TIL - 33

The film festival was in its second half. Wen Huo had just settled into the audience seats when the filmmakers announced this year’s winner for Best Supporting Actress in the Yaoguang Awards: Han Bailu.

Before going on stage, Han Bailu smiled sweetly at Chen Cheng, her eyes full of gratitude. As an outsider, Wen Huo couldn’t detect any pretense in her acting.

Her seat was too far from the round tables; she could only see who was who, not their expressions. Yet Wen Huo felt that Chen Cheng must be wearing a look of ‘my daughter has grown up,’ just as Qiu Mingyun had said—he seemed to genuinely like Han Bailu.

Han Bailu thanked the crew, her management team, and finally, her husband Chen Cheng, for his help and support in her career.

Listening to her gracious and proper acceptance speech and her soft voice, Wen Huo again felt that it might not be necessary.

What was she losing? Wasn’t it just that Chen Cheng lied to her? Hadn’t she been lied to countless times since childhood? Why was she so bothered by it now? He was an old man, thirty-two years old. Why should she care if he lied to her?

She wanted to go back again.

At this moment, Chen Cheng suddenly looked in her direction, their eyes meeting across a sea of people.

The lights were dazzling, and Wen Huo couldn’t clearly see Chen Cheng’s face, but she felt she saw his eyes clearly. He seemed very displeased, but why should he be displeased? Because he promised and couldn’t deliver?

Wen Huo didn’t want to look at him anymore; his face suddenly became unappealing.

During the intermission, Wen Huo still decided to leave. She had returned intending to cause a scene, to embarrass Chen Cheng, but on calm reflection, the only one embarrassed might be herself.

Chen Cheng wouldn’t allow this farce to be exposed. If it were resolved privately, it would still come back to the question of who he would choose: Han Bailu or her.

Initially, she thought she had a twenty or thirty percent chance of winning. Now, it seemed she wasn’t even qualified to be compared to Han Bailu. She had overestimated herself and been misled by Chen Cheng’s feigned affection.

The exit of the film festival was on the same side as the backstage area. To exit, you walked forward; to go backstage, you walked backward.

Wen Huo had only walked two meters when a staff member called out to her, saying Chen Cheng was looking for her. She subconsciously wanted to refuse, but then reconsidered, thinking it was better to clarify things. A year and more of intimacy surely deserved a complete ending.

________________________________________

In the lounge, Han Bailu was nowhere to be seen, only Chen Cheng.

Wen Huo stood not far from the door, not wanting to get too close to him. She didn’t want to look at his face and be reminded of him walking the red carpet with Han Bailu.

Chen Cheng took off his glasses, wiped them with a silver polishing cloth, and put them into their case. He looked up at her: “You said you weren’t coming, but you came anyway.”

Wen Huo’s voice was cold: “You said you wouldn’t bring her, but you did, didn’t you?”

Chen Cheng repeated his earlier sentiment: “Why do I need to explain myself to you?”

Wen Huo sneered, “Yes, you don’t need to explain to me. Who am I, anyway? Just your side piece, your mistress, a mere plaything to satisfy your physiological needs. If you treat me as a person, I can call myself a sex slave; if you don’t, I’m just a fleshlight, a living vibrator.”

Chen Cheng’s eyes darkened. Her words enraged him. Wen Huo saw it. She had even more infuriating things she hadn’t said yet: “It was just a game at first, but you forced me to say I love you. I said it, but what about you? You clearly said you wouldn’t bring her! You clearly said it! It’s just because I’m cheap, right? Someone who gives herself away doesn’t deserve consideration, unlike your wife whom you married with a grand ceremony and custom-made clothes, leading her down the red carpet.”

Forget it.

Really, forget it.

Wen Huo thought, and then said: “Forget it, Teacher Chen. I seduced you, I’m despicable, I apologize to you, and I’ll leave right now.”

Chen Cheng stood up: “I thought the Best Actress award should be given to you.”

Wen Huo let out a few more cold laughs: “I wouldn’t dare. I’m not as skilled as Teacher Chen.”

Chen Cheng walked towards her.

Wen Huo retreated.

The spacious lounge suddenly felt narrow, and the air grew thin. Wen Huo backed up against the door, her back pressed against the panel. The atmosphere between them had never been so strange, as if there was deep-seated hatred.

The window wasn’t open, and the blinds were drawn. The lights were dim, not very bright, giving off a sense of something brewing. The entire space was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Chen Cheng’s footsteps were light, but on the wooden floor, they still sounded like drumsticks hitting a drumhead—thump, thump, thump.

Wen Huo’s heart unconsciously quickened, and the moisture in her mouth instantly evaporated. Her lips stuck together, and she swallowed with difficulty.

Chen Cheng stopped one step away from Wen Huo: “Is this game fun?”

Wen Huo didn’t understand: “Are you talking about yourself? I also want to ask, is it fun? Since you never changed your mind, why did you force me to say I love you? Does playing with people make you very happy?”

Chen Cheng shook his head: “You slept soundly with me, didn’t you?”

