Chapter 64
The call between Chen Qinglin and Zhou Jingyu lasted for several minutes, with Zhou Jingyu basically providing guidance and comfort, while Chen Qinglin kept responding politely.
Yin Mu looked back at Zhong Mengyuan. She was not disturbed by the noise at all and was still sleeping soundly. It made him very jealous and he really wanted someone to wake her up.
Thinking about the consequences of disturbing her sleep twice a day, Yin Mu felt scared and gave up the idea in a huff. He could only listen to Chen Qinglin and Zhou Jingyu talking while sulking alone.
Chen Qinglin finally ended the call and saw Yin Mu folding his arms and looking out the window. He asked, "What's wrong? Are you carsick?"
Yin Mu's tone was flat: "No."
"I have some medicine in the car. Tell me if you feel unwell." Chen Qinglin said gently, "We'll be on the highway soon. You should get some sleep."
"I don't want to sleep. I can't sleep." Yin Mu was still staring out the car window while speaking, without even looking at Chen Qinglin. He said coldly, "Zhou Jingyu is so kind. She comforted me and invited me to dinner. Why don't you appreciate it?"
Chen Qinglin asked in return: "Is it only acceptance that counts as appreciation?"
"Well, what else? You don't think that if you keep refusing like this, others will understand your gratitude."
"I don't want to cause unnecessary misunderstandings." Chen Qinglin said calmly, "Yin Mu, I can't force you to accept my feelings, but you don't have to push me towards others. Will this satisfy you?"
Yin Mu bit his lip: "You don't know anything at all."
"Of course I don't know if you don't tell me." Chen Qinglin said, "Yin Mu, what are you struggling with? Tell me, and we can work together to find a solution."
Yin Mu was speechless and could only choose to escape again: "I don't want to talk to you about this now."
"Yeah." Chen Qinglin responded, not seeming surprised. "Tell me when you want to talk about it. I'll listen carefully."
"……Um."
For a moment, the atmosphere seemed a little awkward.
At this moment, Zhong Mengyuan in the back seat suddenly spoke, breaking the subtle awkwardness. She yawned and asked vaguely, "Where are we?"
Yin Mu turned to look at her: "Just got on the highway."
"Oh." Zhong Mengyuan frowned and pressed his sore neck. He leaned back against the car window listlessly and yawned again. "Then I'll go back to sleep. Call me when we get here."
Yin Mu smiled and agreed: "Okay——"
For the rest of the journey, Yin Mu did not mention these things again. She leaned back in her chair, lost in thought. Gradually, she felt sleepy and fell asleep without realizing it.
After an unknown amount of time, Yin Mu was awakened by laughter. He opened his eyes in a daze and saw that he had put a coat on him without knowing when, and the laughter came from Zhong Mengyuan who had already woken up.
Chen Qinglin noticed she was awake first, glanced at her quickly, and said, "We're almost there. I'll take you to Zhong Mengyuan's house, and then you can take a taxi back."
"Oh." Yin Mu's mind was still a little groggy, so she didn't ask any more questions. Anyway, with Zhong Mengyuan there, she didn't have to worry about not being able to return home.
Zhong Mengyuan smiled and said, "You said you were calling me, but now you are sleeping deeper than anyone else."
"Yeah, yeah." Yin Mu responded perfunctorily, "You're awesome."
Zhong Mengyuan smiled without saying anything, and then said to Chen Qinglin: "Thank you so much today. Hitchhiking is indeed much more convenient than taking a bus and then a high-speed train."
"Nothing, just a side note."
After Chen Qinglin dropped them off, he went to the company alone to find his agent. Zhong Mengyuan watched his car blend into the traffic, took out his phone to call a taxi, and asked Yin Mu: "Are you hungry? How about going to have lunch first?"
Yin Mu retracted his gaze and shook his head: "I don't have much appetite, let's eat later."
"Okay, let's go home then."
The two of them returned to Zhong Mengyuan's house, washed up and took a nap, and then went to eat after waking up, treating it as lunch and dinner combined.
After finishing a short trip of a few days, Zhong Mengyuan fell into emptiness again and chose to lie at home in decadence.
Yin Mu also had nothing to do. There was no news from Chen Qinglin for the time being, but the popularity of the hot search had obviously dropped. It must be that the agent intervened at the company's instruction.
She heard from Chen Qinglin that his agent was a good person and took good care of him. However, in a large company with many artists, she was an insignificant agent with limited abilities and had to take care of other artists. She really couldn't focus all her energy on Chen Qinglin alone, and there were many things she couldn't control.
Almost a week had passed before he heard from Chen Qinglin again. During this time, Yin Mu wanted to return to his old job and find something to do, but lacked the resources and channels. So, he found a small website and began writing novels all day. Zhong Mengyuan, on the other hand, couldn't sit still. He sent out a large number of resumes and scheduled a series of interviews, as if he was determined to settle down in the world and regain his career status. However, due to his lack of professional skills, he was repeatedly frustrated.
