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Psst! We're moving!
Yan Heyu’s slim hope of moving into the master bedroom was completely dashed by Qin Xing. Qin Xing, unaware that Yan Heyu was still only occupying the secondary bedroom in the villa, constantly boasted about his one-sided relationship.
He wanted to help Yan Heyu mend his relationship with Wen Di, but who knew it would backfire?
Yan Heyu and Wen Di’s path to marriage, though not plagued by ninety-nine or eighty-one difficulties, certainly had its share of ninety-nine plus eighteen hurdles, and integrating her into his circle of friends was one of them.
Despite having been together for three years, Yan Heyu had never introduced Wen Di to his social circle. Now, if he were to do so, Wen Di would surely feel a sense of unease.
Qin Xing seized the opportunity of a friend’s birthday party in their circle and decided to bring Wen Di along to socialize and get to know them better.
“Why should I go? I’m not that close to them.”
Qin Xing urged her to recall, “We met several times at Jiang Chengyu’s barbecue. Have you forgotten?”
She really had.
Qin Xing said, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember clearly; the birthday boy remembers you and said your grilled seafood was delicious. This time, the birthday party will still invite those people. Shen Tang is going too, so come join the fun. You need a balance of work and rest when writing scripts.”
He was afraid Wen Di would refuse. “The birthday boy asked me to bring you, so not going would be rude.”
Wen Di gave Qin Xing face, primarily because Shen Tang was going, and she’d have someone to hang out with.
They set a time, and Qin Xing came to pick her up.
“Is Yan Heyu going?” Wen Di asked on the way.
Qin Xing shook his head. “I’m not sure. For small birthdays like this, whoever is free goes.”
He wasn’t lying; he genuinely didn’t know if Yan Heyu was going.
He wanted to fully integrate Wen Di into that circle, which he saw as helping Yan Heyu overcome a hurdle.
Wen Di had met that group of people at Jiang Chengyu’s house a few times, but she always arrived late. They were already gathered around the card table playing, so she only gave a nod and a greeting, without a formal one-by-one introduction.
She definitely recognized their faces but couldn’t quite match them to names.
Qin Xing asked her, “Who are the ones you’re familiar with?”
“No more than five, whom I knew from before. Only Jiang Chengyu and Fu Yanzhou have had meals with me.”
Qin Xing nodded, then joked, saying his stature wasn’t enough for Yan Heyu to introduce him to her back then.
It wasn’t that Qin Xing wasn’t important enough; it was that Yan Heyu hadn’t thought about a future with her, let alone bringing her into his circle.
Getting to know his best friends and truly entering his social circle, now that she thought about it, were two entirely different matters.
Their small circle was difficult for outsiders to enter. Even casual chatter at the card table could contain secrets from the powerful elite, which, if overheard by others, could easily be misinterpreted. Even Guan Xiangmu had only integrated into the group in the past two years because of Yan Heyu.
Wen Di asked, “Which hotel is it at?”
“Not a hotel, it’s at a private club,” Qin Xing said, naming the club. “You’ve probably been there.”
“I have. The private rooms are all on the second floor. I really like the design of the mirror and plants next to the hallway on the third floor.”
“Brother Yan’s private room is on the third floor.”
“I heard him say it before, he always entertains guests in that room.”
“Tonight’s birthday party is in Brother Yan’s private room.”
The birthday host borrowed Yan Heyu’s private room, which cost millions to decorate and had top-notch KTV equipment.
It was also the most luxurious private room in the club.
Upon entering the private room, most of the guests had arrived. Shen Tang was sitting next to Jiang Chengyu, watching a card game. Seeing her, she enthusiastically waved, “Come quickly, I’ve peeled sunflower seeds for you.”
Wen Di walked over with a smile. This was her first time stepping into Yan Heyu’s private room. Sometimes, what a person suddenly thinks is beyond their control; they can only try to control themselves from dwelling on it later.
Just like now, the thought suddenly popped into her head: how many times had Jiang Yunxing and Tian Qinglu been to this room?
