The next day, early morning.
Jiang Yu was woken up by his internal clock. He slowly opened his eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling. The memories from last night returned. Instinctively, he turned his head to the side.
Unlike the last time when he woke up completely unguarded, this time he was much calmer. But maybe it was because he had never shared a bed with anyone since he could remember seeing someone lying beside him the moment he opened his eyes made his chest feel strangely tight and hard to describe.
Yu Shiqing was still asleep.
A sliver of morning light peeked through a gap in the curtains and landed on the side of Yu Shiqing’s face. The golden glow at the tip of his nose looked like a spotlight, drawing Jiang Yu’s gaze. He stared, entranced.
But before long—
Crash.
A loud shattering sound came from outside the bedroom, the sound of broken glass.
Yu Shiqing’s eyelids twitched.
He had drunk the night before and slept deeply. The noise had woken him up. Hearing the rustling of fabric beside him, he spoke before even opening his eyes:
“Morning.”
Jiang Yu was already up. He lifted the blanket and got out of bed, as if only just noticing him.
“You’re awake too.”
“Yeah.” Jiang Yu turned back and looked at him.
Maybe because he had just woken up, Yu Shiqing’s voice sounded low and slightly hoarse.
Unaware of Jiang Yu’s gaze, Yu Shiqing got up, picked up the clothes beside him, and began to change.
When Jiang Yu turned back and caught sight of his bare upper body, he gritted his teeth.
“Do you have some kind of exhibitionist fetish?”
“What I have, you have too. What’s the point of showing it off to you?”
Yu Shiqing had just put on his shirt and was about to change his pants when he got hit in the face with a pillow.
Jiang Yu sneered.
“What, planning to show off for another omega?”
With that, he grabbed his clothes and walked straight into the bathroom without looking back.
By the time Yu Shiqing lowered the pillow and looked over, the bathroom door had already slammed shut with a loud bang.
Looks like Jiang Yu has very strict dress code standards, Yu Shiqing thought, smiling slightly as he watched the silhouette behind the frosted glass.
After Jiang Yu got dressed and both of them had washed up, Yu Shiqing stepped out of the bedroom.
The first thing he saw was Ren Bai in the living room.
Ren Bai was sweeping up the broken pieces of a glass cup into the trash bin and looked a little embarrassed.
“Sorry, did I wake you? I was just trying to tidy up a bit. If I’d known, I would’ve waited until you were up.”
Halfway through his sentence, he noticed the person walking out from behind Yu Shiqing. His expression froze.
“Jiang Yu?”
Ren Bai wondered if he was still drunk. His eyes shifted back and forth between the two of them.
“You two… last night…?”
Jiang Yu looked at him.
Ren Bai finally found his voice.
“You two slept in the same bed last night?”
He had assumed Jiang Yu went home last night.
Jiang Yu said,
“Two alphas sleeping in one bed, what’s the problem?”
Ren Bai’s eyelid twitched wildly.
Why does that line sound so familiar? Then it hit him during the filming of Doomsday Rescue, Jiang Yu had once said something similar when questioned about living with Yu Shiqing:
“What’s wrong with two alphas living together?”
So now it’s not just living together they’re sleeping together??
He looked at Yu Shiqing again.
Yu Shiqing asked,
“What’s that in your hand?”
Ren Bai understood instantly. Yu Shiqing didn’t think there was any issue at all.
As the odd one out among the three, he had no choice but to suppress his mixed feelings and answer,
“It’s the list I just compiled.”
Yesterday’s trending topic had stirred things up all night. As soon as he turned off airplane mode this morning, he was flooded with texts, missed calls and inquiries from all sorts of companies, including Jiang Yu’s agency, Qingyuan Entertainment.
But Qingyuan’s focus didn’t match Yu Shiqing’s career direction, so he had ruled them out early on. After screening the options, he listed several potential partners.
“These companies aren’t big names, but they offer good conditions. We can talk to them,” Ren Bai said.
“As for Chi Jing and New Era, I don’t need to introduce them.”
Everyone knew Chi Jing Media was an established giant on par with Huaze. Like Huaze, they had struggled with their transition in recent years, but were luckier their investments remained steady. They simply earned less, unlike Huaze, which was desperate for a breakout project to stabilize its stock.
New Era Films, on the other hand, was a rising company in recent years. Known for being youth-focused and market-driven, it had been gaining momentum ever since Huaze began declining, even showing signs of overtaking them.
These two were Ren Bai’s main targets.
He was actually surprised they reached out.
Chi Jing could be explained by their past collaboration on Tomorrow Is Bright. But as for New Era’s invitation he couldn’t figure that one out at all.
Especially since the message from New Era ended with a sincere line:
“Everything is negotiable. Please meet with us in person.”
Yu Shiqing was also a bit surprised.
He had never worked with New Era Films and didn’t know anyone there.
Then Jiang Yu seemed to remember something.
“New Era was one of the producers of Doomsday Rescue.”
“No wonder!” Ren Bai finally understood.
Among the cast of Doomsday Rescue, no one stood out more than Yu Shiqing.
He looked at Yu Shiqing.
