Lu Yanheng's words struck Pei Shaocheng's chest like a blunt object.
His pupils trembled as he was forced into those memories he didn't want to mention, yet which repeatedly haunted his nightmares and kept him from finding peace...
Back then, Wen Yuhan devoted all his money and energy to the lawsuit against Han Shu. Andrew was his favorite character in his life, and he would never allow anyone to take it away from him.
Pei Shaocheng naturally gave his full support, even at the cost of giving up many performance opportunities.
One day, Wen Yuhan suddenly said he was tired and didn't want to pursue the matter any further.
No matter how much Pei Shaocheng asked, he would always use his usual excuse to evade the question.
At the same time, Pei Shaocheng noticed that Wen Yuhan's attitude towards him seemed to be changing, and later her entire personality changed drastically. She spent her days smoking and drinking, and often stayed out all night.
As the year draws to a close, Wen Yuhan once again failed to return home all night.
Pei Shaocheng frantically searched through streets adorned with red lanterns and colorful knots, finally finding Wen Yuhan lying naked on the bed in a suite of a five-star hotel.
The other man standing next to him was someone Pei Shaocheng had also met before; he was a moderately well-known advertising director at the time. He was of mixed Chinese and German descent, and his name was Dennis.
The room was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere; the messy bed and tangled clothes were enough to prove what kind of crazy things had happened here not long ago.
Wen Yuhan leaned against the headboard with a cigarette between her fingers, calmly looking at Pei Shaocheng.
Those beautiful eyes reflected undisguised weariness.
"Oh no..." Wen Yuhan smiled, a cigarette dangling from his lips, then looked up with a hint of mockery. "We've been found out."
Pei Shaocheng felt a sudden dizziness and grabbed a vase from the table, intending to smash it at the mixed-race man.
Wen Yuhan stepped in front of the man, looked up at Pei Shaocheng, and calmly said:
“Since you already know, I’ll just say it to your face.” He blew smoke into Pei Shaocheng’s face while holding his cigarette in his mouth. “To be honest, I’ve lost all interest in you. I can’t find any creative inspiration in you… Pei Shaocheng, let’s break up.”
Pei Shaocheng was stunned. Wen Yuhan's tone remained nonchalant: "You know, I've never been a sentimental person. Being with you is just to create better characters. Artists are like birds without feet. When you feel numb to someone and can no longer be inspired by them, that's when it's time to end it."
"I'm sorry," Pei Shaocheng blurted out.
He didn't know why he suddenly apologized to Wen Yuhan.
Tears welled up in his eyes involuntarily, and he almost pleaded with Wen Yuhan, "Don't break up, okay... Think about it again, I'll give you time, I can give you anything you want!"
Wen Yuhan, cigarette dangling from his lips, sighed, avoiding his gaze: "Pei Shaocheng, what can you possibly give me now? Money, connections, inspiration, or a second chance..."
Pei Shaocheng stared blankly at Wen Yuhan, his eyes red.
"But let's not even talk about love," Wen Yuhan said with a wry smile. "That's the most useless thing in the world."
He turned to look at Dennis and said to Pei Shaocheng, "I plan to go to Germany with Dennis. He bought a piece of land there, and we want to build a theater together. I think I can no longer make a living in China, so going abroad is the best option for me."
"You want to... leave me." Pei Shaocheng glared at Wen Yuhan, his voice hoarse. "Then what are we to each other? Wen Yuhan, do you have any heart at all...?"
Wen Yuhan's eyes flickered slightly, and she said softly, "Just think of it as a dream."
"What do you mean, dream?!" Pei Shaocheng screamed hysterically. "I'm not Pan En! I remember every word you said, every expression you made, and the way you moaned and groaned under me. And you're telling me this is a dream?!"
Wen Yuhan frowned: "Pei Shaocheng, it's pointless to keep arguing like this."
Pei Shaocheng raised his hand high, but Wen Yuhan calmly stared at him and said, "Go ahead and hit me, if it makes you feel better. But I've already decided that I'll go to Germany with Dennis at the end of the month."
In the end, Pei Shaocheng failed to land the slap.
He turned around slowly, like a walking corpse, and left the hotel without looking back. As he left, he slapped himself hard across the face.
A strong sense of betrayal overwhelmed his mind and reason, and from then on, Pei Shaocheng suffered from severe sleep disorder.
Whenever she closes her eyes, she always sees that messy room and Wen Yuhan lying under another man, panting heavily with passion.
If someone has loved deeply in the past, the hatred that follows will be even more soul-consuming.
Wen Yuhan disappeared, following that German-Chinese man abroad.
He was gone for several years.
...
A note from the author:
One more chapter at 0:00! - I'll sort out the plot points tomorrow, so I won't be updating again! owo Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2022-06-06 23:15:53 and 2022-06-07 22:41:56!
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 55
Even though Pei Shaocheng hated himself for being so useless, he still couldn't help but try to find out about Wen Yuhan through various means time and time again.
All that is known is that the man named Dennis later married a wealthy businesswoman in Germany, but Wen Yuhan seemed to have completely vanished from the face of the earth, and there has been no news of her since.
To be honest, Pei Shaocheng did feel a sense of vengeful pleasure when he first learned of this.
At the same time, the hidden hope deep in my heart began to burn uncontrollably again.
Even this year, now a popular actor, he immediately found a familiar script among a multitude of script offers that he would never forget.
Even though the other person had changed his name, he still knew that it was him who had returned.
...
"Going abroad..."
