#13 (Worry)

Wen Di was still thinking about Yan Heyu’s words during dinner: that he always acted on even his casual remarks.

“Look at you, so distracted while eating.” Zhao Yueling served half a plate of vegetables for her daughter, but Wen Di didn’t touch her chopsticks.

Wen Di smiled, “I was thinking of a plot point.”

Zhao Yueling saw through it but didn’t expose her, following her daughter’s words and asking if her new work was taking shape.

“It’s not an original; it’s adapted from the story of Ming Jianjun and his wife.” Speaking of Ming Jianjun, Wen Di finally revealed to her parents the misunderstanding with Qi Mingche.

“Dad, is Ming Jianjun your classmate?”

Before Wen Changyun could speak, Zhao Yueling said, “He’s my alumnus.”

That apartment was originally bought by her from Ming Jianjun. She and Ming Jianjun were alumni, but he was six grades above her. He had already graduated when she enrolled, so they didn’t know each other at all.

At a dinner party, after realizing they were alumni, she had helped Ming Jianjun with a favor.

Later, Ming Jianjun learned that she wanted to buy a view apartment for her daughter in Beijing, but the desired location and floor were not available. Ming Jianjun proactively offered that the one he owned was just about to be sold.

She bought it at the market price at the time.

Zhao Yueling couldn’t bear to see her daughter suffer this injustice, “Child, why didn’t you tell us earlier?”

Wen Di ate the vegetables on her plate as Wen Changyun continued to serve her. She said, “I can handle it myself. My boyfriend also called Ming Jianjun.”

Zhao Yueling handed her daughter a juice cup, “Eat slowly.”

After knowing the whole story, she analyzed, “Ming Jianjun obviously used you as a shield. Clarifying your misunderstanding equals clearing his name of infidelity to his family.”

“Mm. That’s what he was aiming for.” Wen Di was easygoing, “We can’t mess up the relationship either. Maybe someday, our family company will have business to cooperate with him. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Wen Changyun interjected, “But that doesn’t mean you have to be wronged.”

“It’s not a wrong.” Wen Di drank a few sips of juice and continued eating, “He apologized to me.”

Wen Changyun tentatively asked, “Ming Jianjun seems a bit wary of your boyfriend.”

Zhao Yueling looked at her daughter after hearing her husband’s words.

Wen Di smiled, her guard up, “Don’t even think about getting information out of me.”

Wen Changyun also smiled and patted his daughter’s head. He was indeed a bit curious about what kind of boyfriend his daughter had found.

After-dinner fruit arrived. Wen Di messaged Yan Heyu: [I’ll stay a bit longer. If you’re getting impatient, you can go out for a stroll.]

Yan Heyu: [No rush, watching TV.]

Without thinking, the screenwriter of this TV series must be her.

They chatted for another half an hour. Zhao Yueling asked her daughter if she was going back to the villa to stay with them or to her own apartment.

Wen Di said, “My boyfriend has a driver waiting downstairs to pick me up.”

Zhao Yueling understood and urged her daughter, “Then you should go back.”

Wen Di put away her phone. Her parents showed no sign of leaving. “Mom, aren’t you and Dad coming downstairs with me?”

Zhao Yueling smiled, “If your dad and I went downstairs, we’d definitely want to see what the driver picking you up looks like. You go first.”

Wen Di: “...”

Nothing escaped her mother.

It seemed her mother had sensed something when she messaged Yan Heyu earlier.

After her daughter left, Wen Changyun couldn’t sit still. He looked at his wife, “Aren’t you going down? Then I’ll wait for you in the car.”

When it came to his daughter’s lifelong affairs, he lacked the composure he had in business. On the surface, he pretended not to care and didn’t ask his daughter much, but inwardly, he couldn’t help it.

“You might not even see him if you go down.” Zhao Yueling stopped him from going downstairs. “Didn’t Didi say during the New Year that her boyfriend is comparable to Jiang Chengyu? Are you still doubting your daughter’s judgment?”

________________________________________

During the time Yan Heyu waited for Wen Di, he watched three episodes of the TV series. Before the opening credits of the fourth episode, his phone battery died, and it automatically shut down.

The charger in the housekeeper’s car didn’t match his phone, so Wen Di’s later messages didn’t reach him.

Fortunately, Wen Di remembered roughly where his car was parked and found it after five minutes.

“Why didn’t you reply to my messages?” Sitting in the car, Wen Di put her hand on his neck to warm it.

Yan Heyu pointed to his black-screened phone, “Out of battery.”

