The elegant, quiet restaurant had guests at only one table.
Each of them was extraordinarily handsome and exuded an air of privilege. Sitting together, they made a beautiful sight.
"Come on, let's raise a glass and wish Hanchuan a speedy divorce." Han Ge raised his wineglass toward the other two. "With a body as good as our Hanchuan's, we can't let just one person enjoy all the benefits."
Ji Hanchuan: ...
His grip on his wineglass tightened.
Bai Qingjin suppressed a laugh. "Han Ge, how do you know that little celebrity has ever gotten any benefits from him?"
"Oh?" Han Ge's smile was meaningful. "Do you happen to know something?"
"You can tell just by looking. How could he possibly touch that..."
"If you don't want to eat, you can get the hell out," Ji Hanchuan said coldly.
Han Ge wasn't the least bit afraid of his threat, but he decided to shut up anyway. After all, this concerned a private matter Ji Hanchuan had guarded for twenty-six years.
Although they all knew what that private matter was.
"But seriously, you really can't persuade your grandfather?" Bai Qingjin sipped his red wine. "He doesn't seem like the stubborn, set-in-his-ways type."
Ji Hanchuan gave no definite answer. "My grandfather seems particularly fond of him."
"Who wouldn't be?" Han Ge started scrolling on his phone. "Tsk, this little celebrity is pretty good-looking. How is someone this pretty not popular?"
With that personality of his, how could he be popular?
Ji Hanchuan silently added that thought.
"If you want a divorce, he'd have to do something even your grandfather couldn't tolerate," Bai Qingjin said pointedly.
Li Xiaochen suddenly rushed in from outside, his face anxious and uneasy.
"Brother... Brother Hanchuan, something's happened!" Li Xiaochen caught his breath. "That Shi Wei's gotten into trouble again!"
Ji Hanchuan and Han Ge both turned to Bai Qingjin.
"Jinx?" Ji Hanchuan said.
Bai Qingjin: ...
He silently drank his wine.
"What happened?" Ji Hanchuan asked Li Xiaochen.
"It was too noisy over there for me to hear clearly. It sounded like there was a fight, and apparently there's quite a scene at the set right now." Li Xiaochen spoke anxiously. "Brother Hanchuan, should we go back?"
"Yes."
Ji Hanchuan immediately stood, leaving the other two staring at each other.
"What's he going for? If the little celebrity hit someone, isn't that the perfect excuse for a divorce?" Han Ge couldn't make sense of it.
"Maybe he's rushing off to get divorced," Bai Qingjin said quietly.
The set was indeed bustling.
When Ji Hanchuan arrived, he saw crew members standing in little circles, quietly discussing what had happened that day.
"His face was all bruised and swollen. Those were some vicious blows. You could tell it was someone who knew how to fight."
"I saw it too. Ugh, his face must be ruined, right?"
"What actually happened? Has anyone heard?"
"I heard it was people from the same agency causing trouble."
Ji Hanchuan walked through the crowd, hearing every word of their discussions clearly.
His heart involuntarily tightened, and he quickened his steps toward the meeting room.
"Brother Hanchuan."
Xu Xirui suddenly appeared and stopped Ji Hanchuan. "You heard about what happened today too, didn't you?"
Somewhat displeased at being stopped, Ji Hanchuan gave a slight nod, then walked straight past him.
"Han..." Xu Xirui watched Ji Hanchuan walk away, resentment in his eyes.
Why did Ji Hanchuan keep ignoring him!
Crying and arguing came from the meeting room. Without stopping to knock, Ji Hanchuan pushed the door open and entered.
Everyone heard the sound and turned to look at him.
There was Zhang Zixiang, looking stern and grave; the assistant director, frowning; Wang Jun'er, covering her face as she cried; a stranger with a bruised, swollen face; and...
Shi Wei, his fair, pretty little face tilted up.
Ji Hanchuan: ...
Why had he thought an idiot like Shi Wei would get the worst of it?
His grip on the door handle abruptly relaxed, and he gently closed the door.
"Hanchuan, you're back just in time." Zhang Zixiang pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't settle this."
Arguments were what he dreaded most.
"What happened?" Ji Hanchuan sat down beside Zhang Zixiang.
The assistant director explained on Zhang Zixiang's behalf. "Wang Jun'er said she wanted to chat with Shi Wei. Her younger brother Wang William happened to be here too, so they could all get to know each other better. But Shi Wei mocked Wang William and even hit him."
Ji Hanchuan was puzzled. "Mocked him about what?"
"An internal dispute at their agency." The assistant director sounded helpless. "Wang Jun'er said Shi Wei stole Wang William's chance to audition for Liang Fang. Shi Wei was very pleased with himself and mocked Wang William, calling him trash."
"This was indeed an internal dispute at our agency, but Shi Wei has no sense of propriety or respect for his seniors." Tears fell from Wang Jun'er's eyes as she looked pitifully at Ji Hanchuan. "Can the production really tolerate someone this violent? Besides, Shi Wei insulted Director Zhang too!"
She was very confident. There had only been the three of them in the room, so who would believe Shi Wei's account?
Besides, there was solid proof that Shi Wei had hit someone.
"What did he say?" Ji Hanchuan asked her.
"Shi Wei said his relationship with Director Zhang was special and told us not to offend him, or even my role would be taken away."
"Bullshit! How could Shi Wei and I possibly have that kind of relationship!" Furious, Zhang Zixiang slammed his hand on the table, making it shake.
"Exactly." Wang Jun'er got up and walked toward Ji Hanchuan, stumbling weakly. "Teacher Ji, listen to that. Can you really tolerate someone like him?"
With that, her foot seemed to catch on something, and she tipped sideways, about to fall.
Ji Hanchuan stepped aside just in time, while the assistant director instinctively caught her.
"Why are you being so careless?" The assistant director was baffled. She wasn't the one who had been beaten up. Could crying tire someone out too?
Wang Jun'er forced a smile. "Thank you, Assistant Director. I knew you were all good people."
Only after steadying herself did she realize Ji Hanchuan wasn't paying her any attention.
"Shi Wei," Ji Hanchuan addressed the person who had remained silent all this time. "Don't you have anything to say?"
Shi Wei clutched his stomach. "Can I eat first?"
Everyone froze.
"Teacher Ji, I'm almost out of strength," Shi Wei said feebly.
Ji Hanchuan estimated how much time had passed since he left. "Then eat first."
Everyone froze again.
Wang William was shocked, but his face was so swollen he couldn't even speak clearly. "You can' let 'im eat! Call th' cops an' have 'im 'rrested!"
Ji Hanchuan didn't look at him. "We can't just let him go hungry like this. Even prison meals come after a conviction."
Shi Wei: ...
Teacher Ji, you really have a way with words.
The assistant director went out and got Shi Wei two boxed meals, which Shi Wei immediately wolfed down.
Restored to full health, Shi Wei rubbed his stomach and even brazenly drank a cup of tea.
Only once he saw that Shi Wei had finally been fed did Ji Hanchuan ask, "Shi Wei, did you hit him?"
"Yes, I did." Shi Wei readily admitted it.
Ji Hanchuan asked again, "Why did you hit him?"
Shi Wei raised his eyes to him. Seeing Ji Hanchuan's dark eyes, he pursed his lips.
-Sigh, even if I told him, that bastard definitely wouldn't believe me. He wants a divorce so badly that he's dying to see me cause trouble, so he can ask Grandpa for permission to divorce me.