Fu Yanzhou was also present tonight; he was at the same card table as Jiang Chengyu and the birthday boy.
Qin Xing, having completed his task, went to another table to play.
The birthday boy greeted Wen Di, pointing to an empty seat: “Three short one, we’re just waiting for you.”
Wen Di demurred, “My card skills are terrible, I’m sure to lose.”
The birthday boy: “Worse than Qin Xing’s card skills?”
“How could that be?”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Qin Xing was indirectly criticized but decided to bear with it for now.
Yan Heyu hadn’t arrived, so Wen Di played cards to her heart’s content, with Shen Tang even peeling sunflower seeds for her.
Just before midnight, Yan Heyu arrived. He had heard from someone that Wen Di was in his private room, so he quickly finished his business and had his driver take him there.
From the moment he entered, the atmosphere felt a bit strange.
On Wen Di’s side, she was almost done playing and was preparing to leave. Jiang Chengyu and Shen Tang also planned to go home.
Yan Heyu pulled up a chair and sat next to Wen Di. “What do you want? I’ll win it for you.” The private room was filled with gifts for the birthday boy.
Wen Di shook her head. “I’m going back. Don’t you want to stay a bit longer?”
Yan Heyu came specifically to pick her up, so how could he stay longer? He greeted the others, then took Wen Di’s hand and left.
During this time, Wen Di tried to pull away, but he held her tightly, not letting go, all the way to the car.
“So many people in the private room, just walk normally. Do you need to hold hands?”
Yan Heyu: “I want to hold your hand.”
He released her and opened the car door for her.
Once in the car, there was a long silence. The driver sensed something amiss and put up the partition.
“If you want to sing in the future, just go anytime.”
“The private room was indeed luxurious, an eye-opener. It couldn’t compare to the other private rooms on the second floor.”
Yan Heyu heard the sarcasm, shifted closer to her, and pulled her into his embrace.
He had nothing to explain and just held her.
Qin Xing’s good intentions tonight had backfired, or rather, it wasn’t a backfire, but a hurdle that had to be crossed sooner or later.
He had originally hoped to move into the master bedroom within a month, but a month had passed, and he hadn’t even touched the master bedroom door.
Their relationship couldn’t remain cold. That night, instead of working overtime, he called Wen Di. “Let’s go out to eat tonight.”
Wen Di was at a restaurant at that moment. Earlier in the afternoon, she had stumbled upon a food video and suddenly craved foie gras. After finishing her work, she drove out alone to find food.
Yan Heyu confirmed the address and drove straight there.
She knew what he liked to eat. By the time he arrived at the restaurant, she had already ordered.
“If I hadn’t called you, were you planning to eat alone?”
“Yes. What’s wrong?”
“Eating Western food alone, how boring.”
“You get used to it; it’s nothing.”
Yan Heyu felt uneasy hearing that. She must have eaten Western food alone often after they broke up. “Next time you want to eat, let me know.”
Wen Di said, “Mainly, you talk too much. I want some peace and quiet.”
Yan Heyu: “...I’ll try to be more aloof.”
Wen Di picked up her water glass and drank, ignoring him.
Everything was relatively harmonious until the foie gras arrived. There were two portions, clearly one for each person.
Yan Heyu looked up at her. He didn’t eat foie gras, nor duck liver; she used to know that.
Over three years had passed, and she seemed to have forgotten now.
He kept looking at her. Wen Di belatedly realized, “I want to eat foie gras. Both portions are for me, you eat something else.”
Yan Heyu couldn’t imagine how much of his preferences and habits she still remembered after so much time had passed.
Some things had been diluted by time, some perhaps replaced by others. She probably didn’t remember much.
________________________________________
There had been heavy rains again these past few days. Beijing seemed to have more rain this year than in previous years.
Or perhaps it wasn’t any less in previous years, but he just hadn’t paid much attention. This year, many new flowers were planted in the garden, and crabapple trees were transplanted, and he worried that heavy rain would drown the flowers whose roots hadn’t taken firm hold.
Today was Saturday. Yan Heyu had been working non-stop for four weeks and planned to take two days off for the weekend, also giving Kang Bo two days off.
