Chapter 59
Xu Qiongya, who was worried, came to watch Shen Wu’s competition. Seeing Shen Wu pass the corners again and again without any danger, she was gradually infected by the enthusiastic atmosphere of the audience and couldn’t help but applaud.
The audience was mostly male. When the final ranking was settled, and the audience had calmed down their excitement, someone noticed the two outstanding-looking Asians on this side.
Xu Qiongya was a crane among a flock of chickens among a group of rough men. She had always maintained a restrained and polite distance from Qi Song. A few people in the crowd whispered to each other, and after a moment, a curly-haired man came up to strike up a conversation.
The man had a bit of a beard, but his words and actions were a bit naive, and he was wearing a loose jacket that young people liked.
He asked for Xu Qiongya’s contact information in not-so-fluent English with a trill.
Xu Qiongya’s English was not very good, and she subconsciously looked at Qi Song.
Qi Song smiled gently and then told the curly-haired man who was trying to strike up a conversation in English, “Her son is about the same age as you.”
The curly-haired man’s eyes widened, and he didn’t believe it at all, just thinking that this Asian man was playing with him.
Seeing that the curly-haired man seemed a little angry, Qi Song, in the principle of less trouble is better, gently put his arm around Xu Qiongya’s shoulder.
Language communication was inconvenient, but body language had no borders. The curly-haired man saw the extra intimacy in Qi Song’s actions and reacted, guessing that the two might be a couple. The Asian man had not cursed him first, which was polite enough.
After figuring out the cause and effect, he quickly apologized. Before leaving, he praised the man he had offended’s wife as an apology, “She’s so beautiful.”
Qi Song smiled, “Thank you.”
The last conversation between the two was very simple, and Xu Qiongya also understood it. She sighed helplessly, “I’m almost 50.”
“You’re clearly only 47,” Qi Song’s eyes drooped slightly when he smiled, unusually gentle, and he was quick with a witty remark, “Not even yet.”
“We’ve missed too many years,” Qi Song gazed into the distance and murmured, “To say it’s a regret, there are some, but when I think that you’ve used these years to raise such a good child as Xiao Wu, then I think it’s okay to wait.”
“If we can live to be seventy, the time we’re together will be longer than the time we’ve missed, right?”
“Seventy is too little. We should at least live to be eighty or ninety,” Xu Qiongya couldn’t help but curl her lips. “But…”
Her words trailed off.
Qi Song understood her hesitation.
Shen Tianheng was not willing to get a divorce and had to go to court, which had almost worn out her affection. But how could a relationship of more than twenty years be so easily forgotten?
Just as the sand of disappointment had accumulated into a mountain and finally erupted, and the earth had collapsed in the dust of the sand, there were also feelings that had accumulated over time and were hard to break.
“I’ve waited for more than twenty years. What can’t I wait for?” Qi Song smiled easily and deliberately made a joke, “Don’t overthink it. The ‘together’ I’m talking about… is just watching Xiao Wu’s competition together.”
Xu Qiongya also smiled lightly.
The competition they watched together was not lacking in topics.
After a few seconds of silence, Qi Song said again, “Let’s go and find Xiao Wu now, to celebrate for him.”
Shen Wu was not overly proud and did not celebrate wildly for this fourth place, which was half luck.
The few of them gathered together and had a simple meal at a local restaurant.
Being in a foreign country, they were much freer in their actions than in their own country. They didn’t have to worry about the omnipresent fans, nor would they be surrounded by people who loved to watch a show.
In the second race, some not-so-unexpected accidents happened.
Shen Wu had entered the entertainment industry and had participated in a popular variety show with Meng Huaizhi. Now he was in the limelight. The number of fans who came to watch the race in person was very small, but the online sports broadcast had received extraordinary attention because of him.
Among them, of course, were Meng Huaizhi’s fans. They stared at every shot that swept across the audience, hoping to find a shadow of their gege in the dense sea of people.
They couldn’t find Meng Huaizhi, but they actually found another familiar face—Qi Song.
Qi Song was nearly fifty and was not one of those young male idols who made fans go crazy.
He was also long past the age where netizens would pay attention to his private life, but he had been unmarried all these years, and there had been no news of him dating anyone in the industry.