When his words fell, Wen Huo’s mind went blank, her heart rate probably hitting two hundred. Too many sounds simultaneously flooded her ears; she no longer thought the room was quiet.

Chen Cheng’s gaze seemed to emanate coldness. When it hit her face, she shivered.

Only then did Wen Huo realize that besides anger, there were other elements in Chen Cheng’s eyes, but they were so suppressed by anger that she almost didn’t see them. That element felt familiar, like looking in a mirror.

Chen Cheng suddenly pinched her face, very hard: “I’m asking you a question, aren’t I? With me as your sleep aid, you slept very soundly, didn’t you?”

Wen Huo’s face distorted. It hurt a little, so much that tears came to her eyes. She breathed with difficulty, unable to utter a single word.

“Speak!”

Wen Huo didn’t speak.

Chen Cheng’s next words were gritted: “Wen Huo, you have worn out my patience!”

Wen Huo was in so much pain, it felt less like her face hurting and more like her heart hurting. She pushed Chen Cheng away with all her might, trying to open the door and leave. Chen Cheng pulled her back, locked the door, and then approached her step by step: “Are you thinking, ‘Chen Cheng is so stupid, he just realized I was using him’?”

Wen Huo wasn’t, but she had no chance to defend herself as Chen Cheng pressed down on her.

She struggled desperately: “Let me go! Chen Cheng!”

She finally called him Chen Cheng to his face. Chen Cheng pinned her hands, kissed her, bit her, biting through her tongue and lips. He really wanted to bite her to death, this liar.

Her using his name to see Yang Yinlou was a misstep. Yang Yinlou would inevitably use Wen Huo having sought him out as a stepping stone to find him. Chen Cheng then realized that Wen Huo had insomnia, that she always couldn’t sleep.

He also figured out the reason why she was so familiar with Cheng Cuo. If they had just met at a rave, there was no need for her to be brought to every gathering.

He knew if he asked Cheng Cuo, he wouldn’t say; he had principles. So he found Cheng Cuo’s student, an intern psychologist at Cheng Cuo’s studio. He was too inexperienced, and his beliefs weren’t firm, so Chen Cheng used a little leverage, and he confessed.

It turned out Wen Huo sought him out because he could help her sleep.

So, her seducing him wasn’t just about getting money from Han Bailu.

He thought her deepest secret was only her deal with Han Bailu. He was wrong. Wen Huo was truly as bottomless as she claimed. She was a wolf cub disguised in rabbit fur, black-hearted and malicious.

In a fit of pique, he told Tang Junen to cancel the academic film competition unit at the film festival, and he also took Han Bailu down the red carpet.

If he hadn’t known about this, he might have satisfied more of her demands because of what Wen Huo said to Han Bailu on WeChat. His attitude had always been that he would spoil her, as long as she was obedient.

But once he knew the fundamental reason she seduced him, her recent messages just seemed ridiculous.

Wen Huo’s mouth was bitten by Chen Cheng, and blood flowed onto her dress—her most expensive dress. This was the first time she had spent half a day getting dressed up for Chen Cheng. She was preparing to force him to make a choice, to quickly end her collaboration with Han Bailu, but she also genuinely wanted to look beautiful for him.

It seemed bad things really did come one after another.

She stopped resisting, making herself look like a corpse, completely at Chen Cheng’s mercy.

Chen Cheng saw her like this and suddenly lost all interest.

He got off her, thinking about her wanting to break up, just like that. It was as if the person who had been sulking and acting spoiled with him a couple of days ago wasn’t her. He found it utterly uninteresting. He, Chen Cheng, had actually been angered twice by the same woman.

He had evaded and avoided, thinking he had chosen someone rational and sensible, someone who, even if bad, wouldn’t cross his bottom line. But the outcome made him question himself. He guarded against everyone but her, and in the end, she was the one who deceived him the most deeply.

She wants to leave? She still wants to leave? She shouldn’t even dream of it!

He didn’t even spare Han Bailu; how could he possibly let go of Wen Huo, who had truly deceived him?

Chen Cheng pulled tissues from the table and threw them at her: “Wipe yourself clean, get up.”

Wen Huo didn’t move.

Chen Cheng dragged her up and wiped her. His movements weren’t rough, but they conveyed no hint of concern. He made Wen Huo feel as if he were trying to humiliate her.

Wiping her blood, he said, “Why aren’t you haughtily accusing me now? Feeling guilty? Wen Huo, do you also feel guilty?”

Wen Huo knew she had been immoral. Since she was exposed, there was no need to be stubborn anymore. So, she stopped defending herself, her demeanor completely different from her earlier arrogant self.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Chen Cheng calmly wiped her blood clean, then turned and opened the door.

It was Tang Junen. He glanced at Chen Cheng, whose face looked off, then looked into the room and saw Wen Huo. He understood. He patted Chen Cheng’s chest: “I told them you’re leaving early. No problem.”

Chen Cheng turned around, took Wen Huo’s hand, and walked out.

Tang Junen noticed he was acting strangely. He feared Chen Cheng in this state, so he didn’t dare say anything more but helped block the media’s view.

Chen Cheng was going to kill Wen Huo.

Today.