Chapter 45

Jiang Chi's face flushed hotly.

Jiang Chi was in his twenties, after all. Although his romantic experience was somewhat lacking, as an adult who knew how the world worked, he could deduce from Ye Lan's few ambiguous words just now that this autograph... was probably going to be signed on his body?!

Jiang Chi's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. 'I'm not just flattering myself, am I?'

Apparently not.

Because Ye Lan had already started evaluating in a sharp tone: "On your arm? But the area isn't big enough... I can't sign many words."

"On your neck? It wouldn't be good if people saw it."

"Your back... you can't see it yourself, so signing it would be pointless."

"The skin on your chest is too fragile, I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it..."

In the distance, Yu Baiyi was chatting with a rather famous variety show host. She glanced in their direction and raised her glass with a smile.

This beast in fine clothes, Ye Lan, gave a gentlemanly nod to Yu Baiyi, then turned his head to whisper to Jiang Chi, "On your waist, are you ticklish?"

Jiang Chi's face was so red it could bleed: "Yes..."

"That sensitive?" Ye Lan said, surprised, and continued, "Then that only leaves..."

"But it's fine!" Jiang Chi could almost guess what Ye Lan was going to say next. He interrupted him with a flushed face, "I can bear it..."

Ye Lan couldn't help but laugh, and didn't continue.

One should know when to stop. If he really teased him too much, it would be bad if Jiang Chi started avoiding him from now on.

But relying on his status as a senior and senior brother, a little workplace sexual harassment shouldn't be too much, right?

Ye Lan looked at Jiang Chi with a smile, continuing to take verbal advantage of him: "Then I'll sign it?"

Jiang Chi looked at Ye Lan with a troubled expression, almost wanting to press his palms together and beg him.

"Unwilling?" Ye Lan smiled. "This is the reward you asked for yourself. It'd be a pity to waste it, wouldn't it?"

Of course it can't be wasted!

But...

Jiang Chi looked around awkwardly. With so many people watching, if he and Ye Lan went to the restroom together, what would others think? There was media inside the venue too, if they took pictures...

The incident of him visiting the set with pheasant soup hadn't even died down yet. If he were photographed entering and exiting the restroom with Ye Lan, he himself would be fine—it's not like anyone was managing him now anyway—but the people at Ye Lan's Studio would probably go crazy, right?

Ye Lan was in a great mood watching Jiang Chi's dilemma. He didn't really intend to drag Jiang Chi to the restroom; that would be too blatant. No matter how docile Jiang Chi was, he might not actually agree to let him... on his body.

"Today I..." Jiang Chi coughed, looked away, and said in a low voice, "I came in a nanny van today. The van is very big and spacious. When the party's over in a bit, I'll take you back... okay?"

Jiang Chi added in a small voice: "In the van... you can sign it."

Ye Lan was startled.

Ye Lan touched the corner of his mouth... If it weren't for the fact that Jiang Chi's contract had yet to be signed, there was a sentence he almost blurted out.

Why was Jiang Chi so accommodating, letting him have his way?

Ye Lan didn't believe Jiang Chi was this obedient with everyone. Otherwise, in all his years in the industry, he would have been eaten alive, with not even bones left.

Jiang Chi had been a huge hit for almost two years now. He should have long been used to being adulated. It was already remarkable that he hadn't developed an arrogant and rampant temper. How could he possibly not have a temper with anyone?

If he were really that soft-tempered and indecisive, he would have been signed by Yu Xinze back then. Would it even have been his turn?

Jiang Chi understood everything. He wasn't unconditionally tolerant of everyone.

If he was only like this with him...

If he was only like this with him...

Ye Lan drained the red wine in his hand and asked in his heart, 'You must like me, right?'

Jiang Chi looked at Ye Lan uneasily and asked again, abashed, "I'll take you back... is that okay?"

"In the van..." While cursing himself in his heart, Ye Lan uncontrollably continued to push Jiang Chi's boundaries. "I can sign it however I want?"

