SM Chapter 60

Chapter 60 That Devil (Foster Father Arc)

Ye Lai’s scenes wrapped up after another week of filming, and his right-hand wound had almost healed.

Sheng Mingqian’s new movie promotional activities could be seen online every day. The main creative team was on tour in various cities every day. It was hard for Ye Lai to ignore it, and Zhang Yihao forwarded the information to him every day, sometimes with a close-up picture of Sheng Mingqian.

Ye Lai had heard Lin Han say unintentionally that the promotional activities were a bit tight, and Sheng Mingqian and the actors were busy from morning till night every day.

Sheng Mingqian had lost weight and looked a lot more haggard when he smiled.

Sheng Mingqian’s text messages kept coming every day, sometimes during the day, sometimes at night, as if the man didn’t sleep.

Zhang Yihao gave Ye Lai all the scripts that Sheng Mingqian had given him before, telling him that he could choose any of the roles marked in blue pen.

Zhang Yihao didn’t say at first that these scripts were from Sheng Mingqian. He wanted to let Ye Lai see if there was a role he wanted, purely from the perspective of the script.

Ye Lai sat at his desk, reading each one carefully. It took him a whole day to finish reading, and it was dark before he closed them. “Brother Hao, these scripts were given to you by Sheng Mingqian, right?”

“You knew?” Zhang Yihao scratched his head, “I thought you didn’t know.”

“I guessed.”

Zhang Yihao asked unwillingly, “Putting aside the fact that these scripts were given to you by Sheng Mingqian, is there anything in here that you want?”

Ye Lai thought for a while and said, “I can’t put it aside. Sheng Mingqian was originally a prerequisite. I can’t ignore that point.”

“Okay, forget I asked.” Zhang Yihao sighed and leaned back on the sofa.

In the past, when he didn’t have resources, Ye Lai dreamed of getting them, only to be repeatedly intercepted. Now Sheng Mingqian had given him so many good scripts at once, but Ye Lai didn’t want them as much as before.

“What are your plans for the future? You can tell me if you want to rest.” Zhang Yihao’s voice was listless.

“Okay.”

Ye Lai responded. After a while, his half-lowered eyelashes suddenly lifted. He turned to look at Zhang Yihao. His eyes were sore and numb from reading scripts all day, but they were sparkling with excitement. He stammered, “Brother Hao, actually, I, I want to write something now.”

Zhang Yihao stood up, walked around behind his desk twice, and handed Ye Lai a pen and several sheets of paper. “Here, write. Write whatever you want.”

Ye Lai laughed and pushed the paper and pen forward. “Brother Hao, there are so many things I want to write. These few sheets of paper aren’t enough. I’ll show you when I’m done.”

Zhang Yihao didn’t understand what Ye Lai was talking about, didn’t know what he wanted to write. He muttered something and took the paper and pen back.

When he was reading the script just now, Sheng Mingqian sent him a picture of a deep blue lake. In the clear, rippling water was reflected a redwood octagonal pavilion and a blurry shadow.

Although Ye Lai didn’t want to admit it, the fragment of inspiration that flashed in his mind just now, and was immediately seized by him, was like a sapphire floating on the surface of the lake.

He never had that before.

Suddenly growing.

–

–

Ye Lai had already checked out of his old apartment. He wouldn’t get the keys to the new apartment for a few more days, so he was staying in a hotel.

During the day, he would go to the Angel’s Home Orphanage to spend time with the children. At meal times, he’d come back to eat the dishes from the 26th floor. When he had inspiration, he’d pick up a pen and write.

Ye Lai was writing in his room all afternoon. As soon as he put down his pen, his cell phone rang. Although he had a computer, he still preferred to write by hand at first. It was a voice message from Li Xun. Ye Lai opened the voice message and played it on speakerphone. He heard Li Xun’s hasty voice.

“Little Yezi, I’m downstairs at your hotel. Come pick me up ASAP.”

Ye Lai stood up quickly and went out with his cell phone and room card.

Li Xun had already checked in, was pulling her suitcase, and was standing in the first-floor lobby, looking at the goldfish in the decorative fish tank.

Ye Lai ran over, out of breath. “Sister Xun, you came. Why didn’t you tell me in advance? I could have picked you up at the airport.”

Li Xun had been a special forces soldier for ten years. She was tall and straight, with long black hair, bright red lips, and a red dress and high heels that couldn’t suppress her heroic spirit. Before she had completely turned around, her fist landed on Ye Lai’s shoulder. “No need to pick me up. I said, you’re doing great, kid. You’re trending on the hot search every other day.”

Although Li Xun had been retired for many years, she hadn’t neglected her previous skills. That punch was no joke.

Ye Lai clutched his shoulder and tilted to the side, pretending to be injured, looking at her aggrievedly. “Sister, I can’t take it. Please be gentler next time.”

Li Xun patted Ye Lai on the head again. “Okay, stop being glib. The airplane food was too terrible. I’m starving. Hurry up and take me to get something to eat.”

Ye Lai took the suitcase from Li Xun’s hand. “The restaurant on the 26th floor of this hotel is really good. Let’s put your suitcase back in the room first, and I’ll take you there in a while.”

For the past few days, the dishes delivered to Ye Lai’s room every morning, noon, and night were from the 26th-floor restaurant. The taste suited his palate well, and he didn’t get tired of it even after eating it for so many days. Instead, he wanted to try the new dishes on the menu every day.

At the dinner table, Li Xun sized Ye Lai up and down, clicked her tongue, and asked, “Little Yezi, have you been too tired lately? You look exhausted, and your dark circles are so heavy.”

“I stayed up late writing last night,” Ye Lai raised his hand and touched his face. “Do I look very tired?”

