“Xie Qian?”
Wang Shuang talked for a while without a response, wondering if the call had dropped.
“Oh, no big deal, just checking in. Go back to sleep!”
Xie Qian hung up abruptly, leaving Wang Shuang grinding his teeth.
Being an investor gave him that kind of power!
Could an investor daddy toy with an intern producer, calling in the middle of the night for a work report?
Yes, an investor daddy could do exactly that.
Not just an intern producer—if the investor daddy felt like it, he could summon the producer, director, and actors for a midnight meeting!
Yuan Fenghui had mentioned that private meetings in a room were also an option… but Xie Qian would never do something like that. If he tried pulling any shady moves, he’d be the one at a loss.
Unable to fall back asleep after being woken, Wang Shuang checked the time—not yet eleven. Should he get up and play a couple of games or study?
Recalling his disappointing exam results at the start of the new semester, Wang Shuang dragged himself up, washed his face with cold water, and prepared to tackle two test papers.
High school sophomore problems were tough!
The chaotic work at the production set hadn’t broken him, nor had earning 200 yuan less than Wen Ying, but these test papers genuinely made him want to cry!
In the dead of night, who could tutor him?
Wang Shuang first called Geng Xiao and Tang Yifeng.
Tang Yifeng didn’t answer, and Geng Xiao’s phone was off.
He considered calling Qin Jiao but remembered she was less than two months from the college entrance exam and couldn’t bear to disturb her.
Finally, he thought of Xie Qian.
He knew Xie Qian was a top student in their first year, but could he handle sophomore-level problems?
Thick-skinned, Wang Shuang called back, asking how to solve a problem. Xie Qian thought for a moment and gave him the approximate page numbers in the physics textbook. “Read those pages carefully first. If you still don’t get it, I’ll explain.”
Wang Shuang’s first thought was that Xie Qian was incredible—not only could he solve sophomore problems, but he knew exactly which pages covered the relevant concepts!
His second thought was that he was better at gaming than Xie Qian, so he was pretty awesome too.
His third thought was gratitude: Xie Qian was such a bro, staying up late to help him study!
“Good brother, you’re too kind to me…”
Xie Qian, on the other end, was baffled.
This was considered kind?
Since he couldn’t sleep anyway, helping Wang the Slacker with problems was a way to pass the time.
But since Wang was so touched, when Xie Qian assigned test papers to Wen Ying, he could toss a couple to Wang too.
Even though Wang was a sophomore and Wen Ying a freshman, if they took the same test, Wen Ying would likely score higher.
Besides gaming, Wang was a slacker in every subject!
With that thought, Xie Qian wasn’t as annoyed about Wen Ying sneaking off to Hunan. If she were a top-tier slacker like Wang, he’d have to spend so much more effort tutoring her.
…
While Xie Qian was tracking Wen Ying’s whereabouts, Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong stepped out of their tutoring class one after the other.
Exhausted—truly exhausted.
Moving bricks at a construction site or cooking in a canteen would be easier. Work was just physically draining, but tutoring was a double blow to body and mind.
Chen Ru looked drained from the teacher’s torment. Wen Dongrong, after secretly checking a text on his phone, stayed silent the whole way home. When they arrived, Chen Ru noticed the house was dark.
“Wen Ying’s asleep?”
The rooms were pitch black.
Wen Dongrong mumbled a response.
Chen Ru flipped on the light and saw Wen Ying’s slippers still at the entrance, feeling puzzled.
“Why didn’t that girl change her shoes before sleeping?”
Instinctively, Chen Ru headed to Wen Ying’s room, deftly opened the door, and turned on the light. The bed was untouched, with the blanket still folded—clearly, Wen Ying wasn’t home.
Past eleven on a Friday, with no evening study session at school, where had she gone?
Maybe the late-night food street?
Chen Ru was about to call when she caught Wen Dongrong standing at the door, looking off. She couldn’t pinpoint it, but something about him seemed sneaky.
After years of marriage, Chen Ru could read Wen Dongrong’s unconscious body language like a book.
What was he feeling guilty about?
Right—back in the car that afternoon, Wen Dongrong had taken Wen Ying’s call!
She’d found it odd then. The father and daughter weren’t usually that close, and when she asked, Wen Dongrong had changed the subject.
“Are you hiding something from me?”
Five hundred yuan a month for pocket money.
A brand-new leather jacket.
Most importantly, it was just the two of them at home—no outsiders, so getting scolded wouldn’t be embarrassing.
Wen Dongrong felt secure, playing it cool: “I was so busy this afternoon I forgot to tell you. Wen Ying said she’s going to Hunan for a bit. Something about a problem with Tianjiao’s drama that needs her as the screenwriter. She’ll be back after the weekend.”
That’s what Wen Ying had said, and he wasn’t lying.
He just omitted the part about the 500 yuan and the leather jacket.
Feeling more composed, Wen Dongrong thought, getting mad now was pointless—the plane had probably landed. They couldn’t drag her back, so they’d deal with her when she returned to Chengdu.
He advised Chen Ru the same way: Wen Ying might have run off quickly, but she’d be back after the weekend, and they could settle things then!
Chen Ru’s temples throbbed.
Half from anger at Wen Ying, half from the shameless Wen Dongrong standing before her, blabbering away.
Wen Ying must’ve known she’d get scolded, so she reported to Wen Dongrong instead.
That girl was an immature high schooler, and Chen Ru was used to worrying about her.
But this guy? Was he still a high schooler?
At his age, doing something like this!
After accepting a used car from Wen Ying, now he was covering for her.
Wen Ying was already in Hunan, out of reach, but Wen Dongrong was standing right there.
One look at Chen Ru’s eyes, and Wen Dongrong knew he was done for.
Five minutes later, clutching a lone pillow, he was kicked out, the door slamming shut just shy of his nose.
“Listen, let me explain…”
Wen Dongrong tapped the door softly. Footsteps moved inside, but Chen Ru didn’t respond.
Pacing at the doorstep with his pillow, Wen Dongrong’s steps were heavy, but a smile played on his face.
What was sleeping in the car for one night?
It was April—weather wasn’t too cold. A night in the car wouldn’t be too bad.
For a man, this was nothing. The real hardship was having no money in his pocket!
Five hundred yuan a month meant 6,000 a year!
Six thousand bucks! Sleeping in the car tonight, he could imagine he was in a five-star Chengdu hotel suite.
…
Hunan.
Wen Ying got off the plane and quickly turned on her phone.
Not telling Manager Chen before leaving was one thing, but not reporting her itinerary after arriving in Hunan would mean certain doom back in Chengdu.
As soon as she powered on, two new messages popped up. Wen Ying looked closely and finally remembered what she’d forgotten.
—She hadn’t told Xie Qian about going to Hunan!
—Oh no, no, no! Making her male god wait for her goodnight text was an unforgivable sin!
—Xie Qian would definitely, absolutely, positively send her test papers!
Don’t ask how she knew—it was intuition!
