A scene that had nearly reached a deadlock was resolved by a stroke of genius from Ye Lan—a kiss. Ren Haichuan had always liked filming scenes that focused on inner thoughts amidst intense plot conflicts, and Ye Lan, having collaborated with him on numerous films, was naturally well-versed in his methods.

After reshooting a few shots, the scene finally passed.

"That last take could be cut into the behind-the-scenes footage."

The first ensemble scene since filming began was finally completed beyond expectations after a full day of preparation and over three hours of shooting. Everyone was in a good mood. The Assistant Director, her face flushed red—it was unclear if from the heat or the set's atmosphere—smiled and said, "That improvisation was amazing. It really brought Zhan the scumbag to life."

Ren Haichuan was also quite satisfied, but he still refused to speak nicely, saying, "Try to communicate in advance next time! It was only because Jiang Chi reacted quickly and kept up, otherwise we would have wasted another take."

Ye Lan shook his head with a smile and said nothing.

Jiang Chi was still secretly savoring the earlier kiss. Hearing this, he quickly said, "No, no, it was Brother Ye Lan... who's more amazing."

Ye Lan was slightly bowing his head to let Cen Wen drape a down jacket over him. He looked at Jiang Chi upon hearing his words and asked, "How am I amazing?"

Jiang Chi: "..."

Everyone turned to look at Jiang Chi in unison. Jiang Chi, disappointingly, felt his cheeks instantly flush red.

The entire crew roared with laughter.

Jiang Chi wished he could crawl into a hole in the ground. He pressed his palms together and bowed to everyone, begging for mercy.

The Assistant Director looked at Jiang Chi, her heart itching with curiosity.

Thanks to Ren Haichuan, the Assistant Director had also worked with Ye Lan several times, but this was the first time she had seen Ye Lan film a movie with so many intimate scenes. Moreover, perhaps to match the character's personality in the film, Ye Lan himself seemed more open than usual. From the start of filming until now, there had been no body doubles, no camera tricks; everything was filmed for real. And just a moment ago, in order to create a high point for the conflict, he had even added a kiss scene on his own.

She had been watching the extras just now and hadn't been able to get a close look during the kiss scene. There was something she wasn't sure about, and now she was dying of curiosity.

Jiang Chi was already so teased by everyone that he dared not speak or raise his head. The Assistant Director felt bad about bullying him further. She looked at Ye Lan, saw that he seemed to be in a decent mood, and couldn't resist boldly approaching him to seek the truth.

Ye Lan thought the Assistant Director wanted to discuss something serious with him, so he lowered his head to listen to her whisper.

The corners of Ye Lan's mouth lifted bit by bit. Unable to hold it in, he let out a laugh.

Everyone looked over curiously. Ye Lan suppressed his laughter and shook his head, "There was no French kiss. If you don't believe me, ask Jiang Chi."

The set exploded with an uproar.

The Assistant Director looked at Jiang Chi expectantly, her eyes shining, and confirmed, "Really? There wasn't?"

Jiang Chi was so embarrassed he felt like he was about to catch fire. Fortunately, the set's lighting was dim and hazy, so others couldn't see him very clearly. He managed to stammer, "Brother Ye Lan... is very professional. He... only did what was required for the scene."

The Assistant Director burst out laughing, a little regretfully. She teased, "Seeing how shy Jiang Chi was, I thought... Ah well, it's fine, it's fine. But Teacher Jiang, you'll have to be stronger. There's still a month of a 'honeymoon period' to go."

Jiang Chi, red as a shrimp, could only nod obediently.

Ren Haichuan's patience had reached its limit. With a dark face, he said, "That's a wrap. Assistant Director, arrange for everyone to leave. Those with scenes tomorrow, get some rest early. Today went quite smoothly. Good work, everyone."

"Good work, good work."

"Good work, everyone."

Although it was just past eleven, by the time they got back to the hotel and dawdled a bit, it would be past midnight when they lay down. It really wasn't early. After exchanging 'good works,' everyone left one after another.

Li Weili had suspected since the afternoon that Jiang Chi might have a cold. Not only did he bring him the thickest down jacket, but he also got Jiang Chi a thick scarf and other things. By the time Jiang Chi, dressed in his bulky attire, followed Li Weili out of the rented hall, Ye Lan's nanny van had already pulled up.

Just as Ye Lan was about to get in the car, he turned back and glanced at Jiang Chi. A puff of white breath escaped his lips as he spoke, "Want to ride with me first?"

Jiang Chi hesitated for a moment, then shook his head with a smile. "No need. Our driver is already here. He'll be here any second."

Ye Lan nodded, got in the car, and left.

A winter midnight was especially cold. Li Weili jumped in place a couple of times and said, "Film Emperor Ye asked you, you should have just gone with him. It's so cold."

"Let's not trouble him." Jiang Chi rubbed his hands together. "Ye Lan just did a group interview today. There might be paparazzi parked at the hotel entrance waiting to snap a picture of him. It wouldn't look good for me to get out of his car in the middle of the night, would it?"

