Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 82 The Scumbag's Disease
After Guan Hu left.

Zhang Yan went back upstairs and took Chen Hong's temperature again, and found that she did indeed have a slight fever.

So he hesitated, wondering whether he should still go to the swimming team to discuss the advertisement with Tao Hong as originally planned.

"Go ahead and do what you need to do."

Chen Hong looked listless and lacked energy. She held Zhang Yan's wrist with one hand, but said generously, "It's just a cold. I can take care of myself."

The more she acted this way, the more embarrassed Zhang Yan felt to leave her. Besides, if it weren't for his request, she wouldn't have caught a cold.

"never mind."

So he covered Chen Hong's hand with his own and said, "It's fine to make another trip tomorrow morning."

"That……"

Chen Hong's eyes lit up, and just as she was about to say something, Zhang Yan's pager went off.

Picking it up and glancing at it, Zhang Yan frowned and said, "It's Professor Shi Tiesheng's landline number—you rest for now, I'll go see what Professor Tiesheng needs."

As he spoke, he ran downstairs again.

With the sharp drop in temperature in mid-October, Shi Tiesheng's condition also fluctuated, so Zhang Yan was always on edge whenever he received a call from him recently.

Fortunately, when the call connected this time, I still heard Shi Tiesheng's cheerful voice: "Xiao Zhang, do you have time tomorrow?"

"Of course there are."

Zhang Yan smiled and said, "Please feel free to ask me for anything."

"Don't say that."

Shi Tiesheng said somewhat embarrassedly, "It's like this, Yu Hua is coming from his hometown tomorrow, and I'd like to pick him up at the station. Do you think you could..."

After graduating from graduate school at the end of last year, Yu Hua returned to her hometown in Zhejiang.

"Definitely!"

Zhang Yan laughed and said, "Teacher Yu Hua is quite lucky. After Dou Wei returns from Hong Kong Island in a few days, this car will no longer be under my control. What time will Teacher Yu Hua arrive? Around 11 o'clock? Should we arrange lunch? Okay, okay, you don't need to worry about it, I'll arrange it."

After hanging up the phone.

Zhang Yan went upstairs and found two soft cushions, planning to put them in the car first thing tomorrow morning so that Professor Shi Tiesheng would be more comfortable.

However, Chen Hong misunderstood. She sat up, put on her clothes, and asked, "I'm feeling a bit bored too. Shall we play that squirrel battle game again?"

I bought this cushion along with the game console, so it would be more convenient for me to sit in front of the TV.

"Uh~"

Zhang Yan glanced at the mat in his hand, then simply folded it up and placed it on the ground, laughing, "It's up to you. I recently bought a few more two-player game cards; maybe one of them will suit you."

As he spoke, he took another blanket and sat cross-legged on the cushion.

Chen Hong lazily sat in Zhang Yan's arms, and Zhang Yan wrapped her in a blanket. At first, the two of them played a two-player game together, but Chen Hong, who had just taken her medicine, quickly got tired and refused to go back to bed. So she leaned against Zhang Yan and watched him play Super Mario by himself.

After Zhang Yan rescued the princess from the first trial, he looked down and saw that Chen Hong had fallen asleep in his arms.

Chen Hong, who was ill, seemed to be more frail and more attached to him. Even when she was asleep, she still clung tightly to the hem of his clothes.

For a fleeting moment, Zhang Yan even shamelessly thought that it would be great if she were truly a sickly beauty, then he wouldn't have to worry about her betraying him or acting in any passionate scenes.

Gently put Chen Hong back on the bed.

Zhang Yan didn't go anywhere that afternoon; he just sat down at his desk and started working on his job.

To be honest, writing two full-length popular novels in a row has really worn down my creative drive.

Of course, more importantly, he had nearly 300,000 yuan in his pocket and had long lost the initial motivation to improve his life.

Moreover, he now has easier ways to generate revenue.

Maybe……

After finishing this book, Zhang Yan thought he should try writing a purely literary novel to vent his emotions. Even if it ended badly, he could handle it. After thinking about his future literary path, Zhang Yan threw himself back into writing a supernatural novel—he had to finish what he started, so he had to finish this book first.

