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Psst! We're moving!
Two minutes after sending the message, Wen Di received a call from Yan He Yu.
“At the hotel?” Yan He Yu asked.
Wen Di was standing outside the hotpot restaurant in the snowy weather. It had snowed again that evening, and everything was white. If you weren’t a local, it would be hard to tell where the road was.
She stood with her back to the wind and said to Yan He Yu, “It’s two hundred meters from the hotel, so it counts as being within the hotel area.”
Yan He Yu mercilessly exposed her: “Still eating late-night snacks and haven’t gone back yet?”
Wen Di had to generously admit: “Mm, eating to kill time. Just sitting in the room waiting for your call was a bit agonizing. You know what I’m like; I love to overthink when I have nothing to do.”
Yan He Yu chuckled softly. She was still putting on a serious act for him.
He saved the document and turned off his computer.
Wen Di heard the computer shutdown sound from her phone: “Are you at home or the office?”
“Office.”
“Why so late?”
Yan He Yu said, “Fixing my phone until this late.”
“You fixed it yourself?”
“Otherwise?”
Wen Di didn’t believe him. She would have found it more credible if he had said his bodyguard fixed it.
She clearly didn’t consider whether the phone was actually broken. “When I get back, I’ll give you a new phone. The production team is giving each guest a new phone. After the filming is done, this phone won’t be used, so I’ll switch it out for you to use.”
Hearing the first half, Yan He Yu thought she had a change of heart and was going to buy him a new phone. But it turned out she was giving him her used phone.
“Is the new phone good?”
Wen Di vowed, “Definitely better than your broken phone.”
She didn’t know that Yan He Yu’s private phone was custom-made, though its appearance was no different from an ordinary phone.
Yan He Yu perfunctorily said, “Alright, I’ll take it when you phase it out.”
Wen Di protested, “What do you mean ‘phase out’? I’m giving it to you because I can’t bear to use something so good myself.”
As she finished speaking, a group of people emerged from the hotpot restaurant. The director called out to her, “Wen Di, let’s go.”
Wen Di turned around and responded with a gesture.
The director noticed her hands were tucked into her down jacket sleeves, holding the phone to her mouth. He added, “Why aren’t you using headphones to make calls? Aren’t your hands cold?”
He had once taken a call outdoors without gloves, and his hands were almost frozen off.
The speaker was unintentional, but the director’s words, in the vast snowy expanse, were transmitted word for word through the phone to Yan He Yu, who asked, “Are your hands cold?”
Wen Di acted spoiled at the opportune moment: “They were cold, but now that you asked, they’re not.”
Yan He Yu urged her: “Go back quickly.”
He hung up first.
________________________________________
Back at the hotel, Wen Di took a hot bath, and her whole body finally warmed up.
The director temporarily created a group, adding all eight resident guests participating in the show.
Among the four photographers, Wen Di knew two renowned female photographers and another quite interesting male photographer. Only Qi Mingche was someone she hadn’t interacted with, and she didn’t even know what he looked like.
She was familiar with the other celebrities, among whom Xin Yuan had acted in one of her works, and it was that work that made Xin Yuan widely popular, propelling her into the A-list.
After everyone had greeted each other, the director’s assistant sent the next day’s filming schedule to the group.
The next morning at 6:30 AM, everyone gathered in the hotel restaurant. After breakfast, they took a car to the filming location.
At the restaurant entrance, Wen Di met Xin Yuan.
“Sister Wen Di, long time no see.” Xin Yuan smiled and came over to give her a hug, like long-lost friends reuniting.
To outsiders, their relationship seemed alright. What others didn’t know was that she had once had an unpleasant incident with Xin Yuan, and their relationship had deteriorated at one point.
That was two years ago, during the filming of her script. Xin Yuan brought capital into the production and wanted to change two crucial scenes. Wen Di was with the crew at the time and stood firm against Xin Yuan, absolutely refusing to change those two key scenes.
Xin Yuan argued that if they weren’t changed, her character’s persona would collapse, and she would have no image to speak of.
In the end, she and the director resisted pressure from the investors and insisted on no changes.
Facts proved that her persistence was correct. It was precisely those two crucial scenes that made Xin Yuan’s character more fully developed and established her persona.
After the drama aired, Xin Yuan gained a lot from it. Backstage at an event, Xin Yuan主动 greeted her and hugged her, just like today.
It was considered burying the hatchet with a smile.
Qu Pei once told her that Xin Yuan was shrewd and skilled at superficial gestures. There was no need to delve deep into friendship with her; just keep up appearances so others couldn’t find fault.
