Chapter 44

Qu Yanting stared at the bedside lamp. That sliver of light seemed to shine right into his heart, covering up the accumulated unpleasant matters, but reason reminded him that the lamp belonged to someone else, and the light was not his own.

He turned off the lamp. Rather than a response, it was more of a tactful evasion. “Ye Xiaowu, are you still in character?”

Lu Wen said, “I'm serious.”

Qu Yanting got up, smoothing the wrinkles on the bedsheet, and joked, “I said I see you as a younger brother, but you don't really have to go through fire and water for your brother.”

Lu Wen got up too. “Even if we were just ordinary friends, I'd help if I could, not to mention how much you've looked after me on set.”

Qu Yanting blurted out, “I don't need you to repay my kindness.”

Qu Yanting said the last few words in a frosty tone. Lu Wen was a bit at a loss. A minor celebrity like him trying to solve a major screenwriter's troubles was perhaps too presumptuous.

After standing rigidly by the bed for a few seconds, Lu Wen said, as if in self-mockery and apology, “I've overstepped.”

Qu Yanting pulled back from his impulse. He understood Lu Wen meant well, but unfortunately, the adult world was full of troubles, and no one could truly help anyone else. He said, “I'm sorry, my tone was off.”

Lu Wen didn't mind. “Teacher Qu, I might not be capable enough right now, but if you need me, I'll definitely do my best.”

Qu Yanting's demands of this world were not high at all. He didn't need a savior from the heavens or a solid backer; he just wanted someone to offer a bit of comfort when he was exhausted and struggling to hold on alone.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely.

It was dark, and the garden pool behind the building was hard to see, so he just glanced at it from the balcony. Lu Wen had turned the accident report into a new house tour, and only at the end did they go to the garage to check his car.

A small problem. Lu Wen said nonchalantly, “Just leave it with the auto shop. I haven't driven it in months anyway. After it's fixed, they can do some maintenance on it too.”

Qu Yanting said, “Let me know the cost, I'll transfer it to you.”

Lu Wen remembered the 'younger brother' comment and said playfully, “Aiya, Teacher Qu, why would we two brothers quibble over money? It hurts the feelings.”

“Even blood brothers must keep clear accounts.” Qu Yanting wouldn't banter with him. It was getting late, and he had to get home quickly to attend to Commander Huang. “Are you staying here tonight?”

Lu Wen shook his head; he remembered he had something on tonight.

“Fuck!” He slapped his forehead. He had plans with Gu Zhuoyan, Lian Yiming, and Su Wang tonight, and he had completely forgotten!

Qu Yanting, being at fault for the accident, was willing to act as a driver. He dangled the car keys in front of Lu Wen. “Let's go, I'll give you a ride.”

They left the villa and locked the door. Qu Yanting got in the car first. Lu Wen habitually opened the back door and was scolded, “What country's leader are you?” then sheepishly slipped into the passenger seat.

The Bentley's headlights flashed as it drove out. Lu Wen's heart surged with the sound of the engine. Once, he had been kicked out of Qu Yanting's car; now, Qu Yanting was personally driving him. Was there a more inspirational story in the entertainment industry?

“Where to?” Qu Yanting asked.

Lu Wen said, “The Sofitel Hotel on Yunzhang Road.”

Leaving Zishan Grand Residences, Qu Yanting turned onto the main road. Suddenly, the two boxes of condoms jumped into his mind. He glanced at Lu Wen's profile out of the corner of his eye, and the question slipped out from his lips, “Going to get a room?”

“Yeah.” Lu Wen took out his phone to find the room number Lian Yiming had sent him last night.

Tapping his index finger on the steering wheel, Qu Yanting said, “Don't hook up carelessly. If you ever get famous, something like this could be a big deal or a small one when it gets dug up.”

“Don't worry, I only hooked up with three—”

The end of the sentence died in his throat. Lu Wen belatedly understood what Qu Yanting meant. He turned with an astonished face, looking just like an innocent maiden whose purity had been slandered. “I'm meeting my childhood friends! Three guys!”

Qu Yanting was stunned by the yelling. “Oh...”

“What do you mean, oh?” Lu Wen pulled his seatbelt tight. “With an imagination like yours, no wonder you're a screenwriter.”

He who touches pitch shall be defiled. Qu Yanting had also learned to be shameless. “You praise me too highly.”

Lu Wen muttered, “You shouldn't have thought that in the first place. I'm not the type to mess around, and even if I were, I wouldn't dare... to save my own skin. My dad would kill me.”

Since they had met, the word 'dad' was quite a high-frequency term. Qu Yanting asked, “Is your dad very strict?”

