Chapter 69.2

Before she knew it, it was January. The drama Wen Tang had filmed at the beginning of the year, Hear Your Heart, had aired on Mango TV, with two episodes a day. The plot was tight and fresh, and the entire cast delivered stellar performances. On the first day of airing, it became an instant hit, quickly sparking a wave of discussions.

Since the Wen Anle DUI incident, Wen Tang’s Weibo profile hadn’t been updated for over half a year, with her last post being the public declaration of cutting ties. This time, she reposted some behind-the-scenes footage from Hear Your Heart as part of the promotion.

In the drama, where she played the absolute female lead who could hear others’ voices, and with an entirely new cast, Wen Tang was undoubtedly the most dazzling presence. From her first appearance, she captured everyone’s attention.

After the first two episodes aired, the audience response was unprecedentedly enthusiastic, especially regarding Wen Tang’s performance, which left everyone in awe.

Then, people suddenly remembered something.

Something that had seemingly been overlooked for nearly a year.

Wasn’t Wen Tang known for always having a scandal or falling in love whenever she filmed a drama?

So… who was Wen Tang’s rumored love interest this time in Hear Your Heart?

Why was there no noise at all this time?!

It was already midwinter and almost the New Year, and Wen Tang had even filmed two more movies afterward, yet it suddenly dawned on everyone that not just during the movie shoots, but for the entire year, Wen Tang hadn’t been involved in any scandals…!

How could that be?!

And don’t bring up that recent airport rumor, it was all baseless speculation! Without any photos of hugs, kisses, or hotel check-ins, it was all imaginary, completely false!

In the past, every one of Wen Tang’s relationships had solid evidence—photos, undeniable proof!

So the search for Wen Tang’s rumored boyfriend in Hear Your Heart began. People scrutinized the drama, the behind-the-scenes footage, and the daily reposts from the other actors, using magnifying glasses to look for any clues.

But the results were disappointing.

Even as the drama approached its finale and the New Year arrived, no one found anything.

The mystery persisted into the next year, becoming one of the biggest unresolved questions: Did Wen Tang, the infamous femme fatale, really date someone while filming Hear Your Heart? And if so, who?

As they searched for the truth, the question grew more complicated. During this past year, Wen Tang had filmed two more movies. Given her usual behavior, it was hard to believe she had remained single the whole time. So, who was she with during the filming of those movies?

…

After much speculation, there was no conclusion.

*

After Hear Your Heart began airing, Wen Tang had to do some promotion for the new drama. However, as the promotional phase for the TV show was nearly complete, it didn’t require much of her time, so she was still relatively free.

She knew there was much speculation about her personal life, but she didn’t care and just laughed it off.

However, she did want to protect Zhou Jingyu from too much external attention. As a result, she kept a low profile, mostly staying home unless she had something specific to do, trying to reduce her outings as much as possible.

New Year’s was spent with Zhou’s entire family.

Zhou Donghai even took a half-day leave to come out of the sanatorium in a wheelchair.

This was Wen Tang’s first time spending the New Year with the Zhou family, and also her first time meeting all of Zhou Jingyu’s relatives besides Zhou Donghai.

Wen Tang immediately noticed the Zhou family’s outward harmony and inner discord. Besides Zhou Jingyu’s aunt, the other members of the family, including his uncles and biological father, were not very warm toward Zhou Jingyu. However, their spouses and children were different—they flattered Zhou Jingyu with a hint of sycophancy, yet there was an underlying look of desire in their eyes, as if they were hoping for something without daring to voice it. In short, it was a grand drama of a wealthy family, extremely interesting!

Wen Tang watched it all, utterly fascinated.

With Zhou Donghai present, everyone behaved well, but it was all just for show, a facade for Zhou Donghai. Their outward harmony masked inner discord. The New Year’s Eve dinner was tasteless, and as soon as Zhou Donghai returned to the sanatorium, everyone left quickly without lingering, as if even looking at each other for another second would taint their eyes.

Later, back at home, Wen Tang and Zhou Jingyu made their own meal and celebrated the New Year again, just the two of them.

This celebration was the one that finally felt complete.

After the New Year, Wen Tang and Zhou Jingyu took some time to travel abroad and have their wedding photos taken. Their first stop was France, where Zhou Jingyu had lived for ten years.

They stayed there for about a week. Besides the photoshoots, their daily routine involved going for walks and returning home, much like the life Zhou Jingyu used to live when he was residing there.

During this time, Wen Tang couldn’t help but feel a deep ache in her heart for him. Standing on foreign streets, she could vividly sense the loneliness Zhou Jingyu must have felt when he was there all alone.