His body clock made him wake up before six.
Yan Heyu got up for his morning run. The villa area had an artificial lake with a jogging path built along it. Not many people were out for their morning exercise, just a few scattered individuals, perhaps due to the impending rain.
The sky was heavily overcast, the air damp, and the wind was rising. Distant thunder seemed to rumble.
On his tenth lap, large raindrops began to hit his face.
The rain was sudden and dense. Yan Heyu had barely taken a few steps when, “whoosh,” heavy rain poured down.
By the time he reached home, his clothes were soaked through.
Yan Heyu stripped off his soaked clothes and went to shower.
In the master bedroom next door, Wen Di was woken by the thunder. She rolled over, trying to fall back asleep, but the continuous thunder kept her awake. She simply got out of bed.
It was a non-working day. Her mood was good last night, and inspiration suddenly surged. She wrote from midnight until 2:30 AM, achieving unusually high efficiency and completing two days’ worth of work in advance. With the rain today, she could正好:just right read a book.
The book she wanted to read was placed on the top shelf of the bookcase during the move. She couldn’t reach it. There was no folding ladder in the study, and the chair had wheels, making it unstable to stand on. Wen Di went downstairs to move a dining chair.
Passing by the second bedroom door, she paused.
Yan Heyu had showered, changed, and was tucking his shirt into his dress pants.
“Next time you get dressed, please close the door.”
“I only open it after I’m dressed.” He glanced at her, then lowered his head to buckle his belt, saying, “Please be understanding. The small room isn’t like your bedroom; it gets stuffy if closed for too long, it needs ventilation.”
Wen Di: “...”
Now, three words couldn’t pass his lips without mentioning the master bedroom. No matter what he did, he could make eighteen turns to get to the master bedroom.
Yan Heyu buckled his belt, then casually turned off the room light. “Breakfast is ready?” He thought she was going downstairs for breakfast and was joining her.
“No. Auntie doesn’t make breakfast until 8 o’clock.”
Yan Heyu looked at his watch. It was 7:15 now.
Wen Di said, “I’m going downstairs to get a chair to reach a book. If you’re hungry, ask Auntie to make you breakfast first.”
“No rush, I’m off today.”
Yan Heyu planned to wait for her to eat together. He asked, “What book are you getting?”
“A novel, it’s on the very top shelf.” Wen Di heard he wasn’t working today. “Then can you help me get it? It’ll save me from moving a chair.”
Yan Heyu followed her to the study. With his height, he could easily reach the top shelf of the bookcase by extending his arm, but he didn’t intend to just get it for her.
“What are you doing?” Wen Di looked at him crouching in front of the bookcase, bewildered.
Yan Heyu patted his neck. “Sit up, I’ll carry you, and you can get it yourself.”
“Why go to all that trouble? You can just get it for me.”
“I’ve been carrying you on my runs lately; my arms can’t lift anymore.”
Wen Di didn’t believe him at all. If he really couldn’t lift his arms, he wouldn’t have the strength to carry her on his runs, yet he did so every night without fail.
Yan Heyu urged her to sit on him. “You used to put things on the highest places with a ladder, trying every way to make me carry you, and now that I want to carry you, you won’t sit.”
He extended his hand to her. “Sit up.”
Wen Di held onto the desk and carefully straddled his shoulders.
She told him, “It’s on the second shelf from the right.”
Yan Heyu feigned deafness, carrying her to the leftmost bookcase. “You can search shelf by shelf.”
This row of bookshelves against the wall was seven or eight meters long from left to right. He carried her an extra seven or eight meters, finally stopping in front of the second shelf from the right.
After getting the book, Yan Heyu put her down.
Wen Di thanked him, then casually asked, “Are you still going out today?” because he had changed into dress pants and a shirt, looking like he was about to leave.
“Not sure. If the rain stops, I might need to go out for a bit.”
However, the rain grew heavier, pouring down during breakfast.
Yan Heyu looked out at the garden. If it kept raining like this, the garden would eventually flood.
