Chapter 22

Qin Xiaoran returned on the third morning. He had originally thought he could stay by Second Young Master Cui’s side for a few more days. Even if he couldn’t gain much benefit, making some connections would still be good.

Unfortunately, Second Young Master Cui quickly grew impatient with him. His agent also called to urge him back to the film crew, so Qin Xiaoran had no choice but to return dejectedly.

Chu Yi’s role was just a minor villain with limited solo scenes. The rest had to wait until the actor playing the imperial envoy was in place before they could shoot.

Thus, as soon as Qin Xiaoran got back to the film crew, Director Mo let Chu Yi off again and turned to film the lead actor’s scenes.

Chu Yi wasn’t in a hurry and continued to observe and learn.

However, upon his return this time, Qin Xiaoran’s attitude toward Chu Yi had completely changed. He always took advantage of breaks in filming to sidle up to him and probe for information, mostly about him and Yu Qingxian.

That afternoon, Qin Xiaoran came over again. Chu Yi looked at the hypocritically fake smile on his face and helplessly reiterated, “I’ve already told you, I’m not close to President Yu.”

As the saying went, one didn’t hit a smiling face. Since Qin Xiaoran hadn’t done anything wrong, he couldn’t push him away completely. The scenes still needed to be filmed, and in front of everyone, he had to give the male lead some face.

Qin Xiaoran naturally didn’t believe him. “Chu Yi, do you really need to hide it from me? I’m an artist at Xingyao too. I’d have to be tired of this industry to go blabbing about President Yu’s private affairs.”

“I’m really not close to him…”

But Chu Yi never imagined that when Qin Xiaoran couldn’t pry anything out of him, the guy actually changed tactics and asked who topped and who bottomed between him and President Yu. At first, he didn’t even react, but once he did, his ears instantly turned red.

To casually bring up such private matters on his lips—he had truly underestimated modern people’s sense of shame!

Chu Yi was an old hand at this. The ancients had their share of such antics too. He had once taken cases from wealthy households’ backyards and brothels, but back then, his mind was solely on the supernatural events, unmoved even when others described their embarrassments.

He had never thought such things would connect to him personally! Though he had joked with President Yu about it, that was because they both knew it was fake, and President Yu’s icy facade cracking was amusing, so he kept bringing it up.

For Qin Xiaoran to ask like this made it seem like they really had something going on, even specifying who topped and who bottomed…

At that moment, Chu Yi couldn’t help feeling a bit relieved that President Yu wasn’t there; otherwise, both of them would have been embarrassed.

“Yi Ge!”

As the saying went, one shouldn’t speak of people in broad daylight. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out, startling Chu Yi so much that he nearly fell off his stool!

He turned his head and saw three living people standing at the film crew’s entrance at some point. Leading them was none other than President Yu, whom they had just been discussing.

Yu Qingxian frowned slightly. As soon as he entered, he saw Qin Xiaoran saying something to Chu Yi, then ambiguously winking at him, after which Chu Yi’s ears turned red.

He suppressed the faint displeasure in his heart, attributing it to not wanting to see Chu Yi mixing with the likes of Qin Xiaoran. He knew Qin Xiaoran’s character all too well. Not long ago, he had latched onto Cui Ran; was he now targeting Chu Yi?

“President Yu.” Qin Xiaoran stood up generously to greet him. He had been staring at Yu Qingxian the whole time and naturally didn’t miss the fleeting displeasure in his eyes.

Yu Qingxian nodded. “Filming must be tough. Sit. We have business with Chu Yi and will leave soon.”

Mu Jiajun added, “Yi Ge, President Yu has already spoken with Director Mo. Are you done chatting? If so, let’s head out.”

Chu Yi patted his butt and stood up. “Done. Let’s go.”

He and Qin Xiaoran weren’t clicking anyway. Even if they hadn’t come, he would have found an excuse to slip away.

Ouyang Yuyuan wasn’t as reserved as them. He considered himself close to Chu Yi and sidled up to him as he approached. “Yi Ge, what were you chatting about with Qin Xiaoran? You two seem pretty familiar.”

What were they chatting about? Who topped and who bottomed between me and your cousin… But could he say that outright? Of course not!

Chu Yi glared at him. “Kids shouldn’t be so nosy!”

Ouyang Yuyuan squinted. “But Yi Ge, I think I’m older than you…”

Chu Yi: “Then why call me ‘Ge’? Once you do, my seniority is higher than yours.”

