Chapter 221 Red (9,000 words!)

The two of them stared at each other for a while, realizing they couldn't communicate with just their eyes, so they quietly took out their phones. They could chat on their phones, so why bother with all this winking and eye-rolling?

Li Pengfei sent him a message: This feels really awkward. Oh my god, my dad insisted on bringing me along. What does this business talk have to do with me?

Lu Yanhe: Maybe it's to prepare you for taking over the company in the future, to lay the foundation for you?

Li Pengfei: Forget it, my family company is my brother's business. I've long since figured out my place. I'm just a rich second-generation who enjoys eating, drinking, and having fun. I relied on my dad for the first half of my life and on my brother for the second half.

Lu Yanhe: That sounds a bit excessive.

Li Pengfei: No, I thought we were just having a casual chat today. Why did your agent start arguing with my dad about strategic intentions and the prospects for cooperation?

Lu Yanhe: How would I know?

Li Pengfei: How's your book "Jump Up" coming along?

Lu Yanhe said: We are still waiting for the manuscript, but Siqi has already found someone to start the layout, and the cover design has also been arranged.

Li Pengfei: You guys plan to launch this at the end of this month, can you manage it?

Lu Yanhe: I don't know. The current progress is mainly stuck on the manuscripts. Many manuscripts haven't been received yet.

Li Pengfei: Then you should invite more people. There will always be people who stand you up. You have to be prepared for that.

Lu Yanhe: We've already made appointments, but it's very difficult because it's the first issue, and no one knows what the situation is. Many teachers are unwilling to give us their scripts.

Li Pengfei: Aren't you still soliciting articles on Yemai.com? Haven't you seen any well-written articles?

Lu Yanhe said: We not only solicited manuscripts on Yemai.com, but Jiangyin Publishing House also helped us solicit manuscripts, but the results were not good. Xu Xiaoyin said that many authors who used to submit manuscripts are now gradually decreasing because there are no more magazines. The whole group has disappeared. Magazines not only cultivate readers, but also cultivate authors. Many authors emerged slowly in this way, but now there is no such environment.

Li Pengfei: It sounds so desolate, is it really that bad?

Lu Yanhe: Yes, the more I do this, the more difficult it seems, even though I already have many advantages and conveniences, and I haven't encountered many difficulties. It's already going very smoothly.

If a book, especially a book on a particular theme, cannot obtain a sufficient number of manuscripts related to that theme, the first issue may sell well due to its reputation, but readers will not be willing to buy the second and third issues.

Lu Yanhe certainly hoped that this book could be developed into a series, like a magazine, and continue to be produced steadily.

"Yan He—" Chen Ziyan's voice suddenly woke Lu Yanhe from his thoughts.

Lu Yanhe snapped out of his daze. "Huh?"

Chen Ziyan patted his shoulder with a smile and said, "Why did you suddenly drift off into thought? Well, Xueyou APP is going to launch on September 1st, with a back-to-school theme. There will be a launch event, and we were thinking of doing a live stream together at the launch event to invite some of your live stream fans to try out the APP."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe suddenly understood, nodded, and said, "Okay."

Li Luzhi's admiration for Lu Yanhe reached a new level after Lu Yanhe was admitted to Zhenhua High School. This was mainly because Lu Yanhe was Li Pengfei's friend. Although Li Luzhi was very busy with work, he knew that the two young men still met and hung out together every few days after the college entrance examination.

In particular, Li Luzhi had heard of Lu Yanhe's book "Jump Up," which he was currently working on. Although from his perspective, he felt that the book was unlikely to succeed, given the decline of the publishing industry, he admired the fact that a high school student, after finishing the college entrance examination, was thinking about doing something like this instead of playing around.

The fact that a person can think about doing something meaningful during their vacation, regardless of whether they can actually do it, proves that they have aspirations.

When Li Luzhi learned that his son had also been involved and had done some errands, even if it was just running errands, he was very happy. His satisfaction with Lu Yanhe was evident in his words to Li Pengfei. Now, Li Luzhi often says, "If you make more friends with people like Lu Yanhe, I'll have less to worry about you."

-

News of Lu Yanhe's first endorsement quickly spread online.

In this day and age, any little thing can easily spread online.

