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The closet had reverted to its old state: her colorful dresses and his relatively plain shirts and suits.
She took up more than half the space in each closet, leaving a small portion for him.
The walk-in closet was fuller than before.
Wen Di came out of the shower. He had finished moving all his things and had locked the bedroom door.
She said, “I think it’s necessary to lay down some ground rules.”
“Are you planning to draw a boundary line in the middle of the bed to test me?”
“It’s not that serious. Since I’ve let you move in, there’s no point in being a hypocrite.”
Yan Heyu raised his hand to his collar, unbuttoning his shirt while looking at her, and told her to go ahead.
Wen Di: “I can boss you around, but you can’t boss me around.”
She only stated one rule. Yan Heyu interrupted her: “I only have one request. You can decide on the rest.”
Wen Di asked him, “What’s your request?”
“Call me every day.”
He felt this was a reasonable request. There were no limits on duration or time; she just had to call him whenever she remembered. Yan Heyu took off his watch and went into the bathroom to shower.
The bathroom door closed, then opened again a second later. He said to her, “I’m not saying only you should call. I’ll call you, too.”
The door closed again.
They used to compete over who would call first, and sometimes, when they were bored, they would count who initiated more calls.
Most weeks, Yan Heyu made more calls.
Wen Di squeezed some hand cream onto the back of her hand, absentmindedly rubbing her hands together. She turned off the main light and switched on the floor lamp on Yan Heyu’s side.
Yan Heyu came out of the bathroom. Wen Di had her back to him, lying down and hogging the duvet. His pillow was on the edge of the bed, about to fall off.
He knew without a doubt that she had kicked his pillow as a way to vent.
Yan Heyu picked up his pillow and threw it farther onto the bed. “Do you want some water?” he asked her.
“I’m not thirsty. Please turn off the light and go to sleep early. I didn’t sleep well in Haitang Village these past few days.” She and Shen Tang had talked until late at night, and then she had to wake up early the next morning for either a boat trip or to watch the sunrise. She hadn’t had a single night of good sleep.
Yan Heyu turned off the light and pulled her and the duvet into his arms.
They had used different shower gels. She smelled fragrant, and he smelled fresh. He pressed his lips against her earlobe. “Remember to buy some condoms tomorrow.”
Wen Di didn’t respond. Her back was against his chest, and she was so tired that she fell asleep without realizing it.
In the middle of the night, a nightmare woke her up. In the dream, she couldn’t breathe, as if she were underwater. Just as she was about to suffocate, she opened her eyes.
Yan Heyu’s arm was pressing down on her chest, making it hard for her to breathe. No wonder she had that nightmare.
Wen Di pushed his arm away, patting it a couple of times, but he didn’t react.
Normally, if she pushed him like that, he would have woken up and groggily asked her what was wrong. Today, there was no sign of him waking up.
She slowly turned to face him.
Her eyes gradually adjusted to the dark room, and Wen Di could make out his silhouette. She used to look at him like this often when he was sleeping. After so many years of knowing each other, she still thought he was handsome.
His breathing was steady but a little heavy. He looked even more tired than she was, as if he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time.
Wen Di propped herself up on her elbow, half-sitting, and gently kissed his forehead.
After about two or three seconds, she got annoyed and kicked him again.
Yan Heyu shifted, too sleepy to wake up. He instinctively reached out, felt her, and pulled her into his arms.
Wen Di stopped bothering him, leaned quietly against him, and closed her eyes.
________________________________________
Yan Heyu and Wen Di’s body clocks were different. He woke up before six in the morning. When he had fallen asleep, Wen Di was snuggled against him, but now she was on her own pillow.
She had slept alone for a long time and was probably not used to sleeping cuddled up.
He got up, took his clothes for the day, and went to the second bedroom to get ready.
Ever since he moved into the villa, he had more time to work during his commute. He read all the emails he had received during the night on his way to the company.
In the office, the secretary had brewed his coffee.
Kang Bo was waiting to brief him on work. During his boss’s vacation, he had only bothered him once about a matter concerning Huayuan Industrial that couldn’t wait until he returned.
Yan Heyu sat down and asked, “Is it still about Huayuan Industrial?”
Kang Bo: “Yes. Director Liu called me again this morning and said that Met Company finally made another concession, modifying the payment terms. The risk of delayed payments is now within a controllable range.”
Director Liu was the current chairman of Huayuan Industrial and held shares in the company. Director Liu had never reported on business operations in private before, but ever since the competition with Xiao Ning, he had been cautious about everything. This time, he was about to sign a big deal with Met Company worth 600 million US dollars, and Director Liu had informed him about it before signing the contract, asking him to report the situation to the boss.
