Chapter 84 "I'm already eating very slowly..."
Chapter 84
After reuniting with Teacher Ji, Yu Pan's life underwent a slight change. In addition to her usual routine of going between home and school, she now goes to the drama academy every day or two, sometimes getting home later than Shen Yanzhou.
Shen Yanzhou had no objection to this. He knew that Yu Pan and Teacher Ji had gotten along very well since childhood, and in his opinion, it was good that Yu Pan had found something she liked to do and was living a fulfilling life every day.
Time flew by and it was now her third year of graduate school. Yu Pan was fortunate enough to join Professor Ji in a film crew shooting in the old town.
This was the first serious production crew he had worked with outside of his university years, and it truly showed him many things that couldn't be learned from textbooks.
That day, Yu Pan rushed to the old town after finishing her school business. When she arrived, the film crew was shooting a scene where the main character and a supporting character were arguing.
Coincidentally, this was the very scene that Yu Pan and Teacher Ji had been working on revising recently. He walked around the crowd, went to the monitor, sat down on the folding chair next to Ji Yun, and stared at the screen together.
It must be said that, in addition to the script, the actors' solid skills are also extremely important for the success of a good work.
Yu Pan watched the young actress on the monitor. She was full of emotion, delivered her lines clearly, and shed tears at will, completely unaffected by the many staff members around her. Her professionalism was admirable.
"Cut! That take is a wrap!" Director Ma Tao shouted, and the atmosphere on set instantly relaxed. Everyone began to prepare for the scene change in an orderly manner and to shoot the next scene.
Ma Tao reviewed the footage he had just shot, nodded in satisfaction, and turned to say a few words to Ji Yun when he saw Yu Pan next to him. His face immediately lit up with a smile: "Oh, Little Yu is here."
Yu Pan smiled politely at Ma Tao but didn't reply. He felt uncomfortable with the way Director Ma looked at him.
"Xiao Yu has been learning from you for quite a while now, hasn't she?" Ma Tao said to Ji Yun with a smile, but his eyes then glanced at Yu Pan. "When are you planning to try your hand at acting on your own? I have a script to shoot next year, the subject matter is good, why don't you come and do it..."
“Old Ma, you’re joking again,” Ji Yun interrupted Ma Tao calmly. “Our Xiao Yu is just starting out. He’s already taking on the main responsibility of revising the script all by himself? He’s still a long way off. He’s not skilled enough yet.”
Ma Tao clicked his tongue and said, half-jokingly, "Old Ji, I don't know your abilities. I naturally trust the people you personally trained. Besides, don't think I can't tell. That last take was so smooth; it was Xiao Yu who changed it, right? I think he's good enough. You should let him out and practice more."
"Director Ma, you're joking," Yu Pan quickly said. "I'm really still a novice. I don't have that much skill. I still have a lot to learn."
Ji Yun smiled and once again deflected the criticism for Yu Pan: "Old Ma, don't flatter him to death. When it's time to let him go, I naturally won't be able to hold him back. We'll talk about it then."
"Alright, alright," Ma Tao waved his hand, seemingly helplessly. "I know you're eager to protect your disciple, but we have a deal. If Xiao Yu ever becomes capable of handling things on his own, you'll have to consider me first."
"Haha, we'll talk about that later." Ji Yun chuckled, then turned to Yu Pan and asked, "By the way, how's that book I gave you the day before yesterday coming along?"
Yu Pan nodded obediently: "I've finished reading it, and I've also taken some notes."
“Alright, let’s go sit somewhere less crowded in the back,” Ji Yun smiled at Ma Tao. “I’ll test him first, and I’ll come over when the next scene starts filming.”
Ma Tao laughed and said, "Go ahead, go ahead, studying is the priority. I still need to make some preparations here."
Then, Ji Yun led Yu Pan to a quieter, less crowded area at the edge of the film set. Ma Tao watched their retreating figures, his eyes darkening, a bitter feeling rising in his heart.
Ji Yun had made a statement in the industry years ago that he would not take on apprentices or mentor newcomers, and everyone knew about it.
Although he hasn't explicitly stated that Yu Pan is his apprentice, anyone in the crew with eyes can see that Ji Yun is genuinely nurturing this child, not only mentoring her but also taking care of her in every way.
