Chapter 2: Good Samaritan
Translator: Aafkee
Proofreader: ChaiTea
“Youngster, we’ve covered the road temporarily with a metal board to deal with the emergency. You can go ahead first.” The worker’s voice helped him find a direction regarding what to do next.
He patted the man’s shoulder, planning to take a look and see whether he could try communicating with him. Instead, the man lifted his head suddenly and Shen Yu was faced with a pair of pitch dark eyes.
Their gazes met in that split moment. Those eyes right in front of him should have been hazy with alcohol and yet, it was unusually bright. It was as if the owner of those eyes refused to relax, stubbornly setting himself against something even when he was drunk.
Shen Yu was stunned for a second before he turned his gaze away.
“Excuse me, do you have an assistant? Can you call them to fetch you?” Shen Yu lowered his voice and asked.
The logic of that sentence had obviously exceeded the processing capacity of the brain of a drunkard, there was not a single bit of change in the man’s gaze. As if he did not understand what he’d said.
Shen Yu sighed. He could not just leave a person alone like this in the heavy rain.
Resigned to his fate, Shen Yu sighed again and shook his head, praying that this interlude would not bring him any negative influence in the future, “My brother, is there anyone coming to fetch you? Do you want me to send you back? Don’t worry, I’m also part of the circle, so I’ll keep my lips sealed.”
Again, that long paragraph of words was out of the processing range of a brain that was corroded by alcohol. He looked at Shen Yu, his gaze was slightly vacant.
“I’m asking where you live?” he tried again, plainly.
“Dragon Luster Hotel, top floor, number five.” This time, the man finally comprehended his words. He enunciated each of his words clearly as he stated an address. If not for his past attempt of walking into the pit, there was no way one could tell that he was a drunkard that had already lost all logic.
Dragon Luster Hotel was a high-end hotel in Jing-City, it provided perfect secrecy and privacy to its customers so it was a very popular choice among the celebrities who came to this area to film. Shen Yu was staying at that hotel this time as well, so sending the man back would not increase any time on the road. It could be considered a little luck in this unfortunate situation.
“Coincidentally, I’m heading there, too. Let me send you back.”
The man seemed to have captured the word “send”. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Shen Yu for a few seconds before he slowly nodded. His expression reminded Shen Yu of a proud Cat Emperor who was giving the imported food a taste, arrogant yet not annoying.
Shen Yu let out a sigh of relief. He pulled the man along by his arm and brought him to his car. Just as he was about to stuff the person into the front passenger seat, the man wanted to stand up, all of a sudden.
“What’s wrong?” Shen Yu was given a fright.
“The coffee I bought. I did not take it out with me.”
So, this man went to the convenience store to buy coffee? Shen Yu’s curiosity as to why this man would go to such a normal convenience store to buy coffee with subpar quality quickly passed through his mind but disappeared just as quickly. He blocked the car door and tried to dissuade him, “It is raining outside. You can’t drink coffee in your current drunken state anyway. Why don’t you buy it again tomorrow?”
“I paid. I didn’t take it.” The man was extremely stubborn regarding this problem.
“Alright, then.” It had to be mentioned that Shen Yu was known to be good-tempered by the people around him. As long as it did not touch upon the issue of principle, he was always mild and gentle.
“Was it from the convenience store in front? You’re drunk now, so it would be inconvenient. Let me retrieve it for you.”
After the man nodded, Shen Yu closed the car door, propped up his umbrella, and walked back to the convenience store. In any case, it was only a few hundred meters away, so it would not take much effort on his part. He carefully avoided the pit as he tried to give a plausible explanation for his own actions.
This stranger, whom he met by chance, seemed to have some sort of magic power that made Shen Yu involuntarily become curious and want to do something for him. It was probably because he had never seen such a unique aura on a person before. On the way back to his car after taking the coffee, Shen Yu thought about how such an atmosphere under the heavy rain always makes people produce certain peculiar emotions.
To make sure that the things in his hand did not get wet from the rain, Shen Yu brought his umbrella extremely close, he could only see the surface of the road. Suddenly, the sensitivity he had developed from his profession touched on a certain part of his nerves as he lifted his umbrella and looked over quickly. He was faced with a long camera lens that he was familiar with.
Shen Yu was quiet.
Shen Yu’s back tightened in an instant, but in the next second, he realised that this was not the paparazzi. The one holding the camera lens was a little youngster that looked to be a student, there were two other people besides him, one of which was holding a big umbrella while the other was holding the mic. They seemed like students who had media as their specialised field of study out in the field.
Shen Yu let out a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to go around it, the young lady who had a mic in her hand saw him, instead. Her eyes lit up in an instant as if she had seen a handsome senior by chance at the corner of the school library. She held onto her mic and rushed towards him.
“Good evening, we are from the Jing-City’s local television station, the investigation team from the ‘People’s livelihood program’ who would go through ups and downs to help our people calm their worries*. Can we interview you?”
(T/N: They were using that as a tagline or something for their program.)
Silently, Shen Yu looked at the mic that was almost right at his face. Since he could no longer escape, he adjusted his facial expressions instead.
Although Shen Yu had muddled through throughout his career and was not that publicly known, he was still an actor that had acted for six years. It was understandable that this small local television station could not recognise him, but once the recorded footage of him got out there, there was bound to be someone who would recognise him sooner or later.
