Isn’t money good?

Chapter 41

Yan Shiqiu was startled, staring at Ji Yunnian in disbelief, his expression dazed and bewildered.

Ji Yunnian continued looking at him, finding him more adorable the longer he looked.

How had he never noticed this before?

Snapping back to his senses, Yan Shiqiu glanced at the makeup artist not far away who was talking with someone, then suddenly stood up and pressed the back of his hand to Ji Yunnian’s forehead, quickly checking his temperature.

He was puzzled. The temperature was normal.

Ji Yunnian pulled his hand away, saying with amusement, “I’m not sick.”

“Then why are you suddenly complimenting me? Although what you said is true—I am indeed very good-looking.” Yan Shiqiu blinked and shook his head, “but it doesn’t fit your character.”

Ji Yunnian raised one eyebrow, “What character do I have?”

Yan Shiqiu said, “Little Ji, three years old at most, tsundere and stubborn, would rather die than admit my good points.”

Ji Yunnian scoffed, “Takes one to know one. You’re Yan the four-year-old.”

“Then I’m still a year older than you, which works for me.” Yan Shiqiu replied absentmindedly, sitting back down and taking a sip of water from the table, while his mind churned like a tempestuous sea.

What did Ji Yunnian mean by that?

Was it what he was thinking?

…No way, right?

Setting down his water cup, he was carefully choosing his words and about to speak when the makeup artist returned.

Nearby, Ji Yunnian also withdrew his gaze from him as his own makeup artist approached, speaking with him in low tones before beginning to apply his makeup.

Yan Shiqiu looked over and had to temporarily suppress his confusion.

After finishing their makeup and changing into costumes, Yan Shiqiu looked at himself and Ji Yunnian in the mirror and inexplicably felt, that they really did look quite compatible?

“…”

He quickly shook his head, trying to shake out the water that had gotten in.

Qiao Yu’s title track was a upbeat, sweet, and warm love song.

The moment the melody started, a fresh sweetness hit you right in the face.

So the MV story that matched the song was also light and cheerful, a comedy about meeting, getting to know each other, and falling in love, sweet from beginning to end.

The MV director’s surname was Zhang, called Zhang Qi. He wasn’t very old, not yet thirty, and had studied photography. He had his own preferences for composition and lighting, with a strong personal style.

When he learned he’d be working with Ji Yunnian, he was incredibly excited.

Upon seeing Ji Yunnian, he immediately rushed forward to shake hands, full of enthusiasm, “Hello Teacher Ji, I’m so happy to work with you.”

Ji Yunnian smiled politely and shook his hand.

The director then turned to Yan Shiqiu, greeting him as well, but didn’t use the title “Teacher”, instead calling him directly by name.

Yan Shiqiu had a good attitude and didn’t mind the director’s differential treatment. After all, in the director’s eyes, he was just a newcomer, and it would be stranger to call a newcomer “Teacher.”

“Have you both read through the script?” The director asked, putting away his fanboy expression and entering work mode.

“Yes.”

“For the kiss scene, do you mind doing a real kiss?”

Yan Shiqiu: “?”

“Isn’t it supposed to be shot from an angle?” He asked in surprise.

Hearing this, the director looked at Ji Yunnian, “What about you, Teacher Ji?”

Yan Shiqiu’s pinky curled slightly as he suddenly felt somewhat nervous.

It wasn’t that he wanted to be narcissistic, but when he carefully recalled their recent interactions, Ji Yunnian had indeed been unusually good to him. His inexplicable agreement to appear in the MV was also strange, and combined with his earlier look and tone, it made him overthink things.

Just as he was pondering this, he heard Ji Yunnian say very decisively, “Angled shot.”

Without even a second of hesitation.

“…”

Alright, so he had been narcissistic after all.

Speaking of which, the script had similar scenes. Maybe it was just advance rehearsal? Or perhaps Ji Yunnian had just felt like teasing him on a whim.

In any case—

Yan Shiqiu breathed a sigh of relief.

The director nodded, “Understood.”

“That’s about it then, let’s start shooting. The first scene is the initial meeting. Teacher Ji, you’ll walk over from that side in a moment, and Yan Shiqiu, you come from this side…”

The MV shoot was completely without difficulty, few lines, just a few sentences, relying entirely on straightforward eye acting and physical performance.

After finishing the campus first-meeting scene, they moved to the library for shooting, where the two main characters had already entered an ambiguous stage.

In the library, they met unexpectedly, but because they couldn’t disturb other people studying and had friends nearby, even though they sat facing each other, they used their phones to text each other on WeChat.