Wen Di remembered that his phone had broken once before.

She promised again, “Just bear with this phone a little longer. After I finish recording the show, I’ll give you the phone from the production team. Its battery capacity is large; it can last two days without charging.”

Yan Heyu looked at her speechlessly, started the car, and drove out of the underground parking lot.

On the way back, Wen Di asked him about the car’s damage assessment.

Yan Heyu said, “I don’t know.” He hadn’t asked the housekeeper and didn’t know how the follow-up would be handled.

Wen Di was relieved, “Good thing the woman who rear-ended us wasn’t short on money.”

The car that lady drove was no cheaper than the sports car she had been driving.

Yan Heyu didn’t respond.

Wen Di leaned back in her seat and chatted to herself, “That woman had good气质 and was beautiful.”

She turned her face to him and asked, “What do you think?”

Yan Heyu subconsciously “hmm”ed, focusing on driving.

When he said it, he regretted it.

Because Wen Di was petty. She could praise other women for being beautiful, but he couldn’t. He could only think she was the most beautiful.

As expected, before going to bed that night, she showed her displeasure, hinting at a reckoning later.

Yan Heyu came out of the bathroom after taking a shower. She wasn’t asleep yet, leaning against the headboard, reading a magazine.

Wen Di was right on the edge of her side of the bed, so close she could easily fall off.

Yan Heyu reminded her, “Move further in.”

Wen Di ignored him, turning a page of the magazine.

Yan Heyu could tell she was deliberately keeping her distance from him, staying close to the edge of the bed and far from him.

He knew almost without thinking where the problem lay: when he came back tonight, he had agreed with her that Jiang Yunxing was beautiful and had a good demeanor. She was unhappy.

Over the past few years, he had pretty much accepted all her little tantrums and unreasonable behavior during her period.

Yan Heyu walked over to appease her, bending down to pick her up horizontally and carry her to his side of the bed.

Wen Di rolled up her magazine, looked up, and pressed the magazine against his chest. “Your heart doesn’t learn its lesson.”

Yan Heyu said, “I’ll be more careful with my words and actions from now on.”

Wen Di slept with her back to him, but later, while asleep, she unconsciously turned to face him, her face against his chest.

Yan Heyu kissed her and held her in his arms.

________________________________________

The next day.

Yan Heyu woke up early, carefully taking Wen Di’s hand from his waist.

His and Wen Di’s waking times didn’t align; she usually slept until she woke up naturally.

After his usual workout, he hadn’t even finished breakfast when Assistant Kang and the driver arrived to pick him up.

He remained busy on the way to the company. Kang Bo reported that Tian Qinglu had called last night to schedule an appointment. “You’re only free after 5 PM.”

All other times were already booked.

Yan Heyu asked, “Did she say what she wanted to discuss?”

Kang Bo: “It’s still about building the factory in Jiangcheng.” Due to Wen Di, Jiangcheng had become a sensitive topic.

This matter was complicated. It involved a local enterprise in Jiangcheng, which ranked among the top five in comprehensive strength in the area. They wanted to implement the second phase of their factory construction.

The investment amount was too large, and even leverage couldn’t cover the funding gap, so the owner, Fan Zhisen, had to seek cooperation.

Such a large investment couldn’t find a partner locally in Jiangcheng.

By chance, Fan Zhisen met someone from the Tian family.

The Tian family had intentions to invest in Fan Zhisen, but it ultimately stalled due to funding.

It wasn’t that the Tian family lacked money; they had more profitable projects, and funds were prioritized for other ventures, so Fan Zhisen’s project had to be delayed.

It had been delayed until now.

Now that Tian Qinglu was engaged to Yan Heyu, they were considered family. Keeping wealth within the family, the Tian family decided to invest together with Yan Heyu.

Yan Heyu’s Jingyue Group didn’t lack money. After he bought shares, the Tian family could invest in Fan Zhisen’s project as desired without delaying investments in other projects.

This investment was profitable for both the Tian family and Yan Heyu.

Yan Heyu had a general understanding of the situation. “Tell Tian Qinglu she doesn’t need to come over.” Then he instructed Assistant Kang, “Ask the risk control department to issue a risk report.”

Kang Bo: “Okay.”

The boss seemed to be interested in cooperating with the Tian family on the investment.

Earlier, Qin Xing had called him, asking: “Has Brother Yan finally decided? Wen Di or the Tian family? It’s making it hard for us to know who to mention and who not to mention when we talk to him.”

He had no idea if the boss had made up his mind.

