CHAPTER 17: A BUD OF DOUBT
Gino ended up dragging Lilith home with him. Despite that, the image of Lilith crying her heart out was ingrained in Tang Feng’s mind. He couldn’t forget the shocking words the girl had said.
Gino liked Fiennes? Gino liked him? So much that Gino had called out his name during the night?
That was impossible!
Even after returning home, Tang Feng was preoccupied with Lilith’s words. It was simply too shocking and unexplainable, so much that he drove Charles and Lu Tian Chen out of his room.
He needed time alone. He needed to think and calm down.
In his past life, he’d had a strange relationship with Gino. The media and the public had the impression that the two of them were close, but that was far from the truth. From the start, Gino had treated him like an eyesore. Gino had picked on him every time they came across each other. Not one to back down, Tang Feng had thrown back his fair share of snark.
Could their relationship even be described as that of a senior and a junior?
Just remembering those times made Tang Feng sigh at his immaturity. At that time, just seeing Gino’s annoying face and hearing his annoying voice made him want to beat the youngster down a notch or two.
He’d always thought that Gino had picked on him because of dislike. There was no way that he could be wrong about that.
After being reborn, Tang Feng discovered that Gino actually wasn’t a bad person. He was occasionally childish, and also willful and a show-off. Even then, Tang Feng never thought that Gino had come troubling him at every turn because the youngster liked him.
Tang Feng wasn’t narcissistic enough to think that.
But Lilith’s attitude while she was drunk, her pain and her curses, they were all telling Tang Feng that Gino had loved Fiennes, that all their petty fights were a means for Gino to attract Fiennes’, meaning his attention.
Tang Feng had never expected for such a childish love to occur in an adult, but it appeared that he was wrong. Gino had never spoken a kind word to him in the past, much less a confession of love. It appeared that Gino truly believed that arguing with him was the best way to get his attention.
“My god…” Tang Feng fell on the bed and covered his eyes. He couldn’t believe that this was happening.
This was definitely a joke. He must have misunderstood something.
Tang Feng decided that he needed to have a talk with Gino tomorrow. There was no way he could ignore this!
♦
“He’s acting a bit strange today,” Lu Tian Chen said while sitting on the couch in his pajamas. They only had a square, modern floor lamp turned on. The artistic lines of the lamp were accentuated by the gentle light it emitted, appearing like a work of art. However gentle the light was, it couldn’t soften the sharpness of the two men’s eyes.
Charles had a cup of coffee in his hands; he clearly had no plans of sleeping tonight. At Lu Tian Chen’s words, he chuckled. “Why don’t you just ask me whether I’ve done anything to him on the way back? You probably think I forced him, right? All right, I’ll admit that was what I had planned in mind, but unfortunately, I had to push back my bedtime date with Tang Feng.”
Lu Tian Chen and Charles were college classmates. Because of their similar values and the fact that they liked each other, they’d decided to work together.
They’d created their own businesses and worked hand in hand while experimenting with new fields. They had created their wealth together.
They were very good friends, but one of them was arrogant and proud, while the other was realistic and selfish. As a result, the terms of their friendship changed depending on the benefits they could gain in each situation.
At the moment, working together brought them more benefits than working against each other.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, the two intelligent men would never make the other his enemy. As that was the case, was the current situation something that required them to rethink their partnership?
Perhaps, and perhaps not.
Lu Tian Chen and Charles were both standing in front of a crossroad. They paced back and forth, hesitating over whether they should continue down the same path together or split up and find their own way. Slowly but surely, they became aware of the root of the problem.
All of this for a man?
It was something that would make them laugh for three days in the past. A beautiful woman wasn’t even enough to make them work against each other, much less a man.
But that was also because they’d never come cross anyone who had made them care that much. Then what about now? They didn’t have the answer to that. As they interacted more and more with Tang Feng, they’d discovered that there was someone who was capable of capturing all of their attention.
They had a tacit understanding between them, yet they couldn’t resist testing each other. The seemingly peaceful three-way tie was a secret battleground, and the two contenders were both trying to ascertain the other’s limits.
