Chapter 5
Shen Yu wasn’t the type of CEO who had nothing to do all day but spend money carelessly. He was hands-on and had to work. Of course, he didn’t need to punch in from nine to five every day. Originally, he’d planned to go to the company in the afternoon, but with Old Master Shen’s call the night before, he arrived at the office early in the morning.
Shen Yu greeted the receptionist, asking her to give him an internal call when Old Master Shen arrived. When the call came, he sat for a few minutes before getting up to meet him.
Old Master Shen’s name was Shen Li, and he lived up to it. His office had a very personal style—rather than grand and imposing, it could be summed up in one word: “solemn.” Having conversations here, people would unconsciously straighten up, otherwise they’d always feel inferior. Shen Yu didn’t meet him in the reception room, but stood in front of Old Master Shen’s desk: “Chairman Shen.”
“Mm.” Shen Li got straight to the point. “How far along is the process with Yan Jin?”
He was talking about their scripted charade. Shen Yu said: “In two days, we’ll be putting on a show for the media.”
What kind of show? A display of affection, to make their marriage look more genuine and heartfelt in front of the cameras.
Shen Li nodded: “In the future, whenever you’re in public, you two need to be careful. Don’t act like enemies and let outsiders laugh at you.”
Shen Yu: “How we get along in the future—I can’t guarantee that.”
His tone was calm, and he even had a smile on his face, but how could Shen Li not know his temperament? “What,” Shen Li said, “among the three suitable candidates for a marriage alliance, you chose Yan Jin yourself.”
“I thought you made that choice after weighing the pros and cons, betting on him. Otherwise, why would you choose someone with an incompatible personality to keep by your side?”
Shen Yu calmly asked back: “Did you give me any other choice?”
Shen Li calling him here wasn’t to discuss anything. Having Shen Yu choose one from the three seemed to give him freedom of choice, but in reality, Shen Li had made the decision and others just had to comply.
There was no need to continue the conversation. Shen Li didn’t want to waste time arguing with a temperamental young man. He picked up some documents: “Go.”
Shen Yu didn’t say another word either, walking away without looking back. His steps leaving were the same as when he’d arrived—you couldn’t tell if there were any additional emotions.
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The planner, with an assistant and holding the proposal, confirmed the program details with the two main characters.
Shen Yu and Yan Jin sat across from them, on the same sofa but with a large gap between them, boundaries clear with no intimacy whatsoever. The planner quietly swallowed hard, afraid the program would be ruined. Emotionally, he didn’t want to take on this thorny job, but realistically—they were paying way too much, and people needed to eat. It smelled so good!
The filming location was chosen at a famous Disney-style theme park, suitable for all ages and perfect for couples.
Shen Yu flipped through the proposal, which was essentially a script, raising his eyebrows: “Use intimate terms of address?”
“Ah, yes,” the planner quickly said. “Besides photos, we need to film several videos. To show affection in a short time, I think both actions and language need some work.”
Shen Yu chuckled, looking at the script without raising his head, reading in a flat tone: “For example, ‘baby’?”
Yan Jin didn’t even blink, responding in the same tone: “Sweetheart.”
Other people’s “baby” and “sweetheart” came dripping with honey, but theirs came with ice shards. The planner wiped his sweat: “Um…”
“Pretty good,” Shen Yu turned a page. “The schedule is quite packed, baby.”
“Yeah,” Yan Jin said. “Have you ridden roller coasters, sweetheart?”
Shen Yu: “I have, but I think the carousel is more suitable for you, baby.”
Yan Jin: “The princess castle is more suitable for you, sweetheart.”
Planner and assistant: “…”
“Sweetheart” and “baby” kept buzzing in everyone’s ears, all delivered without any emotional inflection. Whether it was moving or not was unclear, but they certainly didn’t dare move. The assistant’s hand holding the pen trembled slightly. He looked at his boss and found the planner had also turned into an ostrich, wishing he could evolve into an ostrich egg, not daring to make a sound.