That day, Zhong Mengyuan came back from an interview and brought lunch for Yin Mu. When he entered the living room, he saw Yin Mu had just finished a phone call and walked out from the balcony with his mobile phone in hand.
"How was the interview? Did it go well?"
Zhong Mengyuan put the takeout bag on the dining table: "Not very good, probably no chance."
"How could this happen!" Yin Mu felt unfair for her, "With your ability and experience, it's impossible. Are they blind?"
Zhong Mengyuan shrugged, undeterred. "It's actually quite normal. After all, I can't fake my education." She opened her takeout bag and said, "It doesn't matter. Take your time. Let's eat first. —Who were you talking to on the phone just now?"
"It's Chen Qinglin calling." Yin Mu came back after washing his hands and reported the current situation to Zhong Mengyuan. "He said he's still going through the termination procedures, but it's not a big problem. It looks like he'll be free soon."
"So no one is investigating who wrote that explosive article?"
"Who would bother to pursue that?" Yin Mu sighed, "Besides, Chen Qinglin himself has no intention of pursuing it."
"Hmm..." Zhong Mengyuan seemed to be lost in thought. "Actually, I overheard two girls chatting on the subway today, and a new idea came to my mind about this matter, but it seems too despicable."
"Oh?" Yin Mu asked curiously, "Do you have any new ideas? Tell me about it."
Zhong Mengyuan gave her a shot of caution: "Let me make it clear first, you are not allowed to scold me."
"Don't worry, when have I ever scolded you?" Yin Mu agreed and urged her, "Just tell me now, don't be so mysterious and keep us in suspense."
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you what I'm going to say." Zhong Mengyuan thought for a moment and said, "Let's start with the two girls I saw on the subway."
Yin Mu immediately put down his chopsticks and pretended to listen attentively.
"They should be college students, so I'll refer to them as A and B."
"Hmmmm."
"From what I heard about their conversation, A has a crush on a guy, but he doesn't like her, so she hasn't been able to get him. Recently, something happened at home, and he's been very depressed. A doesn't want to cling to him at this time, fearing he might find her annoying and dislike her, so she wants to leave him alone for a while."
"Then what?"
"Then B objected, saying she shouldn't do that. Not only would it not alienate him, but it would give him more company."
Yin Mu touched his chin and said, "That's very clever. Isn't this just taking advantage of someone's weakness and launching an emotional offensive?"
"That's right." Zhong Mengyuan nodded and asked, "Do you understand?"
"Ah?" Yin Mu asked blankly, "Understand what?"
"..." Zhong Mengyuan frowned speechlessly, "Are you serious? What do you think I'm talking about? It's not about how to chase a man, is it?"
Yin Mu blinked at her disgusted look, her brain working slowly, and finally realized: "Oh! Yes, you are talking about Chen Qinglin." She thought for a moment, her expression becoming indescribable, and said with difficulty, "You, you think this was done by Zhou Jingyu? That's impossible..."
Zhong Mengyuan did not deny it and asked, "Why is it impossible? It is obviously reasonable."
"But, this is a bit too much." Yin Mu knew that this speculation was not impossible, but he still didn't want to believe it. In order to take advantage of the situation, he had to create a crisis himself when there was none. No matter how you look at it, this is not something a normal person would do.
"Maybe she's anxious."
"No matter how anxious I am, I can't..." Yin Mu frowned, "Well, even if your guess is reasonable, it has come to this point and there is no way to confirm it. Besides, even if it can be confirmed, what can it do? Do you expect her to jump out and clarify everything?"
"What the hell are you trying to prove?" Zhong Mengyuan rolled her eyes at her. "This is a fact Chen Qinglin admitted himself. What's there to clarify?"
Yin Mu opened his mouth and had to agree: "That's right."
Zhong Mengyuan leaned back in his chair and said, "I'm just guessing. Anyway, nothing can be changed, right?"
"If this is true, then Chen Qinglin is too miserable." Yin Mu sighed deeply.
Zhong Mengyuan replied casually: "Since you sympathize with him, then just be with him."
Yin Mu's cheeks flushed, and he lowered his head to eat: "What nonsense are you talking about again."
"I'm not talking nonsense this time," Zhong Mengyuan assured him, raising her hand. "After my recent job search failure, I've been thinking a lot. I'm increasingly convinced that we can't just sit there and wait. We have to do something. Coupled with my suspicions about Zhou Jingyu, I'm even more determined."
Yin Mu didn't quite understand: "What do you want to do?"
Zhong Mengyuan spread his hands. "It's simple. She wants to fish in troubled waters. Why can't we make the situation even more chaotic? Maybe the problem will be solved, and we two outsiders who are causing trouble can also take the opportunity to escape."
Yin Mu hesitated: "This is too risky. It would be terrible if it backfired. Then-"
"Rabbit!" Zhong Mengyuan interrupted her, clenching his fists and placing them on the table with a solemn expression. "How do we know there's no chance if we don't try? We can't be cowards anymore!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com