1987 My Era

Chapter 613, The King

Twenty minutes later, Yu Shuheng and Xu Li returned to the hotel lobby on the first floor.

Seeing her childhood friend sitting motionless on the sofa in the rest area, Xu Li asked, "They're alone together in a room, a man and a woman. Aren't you going upstairs to check on them? Are you really that worried?"

Yu Shuheng generously replied, "No need."

Xu Li asked, "What if the two of them are in bed together? Would you still feel at ease?"

Yu Shuheng's eyes held a strange glint as she retorted, "If they were really in bed, would I go up and angrily separate them?"

Xu Liyu choked up.

After a long silence, Xu Li sighed, "Whoever marries you in the future will be very happy."

Yu Shuheng smiled slightly: "Then we'll have to see if we have the qualifications first."

Just as the two women were chatting, Li Heng appeared in their sight, and Zhou Shihe followed silently behind him as usual.

At this moment, Li Heng and Zhou Shihe showed no signs of anything amiss, as if the kiss had never happened, as if they had never been slapped, and in front of outsiders, they tacitly acted as if nothing had happened.

He came over and greeted them: "Teacher Yu, Sister Xu."

Yu Shuheng stood up and said, "How about we skip Chinatown today and go get steak with you and Shihe instead?"

Li Heng and Zhou Shihe exchanged a glance, naturally having no objections.

After ordering their food, while waiting for it to arrive, Yu Shuheng told the two of them, "Xu Li and I went to the venue for this performance—the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. We're going to go through some procedures tomorrow morning, and then we'll be performing in the afternoon."

Li Heng asked, "Is it far?"

Yu Shuheng said, "It's not far, about a 20-minute drive."

Soon, Li Heng's steak and pasta arrived. He took a bite of the steak first and found it quite delicious. Then he took a bite of the pasta, and oh my god, he had a sudden urge to run back to China and eat stir-fried rice noodles at a night market stall.

The dinner was rather quiet, with Li Heng, Teacher Yu, and Xu Li talking the most.

Zhou Shihe remained silent, only responding with a smile when someone initiated a conversation with her; otherwise, she automatically became invisible.

Li Heng saw this and was anxious. But both Teacher Yu and Zhou Shihe were top-notch women with excellent personal and family backgrounds, and they both had their own pride. No matter how capable he was, he couldn't resolve the conflict between the two women in a short time.

He had to think of a way.

He finished a steak and a pasta dish and was about 7% full.

Of the four, Zhou Shihe's food was served the slowest. She glanced at Li Heng, then at the steak in front of her, and remained silent in thought.

The moment their eyes met, Li Heng understood her meaning. He was somewhat surprised, flattered, and could hardly believe his eyes!

This?
Did she think she couldn't finish the steak and wanted to share some with herself?

Could I be imagining things?
Am I seeing things?
I must have been seeing things, because I slapped myself twice in the room. I definitely didn't share food with him so quickly.

Just as he hesitated, Zhou Shihe glanced at him again.

Oh wow! This time he wasn't mistaken, it's real!
So Li Heng tentatively moved his white porcelain plate a little, placing it on her right.

This action immediately caught the attention of Yu Shuheng and Xu Li across the table, and the two women turned their gazes toward them.

Despite being watched by the other three people at the table, Zhou Shihe remained calm and went her own way, completely unaffected by the others.

She calmly placed half of her steak onto Li Hengbai's porcelain plate, holding a fork in her left hand and a knife in her right.

After doing all that, she lowered her head and began to eat her steak with an air of nonchalance as she cut it.

Zhou Shihe is a very cultured person. She never speaks loudly, never swears, and rarely speaks ill of others behind their backs. Even when she eats, she is completely like a well-bred lady, slowly and deliberately taking small bites.

Zhou Shihe's composure made Xu Li secretly anxious for her childhood friend, and she couldn't help but think: Shuheng has met a real opponent this time, I hope she won't be defeated.

Yu Shuheng glanced at Zhou Shihe, then at Li Heng who had taken the white porcelain plate back. Her face remained expressionless, but she was thinking to herself:
Is Zhou Shihe going to get involved in this mess?

Or was he doing it on purpose to impress himself?
Or was it Zhou Shihe genuinely and simply sharing food with Li Heng?

After much thought, Yu Shuheng felt that the third possibility was the most likely.

But it is precisely the third type that she fears most. What does this mean?
This shows that Zhou Shihe understands Li Heng best and cares about him the most. She knew he wasn't full and noticed that he liked steak, so she gave him half of her steak.

Although Yu Shuheng and Li Heng had known each other for about the same amount of time, Zhou Shihe understood men better than she did. At this moment, Yu Shuheng felt a tension in her heart: this rival was very strong. Whether it was appearance, family background, talent, or even the details of life, she was impeccable.

Li Heng didn't think that much about it, nor did he want to.

All he knew was that eating Zhou's half-portion of steak greatly eased the tension between them caused by the kiss and the slap.

He saw the steak as a signal of goodwill from Ms. Zhou towards him.

So he accepted.

That was indeed the case. Although Zhou Shihe was annoyed that he had kissed her, she didn't blame him entirely.

