"Ye Qihan, why are you calling me again?"
Though she said this, Yu Sheng tore off the face mask she was wearing, laid down flat on the bed, and spoke to him.
"Not really," came Ye Qihan's characteristic rogue chuckle from the other end. "The finals of 'The Good Singer' are coming up soon, and it concerns our bet. Can't I show some care?"
"Hah!" Yu Sheng snorted. "Since when are you so kind-hearted? Could it be you're here to spy on the enemy's situation and, in passing, sabotage morale?"
Ye Qihan's tone sounded wounded. "How could you think that of me?"
"Otherwise, what should I think of you?" Yu Sheng curved the corners of her lips upward. "Showing unsolicited kindness is always suspicious."
"First tell me how you 'think' of me?" He wickedly emphasized a particular word.
They were both adults; she couldn't fail to hear the implied meaning. In this regard, Yu Sheng wasn't a blank slate either. Her first love had happened back in high school.
She began to copy him, kicking the ball back. "Then how do you hope I 'think' of you?"
After she spoke, there was a silence lasting at least seven seconds. Then, following a hearty laugh, Ye Qihan finally revealed his true purpose. "Come out for a meal. My treat."
This woman was indeed quite interesting. He admitted he was very interested in her.
"Oh," Yu Sheng responded indifferently. "What a shame. I'm back in my hometown right now."
"Such a pity," Ye Qihan lamented. "We'll make a date for next time, then."
Yu Sheng: "Goodbye."
She hung up the phone without the slightest hesitation, leaving Ye Qihan clawing restlessly at his heart.
Yu Sheng stared blankly at the night scene outside her window.
She didn't know when exactly her attitude toward relationships had undergone an earth-shattering change. No matter how outstanding a man might be in every aspect, if he couldn't belong to her wholeheartedly, then it was better not to even start such a relationship.
She was already twenty-seven years old, and the circle she moved in was a chaotic mix of good and bad. What she needed most was a man she could walk the long path with.
And Ye Qihan was not within her consideration. Although... she felt a bit of a flutter for him.
But he wouldn't do. Same circle. And he always had so many flighty women swirling around him. Even if most of the time it was just playing along, there was no guarantee that one day the pretense wouldn't turn real. Yu Sheng was genuinely afraid.
The father she most respected had failed to resist temptation and strayed, deeply hurting her mother's heart. He was also driven out of the house by her grandfather. In the end, though he suddenly woke up to reality, her mother had committed suicide after a long period of depression, taking along her unborn brother as well...
Yu Sheng still hadn't forgiven her father to this day.
With a *ding*, her phone screen flashed. It was a message from Mei Ran. Yu Sheng pulled her thoughts back, her fingertips rapidly typing out a line of text.
A few seconds later, Mei Ran, in the west wing room, received the reply. She tapped to open it:
–That's easy to solve. Go burrow into his bed and, in passing, whisper some persuasive words into his ear.
Mei Ran facepalmed.
That method definitely wouldn't work. She'd have to think of something else.
Earlier, when they returned from their evening walk, her father had suddenly said to her, "If you and Shijin have gotten together, I am completely reassured."
"Why?"
Mei Ran found it a bit hard to believe that his approval had come so easily. Before, she'd been quietly worried about someone.
Mei Hongyuan smiled. "If it were any other man, I'd need at least a three-month assessment period. But he's different."
"How is he different?"
"A child raised by Old Master Fu—whether in his speech, learning, or character—won't be lacking in any aspect. Besides, through these two interactions, I've gotten to know him a little more. He's someone worthy of my daughter entrusting her life to."
Mei Ran's curiosity grew intensely. "Dad, what exactly did you say to him back then?"
Mei Hongyuan had always granted her every request, but this time he played coy. "That's a secret between him and me."
Since she couldn't pry any words out of her father, she had no choice but to turn her attention to him. But Mei Ran pondered for a long time without coming up with a good method and could only seek help from her close friend.
She hadn't expected Yu Sheng's suggestion to be just as unreliable.
Mei Ran let out a soft sigh and asked back, "Are there any other, better methods?"
She waited a good while, but there was no reply because Yu Sheng's entire attention had been drawn to a video that had suddenly popped up.
It was Mei Mengran on some entertainment interview program. Though only five minutes long, the information revealed was shocking!
She explained that her recent disappearance was because she'd received news of the sudden death of a mentor who had taken great care of her back when she was still a trainee. She was immediately overwhelmed with grief. When she got to this part, she covered her face and sobbed bitterly, then bowed deeply to the producers of 'The Good Singer of China' and all music fans to express her apologies.
This soulfully performed "whitewashing" naturally moved her fans almost to tears. Mei Mengran's public relations team had delivered a satisfactory answer sheet. It seemed the incident might just blow over, but no one expected the subsequent developments to nearly burst everyone's eyeballs.
It turned out that keen-eyed fans had noticed that in the video, after Mei Mengran cried, her eyes were actually one big and one small! A single pebble stirred up a thousand ripples. Soon, others pointed out: her perky nose showed an unnatural appearance, as if it had once had a fracture line and then been haphazardly reattached with 502 glue.
