Rebirth on the Doors to the Civil Affairs Bureau - Chapter 18
Chapter 18 A Roof Full of Flowers
***
When the first sycamore leaves were swept away by the autumn wind, the hot summer quietly left.
Beautiful skirts were changed to windbreakers, sandals have been replaced by boots.
Xiaoyue Studios gained a reputation in the industry ever since their dubbing of Steven’s film had been released. Coupled Xiaoyue’s networking prowess, almost all of the gods in their university had asked for a role.
With this, Hollywood also began to take note of Xiaoyue Studios, with Steven intending to work with them again for his next film.
“Yu Dong, have you arrived yet?” Xiang Xiaoyue asked as she drove.
“I just arrived, what’s the rush?” Yu Dong walked in the familiar building wearing high heels.
“When did you say your driver’s license was arriving?” Xiaoyue complained, “Last time you actually used the subway to an important contract meeting. Are you actually there? The meeting starts soon.”
“I already have my driver’s license, are you going to give me a car?” Yu Dong rolled her eyes.
“Doesn’t your husband have a car tucked away in your garage?” Xiaoyue asked.
“Alright, the elevator’s here. I’m going up,” Before ending the call Yu Dong scolded, “And stop calling me while you’re driving!”
“Which floor?” A male voice suddenly asked.
“20th floor, thanks!” Yu Dong looked up to thank the man, and actually saw an acquaintance. She asked surprised, “It’s you?”
Alan raised an eyebrow and smiled, “You remember me?”
“It’s not easy to forget someone with the label ‘Scum’s friend’ ” Yu Dong said.
“Oh…” Alan didn’t argue, instead glancing at the papers in Yu Dong’s hand, asking “Are you here to talk about a contract?”
“Yes!” Yu Dong coldly nodded.
“To OM Entertainment?”
OM Entertainment was at 18th to 22th floors, why are you asking the obvious? Yu Dong nodded indifferently while inside she was spitting.
“I’m the general manager of OM Entertainment.” Alan suddenly said.
Yu Dong was a little surprised at this. Looking at the inscrutable man who was smiling at her, she thought about it. She worked in this building for 5 years in her previous life and had seen the general manager of OM Entertainment a couple of times. They don’t look like the same person?
Whatever, Yu Dong turned back around.
“You don’t want to take this opportunity to talk with me?” Alan asked, surprised.
Yu Dong didn’t bother looking at him and directly said: “No, I don’t need to talk to you to get OM’s cooperation!”
The elevator arrived at this time, so Yu Dong didn’t say anything else and proceeded to get out.
This was the first time Alan met such a girl. He laughed, shaking his head as the elevator doors shut, taking him to the 22th floor.
On the 20th floor, Yu Dong discussed the script with the director and just like last time, after a simple chat, the contract was signed smoothly.
It was still early when she finished, so Yu Dong decided to take the elevator to the top floor.
This was a twin building, with a floor on each building connected by a cloud gallery on the topmost floor. There was transparent glass on both sides of the cloud gallery, showing a fantastic view.
When she worked here in her previous life, Yu Dong often enjoyed sitting at a cafe, admiring the scenery of the cloud gallery.
But it seems that there isn’t a cafe yet, but an advertising company. So Yu Dong instead went through the familiar staircase to the rooftop.
Yu Dong looked towards the rooftop floor with a little frown. In 5 years time the rooftop would be filled with greenery instead of this bare cement. She didn’t know when they would begin planting but the roof would definitely be much prettier than it was now.
The entire roof would be covered by a meter high transparent glass, surrounded by flowers with a scattering of tables and chairs for people to rest. Especially at the south corner, there would be a terrace suspended on the roof. Yu Dong liked there and look down.
While Yu Dong was reminiscing, she unexpectedly found a man, no a teenager, sitting at where the terrace would be. He looked to be at around 16 or 17 years old.
The young man seemed to notice Yu Dong approaching, and turned back to gently smile at her.
