Li Yuan lay limp on the floor. When he tilted his head up, he faced Jian Ran's beautifully sculpted jaw. Letting his gaze travel upward, he could see that breathtakingly gorgeous face.
Those pale pink lips should have produced a gentle, clear voice to match such stunning looks.
But-
With a faint smile, he actually said something so terrifying that Li Yuan's crotch instantly grew wet.
"Jian Ran-"
"Don't scare me-"
Li Yuan instinctively covered his crotch, looking utterly miserable. "Aren't paper figures just made of paper? How could they possibly..."
Jian Ran slowly crouched down, the devilish curve of his lips unchanged. "If they really were paper figures, they might not be much trouble."
"But if they're the things from those 107 abandoned graves behind the Mountain Villa..."
"Then that's another story..."
The more Li Yuan heard, the more his hair stood on end. He opened his mouth and was about to say something when someone suddenly came pounding up the stairs.
Only when his face appeared did they see it was Qi Rui.
He had no time to notice the situation in the hallway. Seeing both Li Yuan and Jian Ran there, he shouted urgently,
"Jian Ran, Assistant Director, we counted the paper figures outside the window. There are actually 107 of them!"
Li Yuan: "..." I'm done for! My pants are completely soaked!
When Lu Yanting came out after finishing his call, the hallway was already empty. Only a puddle remained on the dark red floor.
His cold gaze swept over it, and he frowned, muttering in a low voice, "Ji Yuanming still hasn't cleaned up?"
"The spot's wrong."
"Did he come running to Jian Ran's door again last night..."
Puzzling over it suspiciously, Lu Yanting extended his long arm and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" came an irritated voice. "Will this ever end?!"
"Don't bother me until tonight!"
Lu Yanting paused briefly. "It's me."
From inside the room: "..."
A few seconds later, the door opened a crack, and Jian Ran revealed one eye. "What do you want?"
"I'd like to come in and sit for a while," Lu Yanting said directly.
"No," Jian Ran refused even faster. "It's not convenient."
Lu Yanting's lips curved. "There's no future for you at Maple Blue. Interested in switching companies? Annual salary starts at a million."
Jian Ran withdrew his eye and straightened. With a little force from the hand gripping the handle, he pulled the wooden door open. "Come in."
"Let's discuss the details."
With the economy doing poorly, how could he pass up any job opportunity?
As long as it had nothing to do with the Lu Group, hearing out the plan for now
would do no harm.
Lu Yanting pressed his lips into a faint smile. He seemed to know which buttons to press now.
He strode leisurely into the bedroom on his long legs. The moment he entered, he saw Talisman Paper covering the floor.
Beside the Talisman Paper were small dishes containing cinnabar.
A faint smell of alcohol hung in the air.
Lu Yanting observed without betraying anything and sat down near the desk. Crossing his long legs and raising his chin slightly, he naturally assumed an air of languid refinement.
"Preparing for tonight?"
Jian Ran locked the door, walked slowly back, and knelt down, bending over an unfinished sheet of Talisman Paper. Holding a weasel-hair brush in one hand, he dipped it into the cinnabar again. "Tonight will be a tough battle. I need to prepare in advance."
His back was turned to Lu Yanting, without the slightest guard, and his raised backside came squarely into the latter's view.
Quite perky.
Looks like it would feel good.
Lu Yanting narrowed his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing as those thoughts tangled in his mind.
"Right, you mentioned switching companies?" Jian Ran suddenly looked back, his open collar revealing the red mole on his collarbone. "What did you mean?"
For no apparent reason, Lu Yanting cleared his throat, his cheeks warmer than the rest of his skin. "Ahem."
"It's another top entertainment company."
"As long as you agree to sign, all its resources can be directed toward you."
Jian Ran: "...Does it have anything to do with your Lu Family?"
Lu Yanting: "...What if it does?"
"Then forget it." Jian Ran started turning back to continue drawing talismans.
Lu Yanting said, "You're so averse to the Lu Family that you won't even take money?"
"Making money requires sustainability. Otherwise, you'll live to earn it but not to spend it."
Jian Ran's expression grew focused, his brush flowing smoothly across the paper.
Lu Yanting said nothing more, but his grandfather's instructions over the phone earlier echoed in his mind.
"Yanting, you really met someone from the Jian Family?! Remember, stay calm. Don't scare him off!"
"Remember what your grandfather says: coax and trick him at first, then take him by force later. Anyway, whatever method you use, you must keep a firm hold on him!"
"You only get one chance. Make the most of it..."
Coax and trick him?
Take him by force?
At first, Lu Yanting had not understood his grandfather's intentions, but seeing how firm Jian Ran was, how resistant he was to the Lu Family,
he seemed to understand something...
"This company has nothing to do with the Lu Family. You can sign without worrying."
"Really?" Jian Ran glanced back, a radiant smile spreading across his lips.
It brushed over Lu Yanting's heart like a spring breeze,
ticklish and tingling,
making him long to reach out and catch it.
"Yes, really." Lu Yanting nodded slightly, his voice growing a little huskier.
Jian Ran raised his hand and tapped his head with the weasel-hair brush, frowning. "But terminating my contract with Maple Blue will be a little difficult. We'll talk about it when the time comes."
With that, he continued drawing talismans.
The cinnabar, diluted with alcohol, spread across the yellow Talisman Paper, instantly taking on a strange, mystical power.
Lu Yanting's gaze stilled, drawn to that exquisite profile. Only after a long while did he come back to himself and ask in a slow, low voice,
"Where did you learn this craft?"
"Great Void..." Jian Ran had barely uttered the two words before pausing.
"Ahem, you wouldn't know it even if I told you."
"Here, this one's for you." He straightened and extended his arm, offering the unfolded yellow paper.
Lu Yanting's gaze shifted as he took it. "You drew it especially for me?"
"Mm." Jian Ran's tone was casual. "You're a regular customer. Of course I should give you some extra care."
"Is that all?" Lu Yanting raised an eyebrow, his hands still moving as he carefully folded the Talisman Paper and tucked it into his pocket.
"What else? Do you think I have designs on you?" Jian Ran smiled slyly, then changed tack. "Don't let those two idiots mislead you. I'm not into that."
Lu Yanting's smile stiffened a little. "You're not into that, but you broke up with someone?"
I don't understand.
He left those last words unsaid.
"Just think of me as having a split personality. Anyway, someone with an antisocial personality like mine has no sense of shame at all." Jian Ran's attitude was indifferent.
Lu Yanting's lips moved, and he wanted to say more.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside, accompanied by loud pounding on the door.
"Jian Ran, bad news! The paper figures have charged inside!"
Jian Ran sprang to his feet. "What's going on? They dare cause trouble in broad daylight?!"
He strode over and opened the door at once. Without seeing who had brought the message, he looked down the hallway and saw only a figure hurrying downstairs.
"Jian Ran, I'm going down to help first!"
"Hurry over!"
Hearing that, Jian Ran was about to follow, but Lu Yanting caught his arm. The scorching heat of his palm burned against Jian Ran's skin, and he instinctively looked back.
"What is it?"
Lu Yanting's incomparably handsome face was solemn and grave. "Have you heard that person's voice before?"
Jian Ran: "..."
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, my lovelies!
Before you continue