They Regretted it After Their Hearts Turned to Ashes - Chapter 13

Genting Cafe.

Luo Cheng clenched his fist lightly and was sitting nervously opposite Director Gong Hanrou.

She wanted to come to interview the abducted female college student, so she didn’t wear too much make-up, she only put on some sunscreen, combed a neat high ponytail, and dressed simply and plainly.

But the twenty-year-old girl was coddled and raised by her family, and she never suffered a bit. Even if she doesn’t wear Fendai anymore, she still has the Pingting brilliance unique to her age.

Playing a theme such as a youth campus or an urban idol is just right, but it is undoubtedly a thousand miles away from the role of the documentary.

Gong Hanrou would come here to sit for a while, only because of the invitation of the old man’s son.

“That’s it.” The middle-aged female assistant in professional attire was polite and returned the file to Luo Cheng, “Little sister, I’m sorry…”

Seeing that the other party already wanted to refuse, Luo Cheng said anxiously: “Please wait!”

The assistant stopped talking and looked at her suspiciously.

“Can you give me a chance?” Luo Cheng clenched the corner of his clothes, “I really like this story.”

Luo Cheng summoned his courage: “I can sign the agreement… I told Brother Chenbai.”

As he said that, Luo Cheng couldn’t help but turn his head quietly and glanced at Ren Chenbai not far away.

She really couldn’t help being aggrieved at the moment.

Luo Cheng originally thought that it was just that Dad adjusted the family company, and if she helped the second brother drive away the people who were in the way, there would be no more troubles and setbacks.

But who knows, things are not as simple and smooth as imagined.

Jian Huaiyi has always been Luo Jun’s deputy. Huaisheng Entertainment was the first company he officially managed, and he was so busy that he couldn’t see anyone every day. The team and resources he promised to equip Luo Cheng were delayed again and again.

People from Huaisheng Entertainment were also surprised. Those department managers were so indifferent to her, she would never arrange anything that President Jane didn’t order, and her attitude could not be wrong.

Even Brother Chenbai, who had promised to deal with her, didn’t know what he was doing these days. When he came, he just lowered his head and drank coffee and sent a message, and he didn’t say a word other than greeting Teacher Gong.

Luo Orange bowed her head, she bit her lower lip, and had to continue speaking: “I heard people say that Teacher Gong’s crew has a kind of agreement…”

The assistant guessed what she wanted to say: “Are you trying to talk about a waiver agreement with the group?”

Luo Orange nodded quickly: “Yes, that’s it.”

As a director, Gong Hanrou has always been good at documentaries, and the most important thing about documentaries is authenticity and restoration.

Of course, what has happened can no longer be recorded by the camera, and can only be re-acted by the actors. In order to find the most suitable state, the actors of some important roles must be closed to the group throughout the whole process, witnessing or even personally experiencing all the tragic or cruel truths in a semi-immersive manner.

There was once an actor who couldn’t play for a long time after the filming ended, so there was a lot of trouble, and even went to court. After that, there was an extra agreement that must be accepted by both parties in advance.

“I fully accept that whatever goes wrong is my responsibility.”

Luo Orange quickly assured: “I’m ready.”

The assistant didn’t answer immediately, first looked back at Gong Hanrou, and then looked back at Luo Cheng.

“Okay.” The assistant nodded, “What are you doing?”

Luo Cheng was stunned for a while, and then a surprise secretly appeared in his heart.

She quickly seized the opportunity and backtracked: “I read a lot of materials, and also consulted the school’s acting teacher. After studying and understanding, I have fully understood the nature of this crime—”

The next content was interrupted by an exclamation.

Luo Cheng shoved the table off the table in a panic, and the whole person couldn’t help but back away in fright, accidentally flipping the coffee on the table.

…

The assistant lowered his sleeves to cover the horrific scars on his arms.

She seemed to be accustomed to this kind of thing, and calmly nodded to the waiter and apologized, asking someone to help clean up the mess in front of her.

Luo Cheng’s brain went blank for a while, then finally realized what happened, and said in a low voice, “I’m sorry…”

The assistant didn’t answer her, just said, “You are well protected by your family.”

“Okay.” Gong Hanrou said at this moment, and gently waved her hand, “It’s almost time.”

As a director who is already at the top level, her rhythm of speaking is unique and neat. If it weren’t for her gray hair with short ears, it would be almost impossible to tell that she was over sixty years old.