After so many years in the industry, Lu Yanhe has finally gotten his first endorsement. His fans are quite happy, but Chen Ziliang's fans are very angry, feeling that Lu Yanhe got the endorsement by taking advantage of the popularity of his affair with Chen Ziliang.

Chen Ziliang has been having a lot of bad luck lately, and his reputation online is getting worse every day. His die-hard fans have been holding back their anger for a long time. Seeing that Lu Yanhe is now riding high, they are furious. So they organized themselves and attacked Lu Yanhe's homepage, spamming the comments with "Are you enjoying the endorsements you got by profiting from other people's suffering?"

Lu Yanhe's fans were not to be outdone and were furious. One of them asked, "Is your master dead or what? Where did this blood-soaked bun come from?"

These words were blunt and incisive, a direct insult with a hint of an ominous curse. Unfortunately, it was Chen Ziliang's fans who started the exaggerated reaction, igniting a new round of conflict between the two sides.

Lu Yanhe was unhappy, and Chen Ziliang was even more unhappy.

He had thought that his online popularity had finally started to decline, and he was looking forward to disappearing from the public eye for a while before making a comeback. He never expected that his fans would suddenly put him back on the trending topics again.

If Chen Ziliang's fans were mainly targeting Song Linxin a while ago, now they are all turning their attention to Lu Yanhe.

But Lu Yanhe's fans are not to be trifled with. In the past few months, Lu Yanhe has stirred up quite a few fans, so how could they be willing to see Lu Yanhe being bullied?

Meanwhile, Song Linxin's fans had already fought a fierce battle with Chen Ziliang's fans, almost becoming sworn enemies. Seeing this, they immediately came over to kick him while he was down, helping Lu Yanhe's fans to deal with Chen Ziliang's fans.

This fight was fierce and widespread, with their presence all over the internet, creating chaos and even causing many people to be caught in the crossfire, resulting in a very bad impression on everyone.

Two days later, the heat of the matter did not subside naturally, but instead intensified. Lu Yanhe could no longer sit still. After discussing it with Chen Ziyan, they decided that they should make a statement as soon as possible.

He immediately posted a message clarifying that his endorsement had nothing to do with the recent buzz. He said that the company had contacted him as early as last December. He also directly stated his position, asking fans not to respond to any more insults or provocations.

He sent the message, and Song Linxin followed suit immediately.

However, Song Linxin was clearly still angry and hadn't calmed down. Her response was much firmer: "Don't waste your time on meaningless arguments. I'm fine, don't worry about me."

Nowadays, celebrities often stand behind their teams, and their responses to events and statements online are becoming increasingly "PR-oriented," lacking a human touch. These two individuals, however, broke away from the monotonous, template-like responses, winning over many people.

However, the fact that he and Song Linxin responded one after the other only made Chen Ziliang's fans feel that their idol had been bullied.

Now, Lu Yanhe is under even more intense and severe attack.

Lu Yanhe hadn't said anything yet when Helan, unusually, asked him on WeChat: "Yanhe, are you really unwilling for us to refute those people? Several of our fan groups are very angry, and everyone really wants to confront them. Did you see what they said? It's too much!"

Lu Yanhe never expected that Helan would be so indignant about this matter.

Lu Yanhe said: It's really nothing. The main thing is that if you go and argue with them, it won't change their attitude. It's a waste of time. Their attacks on me won't affect me at all. There's no need for it. Let those people curse me. To be honest, I do get angry when they curse me, but if you keep arguing with them just to argue with them, I'll feel even more uncomfortable. I think this kind of thing is meaningless. You could use that time to do something else.

Helan was silent for several seconds before asking, "Yan He, can I copy and paste this passage for them? We have a fan group, and everyone's quite emotional, including me just now. But after you said that, I understand."

Lu Yanhe read his words again and said, "Okay, could you please thank them for me? I appreciate it that they're so angry about me, but please don't waste your time arguing with them. Thank you."

Helan responded with an OK sign.

-

Five hours later, Chen Ziliang finally made his statement. Like Lu Yanhe and Song Linxin, he hoped that everyone would stop bothering others with these matters. He said that there was no serious conflict between him and Lu Yanhe, and asked his fans not to bother others anymore.

Only then did the fighting cease.