Everyone in the industry is perceptive. Looking at Yu Pan's overall demeanor and attire, although not ostentatious, it's clear she comes from a very wealthy family.
At first, many people speculated privately that this was some young master from a wealthy family in Beijing who had come out to experience life.
Ma Tao was a native of Beijing and had a wide network of connections, but he had never heard of anyone named Yu Pan. Considering the unspoken rules in the industry, he naturally assumed that Yu Pan had that kind of relationship.
Ma Tao was a little annoyed that such a clean and handsome young boy had been picked up by that old scholar Ji Yun first, so he temporarily gave up on the idea.
Not long after, after work one day, Ma Tao happened to see Yu Pan get into a white BMW at an intersection. No man can resist bragging, and this car must cost at least a million yuan. He clicked his tongue and deliberately slowed down to take a few more glances.
As they got closer, Ma Tao immediately saw Yu Pan leaning over and being intimate with the man in the driver's seat. He secretly noted down the license plate number and asked someone to check it.
There aren't many people in China who can afford this model, so the results of the investigation surprised him somewhat. He had assumed Yu Pan was Ji Yun's mistress, but it turned out her backer was the CEO of Huazhu Real Estate.
Ma Tao had met Shen Yanzhou in some business settings. He was young, but shrewd and decisive, not someone to be trifled with.
The investigators said they were brothers to outsiders, but Ma Tao disagreed, saying the two looked nothing alike and it would be a lie to say they were brothers.
Knowing Hua Zhu's background, Ma Tao wouldn't risk trouble for a nobody who's being kept by someone else.
Every time he was on set, watching Yu Pan quietly discussing the script with Ji Yun, her thick, long eyelashes when she lowered her eyes slightly, the curve of her eyes when she smiled, and her clean and pure temperament always made him itch with longing.
-
On the other side, Yu Pan followed Teacher Ji to a relatively quiet stone bench and sat down. He was about to take out the book that Teacher Ji had given him the day before yesterday from his backpack when Ji Yun stopped him.
“Panpan,” Ji Yun looked at him, “Ma Tao just said that he wanted you to take over the script yourself, but the teacher rejected it without asking your opinion. Are you feeling... upset?”
Yu Pan was puzzled when she heard him ask that, and shook her head and said, "I don't feel uncomfortable."
Ji Yun chuckled: "Why?"
Yu Pan felt that Teacher Ji's question was a bit strange: "I really haven't reached the level where I can independently write a script. You are right to refuse. If I really mess it up, wouldn't that be letting you down and delaying the crew's work?"
"Then if I told Director Ma right in front of him that you're not up to par and have a long way to go, wouldn't you feel ashamed?" Ji Yun continued to press.
"I don't think so. What you said is true." Yu Pan spoke frankly, having a clear understanding of his own abilities.
He wasn't in a hurry to release his own work, but this opportunity to gain experience in such a large production has made him realize that he has many shortcomings, and learning is the most important thing right now.
"..." Ji Yun looked into his clear and honest eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, but then deliberately said, "If I told you that you could manage a notebook by yourself right now and asked you to go, would you go?"
Yu Pan frowned and answered decisively, "I'm not going."
"Why?" Ji Yun raised an eyebrow.
“Teacher Ji, although I don’t know why you suddenly asked me this,” Yu Pan paused, organized her thoughts, and said with a serious expression, “I am quite self-aware. I have never systematically studied this kind of knowledge.”
“Even if you encourage me by saying I can do it, I won’t take it on rashly. Just like you used to tell me when I was a child, ‘If you can only crawl, don’t try to run. Be careful not to fall and break your head.’”
Looking at the composed Yu Pan before him, Ji Yun said, "Your idea is correct; it's good to be calm. However..."
He changed the subject, his tone becoming more serious, "You should keep a close eye on Ma Tao."
"Director Ma?" Although Yu Pan instinctively disliked the way this man was looking at her, she was still somewhat puzzled. "What... is wrong with him?"
“You haven’t officially entered this industry yet, so there are some things you don’t understand.” Ji Yun sighed and lowered his voice. “Screenwriters and directors can complement each other in terms of fame and fortune, but the interpersonal relationships involved are also complicated.”
"It's not that the teacher wants to discourage you, but not everyone is focused on creating. There's a lot of dirty stuff in this industry, and some people's minds aren't on the right path."