At this moment, Qi Song and a woman with an Asian face appeared in the audience, which naturally caused a lot of waves.
[Who’s the beautiful lady next to Qi-ge? Does anyone know?]
[Could that be sister-in-law, holy crap!]
[Sister-in-law has such a good temperament. Even a random snapshot looks so good. A beauty with good bone structure is just photogenic.]
[Is sister-in-law an outsider? I don’t think I’ve seen this face before, but I always feel that she’s a bit familiar…]
[After so many years, Qi-ge finally has a situation. I’m in tears.]
[If I could be Qi-ge’s daughter, I can’t believe how happy a little girl I would be.]
[If Film Emperor Qi had gotten married twenty years earlier, I’d be applying to be his daughter-in-law right now, hahaha.]
[It’s okay if he gets married later. I can wait for my husband to be born and grow up (doge).]
These few races were all in Europe, and there were very few Asian faces in the audience. Any one of them was very outstanding and eye-catching. Their delicate features and fine skin easily stood out among a group of scruffy racing fanatics.
Even Shen Ping, on the other side of the stands, was found by the eagle-eyed netizens.
[Randomly asking, is the handsome guy with glasses in the upper right corner of picture 2 also a celebrity? What’s his name?]
[Is he Chinese? Could there be a handsome guy in the domestic fish that I don’t know?]
A small artist from Star Entertainment was surfing the internet and accidentally saw this Weibo post. He even recognized the person in the photo, so he took a screenshot and posted it on his own Weibo with the caption: [Claiming President Shen (sticks out tongue).]
A single stone stirred up a thousand waves.
[Huh? What?? Is this the boss of Star Entertainment??]
[Holy crap, isn’t our President Shen better-looking than a celebrity?]
[Is Star Entertainment still recruiting? I’ll be the first to apply!!]
[By the way, wasn’t Shen Wu at Star Entertainment before? Is President Shen here to watch his competition?]
[Wait, they both have the surname Shen… I think I’ve discovered something amazing.]
[Isn’t it normal for a domineering president to have the surname Shen, hhh?]
The heated discussion about the several viewers did not last long. Shen Ping immediately suppressed these messy things and also pushed up a few Weibo posts about the competition itself.
A major V-account in sports did a simple popularization of the complex F1 season, and the majority of netizens also learned how amazing Shen Wu’s current achievements were.
F1 was the highest level of car racing, and Shen Wu was not only the first F1 driver from China, but a small half of his opponents were former world champions. His current points had already steadily entered the top ten among this group of people. As the competition continued, it was not impossible for his ranking to continue to rise.
In addition, the official Weibo of Star Entertainment had inexplicably gained a few thousand fans.
Shen Ping found the source of the incident, which was the Weibo post published by an artist under his company.
@Actor Zhu Wenwen: Claiming President Shen…
Zhu Wenwen?
Shen Ping remembered that Shen Wu had mentioned this name before, and he had also promised to have someone keep an eye on him.
This time, he asked his secretary for the other person’s number and directly called, “This is Shen Ping. Delete the Weibo post.”
“Why, President Shen? Isn’t this a good thing for our company?” Zhu Wenwen was very puzzled. “Other company bosses, if they have any special skills, would be eager to show them off to create hype for their company. President Shen, look, netizens are all praising Star Entertainment, saying that as a former boss, you would actually travel thousands of miles to watch Shen Wu’s competition, saying that you’re handsome and kind-hearted…”
“Zhu Wenwen,” Shen Ping interrupted in a deep voice. “Which department did the company sign you in?”
Zhu Wenwen’s heart skipped a beat, and his voice was filled with guilt, “The acting department…”
Shen Ping said again, “Good that you know. Delete it.”
…
Recently, besides the competition, Shen Wu had also, at the request of the team’s owner, Hua’an Motors, accepted the invitation to be the sole global spokesperson for Hua’an Motors.
Hua’an Motors had had celebrity spokespersons before. Car racing was a niche sport after all, so the endorsement still needed a celebrity with a wider influence.
Not long ago, the previous spokesperson’s contract had expired, and Shen Wu had just entered the entertainment industry. The president of Hua’an had personally extended an olive branch to him.
