Roses

Given how badly the original owner of this body had flopped, there was certainly no chauffeured van to pick him up. He did not even have an assistant.

Shen Lian took a taxi to the address on his phone.

To avoid being recognized and pelted with banana peels, he wore a mask. But his exposed eyes were so exquisitely beautiful that the driver could not help stealing several glances.

Shooting an ad was as easy as drinking soup for Shen Lian. He planned to get it over with quickly, then return to Chu Yilan's place.

When he arrived at the shoot, staff were rushing back and forth. Shen Lian stopped one of them, removed his mask, and asked, "Hello, sorry to bother you. Which studio should I go to?"

The young woman froze. Confronted with such breathtaking beauty at close range, she was speechless for a long moment. Slowly, she began to think the person before her looked a little familiar...

"...Shen Lian?"

"That's right."

The young woman: "..."

She had seen Shen Lian before. His manager had brought him to the set, where he had kept his head down and his back hunched, wearing a pitifully ingratiating expression. Nothing like now, when even the sunlight seemed less dazzling than he was.

Her heart softened. "I'll take you there."

Shen Lian's lips curved upward. "Thank you!"

On the way, she could not help warning him, "You didn't come yesterday. Our big-shot photographer Zhao threw quite a fit."

"Mm-hmm," Shen Lian replied. "I had a fever yesterday. I couldn't get out of bed."

The sympathy in her eyes deepened.

Everyone knew Shen Lian was about to be discarded by his company, so they were rushing to squeeze out the last of his value. He had endless work every day. Even a man made of iron could not withstand that.

"Here we are." She brought him to the entrance of Studio Three.

Shen Lian thanked her again.

As soon as he entered, a mocking voice rang out. "So our superstar Shen finally deigned to show up?"

Honestly, working with someone utterly useless was enough to drive anyone crazy. But Shen Lian was cheap. Once the two companies split the cost, he was practically free.

Shen Lian stood at the entrance and looked at the photographer, Zhao Ban, his manner humble and respectful. "Sorry. I was the one who missed our appointment. Today, I'll follow your lead. Whatever you want to shoot is fine."

Zhao Ban paused.

Then he took a proper look. Although Shen Lian wore only plain black trousers and a white shirt, with his hair casually tousled, his expression was languid. Even with his emotions held in check, an air of pride shone through his features. He instantly matched the feeling Zhao Ban had been after.

This Shen Lian... how had he changed so completely?

Zhao Ban placed enormous importance on getting the right feeling. He quickly called the staff over to get started.

To his utter surprise, Shen Lian had an excellent feel for the camera...

The young man had the advantage of being six feet tall. Though slender, he was well proportioned, and the folds of his clothes clearly revealed his waistline as he moved. His beautiful face carried an air of effortless command.

Zhao Ban pressed his lips together and gestured for Shen Lian to change poses. Before he could explain in detail, Shen Lian had already adjusted himself exactly as he wanted.

The young man smiled faintly, a little seductive but mostly aloof, drawing people's eyes while making them afraid to approach and intrude.

Zhao Ban was getting into his stride. Instinctively pursuing perfection, he frowned and said, "Not sensual enough."

But the advertiser required this outfit-a common black shirt-which left little room to work with.

Shen Lian nodded at that, indicating he understood.

Zhao Ban: "?"

Shen Lian scanned the room, then his eyes brightened slightly. He strode over to a table, took the red rose from its vase, and poured the remaining half bottle of water over his chest.

Zhao Ban: "??"

With that done, Shen Lian turned to look at Zhao Ban. He remained relaxed and unrestrained, but his gaze instantly took on a seductive hook.

Zhao Ban: "???"

Shen Lian sat on a chair, his legs casually arranged, toying with the rose in his hand.

It was just a little improvisation. In his previous life, Shen Lian had been the darling of countless cameras. He had a pretty solid grasp of what those photographers liked.

With his chest wet, Shen Lian looked languid and decadent, a rose blooming to its fullest in the pitch-black night, on the verge of withering yet still overflowing with fragrance.

As though one firm squeeze would fill a person's palm with rich, vivid juices.

The sexual tension made scalps tingle.

As Zhao Ban pressed the shutter, his mouth went dry.

At some point, the entire studio had fallen silent. Everyone had stopped working to stare intently at Shen Lian.

Shen Lian was used to it and remained perfectly calm. After all, every halo he had worn in his previous life had been earned through solid achievements. The original owner had the same face as him. There was no reason to lose.

