Extreme Pampering-Chapter 56 - The Lipstick Mark on the Shirt
Chapter 56: Chapter 56 The Lipstick Mark on the Shirt.
Chapter 56: Chapter 56 The Lipstick Mark on the Shirt.
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The partition in the car was raised, and the driver drove conscientiously without making a single unnecessary sound, forcing Shen Zhiyi to lower her head to meet Pei Yu’s gaze, but she was too embarrassed to admit that she herself didn’t understand why she had abruptly brought up the topic.
Silence spread between the two of them, but the atmosphere was not oppressive; instead, there was a serene quietness, tinted by the night. Pei Yu suddenly chuckled, pinched the back of her neck, then gently rubbed her full lower lip with the pad of his finger, with a clear understanding of her thoughts. He leisurely said, “If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as you agree.”
Knowing how difficult it was for her to initiate this kind of talk, Pei Yu fell silent for a while, “Did Xiaoran tell you this? What else did she say?”
His background and the romantic escapades of two generations of the Pei Family were not rare news in these circles, but no one dared to mention them overtly as a topic of gossip. The only one who could speak so casually about Pei’s family matters was Qin Xiaoran— even her brother avoided the subject and was unwilling to bring it up.
Pei Yu was not evasive, he simply thought it unnecessary to talk about it.
“She didn’t say much,”
Mysteriously, Shen Zhiyi omitted the matters concerning Father Pei’s several wives and shook her head.
“You can ask me anything you want to know,” Pei Yu said, “There’s nothing I can’t talk about.”
Shen Zhiyi still shook her head, indicating she had no desire to know.
She was somewhat reluctant to learn more.
Not noticing her peculiarity, Pei Yu closed his eyes in a languid gesture and brought up another matter, “Accompany me on a business trip tomorrow, to the island for a few days, alright?”
Accompany him on a business trip?
Shen Zhiyi reflexively declined, “I still have to shoot—”
“I’ve already discussed it with the director, your scenes can be delayed. It won’t affect anything.”
She didn’t know when he had made these arrangements, considering even this, leaving her without any reason to refuse. Yet she still hesitated. After years of diligence in her work, she had never let trivial matters cause a delay.
Seeing her hesitation, Pei Yu placed her hand over his chest and said lightly, “My heart hasn’t been feeling well these days; it’s a good opportunity to get it checked out.”
The island owned half the medical industry of Pei’s, and going there for a medical check-up did make sense. However, hospitals existed everywhere, and using this as an excuse was purely to lure Shen Zhiyi.
A show of appropriate vulnerability could soften her heart—Pei Yu understood this well. He didn’t care if the means were vile, he only cared about the results.
Sure enough, Shen Zhiyi wavered, her fingers grazing the thin layer of his shirt over his chest. She had noticed the round scar near his heart, which was likely from a gunshot wound, but she had never asked about it.
“How many days?”
Meng Fansheng was not easy to talk to, and with the film shoot being so tight, she couldn’t fathom why he would agree. Shen Zhiyi felt uneasy and couldn’t help but worry.
“Two days.”
Understanding her nature, Pei Yu considered it a success to borrow her for two days. He measured his influence accurately, and Shen Zhiyi, indeed, agreed.
Early the next morning, a private plane waited on the Huating airstrip. The butler prepared several of Shen Zhiyi’s favorite fruit pastries; even her luggage was packed and ready, “Take this chance to relax and enjoy yourself.”
Shen Zhiyi was almost always staying at Huating, and the butler was aware of how busy her work was. The island, with its pleasant scenery, was a perfect place for a holiday.
She nodded, not daring to tell the butler that she had also packed her script in her bag, for fear it would be confiscated.
On the plane, she opened the script. She valued this opportunity to play the lead role greatly, always doubting she was performing well enough. She flipped through the script over and over, showing signs of becoming somewhat obsessed.
Pei Yu noticed the notes she had made on her script; he pressed down on her hand and teased with a lift of his eyes, “You like working that much?”
His teasing made Shen Zhiyi press her lips together in an embarrassed smile, her expression revealing a hint of worry.
Knowing what she was worried about, Pei Yu flipped through a few pages of the script, speaking with conviction, “You’ve acted very well, even those terrible scripts you managed to perform impressively, this time will only be better, believe in Meng Fansheng, and believe in yourself.”
If she just wanted trophies, if she just wanted resources, Pei Yu could offer them with both hands, but that wasn’t what she was after, Pei Yu understood what she wanted, knew she also had her own pride, she definitely wasn’t a weak or incompetent character, otherwise, she wouldn’t have persisted for so long without giving up.
Perhaps it was because his confidence was infused at the pinnacle of the pyramid, his assured tone always had a way of making people inexplicably convinced, Shen Zhiyi’s heartbeat quickened a little, “Have you seen the plays I act in?”
“Surprised?”
Pei Yu smiled faintly, his words laced with unabashed favoritism, “I only watch your scenes.”
He couldn’t appreciate those plots, just wanted to watch her, the dynamic her, her in all her manifold expressions.
Her smile and frown were the materials that composed his dreams.
“I didn’t know,” Shen Zhiyi said softly, “I thought no one wanted to watch my scenes.”
The characters were unappealing, the plot made no sense, she herself couldn’t bear to watch it again.
“There are plenty,” Pei Yu pinched her fingers, and while her attention was diverted, he withdrew the script, he hadn’t coaxed her out just to have her work in a different place.
The plane landed at noon, Pei Yu had a social engagement, Shen Zhiyi followed him to the same hotel, opened a private room all to herself for a meal, the hotel was by the seashore, the scenery from the window was unobstructed, and the food was to her liking, she dined quietly.
Pei Yu, on the other hand, was chatting with a business partner, the casual conversation also revolved around the current business, the partner was a bit surprised, he hadn’t expected Pei Yu to come in person, these matters were usually handled by Secretary Qin.
“The scenery is nice,” Pei Yu sipped his drink leisurely, hardly touching his food, “just out for a stroll.”
Hearing this, the partner quickly recommended several scenic spots for an outing, subtly hinting that he was available and could act as a guide for the trip.
Pei Yu declined, “Not convenient.”
The partner was taken aback, not understanding what he meant by inconvenient.
At this juncture, as the meal drew to a close, Pei Yu got up from his seat, taking a brief leave.
But instead of heading towards the restroom, he went upstairs to another private room.
Shen Zhiyi was diligently following Wang Feifei’s advice to record her daily life, focused on photographing her food, until a hand appeared in the corner of the frame.
She looked up, “Are you done with your work?”
Glancing at her phone screen, Pei Yu nodded, “Pretty much.”
Shen Zhiyi had also eaten her fill, too much food was left over, Pei Yu passed her some tea to rinse her mouth, then kissed her, leisurely admiring the sea view outside the window with her in his arms.
He toyed with the tie at her waist, “There’s a fireworks show at the harbor tonight, want to see it?”
“Tonight? I heard the fireworks show only happens once a year at the year-end.”
“It’s been moved forward,” Pei Yu only cared if she wanted to see it.
“Okay,” Shen Zhiyi said, “then I’ll wait for you at the harbor in advance.”
After staying in the private room for a while, Pei Yu returned to his seat, the business partner following half a step behind, suddenly catching sight of a distinctly out-of-place red at the collar of his snow-white shirt.
Having been around the pleasure districts for a long time, he recognized at a glance that it was a careless smudge of lipstick.
Instantly, he understood the earlier “Not convenient.”
