When Zhou Ye made promises, he delivered them with a faultless efficiency. After lunch, Wen Rui had initially intended to return to his room and try and speed-read through the novel to get a better idea of how to portray the character Chen Wen. But before he could settle back in and concentrate, Zhou Ye was knocking on his door again.
"Would you like to go now?" he murmured. Wen Rui noticed that he'd already changed from his causal lounge clothes to going out attire. It was just a simple black tee and dark jeans but he had an Armani bomber jacket draped over an arm and the look made him appear younger and trendier than the severe cutthroat businessman vibes he usually gave out.
"Go where?" Wen Rui asked in confusion.
An awkward pause ensued.
"You…said you wanted to visit your mother's grave."
Wen Rui's eyes snapped to Zhou Ye's face in shock. "You've found out the location already?" That conversation took place literally fifteen minutes ago, he was expecting Zhou Ye to get back to him in a week at the very least. And he hadn't specifically said that he wanted to go, definitely hadn't been intending to ask Zhou Ye to accompany him.
But he found that he couldn't bring himself to say no either. The thought of standing in front of a grave alone and talking to himself was unbearable.
"Give me a minute?" He looked down at himself. He wasn't dressed to leave the house and he wanted to make sure he looked his best before going to see his mother. Knowing her, she would fret and worry if she saw him tired and messy. Wen Rui didn't want to disturb her peace, would only show her a perfect side from now on so that, if ghosts were real and she was waiting to meet him at her grave, he would be able to reassure her and she could move on to a better life.
With no more scumbag husbands.
He dashed back into the toilet, washed his face briskly, before going to choose a suitable outfit. His mother loved bright, summery colours but Wen Rui's current wardrobe roughly resembled a gothic rock star's concert costume collection, so he had no choice but to go for the same Dior floral top he discovered last week. But at least his mother would love it.
When Wen Rui finally reappeared on the corridor, Zhou Ye's eyes lingered on his open collar for a second longer than normal. But Wen Rui didn't notice because he was too busy trying to neaten his hair into a little ponytail. He'd never kept it this long before, always preferring a neat cut that was both fashionable and easy to manage.
Perhaps it was time to get it trimmed. There was only so much hassle someone like him, who wasn't used to cleaning up after themselves, could take.
At the entrance of the hallway, Wen Rui rummaged around for a pair of suitable brogues to match his outfit when a heavy weight draped around his shoulders. Blinking in surprise, he reached up to clutch at the beige double-breasted trench coat that nearly slipped off. It was in his size, Wen Rui noted. Zhou Ye had grabbed it from off the coat rack but he noticed that it still had a price tag attached to it with the YSL logo on one side and a phenomenal sum on the other.
Was it new? Had Wen Rui bought this for himself but not worn it before? He shrugged it on and thanked Zhou Ye but couldn't shake off the niggling feeling that something wasn't quite right. This was a style that suited his tastes, it was true, but it didn't seem to suit the preferences of older Wen Rui.
Oh well. Perhaps he had already been on the road to sartorial redemption before losing his memories.
Zhou Ye didn't all the driver, Uncle Su, to pick them up this time. He led Wen Rui into a private area of the car park, where he kept his car collection.
"Those are yours, by the way," Zhou Ye informed him, pointing to three flashy cars that were parked at the end, each one louder than the last. Wen Rui winced. He didn't need a lime green Mercedes, what on earth had he been thinking? It was the colour of skittles and Wen Rui was struck with the sudden horrific image of himself wearing the neon hoodie, some neon cargo pants, and clambering into the driver's seat of that monstrosity while misguidedly feeling like million yuan.
No. Just no.
"Can I sell them?" he mumbled, earning himself an amused snort.
"Please feel free to," was Zhou Ye's wry reply. "That way I won't feel the urge to put on sunglasses before stepping out of the lift."
Wen Rui looked at him curiously. Did he just make a joke? But before he could clarify, Zhou Ye waved him towards the passenger's seat of an understated midnight blue Audi that was a new model Wen Rui didn't recognise. It was a smart choice, given that both of them had been caught on camera recently by paparazzi.