When the assistant was talking to Luo Cheng, Gong Hanrou had been listening quietly, and looked at Ren Chenbai thoughtfully from time to time.

The Ren family had invested in the film and television industry for a period of time. Gong Hanrou and Ren Chenbai’s mother met at an awards party.

Although they rarely meet, they only communicate in professional fields. But the two have similar temperaments and have common interests, and their relationship has always been very good.

Ren Chenbai’s mother passed away in a hurry. It only took half a year from diagnosis to death, and everyone around did not have time to prepare.

After that, apart from greetings for New Years and holidays, Ren Chenbai rarely took the initiative to contact her again.

Gong Hanrou can of course understand this emotion. She also doesn’t know how to comfort her friend’s only son, and the relationship between the two families has faded away unconsciously. Later, Ren Chenbai took over the agreement between his mother and Director Gong and continued to provide documentary material, and then resumed some exchanges.

Probably after hearing Gong Hanrou’s sentence “It’s almost time”, Ren Chenbai finally put away his phone, got up, and walked towards the group of people.

No matter how Luo Cheng could see that he was afraid that there was little hope, he pursed his lips and looked at him, his eyes turning red with grievances.

Ren Chenbai just walked up to Gong Hanrou: “Aunt Gong.”

Hearing his address to herself, Gong Hanrou also remembered many old things, her expression softened, she stopped and nodded.

She happened to have something to ask Ren Chenbai, and motioned her assistant to wait aside: “After so many years, is it still inconvenient to tell who ‘Huo Miao’ is?”

After Gong Hanrou asked this sentence, she shook her head first and smiled helplessly: “Forget it, let’s pretend I didn’t ask.”

Such subjects are too sensitive, and any victim has wounds that are difficult to heal.

Some people choose to face this matter directly, some people gradually accept it, some people choose to avoid and forget, and neither of them can be judged by outsiders.

Ren Chenbai’s mother told him a story in the letter, but never mentioned the boy’s identity. Gong Hanrou has some vague guesses, but she also cooperates with the point and stops, and has never found a friend to verify it.

Later, it was a mistake, and there was no longer a chance to verify it.

In the attitude of respecting old friends, Gong Hanrou decided not to ask further: “Is he already doing well now?”

Ren Chenbai smiled: “What if not?”

Gong Hanrou was stunned for a moment, then dumbfounded: “Xiaochen, are you kidding me?”

Ren Chenbai didn’t say yes or no, the smile in his eyes faded after a while, and after a moment of silence, he took out an envelope and handed it to his assistant.

This is an appointment with Gong Hanrou’s studio. Although the true identity of the protagonist has been hidden, the relevant material and materials will be sorted out as a reference for the filming of the documentary.

The documentary will be followed until it is synchronized with reality, because “Fire” is about to be officially set up for filming, so this is probably the last set of materials to be provided.

“Mr. Gong.” Ren Chenbai asked, “Does the documentary have to fully restore the truth?”

Gong Hanrou was still puzzled, but she couldn’t help laughing when she heard the words: “Of course. It has to be both true and detailed, otherwise what’s a documentary?”

“That being said, there is indeed one detail that has yet to be provided.”

Ren Chenbai seemed to be waiting for these words, and nodded: “He later killed his adoptive mother.”

The voice fell, and the air seemed to be quiet.

The one who reacted the most was the assistant behind Gong Hanrou. She frowned and stepped forward: “How is that possible?! He wouldn’t be that kind of person—”

Gong Hanrou raised her hand to stop the assistant’s text.

“Her name is Zhao Lan, the female college student in your mother’s story.”

Gong Hanrou briefly introduced to Ren Chenbai: “Now he is my assistant.”

Ren Chenbai was listening to them chatting nearby, he already had a guess, and nodded: “It’s a pleasure to meet.”

“What you just said.” Gong Hanrou motioned for a few people to take their seats first, “Is there any evidence, what do the police say?”

Ren Chen Bai spread his hands.

He had never mentioned this to anyone, and now that he said it, he realized that his hatred and disdain seemed to have been buried deep in his body long ago, and cold air was oozing out all the time.

No wonder Luo Zhi was afraid of him and tried to escape.

