Hear this life

Chapter 102 Chapter 102

Ding Xiao’e’s visit made Wen Tingli realize how busy the company’s affairs were recently. When she was away, Sister Huang must have been very busy.

Fortunately, she was not seriously injured and had a good rest in recent days. She returned to work immediately. As soon as she returned, she immediately threw herself into the filming of “Twin Pearls” and helped Yu Peiling to plan the filming of a new drama.

It took only one and a half months to complete the remaining studio parts of “Twin Pearls”. At the same time, Xiufeng Pictures announced the official start of the new film “Paradise Garden” tailor-made for Yu Peiling.

To this end, Xiufeng held a grand opening ceremony. Many dignitaries and beautiful women came that day, and major newspapers, shareholders, and fans came to congratulate.
Among the shareholders, Gao Xiaowen was the happiest. She was Wen Tingli’s best friend and a senior fan of Yu Peiling. In the past, when the two’s movie schedules collided, Gao Xiaowen often had a headache about which premiere to go to. Now that the two beloved female stars were in the same company, how could she not be happy? That night, she drank several cocktails and laughed non-stop while drunk. In the end, Huang Yuanshan drove her home.

Although the studio scenes of “Twin Pearls” have been filmed, the outdoor scenes have not yet been completed. The original plan was to go to Shaobailing Ancient Road in Ningbo and other places to collect scenes, but considering that it is close to the end of the year and the weather is freezing cold there, they decided to wait until after the Lantern Festival before setting off.

On the Laba Festival, the weather was unusually cold. The fireplace in the living room was lit early. After breakfast, Wen Tingli was on the floor in front of the fireplace, talking on the phone. Beside her legs, there were a lot of gift boxes. The pile on the left was the holiday gifts she prepared for friends from all walks of life as the boss of Xiufeng, and they would be mailed out soon.

The other pile was gifts given to her by others, which she had not had time to open one by one.

“I’m resting at home today…” Wen Tingli lay on the edge of the sofa like a lazy cat, talking on the phone in a soft voice, “What about you? What did you eat this morning? Hey, I think I heard Gao Tingxin’s voice. Is he looking for you again for that amusement park project? … Did you forget something last night? Let me look for it. What kind of box is it? Do you need it urgently? I’ll ask Lao Li to send it to you as soon as I find it.”

As she listened, Wen Tingli burst out laughing.

“Mr. Lu is so arrogant…Okay, it’s not that I can’t deliver it to you personally, but you have to wait for me in the office alone. Also, prepare the food and drinks in advance like last time…Wait, I think I found it. It’s a square box, right? It’s so heavy, it fell under the coffee table.”

Lu Shicheng said on the other end: “Please help me open it and see if it is damaged. The board of directors is waiting to use it.”

Wen Tingli didn’t understand what was going on, so she put the receiver aside and carefully opened the box. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and inside was a ladies’ watch sparkling with diamonds.

The dazzling light was like a swimming silver snake, and it immediately swam into her heart.

She held her breath and took the watch off the box, tracing it carefully with her eyes. Through the transparent back case, she could clearly see the complex gears turning in the movement. A row of letters starting with “P” was engraved on the edge of the case. It was obviously the same brand as the Swiss watch that Lu Shicheng often wore, with a unique and delicate style.

She heard him say over there: “Do you like it? Happy New Year.”

Her heart had already been soaked in soft cream: “You really are…”

Long after she hung up the phone, she was still staring at the watch, smiling. It must have been specially customized for her, because she had never seen anyone else wearing a similar style.

She tried to put the watch on her wrist and it was exactly the same.

Mrs. Zhou came in and saw Wen Tingli smiling and in a daze, so she asked casually, “Will Mr. Lu come over for lunch?”

Wen Tingli jumped up and said, “If he doesn’t come, I won’t eat at home. You don’t have to leave any food for us. I have to go out.”

Compared with the New Year’s gift he gave her, she suddenly felt that the gift she prepared was not unique enough. She was eager to go out to the jewelry store for a look. At this time, Dong Qinfang called: “Come to my house quickly, Gao Xiaowen is not well!”

