How Did the Top-Tier Male Lead Fall in Love With Me? 77

Chapter 77 – Extra: Previous Life [Bad Ending]

At thirty-three, Meng Huaizhi was still unmarried.

In the past decade, countless male artists’ houses had collapsed.

And Meng Huaizhi was the one most watched by the paparazzi among male artists. As he grew older over the years, his fans couldn’t help but worry, fearing that their own house would collapse when they woke up.

But Meng Huaizhi’s life had always been calm. While his fans were moved by their idol’s professionalism and doting on them, they couldn’t help but start to worry about his lifelong affair.

Such a good idol should also have his happiness.

Since he was twenty-eight, he had been wearing two rings on a necklace, of the same style and size. They hung on his chest, never leaving his body for a moment.

The fans had many guesses about this.

[Didn’t you see that Huai-ge’s necklace has two rings on it? I guess that means he doesn’t need to date and get married. Having himself is enough.]

[Ai, it’s been so many years. So what does that ring necklace mean…]

[Didn’t they say he had a fiancée who died early?]

[How come people are still spreading this eight-hundred-year-old rumor? It’s not like they’re writing a novel.]

[Crap, crap, crap, my friend went to a certain cemetery yesterday and actually ran into Meng Huaizhi!!]

[What???]

[The relatives of big shots are all buried in that cemetery. Ordinary people are not allowed in, and no photos are allowed, but my friend really saw it at the entrance. I’m not lying to you!!]

[No way…]

A musician had arranged to meet Meng Huaizhi at a famous local restaurant.

It was clearly a local restaurant, but for some reason, half of the table was filled with exquisite Cantonese dim sum. The musician was all smiles, “President Meng, I heard you have a light palate, so I specially ordered these. See if you like them? Here’s the menu, you can add anything you need.”

Meng Huaizhi silently stared at the colorful and fragrant dishes on the table.

The musician was all smiles and chattered, “I originally wanted to invite you to Longfeng Restaurant, but the soundproofing of the private rooms there is not very good. I was afraid you would find it noisy…”

Seeing that Meng Huaizhi had not touched his chopsticks for a long time, he felt a little uneasy, and his tone suddenly dropped, “President Meng… you don’t like Cantonese food?”

Meng Huaizhi shook his head lightly, “I can’t eat. If you have any thoughts on the song, just say it now.”

But the musician was instantly flustered and stood up in a panic, apologizing repeatedly, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, President Meng. We didn’t know you had a dietary restriction. Waiter, please take all this away…”

“It’s fine, no need to take it away,” Meng Huaizhi said. “You can just eat. I don’t dislike Cantonese dim sum, I just… can’t eat it.”

Although he was not angry, the musician did not dare to eat a single bite. The requests he had prepared were all hidden back in his stomach, and he did not dare to bring up any of them.

Today’s dinner ended early. He decided to visit M+ Entertainment in person next time and talk about it then.

Meng Huaizhi was very easy to talk to and had no objection.

This was the first time this musician had cooperated with Meng Huaizhi. He was mindful of Meng Huaizhi’s unapproachable reputation and was very careful in his first personal interaction with him, for fear of accidentally angering him.

Meng Huaizhi had always had that cold look, but he didn’t seem very angry.

He had only said that he couldn’t eat it.

The musician looked back at the untouched braised beef brisket, white-cut chicken, and various crystal dim sum… and secretly thought it was a pity.

When he came back to his senses, Meng Huaizhi had already walked away.

“President Meng, please wait,” the musician eagerly chased after him. “Let me see you off.”

“No need, I drove,” Meng Huaizhi politely refused.

But he didn’t know where his car was parked, at least not on this street. The musician stood in place, staring blankly as he walked away, further and further.

The dark, tall and slender figure silently melted into the sunset glow of the street.

But it did not make people feel the slightest warmth.

Meng Huaizhi returned to his residence and, to relieve the silence in his home, skillfully turned on the TV. The volume was always at two bars.

Most of the time, he couldn’t hear what was on TV. He just left it on, pretending that his home was not so lonely.

In the past, he had not needed this little bit of noise, but in recent years, he had gradually developed this habit.

He sat in a corner of the sofa, flipping through his recent work documents.

Suddenly, a man’s scream came from the TV. He frowned and looked up.

On the bright screen with flowing light and shadow, it was a scene of a thrilling sports competition.

One race car after another sped by, like the shadow of death, with a violent roar of the engine, passing through dangerous corners again and again.

Meng Huaizhi shot to his feet, letting the documents on his lap fall to the ground.

He directly turned off the TV power.

The empty house once again returned to a deathly silence.

He had not eaten a single bite of the Cantonese dim sum for dinner. It was only now that he had returned home and was alone that his empty stomach began to ache slightly.

Meng Huaizhi opened the fridge and reached for the large bottle of cold milk.

He looked down and saw his outstretched left hand. The sleeve had slipped down a little, revealing a cyan, “W” shaped tattoo.

Without any warning, the milk bottle fell from his hand with a clatter and made a muffled sound in the fridge.

