PCP C6
Chapter 6: Takeout
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Editor: Caelath]
Shen Qingzhou stood up to open the door. Yu Wan pursed her lips and kept eating her bowl of noodles.
"Shen-dao, I"ve brought your dinner. How is it, don"t you think I"m wonderful?" *
*IMPORTANT: The prefix -dao means "Director", but in an abbreviated way. It"s just a way of being informal. So Shen-dao just means "Director Shen".
Shen Qingzhou stood at the edge of the hall as he looked at the two people walking past the door. "Why did you two come together?"
Tang Yue said, "I just b.u.mped into Yeyu by coincidence. We haven"t met in such a long time, so I thought to come along and visit you."
Behind him, Lin Yeyu took off her sungla.s.ses. A smile was draped on her beautiful, elegant face. "I called Tang Yue and learned that he was coming to meet you, so I followed him. Are we bothering you?"
Shen Qingzhou"s expression was indifferent. "No. Did you just finish shooting?"
Lin Yeyu took off her ten-centimeter high heels. "Nope, but I"m on a short break, so I came here right away."
"Mm." Shen Qingzhou didn"t say much else and turned to walk back.
"Hey, where am I going to put dinner?"
"In the kitchen."
"Help me, would you? We haven"t eaten yet, so let"s have dinner together. I bought a lot."
Shen Qingzhou"s footsteps stopped. "I"ve already eaten, you guys can help yourselves."
"What?" Tang Yue hoisted two large plastic bags of food. "Weren"t you the one who told me to bring food? How have you eaten already, what did you eat?"
Just as he finished his sentence, Tang Yue suddenly straightened up. His gaze went past Shen Qingzhou and fell upon the girl on the sofa. Whoa, what the h.e.l.l, there"s a woman in Shen Qingzhou"s house!!!
He wasn"t able to see the living room when he walked in because of a wall, but now… There"s someone else in his house!
Yu Wan felt that something was wrong as soon as she heard voices. If the takeout he mentioned earlier was his friend bringing dinner and she had basically compelled him to eat her noodles, it"ll be so awkward…
She put down her bowl and chopsticks and stood up when she saw them standing in the living room. "h.e.l.lo."
Tang Yue"s eyes widened like he had discovered a new world. He practically threw the bags to the floor and rushed to Yu Wan. "Your looks are so cute, like a drop of clear water. Shen-dao, I never knew that you preferred this type of girl."
Yu Wan choked and realized that her presence was being misunderstood. "No, no. You"re misunderstanding, I"m just a neighbor that lives next door."
"Next door?" Tang Yue tsk"ed as he shook his head and turned to the indifferent Shen Qingzhou. "Shen Qingzhou, you never struck me as sly. I thought nothing could get to you, much less move in right across her."
Yu Wan shook her head like a swaying drum.
"Little sister, how old are you, judging from your appearance…" Tang Yue seemed a bit questioning and carefully asked, "Are you underage?"
The edge of Yu Wan"s mouth twitched. "I"m twenty-three."
"Ah? You certainly don"t look like it…" Tang Yue looked impervious. "Then it"s fine, I was worried that Shen-dao would have to bear being called a pedophile." *
*TL-note: I really hate people like this guy who literally have no shame.
Yu Wan, "…"
That was likely Shen Qingzhou"s breaking point. He walked to Tang Yue and coldly said, "Put the things in the kitchen. Don"t drop it here."
"Qingzhou, why didn"t you tell me about such an important matter?" Tangyue chuckled.
Lin Yeyu also walked up. Her expression seemed a little strained when she saw Yu Wan, but since she was an actor, she hid her discomfort easily. "Yeah, you should"ve said something if you had a girlfriend."
Shen Qingzhou said coldly, "You"re thinking too much. I hired her to come cook for Red Bean."
Yu Wan quickly followed up, "Yes, I"m only here to care for Red Bean."
"Haven"t you always been so protective of Red Bean? You never easily let people take care of it." The disbelief was clear on Tang Yue"s face, and his gaze shifted to the two empty bowls on the coffee table. "Also, is she taking care of you too along with Red Bean?" *
*yo wtf is this nibba"s problem
Shen Qingzhou"s icy stare flashed across the room, and Tang Yue shut his mouth. "Okay, fine, I"m not going talk about it."
Yu Wan saw that it was a little awkward for her to stay, so she hurried to say: "Mr. Shen, since you have guests, I"ll be going home."
Shen Qingzhou gestured with a slight nod.
Yu Wan nodded to Lin Yeyu and Tang Yue, then went to call on Yu Diandian.
"Majesty, we"re going home." Yu Diandian looked at her and then Red Bean, seeming a bit reluctant. Yu Wan crouched down to pat at its head, "I"ll let you see Red Bean tomorrow, but we"ve gotta bounce."
"Woof, woof!"
Yu Wan stood up and walked to the door, and Yu Diandian longingly gazed at Red Bean before following her out. Red Bean trailed them to the doorway, where it sat in front of the shut door like a husband waiting for his wife to return.
"It"s a miracle that Red Bean would grow to like her in such a short time since you moved here." Tang Yue commented. "It took me a full month for Red Bean to accept me."
Shen Qingzhou looked at Red Bean. It was impossible to see what he was thinking.
Yu Wan didn"t go home, but first went to the utilities department. Otherwise, she wouldn"t have electricity or AC and never survive the night. On the way back, she saw a makeup advertis.e.m.e.nt on a big LED screen that was attached to a large building.
