#46:In the Same Space, Different Times...

Yan Heyu flipped to the page he was reading, but then quickly turned back, intending to continue from page 29 and reread what he had already seen.

He had never before felt that a book could have life, could have a soul.

“Give me a pen.”

He thought for a moment, “A pencil, with a rounded tip.”

Qin Xing found a pencil from the pen holder. The tip was very fine, so he found a few pieces of scrap paper and rubbed the tip on them to round it.

“Brother Yan, what are you doing?”

Yan Heyu: “Taking notes.”

He instructed Qin Xing, “Don’t tell Wen Di this is my book.”

“Don’t worry.”

Qin Xing handed him the pencil, perfectly sharpened to a blunt tip.

“Give me another piece of paper.”

Qin Xing didn’t understand. Taking notes on a phone was so much better; why go to all that trouble? He pulled a few loose-leaf pages from a notepad and gave them to Yan Heyu.

Yan Heyu sat opposite Qin Xing’s office desk. It was easier to write on the table. He placed the loose-leaf pages under the book, wrote a few sentences, and pushed them towards Qin Xing. “Do the words on the left and right look like they were written by the same person?”

Qin Xing picked them up and examined them carefully. “No, they don’t.”

Afraid his judgment wasn’t accurate, he called over his assistant, Yuan Yuan, and asked her to identify if they were by the same hand.

Yuan Yuan looked for a long time. “No matter how I look at it, they don’t look alike.”

The writing on the right was neat and precise, while the left was free-flowing and bold, with different brushstrokes.

Yan Heyu felt relieved. After Yuan Yuan left, he took the book, which he had just returned to the bookshelf, out again.

On page 39, there was a plot point. He wrote a few of his own thoughts beside it, and then added two lines of poetry to support them.

Every stroke, every word was written very lightly, with a rustling sound, like the paper of the book itself, as if worn by time.

After writing, Yan Heyu read the notes again. “Find me an eraser.”

Qin Xing rummaged through the pen holder for a long time, silently complaining in his heart.

Yan Heyu looked at the eraser and remembered how Wen Di used to like writing on his hands and arms, and wouldn’t let him wash it off with water, insisting he use an eraser.

He carefully erased the ‘撷’ he had just written, then replaced it with its pinyin.

Qin Xing thought Yan Heyu didn’t know how to write that character, or had just written it incorrectly. He wondered, “Don’t you know pinyin? Why don’t you look it up? What character is it? I’ll help you look it up.”

He opened his phone.

“No need.”

Yan Heyu added a date below the notes, one he randomly made up, writing: 2004.06.22.

Qin Xing saw the date was over a decade ago and finally understood. Yan Heyu didn’t want Wen Di to guess that these notes were his recent thoughts.

Yan Heyu put down the pencil and continued reading.

Today, he read from page 29 to page 56.

But the bookmark was still on page 28, where Wen Di had stopped.

It was getting late. Yan Heyu put the book back on the bookshelf.

With two weeks left until filming began, he asked Qin Xing, “Should we send Wen Di a gift for the start of filming?”

Qin Xing had thought about treating Wen Di to a meal, but a gift hadn’t crossed his mind.

He also didn’t know what would be suitable.

Yan Heyu said, “I’ll help you pick it out; you pay for it.”

Qin Xing, feeling sorry for him, decided to help. “Alright.”

This turncoat, once again, bent without principle.

________________________________________

After leaving the film company, the driver drove directly back to the Yan family’s old residence.

Halfway there, Yan Heyu asked the driver to turn around, saying he wanted to go to the used bookstore.

The bookstore only stayed open until 7:30 PM and was already closed.

Yan Heyu arrived at the alley entrance and called the owner, asking if it was convenient.

The owner took off his reading glasses and chuckled, “I’m an old man; I sleep at most three or four hours a day and don’t get sleepy in the middle of the night. What’s inconvenient about it? Come on over.”

He had someone open the door for Yan Heyu and went to the tea room to brew a pot of tea.

Yan Heyu had visited the bookstore twice at night. Each time, the owner was in his study, with books piled on the table and a pot of tea nearby. It was said that sometimes he would unknowingly sit there and read a book until dawn.

“Should I ask if you’re busy or not?” The owner chuckled, pouring him tea.

If he said he was busy, he could still make time to come over.

If he said he wasn’t busy, he wouldn’t be picking books so late.

