Chapter 11

Love Letter

At one o’clock in the morning, in the second-floor bedroom, Qi Shangxing slowly pushed open the door to Qi Shanglan’s room.

Qi Shanglan wasn’t asleep yet. He was leaning against the headboard, looking at his phone. His brow was furrowed, and his expression showed a complex mix of seriousness and slight impatience.

Qi Shangxing poked his head in, whispering, “Bro, why aren’t you sleeping yet? Are you chatting with your girlfriend?”

Hearing this, Qi Shanglan raised his eyes and looked at Qi Shangxing at the door, then tossed a pillow at him. “Stop talking nonsense, or I’ll sew your mouth shut.”

Qi Shangxing picked up the pillow from the floor, gently closed the door, and jogged over to him. “Bro, I can’t sleep. Will you come downstairs and play games with me?” He lay on the bed and grabbed Qi Shanglan’s arm, pleading.

Qi Shanglan exited Weibo and impatiently said, “Go back to sleep, and turn off the lights for me.” He pretended to lie down, but Qi Shangxing was still persistent.

“Bro, please, just play for a little while.”

“No.” His refusal was firm.

“Bro.”

“Calling me ‘bro’ won’t help. I’m tired and want to sleep.”

“But you were just looking at your phone!”

“I wasn’t tired then, but I am now.”

“Bro!” Qi Shangxing jumped onto the bed. “I don’t care, if you don’t come with me, I’m not leaving.”

“Do as you like, just turn off the lights for me.” Qi Shanglan said nonchalantly.

With no other choice, Qi Shangxing obediently turned off the lights. However, he didn’t leave, instead, he snuck under the covers with Qi Shanglan.

Qi Shanglan reacted, almost kicking him off the bed. “Are you really staying here? How old are you, Qi Shangxing? Still want to sleep with me?”

Qi Shangxing didn’t respond. He turned his body and hugged Qi Shanglan’s arm, quietly mumbling, “Bro, you’re not leaving this time, right? Every time you come back, you only stay for a little while. I don’t want you to leave.”

“This time I’m staying, living here.” Qi Shanglan said casually.

“Really?!” Qi Shangxing was overjoyed, but then suddenly became downcast. He asked, “Bro, is it because you’re getting married that you’re staying at home?”

Qi Shanglan nearly choked on his words. “Who told you I’m getting married? What are you thinking about all day? I’m single, I’m not getting married.”

“But mom and dad said you’re 23 now, it’s time to get married. They also said they’ll arrange a blind date for you in a few days.”

Qi Shanglan frowned. After a while, he asked, “Are you sure they want me to go on a blind date?”

“Yeah! Absolutely sure!” Qi Shangxing answered.

—

At seven o’clock in the morning, Zou Ying had already prepared the meal and was waiting for the two brothers upstairs to wake up. She and Qi Dongjun were sitting on the sofa, looking at a few photos of girls and discussing them.

Zou Ying picked up one and asked Qi Dongjun, “Who is this girl? I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before.”

“She’s Wang Tao’s daughter, Wang Xinyu. She just came back from studying abroad a while ago. Old Wang told me his daughter isn’t dating anyone.”

“So it’s Xinyu. She’s grown so much. I remember she and Shanglan were high school classmates,” Zou Ying recalled, feeling like she’d seen the girl’s name elsewhere. After thinking carefully, she suddenly remembered that a few years ago, when she went to Qi Shanglan’s parent-teacher conference at Lingchuan No. 1 High School, she had seen the name in his desk drawer.

On the day of the parent-teacher conference, Zou Ying had caught a cold and quickly ran out of tissues. She had to look through Qi Shanglan’s desk drawer to find some tissues.

However, by chance, she found a delicate pink envelope in his desk. At the time, she didn’t think much of it, assuming it was a letter from Qi Shanglan to her, so she opened it. But when she opened it, she realized it was a love letter, signed by Wang Xinyu.

The handwriting was neat and precise, typical of a good student. After reading the letter, Zou Ying put it back exactly as she found it. She didn’t ask Qi Shanglan about it afterward, fearing it might embarrass him.

Remembering this, Zou Ying smiled gently and said to Qi Dongjun, “Qi Dongjun, did you know this little girl had a crush on our Shanglan when she was younger? She even wrote him a love letter.”

“What?” Qi Dongjun frowned in surprise, asking, “How do you know? Is that true?”

“Of course it’s true!” Zou Ying said proudly. “There were quite a few girls who liked him. Hey, do you remember the parent-teacher conference I went to for Shanglan in his first year of high school?”

Qi Dongjun thought for a moment, nodded, and said, “I remember.” Zou Ying then excitedly continued, “That love letter is the one I found in Shanglan’s desk back then! And, and, after the meeting, I couldn’t find him, so I asked a classmate. He told me that Qi Shanglan was playing basketball on the court. So, I went to the basketball court to look for him. And guess what?”

“What happened?”

“There were a bunch of girls around the basketball court! All cheering for him! You don’t know how excited and proud I was when I saw that scene. Our son is really something!”

Zou Ying spoke vividly, and Qi Dongjun couldn’t help but laugh at her enthusiasm. Just then, Qi Shanglan and Qi Shangxing came downstairs. Qi Shangxing rubbed his eyes and asked, “Dad, Mom, what are you laughing about?”

Hearing the noise, Zou Ying put down the photos and called out to them, “Nothing, just come down and eat. The food will get cold soon.”

