WAM CH43

Rain pitter-pattered against the banana leaves.

The sky was dimming slightly, and Shao Si didn’t quite know what the point was of the three of them hiding off to the side watching Director Ou throw a drunken tantrum.

At first, they could still understand what Director Ou was saying, but toward the end he was muttering incoherently, and they had no clue what he was rambling about—crying one moment and falling silent the next.

This couldn’t go on. Gu Yanzhou watched Director Ou for a few more minutes before taking off his coat, preparing to step forward and drape it over Director Ou.

However, Ye Xuan, who had remained silent all this time, reached out to stop him: “Don’t go over there.”

Ye Xuan’s face was dark, her emotions unreadable. Shao Si secretly observed her, the thought linking her and Ye Qing growing ever stronger in his mind. There was definitely a connection between the two.

Yet… what could that connection be?

Before he could speak, a series of footsteps echoed from near to far—heels clicking against the bluestone pavement with uneven weight.

“Teacher Zhou Weiping?”

Gu Yanzhou uttered softly under his breath, stepping back once more as the three of them continued to hide in this cramped, narrow space.

The newcomer was indeed Zhou Weiping, dressed in formal black attire that looked very solemn. Time had not left heavy marks on his face, making it easy to glimpse his once handsome features; enhanced by the elegant formal suit, his posture appeared exceptionally upright.

[Why is he here too?] Shao Si raised a hand to wipe the water droplets continuously dripping from the tips of his hair, saying to the system, [Not a single clue, yet so many people keep showing up.]

The system, which had been quietly observing: […Stop dreaming. Just conversing with you takes everything I’ve got.]

[Could you be any more useless?]

System: [Yes, I can. I feel like I’m running out of juice, so I’ll head out first. Good luck to you all.]

True to its word, no matter how much Shao Si called out, it really went silent.

Zhou Weiping had actually been here earlier. When he first arrived, Director Ou was stuck in traffic due to poor road conditions, so the two hadn’t run into each other then.

The rain grew heavier. Even though Zhou Weiping held an umbrella, the bottoms of his trousers were inevitably soaked in two wet patches.

“Old Zhou?” Director Ou narrowed his eyes and sized him up for a long while before withdrawing his gaze, no longer looking at him, and speaking in a calm tone, “You came too.”

Zhou Weiping paused mid-stride, then walked over and stood there holding the umbrella over him. Because Director Ou was sitting on the ground, Zhou Weiping had to look down at him: “…I came back to grab something. My phone might have been left here.”

A long silence fell between them before Director Ou tossed the empty wine bottle to the side and pointed to the bouquet in front of Ye Qing’s tomb: “You gave those?”

Zhou Weiping: “Mhm.”

“White roses. Too plain.” As Director Ou spoke, he wobbled as he propped himself up to stand, unbothered by the dirt on his hands, hooking an arm around Zhou Weiping’s shoulders like old pals. “Without even realizing it, so many years have passed. Out of all of us, you were always the smartest… the smartest.”

No one expected that in the very next second, Director Ou let go of his grip, swung his fist, and punched Zhou Weiping straight in the stomach!

Zhou Weiping winced in pain, his grip loosening as the umbrella dropped to the ground.

“Look how smart you are.” Director Ou wasn’t very tall and was somewhat plump in middle age, nowhere near Zhou Weiping’s build, yet the aura emanating from him right now made one hesitate to speak up. He stammered brokenly, “…Always playing it safe, never putting yourself in a hard spot.”

Hunched over and struck three times in a row, Zhou Weiping dry-heaved and said, “You… calm down.”

“Look how well you’re living now!” Director Ou was probably completely plastered, speaking without inhibition, his face entirely red, even his eyes bloodshot. He grabbed Zhou Weiping’s collar in a tight grip. “I know I have no right to criticize you, but how can you act like nothing ever happened? Huh? Tell me! How did you manage to just find some random woman to marry, have kids… and become the model husband in everyone’s eyes? How could you?!”

Zhou Weiping didn’t just stand there and take the beating. He first grabbed Director Ou’s hand, trying to reason with him: “Cheng Rui, you’re wasted.”

Director Ou threw off his hand and landed another punch, hitting Zhou Weiping until he was speechless: “I am completely sober! I know exactly what I’m doing, and I know who you are!”

At first Zhou Weiping wanted to stop him, but before long, the meaning of “stopping him” changed, and the two bare-handed men simply got into a brawl on the ground.

“I just…” Zhou Weiping also punched Director Ou in the stomach, slowly squeezing out a few words, “I just wanted to live like a normal person.”

…

Shao Si watched dumbfounded. Before he even had time to organize the relationship between the two, he looked at Zhou Weiping and Director Ou scuffling together and said calmly, “…They’re really fighting just like that?”

