. Wen Yuhan tried to move it and felt a burning sensation seeping from the gaps in the bones.
He stared blankly at his trembling hands, clenching and unclenching them, before letting out a silent sigh.
He thought to himself, "Is this going to be ruined?"
After carefully revising a section of dialogue, Wen Yuhan added ink to his fountain pen. His gaze drifted down and he inadvertently saw the gold-embossed words "You are my whole world" on the pen. His eyes flickered, and a drop of ink fell onto the table, nearly staining the paper he had just filled with writing.
The result is often that such memories are the most likely to lead to bad things.