Everyone knew that “it’s easier to conquer an empire than to defend it.”

But abandoning an empire was even harder.

Even if the boss was willing to give up a part, now that he was engaged to Tian Qinglu, he still had to manage all the vested interests, especially the Tian family.

Such a deliberation couldn’t be settled with a single word.

Of course, this was quite cruel for Wen Di, always being the one chosen. And her feelings for the boss were never within the boss’s scope of choice and deliberation. Only when the boss himself didn’t want to let go would he reconsider.

Before arriving at the company, Yan Heyu received a message from Wen Di. She said she was going to visit Shen Tang on set the day after tomorrow, then fly to the production team. After recording the show, she would spend quality time with him.

Yan Heyu asked her: [What time do you want to leave? I’ll have someone apply for the flight route.]

Wen Di: [No need, I’ve already booked a ticket.]

Yan Heyu told her to cancel the ticket and use his private jet.

The next day, Wen Di flew to Hengdian.

Yan Heyu didn’t have time to see her off. He rarely sent her to the airport, but he picked her up more often.

Wen Di arrived in Hengdian near evening. She was also the screenwriter for the drama Shen Tang was currently filming. She knew the director and sat next to him, watching Shen Tang’s performance on the monitor.

Shen Tang wasn’t in good form today. This scene was filmed three times and still got cut.

The director had high standards; it wasn’t until the sixth take that they passed.

Shen Tang’s scenes for the day were all finished. She wrapped up and went to remove her makeup.

Wen Di handed her a glass of fruit and vegetable juice, teasing her, “Did my visit make you so excited you couldn’t find your rhythm?”

Shen Tang frankly said, “Just now, reading the lines, I thought of Jiang Chengyu and got mad at him.”

Wen Di laughed, “Jiang Chengyu is on a business trip abroad right now. When he gets back, you can give him a good scolding.”

After Shen Tang removed her makeup, the two returned to the hotel.

Wen Di hadn’t booked a room and stayed in Shen Tang’s suite. After bathing, they leaned on the sofa, applying face masks, pressing a corner of the mask with their finger when they spoke.

Shen Tang gestured for her to look at the trending topics. “You’re trending again.”

Wen Di was confused, “What trending topic?”

She quickly opened her phone.

Shen Tang said, “Qi Mingche updated his blog this afternoon, posting nine photos. Five are landscape photos of Haitang Village, and the remaining four portrait photos all feature you.”

Getting on the trending list so quickly must be thanks to the “As If Shadow” production team.

“There’s one of you riding a three-wheeled electric bike, taking grandpa for a stroll by the sea.” This was also Shen Tang’s favorite, where grandpa looked as happy as a child in the photo.

Wen Di looked at this set of photos. So he had also gone to Haitang Village early that day and captured her and Grandpa Shen.

Qi Mingche choosing this time to post on his blog, she wondered if he was trying to reconcile with her.

Regardless, she liked this set of photos.

After liking it, she reposted it.

Just after reposting Qi Mingche’s Weibo, Qu Pei called her.

Qu Pei had learned about Qi Mingche’s misunderstanding with Wen Di. Now that Qi Mingche was showing goodwill in this way, her meaning was to let bygones be bygones.

“Don’t blame Qi Mingche; Ming Jianjun was too cunning.”

She hoped Wen Di would put aside her current tasks and repost it without holding grudges.

Wen Di said, “I’ve reposted it.”

Qu Pei was very pleased. She had been worried that Wen Di wouldn’t be willing to compromise. “We’re recording the third episode soon. I’ll visit the set then and treat you and Qi Mingche to a meal. You’re all in the same circle; you’ll constantly see each other, and a strained relationship isn’t good for you.”

Wen Di felt bad; Qu Pei, as a boss, wasn’t having an easy time, always thinking of her. “I’ll get along with him. You haven’t been feeling well lately, so try not to travel too much.”

The theme of “As If Shadow”‘s third episode was “The Gifts of Nature.”

Wen Di stayed with Shen Tang in Hengdian for two days, then flew to the recording destination of “As If Shadow.”

The third episode’s recording would take about a week, and Valentine’s Day would fall during the recording, so she wouldn’t have time to spend it with Yan Heyu.

She had once vowed that no matter how far apart they were, she would fly to his side to be with him.

On the third day of recording, Qu Pei and Director Ruan came to visit.

Qu Pei’s health hadn’t been very good for the past half-year. She had pushed herself too hard in her youth for her career, severely overdrawing her health. Now that she was older, various incapacities were setting in.

