The story of Rose starts with being a brother

Chapter 517 The Legendary Sea Queen and the Legendary Sea King

As the drizzling rain gradually turned into a downpour in the evening, a low stone lantern in the teahouse courtyard emitted a hazy glow, illuminating the meticulously pruned Podocarpus macrophyllus in the corner of the courtyard.

The tree is not tall, but its gnarled branches exude strength, and its fine needles, washed by the rain, are bright green and shiny, gleaming with a moist luster under the lamp.

Fine water droplets condensed on the carved windowpanes, slowly sliding down and scattering the dazzling lights of Lujiazui into flowing patches of light.

Unlike the scene of rain and cold wind outside the window, the private room on the other side of the window was much quieter.

Complex aromas floated in the air. The cool, agarwood scent, the base note, slowly wafted from the incense burner on the antique shelf, intertwined with the aroma of aged Pu'er tea on the tea table. Then, the faint, cool fragrance of Laura's perfume filled the air.

In particular, whenever Laura made a move, the scent of her perfume would quietly waft out and then unabashedly enter Wen Sheng's nose, who was sitting opposite her.

After Wen Sheng said those words, the atmosphere in the tea room became somewhat silent.

Laura held her teacup, watching the ripples in the tea, and after a long while, she asked softly, "So, what was Hu Yifei's answer?"

"Heh, this is interesting." Wen Sheng gently blew on the hot air, then chuckled, "How could Hu Yifei possibly answer such a question?"

Laura raised an eyebrow and waited quietly for Wen Sheng to continue.

However, after waiting for a long time, the other party was still leisurely drinking tea, seemingly having no intention of continuing the conversation.

"Gone?"

"Gone."

Wen Sheng smiled and continued, "You may not know much about Hu Yifei. Although she does have feelings for Zeng Xiaoxian, when faced with this situation where it's unclear whether it's a confession or being forced to confess, she'll only think that the other person is either drunk or really crazy."

Yes, the situation that night was even more serious than Wen Sheng had described.

When Zeng Xiaoxian asked that question, everyone was stunned.

Even Wen Sheng was stunned, wondering if there was something wrong with his ears.

Then, he saw Hu Yifei's equally blank face, her muscles twitching wildly, the wine glass in her hand cracking and then shattering.

Those few seconds, as if the whole world had been paused, felt like an eternity.

Immediately afterwards, Hu Yifei's face went from white to red, from red to green, from green to purple, and from purple to black... Surprisingly, she didn't immediately explode. Instead, she forced a smile and said, "Zeng Xiaoxian, you've had too much to drink. What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I didn't drink too much!"

For some unknown reason, Zeng Xiaoxian took another swig of wine and slurred, "I just want to know if you like me?"

"Zeng Xiaoxian, are you crazy? Don't push your luck!"

Hu Yifei finally couldn't hold back and started cursing.

"So what if you won five million? You're asking so many questions just because you participated in a quiz show?!"

"I……"

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean'? Can you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror?! Am I blind?! Would every man in the world be willing to like a slut like you?!"

"you……"

"What do you mean, 'you'? You just feel bad that I stood you up the day before yesterday, right? Now that you've won an award, you're deliberately trying to annoy me, aren't you?!"

"..."

Zeng Xiaoxian was speechless. Whether it was because Hu Yifei had scolded him or because he had reached his limit of alcohol tolerance, he closed his eyes, tilted his head, and fell motionless on the sofa.

Well... actually, Zeng Xiaoxian's alcohol tolerance isn't that great. He once got so drunk that he collapsed after drinking five glasses of vodka in a row, and then did a series of outrageous things.

Although I didn't drink in a hurry this time and didn't get knocked out after five glasses, my brain was still on the verge of shutting down.

Especially when he was talking to Hu Yifei, he drank several mouthfuls of liquor, so it's normal for his computer to crash.

Fortunately, his computer crashed, otherwise the others present wouldn't know how to handle the situation.

Zhang Wei, who was sitting next to Zeng Xiaoxian, was so nervous that his face was distorted. He wanted to stop Zeng Xiaoxian, but he didn't dare to make a move.

Fortunately, Zeng Xiaoxian's computer crashed, and he immediately helped Zeng Xiaoxian leave the bar.

And so the celebration banquet ended abruptly.

Inside a private room in a teahouse.

After a brief silence, Laura said, "Actually, Xiaoxian didn't speak to me when he saw me that day."

She paused for a moment and then said, "I also know that he was caught off guard by my appearance, especially at that glorious moment when he had achieved success in his life, so I didn't take the initiative to go up and talk to him."

"Really? It seems you have quite a bit of influence on Zeng Xiaoxian." Wen Sheng thought for a moment and smiled. "He was so eager to ask Hu Yifei if she liked him as soon as he saw you."

Well, after all, Zeng Xiaoxian even dared to forcibly kiss Hu Yifei in order to break up with Laura.

Now that this former hell has reappeared, Zeng Xiaoxian, after drinking, subconsciously chose to seek refuge with Yifei again.

Laura played a very important role in Zeng Xiaoxian's life over the past twenty years, even though he was cheated on by her for six of those so-called eight years of dating.

