DP Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Xiang Yiye looked at Han Fangyan’s desolate figure and felt a little sympathy. In his previous life, he had been dumped by Xu Chuo twice. He knew that once Xu Chuo made up his mind, it was only a matter of notification, not negotiation, like a death sentence in court.

Initially, Xiang Yiye approached Xu Chuo mainly for other purposes, but when Xu Chuo first broke up with him, he was still as heartbroken as if he had died. As a result, after he tried every means to beg for reconciliation, he couldn’t tell whether he really liked Xu Chuo or just wanted to use him.

Lin Xiao saw Xiang Yiye’s expression and said, “His reaction is considered good. I’ve seen an especially extreme one before, from the same school as Xu Chuo. I don’t remember what he studied, but he was practically trying to save Xu Chuo’s life, making him take half a month to find the next one.”

“How did Xu Chuo handle it?” Xiang Yiye asked.

“How else? He did what he had to do. Sometimes I think he’s gentle on the surface but actually a cold-blooded animal… Don’t tell him I said that,” Lin Xiao said.

“Of course not,” Xiang Yiye said.

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the table. Xiang Yiye looked up and saw a man in a suit and leather shoes, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, coming to the table with a wine glass.

“It’s President Du,” Lin Xiao whispered to Xiang Yiye, “He doesn’t show up often. Remember to be enthusiastic later. It doesn’t hurt to show your presence.”

Du Luocheng, the president of Xinghui Film and Television Company, was in his forties, an industry benchmark, and the epitome of a mature older man. In his previous life, Xiang Yiye had heard some rumors that although Du Luocheng had a family, he was a closeted homosexual.

Xiang Yiye stared at Du Luocheng, trying to see some clues of his “deep closet” from his well-maintained face. He was so engrossed in his observation and analysis that he didn’t even react when the other party looked at him.

“Xiao Lin, is this your boyfriend?” Du Luocheng asked Lin Xiao.

“President Du, you’re really joking. I’m a model of dedication to my job. How could I be in a relationship so early? His name is Xiang Yiye, a fresh face at our Xinghui Film and Television Company,” Lin Xiao nudged the dazed Xiang Yiye with her elbow, “Quickly toast President Du.”

“President Du,” Xiang Yiye quickly stood up, raised his glass, and said, “Sorry, there’s only a drink in here. You wait for me…”

Du Luocheng touched Xiang Yiye’s glass with his own, and said with a smile, “No need. You look like you’re not feeling well. You shouldn’t drink.” Like Xiang Yiye, he was from the north and very tall. When he spoke, he leaned slightly forward to look the other party in the eye, his demeanor humble and gentle, making people feel comfortable.

Perhaps because the other party was too approachable, Xiang Yiye subconsciously said “Okay,” and then said, “You should drink less too. It’s not good for your liver.”

As soon as he said that, the surroundings fell silent. Lin Xiao secretly cried out in her heart. Under the table, she kicked Xiang Yiye.

Xiang Yiye realized that something was wrong. He immediately explained, “Uh, because my dad’s liver isn’t very good, so…”

This was really making things worse. Lin Xiao covered her face.

Du Luocheng was stunned for a moment. The smile in his eyes became less distant and more sincere, reaching his eyebrows: “Listen to Little Xiang, this is the last glass.” Then he said a few polite words and told them to continue.

Seeing Du Luocheng walk away, Lin Xiao said, “My Little Xiang, others are afraid of not being persuaded to drink enough, but you’re persuading people not to drink. Besides, who would know that the soda water in your opaque porcelain cup isn’t wine if you didn’t say so?”

“I didn’t pour wine, everyone at the table saw it, and the soda water is still bubbling,” Xiang Yiye retorted slightly.

“You’re just an honest kid. I hope you didn’t leave a bad impression on President Du,” Lin Xiao said.

“I think President Du is very friendly. Besides, Sister Xiao, didn’t you tell me to be enthusiastic?” Xiang Yiye said.

