He swallowed hard, then couldn't help but spread his arms to protect Wen Yuhan, raising his voice as if to encourage himself: "President Lu is on his way and will be here soon."
The implication is that we have help on our side, and you'd better not make any rash moves.
Pei Shaocheng hated hearing that name the most right now, and immediately snorted coldly, his eyes growing even colder:
"So what?"
He approached Xiaoyang, scrutinizing him from bottom to top: "Your sister recently underwent surgery... a bone marrow transplant, and they haven't been able to find a suitable match yet."
Xiao Yang's pupils contracted, and she stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Wen Yuhan also frowned and looked coldly at Pei Shaocheng.
"W-What are you going to do?!" Xiao Yang's life's Achilles' heel was his younger sister. Enraged, he pointed at Pei Shaocheng and shouted in a trembling voice, "I'm warning you, if you dare touch her, I'll fucking fight you to the death!!"
Hiss—
Xiao Mi nervously clung to Pei Shaocheng's chest, her fur standing on end in fright by Xiao Yang.
Pei Shaocheng soothingly patted its back, then coldly said to Xiao Yang, word by word, "How did you suddenly find it, huh?"
Xiao Yang was stunned, his face turning deathly pale instantly: "W-what do you mean?!"
"Didn't you always say you were on Teacher Wen's side? Why did you suddenly abandon him and leave when we were at the film studio? Weren't you afraid he would be all alone then?"
"I..." Xiao Yang opened his mouth, but couldn't find the words to say.
This matter had always been a thorn in his side, and when he left the hotel that night, his mind was in turmoil.
But there was nothing he could do; his sister was his only family in the world.
Tears welled up in Xiao Yang's eyes, and her lips trembled.
"Hahaha..." Wen Yuhan lowered his head and chuckled softly.
When she looked up again, her eyes were full of mockery as she looked at Pei Shaocheng: "Are you here today to hold him accountable...? Blame him for leaving, so you locked me up and made me copy the script non-stop... Blame him for abandoning me, so you forced me to crawl in the bushes looking for a pen... Blame him for making me be humiliated by you calling me a bitch and a slut in front of others? Or blame him for making me fucking you until I ended up in the hospital?!"
His voice became shrill with excitement, but the smile on his face grew wider and wider:
"Pei Shaocheng, what right do you have to..."
As Wen Yuhan recounted the various crimes she had committed, these past scenes seemed to reappear before Pei Shaocheng's eyes as if someone had forcibly pressed the replay button.
Every word and every sentence of condemnation plunged him repeatedly into an endless abyss, piercing his heart like a thousand arrows.
Pei Shaocheng clutched the front of his shirt, bending over in pain.
Xiao Yang was unaware of these matters beforehand.
He only knew that Pei Shaocheng had been making things difficult for Wen Yuhan, but he didn't know that the other party would be so ruthless.
Teacher Wen's health has always been poor, how could he... how could he do such a thing?!
“I…” Pei Shaocheng staggered and slumped into a chair, explaining weakly, “I just suspected that someone sent you that bunch of dandelions… I won’t allow anyone to hurt you again… I won’t allow it…”
"Don't you know who's been hurting him?!" Xiao Yang roared. "Do you know that every time you come to the hospital, the teacher has an emotional breakdown! Yesterday he was given a sedative... He still has tests to do this afternoon! You're trying to drive him to his death... Please, Mr. Pei, let Teacher Wen go!"
Pei Shaocheng stared blankly at Wen Yuhan. Xiao Mi had already been frightened and hid under the bed, constantly making threatening hissing noises.
Why did it turn out like this?
She just missed him and wanted to see him one last time...
I just wanted to bring Xiaomi along to cheer him up...
She just wanted to ask him if he wanted to go back to his hometown together for New Year's Eve, and even booked plane tickets on the way...
I clearly... I clearly don't want to make him sad anymore...
"I'm sorry..." Pei Shaocheng buried his face in his hands, his voice hoarse as he murmured, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Wen Yuhan took a deep breath and closed his eyes: "Get out."
