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Qu Lang sat in the car as he stared at the cafe across the street.
He himself didn’t understand why he’d left his work and was wasting his time here. From his position, he couldn’t actually see inside, but he knew Shen Mingbei was inside chatting with his former classmate.
They were probably having a delightful chat – why else would Shen Mingbei still not leave after so long?
Qu Lang felt he must’ve been feeling displeased by Shen Mingbei picking flowers and trampling grass1 behind his back.
But if he was displeased, he should’ve directly walked in and taken Shen Mingbei away with him to teach him a good lesson.
However, when he recalled that scene from this morning when tears fell from Shen Mingbei’s eyes in the garden, he felt inexplicably upset. He felt suffocated, but he had nowhere to vent, much less want Shen Mingbei to know.
Qu Lang sat for another while before seeing Shen Mingbei exit the cafe. Standing a few steps away, he bid farewell to Gu Yibai, then entered his car and left.
The two didn’t seem very familiar with each other…..
The corners of Qu Lang’s lips curled up. He subconsciously forgot Shen Mingbei brought luggage with him when he left home and thought the other was returning home. He hurriedly urged his moonlighting driver, Xiao Chen, to drive back to Qingtan Bay.
…..
On the Redstone Mountain near the city, Shen Mingbei travelled up alone.
The summer sun was overpowering, but after entering the mountain, the green forage brought a slight chill. The higher he walked, the cooler it became.
It was truly a great place.
With Xiao Zhang’s reminder, Shen Mingbei found their reserved lodging. It was a guesthouse in the mountains. The guesthouse boss knew Shen Mingbei was going to arrive early and was even happy about it.
“We’re reserved anyway, so there won’t be any other guests tonight.” The guesthouse boss didn’t recognise Shen Mingbei, but seeing how handsome he was he asked if Shen Mingbei had acted in any films.
Shen Mingbei had a good temper and didn’t plan on boasting, so he just said, “Yes, but not in any recent famous ones.”
The boss believed his words – it was just a casual question anyway, so he didn’t think too much of it. He arranged a room for Shen Mingbei and even introduced some scenic spots he could visit on Redstone Mountain.
“In this season, those who aren’t visiting Redstone Mountain for the ancient temple are here to avoid sunstroke. Toward the west is a kilometre plank road. It’s very cooling there, and if you look up you can see the mountain’s red cliffs. There is also a spring at the mountain’s peak – the temple monks planted ginkgo trees beside it, so in autumn it’s brilliant gold. My daughter loves to go see it.
If you want to go for a walk, you can visit the plank road. If you’re vigorous enough, you can go to the mountain’s peak and have a look at the spring.
Oh, we have dinner at six – do you want us to leave a meal for you?”
Shen Mingbei thought about it before saying, “Yes. I should be hungry after walking around a bit.”
After they spoke, Shen Mingbei went up the mountain. The boss leaned against the door panel as he looked in the direction of Shen Mingbei’s departure, then smiled before returning to clean up.
…..
At the Qingtan Bay villa, Qu Lang had just finished dealing with some documents and was a bit absent-minded. Xiao Chen told him he had a conference in the afternoon, so Qu Lang changed it to a video conference.
By the time the meeting ended, it was already nightfall.
The auntie called Qu Lang down for dinner. Looking at the dishes on the table, Qu Lang couldn’t find his appetite.
He suddenly heard movement at the front door. He cast his gaze over, but it was just the gardener passing by with a trowel.
Qu Lang suddenly felt disappointed.
For some reason, he remembered that night Shen Mingbei made noodles for him. The red tomatoes fit perfectly among the golden-yellow – it was actually really fragrant.
Shen Mingbei was just too annoying.
Qu Lang wasn’t one to speak his heart out, nor did he hire auntie to beg for food. He looked at the dishes again before sitting at the table and sending Xiao Chen a message.
[Qu Lang: Where’s the car.]
