The story of Rose starts with being a brother

Chapter 525 A Night of Passion (Part 1) Every Family Has Its Own Troubles

Comedy often features hilarious pranks, but these pranks can sometimes cause physical or financial harm.

However, since it's a comedy, the audience just laughs it off and doesn't care much about the aftermath of the parody, and the comedy itself doesn't show what happens next.

But life is not just a comedy, much less a TV drama.

The consequences of pranks are real.

The painting that was punched through by Guan Gu at the art exhibition was a gold medal winner at the Taranto Comics Festival in Italy. In the original series, there was no follow-up, and it was assumed that he would be fine if he disguised himself as an Indian and ran away quietly.

However, Guan Gu Shenqi and Lu Ziqiao were arrested and taken to the police station within two days.

Although the Taranto International Cartoonists Association was only founded a few years ago, it has a significant influence. While the price of artworks is always ambiguous, for winners, the honor can lead to an increase in their net worth.

As a gold medal-winning work, regardless of its estimated value, it is definitely enough for the police to file a case.

Aside from Abed himself, the organizers of the art exhibition are probably the ones who want to catch the terrorists the most, since they also have to fulfill their security obligations and they would also have to bear joint responsibility if the paintings were damaged.

Moreover, there is bound to be surveillance in places like art exhibitions. Even if the terrorists escape, the surveillance cameras can still capture them. Besides, this is Shanghai. Even though surveillance cameras are not as ubiquitous as they are in later years, as long as they are still in the city, it is not difficult to find the suspects.

After all, Ziqiao and Guangu didn't deliberately avoid the cameras. These two thought they would be fine once they ran away from Apple's nose.

Although Aiped has already departed for Kuala Lumpur, the organizers of the art exhibition in Shanghai and the police have not given up yet.

This incident was far more serious than the previous detention on New Year's Eve. So when Lu Ziqiao was taken to the station, he was still trying to be sarcastic, but when the amount of compensation was placed in front of him, he was speechless.

"Eighty thousand?!" Lu Ziqiao exclaimed in shock. "You're robbing me!"

Because of Lü Ziqiao's ignorance, someone soon told him that paying only 80,000 yuan in compensation was already very lenient.

Damaging an exhibition painting does not necessarily mean that the artist has to pay full compensation, because such physical damage caused by deformation can be repaired. However, the cost of repair, including the cost of any depreciation incurred after the painting is repaired, must be borne by the person who caused the damage.

Fortunately, Aiped is still an emerging painter, so the loss wasn't too high; otherwise, he could have lost hundreds of thousands.

Of course, no matter how much he lost, it was something Lu Ziqiao couldn't afford to lose, but fortunately, he still had his aunt and Guan Gu.

After all, it was indeed Guan Gu who threw that punch, so he should be the one to pay compensation.

What truly broke Lu Ziqiao's heart was—

"Hey, Aped, I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry..."

Watching Chen Meijia humbly beg for forgiveness and reconciliation from Aped on the other end of the phone regarding his "terrorist attack" with Guan Gu, Lu Ziqiao didn't know what to feel.

As his ex-girlfriend, old friend, roommate, and the woman he occasionally dreams about when he looks at her photos, Lu Ziqiao isn't afraid of Chen Meijia using force, but he can't resist her gentle approach.

And now she's even softening her stance towards another man for his sake.

Well, the other person looks exactly like him, is taller than him, and is also half an ex of Mika.

The other side might just say, "Meijia, don't you miss your friends either..."

……

July 15th, Friday.

"Brother Wensheng, are you free later? How about we go out for a meal together?"

When it was time to leave work, Wen Sheng, who hadn't left the studio yet, looked at the message Xin Ling had sent on his phone. After glancing at Dali, who was still practicing his dance moves in the dance studio, he replied to Xin Ling, "Let's grab some skewers."

Since they had barbecue together back then, he and Xinling have occasionally eaten together over the past few months, not just barbecue.

Just like the first time they ate barbecue, the two of them wouldn't go to a more upscale or private place to eat.

As for why, they all know the answer in their hearts.

What's funny is that Wen Sheng would always tell Nuolan and invite her over as well.

After suffering a loss the first time, Ms. Nuo learned her lesson and only occasionally accepted invitations, saying she was too busy with work to come the rest of the time.

Both Wen Sheng and she were fully aware of this.

The scoundrel's so-called reporting was just a prank on her; she wouldn't fall for it.

Moreover, if she comes every time, wouldn't it make her seem petty and show that she doesn't trust Wen Sheng at all?

However, after learning that Xinling worked in her ex-husband's studio, Ms. Nuo's interest in music suddenly surged again, and she would occasionally come here.