Ji Yun spoke rather subtly, but Yu Pan wasn't stupid. Recalling the uncomfortable looks Ma Tao occasionally gave him, he roughly understood seven or eight parts of the situation.
He nodded thoughtfully: "I understand. Then I won't come to the set anymore, so as not to cause you any trouble."
"Well, it's good to avoid it for a while." Ji Yun patted Yu Pan's shoulder. "This time, the teacher didn't think things through. I was only thinking about letting you learn more, and I didn't guard against these things... I'm sorry, Panpan."
“Teacher Ji, how could this be your fault?” Yu Pan looked at him earnestly. “It’s the fault of those people with ulterior motives. You just wanted to protect me and teach me. You don’t need to apologize.”
Ji Yun felt gratified after hearing this. He had stayed in Xishan Village for so long and taught for so many years, but the people he remembered and felt the deepest affection for were the brothers Yu Pan and Shen Yanzhou.
One was a boy he watched grow from someone who couldn't walk to someone who was taller than him; the other was a little boy he taught sign language by hand. When he had to return to Beijing, the two brothers were the ones he couldn't let go of the most.
Three years later, after everything was settled on his end, he went back and found only desolation in the courtyard, everything changed.
Ji Yun felt immense relief upon unexpectedly reuniting with the people she thought she might never see again, and seeing how successful they were.
“However, once you’ve learned enough theoretical knowledge, you can’t neglect practice.” Ji Yun composed himself. “After that, you can start trying to write some complete short stories on your own. When you’re done, bring them to me and I’ll check them for you.”
Yu Pan immediately sat up straight. "Okay, Teacher Ji! I will definitely write carefully!"
-
Yu Pan didn't leave immediately afterward, intending to watch the next scene before departing. Unfortunately, this scene didn't go as smoothly as the previous one.
Although Yu Pan was watching from the sidelines and felt that the actors' emotions were quite on point and their blocking was without any mistakes, director Ma Tao kept yelling "cut" and making them do it again and again.
The reasons given were varied, such as "the lighting doesn't feel right," "the emotional depth isn't rich enough," and "the camera angle needs to be adjusted."
...As darkness fell, this scene still hadn't been filmed, so they had no choice but to skip it and film the planned night scenes first.
Yu Pan left the film set with some regret. It wasn't too far from his home, about a half-hour bike ride. The early autumn evening breeze already carried a noticeable coolness, which felt very comfortable on his face.
He parked his car downstairs and saw Shen Yanzhou's car lights flash briefly. Knowing that Shen Yanzhou was about to go out to pick him up, he quickly called out, "Brother!"
Sure enough, Shen Yanzhou got out of the car after a short while, walked up to him, put his arm around his shoulder, and raised his eyebrows in surprise: "What's the wind blowing today? Why are you back so early?"
As the two walked upstairs, Yu Pan chatted with Shen Yanzhou about what had happened on set.
As she entered the house, the conversation turned to Ma Tao. Yu Pan angrily slammed her shoes down on the sofa, kicking her legs, "I don't know what's going on in his head all day! Can't he just focus on filming? All he thinks about is that stuff in the movies! It's disgusting!"
He got angrier and angrier as he spoke: "Professor Ji had planned it all out so that I would be involved in the entire group, right up until the end of the semester, and then I could focus on my thesis. Now, because of what he did, I've wasted so many learning and practical opportunities. It's such a loss!"
Shen Yanzhou sat down next to Yu Pan, reached out and pinched his reddened earlobe, then pulled him into his arms and soothed him by stroking his back: "Yes, those people have such filthy thoughts and impure intentions. Teacher Ji did the right thing, it was to protect you."
Yu Pan buried her face in Shen Yanzhou's chest, whimpering uncomfortably: "What's most infuriating is that he was probably still upset afterward, so he deliberately made things difficult for the actors during filming! This afternoon, during the water-splashing scene, that actress got splashed..."
He looked up, frowned, and recalled, "About twenty times! The weather's getting colder now, and they're still using cold water, splashing it over and over again. It's disgusting just watching it! It's clearly his own fault, yet he uses his little bit of power to make things difficult for the people working below him. Who would want to watch something made by someone like that? It's utterly disgusting!"
Knowing that Yu Pan was angry and needed to vent, Shen Yanzhou went along with him and condemned the director, Ma, for being unprofessional and immoral.
