TRYMBPIETM 122: When I went in the Past (4)

Fu Wenan quickly hung up the phone.

Chi Qingning stared at the black screen of his phone, opening his mouth, but no sound came out for a while.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Fu Wenan, even without his reminder, would still be cautious around his second brother.

After thinking for a while, he slowly exhaled.

This was fine.

At least Fu Wenan wouldn’t upset Chi Qingzhou anymore.

However, wasn’t it a bit odd that Chi Qingzhou had someone go to pick up Fu Wenan?

Even though Fang Mingge had changed the script and Fu Wenan was about to make a cameo, Chi Qingning still sensed something strange.

For some reason, his thoughts wandered to his mother, Fan Tao, and unease started to stir inside him.

“This shouldn’t have anything to do with Mom, right?”

He paced around the room, muttering to himself for a moment before deciding to go find Chi Qingzhou and ask him.

“Anyway, he calls me his little brother. I’m just asking a couple of questions. He believes in karma, so he definitely won’t do anything to me.”

Chi Qingning encouraged himself, changed his clothes, and then walked downstairs with quiet steps. He asked the logistics staff about Chi Qingzhou’s room and hurried back upstairs.

His mind was filled with doubts as he thought about how to ask Chi Qingzhou when he saw him, speeding up his steps.

In his rush, he didn’t notice if anyone else was nearby. He had just turned into the hallway from the staircase when he collided hard with someone else in a hurry!

“Ah!!”

Chi Qingning yelped in shock, lost his balance, took two steps back, and fell to the ground with a thud.

The pain exploded from his tailbone, and his eyes immediately filled with tears.

He moved a little to check that his tailbone wasn’t injured, then angrily looked up and glared at the person he had collided with.

What a coincidence, huh?

The person who bumped into him was also glaring at him.

Chi Qingning’s expression stiffened, and all the anger quickly turned into embarrassment.

What the heck, why was Song Yuzhi here?!

Since they had filmed “Scenery Along the Way” together, Song Yuzhi had never been kind to Chi Qingning.

Not only did he retract all resources that were previously tilted in Chi Qingning’s favor, but he even hinted to his agent and junior colleagues in the company to snatch a few resources away from Chi Qingning.

Both of them knew this was a form of revenge. Though it wasn’t an outright confrontation, they definitely weren’t fond of each other.

Song Yuzhi clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Chi Qingning couldn’t help but curl his lips.

Why on earth was this person here? Could it be that he entered the set with Chi Qingzhou yesterday?

But the logistics staff said that only Chi Qingzhou was staying on this floor. What was he doing here so early in the morning?

He frowned and took a quiet look at Song Yuzhi.

Song Yuzhi seemed to have come to a realization.

He eyed Chi Qingning carefully, forcing a smile with no sincerity.

“It’s been a while. So, you’re heading back to your room?”

Chi Qingning’s mind shifted, and he gave a perfunctory smile in return, nodding.

“Yeah, I’m going back to my room. Are you heading to breakfast?”

Song Yuzhi didn’t hesitate and nodded in agreement.

“Time’s getting late. The cafeteria might run out of food soon. I’ll head there first. You go ahead with what you’re doing.”

Chi Qingning nodded.

“Then take care. I’ll head back first.”

Both of them forced a smile at each other, one continuing upstairs, the other heading downstairs.

The deliberately heavy footsteps soon disappeared.

Chi Qingning paused on the fourth floor stairs, glanced down a few times, waited cautiously for a while, and confirmed that Song Yuzhi didn’t return. He then quickly made his way back to the third floor.

Since Chi Qingzhou’s room was in the center of the third floor, he turned the corner of the staircase and walked briskly into the hallway with thick carpet.

The carpet muffled his footsteps, and he didn’t notice the faint noise coming from the other end of the hallway as he was busy checking the room numbers.

When he finally found Chi Qingzhou’s room and lifted his head, he saw a familiar corner of a garment.

Chi Qingning’s expression froze.

He slowly turned his head, and there stood Song Yuzhi, whose expression was equally stiff.

Their eyes met, and without thinking, both of them exchanged cold smiles.

Song Yuzhi took a deep breath, suppressing his nervousness, and spoke first, trying to pick a fight.

“I thought I knew who it was. So it’s you. Didn’t you say you were going back to your room? What, is your room here?”

Chi Qingning, equally nervous, was instantly enraged by these words.

He scoffed, glancing sideways at Song Yuzhi.

“Didn’t Teacher Song say you were going to breakfast? Why aren’t you at the cafeteria? Why are you here instead? What’s the matter, is my second brother’s room serving breakfast, or are you on a diet and can’t even have a meal?”

Song Yuzhi was taken aback, paused for two seconds, then snorted unhappily.

The two exchanged a glance once more, both of them clearly disgusted, and then turned their gazes away.

At the same time, Chi Qingning took a step forward, squeezed past Song Yuzhi, and raised his hand to knock on Chi Qingzhou’s door.

Song Yuzhi’s face darkened, and he grabbed Chi Qingning’s collar, pulling him back forcefully.

Chi Qingzhou only felt his neck tighten, almost unable to catch his breath!

He immediately became furious, turning around and fiercely slapping at Song Yuzhi’s wrist, forcefully pushing his hand away, and angrily shouted, “What are you doing touching me! Is there something wrong with your brain!”