Shen Wu had a deep friendship with the Hua’an team. To film a commercial for Hua’an Motors for free was, in Shen Wu’s opinion, his duty. In the end, it was all thanks to the manager Luo Jinyi, who, in a business-like manner, had negotiated a rather amazing endorsement fee for him.
During the break before the two races, Shen Wu took a day off to go to the studio prepared by Hua’an to film the commercial.
The slogans for car commercials were all the same: break the shackles, face the unknown, and bravely face all challenges and difficulties…
It was quite in line with Shen Wu’s profession and personality.
It was not an easy thing to put on a cool face and say the lines in front of the camera. He was saying “bravely explore,” but the director, looking at the monitor, frowned and shouted “cut,” “Shen Wu… why are you looking at the car with such a deep and affectionate gaze? This is a car commercial, not an idol drama.”
Shen Wu: “…”
He seemed to have heard similar words from Wen Qiehua, but in reverse.
He touched the flirtatious mole on the tip of his nose with some embarrassment and promised with a bit of guilt, “Let’s do it again. It definitely won’t happen this time.”
Meng Huaizhi, who was accompanying him for work, thought for a moment and pointed to a dim corner, “Then I’ll wait over there.”
He then walked a few steps away, and then a few more, making sure that Shen Wu could not see him from any of the angles he was walking around the car.
Shen Wu: “…”
After much difficulty, when the director had said “pass” several times in a row, Meng Huaizhi eagerly walked up and, unnecessarily, handed Shen Wu a bottle of water.
Shen Wu took it with a happy smile.
Not far away, the director shouted, “Xiao Shen! Come and take a look too.”
Shen Wu craned his neck to reply to him, “Wait a minute, director!” At the same time, he reached out and pulled on Meng Huaizhi.
The two of them went around half a circle and came to the other side of the car, just avoiding all the people and all the cameras on that side.
The director and several staff members were chatting enthusiastically, while they were on the other side of the car, whispering.
Today was April 27th.
Like July 30th, this was also a date that Shen Wu knew by heart.
“Huaizhi-ge, happy birthday,” Shen Wu said. “I have a birthday gift for you.”
Meng Huaizhi seemed to have just remembered his own birthday and showed a bit of surprise, “What is it?”
Shen Wu’s eyes curved in a smile, and he took out a jewelry box from his pocket, “It’s… a necklace.”
A simple silver chain, in Shen Wu’s palm, was shining with a dazzling light.
“I have a matching one myself,” Shen Wu introduced. “Don’t look at its simple style. It’s not cheap at all. I’ve tried many necklaces, and this one is the best for stringing our rings.”
Hearing this, Meng Huaizhi took the necklace. As he lowered his eyes to examine it, the light of the necklace was reflected in his ink-black eyes, like a star shining in the long night.
After a long while, he fumbled in his pocket and took out the ring that was the same as Shen Wu’s. “I happen to have it with me.”
Shen Wu hadn’t expected him to carry the ring with him, but he was very happy that he did. It was a good opportunity to prove that this gift was not simple.
Meng Huaizhi undid the metal necklace clasp and strung the ring through it.
“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Shen Wu quickly asked.
Meng Huaizhi hummed in agreement and immediately put the necklace on.
A matching necklace and a matching ring, a unique piece of jewelry in this world, yet they each had an identical one.
Meng Huaizhi’s action of carrying the ring with him and immediately putting on the birthday gift made Shen Wu very happy, and he watched him with a smile in his eyes all along.
The ring pendant hung below his collarbone, very close to his heart. Meng Huaizhi cherished it and pinched the small ring, and asked again, “Is it pretty?”
Shen Wu nodded vigorously. Because of Meng Huaizhi’s action of raising his hand, he saw the corner of the “M” tattoo again.
He always wanted to get an answer, so he asked again, “By the way, your tattoo…”
“You’re so curious?” Meng Huaizhi frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and still opened his mouth, “Do you still remember… when this tattoo was done?”
Shen Wu said without thinking, “When you graduated from high school.”
Meng Huaizhi asked again, “And you?”