Wen Tingli drove to Dong Qinfang’s house in a hurry and went upstairs. Dong Qinfang’s bedroom door was open. Looking inside, she saw Gao Xiaowen lying on the couch under the window with several large suitcases at his feet.

Yan Zhenzhen and Zhao Qingluo were also there. They came out and said, “We noticed something was wrong with her a few days ago. Whenever she attends a banquet, she will not stop until she is drunk. In such cold weather today, she came to see Sister Qinfang with a lot of luggage for no apparent reason. When we asked her, she just said that she wanted to run away from home.”

Wen Tingli ran to the couch in two steps and touched Gao Xiaowen’s forehead. At least she didn’t have a fever, but she reeked of alcohol. Gao Xiaowen closed her eyes tightly and cried silently facing the inside of the sofa.

“What happened? Speak up, are you trying to drive us crazy?”

Gao Xiaowen wiped her tears and jumped up from the sofa. “We are both members of the Gao family. He, Gao Tingxin, can get whatever he wants. As for me, I just invested in a movie, but my father called me a prodigal and threatened to take back all my shares! Why? Is it that Gao Tingxin is the only one with the surname Gao, but I am not?”

She cried and shouted while waving away the hand that Zhao Qingluo stretched out to her: “In the past two years, how many business deals has Gao Tingxin lost money on? He couldn’t beat Sister Qinfang when he opened a department store. When he opened a restaurant, his business was not even one-tenth of that of the Jindong Hotel. When he bought land to build an amusement park, he was severely cheated by the Bailong Gang. After seeing Lu Shicheng making a fortune by investing in movies, he also followed suit and cooperated with Huang Jin. As a result, Huang Jin’s two new films failed to beat your “Spring Breeze Blows Again”, and he lost a lot of money. He has been so naughty, but my father still spoils him. When it comes to me, no matter what I say or do, it’s all wrong! Wen Tingli——”

She grabbed Wen Tingli’s arm sadly: “Others don’t know, but you know best. Tell me, is my Aoshuang powder selling well? I made a lot of money the first time I invested in a movie. Do you think I have a good business sense?”

“Yes.” Wen Tingli said earnestly, “Your ability is obvious to everyone.”

Gao Xiaowen fell back on the couch, tears streaming down her face as she said, “Obviously, I’m the one who knows how to make money, and Gao Tingxin is a real loser. But as long as I ask for some money from my family to do my own things, it’s like committing a capital crime! From today on, I’m no longer a member of the Gao family. I’m going to go out and start my own business. I want to see who will be more promising in the future! I’ve already bought the ticket, and I’m going to take the boat to Hong Kong tomorrow morning!”

Everyone was shocked: “Going to Hong Kong alone? No, it’s too risky. Don’t say such angry words.”

Dong Qinfang was calmer after all. She sighed and said, “Xiao Wen’s troubles have been going on for a long time. This time she is not just speaking in anger.”

Gao Xiaowen wiped her tears angrily, “This morning, my eldest brother took another sum of money to find Lu Shicheng, saying that the current situation is getting worse and worse, and making medicines might be profitable. He was crazy and wanted to invest in the Lu family’s pharmaceutical factory. Although Lu Shicheng ignored him in the end, my eldest brother planned to embezzle money. One of the sums I just recovered from the account of Dingxin Restaurant. It was agreed that I would own half of the restaurant, but he said he would embezzle it. I just quarreled with Gao Tingxin for a few words, and my father said that I was not allowed to interfere in the family business! I was so angry! In the past few years, I tried my best to prove myself in front of my father, but in the end it was all a joke. I, his daughter, was an outsider from beginning to end!”

Wen Tingli felt mixed emotions after hearing this. She gently held Gao Xiaowen’s hand. When she was about to speak, Gao Xiaowen shook her hand away in anger: “Why, do you want to persuade me to go home obediently?”

“I do want to advise you, but what I want to advise you is: words spoken are like water spilled. Once you take this step, you will no longer be the eldest daughter of the Gao family who lives on the Gao family. From now on, you have to handle everything by yourself. If I were you, I would either not move, or think carefully before moving.”

