Delicate Beauty in the Palm : Chapter 57 - Trending Search: #WenDie Tragic Romance#
Chapter 57: Trending Search: #WenDie Tragic Romance#
In the evening, Wen Liang bought the two soonest plane tickets he could find. After packing up their luggage at the hotel, they headed straight for the airport.
What was originally a five-day vacation got forcefully compressed into just 24 hours, and now they were racing back to Yan City in a hurry. Normally, Wen Liang was always nonchalant, as if nothing could ever make him panic—everything always seemed under his control. But right now...
Chen Die was feeling a bit hopeless.
You really don't need to rush like this!!!
You're almost thirty, for god's sake. Do you really have to act like some impulsive teenager in a romance drama???
They drove from Wuxi to the neighboring city’s airport, got their tickets, and checked their luggage. Then, while waiting in the terminal, they were hit with the announcement that the flight was delayed.
Chen Die stood off to the side, glancing at Wen Liang from under her cap brim. She couldn’t help but laugh and patted him on the shoulder, trying to comfort him: “Don’t be anxious.”
Wen Liang lifted his gaze. Seeing the schadenfreude in her expression, he squinted slightly, his eyes sharp like a knife’s edge: “You should worry more about yourself.”
“......”
Hehe.
Just a moment ago, he was begging her to come home—now he was already turning hostile.
It was still early. For lunch, they’d only grabbed a quick bite from the hotel. Chen Die didn’t have much of an appetite, but she still dragged Wen Liang to the airport KFC.
The place was packed. She kept her head down as she found a corner seat on the second floor. After ordering on her phone, she sent Wen Liang to pick up the food.
He came back quickly.
Chen Die had only ordered herself a sundae—everything else was for Wen Liang.
After they finished eating and waited a bit longer, boarding was finally announced.
Chen Die thought for a second, sent Wang Mian a message saying she was leaving, and then shut off her phone.
Once the plane took off, the little bit of smug amusement Chen Die had been feeling completely vanished. Now she was getting nervous. It had been a long time since she and Wen Liang had done that. Thinking back, it had been more than six months.
She felt just like she did at 18, when she had walked into Wen Liang’s bedroom with nothing but reckless courage—nervous to her core.
Thinking about that drowning, sinking-ship kind of feeling—numb and powerless—made her want to back out.
Two hours later, the plane landed at Yan City Airport.
Wen Liang went to the garage to get his car and drove out of the airport.
Chen Die’s heart was pounding faster and faster. The car felt like it was heading straight for some NSFW 18+ rated scene. Her face was burning.
She couldn’t help but crack the window open a bit. The cool night breeze blew in, but her face only grew hotter.
Soon, she realized Wen Liang was turning onto a different road and asked, “We’re not going home?”
Wen Liang pulled up in front of a convenience store, glanced at her with a smile, and said, “Don’t worry, I’m just picking up some condoms. We’re out at home.”
Chen Die: “......”
Who the hell is the one in a hurry here?!
A moment later, Wen Liang came back with a bag and tossed it in the back seat.
Yes, a bag.
Excuse me, are you buying wholesale???
Chen Die’s heart was pounding so fast she could barely breathe. She didn’t dare look at the bag again and just stared out the window, eyes wide open.
The scenery outside was becoming increasingly familiar. For six years in the past, Chen Die had passed by these same buildings and landscapes every day after school—on her way to the Western Suburb Villa.
Bang—Wen Liang shut the car door and got out, grabbing that bag from the back seat.
Only then did Chen Die slowly get out, jogging up to him for one last attempt at escape: “Do you think Aunt Zhang might be home?”
“She shouldn’t be,” Wen Liang said, unlocking the door with his fingerprint and pressing his index finger down.
“But I’m kind of hungry... I want to eat something.”
Beep. The door opened. Wen Liang pulled Chen Die into the house. He didn’t even give her time to take off her shoes—he turned right around and pinned her against the door.
He lowered his head and said hoarsely, “Mm, I’ll feed you.”
Chen Die: “……?”
That’s not what I meant by hungry!!!
Not a single light was on in the villa. It was pitch dark. Chen Diehad poor night vision and couldn’t see a thing, which left Wen Liang in full control.
He bent down, dropping kisses one by one. His lips were cool, but the kisses burned—mixed with hot, heavy breaths.
“Wen… Wen Liang.”
Chen Die tried to pull away, but she was completely enveloped by his scent. She couldn’t escape. All she could do was stammer: “Can we go to the bedroom instead?”
He chuckled lowly and obediently bent down to lift her in his arms. He didn’t turn on any lights—just carried her straight upstairs.
