SM Chapter 65

“Lin Han’s family,” the nurse shouted in the hallway, “Who is Lin Han’s family? Please pay the CT scan fee.”

Sheng Mingqian called Ye Lai again, but the phone was already off, knowing that the plane should be taking off. The nurse was calling for someone, so he had to put his phone back in his pocket and quickly walked towards the emergency room.

“Coming,” Sheng Mingqian walked over. Just as he raised his hand, a gust of wind swept past his ear. A hand reached out from his side and took the examination form from the nurse first. “Hello, I’m Lin Han’s family member. I’ll go pay the fee.”

Sheng Mingqian stood up straight, retracted his hand, and looked back. The person was a young man. He looked familiar, an actor. He should have seen him before, but Sheng Mingqian couldn’t recall his name for a moment.

Memories raced through his mind. Sheng Mingqian finally remembered. Ye Lai used to record variety shows and was always bullied in various game segments. He also went to a variety show that Ye Lai recorded before their divorce, and the man in front of him was also a guest on that show.

“Director Sheng, I’m Fang Lichen,” Fang Lichen nodded slightly to Sheng Mingqian and introduced himself, “Thank you, you don’t have to worry. I’ll just go pay the fee.”

Fang Lichen’s words revealed a close relationship with Lin Han, and Sheng Mingqian was pondering.

Lin Han, who was in the consultation room, heard the voice and walked out with gauze on his head. Seeing Fang Lichen, his eyes lit up and he strode over, “Lichen, you’re here.”

“Yeah, I came over as soon as I saw the news. I couldn’t get through to your phone,” Fang Lichen was a little shorter than Lin Han. He frowned, stood on tiptoe, carefully looked at Lin Han’s forehead, and carefully lifted the gauze a little, taking a deep breath, “It’s still bleeding, does it hurt?”

“Hiss, it hurts so much,” Lin Han, who hadn’t said a word in the consultation room, suddenly began to grimace and shout in pain. He took out his black screen phone from his pocket and waved it at Fang Lichen, “The phone is broken, and I didn’t call you because you were recording a show.”

Sheng Mingqian watched Lin Han act with his arms folded, and also understood the relationship between Lin Han and Fang Lichen.

Lin Han noticed Sheng Mingqian’s gaze and turned to look at him. Sheng Mingqian gave him a “what’s going on?” look. Lin Han, usually a rough man, showed a flickering, evasive look for the first time.

Lin Han had dated a young actor in the studio for a while, but the other party only used him as a tool, and finally broke up with him and followed a film and television company boss. That night, Lin Han pulled Sheng Mingqian to drink and swore to the sky that if he ever looked for someone in the industry again, he would eat shit, and he even recorded a video as proof.

Sheng Mingqian couldn’t help but find it funny when he remembered Lin Han’s furious swearing. Lin Han said before that he was pursuing someone, presumably it was Fang Lichen. Lin Han didn’t tell them, so it turned out that this time it was also someone in the industry.

“Mingqian, um, don’t you have something else to do?” Lin Han looked at Sheng Mingqian’s expression of wanting to laugh but holding back, and knew that Sheng Mingqian remembered the stupid things he had said before. He raised his hand to urge him to leave, and pulled up Fang Lichen’s arm, “It’s enough for my family to accompany me here, you go and do your thing.”

“By the way, President Lin, do you still remember the poisonous oath you swore before?” Sheng Mingqian asked deliberately when he saw him anxious.

“What oath?” Lin Han hissed, straightened his back, and refused to show weakness, “Director Sheng, it’s important to pursue someone properly. You’ve publicly expressed it before, and everyone is waiting for your progress now. You’re too slow.”

Lin Han won this argument. He smiled at Sheng Mingqian, grabbed Fang Lichen, and ran away.

It wasn’t the first time that an accident occurred at a promotional event. The audience member who threw things at the event was caught. He was a hater of one of the actors in their film. The stone was originally aimed at the actor next to Sheng Mingqian, but the angle was biased towards Sheng Mingqian, and Lin Han blocked it and was injured.

There were two more promotional events in City B, and the schedule could only be adjusted. Lin Han was injured and couldn’t participate, so Sheng Mingqian had to stay to participate.

–

–

The afternoon sea island sun shone with golden light, the beach was bright, a large expanse of wind, a large expanse of blue.

Seagulls flew across the sea, their posture light and stretched, the white waves bloomed on the reef, and quickly retreated back to the never-fading blue behind them.

The wedding was the next day. Ye Lai and Guang Hobo sat on the rocks by the sea to watch the sunset.

Something in Ye Lai’s body slowly sank along with the twilight. At that moment, time was reflected by the golden light and became heavy and boundless.

He was still thinking about the phone call before the plane took off, and Sheng Mingqian’s sentence, “I still…”

Later, the plane landed, and they came to the sea island hotel. Another day and night passed, during which Sheng Mingqian gave him three phone calls and sixteen messages, but he never continued to say “I still.”

He didn’t ask either.

