Chapter 43

As Ye Lan's voice fell, the two people in the room were stunned.

Ye Lan subconsciously looked left and right, then turned his head to smoke quietly, not speaking anymore.

"You..." An Ya couldn't be bothered to be angry anymore. She opened her mouth, and it took a long while before she found her voice, "You... doing him... what does that mean?"

Ye Lan raised his eyes to look at An Ya. Following the words that had slipped out in a fit of anger, the ambiguous and unclear mass that had been stuck in his heart these past few days instantly became clear and bright.

Ye Lan took a deep drag from his cigarette, pursed his lips, and smiled. "The literal meaning."

"I want to do him."

"I want to kiss him."

"I want to sleep with him."

Ye Lan didn't know if he was saying it for An Ya to hear or for himself. "Otherwise, why would I be so patient with him? Otherwise, why would I be so good to him?"

Ye Lan looked at An Ya. "You should have noticed long ago, right? Don't you find it strange? If I didn't like him, would I be so damn self-deprecating as to pave the way for him time and time again?!"

And he's never once appreciated it! Just yesterday, I wanted to take Jiang Chi to meet the producer, and he ran faster than a rabbit.

An Ya's mind was reeling from Ye Lan's shock. Hearing this, she didn't forget to say in an unkind tone, "Sorry, I really didn't notice. Just from hearing you on the phone earlier shooing him off to find a house elsewhere, I couldn't tell you had any other intentions."

"I was teasing him." Ye Lan frowned. "He wasn't talking to me properly, so he blames me for bullying him?"

An Ya rubbed her chest with difficulty, giving up on the idea of reasoning properly with Ye Lan.

"Then..." An Ya asked worriedly, "Does he... have those kinds of feelings for you?"

Ye Lan pondered for a moment and said lightly, "Not sure."

"What do you mean, not sure?!" An Ya was about to die from anxiety. "Can you give me a straight answer? If you two are getting together tomorrow, I at least need to know! Don't I have to arrange PR preparations?"

Ye Lan was so exasperated he laughed. "Am I lying to you? Not sure means not sure."

Although Ye Lan lived in his own world and rarely cared about other people's opinions and feelings, he wasn't stupid, nor did he deign to pretend to be.

He could feel that Jiang Chi liked him.

But...

Jiang Chi was his fan; this point was already beyond doubt.

So, whether his actions and expressions were a fan's reverence for their idol, or if he had genuinely fallen for him, was hard to say.

Ye Lan wasn't completely certain.

An Ya let out a laugh. "You've known each other for half a year, before and after filming, and you're still not sure now?"

Ye Lan said irritably, "I told you! He's my fan!"

"So what if he's your fan?" An Ya flared up. "Liking and not liking, aren't there only two options?"

"What do you mean there are two options?!" Ye Lan retorted, "Is there anyone in this world who doesn't like me?"

An Ya: "..."

"Yes, no one could not fall in love with you... You are the tear shed when Nuwa mended the sky, the pearl lost when God created the world..." An Ya thought of Ye Lan's teeming anti-fans and felt a little breathless. She thought listlessly, 'In the future, I just won't help him delete comments anymore.' But that might not even work. Film Emperor Ye might just think those who spoke ill of him were doing it on purpose to get his attention...

An Ya rubbed the space between her brows, trying her best to calm down and not be led astray by Ye Lan. "So right now, you're not sure if he likes you in the way one likes an idol, or in the way one wants to sleep with you?"

Ye Lan nodded and frowned. "I told you before, when he stayed over at my place, for one night..."

"That's enough! You've already told me, no need to repeat it!" An Ya's head was aching so much she wanted to scream. "I know you're extremely regretful that he didn't flirt with you or climb into your bed those two days! That's enough!"

Ye Lan raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I'm not regretful. It's not like there won't be chances in the future. He's moving over to my area."

An Ya forgave Ye Lan for the hundredth time in her heart. While chanting the Great Compassion Mantra internally, she asked, "Then why don't you... find a way to make sure?"

"What's the rush?" Ye Lan said lightly, "He hasn't officially signed with Starlight yet."

An Ya was stunned for a moment, then rendered speechless. "...Right."

An Ya was at a loss for words. This was the thing she admired most about Ye Lan; on critical matters, he could always grasp the key point with stability, precision, and ruthlessness.

"We have to stabilize him first, lest he doesn't like you and gets so scared that he doesn't even want to join the company..." Ye Lan's gaze was sharp. An Ya coughed and changed her words, "Anyway... let's wait until after he signs, to prevent this from falling through."

Ye Lan nodded. "It's only a few more months anyway..."

An Ya looked at Ye Lan and couldn't help but say venomously, "But what if he just isn't willing to sleep with you?"

Ye Lan froze for a second, then smiled.

"I'll find a way to make him willing."

An Ya said silently, "This guy is a hooligan.".

Ye Lan chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, I'm not that cruel. I won't wait for him to sign and then threaten him with resources, nor will I do anything dirty to him... I'm willing to pursue him, to pursue him properly."

An Ya sighed and nodded. "Then good luck..."

Ye Lan gave a sarcastic smile. "You're washing your hands of it again?"

An Ya said angrily, "I'm just annoyed that you're always looking for trouble and ruining your own popularity! Do you think I would stop you from dating? In your eyes, am I just treating you as a cash cow? Besides, can I even stop you? Why don't you just fire me today to save me the trouble?"

"I was too harsh just now, don't take it to heart." An Ya had been Starlight Media's top agent back in the day. When he left Starlight, she had resolutely followed, quitting her job and taking the risk to form a studio with him. Over the years, she had managed things for him and cleaned up his messes. Ye Lan had seen it all. He smiled and poured An Ya a glass of juice. "Stop drinking coffee, it's not good for your skin."