With a flick of his leg, the door slammed shut again. Then, in front of the bed, he set Chen Die down.
She was at a complete loss. She stumbled backward onto the bed but then felt it made her seem too forward, so she stiffened up and stayed standing in place. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of the unlit room, and she finally saw Wen Liang in front of her.
His eyes were cast down, his expression blank, almost too serious. That only made Chen Die even more unsure of what to do.
After a moment, he tossed the bag in his hand onto the bed, reached out, undid the button on Chen Die’s jeans, pulled them down, and coaxed her, “Come here.”
It started raining outside.
The bedroom light finally flicked on. The sound of water running in the bathroom mixed with the heavy patter of rain against the windows.
A spring-to-summer thunderstorm rolled in. One window was slightly ajar, and the wind whipped the curtains like a scene from a ghost story. Rain slanted in, splattering the bedroom floor.
Wen Liang came out of the bathroom wearing only pants, his upper body bare. He closed the window, then turned and went back to the bathroom.
Chen Die lay in the bathtub, so exhausted she couldn’t even lift a finger.
Wen Liang turned up the heat in the room, stepped into the shower, rinsed off briefly, threw on a bathrobe, then walked up to her and asked, “You done? Want me to carry you out?”
Chen Die didn’t want to look at him at all. She lowered her eyelids and said, “I want to go back to Lifan Xinyuan.”
Wen Liang acted as if he didn’t hear her, tested the water temperature, pressed a button to reheat it, and knelt beside her. “I’ll wash you.”
The images from earlier came flooding back chaotically into Chen Die’s mind. In a daze, she was reminded of when she was 18. It was the same back then—she had brought this all on herself, and in the end, had no strength left and was carried into the bathroom. The red and purple marks on her body made it look like she had been beaten.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She slapped the surface of the water in the tub: “I’m not staying here!”
Water splashed onto Wen Liang’s bathrobe, but he didn’t mind. He just rolled up his sleeves, finished washing her, then wrapped her in a towel and laid her back on the bed.
“You’re a pervert,” Chen Die said weakly, cursing him.
Wen Liang got into bed from the other side, pulled her into his arms, as if he hadn’t heard a word she said. He simply responded with a soft “Mm.”
“Pervert.”
“Mm.”
“Degenerate.”
“Mm.”
Chen Die didn’t even have the strength to turn over. Eyes closed, she murmured, “Tell me, have you had your eyes on me since six years ago?”
He laughed softly, another “Mm.”
“…You beast.”
Wen Liang said calmly, “Sounds like you still have energy.”
“……”
Chen Die shut up.
It had been over six months since she last lay on the bed in the Western Suburb Villa—the place she’d lived in since she was 16. She always thought that if she ever moved back, it would be full of emotions and reflection. But now, she was so tired she couldn’t even string her thoughts together.
The next morning, Chen Die woke up and found that he was no longer beside her.
She reached out to touch the sheets. They were still warm, so he must have just gotten up.
She was about to call out to him, but her throat was dry, hoarse. Then she noticed a cup of water on the bedside table—lukewarm.
Chen Die drank half the cup, and finally, her throat felt better.
But that place still ached.
She silently cursed Wen Liang in her heart again, then slowly climbed out of bed. That’s when she saw the trash bin—three wrappers tossed inside. Her face flushed hot, and she quickly looked away.
When she moved out last summer, she had taken all her skincare and toiletries from the bathroom. Now there wasn’t even anything to wash her face with. The suitcase they brought back last night was still downstairs, too.
She had no choice but to go down and get it. But as soon as she stepped a few stairs down, she saw Wen Liang standing by the door.
He was already dressed and seemed to be speaking with someone outside.
Chen Die paused and called out, “Wen Liang.”
He turned around, quickly climbed the stairs in a few long strides, took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, then gently ruffled her hair. “Why are you coming downstairs?”
Chen Die glanced toward the door. “What are you doing?”
“Having someone bring all your stuff from Lifan Xinyuan.”
As he spoke, someone walked in holding a suitcase, placing it carefully on the floor.
“……” Chen Die looked at him, exasperated. “Why are you in such a hurry?”
He smiled. “I was afraid you’d change your mind again.”
Chen Die was still wearing pajamas. Even though Wen Liang’s jacket covered her shoulders, her fair skin was still visible around her chest, marked with faint reddish bruises.
Wen Liang’s gaze deepened slightly. After staring for a moment, he wrapped an arm around her waist and said, “Go back upstairs. It’ll take a bit longer to move everything.”
He didn’t want anyone else seeing Chen Die like this. Not that he needed to worry—none of the people downstairs would dare look up and make eyes at the boss flirting with someone. Every single one of them had their heads practically glued to the floor.