Ouyang Yuyuan: “Wah wah wah, Yi Ge, you’re twisting words.” He regretted calling him ‘Ge’ just to show respect.

Mu Jiajun nearly burst out laughing but soon realized he was on the same level as his little buddy…

Chu Yi changed the subject. Yu Qingxian glanced up at him and noticed something odd: Chu Yi hadn’t looked his way once from start to finish, as if deliberately ignoring him.

Why? Was it because of that joke last time? That had been Chu Yi’s doing first; he had merely returned the favor. No need to be so awkward as to avoid eye contact, right?

Yu Qingxian didn’t understand. This embarrassment wasn’t that embarrassment. As soon as Chu Yi saw his face, Qin Xiaoran’s question popped into his mind… Better wait until he digested it.

In the distance, Liu Shengqing watched their departing figures with a disappointed frown: He realized Chu Yi was closer to Ouyang Yuyuan than to Yu Qingxian. Those two barely spoke at all—how was he supposed to get a shot like this?!

The group of four got into the car and drove steadily toward Bar Street. During the ride, Ouyang Yuyuan and Mu Jiajun bantered and joked, keeping the atmosphere in the car fairly pleasant.

Yu Qingxian glanced at Chu Yi through the rearview mirror. Feeling that since he was older and the boss, he should take the initiative to ease the awkwardness, he opened the conversation. “Not long ago, I got word that Ying Lin was released.”

“What?!” Before Chu Yi could speak, Ouyang Yuyuan was outraged first. “Why? Didn’t he raise a Little Ghost to harm people? And he’s out after just this short time!”

Though he followed Yu Qingxian, he wasn’t privy to everything. He hadn’t known about Ying Lin’s situation.

“No choice. Ying Lin’s a first-time offender, and he refuses to admit the Little Ghost harming people was on his orders. The consequences weren’t severe—just financial losses for the film crew and Master Cheng twisting his ankle. The Special Affairs Office higher-ups couldn’t make things too hard for an ordinary person, so after a warning and fine, they let him go.”

“So Yi Ge worked so hard ghost capturing, and they just let him off with a word? Next time something like this happens, they can handle it themselves!” Ouyang Yuyuan pouted.

His complaining tone sounded just like his little martial nephew. Chu Yi suddenly laughed. “It actually wasn’t that hard.”

Ouyang Yuyuan widened his eyes. “Yi Ge, you agree with how they handled it? Isn’t that bullying people?”

Chu Yi smiled. “The outcome isn’t viewed that way.”

He took the initiative to ask Yu Qingxian, “What about that Little Ghost? Was it sent for Deliverance?”

Yu Qingxian looked into the rearview mirror and unexpectedly met his gaze. Both froze, like two nocturnal creatures suddenly exposed to sunlight, seeing each other’s true faces… Both saw the discomfort in the other’s eyes.

Yu Qingxian quickly lowered his gaze to mask his emotions. “Correct. But before Deliverance, its resentment must be eliminated first, which will take about a month.”

Chu Yi clenched his fist and coughed lightly. “That makes sense. I injured that Little Ghost, so the Qi Yun Ying Lin gained from it will slowly backlash onto him. Only when the Little Ghost completes Deliverance will Ying Lin fully repay the karma.”

Yu Qingxian: “That’s what the Special Affairs Office higher-ups told me too. So I preemptively suspended all his schedules and endorsements. Since he just jumped ship here, aside from Da Qing Feng Yun, he had no other gigs. Except for the already-released endorsement ads, he’s now in a cooling-off period.”

The Special Affairs Office, appreciating their proactive report, had informed them in advance of the consequences to help mitigate losses.

However, the higher-up who had pushed to poach Ying Lin felt they couldn’t write him off completely. After all, he had been somewhat popular before jumping ship; it would be a shame to abandon him. So after private discussions, they set an observation period.

Yu Qingxian naturally trusted the Special Affairs Office. If Vice President Wei wanted to wait, let him. It cost Xingyao nothing. Now with Chu Yi’s confirmation, he knew Ying Lin was done for.

Ouyang Yuyuan listened in a daze. Why did it feel like Cousin Xian and Yi Ge were perfectly in sync, harmonizing so well?

But…

“Why cool off? Just shelve him!” Ouyang Yuyuan muttered under his breath.

Fortunately, the car stopped at that moment, and both Yu Qingxian and Chu Yi breathed a sigh of relief simultaneously.