Show anyone else and I'll break your legs

Sun Binghe hadn't stepped in. For one thing, Shen Lian could handle it; for another, he had met Zhou Tangsi in business circles.

Mr. Shen was right. Boss probably didn't want him revealing himself too early.

Shen Lian was still angry when he returned to his room, until Chu Yilan replied: [Don't send a photo next time. If you've got the guts, strike that pose in front of me.]

Shen Lian grinned. Then just assume I don't have the guts.

Shen Lian was content to tease him over the phone. How far had the two of them even gotten yet? That would be moving way too fast.

Shen Lian also made a point of adding: [You're the only person I've shown it to.]

Chu Yilan gave a soft huff. Show anyone else and I'll break your legs.

He was also trying to coax Shen Lian out of his bad mood. He could tell Zhou Tangsi's sudden bout of madness and uninvited visit had really upset him.

And once Zhou Tangsi went back, he really did start contacting people to have Shen Lian kicked out.

But as the request passed through one level after another, the answer that came back was: no.

Never mind the investors refusing-Dai Tong wouldn't agree either.

In Shen Lian's hands, Li Kuan had practically come alive. His performance was outstanding, and Dai Tong could already imagine the waves it would make after release. It was a major selling point and a guarantee of good word of mouth. Was he supposed to replace him just because Zhou Tangsi said so? Dai Tong had swallowed his pride for investment money over the past couple of years, but that didn't mean anyone could slap him in the face with it.

In any case, the fuss lasted two days, and the atmosphere on set stayed strange for two days. Shen Lian continued filming as usual, and Director Dai showed no intention of stopping his work.

Wei Fanchen had originally been looking forward to the spectacle. He had even planned how to mock Shen Lian, who had cursed him out pretty viciously that night. Yet nothing happened.

Unwilling to let it go, Wei Fanchen went to fish for information from Dai Tong, only to receive a harsh scolding. "Why are you asking about this? What does it have to do with your acting? Can you handle the Duke's Heir role or not? If you can't, I'll replace you!"

Shen Lian privately asked Sun Binghe, "Did Mr. Chu step in?"

"Probably." Sun Binghe continued, "Whatever else, Boss and Zhou Tangsi have never gotten along. And no, that has nothing to do with Zheng Ge. You're Boss's man now. How could he let Zhou Tangsi call the shots?"

Shen Lian hummed softly. In his previous life, he'd been other people's backing and connections. In this life, he had the main villain watching over him. Honestly, it felt pretty good.

"You're saying this was Yilan's doing? How is that possible?"

When Zheng Ge heard the news from Zhou Tangsi, he found it very hard to believe.

Zhou Tangsi sounded displeased on the other end of the phone. "Zheng Ge, I remember telling you not to address Chu Yilan so affectionately."

Zheng Ge hurried to explain. "Oh, don't be so petty. He helped me so much before, and he was disfigured because of me..."

"Then why didn't you choose him?" Zhou Tangsi interrupted.

Zheng Ge was furious. "Zhou Tangsi, you bastard!"

It was the same old jealousy routine. Usually, this was when a cannon fodder character needed to make an entrance. In the past, one call from Zhou Tangsi would bring Shen Lian running. Word would reach Zheng Ge, and then the whole "he chases, he runs" act would begin. Sometimes, in his heartbreak, Zheng Ge would even seek out Chu Yilan and drag him into it too.

But now Chu Yilan had blocked Zheng Ge, and Shen Lian had long since stopped contacting Zhou Tangsi.

Suddenly deprived of an outlet for their resentment, both of them felt stifled.

Shen Lian knew nothing about any of this. He was nearly finished filming his scenes.

Even with Director Dai giving him extra scenes, Shen Lian was making rapid progress.

During this time, he focused on filming and left his Weibo account entirely in Hu Kailan's hands.

One afternoon, with nothing much to do, Shen Lian was resting when Hu Kailan called. "Take a photo and send it to me."

"Hm?"

"Fan engagement," Hu Kailan said. "The feedback from fans hasn't been so bad lately, and the cosplay buzz has died down. We need something fresh."

