Isn’t money good?

Chapter 45

Ji Yunnian walked over carrying two glasses of juice. Seeing Yan Shiqiu staring blankly at his own hand, he asked with interest, “Are you savoring the memory?”

“…You’re overthinking it.”

Yan Shiqiu’s gaze fell on the juice in Ji Yunnian’s hands. “Is one of those for me?”

“Mm.” Ji Yunnian let him choose. “Blueberry and mango, which do you want?”

“Mango.”

So Ji Yunnian handed him the mango one, then asked with feigned casualness, “Do you like eating mangoes?”

Yan Shiqiu inserted the straw. “I do like them quite a bit.”

He bit the straw and looked up. “The key point is, you only gave me two options.”

“Can’t help it, there were only these two flavors.” Ji Yunnian leaned against the sofa back like him, then smoothly continued asking, “So what fruits do you like?”

“Many.” Yan Shiqiu said. “Apples, cherries, red grapes, dragon fruit… I like almost all of them, except for one.”

Ji Yunnian guessed, “Durian?”

Yan Shiqiu shook his head. “Wrong, I really love eating durian.”

Ji Yunnian: “…”

Yan Shiqiu asked, “You don’t like it?”

Ji Yunnian’s face went wooden, clearly unhappy. “I can’t stand that smell.”

Noticing Ji Yunnian’s suddenly dampened mood, Yan Shiqiu found it inexplicable. He thought for a moment and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t eat it in front of you.”

Ji Yunnian explained, “I didn’t mean that.”

He turned the topic back. “You still haven’t said which fruit you don’t like.”

“Bananas.”

Ji Yunnian brightened up again, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. “What a coincidence, I don’t like them either.”

The two leaned together chatting about this and that. The topics were ordinary and commonplace, yet the atmosphere formed its own little circle that others simply couldn’t penetrate.

Among today’s staff was a CP fan of theirs who had been quietly observing for a long time, her eyes practically glowing.

Taking advantage of a bathroom break, she couldn’t help rushing to the CP group chat for a frantic outburst: Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

[What’s wrong, what’s wrong? Did my CP drop some major sugar?]

[Wuwuwuwu, I really want to say something, but I can’t.]

[So there really is something?!]

[Yes!!!]

[Ahhhhh, as long as there’s sugar, that’s enough. I can wait!!!]

…

The CP fans didn’t have to wait long. At 8 PM that evening, Huansheng’s official Weibo posted a message tagging Ji Yunnian and Yan Shiqiu, announcing their collaboration in the MV for Qiao Yu’s latest single.

An incredible combination, an incredible collaboration. As soon as the official announcement went out, fans from all three parties rushed over, marketing accounts caught wind of it, and within half an hour the related topics were pushed onto the trending list, igniting the day’s heated discussions.

[My favorite singer and my favorite actor are collaborating. What kind of happiness is this?!!]

[Double happiness!]

[Qiao Yu’s new album actually got Teacher Ji? Oh my god, Teacher Ji suddenly descended from the heavens this year. Could this be love? (dog head emoji)]

[Okay, Qiao-Ji is real!]

[I object! Clearly Qiao-Yan is real! Qiao Yu only mutually follows Yan Shiqiu on Weibo, he didn’t follow Teacher Ji. Teacher Ji is the wedding officiant. It’s uniquely beautiful!]

[Not at all, Ji-Yan is real! This is Teacher Ji’s third collaboration with Yan Shiqiu. Three collaborations in just two short months. If this isn’t love, what is?!!]

[Everyone missed the key point. Qiao Yu’s new song features two male artists in the MV, no female artists. So the question is, what’s the MV’s story? Betting a cucumber that it’s socialist brotherhood.]

[I just want to ask one question: why does Ji Yunnian keep collaborating with Yan Shiqiu one after another? Do they really have no relationship? It feels like he’s rushing to send him popularity.]

Ji Yunnian’s fans really wanted to ask this question too.

Some younger new fans wanted to directly contact his manager to inquire, but were sternly stopped by Yan Zhenzhen.