“What do you mean by thinking it through? I don’t believe that you had planned everything carefully in advance when you left Golden Pictures.”

“First of all, I knew exactly what I wanted. As soon as I walked out of the golden gate that day, I told myself that no matter how big the difficulties were, I would keep going. If I turned back when I hit a wall, it would only make my situation more difficult. With this belief, I was able to overcome all the difficulties and dangers.”

Gao Xiaowen felt inexplicably sad. She believed that these were all from the bottom of Wen Tingli’s heart, because she knew how Wen Tingli had come this far. She could not help but lean her head against the couch dejectedly: “To be honest, I’m a little scared. This step is too difficult… I’m unfamiliar with Hong Kong, and this trip will only be more difficult than what you and Sister Huang had gone through.”

“Then don’t leave. Either go to another place that’s a little closer to develop your career, or stay and live comfortably as your tall lady. You won’t be short of food or clothing anyway.”

“Never!” Gao Xiaowen’s anger rose again, “I can’t stand living under someone else’s control for even one more day!”

“This won’t work, and that won’t work either. It’s hard to have both in this world. You have to learn to make choices.” Dong Qinfang said helplessly.

Gao Xiaowen lowered her head in shame, thought for a while, raised her head and said, “I have thought it through. I have decided to take this path. I, Gao Xiaowen, am no worse than anyone else. Instead of staying at home as a ‘second-class citizen’, I might as well go out and try my luck. I don’t believe I can’t make a name for myself! I won’t get involved in unfamiliar businesses. As soon as I arrive in Hong Kong, I will set up a small cosmetics company, starting with the ‘Aoshuang’ powder cream that I have made. I will immediately contact local chemical companies and rent any suitable plots of land.”

Everyone was excited. Gao Xiaowen had the courage and drive that many people did not have. An optimistic and brave person would get up quickly even if he fell.

Wen Tingli said, “If I were you, I would find a way to bring more money from home before I left. Now is not the time to act on impulse. As long as your last name is Gao, you have a share of the Gao family. The more money you have, the easier it will be to go forward. You can’t let go of the interests you should fight for easily. If you leave without caring, it will really be a bargain for your brother.”

Gao Xiaowen’s eyes sparkled. What made her happy was not anything else, but the fact that her friends supported her decision so much. Her tone became more and more joyful: “Don’t worry, I have contacted Sister Yaqiao, and she will help me get my share.”

Gao Tingxin was quite straightforward. Without much ado, he converted half of the shares of Dingxin Restaurant into cash and gave it to his sister. But this incident also alarmed the elders of the Gao family. Mr. Gao was furious. He was just an old warlord. He made a fortune by chance by doing money with others. Although he is now rich, he still has the old ideas.

In his heart, his daughter would get married sooner or later, unlike his son, who would have to support the family in the future. His daughter’s unauthorized decision to start a business in Hong Kong was tantamount to violating his heavenly law. He immediately took strict precautions and would not allow his daughter to take even a penny more from the public account.

In the end, Gao Xiaowen only got 30,000 yuan from her family, which was much less than she had initially estimated. The key point was that she couldn’t go home after making such a fuss. The only way left for her was to go to Hong Kong to seek development on her own.

Her friends were worried that she would suffer before she could even start her own business, so they scraped together some money and forced Gao Xiaowen to accept it.

After Wen Tingli and Huang Yuanshan discussed it, they decided to give all the money the company had planned to invest in the new film to Gao Xiaowen.

This was a large sum of money, and Gao Xiaowen refused to accept it. Huang Yuanshan scolded her, “When we founded the company, you were very happy to give us money. Now that you want to start your own business, you don’t want us to help you. Don’t you regard us as your friends at all?”

Wen Tingli and others sent Gao Xiaowen on board, and hurriedly helped her settle in the guest room, and were reluctant to get off the boat.

Seeing that Gao Xiaowen couldn’t even boil an egg, Zhao Qingluo couldn’t help crying: “Look at her, she doesn’t know how to do anything. If she goes there, she might starve to death.”

