Chapter 8: CH 8

He didn’t want to return to Qingtan Bay, yet he wasn’t sure where to return to. After sending the chicken soup, he idled his day away at the company. In the end, it was Cai Feng who found Shen Mingbei wasting his time, so he made an appointment with a photographer for Shen Mingbei and dragged him out for a photoshoot.

Shen Mingbei didn’t want to do it, but Cai Feng said, “It’s been a long time since we took your photos for business.”

Beside him, Xiao Zhang also urged, “That’s right! Brother Shen, it’s been ages since you fed your fans some service! Later, could you send me an autographed photo?”

Shen Mingbei: “…..”

Shen Mingbei looked good. He relied on his height to come into first contact with the entertainment industry – he started off as a model. Although his main career now was being an actor and many of his fans stayed for his graceful acting, most of his fans stayed purely for the eye candy. 

When Shen Mingbei arrived at the photoshoot, the makeup and costume sister pondered for a while before suddenly asking, “Would you like to try a hanfu1 photoshoot?”

Shen Mingbei didn’t mind. For anything related to business, he should just listen to the professionals. 

Xiao Zhang, on the other hand, was extremely thrilled. He repeatedly said, “That’s fine, that’s fine! I’ve long prepared Brother Shen’s hanfu, but I never had the chance for him to wear it…..”

Beside him, Cai Feng agreed, “He’s never done this before, so we can try it.”

At first, this was just a casual idea. In the end, after discussing an entire afternoon, it suddenly became a serious publicity tool. They designed a plan and studied the ancient styles of makeup and costume, then Cai Feng went directly to solicit advertisements. 

His company colleagues were also dragged into a whirlwind of jobs. 

Shen Mingbei was dispatched to the gym for weight loss. 

The company was in a hectic state. Shen Mingbei took advantage of the company’s crisis and his dance teacher’s training to leave home early and return late – it’d been many days since he last saw Qu Lang. 

Seeing Lin Xiang’s daily trending posts and Qu Lang’s occasional cue, the two seemed to meet up often. Shen Mingbei believed Qu Lang must’ve thought it through and decided to foster his feelings for his White Moonlight instead of wasting time on the cannon fodder, allowing him to feel at ease.

The dance studio was closed during the weekends. Shen Mingbei had been busying himself for the past few days and originally planned on continuing to take advantage of the company’s crisis, but after a night’s sleep, he suddenly remembered the loquat seedlings he’d previously planted. 

He hastily ran down to the garden. The gardener told him, “I’ve already transplanted it into the garden. It’s growing pretty well.”

Shen Mingbei was silent for a while. He didn’t say anything else, just had the gardener find a trowel for him and replanted the loquat seedlings – which had produced a few leaves – back into their pots. 

He wanted to take these away in the future. 

It was a splendidly sunny weekend. With his back facing the sun, Shen Mingbei overturned the loquat seedlings. For some reason, tears began streaming down his face. This startled the gardener beside him, but before he could speak Qu Lang appeared. 

Seeing dirt stuck on Shen Mingbei’s hands and his reddened eyes, Qu Lang felt displeased. His brows knitted tightly as he coldly asked like an accusation, “Why are you doing this?”

Shen Mingbei ignored him; instead, it was the gardener who explained, “Mr Shen previously planted it for fun. I didn’t think it would grow properly in the pot, so I transplanted it into the garden. Mr Shen seemed to feel unhappy about this…..”

Hearing the gardener’s answer, Shen Mingbei didn’t raise his head. In truth, he was right – he was unhappy about this. 

Qu Lang: “You can just get others to do such a minor thing for you – there’s no need to do it yourself.”

This time, Shen Mingbei spoke in a soft voice, “I want to do it myself.”

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However, the gardener also felt aggrieved. “Mr Shen is never at home, yet you don’t let me touch it. It’s easy for the loquat seedlings to get dehydrated in pots.” 

Hearing the gardener’s words, Shen Mingbei appeared to deflate. He flung away the trowel and suddenly sat on the ground. He raised his head and glanced at the still-standing Qu Lang. 