This was the biggest deal Director Liu had ever handled since managing Huayuan Industrial.
Met Company was a multinational corporation headquartered in North America, and Huayuan Industrial was one of its many inconspicuous suppliers.
Last year, Met Company signed a total of 280 million US dollars’ worth of contracts with Huayuan Industrial, which was less than in previous years. Now, they were suddenly signing a deal that was the sum of several years’ worth of contracts. Director Liu was indeed tempted, especially since the other party had modified the payment terms.
However, Met Company had an additional request for the modified payment terms: Huayuan Industrial had to prioritize their orders, placing them ahead of other clients.
Yan Heyu drank half a cup of coffee to wake up. “When is the latest delivery time?” Kang Bo replied, “The end of December.”
That was a little over a month away. Production capacity was limited, which meant that Huayuan Industrial would have to postpone other clients’ orders to next year.
Yan Heyu put down his coffee cup. “Tell Director Liu that the companies I manage never prioritize big clients. We can offer discounts, but there is no priority, no special privileges. If he insists on signing the Met contract, that’s his choice.”
“I’ll relay the message now.” Kang Bo didn’t delay and called Director Liu back.
The boss’s meaning was so clear that Director Liu would likely reconsider whether to sign the contract.
Met was unknowingly becoming a major client for Huayuan. If they were given special privileges and priority this time, they would make more demands in the future. There were no contented businessmen in this world, only those who would take more and more.
The boss disliked being controlled by big clients and never overly relied on them, as the risk was too great. If a major client were to collapse, his company would face overproduction, and the capital chain would be affected. In severe cases, the company would collapse along with the client.
While Kang Bo was on the phone with Director Liu, Yan Heyu added, “Tell Director Liu that this big deal is a different kind of trap. It’s not that Met Company has an issue.”
As for who had an issue or what the trap was, he didn’t elaborate.
Yan Heyu picked up the project proposal on the desk and flipped through it. Kang Bo had printed a physical copy for him.
After his call ended, Kang Bo said, “Behind Desire also has a similar plot. The male lead, played by Tan Moxing, gets a big deal. Once he signs the contract, he has to delay delivering other clients’ orders.”
Yan Heyu looked up. “How did Wen Di handle it in the script?”
“...I haven’t gotten to that part of the story.”
When Behind Desire was filming at the Jiangcheng villa, Kang Bo had accompanied his boss. Tan Moxing was reading the script at the time. As it was a business drama, he was quite interested and took a look at it. He was enjoying it when his boss gave him a task, so he had to return the script to Tan Moxing.
Later, he was busy with work and didn’t have a chance to go back to the villa, so he didn’t know what happened with that business plot.
“You can go back and ask Miss Wen how she handled that order later.”
Yan Heyu said, “No need to ask. I’ll watch it with her when it airs.”
Kang Bo felt that his boss would probably only watch the scenes where his villa was in the shot. He asked in advance, “Should I find out which episodes feature the villa?”
“...”
It sounded like Kang Bo was mocking him, but he also knew that Kang Bo wouldn’t do it on purpose.
Yan Heyu waved his hand, signaling for him to get back to work.
He had a meeting in the morning and was busy with social obligations until noon.
After his work was done, Yan Heyu called Wen Di.
Wen Di had just finished lunch and was about to go out. She answered the phone while picking up her bag and trench coat with her other hand and heading out to the yard.
“You haven’t had your afternoon nap yet, have you?”
“No. I’m going out.”
“Where to?”
“Zhou Mingqian called me and said that they want to film at Mr. Zhuang’s bookstore for The World Is Not as Good as You. He wants me to talk to Mr. Zhuang to see in what capacity he’s willing to have his study and bookstore appear in the movie.”
As she spoke, Wen Di opened the car door and got in.
Yan Heyu’s suggestion was: “Film both the bookstore and the private study.”
“I’ll see what Mr. Zhuang wants and respect his wishes.”
Wen Di started the engine. “I’m driving now.”
Yan Heyu told her to not forget to stop by a convenience store or a pharmacy.
This was a reminder for her to buy condoms. Wen Di said, “Why do you think about these things all the time?”
“It would be abnormal if I didn’t.”
“I’m hanging up now.” Wen Di ended the call, tossed her phone onto the console, and drove away from the villa complex.
It was Monday, and the bookstore was quiet, with only two or three young people Browse books.