“What are you looking at? Eat.”
Yan Heyu turned back. Wen Di handed him a piece of bread.
Today, she had personally cut the bread and spread a little butter inside. It was probably because he had carried her to find the book just now, and she was happy, so she made him a piece of bread.
“Thank you.” Yan Heyu took it, unconsciously thinking of that foie gras from that night. He didn’t like eating it, but she had forgotten.
He had held a grudge about it ever since.
Of the lavish breakfast spread, he only ate one piece of bread and drank one cup of coffee.
Wen Di was immersed in her script world and didn’t pay attention to him.
“Wen Di, get me another piece of bread.”
“You’re not full yet?”
There was so much food on the table, Wen Di wasn’t sure how much he had eaten, but this time she had finished, and he still wasn’t full.
Yan Heyu stared at her for a few seconds. “My appetite is good today.”
Wen Di put down her milk glass, cut him another slice of bread, spread a little butter, and handed it to him. “Eat slowly. I’m going upstairs to read.”
Yan Heyu: “Can’t you keep me company?”
Wen Di stood up, then sat down again. She propped her chin and looked out at the ceaseless rain, occasionally glancing at the person sitting across from her.
Yan Heyu occasionally looked back. When their gazes seemed about to meet, she would turn her head away.
When he was silent, she couldn’t guess what he was thinking, as was the case before and still was now.
Watching him put the last bite of bread into his mouth, Wen Di refilled his coffee halfway. Without waiting for him to finish his coffee, she went upstairs to the study.
Yan Heyu watched her disappear up the stairs, turning onto the second floor, then picked up his coffee cup and took a few sips.
His phone rang, it was Kang Bo.
He answered: “Didn’t I tell you, you’re off today?”
Kang Bo couldn’t stay idle. He was pondering Jiang Zhengqian’s investment in the film and television company. “There are no abnormalities with Zhang Qiaoyu’s side at the moment. The film and television company’s operations are proceeding as planned. After Jiang Zhengqian’s money arrived, they are now working on an S-grade film and television project.”
Zhang Qiaoyu was the boss of the film and television company Jiang Zhengqian invested in. He was quite down-to-earth and had a girlfriend of one year who was an artist from his own company.
This S-grade film and television project was designed to promote his girlfriend. His and his girlfriend’s relationship was underground, known only to people in their company.
This month, Jiang Zhengqian also invested in several other dramas, produced by different film and television companies. Including the project with Zhang Qiaoyu’s company, he invested in a total of five companies.
It was unclear if Jiang Zhengqian’s investments were normal or had other motives.
If he was truly targeting Wen Di, they wouldn’t know where to start defending. Even if he was targeting Wen Di, Jiang Zhengqian himself wouldn’t personally direct it; he’d arrange for others to do so.
Finding out who he assigned the task to would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Yan Heyu asked, “Are all of Jiang Zhengqian’s funds transferred very discreetly?”
“Yes, through other people’s accounts. If you don’t investigate carefully, you won’t find anything.”
Yan Heyu understood Jiang Zhengqian. That man would never lose money. He must have invested to profit. Even if he targeted Wen Di, he would do so with the smallest cost, not with such a huge investment.
After careful consideration, Yan Heyu decided to become a silent shareholder in those five film and television companies. “I’ll use Jiang Zhengqian’s invested money to make money for myself.”
Kang Bo: “...”
Jiang Zhengqian would probably spit blood when he found out.
However, since Jiang Zhengqian dared to invest in these companies, his relationship with their boss was quite close. He worried: “The possibility of us becoming shareholders is too small.”
“Leave it to CEO Yin and Guan Xiangmu to handle.” CEO Yin invested in the Jiangcheng industrial park, and Yan Heyu facilitated that connection, so CEO Yin owed him a favor.
As for Guan Xiangmu, there was no need to be polite with him.
CEO Yin had already been deeply involved in the film and television industry for many years. Guan Xiangmu, needless to say, under their names, would not arouse suspicion from the bosses of various film and television companies.
“Have CEO Yin acquire three companies, and leave the other two for Guan Xiangmu to take care of.”