Gao Xiaowen spat, “Not only will I not starve to death, I will also be able to run a company. But you, who aspires to be a great lawyer, are sentimental all day long. Have you ever seen your idol Sister Yaqiao cry? Yan Zhenzhen, don’t hide over there and wipe your tears secretly. I’m still waiting for you to send me the new chapter of your novel.”

But even though she said this, she couldn’t help but hug Yan Zhenzhen and Zhao Qingluo and burst into tears.

Wen Tingli copied her and Kuang Zhilin’s phone numbers to Gao Xiaowen and said, “Remember, you are much stronger than you think. Only when you learn to solve problems can you grow rapidly. But if you really can’t handle it, don’t resist. Call us immediately.”

Gao Xiaowen pretended to be angry and drove them all off the boat, but she ran out of the cabin the next moment, hid behind the crowd on the deck, wiping her tears and looking down.

Wen Tingli and the others stood on the dock, reluctant to leave for a long time, until the ship turned into a black dot, and then they withdrew their gaze with great disappointment.

***
After Gao Xiaowen left, Huang Yuanshan and Wen Tingli started to worry about funds.

Although “Spring Breeze” was a box office hit, all the box office revenue was donated to the “Help Women Workers” Foundation Association.

Wen Tingli has taken on a lot of advertising recently, but the expenses before the New Year are too high. As soon as the money arrives, she has to use it to settle accounts with external partners. The other part needs to be distributed to employees as year-end compensation. A lot of the investment money from Miss Ge and others has been spent in the early stage, and the rest has been invested in Yu Peiling’s new film. A while ago, she finally saved up some money and gave it to Gao Xiaowen in one go.

The two men discussed over and over again and decided that if they wanted to recover the funds quickly, the best way would be to release “Double Pearls” ahead of schedule, preferably during the New Year holidays, so that the box office would be more ideal. Anyway, the scenes in the studio have been edited almost completely, with only a few outdoor scenes left to shoot, so they might as well set off early to Shaobai Mountain to shoot the outdoor scenes.

This proposal was approved by the entire company. Coincidentally, it snowed a few times in the area, and everyone in the crew was very excited. The main plot of the last scene was that the heroine Zhu’er gave up her fantasy and went down the mountain with a knife to seek revenge. During the filming, if Wen Tingli was wearing a black knight costume and walking alone in the white snow-capped mountains, such a scene would have been breathtaking.

By the time everything was ready, there were only two days left until New Year’s Eve. As a result, not only would the originally planned trip to Nanjing have to be postponed, but I wouldn’t even be able to spend New Year’s Eve at home.

Mrs. Zhou was busy helping Wen Tingli pack her luggage, and she kept muttering, “I’ve never seen anyone so busy. Can’t you just spend the New Year in peace and then go out to film? Mr. Lu doesn’t care about you!”

“Mr. Lu won’t nag me.” Wen Tingli stuffed the folded clothes into the suitcase one by one. “Running a company is not a joke. You can’t do whatever you want. Besides, the film market in Shanghai is so competitive. If you don’t fight, there are plenty of people who will easily leave you behind.”

“I feel bad for you being so busy and toiling. Also, Xiao Taozi, this is the first time that you, as a sister, will not be at home for the New Year. When other families are bustling, ours will be deserted. What if this child starts to make a fuss?”

This is what Wen Tingli was most worried about. For this reason, she bought stacks of fairy tale books and several large boxes of building blocks for Xiao Taozi in advance, for fear that Xiao Taozi would feel bored at home.

She also asked Yan Zhenzhen and Zhao Qingluo to come and play with Xiao Taozi when they were free, but they both had to stay at home during the two days of the New Year and could not be with Xiao Taozi the whole day.

Fortunately, there is Lu Shicheng.

He promised her that during the days she was away, he would often take Mrs. Zhou and Xiao Taozi to the Great World Amusement Park to play. When they got tired of playing in the amusement park, he would take Xiao Taozi to the tennis court to learn tennis, to Maofeng Park to play with other children, to the bookstore to read, and to the department store to buy clothes and toys. In short, he had arranged a lot of programs.