Oh. That served as a reminder. He opened the door and peered in at Zhou Ye with hesitation.
Zhou Ye raised an eyebrow. "Too cheap for Your Highness?" he asked, once again proving to Wen Rui that he might be nicer than Wen Rui recalled but he was also still a jerk that enjoyed getting a rise out of Wen Rui whenever he could.
Wen Rui glared at him, his previous tentativeness all but gone. He plonked himself unceremoniously into the seat and fastened the seat belt with a vicious click.
"If photos of us leak again," he muttered darkly. "Don't blame me for not warning you."
Instead of the biting rejoinder that Wen Rui was anticipating, Zhou Ye's tone softened. "Don't worry,' he said. "If it does happen, I'll handle it."
He'll handle it.
Just like that, Wen Rui had confirmation that it was indeed Zhou Ye who had bailed him out again.
He wasn't sure why this revelation sat at odds with him. It wasn't like he didn't have his suspicions already. But as Zhou Ye put the car in reverse and backed them out of the lot, Wen Rui found himself more and more unable to accept Zhou Ye's casual acts of kindness.
Maybe it was because he didn't want to owe Zhou Ye anything?
Or maybe he just felt like such a horrid, ugly, petty loser who couldn't even be the better person.
"Hey," he said curtly, once they were on the road. Zhou Ye hadn't said a word since starting the drive like he could read Wen Rui's mood and was tactfully avoiding the landmine. But Wen Rui wasn't upset with him. The truth was, Wen Rui couldn't even say what he was feeling right now. "…thanks."
Zhou Ye's eyes flickered to the rearview mirror. "What for?" he asked evenly. Wen Rui couldn't tell whether he was dismissing the thanks or if he wanted Wen Rui to elaborate.
"…for everything?"
"Such as?"
"…" Okay forget it. Zhou Ye was still definitely still an annoying bastard. Wen Rui shot him a petulant glare before deflating and sinking further down into the comfortable seat. Sedans were nice, he decided. Why had he always been so obsessed with sports cars? This had so much more legroom.
"You helped me, right? With controlling the backlash on Weibo."
Zhou Ye's lips curved upwards. "What, you didn't straightaway assume I was just protecting myself?"
Wen Rui's mouth twisted in displeasure. "Forget it," he said shortly. "Whatever your reasons, it assisted me so you deserve the thanks anyway." He lowered the backrest and shifted his position, trying to turn his back to Zhou Ye so he wouldn't have to see that irritating face for the rest of the journey. There was still a long way to go, according to the GPS, and Wen Rui didn't want Zhou Ye to see him sulk for the entire trip.
But before he could move, a hand clasped lightly around his forearm.
"Wen Rui."
Wen Rui felt his heart skip a beat. Zhou Ye rarely used his name back in school, always referring to him by context or a quiet 'hey'. He'd heard Zhou Ye use it a couple of times recently but he still couldn't get used to it. There was a quality to Zhou Ye's soft, deep voice whenever it curled around Wen Rui's name that made Wen Rui's cheeks heat up for some bizarre reason. Why did it have this effect? Was this what the girls used to call 'Male God Voice'?
"Wen Rui," Zhou Ye repeated, more insistently.
"…what is it?"
"It's not your fault." Zhou Ye didn't take his eyes off the road but he continued talking quietly. "All of it. The recent scandal, quitting university to become an idol, and what happened with your family. None of it was your fault."
Wen Rui didn't reply. Zhou Ye was already on the highway by now so he couldn't just pull over and pay Wen Rui attention, but from the corner of his eyes, he could see the slight shuddering of Wen Rui's shoulders, could hear the occasional stifled sniffle.
There was no way to stop the car and Wen Rui wanted to visit his mother, didn't want to tell Zhou Ye to turn the car around so that he could have another mental breakdown in the comfort of their apartment.
But when strong fingers reached out and took his left hand in a warm, reassuring grip, he didn't pull away.