Chapter 55

"Kid..."

Ye Lan said with a smile on his lips, teasing in a low voice as he washed his hands, "A little fast, aren't we? Been practicing celibacy for too long?"

Jiang Chi was half-leaning on the vanity, his long, clean fingers tightly gripping the smooth countertop. His cheeks were flushed, and his breathing was much heavier than usual. His heart was pounding, and he didn't dare to look at Ye Lan. He lowered his head to stare at the bathroom's patterned floor, frantically wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

So embarrassing... I might as well be dead!

Ye Lan held back his laughter and didn't tease him anymore.

After washing his hands, he took the opportunity to splash his face with some cool water, suppressing the fire that Jiang Chi had stirred up in him.

Jiang Chi wasn't the only one who was desperately missing his lover.

These past few days, Ye Lan's mind had been almost completely filled with Jiang Chi.

He thought about him, worried about the trouble he had gotten into for his sake before.

He was afraid Jiang Chi missed him too much, afraid he would be ostracized on set.

So he tried every means possible to use this opportunity to visit Jiang Chi on set.

Putting on a show of being angry before was one thing, but now that he had pulled the man into the bathroom where they didn't have to worry about others, Ye Lan couldn't restrain his desire to be intimate with Jiang Chi. He was careless with his hands, and without meaning to, he had aroused Jiang Chi.

Lost in a daze of passion, Jiang Chi only knew to cooperate with Ye Lan. When he realized he was having a reaction, he was so embarrassed he wanted to jump into the sink.

'Ye Lan only kissed me, how could I... I should just chop it off!'

Ye Lan knew his lover was thin-skinned, so he kept a straight face. Afraid that people outside might hear something, he sealed Jiang Chi's mouth with his own, then gently and considerately helped him take care of his problem.

"I know you really missed me."

"Still haven't snapped out of it?" Ye Lan dried his hands, stood in front of Jiang Chi, and bent down to kiss his lips, teasing in a low voice, "Or are you still savoring the moment?"

Jiang Chi's thoughts had been exposed. He dodged backward guiltily and covered up, "No... my waist is just a little weak..."

"Your stamina is lacking, kid. You're already weak?"

Ye Lan placed a hand on Jiang Chi's waist, pulling him back into his embrace. He lowered his head to tidy up Jiang Chi's loosely hanging waistband.

"I..." Jiang Chi swallowed and said shyly, "I can do it myself..."

"Don't touch." Ye Lan lightly slapped Jiang Chi's hand, gesturing for him to wrap his arms around his waist or shoulders. "What's wrong? You let me take them off but won't let me put them on?"

Jiang Chi's heart felt full. He whispered, "I'll let you."

"Then be good." Ye Lan tucked Jiang Chi's white shirt into his pants, taking the opportunity to cop a little feel. After slowly and neatly tidying it up, he tightened his belt. Ye Lan fiddled with Jiang Chi's small, delicate belt buckle and frowned. "It didn't seem this troublesome when I was undoing it... How does this thing work?"

Jiang Chi was very obedient. Since Ye Lan told him not to touch it, he didn't dare to. Only when Ye Lan asked did he explain in a small voice, "Underneath... there's a clasp underneath. You have to flick it open first, then... Should I do it myself?"

"Let me see..." Ye Lan had just had a drink, so his reactions were a bit slow. He squinted and tilted his head to take a look, then smiled. "I see it. What kind of god-awful design is this?"

Ye Lan fastened Jiang Chi's belt buckle, then tugged at his waistband and looked up. "Too tight?"

Jiang Chi shook his head, his heart warm. "It's perfect."

"Then let's go back." Ye Lan let go of Jiang Chi. "The two of us have been 'using the restroom' for far too long."

Jiang Chi remembered that someone seemed to have tried to push the door open earlier and belatedly grew embarrassed. "Just now..."

"Your director. It's fine." Ye Lan ruffled Jiang Chi's hair, unconcerned. "He'll find out sooner or later, so might as well not hide it."

Jiang Chi was stunned. "Sooner or later?"