Wen Tingli was relieved. Lu Shicheng was always patient. With him taking care of her, she was not afraid that Xiao Taozi and Zhou Sao would be lonely. But she felt a little regretful. On New Year’s Eve, when all the houses were lit up and having reunion dinners, she had to leave home to film.

Before leaving that night, she thought Lu Shicheng would come to see her off, but unexpectedly something urgent happened at the pharmaceutical factory, and she waited until the ship set sail but did not see him show up.

Wen Tingli suddenly felt lost. She leaned against the side of the boat and looked out. She inadvertently discovered that Zhou Wei and others had also mixed in with the crowd and got on the boat.

In the evening of the next day, the ship arrived safely at Ningbo Port. As soon as they got off the ship, a bus came to pick them up. This was arranged by Tan Guiwang in advance, and one bus was just enough to accommodate the entire crew.

Zhou Wei and others got into another car and followed their car from a distance.

As soon as the car drove into the suburbs, the road became a bit difficult to drive on. We stopped and started many times, and still hadn’t reached our destination by dusk. Everyone was so hungry that they asked the driver to stop at a restaurant on the side of the road until they had filled their stomachs before continuing on their journey.

Tan Guiwang said hurriedly, “The Baoguang Temple is in front of us. The vegetarian dishes here are well-known far and wide. Whenever dignitaries come to Shaobaidao Ancient Temple to enjoy the snow, they always stop by this Baofo Temple. That day, I used a lot of connections to book a table in advance. It’s almost time to arrive.”

Not long after walking, we saw a Buddhist temple. There were towering old trees planted inside the walls, and the sound of Buddhist chants could be heard constantly in the temple. There were a dozen luxurious rickshaws parked at the gate of the temple. It was a very grand occasion, and it was obvious that some wealthy families were traveling together.

Everyone was thankful that Tan Guiwang had booked a table in advance, otherwise if they had walked in rashly at this time, they might not have had any food to eat. As they were talking, several ladies got out of the rickshaw.

Wen Tingli looked carefully and found that she recognized most of them, not to mention Mrs. Qiao. She had also dealt with Mrs. Zhou and her daughter twice before.

Huang Yuanshan laughed quietly in the car, “Today is not an auspicious day. It’s okay to run into Aunt Jiang. But I really don’t want to see Mrs. Zhou. Last time at Gao’s house, she was so cold to you that I thought you had offended her. Later, when I saw her bringing her daughter to Lu Shicheng, I understood what was going on.”

Wen Tingli did not comment.

“I heard that Mrs. Zhou’s husband is very popular in Nanjing now. In order to support her husband’s career, she was determined to find a good marriage for her daughter. Somehow she decided that Lu Shicheng was a good son-in-law. In her opinion, most of the Lu family’s assets are in Southeast Asia. No matter what the domestic war will be like in the future, it will have little impact on the Lu family. So when she arrived in Shanghai, she asked around about Lu Shicheng’s preferences and tried every means to let her daughter meet Lu Shicheng.”

At this point, Huang Yuanshan shook his head and laughed, “I guess Lu Shicheng said something to her later, and one day she suddenly didn’t dare to approach him. I don’t know who told her about your relationship with Lu Shicheng, so she put the blame on you. If she causes trouble for you later, ignore her, I’ll deal with her.”

As they were talking, the two got out of the car and went to burn incense in front of the Buddha statue in the main hall. After coming out, Huang Yuanshan went to wash his hands. Wen Tingli was wandering around the temple alone. Just as she reached the door of the side yard, she didn’t notice a pile of residual snow on the ground and slipped.

Wen Tingli herself didn’t think much of it, she clapped her hands and was about to stand up, but someone sneered in front of her: “It’s her.”

When she looked up, she saw several wealthy ladies dressed in jewels and precious stones standing opposite her. One of them was Mrs. Qiao. When she saw Wen Tingli fall, Mrs. Qiao didn’t say anything.