After exchanging pleasantries, Wen Di and Xin Yuan walked side by side towards the restaurant.
Inside the restaurant, all the familiar faces had arrived. After greeting each other, they took their seats.
Xin Yuan looked left and right: “It seems one person is still missing.”
The missing person was none other than Wen Di’s partner, Qi Mingche.
The director smiled, “The young man has morning grumpiness; he’ll be downstairs soon.”
Everyone inferred from the director’s familiar tone that this Qi Mingche must be someone of considerable background.
Amidst everyone’s curiosity, Qi Mingche arrived fashionably late.
Wen Di was drinking milk. Seeing others looking in the same direction, she followed suit.
The person who entered was very tall, wearing black sports pants and a pink T-shirt, holding the black down jacket uniformly issued by the production team.
It seemed he was Qi Mingche.
Wen Di felt that “aloof and noble” best described Qi Mingche. He had very good skin, clean and refreshing, and was a handsome man with sharp features.
After a brief introduction by the director, Qi Mingche sat down diagonally across from Wen Di to eat breakfast.
Throughout, Qi Mingche only glanced at Wen Di, giving a perfunctory greeting.
Wen Di was now very certain that Qi Mingche was genuinely difficult to get along with. Although Yan He Yu was even harder to talk to, Yan He Yu would indulge her.
She drank her milk, thinking about how to complete the upcoming filming tasks.
Before 7 AM, they gathered downstairs to get into the cars. Xin Yuan and her group’s photographer got into one car. As she bent to get in, “Yuan Yuan, come here for a moment,” her manager called her.
Xin Yuan intuitively felt her manager had something important to tell her, otherwise, she wouldn’t have called her over at this time.
In a secluded spot, the manager whispered, “Qi Mingche is Ming Jianjun’s youngest son. He uses his mother’s surname. It’s unclear whether he’s joining the show to gain popularity in the industry or if he knows about your relationship with Mr. Ming.”
Xin Yuan’s heart skipped a beat, but she quickly composed herself: “He probably doesn’t know. His expression and eyes were normal when I greeted him at the restaurant just now.”
If Qi Mingche truly knew about her affair with Ming Jianjun, his eyes could kill.
The manager remained worried, but she was only Xin Yuan’s manager and couldn’t control her private life. Since things had come to this, she could only advise Xin Yuan: “Regardless of whether it’s on or off the show, get closer to Wen Di. Wen Di and Qi Mingche are in the same group. Find more opportunities to interact with Qi Mingche, remember not to subtly undermine him, and create the illusion that you have a boyfriend outside the industry who is your age.”
It was imperative to dispel Qi Mingche’s suspicions.
Xin Yuan nodded. The car was waiting for her, and she waved goodbye to her manager.
________________________________________
Wen Di filmed for a whole day and didn’t have time to send messages to Yan He Yu.
Yan He Yu also didn’t get a chance to check on Wen Di today. He had negotiations in both the morning and afternoon, and a social engagement in the evening.
Close to quitting time, Yan He Yu received a call from his mother, telling him he had to come home today to discuss things face-to-face; the engagement couldn’t be dragged out any longer.
In the evening, Yan He Yu returned to the old residence.
Ye Minqiong hadn’t gone out today; she was in the living room watching TV, waiting for her son.
The engagement date they had previously discussed with the Tian family had lingered without her son’s response, forcing her to politely decline the Tian family and tell them they would decide after consulting with both children.
In truth, everyone knew perfectly well that Yan He Yu was displeased with their unilateral decision. The Tian family harbored some resentment towards Yan He Yu’s behavior, but Tian Qinglu wanted the engagement, and considering the benefits, they swallowed their dissatisfaction.
Ye Minqiong knew what kind of person her son was. If he didn’t approve of the engagement date, he might pull a stunt and not show up on the day of the engagement.
She dared not gamble. If they notified relatives and friends to attend the engagement banquet and the groom-to-be didn’t show up, neither the Tian family nor the Yan family would be able to save face.
The sound of a car in the courtyard prompted Ye Minqiong to turn off the TV.
Yan He Yu strode into the villa. The auntie came to take his coat, but he waved her off, simply draping his coat over the back of the sofa.
Ye Minqiong saw that her son didn’t intend to stay long, so she got straight to the point: “Since you don’t agree with the engagement date we discussed, when do you plan to hold the engagement banquet? It’s up to you.”
Yan He Yu walked around and sat on the sofa opposite his mother, saying without hesitation, “No plans.”