Yan Zhenzhen was one of the most senior fans with the deepest pockets among Ji Yunnian’s fanbase. Seeing the group getting rowdy, she directly threw out several questions:

[Does it matter to you whether Teacher Ji dates or not?]

[Doesn’t Teacher Ji have the freedom to make friends?]

[Does Teacher Ji need to report to you when he’s in love?]

[Do you like Teacher Ji for his acting skills and want to see him perform, or are you delusional fans who think Teacher Ji will stay single forever so you’ll have a chance to marry him?]

The series of questions left the group speechless.

After a while, people gradually started speaking up.

[Sister Yan, we’re just frustrated.]

[But is Yan Shiqiu really not riding on popularity? If we say the first two times don’t count, what about this time?]

Lan Tian couldn’t stand it anymore and also popped up to say a few words:

[What kind of person do you think Teacher Ji is? Taking a step back, even if Yan Shiqiu really was riding on Teacher Ji’s popularity, it’s because Teacher Ji is willing. If Teacher Ji wasn’t willing, do you think Yan Shiqiu could force him?]

[I want to emphasize again: Teacher Ji is an actor, not an idol. He focuses on acting, he’s not someone without talent who can only sell his face for money. Outside of the screen, he has freedom in making friends. Even if he were to get married, what we should do is offer our blessings.]

Lin Yang had a secondary account mixed in the group. Seeing this exchange, he immediately took a screenshot and sent it to Tao Qian. Tao Qian felt gratified after reading it and forwarded it to Ji Yunnian.

At that moment, Ji Yunnian was with Yan Shiqiu in the basement gallery. Yan Shiqiu sat relaxed in the middle sofa, tilting his face up to gaze at a painting hanging on the wall in front of him, completely quiet and focused.

Ji Yunnian tilted his head, watching him.

The WeChat notification suddenly rang out, breaking the room’s silence. Yan Shiqiu turned his head and met Ji Yunnian’s gaze directly. He paused for a moment.

Ji Yunnian didn’t frantically look away, but continued watching him, appearing perfectly natural as if nothing had happened. Sure enough, Yan Shiqiu didn’t suspect anything.

He reminded, “Your WeChat is ringing.”

Only then did Ji Yunnian withdraw his gaze and take out his phone to check the message.

Yan Shiqiu asked hesitantly, “Do you have something to handle? Should we head out?”

“It’s nothing.”

As he spoke, Ji Yunnian held his phone out in front of him.

Yan Shiqiu: “?”

“What are you doing?” He was puzzled.

“Take a look.”

Yan Shiqiu took the phone in confusion. After reading the screenshot, he looked back up at Ji Yunnian and said with feeling, “Your fans are very rational.”

He was deeply impressed by Yan Zhenzhen.

Fans who would actively apologize were already rare. To pin an apology post for 24 hours, even buying trending topics to push it across the entire network, he had truly only encountered this one case.

It had to be said that besides Ji Yunnian himself having no scandals, the fact that his fans weren’t troublemakers was also a reason for his high public favorability.

If fans were crazy and uncontrollable, constantly causing various bizarre incidents, it would be hard for passersby to have good feelings toward the artist they supported.

“Speaking of which.” Yan Shiqiu tilted his head, “this inexplicable fate between you and me, will there be a next time?”

Ji Yunnian took back his phone and placed it face-down on the sofa. “What, you don’t want to collaborate with me?”

Yan Shiqiu braced his hands behind him on the sofa, stretched out his legs, and leisurely swung his feet.

“Of course not. I’m very much looking forward to it. It’s just that won’t your fans get so angry they’ll flee? After all, they really don’t like you being connected to me in any way.”

Ji Yunnian’s expression remained calm, his tone flat. “I’m grateful that they like me, so I’ll carefully choose scripts and act well, responding seriously to their affection through my work.

But I belong only to myself. My life, my future plans, who I like, who I dislike, even who I’ll date and marry in the future, these are all my own business. They can’t interfere.”

After a few seconds’ pause, Ji Yunnian looked at him and added, “You’d better rely on your work to speak for you too. Don’t go astray. Relying purely on looks won’t last long.”

