I always hate that I quarreled over money, it would be embarrassing to tell others about it...
Wen Zichuan didn't understand. Who in the world didn't want to make money? Who didn't want to earn as much as possible and work hard to live a good life?
Brother Zhou is so taboo. When money is mentioned, he explodes like a firecracker in an instant.
"Zichuan, although we are not rich, we are not out of money either. There is really no need to earn that money. I can't earn that money either." Cheng Sizhou was not like himself when he became serious.
"Why? Can't we earn more? Even if we don't spend much now, what about the future? If you still tell me that you don't have the ability to earn money, I won't accept such a reason." Wen Zichuan refused to give in easily. His biggest headache now was the 5 million yuan in liquidated damages.
Cheng Sizhou didn't want to argue with him. They both cared about each other very much, but they quarreled over money, which was too embarrassing to tell others about it.
He took a breath, pinched his brows, and tried his best to keep his words emotionless. "Let me tell you this, I'm not an archaeologist or a museum professional. I can't appraise those antiques for Mr. Wei. I might fool him once or twice, but after a while, he'll know I'm lying."
"You do what you can do, and if you can't do something, just say you can't do it. How can that be considered cheating him?"
"Okay, then let me tell you what I can do. I'm engaged in cultural relic restoration, which falls under the category of cultural relic protection. As the name suggests, it aims to protect cultural relics by repairing or maintaining them. Wei Jing is quite a shrewd person. He seemed to be chatting with me and asked about restoration methods intentionally or unintentionally. Can I answer? Perhaps you are not clear about the line between restoration and forgery, but if I reveal this to Wei Jing, how can I guarantee that it will not be leaked to others, how can I guarantee that it will not be used by those with ulterior motives to deceive more people?"
"Is that so?" Wen Zichuan was a little dazed. He really didn't know how serious the matter was. It turned out that not all knowledge and skills could be used to make money.
Cheng Sizhou laughed at himself and said, "I don't even dare to think about it. If my master knew that I told someone like Mr. Wei what he taught me, would he punish me by making me stand under a tree for five hundred years?"
Wen Zichuan thought of a poor monkey trapped under the Five Finger Mountain, and felt guilty. He pulled his hand affectionately and said, "Forget it. I won't bother with Mr. Wei anymore. He's rich anyway. Let him find someone else."
The moment their skin touched, Cheng Sizhou immediately held him back: "Zichuan, I'm too cowardly, right? I don't dare to take any risks, so I deserve to have no career."
"What are you doing? You're insulting yourself again." Wen Zichuan looked at him and smiled. "I can't let you break the law just to make some money, right? I'm not stupid."
Although it was not illegal, Cheng Sizhou felt sad when he heard it. He had heard the same situation before, but he got a different answer.
He silently took Wen Zichuan into his arms and held him gently: "Brother Zhou is just an ordinary person. He doesn't have much, but as long as you want it and as long as I have it, I will give it all to you."
Wen Zichuan leaned over to his ear and said, "I know, me too."
Two days later, two happy things finally happened, pulling Wen Zichuan out of his endless anxiety.
One is that the labor fee for recording the audio source for the voice system of the new Lantern Museum has been received, and the other is that the final payment for the New Year's Day Comic Exhibition appearance fee has also been settled.
With the money he had saved since signing the contract, plus these two payments, he finally managed to collect 50,000 yuan!
After finishing his work in the afternoon, Wen Zichuan wanted to transfer the money quickly, but he was worried that Cheng Sizhou would not accept it and was unwilling to tell him the card number, so he took the time to go to the bank and took out a stack of cash.
Paying off debts is such an important matter that it needs to be accompanied by a sense of ritual.
Wen Zichuan had selfish motives. After withdrawing the cash, he went to the flower shop to buy a gift box and the supermarket to buy tape, and then returned to the office to seal it himself.
When it was almost time to get off work, the air conditioner in the office seemed to be broken. Everyone was too cold to sit still, so they all turned off their computers and clocked out.
Wen Zichuan packed up his things and prepared to leave, but seeing that some people were still working overtime, he went to press the air conditioner, but unfortunately it didn't work.
“A-choo!”
A loud sneeze was heard from the screenwriter team. Wen Zichuan turned his head to look and saw Pinault huddled at his workstation like a raccoon, wrapped in a blanket, sniffing and typing on the keyboard.
"How are you? If it's not urgent, go home first. The air conditioner is broken and it's very cold." Wen Zichuan understood her physical condition and didn't know whether catching a cold would aggravate her heart disease.
Pinot's voice was muffled, and he sneezed just as he was about to speak. "It's okay, Mr. Wen. I'll finish this last bit and leave."
She probably caught a cold. Seeing her working so hard despite being sick, Wen Zichuan felt admiration and indescribable sympathy for her.
"If you're not feeling well, don't overdo it. Why don't you go to the hospital?" he asked with concern.
"Look at what you said, your tone seems..." Pinot suddenly paused mid-sentence, his gaze shifting from the screen to Wen Zichuan's face, his tone gloomy, "Like my dad."
"I'm sorry, I..." Wen Zichuan didn't want to lecture her, he just cared about her. Maybe he spoke too hastily and seemed a little offensive.
"It's okay. I spend half a year in the hospital. What's so good about hospitals? A-choo!" Pinot covered his nose with a tissue. "It's just a common cold. Just drink more hot water."