Yan Heyu: “No matter how busy I am, I still have time to pick books for her.”

The owner had known Yan Heyu for quite some time, nearly three years now. Yan Heyu came to his shop to pick out books, saying they were gifts for his girlfriend’s third anniversary.

Later, he himself said they broke up, that he had made an unforgivable mistake.

“After all this time, you still haven’t moved on?”

Yan Heyu felt that discussing love with an elder might be difficult to empathize with. Even if he told him, the owner, at his age, might not understand him.

But he still answered truthfully, “I’ve moved on. And started anew.” He was afraid the owner wouldn’t understand. “I realized I didn’t give her much before.”

He specifically emphasized, “Not in terms of material things.”

The owner handed him the tea. “I understand.”

Then he chuckled, “Don’t let my age fool you. When I was young, I was just as crazy as you young people are now. I consider myself a romantic.”

For the first time, the owner shared personal matters with a book friend he had known for only a few years. He pointed to the vast study. “I bought all these books for my old lady.”

“She loved to read since she was little, but her family was too poor back then to afford books. After we got married, I bought them for her every year. Unfortunately, she passed away early, and she hadn’t finished reading the books I bought for her.”

There was a moment of silence.

“After she left, I read them for her. I’ve been reading for her for almost twenty years.”

He smiled and said, “I’m getting too old to read much more. I’ll read as many as I can.”

He knew perfectly well that his wife couldn’t possibly read that many books. Even if she didn’t eat, drink, or sleep, and spent her entire life reading, how many tens of thousands of books could she read?

But he still scoured for so many for her.

He knew that they could never be finished, and even if they continued reading in the next life, they still wouldn’t be finished.

The owner put his reading glasses back on. “Go ahead and pick.”

He sat back in his chair, quickly immersed in his book.

Yan Heyu chose for a long time, finally deciding on an old English edition of A Year in Provence.

This was the owner’s private study, not open to the public like the used bookstore downstairs, where you could just buy books if you liked them.

He first sought the owner’s permission, “Are you still reading this one?”

The owner pushed his reading glasses up. “This is a book I bought when I traveled abroad alone. I was reviewing my English while reading it.”

He said, “It’s yours.”

Yan Heyu insisted on paying. He had only found this one book today.

________________________________________

As he left the bookstore, a call from Kang Bo came in.

Just that afternoon, their boss’s Huayuan Industrial had lost two major clients in the East China region, who were signed by Xiao Ning Group.

It was a price war.

Xiao Donghan’s secretary called him, asking if Huayuan Industrial would engage in a price war. If so, Xiao Ning would fight to the end.

The boss was the silent controlling shareholder of Huayuan Industrial and rarely participated in its operations before. This time, because it was a confrontation with Xiao Ning, and the opposing party’s head was Xiao Donghan, the boss personally took charge.

“Mr. Yan, should we engage in a price war?”

“Yes, why not?”

Yan Heyu then asked, “When is Xiao Donghan coming to China?”

Kang Bo: “......” He had no idea of the exact time, but he knew roughly, “He’ll definitely attend this year’s Financial Summit Forum.”

This year’s GR Financial Technology Summit Forum was still being held in Jiangcheng.

The reason was: the last one held in Jiangcheng was very successful.

This was the boss’s argument when recommending Jiangcheng to other major GR shareholders.

________________________________________

Wen Di learned from Qin Xing that Xiao Ning Group and Yan Heyu’s Huayuan Industrial were engaged in a price war over a new material.

Qin Xing used to only care about eating, drinking, and having fun. He had been on the right track for less than two years and didn’t understand the intricacies of business. While playing cards at the club, he overheard a few casual remarks, and unable to keep secrets, he worried if their price war was due to Wen Di.

Today, Wen Di and Zhou Mingqian were both present for a discussion meeting before filming began.

After the meeting, Qin Xing invited them to his office. He finally closed the door.

Wen Di found it unusual and asked him what was going on.

Qin Xing laid out the details of the price war. “Wen Di, if it’s possible.” He had a strong survival instinct, repeatedly emphasizing, “I mean, if you don’t mind, could you persuade those two to stop this foolishness of trying to utterly destroy each other while gravely hurting themselves?”

He had always thought that Yan Heyu and Xiao Donghan were the most rational people, but now it seemed that was not the case at all.

