Isn’t money good?

Chapter 39

Meeting Ji Yunnian’s eyes directly, Yan Shiqiu fell silent.

They really were fated. Not only did their flights land at similar times, but even when he deliberately tried to avoid him, they still ended up meeting.

Quite helpless.

Looking behind Ji Yunnian to confirm there were no following fans or entertainment reporters, Yan Shiqiu took off his mask and smiled at him, “Good evening. What a coincidence.”

Ji Yunnian looked at him deeply, “Good evening.”

Being stared at so intently, with Ji Yunnian’s gaze so deep and heavy, as if he missed him terribly and wanted to look his fill after finally seeing him, Yan Shiqiu blinked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

Ji Yunnian finally looked away, “Nothing.”

He asked again, “Aren’t you leaving?”

“I am, waiting for my agent.”

“Should I give you a ride?” Ji Yunnian said, “Entertainment reporters will come later, and fans too.”

Fang Yuhua should be arriving soon, right? He was about to refuse when Zhou Yu hung up the phone and walked over, saying worriedly, “Brother Yan, why don’t you and Sister Liu go with Teacher Ji? Brother Fang just called me, his car broke down.”

Yan Shiqiu: “…”

Obviously Ji Yunnian had heard too. His lips curved slightly, “Shall we go?”

Fine then, it wasn’t the first time he’d caught a ride in Ji Yunnian’s car anyway.

He smiled, “Alright, thank you for the trouble.”

It was a van, large enough. After Yan Shiqiu and Liu Xi got in, Ji Yunnian looked at Zhou Yu again, “You come along too.”

“No need.” Zhou Yu quickly waved his hands, “I still need to find Brother Fang, it’s not on the way.”

Ji Yunnian didn’t insist, and got in the car himself.

Lin Yang drove while agent Tao Qian sat in the passenger seat, observing the situation behind through the rearview mirror: Liu Xi sat alone to the side with earphones in, playing on her phone, while Ji Yunnian and Yan Shiqiu huddled together talking.

Ji Yunnian’s gaze kept following Yan Shiqiu.

Forty minutes later, the car stopped outside Yan Shiqiu’s residential complex.

Getting out of the car, Yan Shiqiu waved at Ji Yunnian, “I’m going, good night.”

Without any extra words of thanks, Ji Yunnian was very satisfied. His voice mixed with the gentle night breeze, very soft and warm, “Rest well, good night.”

Hearing Ji Yunnian’s incredibly gentle “good night.” Yan Shiqiu looked at him in surprise.

Something flashed quickly through his mind. Just as he was about to grasp it, Ji Yunnian spoke again: “Not going up?”

He didn’t catch it. It escaped.

“No, goodbye.” He turned and left.

Liu Xi also lazily waved at Ji Yunnian, “Bye.”

But she didn’t move, standing in place waiting for Yan Shiqiu to walk far away before adding with a smile, “Good taste.”

Ji Yunnian met her eyes, both understanding each other perfectly, “Protect him well.”

Liu Xi smiled, “Don’t worry.”

Only after watching Yan Shiqiu and Liu Xi enter the complex did Ji Yunnian close the car door and tell Lin Yang, “Drive.”

He leaned back against the seat, raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes to rest for a few minutes before opening them again, looking toward Tao Qian, “You’ve been wanting to say something but holding back. What is it?”

Tao Qian considered for a moment, deciding to take a gradual approach and speak tactfully first: “Your relationship with Yan Shiqiu is getting better and better…”

Ji Yunnian interrupted him, “Just say it directly.”

“…” Tao Qian was silent for a few seconds, then switched to a serious tone, “Do you like Yan Shiqiu?”

Ji Yunnian’s expression didn’t change as he admitted frankly, “Yes, I like him.”

Though he was already ninety percent certain, hearing it directly, Tao Qian still couldn’t stay calm. He almost leaned his entire upper body toward the back seat, unable to help asking, “Why? Didn’t you really dislike him before? Nothing happened between you two either.”

Only after blurting out the question did he realize he had overstepped. He was just an agent, it wasn’t appropriate to ask such personal questions.

He apologized, “I’m sorry.”

Ji Yunnian didn’t mind, “It’s fine.”

During the half month in Switzerland, he had seriously reviewed the starting point of this feeling. After his initial bad impression was broken, he had developed a curiosity about Yan Shiqiu.

Curiosity was the source of everything. After that came encounter after encounter, where he saw many sides of Yan Shiqiu he had never seen before.

The Yan Shiqiu of the past had only looks but no redeeming qualities. He was like an NPC set by the system, the villainous cannon fodder type, always doing crazy and stupid things. He had really disliked him.

But after that banquet, he changed.