Ye Lai clearly remembered what happened on the day of the divorce agreement. At night, he drove from the orphanage. When he parked in the yard and looked up, he saw the figure standing on the second floor, the thick smoke in the study, the ashtray full of cigarette butts on the table, Sheng Mingqian’s red eyes behind the smoke, the shirt cuffs rolled up to his elbows, the collar unbuttoned and a little crooked, and the flickering red light between his fingers.

Sheng Mingqian’s face was the same color as the smoke, a bluish-gray color, rising with the smoke and filling the room, stinging his eyes.

In addition to his eyes, there was also boundless and helpless pain.

That was different from the pain that he suffered from time to time. At that time, he was awake, feeling clear, and every inch of his skin was surrounded by airtight pain.

Besides Sheng Mingqian, what else was there?

The divorce agreement, the signature pen that Sheng Mingqian gave him, and an unopened kraft paper bag next to it.

And…

“I want to become a seagull.” Guang Hobo, who had been in a daze, suddenly spoke, interrupting the memories that made Ye Lai’s throat tighten. His scattered vision refocused, and there was another wave rushing towards his eyes.

I want to become a seagull. This was childish, but Ye Lai also thought so at the moment.

“I want to too,” he said.

“Where do seagulls come from?” Guang Hobo asked with his cheeks propped up and a puzzled expression.

“Maybe, from the other side of the sea, from a very cold place.”

“White, gray, with a little black on the wings.” Guang Hobo pointed to the seagulls and counted them one by one, “One, two, three…”

Ye Lai’s eyes also followed Guang Hobo’s fingers to look at the seagulls, and saw further away, he raised his arm, “Xiao Bo, look quickly, there’s one over there too, it’s pure white.”

“Really, over there by the sailboat, so beautiful.”

“It’s really beautiful.”

Chen Yuchuan’s wedding was held on the beach by the sea. In addition to their friends, some tourists joined in spontaneously. Ye Lai and Guang Hobo stood in a corner next to them.

Watching the lovers walk hand in hand, saying their vows, and receiving the blessings of family and friends, Ye Lai listened carefully.

In the past, he felt that weddings, rings, and vows didn’t matter.

Now Ye Lai realized that it wasn’t that he didn’t care, it was just because he didn’t have it. He had never really felt the wedding of lovers at such a close distance, and he still couldn’t help but feel envy in his heart. His fingers hanging by his side twisted on the seam of his pants.

His palms were empty.

The wedding banquet was held in the banquet hall of the resort hotel. Some tourists recognized Ye Lai and ran over to take pictures with him. Some people took the opportunity to ask if he and Sheng Mingqian had reconciled.

Ye Lai just smiled and didn’t respond.

After the banquet was a dance party. Originally, Ye Lai and Guang Hobo were just watching from the side. Seeing more and more people walking into the center of the banquet hall, Ye Lai was also infected by the atmosphere and pulled Guang Hobo along.

“Ye Lai, I can’t, I can’t dance.” Guang Hobo declined, feeling a little embarrassed.

Ye Lai pulled him in, “It doesn’t matter, I’ll teach you. Since you’re out, have some fun.”

Ye Lai had played a role that could dance before. For the dancing scenes in the plot, he specially learned it for a period of time. Although he hadn’t practiced for a long time, he quickly caught up with the rhythm.

“Raise your legs and follow my steps forward.” Ye Lai taught Guang Hobo little by little.

Guang Hobo was not very coordinated at first and always stepped on Ye Lai’s feet, but later he was able to slowly keep up.

Near the end of the intermission, Ye Lai noticed a tall man with a sullen face standing by the open door in the corner of the banquet hall, his eyes looking at Guang Hobo. Ye Lai met his eyes, and the hostility in the man’s eyes could be felt even from a distance.

Ye Lai patted Guang Hobo’s shoulder, “Xiao Bo, there’s a man over there looking at you.”

Guang Hobo responded and turned his head, but didn’t see anyone, “Why didn’t I see him?”

Ye Lai blinked, looked again, and indeed no one was there. He shook his head and said, “Maybe I was wrong.”

Ye Lai hadn’t felt so happy for a long time. He drank a lot of wine with Guang Hobo and felt a little drunk. They didn’t participate in the other activities arranged for the evening and went back to their rooms first.

After Ye Lai sent Guang Hobo back to his room, he took his room card and returned to his own room. The hallway was carpeted, and his feet made a muffled sound when he stepped on it. After returning to the room and washing his face, his cheeks, which had just been reddened by the wine, were still hot after being soaked in cold water.

Sitting in the room and sobering up for a while, Ye Lai was worried that Guang Hobo would vomit if he drank too much, so he took his room card and wanted to go to his room to check.

Their rooms were not far apart. Ye Lai stood in the hallway and saw a person standing at Guang Hobo’s door, as if talking to him. Soon, he entered his room.

Ye Lai was hesitating whether to go over and take a look when he ran into Chen Yuchuan sending a drunk friend back.