Occasionally they would look up at each other in perfect synchronization, breaking into unconscious smiles.

The scene changed again to a classroom at dusk.

The evening sky was beautiful, with burning clouds stretching across it and flowing clouds drifting by. The setting sun slowly moved westward, and orange sunlight streamed through the windows, casting gentle light across the floor.

Yan Shiqiu lay on the desk, breathing softly.

By now there was no one else in the classroom. Ji Yunnian walked in with light steps and sat beside Yan Shiqiu.

His elbow rested on the desk, his palm supporting his cheek, his gaze falling from his lowered eyes as he quietly watched Yan Shiqiu, his features relaxed and a faint smile playing at his lips.

After watching intently for a while, he gradually moved closer to Yan Shiqiu. Just as his light kiss was about to land on Yan Shiqiu’s cheek, a sudden draft blew through, lifting Yan Shiqiu’s bangs. He drowsily opened his eyes to see Ji Yunnian’s magnified handsome face.

He broke into a brilliant smile, his voice slightly soft, “Can we go now?”

Ji Yunnian pulled back, reaching out to touch Yan Shiqiu’s hair, then grasping the hand he was using to rub his eyes, holding it in his palm, “Mm, let’s go home.”

…

The moment the director called “Cut”, Yan Shiqiu quickly pulled his hand back.

His palm suddenly empty, Ji Yunnian felt somewhat disappointed.

He lightly clenched his fist and put it in his pocket, wanting to preserve the lingering warmth a little longer, then glanced at Yan Shiqiu with great exasperation: “What are you doing? Worried I’ll take advantage of you?”

Yan Shiqiu waved his hand in denial, “No, no, I’m worried about making you uncomfortable.”

“Ahem, well.” He touched his nose, “I mentioned before that I really treasure you as a friend. What if you remember that embarrassing incident from before and misunderstand something? Wouldn’t that be awkward?”

Although Ji Yunnian’s decisive “angled shot” had stopped him from overthinking, he had seriously reflected on himself and realized he had indeed been too close to Ji Yunnian.

He needed to clearly draw a line with Ji Yunnian. That way everyone would be happy and could avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings that might cause trouble.

Receiving the friend card once again, Ji Yunnian felt stifled.

However, today’s probing had also revealed that Yan Shiqiu clearly had no romantic feelings for him at the moment. To win him over, he could only take it slow and proceed step by step.

He pulled back the step he had rashly taken forward, returning to his original position.

Resuming his mocking tone, he said, “Your imagination is too wild.”

“Thank you for complimenting my good imagination! Congratulations on discovering another one of my strengths.” Yan Shiqiu clapped his hands like a duck, smiling cheerfully with a very relaxed expression.

Seeing Yan Shiqiu’s relaxed appearance, Ji Yunnian thought he should temporarily stay at the friend line.

This distance made Yan Shiqiu feel comfortable.

“By the way, let me ask you something.” Yan Shiqiu had been thinking and thinking but still couldn’t understand Ji Yunnian’s reason for agreeing to appear in the MV, “Why did you take this job?”

Ji Yunnian looked at him: “Curious?”

Yan Shiqiu nodded, “Extremely.”

He was just too, too, too curious. No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense, it didn’t add up logically.

Yan Shiqiu stared at Ji Yunnian eagerly. Ji Yunnian smiled slightly, then turned and walked away, leaving behind an infuriating comment: “If you beg me, I’ll consider telling you.”

Yan Shiqiu: “…”

So infuriating, how could anyone like him!!!

The MV story was a sweet treat with fresh filters throughout, with no nighttime scenes arranged, so once this scene was finished, today’s work was complete.

In the evening, Qiao Yu hosted a dinner at Li’s Restaurant, treating them to a meal.

Yan Shiqiu didn’t leave with Ji Yunnian. He first returned to the hotel for a shower, changed clothes, then went out with Liu Xi.

Arriving at the restaurant, Yan Shiqiu entered the private room to find Ji Yunnian hadn’t arrived yet. Qiao Yu and his agent were already there, and besides them, there was another man seated.

The man was probably around thirty years old, dressed in expensive, well-tailored casual clothes. Although his appearance wasn’t the type to be stunning at first glance, he was the type that grew more attractive the longer you looked, increasingly appealing.

Yan Shiqiu recognized him. He was the eldest son of the Fu family, Fu Baizhou.

He had seen photos of the two brothers together on Fu Baiqing’s phone before.

Fu Baizhou’s presence here meant this dinner wasn’t actually Qiao Yu’s treat, but was using Qiao Yu’s name as cover. The purpose was quite obvious.

