PMWAIAAPM Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Two Weeks Pregnant

Hai Cheng.

After getting off the plane, Tan Zhiyu was picked up by the crew and taken to the film and television base.

Director Zheng specifically asked how Tan Zhiyu was feeling today, wanting to know if they could start shooting because today the wind in Hai Cheng wasn’t as strong as usual, and the weather was better.

But when they opened the door of Tan Zhiyu’s nanny car, they saw him staring blankly while holding a bucket of popcorn.

Li Yue smiled awkwardly, “He can, don’t worry, Zhiyu is in great condition.”

Director Zheng: “Are you… sure?”

Tan Zhiyu’s eyes were red, and he didn’t seem very well; he looked more like someone who had just suffered a devastating blow.

“Don’t worry, we’ll have the makeup artist come over shortly. It won’t delay the crew’s schedule.”

Tan Zhiyu was renowned in the industry for his professionalism and high-quality performance, so when his manager spoke up, Director Zheng couldn’t say much and hurried to organize the props team for the set.

There were many scenes to shoot today, and Jiang Cheng had arrived early in the morning. He had already finished all his individual shots and was just waiting for his scenes with Tan Zhiyu.

Tan Zhiyu had been fine on the plane.

Perhaps Mr. Xing had pampered him too much, making him willingly board the plane, but half an hour later, he realized that he truly had to be apart from Mr. Xing for over a week.

Once again, he felt like a lonely person.

He actually thought that with his current status, even if he delayed the shooting of the Hai Cheng scenes by a week, it wouldn’t matter. This way, he could accompany Mr. Xing on his business trip, and when it was time for him to film, Mr. Xing could come along too.

【Are you in Switzerland? All good? Have you eaten yet?】

Tan Zhiyu: 【Of course.】

He immediately sent a picture of an empty lunchbox, also telling him that Li Yue had secretly eaten his breakfast, praising his cooking skills.

Xing Yang’s tone was playful, like he was coaxing a child, suggesting that as long as Tan Zhiyu finished his meal obediently, he would get a reward. In reality, as long as Mr. Xing casually said he was great, Tan Zhiyu would feel happy for a while.

Looking at his phone, he giggled.

But when he put down the phone, he remembered he was in a long-distance relationship; no more giggling.

On the first day apart from Mr. Xing, he missed him, missed him, still missed him.

Tan Zhiyu had never been in a relationship. He had played many roles, including deeply infatuated lovers, and a director once told him that his acting was superb, with tears falling like a string of broken pearls. However, amidst his remarkable performance, there was always a missing element.

As for what that element was, the director couldn’t explain.

Now Tan Zhiyu understood it was love—

It was a crazy yearning—

When two souls genuinely love each other, every smile, frown, joy, excitement, sadness, and pain emanates from them, spreading throughout life in all directions. Even if the person is not by their side, countless invisible threads tightly envelop them in unseen dimensions.

“Alright, get ready to shoot! No matter how much you long for him, Mr. Xing won’t come back!” Li Yue had completely had enough, quickly pulling him to makeup.

Yesterday, after a day of rest, Tan Zhiyu’s skin was a makeup artist’s dream, requiring no foundation because any foundation shade looked inferior compared to his naturally pale skin.

Although Hai Cheng had a name suggesting a beach city, there was no sea within the city.

It was said that the city had risen after the seawater dried up, and there was only a small cliff at the end that barely extended a few meters into the sea.

Today’s filming was at this cliff, where they needed to use wires for aerial shots.

Tan Zhiyu was very experienced, but today’s cliff was too high. After finishing a few shots, the sun had set, and it was dark, with no breaks.

“You’re working so hard; doesn’t Mr. Xing support you?” Jiang Cheng, taking advantage of his water break, leaned closer with a cheeky grin.

Only five people knew about their marriage.

Tan Zhiyu still didn’t understand why Xing Yang told him.

Jiang Cheng had more youthful energy, dressed in a black tactical jacket while watching the screen at the shooting site.

“What does it have to do with you?” Tan Zhiyu frowned slightly, readjusting the harness around his waist, preparing for his next shooting angle.

Jiang Cheng chuckled softly, “It has nothing to do with me; I’m just curious.”

