Chapter 36

After the two had eaten and drunk their fill, Ye Lan told Jiang Chi to wait a moment while he went to chat with Director Xu Haozheng. When he left, he smoothly pocketed one of Xu Haozheng’s business cards.

Xu Haozheng watched Ye Lan with a smile the entire time. Ye Lan, in turn, simply blew Xu Haozheng a brazen kiss, then, right in front of him, placed the business card into the pocket of Jiang Chi's shirt.

Jiang Chi: “...”

Xu Haozheng couldn't hold back his laughter. Ren Haichuan shot Ye Lan a dark look before lowering his head to continue eating.

Ye Lan laughed heartily and pulled Jiang Chi along. "Let's go, let's go. Director Ren is about to get really angry."

Once they were in the elevator, Jiang Chi, grateful that Ye Lan had made the connection for him, couldn’t help but speak the truth. "Brother Ye Lan... Xu Haozheng directs mostly pure art-house films, and he places a special emphasis on an actor’s artistic standing. He probably... wouldn't be interested in me."

"Not bad, you've got some self-awareness." Ye Lan smiled. "So you also know that filming endless garbage TV dramas has depleted too much of your artistic value?"

When major film directors cast their roles, they don't just consider an actor's skills; they also have to cooperate with the producers to assess the actor's commercial and artistic value. The former could be summed up as popularity, while the latter, to put it bluntly, was prestige.

Ye Lan had looked through Jiang Chi's resume before. At the time, he had no impression of Jiang Chi and thought he was a newcomer who had just entered the industry. After researching him, Ye Lan was astonished: in just a few short years since his debut, Jiang Chi had participated in three times as many productions as an "old thespian" like himself.

Among them, quality works were few and far between, with most being "god-tier dramas" whose names he had never even heard of.

However, perhaps it was this desperate, cast-a-wide-net spirit that moved the gods of acting. One of the many characters Jiang Chi played truly caught the audience's eye. It just so happened to be a dry spell for rising stars, and Jiang Chi, with his good looks and a bit of acting talent, inexplicably shot to fame.

In this era of male beauty, several "fresh meat" actors would shoot to stardom as if on a rocket every year. Jiang Chi had the misfortune of becoming one of them.

But his fame was limited to the internet and the small screen. In the eyes of film industry giants, these so-called achievements were worth nothing. In fact, the experience of acting in too many low-tier television dramas would become a burden.

Ye Lan's words were harsh but true. Jiang Chi gave a helpless smile. "When I first started, those were the only resources I could get my hands on. There wasn't much to choose from. I really wanted to become famous back then, so I took whatever came my way."

Jiang Chi's frankness amused Ye Lan. "You really wanted to become famous?"

Jiang Chi paused, then smiled without a word.

If I weren't famous, how would I ever have had the chance to get close to you?

Ye Lan let out a carefree chuckle, feeling fortunate for Jiang Chi. "It's a good thing you took everything and didn't stick to one type of role. If you had kept playing domineering CEOs or something... you would've been truly finished."

Once an actor's career path was set, any attempt at transformation was almost guaranteed to fail. No matter how good their acting was, it would be impossible to reverse the public's fixed perception. This was practically an iron law in the industry.

Speaking of which, Ye Lan was puzzled. "This film... my role was decided a year ago. I even watched two of the auditions for your role back then, and both actors were rejected. I stopped paying attention after that." It was only later, when Jiang Chi joined the cast, that Ye Lan learned the role of Pei Ran had been given to him.

Even though Ye Lan was now personally biased towards Jiang Chi and affirmed his acting skills, objectively speaking, it was still quite incredible that Ren Haichuan had let him join the cast.

Ye Lan looked at Jiang Chi and asked casually, "How did you manage to catch Ren Haichuan's eye back then?"

Ding-dong. The elevator stopped.

Jiang Chi’s heart skipped a beat along with it.

Only the producers and Ren Haichuan knew that he had taken the role for zero pay.

