191: hypocritical jealousy

Shen Lian was sensitive to the cold, so he didn't stay out for long before coming back. The excitement in his eyes hadn't faded yet as he drained the ginger tea Aunt Fen handed him.

Over the next month, Shen Lian attended two events and signed three endorsements. Hu Kailan didn't push him anymore, and neither Dai Tong nor Director Zhao had any good scripts. It seemed as though everything around him was intentionally slowing Shen Lian down.

In December, Qudu officially welcomed its first heavy snowfall.

It snowed for three days, with fierce winds raging, making it so cold that no one wanted to step outside.

On this day, while Shen Lian was making tea over a stove, Feng Yueshan called: "Teacher Shen, Mount Fuqing is open. I have a ski resort there. Want to go?"

Shen Lian's eyes lit up. "Sure, I'll go tell Yilan."

Chu Yilan was at the company. This man went to work regardless of the wind or snow—unless it was early morning and a certain Shen person was whimpering and clinging to him. Since a project had just finished, Chu Yilan had also been planning to take Shen Lian somewhere to relax, so Feng Yueshan's suggestion was perfect.

The time was set for two days later. Chu Yilan had originally planned to pick up Shen Lian and head to Mount Fuqing after his meeting, but an old business partner came to visit, and it was estimated to delay him until the afternoon. Shen Lian was getting bored at home, and Feng Yueshan and the others had already arrived yesterday, so it wouldn't be boring to go now. Thus, Chu Yilan had Sun Binghe pick him up so they could go and have fun first.

Although Assistant Sun had incredible combat power, he felt a bit exhausted by meetings. After all, watching that group of people constantly making mistakes was quite torturous.

So, for the task assigned by Master Chu, Sun Binghe took the car keys and left.

"Playful," Yang Bin smiled.

"Who's playful? Binghe?" Chu Yilan replied. "Listen to yourself. Does that sound reasonable? Among the workaholics at Hengtai, besides me, it was him; you'd have to take a back seat."

Yang Bin: "..."

Today's meeting wasn't chaired by Assistant Sun. The moment they saw Assistant Yang, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, looking as if they wanted to pop a bottle of champagne right then and there to celebrate.

Sun Binghe was also in a good mood. He drove Chu Yilan's car and arrived at the villa entrance without any trouble. Shen Lian was dressed warmly, and from a distance, something fluffy seemed to be crawling around his feet. As he got closer and lowered the car window, Sun Binghe saw a bunch of kittens.

"Binghe," Shen Lian greeted with a smile, while picking off the "little pendants" that were constantly climbing onto him. "These are the great achievements of my Zhu Mi. What do you think? Aren't they cute?"

Sun Binghe nodded: "Cute."

"If you like them, I'll give you one."

Sun Binghe hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, then shook his head: "Never mind."

He was only occasionally free. Out of twelve months in a year, he was busy for almost eleven and a half. He wouldn't have time to take care of one.

Shen Lian must have thought of this too, as he didn't insist. He shooed the little balls of fur back into the room and got into the car.

Chu Yilan had told him on the phone that he might be late.

"Do you think Zhou Yuanlin is there?" Shen Lian asked curiously.

Sun Binghe turned the steering wheel: "If he is, he'd better hide well."

Shen Lian couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Zhou Yuanlin and Sun Binghe had been playing "hide and seek" for a while now. This person's danger radar must have been turned up to the maximum, as he had narrowly escaped several times.

Assistant Sun believed a person could be lucky once, but he didn't believe they could be lucky forever.

Shen Lian and Sun Binghe had much to talk about. No matter the topic, the two could ramble on. Shen Lian didn't consider himself a "top student," but Sun Binghe had long understood his personal strength. Between smart people, the flow of conversation was exceptionally smooth.

While waiting at a red light, a gust of wind howled, and large snowflakes began to fall.

Shen Lian lowered the car window halfway and looked up; the sky was a murky gray.

"The snow is so heavy," Sun Binghe said.

Shen Lian replied, "Yeah."

Suddenly, Shen Lian's sharp nerves were piqued. He shifted his gaze, landing precisely on a certain spot, but there was only a traffic jam and not a single pedestrian in sight.

Sandwiched between two small cars was an ordinary commercial van, its body stained with mud and looking dull and gray.

Shen Lian didn't see anything. He watched for a moment and then closed the window after Sun Binghe started the car.

Inside that commercial van, someone gripped the steering wheel with both hands, trembling slightly from the force. Within their heavy breathing was an irrepressible hatred.

Shen Lian's smile just now was truly a picture of peaceful times; every look and gesture exuded a delicate and expensive air from being pampered. The few times he had been caught on camera entering or leaving restaurants, he had trended without exception. Because no matter how blurry the image, his handsome composure had become a quality that pierced through the screen. The entertainment industry jokingly said that "fame nourishes a person," but Zheng Ge knew it was more than that.

He had seen it once. After an event ended, Shen Lian walked backstage amidst flowers and applause. That was already a level of brilliance unreachable for ordinary people. Zheng Ge's presence there had nothing to do with the event; there was a KTV at the top of the mall, and he had been invited to accompany guests for drinks.

How ironic. Zheng Ge thought he would never be involved in such things in his life, but in just a few short months, his dignity had been shattered until it was worthless.

That wasn't all. Just as Zheng Ge took a deep breath and intended to leave, a black G-Wagon slowly drove up to Shen Lian. Chu Yilan got out of the car. The two said something, Chu Yilan smiled, and then he took off his coat and draped it over Shen Lian's shoulders.

Zheng Ge suddenly couldn't move.

Zheng Ge wasn't entirely stung by their intimacy; he had simply never seen such a gentle and peaceful side of Chu Yilan. It was as if a walking corpse of a puppet had finally come to life.

And the person who injected life into him was Shen Lian.

Zheng Ge didn't want a refined puppet because it wasn't warm enough, but compared to Chu Yilan showing true love, he would rather the puppet be kept on a high shelf where he couldn't have it, but no one else could touch it either.

"Liar!" The words Zhou Tangsi screamed with a distorted face on the day they had a falling out with him rang in his ears: "Zheng Ge, you're really something. I didn't check your past before, but now that I have, I can't believe it. The person I once gave my heart to is indeed as Zhou Tangru said—hypocritical, petty, and vain. You say I failed you, but wasn't it you who lied to me first!!!"

Vroom—

Zheng Ge stepped on the gas, driving the beat-up car as if it were a Ferrari. Almost as if he had lost his mind, he brushed past a nearby car, causing the other driver to honk furiously and lean out to curse.

Meanwhile, Shen Lian and Sun Binghe finished bragging about their middle school achievements and planned to move on to high school.

Before that, they took a sip of water.

"Want some?" Shen Lian unscrewed the bottle cap.

Sun Binghe reached out: "Sure."

Shen Lian inadvertently glanced at the rearview mirror and noticed a commercial van not too far behind.

They had now entered the highway outside the city. In the distance, Mount Fuqing was an expanse of white, slightly darker than the sky, like a water stain accidentally dropped onto rice paper.

Zheng Ge quickly guessed where Shen Lian was going.

Ding Tian International's project development on Mount Fuqing was in full swing with constant promotional ads. Given Shen Lian's good relationship with Feng Yueshan, he was most likely headed there.