“Not strict,” Lu Wen answered. “He's ruthless.”

The streetlights in front of the Sofitel were a kaleidoscope of colors. The car pulled over to the side, and colorful light shone into the cabin through the windshield. Qu Yanting didn't turn off the engine, turning his head to watch Lu Wen get out.

Unbuckling his seatbelt, Lu Wen remained seated. “Teacher Qu, did you forget something?”

Qu Yanting asked, “What is it?”

“That poem.” Lu Wen also tilted his head, meeting the other's gaze in the dim car. “The Nabokov poem you left for me, you still haven't explained what it means.”

Qu Yanting hadn't forgotten. He said, “I saw the ginkgo leaves, so—”

“I'm going to be late,” Lu Wen interrupted him. “Tell me next time we meet.”

How could Qu Yanting not see through Lu Wen's intentions? He agreed, “Okay.”

Lu Wen immediately asked, “Then when will we meet again?”

“Whenever we're both free, I suppose.” Qu Yanting was taken aback by the question, as if meeting up required overcoming immense difficulties. “Don't we have WeChat? We can just set something up.”

“Damn!” Lu Wen looked as if he had just missed out on a billion. “So I could have just asked you out directly?!”

Qu Yanting couldn't stand his foolishness and gave Lu Wen's face a push. Lu Wen yelped in pain, clutching his vulnerable nose.

“Sorry, I forgot...” Qu Yanting brushed away Lu Wen's hand covering his face, lifted the other's well-defined chin, his thumb rubbing against the skin, feeling the layer of stubble.

He leaned in closer. “Let me see.”

Lu Wen held his breath. It was the first time someone had held his face to examine it. 'I don't have any pimples on my chin, do I? No blackheads on my nose, right? My pores aren't huge, are they?' He was overwhelmed by a jumble of anxieties, his face flushing red.

“It's not bleeding.” Qu Yanting finished his inspection and let go. “It should stop hurting after a couple of days.”

His chin now unsupported, Lu Wen said, “Are you sure it's okay... Did you get a clear look?”

Qu Yanting bent his index finger and gently flicked Lu Wen's nose. “Don't be such a delicate big boy. Go on and have fun.”

Lu Wen had no comeback. He obediently got out of the car and waved at the rear of the Bentley from the roadside until its silhouette was out of sight. He then stuck his hands in his pockets and turned to walk into the hotel's outer entrance.

A car behind him honked.

Lu Wen moved to the side, and it fucking honked again.

“The road is so wide, you asshole...” Lu Wen yelled as he turned around, but stopped cursing.

In the driver's seat behind the glass, Gu Zhuoyan was dressed in a sharp suit, one hand on the steering wheel, a cigarette between his lips. He raised his eyebrows at him, looking handsome and dashing.

Lu Wen exclaimed excitedly, “Bro!”

Gu Zhuoyan rolled down the window, leaned his head out, and sighed, “I fucking missed you, man.”

Lu Wen waited for Gu Zhuoyan to park the car, and they went up to the luxury suite together.

Lian Yiming and Su Wang were already there. Lian Yiming opened the door, and Su Wang was standing in the entryway. The moment the door opened, Lu Wen launched himself forward, hugging his good friend tightly. “—Ming-zi!”

“Hey, what about me?” Su Wang came over from the side and was pulled into a one-armed hug by Lu Wen. He shouted, “You, dumbass, are finally back!”

Gu Zhuoyan closed the door, changed into slippers, and wrapped his arms around the outside of the group hug. The four of them had known each other since their first-month celebrations, possessed drooling, bare-bottomed childhood photos of each other, and had never fought during their rebellious teenage years, although cursing each other's dads was a regular occurrence.

After hugging enough, Lu Wen, without any actual tears, fake-cried, “I missed you guys so much.”

Gu Zhuoyan asked, “Will you get famous after this show?”

Su Wang fanned the flames, “Can you surpass the second male lead?”

“Fuck, don't put so much pressure on me.” Lu Wen's expression changed as he walked to the living room. “That Ruan Feng's friends... they're really something. They've got resources if he needs resources, connections if he needs connections.”

The three of them didn't know much about the entertainment industry, but they were competitive. Lian Yiming said, “The new promotional video for Sofitel this year, you're shooting it for me.”

Joy welled up in Lu Wen's heart, but he put on an act. “I'll ask my agent if I have an opening in my schedule.”

“Schedule my ass.” Su Wang had always been feisty. “Stop pretending to be a big shot. We still have a score to settle.”

Dinner sent up from the restaurant was on the coffee table. Lian Yiming had picked out a few bottles of treasured red wine and over twenty bottles of dark beer. The four of them sat down together. They let the wine breathe first, and Lu Wen respectfully poured Su Wang just a little at the bottom of his glass.

