May You Be as Bright as a Star Meeting Numerous Lights

It was only at the age of twenty-eight that Ning Yuan realized that all the lingering secret loves he had written were too gentle. That night eight years ago, in the back alley of a bar in the suburbs of Beijing, her former manager's alcohol breath sprayed on her face. She was trapped in a corner, digging her nails into her palms, thinking about how to escape gracefully. Then someone grabbed the hand reaching for her from behind. The boy was wearing a denim jacket that had been washed white, and the shoulder line was still a bit green and thin, but he had learned to use his body to completely block her behind him. He turned his head, the ends of his eyes raised slightly, looking at people with a natural ruthlessness, but speaking in a low voice, as if he was afraid of startling her. "Sister, your eyes are very clean, you shouldn't cry." That was the only sentence Chen Yusheng left for her. Later, he disappeared completely, just like the moonlight that night, it disappeared at dawn. Ning Yuan broke that look, that sentence, that back figure into pieces and put it into every book. She wrote young men into countless stories, some as male protagonists, some as supporting characters, and some as just passers-by. Readers say that she is "the best at writing about secret love" and that there is a heart-stopping truth in her writing. They don't know that those words are all written to the same silhouette under the moonlight. In eight years, she wrote seven books, sold six film and television rights, and went from being unknown to becoming a "well-known writer Ning Yuan". She never saw those eyes again, but she wrote about them as white moonlight for countless readers. Until the day of the book launch. Overnight, the news that "well-known writer Ning Yuan actually gained power by selling his privacy" swept the entire Internet. It stayed on the hot search list for three days, and the dirty water in the comment section made her unable to open her eyes. Former readers turned around and scolded her, colleagues shunned her, and the editor of the publishing house sighed on the phone: "Ning Yuan, who did you offend?" She didn't know who she had offended. Until someone handed the name to her - Chen Yusheng. The young boss of the Chen Group is the most difficult prince to mess with in the Beijing business district. He is young and ruthless. Ning Yuan looked at those three words for a long time. Chen Yu's voice. The boy who blocked her drink, the boy who said "his eyes are very clean". She stayed up all night and checked this person out for the past eight years. At the age of eighteen, he took over the family's fringe business. At the age of twenty, he was ridiculed by the whole city for his loss-making business. At the age of twenty-three, he made a comeback and became famous in one battle. At the age of twenty-five, he firmly established himself as the heir to the Chen family. Now twenty-seven years old, he is the most noble and the most difficult person to get close to in the entire capital. Twenty-seven years old. One year younger than her. That "sister" call back then was not bad at all. On the day of the reception, Ning Yuan purposely wore the most elegant plain dress, and applied lipstick sharply and soberly. She walked through the crowd holding the wine glass and saw him surrounded by stars in the center. He is much taller than he was eight years ago, and his shoulder line is so broad that it can make a nice curve in his suit. His face has lost all of its youthful youthfulness, with sharp outlines and indifferent eyebrows. He fiddled with the wine in his glass casually, listening to the compliments around him casually, nodding occasionally, looking like a spoiled prince in the capital. There is no trace of the young man who protected her behind her back then. Ning Yuan walked over and stood in front of him. The surrounding voices gradually quieted down, and countless pairs of eyes looked over, waiting to see this wonderful show. She raised her eyes and her voice was neither high nor low, just enough for the people around her to hear clearly: "Mr. Chen, I wonder how Ning Yuan offended you to make you bother to set up such a big trap?" Chen Yusheng raised his eyes and looked at her. At that moment, she found nothing in those eyes. There were no accidents, no guilty conscience, and no trace of the tenderness of eight years ago. He just looked at him casually, like looking at a stranger he didn't know well. "Ms. Ning." He spoke in a low and lazy voice, "I have read the new book and it is well written." He paused and raised the corners of his lips slightly, but there was no smile in his eyes: "Just, for writing my story like this - should I, as the client, receive some copyright fees?" Ning Yuan tightened her fingers on the wine glass. He knows. He knew who was written in those books. Her face turned pale slightly, but she still straightened her back: "Mr. Chen admitted the wrong person, and the story is purely fictitious." "Really?" Chen Yusheng took a step forward. He was too tall, and the height difference became a sense of oppression when he got closer. Ning Yuan subconsciously wanted to retreat, but was pinned to the spot by his gaze. He leaned down slightly, turned his face sideways, and his lips almost touched the shell of her ear. The people around him couldn't hear what he said, and could only see that the young master rarely showed such an ambiguous gesture to a woman. Only Ning Yuan heard the low voice fall into his ears—— "Sister, you wrote in your book that the boy kissed her in the alley." His voice was lowered, with a faint smile: "But I remember that that night I only blocked your drink and didn't touch you. Is this considered slander?" Ning Yuan froze in place. Eight years. The pictures she had written, the fantasies she thought no one would ever know, were revealed by him word by word. Before she could react, Chen Yusheng had already taken a step back and returned to his businesslike and indifferent look. He even frowned slightly, as if he was a little offended, and his voice changed to an official tone that could be heard by the whole audience: "Miss Ning, since your work is inextricably linked to mine, for the sake of Chen's reputation and the innocence of your work, I suggest that we reach a cooperation." He paused, as if announcing some business decision: "Externally, you and I are lovers. Internally, you cooperate with me to clarify everything. The contract period is three months. How about it?" The whole place was so quiet that you could hear the bubbles in the wine glass. In everyone's opinion, this was a huge step forward given to Ning Yuan by Chen Yusheng - even a "gift" in disguise. After all, being able to have a relationship with this young master is something that no one can ask for. Ning Yuan looked at