Chapter 336: I'm Not Pretending Anymore—I'm a Jerk, and I'm Owning It

The People's Daily, Guangming Daily, China Youth Daily, and Wen Hui Bao all launched simultaneous campaigns, creating an enormous momentum—now even those who don't watch TV must know about this.

Too bad there's no "Touching China" award this year; otherwise Wei Ming would surely have made the list.

They're trying to turn him into a model figure!

It's also to show those writers with restless hearts and foreign ambitions what a people's writer truly is: someone whose works the people love, who cares for the people, and who is willing to do real things for them.

But Wei Ming knew exactly what he was doing; no matter how high they raised him, some things still required caution.

For instance, his affairs with Xue Jie and Lin Jie—when the right year came, he must stay far from the storm's center; a gentleman doesn't stand beneath a crumbling wall.

Xue Jie, Lin Jie—I may not be a good man, but I've taken on enormous risks for this.

This love is heavy!

"Ding ling ling~"

At that moment, the phone rang; Grandma snatched up the receiver with swift reflexes.

"Hello, oh…" She glanced at her grandson. "It's for you."

Wei Ming took the receiver, but Grandma didn't move far—she was still straining her ears to eavesdrop.

"It's me."

It was Xue Jie's gentle voice, though phones back then had no caller ID.

"Where are you?" Wei Ming asked.

"At Zhu Lin's place. Come quickly."

Wei Ming immediately pictured the scene: the two of them, one with a knife, one with an axe, lying in wait behind the door for him.

"How come you…"

"Lin Jie has to catch a train to Changchun for filming, but it's pouring rain and she's stranded at the Tuanjiehu bus stop. If you think we're people you can ignore, then don't bother."

Gong Yu finished speaking and hung up before he could react, then anxiously stared out at the rain-lashed window.

"Who was that? Another one wishing you congratulations?" Xu Shufen asked. From last night to today, the house had received countless calls—all from people who'd watched the News Broadcast.

Wei Ming shook his head, then dialed another number.

"Hello, is this the school bus fleet? I'm looking for Master Liu Wenjie—is he there?" After a pause, "Master, you've got to help me—can I borrow the bus?"

For veteran driver Liu Wenjie, using a public bus for private purposes was a serious breach of principle; before yesterday, even if Wei Ming begged, Liu Wenjie would have hesitated.

But luckily, Liu Master's family had just bought a TV, watched the News Broadcast last night, and today's newspapers were full of Wei Ming's deeds.

Little Wei raised 150 million yuan for disaster areas—how many lives did that save? What immense merit! What's one little mistake for him?

"Huaqiao Apartment, right? Wait for me—I'll be there in fifteen minutes!" Master Liu declared confidently.

Wei Ming immediately grabbed an umbrella and said to his family's puzzled stares: "I'm going out."

Grandma told her daughter and son-in-law it was a young woman's voice; Lao Wei and Xu Shufen exchanged glances, deeply worried—had something happened? Was there any danger to his life?

Below the building.

"Master, I've got a friend who needs to catch a train, but when she stepped out, she found the rain too heavy to walk—so I'm troubling you."

"Where's she?"

"Head toward Tuanjiehu."

At the Tuanjiehu bus stop, two bus routes had arrived; she could transfer twice to get home, but the buses were packed, and Zhu Lin couldn't bear to leave her bicycle behind, so she kept waiting, hoping the rain would ease.

Upstairs, Gong Yu could only fret—there was no raincoat or umbrella at home.

Watching the heavy rain, Zhu Lin sighed; even if the rain stopped now, riding home and then taking a bus to the station would still leave her too late.

Forget it—she decided to ride back to her Tuanjiehu apartment, have Gong Yu give her a hot bath, then cuddle with Xiao Xue to warm up, or she'd catch a cold for sure. She'd take the train tomorrow.

But just then, a small car pulled up in front of her.

Seeing Zhu Lin huddled up, drenched and looking disheveled, Wei Ming's heart ached.

"Get in!" He rolled down the window and told her.

Xiao Wei had finally shown up—this moment made Zhu Lin want to cry, but she forced back her tears and asked: "What about my bicycle?"

Wei Ming got out immediately, braved the rain, locked her bicycle to the bus stop pole, then opened the back door and shoved her inside.

Upstairs, seeing Zhu Lin being picked up by the car, Gong Yu exhaled in relief—Xiao Wei had finally appeared. But once things came out into the open, could this twisted three-person relationship still hold?

They'd agreed on a three-year pact, but it had already collapsed after only half a year.

She lay on the three-person bed in her bedroom, gazing at the ceiling, wondering if one of them must leave to make room for the other two.

Inside the car, Zhu Lin took off her raincoat and apologized to the driver: "Sorry about this soggy mess."