-

Li Zhenzhen and Chen Biqiu left Qin Zhibai's house together and found a restaurant nearby for dinner.

Throughout the journey, Li Zhenzhen kept up with the gossip online.

After eating their way to the restaurant, Li Zhenzhen sighed, "The entertainment industry really hasn't changed at all. These fans are terrifying. Luckily, we didn't invite Chen Ziliang to participate in 'The Days of Youth,' otherwise the show would have been much more interesting. With Lu Yanhe and Song Linxin already there, plus Chen Ziliang, the show would have turned into a catfight show."

Chen Biqiu laughed and said, "If Chen Ziliang were really here, I wouldn't have to worry about this show at all. No matter how you film it, it would definitely be full of topics and attract a lot of viewers."

Li Zhenzhen glared at Chen Biqiu and said, "Oh, Brother Qiu, I don't want to do this kind of show where the guests are fighting amongst themselves. It's so boring."

"As long as it becomes popular, that's fine." Chen Biqiu said, "The current lineup of guests in our group is all young people, and the main theme is the concept of young people living together. Naturally, all kinds of conflicts will arise. To put it bluntly, it still needs to have a story and generate buzz. If a variety show doesn't generate buzz, then it can really flop."

Li Zhenzhen: "Having a story and generating buzz is a completely different concept from the infighting between the guests; they are not the same thing."

Chen Biqiu clicked his tongue and stopped arguing with Li Zhenzhen about the topic. Instead, he said, "However, Lu Yanhe's popularity has really risen a lot in the past few months. The show hasn't even been recorded yet, and his popularity is already almost on par with Li Zhibai's."

“Li Zhibai is quite popular recently. He played the most popular character in the drama ‘Take You to the End of the World’,” said Li Zhenzhen. “I also watched the drama. Sigh, it’s really not interesting. The love story between the male and female leads is too clichéd and boring. On the contrary, Li Zhibai’s character is much more interesting. He’s a rich second-generation with a bad temper who seems to be mentally ill. He’s flamboyant wherever he goes. I can’t help but laugh whenever he appears. He plays a comedic role very well.”

“Li Zhibai is an artist with very distinct personality traits. You need to find artists like him to record programs,” Chen Biqiu said. “It’s so much easier to find artists like him to record programs. You don’t have to rack your brains to think about scripts or topics. Wherever he is, there are topics.”

Li Zhenzhen glanced at Chen Biqiu speechlessly.

Just then, Chen Biqiu's phone rang.

He picked it up, glanced at it, and said, "I'm going to take this call. You can order."

Li Zhenzhen nodded.

Chen Biqiu walked outside the restaurant, looked back to make sure no one else was around, and then answered the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Li." Chen Biqiu answered the phone, his tone slightly obsequious and respectful. "I'm having dinner with Zhenzhen right now."

“Well, I’m out now, she’s not next to me,” Chen Biqiu said. “Lu Yanhe is an artist she’s determined to have. I’ve tried to talk to her about changing to someone else, but she’s stubborn. Once she’s made up her mind, she won’t change it. I can’t do anything about it. Director Li, is there something wrong with Lu Yanhe? If there really is something wrong that will affect the broadcast of the show in the future, you might as well tell me directly, and I can remove Lu Yanhe from the show legitimately.”

After a while, Chen Biqiu hung up the phone, looked at the phone with some confusion, pondered for two seconds, and then turned and went back to the hotel.

Li Zhenzhen waved the menu in her hand and said to him, "I ordered three dishes. Do you want to order more?"

“Three dishes are enough. How much can the two of us eat?” Chen Biqiu said.

Li Zhenzhen said, "Our show is about to start its first recording, and I'm a little nervous."

“This is your first time directing a show, so it’s normal to be nervous,” Chen Biqiu said. “All the artists have been confirmed, and all the preparations are complete. We’re just waiting to start filming. We’re really lucky. Look, Li Zhibai is currently at the peak of his popularity because of ‘Take You to the End of the World,’ and Lu Yanhe’s popularity is soaring. He can even compete with Chen Ziliang now. Speaking of which, our show is really lucky.”

-

If we were to say what benefit Lu Yanhe gained from this conflict with Chen Ziliang, it would be in the form of an impression.

This incident has given many media outlets and industry insiders the impression that Lu Yanhe is now an artist who can rival Chen Ziliang.