If he had worn it for another year, Zeng Xiaoxian would have received nine years of compulsory education in relationships from Laura.

Therefore, it's impossible for Zeng Xiaoxian to forget Laura so easily.

Just like this time when he suddenly saw his ex-girlfriend at the most glorious moment of his life, it must have been quite a shock for him.

Laura sighed upon hearing this and downed the tea in her cup in one gulp.

"What's the use of having a big impact now? He might forget me sooner or later, and then how am I supposed to see him again?"

"Well, you really can't see Zeng Xiaoxian now, because he's already left."

Wen Sheng's words immediately drew Laura's attention. She looked up and asked, "Gone? Where to?"

"Of course it's an escape!" Wen Sheng said with a smile. "Zeng Xiaoxian did such a thing while he was drunk. Of course he has to run away as soon as he sobers up, otherwise he won't know how to face Hu Yifei."

After a pause, Wen Sheng added, "By the way, after he caused five million in damages, he still needs to sign a contract with the program team to shoot commercials in order to receive those bonuses. This time, his trip to seek refuge was also a chance to shoot commercials."

Just like when he forcibly kissed Hu Yifei and then ran away, this time Zeng Xiaoxian, after sobering up and having the boys help him recall what he had done with tone of either admiration, concern, or teasing, quickly packed his things and ran away.

It was a Monday. Hu Yifei went to school. Zeng Xiaoxian woke up in a daze and was told about this by Guan Gu and Zi Qiao. Then he slipped away before Hu Yifei returned.

The last message Zeng Xiaoxian sent a couple of days ago said that there are thirteen advertisements in the contract, and if they are all filmed, it will probably take more than a year.

"More than a year?"

Laura asked with a surprised expression.

She really didn't expect that just meeting Zeng Xiaoxian once would lead to him leaving Shanghai for more than a year.

Wen Sheng nodded: "That's what he said anyway."

However, as the saying goes, plans can't keep up with changes. In the original series, Zeng Xiaoxian seemed to have only been away for a few months before he learned from Lisa that the TV station was going to start a new program for him and that he needed to return to Shanghai to record it.

I wonder if Zeng Xiaoxian will come back so early this time because of Hu Yifei's incident.

You should know that after he forcibly kissed Hu Yifei, he disappeared for more than four months.

This time, no one knows how long Zeng Xiaoxian will disappear.

After hearing what Wen Sheng said, Laura sighed again.

Seeing this, Wen Sheng laughed and said, "What? It seems you've made up your mind to win back your lost relationship with Zeng Xiaoxian?" Laura glanced at him and suddenly laughed as well.

"What's wrong, Wen? Are you jealous?"

"..."

Faced with the woman's renewed provocation, Wen Sheng curled his lip and said, "There's no point in you telling me these things."

"Hmm? Why?"

After drinking two cups of tea, the temperature in the private room seemed to rise a little more. The warm feeling made Laura slowly take off the shawl over her cheongsam and continue with a light laugh, "Are you trying to say that you are a... good man, just like Xian'er?"

Why can't I be a good man?

"Hahaha……"

Wen Sheng's words made Laura cover her mouth and laugh. Combined with her current attire and the "femininity" that emanated from her very being, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe her as laughing so hard she was shaking.

Wen Sheng didn't stop them; he simply poured them another cup of tea with a calm expression.

After Laura finished laughing, she composed herself slightly, then leaned forward a little, placing her ample bosom—exposed by her fitted cheongsam—on the tea table without any hesitation. She then stared at Wen Sheng with alluring eyes and said:

"You know what? I've been to so many places around the world and met all kinds of men and women. I can recognize what kind of people these men and women are."

Wen Sheng smiled, looked into her eyes, and said, "So, what kind of person do you think I am?"

"People like me who are not bound by traditional emotional narratives and see sex and love as a game that pleases themselves."

Laura then raised her right hand and extended her index finger, slowly drawing circles on the back of Wen Sheng's hand, which was resting on the table: "Of course, in other people's eyes, we are the kind of... scumbag and scumbag woman they talk about?"

A ticklish sensation came from the back of his hand. Wen Sheng glanced at it but didn't pull away. He just smiled faintly and said, "I think you're slandering me. I'm actually a good man."

"Hehe." Laura traced the line on Wen Sheng's hand with the pad of her index finger. "If you were a good man, why would you come to see me so many times?"

Laura paused slightly, then smiled, her eyes narrowing, "I heard you say before that you and your ex-wife had a good relationship, but after all this time you haven't remarried, and also..."

"The first two times we met, you brought that little Dali with you. Although you said you were friends, the way you talked to her mother on the phone made it seem like you wanted to be the little girl's father."

"..."

Wen Sheng was starting to lose his composure. Was his intentions really that obvious?

At this moment, Laura had already turned his hand over and was drawing circles in his palm with her index finger.

"So, according to you, shouldn't we repel each other if we're of the same sex?"

Despite the woman's seduction, Wen Sheng remained indifferent.

Laura placed her entire hand on the other's palm: "No, it should be the attraction between kindred spirits. Like I just said, haven't you come to see me several times?"