“Then what’s wrong with him?” Lu Tian Chen asked. Unknowingly, he had started paying more attention to Tang Feng. It was to the point that even he had noticed his own anomaly. But despite knowing the problem, he couldn’t prevent himself from caring. Moreover, Lu Tian Chen didn’t want to stop caring.
Charles sighed deeply. “I don’t know. He’d played hero today and saved a woman from the hands of an idiot. The woman’s the girlfriend of the co-actor from his movie. We’d looked after her while Tang Feng called Gino, who then came and took her home.”
It was a simple and matter-of-fact explanation.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. Though there was something strange.” Charles frowned and recalled what Lilith had said. “That woman had said something strange while she was crying.”
Lu Tian Chen lifted his head. “What did she say?”
“I hate you. I hate you. I’m not Fiennes, do you understand? That man is dead, how can you have such disgusting thoughts…” Charles repeated Lilith’s outburst word for word. He tapped his knee and said, “The strange part is that Gino loves a man who’s already dead. Moreover, that man was almost forty when he’d died. No wonder that woman was about to go crazy. Haha.”
“Fiennes…” Lu Tian Chen rubbed his chin. He remembered Tang Feng saying that Fiennes Tang was his idol. Was he simply unhappy because he’d learned something new about his idol?
That couldn’t be right. After getting to know Tang Feng over the past few months, Lu Tian Chen knew that the actor wasn’t foolish enough to become sad and conflicted over an idol.
Tang Feng was simply too calm and mature. It only made the rare moments when he’d lose his composure all that more apparent, to the point that everyone around him would be curious of the reason.
“How did Tang Feng react when he heard her?” Lu Tian Chen continued.
“He seemed a bit shocked.” Charles glanced at the other. “Do you think that Tang Feng and Fiennes Tang are somehow related? That I know. They both have the family name ‘Tang.’”
It was an unfunny joke.
“Tang Feng has never met Fiennes.” That was the case in Lu Tian Chen’s memories, but after being discharged from the hospital, Tang Feng was completely different from the person he once knew.
Perhaps Fiennes had something to do with Tang Feng’s change? Lu Tian Chen carefully stored the name “Fiennes Tang” away inside his mind.
“Did you think of something?” Charles had caught on to Lu Tian Chen’s silence. He hadn’t known Tang Feng before the three-month deal. As that was the case, he’d never noticed that Tang Feng had changed. But he wasn’t stupid.
Lu Tian Chen had treated Tang Feng like utter garbage before and wasn’t willing to spare the man a minute’s attention. Lu Tian Chen had even been willing to send Tang Feng to his bed. Charles wasn’t stupid enough to believe that his friend had started paying attention to Tang Feng because the actor had great potential. He didn’t believe that Lu Tian Chen would follow Tang Feng all the way to America because of that. That wouldn’t be the Lu Tian Chen he knew.
There was only one plausible explanation: Lu Tian Chen had set his heart on Tang Feng, and it’d occurred out of the blue.
Charles had his suspicions about the kind of relationship Tang Feng and Lu Tian Chen had before. He was also curious as to how the two had managed to repair their relationship.
“Tang Feng is very different from before. I don’t know if a person would turn into someone else after losing all their memories, but it’s obvious that an amnesic man shouldn’t be so familiar with American culture. On top of that, Tang Feng knows how he should communicate with the film crew. He can speak fluent English. And he’s somehow developed astounding acting skills.” Lu Tian Chen paused and frowned. He then concluded, “He’s like a completely different person.”
Charles placed his cup on the table. He spread his arms on the back of the couch and laughed. “I know, Tang Feng’s an angel who’s come down to earth.”
“And not a devil?”
“Oh, a devil isn’t bad either. I’m willing to go to hell with him if he’s a devil.”
There was no point in discussing it any further. They couldn’t reach a conclusion with the minimal information they had. Any of the reasons they could have offered sounded strange to their own ears.
The only thing they were sure of was the amount of attention they both exhibited toward Tang Feng during their talk. What did that mean?
Perhaps they would know the answer soon.