In the entertainment industry, there is no clear standard for what the status of an artist should be.

There are several clear and quantifiable standards for actors, such as their salary, awards, and the box office performance of the films they star in.

However, for singers like Chen Ziliang, in the pre-record era, there are neither physical record sales figures to compare with, nor any prestigious or credible awards. It's basically a chaotic battle, relying entirely on impressions.

Before this incident, no one believed that Lu Yanhe had reached the same level as Chen Ziliang, nor did anyone think that Lu Yanhe had the ability to compete with Chen Ziliang. However, after this incident, Lu Yanhe's popularity, fan support, and overall performance showed that he wasn't overshadowed by Chen Ziliang; in fact, they appeared to be evenly matched—even though Song Linxin's fans played a role in this. This was a huge surprise, forcing everyone to reassess the two men.

The uproar caused by Chen Ziliang's fans over Lu Yanhe's new endorsement has actually made many people aware that Lu Yanhe has started accepting endorsements.

This also means that, in the eyes of brands, Lu Yanhe is already an artist with commercial value.

This is not the same as an artist who only has popularity and fame.

Chen Ziyan has the most direct experience with this matter.

Suddenly, more business partners came to Chen Ziyan to negotiate Lu Yanhe's availability.

The number was already gradually increasing, and now, with the floodgates being opened, it has suddenly increased.

Chen Ziyan found it unbelievable.

After all, Lu Yanhe hasn't released a single new work so far. In essence, he's an artist who suddenly became famous without any new works.

The show maintained its popularity for nearly three months thanks to a variety of topics and news events. The sheer number of topics, the duration of the events, and the breadth of the areas involved were something even a seasoned agent like Chen Ziyan found rare.

-

At this moment, Yan Liang finally returned.

Yan Liang went to record a program and left for five days straight.

This summer, Yan Liang's workload suddenly increased. Zhou Ping'an arranged a lot of work for him, and he was away from Yu Ming for several days almost every week.

However, Yan Liang's income is not high. According to Zhou Ping'an, Yan Liang is now following the path of low profit and high volume.

Yan Liang once said to Lu Yanhe and Li Zhibai with a self-deprecating tone, "Zhou Pingan said that I am not popular now, and if I don't lower my price, it will be difficult to compete with others."

Lu Yanhe roughly knew Yan Liang's quoted price, which was indeed very low, much lower than that of ordinary artists. For recording a program, Yan Liang's price was about 20,000 to 30,000 yuan, and the company would take the lion's share of it.

Of course, despite all this, with all sorts of work combined, Yan Liang earned much more in a month than before.

Yan Liang used to have only two jobs a month, but now he has four or five jobs a month.

Therefore, although it was hard work, Yan Liang found it enjoyable. Among the three, Yan Liang was always the hardest working. Even Lu Yanhe's enthusiasm for work wasn't as high as Yan Liang's.

As soon as Yan Liang returned, the three of them went out to find a restaurant and had a meal together, ostensibly to welcome Yan Liang back.

Yan Liang looked speechless and said, "I was only gone for a few days, what kind of wind is that?"

He looked at Lu Yanhe and said, "You've been causing quite a stir lately. When I was recording the show, everyone kept asking me about you. There are so many people interested in you."

Lu Yanhe: "Interested in me? You just want to watch the drama unfold."

He has a clear understanding of himself.

Yan Liang: "It's all the same thing. Have you resolved your issue with Chen Ziliang?"

"It's not a matter of whether it's been resolved or not, but the grudge is only getting deeper and deeper," Lu Yanhe said. "Even Sister Ziyan said that she should seriously consider sharing the stage with Chen Ziliang again in the future, for fear of being tricked."

Yan Liang: "You two really are incompatible. It seems like you didn't get along at first meeting, did you?"

"Mm." Lu Yanhe nodded.

Actually, compared to his conflict with Chen Ziliang, Lu Yanhe had an even worse conflict with Chen Ziyan, which many people are unaware of.

Their conflict with Beijing and Taiwan.

Logically speaking, a minor artist like him had no right to challenge Beijing TV, nor did he. However, on stage that day, Lu Yanhe was very uncooperative with the host's questions, and after going offstage, he had a violent conflict with assistant director Xu Bantian, which has led to a stalemate between them for almost a week.