Fu Baizhou was here to find Ji Yunnian.

Wait.

Yan Shiqiu suddenly remembered that Qiao Yu’s management company was Huansheng. And Huansheng was an entertainment company under the Fu Group.

The book’s ending: the Ji family eventually joined forces with the Fu family to swallow up the Ye family.

It all connected.

Yan Shiqiu had a sudden realization. He finally understood Ji Yunnian’s seemingly unreasonable reason for appearing in the MV. His target was the Fu family behind Qiao Yu, probably to curry favor.

Having figured this out, his last bit of doubt also disappeared.

Putting on a cheerful expression, Yan Shiqiu proactively greeted Qiao Yu, “Hello Teacher Qiao, I’m very happy to meet you.”

“I really like your song ‘The World is Beautiful.’ The lyrics are warm, the message is gentle. It’s a very healing song.”

After confirming the collaboration with Qiao Yu, he had specifically sought out Qiao Yu’s songs to listen to. “The World is Beautiful” was still on his repeat playlist. He genuinely liked it very much.

Qiao Yu wasn’t tall, about 5’9”, with long hair tied in a ponytail, very distinctive. He smiled, “Thank you for liking it.”

Yan Shiqiu pretended not to recognize Fu Baizhou, “And this gentleman is?”

Qiao Yu simply introduced him: “He’s President Fu from Fu Technology.”

Yan Shiqiu nodded to Fu Baizhou after hearing this: “President Fu.”

Fu Baizhou studied Yan Shiqiu.

Worried about his foolish younger brother being deceived, he had specifically had someone investigate Yan Shiqiu. His early character and behavior were truly terrible, but after his sudden change, he was actually acceptable.

However, since he hadn’t met him in person, he couldn’t directly judge whether he was good or bad, or if he was putting on an act, so he remained cautious.

Now meeting him in person, seeing his clear and clean gaze when looking at him, his eyes calm and without scheming, and his behavior and speech showing no flattery due to his status, maintaining a neither humble nor arrogant attitude, his first impression was quite good.

He nodded, “Hello.”

After that, he didn’t speak again.

Seeing this, Yan Shiqiu didn’t try to curry favor. After sitting down, he turned to chat with Qiao Yu.

Qiao Yu was talkative, and since not talking would make the atmosphere in the room stiff and awkward, they chatted about everything under the sun. Although their topics jumped quickly from one thing to another, their thought processes somehow aligned perfectly, and they could always accurately pick up each other’s conversational threads.

Qiao Yu was actually a bit of a chatterbox, but he could rarely find someone to chat with so pleasantly. He immediately took out his phone and added Yan Shiqiu on WeChat.

Qiao Yu quite liked Yan Shiqiu. Adding WeChat wasn’t enough, he also logged onto Weibo and clicked follow.

After following, he nudged Yan Shiqiu with his elbow, “Quick, follow me back.”

Yan Shiqiu laughed and quickly went online to follow him back.

Qiao Yu was talented and capable. Since his debut, Huansheng had been promoting him continuously with various resources. He had many fans and high popularity. Even compared to Ji Yunnian, while it might be like comparing the moon to a pebble, he was definitely no slouch, at least among top-tier artists.

His Weibo had twenty million followers. His fans quickly noticed he had suddenly come online to follow Yan Shiqiu, and they all became curious about who Yan Shiqiu was, climbing over to his Weibo to observe.

Yan Shiqiu was still online. In the time it took to say a few words, he looked down again and wow, his followers had surged. The follower count was climbing rapidly, jumping by hundreds at a time, nearly causing his phone to freeze.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, looking up to thank Qiao Yu.

Qiao Yu paused, then understood and laughed, patting his shoulder, “If anyone should be thanking anyone, it should be me thanking you. The director told me you and Teacher Ji performed especially well. The MV is definitely going to be a huge hit.”

Yan Shiqiu thought to himself that with Ji Yunnian’s participation, it would be against all reason if it didn’t become popular.

Ji Yunnian walked into the private room at that moment.

Noticing Qiao Yu’s hand on Yan Shiqiu’s shoulder, he paused for an instant, his heart turning as sour as if he’d eaten a lemon.

They’d just met and were already being so buddy-buddy!

Were they really that compatible?

Ji Yunnian deliberately made noise to draw everyone’s attention. Sure enough, Qiao Yu and his agent immediately stood up to shake hands with him.

He shook hands with them, his gaze drifting to Yan Shiqiu. Yan Shiqiu looked up at him and smiled.

Ji Yunnian’s lips curved slightly.