Chapter 55 Thankfully, he made it in time. ...
The black sedan sped along the road; in the dead of night, the wide road seemed to have become their private lane.
Sheng Yi looked at the overly long sleeves hanging down her legs and remembered how Wen Shili had taken off his coat and carefully adjusted it for her.
It was just a little coffee spilled on her cuff, why make such a fuss? Yet Wen Shili insisted on washing it before returning it to her.
The clothes were clearly similar styles, but on him, they exuded a unique, carefree charm. It's as if God secretly gave him a special favor when creating people.
Sheng Yi flicked her sleeves and silently observed the man beside her who was focused on driving.
Wen Shili gripped the steering wheel with one hand, feeling Sheng Yi's gaze upon him.
Taking advantage of the dim lighting, she brazenly scrutinized him inch by inch. Her gaze was so long and so quiet that he dared not even breathe loudly.
The gates of the residential complex that appeared in his line of sight suddenly seemed kind and welcoming. He controlled his breathing, turned slightly to the side, and reminded the person who was lost in thought in a hoarse voice, "We're almost there."
"Oh!" Upon hearing his voice, Sheng Yi suddenly snapped back to reality, only to hear a "thud"—the sound of his head hitting the roof of the car.
She pressed her hand to the top of her head, glaring angrily at the person beside her, her clear eyes filled with accusations against the culprit.
When she met his gaze, she looked away as if she had been burned.
"I'm leaving." Her voice was muffled, but Wen Shili could guess that at this moment, there must be a little devil inside her, baring his teeth and claws at him.
He felt a strange urge to laugh, yet her pitiful, angry but unable-to-speak expression stirred a pang of sadness in his heart.
"Does it still hurt?"
Sheng Yi heard him sigh softly in her ear and could feel his large, slowly moving hand.
In the enclosed space, she could hear her heart beating faster in her chest.
So, the moment he asked the question, she immediately pulled her hand away from his, pretended to be calm as she unbuckled her seatbelt, and then walked towards the stairwell without looking back.
She was one step ahead; the moment her foot touched the ground, the person next to her had already gotten out of the car and was following her at a distance. She glared at them coldly, but the other person remained unfazed. "I'll take you up."
"No need." Sheng Yi said without turning her head, and hurried up the stairs. After climbing two steps, she unconsciously softened her steps.
She was fast, he was fast; she was slow, he was slow. Maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far, he followed her step by step uphill.
By the time she reached her doorstep, the pent-up frustration in her chest had completely dissipated. Sheng Yi finally turned around and looked at the person following behind her, "Let's go back, I've arrived."
"Mm," Wen Shili quickly replied. However, his gaze remained fixed on her, and he did not move.
Sheng Yi looked up in confusion, her eyes slowly filling with not only doubt but also wariness.
Wen Shili met her gaze and took two steps closer. Sheng Yi stepped back, widening the gap between them. However, it was an old residential area, and the space in front of the gate was simply not enough for them to wrestle.
Her lower back slammed into the doorknob. She knew there was nowhere left to retreat.
Tonight is destined to be blurry and chaotic. Sheng Yi raised his head, trying to see through those eyes and what they were filled with at this moment.
Wen Shili lowered his eyes quietly, and then she felt him slowly take her overly long sleeve.
He lowered his head and slowly, step by step, rolled up her sleeves.
My heartbeat, which had just calmed down, began to pound again in my chest.
Sheng Yi pondered his expression, hesitating, afraid that if she spoke, the calm would be broken.
Just before the bowstring was about to be fully taut, Wen Shili took a step back.
He kept his eyes downcast, his voice low, his slender fingers brushing against her sleeve and falling down. Even that light tone seemed like intertwined vines, drawing out a lingering, tender affection from the depths of her heart.
"Please take care of yourself, okay?"
Sheng Yi wanted to look up at his expression again, but the corridor lamp above her head had just fallen into a deep, sweet dream.
Hearing the smile in his voice, she softly asked, "No one is more important than yourself, is that right?"
-
As the year draws to a close, the schedule is becoming increasingly packed.
Sheng Yi didn't know exactly when she fell asleep the night before. When the alarm rang, despite her sore eyes, she forced herself to get up, wash up, and plug her phone, which only had a few bars of battery left, into the charger.
The morning was for commercial shooting, the afternoon for film crew promotions, and the evening for variety show recordings with the film crew.
Sheng Yi splashed some water on her face, but unfortunately, she couldn't compare to electronic products that could be fully charged in just a few minutes. Seeing the redness and swelling under her eyes in the mirror, she couldn't help but curse Wen Shili under her breath again.
Since the release of the premiere date announcement and trailer, Sheng Yi's reputation has been on the rise. Wherever someone says her acting is stiff, others always refute it with screenshots, saying that the emotional scenes in the new drama are particularly different.
After seeing similar comments and screenshots repeatedly, she gradually became numb to them.
Unexpectedly, at the press conference, the host singled out this particular shot for discussion.
Holding the microphone, Sheng Yi spoke grandly, expressing her gratitude to the director and fellow actors for their help and guidance. In return, the director praised her hard work and diligence, while the lead actress stated that it was her own quick wit and understanding that made her successful.
Meeting her enigmatic, half-smiling gaze, Sheng Yi felt her ears inexplicably burn. To make matters worse, the other woman moved closer, teasing her with a cheerful laugh, "Thinking of something?"
Sheng Yi's already flushed face turned red in an instant, and she pouted as she called out "Sister," "Please don't make fun of me."
The female lead was so amused by her charming appearance that she laughed uproariously.