Still groggy, Shen Lian agreed and sat up.

The sunlight streaming through the window was just right. His hair was a mess, but he looked relaxed and gentle. Half squinting, Shen Lian snapped a flurry of selfies, sent the whole batch to Hu Kailan, then flopped back down to sleep.

Hu Kailan froze for a moment when he saw the photos, then marveled at how much Shen Lian's aesthetic sense had improved. That sleepy summertime cat look was exactly what female fans loved.

In reality, he simply hadn't woken up properly.

[Shen Lian's skin seems to be getting better and better...]

[Who was it that said he only looked good because of makeup and styling? The sheer confidence of using that damn front camera. I can even see the pores on his face.]

[Not even retouched. Verdict delivered.]

[Honestly, putting aside his self-destructive past, that face really doesn't have many rivals in the industry.]

To accommodate that idiot Wei Fanchen, Shen Lian stayed with the production for almost another week after finishing his own scenes.

It wasn't boring, though. He got affectionate with Chu Yilan at night and taught Huang Jiacan what he knew about fight scenes during the day. After a few sessions, he'd even built up her confidence.

"I feel terrifyingly strong now." Huang Jiacan waved a hand. "No stunt double for this bit!"

And with her suspended on wires, she really did complete a convincing sequence under Shen Lian's direction. Even Dai Tong praised her as he passed by. "Beautiful!"

Huang Jiacan was ecstatic. Once she came down, she kept excitedly pummeling Shen Lian's shoulder with her little fists.

When wrap day finally arrived, Shen Lian put on Li Kuan's costume one last time, and the whole production gathered for a group photo.

Huang Jiacan and a few of her girlfriends stopped holding back too. They grabbed Shen Lian to use as their backdrop and snapped away. His face looked good from every angle. Just looking at the pictures was enough to brighten their moods.

"Teacher Shen, someone's looking for you outside," a crew member told him.

There were no more "access restrictions" now. Shen Lian acknowledged him, flashed a peace sign for the last selfie, then broke out of the crowd, set his hat on the table, and strolled outside.

Shen Lian thought it would be Hu Kailan or Jiang You.

When he saw the familiar black car behind the tree, his heart abruptly sped up.

He raised a hand and rubbed his nose. Heh, I'm a little shy.

Even so, Shen Lian strode forward.

As soon as he approached, the car door cracked open. Shen Lian pulled it wider and looked inside, meeting Chu Yilan's deep gaze. The driver knew what he was doing; he'd already raised the partition.

Something suddenly ignited, then swept through his entire body.

Chu Yilan was studying Shen Lian too. The Flying Fish Uniform so often mentioned in period dramas fit him perfectly, neither too long nor too short, showing off every advantage of his build.

Chu Yilan said in a low voice, "Get in."

Shen Lian dove inside and slammed the door shut in one smooth motion.

Neither of them wasted a single word.

Chu Yilan reached out and gripped Shen Lian's waist, letting him shift around to sit on his lap. It was no exaggeration to say that both grown men seemed starved. They did everything they could to steal the air from each other's mouths, low, intimate sounds rising between them. They'd been enduring this for over half a month.

If Shen Lian hadn't kissed Chu Yilan back then, Chu Yilan might have managed to hold out a little longer. Now, to hell with restraint. Especially with that reckless tease Shen Lian attacking on three fronts every day-video calls, phone calls, and photos-making his seduction utterly blatant.

Chu Yilan had a cold personality; he wasn't fucking frigid. Now he held Shen Lian in place and kissed him. The phone rang four or five times, and neither paid it any attention.

Once the heat finally subsided, Chu Yilan and Shen Lian gently kissed each other's noses and lips. Chu Yilan's voice was hoarse and very impatient. "Who is it?"

Shen Lian took out his phone and looked. "Director Dai."

A second later, his voice shot up. "We've been kissing for an hour?!"

Surely not. It had only felt like a few minutes.

Shen Lian soothed Chu Yilan a little, asked him to wait a bit longer, then raced back to the set at lightning speed.