Chen Hong actually woke up around 1 p.m., but seeing that Zhang Yan was engrossed in writing, she didn't disturb him. She just turned her head and listened quietly to the rustling sound of the draft paper.

It wasn't until after 3 a.m., when Zhang Yan finished a long stretch of the story and stood up to stretch, that he realized Chen Hong had already woken up.

"Why didn't you say anything when you woke up?"

Zhang Yan asked, "Are you hungry? I'll heat up some congee with preserved egg and lean pork, and then stir-fry some carrots to give you some vitamins—besides these two things, is there anything else you want to eat?"

Chen Hong obediently shook her head.

Zhang Yan then busied himself with other things. Although Chen Hong's apartment was much more upscale than Zhang Yan's, and even had a separate bathroom, it didn't have a separate kitchen. They could only make do with a stove and gas cylinder in the corner.

Because exhaust and smoke removal rely entirely on a single exhaust fan, we usually dare not cook anything that produces a lot of oily smoke or strong odors.

Zhang Yan was busy working by the stove when Chen Hong suddenly hugged him from behind.

Feeling her head pressed against his back, Zhang Yan turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

"nothing."

Chen Hong said softly, "Can you promise me that you won't cook for other women anymore, and will only cook for me?"

Zhang Yan paused for a moment, then tried to brush it off with a joke: "That probably won't work. You know I sometimes cook for Fangfang, and I also visit Teacher Tiesheng's house from time to time..."

Chen Hong tightened her grip on his arm and said with displeasure, "You know that's not what I meant."

Zhang Yan was quiet for a moment, then said solemnly, "Alright, I promise you, from now on I will only cook for you, my only woman."

His hesitation just now was not because the request was excessive, but precisely because the request was 'too lenient,' much like the 'double entendre' from the day before yesterday, which seemed to tacitly approve of his extravagant lifestyle outside.

If this wasn't a test, it would have been a good thing for a womanizer like Zhang Yan.

But he just happened to have a masochistic streak.

If a woman is too controlling, he will likely feel annoyed and want more freedom; but if a woman is too lenient, he will become suspicious and wonder whether the woman loves him more or likes his money and power more.

…………

The next morning.

Since Yu Hua wouldn't arrive until almost noon, there was actually plenty of time. Zhang Yan could have gone to find Tao Hong first, and then taken Shi Tiesheng to pick her up at the station.

But having just left the ailing Chen Hong, he felt a little awkward about turning around and going to find Tao Hong.

So he simply stayed with Chen Hong until 9:40, then ordered takeout for her at a familiar restaurant nearby, paying extra before driving to the vicinity of Ditan Park.

From afar, Zhang Yan saw Shi Tiesheng gazing out the door. He quickly parked his car and jogged over, saying, "I'm sorry, Teacher Tiesheng, I've kept you waiting."

"No, I was just a little too hasty."

Shi Tiesheng hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth: "Yu Hua just divorced his wife and is also planning to quit his job. This time he came to Beijing to settle down."

No wonder Shi Tiesheng wanted to pick him up at the station. Normally, given his physical condition, he would only cause trouble for others, and he is the last person who wants to cause trouble for others.

Zhang Yan asked with a hint of gossip, "Is it a disagreement in your relationship, a clash of ideas, or...?"

"All of them."

Shi Tiesheng sighed, "His wife didn't want to leave their hometown and opposed his coming to Beijing for further studies. The two had argued about this many times over the years. And to make matters worse, Yu Hua met some like-minded classmates in Beijing..."

He didn't spell it out explicitly, but the meaning was quite clear.

Zhang Yan then asked, "Does he have any children with his ex-wife?"

Seeing Shi Tiesheng shake his head, Zhang Yan smiled and said, "That's alright. At least he didn't change his wife for wealth or abandon his wife and children. In the cultural circle, he's doing alright, neither the best nor the worst."

Upon hearing this, Shi Tiesheng couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly. There were many writers and even more poets who abandoned their wives and children after the reform and opening up. He had many such cases around him, so he couldn't comment further.

(End of this chapter)