Wen Liang had recently been possessed by a sense of irritability that permeated his entire body, making him feel uncomfortable and unable to stay calm.

He was arrogant and cold, had a terrible temper, and was filled with hostility. When his anger flared, nobody could control him.

In recent years, when Chen Die was around, this hostility seemed somewhat contained. But now, after one trip to the main residence, the irritation in his heart continued to surface.

Tonight, Wen Liang had an event on the top floor of the Xi City Exhibition Center.

The host was Mr. Lin, originally from an artistic family, who had now taken on all the design work for the East City project.

Wen Liang had collaborated with him, and his attendance at this banquet was merely to save face. He didn’t interact much during the event.

On such occasions, several young masters who knew each other naturally sat together.

Wen Liang sat in the center, his collar slightly disheveled, exposing half of his collarbone, his Adam’s apple prominent. A cigarette was held between his fingers, and the muscle lines of his arm flowed smoothly.

A beautiful woman sat beside him, thoughtfully peeling a tangerine for him.

“Mr. Wen, here you go.” A white, delicate hand offered the tangerine.

Someone across teased him — “How come among so many people here, only Mr. Wen gets to eat tangerines?”

Wen Liang tossed the tangerine to him — “Then you eat it.”

Another person suddenly joked — “Mr. Wen can’t just eat tangerines from anyone, or Lingling at home will get angry.”

Everyone else around them fell silent.

This was like deliberately bringing up a sore subject, intentionally walking into the line of fire.

“What?” That person also realized the atmosphere had changed. “Did you two fight?”

Wen Liang leaned back on the sofa and took a heavy drag from his cigarette.

He didn’t speak, and the others didn’t dare comment on whether it was just a fight or a breakup, although judging by how things looked at the time, it was a breakup.

Xiao Shi spoke up to smooth things over — “Alright, alright, fighting isn’t exactly a happy topic anyway, let’s drop it.”

But that person wouldn’t let it go. Being extremely rebellious and lacking social awareness, he continued pressing the issue — “If you had a fight, just make up with her. My girlfriend gets angry all the time too. You just need to be a bit shameless about it. Don’t let it turn into a cold war; once things go cold, it’s over.”

Xiao Shi waved his hand and found some excuse to change the subject.

After several rounds of drinks, everyone had consumed quite a bit of alcohol.

Wen Liang, already irritable, was gradually becoming tipsy from drinking one glass after another.

These young masters weren’t completely uneducated; they also discussed matters related to their projects.

While they were talking, suddenly the normally quiet and visibly unhappy Wen Liang spoke up—

With his phone held to his ear, his expression remained calm and composed, showing no signs of intoxication. His voice was hoarse with a heavy nasal tone, likely due to a slight cold, resonating deeply from his throat.

“Where are you?” His voice was even.

Everyone looked over at him, intuitively sensing that the person on the other end was “Lingling.”

The room fell quiet.

Wen Liang seemed completely unaware of everyone’s gaze, his head lowered, supporting his forehead with his arm.

The person on the other end said something, and Wen Liang repeated — “I asked, where are you?”

His voice grew colder, taking on a warning tone.

It made the listeners shudder.

He was already a madman, and now he was drunk. If he lost his temper, he might blow the roof off the place. Everyone around felt uneasy.

They could only hope that whoever was on the other end wouldn’t say anything to further provoke him.

The person on the other end indeed didn’t say anything to anger Wen Liang.

She simply hung up the phone.

Wen Liang removed the phone from his ear, his face completely darkened.

His tongue heavily brushed against his molars as he changed his posture and immediately called back.

He didn’t put the phone to his ear, just stared at the screen.

This time was even more extreme—as soon as the call connected, it was immediately disconnected.

Everyone remained silent.

Wen Liang lowered his eyes and looked at the screen for several seconds, but in the end, he unexpectedly smiled, grabbed his coat, and left.

Xiao Shi stood frozen for a full half minute before exclaiming, “Fuck,” sinking back into the sofa. After a moment, he said it again — “Fuck.”

“Is Ah Liang going straight to find her? How much did he drink? Drunk driving?!”

He didn’t dare stay any longer and hurriedly went after him.

But Wen Liang was already nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, Wen Liang’s car was still parked safely in the garage.

Chen Die’s scenes had finished in the afternoon, but she still stayed to watch Qi Cheng and Wang Yunxi finish theirs.

It must be said that Qi Cheng’s reputation as the most talented actor among the popular young stars was well-deserved, and Wang Yunxi’s image naturally fit her character, making her performance equally convincing.

Chen Die sat nearby on a small stool, watching and learning.