...
Chapter 60
The bar called "Pan" is currently under renovation. A Luo specially hired a foreign designer to create a series of installation art pieces for the bar based on the concept of "The Afternoon of a Faun". The money and effort spent far exceeded her original profit from drinks.
It was midnight, and Aro finally had a moment to catch her breath. She lit a cigarette, leaned against the bar, and poured herself a glass of tequila.
The glass door was pushed open, and the wind chimes jingled as they were bumped. Without looking up, A'luo said, "Sorry, we're not open right now."
Seeing that no one responded for a long time and he didn't leave, A Luo glanced up and a slight look of surprise appeared on her face.
"Yo." She exhaled a puff of smoke and gestured with her chin toward the newcomer, "Big star."
The newcomer was Pei Shaocheng, his long black trench coat gleaming with the chill of the wind. His tall, imposing figure stood at the doorway like a beautiful sculpture.
His cold, deep eyes swept across the bar before settling on the spot where the oil painting had originally hung on the wall.
"I've moved the painting to the warehouse for now," Aro explained, flicking her cigarette ash. "We're currently renovating, and I'm worried it might get scratched."
She looked at Pei Shaocheng with great interest. "Teacher Wen isn't here with me. We haven't been in touch for quite a while."
Pei Shaocheng remained silent, walked to the bar, sat down, took out a cigarette from his pocket, knocked it out, and put it in his mouth.
"Whiskey, thank you."
“I said not now…” Aro paused, nodded and smiled, “wait.”
A glass of whiskey with ice was pushed to Pei Shaocheng's side, and he picked up the glass and drank it all in one gulp.
Seeing this, A Luo simply handed the whole bottle of wine to Pei Shaocheng, smoking as she watched him fill and drink it all.
"Will you sell that painting?" Pei Shaocheng asked. "I'm willing to pay any price."
A Luo sat on a high stool and raised the corner of her mouth upon hearing this: "If it can't be sold, then what would be the point of selling it?"
"You said he was the first guest to come here."
A Luo naturally knew that the "he" Pei Shaocheng was referring to was Wen Yuhan. She nodded and said, "Yes, he was attracted by the name of the bar. He was carrying that oil painting with him, and when he left, he said he didn't have enough money, so he just gave me the painting."
As A Luo recounted her story, Pei Shaocheng could once again picture those cunning and beautiful peach blossom eyes.
"Can you tell me more about him?"
What do you want to hear?
Pei Shaocheng paused for a moment, then said, "That's fine."
Aro held the cigarette between her fingers and took a sip of tequila. "I remember it was the end of the month, and it seemed to be raining. It was quite chilly; everyone was basically wearing sweaters. Only he was still wearing a white shirt, which was almost completely soaked when he arrived at the shop. Oh, just like the night you met me here..." She paused. "He asked me for a glass of gin on the rocks, and I asked him if he wasn't cold, since his clothes were completely wet. He was holding that painting and replied that he wasn't wet. It took me a while to realize that he was talking about the painting, not himself..."
A Luo took one last drag of her cigarette, stubbed it out, and laughed, "I thought this guy was really interesting. He had a cool and aloof look about him. When I asked him what he did, he immediately told me he wrote 'Phoenix Books.' We got along quite well. He said he was so happy to have finally met a kindred spirit, and then he got drunk... But you know what? I didn't see any smile in his eyes at all. On the contrary, I felt that he was actually very sad. It wasn't because of anything specific that happened, but rather a state that had developed over a long period of time. It's hard to put into words, but I know it."
Pei Shaocheng's eyes darkened, and he asked in a low voice, "And then?"
"Then...then he asked me if it was okay to smoke in the shop. Even though he asked that, he'd already lit a cigarette. He kept coughing, coughing until tears streamed down his face. With red eyes and a forced smile, he said he'd only recently learned to smoke, so he kept getting choked and needed to practice more." A-Luo's smile faded as she looked at Pei Shao-cheng. "Do you really think he was just getting choked?"