The store clerk recognized her and enthusiastically invited her to sit down, saying that Mr. Zhuang and his grandparents weren’t in the study today. They usually just wander around the neighborhood, but today, they happened to be out on a longer trip.
“Where did they go?”
The clerk poured Wen Di a glass of water. “They left early in the morning, saying the weather was nice and they were going hiking to see the maple leaves. It would be a miracle if they made it back before dark.”
Since she was already there, Wen Di found a book to read and waited for them to return.
Just as she turned two pages, someone sat in the seat across from her and quietly called out, “Sister Wen Di.”
It was a familiar female voice. Wen Di looked up, and it was Yan Heyan.
Yan Heyan smiled. “What a coincidence. You were looking down, so I almost didn’t recognize you.”
Wen Di smiled and asked, “Aren’t you busy this afternoon?”
“Not at all. I’m on vacation. If I don’t use my vacation days this year, they’ll expire.” Yan Heyan had just finished a project and had worked two months straight without a break. She had a plan to visit the bookstore at least twice a month, but she had been traveling or working overtime lately. The bookstore closed early, and she couldn’t make it after work. So, she was taking advantage of her vacation to read more books.
Yan Heyan didn’t see her brother and craned her neck to look around the bookstore, but she didn’t find a familiar figure. “Did you come alone?”
“Yes, I came to talk to the owner about something.”
“Oh. I thought Brother-in-law came with you.”
Wen Di: “?”
It took her a moment to realize that Yan Heyan was referring to Yan Heyu as her “brother-in-law.” Since Yan Heyan had called her “Sister Wen Di,” she naturally referred to her brother as “brother-in-law.”
She joked, “Your brother might faint from anger if he hears that.”
Yan Heyan rested her head on her hands and laughed. “I’m only calling him brother-in-law out of respect for you. With how he is, I really want to step all over his face with my heels.”
Then she sighed. “Sometimes I have to fight the urge to step on him and tell myself to let it go. If he gets his face all messed up, you’ll find him even less attractive.”
They both laughed.
Yan Heyan didn’t chat anymore and asked Wen Di to help her find some books.
Wen Di flipped her book over and followed her to the bookshelves to browse.
Yan Heyan told Wen Di which books she had read before and asked her to find similar ones.
“Sister Wen Di, do you have a date with Brother-in-law tonight?”
“No, we’re both busy.”
“Then tonight, I’ll steal your time from my brother-in-law. Let’s have dinner outside and talk about your daughter and my son.”
“No problem. My treat.”
They both loved cats, and with Yan Heyu in the middle, they had a lot of topics to talk about.
Wen Di picked out two books for Heyan, and they returned to their seats. After that, Yan Heyan didn’t talk to her again and focused on reading.
It was almost dark when Mr. Zhuang and the grandparents returned.
Mr. Zhuang heard that she had been waiting in the bookstore all afternoon and scolded her like she was his own child. “You child, why didn’t you just call? We could have come back earlier. We shouldn’t have made you wait so long.”
They had come down from the mountain at two o’clock, had dinner nearby, and had been taking their time getting back home until now.
Wen Di said, “I just didn’t want to mess up your plans, so I didn’t call before I came. It’s all the same to me where I read a book.”
She introduced Yan Heyan to them. “This is Yan Heyu’s younger sister.”
Grandma Wen said, “The siblings look alike.”
Yan Heyan quickly said, “Grandma, I really love Jiangcheng. I’ll come visit you and Grandpa in the future.”
Wen Di laughed. “You don’t have to be so desperate to save yourself.” She patted Heyan’s shoulder. “You keep reading. I’m going inside to talk to Mr. Zhuang about something. We’ll go to dinner in a bit.”
With Mr. Zhuang’s friendship with Yan Heyu and now with Grandpa Wen, he had no objections to how the movie would be filmed.
He felt that being able to have his story live on in a movie was a very fulfilling ending to his life.
After getting Mr. Zhuang’s permission, Wen Di shared his WeChat contact with Zhou Mingqian, so he could contact Mr. Zhuang directly for further matters.
It was almost seven o’clock when they left the bookstore.
Yan Heyan knew which restaurant Wen Di liked nearby and had booked a table in advance.
They both thought they would talk about Yan Heyu all night, but once they started talking about the funny daily lives of Wen Wen and Yan Yan, they couldn’t stop. They were overflowing with things to share.
Yan Heyan said that the two cats were destined to be family because their names both used their mothers’ last names.
“Sister Wen Di, when you’re not busy, bring Brother-in-law and Wen Wen to my place.”