“That’s not enthusiasm, that’s recklessness,” Lin Xiao laughed.

A sound of slapping the table came from behind, mixed with shouting. Xiang Yiye turned his head and saw Han Fangyan holding a cell phone, saying, “… I’ll say it again! I want to see you, I want to see you now!”

The voice was loud, and immediately attracted a lot of attention to the empty table.

“Little Han, are you drunk? Where’s your assistant?” Lin Xiao turned around and said.

“None of your business.” Han Fangyan stood up with a “whoosh,” swaying as he left the table.

As Han Fangyan walked away, a cold light flashed beside him. Xiang Yiye’s eyes widened. If he wasn’t mistaken, Han Fangyan was holding something in his hand. Looking at the place where he had just been sitting, there was a missing table knife on the table.

Xiang Yiye was horrified, but didn’t show it. He told Lin Xiao that he was going to the restroom, but in reality, he followed Han Fangyan silently.

Even when drunk, Han Fangyan knew to avoid the crowd, not taking the elevator but using the stairs instead.

Xiang Yiye couldn’t tell if he was drunk or not. He followed him up who knows how many floors. There were almost no other people in the stairwell, and no other cover. Xiang Yiye had to control the distance and his footsteps so he wouldn’t be discovered. His lungs, which had just recovered from a serious illness, were a little overloaded, and he was panting as he climbed.

Just when he was about to run out of breath, Han Fangyan finally exited the stairwell. Xiang Yiye followed him into the hotel corridor and watched him stop in front of a room, confirm the room number several times, and reach out to knock on the door.

When the sound of the door opening rang out, Xiang Yiye had only one thought in his mind: He can’t let him bring that table knife inside!

So Xiang Yiye grabbed Han Fangyan’s wrist as quickly as possible. The alcohol made Han Fangyan react a little slower, but he wasn’t completely drunk, and he held the table knife tightly.

Xiang Yiye tried to snatch the table knife from his hand: “Don’t be impulsive!”

Han Fangyan paused, then shouted, “Get out of here! Why is it you again! It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault!”

The door opened, and Xu Chuo stood behind the door in neat clothes. Seeing the two struggling figures, he stopped them, “Han Fangyan.”

Han Fangyan let go, and the table knife fell on the carpet. He turned around, not caring that there were other people around, and threw himself into Xu Chuo’s arms. Xu Chuo stretched out an arm to support him, his eyes first looking at Xiang Yiye, then at the table knife on the ground, and frowning.

“You brought a knife to see me?” Xu Chuo’s expression sank slightly.

“No, I…” Han Fangyan leaned over to kiss him.

Xu Chuo turned his face away: “Don’t do this, we’ve already broken up.”

“I don’t agree! Why? Tell me what’s wrong, why do you have to do this? Why are you treating me like this?” Han Fangyan was about to cry, like a child who couldn’t get a toy.

Xu Chuo was like an elder, gently wiping away the tears from his face, and said, “Fangyan, didn’t we agree from the beginning? Being together is just for happiness. But now, what’s happening between us has already affected your work and emotions. It’s better to end it sooner rather than later, and cut our losses.”

What beautiful words, but Han Fangyan didn’t accept it: “But I like you, I… I can’t live without you… I won’t make trouble, I’ll listen to you in the future, can we still be like before?”

It was impossible to be like before, the problem had already occurred repeatedly. The single-mindedness that Han Fangyan hoped for was impossible for Xu Chuo. Xu Chuo didn’t speak.

Han Fangyan turned to look at Xiang Yiye, realized that he couldn’t get the table knife back, pointed to the window at the end of the corridor and said, “Xu Chuo, do you believe I’ll jump down from there?”

“That window is sealed,” Xu Chuo said without emotion.

His voice was gentle, but with a hint of indifference, like a piece of ice lying at the bottom of a warm pond. Was Xu Chuo like this before they met in his previous life? Xiang Yiye thought, why do I feel like I don’t know him anymore?