Then he poured for Lian Yiming, saying, “The promotional video, I'll definitely do a good job for you.”

Gu Zhuoyan held up his glass. “I'll have some too.”

Lu Wen acted like a diva. “Don't you have hands?”

Gu Zhuoyan got it. He had neither offered resources nor had any dirt on him, so he couldn't order around this rapidly inflating new star. Putting down his glass, he said, “Oh, right, I drove here, so I can't drink.”

Lian Yiming was speechless. “You're sleeping here tonight. Besides, the hotel has drivers. Stop playing dumb.”

“Exactly,” Su Wang said. “Didn't we all drive here?”

This played right into Gu Zhuoyan's hands. “Our big star didn't. He had a chauffeur.”

With that, Gu Zhuoyan looked at Lu Wen with a half-smile, raised a hand, and suggestively tapped the tip of his nose.

That bastard saw everything!

Lu Wen immediately backed down. It wasn't that he liked to hide things, he just didn't want Qu Yanting to be talked about. He snatched Gu Zhuoyan's wine glass, filled it, and coaxed, “Please, enjoy.”

The four of them clinked glasses and drank heartily, chatting about the trivialities of their lives over the past few months.

They had learned to ride horses together, attended summer camps together, and traveled together both at home and abroad. They were grown men approaching their thirties, but they still hugged after not seeing each other for a long time. They had endless things to talk about, even if they would start bickering after just a few sentences.

After four or five bottles of red wine, they were slightly drunk. Lu Wen had his arm around Su Wang, and they were leaning back on the sofa, breathing alcohol-laced fumes on each other. He admitted his fault, “It was my bad for calling you that time.”

Su Wang had the face of a jade-faced scholar, and his cheeks were flushed from drinking. “You have the nerve to bring that up? One 'baby,' and this straight man lost his appetite for three days.”

“Hah.” Lu Wen waved his hand dismissively. “Who isn't a straight man here? It's not that serious!”

Gu Zhuoyan, who had switched to dark beer, cast a leisurely sidelong glance. Lu Wen, completely unaware, continued, “It was an emergency that night. The head screenwriter told me to go to his room, and I thought I was in danger of being coerced into sex, so I...”

Su Wang was dizzy. “He wanted to sleep with you? What did he offer?”

Lu Wen said, “No offer would have been good enough. Are you my bro or not?”

“Of course, with our friendship.” Su Wang slapped Lu Wen on the chest. “Next time you're about to be coerced, call me again. Don't call me 'baby,' call me 'sugar daddy'!”

Lu Wen slapped him back. “You fucking drunkard, still trying to take advantage of me!”

Su Wang said, “You don't know shit. If you call me 'sugar daddy,' you'll make the other guy think you're already taken, so he won't be able to make a move.”

“Wow.” Lu Wen's tongue was tied. “You really are the smartest.”

Lian Yiming couldn't listen anymore. He helped Su Wang up and guided him to the bedroom to rest. Lu Wen lay down horizontally on the sofa, his face a bit hot, and closed his dizzy eyes.

Footsteps approached, and someone sat down beside him. A cool, damp towel was placed over Lu Wen's flushed eyelids, feeling very comfortable. He reached out and felt a build similar to his own; it was Gu Zhuoyan.

Only the two of them were left in the living room. Gu Zhuoyan asked, “Who was that person who dropped you off?”

Lu Wen teased, “A driver.”

Gu Zhuoyan chuckled. “What kind of driver would dare to make Young Master Lu sit in the passenger seat? Or dare to push his employer's face?”

It was hard to think while drunk, and Lu Wen couldn't even make up a lie. He gave up struggling and confessed, “His surname is Qu. He's the head screenwriter and investor for my show.”

Gu Zhuoyan suddenly whipped the towel away. “He's the one who wanted to coerce you?”

Lu Wen squinted his eyes open, accepting Gu Zhuoyan's interrogation under the dazzling lights. He answered, “It was all a misunderstanding. I thought he was gay and wanted to sleep with me, but it turns out not only did he not want to, he's probably not gay either.”

“Listening to your tone,” Gu Zhuoyan frowned, “sounds like you're quite disappointed?”

Lu Wen tilted his head, closed his eyes again, and mumbled, “Bullshit.”

“I'd advise you to be a bit more cautious.” Gu Zhuoyan reminded him. “I've only ever flicked three noses. One was my German Shepherd, and another was my own little sister.”

Lu Wen was drifting off to sleep and hummed, “And the other one...”

“And the other one,” Gu Zhuoyan said, “later became my wife.”