[Xiao Chen: I’ve sent you the location’s coordinates]
When Qu Lang opened the coordinates and saw the name of the guesthouse, his expression suddenly turned ugly.
He wanted to throw something, but it’d be troublesome if he threw his phone and Shen Mingbei messaged him. He’d previously spent a lot of effort restoring the data of Shen Mingbei’s message to him.
Restraining himself, he told Xiao Chen to call Shen Mingbei and have him come back.
Qu Lang’s fingers kept tapping against the table’s surface to ease his stifling emotions.
After a while, Xiao Chen responded.
[Xiao Chen: I couldn’t get through to Mr Shen’s phone.]
…..
In truth, Shen Mingbei wasn’t deliberately not answering his phone. It was simply because he dropped his phone again and got lost in the mountain. He walked around several times, unsure whether he was lost because he made a wrong turn after stepping off the plank road or not.
His phone was dropped, but he himself wasn’t that wretched.
At first, Shen Mingbei thought about sleeping in the mountains for a night and waiting for his team to come and find him the next day. But thinking how the guesthouse boss might think something happened to him if he didn’t return, he summoned his courage and began walking in the direction opposite the setting sun.
He’d been walking towards the west, so it shouldn’t be wrong for him to walk back east. But after the sun completely set, the sky gradually became darker. The horror films Shen Mingbei once watched began jumping out of his mind one after the other.
Even the slightest crushing noises made when he walked on the dead branches would give Shen Mingbei a scare.
After the sky completely darkened, the stars began glittering brightly; however, the moon didn’t appear. Shen Mingbei calculated the days.
Great, it was the new moon.
He pressed forward in the darkness, both tired and hungry – there were probably blisters on his soles too.
Shen Mingbei suddenly heard the distant sound of water. Remembering the guesthouse boss’ words, he hurriedly ran towards it; as expected, he saw a spring. Beside the spring were tall ginkgo trees. The temple was very close, so Shen Mingbei ran over and knocked on its door.
After a long while, an old monk opened the door.
After telling him he was lost, the old monk took out a keypad phone from his pocket and let him make a call.
“We are not an accommodation monastery. According to our temple’s rules, we cannot receive visitors at night. Please have someone pick you up.”
The old monk smiled benevolently.
Shen Mingbei suddenly fell silent. He didn’t know who could pick him up either…..
And the only number he had memorised was Qu Lang’s.
Shen Mingbei didn’t want to call Qu Lang, so he returned the phone to the monk and asked for guidance down the mountain.
“Whether or not you want to travel down the mountain depends on you.” The old monk’s words were ordinary, yet they carried an inexplicable Zen to them. Shen Mingbei wanted to ask further, but the old monk closed the door without giving an explanation.
Shen Mingbei stood a little while more in front of the ancient temple. The old monk opened the door again and handed him a warm mantou.
“Eat some first.”
This time, the door closed and nobody came to open it again. Shen Mingbei took a bite of the mantou, then suddenly heard a voice.
A few beams of light shone over. It was the guesthouse boss, who was followed by a group of people.
“Why are you here?” The boss looked at him with a relieved expression, making Shen Mingbei feel embarrassed.
“I accidentally got lost, I’m sorry-” Before Shen Mingbei could finish his words, Qu Lang suddenly appeared and hugged him.
The embrace was so tight that Shen Mingbei’s neck began to hurt. He struggled a little, but Qu Lang was relentless. It wasn’t until he hugged enough could Shen Mingbei speak again.
“Why are you here?”
Qu Lang didn’t respond – just dragged Shen Mingbei down the mountain.
Qu Lang had long legs, so his steps were long; moreover, he was walking in hurry.
Shen Mingbei was 185cm tall, so usually he’d be able to catch up. However, he’d walked almost an entire day of mountain paths, so there were blisters on his soles and he couldn’t quite catch up with Qu Lang.
“Slow down.”