Strangely enough, ever since Qiao Baoxin came back to Shanghai, Mrs. Qiao’s hostility towards her seemed to have disappeared, but Mrs. Zhou smiled happily: “Isn’t this the famous star named Wen? You’re out for a leisurely stroll during the New Year?” Another lady said: “How can she be so free? I heard she’s out to film a movie. It’s not easy to make money in this industry. Mrs. Zhou, the ground over there is slippery, let’s not go over there.”

Mrs. Zhou turned away and said, “Okay, let’s go somewhere else.”

The person walked away, but a voice drifted over: “What big star? To put it bluntly, she is just an actor. Look, she is still working hard outside to perform during the New Year, and no one cares about her well-being.”

Wen Tingli was not angry at all. Instead, she found it ridiculous. Just as she was about to stand up, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and held her arm steadily.

Wen Tingli thought it was Huang Yuanshan and let her help her up, but when she turned around, she met Meng Qiguang’s eyes looking down at her.

“Mr. Meng.”

Thinking of what happened at Gao’s house that night, he pulled his hand back without thinking.

Meng Qiguang was clearly passing by by chance. He glanced at the backs of the group of ladies, then glanced at Wen Tingli’s dirty hands.

Wen Tingli took out her handkerchief and wiped it. Meng Qiguang looked around and said, “It’s such a long way, and he sent two followers to follow you?”

“what?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Hasn’t he learned enough from the White Dragon Gang incident last time?”

Wen Tingli was about to respond, but Meng Qiguang suddenly turned around and greeted the person in front of him as if nothing had happened: “Sister Huang.”

It turned out to be Huang Yuanshan who came over: “Qiguang? Why are you here too?”

“I’ve been discussing business in Ningbo these days. My cousin wanted to go up the mountain to enjoy the snow, so I gave her a ride.”

Without waiting for Huang Yuanshan to approach, he suddenly lowered his voice and said, “Don’t you think what Mrs. Zhou said makes sense? It’s New Year’s Day, and he left you alone to film outside. It’s obvious that he doesn’t take you seriously.”

His expression was half true and half false, and his tone was also half true and half false. He was obviously enjoying this kind of trick of sowing discord. In fact, after so many things happened, Meng Qiguang no longer pretended in front of her. He began to be completely himself. As a result, the atmosphere between the two of them became a little more relaxed. They were like two old acquaintances who knew each other well but would never be together, but they were not enemies either.

Thinking about it, the relationship between people is really complicated. She stared at him, and he looked forward with a smile: “No matter how bad I am, I will not let my woman go out to drink cold air on New Year’s Day. I feel sorry for you.”

She sneered: “Thank you, Mr. Meng, for not being worthy of me.”

As they were talking, Huang Yuanshan had already walked up to them, and they both stopped talking at the same time.

***
After dinner, the crew rushed to the nearby Binrugui Hotel to stay. Coincidentally, Mrs. Zhou, Mrs. Qiao and others were also staying in the same hotel.

Mrs. Zhou and her daughter were very stylish, with more than a dozen boxes and five or six followers. They held hand warmers and directed the followers to move the luggage in front of the inn. Suddenly, they saw Wen Tingli struggling to help her colleagues carry things upstairs. Mrs. Zhou shook her head in disbelief: “How can she be called a lady? I think she is very barbaric.”

This time, the crew had a limited budget, so Wen Tingli and the others lived in the front building, which was relatively simple, while Mrs. Qiao and the others lived in the back building. Zhou Wei and the others also lived in the front building, probably to take care of Wen Tingli nearby, but in front of outsiders, they always pretended not to know each other.

Wen Tingli went into the room to put her luggage away, but found that there was not even a kettle in the room. She hurried downstairs to ask the waiter for one. Suddenly, she heard a lot of noise in the backyard. She looked through the window towards the patio and saw several ladies sitting by the stove playing cards.

Miss Zhou complained, “Mom, this place is not interesting at all. Anyway, we have already seen the snow and worshipped Buddha. Let’s go back to Shanghai tomorrow morning.”