Instantly, the topic of Mei Mengran having undergone plastic surgery maintained extremely high heat. While these days, celebrity plastic surgery was already an everyday occurrence, if the person admitted it frankly, fans could also accept it frankly. After all, everyone has a heart that loves beauty, which is perfectly understandable.
But Mei Mengran couldn't!
This goes back to an interview she gave the year before last, right after winning the "Best New Artist Award" at the Music Sound Awards. When asked about plastic surgery, she'd stated firmly: "I don't approve of plastic surgery. Natural is true beauty after all."
Her words at that time had attracted a group of die-hard fans and even sparked a trend of fresh sweetness in the entertainment circle. How could she now turn around and slap her own face in public?
"So, you can't admit it!" her manager said. "Now, we can only barrel down this dark road."
Mei Mengran hadn't expected a single video to cause such a huge storm. With her heart already agitated and frustrated, hearing this only clogged a breath of anger in her chest.
What else could she do? In any case, there was absolutely no way she would admit to having had plastic surgery!
Everyone is curious. Once admitted, everyone would definitely want to know what she looked like before the surgery. That was something even Mei Mengran herself couldn't face. It was the biggest nightmare of her life!
"I'll go discuss with the PR team on how to resolve this," Cen Chen stroked her chin. "And also buy some hired commenters to ease the current situation." She offered consolation, "You have a lot of fans and solid backing now. I skimmed the comments, and most lean towards you. After all, you still have 'MR' over your head, don't you?"
"However," she added, "you need to be more careful from now on. Your nose only had surgery not long ago..."
"I know, I know!" Mei Mengran waved her hand to cut her off.
Over there, after watching the whole video, Yu Sheng nearly rolled around on the bed laughing. She quickly sent the link to Mei Ran: "Quick, quick, quick! There's a good show to watch!"
Mei Ran didn't get to see this good show in time because right then, she was standing outside Fu Shijin's room, preparing to whisper some "pillow talk" persuasion.
It has to be said, the wind tonight was indeed somewhat strong, whipping her nightgown into disarray. Perhaps the windows of the house weren't properly closed, as from time to time, there were the thumping sounds of something hitting against them.
Fu Shijin, who had been about to go to bed, was also disturbed by the noise and had to get out of bed, slip on his shoes, and go close the window.
The carved wooden windows in the old house were the kind with several panels linked together. Fu Shijin had just shut one panel when a previously closed one was blown open again by the wind. He frowned slightly, thinking perhaps the latch was broken.
The light inside the room had long been off, everything pitch black. Fortunately, his night vision was good. He walked over slowly. His hand had just touched the panel when he suddenly felt an opposing force resisting him.
This wind blew with too much spirit. Fu Shijin pulled the window forcefully towards himself. Immediately after, a soft, startled cry sounded outside. Only then did he belatedly realize a shadow was cast on the window directly in front of him.
He immediately pushed the window open and, with the aid of the moonlight, clearly saw the person standing outside the window. A flicker of surprise passed through his expression, but he quickly regained his composure. Calmly, nonchalantly, he crossed his arms over his chest, raised an eyebrow, and looked at her. "What are you doing here?"
Mei Ran had originally planned to first secretly check the situation inside the room. She hadn't expected to be caught red-handed by him. Now the two of them were separated only by a wall.
"You forgot to tell me goodnight tonight."
Truly a brilliant flash of wit! Mei Ran secretly gave herself a thumbs up.
"Is that so?" The man's eyes darkened to the extreme. He suddenly leaned in and softly said, "Good night," also, by the way, making up for the goodnight kiss.
Mei Ran felt a little flustered and bewildered.
He was too gentle.
"Go back now. We need to get up early tomorrow." The darkness hid Fu Shijin's barely-suppressed restlessness, but it still caused his voice to sound unusually tight.
"Then... I'll head back first."
"Mm."
He stood silently by the window, unwillingly snipping away the silhouette of her retreating figure from his line of sight.
Only after Mei Ran walked out of the courtyard gate did it suddenly dawn on her that something wasn't right. She'd come over to ask him about that matter! If she went back without finding out anything, she would definitely toss and turn in bed tonight.
"Back again?" Fu Shijin was just about to close the window.
"I..." Somehow, upon meeting those deep brown eyes swirling with intense emotion, Mei Ran forgot what she was about to say next.
"Ah!"
The man suddenly reached out, clasped her waist, lifted her up, and directly carried her inside through the window and into his arms. Mei Ran was so startled she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck...
In short, a chaotic mess of panic.
He was methodically removing the barriers between them, one by one. Mei Ran was about to say something when her mouth was sealed by his kiss.
Breathless, she melted into a puddle of water in his embrace. The kiss suddenly stopped.
He punished her by biting her lightly. His voice sounded impossibly hoarse. "Your monthly visitor is here, yet you still come over of your own accord to tease me."
Mei Ran was the picture of innocence. She hadn't been! It was clearly him who carried her inside...
So what now? She didn't even dare look at him.
Silence. Silence.
Only the man's heavy, restrained breaths broke the quiet of the room. Suddenly, Mei Ran heard her own voice. "How about... I help you?"