Her phone, placed beside her, had rung twice but remained silent afterward.

He was probably furious.

It was nearly midnight when filming wrapped up.

Lan Chuan checked today’s footage, backed it up, and after speaking quietly with the staff nearby, he got up and walked over to Chen Die.

“Heading back together?” Lan Chuan asked.

“You’re staying at Zhou Yu too?” Lan Chuan nodded — “Yes, all staff members are arranged to stay there.”

Chen Die nodded — “Then wait for me a moment.”

She returned to the makeup room to change out of her costume but didn’t have time to remove her makeup. Still looking disheveled, she didn’t care and went out like that.

In the deep silence of midnight, the film city was divided into two parts—one side was the tourist area, and the other was where filming was concentrated.

The tourist area was still brightly lit, hosting a fireworks display, and the laughter of tourists could be heard.

Zhou Yu Hotel was nearby, and Chen Die walked there side by side with Lan Chuan.

“Chen Die,” Lan Chuan’s voice was pleasant.

“Hmm?”

“What I said this afternoon, do you understand what I meant?”

Such direct approaches—Chen Die felt she had never really known what kind of person Lan Chuan was before.

“I understand,” Chen Die answered quickly. “But I haven’t considered having a boyfriend yet.”

Lan Chuan calmly asked — “Because of Chen Shuyuan?”

“No,” Chen Die smiled, not hiding her dislike for Chen Shuyuan at all. “She’s nothing, she can’t influence me.”

“Then, is it because of your ex-boyfriend?”

Only then did Chen Die show a moment of hesitation, lowering her head and pushing back her long hair — “That’s part of it. I was with him for a long time, so I also need some time to adjust to life without him.”

Lan Chuan had known Chen Die since she entered the university as a freshman when he was a senior.

He knew that as soon as she entered school, many people pursued her, and he also knew she already had a boyfriend.

Counting the time, they had indeed been together for a long time.

Earlier at the set, Chen Die had received a call from that ex-boyfriend and only said one thing — “Have you been drinking?”

Her tone was calm, suggesting an amicable breakup, but then she simply hung up on two consecutive calls.

Lan Chuan couldn’t be sure, but since it involved someone else’s private past, he didn’t ask further.

Their rooms weren’t on the same floor. Lan Chuan escorted Chen Die to her hotel room door.

“Rest well tonight, goodnight.”

“Mm, goodnight.”

Chen Die said goodbye to him and swiped her room card to enter.

The rooms arranged by the production team were standard king-size rooms. One could pay extra to upgrade to a suite, but Chen Die didn’t think it necessary and hadn’t upgraded.

She boiled some water and sat down, letting down her tied-up long hair.

The role required her hair to be very messy, with many tangles. As she waited for the water to boil, Chen Die untangled her hair strand by strand.

Her long hair was swept to one side, exposing half of her shoulder. Her collarbone protruded, and her skin was so white it seemed to glow.

By the time the water boiled, she still hadn’t finished combing her hair. Chen Die poured herself a cup mixed with cool mineral water.

She walked over to pull back the curtains.

Suddenly, her gaze paused and returned to the familiar figure at the bottom of the building.

She lived on a double-digit floor, so it was actually impossible to see faces clearly from that height, but she knew too well how Wen Liang looked when smoking.

He sat by the flower bed with a cigarette in his mouth, light smoke rising and enveloping his brow and eyes. He took a heavy drag, and the fire at the cigarette tip brightened, illuminating the line of his jaw in the darkness.

Chen Die stood by the window watching for quite a while. The cup of water in her hand had turned cold by the time she returned to the table to add more hot water.

She wasn’t surprised that Wen Liang had found out where she was. If he wanted to know, he could investigate her daily meals in detail.

But she hadn’t expected Wen Liang to come.

She suddenly remembered what Auntie Zhang had said.

Even in summer, the predawn had heavy dew. Wen Liang wore only a thin shirt; if he continued to stay outside, he might catch a cold and develop a fever the next day.

Chen Die didn’t dislike Wen Liang.

Even though they had separated, she was sad because of him, but from beginning to end, Wen Liang’s attitude toward her had always been the same. It was her small affection that had continued to expand, constantly craving more, so she left because she wasn’t satisfied with what Wen Liang could give her.

Besides, her life these past six years had been under Wen Liang’s protection.

Chen Die finished the cup of water in her hand, sighed, put on her coat, and prepared to go downstairs. However, from the window, she saw that there was no longer anyone at the spot at the bottom of the building.

At the same time, there was a knock on her door.

Three knocks, without even pressing the doorbell.