Qi Shanglan followed behind Qi Shangxing down the stairs. He wore black athletic shorts and a plain white T-shirt. Seeing him in this outfit made Zou Ying recall the time many years ago when she saw him at the basketball court. Back then, he wore the same simple outfit, and yet, this plain look made all the girls cheer for him.

Zou Ying smiled as she looked at Qi Shanglan. Qi Shanglan, feeling awkward, called out, “Mom,” and asked her what was wrong.

Zou Ying waved her hand and said it was nothing, just that her son had grown up.

Her words left Qi Shanglan unsure of how to respond. He silently sat down at the table and took a sip of his porridge.

Zou Ying and Qi Dongjun also sat down. Zou Ying smiled and asked Qi Shanglan, “Shanglan, since you have two days off this week, your dad and I were thinking about arranging a blind date for you. Do you remember your high school—”

“Pfft—” Before Zou Ying could finish, Qi Shanglan suddenly sprayed his porridge out of his mouth with a “pfft.” He coughed and quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe the table.

Zou Ying, worried he might choke, hurried over to pat him on the back and help him catch his breath, saying, “Drink slowly, why are you so excited? How about I arrange your blind date tomorrow?”

Qi Shanglan: “…”

“Mom, I’m only 23. Why should I go on a blind date?” Qi Shanglan said, dissatisfied.

Qi Dongjun wasn’t too happy with his attitude and said sternly, “23 is the perfect age, isn’t it? You have a stable job now, and I know some people at the bureau. After a while, I’ll make a call to get you transferred there. Then you won’t be so tired every day, and you can take this opportunity to get married.”

As soon as he spoke, Qi Shanglan’s expression darkened. He didn’t want to respond, but still stubbornly said, “I don’t need Dad to worry about my work, and I don’t need a blind date arranged for me. I don’t want to get married yet.” He said coldly.

Seeing the tense atmosphere between father and son, Zou Ying quickly smiled and tried to smooth things over, “Oh, Shanglan says he doesn’t want to go on a blind date, so no need to rush. He’s only 23, still young. Besides, with Shanglan’s good qualities, who would have trouble finding a girlfriend?” She gave Qi Dongjun a glance, signaling him to keep quiet.

Because of this little episode, the meal became a bit awkward. No one at the table spoke. After finishing, Qi Shanglan went upstairs, and so did Qi Dongjun. Neither of them gave the other a pleasant look.

At this time, Lin Qianyou and Ke Siyu, who lived in the east of the city, had just arrived at the opening ceremony venue.

They were a bit late due to traffic, and the producer and director had just finished their celebratory speeches and were being interviewed by the media.

“Hello, Director Li, do you know about Ye Shuwan’s suicide? Was it because her role was taken away that she committed suicide? Did you give her role to Lin Qianyou?” A reporter asked directly.

Director Li’s expression remained unchanged, always looking kind. He took the microphone from the reporter, cleared his throat, and said seriously, “First of all, I’m very sorry about Ye Shuwan’s suicide. As for the reasons behind it, I’m not sure, and I hope everyone doesn’t blindly believe rumors online.” After speaking, he handed the microphone back to the reporter. Just then, another reporter suddenly shouted, pointing at Lin Qianyou, who had just gotten out of a taxi, saying, “It’s Lin Qianyou! She actually came!”

Immediately, the media swarmed around Lin Qianyou and Ke Siyu, surrounding them like a pack of hungry wolves, causing both of them to retreat in fear.

“Lin Qianyou, we’ve heard that you and Ye Shuwan didn’t get along. Is her suicide related to you? Did she commit suicide because you took her role? Or is there something else behind it? What really happened between you two?”

The reporters’ barrage of questions left Lin Qianyou unable to respond. She had already been distressed by the online bullying, and now being questioned like this in front of everyone, it was clear they were treating her as the culprit.

But she hadn’t done anything.

Lin Qianyou had always been a small-time extra on set and had never been interviewed by so many reporters. For a moment, she didn’t know how to answer and stood awkwardly in place. Seeing this, Ke Siyu stepped forward to shield her, saying to the reporters, “Today is the opening ceremony for our new drama. Please support our new project. We are declining to answer these questions. Please distinguish between right and wrong and don’t follow the rumors online. Let’s stop the spread of gossip.”

Ke Siyu pulled the still-dazed Lin Qianyou out of the reporters’ encirclement, and Director Li gestured for them to come over. She grabbed Lin Qianyou and ran toward him, with security stopping the reporters behind them.

Director Li smiled at the two of them, his gaze eventually falling on Lin Qianyou, whose eyes were red from holding back tears. She seemed lost in thought.

He walked up to her and gently patted her shoulder. Lin Qianyou snapped out of it, but for some reason, despite his warm smile, she felt that the elderly Director Li harbored impure intentions toward her. So, she subtly moved aside to avoid his hand.

A fleeting moment of confusion flashed in Director Li’s eyes, but it quickly returned to normal. He forced a smile and said to Lin Qianyou, “Qianyou, don’t take those online comments to heart. Just get through this rough patch. Focus on the new drama, we start filming next week.”

“Next week?!” Both Lin Qianyou and Ke Siyu exclaimed.

“Yes, next Monday we’ll shoot the first scene at Lingchuan Primary School. Didn’t you receive the script? What, haven’t you read it yet?” Director Li asked.

Lin Qianyou took a moment to process, then said, “Ah? I’ve read it, just didn’t expect filming to start so soon. I’ll go back and prepare properly.”

Director Li nodded, “Good, take some time to adjust and aim to be in your best condition.”

Lin Qianyou forced a smile and said flatteringly, “Alright.”