He covered his face with his cold hands and squatted down.

He inhaled and exhaled deeply, again and again.

There was still a dull ache in his heart.

He couldn’t forget, and he couldn’t let go.

…

In the ancient temple with red walls and green tiles, Meng Huaizhi, dressed in black, walked up the steps.

The abbot saw the visitor from a distance and greeted him warmly but politely, calling out respectfully, “Mr. Meng.”

The two had known each other for many years. Meng Huaizhi saw at a glance what the abbot wanted and said directly, “It snowed heavily a few days ago. Your ancient bricks and tiles should have been affected quite a bit.”

The abbot smiled, “Yes.”

He then watched Meng Huaizhi step over the threshold of the main hall and did not ask any more questions.

The abbot also knew what he wanted.

For many years, what he had been asking for was only that one thing.

For that one thing, he had already donated millions of yuan to this small temple and would come to burn incense every week without fail.

As the saying goes, sincerity can move mountains.

But the matter of bringing the dead back to life violated the rules of the great thousand worlds, and even the gods and Buddhas found it difficult.

The gods and Buddhas looked down at him from above, as if they were laughing at his greed.

However, he was unmoved and, as always, knelt down at the feet of the cold Buddha.

He said that he wanted to see Shen Wu again, and that it would be enough even if he couldn’t say a word.

His wish had already been reduced to this.

But the Buddha still refused to grant it.

He looked up and saw the Buddha’s indifferent and empty eyes.

Suddenly, he had a great enlightenment, but he had taken a completely opposite direction from the one indicated by the compassionate Buddha.

If the Buddha would not help him, then he would go and find him himself.

After offering three sticks of incense, the abbot saw him off.

It was already snowing heavily outside, and the temperature was below zero. He saw that the old abbot’s robes were thin and shook his head, “Master, you should go back. There’s no need to see me off.”

The abbot stood under the eaves and watched him walk away in the vast snow.

The snowflakes covered his black hair, and for a moment, it was as if his hair had turned white.

The next day, the temple received two million yuan in donations.

The young monk was overjoyed, “Master, we can also repair the backyard! Rebuilding is not a problem!”

But the abbot’s heart skipped a beat, and he gazed into the distance, “I’m afraid Mr. Meng won’t be coming again…”

On the way down the mountain, Meng Huaizhi opened his phone.

His WeChat was still pinned with Shen Wu, but the chat history had stopped five years ago.

M: I have something to say to you. Are you free tonight?

SW: Mm, training should be over around five or six. Where should we meet?

M: I’ll pick you up. Let’s spend New Year’s Eve together.

SW: There are a lot of people at the training ground. What if you’re discovered by a crazy fan?

M: It’s okay.

SW: Okay ^ – ^

The chat history ended with the smiling emoji Shen Wu had sent.

That year, on that day, Meng Huaizhi had prepared many words. He wanted to comfort Shen Wu not to be in a bad mood because of the failure in the competition, that it was all accidents that had affected his strength, not to doubt himself, and not to be too harsh on himself and force himself to train at a higher intensity.

Racing was too dangerous.

Shen Wu had been put under house arrest by Shen Tianheng because of the frequent accidents on the track. Meng Huaizhi had planned to go over and plead for him, but he had only found out after a phone call that he had already secretly escaped and was living alone in a small apartment.

The winter in the north was bleak, and the wind was biting, but the streets were full of a festive atmosphere.

It was almost the New Year.

Today was December 31st, New Year’s Eve, not the official Chinese New Year. It was not a weekend, and Shen Wu was also training as usual.

Meng Huaizhi had a lot to say to Shen Wu, and it was very important, so he had to say it in person.

He wanted to persuade Shen Wu to switch to a safer profession. Although Shen Wu would most likely not listen to him, he still wanted to try again.

He put a ring on his own ring finger.

And another thing.

The various accidents Shen Wu had encountered in the F1 season last year had given him a strong bad premonition.

Racing was a race with death.

He was a little scared. But compared to the fear that Shen Wu would be disappointed with him, this scheming brother, and would distance himself from him, he was more afraid that one day, something would really happen to Shen Wu, and he would never be able to see him again in this life, and those words would never be told to him.

So what if he was disliked by Shen Wu? At least he had to try first, so that he would not have any regrets.

Shen Wu was always like this on the track.

How would you know the result would be bad if you didn’t try?

Shen Wu was already 24 and should have his own love life. He didn’t know how long he could tie Shen Wu down with a marriage certificate.

He looked at the “^ – ^” emoji on the phone screen again, and an uncontrollable smile appeared on his lips.

Such a Shen Wu, even if he was disgusted with his feelings, he probably wouldn’t refuse to talk to him, right?

He tied his tie, looked at himself in the mirror, and with a smiling eye, he said to the high-spirited teenager in his memory, “Don’t blame me. I learned it all from you.”

“…A timid and weak brother is not worthy of your admiration and worship, is he?”

He found several legitimate reasons for himself and drove to pick up Shen Wu.

…

This year, today, it was still the same car from that year. Since that day, he had never picked up Shen Wu again.