“Curious about what?” Tan Zhiyu brushed past him, not wanting to say another word. He found Jiang Cheng physically irritating.

Jiang Cheng always acted so mysteriously, as if he knew something about Tan Zhiyu and Xing Yang’s past that was unbeknownst to him.

He also disliked this—Xing Yang’s past relationships and life were all a mystery to him, and he had never been involved. But Jiang Cheng seemed to have been part of it, even flaunting it in front of him. This guy was shameless; the word “husband” was meaningless to him.

Jiang Cheng took out some candy and popped it into his mouth, “Curious… why Mr. Xing likes you.”

“Is it just because you’re pretty?” Jiang Cheng squinted slightly, “The entertainment industry is never short of pretty people. Your background is deep and hard to control; you must be difficult. If I were rich like Mr. Xing, I’d find someone perfect for me.”

“Go get yourself treated if you’re sick.”

Stop ruining other people’s families with your comments.

Nerve.

Tan Zhiyu’s expression darkened, and he walked straight past him, bumping his shoulder hard against Jiang Cheng. The director was already calling for the next shot, and it was nearing midnight; it seemed they would be filming until late.

Li Yue approached him with a hand warmer, “Today’s cliff shooting is only happening today; we’ll take a break tomorrow morning.”

“I know.” Tan Zhiyu didn’t care; he had been filming for years, and this level of intensity was nothing.

He was just a bit annoyed as he picked up his phone and then put it down again. The message he sent to Xing Yang still hadn’t been replied to, asking about his return time from the business trip.

After all, his part at this base was only a week; if it took too long, he could easily go to Switzerland for a vacation, just to relax.

“Ancestral treasure, stop looking! Switzerland is in a different time zone. Mr. Xing is a busy man; you’re his treasure! He’ll definitely reply when he sees it. He’s probably busy now; be good and get to work.”

Tan Zhiyu stubbornly retorted, “I’m not waiting for his message.”

“Fine.” Li Yue simply didn’t press the issue.

She wanted to complain; Mr. Xing had just given him a butterfly pendant that morning, and already after one day, Tan Zhiyu had almost flattened it.

Tan Zhiyu irritably threw his phone back into the car. A scene using the wire took about forty minutes from setup to completion.

The wind in Hai Cheng was strong, and as Tan Zhiyu stood on the edge of the cliff listening to the sound of waves, the white noise made him a bit sleepy. He wanted to touch the butterfly pendant in his pocket. Somehow, a memory flashed through his mind—

At the pre-exam motivational meeting a hundred days before the college entrance examination, he no longer needed to take the exam as he was accepted by a university based on his merits. The school had invited him back to conduct a motivational session.

Since he was invited on short notice without a script, when he took the microphone, a large green butterfly landed on the podium.

The buzzing of the microphone echoed throughout the gymnasium. Seeing that he hadn’t spoken for a while, the host asked, “What’s wrong?”

Tan Zhiyu moved his fingertips, and the butterfly fluttered away, its blue-green wings refracting rainbow colors in the sunlight, dazzling everyone.

“Oh dear, who is on animal duty today? Who let it out?”

“Seems like it’s that poor student from class twelve.”

Tan Zhiyu said, “This butterfly is a type of swallowtail; I hope all the students stepping into the exam can emerge from their cocoons like this butterfly.”

“The turning point is never the exam; it’s your own cocoon. I believe each of you will become the greatest butterfly of your own lives.”

After the rehearsal, the vice principal swatted the butterfly down with a paddle, fearing it would scare the students. He originally intended to catch it but ended up breaking half of its wings. In the end, it flapped its wings a few times before dying.

Tan Zhiyu wrapped it in paper, and after everyone had left, he buried the butterfly under a large camphor tree, forming a small grave mound.

Who let this poor butterfly go, causing its death?

This memory randomly appeared in Tan Zhiyu’s mind. In high school, there were courses for observing plants and animals, but those courses often went to students who were bullied.

Perhaps they were all butterflies.

These small wings were quite common.

Tan Zhiyu was lost in thought, and the wire behind him was already secured. He hadn’t reacted in time and lost his balance, almost falling off the cliff!

“Tan Zhiyu!”

“Props team, stop!! Stop!!!”