She didn’t know why, but something in Yu Dong’s heart began to tremble, the young man’s gentle smile looked unreal.
“Sister, how long are you going to stay on the roof?” Perhaps because Yu Dong looked at him in a daze, the young man couldn’t help but start a conversation.
“Why do you ask?” Yu Dong asked.
“Because I’m going to be doing something in a little while. It might be a little scary for you, so I want to wait until sister is gone!” The young man had turned back, away from Yu Dong as he said this.
“Then I might have to stay here for a long while!” Yu Dong said with melancholy.
“Why?” the young man asked.
“Because you took my seat? ” Yu Dong said.
The young man became puzzled, turning back to Yu Dong and asking, “Sister, you’re also intending to jump from here?”
Yu Dong blinked, then smiled, “I don’t want to jump, I just like sitting there and admiring the scenery!”
“Then come back tomorrow, sister!” The young man turned away from Yu Dong again.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that!” Yu Dong shook her head.
“You can’t wait a day?”
“No, because the scenery here will be different after you jump.” Yu Dong said sadly.
The young man was somewhat surprised, “So me jumping from this building would ruin the scenery?”
“Yes!” There was a meter high fence on the raised terrace, but because there was no glass wall, Yu Dong didn’t dare walk near the edge. Instead she leaned on the fence and pretending to be calm, said to the boy, “So jump after I admire the scenery!”
“You don’t want to talk me out of it?” The young man was surprised.
Yu Dong pretended not to understand: “Talk you out of what?”
“Talk me out of jumping.” The young man clarified.
“No.” Yu Dong shook her head and said, “You’re letting me see the scenery first. I can’t bother you any more!”
“Sister, you’re so interesting!” The young man suddenly smiled.
Yu Dong also smiled and looked at the scenery downstairs, without the flowers, it seems the landscape has become less beautiful.
Yu Dong noticed a script in the corner and curiously asked, “Is that your script?”
The young man gave a gentle hum.
“Can I see it?” Yu Dong asked.
He gave a hum again.
Yu Dong flipped it open and started to read. Gradually her brows wrinkled, the story was filled with depressing and bloody scenes, making one constantly uncomfortable.
“Isn’t it scary?” The young man asked after a while.
“What about the end?” Yu Dong suddenly asked, “After the girl finally sees the killer face to face?”
The young man was stunned, asking incredulously, “You still want to know the end?”
“Yeah! while a little scary, it’s a really interesting story.” Yu Dong was full of curiosity.
“I don’t know!” The young man shook his head in despair. “These all come from my dreams. To know the ending, I’ll have to sleep and find out in my next dream.”
“So if you jump now, I won’t be able to know.” Yu Dong’s words were laced with regret.
“Don’t you think I’m abnormal?” The young man asked her.
Yu Dong was puzzled.
“I’ve had all sorts of bloody perverted dreams since I was 8 and I’ve been seeing a therapist since I was a kid.” The young man explains as he looked down at the tiny pedestrians under his feet. “I once heard my therapist tell my parents that I continued like this, I’d probably turn into a perverted killer. He told my parents to send me to a mental hospital.”
“My parents didn’t agree at first, but recently I’ve seen them looking at sanatoriums in America.” The young man smiled and said, “Is it because mom doesn’t want me near my new brother?”
“Before I left this morning, my brother asked me to hold him. My mom saw and her eyes turned scary, just like the victim I saw in my dreams.” The young man laughed and said, “I honestly felt a little happy, I felt that my dream came true a little.”
“Then why did you turn your dream into a script and bring it here?” Yu Dong who had been quietly listening suddenly asked.
The young man stopped talking.
“Because you really didn’t want your dreams to turn into reality.” Yu Dong said in a calm tone, “You want someone to tell you that they’re just stories.”
The young man remained silent as he stared at Yu Dong. But Yu Dong knew that she was right/
“What are you doing?”
They both looked back and saw Alan frowning at them.