“Silly child, even if you didn’t tell me, Mom would have taken you home earlier. The New Year is the day after tomorrow, and there are still a lot of things waiting to be done at home. Mrs. Qiao, will Mr. Meng also come down the mountain tomorrow?”

“He said he wanted to stay here for two nights and maybe go down the mountain the day after tomorrow.”

“What’s so good about staying in this shabby place? Hey, are you thinking about that female star? These young men are like lost souls when they see beautiful women.”

Wen Tingli thought that Mrs. Qiao would take the opportunity to say bad things about her, but she just smiled and threw a card to the other lady: “Two cakes.”

Mrs. Zhou was a little embarrassed, and another lady came to her rescue: “Everyone says Shaobai Road has beautiful scenery, but I think it’s just a desolate mountain. Only a few actors are willing to suffer in such a place to earn a few coins. Staying in the empty mountain during the New Year’s Day is like a wandering ghost.”

Wen Tingli went downstairs and saw the waiter. She hurriedly asked him where the public telephone was. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a car outside, as if a new guest had arrived.

Wen Tingli didn’t pay much attention to it, but hurried footsteps sounded in the corridor, and Huang Yuanshan poked his head in and said with a smile: “Come out quickly.”

Wen Tingli ran out in confusion and saw two figures, one tall and one short, standing in the courtyard. The courtyard was pitch dark, but she still recognized who they were at a glance.

She was stunned for a moment, afraid that she had seen it wrong. In the end, Mrs. Zhou, who was standing behind the two people, smiled and called out, “Miss.”

Wen Tingli ran towards them in ecstasy: “Why are you here?!”

Lu Shicheng: “Xiao Taozi misses you, and I miss you too, so we just came to find you together.”

Wen Tingli stared into his eyes, joy filling her heart: “I, you – I’m so happy.”

Little Peach jumped up and down beside her sister’s legs: “Mr. Lu said he wanted to give me a surprise, are you surprised?”

“Surprise! Surprise!” Wen Tingli squatted down and kissed her sister’s cheeks non-stop.

The hotel owner came over upon hearing the news and said enthusiastically, “Mr. Lu, please come in.” It turned out that Kuang Zhilin had booked two upper rooms for Lu Shicheng in advance, one for Lu Shicheng and one for Mrs. Zhou and Xiao Taozi.

While waiting for a room to be booked, Lu Shicheng walked around Wen Tingli’s room with his hands in his trouser pockets.

Facing the mottled walls, rusty iron pipes, and creaking wooden floors, he could not help but be silent for a while. He called the waiter in and said, “Send my things to this room, and take Miss Wen’s suitcase to the back building. I want to change rooms with her.”

Wen Tingli stopped him hurriedly: “What’s there to change? Sister Huang is next door, and she and I have things to discuss at any time at night. If you move to this room, everything will be inconvenient. Besides, your upper room is not much better than mine, it’s just a little bigger. You touch my mattress. I said I was afraid of the cold, so the boss helped me spread three layers of thick mattresses. Your room may not be as warm as mine.”

They deliberately left the door open to talk, and later went downstairs together to find Mrs. Zhou and Xiao Taozi. It was the first time that Xiao Taozi saw such thick snow, and she couldn’t wait to run to the yard to make a snowman.

They ran into Meng Qiguang and Mrs. Zhou. Mrs. Zhou might have heard the news long ago, and she looked a little embarrassed. She took the initiative to greet Lu Shicheng: “Mr. Lu, what a coincidence.”

He signaled to his daughter with his eyes to say hello to Lu Shicheng, and Miss Zhou pouted and turned her head away.

Lu Shicheng didn’t say anything, because all his attention was on Meng Qiguang. He was quite surprised that Meng Qiguang was also here!

He and Wen Tingli were originally walking one after the other. When he saw this, he immediately took his hand out of his trouser pocket and naturally held Wen Tingli’s hand behind him.

Wen Tingli’s heart was moved, and she subconsciously wanted to pull her hand back, but Lu Shicheng refused to let go. He just glanced at Meng Qiguang in front of him. She held back her smile and let him lead her.

Lu Shicheng didn’t let go of her hand until the group left.

