They Regretted it After Their Hearts Turned to Ashes

Cloud Cafe.

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

She wanted to come to interview the abducted female college student, so she deliberately didn't make up too much, just put on some sunscreen, put on a neat high ponytail, and wore simple and plain clothes.

But the 20-year-old girl was spoiled and raised by her family, and she never suffered a bit.Even if she doesn't wear makeup anymore, she still has the unique brilliance of this age.

Playing a youth campus, urban idol and other themes is just right, but it is undoubtedly far from the role positioning of the documentary.

Gong Hanrou came here to sit for a while only because of the invitation of the son of an old friend.

"That's it." The middle-aged female assistant in business attire was very polite and returned the file to Luo Cheng, "Little sister, I'm sorry..."

Seeing that the other party already wanted to decline, Luo Cheng said anxiously: "Please wait a moment!"

The assistant stopped talking, and his eyes fell on her suspiciously.

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

Luo Cheng plucked up his courage: "I can sign the agreement...I told Brother Chenbai about it."

While speaking, Luo Cheng couldn't help turning his head back quietly, and glanced at Ren Chenbai who was not far away.

She really couldn't help feeling wronged right now.

Luo Cheng originally thought that it was just that her father adjusted the family's company, and if she helped her second brother drive away those who were in the way, there would be no more troubles and twists and turns.

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

Jian Huaiyi has been acting as Luo Jun's deputy all the time. Huaisheng Entertainment is the first company he formally manages. He is so busy that he can't see anyone every day. The team and resources that he promised to equip Luo Cheng have been delayed again and again.

The people of Huaisheng Entertainment also blamed her, those department managers were extremely indifferent to her, and never arranged things that Boss Jian didn't order, and her attitude couldn't be wrong, but it was also polite and alienated that outsiders could see.

Even Brother Chenbai, who had promised to deal with her, didn't know what he was up to these days. When he came, he just bowed his head to drink coffee and send a message, and didn't say a word other than greeting Teacher Gong.

Luo Cheng lowered her head, she bit her lower lip, and had no choice but to continue talking: "I heard that Mr. Gong's crew has a kind of agreement..."

The assistant guessed what she wanted to say: "Are you talking about an exemption agreement with the group?"

Luo Cheng nodded quickly: "That's right, 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-interpreted by actors.In order to find the most suitable state, some actors of important roles must be closed to the group throughout the whole process, witnessing or even experiencing all tragic or cruel truths in a semi-immersive manner.

There used to be an actor who couldn't act for a long time after the filming ended, so there was a lot of turmoil, 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 Cheng quickly assured: "I'm ready."

The assistant didn't answer right away, but looked back at Gong Hanrou first, and then looked back at Luo Cheng.

"Okay." The assistant nodded, "What preparations have you made?"

Luo Cheng was stunned for a moment, and then secretly surprised.

She quickly seized the opportunity and said back in one breath: "I read a lot of materials, and I also consulted the school's acting teacher. After studying and understanding, I already have a full understanding of the nature of this crime—"

The following content was interrupted hastily by an exclamation.

Luo Cheng violently pushed the table down in a panic, backed away in fright, and accidentally knocked over the coffee on the table.

……

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

She seemed to be used to this kind of thing, and calmly nodded to the waiter to apologize, and asked someone to help clean up the mess in front of her.

Luo Cheng's mind went blank for a long while before finally realizing what had 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 his hands, "It's almost time."

As a director who is already a leading figure, her speaking rhythm has a unique crispness. If it is not for her short gray hair that reaches the ears, it is almost impossible to tell that she is over sixty years old.

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

The Ren family used to invest in the film and television industry for a period of time. Gong Hanrou and Ren Chenbai's mother met each other at an award show. They hit it off right away, and later became pen pals of Wangnian.

Although we seldom meet, we only communicate in the professional field.But the two have similar temperaments and share common interests, and their relationship has always been very good.

Ren Chenbai's mother passed away in a hurry, and it took only half a year from diagnosis to death, and no one around her had time to prepare.

After that, Ren Chenbai seldom took the initiative to contact her, except for greetings during the New Year and holidays.

Of course Gong Hanrou could understand this emotion. She also didn't know how to comfort this friend's only son, and the relationship between the two families unknowingly weakened like this.Later, Ren Chenbai accepted the agreement between his mother and Director Gong to continue to provide documentary materials, and then some exchanges were resumed.

Probably because he heard Gong Hanrou's words "It's almost time", Ren Chenbai finally put away his phone and got up, walking towards them.

No matter how hard Luo Cheng could see that he was afraid of hopelessness, he pursed his lips and looked at him, his eyes were red with grievance.