Regarding Wen Di, he instructed Kang Bo that defense was useless. Jiang Zhengqian was using covert attacks, making them impossible to guard against. “Pay more attention to the main actors of Behind Desire. As long as they don’t make mistakes, it won’t affect the broadcast of this drama.”
Kang Bo: “Okay.”
He also felt that they needed to change their approach to dealing with Jiang Zhengqian.
After finishing the call with Kang Bo, Yan Heyu went to the study to find Wen Di.
Wen Di was leaning on the sofa, reading. Knowing he had come in, she didn’t look up.
Yan Heyu sat on the other end of the sofa, legs crossed, leaning into the sofa. He watched her for a while, then asked, “Do you want to watch TV?”
Wen Di shook her head, saying she wanted to read.
“Do you remember what we used to do on weekends?”
Wen Di didn’t speak, but she clearly remembered.
When he was off, they would watch TV. She would find fault with him, then they would make love, and after that, she would continue to find fault. He would hold her in his arms, not letting her move, and then they would quietly binge-watch dramas.
“Come sit.” He extended his hand, inviting her to sit on his lap.
Wen Di acted as if she hadn’t heard. The loud rain outside made it plausible that she hadn’t.
Yan Heyu had no choice. He held one of her ankles, pulled her over, and settled her onto his lap.
He wrapped one arm around her waist. “Just watch, I won’t do anything else.”
Wen Di turned a page of her book. “If you’re really bored, go work overtime at the company.”
Yan Heyu’s posture was lazy, his arm draped over the back of the sofa. “I could be busy, and I have a lot to do. You’re the one who made me idle.”
Wen Di glared at him, ignoring him.
After a while, he said, “When the rain lessens, I’ll go out for a bit.”
He didn’t say where, and she didn’t ask.
At ten o’clock, the rain gradually diminished to a drizzle.
Yan Heyu drove out.
The weather forecast said there would be heavy rain tonight until dawn, and strong winds. However, it wasn’t necessarily accurate. The last time he came to her villa, it also said there would be heavy rain, and he stayed until dawn, intending not to go back, but then the rain stopped.
At noon, Wen Di received a message from Yan Heyu saying he wouldn’t be back for lunch and she shouldn’t wait for him.
It was their weekend together, but she ate lunch alone.
Yan Heyu returned in the afternoon. Wen Di was taking a nap, not on the bed, but just dozing on the study sofa, covered with a blanket.
A familiar scent approached, and then she was picked up.
Wen Di groggily opened her eyes, thinking he wouldn’t be back until evening. “What are you doing?”
Yan Heyu carried her out of the study. “Go sleep on the bed.”
“No need. I’m used to sleeping in the study at noon.”
“Sleeping on the sofa isn’t comfortable.”
Yan Heyu carried her to the bedroom bed, turned off the lights, and pulled the blackout curtains. The room instantly darkened, like evening without lights on.
Wen Di told him to go out. “Please close the door on your way out, thank you.”
Yan Heyu had no intention of leaving. “You sleep.”
“I can’t sleep.”
“With me next to you, why can’t you sleep?”
“You tell me, who could sleep soundly with a wolf crouching beside them?”
“...”
Yan Heyu was amused and irritated. “Why am I a wolf? Don’t you know? You left me hanging for over a month. Forget about moving into your master bedroom, even the most basic perks were canceled.”
“I won’t think about using condoms, but give me the other privileges.” He leaned his two hands on either side of her, whispering, “You don’t want to? We haven’t been together for over a month.”
The bedroom was very dark, the atmosphere just right. He leaned down and kissed her lips. “From now on, if we have small frictions, you can ignore me all you want, but don’t torment yourself in this regard.”
He sucked on the corner of her lips. “This wasn’t really a cold war, but let’s end it anyway. Too long affects the relationship.” Their relationship was already precarious and couldn’t withstand much more torment.
Wen Di pushed his face away. “Arguing with you affects my mood. Dealing with you doesn’t affect my mood. I’m not arguing with you anymore, can’t you tell? I let you carry me to get a book, and I even made you bread.”