“What if Mrs. Zhou goes back and talks nonsense?” she asked him.

“She doesn’t dare to pay attention to them. I’m hungry, can you accompany me to eat?”

Before dawn the next day, Mrs. Qiao and Mrs. Zhou were escorted down the mountain by Meng Qiguang, while Lu Shicheng and his party stayed behind.

On the night of New Year’s Eve, Wen Tingli and Lu Shicheng stayed up by the fire.

When in Shanghai, everyone is busy with right and wrong, gains and losses, so there is never enough time.

Once in the mountains, time slows down. From dusk to bedtime, there is plenty of time to waste. Like now, facing the flickering firelight, my heart is empty and I have no thoughts. All worldly worries are thrown behind me.

Wen Tingli leaned her head on Lu Shicheng’s shoulder and talked to him in a casual manner.

“Listen, that rustling sound, could it be that a wild beast is coming?”

Lu Shicheng listened carefully and said, “No, that’s the sound of snow falling from the treetops. At this time of year, most of the wild animals in the mountains are hibernating. Are you afraid?”

“A little bit. I heard that sometimes when they are very hungry, they will run to the farmhouse to steal chickens.”

“It was almost spring, and it wasn’t considered stealing. The deep mountains and old forests are their territory. It’s the people who came here to disturb them or even hunt them. It’s just a few chickens that were taken away, there’s nothing to complain about.”

“That’s right.” Wen Tingli chuckled. “I didn’t expect Mr. Lu to have so many twisted ideas. I thought I was the only one who often had sudden ideas. Look at the star above your head. It’s really bright. It must be the North Star. It seems to always be there, no matter spring, summer, autumn or winter.”

She suddenly remembered something and picked up a stick of firewood from the ground and handed it to Lu Shicheng: “How about we make a wish? Xiao Taozi said this morning that New Year’s Eve is the time when the old year turns to the new year. Write down your wish under the brightest star tonight, and it will surely come true.”

Lu Shicheng twirled the fire stick in his hand and said with a smile, “That was just something the kindergarten teacher made up to trick the kids into practicing calligraphy during the winter break. You took it seriously.”

“It’s fun. You won’t lose any meat if you try.” She pushed him and turned around. “You write yours, but you are not allowed to peek at mine.”

She picked up another stick of firewood and started writing on the ground. When she was sure he had finished, she leaned over to take a look.

But when she turned around, Lu Shicheng covered her eyes with his hands.

“You’re playing dirty again. Who said you can’t peek?”

“How stingy! How about I show you mine too?”

He refused to let go, so she pretended to bite his finger. As soon as she bit it, Lu Shicheng pulled his hand back as if he had been electrocuted. He opened his eyes, lowered his eyebrows to look at his fingertips, then raised his eyes to look at her without saying a word.

Wen Tingli didn’t understand why he reacted so strongly. Later, she began to realize something. Her heart was pounding and she looked at him without blinking.

Lu Shicheng leaned over, held the back of her head and kissed her lips. His breath and body were so hot, and he exuded an alluring and dangerous aura. Under his seduction, her breathing inexplicably began to tremble. They kissed for a long time before breaking up.

Then someone came and asked: “Are those two in the backyard?”

Wen Tingli hurriedly stretched out her foot to wipe the line of words that had just been written on the ground. In the midst of her busy schedule, she did not forget to steal a glance in his direction.

They both made the same wish.

On the way back, she asked him, “Did you peek at mine?”

“No.”

“Then why is it exactly the same?”

“Who knows? Maybe you copied me.”

“You are the thief crying thief.”

“Who is the thief? Anyway, I wasn’t the one peeping.”

“I don’t believe it. You might as well say: We two are so in tune with each other. There is no one in the world who can understand each other better than us.”

“We two are so in tune with each other. There’s no one in heaven or on earth who can understand us better than we do.” He spoke loudly to the stars above his head.

She couldn’t stop laughing.

Wen Tingli filmed in the mountains for ten days, and Lu Shicheng and others also stayed in the mountains for a full ten days.

By the time they went down the mountain together, the New Year was over.

(End of this chapter)