Of course, Ms. Nuo claimed it was for work purposes, since she also has a music recommendation segment on her morning program and occasionally needs to showcase her singing skills, so isn't it normal for her to come to the studio to practice?
But Ms. Noah's funny behavior doesn't stop there; for example—

"Brother Wensheng, what are you looking at?"

On their first visit to a street food stall, Xinling looked at Wensheng, who was glancing at the scenery outside from time to time, and asked him a question.

"Oh? It's nothing. I was just wondering if it's going to rain."

Wen Sheng smiled and helped Dali open the can of cola.

Ms. Nuo didn't sneak over to check this time either!
Wen Sheng was somewhat disappointed. Without seeing Ms. Nuo's hypocritical and secretive stalking behavior, the barbecue felt half as delicious.

Although Nuolan had only accepted one or two invitations before, she seemed indifferent to the other times she refused, but Wensheng noticed that she would often sneak up near where he and Xinling were having dinner.

Sigh, what a stubborn woman.

"If the weather forecast is accurate, these next few days will be sunny." Although Xinling was a little puzzled, she didn't ask any further questions. She then picked up a tissue and helped Dali wipe his mouth.

"Dali, eat slowly, these aren't very spicy."

"Mmm, thank you, Sister Xinling." Zhuge Dali, her mouth greasy from eating, waited for the other woman to wipe her mouth before continuing, "My mom usually doesn't let me eat this, but I finally got to eat it today."

Hearing this, Xinling smiled, glanced at Wensheng across from her, and said, "You really shouldn't eat too much. I'm treating you to dinner today, so don't tell your mother."

"Don't worry, I absolutely won't tell."

Wen Sheng's eyes flickered slightly. It was fortunate that Attorney Zhuge was working overtime today, otherwise he would have been the only one eating.

And from Xinling's look just now, Wen Sheng knew without even thinking that she must have figured something out.

The previous times Dali came over, Xinling, with her sharp mind, could guess most of what was going on when she played with Dali.

However, Wen Sheng didn't mind this kind of thing. The fact that Xin Ling hadn't said anything proved that she was a smart person, and besides...

Wen Sheng gave Xin Ling a deep look. Didn't she also have a little secret?

"Xinling, you should eat more too, you've lost weight."

……

On Saturday evening, a plane slowly landed at Shanghai Airport.

After a while, a large wave of passengers poured out of the exit, and among these travelers of all shapes and sizes, Zeng Xiaoxian's face looked like he had eaten feces.

As night fell, when he quietly arrived at the Lonely Corner Bar, he happened to see Guan Gu and Mei Jia at the bar, and then he noticed that their expressions were similar to his own.

"Meijia!" After composing himself, Zeng Xiaoxian stepped forward and smiled, "You're back?"

"Teacher Zeng?!"

Hearing the noise, Mika and Guan Gu turned around, and their dejected expressions immediately turned into smiles.

At this moment, just like the last time Zeng Xiaoxian left the apartment and came back, the air froze for half a second, and Guan Gu Shenqi's thousand words hidden in his heart still converged into that one sentence.

Where did you buy your pants?

"..." "Teacher Zeng, you're finally back!"

The two people who returned to the apartment one after the other finally met again, and then the three of them hugged each other.

"clang--"

A crisp clinking of bottles rang out, and three true old friends sat down to share what had happened to them recently.

"Teacher Zeng, your business trip must have been very successful, right? I've seen your advertisements on the walls of public restrooms before!"

"..."

After taking a sip of wine, Zeng Xiaoxian almost vomited it up because of Guan Gu's words.

"This... is not bad, not bad..." Zeng Xiaoxian chuckled dryly, "I've filmed several commercials in different fields during this period and learned a lot."

"By the way, Teacher Zeng, so you're now a real millionaire!" Meijia asked curiously.

She only found out about Zeng Xiaoxian's participation in the millionaire game after she returned, including what happened between him and Hu Yifei.

To be honest, she was quite speechless. It was unbelievable that something that had happened before could be repeated, and Zeng Xiaoxian was still running away as always.

This was pure torture for her, the number one fan of the HyunBee romance.

Uh... Chen Meijia was the first to figure out that Zeng Xiaoxian liked Hu Yifei, and besides Yifei, she was the first to figure out that Zhanbo liked Wanyu.

After all, they are people who have learned a wealth of emotional knowledge from books such as "A Dream of Red Mansions", "Smoke Locks the Tower", and "Deep Love in the Rain".

Although she didn't apply it very well to herself, she was very effective at it on others.

However, Zeng Xiaoxian was at a loss for words when asked her question.

"This...I...that..."