Of course, these things all happened behind the scenes, and not many people knew about them, so the news didn't spread.

Xu Bantian later apologized to Chen Ziyan, but Chen Ziyan did not accept it.

In fact, the matter that night was quickly clarified. The reason why the host Zheng Wei pressed Lu Yanhe about Chen Ziliang on stage was because of Xu Bantian's instructions. He hoped to use the heat of this matter to create a topic of discussion, or simply put, to ride the wave of popularity.

Xu Bantian was so arrogant and domineering because he had a father who was the deputy director of the station.

After figuring things out, Chen Ziyan realized that she couldn't retaliate directly for the time being, so she secretly made a mental note of the matter.

This matter remained in Lu Yanhe's heart, and he did not tell Li Zhibai or Yan Liang about it.

Li Zhi asked Yan Liang a hundred questions: "Who did you record this program with this time?"

“Zhou Min, Yan Hao, Yan Shijiang, and the others,” Yan Liang said, naming a few people. “Do you know them?”

Li Zhibai shook his head.

“I guess you don’t know them very well either. Zhou Min and Yan Hao are both new actresses, and their shows haven’t even aired yet. Yan Shijiang is a lawyer,” Yan Liang said. “However, it was quite fun recording the show with them. Everyone had a lot of fun and there wasn’t much pressure.”

When Yan Liang started working, he occasionally encountered some people who deliberately acted arrogantly and didn't like him.

Just like when Lu Yanhe was recording "Little Song Gathering" and met Chen Ziliang.

"Have you read 'Take You to the End of the World'?" Lu Yanhe asked.

"I saw it, I saw it," Yan Liang said immediately with a smile. "I knew it! Li Zhibai's acting is much better than I expected."

Li Zhibai immediately waved his hand, "Go away, don't praise me like that. I'm too embarrassed to be praised like that. You two are making me sound like a genius, like I'm about to win Best Actor, right?"

Lu Yanhe smiled.

Li Zhibai is embarrassed.

“You really can’t tell from Li Zhibai’s appearance that he can be shy and embarrassed.” Yan Liang immediately pointed it out, “You usually seem to have a thick skin.”

Lu Yanhe nodded in agreement.

This is truly surprising, since Li Zhibai usually doesn't seem like the type to be shy about being praised. However, in the drama "Accompany You to the End of the World," he actually displayed a "shyness" that was completely out of character with his appearance.

"Why are you two so annoying?" Li Zhibai glared at them.

Just then, Lu Yanhe's phone rang.

It was Chen Siqi calling.

Lu Yanhe answered the phone immediately.

"Hello, Siqi." He answered the phone while getting up, intending to find a quiet corner to take the call.

Upon hearing the name Siqi, Li Zhibai and Yan Liang simultaneously perked up their ears, revealing ambiguous smiles as they sized up Lu Yanhe.

Lu Yanhe didn't want to be egged on by the two of them, so he quickened his pace and left.

"Where are you?" Chen Siqi asked.

Lu Yanhe said, "I...I'm at a restaurant on Xingsha Road. Yan Liang is back, and the three of us are about to have dinner together."

"I want to come see you," Chen Siqi asked. "Is that alright?"

“Okay,” Lu Yanhe said immediately, but at the same time he was a little surprised, as he had already sensed something unusual in Chen Siqi’s words.

Chen Siqi is not one to join in the fun. If Lu Yanhe has an appointment with someone else, she almost never says she wants to come see him at that time.

That's why Lu Yanhe found it strange.

But he didn't ask.

You'll find out when Chen Siqi arrives.

Lu Yanhe hung up the phone and sent the address to Chen Siqi.

"What are you saying to our sister-in-law?" Li Zhi asked with a teasing expression.

Lu Yanhe: "Don't call me that, it's too embarrassing."

Li Zhibai: "Anyway, I didn't call her that to her face. Besides, Lao Lu, you've finally slipped up. You used to refuse to admit it no matter what, but now you don't deny it at all."

Lu Yanhe: "...Don't talk nonsense. There's nothing between us. Put away those eyes that are brighter than a light bulb. She's coming over later, so don't make her uncomfortable."

