Chapter 46

There was little traffic late at night, and the journey was smooth. In less than an hour, they arrived at the residential complex where Ye Lan lived.

Ye Lan was looking down at his phone. He rolled down the window to show his face, and the security guard quickly let them through.

In the early hours of the morning, the residential area was quiet. Ye Lan put away his phone and gently rubbed the audio-visual buttons on the back seat armrest, his mind racing.

He wanted to ask him to stay the night, but the thought of having only one bed in his house made him hesitate. At such a delicate juncture, saying something like that would make his intentions seem too obvious.

Today, emboldened by the fact that they had both been drinking, he had already crossed a line by taking liberties with the man's waist. To then ask him to stay would be a bit too frivolous.

Although Ye Lan was almost certain that Jiang Chi liked him, before things were brought out into the open, acting too eager would inevitably make it seem like he didn't take the other person seriously, and might make Jiang Chi misunderstand that he just wanted to play around.

Although, Ye Lan asked himself honestly, he really did want to play around.

But he wanted to play around forever.

Ye Lan couldn't learn Ye Huaquan's fickle ways, not only because he was too narcissistic and felt he was losing out whenever he got intimate with anyone, but also because, flirtatious as he was, he had some bottom lines in his heart.

However, this bottom line seemed to have blurred since he met Jiang Chi.

For example, not long after they first met, he had actually given Jiang Chi his home address.

Back when Ye Lan had just debuted, surveillance cameras had been installed at his doorstep, his car had been bugged with listening devices, and his hotel room door had been knocked on by rabid fans in the middle of the night while filming. Most outrageously, his trash had once been rummaged through by Super Entertainment's paparazzi for a whole month.

It wasn't without reason that he used to snap at everyone he met back then.

From his early rise to fame until now, he had seen too many psychopaths. Although he believed he had a clear conscience and wasn't afraid of being investigated, no one wanted to live under someone else's surveillance.

If Ye Lan wanted to live freely, he had to avoid these psychopaths as much as possible.

Ye Lan had his own coolly detached and casual way of dealing with the world, and a circle of friends that ordinary people couldn't enter. Looking back now, even Ye Lan himself found it incredible how Jiang Chi had walked into his life step by step and firmly pitched a camp in his heart.

Perhaps...

It was all because of that one message sent by mistake?

Ye Lan sighed. He had a rare pang of conscience that day, feeling it was wrong to call someone over in the middle of the night only to send them away. He had unintentionally opened a crack, and Jiang Chi had happily squeezed in and made himself at home.

Ye Lan looked at Jiang Chi and thought to himself, if you don't like me, you'd be too heartless.

From beginning to end, I have never been so unguarded with anyone.

"You have to get back to the set early tomorrow, right?" They were about to arrive downstairs at Ye Lan's building. Jiang Chi sat up straight and said softly, "Go home and get some sleep early. You drank just now, so it's best to have some warm milk before you rest. It's good for your stomach and helps you sleep."

Ye Lan glanced sideways at Jiang Chi and said deliberately, "I don't know how to warm it."

"But you even know how to boil dumplings..." Jiang Chi didn't catch Ye Lan's ploy and said with some regret, "If I had known, I would have found a 24-hour convenience store on the way to buy you a bottle..."

Ye Lan was exasperated, but his heart felt a little warm. "I'm teasing you. I'll warm some milk when I get back."

Jiang Chi was relieved and reminded him softly, "It's best not to add sugar, or it won't be good for your stomach anymore."

"Mhm, no sugar," Ye Lan agreed casually.

The car slowly came to a stop. Ye Lan looked at Jiang Chi, his heart still itching. "Come in... and sit for a while?"

If he can't stay the night, sitting for a bit and talking should be fine, right?

It was one thing before he was sure of his feelings, but now that he knew he liked this person, Ye Lan thought about him constantly. He wanted to tease him, to use any opportunity to be alone with him, and if he could take a few liberties, that would be even better.

Unfortunately, Jiang Chi was focused on wanting Ye Lan to rest early, and he was also impatient to fly home and see the autograph Ye Lan had given him. He didn't want to delay for a single minute. He quickly said, "No, no, I won't disturb you. You should go back and rest, so you can get up early tomorrow."

Ye Lan: "..."

Are fans so hard to flirt with these days?

All along the way, Ye Lan had wished he could make Jiang Chi's driver get out of the car to give them some privacy, so he could just do him on the spot. He had been bottling up a belly full of fire until now, and with no outlet for it, his tone worsened considerably. "I was drinking today. I probably won't be able to get up early tomorrow."

"Then..." Jiang Chi noticed Ye Lan was a little impatient and tentatively suggested, "Then... don't turn off your phone. I'll call you tomorrow morning to wake you up?"

Ye Lan sneered internally, thinking, who cares about you waking me up over the phone.

If you really have this much filial piety for your Daddy, why don't you offer to stay the night, and then wake me up the next morning wearing nothing but a shirt while curled up in my arms?!

No matter how bad my morning temper is, I wouldn't possibly take it out on you. At most, I'd just...

Ye Lan let his trashy thoughts run wild in his mind, but on the surface, he remained a gentleman, smiling like a beast in fine clothes. "Forget it, I'll set an alarm myself."

Jiang Chi's filming schedule was only going to be more grueling than his own. It wouldn't be right to make him worry about his affairs when he couldn't even get enough sleep himself. Ye Lan felt a little bad for him.

"Oh... okay." Jiang Chi was a little disappointed, but he didn't forget to add, "Remember to drink the milk."

Ye Lan said, "Got it."

Ye Lan reached out, ruffled Jiang Chi's hair, and got out of the car.

