Wishes

Liu Hang both feared and resented Shen Zeyu. As he secretly watched him, he noticed a smile blossom involuntarily on Shen Zeyu's face at the sight of the man approaching.

Although he had never met Lu Cizhou, Shen Zeyu's expression made him realize that this was the man Shen Zeyu had married in an arranged union.

Watching Shen Zeyu run over with a beaming smile, Liu Hang's jealousy reached its peak.

He thought furiously, Since you won't let me have any peace, I won't let you have any either.

Then, in a moment of madness, he made a decision that would hurt his enemy almost as much as it hurt himself.

He shouted those words in front of everyone. He refused to believe that Lu Cizhou could hear them without getting suspicious and still treat Shen Zeyu so well.

As he had expected, Lu Cizhou's expression darkened, but Shen Zeyu also came storming toward him.

Seeing Shen Zeyu like this brought back the fear he had felt during his earlier beating. "What are you going to do? I haven't done anything to you," he said shakily. He had deliberately disguised his voice when he shouted earlier.

Shen Zeyu laughed in fury. "You haven't done anything to me? Do you think I'm stupid? That I don't know you were the one who shouted?" Liu Hang was the only person on the entire production who had a grudge against him. Who else could it have been?

Shen Zeyu genuinely wanted to see how Liu Hang's brain worked for him to say something like that.

When Liu Hang tried to flee, Shen Zeyu grabbed the back of his collar and kicked him in the back.

Shen Zeyu released his grip as he kicked, sending Liu Hang sprawling forward. Then he turned him over and cursed as he hit him. "Oh, aren't you clever, saying something like that in front of everyone?"

"A secret signal? What secret signal do we have? Are you afraid someone might not know you owe me money and refuse to pay it back?"

"What? Looking like that, you still have the nerve to say you like me? Do you think I'm blind enough to ignore Lu Cizhou and fall for an ugly loser like you?"

Liu Hang was beaten so badly that he could not fight back at all. Everyone on the production watched Shen Zeyu curse and hit him, never having imagined that this was what Shen Zeyu was like when he lost his temper.

Everyone looked at Lu Cizhou with a hint of sympathy. Did this mean that if he upset Shen Zeyu in the future, a beating would be his only option?

Lu Cizhou's anger, however, faded after hearing Shen Zeyu's words. Of course he knew Shen Zeyu was not that sort of person. He was merely angry that someone had dared to smear Shen Zeyu's reputation.

Noticing the looks people were giving him, Lu Cizhou thought, These people are so shallow. As if Shen Zeyu would ever hit me.

Seeing that Shen Zeyu showed no sign of stopping, Lu Cizhou walked over and restrained him. "All right, all right. That's enough."

"No." Shen Zeyu was still angry. "He needs to be taught a lesson."

Looking at Liu Hang's battered face, Lu Cizhou said, "If you keep hitting him, I'm afraid I'll have to go somewhere else to find you."

"You won't," Shen Zeyu explained. "I avoided his vital areas. It only looks serious. He can even still talk."

"Even so, stop hitting him. You're hurting your hands too. It isn't worth it."

"Fine." Shen Zeyu let himself be stopped.

By now, Liu Hang had thrown all caution to the wind. He slurred at Lu Cizhou, "You think he really likes you? He's only after your money."

"See? I told you he needs a beating," Shen Zeyu said angrily.

This time, Lu Cizhou agreed with Shen Zeyu. "But we don't need to do it ourselves." Then he called two men over and had them drag Liu Hang aside.

Liu Hang's howls kept ringing out. This time, Shen Zeyu was the one who grew worried. "He'll be all right, won't he?"

Lu Cizhou replied calmly, "He'll be fine. They know what they're doing."

Shen Zeyu did not ask any more questions. As long as Liu Hang would be all right, that was enough.

"Did you come to pick me up?" Shen Zeyu asked Lu Cizhou.

Lu Cizhou nodded. "But we were planning to go out for dinner. Want to join us?" Shen Zeyu added.

Hearing this, Bai Yi came over and hurriedly said, "No, no, I'll pass." He had no desire to be a third wheel.

Lu Cizhou was very pleased that he knew when to bow out.

Seeing that Shen Zeyu still looked a little hesitant, Bai Yi said, "It's fine. We'll have plenty of time later."

"Then let's make plans another time," Shen Zeyu said.

"Sure. Go on, go on."

While Shen Zeyu was talking to Bai Yi, Lu Cizhou walked over to the director.

"If anyone on the production leaks what happened today, I think you know what the consequences will be."

The director nodded repeatedly. "I guarantee no one will leak it."

As for Liu Hang, Lu Cizhou was also certain he would not dare say anything. Shen Zeyu had gained some fame by now, after all, and he would not allow any unfavorable news about him to spread.

Once they had left together and gotten into the car, Shen Zeyu noticed they were not taking the road home and asked, "Aren't we going back yet?"

"We'll have dinner first, then I'll take you somewhere."

"Then what about Yuyu..."

"I've arranged for the butler to pick him up."

With that, Shen Zeyu had no more concerns and rested quietly in the car.

Lu Yu, who had just been picked up by the butler, grumbled, "Hmph! Papa and Dad didn't come to pick me up again. They're so mean. Dad must have taken Papa out to have fun again."

After dinner, the car drove for an unknown length of time before finally stopping. Shen Zeyu was just about to drift off when he heard Lu Cizhou say, "We're here."

Shen Zeyu rubbed his eyes and looked outside, but with the sky growing dark, he could not see very clearly.

"Where are we?" Shen Zeyu asked.

"Get out and have a look." With that, they got out of the car one after the other.

Only after getting out did Shen Zeyu see clearly that they were on a mountain, right at its summit.

"I never knew there was a place like this," Shen Zeyu marveled. Looking down from the summit, everything seemed incredibly small.

"I only found out about it when I happened to come here. I thought you'd like it."

"I love it," Shen Zeyu said softly. From here, he could see a hazy crescent moon emerging from clouds as translucent as cicada wings, slowly spilling its pure light. Tiny stars studded the sky, each doing its best to blend its pinprick of light into a faint glow.

The mountain forest was utterly quiet at night, making Shen Zeyu feel as though he were the only person left in the world.

As Shen Zeyu admired the nighttime scenery, Lu Cizhou looked at him and said, "There might be another surprise in a little while."

Shen Zeyu turned his head excitedly. "What surprise?" Perhaps because the night was so quiet, Lu Cizhou's voice sounded especially gentle to Shen Zeyu, and his gaze held a hint of fond indulgence.

Under Lu Cizhou's gaze, Shen Zeyu slowly felt his heartbeat quicken, faster and faster.

Lu Cizhou glanced at his watch. Seeing a streak of light flash across the sky, he said gently, "Here it comes."

Shen Zeyu followed his gaze. It was a shooting star!

A shooting star suddenly streaked across the deep blue sky, trailing a long tail before vanishing from Shen Zeyu's sight in an instant. Then many more shooting stars flashed past before his eyes.

This was Shen Zeyu's first time seeing shooting stars. Before they disappeared, he urged Lu Cizhou, "Quick, make a wish." Then he closed his own eyes first.

Watching Shen Zeyu make a wish with his eyes closed, Lu Cizhou slowly closed his eyes too.

If there really is a god in this world, I hope the person in front of me can stay by my side forever.

I hope he can always be as carefree as he is now, doing whatever he loves without restraint.

I hope he stays safe and healthy. That was his wish now.