Chen Die went to look through the peephole but didn’t see anyone.

Opening the door, she found Wen Liang leaning against the wall, only turning to look at her when she opened the door.

He still had the same appearance—neat short hair, eyes dark as ink, chin slightly raised, eyelids lowered as he looked at her.

“Living alone and daring to open the door recklessly?” His voice was deep and hoarse; his first words were to scold her.

Chen Die rolled her eyes — “I knew it was you.”

Wen Liang chuckled deeply — “Getting brave, aren’t you? Hanging up on me and still daring to open the door for me.”

Chen Die didn’t bother to respond to his words, frowning instead — “Are you drunk?”

“No.”

He reached for his cigarette pack again. Chen Die said — “Smoke in here and the fire alarm will go off soon.”

Wen Liang glanced at her, took out a cigarette, and put it between his lips without lighting it. He straightened up and walked closer to her, one hand propped against the door, lowering his head to stare into her eyes at close range.

“Chen Die.” His voice was magnetic.

Just two words made one’s eardrums tingle, with an undeniable sense of pressure.

Chen Die felt uncomfortable under this aura and raised her hand to push his shoulder — “If you’re drunk, go back and sleep. Don’t act out your drunken madness here.”

“I said I’m not drunk.”

“If you’re not drunk, why are you blocking my doorway?”

Wen Liang paused for two seconds, straightened up with no expression, and raised his hand to grip her chin.

Before Chen Die could resist, he forcefully pushed her into the room. His hand gripped her neck, two fingers pressing against her jawbone, causing pain to her face.

Chen Die’s head hit the wall.

Wen Liang kicked the door closed and looked down at her, using his height advantage.

With the cigarette still between his lips, he said indistinctly — “This is what being drunk looks like.”

Chen Die’s head hurt from the impact, and her face also hurt from his grip. She immediately got angry and started hitting him wildly.

Wen Liang didn’t block her attacks, just restrained her against the wall with one hand. He didn’t mind being hit on the face and neck, remaining calm and indifferent.

When she tired of hitting him, Wen Liang effortlessly gripped her thin wrists and pinned them against the wall, stepping forward to corner her.

Chen Die was completely overwhelmed, not only trapped in a dead end unable to move, but her hair was also disheveled, and the ashy makeup on her face hadn’t been removed yet.

Wen Liang stared at her for a while, then blew at the few strands of hair on her forehead — “What trash are you filming? You look ugly as hell.”

Chen Die’s eyes reddened with anger — “None of your business!”

“It’s not my business? I just realized that after keeping you comfortable all these years, four years ago you were already setting me up, coaxing me to teach you how to write contracts.”

Chen Die — “I’ll pay back all the money you spent on me in the future.”

“Do you think I need your pitiful money?” Wen Liang was naturally wild and spoke harshly. “Those scraps of paper barely count as contracts. I could nullify them with just a flick of my finger.”

Chen Die frowned and pushed him, finally managing to break free.

She caught her breath while holding her thin shirt closed.

Chen Die casually tied her messy hair into a ponytail, raised her eyes to look at him again, and tried to calm her emotions — “I didn’t have you sign the contract so I could leave.”

“At that time, our relationship had just changed, and I was both happy and worried—worried that one day when you found a girl you truly liked, you would drive me away. That’s why I tried to get you to sign the contract.”

“The content of the contract was to maintain our relationship for these four years.”

Chen Die took a gentle breath, for the first time frankly speaking about those hidden thoughts from before. “It wasn’t about leaving after four years, but hoping you would at least be with me for these four years.”

Chen Die couldn’t bring herself to make such a pleading request, so she hid these feelings in the contract.

By that time, she was already being pursued by many young men her age and knew what her strengths were.

She had originally thought that four years would be enough time for Wen Liang to fall in love with her.

“Do you remember you once bought me a pair of dance shoes?”

Wen Liang’s lips were tightly pressed together; he didn’t speak.

“I liked them very much, but later when I performed on stage, I still didn’t wear those shoes. They were too big; I couldn’t wear them. Our relationship is the same way—what you give is not what I want.”

Chen Die suddenly smiled.

When she smiled, she was very beautiful. The smile slowly spread from her eyes, gleaming, with the room’s light softly enveloping her.

Wen Liang’s eyes darkened slightly.

But what she said next wasn’t so pleasant—

She tilted her head — “Mr. Wen, could it be that you came to find me to win me back?”

Having been with him for so long, she could skillfully imitate his disdainful tone and demeanor.

Wen Liang would never answer such a question.

So Chen Die went to reopen the door to see him out, watching as Wen Liang left without looking back.