Lu Yanheng frowned in thought, then shook his head and said, "This shouldn't be the case. From the timeline, the time when you mentioned Wen Yuhan went abroad is exactly when I first met him."
"What did you say..." Pei Shaocheng suddenly looked up, staring at Lu Yanheng in disbelief.
Lu Yanheng looked coldly at Pei Shaocheng and said in a deep voice, "You've been deceived by him. Wen Yuhan didn't leave with Dennis at all."
He paused, then rested his chin on his hand and said slowly, "If this matter is really related to Liu Zhengju, is it possible that Xiaohan actually knew about it back then? Because of her special feelings for him, or because she knew that she couldn't fight against Liu Zhengju no matter what, she chose to give up the investigation... If that's the case, Mao Zichao is at most just someone who does the job. Now we must find out what the relationship is between Liu Zhengju and Han Shu, and why he would completely disregard his feelings for Xiaohan and hand over his script to Han Shu."
As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Shaocheng turned around and sprinted towards the exit of the rooftop...
The Rolls-Royce sped through the city streets, then onto the highway, before stopping outside a lakeside resort.
A woman in her forties stood at the door. She was dressed in haute couture, with exquisite makeup, and still exuded charm.
Seeing Pei Shaocheng get out of the car, the woman hurriedly greeted him with a smile: "You look so anxious, what made you suddenly decide to come see your sister Wang?"
"I have something to ask you."
The woman paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Let's go to my teahouse, we can drink and chat."
"Let's stay here." Pei Shaocheng didn't move, and asked in a deep voice, "Sister Wang, when you asked me to take that role back then, did you also go to see Wen Yuhan?"
Upon hearing this, the woman's expression changed slightly, and her tone became serious: "Shao Cheng, you must know that it was that movie that made you who you are today."
“Answer my question.” Pei Shaocheng said, enunciating each word clearly, “Did you... did you contact him... did you threaten him with this matter to make him leave me?”
The woman didn't speak.
As the suffocating silence deepened, something gradually emerged from the thick fog.
Pei Shaocheng felt a wave of dizziness and shouted hoarsely, "Is there or not!"
“Wen Yuhan was already blacklisted by the industry at the time, and not prosecuting him is proof of plagiarism. What good will it do you to associate with him?” Sister Wang was also angry, and said coldly, “Back then, I cherished your talent and couldn’t bear to see such a promising person like you spending your days as a model or doing endorsements. You were born for the big screen… and now you actually come to me to question me… Shao Cheng, at least you should be grateful for the opportunity you were given.”
At this point, Sister Wang took out a slim cigarette from her handbag, lit it, and held it between her fingers:
"Besides, I was just giving him an objective analysis of the situation. You should know that anyone with a conscience wouldn't want to drag others down because of themselves. Moreover, you were lovers at the time... In any case, Wen Yuhan is a sensible person, it's really a pity."
Wang Jie was intentionally implying her dissatisfaction with Pei Shaocheng's aggressive and rude questioning.
To be fair, she was one of the most senior producers in the industry, and she was the one who made Pei Shaocheng famous. For him to act like this now is really ungrateful.
However, Pei Shaocheng just stared at her blankly, completely unaware of her implied meaning.
The hooting of owls echoed in his ears, and the conversation he and Wen Yuhan had once shared in that dilapidated building opposite the film studio reverberated once more...
"As long as I'm with you, even if I spend my whole life playing minor roles and living in this shabby little building, I'm willing."
“I don’t want to… Pei Shaocheng, you will go even further.”
...
It turns out that everything Wen Yuhan did from beginning to end was for him.
He knew that if he told her the real reason, she would never leave him, even if it meant death.
That's why he set up the scheme, making himself believe that he was greedy for fame and fortune and had chosen to betray him.
Afterwards, he secretly hid away and silently endured for many years being framed by his mentor, who was like a father to him, and being nailed to the pillar of shame for plagiarism. He went from a spirited genius to a "ghostwriter" who was bullied by everyone and had to wear a pseudonym to write, enduring countless scornful looks and criticisms...
Wen Yuhan understood all too well Liu Zhengju's absolute power in the industry, so even after they met again years later, he still dared not tell her all of this, for fear of affecting his future!
Pei Shaocheng, on the other hand, repeatedly and cruelly reopened the other's unhealed wounds, humiliating him with the most offensive and unbearable words...
Pei Shaocheng bit the tip of his tongue, and the sweet and pungent taste instantly filled his entire mouth.
The winter sun reflected off the snow-covered ground, making it indescribably dazzling.
But all Pei Shaocheng could see was endless darkness.
...
It was midnight, and only one lonely figure remained in the corridor outside the hospital's intensive care unit.
He sat motionless on the bench, the final draft of the script about the assassin and the painter resting on his lap.
Hot tears fell onto the manuscript paper, blurring the words.
Pei Shaocheng leaned his head against the cold wall and finally covered his face, bursting into tears.
A painter gave an orphan a home. In the orphan's eyes, the painter was not only his teacher but also his father. He saw hope and light in him and vowed to become like the painter.
However, the painter never treated him as his own child. On the day he found his biological son, he betrayed the orphan without hesitation and even took away the orphan's most prized painting, which was also meant to prove himself to him.
So the orphan became an assassin, determined to take revenge on the person who was once his closest confidant, and who had also destroyed him...
Wen Yuhan hid the truth of one story within another, which was his only outlet for venting.
But he was not an assassin after all, and he would never become one.
He was just a child whose heart was forever filled with butterflies and dandelions.
...
Before dawn, Pei Shaocheng dialed Lu Yanheng's number: "See you at the hospital."