Wen Di asked him, “Have you finished reading the script?”

Qin Xing: “Still reading.” The complex business war content involved a lot of industry knowledge, and it made his eyes ache, but he was trying his best to read it.

Wen Di said, “Let’s talk again after you finish reading it.”

In the teacups on the coffee table, two flowers still bloomed. Today, they were two Julietta spray roses.

She picked up one and sniffed it; it was very fragrant.

Zhou Mingqian was drinking coffee and replying to messages, his mind not on their conversation.

Qin Xing realized he had been led astray by Wen Di; she was changing the subject, and he couldn’t blame her.

“If it were purely commercial competition, even malicious, unscrupulous, I’d still think it was fine.”

Wen Di retorted, “Then what do you think? Do you think the fuse for their price war is me, that they can’t swallow their anger and are taking it out on each other?”

Qin Xing nodded. “They started this right after you broke up.”

It was hard not to think otherwise.

Wen Di put the Julietta rose back in the cup. “They’re doing it for themselves. You don’t need to feel bad for them losing money in a price war, nor do you need to worry about who wins or loses. Neither will lose; they’ll both be winners in the end, just by varying degrees.”

She pointed to the script in front of him. “Once you finish reading it, if you still don’t know the answer, come find me again.”

Qin Xing: “I hope so.”

He only had a few true friends, with whom he grew up. They treated him well. Deep down, he hoped Yan Heyu was rational.

Wen Di reassured him, “If you don’t believe me, ask Director Zhou.”

Zhou Mingqian, called out by name, put away his phone. “What?”

Qin Xing: “......”

So, he hadn’t been listening at all.

He seized the opportunity to tease Zhou Mingqian, suppressing a laugh and saying, “Wen Di said I’ve settled down and am quite capable, having gotten the film company on track in over a year. I told her, ‘Sister Wen Di, you flatter me; I have no such talent.’ Wen Di said, ‘You’re inherently very capable. Ask him if you don’t believe me.’“

Zhou Mingqian: “Do you think I’m deaf? I wasn’t listening to your chat, but Wen Di definitely didn’t praise you. Stop trying to give yourself credit.”

Having failed to trick Zhou Mingqian, Qin Xing burst into laughter.

Qin Xing got back to business. He picked up the script, two-thirds of which he had read. Although not a professional, he still had his own insights and opinions on some of the content.

“I happen to have time today; let’s talk about it.”

He took the script and sat in front of Zhou Mingqian.

“I’ve exchanged opinions with Wen Di; now let’s cross-reference with you, the director.”

Wen Di had nothing much to do, and she remembered the book she hadn’t finished reading last time at Qin Xing’s place. She had read this book before and was once captivated by it. The setting was during the Republic of China era, and the ending was tragic.

She didn’t expect to find this book in Qin Xing’s bookshelf, so she reread it, still unable to put it down.

She took the book from the bookshelf. Qin Xing and Zhou Mingqian were discussing the script, and she sat down in the chair in front of Qin Xing’s desk.

She directly flipped to the page with the bookmark.

Qin Xing inadvertently turned his head. Wen Di was sitting in the same spot where Yan Heyu had sat last time, reading the same book as Yan Heyu. In the same space, at different times, they seemed to be reunited there.

Occasionally, the rustling sound of pages turning, page after page. When she reached page 39, Wen Di noticed the pencil annotations next to it. It was a used book, so these must be the casual thoughts of its previous owner while reading.

After reading the casual thoughts, she froze for two seconds.

Incredibly, this person’s understanding was surprisingly consistent with hers.

When she first read it, she felt that the female protagonist’s tears weren’t because the adjutant scolded her a few times, but because the female protagonist felt the male protagonist understood her.

In that era of turbulent times and chaos, the female protagonist’s family fell apart, and she became an orphan, temporarily living in the male protagonist’s house.

The male protagonist’s mind was not on romantic affairs.

The night before the male protagonist went north, he discussed matters with someone until four or five in the morning.

At that time, only the female protagonist in the house woke up early; she was sleepless with worry about the male protagonist’s safety on his journey.

The male protagonist’s adjutant asked the female protagonist for help, to prepare something for the male protagonist to eat, as he had to depart at dawn.

The female protagonist made red bean cakes and also some mung bean cakes.

