Seeing this, Yi Li quickly caught her around the waist and smiled, "Be careful, Sister Xiaoxue."
The actress blushed instantly and stuck out her tongue, saying, "Th-thank you."
The theater door was pushed open, and a beam of light shone in from the outside.
Yi Li looked up and was slightly taken aback. He saw Pei Shaocheng standing against the light at the door, his deep eyes hidden in the shadows.
"That's... Pei Shaocheng?!"
"It seems so!"
"Didn't you say you didn't have the time and turned down this role?"
People in the theater chatted quietly, their eyes filled with longing and admiration as they looked at Pei Shaocheng.
The director was also surprised and quickly stood up. Pei Shaocheng nodded politely to him, signaling the director to continue, while he himself sat down in a corner of the first row of the audience, his gaze dark as he looked at Yi Li.
"Come on, let's continue!"
The director made a gesture to the actors on stage.
The actress leaned close to Yi Li and whispered, "Xiao Li, Xiao Li?"
Yi Li finally snapped out of her daze, her eyes flickered, and she continued acting according to her lines. But her peripheral vision remained fixed on Pei Shaocheng, and she felt her heart pounding wildly.
He's here...
He came to watch my rehearsal...
Yi Li took a deep breath. This play incorporates ballet elements, and he has a solo dance to perform next.
Yi Li stood on tiptoe, and under the spotlight, the sweat on his forehead glistened as he moved.
He stretched his arms forward, his eyes shimmering with light. He wanted to present his best self to Pei Shaocheng, to let him know that he had been making progress and striving to catch up with him.
After the dance ended, everyone stood up and cheered for Yi Li. Pei Shaocheng also stood up and clapped a few times.
Yi Li was slightly out of breath, his face flushed. He bowed to the crowd, then turned his gaze back to Pei Shaocheng.
Director: "Everyone, take a 30-minute break."
Upon hearing this, Yi Li quickly jumped off the stage, came to Pei Shaocheng, opened his arms, and gave him a hug.
"Senior brother, why didn't you say you were coming?" He looked up at Pei Shaocheng with a smile, and with each breath he exuded a sweet fragrance.
Pei Shaocheng let Yi Li carry him, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he turned his back to him.
He spoke with a casual chuckle: "Just a surprise inspection, to see if you've made any progress."
The other person's magnetic voice made Yi Li's face burn even hotter: "So... has there been any improvement?"
“Yes.” Pei Shaocheng paused. “I heard you’re playing the young Lake Demon King this time. It’s a very interesting character.”
Yi Li was somewhat surprised: "You've read the script?!"
Pei Shaocheng nodded: "Yes, I was originally going to participate, but it just happened to clash with the schedule of another drama I was filming. But I still really like this drama itself."
“This… is such a pity…” Yi Li pursed his lips, his eyes filled with disappointment. “I have always hoped to appear on stage with my senior brother again.”
"There will be another opportunity," Pei Shaocheng said in a deep voice, "Could you let me take a look at the script?"
"Okay! No problem!" Yi Li said, running to his assistant and grabbing his script. The director, seeing this, quickly followed, wanting to hear Pei Shaocheng's opinion on the script.
Pei Shaocheng sat down in front of the chair and crossed his legs.
"I'm so honored that Mr. Pei could come to our rehearsal!" the director said excitedly. "I wonder if we could invite you to be our special guest on the day of the performance?!"
Pei Shaocheng took Yi Li's script, spread it on his lap, and opened it: "No problem."
His gaze swept over the lines of dialogue, and sure enough, Yi Li had a habit of making annotations in the script.
Pei Shaocheng's eyes darkened, and he tapped the paper lightly with his index finger: "This line."
The director and Yi Li quickly came over to see where Pei Shaocheng was pointing.
"It seems we can make a slight change." Pei Shaocheng looked up at Yi Li, who immediately understood and found a pen. He bit off the cap with his teeth and waited obediently for Pei Shaocheng to continue.
Pei Shaocheng pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "You heard the hyacinth crying, swaying its fragile stem, begging you to pluck it and take it back to the bottom of the lake..."
Yi Li held a pen and focused intently on taking notes on the script, his handwriting elegant and beautiful.
"It says it resents the sunflower because it always follows you, swaying its vulgar body... It says it is the only one worthy of accompanying you forever."
Pei Shaocheng tapped the script repeatedly.
"Foolish and pathetic hyacinth, I dream of swimming with you across this lake, to see the world over there, that..."
He stopped.
Yi Li looked up at Pei Shaocheng, puzzled, before he could finish his sentence.
Pei Shaocheng took the pen from Yi Li, quickly circled a few words in the line he had just written, and abruptly stood up:
"come out."
Yi Li's pupils dilated instantly, his knees buckled and he almost fell, but he quickly grabbed the back of the seat for support.
The words Pei Shaocheng circled together formed a sentence.
—Always by your side.
The handwriting was exactly the same as the one on the card Wen Yuhan received that day.
...
The north wind howled outside, and Yi Li couldn't help but shiver. He felt as if his legs were filled with cement, and every step he took required all his strength.