Director Ruan was worried about her and would accompany her whenever she went to slightly distant places.

Wen Di personally poured two large cups of hot water, giving one to each of them. “Didn’t I tell you not to come? This place is not like home.”

Qu Pei patted her down jacket, “I’m wearing a lot; I’m not afraid even of going to Antarctica.”

Wen Di chatted with them for a while, then went to record the show.

They finished work early today, and the drive back to the city took nearly two hours.

The scenery along the way was good, but one couldn’t look down; it felt like walking on a cliff edge, making one’s heart pound.

Wen Di recorded a video and sent it to Yan Heyu.

He hadn’t replied to her until they reached the city.

Tonight, Qu Pei was treating everyone from the production team.

Wen Di traveled with the crew’s car to the booked restaurant, where Qu Pei and Director Ruan were waiting for them.

Before the car even reached the restaurant, Wen Di received a group message saying that Qu Pei had been sent to the hospital.

The dinner party was canceled, and everyone accompanied them to the hospital.

Because Wen Di was worried about Qu Pei’s condition, as soon as the car stopped, she pushed the door open and rushed out. She didn’t even notice her phone slipping from her pocket to the seat, and later missed Yan Heyu’s return call.

When she sent the short video to Yan Heyu, he was in a video conference. When his meeting ended and he called back, there was no answer.

Yan Heyu watched the short video twice. He heard clearly that Wen Di said in the video that she was on her way back to the hotel after work, but her phone couldn’t be reached.

Half an hour later, he dialed again, still no answer.

Even when she was bathing, she never let her phone out of her sight, except when recording the show.

After dialing three times, Yan Heyu put down his phone and continued to process emails.

Unconsciously, an hour passed.

Assistant Kang knocked and entered, asking, “Mr. Yan, have you contacted Miss Wen?”

Yan Heyu’s heart sank. He didn’t answer but asked, “What happened to Wen Di?”

Kang Bo told him what he saw online: some netizens were spreading news that someone from the “As If Shadow” production team had been sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. They posted a photo of an ambulance parked at the emergency room entrance, with several crew members in uniform surrounding the vehicle.

As of now, the production team had not responded, and it was uncertain who had been sent for emergency treatment.

“I’ve already had someone contact the production team and also the netizen who posted the video. It might take a few minutes.”

Yan Heyu continued to dial Wen Di’s number, but it wouldn’t connect.

This feeling, it strangely overlapped with that time he went to Haitang Village to see her, and after he came out of the guesthouse, he couldn’t find her in his sight.

He had no time to look at the online news and asked Kang Bo, “What’s the specific situation?”

Kang Bo told his boss the netizens’ conjectures: “The terrain there is rugged, and there’s a very dangerous section on the way back to the hotel, which is prone to car accidents.”

Yan Heyu knew the terrain was rugged. In the short video Wen Di shared with him, the roads on both sides appeared very steep.

The person sent to the hospital might not be Wen Di. Perhaps her phone just happened to not be with her.

But he still couldn’t convince himself not to overthink.

He asked Jiang Chengyu for Shen Tang’s number and asked Shen Tang to help inquire.

After hanging up with Shen Tang, Yan Heyu stared at the time in the bottom right corner of his computer.

The silence in the office stretched the waiting time infinitely.

Every few seconds, Yan Heyu would glance at his phone.

He asked Kang Bo, “Has the production team issued a statement?”

Kang Bo was constantly monitoring and shook his head.

The person he had assigned to inquire about the situation also had no news yet.

Actually, only two minutes had passed, and it couldn’t be any faster.

These two minutes felt as long as two years.

At the fifth minute, his phone finally vibrated, showing Shen Tang’s number.

Yan Heyu quickly pressed the answer button, “Is Wen Di okay?”

Shen Tang said, “She’s fine. It’s her teacher, Qu Pei, who was sent to the emergency room and is now out of danger. Wen Di’s phone was left in the car and wasn’t with her.”

Yan Heyu took a moment to compose himself. “Thank you.”

He hung up the phone, picked up the water glass beside him, and drank half a glass of water.

This was the first time in years Kang Bo had seen Yan Heyu’s emotions fluctuate.

Yan Heyu put down the water glass and told Assistant Kang, “It’s fine now. You can go back to work.”

Kang Bo nodded, closed the door, and left.

Yan Heyu opened Wen Di’s chat box, pondered for a long time, and then left a message: [How many days will this episode’s recording take? I’ll have Assistant Kang book a time. After you return, I’ll add your name to the villa’s property deed.]