Was she merely messing with him?
Chen Shihan stroked his chest and fiddled with the button on his collar. “Since you like me so much, don’t you want to dominate me?”
Li Zhan was speechless.
Can I go now?
Shihan grinned naughtily, as her fingers raised his chin and she teased, “Don’t tell me that for my own sake, you won’t have sex with me before marriage. Don’t give me such a weak excuse.”
Li Zhan stammered, “But… But if we were to do it now, your reputation will be ruined. We should wait it out for your own good.”
Shihan pushed him away and sneered, “Li Zhan, do you take me for a fool? That I’m the type to fall in and out of love easily?”
Truthfully, when she heard Li Zhan’s bold confession, her heart was set aflutter. Pondering upon it later, she realized that the confession came just as she was about to marry Jinghao. Is this a mere coincidence? Or mayhap this is a sinister scheme to stop me from marrying Jinghao?
If it were not for this crucial moment, she would have considered accepting Li Zhan. After all, he was handsome compared to most men and a celebrity to boot. If she really became his girlfriend, she could imagine the throng of his fangirls lamenting and gnashing their teeth. Their envy towards her would certainly fill her with a smug, satisfying sense of superiority.
Her bold seduction just now was deliberately enacted to test his sincerity. As expected, there was something odd about him.
Something was definitely fishy regarding his love confession. She could sense an insincere intent behind it.
“Li Zhan dear, if you really loved me from the beginning, you won’t have waited until this last-minute juncture to confess. Is it because you lack the courage? Nah, you’re not that type. I’ve seen through you. Your game is over… Or will you still like to continue this pointless charade?” having said that snidely, she pointed to the door.
Li Zhan’s expression twitched. This cunning woman knew he was putting up an act all along?
Wasn’t she testing me just now?
Squinting his eyes, he gave in. “Chen Shihan, since when have you become such an annoying woman? Why do you keep clinging onto a married man?”
On the other side, she plonked down at the end of the bed and taunted, “Ah. Dropping your act, I see. Didn’t you say Jinghao is mentally ill? Or a sick bastard? A women abuser with a tendency for unnatural fetishes? Come, continue to tell me more! What else you’ve got?”
Losing his cool, Li Zhan rushed towards her, aiming for her neck and wanting to choke her. Surprisingly, Shihan raised her neck as if to welcome his clenching claws. He was nearly driven mad with anger by this cunning woman. However, met with her familiar look, he could not bear to continue.
Even though his heart was still furious, he clasped his outstretched hands midair and stopped.
Shihan calmly looked at him. That split second when he dashed over just now, she felt a shot of adrenaline engulfing her. However, remembering how he had protected her from being bullied back when they were young, her fear dissipated.
That was why she dared to raise her neck to him without fear.
“Wen Xiaoji, your status, and talent as a celebrity are not in vain. Your acting is top-notch; I nearly take it seriously several times. However, don’t bother interfering with my affairs with Jinghao. I will definitely marry him.”
Looking at her face intently, he asked, “What do you like about him?”
Shihan was caught off-guard by the question as her thoughts drifted for a few seconds. He’s right. What do I like about Jinghao?
She realized she did not know. Perhaps by being his woman, she would be happy. After all, she felt that Li Zhan did not possess that mature, manly charm like Jinghao.
“Perhaps I’m attracted to his status or his social standing. Mayhap even his stature and good looks. Maybe I’m captivated by his cold indifference towards others, yet gentle to his wife. I really don’t know. I find it hard to describe this gyrating affection towards him. I know I’m guilty of wrecking someone else’s marriage. But if you want to blame someone, blame it all on your dad. He’s the one behind all these ploys. Don’t blame me.”
Li Zhan stared at her silently, almost in disbelief. After a long pause, he finally uttered, “I prefer you when you were a child.”
Having said that, he turned around and left the room in disappointment. Shihan sat down motionlessly and muttered forlornly, “Everybody changes. How can anyone stay the same since childhood?”