CHAPTER 17: A BUD OF DOUBT
Gino ended up dragging Lilith home with him. Despite that, the image of Lilith crying her heart out was ingrained in Tang Feng’s mind. He couldn’t forget the shocking words the girl had said.
Gino liked Fiennes? Gino liked him? So much that Gino had called out his name during the night?
That was impossible!
Even after returning home, Tang Feng was preoccupied with Lilith’s words. It was simply too shocking and unexplainable, so much that he drove Charles and Lu Tian Chen out of his room.
He needed time alone. He needed to think and calm down.
In his past life, he’d had a strange relationship with Gino. The media and the public had the impression that the two of them were close, but that was far from the truth. From the start, Gino had treated him like an eyesore. Gino had picked on him every time they came across each other. Not one to back down, Tang Feng had thrown back his fair share of snark.
Could their relationship even be described as that of a senior and a junior?
Just remembering those times made Tang Feng sigh at his immaturity. At that time, just seeing Gino’s annoying face and hearing his annoying voice made him want to beat the youngster down a notch or two.
He’d always thought that Gino had picked on him because of dislike. There was no way that he could be wrong about that.
After being reborn, Tang Feng discovered that Gino actually wasn’t a bad person. He was occasionally childish, and also willful and a show-off. Even then, Tang Feng never thought that Gino had come troubling him at every turn because the youngster liked him.
Tang Feng wasn’t narcissistic enough to think that.
But Lilith’s attitude while she was drunk, her pain and her curses, they were all telling Tang Feng that Gino had loved Fiennes, that all their petty fights were a means for Gino to attract Fiennes’, meaning his attention.
Tang Feng had never expected for such a childish love to occur in an adult, but it appeared that he was wrong. Gino had never spoken a kind word to him in the past, much less a confession of love. It appeared that Gino truly believed that arguing with him was the best way to get his attention.
“My god…” Tang Feng fell on the bed and covered his eyes. He couldn’t believe that this was happening.
This was definitely a joke. He must have misunderstood something.
Tang Feng decided that he needed to have a talk with Gino tomorrow. There was no way he could ignore this!
♦
“He’s acting a bit strange today,” Lu Tian Chen said while sitting on the couch in his pajamas. They only had a square, modern floor lamp turned on. The artistic lines of the lamp were accentuated by the gentle light it emitted, appearing like a work of art. However gentle the light was, it couldn’t soften the sharpness of the two men’s eyes.
Charles had a cup of coffee in his hands; he clearly had no plans of sleeping tonight. At Lu Tian Chen’s words, he chuckled. “Why don’t you just ask me whether I’ve done anything to him on the way back? You probably think I forced him, right? All right, I’ll admit that was what I had planned in mind, but unfortunately, I had to push back my bedtime date with Tang Feng.”
Lu Tian Chen and Charles were college classmates. Because of their similar values and the fact that they liked each other, they’d decided to work together.
They’d created their own businesses and worked hand in hand while experimenting with new fields. They had created their wealth together.
They were very good friends, but one of them was arrogant and proud, while the other was realistic and selfish. As a result, the terms of their friendship changed depending on the benefits they could gain in each situation.
At the moment, working together brought them more benefits than working against each other.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, the two intelligent men would never make the other his enemy. As that was the case, was the current situation something that required them to rethink their partnership?
Perhaps, and perhaps not.
Lu Tian Chen and Charles were both standing in front of a crossroad. They paced back and forth, hesitating over whether they should continue down the same path together or split up and find their own way. Slowly but surely, they became aware of the root of the problem.
All of this for a man?
It was something that would make them laugh for three days in the past. A beautiful woman wasn’t even enough to make them work against each other, much less a man.
But that was also because they’d never come cross anyone who had made them care that much. Then what about now? They didn’t have the answer to that. As they interacted more and more with Tang Feng, they’d discovered that there was someone who was capable of capturing all of their attention.
They had a tacit understanding between them, yet they couldn’t resist testing each other. The seemingly peaceful three-way tie was a secret battleground, and the two contenders were both trying to ascertain the other’s limits.