Going back and forth, they quickly reached the end. Shen Yu saw the time notation: “Evening fireworks show.” It was actually going to take a whole day.
“Romantic.” Yan Jin closed the booklet and placed it back on the table, looking at the trembling planner and changing his tone to comfort them. “Don’t panic. President Shen is a level-ten actor who could perform well even without a script.”
Shen Yu also finished reading: “President Yan is too modest. I learned from you.”
Yan Jin: “Just now you were calling me ‘baby’ with every breath, and now you want to be a heartless man? Your face changes so fast. See, I told you not to worry about President Shen’s acting skills.”
Shen Yu spread his hands: “You called me ‘sweetheart,’ but it sounded like you wanted to stir-fry me in a wok. I’m scared and don’t dare call you pet names anymore.”
Was there even half a trace of fear in his tone? Only the planner and assistant were truly afraid, wanting to shout “help” on the spot and bow down to these two big shots.
On the day of filming, the two were surrounded by staff—a professional team including costume designers and makeup artists. Both were handsome men who looked great on camera with minimal touch-ups. After careful styling, they were completely eye-catching. One person alone was already stunning, but as a pair, their charm was even more overwhelming. Many people couldn’t help blushing and stealing extra glances.
Their clothes were in matching couple colors. The planner followed them throughout, expecting them to suggest changes to the outfits—maybe refusing to wear couple’s clothing, since their behavior really didn’t match the word “couple.” But surprisingly, neither objected and they were very cooperative with whatever styling was done.
After entering the park but before filming began, staff brought them matching headbands—not a pair, but two identical ones. Very tactful, avoiding any dispute over who should wear which. Wearing headbands at an amusement park was normal—when in Rome, do as the Romans do. The phrase “acting cute” had probably long been struck from both their dictionaries, but this was a rare chance to experience it. Even Yan Jin’s sharp features became much more approachable after putting on the round ears.
But the planner watched the two cold people with growing anxiety, very worried about messing up. His “action” was called out with deep concern.
As soon as the words fell and the camera started rolling, the two who had been incompatible just moments ago changed their expressions like performers in Sichuan opera, putting on smiles that were genuinely sweet and warm. The distance between them instantly closed, as if space magic had directly eliminated the gap. Yan Jin even raised his hand to adjust Shen Yu’s headband. Shen Yu didn’t dodge—the corners of his mouth curved up as if he was enjoying it, perfectly capturing the slightly shy but loving look between couples.
Planner: “…” Who? Who are these two? He doesn’t recognize them at all!!!
The speed of getting into character was breathtaking.
The planner finally understood—he really didn’t need to worry. Whether the two had been praising each other’s acting skills earlier to argue or to mock, they were telling the truth, the absolute truth. Looking at this couple showing such natural affection, if he didn’t know what they were like when the cameras stopped rolling, he would have almost believed it!
Terrifying. They say once you enter a wealthy family, it’s as deep as the ocean—these words don’t lie. Wealthy family marriages are too scary!
The two walked together like conjoined twins, shoulder to shoulder. Visitors seeing the cameras and the setup thought they might be celebrities, with very high turn-around rates.
“Look at those two—so, so, so handsome! Are they celebrities?”
“I don’t recognize them, but that doesn’t stop me from admiring their looks! I’d take either one!”
“But they look like a couple. Ah, what a shame. Handsome guys are always taken.”
Shen Yu’s expression in front of the camera was impeccable. His lips barely moved as he spoke through gritted teeth: “Baby, can you move over a bit? Who are you trying to compete with by crowding me?”
Unless you looked closely, you couldn’t tell he was speaking.
Yan Jin used the same ventriloquist technique: “Why don’t you move over there, sweetheart? Do you want to stick to me that badly?”
Shen Yu snorted coldly and actually did move away to create distance. The planner’s heart jumped again, thinking he couldn’t take it anymore and was about to quit. But then he saw Shen Yu suddenly intimately half-embrace Yan Jin’s arm and pull, pointing in a certain direction with his face full of joy and anticipation.