When I met with Wu Simin that evening, thankfully no one brought it up again. Sheng Yi didn't have many scenes; the focus of the several hours of filming was on the main actors.
She always keeps her position in mind. When she doesn't need to stand out, she quietly plays the role of a wooden puppet with a smile on her face. When she needs to set the mood, she then follows the rhythm that is required.
Recording a variety show is much more tiring than doing other promotional work. Fortunately, I had Wu Simin to chat with.
The New Year's Day holiday is just around the corner, and Wu Simin said that her next job is after the holiday, so after recording the variety show, Sheng Yi packed up and took her to stay at his home.
Old Qian came to pick them up in person today. He had intended to have a detailed chat with Sheng Yi about the upcoming itinerary, but upon seeing Wu Simin, he couldn't bring himself to say what he was about to say.
In the end, it was Wu Simin who told Sheng Yi that she was going to participate in a dating reality show.
In a single day, dozens of marketing accounts revealed that Sheng Yi was on the guest list for the new season of Hunan TV's dating variety show.
"Wow, is it true? You dumped Zeng Shaoguang?"
Upon hearing the name, Sheng Yi realized she hadn't had a chance to update Wu Simin with gossip. After hearing her explanation, Wu Simin quickly accepted, "That's right, a strong woman shouldn't worry about not having a husband! We should be eating what's in our bowl while eyeing what's in the pot!"
Sheng Yi almost spat out her water, patting her arm, "What are you saying?"
Wu Simin shrugged, "Can't people even have a word to say?" Then she asked, "What do you really think? Judging from your agent's opinion, they want you to take the job."
Sheng Yi was well aware of this, but she already found it exhausting to watch a variety show promoting a drama. A dating show would take her a whole season, and wanting to quit halfway through would be even more of a headache.
Before Sheng Yi could even refuse, Lao Qian cut her off, offering another round of earnest advice without waiting for her reply. "Think it over carefully and tell me after the holiday."
Sheng Yi didn't think there was any chance to change her mind in just a few days. Lao Qian wiped his face. In fact, he knew that dragging it out for a few days would not do any good. However, discussing it for a few more days would also generate buzz.
The production team also leveraged the guests' popularity, creating a mutually beneficial situation. Even if they ultimately declined, they still managed to promote the guests and maximize the show's buzz.
Sure enough, the next day, the hashtag Sheng Yi was going to participate in a dating reality show on Hunan TV reached the top of the trending searches. Netizens looked at the list of invitees again and again and found that apart from Sheng Yi and a relatively unknown streamer, the others were basically unknown ordinary people.
Soon, this sparked further discussion about whether the revelation was true or false.
Surviving in the entertainment industry is never a black-and-white matter of right or wrong. Sheng Yi recalled many outrageous news stories she had heard and realized that she seemed to have been unknowingly caught in an invisible net. Even when faced with decisions that were not entirely transparent, her first instinct was to find excuses for herself.
Seeing the fans frantically seeking confirmation, Sheng Yi and Lao Qian felt they had to respond as soon as possible. Lao Qian sighed and simply said he would communicate with the production team.
Before receiving a reply from the program team, Sheng Yi first received a reminder from Wen Shili.
The straightforward investigation results all pointed to the chaotic private lives of the male guests the program planned to invite, and none of them were spared.
Faced with the chain of evidence presented in both text and images, Sheng Yi suspected that if she raised any questions, the other party would send her video and audio evidence next.
So she chose to play dumb, "What's wrong? Why are you showing me this all of a sudden?"
Wen Shili asked, "Is this how you protect yourself?"
It would have been better if she hadn't mentioned it, because the mention of Sheng Yi reminded her of the time he tricked her. Holding her phone, she quickly sent him a message: "It's just a mutually beneficial arrangement. I'm not stupid."
Wen Shili stroked the lines of text appearing on the screen, gritted his teeth, and wished he could…
Never mind, it would scare her.
He breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could type the next message, he received an impatient closing message from Sheng Yi: "Thank you for your concern, I won't bother you any longer."
Ha, what do you mean by disturbing me? He's not stupid.
-
"Brother, how are you feeling today?"
Cao Jun rushed in with a bag in his hand and saw Wen Shili's fingers tapping away on his phone screen.
Uh, what's going on? He had a bad feeling, but he chuckled and placed the bag on the nearest round table. "I've put the medicine here for you. Remember to apply it."
As he finished speaking, he had already dashed to the door, but before it closed completely, he craned his neck and squeezed back in, calling out anxiously, "Don't forget!"
"Tsk."
Wen Shili tossed his phone aside, remembering Cao Jun's terrified expression yesterday, and reached out to take the paper bag, then took out the medicine bottle and placed it on the table.
I recalled how Sheng Yi had rushed towards that woman without hesitation...
Fortunately, he made it in time.
-
New Year's Eve.
Sheng Yi never expected to receive a call from Huang Bei.
After leaving the hospital last time, she asked Yan Shen about Huang Bei's condition a few times and learned that she was fine, so she didn't pay much attention to it anymore.
Huang Bei didn't want to bother Sheng Yi anymore, but she still owed him a thank you, which she hadn't said. So, she decided to take advantage of the end of the year to avoid letting this year's regrets carry over into next year.
After exchanging a few more words, Sheng Yi watched the festive song and dance performance on TV and recalled what Huang Bei had said: the best doctors, the best treatment.
How could she possibly have such connections to make such thoughtful arrangements for others?
After thinking it over, Sheng Yi conveyed Huang Bei's gratitude to Yan Shen. Yan Shen stared at the message on his phone, remaining silent for a long time.
So, it turns out he also extends his affections to everything connected to his family.
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