She told him to go out first. “Don’t bother me, I can’t sleep.”
Yan Heyu stood there, motionless. “Just a quick fix, it won’t take long.”
“...You don’t even believe words like that yourself, do you?”
Yan Heyu got up, pulled her blanket up, and closed the door as he left.
Wen Di thought he had a change of heart, finally listening for once.
She yawned and turned over, trying to get back into the mood for sleep. Her sleepiness had been intense just moments ago, but he had completely disrupted it.
After four or five minutes, the door was pushed open again.
Wen Di suddenly turned around. Yan Heyu closed the door, holding one of his own loungewear shirts.
“Why are you back in here!”
Yan Heyu unbuttoned his shirt with one hand. “The clothes you’re wearing, you’ll need to wear them this afternoon. Don’t get them dirty. You can wear my clothes.”
“...”
He changed into his loungewear and put his discarded shirt on her. He did it all himself, quickly and neatly.
He folded her clothes and placed them on the bed-end bench.
His shirt still carried his body heat, and she was wearing nothing underneath.
Yan Heyu picked her up in a bridal carry. “To my room. I’m very self-aware; you don’t let me stay in the master bedroom, I absolutely will not get into the master bedroom bed.”
Wen Di was speechless.
All the blackout curtains in the secondary bedroom were drawn. The light was even dimmer than in the master bedroom. With the door closed, they could only see each other’s outlines.
Yan Heyu put her down and tucked her into his blanket.
He leaned down and pointed to his belt buckle for her to see. “It’s not the same belt buckle you used to like unbuckling. Want to try?”
“I only unbuckle belt buckles that I buy myself.”
“Bought with the pocket money you gave me. Rounding up, it counts as bought by you.”
Wen Di didn’t believe him. He only got one yuan in pocket money a day now. Saving for a month would only be thirty-one yuan, or thirty yuan in a short month.
That much money wasn’t enough to buy a belt.
Yan Heyu said, “I found it online for a dozen yuan. The belt buckle isn’t very easy to unbuckle; it’s a bit of a struggle. I’m slowly buying things for myself with the money you give me. Since you don’t buy things for me now, I can only buy them myself.”
He always made himself sound so miserable and pitiful. Wen Di tried her best to ignore his attempts at eliciting sympathy.
Yan Heyu took her hand and pressed it on the belt buckle, insisting that she unbuckle it.
With the belt buckle undone, Wen Di suddenly remembered, “Next time you don’t come home for dinner, tell me earlier. Today at noon, Auntie cooked a lot of dishes you like. You said you weren’t coming back almost at twelve, after the dishes were already made. It’s a waste if we don’t finish them.”
Yan Heyu placed his right arm on the pillow for her to rest on, drawing her into his embrace. He explained, “It’s not wasted. I’ll eat it later. I didn’t eat lunch.”
“Then why did you tell me you weren’t coming back to eat?”
“Traffic was bad. I would have gotten back at one o’clock, and I was afraid you’d be hungry.”
So he said he wouldn’t be back, telling her to eat first.
He leaned down and kissed her lips, his left hand burying itself under the blanket.
Wen Di rested her head on his arm. The blanket carried his scent, and the shirt she wore also carried his scent. She was completely enveloped by his presence.
The benefit of his long fingers was evident at this moment; they could go deeper, with zero distance between them.
Yan Heyu blocked her lips, swallowing all her sounds.
After resting his left hand for a few seconds, he said, “Do you feel it? Is it my left ring finger?”
“...”
“I just took off the ring, and I washed my hands. I didn’t wear it when I went in.”
He paused, looking into her eyes, then added, “You told me that a person’s ring finger is connected to their heart. My ring finger is definitely connected to my own heart, and now it should be connected to yours too.”
Wen Di covered his mouth, not letting him speak further. Her body and mind were already feeling his ring finger; he was too wicked, insisting that she feel it completely.
The way his ring finger had gently hooked her just now truly felt like it hooked her heart.
Her heartbeats were all over the place.
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