There's an old saying that goes, "Flies don't land on eggs without cracks."

She felt there were two reasons why he dared to kiss her so impulsively:

One reason is her personal charm.

From childhood, she had unparalleled confidence in her appearance and temperament. After spending a long time together, she was perfectly aware that Li Heng would fall in love with her unconditionally, and was not surprised at all.

Secondly, she herself revealed a flaw.

In the past, Li Heng had also developed feelings for her, but he always hid them very well and kept them hidden very deep. Sometimes, in order to suppress his desires, he would deliberately avoid being with her.

Even though they lived in the same room, they always treated each other with the utmost respect.

Since his trip to Singapore, he has suddenly become bolder and more unscrupulous.

The reason for all this was simply the accident that happened while dancing at the Raffles Hotel. He had evil thoughts about himself and put them into practice, but the punishment he received was pitifully small.

Following this clue, he might have guessed his own thoughts and developed feelings for her.

This discovery greatly surprised him.

This led him to neglect the issue of boundaries between the two of them, so today, in a specific environment, he dared to hug her further and kiss her further.

Looking back, Zhou Shihe asked herself, did she regret it?
She was confused about this; she didn't know either.

if…

If he were single, and if he didn't have any other female confidantes, Zhou Shihe, even if she was extremely depressed, wouldn't...

Thinking of this, Zhou Shihe glanced at someone out of the corner of her eye, forcibly cutting off the thought and preventing her thoughts from continuing.

After dinner, the four of them took a walk outside. During this time, Li Heng tried his best to reconcile the two women, and tried to steer the conversation towards their commonalities.

Zhou Shihe and Yu Shuheng probably sensed his sincerity and concern, and for once, they exchanged a few words, but not many.

Around 9 p.m., Xu Li was picked up by her husband, Xu Sheng.

Li Heng, Yu Shuheng, and Zhou Shihe returned to the hotel.

After changing her shoes and entering the suite's living room, Zhou Shihe asked Yu Shuheng, "Teacher, what time do we leave tomorrow?"

Yu Shuheng responded: "8 a.m.

Zhou Shihe nodded and then walked towards her room.

The door closed, then opened again, leaving only the two of them in the living room.

Li Heng sat down on the sofa and gestured for Teacher Yu to sit down as well.

Yu Shuheng sat down opposite him, crossed her legs, and asked meaningfully, "Little brother, are you trying to reconcile us, and then have a woman on each arm?"

Li Heng: "..." He asked bluntly, "You were all fine before you left Shanghai, how did you suddenly become like this?"

Yu Shuheng was surprised: "You didn't know?"

Li Heng was bewildered: "What should I know?"

After gazing at him with her deep eyes for a long time, Yu Shuheng slowly said, "It seems you really did fall asleep on the plane."

Li Heng was speechless: "So you thought I'd been pretending to be asleep the whole time?"

Yu Shuheng did not deny: "There have been such speculations."

Li Heng frowned: "And now?"

Yu Shuheng said, "I am now certain that you are not lying."

Li Heng leaned forward slightly: "Then please tell me, teacher, what happened on the plane?"

Yu Shuheng said with a half-smile, "Little boy, it's better if you don't know. It's in your best interest."

Li Heng was not giving up and tried all sorts of rhetoric and clichés, but to no avail.

Teacher Yu is Teacher Yu; she didn't mention anything about what happened on the plane.

He didn't mention Miss Zhou, nor did he mention Teacher Yu in front of him. His Dao heart was collapsing. If it weren't for the increasingly strained relationship between the two women, he would have thought that they had conspired to deceive him.

Li Heng took a deep breath and suddenly asked, "You two didn't start arguing because of me, did you?"

Yu Shuheng tossed her hair back with her right hand and said in a low voice, "You're too narcissistic. Do you think you have that much influence? That you can make us fight over a womanizer like you?"

Li Heng: "..."

After probing for a long time without getting any answers, he finally sighed.

Forget it, do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't affect tomorrow's performance.

He went into the shower to wash up.

As Yu Shuheng watched his retreating figure, a scene involuntarily surfaced in her mind: a Western restaurant, where Zhou Shihe was silently cutting his steak.

She was wondering: Little man, what kind of magic did you use to make the most beautiful Zhou Shihe in the world do this for you?

Even though she was unwilling, even though she really wanted to say a few bad things about her rival and criticize her, she had to admit one thing: Zhou Shihe was indeed a perfect woman, and if she were a man, she might also fall for her.

That night, the three of them stayed in their own rooms, each lost in their own thoughts, without disturbing each other.

Zhou Shihe was reading a book. First, she read the Western classic "The Count of Monte Cristo," and then she took out "The Troublemakers" from her bag.

This is a novel written by Li Heng under an alias. She hasn't read it seriously yet. After returning to Yuhang from Singapore last time, she accidentally came across this book in a bookstore and secretly bought it.

She felt she had gained a great deal from this purchase; Li Heng was capable of writing masterpieces like "A Cultural Journey" and "To Live," as well as novels like "The Troublemakers."