Now even Jiang Chi's ears turned red. He took a sip of red wine and gave a barely audible "mm-hmm."

Ye Lan: "..." He suddenly wanted a glass of ice water.

Ye Lan didn't give a clear reply. Jiang Chi, emboldened by the wine, confirmed again: "Can I take you back?"

It should be okay, right? He even told him he could sign it however he wanted...

"What do you think?"

Ye Lan smiled helplessly, took out his phone, and sent a message to his driver, Old Jin, right in front of Jiang Chi: No need to wait, I'm taking someone else's car.

Jiang Chi was overjoyed. It was so late, Ye Lan couldn't possibly rush back to the film crew overnight. He would definitely be going back to his own home. It was a full hour's drive from here to Ye Lan's house. He could spend an hour with Ye Lan in the car!

"What are you two talking about?" Yu Baiyi walked over with half a glass of red wine, smiling at Jiang Chi. "Jiang Chi really likes the wine today? Looks like you've had quite a bit."

Jiang Chi touched his face awkwardly and managed to explain, "I like it very much... All the wines taste great, so I couldn't help but try a little more. Please don't laugh at me."

"No, no, look at you... It was just a joke, please don't say that. I'm happy that you could come and show your support." Yu Baiyi genuinely liked Jiang Chi. She smiled and asked a waiter to prepare some fruit juice and a wet towel for Jiang Chi to sober up, saying generously, "If you like any particular bottle, just tell the waiter to put your name on it, and take it with you when you leave later."

Jiang Chi quickly smiled and said there was no need. Yu Baiyi waved her hand: "Why be so polite? We're giving some to everyone who came to show support today. You're just too thin-skinned. Take Ye Lan... when we were filming together before, he took plenty of wine from me. Sometimes he even had to drink before a scene, and when the director found out, he would blame it on me. This kind of person..."

Ye Lan gave a helpless smile: "Senior Sister, give me some face, will you?"

Yu Baiyi suppressed her laughter and nodded: "Mmm, I won't expose your shortcomings in front of our little junior brother."

Ye Lan maintained a proper smile on his face and said, "Little junior brother?"

"That's right." Yu Baiyi gently clinked glasses with Jiang Chi, smiling. "I didn't get a chance to congratulate you just now. From now on, we'll be artists at the same company. I won't give any official spiel about looking out for each other. In the future, if you need help with anything, just let me know."

Jiang Chi's expression stiffened. He smiled, nodded, and downed the red wine in his glass: "Yes, thank you, Teacher Yu."

"Ye Lan." Yu Baiyi looked at Ye Lan. "Director Kong Baixia is here too. Want to go over and say hello?"

Ye Lan subconsciously looked at Jiang Chi. Jiang Chi quickly said, "Please, go ahead. I saw a few acquaintances just now, I'll go chat with them."

Ye Lan nodded, then turned his head and instructed Jiang Chi in a low voice: "Remember to wait for me."

Jiang Chi obediently agreed. Yu Baiyi smiled, took Ye Lan's arm, and they walked away.

Jiang Chi took the juice a waiter brought him, said thank you, and took a few sips to calm down.

Jiang Chi went to the men's smoking room and called Geng Tian.

"Told who?" Geng Tian was bewildered. "I didn't tell anyone. After you contacted me last time, I... haven't I been busy? I haven't even had time to think about this, how could I have told anyone else."

Jiang Chi frowned. Although he wasn't close with Geng Tian, after getting along for these few years, he still had some understanding of him. Geng Tian loved money and would occasionally do some minor things behind his back, but most were harmless, and he wouldn't intentionally try to hurt him.

"Don't overthink it, I'm just asking." Since so many people already knew, Jiang Chi decided to just tell the truth. "It seems like quite a few people already know about me terminating my contract with the company and going to Starlight."