“Then what’s wrong with him?” Lu Tian Chen asked. Unknowingly, he had started paying more attention to Tang Feng. It was to the point that even he had noticed his own anomaly. But despite knowing the problem, he couldn’t prevent himself from caring. Moreover, Lu Tian Chen didn’t want to stop caring.
Charles sighed deeply. “I don’t know. He’d played hero today and saved a woman from the hands of an idiot. The woman’s the girlfriend of the co-actor from his movie. We’d looked after her while Tang Feng called Gino, who then came and took her home.”
It was a simple and matter-of-fact explanation.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. Though there was something strange.” Charles frowned and recalled what Lilith had said. “That woman had said something strange while she was crying.”
Lu Tian Chen lifted his head. “What did she say?”
“I hate you. I hate you. I’m not Fiennes, do you understand? That man is dead, how can you have such disgusting thoughts…” Charles repeated Lilith’s outburst word for word. He tapped his knee and said, “The strange part is that Gino loves a man who’s already dead. Moreover, that man was almost forty when he’d died. No wonder that woman was about to go crazy. Haha.”
“Fiennes…” Lu Tian Chen rubbed his chin. He remembered Tang Feng saying that Fiennes Tang was his idol. Was he simply unhappy because he’d learned something new about his idol?
That couldn’t be right. After getting to know Tang Feng over the past few months, Lu Tian Chen knew that the actor wasn’t foolish enough to become sad and conflicted over an idol.
Tang Feng was simply too calm and mature. It only made the rare moments when he’d lose his composure all that more apparent, to the point that everyone around him would be curious of the reason.
“How did Tang Feng react when he heard her?” Lu Tian Chen continued.
“He seemed a bit shocked.” Charles glanced at the other. “Do you think that Tang Feng and Fiennes Tang are somehow related? That I know. They both have the family name ‘Tang.’”
It was an unfunny joke.
“Tang Feng has never met Fiennes.” That was the case in Lu Tian Chen’s memories, but after being discharged from the hospital, Tang Feng was completely different from the person he once knew.
Perhaps Fiennes had something to do with Tang Feng’s change? Lu Tian Chen carefully stored the name “Fiennes Tang” away inside his mind.
“Did you think of something?” Charles had caught on to Lu Tian Chen’s silence. He hadn’t known Tang Feng before the three-month deal. As that was the case, he’d never noticed that Tang Feng had changed. But he wasn’t stupid.
Lu Tian Chen had treated Tang Feng like utter garbage before and wasn’t willing to spare the man a minute’s attention. Lu Tian Chen had even been willing to send Tang Feng to his bed. Charles wasn’t stupid enough to believe that his friend had started paying attention to Tang Feng because the actor had great potential. He didn’t believe that Lu Tian Chen would follow Tang Feng all the way to America because of that. That wouldn’t be the Lu Tian Chen he knew.
There was only one plausible explanation: Lu Tian Chen had set his heart on Tang Feng, and it’d occurred out of the blue.
Charles had his suspicions about the kind of relationship Tang Feng and Lu Tian Chen had before. He was also curious as to how the two had managed to repair their relationship.
“Tang Feng is very different from before. I don’t know if a person would turn into someone else after losing all their memories, but it’s obvious that an amnesic man shouldn’t be so familiar with American culture. On top of that, Tang Feng knows how he should communicate with the film crew. He can speak fluent English. And he’s somehow developed astounding acting skills.” Lu Tian Chen paused and frowned. He then concluded, “He’s like a completely different person.”
Charles placed his cup on the table. He spread his arms on the back of the couch and laughed. “I know, Tang Feng’s an angel who’s come down to earth.”
“And not a devil?”
“Oh, a devil isn’t bad either. I’m willing to go to hell with him if he’s a devil.”
There was no point in discussing it any further. They couldn’t reach a conclusion with the minimal information they had. Any of the reasons they could have offered sounded strange to their own ears.
The only thing they were sure of was the amount of attention they both exhibited toward Tang Feng during their talk. What did that mean?
Perhaps they would know the answer soon.