Well, she had mixed feelings about the novel. The protagonists in the story were somewhat cynical and roguish, much like the way he pinned her against the wall and kissed her.

Is this another side of him?
She became so engrossed in the book that she didn't go to sleep until after 1 a.m. If it weren't for an important performance the next day, she probably would have stayed in bed longer.

She lay in bed, unable to fall asleep, her mind filled with his loving eyes and the image of him kissing her.

That night, she couldn't sleep, spending the entire night thinking about things related to Li Heng.

When they first met in the dressing room, and when she first saw his eyes, which were different from those of other boys her age, a thought suddenly popped into her mind: this person's eyes are full of stories, and he's probably not a good guy.

A year and a half later, the facts proved his initial judgment correct; he was indeed no pushover, and he became his nemesis.

When Zhou Shihe later learned from Mai Sui that he had a girlfriend, she was curious about what his girlfriend would look like.

She still remembers the first time she met Xiao Han, she thought he was quite pretty and they were a good match.

Later, when she learned that her best friend Sui Sui was entangled with Li Heng, her impression of him plummeted. But since Sui Sui was willing to be with him, she, as an outsider, couldn't say much.
That's right, an outsider!

At that time, she viewed him and Teacher Yu's secret underground teacher-student relationship as outsiders, watched him kiss Mai Sui backstage at Xianghui Hall and on the sofa as outsiders, and watched him carry Xiao Han into Building No. 26 as an outsider.

At that time, she felt sorry for her best friend and advised Sui Sui three times to either fight for it or back down.

Despite her meticulous planning and thorough consideration of every aspect of a situation, she overlooked her own potential, unknowingly falling into his trap.

Why did I fall into his trap?

Is it because he's good-looking?

Is it because he is very talented?
To be fair, his writing and music were very much to her liking, hitting her sweet spot. But based on these alone, she was confident that she wouldn't fall into his trap.

The problem lies in his blatant and open philandering. It's bad that he has a girlfriend and that he has an ambiguous relationship with his best friend, Mai Sui. When he appeared in her life, she scoffed at his character. She was overconfident and thought she would never be interested in him.

The most crucial mistake she made was being overconfident, which led her to neglect to be wary of him.

If he had been single from the beginning, or hadn't gone public with his relationship with Mai Sui so quickly, or hadn't been so ambiguous with Teacher Yu so soon, or if he had lied about being single, then Zhou Shihe would have been on guard if he had approached her.

She would automatically categorize him as one of the guys who were pursuing her, just like any other guy who was pursuing her.

If that were the case, she wouldn't get too close to him, wouldn't spend time alone with him, and certainly wouldn't have lived with him in the same room in the capital for a cumulative period of 40 days.

In short, he won't be given a chance.

The problem was that he approached her as someone else's boyfriend, so Zhou Shihe naturally lowered her guard.

Influenced by traditional and conservative thinking, she subconsciously believed that since he already had a partner, he wouldn't pursue her; well, even if he did pursue her, she wouldn't succeed. Because she could never fall in love with a man who already had a partner.

It was precisely because he had a girlfriend, and one of them was her best friend Mai Sui, that Zhou Shihe was completely lulled into a false sense of security, and thus did not put up any precautions against him, nor did she mentally set up a trap for him.

She felt that even if he secretly liked her, she was safe for the time being.

This is like an assassin approaching you with a weapon, clearly indicating their intention to kill you. Naturally, you'll be on high alert, cautious, and prepared to fight back, making it difficult for the assassin to succeed.

When an assassin lays down their weapon and enters your life as your best friend, appearing approachable and lurking with an image of exceptional talent, even if you know they are an assassin, the fact that they are unarmed will unconsciously relax your tense nerves, making you feel that they are not there to kill you, thus giving the assassin an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

Late at night, Zhou Shihe tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Extremely troubled by this relationship, she slowly sat half-upright on the headboard with her arms wrapped around her knees, her chin resting limply on her knees, staring blankly at the glass window.

It was dark outside, and she couldn't see anything, but she preferred to sit there rather than lie down and let her mind wander.

She was afraid of love, and even more afraid of him saying he loved her.

Time passed by, and the night went by silently. When the first rays of dawn shone through the glass, Zhou Shihe's heart brightened a little more.

Just then, there was a knock on the door:
"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

She didn't come to her senses until the third sound. She then put on a coat, got out of bed, put on her shoes, and opened the door.

The door opens.

Sure enough, it was him standing outside the door—the man she had been terrified of all night.

Li Heng asked with concern, "What's wrong with your eyes? Why do you look so tired? Didn't you sleep?"

Zhou Shihe subtly shifted her gaze and said gently, "I lost track of time while reading last night and didn't get enough sleep."

Li Heng asked, "How are you feeling now?"

"Don't worry, everything's fine," she said calmly, then asked, "Aren't we going to have breakfast?"

Li Heng said, "Teacher Yu is washing up now. After breakfast, we need to rush to the Royal Concert Hall in the Netherlands. We have already made an appointment there."

"Okay, sure," Zhou Shihe replied, then closed the door and began to change her clothes.

P.S.: 10,000 words have been updated.

(End of this chapter)