Pei Shaocheng stopped in a sheltered corner, lit a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and smoked it silently.
He had actually been trying his best to restrain himself. Ever since he saw Yi Li verify his actions word by word, he had wanted to snap his neck more than once.
The unfathomable gloom in Pei Shaocheng's eyes made Yi Li involuntarily take half a step back, gripping his trouser seam tightly.
Pei Shaocheng exhaled a puff of smoke: "Aren't you going to explain?"
He tossed the card in front of Yi Li.
Yi Li stared intently at the card, his lips pressed together in silence. He lowered his head, his eyes trembling violently.
Pei Shaocheng paused for a moment: "Yi Li, don't say I didn't give you a chance."
Yi Li's body stiffened slightly, and his shoulders trembled slightly...
The magnitude is increasing.
"Heh... Hahaha."
He suddenly burst into laughter and shook his head repeatedly.
When he looked up again, the initial clarity in his eyes, and the subsequent tension and fear, all transformed into a morbid joy and composure.
"There's nothing to explain." Yi Li shrugged, shifting his gaze to Pei Shaocheng's face, his smile widening. "Why would he come back after he's already left? Isn't that just plain stupid?"
Pei Shaocheng frowned; he had never seen Yi Li like this before. Like a glamorous ghost standing in the sunlight, she wore a smile that was both dazzling and eerie, and the beauty mark at the corner of her eye radiated a bewitching color.
“I say, senior brother…” Yi Li looked at Pei Shaocheng mockingly, “If I were the one who committed suicide back then, would you still seek justice for me like you are now… If so, I can die too, really.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Pei Shaocheng grabbed him by the collar, lifted him up, and slammed him against the wall.
"Why did you do this?" Pei Shaocheng's tone was filled with chilling murderous intent as he narrowed his eyes. "What did he do to offend you that you would treat him like this?"
Yi Li's collar tightened, making it hard for him to breathe, and his face turned red from the effort.
But his tone remained light: "I hate him. As long as he's around, you'll never look back at me. It's a cliché reason, right? But that's how it is..." Yi Li laughed bitterly, "I can't stand the infatuation in your eyes when you look at him. Even if he does something to hurt you, you'll still chase after him like a lapdog, clinging to him... Senior brother, I really don't understand. What is it about him that I don't... looks, family background, skills... Is it because he's better in bed, making it more enjoyable for you? If that's the case... then I... um!"
Yi Li's words caught in his throat, and he furrowed his brow in pain.
Pei Shaocheng tightened his grip on his neck, his deep eyes blazing with fury.
"Shut up," he said, enunciating each word clearly. "You are not worthy to mention him."
"Hahaha..." Yi Li laughed again, tears streaming down his face. His Adam's apple was stuck in his throat, making his voice sound sharp like the friction of glass.
"Was it Han Shu who made you do this? ... I checked, he was a visiting professor of drama when you were studying abroad, you two have known each other for a long time."
"Hahaha, cough cough—"
"Tell me, what exactly did he promise you!"
Yi Li's laughter stopped abruptly, and he stared at Pei Shaocheng in despair, a smile still lingering on his face.
“If I really wanted to absolve myself of all responsibility, I would have already brought him up and said that I was threatened by him…” Yi Li chuckled hoarsely, “No, we were simply getting what we needed, and our target was the same person.”
He bit his bleeding lip: "Wen Yuhan, he's like an unkillable cockroach, an unyielding fly, haunting our world every day, utterly disgusting! His presence will only forever drag you down, I won't allow it!! I won't allow it!!"
"So you're going to force him to his death?!"
Yi Li seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He fell silent and looked at Pei Shaocheng with a mocking expression, then raised the corners of his lips: "Senior Brother Pei, do you really think it was Han Shu and me who drove him to suicide?"
Pei Shaocheng was taken aback.
Yi Li's voice was like a ghost: "I owe my success today to you, senior brother."
...
A note from the author:
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 62
After Yi Li finished speaking, Pei Shaocheng's hand gripping his neck visibly paused, and he looked momentarily stunned.
Yi Li noticed his subtle movements and smiled even more: "Are you panicking, Senior Brother? Actually, you know better than anyone how he gradually became like this... It's far less hurtful for an insignificant person to spit on you in the street than for an important person to sneer at you. Wen Yuhan has been through so much and could still pretend to be nonchalant, but after meeting you again, he completely collapsed."
"Shut up."
“Senior Brother Pei…” Yi Li took a deep breath and grinned, “No matter how much of a jerk we were, we were just adding fuel to the fire. You, on the other hand, were the fire, the source of everything. It’s so unfair to be in such a hurry to find someone to take responsibility, isn’t it?”
Pei Shaocheng slowly released his grip, and Yi Li slid to the ground like a rabbit whose throat had been bitten through.
Tilting her head, her gaze towards Pei Shaocheng still radiated a piercing light.
"Tell me everything you know about Han Shu within three days." Pei Shaocheng turned away dejectedly, without looking back. "This is your last chance."