Trembling in the Skies

Chapter 33: Be Generous

“Hey, hey, hey! What kind of talk is that? Who ate all three plates of snacks? You were the one who polished them off first! I didn’t get a single bite!” The guy with glasses widened his eyes, completely taken aback that Li Teng could twist the truth like that. “You really do lie without batting an eye! Forget it—there’s no point arguing with a contrarian like you.” Li Teng shook his head. “Damn it! Is there no justice in this world? Who’s really lying here?” The guy with glasses was so angry his head was throbbing. “Bro, don’t stoop to his level. With his kind of attitude, I wouldn’t even bother with him.” Gao Fei offered Li Teng a few words of comfort. “Who are you calling low-class? The guy with glasses was even more infuriated by Gao Fei’s words. “Did I say you had low manners? You’re the one who added the word ‘low’ to ‘manners’ yourself—you really do know yourself well,” Gao Fei shot back at the guy with glasses. “Don’t pay him any mind. The more you engage with him, the more he’ll get worked up,” Li Teng advised Gao Fei. “Yeah, I won’t pay him any mind. If I do, it’ll make us seem just as uncivilized as he is.” Gao Fei nodded. “People like you, I… I… I…” The man in glasses rolled his eyes skyward, on the verge of losing his temper. “You all saw what happened just now, right? Who ate all the snacks? Can’t we be fair here?” The guy with glasses walked over to the staff members to ask for their help. The staff members looked at the guy with glasses impassively, not uttering a word. “Say something!” The guy with glasses felt completely helpless. The staff members still ignored him and turned to walk into the café. “Damn it!” Realizing he couldn’t count on these people, the guy in glasses figured he’d be at a disadvantage taking on Li Teng and Gao Fei all by himself, so he decided to go grab a free cup of coffee to calm down. Just then, the female office worker and the young girl walked around the corner and sat down at a table. Gao Fei handed each of them a cashew. “Are there still snacks today?” the office worker asked, glancing at the three empty plates on the table. “We got here too late—that guy with the glasses ate it all. We only managed to snag a few cashews.” Gao Fei pointed at the guy with glasses standing by the coffee machine. “Yeah, he was afraid we’d get any, so as soon as he saw us coming, he started shoveling them into his mouth by the handful. Look, he’s already had to drink several cups of water because he choked.” Li Teng also shot a disdainful glance at the bespectacled man by the coffee machine. “It’s just a few plates of snacks—is it really that big of a deal?” the young woman shook her head. “He really went too far. He could’ve at least left us a little something,” the female office worker grumbled. “What are you talking about? Hey, hey, hey! It’s obvious you guys polished off all the snacks—is it funny to pin this on me?” The guy with glasses was pouring himself a cup of coffee when he heard the chatter behind him; he was so furious he was trembling all over. “Forget it, don’t bother with this know-it-all—it’s not worth it,” Li Teng advised the group. “Yeah, it’s not worth it! Let him eat it! Let him choke on it!” the young woman chimed in, echoing Li Teng’s words. “Damn! I’ve really seen it all today! Some people’s ability to twist the truth is top-notch! And the worst part is, there are actually people who believe it!” The guy with glasses sat down with his back to the coffee table, holding his coffee cup, and sulked to himself as he stared at the street in the distance. Just then, the staff member who had walked into the café earlier emerged from the back carrying a tray with three plates of snacks. Whether it was because there were more people present or because the bespectacled man’s protest had had an effect, the production crew had provided an extra serving of snacks for the extras. With his back turned, the man in glasses was inhaling the aroma of his coffee and didn’t notice the staff member approaching. Gao Fei gestured to the others to keep it quiet, then quickly divided the three trays of snacks into four portions, placing them on four empty plates and handing one to each person. The guy with glasses sensed that, besides the aroma of coffee, there was another scent in the air—it seemed to be… the smell of French fries? When he turned around, he saw everyone standing there eating their plates of snacks, with only two empty plates left on the coffee table. “Hey, hey, hey! Where’s mine?” the guy with glasses asked, his eyes wide. “You just ate three plates all by yourself, and you still have the nerve to ask for more? How can anyone be so greedy?” The girl rolled her eyes at the