Spring Night of Misty Rain - Chapter 18

Silence instantly fell over the dinner table.

Everyone turned their gaze toward the girl, staring at her in unison. The girl felt like a little white lamb that had accidentally strayed into a pack of wolves, stepping right into a trap and waiting helplessly for the slaughter.

Among these gazes, Xu Luosu’s was particularly piercing.

She stared at the girl, her eyes filled with scrutiny. “And this teacher is…?”

Before the girl could answer for herself, Wen Tian smiled and stepped in to de-escalate. “This is our company’s gold-medal screenwriter, Lin Pei. She served as A-Ze’s assistant for a few months in the past, so they have something of a mentor-student relationship…”

Lin Pei nodded, confirming Wen Tian’s words. “That is indeed the case.”

Because of that small connection, she had taken the initiative to show concern for Shen Zeyu’s well-being.

“Oh…” Xu Luosu acknowledged, offering a casual explanation. “Teacher Shen is doing quite well. She’s been in seclusion writing scripts lately and is incredibly busy, so we try not to disturb her.”

It was a very official explanation, but Lin Pei seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, clutching her glass and muttering, “That’s good… that’s good…”

Only then did Xu Luosu take a moment to observe the other woman’s appearance.

Lin Pei wasn’t short; she was nearly as tall as Xu Luosu, but she looked very youthful—far younger than her actual age. Her skin was fair, and her eyes were large, with clear black and white pupils that looked watery and somewhat vulnerable.

It was a very typical look for a woman from Nanjiang—delicate and pitiable.

Currently, she wore a green gauze dress, and her long hair was pinned up with an ebony hairpin, looking quite elegant.

For some reason, Xu Luosu suddenly remembered that in the first film Shen Zeyu ever directed, Shang Qiuchi had a very similar look. This realization caused a faint, uncomfortable feeling to stir in her heart.

Fortunately, Wen Tian didn’t stay long and soon led Lin Pei back to their own table.

As soon as they left, Qin Zhiyue returned to work. Once the scripts were finalized, the meeting adjourned, and they departed.

On the way back to the hotel, the stars were sparse and the moon was bright. Xu Luosu leaned against the window of the van, gazing at the moon—which hung in the sky like a luminous disc—and for some reason thought back to the night Shen Zeyu took her on the Eye of Jinwu.

That night, it had been a new moon.

The crescent hung curved in the sky, a symbol of a fresh start.

Xu Luosu felt a wave of irritability. When she stepped out of the car and back into the hotel, she happened to run into Qin Zhiyue entering the elevator.

She quickly called out and chased after her. “Teacher Qin, wait a moment…”

Qin Zhiyue held the elevator door open for her. Once they were inside, Xu Luosu went straight to the point. “Teacher Qin, do you know when Lin Pei became Senior Sister Shen’s assistant?”

Qin Zhiyue thought for a moment and replied, “About two years ago, I think…”

Xu Luosu pressed further. “Specifically when? Before or after Shang Qiuchi’s incident?”

“Before, I believe…”

Xu Luosu gave a thoughtful “Oh…”

Qin Zhiyue glanced sideways. Seeing the Little Boss looking down in deep thought, she chuckled inwardly.

As a creator, her intuition told her that something must have happened between Lin Pei and Shen Zeyu, but she hadn’t expected Xu Luosu to be so perceptive.

As for why Xu Luosu was so sensitive to things related to A-Ze, that was none of her business.

Ding… The elevator soon reached the penthouse suite. Qin Zhiyue strode out, and Xu Luosu bit her lip, following closely behind. “So, what was their relationship like? Were they close?”

Qin Zhiyue curled her lips into a smile and tilted her head, looking at her with interest. “If the Little Boss is this interested, why don’t you ask A-Ze yourself?”

“You know, in our line of work, the greatest taboo is being a blabbermouth.”

This was an undisguised refusal to answer.

Xu Luosu apologized, “Sorry, I overstepped.”

Qin Zhiyue waved her hand dismissively. “It’s fine. I’m going in to rest. Goodnight, Little Boss.”

Xu Luosu: “Goodnight.”

Despite Xu Luosu’s curiosity about everyone and everything surrounding Shen Zeyu, she refrained from disturbing her for various reasons.

Thus, after completing the script for the porcelain project, Shen Zeyu made a trip to the hospital. Once again, it was Chen Ci who drove her.