Qu Lang was tall and upright, and his temperament was as cold as a blade; one could feel his unwelcome aura just by standing close to him. But it was exactly this Qu Lang who would smile for Lin Xiang.

Remembering the days when he’d just married Qu Lang and the photo Lu Chen showed him, Shen Mingbei swallowed back the words he wanted to say. 

Even plants needed love, not to mention humans. Shen Mingbei didn’t know how Qu Lang’s thought process worked, but even if the other understood, his care would only be spent on Lin Xiang. 

Shen Mingbei stood up and told the gardener, “Throw them away.”

If he was destined to leave, he didn’t need to obsess over taking away a pot of plants or a strand of grass. If it wasn’t his, he didn’t want to insist. 

Since Qu Lang loved Lin Xiang, what was the point?

After Shen Mingbei thought it through, he felt slightly better. He gave Qu Lang a disaffectionate, professional smile. “I still have something to do. Help yourself.”

Shen Mingbei patted off the dirt on his clothes, turned around, then left. He indeed had something to do. The location of his Hanfu photoshoot was set. Cai Feng felt they needed a real location, so he chose an ancient temple near the city – they were going to stay there for three days and two nights. 

He’d planned on riding the company bus tomorrow, but now Shen Mingbei wanted to go today. 

He could think of it as having fun for an extra day. 

Shen Mingbei thought of it this way quite cheerfully. His footsteps were light and his mood was relatively good.

But Qu Lang quickly grabbed onto Shen Mingbei and said, “Stop fussing around.”

Shen Mingbei looked back and met Qu Lang’s eyes with seriousness. He responded, “I’m not.”

He wasn’t.

Even if he was unhappy over the fact that Qu Lang liked Lin Xiang out of all people, he’d never thought about making trouble for Qu Lang.

Shen Mingbei didn’t want to make any further remarks on Lin Xiang – he could only say Qu Lang was blind. 

He and Qu Lang’s beginning was just an accident – it was time to get back on track. 

Qu Lang could still easily grab onto Shen Mingbei. There was always a difference between the two’s strengths, just like that night many years ago. 

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As long as Qu Lang wanted, Shen Mingbei would never be able to escape. 

But now, looking into Shen Mingbei’s eyes, Qu Lang suddenly felt that he, in fact, couldn’t grab onto him. The distance between them felt like ten thousand crags and torrents…..

After freeing himself from Qu Lang’s hand, Shen Mingbei went upstairs and packed simple luggage. When his car was about to pass the front gate, Qu Lang stood there and signalled for Shen Mingbei to roll down the car window. With a deep voice, he asked, “Where are you going?”

Shen Mingbei answered, “I have a job that needs me to leave for a few days.”

Qu Lang: “Location.”

Shen Mingbei didn’t speak, but Qu Lang didn’t force him. He stepped back and let him go.

The disaffection and distance between them just then seemed like an illusion. Qu Lang believed that other than beside him, Shen Mingbei had nowhere else to go. 

However, Qu Lang still contacted Xiao Chen. He told him a license plate number and had him investigate where it was last parked as well as check Shen Mingbei’s recent announcements. 

Xiao Chen was quick to respond. Shen Mingbei indeed made a lot of announcements recently and his calendar was filled with a long list of plans. 

If any artist was to do the same thing as Shen Mingbei, they’d be rated as dedicated professionals. 

As for the vehicle, Xiao Chen said, “The vehicle is still moving. I will send you its location when it stops.”

Qu Lang re-read the announcements a few times, believing Shen Mingbei hadn’t come home recently because he was busy with work. He suddenly felt relieved. 

…..

Shen Mingbei had only finished driving a short section of the journey, so he hadn’t yet told his manager or assistant he’d left ahead of schedule; however, he suddenly received a WeChat message. At the red light, Shen Mingbei took a look at the message and discovered it was from Gu Yibai.