Geng Tian had thought Jiang Chi was calling to hold him accountable and bring up the old issue of him hiding the Starlight matter. Hearing this, he was first stunned, then asked after a moment, "Besides me, who else did you tell?"

"Li Weili," Jiang Chi said. "He definitely wouldn't spread it around... The company only knows I'm terminating my contract. They didn't ask me what my next plans are, and I didn't bring it up."

Geng Tian said: "Then it must have been the people from Starlight who let it out? This circle is only so big. Ever since your contract had half a year left, people have been contacting you and me. There have always been a lot of people paying attention. It's not strange for something to be leaked at some stage."

"That part isn't strange, but for it to be revealed to so many people with such fanfare is a bit off..." Jiang Chi had just been coaxed into drinking a lot by Ye Lan, and his mind was a bit muddled. He rubbed the space between his eyebrows, was quiet for a moment, then said, "Brother Geng, have you heard anything from the company?"

"Not really..."

Geng Tian wasn't lying this time. Because he had a guilty conscience and was also afraid of Ye Lan, he had never discussed the contract termination with Jiang Chi in detail. On the other hand, the company blamed him for his incompetence in failing to keep Jiang Chi and was very dissatisfied with him. After a few cold remarks from the higher-ups, he was told to focus all his energy on managing new talents. Without Jiang Chi, Geng Tian had basically lost half of his treasury. In order to quickly cultivate a newcomer to replace Jiang Chi, he was swamped with work and hadn't heard anything unusual at all.

Jiang Chi knew he couldn't get any information from Geng Tian, so he didn't say more. Before hanging up, he said, "Brother Geng... thank you for your hard work all these years."

"..."

These past few days, while Geng Tian was trying to rush the new talents' development, he would often think of Jiang Chi whenever he was angered by those newcomers who didn't know their own limits yet acted superior.

Geng Tian was silent, holding back the words "Otherwise, I'll switch companies with you."

Putting aside the breach of contract fee he'd have to pay Century Entertainment that would make his heart ache, even if he shamelessly went with Jiang Chi, would he really be able to secure a place for himself in the star-studded Starlight?

Geng Tian couldn't bear to part with the gold mine that was Jiang Chi, yet he was too cowardly and lacked Jiang Chi's courage to risk it all to rebuild his empire.

"Hard work or not, after signing you, I earned quite a bit too." Geng Tian felt helpless but also a little relieved. "In the future... just focus on your own development. Starlight is a big stage, but the competition is also fierce. If you want to get the best resources, you have to work hard and climb to the top, strive to be number one, otherwise it's all for nothing."

Jiang Chi smiled: "Mmm."

After hanging up, Jiang Chi called a senior executive at Century Entertainment that he was familiar with, but unfortunately, the call didn't go through.

Jiang Chi left a message for the executive and exited the smoking room.

"Didn't you quit?" Ye Lan was standing in the corridor not far from the smoking room. "Started smoking again?"

Jiang Chi quickly shook his head: "No, no, I just came to make a phone call."

Ye Lan nodded and didn't ask any further. He checked the time: "It's getting late, shall we head out?"

Take Ye Lan home!

Jiang Chi's eyes lit up: "Can we... leave together?"

"Why not?" Ye Lan raised an eyebrow. "Is there something about us that can't see the light of day?"

Jiang Chi was at a loss for words, thinking, 'You don't, but I do.'

But Ye Lan was right. The more open they were, the less attention they would attract. The two of them said their goodbyes to Yu Baiyi together and left, one after the other.

They didn't have the nanny van pull up to the main entrance to attract attention. Instead, they went down to the garage themselves and left directly from there.

It was not yet twelve when they left. The media, who had come for Film Empress Yu, were still quietly walking around the periphery of the banquet, taking a few photos from time to time. No one noticed Ye Lan and Jiang Chi.

It wasn't the first time Jiang Chi's driver had driven Ye Lan, but he was still so nervous he didn't dare to look back. He drove steadily, his neck stiff and unmoving.