An Ya huffed. "Getting angry less often is better than anything."

Every time Ye Lan caused some trouble, the two of them would bicker for a bit. They were both used to it. After drinking juice together for a while, they both calmed down. An Ya said earnestly, "Of course I won't interfere in your romantic affairs, but as a friend, let me give you a piece of advice: don't think of everything too idealistically."

"He's too young, and none of us know him very well..." An Ya, afraid of starting another argument, didn't say the ugliest words and only said, "For him to have gotten to this position today, it's impossible for him to be as pure as a blank sheet of paper. No one's a fool. For example, that thing we couldn't find out before—why he was able to join the cast of 'The Scum'."

"He's a decent person, but a person's ambitions will always grow bigger and bigger. If there's one day..." An Ya looked at Ye Lan calmly. "If he wants to harm you, to step on you to climb higher, don't go crazy."

Ye Lan raised his chin slightly, lost in thought.

"If that day really comes." The bits and pieces of their interactions over the past half-year flashed through Ye Lan's mind like a revolving lantern. Ye Lan smiled. "I'll just consider myself blind."

Ye Lan placed the empty glass on the table.

"I'll accept it."

If Ye Lan accepted it, it meant everyone in Ye Lan's studio had to accept it.

"The contract signing is coming up soon, don't cause any more news. Starlight isn't ours, after all. Jiang Chi's public image will directly affect how smoothly he signs with Starlight." An Ya instructed, "If you miss him..."

An Ya thought for a moment and said, "Let me see if I can arrange an opportunity for you two to appear on the same stage."

Although she didn't want the two of them to appear in front of the camera together so soon, meeting openly was better than being caught dating secretly.

Even if something were to be exposed in the future, it could be explained away as them being "good bros".

Ye Lan nodded. "Thanks for your hard work."

An Ya got up, and Ye Lan personally saw her off, but An Ya was afraid he would go out and give the paparazzi the middle finger, so she pushed him back inside.

A while after An Ya left, Ye Lan called Cen Wen, who had been avoiding him, back. Cen Wen was reluctant, afraid that Ye Lan would ask her to collect parking fees from the paparazzi again.

Ye Lan sneered, "What are you thinking? Why would I make things difficult for you? Help me look around, see if there are any suitable houses near my place, preferably for sale."

Cen Wen jotted it down. "Xixi is still in North City. I'll have her look for one, but it might not be that fast. Do you need it urgently?"

"As fast as possible."

Ye Lan wasn't actually in a hurry. A villa not far behind his house, slightly smaller than his own, belonged to Ye Huaquan. Ye Huaquan had bought it back then to be his cousin's wedding house, but it hadn't been used yet. Ye Lan had better houses elsewhere; he could use one to trade with Ye Huaquan.

After giving Cen Wen her instructions, Ye Lan went to the conference room to wait for everyone to study the script.

Most of the main actors hadn't arrived yet. Ye Lan sat alone to the side, spacing out from time to time.

He liked Jiang Chi.

After willingly admitting to himself that he liked Jiang Chi, Ye Lan felt much more at ease than usual.

He just liked him, wanted to be good to him, wanted to dote on him, sleep with him.

Ye Lan gently stroked the wrap gift from Jiang Chi on his right wrist and chuckled lightly.

'You'd better like me too.'

'Otherwise, I'll have plenty of ways to torment you in the future.'

An Ya was very efficient. Before evening, she had already confirmed an engagement for Ye Lan.

"Actually, it's not really an engagement..." An Ya said helplessly, "I tried my best, but the quality of those variety shows is just... even if I agreed to let you go, others in the studio wouldn't. However, I just received an invitation."

"Film Empress Yu Baiyi is holding a wine tasting party in a week. It's semi-public. She's invited many celebrities, each one a bigger name than the last. You've worked with Yu Baiyi before, so it wouldn't be out of place for you to go show your support."

The corner of Ye Lan's mouth lifted. "The invitation for his side..."

"If you grace them with your presence, Film Empress Yu definitely won't give you just one invitation." An Ya said crisply, "I'll find a way to get the other invitation into Jiang Chi's hands and ensure he attends."

Ye Lan lightly kissed the microphone part of his phone and smiled. "Why so considerate?"

An Ya said coldly, "Save that routine to coax him. I've long been immune... There will be no shortage of entertainment reporters that night. I can't be bothered to keep an eye on you, so be careful yourself."

Ye Lan chuckled. "Don't worry."

Ye Lan hung up and immediately called Jiang Chi.

Jiang Chi hadn't finished work yet and was drily waiting for his scene. He was overjoyed to receive Ye Lan's call.

He had just called this morning! And now another call at night!

This life...

Jiang Chi was happy. He avoided the crowd on set and found a quiet place to chatter with Ye Lan. "After you agreed, I went and had Li Weili help me look for houses. Unfortunately, I haven't found a suitable one yet, but there's no hurry. There are still two or three months, and the company hasn't kicked me out yet. I'll take my time looking..."

"No hurry with that." Ye Lan already had a plan. "I've had someone look for you too."

"Thank you, Brother Ye Lan..." The thought of being neighbors with Ye Lan in the future made Jiang Chi so happy he felt like he was floating. "You... could you please tell the person helping to look for a house that I'm not picky about the layout? As long as the district and location are good, it's fine. I'll be living alone anyway, so a smaller place is okay too. Also..."

Ye Lan listened with a smile as Jiang Chi rambled on. After a moment, he suddenly interrupted him and asked, "By the way, Jiang Chi, how's your alcohol tolerance?"

Jiang Chi was stunned for a moment and answered honestly, "Not very good... Why? I-I can practice!"

"No need..." There was a smile in Ye Lan's eyes. "Knowing your tolerance is low... makes me feel at ease."