Shen Mingbei was almost dragged to the ground by Qu Lang.
But Qu Lang didn’t listen. The two limped down to the guesthouse. Shen Mingbei wanted to go in and have a look at his feet, but Qu Lang shoved him into his car and drove straight to the city.
By the time the guesthouse boss hurriedly came back, he only saw the distant taillights.
Despite Shen Mingbei’s good temper, seeing Qu Lang like this made him feel a little angry.
“What are you doing?! I have work here tomorrow.”
Hearing this, Qu Lang felt somewhat disdainful. He lightly said, “Just don’t do it.”
“Why?!” Shen Mingbei moved but accidentally bumped into Qu Lang’s elbow, causing the car to go slightly askew. He hurriedly sat back down.
Afraid of an accident, he didn’t dare touch the driving Qu Lang.
“The Qu Family can provide for you.”
Qu Lang knew Shen Mingbei was an artist. He hadn’t paid much attention before – he just felt it was quite tactful for Shen Mingbei to know his limits and not come home frequently.
Hearing Qu Lang’s words, Shen Mingbei became quiet and didn’t speak anymore.
According to the plot, Shen Mingbei actually faded out of the entertainment industry after he married Qu Lang; after all, being a wealthy president’s spouse was much more profitable than working outside.
It was precisely due to this that the original cannon fodder lost everything after he was kicked out of the Qu Family…..
But to the transmigrated Shen Mingbei, his career was the only thing he could fight for – the only thing he could hold onto. Even if, after so many years, he’d been also-run of various awards, Shen Mingbei knew he was happiest at work.
Qu Lang’s phone rang. He glanced at it but didn’t pick up.
""
Other than the ringing phone, the car was silent as it drove forward. Shen Mingbei saw the incoming caller’s ID ‘Xiang’ and realised this person was Lin Xiang. It felt as if his entire body was drained of strength – he felt wearier than he had when climbing the mountain. He suddenly said, “I don’t need you to provide for me.”
Shen Mingbei deliberated over discussing divorce, but they were just about to enter the city before Qu Lang suddenly sped up. He dangerously overtook car after car, frightening Shen Mingbei so much that he was gripping the armrest.
“Slow down, what are you doing?”
Qu Lang didn’t speak, just continued to accelerate.
Shen Mingbei’s eyes shifted from the dashboard to the road, his heart jumping all the way to his throat.
“ARE YOU CRAZY? SLOW DOWN! IT’S DANGEROUS!”
Shen Mingbei couldn’t help but recall how his parents, who were on their way to buy cake, were run over by a truck that couldn’t brake in time.
It was clearly a summer night, but his hands and feet suddenly turned cold and his face turned uncontrollably pale.
“Di- Di-”
The car passed a large truck before Qu Lang stopped by the side of the road. He stared at Shen Mingbei with burning eyes.
Qu Lang’s tone was very light, sounding completely different from someone who’d just gone crazy while driving. In a lowered voice, he asked, “What were you about to say?”
Shen Mingbei was so frightened he’d lost his soul. Still ringing in his ears were the quick successions of horns blaring and his parents’ devastation. It took him a long while to squeeze out, “Slow down.”
Qu Lang didn’t care about Shen Mingbei’s response. He’d vented his emotions and brought the other back, so he was in quite a good mood.
Still following his belief, he said to Shen Mingbei, “Stop fussing. In the future, just stay at home.”
After he spoke, he slowly turned the car around a corner and drove back to Qingtan Bay. When they arrived, he carried the other out of the car. When he came into contact with Shen Mingbei’s body, Qu Lang found the other still trembling. He smiled. “Why are you so afraid?”
Shen Mingbei couldn’t say anything. With a trembling hand, he pushed Qu Lang.
Qu Lang merely grabbed his hand and kissed it.
He thought, he’s too delicate.
Footnotes
拈花惹草 – [idiom] to womanise