Jiang Chi waited until Ye Lan had entered the building and a little while had passed before telling the driver to go.

When Jiang Chi got home, the first thing he did was go to the full-length mirror in the changing room and lift his shirt.

"Wishing Xiao Chi, good health and a smooth-sailing career."

The signature was Ye Lan's name in two large characters.

Jiang Chi's ears turned red, little by little.

Xiao Chi.

The nickname was a bit intimate; Ye Lan had never called him that to his face.

Jiang Chi recalled the way Ye Lan had carefully signed his name, afraid of hurting him, and his heart filled with sweetness. He took several photos in the mirror, planning to find a chance to print them out and treasure them.

Jiang Chi had been drinking today and had sweated a little. He felt uncomfortable not taking a shower, but it would be a pity to wash it off. He stood in front of the mirror for a while, then suddenly remembered something and sent two more messages to that senior executive at Century Entertainment.

He had unexpectedly seen Ye Lan today and had spent several hours with him. Although he was happy, Jiang Chi had an underlying sense of unease in his heart, always feeling that something was going to happen with the company.

The senior executive he contacted was on good terms with him. That person had helped Jiang Chi a lot with the previous contract breach issue, and their friendship was not shallow. Logically, even if he had been busy and missed the call earlier, he should have called back after seeing it.

But he hadn't.

The few messages Jiang Chi had sent had also sunk like stones into the sea, with no response.

This was even stranger.

It was too late to keep trying to contact him. Jiang Chi sent messages to two other people, and after waiting a while without a reply, he could only wait until he woke up the next day to see.

In the end, Jiang Chi didn't shower. He changed into his pajamas and went to bed.

Early the next morning, Jiang Chi checked his phone. An unknown number had sent him a text message, asking him to call back when he saw it.

The unknown number claimed to be the senior executive Jiang Chi had tried to contact last night.

Jiang Chi didn't hesitate and dialed the number directly.

"Don't contact me on that other number for the time being. It's best if you don't contact anyone else at the company either."

The call was answered quickly. The executive said this in a hurry and then told Jiang Chi to wait and not speak.

After a good while, the person on the other end picked up the phone again, his voice much louder than before. "Jiang Chi? Are you still there?"

"I am." Jiang Chi frowned. "Did something happen?"

The other person sighed and said, "I'm sorry... I'm not sure about the specifics, but I know someone is trying to mess with you recently."

The executive said helplessly, "A lot of people in the company know we're close, so they're hiding things from me. When you contacted me yesterday, someone happened to see it, and they told me to keep my distance for now, to avoid friendly fire. That's when I felt something was wrong."

Jiang Chi was silent for a moment. His lips moved, but he didn't speak.

If this had been in the past, Jiang Chi wouldn't have been afraid to hear that someone wanted to mess with him.

Jiang Chi had a gentle exterior but a steely interior, and a very stubborn personality. After many years in the industry, he had truly remained true to his original intentions, all for one person. He had never gotten involved in anything dirty, so he was never afraid of being slandered. It wasn't as if he hadn't been slandered before; with a clear conscience and appropriate PR, he could always turn public opinion around.

When the company's PR team cooperated well, it could even attract more popularity for him.

But not anymore.

As of half a year ago, Jiang Chi no longer had this confidence.

He had already broken his rule once.

Half a year ago, after his audition for the cast of The Scum, Ren Haichuan and the producer were undecided. They didn't reject Jiang Chi to his face, nor did they confirm the role.

After so many years in the industry, Jiang Chi had finally found a chance to get close to Ye Lan. How could he be willing to let it go? He knew that once the crew confirmed someone else, it would be too late. On the night of the audition, he contacted the producer and laid his cards on the table: as long as he could join the cast, he wouldn't take a single cent of payment.

At the time, no one more outstanding than Jiang Chi had appeared. Relying on his acting skills and the huge bargaining chip of zero pay, Jiang Chi successfully joined the cast.

Many people in the company knew about this. If it were to be exposed...

The executive said uneasily, "Although I'm still not clear on the inside story, it seems someone is already specifically preparing for this. It's coming on strong. When it really blows up, you..."

The tactics for slandering someone in the entertainment industry were actually all quite similar. Grab onto one small mistake, then pin all sorts of other black marks, both real and fake, on that person. As long as one accusation had irrefutable proof, no one would believe whether you did the other things or not.

If it were truly exposed, it would be about more than just the zero-pay incident. "Scheming," "stealing roles," "sleeping his way to the top," "relying on connections"...

Jiang Chi could list a whole circle of "black marks" for himself.

Jiang Chi took a deep breath. Ye Lan...

If he found out, what would he think of me?

"Thank you..." After a moment of silence, Jiang Chi finally found his voice and said softly, "Thanks for the warning. I... I'll go to the company today and check on the situation."

"The main thing is I don't know why the company is doing this. It doesn't benefit them either..." The executive was anxious, but he couldn't help, so he could only advise, "Don't panic either. It hasn't been exposed yet, so there's definitely still room to maneuver."

Jiang Chi nodded. "I know."

The executive added, "Aren't you still filming? Can you find the time today?"

"I'll have to find the time even if I can't." Jiang Chi gritted his teeth. "I have to... resolve this matter before he finds out."

Unfortunately, Jiang Chi had underestimated Ye Lan's studio.

On the way back to the set of The Regent Prince, Ye Lan received a call from An Ya.

Ye Lan's morning grumpiness hadn't dissipated yet. He half-closed his eyes and said impatiently, "What is it? What trouble have I caused now?"

"None," An Ya said. "It's Jiang Chi."

Ye Lan's eyes instantly flew open.

An Ya let out a breath. "Finally... I know how he managed to squeeze his way into the cast of The Scum."