Second Take On Romance - The A-List Actor Wants Me-Chapter 227 : Gratitude (1)

"Sunshine Lake Country Club, 5 PM."

"...."

Feng Jieyun thought that his eyes deceived him. He read the address repeatedly before he sent back a reply.

Feng Jieyun : "I thought we were having dinner."

Shang Ruohai : "The country club has a great seafood restaurant."

"..."

Of course, most country clubs did. Feng Jieyun was pretty sure that a prestigious establishment such as Sunshine Lake Country Club, with its reputation for excellence, would surely have a mouthwatering selection of dishes to tantalize their patrons.

It’s just that Feng Jieyun had a different kind of dinner in mind.

A candlelit dinner, set against the backdrop of a starry sky, with the gentle melodies of piano or jazz, creating an intimate setting for deep conversation.

Country club restaurants were usually relatively noisy, with a lot of chattering guests, some of which brought their families along.

These parents had enough money to arrange for nannies, one for each child, but none of them knew how to soothe a crying baby or prevent these energetic children from running around like their parents owned the entire country club.

Not to say that Feng Jieyun hated children. He adored children.

But he did harbor intense dislike for parents who spent time with their friends and business partners without paying said children any heed.

Anyway, country club restaurants simply didn’t cut it.

Feng Jieyun : "What if I pick the venue?"

Shang Ruohai : "I already booked and paid for everything, including the reservation of the tennis court from 5 to 7 PM."

Feng Jieyun : "? What? Tennis court?"

Shang Ruohai : "Don’t forget to bring your partner. We will play doubles."

"...."

What? Tennis court? Doubles? When did he agree to this, again?

Feng Jieyun : "When did we talk about playing tennis together? Am I suffering from selective memory loss?"

Shang Ruohai did not bother replying to Feng Jieyun, leaving the CEO of Yunhuan Entertainment to ponder his next move.

If he did not misread Shang Ruohai, the latter would most likely propose a match. The winners should get what they wanted.

Feng Jieyun shook his head in disbelief.

Shang Ruohai was quite confident.

In that case, Feng Jieyun simply had to beat him in his own game.

For that purpose, he decided to go along with Shang Ruohai’s request and dragged his younger brother along.

Feng Jietang just happened to be a star tennis player during his junior and senior high school years.

He merely hoped that Shang Ruohai wouldn’t play dirty and enlist the help of a professional tennis player.

He did something much worse.

When the four people gathered at the Sunshine Lake Country Club, Feng Jieyun knew he was going to lose before Shang Ruohai even spoke the terms of the match out loud.

"Winner team will get one free wish, whatever it is," Shang Ruohai said.

"Whatever it is?" Feng Jieyun repeated, narrowing his eyes at Shang Ruohai. It sounded too good to be true.

Shang Ruohai hooked a corner of his lips and confirmed in a sweet and alluring tone, "Whatever it is."

"..."

"Nothing illegal of course," Shang Ruohai added with a dazzling smile. "Not that I accuse CEO Feng of harboring such malicious intents toward me."

"..."

Feng Jietang, who was involuntarily drawn into this center of conflict, was the most baffled one of them all.

"Little Shen, a word?" He said, beckoning Shen Jingwei over.

Shang Ruohai nodded in agreement, so Shen Jingwei went to talk to Feng Jietang.

"What the hell is going on?" Feng Jietang hissed. "Why are you here?"

Shen Jingwei swallowed hard.

"Senior Shang needs a tennis partner for the match, so here I am."

"What’s that about a wish?"

"Apparently, they each needed one favor from the other, but none of them is willing to relent."

"..."

Feng Jietang knew his elder brother inside and out. He knew very well what his elder brother would ask if he won this competition.

"I cannot lose," he decided. "My brother’s happiness depends on it."

But then Shen Jingwei’s pupils shook, and he turned to Feng Jietang with a hurt expression.

"Are you really going to make us lose...?"

"...." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

"If we lose, I really don’t know how to face Senior Shang..."

Which wasn’t necessarily a lie, because Shang Ruohai did tell him that, "If you want to repay me for the pendant rings, you will help me win this game."

Feng Jietang rolled the knot on his throat several times in sequence.

"Little Shen, I..."

"It’s alright," Shen Jingwei sighed. "We all play for our own selfish reasons. There is no need for you to give in. On the court, we are enemies without a shred of affection for each other."

Shen Jingwei’s words were akin to a thousand arrows hitting the core of Feng Jietang’s heart one by one.

"Little Shen..."

Shen Jingwei dabbed the non-existent tears away from the corners of his eyes.

"It’s fine. Excuse me, I need to prepare for the match."

"....."

Feng Jietang was rendered speechless.

As he watched Shen Jingwei walk away, he screamed in his head.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Meanwhile, Shang Ruohai watched Feng Jietang’s body language from afar with amusement.

"I feel bad," Shen Jingwei told his match partner with a grim face. "He has feelings for me. Must I use them against him?"

Shang Ruohai smiled and patted Shen Jingwei on the back.

"It was he who willingly planted the seed of love in his heart and pinned your name onto it. You did nothing wrong. Just remember that your performance in this tennis match represents your gratitude toward me.

If we lose, well..."

Shang Ruohai shrugged with a soft sigh.

"It only means that you do not value me as much as I value you. It will make me sad, but it is not your fault."

"..."

Apparently, Shang Ruohai was the master of manipulating others’ feelings for his benefit.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

---------------

Author’s note :

Mini theater!

Imperial Preceptor Shang teaches Empress Shen the way of the ladies.

Imperial Preceptor Shang : "Your Majesty, you are the Empress. You must rule with your words."

Empress Shen : *takes a note*

Imperial Preceptor Shang : "You shall trample on your subjects mercilessly, and make them beg for your love."

Empress Shen : "..."

Imperial Preceptor Shang : "Before they succumb to death, you very gently pat their heads and tell them how good they are. It will revitalize them on the spot."

Empress Shen : (⁠╯⁠°⁠□⁠°⁠）⁠╯⁠︵⁠ ⁠┻⁠━⁠┻

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