"What do you think?" Every time Jiang Chi encountered something he didn't understand, his lips would part slightly in a daze, looking incredibly cute. Ye Lan lowered his head and pressed a kiss to Jiang Chi's lips. "Unless we completely avoid each other, do you think everyone else is an idiot? Even if you manage to hide it today, over time, you can't be sneaky forever, can you? They won't spread it around anyway, so just let nature take its course."

Ye Lan's words "over time" landed heavily on Jiang Chi's heart. Jiang Chi's lips moved slightly as he mulled over those words in his mind, and his entire heart grew warm.

Ye Lan and Jiang Chi returned to their seats. The two directors acted like nothing had happened and continued to chat and clink glasses. Ye Lan knew Jiang Chi was a lightweight and was afraid he'd be uncomfortable if he got drunk later that night, so he took two drinks for him.

Everyone was just drinking for fun. Seeing Ye Lan's intention to block the drinks, the directors didn't press further. Yin Jiehong chatted with Jiang Chi in a gentle voice for a bit, asking about his plans for the second half of the year and which university he had graduated from. Jiang Chi answered each question, and Yin Jiehong smiled. "I've given a lecture at your university before, though you probably hadn't enrolled yet. I guess it's fate... When Ye Lan said he wanted to be a producer himself, I advised him to be cautious. But now that I've gotten to know you, I feel that he has made a well-considered decision."

Jiang Chi was stunned. "Producing it yourself?"

"Ye Lan didn't tell you?" Yin Jiehong was surprised. "Ye Lan's Studio is already collecting and selecting scripts and gradually putting together a production crew. You didn't know?"

"It's not set in stone yet, so I didn't mention it to him." Ye Lan clinked his glass with Yin Jiehong's. "No rush."

Yin Jiehong and Ye Lan still had to rush back to their set, so they couldn't delay any longer. The four of them sat for a little while longer before getting up.

Once in the car, the two directors automatically sat in the first back row, leaving the last row for the couple who had finally gotten a chance to meet.

The two in front chatted nonstop, their voices quite loud. Jiang Chi estimated they couldn't hear him and whispered in Ye Lan's ear, "Why didn't you tell me you were going to be a producer yourself?"

This wasn't a whim for Ye Lan. The matter of producing and preparing a film himself was a decision he made after a long discussion with An Ya.

If he were the producer himself, unless he hired a director like Ren Haichuan, Ye Lan would have the final say on set. In a sense, this was the perfect setup for purposefully promoting someone.

He would decide on the casting, control the filming schedule, and for post-production publicity, he could coordinate with the studio's rhythm to give Jiang Chi a hard push and help him successfully transition his career.

Although Ye Lan never said it out loud, he still held a grudge about the Century Entertainment incident. He was holding his breath, determined to help Jiang Chi climb another step up the ladder.

It would piss off those bastards who were hoping for Jiang Chi's career to fade.

But there was no need to mention this to Jiang Chi. Ye Lan chuckled in a low voice, "I was going to tell you, but you ran away, didn't you?"

Jiang Chi didn't want Ye Lan to still be holding a grudge and said softly in resignation, "You already said you're not angry anymore..."

"That was just to make you happy. I was actually keeping a tally in my heart." Ye Lan raised a hand and scraped it across Jiang Chi's cheek, his voice low. "I said I was going to pursue you properly. Due to work, I can't always see you. In terms of your career... I have to help where I can, right? Otherwise, just paying lip service all day, what kind of pursuit is that?"

Jiang Chi hadn't expected Ye Lan to still remember that. He couldn't help but laugh. "I've already agreed to be with you, why are you still pursuing..."

"I feel like it." Ye Lan took Jiang Chi's hand and squeezed it gently, teasing, "Are you touched? Don't be... this is nothing. Besides, Jiang Chi, don't get your hopes up, thinking things will be easy just because I'm the producer. I'm a perfectionist when I film, I don't tolerate any flaws, and it's even more so for a film I'm producing myself. I'll probably scold you even more harshly than Ren Haichuan."

