CH 81

Song Yan frowned and turned off the speakerphone.

"Explain," he demanded.

Wen Li genuinely didn't mean it. She was just talking tough, but she didn't expect that Song Yan would focus on this.

She was used to following a script and a procedure, where after saying her lines, the other person would usually just leave without listening to any explanation.

So now she was confused. Song Yan asked her to explain, but she didn't know how to explain it.

Song Yan's focus was completely off. It was not only awkward for Wen Li but also for Xu Xingyue.

This was the first time Xu Xingyue had seen Song Yan at a private dinner. She had attended a few dinners with Director Guo before, but he either left early or didn't come due to other matters.

Finally, she encountered him today, without cameras or spotlights. This meal felt like an ordinary gathering of friends. Song Yan was dressed casually, with his usual calm and gentle smile on his face when talking to others.

Just now, Director Guo introduced her to him, and he accepted her toast out of respect for Guo Dao. He even smiled at her.

Although it was a distant and polite smile, he no longer completely ignored her.

"Didn't you hear what my wife said just now?" Song Yan's gaze turned cold, his tone flat, "Neither Director Guo nor I are fools. Don't bring trouble upon yourself."

His words weren't explicitly direct, but they cut straight to the bone, causing a chilling sensation to rise from Xu Xingyue's feet to her head. Contrarily, her face suddenly heated up, as if she had been slapped several times, her dignity trampled upon.

Without Director Guo by her side, this was Song Yan's true attitude towards her.

After speaking, Song Yan walked away and continued his phone call.

When Song Yan mentioned Director Guo just now, Xu Xingyue finally realized how reckless her behavior in following him was. She stood there hesitating for a moment, closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, mentally prepared herself, and then nervously returned to the private room.

Director Guo was drinking with others, and when he saw her coming back, he waved at her.

"Xingyue is back? Come and help me have a few drinks."

As soon as Xu Xingyue sat down, she was forced to drink several glasses. The alcohol was strong and spicy, stinging her throat. It was so spicy that tears welled up in her eyes. She pushed the cup away, turned her head, and coughed loudly. Only then did Director Guo let her off.

The person who toasted teased, "Oh, blushing? Old Guo, your goddaughter can't hold her liquor. She needs to train harder."

"Practice more, the next time you can have a few more glasses. I'll let her accompany you for a few rounds."

Several people burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Xu Xingyue sat silently, pouring herself a cup of tea.

"Why did you come back?" Director Guo suddenly leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Didn't you chat with Song Yan outside?"

She widened her eyes in panic and immediately denied, "No, I just went to the restroom."

"Is that so?" Director Guo didn't deny it. He tidied her bangs for her and spoke kindly, "Xingyue, I know you don't have any feelings for an old guy like me, but be content. I've given you so much. If it were Song Yan, would he give you the same? Even if you have the ability to be with him, to be in his favor, will he give you more than he gives his wife?"

Xu Xingyue listened to Director Guo's words in a daze, feeling cold all over.

Seeing her expression, Director Guo knew that his words had an impact on her, so he added another dose of strong medicine, "Have you seen the director opposite us and the Screenwriter Zhou? Without me, even if you strive to climb up with all your might, you might not be able to catch up with them in this lifetime."

Suddenly, Xu Xingyue inexplicably asked, "But what if his wife betrays him?"

Song Yan was such a proud man, Xu Xingyue couldn't help but shudder when she thought of the cold look he had given her just now.

Even if he had a good relationship with his wife, it wouldn't withstand the test of betrayal.

When that happens, he will divorce, and he will naturally take away all the resources she gained through him.

Director Guo had no patience to entertain her with hypothetical situations that had nothing to do with her. He frowned and said, "That's their family matter, not something you should be concerned about."

——

The people in the private room continued to drink, while Song Yan, who was talking on the phone outside the room, had lost interest in drinking.

Wen Li had been trying to brush him off, but she couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation for what she had just said.

"It's nothing," Wen Li replied vaguely, "It was something I said for others to hear, not for you."

"But I heard it," Song Yan responded.

"Who asked you to listen? Couldn't you have covered your ears just now?" Wen Li retorted.

Song Yan remained silent for a while.

Wen Li didn't dare to hang up the phone and cautiously asked, "Are you still listening?"

In a calm and unvarying tone, Song Yan said, "Listening to what? Didn't you ask me to cover my ears?"

"...I didn't ask you to cover them now."

"Apologies," Song Yan said, "I didn't know if Teacher Wen would say something like before in the next second."

Wen Li explained, "I wouldn't say that kind of thing to you. I was just trying to provoke Xu Xingyue."

Song Yan countered, "Are you provoking her or provoking me?"

"I'm provoking her, I swear," Wen Li helplessly replied, "Hey, can we be on the same page here? It's obvious that Xu Xingyue has feelings for you, but instead of addressing her, you come at me?"

A man with emotions is not easily placated. Song Yan, who was unaffected now, spoke indifferently, "I don't care if someone has feelings for me or not. I only care about what you think of me."

"..." After a brief silence, Wen Li whispered, "Don't you already know what I think of you?"

"I used to know," Song Yan responded, "But your words just now made me feel uncertain again."

"That was an exaggerated tone! It doesn't mean I actually think that way."

Song Yan asked her to consider the situation from his perspective, "What would be your reaction if I said those things just to provoke Bai Sen? Would you have the same response?"

Wen Li countered, "But would you really say such things?"

She didn't quite believe it.

"No," Song Yan replied after a pause, "But you would."

"There won't be a next time," Wen Li muttered under her breath where he couldn't see, and she added, "Besides, the situation you mentioned doesn't even exist in the first place."