Only the higher-ups at his own company knew that he had angered the company, nearly faced a lawsuit, and subsequently lost most of his savings.

On the film crew’s side, Jiang Chi had requested before joining that they guarantee his salary would not be disclosed. As for his company, he had long ago used his connections with a high-level executive to ensure everyone would keep it a secret.

Ye Lan... probably didn’t know.

He had likely just asked offhandedly.

Ye Lan had already stepped out of the elevator. He subconsciously looked back at Jiang Chi, reached out to press the "up" button, and urged, "What are you waiting for?"

"Ah? Oh." Jiang Chi took a deep breath and walked out of the elevator, forcing a relaxed smile. "Food coma... I just zoned out for a second."

Ye Lan studied Jiang Chi's face and saw that he indeed looked less energetic than before. He smiled. "Then get some sleep early."

Ye Lan didn't press the previous question, and Jiang Chi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiang Chi didn't dare let Ye Lan know about these things.

He liked Ye Lan and wanted to pursue him, but not by playing the victim.

To display one's love through self-sacrifice, no matter how you looked at it, had a hint of coercion.

How much he liked Ye Lan was his own business. Jiang Chi didn't want to move Ye Lan through self-sacrifice and put pressure on him.

Uh...

Jiang Chi thought awkwardly, it was more likely that, given Ye Lan's personality and temper, he wouldn't feel any pressure at all even if he found out. Instead, he would probably think he was a pervert.

That would be even more counterproductive.

Jiang Chi was glad that Ye Lan hadn't fixated on the topic. Pushing that aside, he still had to fight for the benefits he was due. Barely managing to calm the heart that Ye Lan's question had thrown into a panic, Jiang Chi hesitated and reminded him softly, "You promised me today that you would run lines with me..."

Ye Lan paused for a moment, then laughed.

With Ye Lan's laugh, the empty corridor suddenly felt ambiguous.

Ye Lan looked at Jiang Chi, thinking to himself that there really were people who would take someone's casual verbal promise to heart.

And then earnestly and attentively wait for the other person to fulfill it.

I was just messing with you. We can run them on set tomorrow.

The words were already on the tip of Ye Lan's tongue, a product of years of habit. But when he opened his mouth, they somehow turned into: "Not sleepy anymore? Then come to my room."

His tone was even tinged with a hint of what could almost be called gentle indulgence.

And yet, Ye Lan himself didn't feel anything was amiss.

Ye Lan took out his key card and swiped the door open. The lights in his room were all on. He glanced sideways and saw that Cen Wen had already arrived.

"Go get a few bottles of beer, and some fruit too." Ye Lan instructed Cen Wen as he walked, taking off his jacket. "Room temperature beer."

Ye Lan turned his head to look at Jiang Chi. "Room temp is okay, right? Don't drink iced ones, don't want you getting an upset stomach again, heh... If both lead actors get diarrhea, Ren Haichuan will explode."

Jiang Chi quickly said, "Room temperature is fine."

Cen Wen mechanically opened her memo app to record Ye Lan's request, thinking numbly: He’s no longer avoiding me, brazenly bringing the man back to his room.

And he’s even having me buy beer to liven things up...

While Cen Wen went to get the fruit and beer for Ye Lan, he went into the bedroom to change his clothes, calling out to Jiang Chi through the door, "Are you tired? You can go change first before coming back."

"No... it's fine." Jiang Chi buttoned his shirt up to the very top and sat down lightly.

Having spent time together in the same room at Ye Lan's house before, Jiang Chi didn't feel awkward in this situation. Ye Lan was even more relaxed. He had changed into his pajamas and was lounging lazily on the sofa, his collar hanging loosely and revealing a firm half of his chest.

Ye Lan picked up the script and looked up at Jiang Chi. "Are you going back to get your script?"

"Ah... no need." Jiang Chi averted his gaze from Ye Lan's chest and said in a low voice, "I've already memorized it."