Jiang Chi's driver was a middle-aged man just over forty, with a wife and daughter. Like Li Weili, he was affiliated with Century Entertainment Company, but he received his salary from Jiang Chi every month.

Jiang Chi was good-tempered and polite to those who took care of him. He paid a high salary, the work was usually easy, and he was very accommodating if anything came up. A few days ago, the driver's daughter fell ill with no one to look after her, and the whole family was frantic. When Jiang Chi heard about it, he directly told him to go home and take care of his daughter, and even had the driver take a basket of fruit on his behalf. After taking four or five days off in a row, when he came back, there was no mention of docking his pay. The driver would be lying if he said he wasn't moved.

Having driven for Jiang Chi for several years, the driver had vaguely heard from Jiang Chi, Li Weili, and Geng Tian that Jiang Chi liked Ye Lan.

The driver remembered it clearly. Three years ago, Jiang Chi was supposed to be able to see Ye Lan at a charity gala. Jiang Chi had prepared for a long time, but unfortunately, he couldn't make it because he had to rush to a film set.

For several days after that, Jiang Chi became much quieter.

The driver also remembered Geng Tian scolding Jiang Chi at the time: "When you become a huge star, won't there be plenty of opportunities like this? With this kind of energy, you might as well take on more jobs!"

Even after being scolded, Jiang Chi didn't say anything. He wasn't angry or ashamed, just quietly looked at his phone, at pictures of Ye Lan from that charity gala.

Jiang Chi seemed unaffected, but the driver felt quite bad for him at the time.

So, although the older driver found it hard to understand things between "two men," he was still very happy to see Ye Lan get into Jiang Chi's car today.

He knew Jiang Chi had come to attend some gala tonight, and hadn't he run into Ye Lan? He even brought him into the car!

Until the car had driven quite a distance and was waiting at a red light...

The driver clearly heard Ye Lan ask softly from the back seat, a smile in his voice: "Does it hurt?"

...

A bead of sweat formed on the tip of the driver's nose.

This debauched entertainment circle...

The driver looked down on such things, but when he thought about it being Jiang Chi... it didn't seem so bad. He pulled himself together, tried his best to ignore the sounds from behind, and focused on driving.

Using the mottled light shining through the car window, Ye Lan gently wrote on Jiang Chi's waist.

He was afraid the sharp tip of the fountain pen would hurt Jiang Chi, so he held one hand steady on Jiang Chi's waist to keep him from moving around.

Jiang Chi's brow was tightly furrowed and his ears were red. He was... really ticklish.

Ye Lan couldn't see Jiang Chi's expression clearly. He asked with a laugh, "Does it hurt? Or is it ticklish? Forget it... give me a piece of paper, I'll sign it properly for you after we get out of the car, okay?"

"S-sign it." Jiang Chi was afraid Ye Lan would change his mind again in a moment, and he was also faintly looking forward to it. "It doesn't hurt, and it's not very ticklish..."

Ye Lan waited until the car started moving again and was driving smoothly before he continued writing. With his well-proportioned handwriting, he slowly finished the next two lines on Jiang Chi's waist.

Jiang Chi was cooperatively obedient the whole time. Ye Lan couldn't resist being a little mischievous. When he got to the two names in the signature at the end, he pulled the man's clothes down a little further before executing his flamboyant signature.

"Done." Ye Lan capped the pen and said intentionally, "Don't be in a hurry to fix your clothes. What if it gets smudged?"

Jiang Chi's hands froze. He clutched his clothes, his face completely red, and didn't try to straighten them.

Ye Lan suppressed his laughter, conveniently slipped the fountain pen into Jiang Chi's shirt pocket, and said, "Wash it off after you've had a look at home. If you want another autograph, just tell me. I can give you a new one anytime."

For some reason, Jiang Chi felt that Ye Lan's words were incredibly ambiguous. He suppressed his shyness and thanked him in a small voice: "Mmm..."