There is a popular saying nowadays that goes, fight for your desire.
Is it wrong for me to fight for my desire?
After leaving the Chen family, Li Zhan did not head home but instead went straight to Zong Jinghao’s office. Coincidentally, Fatty Long was waiting for him on top of the staircase to the entrance.
Before this, he had been trying to reach Li Zhan but failed. Fatty Long had also tried searching for him at his place but he was not there. Therefore he made up his mind to try his luck here since he knew of the relationship between Li Zhan and Jinghao. With a stroke of luck, his attempt had been fruitful.
His butt was hurting from sitting for too long. When he finally saw Li Zhan, he was beyond glad. In fact, so overjoyed was he that he immediately rushed over and blabbered, “Where in world did you go? I couldn’t even reach your phone! I was worried sick!”
“What’s up?”
“Yesterday I received a call from Perfect Cosmetics and they sought your endorsement. As for the fee…” Fatty Long raised his palm excitedly and waved his five fingers. “Guess how much?”
Li Zhan eyed him coldly and rejected, “I won’t accept any gig for now. Don’t come looking for me either. I am very busy for now.”
As he finished explaining, he brushed past his manager and headed towards Jinghao’s office. Fatty Long was dumbfounded. Why would he reject such a good deal? Catching up to Li Zhan, he quickly added, “I haven’t even proposed the price yet and they’ve already offered fifteen million! I believe there’s still some room to negotiate for a little more…”
Before he could finish, Li Zhan cut him off. “I said I won’t accept any gig for now. Didn’t you hear me?”
Stunned, he stopped in his tracks and stood there, staring at Li Zhan’s back. “Do you think that opportunities like this come knocking at your doorsteps every day? A mere advertisement for fifteen million! That is already a sky-high offer! Why are they willing to pay so much? It’s because of your current fame and your huge fan following! Remember, you are currently in the entertainment industry. How many celebrities can stay on top of their fame continuously? Why not cash in on your current popularity and earn as much money while you still can? Why do you become a celebrity in the first place?”
Everyone knew that the entertainment industry was not a bed of roses. It was a dog-eat-dog world, and everyone was always racking their brains to be the best. Isn’t it all for money?
If he is not interested in wealth, then why on earth has he become a star in the first place?
As Li Zhan reached the elevator, he looked back at Fatty Long, almost in despair. “I become a celebrity because my dad doesn’t like it. It is my way to rebel and spite him, and it has nothing to do with money. If you feel wronged, you may choose to go.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here waiting for you,” Fatty Long firmly replied. He had been with Li Zhan for many years and had been treated well. If he had just left him like that, it would be a disgrace to their years of friendship.
Li Zhan gestured at him, indicating his appreciation for Fatty’s stalwart friendship, before the elevator door closed.
Fatty Long could not help but turn back and leave in disappointment.
Fifteen million was thrown down the drain just like that.
Looking back, he gazed at the huge reception hall of the company. He envied the glossy marble flooring. It was so polished that it could cast reflections of anyone who walked on it. On the feature wall painted in gold behind the reception desk were four characters spelling out the Wanyue Group, exuding such dignified majesty, befitting such a glorious conglomerate.
He sighed. “When one is both filthy rich and willful… Oh my, fifteen million is gone!”
As he walked out, the thought of losing the fifteen million deal still weighed heavily on his mind. Such a headache, and a heartache too to boot!
That was a very handsome amount of advertisement fee just for a few minutes of advertising.
“Screw this shit. How dare he treat money like toilet paper…” Mumbling and cussing, Fatty Long left the vicinity.
Meanwhile, Li Zhan rushed upstairs because he was anxious. So jittery he was that he pushed open the door to Jinghao’s office without even knocking. Su Zhan, who was in the middle of a conversation, turned his head and saw him standing at the doorway.
Shen Peichuan was there too, sitting next to Su Zhan.
Li Zhan quickly walked in and closed the door. “I see you are all here.”
No one spoke a word as they watched him took a seat.