Alan’s office was facing the terrace, and when he first saw the young man sitting there he intended to call security. But when Yu Dong appeared and he saw them talking for a long while. It didn’t seem like anyone was jumping, but Alan couldn’t feel at ease so he came over instead.
“Alan?” Yu Dong’s eyes brightened. “You are the general manager of OM, right?”
Alan doubtfully looked towards Yu Dong, but nodded anyway.
Yu Dong turned her back to the young man and handed Alan the script. She winked at him and said, “Isn’t your company interested in making new movies recently? What do you think of this script?”
When did our company decide to make a new movie? Besides, I’ve already turned numerous scripts into movies, what makes you think I’d need your opinion?
Despite this, Alan took the script and began reading.
After reading a few pages, Alan’s brow wrinkled and he looked up to Yu Dong trying to communicate with her eyes. Alan with a calm expression said, “It sounds interesting, but I’ll have to get a director to read through it too.”
Yu Dong turned towards the young man and said, “Wouldn’t you want to listen to a director’s evaluation of your script before you jump off?”
Hearing this Alan almost dropped to his knees.
The young man thought for a moment then agreed, “Alright. Anyway it’s not like I need to jump off this very moment, it’s not urgent. I also haven’t finished dreaming the ending.”
“Then add me in QQ and you’ll tell me after you write it?”
“Sure!” The young man stood up and smiled.
After walking the young man out, Alan looked at the script and said, “Who’s kid was that? We need to hurry and contact his parents!”
“The parents are planning on sending him to a mental hospital.” Yu Dong felt powerless.
“There’s something wrong with that kid.” Alan frowned at the script in his hands, it was full of blood and tyranny, something a normal person wouldn’t think of.
“If he really had a problem, he wouldn’t be thinking of jumping, he’d be thinking of killing. After all, he has plenty of ideas.” Yu Dong pointed at the script.
“So what are you saying?”
“In my heart, while it’s bloody, it’s also a very logical story.” Yu Dong continued, “If you find a good editor it could turn out into a pretty good film, there doesn’t seem to be any good horror blockbusters coming out anytime soon.”
“And why would I do that? “Alan questioned.
“Anyway, I saved him today.” Yu Dong didn’t care about the matter any further, “The next time he comes here and jumps, it isn’t any of my business.”
So is it my business? Alan was dumbfounded.
Yu Dong shrugged and walked away.
2 days later Yu Dong opened her QQ mailbox and received a file. In it was the follow-up to the story. It seems that the girl died by the killer’s hands.
Yu Dong sent a few messages to the young man, but he never replied.
Yu Dong also paid attention to the social news for a few days, and didn’t read anyone jumping.
Yu Dong was still a little uneasy, so she wrote an email to Xia Feng, hoping he could find a psychologist to ask.
So the next day Xia Feng sent her a video.
“I asked a psychiatrist I knew. They said the teenager would have committed suicide to prove that he’s inherently good.” Xia Feng continued, “But this disease is relatively difficult to cure and needs a long time to recuperate from. They would need to be sent to a psychiatric hospital.”
Yu Dong was somewhat disappointed.
“Can you still contact him?”
Yu Dong shook her head.
Xia Feng saw that Yu Dong was dispirited by this so he tried to comfort her: “If someone’s determined to die, even God won’t be able to save him. All you can do is try to change their impulsive minds.”
“Nevertheless, you did a good job that day! No matter what, you saved his life then.”
Yu Dong didn’t tell Xia Feng that there was a scene in the script. The girl realizing that the killer had a secret garden, a flower-filled roof.
Yu Dong in her previous life was a lonely woman, who visited that roof countless times when she was depressed. Maybe in some way that roof was the young man’s final gift in exchange for his life.
A boy who had such a pure land in his heart shouldn’t have to fall into dust.
***
This chapter was….out of left field. After my second read through I realized that Alan probably wasn’t the general manager when Yu Dong worked in her previous life because he witnessed the young man jump. She saved 2 lives.