It was no wonder that she felt familiar. Yu Wan had seen her on there before, because the makeup commercial was on a loop on that screen. When Yu Wan was walking her dog earlier, she had glanced at the display; the brand"s representative was Lin Yeyu.
The woman at Shen Qingzhou"s house seemed to be a hot celebrity.
While Yu Wan was going home, her brother Yu Huan called.
"Ge, they cut my electricity today. I was just at utilities to pay the bill."
Yu Huan was exasperated. "How much did you owe for them to cut the power?"
"Hehe, it… It"s fine now." Yu Wan laughed it off. "Are you still busy, when are you coming home?"
"Yeah, I am. There"s a new drama that I"m acting in."
"A new one again? Ge, could you not be such a workaholic? JIan Yunong said that your previous one dominated the theaters this year. What, are you going to do it again?"
"How else can I make enough money to feed the pig that you are?" Yu Huan chuckled.
Yu Wan rolled her eyes. "I don"t make as much as you do, but I definitely can support myself, okay. You"re just going at it for my future sister-in-law, right?"
"This brother of yours is incredibly busy. I haven"t even glimpsed a shadow of whoever your sister-in-law may be."
"Tch, remember to take breaks. Don"t get too tired." Yu Wan said. "Don"t forget to come visit your little sister, okay?"
"Fine, fine. I"ll stop by once I"m free."
"That"s good." Yu Wan suddenly remembered, "Right, I wanted to ask you something. Do you know this guy named Shen Qingzhou?"
"Shen Qingzhou? Yeah, I do. What about him?"
"Ah? I"m just curious. The male protagonist in my next novel is a director kind of like him. I saw him on the internet and got a little interested, so I think he seems suitable to take some traits from." Yu Wan didn"t want mention him living right across her, so she created a logical excuse.
Yu Huan didn"t suspect her anyways, and thought for a moment before replying. "He"s a very talented director, and the film he directed a few years ago "Threads of Fate" won a lot of awards. The lead actors in that film also blew up after that. Later, he also directed a few TV shows and movies. He"s got some really good taste."
"Oh, then what about his personality? Have you ever met him on the job?"
"I haven"t worked with him yet, though I did b.u.mp into him last year and we talked for a while." Yu Huan said. "Everyone in the circle knows that Shen Qingzhou is rather frigid and never shows affection for anyone. A lot of people have naturally grown used to it, and anyone who"s worked with him knows that he"s very strict with his work and doesn"t allow a bit of imperfection. However, that"s probably the exact reason why the quality of his works are so high.
Yu Wan nodded. She could imagine Shen Qingzhou like that. Someone like him probably never worried about getting on other people"s good sides. Even in the entertainment industry where reputation and favors were crucial, he still acted independently.
"Yu Wan, is it because he"s handsome that you think he"s suitable for a character in your novel?" Yu Huan suddenly teased.
"Yeah, you actors have way too many beautiful faces. A handsome director is quite rare, don"t you think?" She said amusedly.
Yu Huan laughed on the other side. "Well, it"s also rare for my sister to compliment a guy this much. Here, the next time I get to meet him, I"ll pay attention. I"ll tell you more of what I can gather at a close distance, then."
Yu Wan thought: I can learn much more than you at a distance closer than you think, you"re not even being useful.
After she hung up, she took a shower and changed into a large, comfortable T-shirt. Yu Wan started to write a new chapter to update her series, checking her word count periodically.
Once she reached a thousand characters, Yu Wan stopped to grab some snacks. In the night, snacks and typing were a perfect pair. *
*ew Yu Wan, no
She opened a bag of chocolate bites and threw a handful in her mouth. As she chewed, she picked up her phone. After a moment of contemplation, she sent a message to Shen Qingzhou.
"Sorry about your trouble today, did your friends clear up their misunderstandings?" — Yu Wan.
He didn"t respond, so Yu Wan went back to clacking at her keyboard.
As she typed, her thoughts wandered. Lin Yeyu was a famous actor, and Shen QIngzhou was a director. If they were in a novel, they should probably have something between them.
Yu Wan shook her head and scolded herself in her head. What was she thinking…
"Ding."
A notification popped up on her texts. Yu Wan immediately picked up her phone and opened it.
"No."
A simple answer. It was totally his style.
Yu Wan stared at the word for a while until the phone dinged again. He sent another text.
"What can you make other than noodles?"
Yu Wan paused before replying. "I can cook most dishes."
"Where do you work, and what are your hours?"
Yu Wan looked at Shen Qingzhou"s strange questions in confusion. Why isn"t he explaining anything? She replied, "I don"t have working hours, I write books at home…"
"Good. From tomorrow on, you will come make dinner for me and Red Bean. I"ll add more to your salary."
Yu Wan was baffled at this text.
Originally, she was only raising one pet. Yesterday, it turned into two. Then tomorrow… She had picked up a third?
Yu Wan rested her chin on her palm and started to brood.
Logically speaking, if she didn"t feel terribly lazy, she always cooked for herself at night. Making dinner for Shen Qingzhou would be simply making an additional serving, so it wouldn"t take very much longer.
More importantly, though he had a chilly face, she thought it was handsome no matter how cold it got. Perhaps there was something wrong with her brain?
Yu Wan switched to another perspective. Just as Jian Yunong said, she was now going through a cliche phase of "love at first sight". If she really had feelings to someone who showed nearly no signs of life, wouldn"t she be practically trying to become a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t…