Looking at her son’s nonchalant and matter-of-fact attitude, Ye Minqiong was exasperated: “...How did I give birth to such a scoundrel!”
Her son didn’t take relationships or marriage seriously at all. All she could do was fume; he had grown wings, and she couldn’t control him.
She composed herself for a moment, trying to speak calmly: “If you don’t want this engagement, then we won’t have it. But by dragging your feet and not stating your position, your father and I are caught between a rock and a hard place with the Tian family.”
After a moment of silence, Yan He Yu reached out, “Give me the desk calendar.”
There was a desk calendar in front of Ye Minqiong. A few days ago, Tian Qinglu’s parents had come over, and the two families had discussed which day to set the engagement by looking at the calendar. They had finally chosen a good day, but her son disagreed.
She handed the calendar to her son, “Why are you looking at this? Don’t you have a calendar on your phone?”
Yan He Yu didn’t say anything, picked up a pen from the coffee table, circled a date on the calendar, and said, “This day then.”
Ye Minqiong looked at the circled date on the calendar, then at her son, and finally said nothing more.
Yan He Yu only stayed at home for half an hour, rushing off to a social engagement.
Tonight’s dinner was arranged at a secluded private dining restaurant, and he was the last to arrive.
During the meal, just as someone was toasting him, Yan He Yu’s phone on the table chimed. Wen Di had sent him a message: “Husband.”
Only those two words. This was a clear hint for him to call her.
Yan He Yu said to the people who organized tonight’s dinner for him, “Excuse me for a few minutes; I need to make a call outside.” He took his phone and went outside the private room.
“Are you still working overtime?” Wen Di had just finished a comfortable hot bath and was drying her hair with a dry towel.
Yan He Yu said, “Eating out.”
“Which restaurant?”
Yan He Yu told her the name of the private dining restaurant. This restaurant had a few dishes that Wen Di loved. Wen Di said, “Now that you mention it, I suddenly really want to eat.”
Yan He Yu asked, “What dishes do you want?”
Wen Di laughed, “What, you’re going to send them to me?”
“Mm.” Yan He Yu asked her again: “Tell me what you want to eat, and you’ll have it by midnight.”
His words were enough; she didn’t dare to eat too much late at night.
Wen Di didn’t let him send it: “I have to get up early for filming tomorrow. Waiting for your late-night snack would mean waiting until midnight. I won’t eat.”
She didn’t disturb his social engagement further, wished him goodnight, and ended the call.
Returning to the private room, the waiter brought everyone a bowl of freshly stewed soup. Yan He Yu tasted a spoonful and asked the waiter, “Did your restaurant change chefs?”
The waiter was surprised that Yan He Yu could guess from just one bowl of soup. “Yes, this chef is skilled at stewing various soups.”
Yan He Yu thought Wen Di would like this flavor; she usually loved drinking soup.
He called the owner of the private dining restaurant, listed a few dishes Wen Di usually liked, along with this soup, and then requested, “Have the chef make them fresh tomorrow at noon. Pack them up, and I’ll send someone to pick them up.”
The owner said, “No need to trouble yourself, I’ll have someone deliver them.”
Yan He Yu said, “It’s very far.”
The owner guaranteed, “No matter how far, I’ll deliver it to you.”
Yan He Yu: “A thousand kilometers.”
The owner: “...That delivery fee is a bit expensive. Anyway, your plane is just sitting idle; it’s more cost-effective to deliver it yourself. I’ll send you a set of insulated containers, from the same series as the bag you won that day. Wen Di should like them.”
The owner of the private dining restaurant was also the major shareholder of the club, who liked to sponsor bags.
The next evening at 7 PM, Wen Di finished work and returned to the hotel. A meal and soup from the private dining restaurant were delivered on time.
She was touched. She took a picture of the insulated container and sent it to Yan He Yu: “Received it, thank you, Husband.”
Yan He Yu was in a video conference and took a moment to reply: “Eat it while it’s hot.”
Wen Di asked: “Can you often give me surprises like this in the future?”
Yan He Yu stared at his phone for over half a minute, then finally replied: “Yes.”
Wen Di was always one to push her luck: “Then next time, you make the soup yourself and bring it to me.”
That was impossible. Yan He Yu said: “Is this your first day knowing me?”
He couldn’t cook, she knew that. “You can learn!”
Yan He Yu didn’t engage: “If you don’t eat now, the food will get cold.”
Wen Di chatted with him while eating: “I’m eating now. Husband, are you going to learn or not? I want to drink your soup.”
Yan He Yu had no choice but to agree: “I’ll find time to learn.”
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