guy with glasses as she munched on her fries. “Sis, I really didn’t eat any! They’re the ones who ate it all!” the guy with glasses said, on the verge of tears. “You’re such a loser. Just a little bit of food, and you’ve already shown your true colors. Is it really worth it?” The female office worker scolded the guy with glasses as she munched on a cookie. “No… I’m hungry! I didn’t dare spend extra points on food when I came over—who wouldn’t love something free? Besides, I really didn’t…” the guy in glasses continued to defend himself. “Stop fooling around! Here, have a cookie! You should be a decent person.” Li Teng cut the guy with glasses off and held out a cookie to him. “You…” The guy in glasses glared at Li Teng. Suddenly, he realized just how terrifying it would be to have offended Li Teng. Guo Zhipeng was right—this guy was a scheming little devil with top-notch acting skills. He was definitely not someone he could afford to cross! Take this moment, for example: he says he’ll give him a cookie, but why is he clutching it so tightly in his palm? With all five fingers wrapped around it—does he expect me to pry it out with my fingers? If I do, won’t it all crumble right into his hand? “Why give it to him? He just ate so much!” Gao Fei reached out to stop Li Teng. “Exactly. You’re way too kind-hearted. There’s no reason to feel sorry for someone like him,” the young office worker also stopped Li Teng. “Bro, you should just keep it for yourself. You don’t have many points, so you’re probably still hungry—and yet you’re thinking of others at a time like this,” the young girl chimed in. “Fine, since he doesn’t want it, I’ll just eat it myself.” Li Teng took the cookie back and stuffed it into his mouth. The guy with glasses rolled his eyes in frustration. He knew Li Teng was just messing with him—he’d never intended to give him that cookie in the first place. This guy was way too sneaky! If he could turn a few plates of snacks into such a big scheme, who knows what else he was capable of. No wonder he was able to turn the tables on Guo Zhipeng like that on set last time. He’d better stay away from him from now on; otherwise, it definitely wouldn’t end well. “All right, all the extras for this shoot are here. Everyone, please stop wandering around. In five minutes, once the three lead actors arrive, we’ll go over the plot for this scene.” The female director, wearing a metal mask, walked over to the coffee table, took a head count, and made a brief announcement to the group. “Are all the extras here? Where’s the elderly woman who was sitting next to me?” the young girl asked the female director, looking somewhat puzzled. “She was elderly and in poor health, and on top of that, her area had been under intense sunlight for several days in a row, so she didn’t make it. Her body has already been transported back to the film studio,” the female director replied to the young woman in a completely emotionless tone. “She’s dead?” the young office worker asked, her eyes widening. Li Teng was also very surprised. He’d had a pretty good impression of that elderly woman—she’d seemed well-educated, refined, and sharp-witted—and he never expected her to pass away like that! But it wasn’t all that surprising. Even a strapping young man like Li Teng had come close to death several times atop the stone pillar. The elderly woman was quite advanced in age—at least in her sixties—so how could she possibly have endured the thirst and hunger up there? To die like that was truly tragic! The young office worker covered her eyes and began to sob quietly. The young girl began to cry as well. Li Teng and the man with glasses both bowed their heads in silence. Everyone present felt a deep sense of shared sorrow over the old woman’s death—it was as if they had lost a loved one themselves. “You’re all a bunch of bastards!” Gao Fei stood up and pointed his finger at the director’s nose, shouting at him. The two bodyguards standing beside the director each took a step forward, positioning themselves in front of him. “Don’t be impulsive!” Li Teng hurriedly grabbed Gao Fei. “Young man, don’t be so impulsive!” the old woman’s voice drifted over. Everyone looked over in that direction, and sure enough, the elderly woman had appeared at the side of the street. “Grandma, are you okay?” The young girl rushed over, and the office worker followed suit, supporting her on either side. “I’m fine. I’m just heading to the wax museum in a little while, so I came over to say goodbye to everyone,” the elderly woman said with a self-deprecating smile. After her body was brought back, she was placed in a medical pod and revived. She had escaped death, but she couldn’t escape the fate of becoming a wax figure.