Yan Jin: “…”
At first glance, it looked like Shen Yu had suddenly discovered something fun and couldn’t wait to experience it with Yan Jin. The planner applauded internally: Good! This wave of acting cute gets full marks!
Yan Jin licked his teeth, forcibly avoiding showing a gritted-teeth expression. His face broke into an even more gentle smile. He nodded and actually raised his hand to intimately brush against Shen Yu’s nose bridge, then grabbed Shen Yu’s hand and headed in the direction he’d pointed. He gripped so tightly that one hand could barely bear the force.
Shen Yu: “…”
At first glance, it looked like Yan Jin unreservedly agreed with his suggestion and immediately wanted to take him to experience it together. The planner clapped frantically in his mind: Good! This wave of doting gets full marks!
Oh my. He thought happily—so natural, what a pure and unaffected, natural way of interacting. He’d thought it would be exhausting work, but it turned out to be very easy!
Easy for him, but the undercurrents belonged to those two. All the reactions in today’s interactions were pits they’d dug for themselves, and they had to fill their own pits even if it meant crawling on their knees.
Shen Yu let him drag him along: “Baby, you’re hurting me.”
Yan Jin: “Sweetheart, then loosen your grip. Are you trying to crush my hand?”
As a result, when holding hands, neither would loosen their grip. When they finally separated their hands, not only were they red and white, both their hands were shaking slightly.
“Wait, wait. Take a few more shots.”
Now, there was a cup of drink in front of the two with conjoined couple straws—the middle curved out in a heart shape, extending to two straw openings on each side.
“Please bite the straws and look at each other.”
Looking at each other was the key point. At such close distance, eye contact between lovers was very important. The planner felt he didn’t need to remind them specifically, since both were very experienced. When Shen Yu lowered his eyes, he sighed almost inaudibly. When he looked up again, his peach blossom eyes were full of tender feelings, misty with emotion and wrapped in softness. A staff member happened to be standing behind Yan Jin at this moment and saw Shen Yu’s gaze head-on, instantly gasping and becoming stunned.
But he quickly came back to his senses because Yan Jin turned his head and gave him a cold look. A bucket of ice water poured down—even the most romantic dream should wake up. The staff member shivered and hurriedly backed away, very tactfully looking at the sky and ground, moving his gaze elsewhere.
Yan Jin withdrew his gaze. Before turning his head back, he seemed to hear Shen Yu chuckle softly—so quietly it might have been an illusion.
When he turned to look at Shen Yu again, everything was the same as before. Shen Yu even flicked the straw, signaling Yan Jin to hurry up.
If Shen Yu’s gaze was tenderly affectionate, then when Yan Jin bit the straw and looked at him, his eyes held complete focus. What does it mean to use your gaze to tell someone they are your whole world? President Yan personally demonstrated—this was it: he looked at Shen Yu with only Shen Yu in his eyes. Nothing else could enter his sight or walk into his heart.
The planner was dumbfounded: This, this—even their eye acting is so amazing, so real. Did these two actually study acting?
After half the drink was gone, they finally finished shooting. As soon as everyone said to take a break, the two immediately released the straws and turned away to look at the scenery. All the romantic deep gazing instantly vanished without a trace. It was impossible to tell whether the earlier affection was an illusion or if this moment was an illusion.
Planner: …Fine, as long as the filming gets done. He patted his racing heart, feeling that with his strong psychological resilience, he’d quickly adapted to these two’s masterful techniques.
For married people showing affection, just holding hands and hugging waists was obviously insufficient. How could they not have a kiss? At a certain scenic spot, carrying the hopes of the whole team and under enormous pressure, the planner spoke: “You two, um, here, let’s take some kissing photos.”
Shen Yu turned to look at the building behind them. It was indeed romantic, like a fairy tale—kissing here would be very atmospheric. He nodded casually. Before there could be any more discussion, Yan Jin suddenly embraced his waist, caught him off guard with a turn, and before everyone could react, silently kissed him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