Her attending physician, Song Lujuan, was a nationally renowned Doctor of Psychoanalysis. She had studied in Germany and had been working at the Jinwu Ninth Hospital since her return.

Among her patients, Shen Zeyu wasn’t the most severe, but she certainly couldn’t be called “normal.”

After completing the tests according to the standard procedure, Song Lujuan took out another set of questions, pushed up her glasses, and asked directly, “Can you still hear any voices now?”

Shen Zeyu sat properly in her chair, hands on her knees, sitting as attentively as a primary school student. “Sometimes…”

“What do you hear?”

“Just the normal buzzing after a sudden ringing in the ears, or the sound of a telephone from my childhood…”

Song Lujuan nodded. “Auditory hallucinations…” She scribbled on her paper and continued, “And have you seen any strange shadows? The white shadow you mentioned before—have you seen it again?”

Shen Zeyu felt a bit helpless. “Doctor, I haven’t seen it in over a year…”

If she were still seeing it, Song Lujuan wouldn’t have allowed her to be discharged six months ago.

Song Lujuan remained serious. “I’m asking just to be safe. You know that if you see it again, it means things are not good, and you’ll have to come back…”

Shen Zeyu nodded. “Mm.”

After the routine questioning, Shen Zeyu described her daily life. Song Lujuan summarized: “Overall, there is an improvement. Just continue with the current treatment plan and medication. Autumn tends to be a bit more restless; if you feel too agitated, add an extra tablet of Quetiapine at night…”

“Alright.”

After giving her instructions, Song Lujuan wrote out a prescription. Shen Zeyu collected her medication and got back into Chen Ci’s car to head home.

The sky was gloomy. Dark clouds surged from the south, looking like cotton soaked with water—heavy and black. As the car started, Chen Ci looked worried. “It looks like a downpour is coming. I need to call that useless Jiang Chao to pick up the kids.”

Jiang Chao was Chen Ci’s husband. Like Shen Zeyu, the three of them were childhood friends. He worked in medical AI engineering and spent most of his time in the lab, leaving Chen Ci to handle the children.

It took three calls for him to pick up. Chen Ci gave him a fierce scolding, which Jiang Chao listened to submissively, repeatedly promising to leave work early for the kids.

By the time she hung up, raindrops were already pattering against the car. Soon, a curtain of rain that blotted out the sun and sky submerged the mountains and swallowed the dark highway. Chen Ci turned on her headlights, illuminating the mist-laden road amidst the torrential downpour.

She drove while grumbling, “He stays in that lab every single day and ignores the kids. I don’t know what use he is—I should just kick him to the curb!”

Leaning against the passenger window, Shen Zeyu couldn’t help but laugh as she listened to the rambling. “If you actually kicked him out, I’d give you my grandmother’s Four Seasons Landscape vase.”

Chen Ci instantly perked up. “You said it! No taking it back!”

Shen Zeyu agreed readily. “Mm, never.”

Chen Ci snorted and continued to complain—how Jiang Chao only knew how to be romantic, how he was too lax with the kids… but then again, he was the one who cooked the meals… Sigh, wouldn’t it be better if he was just a househusband? Why does he insist on working?

At first, Shen Zeyu listened seriously, but eventually, it started to feel like Chen Ci was just showing off her happy marriage. She began to respond absentmindedly, eventually turning to lean against the window, watching the rain outside.

The rain streamed down the glass like broken strings of pearls. As the car sped along, the distant mountains looked towering and majestic, shrouded in a layer of silver mist.

This rainy scene felt strangely familiar. As she watched, a voice echoed in Shen Zeyu’s mind: “The heavy rain is vast, like silver bamboo…”

Shen Zeyu’s body suddenly went rigid.

Who? Whose voice is that?

She leaned against the window, staring at the distant mountains, but her thoughts were dragged by that voice into a fractured, distorted space-time.

It seemed to be another rainy day. she had drawn the curtains and was lying naked on the bed, sinking into soft silk quilts. Amidst the sound of the drenching rain, a warm female body climbed onto her shoulders, rubbing against her spine, and reaching around to embrace her from behind.

That person draped over her, affectionately nuzzling her cheek: “What kind of existence am I to you, Teacher?”

In that instant, Shen Zeyu’s stomach churned, and she felt a violent urge to vomit.