him. Looking at the slight alienation in his eyes, looking at the indifference on that face that showed no trace of the past. She suddenly smiled, a decent smile, but with an indescribable sense of brokenness: "Mr. Chen, are you giving me charity or punishing me?" Chen Yusheng looked at her smile, and the emotion in his eyes finally changed. It seemed like an accident, but also like a reaction that he had been waiting for for a long time. He said: "None of them." His eyes fell on her face and paused for a moment. "I just want to know whether the characters written by a woman who lives by fantasy will be more interesting if she actually falls in love." The contract was signed in such a ridiculous way. Three months, 180 scenes. He accompanies her to events, and is considerate before and after; she is besieged by anti-fans, and Chen's legal department sends out lawyer's letters resolutely; he occasionally appears suddenly at her book signings, sits in the corner and watches all afternoon, and sends her a message late at night: I signed too many words today, are my hands sore? His goodness is like a well-designed performance. It's impeccable, but there's a hint of sincerity that crosses the line. He remembered that she drank coffee without sugar, and would call her when she stayed up late to work on a manuscript, saying in a cold voice, "Now, go to bed," and then hang up. He would block all the unkind glances for her just like he did eight years ago, but this time, he would hold her shoulders openly and say to everyone: "My girlfriend, I'm used to it." Ning Yuan struggled to maintain his last bit of sobriety in this difficult-to-distinguish game. She told herself that this was the best material. She had to observe calmly, record clearly, and suppress all the throbs and uneasiness in her heart. She even began to draft in her mind - when the play was over, she would write this into a story called "Contract Lover". Until that day. She found an old diary in a drawer in his study. It was a note from eight years ago, and the cover had frayed edges. She shouldn't have opened it at first, but the newspaper clipping peeking out from the title page made her stop. It was her first short article published in a magazine. It was 800 words and it was "The moonlight was very good that night." She turned to the first page. Then the second page. Page three. The entire diary, every page, is covered with newspaper clippings about her - pieces of tofu from magazines, interviews from newspapers, and later book covers, photos from book signings, and book reviews written by readers. It has been posted since eight years ago until now. Some of the paper was yellowed and brittle, and was carefully flattened. Next to it was his clear handwriting, recording the date and location. The last page is a promotional poster for her new book. Underneath the poster are the words he wrote—— The handwriting of the eighteen-year-old still has a bit of youthful restraint, stroke by stroke, written seriously and forbearing: "I'm not able to protect her yet, so I have to hide my love." "One day, when I can go to her openly, I will catch this rabbit back and ask her -" The handwriting paused here, as if thinking for a long time. "Reply me when." Ning Yuan clutched the diary and squatted on the floor of his study, tears falling on the back of his hands one by one. She remembered that she had written about a rabbit. It was one of the earliest books. The hero told the heroine a story: The little rabbit liked a big tree and would put a letter in the hole of the tree every day. But the tree wouldn't move and couldn't reply. The little rabbit was left alone for a long, long time, until the rabbit grew up and ran away to a very far place. Later, the big tree was cut down, and people found that the hole in the tree was full of letters. Someone asked Dashu, why didn't you reply after you received it? The big tree said, I am waiting for the rabbit to come back and tell it personally. At the end of the book, the heroine asked the hero: Did the rabbit come back later? The male protagonist said: I'm back. The big tree waited for it all its life, and finally waited for it to come back. That book was written five years ago, and the male protagonist is Chen Yusheng. Ning Yuan has never told anyone how this name came about. The study door was pushed open from the outside. Chen Yusheng stood at the door, watching her squatting on the ground, looking at the diary, and the tears on her face. He paused. At that moment, the indifference and alienation in his eyes were all shattered. Instead, there was a panic she had never seen before. He seemed to have been caught off guard and opened the deepest wound, and his whole body was frozen there. "You..." He said, his voice a little hoarse. Ning Yuan raised his head and looked at him. Eight years. She finally found the shadow of the boy from back then on this face. "Chen Yusheng." She called his name in a very soft voice, "That rabbit... Is back." She paused, tears falling from her eyes again, but the corners of her mouth curled up. "She asked you when she could tell you in person - she has been waiting for this reply for eight years." Chen Yusheng stood there, as if he was pinned down. After a long time, he moved. He came over, knelt down in front of her, and raised his hand to wipe the tears from her face. His movements were gentle, but his fingers were trembling. "Sister." He called her, his voice hoarse, "Are you stupid?" He paused, his eyes were red, but he still twitched the corners of his mouth, showing a smile like the one he had eight years ago - with a bit of ruthlessness, but also a bit of gentleness that had never changed. "I've been writing letters for eight years, and you haven't received any of them?" Ning Yuan looked at him and suddenly smiled. "I got it," she said, holding the diary tightly in her hand, "Isn't it too late to open it now?" Chen Yusheng said nothing. He lowered his head and rested his forehead on her shoulder, his shoulders shaking slightly. After a long time, when the sky outside the window darkened, his voice sounded muffled—— "It's not too late." He said. "The rabbit is back, it's never too late." Later, Ning Yuan wrote every word in that diary into her new book. The title of the book is "Rabbit's Reply". On the day of publication, Chen Yusheng asked her: "You made me so miserable, how are you going to calculate the copyright fees?" Ning Yuan thought for a while: "Add a chicken drumstick for you?" He looked at her, suddenly leaned down and put his lips against her ear. The voice was low, with a somewhat deliberate and successful smile: "Sister, the kiss you wrote in your book——" "This time it can be real." The moonlight falling outside the window was exactly the same as that night eight years ago. Purpose: Secret love that goes both ways is a good medicine to heal each other