Wen Zichuan noticed that her water cup was empty and said hurriedly, "Then I'll go get you a cup of hot water."
Speaking of which, Pinault always gave him a familiar feeling. If he had to describe it, it would be that he didn't need to act cold and distant as usual in front of her. It was natural for them to meet occasionally and chat for a while.
Maybe it’s because they often communicate about the script together. Two people with strong empathy can naturally resonate more.
Pinot held the water cup and drank slowly: "Teacher Wen, do you have time? Are you interested in chatting about the new script?"
Wen Zichuan did have something to do, but he couldn't bear to refuse: "Well, before eight o'clock is fine."
To facilitate the discussion, Pinot printed out the script outline and handed it to Wen Zichuan.
"Gui Xin?" Wen Zichuan looked at the title and thought, what a literary name.
Pinault hummed softly, "This story is about my two fathers."
“Why did you think of writing their stories?”
"It's been my dream for a long time. I haven't been a screenwriter for long, and I originally wanted to write some other stories to practice, but since the last time... maybe I don't have much time left."
Wen Zichuan later asked Dr. Cheng Sizhou how Pinot was doing. Dr. Cheng said he wasn't optimistic, but he wouldn't recommend another surgery. He suggested conservative treatment with medication and extra care in daily life.
Doctors usually don't tell patients the diagnosis directly, and he believed Chen Yilan didn't tell her either. But Pinault said so bluntly, "Time is running out," which proved that she understood her condition.
Wen Zichuan felt a little sad. He wanted to persuade her, but he didn't know where to start.
Since her wish is to write a script for her two fathers, why not chat with her about the script?
"They have been living abroad," Wen Zichuan quickly flipped through the outline and asked hesitantly, "So... are they in a legal marriage?"
Pinault shook his head, as if looking at him, but also as if looking through him, into the distance: "They didn't live together for long, but were separated for a full thirty years."
"We've been separated for thirty years?" Wen Zichuan was very surprised, and simply listened to her finish the story patiently.
Pinot was adopted. Her two adoptive fathers, the older one is named Song Xiang and the younger one is named Qin Zhihan.
In the 1970s, the society was materially poor, but because the Song family was a well-known wealthy family, Song Xiang had no worries about food and clothing since he was a child. He also hired a special teacher to teach him academically. At the age of early twenties, he was already known as a "dragon and phoenix among men."
Qin Zhihan was born into a family of antiques with tens of thousands of collections. He was influenced by this family since childhood and became knowledgeable. He also had a keen eye for distinguishing the true from the false.
The two met at an exhibition. Song Xiang was attracted by Qin Zhihan's elegant temperament and talent, and they became friends after a few visits.
That year, Song Xiang was 25 years old and Qin Zhihan was 22 years old.
In terms of personality, Song Xiang is outspoken, confident, and bright as fire, while Qin Zhihan is gentle, reserved, and steady as water. They seem to be incompatible, but in fact, they get along very well.
Song Xiang took Qin Zhihan to meet friends in his circle, go to high-end hotels, go boating in the park, watch movies, and listen to operas. Even if they did nothing but drink tea and chat, it was very relaxing and comfortable.
Because of his family background, Song Xiang often talked about domestic and international situations, and Qin Zhihan also often had his own opinions, and he always quoted from classics and was good at convincing people with reason.
During the three years, their relationship was so close that they almost wanted to wear the same pair of pants. Everyone joked that the reason why Young Master Song had not yet married was because none of the girls he had seen could compare to Qin Zhihan, so Young Master Song looked down on them.
The more you tell a joke, the more it seems to be true.
First, Song Xiang was unwilling to get married and had a big quarrel with his family. His father asked him to punish him with family rules and he was beaten all over his body. Later, the Song family believed the rumors and monitored Song Xiang, and found that he ate and slept with Qin Zhihan, just like a same-sex couple.
The Song family was too proud to admit that Song Xiang had an affair with a man, and only attributed his refusal to marriage to Qin Zhihan's instigation.
They approached Qin Zhihan and forced him to break off relations with Song Xiang. Qin Zhihan not only refused, but also had a cold attitude. During the confrontation, he even implied that the Song family relied on flattery to get to their high positions.
At that time, he was young and impulsive, and without considering the consequences, he offended the Song family completely with just one sentence. The Song family held a grudge and accused the Qin family of being "feudal remnants" and wanted to "confiscate his property."
Although the Qin family had transferred most of their collections abroad before, being accused of such a crime was almost a disaster for the Qin family.
In order to save Qin Zhihan, the Qin family used many means to send him abroad to avoid disaster. When Song Xiang was released and went to the Qin family to find him, the Qin family's old house was deserted.
"Did they never meet again after they broke up?" Wen Zichuan went back to the character setting column, thinking that it would be a pity if they didn't meet again, and after thirty years, their youth would be long gone.
"Actually, after Father Qin passed away, Father Song got married." Pinot sighed. "In those days, Father Song couldn't disobey his family's arrangements. His marriage was not only about love, but also about the prosperity and decline of the family."
The good things in the world are not solid; colorful clouds are fragile and glass is brittle.
Such an enviable relationship ended just like that as Song Xiang got married and Qin Zhihan left.
Wen Zichuan has dubbed many dramas. When he plays a role, he is particularly confused. How can some people like this one day and fall in love with that the next?
Now it seems that he is the only fool in the world who still hopes to be with one person for the rest of his life.
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