"That's not certain. After all, this industry is full of temptations."

"Hey, shouldn't I be the one saying that?" Wen Li said with a wry smile, "Although I have confidence in my own charm, I can't guarantee that you won't have a change of heart."

"If I were to have a change of heart, I would have already," Song Yan sighed, "Why waste so many years waiting for a fool to wise up?"

"Hey, who are you calling a fool?"

Song Yan finally chuckled softly, "You. Can't you tell?"

"Tch, I'm not going to argue with you," Wen Li thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "You laughed just now, so you're not angry anymore, right? I didn't mean what I said earlier, I swear. You're making a fuss over nothing, and I don't know how to appease you."

"I know," Song Yan said, holding his phone with one hand while the other rested leisurely on the back of the chair. He tilted his head back, gazing at the glaring light source above him, and narrowed his eyes slightly. His voice was light, "But I'm timid, easily frightened."

She probably wouldn't understand and he didn't expect her to empathize. Song Yan didn't insist on that.

But he still hoped she wouldn't say things that would scare him, even if they were just jokes.

There was a long silence on the phone, and suddenly, Wen Li gathered up all her courage and said loudly, "I love you!"

Though she didn't understand and couldn't empathize, she cared about his feelings. So when he said he was timid, she immediately expressed her love loudly, telling him not to be timid.

Song Yan didn't react for a moment, "En?"

"I said my birthday is next month," Wen Li, who had just boldly declared her love a second ago, immediately reverted to her usual awkward self, "You understand, right?"

Song Yan lowered his gaze and requested, "Repeat what you said before."

"..." Wen Li declined, "Let's wait until you're done with work and back in Yancheng."

"Then today—"

He was immediately interrupted by a stern Wen Li, "Please focus on your work! Don't make me look down on you!"

Song Yan laughed and responded, "Okay, I'll focus on my work."

Wen Li squeezed out a proud sound from her nose, "Hmm."

Song Yan asked her, "What birthday gift do you want?"

"You," Wen Li replied.

The man's expression froze, and his heart was once again stirred by her one word, causing countless ripples.

He swallowed his saliva, and his voice suddenly became low, "Okay, wait for it."

Wen Li sensed that something wasn't quite right from his tone but feared that her thoughts were too impure. She quickly clarified, "I mean, I want you to come back safely. What are you thinking?"

Song Yan laughed without giving a clear answer, and he slowly asked, "You'll find out when I come back, won't you?"

"..."

Wen Li blushed and regretted why she had acted impulsively and said those cheesy lines to provoke him.

After he finished speaking on the phone, Song Yan returned to the private room to continue socializing.

The private room was bustling with noise. The string that had just been struck in Song Yan's heart quickly returned to calm.

Director Guo was drunk and loudly demanded everyone to gather and watch his goddaughter dance.

A few people immediately tapped their chopsticks on the table and cheered, "Let his goddaughter perform!"

Reluctantly, Xu Xingyue, who was being urged, couldn't refuse. She saw that Song Yan had just returned at this time and her face became even more embarrassed and flustered.

The man obviously had no interest in watching her dance. He didn't join in the cheering. While others focused their gaze on Xu Xingyue's performance, he lowered his eyelids, took advantage of the time when no one was drinking, and raised his hand to ask the waiter to bring him a bowl of rice. Calmly, he started his dinner.

After the dance, the people at the table started drinking again. When they finally finished their meal, it was already late. After bidding farewell, they prepared to return to the hotel to rest.

There was only a one-star hotel nearby, so a few of them were heading in the same direction. The crew's staff had a minor issue at the film and television base. After receiving the phone call, Qiu Ping rushed there by car, asking Old Zhou and Song Yan to go back to the hotel first.

Old Zhou had drunk quite a bit tonight and was inspired. He brushed several pages in his notebook while in the car. As soon as he got out of the car, he left Song Yan and planned to quickly write down the inspiration while it was still in his mind.

Song Yan rubbed his temples. Assistant Ah Kang was by his side and asked concernedly if he needed support.

It was at this moment that Xu Xingyue came over and said she had something to talk to him about.

"It's about Senior Sister Wen," Xu Xingyue glanced at his assistant and said, "It won't be good for Senior Sister Wen if more people know, so Teacher Song, can you ask your assistant to step aside for a moment?"

Director Guo collapsed as soon as he entered the room, so he didn't pay attention to her. Feeling dissatisfied with Song Yan's attitude towards her tonight, she impulsively came over under the influence of alcohol.

Ah Kang glanced at Song Yan, who was still quite clear-headed despite having drunk a lot and then looked at Xu Xingyue, who didn't shy away to request a private conversation with a married man. He couldn't help but worry for both Brother Yan and Sister Wen.

This reason of Xu Xingyue's was indeed well-thought-out. Song Yan asked Ah Kang to return to the room first. Then, leaning against the wall in the hotel corridor, he said concisely, "Speak."

Xu Xingyue was somewhat surprised, "Shouldn't we go inside the room to talk?"

Song Yan turned his head and looked at the surveillance camera on the corridor, uncertain whether the cameras in this hotel had audio recording capability. In case this person arranged for someone to eavesdrop from a distance, even if he was talking to someone in the hotel corridor, it would be difficult to explain later.

It was necessary to be cautious.

Song Yan took out his phone directly and casually opened the recording function.

Facing Xu Xingyue, the man looked at his phone. The phone screen was facing away from Xu Xingyue and she thought he was getting impatient with her.

"Senior Sister Wen is having an affair," To make her words sound more convincing, Xu Xingyue even told him the name of the man she was having an affair with, "She's having an affair with a trainee named Xu Li from 'For You To Debut'."

Song Yan: "?"

Outrageous.