“My skincare and clothes are in the suitcase from yesterday,” Chen Die said.
“Okay, I’ll bring it up for you.”
Chen Die returned to the upstairs bedroom. Wen Liang soon carried her white suitcase up, opened it for her, and brought her makeup bag into the bathroom.
Leaning against the wall, Wen Liang asked, “Still sore?”
Chen Die paused mid-zip with her makeup bag: “……”
Broad daylight…
Indulging in lust in broad daylight.
“…Just shut up already.”
Having completely had his way with her, Wen Liang was in an uncharacteristically good mood now. He smiled and sweet-talked her for a while before going downstairs.
Chen Die had lived at Lifan Xinyuan for quite a while, so she had a lot of miscellaneous stuff there.
After washing up, she applied some toner and lotion, yawned, and felt her legs too sore to stand properly. She didn’t bother putting on makeup and went back to bed for a nap.
When she woke again, Wen Liang was already back, lying beside her and going through emails on his tablet.
Chen Die blinked in surprise, rubbed her eyes, and asked sleepily, “You’re not working today?”
“No. I was supposed to still be on vacation around this time anyway. I’ve already handed everything off.”
Chen Die nodded, leaned over to peek at his emails, but they were all in English, making her eyes hurt. She straightened up just as her phone rang.
Wen Liang reached over and handed it to her.
It was a call from Fang Ruan. Chen Die picked up: “Hello?”
“You’re still in Wuxi, right?” Fang Ruan asked.
“No, I just got back yesterday. Forgot to tell you. Is it something with the production team?”
“No, no. The production stuff is just the usual—join at the regular time and attend a script reading a day in advance. I’m calling about an event the day after tomorrow—Film Night.”
Chen Die raised her brows. She hadn’t heard about this event before. “Huh? The night after tomorrow?”
“Yeah. The invited celebrities were chosen through a vote. The voting opened early, but your name wasn’t added until after your film released. Your fans stayed up all night voting for you. That’s how you finally got the invitation.”
Chen Die chuckled. “Got it, thanks.”
After hanging up, she told Wen Liang about the event. He raised an eyebrow, casually saying, “I’ll go with you.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve got an invitation too. Was going to send someone in my place.”
Wenyuan Group had been making moves into the entertainment sector recently, so of course they received invites to events like this.
Chen Die spent the rest of the day relaxing at the Western Suburb Villa.
By noon, Aunt Zhang was already downstairs cooking lunch and had helped unpack and organize her belongings. When she saw Chen Die come down, she pulled her aside and chatted for a long while.
The next day, Fang Ruan came by to deliver her evening gown for Film Night—and found out Chen Die was now living with Wen Liang.
She was clearly annoyed but didn’t dare say too much, afraid of paparazzi catching wind and starting gossip. She mentioned it a few times, but Chen Die was stubborn and only promised to be careful.
Fang Ruan had no choice but to go ask for help from her boss—who also happened to be Chen Die’s cousin, Chen Shao.
That night, Chen Die had just gotten into bed after her shower when Chen Shao called.
Kicking off her slippers, she answered: “What?”
“You’re living with Wen Liang now?”
“…Yeah,” she admitted.
“Unbelievable.” Chen Shao sounded angry and amused. “Have you completely lost your mind? How long have you two even been together? And you’re already sleeping with him?”
“......”
Chen Die thought to herself—back then they hadn’t even been together yet and were already sleeping together.
Besides, it had been a while now, hadn’t it?
Her silence only made Chen Shao more fired up. “You’re just a young girl, barely graduated, and now you’re already shacking up with someone? Move out immediately! Wen Liang is a dog—he’s leading you astray!”
The more she listened, the more amused Chen Die became. Chen Shao didn’t sound like a worried boss afraid of scandal—he sounded like a strict school dean preaching about morals and decency.
“Did you forget something?” she couldn’t help but say. “What do you mean ‘living with him’? I used to live here, remember? For six years.”
“And you still have the nerve to say that! If you don’t move out, I’ll consider it a breach of contract!”
Chen Die had known Chen Shao for a while and had a decent grasp of his personality.
He wasn’t a bad guy—unlike Wen Liang. Chen Shao probably never faced many setbacks growing up. He had that mischievous streak, but his heart was in the right place.
She wasn’t sure when he’d started showing real favoritism toward her, but the first time she felt his kindness was when Wen Huaiyuan passed away at the hospital.
And again now.
Chen Die chuckled and wasn’t at all intimidated. She teased, “Alright then, I’ll have Wen Liang pay the breach-of-contract penalty. I might as well just sign with his company.”