Wen Di smiled and said, “I’ll come when I have time.”
They ate until nine-thirty and then paid the bill and left.
This time, Wen Di paid, and Yan Heyan planned to treat her to a meal again on a more suitable occasion.
While waiting at a red light, Wen Di remembered to call Yan Heyu.
Yan Heyu was at a dinner party that hadn’t ended yet.
Just as someone at the table was about to propose a toast to him, he glanced at his phone screen and said apologetically, “It’s Wen Di’s call. I need to take it.”
By now, everyone knew that Wen Di was Yan Heyu’s most cherished person. It wasn’t even accurate to call her that; she was someone who could tear his heart out. It was better not to offend Wen Di, and Jiang Zhengqian was a perfect example.
Yan Heyu answered the phone, his voice gentle. “Are you home yet?”
“No, still on my way.”
Yan Heyu looked at his watch. He estimated he would be done in about half an hour. “I should be home before eleven. I didn’t drink much, just two and a half glasses.”
He gave her a detailed account. You could hear a pin drop in the private room.
Yan Heyu asked again, “Did you eat enough tonight? If not, I’ll pack a stewed soup for you to take home.”
Wen Di and Yan Heyan were so full they couldn’t even drink a single sip of soup.
Because Yan Heyu had said he would rush home before eleven, the organizer of the dinner party made sure to end the meal around ten o’clock. They had other entertainment plans and didn’t invite Yan Heyu to join them.
Yan Heyu got home fifteen minutes earlier than expected. Wen Di was in the living room watching TV after taking a shower. He stood in the doorway and felt a sense of deja vu.
She used to like watching TV downstairs, waiting for him to come home.
He casually draped his suit jacket over a nearby sofa and walked up to her.
Wen Di pushed him away. He was blocking her view of the TV.
Yan Heyu put his hands on the back of the sofa behind her, leaned down, and pressed his wine-scented lips against hers.
Wen Di dropped the remote, cupped his face, and stopped him from kissing her. “Didn’t you say you didn’t drink much?”
“After I called you, I drank another half a glass.” Because of her call, he was in a good mood and asked the waiter for another half a glass.
That amount of alcohol wasn’t a lot for him; he was completely sober.
“I’m going to take a shower.” He leaned down and nipped her.
Wen Di shuddered and slapped him.
Yan Heyu asked, “Did you buy them?” He had been concerned about this all day.
“No.”
“Then you drive, and I’ll go with you to buy some.”
Wen Di opened her phone and transferred 200 yuan to him. “You can sell me those boxes you have.”
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll poke holes in them?”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
Wen Di pushed him. “Don’t block my view of the TV.”
Yan Heyu went back to the bedroom upstairs, but then he came back, turned off the TV, and carried her upstairs.
He only took about ten minutes to shower and barely even dried his hair.
Wen Di returned from the study with her phone charger. She had just plugged it in when the lights in the room went out.
Yan Heyu pulled her close, her back against the wall.
He opened a box, put one in her hand, and asked her to put it on for him.
Wen Di’s hands were hot as she fumbled to put it on him.
He still smelled of alcohol, mixed with the crisp scent of shower gel.
Yan Heyu stared at her intently. The room was dark, and neither of them could see what was in the other’s eyes, but Wen Di could feel the lust rising in him.
“Wen Di,” he whispered, leaning down to her height. “Kiss me.”
Wen Di didn’t kiss his lips. She kissed his Adam’s apple.
As soon as she pulled back, he blocked her mouth. Perhaps it was because of the alcohol, but his tongue was searing.
The wall behind her was hard. Later, she was lying on the bed.
Yan Heyu placed her on the side of the bed he usually slept on, with her head on his pillow.
He propped himself up beside her and leaned down to kiss her eyes and chin.
Wen Di held onto his shoulders, gazing into his eyes.
He pushed deeply into her, and Wen Di bit his lip hard.
“Bite gently,” Yan Heyu breathed out. He asked her, “You don’t have to go to the company tomorrow, do you?”
Wen Di knew what he meant. If she didn’t go to the company, he would have more time to mess around. She deliberately said, “It doesn’t matter whether I go or not. Isn’t ten minutes enough for you?”
After she said that, Wen Di buried her face in his shoulder. That one thrust from him had almost knocked the soul out of her.
She couldn’t handle that kind of force. Wen Di looked at the person above her and said haltingly, “Just once. I have a major scene to write tomorrow.”
Yan Heyu kissed her upper lip, then paused. “I’ll try.”
However, it was more than just twice later.
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