Because the incident with the wrong room card was too strange, after Yu Shiqing left Jiang Yu’s room, he didn’t tell Ren Bai. He went downstairs by himself and asked for a new room card.
So the next morning, before he even stepped inside, Ren Bai was already gossiping with excitement:
“Did you hear the news?”
“Close the door,” Yu Shiqing said as he turned and walked back to the coffee table. He wasn’t surprised by Ren Bai’s enthusiasm.
“What is it?”
“Last night, not long after we went back to our rooms, something happened to Jiang Yu!” Ren Bai leaned in mysteriously.
Something happened to Jiang Yu?
Yu Shiqing guessed it must be related to the bottle of drugged wine, but he didn’t expect the news to spread to the point that even Ren Bai had heard it.
Or maybe Jiang Yu didn’t plan to keep it a secret?
“Why aren’t you surprised at all? Aren’t you curious what happened to him?” Ren Bai was very dissatisfied with his reaction.
Yu Shiqing gave him a glance and said calmly, “I’m curious to death, you just can’t tell.”
Ren Bai: “…”
Curious, my foot…
Knowing Yu Shiqing was never interested in this kind of thing, Ren Bai gave up and explained, “Last night, a sasaeng fan snuck into Jiang Yu’s room. I heard they even got the room card. I don’t know the details, but the police were called. I think it was serious.”
Yu Shiqing said, “Mm.”
The wine in the room had been injected with omega pheromones, so it made sense for Jiang Yu to call the police. He wasn’t surprised.
Ren Bai: “…What does ‘mm’ mean?”
Yu Shiqing said, “It means I know.”
Ren Bai: “……”
He held his chest, rolled his eyes, and tried to figure out what day he’d finally be angered to death by Yu Shiqing.
Suddenly, he frowned. “You don’t look well. Are you sick?”
“No.” Yu Shiqing found an excuse. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”
Just one temporary mark, and not even a successful one, wasn’t enough to relieve his heat. When he got back, he had to use a suppressant. Because he took it a bit late, he had some mild side effects. He just needed rest.
Ren Bai didn’t know the truth, but thought of the script change and kept quiet.
“This has nothing to do with us. Let’s go. Time to head to the set.”
Yu Shiqing didn’t explain more. He picked up the script from the table and walked to the door.
Ren Bai let out a long sigh and followed him.
When they reached the elevator, Ren Bai was just about to step in when he got a fright.
It was Jiang Yu, along with his manager and assistants.
Jiang Yu’s face was too recognizable. There was no way to mistake him.
But Jiang Yu didn’t look at Ren Bai. His eyes didn’t stop for even a second on him and landed directly on Yu Shiqing.
The subject of yesterday’s gossip was now right in front of him, so Ren Bai felt a little awkward. He turned to look at Yu Shiqing and found him calm as ever.
In moments like this, he truly admired Yu Shiqing’s steady presence.
But no one spoke.
Yu Shiqing hadn’t forgotten what he said last night.
He gave Jiang Yu a slight nod, stepped into the elevator, and turned to face the door as he waited to descend.
Not a single word was exchanged the entire time.
The narrow, crowded space instantly became silent. The atmosphere grew strangely tense.
Ren Bai squeezed himself into the corner and nervously counted the floor numbers.
He noticed Jiang Yu was staring at Yu Shiqing the whole time. His face was expressionless, and it was a bit creepy. There was reason to suspect that Jiang Yu had a problem with Yu Shiqing because of yesterday’s trending topic. But he said nothing.
Yu Shiqing already had enough to worry about.
When the “ding” finally sounded, Ren Bai quickly followed Yu Shiqing out.
Behind them, Jiang Yu looked away and turned to his manager.
“How’s the investigation about last night?”
The manager replied, “You mean the sasaeng fan who broke into your room? The police are still investigating. I think the person was just a crazy fan. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. I’ll let you know once there’s an update.”
“Mm.” Jiang Yu said, “Keep an eye on it. I don’t think it’s that simple. How could a sasaeng get my room card?”
The manager looked a bit nervous but quickly calmed down. “Okay.”
Then he quickly changed the subject. “By the way, did you use a new suppressant? Your pheromones are really stable now. You can even go out during your sensitivity period.”
Hearing that, Jiang Yu suddenly thought of something, and his mood turned dark.
He didn’t answer directly. “Let’s get in the car.”
—
At the filming site.
After getting out of the car, the crew assistant led Yu Shiqing to the director’s office.
Director Yan Hongyun came out personally to greet him with a big smile. “Teacher Yu, please come in!”
Yu Shiqing said, “Director Yan, no need to be so formal. Just call me by my name.”
Even though they had never worked together, he knew who Yan Hongyun was.
Yan mostly directed TV dramas, most of which had high and steady viewership and very good reviews. He had strong control and was a very experienced director in the industry.
This time he was making a film. One reason was that he had been too successful in dramas and wanted a breakthrough. The other was that the investor gave way too much money.
As soon as they sat down, Yan Hongyun said with a smile, “I didn’t think we’d actually get you. When we didn’t hear from you for so long, I almost gave up. Honestly, I was afraid the script would scare you off.”
Ren Bai secretly curled his lip. Any script chosen for Yu Shiqing was bad enough to scare a normal person off.
The script was bad, and the character Yu Shiqing was supposed to play was even worse.
Otherwise, why would Huaze give the opportunity to Yu Shiqing? The point was to make sure he could never make a comeback.
Yan Hongyun didn’t notice Ren Bai’s thoughts. He sighed. “It’s a pity you didn’t come one day earlier.”
Ren Bai couldn’t help asking, “Why?”