“Help, quickly!!”

Tan Zhiyu was suspended in mid-air, the harness around his waist holding him up. Below him was a pitch-black void, and the only sound was the desolate crashing of waves. He couldn’t see anything, only knew it was very high. His heart raced, and his palms felt empty. The platinum butterfly he had just received that morning had already fallen into the depths below.

A group of people rushed to pull Tan Zhiyu up. Li Yue was the first to run over, “What were you thinking?! Have you lost your mind?! That’s a cliff! If you weren’t tied up, you’d be done for!”

Due to this incident, the crew wrapped up early. Li Yue’s heart continued to race for over an hour after.

While Tan Zhiyu instinctively gripped the wire, the coarse steel rope cut into his palm, causing several wounds. After the crew’s doctor bandaged him up, he left.

He felt a bit panicked, for no particular reason.

It seemed that he was bothered by the butterfly he had lost.

Late at night, many reporters still gathered outside the film base. A young assistant who had gone to buy gauze rushed back, “Sister Li…! Something happened!!”

“Outside, it’s full of reporters—”

Li Yue glanced at her watch and complained, “This film isn’t being shot for the first time; why are there so many people at this hour?”

Most of the crew had already left the scene, but everyone was busy on their phones, glancing towards Tan Zhiyu’s nanny car.

Inside, Tan Zhiyu was carefully having his injuries attended to by a doctor, grimacing in pain, hardly paying attention to the reporters outside.

“Sister Li! Look at the trending topics!!”

“Trending? What happened?”

Li Yue got in the car, confused, and opened Weibo. She saw a trending topic at the top!

【Movie star Tan Zhiyu and the investor have an ambiguous relationship, suspected of a special connection? Money transaction?】

The accompanying picture was from the morning when Xing Yang dropped Tan Zhiyu off at the airport—an intimate moment in the car.

Tan Zhiyu looked unhappy about their impending separation, but Xing Yang was gently smiling, coaxing Tan Zhiyu to cheer up.

But in the trending topic, it became a story of the investor exploiting Tan Zhiyu due to work arrangements. Tan Zhiyu’s reluctance was already evident on his face as he got out of the car and left without looking back.

At that moment, Li Yue’s head buzzed, almost exploding with shock!

Tan Zhiyu not looking back was because he was afraid that if he did, tears would fall and Mr. Xing would notice!

Who took this picture? Who leaked the news?!

Tan Zhiyu and Xing Yang’s relationship was clearly a secret; even insiders wouldn’t guess. These two were never supposed to be connected.

At this moment, the comments section was erupting, and the long-standing good resources Tan Zhiyu had accumulated were also trending.

Only one small topic was gradually buried【Negative news about Yuan Yin Real Estate has emerged! Xing Yang and Tan Yushen’s financial gamble is suspected to be a total loss!】

Tan Zhiyu heard commotion in the car and rolled down the window, “What’s going on?”

Li Yue hesitated to pass her phone over, but Tan Zhiyu took it himself and was taken aback when he saw the trending topic.

He did want to admit his relationship with Mr. Xing, and whether it was a natural exposure or he released it himself, it would need discussion first.

Now was not the time.

Tan Zhiyu called Xing Yang, but the other side was unanswered.

“Beep, beep—”

Due to the time difference between domestic and international locations, Tan Zhiyu held his phone, finally understanding the source of his anxiety: “Sister Yue, I need to go to Switzerland.”

“Ancestral treasure!! How are you going to go now?!”

The trending topic had just come out, and it was a hot mess!!

It had barely been half an hour, and the heat had already grown this way. If he met up with Xing Yang now, the PR department wouldn’t even be able to come up with a suitable response!

Tan Zhiyu repeatedly tried to call.

This wasn’t right; something felt off.

——

Switzerland.

In the hospital corridor, the hallway lights had not yet fully illuminated, and the sunlight filtered through the glass windows onto the marble floor.

A phone placed on the iron bench buzzed.

Xing Yang held the freshly released blood test report and pathology information.

Two weeks pregnant.

Gland failure, central nervous system disorders, a recurrence of ALS, and complications of Alzheimer’s were suspected.

Xing Yang looked at the caller ID on the screen and smiled helplessly.

The world really was absurd.