"She's coming over?" Li Zhibai's eyes lit up even more. "That's great! Don't worry, I'll definitely show her the highest level of quality you can be as a friend."

He gave Yan Liang a look, "Right?"

Yan Liang, with an expression that suggested he was enjoying the show, nodded and said, "That's right, don't worry, when have we ever let you down?"

Seeing their reaction, Lu Yanhe felt his heart pounding like a drum, becoming even more nervous and uneasy.

I wasn't at ease at all.

He said seriously, "I'm telling you, I'm serious."

Li Zhibai coughed twice, his tone still full of sarcasm: "Then we'll see how you perform."

-

Chen Siqi has been quite well-behaved lately. She hasn't been fighting with Liu Wei'an like before, nor has she caused any trouble. All she wants is to be able to go to school in Jiangguang smoothly.

It's already August, and Chen Siqi thought there shouldn't be any problems with this matter. She never expected that Liu Wei'an had somehow convinced her father to let her repeat a year of high school and try to get into one of Yuming's top universities.

Two hours ago, Chen Siqi was stunned when she heard her father tell her to repeat a year of high school.

"Retake the exam?" Chen Siqi looked at them in disbelief and asked, "How bad was the university I got into that you want me to retake it?"

With a concerned expression and earnest advice, Liu Wei'an said, "Siqi, although Jiangguang University is not bad, it is too far from home. How can your father and I feel at ease knowing that you are so far away from home? Since your grades are good enough to get into Jiangguang University, why not repeat a year? Maybe you can get into Zhenhua or Yuming University. Wouldn't that be better?"

Chen Siqi's mentality almost collapsed in an instant.

She looked at her father in disbelief and asked, "Dad, do you also think repeating a year is a good idea?"

Her father said, "Jiangguang University is indeed too far from home. If something happens to you there, we won't be able to get there immediately."

“With airplanes and high-speed trains so advanced these days, where can’t we get there in a few hours?” Chen Siqi said angrily. “She just doesn’t want me to escape her control! Jiangguang University is a key university, one that I worked hard for many years to get into, and you’re just going to make me give up like this?!”

Liu Wei'an immediately said, "Siqi, I never thought of controlling you. Your father and I are just worried about you. Jiangguang University is indeed good, but with our family's financial situation, even if you don't get into university, you will be well-off for the rest of your life. Why go so far away to suffer?"

"Will Chen Yuanzhi suffer this hardship in the future?" Chen Siqi asked, looking at her coldly.

Chen Yuanzhi is the son of Liu Wei'an and her father, and he is currently attending an international primary school.

Chen Siqi looked at them, clenched her fists, and asked, "I want to go abroad to study at university, but you won't allow it. Chen Yuanzhi is attending an international primary school. I got into Jiangguang University, and now you're telling me to give it up and retake the exam. Let me ask you, will Chen Yuanzhi go to university in the future? Will you just let him stay in Yuming to study at university?"

Liu Wei'an remained silent.

Chen Wei said, "You're a girl, and he's a boy, how can you be the same?"

Chen Siqi glared at them angrily and said, "If my mother were still alive, do you think she would say such things!"

Her eyes were red and brimming with tears as she said, "I'm an adult now, and I can make my own decisions about my life. I got into Jiangguang University on my own merits and chose it myself. Even if you disagree, I will still go to this university."

Chen Wei said firmly with a stern face, "I don't agree. You're not going anywhere!"

"Is that so? Then let's try it." Chen Siqi looked at them expressionlessly. "If you have the guts, lock me up at home. If you dare to lock me up for a day, I'll call the police. I want to see if you're going to push me to this point and drive me crazy. Fine, Liu Wei'an or I, who can bear the consequences of my madness?"

After saying these words with hatred in her voice, Chen Siqi turned and walked towards the door without looking back.

"Where are you going!" Chen Wei demanded angrily.

Without turning her head, Chen Siqi answered loudly, "I'm going to find my mother and have her come to your dreams tonight and ask you properly, 'You've been completely fooled by that woman Liu Wei'an, to the point that your own daughter can't even go to university. Have you lost your mind?'"

Chen Wei was so angry that his eyes widened.

Liu Wei'an immediately took his arm, sighed, and said, "Don't take it to heart. She's just not grown up yet. She'll definitely understand our good intentions in the future."