Luo Zhi’s disappearance in the past few days, the accidental destruction of his mother’s belongings, Luo Cheng’s stupidity and cold-blooded… The same irritability accumulated in Ren Chenbai’s heart, and finally completely evoked a colder old hatred that had never faded away.

Naturally despicable and only selfish and greedy monsters, they have always been the most sensitive to this threatening hostility.

Otherwise, he would not have escaped from the place where he was abducted alive.

The thorn in the heart was touched by the word, and Ren Chenbai’s eyes showed some sneer, but he calmed down.

…Luo Zhi is really good at escaping.

“No way, I can’t find any evidence.”

Ren Chenbai said: “His adoptive mother fell ill in the middle of the night. He was terrified and couldn’t find the medicine in time… It’s too late to come back the next day.”

The words “terrified” were bitten by Ren Chenbai lightly, but they didn’t seem to have any special emotions at all.

But among the people present, even Luo Cheng, who had only seen the outline of the plot and had no idea what they were talking about, knew exactly what the boy did when he was abducted and sold.

A seven-year-old boy managed to find an opportunity on the way to be sold, and let go of his sister who was kidnapped with him.

He was beaten so many times that he almost couldn’t survive, but he still had the courage to make a plan to escape.

Together with an unarmed female college student, the two dared to start a fight in the village and escaped to call the police.

…

Being able to do these things has nothing to do with the description of being “terrified” by being sick with an adoptive mother.

“He wouldn’t be such a person.” Assistant Zhao Lan still shook his head, “Mr. Ren, is there any misunderstanding here?”

Ren Chenbai nodded: “In your impression, what kind of person is he?”

Zhao Lan wanted to speak, but stopped.

She looked back at Gong Hanrou, found some courage in the clear and sharp eyes of the old man, and continued: “I have no impression… I just think that he is not someone who would do such a thing.”

The experience of those few years was like an endless nightmare. After being rescued, the spontaneous protection mechanism of the brain helped her block this memory.

With the meticulous care and companionship of the whole family, and later formed a happier family, it took her more than ten years to finally get out of this shadow.

At that time, director Gong Hanrou was preparing for the documentary. She wanted to try to find herself back at that time. With the encouragement of her family, she applied for Gong Hanrou’s assistant position.

“Ashamed to say… When I resisted that memory the most, I even deceived myself into believing that it was my sister who was kidnapped, not me. I came to protect and take care of her.”

Zhao Lan’s expression was a bit self-deprecating: “My sister doesn’t argue, she thinks it’s okay if this makes me feel better.”

Luo Orange was moved, and reached out to hold her hand: “Sister, it’s not your fault. You’re just too painful, if it were me, I would protect you…”

Zhao Lan smiled with her, and pulled back the scarred hand: “It’s a bit too far.”

“Mr. Ren, I really don’t remember much about that time, but I don’t believe that Xiao Huo Miao is such a person.”

Zhao Lan hesitated for a while, but still asked, “Can I see him? I’ll talk to him and ask what happened at the time.”

“Unfortunately, I’m also looking for him.” Ren Chenbai shook his head, “He ran away.”

Zhao Lan couldn’t help frowning: “What?”

“Because of him, he broke… a very valuable thing.”

Ren Chenbai bypassed the matter about the car and continued to explain: “We quarreled a lot. During the quarrel, I asked him what happened back then and whether he deliberately killed his adoptive mother.”

Ren Chenbai said: “He escaped from the hospital the next day and has not been found yet.”

Reacting at such a time is indeed too suspicious.

Even if Zhao Lan still absolutely refuses to believe it, it is not easy to say anything immediately, but he frowns tightly and lowers his eyes with serious thoughts.

Luo Cheng has been restless since she heard the word “hospital”. She was still afraid of concealing Luo Zhi’s condition, but she opened her eyes in surprise after letting Chen Bai say it to the end.

… Before he came today, he just heard Second Brother Jian say on the phone that Luo Zhi could not be found anywhere.

Luo Orange seemed to have guessed an answer.

She was so nervous that she almost fidgeted, took a few deep breaths, and then carefully pulled Ren Chenbai’s clothes: “Brother Chenbai, that person is…”

Ren Chenbai nodded.

Luo Cheng couldn’t help exclaiming, and then raised his hand to cover his mouth tightly.

“These are all things in the past, and what I say is unfounded. Maybe what I saw was just my subjective speculation… It’s really not suitable for documentary material, so let’s just pretend I didn’t say it.”