After venting his anger, Yu Pan's emotions gradually calmed down. Seeing that his breathing was becoming more stable and he was no longer as agitated as before, Shen Yanzhou coaxed him to eat, "Okay, don't be angry anymore. It's not worth getting angry over someone like that. Wash your hands and eat. Auntie made your favorite fried shrimp balls today."
For Yu Pan, nothing is more important than eating. Getting angry over such a scumbag is not worth it; it's not worth filling her stomach with anger.
However, even sitting at the table, the delicious fried shrimp balls couldn't completely calm him down. He was still grumbling and muttering as he ate, his cheeks puffing out.
After dinner, Yu Pan and Shen Yanzhou, as usual, cleaned up the dishes together and then took a shower together. This was their regular routine whenever Shen Yanzhou was home.
The two sat in the bathtub, with Yu Pan sitting on Chen Yanzhou's lap, letting him scrub her back and apply soap. Suddenly, she remembered the phone call Ling Luo had made to her a few days ago.
Yu Pan knew a little about what was going on between Ling Luo and Qin Yue. After all, every time Ling Luo had a big fight with Qin Yue, she couldn't help but call him to confide in him.
Yu Pan knew that Qin Yue's career had been on a rapid upward trajectory in the past two years. His Chinese restaurant chain in the United States was thriving, and even some domestic financial newspapers had reported on it.
On the phone, Ling Luo sounded extremely aggrieved, rambling on about his relationship problems with Qin Yue. One word in particular left a deep impression on Yu Pan.
The seven-year itch.
Ling Luo said that after being together for a long time, all that's left is mundane and trivial things, and it's easy to get on each other's nerves.
Strangely enough, counting from the year Yu Pan was taken in, they have lived together for twenty-two years. Even if we don't count from that time, counting from the year they first kissed, it has been eleven years.
Yu Pan had no idea what the "seven-year itch" felt like, nor had she ever experienced it.
He only knew that when he was with Shen Yanzhou, he would never get tired of anything, and he never felt that the novelty had worn off.
Every day feels new, filled with a sense of peaceful happiness.
After applying the foam to his body, Shen Yanzhou gently turned him around to face her. Seeing him lost in thought, she playfully dipped her brush in the foam and dabbed it on his nose and cheeks: "What are you thinking about? You seem so engrossed."
Yu Pan snapped out of her daze, looked at the face etched into her life, shook her head, stretched out her wet arms, hugged Shen Yanzhou's neck tightly, and buried her face in his shoulder.
How could he get tired of it? He thought to himself, he would never get tired of being with Shen Yanzhou for the rest of his life.
"Brother, I love you so much," Yu Pan whispered in Shen Yanzhou's ear.
Shen Yanzhou placed his hand on Yu Pan's back. Hearing this sudden confession, he turned his head and kissed Yu Pan's temple. "Brother loves you too."
They rarely said "I love you" to each other, but they both understood each other's love for them.
Sitting in the warm bathtub, skin to skin, they soon felt each other's changes.
Their eyes met, their breathing quickened, and after quickly rinsing off the soap, Shen Yanzhou wrapped Yu Pan in a large bath towel, picked her up, and kissed her all the way back to the bedroom.
-
The consequence of one night of indulgence was that Yu Pan slept soundly the next day, not even noticing when Shen Yanzhou got up to go to work.
Finally, he was woken up from his dream by the tempting aroma of the dishes his family's cook was making.
Yu Pan lay on the bed, dazed, for a while before finally snapping out of it. She grabbed her phone and saw that it was almost 11:30 a.m.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed two missed calls from Shen Yanzhou, one around 10 PM and the other half an hour earlier. He was sleeping so soundly that he hadn't heard a thing.
He was clean and refreshed, wearing pajamas, which Shen Yanzhou had naturally prepared for him before he went to work. Yu Pan yawned deeply, slowly got off the bed, and shuffled to the bathroom to wash up in his slippers.
As Yu Pan brushed her teeth, she kept glancing at Shen Yanzhou's toothbrush, suppressing the faint sense of unease behind her, and her mind began to drift into a blank.
Both were physical activities, and he felt that Shen Yanzhou had moved much more than him, so how come there was such a big difference in their final condition?