Pei Shaocheng felt a sharp pain in his heart: "Lying."
“Right, that’s what I said too. I told him he was lying, that he was clearly crying. He paused for a moment, then shook his head and chuckled.” A Luo imitated Wen Yuhan’s tone. “He said, ‘Oh no, you found out…’ I really wanted to tell him that if he wanted, I would be happy to listen to him, after all, he was my shop’s first customer. But when I looked into his eyes, I knew he wouldn’t tell me.”
She shrugged helplessly: "That's just how he is. He always keeps things to himself. If you ask him, he'll just make up some random nonsense to brush you off..."
At this point, A Luo narrowed her eyes slightly: "Until the last time I saw him, I felt that he seemed to be reaching his breaking point. He was like a sponge that kept absorbing water, and finally reached the point where it would leak at the slightest touch."
"How so?" Pei Shaocheng frowned.
A Luo lit another cigarette: "That day he suddenly came to the bar and said he was planning to go out and clear his head. I happened to have the same idea at the time, so I suggested that we go to the reservoir near my hometown and stay for a couple of days, and he agreed."
Pei Shaocheng silently calculated the time in his mind, and it should be the time when Wen Yuhan left the film and television city.
It turns out he went to find Aro...
"After we got to the reservoir, he locked himself in his room. He smoked and drank every day, didn't shower or change his clothes, and exuded an extremely gloomy aura. He didn't even bother to continue his previous pretense anymore. At that time, I felt that something was wrong with him... Oh right, he also told me that he had been seeing a lot of butterflies and dandelions lately. I guessed that he had mental problems and suggested that he see a psychologist, but you know him, he changed the subject again."
Pei Shaocheng's eyes darkened: "You said he mentioned dandelions to you?"
A'Luo was confused: "I did say that, but where would you find dandelions in winter? It must be a hallucination."
At this point, A Luo couldn't help but say to Pei Shaocheng seriously, "You two used to be lovers, right?"
Pei Shaocheng's hand holding the wine glass paused slightly, which was noticed by A Luo.
She smiled faintly: "That's it. Although I don't know what happened between you two, or whether his current state is related to you, I do know that the way he looks at you is different from how he looks at others... Eyes don't lie."
"It was my fault." Pei Shaocheng pursed his lips and finished the wine in his glass. "It was my fault."
“It’s really hard to comfort you,” Aro exhaled a smoke ring. “After all, you’re not the first person to come to me about him, but you should be. You agree, right, big star?”
"Who else?"
Pei Shaocheng narrowed his eyes. "Who has come to see you?"
"That kid who came with you that day... he's your junior, right?" A Luo asked, a cigarette dangling from his lips. "He's always been quite concerned about Wen Yuhan. After that meeting, he often comes to my place to talk about your school days... He also told me that Wen Yuhan had experienced some unfair treatment, and he's always felt really bad for him. Seeing Wen Yuhan's condition deteriorating day by day, he was very anxious but didn't know how to comfort him, so he came to me to see if I could find any effective solutions."
Pei Shaocheng's eyes gradually turned cold as he listened to A Luo's words.
He gripped the table to steady himself, his fingertips involuntarily tightening their grip on the bar's edges. He took a deep breath and muttered, "So, Yi Li also knows that Wen Yuhan is hallucinating."
A Luo felt indignant for Wen Yuhan, and looked at Pei Shaocheng with a half-smile: "It seems like you're the only one who's slow to realize this."
Pei Shaocheng suddenly stood up and quickly left the bar.
...
A note from the author:
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 61
The next morning, a rehearsal for the stage play "Sinking Lake" was underway at the Yancheng Theater.
Yi Li is the male lead in this drama.
He wore a fitted black shirt and trousers, which made his skin appear exceptionally fair. His slender neck was tilted upwards, like an elegant swan.
The actress who was acting opposite him hurriedly ran up from the stage entrance, lifting her skirt, in accordance with the schedule.
He slipped and let out a short, startled gasp.