I can handle it

The Maybach rounded a corner and passed Zheng Ge's van.

Zheng Ge happened to be gazing idly out the window. The familiar license plate made his heart skip, and he immediately sat up, but the other car never stopped, speeding away.

Zheng Ge blinked. Had I seen that wrong?

Why would Chu Yilan be here?

Once the van stopped, Zheng Ge climbed out and looked up to see Shen Lian and his assistant walking away. For no apparent reason, his heart began pounding.

Zheng Ge felt as though a fog shrouded his mind, preventing him from connecting all those tangled threads.

Ultimately, it was too inconceivable-or perhaps it touched on the possibility he most resisted, so he instinctively avoided it.

Of course, Zheng Ge had already been notified that Shen Lian had passed the audition.

It didn't matter. As far as Zheng Ge was concerned, his assistant's explanation made the most sense.

"Shen Lian is just jealous of you. He has to compete with you over everything. He's barely joined Xingkai, and he's already bending over backward to get into the Silent Words cast. With his lousy acting? Or maybe he wants to ride your coattails and see President Zhou again. Either way, he's so annoying. It's like he has no life of his own. The fans are right-he's living in your shadow and can't escape it. Zheng Ge, you can't go soft on him."

"As for Shen Lian getting into Xingkai, that's easy to explain. The higher-ups must be blind. President Chu probably doesn't even know. He's got a million things to deal with every day, after all. Xingkai is just one unremarkable entertainment company he owns. How would he have time to keep tabs on it every day?"

And as for Chu Yilan deleting his contact...

Zheng Ge soon made peace with it. Seeing him officially get together with Zhou Tangsi must have hurt Chu Yilan, of course, but he truly couldn't return his feelings.

Had Shen Lian known how wildly Zheng Ge could spin things in his head, he would already have slapped him ten times.

Silent Words was a closed set. Whatever came up, everyone was expected to keep trips off-site to a minimum during filming and avoid leaking footage to outsiders. It was one of Dai Tong's trademarks.

After greeting Dai Tong and several producers, Shen Lian followed a staff member to his room.

There weren't many rooms, and each actor could keep only one assistant with them. Shen Lian specifically went to take a look. Compared with their rooms, the assistants' accommodations were prefabricated huts made of corrugated steel on an empty patch of land, packed tightly together without even a toilet.

And most of the assistants staying behind were men.

"Drive back in a bit," Shen Lian said.

Jiang You hurriedly said, "Shen Lian, I can-"

"You can, my ass!" Shen Lian's expression was stern. "Look at how many shirtless men are around here. Listen to me. Go back and tell Brother Hu to arrange a male assistant for me temporarily."

Jiang You was deeply touched. "Shen Lian..."

"All right." Smiling, Shen Lian led the young woman away.

In fact, the lead actors' rooms weren't allocated very fairly either. Shen Lian's was tucked furthest inside, with poor natural light and little space, while Zheng Ge's was nearer the outer middle section and even had a private bathroom.

Shen Lian knew, but there was nothing to complain about. That was how this industry worked.

In his previous life, when he had stood at the top, the crew always gave him first pick, no matter how harsh the conditions were.

Jiang You drove back, leaving Shen Lian alone in his room. It had only a bed, a cabinet, and a table. Put off by the dusty cabinet and its smell, he left his suitcase open and made do with that. He wiped down the table, checked the bedding, then lay down to read the script.

Shen Lian hadn't stepped outside once before a staff member knocked.

"Mr. Shen, all the leads are here. Director Dai would like you to come sit with everyone."

"Sure." Shen Lian nodded. "I'll be right there."

Shen Lian changed into the slippers Aunt Fen had personally prepared for him. Nice and comfortable, he headed out with his tea mug, stopping to fill it with hot water on the way.

When Director Dai spotted Shen Lian from a distance, he couldn't help laughing. "Look at him. A seasoned old hand."

Zheng Ge and Wei Fanchen were sitting opposite each other. At those words, both turned to look.

As he walked, Shen Lian blew aside the foam floating on his tea and took a small sip.

"Hello, Director Dai. Hello, everyone." Shen Lian pulled over an empty plastic stool and plopped down.

He crossed his legs and cradled his mug, looking relaxed and composed-more like an investor than an actor.

The female lead, Huang Jiacan, was a beauty with a classical elegance. She had been fairly average a few years ago, but over the past two years, something seemed to have clicked, and her acting range had broadened considerably. Most of her fans were laid-back, though they could put up a good fight when a fandom feud broke out. Dai Tong's choice of her made perfect sense.

Huang Jiacan studied Shen Lian curiously. Her first impression: interesting.

Before Shen Lian arrived, they had already been sitting there for over ten minutes. Director Dai would say a few words, Zheng Ge would respond, and most of the others would lavish praise on them. Everyone sat at attention, afraid of putting a foot wrong. Shen Lian alone hadn't come until invited.

It was simply Shen Lian's habit. In his previous life, he only joined a crowd when he had business to attend to. Otherwise, he preferred peace and quiet.

"Your attitude's getting bigger, Shen Lian," Wei Fanchen said, half joking.

Shen Lian took a sip of tea and said mildly, "You saw it?"

The corner of Wei Fanchen's mouth twitched. "The main cast gets together after joining the production. Isn't that standard practice?"

"Am I not here?" Shen Lian asked. "Did I throw my weight around?"

Wei Fanchen choked, then gave a derisive chuckle. "You'd need some weight to throw around first."

"Enough," Dai Tong interrupted.

Dai Tong sided with Shen Lian for a simple reason: he valued whoever acted well. He had assumed Shen Lian had been shoehorned in through connections, only to discover it was actually Wei Fanchen. Their performances at the audition had been worlds apart.

Dai Tong discussed the broad details of filming with everyone while Shen Lian listened quietly. Before long, it was time to eat.

The crew's food was nothing special: two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes. The meat dishes had been cooked in advance and perhaps left sitting too long. Either way, they smelled a little off when opened.

"Whoa!" someone exclaimed as a car drove in through the entrance to the set.

The trunk opened to reveal hearty dishes like braised pork and chicken drumsticks.

"President Zhou sent these for Zheng Ge," someone said.

Zheng Ge blushed, and the other staff members promptly offered their congratulations and expressed their envy.

Smiling, Zheng Ge said, "Everyone, help yourselves."

"Thank you, Mr. Zheng!"

"You're so generous, Mr. Zheng!"

Shen Lian didn't even glance over. While everyone else lined up for drumsticks and meat dishes, he carried his boxed meal off to one side.

"What, you don't want any?" Wei Fanchen blocked Shen Lian's path, looking smug. "Jealous?"

"Me, jealous?" Shen Lian unwrapped his chopsticks with one hand, wearing a faint, mocking smile. "Anyone who didn't know better would think Zhou Tangsi sent it for you. Which of us is jealous, exactly?"

"Quit acting so high and mighty!" There weren't many people around, and Wei Fanchen lowered his voice, his tone vicious. "Zhou Tangsi treasures Zheng Ge more than anything now. You'd better be able to handle it!"

"I can handle it." Shen Lian nodded. "They could drag a bed in front of me and put on a live sex show, and I wouldn't mind. As long as they covered their faces, of course. I'm a little allergic to those two. You, though-try not to choke on it. If you're counting on me to help you go after Zheng Ge, give up on that idea now. You two can tear into each other from now on. Bye."

Wei Fanchen's eyes widened. He could hardly believe those words had come from Shen Lian.