“I didn’t come here expecting anything more to happen.” Wen Sheng squeezed her hand. “I was just curious.”

"me too."

Laura pulled Wen Sheng's hand slowly toward her, looking into his eyes and smiling softly, "I'm curious too, that's why I want to get to know him better."

The complex and intertwined fragrances in the air grew stronger, as if something called hormones was acting as a catalyst.

Wen Sheng took a leisurely sip of tea, thought for a moment, and then smiled and said, "If I may ask, were you also this curious about your past relationships with your ex-husbands and ex-boyfriends?"

Laura raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this, but she wasn't angry. She smiled and said, "Your question is indeed quite presumptuous."

Wen Sheng smiled without saying a word, and then heard Laura say, "You know my job. Sometimes, in order to obtain news information, I have to walk on the edge of danger. When I first started, I was really scared, but whenever I saw the information I obtained with my own hands being reported, that wonderful feeling was a joy that nothing else in the world could give me."

“Later I fell in love with this feeling.” Laura began to knead each of Wen Sheng’s fingers. “It’s just that the pressure from danger is always there, and to relieve that pressure, I think there’s nothing better than dating a man.”

Hearing this, Wen Sheng chuckled and said, "So you have so many exes because you seek out men to relieve your stress?"

"Of course not, or rather, not entirely."

Laura shook her head in denial: "Do you know about the suspension bridge effect?"

“I know.” Wen Sheng nodded. “In tense or exciting environments, people easily mistake physiological reactions for attraction to others, thus developing emotional dependence. Nowadays, people often use this trick to pick up girls. By creating tense or exciting environments or sports, they make the other person mistake the increased heart rate caused by the situation for attraction to them. It’s old-fashioned but effective. So, do you often do this too?”

“I’m different from them.”

Laura shook her head, took Wen Sheng's hand and smiled, "My job forces me to face this kind of tense and exciting environment, but at times like these, there are indeed people who are under the same pressure as me."

“I have an ex-husband named Johney Lulu. He was a Palestinian guerrilla. I met him because of the terrorist attacks there. You know, after 9/11, counterterrorism has been a hot topic internationally. I needed to report on it, and they needed to maintain their reputation.”

“When we first met, he thought I was in his way, and I thought he was rude, so we both couldn’t stand each other.” Laura held Wen Sheng’s hand, but was telling stories about other men.

"Until one time, when we were returning from a field report, a bomb was planted in the jeep we were riding in."

As Laura was speaking, Wen Sheng chimed in, adding, "Was it because of this pressure that your hearts raced and you ended up together?"

"Pretty much." Laura smiled gently. "From the moment the bomb was discovered to the moment it exploded, it was less than five minutes. In those five minutes, our hearts were probably the closest people in the world. The bomb was tied to the accelerator; if you let go of the accelerator, the bomb would explode."

She paused, then asked, "Do you know how we survived back then?"

Wen Sheng shook his head, and Laura explained, "He was holding me in the driver's seat, and we were both on the gas pedal. If the road into the city had been two hundred meters shorter, or if I hadn't brought my camera tripod, we would either have been killed in a car accident on our way into the city, or we would have been killed by the explosion right after we jumped out of the car."

"Stimulate."

After hearing Laura's story, Wen Sheng gave his evaluation.

“It was during those few minutes that he comforted me without being rude, and when I found the tripod to help stabilize the throttle, he didn’t let me be a burden,” Laura said with a laugh. “I don’t think there’s any feeling of my heart racing like when we were about to be blown up together.”

"understood."

Wen Sheng nodded in understanding, then asked, "So, you only fell for your exes and current partners by relieving stress or by experiencing dangerous or exciting situations together?"

"Of course not. For example, Zeng Xiaoxian was someone I dated when I was still in school, and there was also an ex-boyfriend named William, a painter from Taipei."

Laura, whose exes are all over the world, laughed and said, "I don't just date for excitement. William won me over with his artistic temperament, and Zeng Xiaoxian... maybe it's because he was my first love. His calmness often makes me feel at ease under pressure."

"..."

To be honest, as Wen Sheng watched Laura share her romantic history, he felt a bit like he was watching himself share his past romantic histories with another woman.

The other person just said that the two of them are similar in some ways, and in a sense, that's true. Wen Sheng thinks so too.

At this moment, Laura looked closely at Wen Sheng's face, and then said with a smile, "See? You're not shocked or surprised at all, and you don't look at me like I'm an alien. Xiao Xian was almost going crazy back then. Even my other boyfriends would have been surprised at first. We really are a match made in heaven."

"..."

Wen Sheng patted his forehead and said with a smile, "But none of the examples you just gave seem to relate to me."

After a slight pause, Wen Sheng continued, "I still don't understand. Is your curiosity and desire for deeper contact simply because you think we're the same kind of people?"

"You want to know so much?"

Laura's lips curled up, her eyes fixed on Wen Sheng. Just moments ago she was kneading Wen Sheng's hand, but now she was slowly lifting his hand up.

Laura, wearing a fitted cheongsam and leaning against the table, leaned forward a little more until she gently placed the hand of the man in front of her on her left breast.

"Come and find the answer in my heart."

(End of this chapter)