Yan Shiqiu accepted this well-intentioned reminder. “Mm, I know.”

—

On the last day of MV filming, Sheng You came over.

As soon as he arrived, he circled around Ji Yunnian several times, examining him from head to toe.

Ji Yunnian’s face darkened. “What are you doing?”

“Observing you.” Sheng You stroked his chin with a completely serious expression. “I suspect you’ve been possessed and are no longer the original Ji Yunnian. Demon, quickly reveal your true form!”

Ji Yunnian looked at him with the expression one reserved for mental patients, too lazy to deal with him, and turned to leave.

“Wait, I was wrong.” Sheng You quickly grabbed him, performed a lightning-fast sliding kneel, then leaned over curiously to ask, “I heard you let Yan Shiqiu move into your house?”

Ji Yunnian asked, “Did your sister tell you?”

Sheng You shook his head, his expression dazed. “Yesterday I accidentally overheard her video-calling Liu Xi. Liu Xi said you like Yan Shiqiu and pulled my sister into shipping you two as a CP, even betting on when you’ll get together.”

He asked hesitantly, “So… do you really like Yan Shiqiu?”

Ji Yunnian’s gaze swept from the corner of his eye to land on Yan Shiqiu, who was playing on his phone not far away. He seemed to be watching some funny video, laughing very happily.

Unconsciously, Ji Yunnian’s lips curved into a smile too.

Drawing back his gaze, Ji Yunnian said gently, “Yes, I like him.”

“…”

Sheng You took a long time to process this.

“By the way.” Suddenly remembering something, Sheng You spoke teasingly, “do you remember what you said to me in the elevator after sending Yan Shiqiu away at the last banquet?”

He coughed and imitated: “Make him give up. I will never like him.”

Ji Yunnian: “…”

After laughing enough, Sheng You put one hand on Ji Yunnian’s shoulder, full of curiosity. “How far have you two progressed?”

Ji Yunnian’s face was expressionless. “No progress.”

Sheng You: “???”

“He doesn’t like me.”

Sheng You’s eyes widened, completely shocked. “…You’re actually in unrequited love.”

“Is that strange?”

“Very strange!” Sheng You said excitedly. “You’re so outstanding, and Yan Shiqiu doesn’t even like you, then who would he like? My god, are his standards really that high?

But Ye Peiyuan, whom he was crazy about before, can’t compare to you at all. In your industry’s terms, that’s called ‘trying to crash into the moon’!”

Ji Yunnian was very clear-headed. “Emotions can’t be compared like that.”

Sheng You paused, then calmed down. “That’s true too.”

The MV’s final scene was a bed scene.

These two words were descriptive, literally meaning a scene on a bed. The two would wake up from an afternoon nap and playfully interact intimately on the bed, very warm daily life.

The director personally demonstrated with his assistant once more, confirming that Ji Yunnian and Yan Shiqiu could accept the level of intimacy before beginning filming.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, spilling across the floor, the light particularly soft.

On the large bed in the center, the two embraced intimately. Yan Shiqiu pillowed himself on one of Ji Yunnian’s arms, burying his head in Ji Yunnian’s neck with only half his face visible, his cheeks slightly flushed, the corners of his mouth upturned.

Ji Yunnian wasn’t sleeping. He looked down quietly at the person in his arms, his expression incredibly gentle.

After a moment, Yan Shiqiu woke up.

But he wasn’t fully awake yet. Out of habit, he nuzzled against Ji Yunnian’s embrace once more before lifting his face to exchange a brilliant smile with Ji Yunnian.

…

Sheng You ran over to Liu Xi, asked her for a lollipop, and stared intently at the two people on the bed.

He heard someone behind him talking quietly:

“Teacher Ji and Yan Shiqiu acted so well, so immersive.”

“Especially Teacher Ji’s gaze. It’s so gentle, so gentle. Such masterful acting.”

Sheng You thought to himself: This isn’t acting, it’s genuine emotion showing through.

He made up his mind.

He was going to play matchmaker for them!