Gu Yanzhou handed the umbrella handle he was holding over to Shao Si, then walked out alone: “If they keep fighting, something bad will happen. Hold the umbrella, I’ll go over and break it up.”

This time, Ye Xuan didn’t stop him.

“You hold it,” Shao Si handed the umbrella off to Ye Xuan, like a three-person relay, adding, “I’ll go take a look too.”

Ye Xuan’s features remained indifferent, impossible to discern any underlying meaning. She reached out to take the umbrella and let out an “Mhm.”

“Alright, stop fighting, both of you.”

Shao Si and Gu Yanzhou each restrained one, pulling them to opposite sides: “How old are you guys? Why are you brawling? Doesn’t it look disgraceful?”

“You have to pick the occasion for a fight,” Gu Yanzhou held Zhou Weiping’s hand firmly, pointing out sharply, “Show some respect for the deceased.”

At the mention of Ye Qing, Shao Si felt the intensity of Director Ou’s struggles lessen. He chimed in, “Yeah, if you want to fight, pick another place…”

However, halfway through his sentence, he felt a sudden heavy weight on his wrist. Looking down, Director Ou had actually closed his eyes and passed out.

Director Ou lost all center of gravity, and Shao Si almost failed to hold him up, barely stabilizing him after putting in quite an effort. He patted Director Ou’s face: “Director Ou? Are you okay? …Hey.”

The rain intensified.

The few of them were quickly soaked to the skin.

Shao Si remembered there was a poster at Li Guangzong’s place, hanging extremely conspicuously in his bedroom. It was a high-definition photo of Gu Yanzhou soaked all over and looking sensually provocative—dark jeans half-unzipped, shirt wet and clinging tightly to his body. That face… he didn’t remember that face too clearly, but it was probably quite sexy.

And now, a scene like that was right before his eyes.

“He drank way too much, seven or eight bottles of Laobaigan. His stomach wasn’t good to begin with.”

Gu Yanzhou let go of Zhou Weiping and walked over to help support Director Ou together. Glancing at the empty bottles scattered across the ground, he added, “Hopefully it hasn’t caused a real medical emergency… Do you have your phone on you? Call an ambulance.”

Shao Si patted his pants pocket: “I got it.”

The moment he turned it on, dozens of missed calls from Li Guangzong flashed onto the screen, along with multiple text messages.

Li Guangzong: WHERE! DID! YOU! GO!

AND YOUR PHONE IS TURNED OFF!

YOU’RE DONE FOR, I’M TELLING YOU!

I’M REALLY GOING TO DIE OF ANGER BECAUSE OF YOU! WHERE ARE YOU! ARGH!

Shao Si practiced selective blindness, brushing right past Li Guangzong’s messages with utmost decisiveness, and dialed 120 directly: “Hello, someone here has passed out from alcohol overdose… location is Ling’an Cemetery… Yes, please hurry.”

“It’ll probably take over ten minutes for them to rush over. What do we do now?” Shao Si hung up the phone, looking at Director Ou, somewhat flustered: “Loss of consciousness, asphyxiation… should we perform CPR? How do you do CPR again…”

As he spoke, he turned his head and shouted, “Ye Xuan, come over and hold the umbrella over Director Ou.”

The incident happened so suddenly that everyone was a bit panicked for a moment. No one knew whether Director Ou had a perforated stomach or alcohol poisoning… Hopefully it was just a simple swoon, but looking at nearly ten empty bottles nearby, the odds were slim.

Gu Yanzhou systematically performed CPR on Director Ou, lifting his jaw to check for foreign objects in the airway. The entire sequence of actions was measured and composed, calming anyone just watching him.

Shao Si squatted down, poking his head closer to watch Gu Yanzhou’s well-defined hands interlaced together, pressing continuously on the center of Director Ou’s chest, reporting: “Looks like his breathing is a bit smoother now. Keep going.”

By the time the ambulance arrived, medical personnel in transparent raincoats got off, pushing a stretcher and lifting Director Ou smoothly onto it, performing the entire routine swiftly and skillfully.

“Who performed CPR on him?” A nurse casually asked while fitting an oxygen mask over Director Ou using temporary equipment inside the ambulance. “It was done very well, otherwise he might not have held on until now.”

“How is he now?” Shao Si asked, wiping his face.

“Initial assessment is alcohol poisoning, but more accurate results will require further examination at the hospital.”

With them looking like drowned rats right now, combined with the emergency, the medical staff’s attention had been entirely on the patient. Only now that things had settled did they have the time to carefully observe the two family/accompanying members. However, upon closer inspection, they discovered something extraordinary: “You are—”

Gu Yanzhou looked at them, placing an index finger against his lips, instantly dissolving the second half of their sentence: “Shh.”