The thought made Li Weili realize, and he quickly said, "Right, right! My god, my brain short-circuited."

Jiang Chi let out a breath of air. "It's better in two separate cars anyway. Besides..."

Besides, Jiang Chi was still feeling shy and didn't dare to be alone with Ye Lan.

As they spoke, Jiang Chi's car arrived. Jiang Chi and Li Weili hurriedly got in.

Luckily, the media that interviewed Ye Lan was very professional and, as promised, did not reveal the hotel where Ye Lan was staying. The entire crew relaxed and returned to their respective rooms to rest.

In his small suite, Jiang Chi was on a video call, discussing next year's work plan with Geng Tian.

"Even though you've filmed one of Director Ren's movies, don't get your hopes up too high." Geng Tian said realistically, "This was an accident, and we can't tell what the box office results for this one will be, so others won't acknowledge it. No matter how popular you are, it won't be easy for those big-name directors to take you seriously. At best, they'll let you play a supporting role in a commercial film to boost its popularity. To actually cast you as the lead... that's a long shot."

Jiang Chi understood this himself. "Yeah, after this movie is done, I'll continue to film TV dramas or IP commercial films... I need to earn money quickly."

Geng Tian was relieved and said with a smile, "As long as you know you need to make money. Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye out for you. By next month at the latest, I'll definitely have something lined up for you."

"Thanks, Brother Geng." Jiang Chi thought for a moment, then said with a wry smile, "Just... not anything too cringey."

Geng Tian was helpless. "What did we just say? Getting your hopes up again, aren't you? Fine... I'll do my best. I'll go to the company tomorrow to talk with the higher-ups."

After talking about work, Geng Tian routinely asked about Jiang Chi's health, then inquired, "Are Director Ren and Ye Lan treating you okay?"

"Director Ren is very nice, very serious. I've benefited a lot from filming with him. Ye Lan..." The kiss from today appeared in his mind again. Jiang Chi coughed and said, "Brother Ye Lan is also very good to me..."

The oblivious Geng Tian didn't notice anything and began to nag as usual...

Two doors down, Ye Lan was also listening to a lecture from An Ya.

"What did I do now?"

After returning to his room and taking a quick shower, Ye Lan came out to see five missed calls from An Ya on his phone.

Ye Lan called her back and was met with a string of earnest admonitions.

An Ya said, mentally exhausted, "I didn't give you a script because I trusted you. It was a perfectly ordinary interview, but you had to go and make a big deal out of it. Now everyone is guessing who your current partner is, and Jiang Ying's studio even specifically posted her recent schedule with an ambiguous attitude. The focus of the interview immediately shifted to the rumors about you two."

Ye Lan smiled. "The main party involved hasn't even clarified anything yet, but their studio is already getting anxious."

"Why are they anxious? They were the ones who spread the rumors in the first place! My fault... I didn't know they liked to pull these kinds of tricks, otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to the collaboration." An Ya said irritably, "They don't even give a heads-up. They always have to use bundled promotion."

Ye Lan said nonchalantly, "In two months when the movie is out of theaters, there'll be nothing left to hype. Let them be."

"That's true..." An Ya said. "Anyway, just be careful. Don't go around spouting nonsense for no reason! You're giving me a headache."

Ye Lan replied lazily, "Got it."

"Right." Ye Lan suddenly remembered something. "Last time you mentioned connecting Jiang Chi with Starlight Media, has there been any movement on that?"

An Ya laughed in spite of herself. "How could it be so fast? I only mentioned it once. They have to wait for the higher-ups to discuss it and make a decision. No word back yet."

Ye Lan toyed with a lighter and said, "Keep it in mind. Wait a week, and if there's still no news, contact them again."

An Ya smiled. "So concerned. Why don't you contact them yourself? One phone call from you can go straight to President Ye's cell phone. Isn't that much better than me going through layers of contacts?"

Ye Lan chuckled lightly. "You helping to contact them is normal work. If I get involved... it seems a bit personal. It wouldn't sound right."

An Ya said with novel surprise, "Well, isn't this something, Film Emperor Ye! You actually care what other people say. Have you finally learned what it means to have shame?"

Ye Lan was perfectly frank. "How is that possible?"

An Ya: "..."

Ye Lan leaned against the sofa, looking at the night view outside the window, and said leisurely, "Jiang Chi seems to be rather thin-skinned. If this really works out and he goes to Starlight Media, it wouldn't be good if the gossips over there say all sorts of nonsense about him..."

Ye Lan recalled Jiang Chi's embarrassed and shy appearance after Director Ren called "cut" during the evening shoot, finding it a little rare.

An Ya thought about it for a moment and nodded. "That's true... Forget it, I'll see this through to the end. I happen to be going over to Starlight next Monday anyway. I'll see if I can meet with President Ye."

Ye Lan said insincerely, "Thanks for your hard work, Sister An Ya."

An Ya said resentfully, "Save it. That act stopped working on me a long time ago. Get some rest."

Ye Lan smiled. "Good night."