They also visited the cat Zhou Jingyu had raised in France.

It had already passed away.

When Zhou Jingyu left, the cat was already old and sick. At that time, Zhou Jingyu had no idea what his future would be like once he returned to China, filled with uncertainty. Unable to care for it himself, he had entrusted it to a friend.

The friend had taken good care of it.

The last time Zhou Jingyu was on a business trip here, the cat was still alive. But this time, when he came with Wen Tang, it was gone.

Wen Tang never got the chance to meet the beautiful cat that had been such a prominent presence in Zhou Jingyu’s circle of friends.

After France, they visited other places, spending nearly twenty days in total to complete all their wedding photos.

As soon as they returned to China, Zhou Jingyu plunged into a long period of intense overtime work. Wen Tang, having finally rested enough, was ready to return to work too.

She had several film scripts on hand, but no matter how many she looked through, none seemed quite right.

One day, Li Yingjie brought Wen Tang a script for a historical romance drama. Although Wen Tang had acted in such dramas before, with good reception, it was hard for these dramas to bring something new to the table. In recent years, she has mostly focused on modern dramas and fantasy dramas.

Li Yingjie said, “I know you’re only interested in films now and don’t want to take on another idol drama, but you should take a look at this script. It’s from a famous director, with a big production and a major investment of billions. It’s really good, and it would be a shame to miss it.”

Given how Li Yingjie put it, Wen Tang decided to at least give the script a look before making a decision.

Lately, Zhou Jingyu had been busy with work every day, so after Li Yingjie left, Wen Tang found herself with nothing to do. Out of boredom, she picked up the script Li Yingjie had given her, and to her surprise, she was completely absorbed in it.

The script was indeed excellent, intricate and well-structured.

Wen Tang lay on the sofa reading, so engrossed that she even skipped dinner.

She read for several hours until she eventually fell asleep.

She wasn’t sure when Zhou Jingyu returned home, but when Wen Tang woke up, she saw him sitting at the other end of the sofa, flipping through a script she found very familiar.

The lighting in the living room was dim, casting a soft glow that outlined Zhou Jingyu’s perfect figure.

Seeing this, Wen Tang felt a surge of joy and threw herself into his arms.

He had been working overtime the previous day, and she didn’t know how late he had worked. When he came home, she was already asleep. When he left in the morning, she was still asleep, with only a note on the bedside table proving he had come back.

After not seeing him for two days, Wen Tang was missing Zhou Jingyu terribly.

The moment she woke up, she leaped at him like a hungry wolf, expecting to fall directly into his embrace. But to her surprise, something suddenly appeared in midair, blocking her from reaching him.

Zhou Jingyu’s voice was calm, devoid of any noticeable emotion, as he glanced at the script in his hand and asked, “Is this the TV drama you’re considering for your next project?”

Wen Tang was caught off guard. “Huh?”

She was still a bit groggy from just waking up. However, she had spent the entire afternoon reading the script, and it was indeed very good. Different from the usual fare, she was somewhat inclined to accept it.

Without any hesitation, and with no guard up against the man she missed day and night, Wen Tang nodded slightly. “I haven’t decided yet.”

As Zhou Jingyu’s expression softened, Wen Tang began to elaborate, “But the script is good. I’m considering it—I kind of want to take it.”

She had grown so accustomed to sharing her daily thoughts and feelings with Zhou Jingyu that she often spoke without filtering, expressing whatever came to mind.

Pushing the obstructive script aside, she wrapped her arms around Zhou Jingyu and buried her head into his chest. She moved so quickly that she didn’t notice how Zhou Jingyu’s face had suddenly tensed.

She playfully pouted.

“Let’s not talk about this now. We haven’t seen each other for two days, and I missed you so much. Didn’t you miss me?”

Zhou Jingyu embraced her.

“It’s not that I didn’t see you. I saw you. I even held you while you slept.”

He wasn’t going to let her off that easily.

After Wen Tang finished pouting, he handed the script back to her.

“If you’re going to act in this drama, then what about this…”

“Are you going to act in it too?”

Wen Tang looked down and saw that the script described an intense romantic scene between the male and female leads, detailed across two full pages.

…

At that moment, a huge question arose in her mind.

How on earth did this script get approved by the censors?

She glanced back up at Zhou Jingyu, whose expression could no longer be described as dark—he looked like a storm was about to break.

Wen Tang’s heart skipped a beat in panic, and she quickly raised her hand, trying to explain. “No, this, this… listen to me, I can explain!”

She had fallen asleep before getting to that part and had no idea there was such a steamy and provocative scene!