“Yes,” Li Xun suddenly lowered her voice and started gossiping. “Tell me, what’s going on between you and Sheng Mingqian?”

Ye Lai’s eating slowed down. He lowered his eyelashes, his eyes flickering. He couldn’t say what his relationship with Sheng Mingqian was now. It was already a tangled mess, and now it was even more twisted and unseemly. He couldn’t find the beginning or the end, and he didn’t know what was wrapped up in the ball in the middle.

Li Xun was an impatient person. Seeing Ye Lai frowning and looking distressed, but not saying anything, she waved her hand. “Oh, I won’t ask you. I don’t understand love, and I don’t understand those twists and turns. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, then forget it.”

Ye Lai was amused by her words. Li Xun had a straightforward personality. He had hesitated before entering the entertainment industry, and Li Xun had pushed him in the back. Li Xun had told him to be bolder and go after what he wanted. It wasn’t a big deal.

But if everything was that simple, it wouldn’t be like this now. Black night and white day, the moon hung in the middle of the afternoon, and the sun wouldn’t come out no matter what, without a clue.

Li Xun slapped the table, scaring Ye Lai. “What’s wrong, Sister? Is the food not good?”

“No, I’m going to get a man to play with one of these days too, and see what this love stuff is all about.”

The topic finally changed, and Ye Lai climbed up the pole, teasing Li Xun. “Sister Xun, you should find a brother-in-law for Xiao Lin. By the way, how is Xiao Lin doing lately?”

“He’s tending flowers and plants in the flower garden, entertaining himself. It’s pretty good.”

Ye Lai remembered Li Xun’s younger brother in the wheelchair, and a wave of fear washed over him. He breathed a sigh of relief and thought, thankfully he listened to Sheng Mingqian that year and didn’t handle the problem in his own way. He didn’t drag himself down. Because he called the police in time, nothing really happened to Li Lin later.

After chatting for a while, Li Xun took out a book from her bag and started talking about serious business. “The reprinting sample book, I brought it to you. I talked to the publisher again. Sales have been good, and they agreed to increase the royalties by a few more points.”

“Thank you, my dear sister.” Ye Lai put down his chopsticks, wiped his hands clean, and happily took the book.

He held the book, turning it around in his palm, looking at the cover and the back. The cover of the new edition had been changed. It was no longer a pitch-black background, and a few other bright colors had been added. It didn’t look as gloomy as before. Ye Lai liked the new cover.

Li Xun leaned forward, cautiously probing. “Ye Lai, that person has been out of prison for a while now, right? Has he come to bother you again?”

Ye Lai’s eyes were fixed on the large characters on the cover. After the last phone call, he hadn’t received any other information, and on Thursday night, he hadn’t gone to that place again.

Ye Lai’s fingers touched the cover a few times. The edges of the new book were still a bit rough. He shook his head. “No.”

After eating, Ye Lai saw that Li Xun was still full of energy and suggested taking her out to play. Li Xun agreed readily.

Although Li Xun had been retired for many years, her vigilance and sensitivity to the surrounding environment hadn’t diminished at all. As a former special forces sniper, she suddenly turned her head just two steps out of the hotel, her eagle eyes staring in the direction of the hotel’s pillars.

“What’s wrong?” Ye Lai saw her stop and didn’t move, and looked in the direction of Li Xun’s gaze. In the dark night, the pillars stood there silently, half in the light, half buried in blackness.

“Someone’s watching us,” Li Xun said.

Ye Lai was used to it and said nonchalantly, “Probably paparazzi, taking secret photos.”

Li Xun looked around and said, “Not just one person, two. One is hiding next to the hotel pillars, and the other is in the direction of the underground parking lot entrance.”

“Then it’s probably two paparazzi.”

Hearing Ye Lai say this, Li Xun relaxed her vigilance and put on a relaxed smile. She directly hooked her arm around Ye Lai’s, leaned her head on Ye Lai’s shoulder, looking very intimate. “Then let them take as many pictures as they want. It’s best if it makes the headlines, so people know that you’ve changed your ways and you’ve started to like big beauties like me. You don’t love those stinky men anymore, especially that Sheng Mingqian. Make him angry, make him angry enough to vomit blood.”

Ye Lai laughed out loud. Once he started laughing, he couldn’t stop. He pulled Li Xun and laughed so hard on the street that his shoulders shook, not caring if anyone was taking pictures of them.

Li Xun raised her hand and slapped Ye Lai on the arm. “That’s right, laugh more. Our Little Yezi looks the best when he’s laughing.”

Ye Lai hadn’t been this relaxed in a long time. Walking on the street at night, feeling the breeze, listening to Li Xun curse and tell lewd jokes, he felt a lot more comfortable, and the feeling of pent-up anger in his heart had dissipated a lot.

But his good mood didn’t last long. At ten o’clock in the evening, Ye Lai took Li Xun back to the hotel.

Standing in front of the hotel door, Li Xun didn’t continue to move forward. She looked at the pillars next to the hotel door again. A few seconds later, the black shadow that had been hiding next to the pillars took off running.

Li Xun let go of Ye Lai’s arm, raised her leg and chased after him. “Stop, don’t run.”

Ye Lai didn’t know what was going on and followed closely behind. Li Xun ran and turned her head to say to him, “Ye Lai, it’s not paparazzi, it’s Fu Xiang. I’m sure I didn’t see wrong. That person is Fu Xiang. I’d recognize him even if he was turned to ashes.”

Just hearing this name, Ye Lai’s whole body felt like it was frozen solid by a sudden blizzard.

The words Fu Xiang were like vines stained with black, viscous venom, instantly wrapping around Ye Lai, binding him tightly from head to toe.

Fu Xiang, that devil.