"Would you go if you were an investor?"
"Of course not. Unless we can see the finished product."
Perhaps it was the plight of his fellow forum members that resonated with Sheng Wenzhi, for at this moment, his concern for his unfinished novel, *Rules Street*, reached an unprecedented level. That poor author on the forum, unaware of what was happening, had had numerous romantic subplots added to his work, even pairing the protagonist's two horses with Hirai Komako!
Sheng Wenzhi had previously been indifferent because, in his mind, this book was written to repay a favor to Shang Yechu, and wasn't entirely a "pure" work. But after seeing that unfortunate colleague today, and putting himself in his shoes, if his own "Rules Street" were also filled with a lot of melodramatic plot twists... Sheng Wenzhi realized that even a work he didn't care about at all couldn't be accepted!
Shang Yechu coughed lightly: "Not an investor, but much more important than an investor."
What is that?
Shang Yechu laughed and said, "You came up here to talk. It must be tiring to stand there."
Sheng Wenzhi thought for a moment, probably figuring he could get off even if he got on the bus, so like Tang Sanzang who had mistakenly entered the Spider Cave, he lifted his robe and came in. He sat down next to Shang Yechu.
Shang Yechu cleared her throat and quickly organized her thoughts. Novelists are sentimental people, so the things that were useless to Taikang Group were just right to deal with Sheng Wenzhi.
"It all started two years ago..."
Shang Yechu spoke with great emotion and deep feeling, emphasizing the significance of Happiness Commercial Street to her and the potential tragedy that would befall her neighbors if they were evicted. Her acting talent was innate, flowing seamlessly from her performance. Sheng Wenzhi gradually became engrossed in listening. Shang Yechu winked at Aunt Cai in the rearview mirror, signaling her to drive quickly.
Shang Yechu spoke the whole way, portraying the filming of "Rules Street" as a completely noble and selfless act, and describing this dinner party as a great selfless sacrifice. Sheng Wenzhi listened, stunned.
Sheng Wenzhi's socialization level was very low. Shang Yechu had known this for a long time. Perhaps it was because he had just left school and went straight to writing full-time at home, resulting in him not having experienced much of the wickedness of human nature except for school bullying. These were things that Shang Yechu himself wanted to laugh at, but Sheng Wenzhi listened very attentively.
"Finally," Shang Yechu said, her mouth dry, "this President Shen is a pretentious person who likes to associate with cultured people. I only have a high school education, and you are more cultured than me. If you go, he will be easier to talk to."
Sheng Wenzhi swallowed hard, nodded, and a very serious expression appeared on his face: "I understand."
Fearing that he might act impulsively and cause trouble, Shang Yechu added, "If President Shen does anything improper later, as long as it's not too outrageous, just pretend you didn't see it."
Sheng Wenzhi looked like he was making a difficult decision, as if he were treating this dinner party as a battle.
Shang Yechu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't really want to bring Sheng Wenzhi to the dinner party: "This is too much trouble for you. Forget it, don't go upstairs. Just wait for me in the car."
Sheng Wenzhi's thinking differed from that of traditional men. A normal man, upon hearing such words, would likely be stirred by a sense of heroism, or, for the sake of face, grit his teeth and go on. Sheng Wenzhi, however, would treat these words as a pardon and leave without a word. Because his eyes were unwilling to witness these worldly hardships and calculations, he was a coward living in a dust-free shell.
Shang Yechu waited for Sheng Wenzhi to turn around and leave. Unexpectedly, Sheng Wenzhi gritted his teeth and thought for a while, then looked at Shang Yechu and nodded: "No, I want to go up with you."
Sheng Wenzhi must have taken the wrong medicine. Shang Yechu was somewhat at a loss: "No need—actually—"
Sheng Wenzhi tied her long, loose hair back and hesitated for a moment before saying, "I want to gather material."
All right!
For a moment, Shang Yechu almost burst out laughing. All the illusions he held about the person before him would be shattered by his own hands. Shang Yechu stopped refusing: "Okay. Let's go."
-----------
As soon as Shang Yechu entered the door, President Shen's eyes lit up, and he quickly came to greet her.
Mr. Shen was a well-off middle-aged man, somewhat balding, with taut, shiny skin, exuding the smug satisfaction typical of successful men. To avoid suspicion, he also brought one of his deputies to the dinner.
When President Shen saw that there were two more people behind Shang Yechu, he was taken aback. He recognized Shang Yechu's assistant, but who was the other one?
Shang Yechu introduced, "This is Xin Gui, the original author of 'Rules Street'."
Mr. Shen suddenly realized what was going on and hurriedly extended his hand warmly, saying, "I've heard so much about you." It was unclear who he was referring to.
Sheng Wenzhi abhorred physical contact with others. Upon seeing President Shen's hand, he frowned and instinctively tried to back away. Shang Yechu subtly nudged him in the waist from behind.
Sheng Wenzhi reluctantly took President Shen's hand and shook it.
The restaurant where Mr. Shen treated us was a private kitchen on the outskirts of Hengshi. Although it looked unassuming, reservations had to be made well in advance. The ordering method was also old-fashioned: each person had a wooden box in front of them containing a pen and an antique-style menu. Everyone simply marked their order on their own menu.
After gaining fame, Shang Ye attended many banquets. Even so, she was still slightly taken aback when she opened the menu.
"'A winding stone path leads up the cold mountain'?" Shang Ye began to read. "What is that?"
Mr. Shen seemed to be lost in thought. Seeing that the boss didn't answer, his deputy had no choice but to speak up: "Dry pot lamb spine. Would Miss Ye like to order this? Would you like to choose the lamb yourself, or have someone else choose it for you?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Yechu realized that this was a restaurant specializing in point-killing games.
The so-called "on-demand killing" refers to killing meat and vegetables to order. Some diners who are particularly demanding of freshness will even squat next to the meat and vegetables that have just died, reaching out with their chopsticks to pick up the freshest bite... the bite that has just crossed the line between life and death.
Although Shang Yechu did not abstain from meat, she was somewhat hypocritical—she refused to eat less meat when she was eating it, and she absolutely could not bear to witness the slaughtering of animals alive.
Therefore, with a slightly nauseating feeling, Shang Yechu politely declined, saying, "Ordering on my behalf is fine."
Sheng Wenzhi browsed the recipes with great interest, having completely forgotten his recent bitterness and resentment. As a writer, such interesting things easily piqued his interest.
Lost in his own world, Sheng Wenzhi didn't even hear the conversation between his assistant and Shang Yechu, and ordered five or six dishes in a row.
What about "not being afraid of floating clouds obscuring the view," what about "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," what about "returning the jade intact to Zhao," what about "how can one tell if I am male or female"...?
Contrary to Shang Yechu's expectations, President Shen did not do anything out of line. He didn't even glance at Shang Yechu, instead staring intently at something.
Shang Yechu followed his gaze and looked at Sheng Wenzhi, who was sketching on the menu with a pen.
At that moment, Shang Yechu's heart skipped a beat.
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