"Your performance is inconsistent, your acting is unstable, you're slow to get out of character and it affects the filming schedule..." Ye Lan listed Jiang Chi's acting deficiencies and sneered, "I remember all of your faults."

After working together for so long, Ye Lan already knew Jiang Chi's situation like the back of his hand. Every sentence hit one of Jiang Chi's weak spots. Jiang Chi was embarrassed by Ye Lan's words and gave a dry, awkward laugh, silently complaining in his heart. 'Who says beauty is in the eye of the beholder?! Ye Lan sees all my shortcomings and flaws clearly, not missing a single one.'

"Nervous?" Ye Lan glanced at the front. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he suddenly turned his head and kissed Jiang Chi on the cheek. "Just teasing you. How could I bear to actually scold you in front of so many people... You're so thin-skinned. If I really let my rotten temper loose, wouldn't I scold you to tears?"

Jiang Chi quickly defended himself, "I don't cry that easily."

"Not easily... but I still couldn't bear it." Ye Lan's heart softened first, but he couldn't help but try to scare Jiang Chi. "I have to protect your pride in front of others, but behind the scenes is another story."

"If you can't get it right all day and keep making mistakes, when we get back to the hotel at night and into our own room... I might have to carry out some private punishment on you." Ye Lan licked his lips, acting like a hooligan, but justifiably so. "As for the content of that private punishment... that will depend on my mood."

Jiang Chi's Adam's apple bobbed, and his ears gradually turned red.

Without Ye Lan needing to elaborate, Jiang Chi could roughly imagine what kind of "lessons" Ye Lan would teach him in private.

However...

Jiang Chi's eyes lit up. "We'll be in the same room then?"

"What else?" Ye Lan narrowed his eyes. "The big boss and producer wants to sleep in your room, got a problem with that?"

Jiang Chi shook his head vigorously, too happy to even think of protesting.

"Speaking of rooms..." Ye Lan rummaged in his coat pocket, took something out, and handed it to Jiang Chi. "Cen Wen just gave this to me yesterday. Perfect timing to give it to you."

Jiang Chi froze. What Ye Lan had placed in his hand was a set of keys.

"The keys to the main door of the house and the garage." Ye Lan said softly, "I don't know your work schedule. If you have to go back to North City for something, you can just go home yourself. The property management and security team already recognize your car, and I've had Cen Wen notify them, so they won't stop you. The house has been tidied up as I said before. You can check later to see if you like it. The auntie's phone number is on the fridge magnet. If you need anything, have her take care of it."

"This is your home now. You can bring friends over whenever you want, no need to ask me. If you want to buy your own house, that's fine too. If you're short on money, tell me, I'll front you the cash. But there's one condition." The smile on Ye Lan's face vanished, and he said seriously, "Even if you buy a house, you can't move out. Not even if we have a fight, you hear me?"

Jiang Chi clutched the keys in his hand and argued softly, "I would never fight with you."

"You can't be sure about that." Ye Lan was quite self-aware. "My temper is so bad, I'm bound to provoke you one day."

Jiang Chi pressed his lips together. "I'll give in to you."

Ye Lan paused, then smiled. "No need... I'd rather you fight with me."

"Fighting about what?" Yin Jiehong turned his head to look at them. "Stop fighting. Jiang Chi, get your clothes sorted, we're almost at your hotel."

Jiang Chi looked outside and wrung his hands in frustration. He hadn't finished talking with Ye Lan yet!

"Call me if you need anything." Ye Lan clearly hadn't had enough intimacy with Jiang Chi either, but tomorrow was the press conference for the start of filming for 'The Regent Prince', and he couldn't take leave. He glanced at the front and added in a low voice, "Call me even if you don't."

Jiang Chi was reluctant to part. He nodded. "Okay."

"Today..." Ye Lan leaned over slightly and whispered with a laugh in Jiang Chi's ear, "I was the only one 'taking care' of you. When you wrap up filming and come find me, you'll have to repay me properly."