This wasn't the first time Yu Pan had pondered this question. He clearly remembered that when he was a child in Xishan Village, everyone would go up the mountain to chop firewood and down to the fields to harvest rice. His physical strength wasn't bad either...
Why is it that every time this kind of thing happens, he's the one who's so tired he doesn't even want to move his fingers afterward? But Shen Yanzhou is always full of energy, gets up on time, and goes to the company to handle a bunch of things with great enthusiasm?
He was lost in thought when he suddenly heard familiar voices outside. Yu Pan, with a mouthful of foam in her mouth, leaned out without thinking and still had a toothbrush in her mouth.
"Brother?" Yu Pan called out indistinctly.
Shen Yanzhou was standing at the kitchen door, giving instructions to the busy housekeeper inside. Hearing the sound, he turned around and saw Yu Pan with messy hair and white foam in her mouth. He greeted Yu Pan first, "Awake?"
Then he turned to the aunt and added, "Okay, just like we said before, make the dishes a little milder today, and don't make any spicy dishes for the next couple of days."
After giving his instructions, he closed the kitchen door, walked a few steps to the bathroom door, looked at Yu Pan's somewhat comical appearance, and chuckled, "With that mouthful of foam, aren't you afraid of dripping it everywhere..."
Yu Pan just chuckled foolishly without arguing. Shen Yanzhou picked up his mouthwash cup and held it to his lips. Yu Pan then took the water from his hand and gulped down the foam in his mouth.
Shen Yanzhou patiently waited for him to finish rinsing his mouth, then pulled down the hanging towel, soaked it, wrung it out until it was half dry, and used it to wipe his face. At the same time, she asked in a low voice, "Is it uncomfortable in the back?"
Yu Pan nodded honestly: "Yes, a little."
“We definitely can’t do it for the next few days.” As Shen Yanzhou spoke, he rinsed the used towel, wrung it out, and hung it up again. “Let’s go back to your room and I’ll take a look for you and take the things out of there.”
Yu Pan's face flushed slightly, and she whispered, "Can't we...can't we do it after we finish eating?"
“You’ll feel even more uncomfortable lying down after eating,” Shen Yanzhou patted his head. “Listen to me, you’ll be fine soon.”
Yu Pan pouted, but still obediently followed Shen Yanzhou back to the bedroom and lay down on the bed.
Shen Yanzhou turned on the floor lamp beside the bed and adjusted the light.
Yu Pan buried her face in the pillow, her thoughts drifting again.
Speaking of post-coital care, it was Ling Luo who reminded him of it a couple of years ago. Since our bodies are naturally different, that area wasn't designed for that purpose, and frequent use inevitably raises concerns about potential problems.
Ling Luo then shared with him the ointment and care methods she was using, saying that they could effectively relieve discomfort and help with recovery.
After Yu Pan told Shen Yanzhou about it, Shen Yanzhou took it very seriously and quickly arranged a detailed physical examination for him.
Fortunately, the test results were all normal. Since then, after each intimate encounter, they have started to use medication and take care of themselves scientifically, and Shen Yanzhou has been especially careful in this regard.
“Brother, I didn’t think of this before.” Shen Yanzhou carefully examined the wound and found that it was much better than when he woke up in the morning. He carefully removed the suppository. “If I had known about these methods a few years earlier, I would have had someone take you to see a doctor in the first year.”
After all, their experience in this area almost entirely stemmed from their joint exploration. While Shen Yanzhou was well-versed in business matters, his knowledge of post-incident care was indeed limited.
For this, Shen Yanzhou felt guilty for a long time, always feeling that he hadn't thought things through enough and had made Yu Panping suffer unnecessarily.
Once everything was settled, the aunt served the food and left.
Yu Pan sat at the dining table, first taking a delicious sip of the light and fresh cuttlefish ball soup, then picking up a piece of bright green vegetables and putting it into Chen Yanzhou's bowl before contentedly starting to enjoy his brunch.
"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you," Shen Yanzhou reminded him as he watched him eat with relish.
Yu Pan swallowed a large mouthful of food, puffed out her cheeks, glared at Chen Yanzhou, and muttered softly, "I'm already eating very slowly..."
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Author's Note: Panpan [Cat Head emoji]: The seven-year itch? What's that? No, it's impossible. [Shy emoji]
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