[Gu Yibai: The car has been repaired. Here is the bill. Will Boss Shen reimburse it?]

After the two added each other’s WeChat, they’ve only exchanged simple greetings. They never chatted substantially on any other topics. 

At first, he thought all lawyers were like this, but now it seemed with Gu Yibai’s wit, even though he had to pay the other for bumping into his car, Shen Mingbei was still able to laugh aloud. With a few taps, he transferred the money to Gu Yibai.

[Shen Mingbei: Transfer successful]

[Shen Mingbei: This time Boss reimbursed it for you. In the future, you have to drive more carefully.]

[Gu Yibai: Of course, of course, thank you, Boss. I wonder if Boss has time for a cup of coffee today?]

Before Shen Mingbei could reply the light turned green. He had no choice but to drop his phone and focus on driving.

Di.

Another notification.

When Shen Mingbei arrived at another junction and opened his phone, he found it was another message from Gu Yibai.

[Gu Yibai: Aiya, I’ve already invited you twice, are you still going to decline? Mingbei, could it be you don’t consider me your old classmate?]

Shen Mingbei didn’t know what was so good about coffee, but after reading Gu Yibai’s words, he wasn’t sure how to decline. He could only reply ‘alright’, then ask for Gu Yibai’s location….. 

The car didn’t go to the temple; instead, it arrived at a cafe. Shen Mingbei entered wearing a mask and, according to Gu Yibai, found a small cubicle. 

Gu Yibai was clearly in a good mood. After greeting Shen Mingbei and getting him to sit down, he said, “You came right on time. The dishes in this cafe are very good, do you want to try some?”

Shen Mingbei pitifully replied, “I can’t – I’m on a diet.”

Gu Yibai was obviously taken aback. He hesitantly said, “I remember when we were still students, you loved eating chocolate chip cookies. This cafe has the best cookies I’ve ever eaten.” 

Chocolate chip cookies.

Shen Mingbei shook his head and explained, “I’m relying on my looks to make a living after all, so it’s been a while since I’ve eaten that.”

Gu Yibai felt a little regretful, but he quickly recovered his spirits and said, “How about we go to a cafe with light meals? I know one nearby.”

It wasn’t as if Shen Mingbei was here to seek a meal from Gu Yibai. After he declined, Gu Yibai gave up on food; instead, he changed topics and recalled the days when they were still students. 

Gu Yibai said, “Do you still remember Wan-laoshi? Recently, he asked me about you.”

When Shen Mingbei had just begun attending senior high school, his parents were still beside him and he was still the Shen Family’s beloved young master. His daily worries only consisted of studying, exams, and homework. Wan-laoshi was his class teacher. Back then, he thought highly of Shen Mingbei and would often say he’d definitely get into Qingmu2. 

Unfortunately, worldly matters are unpredictable. Wan-laoshi must’ve never thought he’d enter the entertainment industry. 

Gu Yibai recalled many interesting stories from high school, all of which happened before the accident took place. Shen Mingbei’s mood lifted a lot. He was truly carefree back then.

“Wan-laoshi hasn’t been feeling well recently. If you have time, we can invite a few classmates and go visit him.”

When Gu Yibai suggested this, he didn’t think Shen Mingbei would agree. But after some consideration, the other nodded. 

…..

The two chatted for a long while in the cafe – so long Xiao Chen already located the vehicle and sent a few messages to Qu Lang. 

Qu Lang frowned as he looked through the pictures his subordinate sent to him. The person chatting with Shen Mingbei in the cafe was, if he remembered correctly, a lawyer? Did Shen Mingbei encounter some trouble? Was that why he needed to see a lawyer? 

After some thought, Qu Lang had Xiao Chen investigate whether Shen Mingbei encountered any difficulties recently. 

T/N: Translating this chapter made me feel really sad for Shen Mingbei ;A; Qu Lang, you beast, Gu Yibai is much better than you 凸ಠ益ಠ)凸 He even remembers that your wifey liked eating chocolate chip cookies, what do you know, what do you know?!?! 

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