Ren Chenbai just walked up to Gong Hanrou: "Aunt Gong."

Hearing what he called her, Gong Hanrou also remembered many old things, her expression became softer, she stopped and nodded.

She happened to have something to ask Ren Chenbai, and signaled the assistant to wait aside first: "After so many years, is it still inconvenient to tell who 'Huo Miao' is?"

After Gong Hanrou asked this question, she shook her head and smiled helplessly: "Forget it, just pretend I didn't ask."

This type of subject matter is too sensitive, and any victim has a wound that is difficult to heal.

Some people choose to face this matter head-on, some gradually accept it, and some choose to avoid and forget it. Neither of these choices can be commented on by outsiders.

Ren Chenbai's mother told him a story in the letter, but never mentioned the boy's identity.Gong Hanrou did have some vague guesses, but he also cooperated with the point-and-shoot, and never asked a friend to verify it.

Later, by accident, there was no longer a chance to verify it.

With an attitude of respecting his old friend, Gong Hanrou decided not to ask any more questions: "He's doing well now, right?"

Ren Chenbai smiled: "What if not?"

Gong Hanrou was taken aback for a moment, then said dumbly, "Xiaochen, are you kidding me?"

Ren Chenbai didn't say yes or no, the smile in his eyes faded after a short while, he was silent for a moment, took out an envelope and handed it to the assistant.

This is an appointment with Gong Hanrou's studio.Although the real identity of the protagonist is hidden, the relevant materials will be sorted out and used as a reference for the documentary.

The documentary will be tracked until it is synchronized with reality, because "Flame" is about to be formally formed and filmed, so this is probably the last set of materials accepted.

"Mr. Gong." Ren Chenbai asked, "Does the documentary have to completely restore the truth?"

Gong Hanrou was still puzzled, and couldn't help laughing when he heard the words: "Of course. It must be true and detailed, otherwise what is it called a documentary?"

"According to this, there is indeed one detail that has not been provided."

Ren Chenbai seemed to be waiting for this sentence, and nodded: "He later killed his adoptive mother."

After the voice fell, the air seemed to be quiet.

The one who reacted the most was actually the assistant behind Gong Hanrou. She frowned and took a step forward: "How is that possible?! He can't be that kind of person—"

Gong Hanrou raised his hand to stop the assistant from continuing.

"Her name is Zhao Lan, she is the female college student in your mother's story."

Gong Hanrou briefly introduced to Ren Chenbai: "He is my assistant now."

Ren Chenbai was listening to their chat nearby, and he already had a guess, so he nodded: "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"What you said just now." Gong Hanrou motioned for a few people to sit down first, "Is there any evidence? What does the police say?"

Ren Chenbai spread his hands.

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

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

Luo Zhi's disappearance in the past few days, the accidental destruction of her mother's belongings, Luo Cheng's stupidity and cold blood... the same irritability accumulated in Ren Chenbai's heart, and finally completely aroused the colder old hatred that had never disappeared before. .

Monsters who are inherently despicable and only selfish and greedy have always been the most sensitive to this kind of threatening hostility.

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

The thorn in the bottom of my heart was aroused by that word, Ren Chenbai's eyes showed some sarcasm, but he kept his expression calm.

... Luo Zhi is really good at escaping.

"No way, no evidence can be found."

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 was too late to come back the next day."

The word "terrified" was bitten by Ren Chenbai lightly, but it seemed that he didn't have any special emotions.

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 very well what the boy did when he was trafficked.

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 together with him.

After being beaten so many times that he almost couldn't survive, he still had the guts to make a plan to escape.

Together with an unarmed female college student, the two dared to start a fight in the village, took advantage of the chaos and escaped to report to the police.

……

Being able to do these things has nothing to do with the description of being "frightened" by the adoptive mother's illness.

"He won't be this kind of person." Assistant Zhao Lan still shook his head, "Mr. Ren, is there some misunderstanding here?"

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

Zhao Lan wanted to speak, but stopped talking.

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

The experience of those 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 company of the whole family, and later forming a happier family, it took her more than ten years to finally get out of this shadow completely.

Director Gong Hanrou was preparing to shoot this documentary at the time, and she wanted to try to find herself at that time, so with the encouragement of her family, she applied for Gong Hanrou's assistant position.

"It's ashamed to say... When I resisted that memory the most, I even deluded myself into believing that it was my sister who was trafficked, not me, and I came to protect and take care of her."

Zhao Lan's expression was a bit self-deprecating: "My sister doesn't make excuses either, she thinks it's okay if it makes me feel better."