Wen Liang walked into the bedroom at that moment and caught the tail end of her sentence. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s going on?”
Chen Shao, on the other end of the call, was so furious at her words his liver probably hurt. He unleashed a barrage of scolding.
Chen Die winced from the shouting, held the phone away from her ear, and mouthed to Wen Liang: Chen Shao.
“All right, relax. No paparazzi are going to catch anything. Wen Liang already gave them the heads-up. Even if they did take photos, they wouldn’t dare release them.”
As soon as Chen Die said that, Wen Liang reached over, took the phone from her hand, and put it to his ear. “Hello?”
Chen Die: “……”
She suddenly remembered how Ye Chuqing once described the two of them: ‘One mountain cannot hold two dumbasses.’
She could practically feel the murderous aura radiating from both ends.
Wen Liang, however, was completely relaxed. Chen Die sat on the bed while he stood in front of her, casually lowering his hand to scratch her chin like he was teasing a small pet.
The scene could’ve been sweet—if it weren’t for Chen Shao’s furious shouting coming through the phone.
After a while, Wen Liang finally spoke: “Done yelling?”
He scoffed, “If Chen Die doesn’t live with me, is she supposed to live with you? Do you actually think you’re her big brother or something?”
Chen Die: “……”
Okay… that was a bit savage.
She tugged at Wen Liang’s sleeve twice and took the phone back, trying to soften the blow for Chen Shao’s fragile heart. “Um…”
Chen Shao exploded: “Chen Die! If you keep living with that damn savage, don’t you ever call me ‘brother’ again!!”
He was always jokingly calling her ‘little sister’ before, but this might’ve been the first time he seriously said her full name.
Also…
She wasn’t sure she had ever actually called him ‘brother’ before.
But she didn’t dare say that out loud—afraid that if she and Wen Liang teamed up, they might actually make Chen Shao faint from rage. So she tried to explain, “I’ve already moved all my stuff over…”
Wen Liang, still in front of her, frowned. “How long are you planning to keep talking to him?”
Chen Shao overheard and snapped, “Look at this guy—he can’t even let you have a phone call. The hell does he think he is? If this keeps up, you’re doomed!!”
Chen Die: “……”
She felt like the poor cicada caught between a mantis and an oriole.
“You both… need to calm down,” she said, struggling to stay neutral.
She tried to appease Wen Liang with her actions—looping her finger around his pinky—and continued to reason with Chen Shao: “I’ll handle this myself, don’t worry. Plus, the fans actually don’t mind me dating. When I discussed keeping it lowkey with Fang Ruan, it was only because we thought it’d be better to go public after some career achievements. Besides, Wen Liang isn’t even in the industry—it won’t cause much trouble…”
Before she could finish, Wen Liang leaned down and gently bit her earlobe, then licked it with the tip of his tongue.
Chen Die’s throat tightened. It came completely out of nowhere, and she was instantly rendered speechless.
Wen Liang pressed down on her wrist, nudged her finger, and the phone slipped from her hand onto the bed.
Taking advantage of the fact that the call was still connected and Chen Die couldn’t speak, Wen Liang lifted her nightdress, his palm gliding slowly up her thigh.
In a quiet, teasing voice by her ear, he whispered, “Hang up now, okay?”
How could she possibly refuse? Biting her lip, she nodded like crazy.
Wen Liang smiled, hung up on Chen Shao, muted the phone, and tossed it aside before lowering himself over her.
The price of indulging Wen Liang was this: by the time she changed into the slip dress for the Film Night event, the red marks across her collarbone and chest were impossible to hide.
There was a professional makeup artist for the event, but Chen Die decided to do a light makeup look herself and sat at the vanity, diligently applying concealer to her skin.
She had barely used this concealer since buying it—her skin didn’t usually need it. Only when she’d stayed up too late and had dark circles. But now… she’d finally found a worthy reason to use it.
Wen Liang sat behind her, watching her dab concealer onto her neck, covering every trace he left.
“Why are you using so much?” he frowned.
Chen Die shot him a look. “You’ve got a lot of nerve to ask.”
“Just change into another dress. You’re wearing this rag and wasting an hour with that crap.”
“......”
Chen Die looked at herself in the mirror.
She really suited slip dresses. Her collarbones and shoulders were graceful, and the neckline wasn’t even a deep V—just a side slit, like a cheongsam. Her legs peeked out subtly, and the fit outlined her curves—full bust and hips.
Fang Ruan had picked the gown with intention. In <A-Xiao>, her role was a glamorous cheongsam beauty, and they planned to use her red carpet appearance to cross-promote the film.
