8 – I Have a Friend
“Two-thirty in the morning.
The wall lamp in the room cast a dim, mottled light.
Wen Man lay on the bed, her top rolled up to her waist. She rolled around a few times under the covers, then stretched out her arms and threw a few shadow punches into the air.
Then she covered her face tightly and buried herself in the blanket.
An hour ago, she had been bewitched and agreed to Wen Yanchuan’s invitation.
She had wanted to refuse.
Wen Man clutched her head. She had wanted to refuse at the time, but for some reason, the words that came out of her mouth turned into ‘Okay.’
After hanging up the phone, she lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Only then did she finally realize what she had done, and now she was in this state.
Wrapped up like a burrito, wallowing in regret alone.
But it was impossible to call back and refuse Wen Yanchuan now.
Wen Man shifted her position, kneeling on the bed and burying her head in the pillow. A phrase suddenly popped into her mind, perfectly describing her.
‘A hypocrite.’
Thinking of this, Wen Man felt uneasy again. She threw off the pillow and blanket, muttering to herself, “It’s just a meal, what’s the big deal?”
Wen Man’s motto had always been, ‘If you can’t solve a problem yourself, pass it on to someone else.’
She casually grabbed a jacket, threw it over her shoulders, and shuffled out of the room in her slippers.
Three minutes later, Wen Man appeared in her assistant’s room.
Not treating herself as an outsider, Wen Man took off her shoes and sat cross-legged on the bed, clearing her throat pretentiously. “Ahem, Xiao Ning…”
Assistant Xiao Ning, her eyes heavy with exhaustion, sat to the side, blinking as she looked at Wen Man.
“If you have a friend…”
Xiao Ning understood—it was the ‘I have a friend’ routine.
Wen Man straightened her back, looking at Xiao Ning. “You have a friend. She met a very mature man, but this man has a bad reputation. Still, he always helps her out and invited her to dinner. Do you think she should go?”
Xiao Ning picked up the black-framed glasses from the bedside table, put them on, and looked at Wen Man seriously.
“Did Wen Yanchuan ask you out to dinner?”
Wen Man’s expression instantly changed. She straightened her back even more and flatly denied it. “It’s not me, it’s a friend of mine. And it’s not Wen Yanchuan, it’s another man.”
Xiao Ning nodded thoughtfully. “Then does your friend want to go?”
Wen Man’s expression turned a bit strange. She wrinkled her nose and hesitated before saying, “Actually, because of the man’s… many factors, she doesn’t want to go. But it’s like she was possessed—she agreed.”
Xiao Ning let out a long ‘Oh’ and said firmly, “Then go.”
Wen Man pursed her lips, still looking hesitant. “But wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”
Xiao Ning shrugged. “Although Wen Yanchuan’s reputation isn’t great, from what you’ve described, he doesn’t seem that bad. Though it’s possible he’s just putting on an act to get with you.”
Xiao Ning spoke with such conviction that Wen Man widened her eyes in alarm and quickly denied it.
“Who said it was Wen Yanchuan? I told you it’s a friend of mine!”
Xiao Ning blinked at Wen Man, and Wen Man blinked back.
“But, Wen Jie,” Xiao Ning said, “I’ve been with you for five years. How come I never knew you had any friends?”
The room fell into dead silence.
Wen Man opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat.”
“Xiao Ning, you talk too much.”
Xiao Ning picked up a nearby throw pillow, also sitting cross-legged and resting her chin on it, her voice tinged with drowsiness: “It’s you, Wen-jie, who’s acting strange. In the middle of the night, you ask me to transfer money to Wen Yanchuan, then chat with me late at night—it’s like a bride getting on the bridal sedan for the first time.”
Wen Man’s face flushed slightly. Though her lie had been exposed, she didn’t feel too ashamed, perhaps because she was too familiar with Xiao Ning. She hugged her knees and, imitating Xiao Ning’s posture, asked again.
“Could it be that I’m feeling restless after breaking up with Jiang Jin?”
Wen Man murmured, then denied it herself: “Actually, I don’t like him. I was just making a comparison.”
Xiao Ning yawned and tilted her head: “But I don’t think you liked Jiang Jin that much either, Wen-jie.”
Hearing this, Wen Man was taken aback. She looked at Xiao Ning, her tone turning serious: “Why do you say that?”
In her mind, she had liked Jiang Jin to some extent.
Otherwise, why would she have publicly denounced him on Weibo, risking her reputation just to vent her anger?
Xiao Ning extended her hand, counting examples on her fingers for Wen Man: “Every time Jiang Jin came back, you were completely calm, with no sense of separation after being apart. When you ate with Jiang Jin, you spent sixty percent of the time texting me. And for holidays and anniversaries, the gifts you gave Jiang Jin were all picked by me. Wen-jie, your first kiss should still be intact, right?”
Wen Man clicked her tongue, speechless.
She and Jiang Jin indeed hadn’t progressed to that stage.
It took Wen Man a long moment to snap out of it: “The way you put it makes me sound like a heartbreaker… I’m starting to think his cheating was justified.”
Xiao Ning waved her hand: “That’s another matter, Wen-jie. The main issue now is what you think.”
Wen Man fell silent again, her reply somewhat hesitant: “Maybe I’m just overthinking things.”
Perhaps Wen Yanchuan didn’t mean anything by it at all. He might have just casually helped her, then, upon hearing that six million would push her to the brink of bankruptcy, invited her to a meal out of human compassion to soothe her impoverished heart.
What about her could possibly attract Wen Yanchuan?
Xiao Ning remained silent for a moment before asking the crucial question: “Wen-jie, are you afraid he might actually be the type to keep a ‘golden canary’?”
Wen Man wouldn’t claim to be above it all, but she truly looked down on the practice of wealthy patrons keeping “golden canaries.”
Although she lacked money and loved wealth, she had always adhered to the principle of “earning it honestly.” She had never even considered marrying a rich man in the future, believing she could make a living through her own efforts.
This was also why she had remained a third-tier actress, a minor performer.
In the entertainment industry, talented people were everywhere. Wen Man was nothing special, and she lacked the ability to read the room.
Countless executives and wealthy individuals who tried to proposition her were turned away. Because of this, she had been sidelined for a year and a half, and her original temperament and personality had been somewhat subdued.
In public, she learned to put on a smiling face, but in private, she still couldn’t accept becoming someone’s “golden canary.”
It wasn’t so much out of disgust, but because she knew herself too well.
She couldn’t guarantee she would always stay within moral boundaries. She feared that once she had money, she would lose herself. Some things were better left untouched, and all she could do was stay true to herself.
But Wen Yanchuan… he was an exception.
She didn’t dislike Wen Yanchuan’s closeness, nor did she reject his touch. Even when he invited her out alone, she couldn’t help but instinctively agree.
What did this mean? Wen Man didn’t know, and she felt a heavy weight in her chest.
Wen Man let out a deep sigh, her voice muffled. “Then it’s just that I don’t know how to judge people.”
Xiao Ning looked at Wen Man, speaking with conviction. “And you still say you don’t like him.”
Wen Man shook her head. “You know I’m not very experienced. I’ve just never met a man like Wen Yanchuan before, so I couldn’t see things clearly for a moment.”
Wen Man took a deep breath, her tone resolute.
“Once I’ve repaid this favor, I’ll stay far away from him.”