Luo Cheng was moved when he heard that, and reached out to shake her hand: "Sister, it's not your fault. You are just in too much pain. If it were me, I would protect you too..."

Zhao Lan smiled with her, and took back her scarred hand: "It's a bit far away."

"Mr. Ren, I really don't remember much about that time, but I don't believe that Little Huo Miao is this kind of person."

Zhao Lan hesitated for a while, but still asked, "Can I meet him? I'll go and talk to him and find out what happened at that time."

"Unfortunately, I am 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 had a serious quarrel. During the quarrel, I asked him about the past, and asked him if he intentionally hurt his adoptive mother."

Ren Chenbai said: "He escaped from the hospital the next day, and he hasn't been found yet."

To react at such a time is indeed too suspicious.

Even if Zhao Lan still absolutely refused to believe it, he couldn't say anything more immediately, but frowned tightly, and lowered his eyes with a lot of concern.

Luo Cheng has been uneasy since hearing the word "hospital". She was still afraid of concealing Luo Zhi's condition. When Ren Chenbai said it to the end, her eyes widened in surprise.

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

Luo Cheng 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 but exclaimed, and raised his hand to cover his mouth tightly.

"These are all things in the past, and there is no basis for what I said. Maybe what I saw was just my subjective conjecture... It is indeed not suitable as material for a documentary, so just pretend I didn't say it."

Ren Chenbai smiled, and said softly: "Let's talk about today's matter. Teacher 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 personally saluted Gong Hanrou: "If she joins the crew, the filming will be more convenient, and many details can be more accurate."

Gong Hanrou listened quietly to the conversation of the few people, but did not speak.

She didn't pick up the cup of tea, and her eyes fell on Luo Cheng who was elated because of Ren Chenbai's words, and she paused for a moment thoughtfully: "Can you bring the person involved to the crew?"

Before Ren Chenbai could speak this time, Luo Cheng had already blurted out: "Yes!"

She didn't realize her impoliteness until she responded, quickly lowered her head, and explained in a low voice: "He...he won't refuse. If I ask him, he will definitely agree..."

"You agree on behalf of the client?" Zhao Lan finally couldn't listen anymore, and couldn't help interjecting, "What if he doesn't want to recall the past? What if this matter is very painful for him?"

Luo Cheng didn't think about it, her face turned pale, and she bit her lower lip.

"Okay." Gong Hanrou interrupted, "If you can bring someone here, you can consider joining the team."

Zhao Lan turned her head and lost her voice: "Mr. Gong!"

Gong Hanrou had her own plan, pressed her arm, shook her head slightly: "Go see Miss Luo off."

Zhao Lan swallowed her words, and watched Luo Cheng thank Gong Hanrou with excitement and surprise as she was being pardoned. She frowned even more, but she still stood up without saying a word, and sent her out of the coffee shop.

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

Ren Chenbai looked away: "Aunt Gong."

"Call me teacher." Gong Hanrou asked, "Who is that child's adoptive mother? Is it 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 possible to correct it in time."

Ren Chenbai slowly held the coffee cup.

The wall of the cup was very hot with the newly served coffee, but he didn't seem to notice it at all, and his fingers were still exerting force.

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

"Chenbai." Gong Hanrou reminded him, "Don't do things that you regret."

Ren Chenbai smiled: "Don't worry, it won't happen."

The more irritable he was and almost lost control, the more gentle and gentle his face became. He put down his coffee and got up to send Gong Hanrou away.

The waiter was holding a plate of exquisite pastries, looking at the table of guests who were almost empty, he hesitated: "Sir..."

Ren Chenbai took out his mobile phone to scan the QR code to pay the bill.

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

Ren Chenbai remained motionless and sat there for a long time.

He looked at the plate of pastries in a daze, and suddenly seemed to recall something from the long past, so he took a piece of pastry and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly.

Sesame filling.

It's too sweet.

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

For some reason, Luo Zhi's drooping eyelashes repeatedly appeared in his mind at this moment.

……

The last time they met, Luo Zhi slowly closed his eyes in his hands.

It looks like a puppet that was held in the hands and played at will when I was a child, and can only be moved by twisting the strings.

Holding the strings of the body round and round to the end, the hands and feet that had been loosened for a long time dropped quietly, and even the head and neck fell low without any strength, without giving him any response.

……

"Chenbai." Gong Hanrou's voice said, "Don't do anything you regret."

……

Luo Zhi closed her eyes very slowly in his arms, the light inside was finally suppressed, and her eyelashes drooped unbearably.

Like an unexpected farewell.

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

……

"how come."

Ren Chenbai laughed sarcastically, and he didn't know who he was answering: "How could you regret it?"