Su Zhan continued where he left off, “We can no longer find any information about that Weibo video anymore. So I’m guessing the problem has been resolved.”
The media company instigating and investigating the whole fiasco had posted a public apology, claiming that the video was doctored and therefore was a fake.
The hype around the fiasco had also died down.
Zong Jinghao was seated on his armchair with the windows on his back. He was leaning back lazily the whole time and was keeping his silence. He did not even bat an eyelid even when Li Zhan barged in just like that.
After he had finished with his report, Su Zhan fell silent.
A suffocating silence permeated the entire office.
Breaking the silence, Peichuan spoke up, “The doctor said the situation is under control. The condition was caused by repressed anger. Both Chen Qing and Li Jing are now at the hospital.”
Hearing that, Jinghao’s heart softened. He asked Peichuan to visit Wen Qing to get an update on his condition.
Li Zhan heard Peichuan just now and felt that he was referring to Wen Qing.
Nudging at Peichuan, Li Zhan asked, “Who are you talking about?”
“Don’t you know that your father is in the hospital?” Never mind that Li Zhan was not abroad, did Li Jing not tell him the news?
To keep himself out of reach from his family, Li Zhan had kept his phone number a secret from his own family.
“Let me go check,” replied him curtly. Despite the quarrels and misunderstandings, blood, in the end, was still thicker than water. Hearing his dad was in the hospital, Li Zhan yearned to visit him. He took two steps before suddenly stopping. Lowering his head, he said, “This matter is all my dad’s fault. The older he gets, the more irascible he is.”
“So this matter is all because of your dad…”
“Su Zhan.”
Before Su Zhan could finish blurting out his thoughts about Wen Qing, he was interrupted by a deep, bass-like voice.
He immediately shut his mouth.
Jinghao raised his eyebrows and peered at Su Zhan, before turning to Li Zhan and telling him succinctly, “Just go.”
This matter had nothing to do with Li Zhan after all.
Feeling grateful, Li Zhan took a deep breath and walked out of the office.
Seeing the doors closed, Peichuan prodded Su Zhan with his elbow. “Wen Qing is Wen Qing, and Li Zhan is his own man too. You can’t lump both of them together, even though they are family. What do you expect him to do? Tell Wen Qing off? Or throw a few punches at him? Will all that resolve the issue?”
“Can’t I be angry? Why would he stubbornly hold on to past grudges? The enmity of the previous generation should not be imposed on the current generation. I think Li Zhan is right. Wen Qing is indeed a deluded, irascible old man,” vented Su Zhan in frustration.
“Let’s just leave it.” Jinghao stood up, no longer felt like hearing anything about the matter anymore.
He picked up his suit that was on the sofa and walked out of the office.
Su Zhan and Peichuan sat still.
“Is this the only way?” asked Su Zhan.
Eyeing him, Peichuan replied, “He Ruize is dead. And this is a fact. This case is treated as a homicide, still pending investigation. Unless Wen Qing is willing to talk, Lin Xinyan will always be the prime suspect. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Wen Qing will talk. Besides, there is nothing wrong with the proposed method. After all, it will just be a bogus marriage. As long as Chen Shihan shows up, I’ll be sure to arrest her. Until then…”
If that happened, they would no longer be on the passive side.
Pondering upon that, Su Zhan concluded that would be the best move, for there was no other better way, at least for now.
Jinghao, who had left the company, was driving to the hospital. As he passed by a bookstore, he stopped the car. Lin Xinyan must be feeling bored being grounded in the hospital ward every day. After all, she is a fashion designer. I may as well buy her a book or two to help her pass the time.
The bookstore had two floors. In the middle stood a five-meter-wide bookshelf running through the ground floor all the way to the second floor. Expectantly, the musty, musky bibliosmia permeated throughout the whole shop.
Each genre had its own section. As he was searching for books related to fashion, he passed by the childcare section and saw a book entitled “The Nine Months of Pregnancy”. Curiously, he took it out and flipped through it.