“So, what do you think? Want to meet with them?”
Yu Shiqing gave a small nod.
“Set up a time.”
Ren Bai asked,
“What time?”
Yu Shiqing said,
“Up to you.”
Right after he spoke, he frowned slightly, his throat feeling dry. He coughed quietly.
Jiang Yu turned to him.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” Yu Shiqing said, then coughed again.
Ren Bai looked a little dazed.
“You’re not sick, are you?”
In the past four years, no matter the pressure, Yu Shiqing had never fallen ill.
Hearing that, Jiang Yu also frowned.
“Was it because of last night?”
Yu Shiqing said,
“Maybe.”
Last night?
Ren Bai was shocked.
What happened last night??
But neither of them explained anything to him.
Jiang Yu only asked,
“Do you have any medicine?”
“I do!” Ren Bai snapped out of it and grabbed the first-aid box from the TV cabinet. It was full of brand-new meds that would expire in a month.
Yu Shiqing took some medicine. Meanwhile, Ren Bai finished a phone call.
“With how you’re feeling, better wrap it up early and go home to rest,” he said.
“I scheduled the meeting for nine o’clock.”
Yu Shiqing replied,
“Okay.”
It was already 7:30.
After breakfast, the three of them went downstairs at 8:20.
Jiang Yu also had things to take care of his driver was already waiting downstairs.
Yu Shiqing said goodbye at the door, and they each went in opposite directions.
At 8:49, Yu Shiqing and Ren Bai arrived at New Era.
Someone came out to greet them right away.
“I’m Wu Zhe, Vice President of New Era.”
Seeing him, Ren Bai was startled and quietly whispered to Yu Shiqing. When Wu Zhe saw Yu Shiqing, he smiled and reached out his hand.
“Hello, Mr. Yu. I’ve heard so much about you!”
Yu Shiqing replied,
“President Wu, you’re too kind.”
He looked at Wu Zhe, he seemed familiar.
“I really mean it,” Wu Zhe said. He invited them to sit, asked about drinks, waved for the secretary to bring tea, then added,
“I’ve seen quite a few of your stage plays.”
After a bit of small talk, he quickly got to the point.
“I know Mr. Yu may not know much about New Era and wouldn’t sign with us easily. But let me be clear what we can offer is the greatest freedom among all companies.”
Wu Zhe was confident this would appeal to Yu Shiqing.
In the industry, almost everyone had heard about the mess between Huaze and Yu Shiqing. Even without knowing the details, they knew Huaze used shady tactics. And for some reason, Wu Zhe understood even more clearly the unfair treatment Yu Shiqing had received there.
Yu Shiqing was surprised but appreciated the directness.
“Such as?”
Wu Zhe smiled.
“This is a draft contract. Please take a look.”
Ren Bai took it and was surprised to see that the terms were indeed extremely favorable. Not just compared to Huaze even in the entire industry, this kind of offer was rare. The contract term was just one year.
“One-year, full sincerity,” Wu Zhe said. “We’re aiming for a win-win.”
Yu Shiqing smiled lightly.
“I assume you have a reason for being this generous.”
“I admire your acting skills.” Wu Zhe began, but seeing Yu Shiqing’s calm, unreadable gaze, he scratched his nose.
“Well, no need for flattery.”
Ren Bai asked,
“Then what is it?”
“To be honest,” Wu Zhe said with a bitter smile, “New Era is a company run by young people. For the past few years, we’ve chased youthfulness. But now, we realize what we lack is depth and real work.”
Doomsday Rescue, which wraps up at the end of the year, starred Yu Shiqing and gave them some direction.
“And… I actually have a personal reason too.”
Ren Bai immediately became alert.
“What personal reason?”
Wu Zhe turned toward the door.
“Uncle, how long are you going to wait out there?”
As soon as he finished speaking, someone walked in.
Seeing Yu Shiqing, he grinned.
“It’s not Wu Zhe’s reason it’s mine. If you sign with New Era, let’s see what excuse you have not to act in my play this time!”
Ren Bai was stunned and thrilled.
“Director Shi?!”
It was Shi Zhefing — Wu Zhe’s uncle.
—
After the meeting, Wu Zhe invited them to lunch.
At the table, Shi Zhefing and Yu Shiqing immediately started discussing the script.
By the time they left New Era’s building that afternoon, Ren Bai had not only a draft contract but also the script of Shi Zhefing’s upcoming film.
Ren Bai looked at his left hand, then his right, then up at the sky.
It’s like ever since yesterday, even cloudy skies feel like clear blue.
After a long while, he managed to calm his teary eyes and said to Yu Shiqing,
“Honestly, these past two days feel like a dream.”
But Yu Shiqing was busy typing on his phone and didn’t even react to his emotional words.
Ren Bai’s melancholy vanished instantly.
“Yu Shiqing?”
“Hm?” Yu Shiqing didn’t even look up.
Ren Bai: “…”
He took a deep breath.
“I’m holding the script. What are you looking at?”
Yu Shiqing said,
“Replying to Jiang Yu.”
Ren Bai froze.
What the hell? Jiang Yu again??