Seeing Zeng Xiaoxian's hesitant manner, Guan Gu quickly said, "Meijia, Teacher Zeng needs to keep a low profile right now. Asking him like that will put him in a difficult position."

"Oh, right, right." Hearing this, Meijia nodded and changed the subject, "Teacher Zeng, what do you plan to do after you have five million?"

"..."

Zeng Xiaoxian felt as if he had been stabbed in the heart again, and quickly said, "It's just eating, sleeping, and going to work. By the way, don't just talk about me, what's been happening at the apartment lately?"

"..."

Very well, now it's Guan Gu and Mei Jia's turn to be silent.

Sometimes, when old friends meet again, one fears that the other will not ask about how things are going, but also fears that the other will actually ask.

What to say?

If things were going well, would you have had that long face just now?
Seeing that Meijia was speechless, Guangu quickly said, "Oh, Teacher Zeng, Zhang Wei left last month."

"Zhang Wei is gone?"

Zeng Xiaoxian's eyes widened suddenly, and then his legs went weak and he slid off the stool.

"Teacher Zeng, are you alright?"

Meijia and Guangu quickly helped him up, and Zeng Xiaoxian, ignoring the pain from his fall on his bottom, said with a face full of sorrow, "Zhang Wei... how could he be gone? He was so young, he had just found a girlfriend, and... I didn't even have a chance to see Zhang Wei off... Waaah..."

"..."

Seeing Zeng Xiaoxian's appearance, Guan Gu and Meijia were stunned for a moment. After a long while, Guan Gu said, "It's just visiting relatives, right? It's not like he's not coming back. We just dropped him off at his apartment building."

"Teacher Zeng, Zhang Wei left by train, not in a coffin," Chen Meijia explained, realizing what had happened.

"..."

With tears streaming down his face, Zeng Xiaoxian froze, momentarily speechless. In those two seconds, he not only thought of Wei Ge's "sound and appearance" from a few months ago, but also of the tragic events that had befallen him just a few days ago, and then of how he had missed seeing Zhang Wei one last time because of all this mess...

The tears just wouldn't stop flowing.

Thinking that Teacher Zeng was truly sentimental, Guan Gu and Mei Jia hurriedly grabbed tissues and frantically wiped away his tears. It took a while for Zeng Xiaoxian to calm down.

Then the first thing he said was, "Isn't Zhang Wei an orphan? What kind of relatives is he visiting?"

“Zhang Wei said he went to visit relatives because he is an orphan, and maybe he can find his family!” Guan Gu thought for a moment and then said, “But we all know that he mainly went to visit his girlfriend.”

"Is that so? I'm scared to death."

Zeng Xiaoxian blew his nose, and after completely calming down, he said, "Next time, could you please finish what you're saying in one go?"

After hearing this, Guan Gu and Mei Jia didn't want to talk to him anymore.

And so, the air fell silent. Old friends reunited should have had a thousand words to say, but the misfortunes they had each encountered left them speechless.

"Come on, cheers! To our happiness!"

"cheers!"

……

"Jingle Bell!"

Meanwhile, in Wen Sheng's room at Love Apartment 3601.

Wen Sheng was looking at his stock market data when his cell phone rang.

After glancing at the incoming call, he answered directly: "Hello, Laura."

"Handsome Wen, do you remember when I asked you to come with me to a place?"

Laura's voice came through the phone. Wen Sheng raised an eyebrow, remembering that there was indeed such a thing, but he still asked, "Are you sure the place you're going to is legitimate?"

“Well…” Laura paused for a moment, then chuckled twice, “I’m not sure either. They invited me to their grand opening tonight, and I’ve never been before.”

"Newly opened?" Upon hearing this, Wen Sheng suddenly felt that his previous absurd idea might not be impossible.

Lara chooses the female models, and Lara chooses the male models...

"Ms. Lao, you're a big-name reporter, and I'm just a respectable person. I think we should be mindful of our public image..."

Wen Sheng first made this statement in a serious tone, then smiled somewhat lewdly and asked, "Is it very private?"

"Haha, don't worry, it'll be very high."

Then the lewd man and woman burst into laughter.

After laughing for a while, Wen Sheng asked again, "So when are we going?"

"No rush, they don't open until late at night. But you can come to my house now, or you can come at 1:30 a.m., and then we can set off together."

"..."

Hearing this, Wen Sheng fell silent. After a few seconds, he said softly, "Are you sure you want me to go somewhere else with you, not your bed?"

He paused, then added, "If it's the latter, then let's pretend we never made this call."

"Don't worry, I wouldn't go so far as to play you for something like this, unless you can be the one to play me for something."

Laura smiled and said, "Although I really would like to invite you to my bed, this time we're really going to a... mysterious place in Shanghai."

(End of this chapter)