The male protagonist didn’t like to eat mung beans or red beans. Seeing these cakes, the adjutant, in a fit of pique, spoke harshly and scolded the female protagonist.

The male protagonist said, “It’s okay, I’ll eat a few more.”

Those extra few pieces were all red bean cakes; the mung bean cakes remained untouched.

The female protagonist shed tears after the male protagonist left.

After that separation, they didn’t see each other again for three years.

When Wen Di read it years ago, she felt that the female protagonist actually just wanted to make red bean cakes for the male protagonist, but was afraid her intentions would be too obvious, so she made extra mung bean cakes as a cover.

But ultimately, the male protagonist understood her feelings, yet in such turbulent times, life and death were not in their hands. Perhaps he would not return from this journey, so he didn’t respond to the female protagonist at all.

How could the female protagonist not know he didn’t like red beans or mung beans? At the time, the only way she could think of expressing her feelings was through red beans. Red beans symbolize longing. Regardless of whether it accurately expressed love, she just wanted to convey her feelings as much as possible in these few red bean cakes.

The male protagonist said he would eat a few more pieces, and all he ate were red bean cakes.

That’s why the female protagonist burst into tears, and absolutely not because she was scolded by the adjutant in front of so many people and felt sad and wronged.

Wen Di looked again at the two lines of poetry written in pencil in the blank space of the book: “May you pluck more xié, these are most indicative of longing.”

The character ‘撷’ was replaced by pinyin, probably because the previous owner of this book temporarily forgot how to write that character.

This novel wasn’t famous, but it was her favorite type. It had very few descriptions of love; there were no overly romantic scenes, and she could only find hints of sweetness between the lines.

Perhaps only someone like her, or the previous owner of this book, would need a magnifying glass to find the sparks between them.

Regardless of whether the interpretation of the content was completely accurate, it was rare to encounter a fellow book lover with similar thoughts.

Wen Di found a pencil from Qin Xing’s pen holder and wrote a character in the blank space below: 撷

Then she wrote today’s date.

She could only regretfully communicate with this fellow book lover across time and space in this way.

In the lounge area, Qin Xing and Zhou Mingqian were almost done chatting.

Wen Di asked Qin Xing, “Where do you buy these books? Or did you get them from your relatives?”

“No way.” Qin Xing said, “Yuan Yuan bought them.”

He called his assistant Yuan Yuan over, because Yuan Yuan was even less fond of reading than he was. She had been buying books for a year and a half, and he guessed Yuan Yuan wouldn’t remember which book was which.

Yuan Yuan scurried in. “Mr. Qin, what’s up?”

“Your Sister Wen Di wants to ask where you buy these books.” Qin Xing pointed to the bookshelf.

“I buy them at a street stall, ten books for a hundred yuan.”

“......”

Wen Di pressed her hand to her forehead, smiling.

It was hard to imagine how the previous owner of this book could bear to sell it.

Yuan Yuan speculated, “Probably like what happened to my novels, they were accidentally damaged by family, and sold as waste paper when moving.”

The novels she read in junior high were a bit old, their covers almost falling off. Her mother sold them as waste paper, a lot of books, for seventeen dollars and fifty cents.

Yuan Yuan hadn’t expected that a book she casually bought, almost by the pound, could catch Wen Di’s eye.

“Sister Wen Di, that vendor sets up a stall all year round, selling old books. Let me buy some more for you; they’re not expensive anyway.” She smiled, “Buying them can also serve as a facade for Mr. Qin.”

Wen Di readily agreed, “Okay, you go look for them, I’ll pay.”

Qin Xing suddenly had a flash of inspiration. The book Yan Heyu wanted him to give Wen Di, he finally had a way to deliver it.

If he suddenly gave Wen Di an old book under his own name, it would raise suspicion. But if he subtly mixed the book in with the ones Yuan Yuan found, it would legitimately become something Wen Di bought herself.

He told Yuan Yuan, “Next time you buy, I’ll drive and help you bring the books back.”

Yuan Yuan said, “No need, I’ll just take a taxi; it’s very convenient.”

That night, Yuan Yuan went straight to her usual night market to buy books after work.

Wen Di put the unfinished book back on Qin Xing’s bookshelf. She had read up to page 51.

Qin Xing said it was too much trouble; it would be better to take it home and finish it all at once.

Wen Di: “I’ve read it; I know the ending.”

She just wanted to savor it again when she had nothing else to do.