Chen Wei glanced at Liu Wei'an and then hugged her.

"You've really worked hard all these years."

“It is indeed hard work, but I am willing to help you take care of your daughter.” Liu Wei’an raised her head and looked at Chen Wei. “I’m sorry, if I could get along with her better, I wouldn’t make you so angry.”

Chen Wei was still too angry to calm down.

“You’ve been good enough to her, but she doesn’t appreciate it,” Chen Wei said. “I know how much you’ve sacrificed over the years.”

Liu Wei'an's eyes were slightly red.

“I’m content with just hearing you say that,” Liu Wei’an said. “I never really wanted her to call me Mom. I just hope she can grow up healthy and happy and stay by your side forever.”

Chen Wei: "Her mother left early, and she's a bit stubborn. Please bear with her."

“Why are we still talking about this?” Liu Wei’an gently punched his shoulder. “When I agreed to marry you, I was prepared for this. I don’t care what others say, as long as you know my feelings. I really want her to be happy. Only when she is happy will you be happy, and only when you are happy will I be happy.”

“I know.” Chen Wei nodded. “However, if she really insists on going to Jiangguang, then let her go. She’s already stuck on this issue. If we force her to repeat a year, she’ll cause chaos at home, and you’ll be even more upset.”

Liu Wei'an: "As long as you're willing to let her go, that's fine. If it weren't for the fact that you can't bear to let her leave your side, why would I be the bad guy?"

She gently rested her head on Chen Wei's shoulder, sighed softly, and her eyes were filled with tranquility.

-

Chen Siqi ran to the cemetery and sat in front of her mother's tombstone for an hour, tears streaming down her face. After leaving, looking at the fiery sunset, she felt empty inside, like a desolate wasteland.

She didn't want to go back, so she made that phone call to Lu Yanhe.

-

At 6:12, she arrived at Xingsha Road and saw Lu Yanhe at the entrance of a restaurant across the street as soon as she got off the car.

He wore a mask and a fisherman's hat, with his hands in his pockets, looking like a door god, but his tall and handsome figure made passersby take a second look at him.

Fortunately, dusk had fallen and the light was dim. Although many people glanced at him, no one recognized him yet thanks to his disguise.

The moment Chen Siqi saw Lu Yanhe across the street, her mood, which had been in a slump all afternoon, improved considerably.

It's like putting a hand that's been through a winter into the spring sunshine.

Chen Siqi crossed the road.

Lu Yanhe only saw her when she was crossing the street and waved to her.

Chen Siqi looked up at him and smiled.

Although she was smiling, Lu Yanhe could tell that Chen Siqi's eyes had just been crying and were still a little red and swollen.

Lu Yanhe was immediately stunned, looking at her in surprise, and asked in a low voice, "You cried?"

"I had a fight with my dad and Liu Wei'an," Chen Siqi explained simply. "I don't want to talk about this right now. I'm sorry, you're having dinner with your friends, and I'm bothering you."

Lu Yanhe: "It's alright, they all really want to see you."

Chen Siqi blinked in surprise, "Huh?"

Lu Yanhe: "Let's go in."

He opened the door and let Chen Siqi go in first.

As soon as Lu Yanhe led Chen Siqi into the private room, Li Zhibai, who had been waiting for a long time, stood up abruptly, took a step forward to Chen Siqi, and extended his right hand.

Chen Siqi paused for a moment, then cautiously extended her right hand with a puzzled look.

Li Zhibai immediately shook hands with her and said righteously, "You are even more beautiful than when I last saw you. No wonder Lu Yanhe is thinking about you day and night."

As Chen Siqi froze, Lu Yanhe's facial features all became disoriented.

"What the hell?"

Yan Liang followed closely behind, echoing Li Zhibai, saying, "I was wondering why Lu Yanhe rarely talks to other girls, but keeps talking about you. No wonder you two trended on social media together and were misunderstood. Wait, is it a misunderstanding?"

He stared at Chen Siqi, feigning innocence, his eyes darting back and forth between Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi, and asked, "You two—"

Lu Yanhe could easily see what those two were up to.

He slapped Yan Liang on the shoulder, furious and embarrassed: "Go away, all of you, sit down and behave!"

Chen Siqi burst out laughing.

(End of this chapter)