Ye Lan smiled. "Not bad, but you still need to look at it. You need to know where my lines break, otherwise..."

"I've memorized your lines as well," Jiang Chi pursed his lips. "I looked at them... while I was memorizing mine."

Ye Lan's eyes lit up, and he smiled. "Very good."

Just then, Cen Wen returned. She put the items down and hesitated. "Should I... leave now?"

"No need, stay for a bit. I have something to tell you later." After instructing Cen Wen, Ye Lan paid her no more attention. Without another word, he focused on quickly reading the upcoming scene from beginning to end, then tossed the script onto the coffee table. "Let's run through it... If you get one word wrong, you'll call me 'daddy'."

Jiang Chi couldn't help but smile.

The two did a rough run-through of the scene. As expected, Ye Lan didn't misremember a single word, and he had memorized all of Jiang Chi's lines as well. Ye Lan knew exactly when to interrupt him and when to pick up the conversation.

As a Film Emperor who had struggled and fought his way up on the big screen for so many years, he at least had this basic level of professionalism.

Next, the two began to go over the scene in detail, polishing every line. Ye Lan, being more familiar with filming methods, blocking, and so on, would occasionally give Jiang Chi a few pointers. Ye Lan had no intention of preparing for tomorrow's shoot in advance; he just wanted to teach Jiang Chi a little more. Jiang Chi nodded receptively, wishing he could take out a notebook and write it all down.

Before they knew it, they had gone through two scenes.

Jiang Chi glanced at the time. It was almost ten o'clock. Fearing he would disturb Ye Lan's rest, he said, "Let's stop here for now. I've already bothered you for half the day..."

Ye Lan, in fact, was still feeling rather into it. He smiled. "You go to bed this early every day?"

Jiang Chi wouldn't be able to sleep if he went back either, but he was more concerned about Ye Lan's health, so he went along with it and nodded. "Yes."

Jiang Chi stood up and said politely, "I'm sorry to have disturbed you. I learned a lot from you today."

"Stop with the flattery." Seeing Jiang Chi's obedient and well-behaved appearance made Ye Lan's hands itch. He glanced at Cen Wen, who was still waiting, then turned sideways, hiding from her view, and vigorously ruffled Jiang Chi's hair before letting him go.

Cen Wen was still sitting in the living room, using her laptop to browse Ye Lan's Weibo, deleting comments from haters and cleaning up his page.

Cen Wen looked up at Ye Lan, surprised that he had actually let Jiang Chi leave. She said, "Are you heading to bed? I'm just about done here. If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

"Sit down for a moment, I have something to tell you." Ye Lan sat down, picked up a bottle of beer, and took a couple of sips. After a moment, he instructed, "Help me find the audition video for Jiang Chi from The Scum."

Cen Wen was taken aback and said uncertainly, "Isn't that considered an internal document of the film crew? Although it's audition footage for a confirmed role and should have been saved, it... might not be very easy to obtain."

Ye Lan smiled. "If it were easy, would I need you?"

Being affirmed of her work capabilities did not make Cen Wen happy. She thought it over carefully and said reluctantly, "I'll do my best... Can I ask Sister An Ya for help?"

Ye Lan shook his head. "Try not to... the fewer people who know, the better. I want to avoid causing any other trouble."

Cen Wen couldn't help but grumble internally. Wouldn't it be easier to just ask Jiang Chi directly?

But perhaps this was some kind of game between the two of them. Resigned, Cen Wen closed her laptop and stood up. "I understand. But... filming is almost done. Why the sudden interest in this now?"

Ye Lan shook his head. "It's nothing, really. I was just chatting with him today and happened to mention the audition. His expression changed instantly. I was afraid he wouldn't tell me the truth, so I didn't ask..."

But Ye Lan had a nagging feeling that something was off, which only made him want to know more.

Cen Wen nodded. "I'll try to get the video footage as soon as possible."

Ye Lan smiled. "Thanks for your hard work. Get some sleep."