After finally finishing with the concealer and confirming she hadn’t missed a spot, Chen Die stood and spun once in front of the mirror, very pleased. She gave Wen Liang a smug glance. “Only a rag like this can look this good.”
“......”
That night, the Film Night event was about to begin.
Fang Ruan picked up Chen Die from the western suburbs villa early and brought her to get styled by a professional makeup artist. Every detail was carefully tended to, and before they knew it, over an hour had passed.
The Film Night event was in full swing.
Reporters lined both sides of the red carpet, lights blazed, live-streaming equipment was in place, and hosts were ready. The event officially kicked off.
Although Chen Die hadn’t released any new works since <Hairpin Flowers>, her appearance on the variety show <Three Meals a Day> kept her consistently in the public eye, and her popularity and online buzz remained strong.
As soon as she stepped onto the red carpet, cameras started flashing wildly.
Having done a few magazine shoots lately, Chen Die had gotten used to this kind of intense flash photography.
She smiled and waved to the cameras and walked over to the signature board.
The host asked, “So, Chen Die, what’s your next project?”
Chen Die took the microphone and replied, “I’ll soon be starting filming for <A-Xiao>. I hope everyone supports it.”
After a few more questions, she signed her name on the board, gave the camera one final wave, and exited from the side stage to enter the main venue.
At the same time, Wen Liang entered from the VIP entrance on the opposite side—non-celebrity guests' access. The two ran right into each other.
Chen Die paused briefly but kept a composed expression. She acted like they weren’t familiar, gave Wen Liang a polite nod, and walked straight past him.
Wen Liang looked at her back and let out a faint, amused snort.
Meanwhile, on the live broadcast comment section:
[AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! WHAT DID I JUST SEE??? My grandma’s CP is finally in the same frame!!!]
[Tragic lovers finally appear… I swear I just took a hundred emotional damage points in one second (:::з」∠)]
[Real-life interactions hurt more than fanfiction.]
[My sweet Chen Die was smiling just now with the host—why did she go cold as ice the moment she saw Wen Liang!?]
[I want to ship them so bad… If it’s impossible in real life, any fanfic writers out there? Handing you a pen!!]
[Whimpering… Wen Liang’s smile at the end looked so… lonely.]
……
Chen Die had no idea what wild directions the live chat had gone in. After finding her seat, she sat down—and coincidentally, the person next to her was Qi Cheng.
“Long time no see,” Qi Cheng greeted first.
Chen Die smiled. “Yeah. What have you been up to lately?”
“Took on a TV drama. Playing a pilot. Gotta start flight training soon.”
“You’re learning to fly a plane?”
Qi Cheng laughed. “Yeah.”
They hadn’t seen each other since the <Hairpin Flowers> promo ended. Qi Cheng was the first celebrity Chen Die had gotten to know in the industry, and the two chatted idly.
Once everyone had taken their seats, the gala began.
The opening speeches were mostly pleasantries, so most people weren’t paying attention—just whispering quietly among themselves.
Chen Die pulled out her phone to check how her red carpet photos turned out.
This year’s Film Night was hosted by Weibo, and several hashtags were already trending. At the top was simply: ‘Film Night.’ Below that were hot topics about the attending celebrities—and Chen Die was near the top.
Suddenly, something caught her eye.
#WenDie Tragic Romance#
“???”
That made the trending list?
They didn’t even speak to each other??
Driven by curiosity, Chen Die shielded her screen with her hand and carefully tapped into the hashtag.
The first post was from the “WenDie CP” supertopic:
[I’m crying. This is just too tragic…]
Below were two attached gifs.
One showed the whole event hall. Wen Liang sat on the left, Chen Die on the right, with a sea of people in between. Wen Liang was turned slightly, his gaze cutting through the crowd and landing on Chen Die. Under the stage lights, his eyes seemed full of deep emotion.
The second gif was a close-up of Chen Die and Qi Cheng, both smiling and chatting excitedly.
The top comment was a comparison gif from earlier—when Chen Die briefly looked at Wen Liang and merely nodded.
[Holy crap, this shrimp-and-pig-heart level contrast is brutal! (Note: “shrimp and pig heart” is slang for emotional betrayal/hurt.)]
[Maybe I’ll just go back to shipping her and Qi Cheng in <Hairpin Flowers>… this is just too painful.]
[One second I was marveling at her goddess looks, the next, her smile froze right on her face.]
[Wen Liang, man… ugh. I actually feel bad for him.]
[Please, Chen Die, turn around and look! He’s been watching you the whole time! T.T]
Chen Die: ……
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