Yan Hongyun said, “If we couldn’t get Yu Shiqing, I planned to go with the original script, just to play it safe. But if he came, I wanted to adjust the script to make the character more alive and less one-dimensional. The audience would enjoy it more, and with good acting, it would work.”
Ren Bai was thrilled. That sounded like a good change. “Then you should do it!”
Yan Hongyun sighed again. “That’s why I said it’s unlucky timing. A new investor came yesterday. I’m afraid he won’t agree to change the script. Before, he was just the lead actor, so we could negotiate. But now…”
Ren Bai felt a chill in his heart.
One person would understand that feeling the most. He turned to look at Yu Shiqing.
Yu Shiqing just smiled. “It’s okay. I can act with the original script.”
Ren Bai’s eyelids twitched slightly.
“No, no!” Yan Hongyun said. “I still want to try. Wait here a moment. The investor is arriving soon.”
Just as he finished speaking, there was a knock at the door.
Yan Hongyun smiled. “See, here he comes.”
He went to open the door. Out of politeness, Yu Shiqing stood up and walked over too.
Ren Bai whispered encouragement, “If we’re lucky, maybe the investor will agree!”
But as soon as the door opened—
Ren Bai fell silent when he saw who it was. Then he looked at Yu Shiqing.
But Yu Shiqing’s face, as usual, showed no emotion.
Yan Hongyun still smiled and introduced, “This is the biggest investor of Doomsday Rescue, Mr. Jiang Yu.”
After yesterday’s surprise encounter, Ren Bai had already told Yu Shiqing all about Jiang Yu.
This year, Jiang Yu started his own studio, though it was still under his signed company. But when the contract ends at the end of the year, that will change.
Now a boss and the biggest investor, calling him “President Jiang” was fitting.
Yan Hongyun then introduced them, “President Jiang, this is Yu Shiqing, playing Ji Ming.”
Yu Shiqing greeted him, “President Jiang.”
Jiang Yu smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Teacher Yu, what a coincidence. I’ll be counting on you.”
Yan Hongyun looked surprised. “You two know each other?”
Yu Shiqing said, “We’ve met.”
Jiang Yu said, “We don’t know each other.”
Hearing that, Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow. “Oh? We’ve met before?”
Yu Shiqing could tell from his tone that he wasn’t here to make peace.
Clearly, Jiang Yu was still mad about last night.
If that was the case, it would be hard to get the script changed.
Even Yu Shiqing sighed inside. Luck had always been like a luxury to him. He was used to it, but still felt disappointed.
He said, “We can pretend we never met. As long as you’re happy, President Jiang.”
He truly meant that. After all, he was the one in the wrong.
But Jiang Yu was left speechless, his face darkening again.
Yan Hongyun: “…”
Realizing the atmosphere between them was off, he quickly changed the topic.
“So, President Jiang, you’ve read the script, right? Any problems with it? If there are, the screenwriter is here too. We can still adjust before shooting.”
He spoke very respectfully.
Aside from being an investor, choosing Jiang Yu as the lead had a clear reason — box office.
Just like Jiang Yu, Doomsday Rescue was a new challenge for Director Yan. The film’s reputation mattered a lot.
Jiang Yu said, “You all know this better than I do.”
Seeing him being reasonable, Yan Hongyun relaxed. “It’s like this. I think there’s a small issue with the script.”
Jiang Yu asked, “What issue?”
Yan Hongyun said honestly, “I think Yu Shiqing’s character has some problems. I want to make changes.”
Yu Shiqing’s character?
Jiang Yu’s thoughts turned quickly.
Before he could speak, his manager frowned. “What kind of changes?”
Yan Hongyun quickly said, “Don’t worry. Jiang Yu’s scenes won’t be reduced. I just want to adjust Yu Shiqing’s role within the original plot.”
The manager still wanted to argue, but Jiang Yu raised his hand and stopped him. He asked Yan, “Will the changes help the movie?”
Yan Hongyun nodded. “Of course!”
He hadn’t even finished explaining when Jiang Yu already seemed to agree. Director Yan was delighted.
But just as he was about to say more, Jiang Yu’s manager interrupted.
“Wait,” he said coldly. “I want to discuss this with Jiang Yu first. Director Yan?”
Yan agreed. Yu Shiqing also understood.
Jiang Yu was the lead. Adding scenes for another character could hurt him. It would be normal if he refused.
But to his surprise, after the talk, Jiang Yu returned and immediately agreed to the changes.
Yu Shiqing looked over and noticed the manager looked unhappy, as if he didn’t agree with Jiang Yu’s decision.
Yu Shiqing narrowed his eyes.
Was Jiang Yu really willing to hurt his own interests just for the good of the movie?
He was still thinking when he heard Jiang Yu’s voice.
“Director Yan, anything else?”
“If not, I want to speak with Teacher Yu alone.”
Yan looked puzzled but didn’t ask. “Nope, all done. Go ahead.”
Jiang Yu looked at Yu Shiqing.
Yu Shiqing stopped Ren Bai from asking questions. “Let’s go.”
Then the two walked out together.
After walking a while, seeing Jiang Yu still hesitant, Yu Shiqing spoke first.
“What do you want to talk about?”
Jiang Yu was pulled back to his senses.
Yu Shiqing stopped walking. “We can talk here.”
There was no one around. No need to go further.
Jiang Yu finally made up his mind. He looked at Yu Shiqing.
“I helped you just now. Now it’s your turn to help me.”
Yu Shiqing asked, “How do you want me to help?”
Jiang Yu hesitated again but soon went back to his usual confident tone.
“My request is simple: You move in and live with me.”