Ren Chenbai smiled and said warmly, “Let’s talk about today’s matter. Mr. Gong, I actually recommend Xiaocheng because she and the client not only know each other, but also have a good relationship.”

He took the tea from the waiter, bowed slightly, and gave it to Gong Hanrou with his own hands: “If we let her join the crew, the shooting will be more convenient, and many details can be more accurate.”

Gong Hanrou always listened to the conversation of several people without speaking.

She didn’t take the cup of tea, her eyes fell on Luo Cheng, who was overjoyed by Ren Chenbai’s words, and paused thoughtfully for a moment: “Can you bring the person involved to the crew?”

Without waiting for Ren Chenbai to speak this time, Luo Cheng had already blurted out: “Yes!”

She didn’t realize her rudeness until she responded, and quickly lowered her head and explained in a low voice, “He… he will not refuse. I will ask him, and he will definitely agree…”

“You agreed on behalf of the client?” Zhao Lan finally couldn’t stop listening, and couldn’t help but interject, “What if he doesn’t want to recall what happened back then? What if this matter was very painful for him?”

Luo Cheng didn’t think about this, his face turned pale, and he bit his lower lip.

“Okay.” Gong Hanrou interrupted, “If you can bring people, you can consider joining the team.”

Zhao Lan turned around and lost his voice: “Mr. Gong!”

Gong Hanrou has her own plans, holding her arm and shaking her head slightly: “Go and see Miss Luo off.”

Zhao Lan swallowed her words and watched Luo Cheng, who was amnesty, pressed her excitement and surprise to thank Gong Hanju, her brows furrowed even tighter, but she stood up without saying a word and sent the person out of the cafe.

Ren Chenbai looked at the backs of the two leaving, and suddenly heard Gong Hanrou calling him from behind: “Chen Bai.”

Ren Chenbai retracted his gaze: “Aunt Gong.”

“Call me teacher.” Gong Hanrou asked, “Who is that child’s adoptive mother, is that your mother?”

Ren Chenbai paused slightly, took the coffee and smiled: “How is that possible?”

He paused, as if he was convincing himself: “If so, how could I take care of him until now?”

“I also always thought that you took care of him until now, so I am very relieved about the ending of this story.”

Gong Hanrou looked at him: “But I’m a little worried now, maybe something went wrong.”

Gong Hanrou said: “It may not be time to correct it.”

Ren Chenbai slowly held the coffee cup.

The newly served coffee, the wall of the cup is very hot, but he seems to be unaware, and his fingers are still working hard.

He held the cup of coffee, as if to completely crush the delicate white porcelain.

“Chen Bai.” Gong Hanrou reminded him, “Don’t do things that you regret.”

Ren Chenbai smiled: “Don’t worry, you won’t.”

The more irritable he became and he almost lost control, the more gentle and elegant his face became, he put down the coffee, got up, and sent Gong Hanrou away.

The waiter held a plate of delicate pastries and looked at the guests whose table was almost empty. He hesitated: “Sir…”

Ren Chenbai took out his mobile phone and scanned the code to settle the bill.

The waiter was inexplicably frightened, dared not say more, put down the pastry and left.

Ren Chenbai remained motionless and sat in the same place for a long time.

He stared at the plate of pastries in a trance, and suddenly seemed to remember something from a long time ago. He took a piece of pastry and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly.

Sesame filling.

Too sweet.

Ren Chenbai took a sip of coffee and swallowed the snack.

For some reason, what appeared repeatedly in his mind at this time was actually Luo Zhi’s drooping eyelashes.

…

The last time they saw each other, Luo Zhi slowly closed his eyes in his hands.

Like a puppet that was pulled and played at will when I was a child, only by twisting the strings can it move.

Holding the string of the body round and round to the end, the hands and feet that had been torn loose long ago fell silently, and even the head and neck fell down with no strength, and no longer gave him any response.

…

“Chen Bai.” Gong Hanrou’s voice said, “Don’t do things that you regret.”

…

Luo Zhi slowly closed his eyes in his arms, the light inside was finally absorbed, and his eyelashes drooped down overwhelmedly.

Like a goodbye without warning.

Luo Zhi couldn’t hear him and didn’t look at him anymore.

…

“how come.”

Ren Chenbai laughed sarcastically, not knowing who he was answering: “How can you regret it?”