Of course, perhaps such indifference is only directed at "passersby" like myself who are just asking for trouble and unwilling to give up.
“You don’t treat that Xiao Yang guy like this at all.”
“Xiao Yang…” Wen Yuhan murmured, then said without denying it, “After all, Xiao Yang wouldn’t lock a patient in the toilet and pour cold water on his face. Nor would he smash his phone without saying a word, humiliating and violating him like he did just now.”
He raised his chin and smiled at Pei Shaocheng: "Xiao Yang is much gentler than you."
"Wen Yuhan!" A loud shout burst out.
With just nine words, he easily negated everything about Pei Shaocheng. Wen Yuhan closed his eyes; he knew all too well how to hurt the man before him.
Another sharp pain shot through her stomach. Wen Yuhan frowned, then shoved Pei Shaocheng aside, ran barefoot into the bathroom, and vomited into the toilet.
The cold tiles brought a chill that shot up from the soles of my feet to my forehead, causing a cold sweat to break out.
Hearing Pei Shaocheng's footsteps behind him, Wen Yuhan flushed the toilet, feeling a burning and astringent sensation in her throat from the alcohol and stomach acid.
Yet he felt a strange sense of pleasure, as if the stronger the physical discomfort, the better it could mask the dull pain that was growing in his heart.
"Do you have any stomach medicine here?" After vomiting, Wen Yuhan turned on the tap and rinsed her mouth as if nothing had happened.
Pei Shaocheng paused for a moment, then said, "I'll have someone deliver it now."
“I saw a 24-hour pharmacy downstairs…” Wen Yuhan turned around and stared at Pei Shaocheng, looking like he wanted to tell him to hurry downstairs and buy medicine if he didn’t want him to be in so much pain.
Pei Shaocheng stared coldly at Wen Yuhan for a moment, then turned around and slammed the door shut.
...
When Pei Shaocheng received the stomach medicine from the clerk, he also casually grabbed a box of hawthorn pills from the counter.
Wen Yuhan loves eating hawthorn, especially hawthorn pills, which he often eats like candy. When they lived together, they always kept some on hand.
The shop assistant seemed to recognize Pei Shaocheng, glancing at him repeatedly, hesitating whether to ask. But when she saw his cold eyes, she instantly chickened out.
Standing at his front door again, Pei Shaocheng hesitated for a moment as he looked at the fingerprint lock in front of him.
He knew that Wen Yuhan had most likely already left, but he still harbored a sliver of expectation that he shouldn't have.
He longed to open the door and find the other person lying on the bed waiting for him. A bedside lamp was on in the room, and Wen Yuhan was casually flipping through a book, then turned back and gave him a lazy smile, saying, "You're so slow."
Pei Shaocheng took a deep breath and finally opened the door.
The room was brightly lit, and to his surprise, it was completely empty.
Pei Shaocheng casually tossed the plastic bag aside by the door, changed his shoes, went inside, and took a bottle of red wine from the wine cabinet. He then turned off all the lights and leaned back on the leather sofa.
With a "pop" as the cork left the bottle, Pei Shaocheng tilted his head back and drank the entire bottle straight from the opening.
If the person delivering the wine saw him like this, they would surely say he was wasting a precious gift.
However, what Pei Shaocheng wanted at this moment was simply to numb his throbbing nerves.
Pei Shaocheng's phone, which he hadn't checked all night, kept vibrating on the coffee table. He glanced at the caller ID and answered.
Before he could speak, an impatient voice came from the phone.
What's wrong with you?
The caller was Shen Wei, the vice president of Huacan Entertainment, one of the few friends Pei Shaocheng could get along with in the industry over the years.
Pei Shaocheng leaned back on the sofa and lit a cigarette.
"I beat up Yu Wanli."
"Of course I know you beat someone up!" Shen Wei's voice rose eight octaves. "He had seven stitches in his head. Old Yu probably hasn't suffered such an injustice since he started in this business."
"It's his turn."
"You! Damn it." Shen Wei cursed, then hesitated before tentatively asking, "You saw him?"
"Um."
There was a pause on the other end of the phone, and then Shen Wei sighed and said, "Shao Cheng, don't blame me for not reminding you, you and that famous screenwriter are no longer on the same page. Don't let your lingering feelings for that old relationship ruin you in the end."
Seeing that Pei Shaocheng remained silent for a long time, Shen Wei had no choice but to continue helplessly: "I've already found someone to help you appease Yu Wanli. I heard that his new movie is going to be held in Hainan at the end of the year, but some venues haven't been secured yet... You're the image ambassador for the film festival there, so if you help him out, I reckon this whole thing about you beheading him will be over. After all, with your current status, Old Yu doesn't want to really break ties with you."
"knew."
Pei Shaocheng rubbed his aching temples, feeling the alcohol kicking in. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and said calmly, "I'll call Hainan tomorrow and ask them to organize a get-together for me. Invite that guy surnamed Yu along."
"Hey, that's right!" Seeing that Pei Shaocheng was somewhat on the right track, Shen Wei breathed a sigh of relief.
But Pei Shaocheng then changed the subject: "However, if he dares to keep thinking about Wen Yuhan, it won't just be a matter of getting seven stitches."
"Tsk tsk, Pei Shaocheng, you're such a damn jerk!" Shen Wei finally couldn't help but say to him, "You're always thinking about someone else, but don't you even realize that she's already got someone else?"
You mean his assistant?
"What kind of support is this!" Shen Wei laughed. "Think about it, how could a screenwriter who has been boycotted and blacklisted by so many colleagues possibly get Zhong Hao's project?"
