The reason why Jiang Yu only invited Yu Shiqing to be the guest for the last concert was that Yu Shiqing was about to start filming soon and wouldn’t be free for long. They picked a date in advance, and very quickly confirmed the duet song. It was “Tacit Understanding”, the unreleased love song.
When Jiang Yu sent the audio file to Yu Shiqing, Ren Bai who had just randomly thought of that same song shamelessly asked for a copy and put it on repeat. After that, when he listened to the concert again, he somewhat experienced what it felt like to be a fan.
After watching the last concert in the capital, Ren Bai thought about it for a long time on his way to the backstage. When he got to the lounge, he suddenly said to Yu Shiqing, “Jiang Yu made a good choice. This song really suits you as his accompanist.”
The piano accompaniment these past three days had already sounded great. Switching it to a rich, beautiful cello would make the deep and complex emotions of the love song stand out even more.
Yu Shiqing replied, “Mm.”
Ren Bai then started to probe, “But speaking of it, this is a love song, right?”
Yu Shiqing turned to look at him.
Recently, Ren Bai had only been listening to this one song. Even the car’s music was switched to “Tacit Understanding”. He probably knew the lyrics better than Jiang Yu himself. There was no way he had just realized now that it was a love song.
Facing Yu Shiqing’s gaze, Ren Bai kept pretending to be calm. “It’s just that you’ve never played a love song before. I’m just chatting casually.”
Before he finished his sentence, Jiang Yu walked in from outside. “Chatting about what?”
He naturally walked over and sat beside Yu Shiqing, then took the bottle of water that Meng Chen handed to him.
“Chatting about your love song,” Ren Bai said, watching Jiang Yu’s every move. Seeing the two of them stick together again, that strange feeling in his heart was already becoming normal, so he didn’t mind it much.
Jiang Yu looked at Yu Shiqing.
Ren Bai quickly added, “And about Yu Shiqing’s unrestrained, mysterious lover.”
Jiang Yu: “…”
The bottle of mineral water in his hand made a distorted squeaking sound.
Ren Bai looked around. “What was that noise?”
He couldn’t find the source, so he looked back and said to Yu Shiqing, “You never used to look at pop music sheets. Be honest why are you suddenly interested in this kind of love song? Besides being Jiang Yu’s guest, is there another reason?”
Never looked at pop music scores before?
Jiang Yu’s eyes moved slightly, and he looked down, pretending to open the bottle cap, while listening to Yu Shiqing’s answer.
Yu Shiqing only said, “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m trying to say,” Ren Bai asked directly, “Are you in a relationship?”
Even after all this time, he still couldn’t forget the bite mark on Yu Shiqing’s neck. It was so obvious that it made him too curious to sleep.
Then, trying to sound official and professional, he said, “I’m your agent. If you’re dating, you should at least let me know, right?”
Yu Shiqing replied, “If I were, I’d tell you.”
Ren Bai stared at him suspiciously for a while before finally asking, “Really not?”
Yu Shiqing glanced at him.
Ren Bai coughed. “Just chatting casually.”
He knew Yu Shiqing didn’t need to hide it, so he didn’t keep asking.
But after thinking about it, he nodded and said, “Actually, I also think the wild type isn’t your style.”
Wild type.
Yu Shiqing glanced at Jiang Yu’s cold profile, and a small smile appeared in his eyes.
Jiang Yu immediately felt the gaze and unintentionally recalled that night. A sudden heat rushed through his veins.
He slowly clenched his fingers but didn’t turn his face. He only looked at Ren Bai and asked calmly, “Then what is Yu Shiqing’s style?”
“Yu Shiqing’s style…” Ren Bai thought for a bit, counting on his fingers. “Gentle? Good at housework? Homey? Maybe sweet and cute? It’s nice if he acts a little clingy sometimes too. Everything Yu Shiqing does is always calm and steady being a bit more lively would be even better.”
Jiang Yu listened as he listed all that, and the restless feeling in his heart slowly cooled down. He finally looked at Yu Shiqing with a half-smile, his tone sarcastic. “So that’s your type, Teacher Yu.”
Ren Bai still wanted to say more.
But Yu Shiqing finally spoke. “That’s enough. Let’s stop here.”
Ren Bai let out an “uh” sound.
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, he quickly changed the topic. “Let’s head home early and rest. We have to catch a flight tomorrow.”
The movie was starting the day after tomorrow. They had to meet the film crew tomorrow first.
Jiang Yu had just finished his concert today. When director Shi Zhefing heard about it, he called specifically to invite Jiang Yu. Yu Shiqing thought Jiang Yu might want to rest at home after three days of concerts. But maybe he was interested in the movie, so he accepted Shi Zhefing’s invitation and came to the hotel with Yu Shiqing.
At 3:30 in the afternoon, the plane landed.
Shi Zhefing had arranged a group dinner at 5 p.m. at a small banquet hall in the hotel nearby. When Yu Shiqing and Jiang Yu arrived, they ran into Shi Zhefing in the hotel lobby.
Shi Zhefing saw them first and walked over to greet them warmly.
After a few words, he winked at Yu Shiqing. “I have a little surprise for you tonight.”
Yu Shiqing said, “A surprise?”
“You’ll find out soon enough!” Shi Zhefing laughed. “You just got off the plane and must be tired. Go rest I won’t keep you.”
After he left, Ren Bai couldn’t help but guess wildly about the “surprise.”
“Are they giving you a pay raise?”
“Did you get a better script?”
“Do they want to sign you for a new movie?”
