Extreme Pampering
Chapter 112 I like you more.

Chapter 112: Chapter 112 I like you more.

On the film set.

The weather had turned colder, and Shen Zhiyi had to wrap herself in a coat as soon as she stepped out of character. She had arrived at the set early in the morning to shoot, and aside from the break for lunch, she had spent all her time on the soundstage, now feeling intensely sleepy.

"Wasn’t the take we just did okay?" Xiaodong walked with her to the rest room, handing her the cell phone, "Jiaze just made a call, I told him you weren’t available, but he’ll probably call back later."

Considering the time, the kid should have already returned to the country. Shen Zhiyi took the phone, shaking her head, "He wasn’t quite satisfied, plans to shoot other scenes first, and told me to rest a while."

The filming was intense, and Director Meng was particularly critical. For Shen Zhiyi, the hours felt incredibly long, and whether it was Xiaodong’s psychological effect or not, it seemed like she had lost a good amount of weight in just one day.

"Then take this chance to get some sleep," Xiaodong left her in the rest room, not wanting to bother her, and went to wait in the car.

Shen Zhiyi called Duan Jiaze back with a video call. When the call connected, a young woman appeared on the screen.

Seeing her, the woman gave a slight smile, her tone gentle, "Miss Shen?"

"Hello," Shen Zhiyi recognized her as probably being Duan Jiaze’s mother.

The two weren’t close, and the woman didn’t seem inclined to chat, simply saying hello before handing the phone to Duan Jiaze.

"Zhizhi!"

As soon as he spoke, Duan Jiaze began to complain, "Uncle said I was fat again yesterday. He said you definitely like him better, because I’m not as handsome as him, and I’m chubby."

He looked downcast, earnestly seeking confirmation from Shen Zhiyi, "Do you really like him more?"

In the rest room was a fold-out bed. Shen Zhiyi leaned against the pillow, blinking away the moisture in her eyes due to tiredness, laughed silently, "Don’t listen to his nonsense."

Duan Jiaze moved closer to the camera, "So you like me more, right?"

There was no comparison. Such childish talk, and it was surprising that Pei Yu would even say it. Shen Zhiyi, helpless, "Yeah... I like you more."

Duan Jiaze looked aggrieved, "Did you hesitate? You didn’t answer me right away."

"No, I didn’t," Shen Zhiyi denied, feeling she had responded quickly enough. To cheer up the child, she repeated, "I like you more."

"Haha!" Duan Jiaze said happily, "I recorded it! I’m going to play the recording to Uncle, and he won’t be able to tease me about being fat anymore."

"Don’t upset him," Shen Zhiyi truly couldn’t understand this uncle-nephew relationship, and could only say that Pei Yu probably didn’t get along well with kids since he could be rather childish, "You’ll regret it if he gets angry."

Then the process of apologizing and causing trouble would repeat.

Shen Zhiyi chatted with Duan Jiaze for a while, but she was really too sleepy, and fell asleep as soon as she ended the call.

Meanwhile, Duan Jiaze didn’t take her advice at all, eagerly calling Pei Yu. The call was initially answered by Secretary Qin and after a few minutes it was passed to Pei Yu.

During those minutes of waiting, his excitement waned a bit, muttering to himself that calling his uncle was really troublesome. However, his mother had said that this was also a sign of importance, and he wanted to be an important person someday.

"Uncle," he said proudly, "I asked Zhiyi, and she said she likes me more."

Just down from a negotiation, Pei Yu wasn’t in a great mood, and replied icily, "You think I’d believe that?"

"I knew it!" Duan Jiaze felt fortunate to have been prepared and silently praised his own cleverness. He played the audio recording he had made on another phone, letting Pei Yu hear that sentence loud and clear, "I didn’t lie to you, see!"

The recording played back with some distortions, but the voice was still unmistakably Shen Zhiyi’s, a soft and leisurely tone with a hint of cajoling that swept away any fatigue from dealing with people. Pei Yu halted in his tracks, gazing out at the layered high-rises and saying, "Duan Jiaze."

Duan Jiaze thought Pei Yu was going to scold him, so he subconsciously held his phone a little further away.

But Pei Yu’s tone was very calm. He calmly said, "Send me the recording."

Duan Jiaze: "?"

In the parking area of the film set, Xiaodong was in the car looking at the trending posts released by marketing accounts. She noticed the Bugatti driving in straight away—it wasn’t that her eyes were particularly good, but the car was so rare and impressive that it left a deep impression. The last time she saw this car was the day she dropped Shen Zhiyi and Director Meng off for a dinner... Wait, this car belongs to—

With a chip still in her mouth, Xiaodong watched wide-eyed as Pei Yu got out of the car and walked towards her.

She hastily chewed and swallowed the chips, then quickly rolled down the car window, without waiting for Pei Yu to speak, she had already conditioned herself to respond, "Sister Zhiyi is in the rest room."

With a slight nod, Pei Yu walked in the direction of the film set.

Staring blankly as his figure faded away, Xiaodong suddenly slapped her forehead, "Oh my God, why am I being such a lickspittle?"

After all, Pei Yu wasn’t her boss.

She felt her actions were really inappropriate. Shen Zhiyi had split up with Pei Yu and it didn’t look like she intended to get back together with him. How could she possibly bend over backward for him?

But she really didn’t know how to handle the situation, so after some thought, she called Wang Feifei.

"Sis, did I do something wrong?"

Although Wang Feifei was not constantly with Shen Zhiyi, thanks to Xiaodong and Secretary Qin, she was well informed about things she shouldn’t even know about, not missing a beat. She recalled what Shen Zhiyi said during their last meeting. It didn’t seem important at the time, but now, thinking about it, she realized Zhiyi’s attitude had never been that firm from the start.

What does "I don’t want to think about these matters right now" mean? Why didn’t she simply say she didn’t like Pei Yu? The personal bias was too glaring, and with a little thought, the leeway between those two sentences was evident.

In response to Xiaodong’s question, Wang Feifei asked back, "Did Zhiyi ask you to stop him?"

Xiaodong, dumbfounded, replied, "No."

Mainly because even if Zhiyi had asked her to stop Pei Yu, she wouldn’t dare do it.

"Right, and did Zhiyi ever say if he were to come, to let her know ahead of time?"

She wouldn’t dare stop him, but avoiding him should be timely enough. If Shen Zhiyi had truly set her mind against meeting him, not even Pei Yu could get his way every time.

Just like Meng Qiming, who had asked her out blatantly and surreptitiously so many times. Apart from the occasions where a meeting was necessary, how often had she agreed to see him?

If she wanted to refuse, there was always an excuse to be found.

After this sorting of thoughts by Wang Feifei, Xiaodong felt a sense of realization, "No."

Pei Yu had been coming so frequently, without even looking for an excuse for a chance encounter. With such clear intentions, if Zhiyi didn’t want to see him, it would have been easy to brush him off, but Shen Zhiyi hadn’t said a word.

"So what are you fretting about?" Initially concerned that it might affect Shen Zhiyi’s career, Wang Feifei was now not so worried. First, she had realized Pei Yu’s intentions might not be as she had thought and secondly, she had confidence in her own artist, "Go on, eat your chips. Eat more, talk less."

Whether or not it could work out, and how it would develop, was a matter for the two of them.