The current Yan Shiqiu was self-reliant, self-loving, self-respecting, and confident.

His eyes were clear and bright, always reflecting abundant light, his long lashes couldn’t hide the brightness, like stars scattered across a brilliant galaxy. He was always smiling. Gentle smiles, brilliant smiles, mischievous smiles, tender smiles… When he smiled, his eyes would curve slightly like slender crescents, clean and beautiful, dazzling as if looking directly at a light source.

Who would refuse light?

He fell bit by bit without knowing it, until that day when Yan Shiqiu fell ill again and he received Liu Xi’s call, rushing anxiously from the hotel to the set. He realized how much he cared about Yan Shiqiu. Then at dusk, that stunning backward glance from the city wall made him finally understand, he had fallen for Yan Shiqiu.

He could list many of Yan Shiqiu’s good qualities, but it wasn’t just because of these qualities that he fell for him.

Falling for Yan Shiqiu didn’t really need a special reason. It was simply because Yan Shiqiu was wonderful.

He was irresistibly drawn to Yan Shiqiu.

That was all.

“By the way, Qiao Yu’s agent contacted me before, wanting to invite you to star in the MV for his new album’s title track.” After a long silence, Tao Qian spoke again, bringing up work.

Ji Yunnian said, “Qiao Yu from Huansheng?”

“Right. Huansheng is pushing him hard, and he has real talent. Inviting you to star is probably to use your fame for promotion.” Tao Qian changed direction, “However, I personally don’t recommend you take it.”

Ji Yunnian looked at him.

Tao Qian: “The song depicts a same-sex romance, the MV has dual male leads, and MV filming doesn’t require acting skills. For you, it’s somewhat beneath your abilities.”

Ji Yunnian didn’t respond immediately.

He crossed his legs, rested his hand on his leg, and lightly tapped his knee a few times with his index finger. After thinking, he asked, “Who’s playing the other role? Has it been decided?”

Tao Qian was stunned, “…Are you planning to take it?”

Ji Yunnian stated calmly, “I can do the Fu family a favor.”

Guessing the “favor” was related to Ji Corporation, Tao Qian didn’t inquire further. He nodded, “I’ll ask tomorrow. If there’s no problem with the other MV lead, I’ll accept it for you.”

Ji Yunnian hummed in agreement.

—

The next day, Yan Shiqiu was woken by the phone ringing.

Opening his eyes groggily, he sat on the bed holding his blanket for a long time before becoming more alert.

He reached for his phone on the nightstand, looked at the caller ID, and saw it was his landlord calling. Just as he was about to answer, the call hung up, then the doorbell rang.

???

What was happening?

Yan Shiqiu ruffled his hair, pressing down the parts that had stuck up from sleeping, and resigned himself to getting out of bed to answer the door.

“Miss Li?”

The landlord was a woman in her thirties, pretty, but currently looking haggard and travel-worn, as if she hadn’t rested properly in a long time.

“Sorry to disturb you.” She said with downcast eyes, her voice full of apology. “I came to tell you that I can’t continue renting the apartment to you. I’ll refund the extra rent and penalty fee.”

Instantly, Yan Shiqiu was fully awake.

Was he being evicted?

He frowned and asked, “May I know the reason?”

The landlord pressed her lips together, “Something happened in my family, I urgently need money, so I have to sell the apartment.”

She apologized, “I’m sorry.”

After hearing this, Yan Shiqiu felt very dejected, but he couldn’t make things difficult for her. After all, it wasn’t his apartment, and she did seem genuinely urgent.

He was silent for a while, but his heart softened in the end, and he agreed, “Alright, but you need to give me time to pack.”

He could stay in the company’s trainee dormitory for now.

“Of course, of course.” She nodded repeatedly, then hesitated for a few seconds before saying, “Could you move out within a week? I’ve already found a buyer, and they agreed to handle the handover procedures as soon as possible.”

Yan Shiqiu nodded, “Got it.”

The landlord thanked him again, then bowed in apology before leaving.

After she entered the elevator, Yan Shiqiu stood there feeling terrible.

Shoulders slumped, he shuffled back to the living room looking dejected, flopped face-down on the sofa, temporarily wilting from a vibrant little sun into a flat salted fish, not wanting to move at all.

Money.

Money!

Ahhh, he needed to save money to buy an apartment!

After lying there for over ten minutes, he finally changed positions to lie flat on the sofa, managing to recover a bit from the depression of “about to be homeless.”

But he was still gloomy.

Just then, WeChat pinged. He reached for his phone to look.

The next second, he sat up with renewed energy.

[Fang Yuhua]: The payment for “Rivers and Mountains in Chaos” has been deposited into your account, 1.269 million after taxes, please check.