The medical staff weren’t people who couldn’t prioritize. They simply took a few extra glances before shifting their focus back to the patient.

July 18, 1996. Overcast and rainy.

I like men. I’m a pervert.

But those who humiliate, mock, and even play with me… stripping me naked and playing with me on the bed like a dog—what the hell are they?

If I die one day, I will drag them all down to hell with me.

I definitely will.

—Ye Qing’s Journal.

Ye Xuan closed her eyes, leaning against the wall outside the emergency room. This text, memorized inside out, constantly tumbled through her mind.

It felt as though everything had turned black—an endless expanse of darkness—a chill rising from the strands of her hair.

“Are you cold? Drink something hot first, or maybe head back first to change clothes.” Shao Si held warm cans of coffee, saying so before realizing Ye Xuan didn’t seem to be listening to him at all. So he waved his hand in front of her face a few times and called out, “Hey.”

“…” Ye Xuan opened her eyes only then. When she took the warm coffee, her hand trembled slightly. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you just now. Thank you.”

Gu Yanzhou was making a phone call to Chen Yang down the hallway, pacing back and forth, likely discussing work matters. Meanwhile, Zhou Weiping sat on a bench in the hallway, head lowered, thinking who knows what.

It was a good opportunity.

Shao Si stood beside Ye Xuan, pulling open a can with one hand. Following a sharp pop, he said, “You seem to have something on your mind.”

Holding the coffee to warm her hands, Ye Xuan shook her head and said, “Do I?”

Shao Si looked at her for a moment. As things stood, he could only take a gamble.

With someone of Ye Xuan’s personality, if he didn’t take the initiative to strike, he could forget about getting a single word out of her mouth.

He had to appropriately reveal some things to her, taking the initiative to tie together the Ye Qing line, though managing the “degree” of revelation was very tricky.

“I mentioned before that I first stepped into the entertainment circle because of a deceased senior. It’s actually quite strange; clearly I had never met him, but… after listening to that opera snippet, I could never forget it.” Ultimately, Shao Si chose to pick up the topic from last time on set that had stimulated Ye Xuan so much she turned around and ran. “Today is the anniversary of his death, and since I happened to be attending an event here, I wanted to come visit him.”

Honestly speaking, Shao Si himself didn’t have much confidence probing into this topic again.

He didn’t know whether he was shooting himself in the foot.

However, this time—

He gambled right.

“You said last time that you envied him.” Ye Xuan turned around to face him, repeating softly, “You envied him, wanting to be remembered like him. That’s what you said last time.”

Shao Si didn’t speak, merely nodding to avoid revealing too much by talking too much.

Yet Ye Xuan’s tone suddenly shifted, becoming somewhat sharp, even a little satirical: “You’re wrong. Except for the person currently lying in the emergency room, nobody remembers him.”

As she said this, Gu Yanzhou hung up his call and walked over in their direction. Her voice, almost as if intentional, grew louder and louder as her long-suppressed emotions finally erupted all at once: “Nobody remembers who Ye Qing is. Even his former lover never dared to reveal their relationship in all the years after his death. He quickly married a woman, built a family, had children…”

Hearing these words, Zhou Weiping abruptly raised his head.

Ye Xuan stared at him with a smile—a smile that looked chilling. She continued, “And he didn’t even have the courage to acknowledge himself. He changed his name, hiding their past like a dirty stain… continuing to live grandly as if nothing had ever happened.”

Half a sentence choked in Zhou Weiping’s throat for a long moment: “Who… are you?”

“And who are you?” Ye Xuan walked slowly toward him, standing firmly before him. “Teacher Zhou Weiping? Or perhaps, should I call you Zhou Jianguo?”

Shao Si’s gaze darted between the two of them, his brain spinning at high speed. In the shortest time possible, he linked together all their conversations up until now, including the information obtained from the private detective.

…A bit complex. Perhaps having been soaked in the rain turned him stupid, because Shao Si’s head was throbbing right now.

Gu Yanzhou walked over, took the can of coffee out of Shao Si’s hand, and asked, “What’s the situation? Having an argument?”

Earlier, when the two of them went to the convenience store across from the hospital to buy warm drinks, because card payments weren’t accepted, pooling together all the loose change on them was only enough for three cans. Shao Si had gritted his teeth on the spot, suppressing his mysophobia to say, ‘Half for each person then.’

So now, while analyzing the situation, Shao Si couldn’t help dwelling on the dilemma of ‘if he drinks it, do I still drink it later?’, which immediately made his head throb even more.

“Alright, drop that look.” Gu Yanzhou stuffed the coffee back into his hand, saying, “Yours, it’s all yours.”