Zhao Ban had originally thought even one extra shot of Shen Lian would be a waste. Now his entire camera was filled with him. A job scheduled to finish in an hour stretched into three because he simply could not bring himself to stop.

He could not help it. Shen Lian looked too good.

Shen Lian had left in the afternoon. Now it was already sunset.

Once the shoot ended, Zhao Ban was much more polite. "Mr. Shen, you've really been hiding your talents."

Shen Lian did not contradict him. "The company required a particular persona before. I had no choice."

Understanding dawned on Zhao Ban's face. So that was it. Shen Lian's company... really had no eye for talent.

After sorting out the follow-up work, Shen Lian took a taxi back the way he had come.

With some free time at last, Shen Lian could think about Chu Yilan.

The more he thought, the more his heart bloomed with joy.

Yes, he had fallen for his looks. He lusted after Chu Yilan's body. He was shameless.

But honestly, after twenty-eight years without ever dating anyone, suddenly meeting his ideal crush felt like spectacular fireworks exploding before his eyes. That feeling was far too rare for Shen Lian.

Shen Lian was easily satisfied, because he had possessed everything in his previous life. Yet now that someone occupied his thoughts, he seemed to have turned back into an inexperienced youth, his heart fluttering wildly.

As for the mess the original owner had left behind...

Shen Lian did not think it was that much of a mess.

In his fans' words, he was "stubborn as hell" and "impossible to kill." Plenty of people had wanted Shen Lian dead, but not one had managed to outwork him or outlast him.

And while he had drifted in and out of sleep yesterday, Shen Lian had gone over the entire plot of the book again.

There was nothing particularly substantial in it. The whole thing revolved around the romantic push and pull between Zhou Tangsi and Zheng Ge. The original owner was cannon fodder who died after only a few appearances.

Chu Yilan, however, suffered quite a lot later on, which left Shen Lian rather unhappy.

Chu Yilan's parents had died early, and he had barely experienced familial affection. Zheng Ge had broken through his defenses with a single sentence: "From now on, I'll be your family."

But Zheng Ge treated Chu Yilan as nothing more than a backup. The supposedly earth-shattering love between the protagonists trampled all over other people's lives and devotion.

Shen Lian disliked that intensely.

"Wait." Shen Lian suddenly spoke. "Could you pull over here, please? Three minutes. I'll pay an extra ten."

The driver naturally had no objection.

After getting out, Shen Lian jogged to a flower shop and bought a bouquet of red roses.

When he liked someone, he was happy to pamper and spoil him.

By the time Shen Lian returned to Chu Yilan's villa, it was dark.

Humming a song, he climbed the steps. Before he could ring the bell, the door opened.

Chu Yilan stood in the doorway, radiating hostility.

Shen Lian blinked. What's going on?

Aside from certain feelings he could not quite explain, Chu Yilan had brought Shen Lian home partly for his own amusement.

It was like stumbling across a plaything that acted cute and foolish when he was bored. He wanted to see just how far the other man would go.

But when Chu Yilan came home today and found no one there, fury began boiling in his chest.

Playing me?

Chu Yilan suddenly reached out and seized Shen Lian by the collar.

Because of where they stood, Shen Lian pitched forward and nearly landed on his knees on the steps.

Chu Yilan was so strong that he practically lifted him off his feet. In the darkness, the man's sharply defined features resembled a blade flashing with cold light.

"You already ran off. Why come back?" Chu Yilan's eyes were full of mockery. "What, Zhou Tangsi wouldn't help you? Afraid I'd retaliate, so you came slinking back with your tail between-"

Before he could finish, a bouquet of roses appeared before him.

Then an even more beautiful face emerged from behind the roses. Shen Lian smiled and said, "I didn't run off. I bought these especially for you. Do you like them?"

The charm offensive hit him square in the face, kicking out the flames of Chu Yilan's anger. He genuinely did not know how to react.

"Where would I go?" Shen Lian seemed entirely unbothered by Chu Yilan's roughness. His voice carried a soothing note. "It's my fault. I forgot to ask Aunt Fen to leave you a message. I thought I'd be back before you."

Chu Yilan was deeply insecure, and he hated deception.

Shen Lian continued soothing him. "If you still don't believe me, how about a kiss?"

He puckered his lips slightly and leaned closer. Chu Yilan had never encountered anything like this. His ears burned, and he hastily pushed Shen Lian away.