Luckily, the dinner was only an hour and a half away, so the wait wouldn’t be too long.
After checking in and settling down, they headed downstairs, eager to find out what the surprise was.
When Yu Shiqing and Jiang Yu entered the banquet hall, many people were already there. Shi Zhefing was chatting with two people in the lounge, while others were standing around talking in small groups.
Hearing the door, Shi Zhefing looked over. His eyes lit up, and he got up to welcome them.
As he moved, many eyes turned toward them.
“You’re all set,” Shi Zhefing greeted with a smile, then looked around the room. “The surprise hasn’t arrived yet.”
Only then did Ren Bai realize the surprise was a person.
Shi Zhefing then looked at Jiang Yu. “Come, have a seat. I’ll introduce everyone.”
The two people he had been chatting with were the film’s scriptwriters. When they saw Yu Shiqing and Jiang Yu, they greeted them warmly.
After sitting down, Shi Zhefing first praised Jiang Yu’s concert, then got to the point.
“What do you think about the matter I asked you to consider before?” he said. “Oh, right here’s the script.”
The scriptwriters handed him the script they had discussed earlier. He passed it to Jiang Yu, and then gave another copy to Yu Shiqing.
Yu Shiqing flipped through it briefly.
Shi Zhefing’s movie “Mist” was a mystery, but for the audience’s enjoyment, there were some comedic parts. The role he wanted Jiang Yu to play was one of the comic relief characters. It wasn’t a big role, but it had a nice character design and was very different from Jiang Yu’s role in “Apocalypse Rescue”. It would help show Jiang Yu’s range as an actor and might earn him attention from a wider variety of directors.
Jiang Yu quickly read through it. Then he and Yu Shiqing exchanged a glance.
Yu Shiqing gave a small nod.
Jiang Yu understood. After a moment of thought, he looked at Shi Zhefing and said, “I can spare up to four days.”
The film wouldn’t adjust its schedule for him. He’d have to stay on set the entire time. Four consecutive days were the most he could manage.
He still had 23 concerts left out of 26. He had to complete them in the next three months. It was already a tight schedule, and everything had been arranged long ago. He couldn’t mess it up just for a cameo.
“That’s more than enough! Absolutely fine!” Shi Zhefing was thrilled.
He hadn’t expected Jiang Yu to say yes. He wanted him in the movie partly because the film was produced by his nephew’s company and also because Dawn had just started filming.
Ever since Qi Taihua’s incident, everyone knew how seriously Huaze took Dawn. Competing head-on with them, Shi Zhefing needed more cards up his sleeve.
Jiang Yu had only acted in Apocalypse Rescue, but it left a strong impression. Having him help promote the new film would create buzz, even if it didn’t directly boost ticket sales. At least it would save on marketing costs.
With Yu Shiqing’s acting and Jiang Yu’s influence, the combo made Shi Zhefing feel more secure. After all, he had dropped out of Dawn. If his movie lost to it, it wouldn’t just be embarrassing he wouldn’t be able to swallow the defeat.
So, he had to offer a role that stood out at least something sincere.
Thinking of that, Shi Zhefing contacted the producer to draft the contract and discussed the exact filming dates with Jiang Yu. They agreed to shoot his part during the post-production phase.
Just as they finished their verbal agreement, there was movement at the door. Shi Zhefing looked up and smiled. He said to Yu Shiqing, “Look your surprise is here.”
Yu Shiqing followed his gaze.
Someone had just entered the banquet hall.
As soon as he saw the person, Ren Bai gasped, “Lin Anjin?”
Lin Anjin?
The name sounded familiar.
Jiang Yu hadn’t remembered who it was yet when Shi Zhefing stood up and waved toward the door. “Anjin, over here.”
Lin Anjin looked over instinctively. When he saw the person next to Shi Zhefing, he paused, then quickly walked over and looked straight at Yu Shiqing.
Yu Shiqing also stood up from the sofa.
Shi Zhefing laughed, “Well? Surprised?”
Hearing his voice, Lin Anjin came back to his senses and smiled at Yu Shiqing. “Don’t blame me it was Director Shi who told me to keep it secret.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yu narrowed his eyes slightly and looked up and down at the omega.
Ren Bai leaned in and whispered to him, “Lin Anjin acted with Yu Shiqing in A Sunny Tomorrow. After what happened, you know how the industry is most people kept their distance. Only he kept in touch with Yu Shiqing.”
But in Yu Shiqing’s eyes, maybe there wasn’t much difference. This kind of situation had definitely hurt his chances at building connections but he never said anything.
Jiang Yu’s gaze shifted between Yu Shiqing and Lin Anjin.
“Yesterday you were saying what Yu Shiqing’s type is,” Ren Bai continued. “I’ve always thought Lin Anjin is exactly his type.”
Gentle personality, understanding, both actors, both with good acting skills surely they’d have a lot to talk about. In Ren Bai’s eyes, Lin Anjin seemed like Yu Shiqing’s perfect match.
At that moment, Shi Zhefing walked over with Lin Anjin.
Lin Anjin reached out to Jiang Yu first. “I’ve heard so much about you. Hello, I’m Lin Anjin.”
His smile was soft and warm, just as expected.
Jiang Yu shook his hand briefly and then let go. His gaze was sharp and cold, the look on his overly handsome face expressionless. Though there was a faint smile at the corner of his lips, his natural presence was so dominant it felt like everything he did was perfectly justified.
He looked down at Lin Anjin, smiling faintly.
“Hello,” he said. “I’m Jiang Yu.”
