Chapter 84: I Miss You So Much
It was spring, and the weather was pleasant enough that there was no need for air conditioning.
Lin Seran was scrolling through his phone. The search bar was filled with Wen Yan’s name.
There were clips of Wen Yan being secretly filmed again today, news about the red paint discovered at Wen Yan’s door, and reports of him calling the police.
The manager caught a glimpse of the content on the screen and then glanced at Lin Seran’s expression. He had no idea what kind of mood this mentally unstable person was in now, and he couldn’t be bothered to guess.
He spoke up: “The interview team from XX Station will be here shortly. Get up and get ready now. Don’t let them catch you off guard, or they’ll say you’re acting like a big shot again.”
Lin Seran looked dissatisfied. He suddenly looked up and stared at the manager.
The manager felt a slight shiver under that gaze.
Lin Seran asked him, “Brother, has Brother Zhouye stopped caring about me?”
The manager didn’t answer.
He knew exactly what answer Lin Seran wanted, but Pei Zhouye had only asked a few times about what Lin Seran needed. It couldn’t even be called concern; it was a pure form of “free-range” indulgence.
Pei Zhouye’s attention wasn’t on Lin Seran at all, and the manager couldn’t bring himself to tell such a clumsy lie to deceive him at this moment.
Lin Seran was clearly unhappy, though he didn’t fly into a rage. In the past, no matter what he did, Pei Zhouye would handle it for him. Whatever he wanted, he just had to open his mouth and Pei Zhouye would deliver it.
Why was it different now?
The interview for XX Station was recorded outdoors.
The host held a microphone, and Lin Seran was dressed in casual clothes, exuding a strong youthful aura that made him look like a pure, simple university student. The two strolled through the campus, engaging in casual small talk. The cameraman followed behind them, capturing the beautiful spring scenery of A Da.
Everything followed the pre-arranged questions.
Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared in the distance. The host, possessing a keen eye for trending topics, spotted him immediately. He was genuinely pleasantly surprised; he had originally thought about interviewing Wen Yan, but Wen Yan had rejected all personal and media requests.
Lin Seran naturally noticed the surrounding gazes shifting toward that spot. To him, that outstanding figure was all too familiar.
He smiled, putting on a front of pure kindness.
Wen Yan was walking too quickly, and it was impossible for the host to disrupt the interview plan to chase after him. Instead, the host pivoted the conversation.
Host: “I saw a video earlier of Wen Yan greeting you, Lin Laoshi. Do you two know each other?”
It wasn’t a formal interview, just a small segment meant to boost the heat for the drama and the artist, conducted like a casual chat.
“Wen Yan?” Lin Seran paused deliberately, looking as if he were in a bit of a difficult position.
Everyone’s eyes were glued to Lin Seran’s face, trying to catch any useful or explosive information.
Lin Seran smiled. “I’ve seen him a few times around some friends. But I truly never imagined that Wen Yan would be a student at A Da.”
These ambiguous words were bound to trigger people’s imaginations.
The host immediately followed up: “Some friends? I didn’t expect your social circles to overlap.”
Lin Seran chuckled. “Let’s not talk about that. We’re getting a bit off-topic.”
The video was meant to chase the current trend. The feature of this interview program from XX Station was that it could be filmed and released on the same day with only simple editing. When the video was released, it didn’t immediately draw fire toward Wen Yan.
When Wen Yan returned home, he discovered many more security guards around the residential area. Outside the building where he lived, there were even several plainclothes bodyguards.
He could recognize them because they weren’t trying particularly hard to hide; they had distinctive builds that any observant resident would notice. Furthermore, he had lived under Pei Zhouye’s surveillance for a long time; bodyguards were everywhere back then.
[ Wen Yan: So many people aren’t necessary. ]
After sending it, he felt his words were ambiguous and his posture perhaps too arrogant or haughty. He was debating whether to rephrase and resend it. But how else should he say it?
While he was still hesitating, a reply came through.
[ Pei Zhouye: It is necessary. ]
[ Pei Zhouye: Wen Yan, can we meet today? ]
Wen Yan refused quickly.
[ Wen Yan: No. ]
[ Wen Yan: You should rest well. ]
Pei Zhouye hadn’t slept at all last night, sitting on that tiny sofa in his rental apartment for the entire night. It was only noon now, and judging by the speed of his reply, he likely hadn’t slept this morning either.
Wen Yan didn’t realize that his reason for refusing Pei Zhouye wasn’t that he didn’t want to meet, but rather concern that Pei Zhouye hadn’t rested enough.
Inside the high-rise of the Pei Group, in a conference room, the internal team was holding a meeting regarding strategy for the newly issued international technology blockade policies.
Pei Zhouye looked at the final few words of concern from Wen Yan, and a hint of a smile tugged at his lips. The subordinates below were incredibly tense; seeing the smile on Pei Zhouye’s face, they didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.
No one knew if President Pei was smiling because he had a good solution or if he was laughing in anger at their proposals. Since Pei Zhouye had taken office, his smiles were tragically rare. The dark circles under his eyes were heavy, and he always carried a faint air of exhaustion, but his aura of oppression had never weakened.
After sending a few more messages, Pei Zhouye returned his focus to the meeting. His smile vanished as the meeting continued.
Wen Yan received a string of messages, his phone pinging incessantly. He didn’t hesitate, immediately putting down the half-cut vegetables and hurriedly wiping his hands before opening his phone.
[ Pei Zhouye: Wen Yan, if anything happens, call this number… ]
[ Pei Zhouye: You can call it even if nothing is happening. ]
[ Pei Zhouye: I miss you so much. ]
After reading these three messages, Wen Yan saved the number to his contacts. He looked up to see the half-cut potato remaining on the cutting board. A lonely little piece of potato sat there, next to a neatly arranged row of potato slices.
Wen Yan couldn’t quite wrap his head around his own behavior. Why on earth would he drop everything he was doing just because he knew a message was from Pei Zhouye?
Thinking about it didn’t help. Wen Yan picked up his phone again and sent a reply.
[ Wen Yan: 1 ]
The lounge door was suddenly kicked open.
The manager saw Lin Seran half-lying on the sofa. He was so angry he was speechless, slamming the door shut again with a bang.
He did his best to suppress his voice so he wouldn’t scream. “Didn’t I tell you to behave yourself?!”
Lin Seran looked back at him calmly, acting as if he were entirely in the right.
The manager felt like he was about to have a heart attack. He spoke rapidly: “Didn’t I say I would handle it? Do you think your suggestive words today won’t be picked apart by others? You just had to pull these petty tricks in front of the camera…”
“Isn’t it fine?” Lin Seran interrupted him impatiently. “I didn’t say anything specific. Whatever they think is their business. Besides, there’s no reaction online right now.”
“I was just venting a little. Why get so worked up?”
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