Including that day, he had brought a stomach full of unspoken words and had finally driven to the hospital alone, through a silent city.

On the passenger seat was a bouquet of flowers that had never been sent.

The speed of the race car was too fast, and the impact was too strong. The person in the car did not even need to be sent to the emergency room.

His bones and the race car were shattered on the spot.

Meng Huaizhi had not been able to say goodbye to him.

The car came out of the house, and Meng Huaizhi drove directly to the cemetery in the suburbs.

Then he got out of the car and slowly climbed the snowy mountain.

The further up the mountain he went, the thicker the snow, and the whiter the view.

In the sixth year of Shen Wu’s death, he no longer went to the temple to pray to the Buddha.

The snow was particularly heavy this year.

He stood on the top of the mountain in a daze, surrounded by a once-in-a-century heavy snow.

He couldn’t help but be in a daze. Could this snow be some kind of omen?

Every year, he thought so, but the omen never came true.

The only tomb on the top of the mountain was the resting place he and the Shen family had chosen for Shen Wu.

He pinched a snowflake.

The crystal clear snowflake melted on his fingertips, like a teardrop.

A gust of wind blew.

The water evaporated, and the remaining traces of the snowflake also disappeared without a trace, leaving only a coldness.

He put his frozen hand into his pocket, but the precious warmth, once lost, would never come back.

His black hair was once again covered with snow. He looked up, and the snowflakes fell on his shoulders.

The biting wind on the top of the mountain was like a sharp blade, circling from the empty valley, scraping his face, and blurring his vision.

Everything was white.

It was the snow of a lifetime that he could not grow old with Shen Wu.

…

…

Meng Huaizhi died in the winter of his thirty-fourth year.

He died quietly in his solitary residence at night.

According to the doctor, he had been working too hard for these years, and the accumulated fatigue had turned into an illness. His depressed mood had further aggravated the illness.

The entire entertainment industry, and countless passersby, were mourning and regretting the early death of a generation’s music legend.

“It’s been another year so quickly. Ever since Meng Huaizhi passed away, the Chinese music scene seems to have suddenly declined. Ai…” a long-haired girl hugged a pillow and sighed at the falling snow outside the window.

A short-haired girl came over, handed her a bottle of drink, and said with a smile, “Aren’t you a fan of Film Emperor Nan? Why are you suddenly sighing about Meng Huaizhi?”

“When he was popular, I was in middle school and didn’t have time to be a fan of him, but I’ve always thought his songs were very good. They’re still in my playlist. Don’t you think so? And his character is also amazing. In this messy entertainment industry, only he and my Nannan are 100% clean.”

But the short-haired girl did not cooperate, “I don’t know about Nan Dengwei…”

Before her friend’s glare came, the short-haired goddess smiled mysteriously and continued, “But I know about Meng Huaizhi. He’s exactly the same as his online persona.”

“What??!” The long-haired girl jumped up from her chair in excitement.

The short-haired girl was stared at by two fiery eyes and told everything she knew.

“My parents used to have some business dealings with the Meng Corporation and have heard some rumors about him,” the short-haired girl said. “He really doesn’t smoke or drink, and has no bad habits. He’s not very interested in all that money in his family, but he just likes music…”

The long-haired girl asked anxiously, “Then the two rings on his necklace, do you know where they came from?”

The short-haired girl rubbed her chin uncertainly and said as she thought, “I heard that Chairman Meng—that is, his grandfather—wanted him to get married early. His grandfather seems to have arranged a fiancée for him, but that girl died early. He has been thinking about her since she passed away, so he has been single all his life.”

The long-haired girl was stunned and suddenly frowned, “That’s not right. I remember those two rings are the same style and size, right? If one is his, the other can’t be a girl’s. By the way, do you know which family he was in a marriage alliance with?”

“It seems to be the Shen family,” the short-haired girl was still not very sure. “The relationship between the Meng and Shen families is very good. You should be able to find it online. The two families also have a lot of work collaborations…”

“I found it!” The long-haired girl excitedly held up her phone. “It’s this Shen family, right? I found that they have a son who is a race car driver. He’s quite amazing, but he passed away many years ago…”

The short-haired girl looked at the screen and said in a daze, “Only 24… what a pity. He’s also very handsome, not at all inferior to the current top-tier stars.”

The long-haired girl also sighed for this stranger for a few seconds and then suddenly changed the subject, “I also think so, but my Nannan is still better.”

The short-haired girl rolled her eyes.

“Alright, alright, I suddenly have a lot of inspiration. I know how to write that fan fiction of Nannan,” the long-haired girl said. “He hasn’t been in a relationship for so many years, but I remember… at an awards ceremony, the host asked him about his idol. He was not allowed to continue talking about Qi Song, so he said Meng Huaizhi. He said that Senior Meng is a person with a pure heart… isn’t that quite sweet?”

“Sweet my ass!” The short-haired girl’s eyes were almost rolling to the sky. She then sighed, “Ai, in any case, although I’m not a fan, I also hope he can be happy…”

“Yes, yes, I’ll write it right away!”

…