Being a celebrity was a profession that was extremely reliant on public opinions and reputation. A tiny flaw could easily be magnified infinite times and distorted. Shen Yu did not dare to risk it so he quickly squeezed out his most polite smile before facing the camera.
“Yes, but I need to wake up early tomorrow for work so I am in a bit of a rush to get back. Is it okay if I only answer a couple of questions?”
“Of course, of course.” The girl was a bit giddy from receiving a critical hit from seeing his outstandingly handsome face up close. She had initially called out to Shen Yu purely because of his good looks. Now that she had his attention, she was suddenly at a loss as to what to ask.
“Erm, may I know how I should address you? How old are you? What is your job?”
These questions were a bit too personal and the girl’s companion quickly tugged her shirt to remind her. Thank god Shen Yu did not display any hint of displeasure. Instead, he answered with a smile.
“I am 27 this year, so you can call me Mr Yu. As for my job, please allow me to keep it confidential.”
“Thank you, Mr Yu,” The girl also realised her slightly unprofessional behaviour as she quickly admonished herself and reminded herself not to be smitten.
The three of them in the investigation group were all summer interns, they were only responsible for small tasks like making tea and coffee. Someone had called their hotline this night and reported that the road from Jing-City towards the filming base had broken down again. The seniors in the station initially wanted to shirk the responsibility but the three of them saw this as an opportunity for them to actually do something meaningful so they immediately volunteered themselves and risked themselves in the heavy rain.
“May I know what are your views on the road situation in Jing-City, Mr Yu? Do they have a big effect on your daily travels?” The girl calmed herself down and returned to the main subject.
“I have only stayed in Jing-City for a short while, this is the first time I have come across a collapsed road here. It was all thanks to the maintenance workers’ that there were no accidents.”
Shen Yu looked at the camera and answered clearly and orderly, pretending to be a citizen that was just passing by in hopes of getting away quickly.
When Shen Yu cued the maintenance worker, the girl immediately led the conversation to those few workers that were not far away. It was a very textbook standard way of hosting and involving everyone. Shen Yu let out a sigh of relief and felt gratified. Thank goodness this little lady seemed to have listened in class.
“Good evening, sorry for the intrusion, but may I know what are your views on Jing-City’s road situation?”
Those few workers had already paused their work and were observing on the side when the interview had started. They were slightly surprised when the girl suddenly directed the mic to them.
“The roads in Jing-City really aren’t the best. They are in pretty bad condition, so it isn’t surprising to see a road here and there in need of repair. Our logistics department receives so many calls on a daily basis.” The uncle who had stopped Shen Yu at the start took over the mic, said a few sentences and got right into the mood as he continued to talk about the subject, “The roads are in a bad condition, so how can the safety of our citizens be guaranteed? For example, there was a drunkard who nearly fell in the pit just now. Thank god for this youngster over here reacting quick enough to pull him out of danger. Look at how deep this hole is, you’ll definitely break a bone or two if you are to fall in for real.”
Shen Yu, who was preparing to sneak away, heard the conversation being directed to him, again. His brows twitched and he nearly lost his patience. Even the patience of a good-tempered person like him was being tested today.
“Who would have thought that Mr Yu would be so warmhearted? If only we had more citizens like yourself in Jing-City, I am sure our lives would become much more beautiful.”
Although such locals’ livelihood programs usually had a core theme of showing socialism values, Shen Yu nearly lost control and laughed out loud. He managed to steel himself by using his six years of acting experience and maintained his smile. He quickened his speaking speed and rushed to say, “I am glad that I could be of help to someone else. Thank you for your praise. I still have matters I have to attend to, so please excuse me.”
“Goodbye, Mr Yu.” The girl could see that this good-looking Mr Yu really seemed to be in a rush, so she could only nod, feeling a bit regretful that she could not ask him more questions.
Shen Yu finally returned to his car a few hundred metres away. When he opened his car door, the man was still in the position he was in when Shen Yu had left just now, only nodding to indicate his presence when he saw Shen Yu getting inside the car.
“I bought you some medicine for your hangover. You should feel better after you have some.” Shen Yu rummaged through the plastic bag and took out the bottle of medicine and water as he spoke to the man.
The man was still silent. Just when Shen Yu thought that he was unwilling to take the medicine and was about to withdraw his hand, the man pulled down his mask and tossed two pills into his mouth.
Shen Yu was finally able to release his worry. He drove around the interview that was still going on in front and finally drove into the city.
The car was moving along steadily on the road. Accompanied by the unending sound of the rain, there was a faint fragrance in the air as the low and light female voice from the radio filled the car. The man sitting on the front passenger seat gradually relaxed, his head leaning against the car door as he closed his eyes.
During one of the long waits at the traffic light, Shen Yu turned his head to look at the man who was quietly leaning on the car door, his face, which was initially completely covered, was revealed through the narrow slit between his mask and his face due to his posture. Looking from Shen Yu’s position, the angle was just right for him to see his fair skin and long eyelashes as the light shone through the window reflected on his face, casting distinct shadows of each of his long lashes.
How good-looking, Shen Yu’s heart was ineffably moved.
“What is it?” The man said dully with his eyes still closed. His voice was very deep and low. There was even a hint of peculiar attractiveness in his voice due to his drunkenness. Shen Yu immediately felt a sense of embarrassment, as if he had been caught daydreaming in a class by his teacher.
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