"No problem—you're Xiao Wei's friend, so you're my friend too. Let me tell you this about us: as long as… hey, hey hey!" Master Liu suddenly realized something was off; after the woman in the back shook water from her hair, he finally recognized her. "Shuilian… no, Comrade Zhu Lin! You're Comrade Zhu Lin!"

Wei Ming: "Master, watch the road—it's still raining…"

As he spoke, the rain outside suddenly lightened, and a sliver of sunlight broke through the clouds—as if the storm was clearing.

Zhu Lin noticed the change too, gazing out the window with the same expression as Wei Ming.

"I'm just excited—my whole family loves 'Happy Gate' and your performance as Shuilian!" Master Liu kept chattering, then asked Zhu Lin where she was going by train and what she was doing.

Zhu Lin didn't hide anything—she told the fan in advance about her upcoming role in "Du Shiniang."

"Changchun Film Studio is great—it's the elder brother of Chinese cinema, top-notch strength, and right now the northeast is cooler than here, perfect, perfect."

Once Master Liu knew, the whole Peking University would know soon enough.

But he wanted to know more: what was the relationship between Wei Ming and Zhu Lin? Just friends? Or something more?

Yet these two were strange—almost no conversation between them; either Wei Ming spoke to the driver, or Zhu Lin spoke to the driver.

Was he really getting in their way, making it hard for them to talk?

Soon, the car arrived at the Industrial Institute; the rain had stopped completely. Zhu Lin was a celebrity here—today she returned by private car, so the gatekeeper let them through without question, and the car drove straight to her doorstep.

Master Liu, being thoughtful, picked up his thermos: "Sip… tea leaves." "I won't come in."

Wei Ming got out immediately: "Let me help you carry your luggage."

Zhu Lin didn't refuse, but at the front door she said: "Today's Sunday—my parents are home."

Wei Ming, undeterred, said: "So what? A handsome son-in-law has to meet his mother-in-law."

Zhu Lin snorted, knocked on the door, and her mother opened it—her father wasn't home.

"Linlin, why are you staying at a friend's again? You didn't even bring your luggage—I was just about to…" Her words cut off as she saw the tall, handsome, familiar-looking Wei Ming beside her daughter.

"Auntie, hello. I'm Zhu Lin's friend—I came to help her carry her luggage."

"You're… you're Wei Ming!" Zhu Lin's mother finally remembered—wasn't this the young talent from yesterday's News Broadcast who played guitar and sang to raise 150 million Hong Kong dollars for disaster areas?

"Auntie, I'm Wei Ming."

Zhu's mother was stunned—her daughter's social circle was this elite?

Zhu Lin walked straight into her bedroom; her luggage was already packed—she could leave with just a bag—but she didn't come out right away, watching through the door crack as Wei Ming talked with her mother.

Normally, when Zhu Lin didn't come home at night, she told her parents she was staying at a female friend's place—even had Gong Yu call them.

But now that Wei Ming had brought her home, Zhu's mother couldn't help but suspect: where had her daughter really spent last night?

"Teacher Wei…"

"Auntie, don't flatter me—just call me Xiao Wei."

"Xiao Wei, that car outside—?"

"Oh, that's our Peking University bus—I called Lin Jie, she said she needed to catch a train, so I begged one of our school bus drivers."

Zhu's mother: "Where did you come from?"

"From Tuanjiehu."

Zhu's mother relaxed—location matched. Gong Yu's place was in Tuanjiehu. These Shanghai people really had money—they'd bought property right in Beijing.

Then Zhu's mother began chatting with Wei Ming about Hong Kong, her curiosity about that topic even outweighing her curiosity about her daughter and Wei Ming's relationship.

After discussing the fundraising for a while, Zhu's mother wanted to ask how they'd met.

But just then, Zhu Lin walked out with her bag—untimely.

"All packed. Let's go."

Wei Ming quickly took the bag; seeing his considerate demeanor, Zhu's mother smiled so wide her mouth wouldn't close.

But once they left, she told a neighbor about the writer Wei Ming from yesterday's news—and learned he was only twenty.

No wonder he looked so young—he really was!

Only twenty—nine years younger. Could this even work? Zhu's mother felt like her joy had been for nothing.

"How long until the train leaves?"

Back in the car, Wei Ming sat in the back seat, and finally began speaking to Zhu Lin.

Zhu Lin pulled out her train ticket; Wei Ming took it directly: "Two hours left—plenty of time. Are you going alone?"

"Mm."

Wei Ming warned: "Then be careful—if you meet bandits, remember: save your life, not your money."

Back then, any remote area far from political centers was unsafe; the northeast, as an industrial base with high employment, was relatively better.

Zhu Lin felt Wei Ming's sincere concern, but that wasn't what she wanted to hear.

What she wanted to hear—he couldn't say it in front of Master Liu.