“Brother Chuan, I just saw someone enter Xiao Bo’s room. I’m a little worried about him.”

“It’s okay, it’s Xiao Bo’s ex-husband. He came to me just now and said he had something to talk to Xiao Bo about.”

So it was Xiao Bo’s ex-husband.

Knowing who it was, Ye Lai felt relieved and turned to go back. Just as he reached the door, he heard a burst of footsteps behind him. Soon, a figure trapped Ye Lai.

“Lai Lai.”

Ye Lai only saw a person in his peripheral vision. He subconsciously called out, and when he heard the familiar and tired voice, he forcibly suppressed his rising tone.

So it was his ex-husband.

The other words that came to his lips were replaced by a normal question, “Sheng Mingqian, why are you here?”

Before Ye Lai finished speaking, Sheng Mingqian hugged him from behind, heavily, as if his spine was about to be crushed by him.

That boundless time extended to the present, steaming hot.

Ye Lai belatedly realized that the steaming heat was not only from the feelings in his heart, but also from the body temperature of the person behind him, and the breathing of the person behind him, spraying on his hair, behind his neck, on his earlobes, on his cheeks, and on his eyes.

Sheng Mingqian rested his chin on Ye Lai’s shoulder and rubbed it, smelling the faint smell of alcohol on his body. The fatigue in his body dissipated a lot because he saw the person he wanted to see.

After all, they were in the hallway. Ye Lai half-lowered his eyelids and moved his shoulders, “Let go, I want to open the door.”

Sheng Mingqian suddenly let go, but still stood close to Ye Lai. Ye Lai swiped the card, pushed open the door, and walked in.

The footsteps of the two people were intertwined and a little chaotic, like drumbeats that had been disrupted, along with their breathing and heartbeats.

The hotel rooms were all booked in advance by Chen Yuchuan, all of which were the best rooms with a view. The room had a huge floor-to-ceiling window, and across from the balcony was the sea.

It was night now, and the lights outside the window flickered with faint red shadows, illuminating a small area of reefs and beaches in front. Looking further away, there was only the deep black sea.

It wasn’t as beautiful as it was during the day, without the warm sunshine and waves.

Ye Lai thought again, that blue was not never-fading after all. It was blue during the day, but it faded at night.

Ye Lai turned on the lights, and the room instantly became bright. The glass windows reflected the scene in the room. Ye Lai walked to the window and pulled the curtains to block the blackness from outside.

“I can only stay for six hours.”

Ye Lai supported the table with both hands and turned around, looking up at Sheng Mingqian’s tired face, “Six hours, why did you come, aren’t you tired?”

Sheng Mingqian walked over and stopped in front of Ye Lai, looking at Ye Lai’s blurred eyes, as if he was the one who was drunk, “I have to go to the airport at five o’clock tomorrow morning, and there is an event that I must attend, but I couldn’t help but want to see you.”

In six hours, it will be dawn, Ye Lai thought, and he should be able to see blue again.

“After the event, I flew directly from City B. I actually had something I wanted to bring, but I didn’t have time to go home,” Sheng Mingqian moved his wrists, his hands empty. Besides his phone and ID, he didn’t bring anything, “I didn’t choose the right time to say what I wanted to say to you last time. After thinking about it, maybe I can only say it in front of you so that I won’t be interrupted. I originally wanted to wait for you to return to China, but I couldn’t wait.”

Ye Lai thought, the question that had plagued him for two days and two nights, three phone calls plus sixteen text messages, seemed to be continuing.

Drunkenness and fatigue can be contagious. The fatigue on Sheng Mingqian’s body reached Ye Lai’s body, and the drunkenness on Ye Lai’s body also spread to Sheng Mingqian’s body.

Sheng Mingqian raised his hand and touched the slightly upturned red corner of Ye Lai’s eye. “On the night I signed the divorce agreement, in addition to those absurd divorce agreements, I also prepared a lot of other things. If you count carefully, they should all be classified as an absurd series. Another copy is the renewed marriage agreement. If you don’t want a marriage agreement, there is also a love agreement. I don’t know if you noticed it. It was in the kraft paper bag on the table. That night, I was waiting for you to say the sentence ‘I want you’ from five years ago.”

Ye Lai noticed it, he said in his heart.

“There is also a memory card. I must ask you for that memory card. My first thought was to destroy it. I was thinking at the time that as long as I crushed it, the beginning of that relationship would be over. I know it’s a bit self-deceptive, and fortunately, I didn’t really destroy the memory card in the end.”

Sheng Mingqian’s fingers didn’t move away from Ye Lai’s eyes. Ye Lai’s eyelashes trembled, and the light in his eyes also trembled. Sheng Mingqian’s fingertips slid down to the corner of Ye Lai’s mouth, “There’s something else.”

“What else?” Ye Lai raised his trembling eyelashes.

Ye Lai’s eyes were deep black. Sheng Mingqian took a deep breath as he looked at them, opened his arms, and hugged Ye Lai again, “There’s also a ring.”