“I graduated from middle school…”
“Mm, when you were fourteen,” Meng Huaizhi rubbed his wrist. “It’s an ‘M’, but not just that.”
Shen Wu looked at the young man in front of him in a daze and did not say a word for a long time.
As early as when he was sixteen, he was no longer willing to call Meng Huaizhi “Huaizhi-ge.”
Two years later, when he had graduated from high school and had some free time, he had thought about it over and over, and had struggled with it, before he finally understood what the strange feeling in his heart was.
He seemed to have… fallen in love with the brother from a family friend.
But the other person was cold and distant, a deity in the sky, a high-and-mighty flower that could not be profaned. In the brother’s world, there was no such feeling as love.
He had fallen in love with his brother. What should he do?
Thinking of this, Shen Wu suddenly remembered that the last time he had said in the amusement park that Meng Huaizhi would fall in love with the main character shou over time, and the other person had returned his words with a meaningful smile.
Even if it was falling in love over time, it should be… with a childhood sweetheart, right?
As if he had been struck by a thunderbolt, Shen Wu’s whole body was numb with electricity, and an unprecedented warmth spread in his heart.
And Meng Huaizhi frowned, actually regretting that he had not dodged the question about the tattoo again, “…Shen Wu?”
Shen Wu was so shocked that he couldn’t hear the sound and was still in a daze.
Seeing Meng Huaizhi withdraw his hand, he quickly reached out to pull it back, and again lifted his sleeve to carefully examine the tattoo with a double meaning.
His earlobes unknowingly heated up and turned a noticeable red.
This red was also reflected in Meng Huaizhi’s deep, dark eyes.
After the shock had faded, it was clearly an overwhelming joy.
He was not scared by the ten-year-old covetousness, did not shrink back at all, but instead took the initiative to hold Meng Huaizhi’s hand and murmured softly, “Then… you actually liked me first?”
But Meng Huaizhi had sensed a hidden meaning in these words and raised an eyebrow, “You’ve liked me for a long time?”
Shen Wu: “…”
Meng Huaizhi smiled, hitting the nail on the head, “No wonder you wouldn’t call me ge anymore.”
Shen Wu called out in a futile attempt, “Huaizhi-ge.”
Meng Huaizhi smiled and replied, “Mm.”
The hand below flipped over and held Shen Wu’s hand.
Shen Wu subconsciously looked at their clasped fingers. When he lifted his eyes again, Meng Huaizhi’s nose was almost touching his.
“Wait, wait…” Shen Wu quickly raised his hand to block the pressing chest and asked in a panic, “Do you know what a high-and-mighty flower is?”
Your persona is about to collapse!
Meng Huaizhi retreated slightly and actually gave a positive answer, “I know.”
Shen Wu’s eyes widened in astonishment. Although he often complained in his heart, it seemed that he had never told Meng Huaizhi about his persona.
“An object of admiration, or love…” Meng Huaizhi continued, “that is desirable but unattainable.”
Shen Wu was taken aback for a moment.
So, Meng Huaizhi only knew the meaning of the term “high-and-mighty flower” itself…
Just as Shen Wu was about to speak, he heard him say again, “To me, you are.”
Word by word, extremely solemn.
Shen Wu was stunned again.
Meng Huaizhi took the opportunity to get closer. The warm breath that was so close instantly moistened his slightly parted lips from surprise.
“But now, you’re not.”
Meng Huaizhi kissed him.
An unexpected kiss, originally just a shallow attempt to break a corner of the restraint after reaching the limit of his endurance.
Meng Huaizhi did not intend to go too far. After all, there was a large group of people on the other side of the car, chatting enthusiastically, and not paying attention to them for the time being.
So he just gently covered Shen Wu’s lips with his own.
It was the first time for both of them to kiss, and their skill level was zero. Only their instincts were at work.
Shen Wu unconsciously held his breath, and because of the lack of oxygen, he opened his mouth and stuck out a little bit of his red tongue.
Meng Huaizhi was pressed against him, his lips slightly parted, and he was about to say something.
“Shen…”
He had only spat out one word before he was interrupted.
His tongue was actually lightly hooked by Shen Wu’s tongue.
It was as if it had hooked his heart.