A dark cloud gradually settled over Pei Shaocheng's eyes, and he felt that every word Shen Wei uttered was stimulating his eardrums.
After a long silence, Pei Shaocheng asked in a grim tone, "Who?"
Shen Wei was startled by the other party's tone and hesitated for a long time before sighing and saying, "First of all, I'm not sure about this... but I heard from the co-producers of your show that the reason Zhong Hao was able to use Wen Yuhan in the end was because Lu Yanheng personally vouched for him."
"Lu Zhengqiang's son?"
“Him, the eldest son of the Lu family.” Shen Wei paused, then said seriously, “If you ask me, if that screenwriter really has something going on with Lu Yanheng, I advise you to cut your losses in time, otherwise it will be really troublesome.”
...
"Hello? Shao Cheng? Where is he?"
beep--
The call was abruptly cut off.
Pei Shaocheng looked out the window at the lights that would go out several times every two minutes, his expression hidden in the shadows.
Wen Yuhan, as expected, has never changed.
...
Chapter 6
They met again two weeks later.
Wen Yuhan received a call from Feng Yuan, who said that the director and Pei Shaocheng had finished reading his latest draft of the script and wanted to hold a meeting to discuss the issues.
On the way to Zhong Hao, Xiao Yang was unusually talkative. One minute she was asking him if his stomach was still upset, and the next she was asking how Feng Yuan had evaluated the script over the phone.
Wen Yuhan took a hawthorn candy out of her pocket and handed it to him, smiling as she asked, "Are you nervous?"
Xiao Yang was caught off guard and stiffened slightly. He scratched his head sheepishly and said, "Of course. It's my first time writing a play, and I was afraid that people wouldn't be satisfied with the scenes I wrote and that I would drag the teacher down."
"Don't worry." Wen Yuhan leaned back in her chair, looking out the window at the tall buildings and crowds receding into the distance, and said gently, "I went over the draft again before sending it to the client. You wrote it very well."
"Is that so?!"
Upon receiving Wen Yuhan's praise, Xiao Yang's face flushed with excitement. He swallowed hard and said, "Back in my hometown, I only wrote advertising copy. This is the first time I've ever been involved in such a big film project. I'm so grateful to have a teacher like me!"
As Xiao Yang spoke, she smiled and glanced at Wen Yuhan, then became lost in thought.
The afternoon sun slanted across his face, casting dappled golden light. Wen Yuhan squinted, gazing casually at the street scene, looking languid.
This is his usual state when he's not writing anything; it's like he's daydreaming or feeling a bit sleepy.
Xiao Yang remembered the first time he met Wen Yuhan in a small bar in his hometown. He was just like now, lingering in the bartender's eager attempts to strike up a conversation.
With a cigarette between his fingers and a glass of plum wine on the rocks in front of him, he accidentally spilled some wine on the table when he picked it up. He then ran his index finger over the puddle and looked up at the bartender in a clear, nonchalant tone, asking, "Excuse me, what did you just say?"
Back then, Xiao Yang couldn't help but think, "This person looks so lonely." But he didn't want to disturb him, because the scene was just too beautiful. So much so that whenever he saw Wen Yuhan with that expression, his heart would pound uncontrollably…
"Is it pretty?"
The other person's question abruptly pulled Xiao Yang back to reality. He hurriedly sat up straight and awkwardly uttered, "Huh?"
Wen Yuhan smiled slightly at Xiao Yang, a sly smile appearing in her eyes hidden by her stray hairs.
Xiao Yang, whose thoughts had been seen through, sighed in frustration and muttered to himself:
"Please don't tease me..."
...
The car stopped downstairs at Zhong Hao's building. Wen Yuhan led Xiao Yang into the building and pressed the elevator button.
Just as the elevator doors were about to close, they were opened again. Xiao Yang was startled when she saw who it was, quickly glanced at Wen Yuhan, and then cautiously greeted the newcomer, "Ahem, good morning, Mr. Pei!"
Pei Shaocheng completely ignored Xiao Yang, silently staring at Wen Yuhan with dark eyes.
The atmosphere became somewhat oppressive due to his aura. Xiao Yang and Emily exchanged glances, neither daring to utter a sound.
Finally, Wen Yuhan broke the silence by gesturing to Pei Shaocheng and chuckling, "Good morning."
Pei Shaocheng remained silent, staring at him. Wen Yuhan, not annoyed by the lack of response, casually pressed the close button and floor number again.
Xiao Yang glanced furtively at Pei Shaocheng and then at Wen Yuhan, her heart already filled with doubts about the relationship between the two.
The day after returning from the resort, he tried to ask Wen Yuhan during a break from writing, but the other party just puffed out smoke and said in a drawn-out, incoherent tone:
"Me and him..."
And then, that was it.
Xiao Yang knew that this was actually Wen Yuhan's way of refusing to answer.
Cunning and effective.
So he wisely stopped asking questions, but he couldn't help but wonder if Teacher Wen had changed in some way after meeting Pei Shaocheng.
To be precise, they've become more emotional.
...
bite--
The elevator arrived at Zhonghao's top floor, where Feng Yuan and Cheng Liang's directing team were already waiting in the conference room.
As the group entered the conference room, Feng Yuan hurriedly and enthusiastically stood up, pulling out a chair to indicate that Pei Shaocheng should sit down first.
In the instant their eyes met, Wen Yuhan clearly saw the amusement in Feng Yuan's eyes. He nodded and smiled at Feng Yuan, who immediately greeted him in return. Neither of them mentioned what had happened at the resort, as if nothing had ever occurred.