Song Yuzhi sneered, “Do you understand the concept of ‘first come, first served’? I was here first, and if anyone is going to talk to Teacher Chi, it’s me! You don’t make sense, and you’re still blaming me?”

Chi Qingzhou laughed coldly, “Ha, you were here first? What a joke, I was the one who arrived first!”

Song Yuzhi raised his voice in disdain, “Nonsense, I was clearly here first.”

The two of them pushed against each other, completely forgetting to maintain the harmonious image that artists are supposed to uphold.

Chi Qingzhou even rolled up his sleeves, showing no sign of backing down from Song Yuzhi.

Song Yuzhi sneered again, showing no fear of Chi Qingzhou’s stance.

Just as the two were about to come to blows, the door beside them creaked open.

Dressed in pajamas, Chi Qingzhou leaned against the door frame with one hand and glanced at the two of them, his face still showing a faint drowsiness.

“What’s all this noise at my door so early in the morning?”

Chi Qingzhou’s loud shout startled Chi Qingzhou: “…”

Song Yuzhi, panicked and embarrassed: “…”

Both immediately turned away from each other and turned to face Chi Qingzhou with forced smiles.

Chi Qingzhou pitifully apologized, “Sorry, sorry, Second Brother, I didn’t know you were sleeping. Did I wake you?”

Song Yuzhi instinctively bowed and also apologized, “Sorry, Teacher Chi, I thought you had already finished your morning exercises. I shouldn’t have been so loud just now.”

The apologies overlapped, and both Chi Qingzhou and Song Yuzhi froze for a moment.

They instinctively exchanged a glance and couldn’t help but make a disgusted face at each other.

Chi Qingzhou acted as if he didn’t see their expressions or pay attention to their apologies. He simply said, “It’s fine that you’re here now. I actually have something to tell you both.”

Both of them perked up, no longer paying attention to each other, and eagerly stared at Chi Qingzhou, waiting for him to continue.

Chi Qingzhou said, “It’s not a big deal. Fu Wenan should be arriving at Linghe Village this afternoon. If you don’t have anything else to do, go to the village entrance and meet him.”

Chi Qingzhou paused for a moment, just about to respond, but Song Yuzhi suddenly changed his expression, quickly interrupting him.

“Just the two of us?” Song Yuzhi asked cautiously, “I mean, Teacher Chi, do you have something more important to do? If it’s just the two of us picking him up, wouldn’t it be a bit…”

He paused, trying to find the right word, “unsafe?”

Last night, he had witnessed firsthand how the villagers looked incredibly abnormal.

With just him and Chi Qingzhou, two ordinary people, wouldn’t they be putting themselves in danger if they encountered those villagers?

Chi Qingzhou was reminded of the villagers’ strange gazes from last night.

Without thinking, he agreed, “Yes, Second Brother, the people in this village aren’t friendly at all. Yesterday, when I was with my assistant, those people looked like they wanted to hit us.”

Moreover, the crew had really clashed with the villagers, and some even got injured.

Everything about this village felt off. Was it really safe for them to go pick up Fu Wenan by themselves?

Chi Qingzhou recalled the voice he had heard over the phone and said quietly, “And isn’t Fu Wenan with someone? It was you who called him, right?”

Chi Qingzhou didn’t answer the second question.

Instead, he smiled mysteriously, his voice calm and gentle.

“It won’t be a problem now,” he said, meeting their puzzled gazes, “I dealt with the village’s peach blossom last night, so if you go now, they’ll definitely be very hospitable.”

The morning sunlight streamed through the window behind him, casting his shadow long for a moment.

In the subtle swaying, the system hidden in the shadow and Xing Shuangzhan, who was contacting his subordinates, both heard Chi Qingzhou’s voice.

【Just like the hospitable welcome in the “Wanxiang” script.】

…

At 1:30 PM, Fu Wenan arrived at the outskirts of Linghe Village right on time.

The monk Ji Nan, who had brought him here, had arranged the time with Chi Qingzhou. To save time, he had applied for a path through the underworld, and Fu Wenan had the rare experience of how cultivators usually rushed their schedules.

After finally arriving on solid ground, Fu Wenan didn’t even have time to think about how powerful they could be. He had to lean against a blossoming peach tree, feeling nauseous from the overwhelming dizziness.

He was lucky, having seen the rare sight of the underworld envoy traveling with souls; but he was also unlucky, as most of these souls had died in accidents, and their appearances were particularly gruesome.

Ji Nan didn’t rush him and even helped clear the yin energy from his body, allowing Fu Wenan to empty his stomach before reminding him that they had arrived.

Fu Wenan’s face turned pale, not wanting to pay any attention to the monk.

He took a deep breath, stepping away from the mess he had just thrown up, and thought that if the underworld truly existed, when he got home, he should find a master to help get rid of his bad luck.

Ji Nan glanced at him and said: “I advise you to not touch the offerings at your home anymore.”

Fu Wenan froze: “What?”

Ji Nan recited a Buddhist chant without answering his question.

Fu Wenan couldn’t help but frown: “What do you mean by that? Stop being mysterious, explain yourself!”

Ji Nan smiled slightly and pointed forward.

He chanted another Buddhist phrase, then said in a kindly tone, “The person who Chi Qingzhou asked to pick you up has already arrived.”

Fu Wenan looked in the direction he was pointing, and saw Chi Qingning and Song Yuzhi standing at the village entrance, both wearing fake, polite smiles.

Behind them, many villagers were staring at them with eager eyes.