Xu Chuo led Han Fangyan into the room, but didn’t close the door. Xiang Yiye knew that he should leave now, but his feet were like nails, unable to move even half a step.

“This room is for you to rest. If anything happens, we’ll talk about it after you sober up,” Xu Chuo said to Han Fangyan.

Han Fangyan grabbed him at the entrance, saying, “No, you can’t leave, if you leave, you’ll never see me again…”

Xu Chuo said, “Yi Yan, isn’t it better to leave each other with unforgettable memories, instead of quarrels and embarrassment? You’re not the first person to threaten me with their life, but I know you wouldn’t do something so stupid. You’re just drunk.”

Han Fangyan was silent, falling into deep fear. He knew that Xu Chuo liked his childishness the most, but now this trick was no longer working.

Xu Chuo handed him a cup: “Here, drink some tea to sober up. Sit for a while, I’ll call someone to pick you up.” After he finished speaking, he took out his phone and dialed a number, probably for Han Fangyan’s assistant or manager.

Han Fangyan took the cup and put it on the table: “I’m not drunk. You just don’t like me anymore, you want to replace me, that’s why you’re making so many excuses.” After saying that, he snatched Xu Chuo’s phone and threw it into the cup, soaking it in tea.

Xu Chuo didn’t move. The phone had a waterproof function, but he didn’t want to pick it up, thinking it would be too troublesome and dirty his hands. He glanced at Xiang Yiye by the door, and the latter understood, turned around, and prepared to serve as a living messenger.

But he turned around too abruptly, and a burst of pain shot through his chest. He couldn’t breathe, his whole body like a bellows covered by a hood.

There was a loud “thump” from the corridor outside. Xu Chuo walked out in a few steps, saw Xiang Yiye lying on the ground, immediately returned to the room, took the phone out of the cup, shook the tea leaves off it, and ran out again.

Han Fangyan followed him out, saw Xu Chuo squatting next to Xiang Yiye, and said into the phone, “Hello? Is this 120? Someone has fainted here. The location is… Wait, he seems to be awake. No need to bother, thank you, we’ll seek medical attention ourselves later.”

Xiang Yiye sat up, clutching his chest, and heard Xu Chuo say to him, “I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Hospital? Xiang Yiye realized that he had briefly lost consciousness just now.

“If you take him away today, I’ll hate you for the rest of my life,” Han Fangyan said.

“It’s better to briefly hate someone than to suffer for a long time,” Xu Chuo threw out this ambiguous sentence, helped Xiang Yiye up, and walked away without looking back. He went to the parking lot to pick up his car and took Xiang Yiye to the nearest hospital.

The table knife was thrown into the trash can. After getting in the car, Xiang Yiye said, “You just left Han Fangyan at the hotel like that? Aren’t you afraid he’ll…”

The lunch peak had just passed, and the roads were still relatively clear. Xu Chuo sent a voice message to Han Fangyan’s assistant, and then said, “He won’t jump off the building. He’s just saying it to scare people.”

Jump off the building. Xiang Yiye was terrified in silence. Xu Chuo was talking about other people’s affairs, so lightly, completely unaware that those two words could befall him.

In his previous life, the year he fell from the top floor of Yunhua Company, Xu Chuo was 33 years old, and Xiang Yiye was 29 years old. Now, in this life, he is 20 years old, and Xu Chuo is 24 years old.

Will everything be repeated in nine years?

“As for you,” Xu Chuo held the steering wheel, glanced at the thin layer of sweat on Xiang Yiye’s face, and remembered his appearance when he snatched the knife in front of the hotel room, and said, “Is playing the police officer your personal hobby?”

“I was afraid that the knife would hurt… It wouldn’t be good for anyone to get hurt,” Xiang Yiye finished speaking and returned Xu Chuo’s sarcasm: “Is driving people to the point of wanting to die your personal hobby?”

“Some people don’t need to be driven to the point of wanting to die, they already want to die. Stop talking, you can’t even breathe,” Xu Chuo’s tone became gentle, “Rest for a while, I’ll wake you up when we get there.”