Because it was a tragic ending, the lingering effects were too strong; she dared not read it before bed.

After a day of busyness, returning to the car, the whole world seemed to fall silent.

Wen Di sat in the car for half a minute, then snapped out of it, casually turned on the car’s music, and started the car, driving out of the underground garage.

The road from the company to her apartment sometimes felt very close, sometimes incredibly far, just like today, it felt like it took two hours.

Arriving downstairs at the apartment building, Wen Di slowed down, gradually driving towards her parking spot.

Suddenly, a car darted out in front, and she slammed on the brakes.

An unfamiliar license plate, an unfamiliar car model.

The car backed up, then swerved, its window slowly aligning with hers.

Wen Di glared at the other driver. “Next time you’re so blind, I’ll just hit you.”

Xiao Zhengtao didn’t engage in a war of words with her. “I’m here for a business deal, and by the way...”

Wen Di interrupted him. “I’m not interested in your itinerary. Please move aside.”

Xiao Zhengtao warned her, “Miss Wen, I’ve been polite enough to you, giving you enough time to deal with your relationship with Xiao Donghan.”

Wen Di gripped the steering wheel, not looking at him. “It seems your information isn’t up-to-date. No wonder you keep losing to Xiao Donghan.”

Xiao Zhengtao paused slightly. When Xiao Donghan had his birthday, he had received a birthday gift from China. He thought they hadn’t broken up and were still entangled.

However, given Wen Di’s personality, if they hadn’t broken up, she wouldn’t say this.

He didn’t act rashly; he would verify first.

“I hope you know what’s good for you.”

Xiao Zhengtao instructed his driver and other cars to return first.

As the car just turned away, his phone screen lit up with an incoming call.

Xiao Zhengtao frowned but still answered.

“I think you’re tired of living.”

Xiao Zhengtao said into the phone, “Whether I’m tired of living is not up to you to decide.”

“I hate it when people cross my bottom line. I told you not to mess with her.”

Xiao Zhengtao: “Don’t be nervous. I came to see Miss Wen; I just wanted to have a heartfelt chat with her.”

Yan Heyu didn’t waste time with small talk. “Do you want your family and your money to end up the same way?”

Xiao Zhengtao was about to say something else when the call disconnected.

While he was on the phone with Yan Heyu, Xiao Donghan’s call came in, but it didn’t connect.

He didn’t plan to call back; he sent a message: [My judgment was wrong. I hear you’ve broken up now.]

Xiao Donghan: [With that level of accuracy in your information, how do you expect to compete with me?]

He deleted the message and tossed his phone aside.

He knew Xiao Zhengtao went to China, but he hadn’t expected him to go find Wen Di. He wondered if she had been frightened.

Secretary Lu had previously arranged for people to protect Wen Di, but in a place as congested as Beijing, protecting someone discreetly was somewhat difficult, often getting lost in traffic.

Now that Xiao Zhengtao knew they had broken up, he probably wouldn’t secretly keep an eye on Wen Di anymore.

Xiao Donghan took off his glasses and pressed his brow. These past few months of dealing with the Xiao family had been exhausting. In such a state of fatigue, he still had to rely on melatonin to sleep.

It wasn’t logical.

Secretary Lu brought some data sheets for him to review and decide how to proceed with the price war against Yan Heyu.

Xiao Donghan took a few sips of black coffee, put down the cup, picked up the data sheets, and after a few seconds, asked, “When is the GR Financial Summit?”

“Same as last year.”

Xiao Donghan nodded. He would meet Yan Heyu again then.

He would wear that new pair of cufflinks.

Secretary Lu waited for a long time but didn’t hear his boss’s next words. He didn’t know why his boss suddenly asked about the GR Summit’s date.

________________________________________

On September 16th, Behind Desire began filming.

It was shot in five cities, with the first stop being Shanghai.

On the day of the launch ceremony, Wen Di received a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates from her older and younger cousins.

There was a launch banquet in the evening. Wen Di went to find Qin Xing and went to the hotel with him.

Qin Xing was on the phone in a corner, speaking in a hushed voice, “Brother Yan, why are you coming to visit the set today? We haven’t even started filming yet. Didn’t we play cards at the club last night? Can’t you wait a few more days before visiting? Anyone would think you’re my real brother.”

“Then I’ll wait two more days.”