Isn’t money good?

Chapter 31

To give everyone enough time to transition, and with the backing of the Ji family providing ample funding without needing to count every penny, when the last scene finished at seven in the evening, Chen Hangsheng waved his hand grandly and announced they were wrapping up for the day.

Back at the hotel, Yan Shiqiu had just finished showering when there was a knock at his door. He went to answer it while drying his hair, finding Ji Yunnian standing outside.

Ji Yunnian glanced at his wet hair. “Dry your hair and come down for dinner.”

Yan Shiqiu was taken aback, hesitating. “You… with me?”

“No.” Ji Yunnian said, hands in his pockets as he explained, “Director Chen reserved a private room in the restaurant downstairs. He’s treating everyone.”

“Oh, okay.” Yan Shiqiu said. “Then you go down first, I’ll come down in a bit.”

Ji Yunnian didn’t move. “I’ll wait for you.”

Hearing this, Yan Shiqiu looked at him once, said nothing more, and left the door open for Ji Yunnian to come in. He poured him a glass of water, then took his hair dryer into the bathroom.

Ji Yunnian picked up the water and took a sip. When he set the glass down, he noticed Yan Shiqiu’s script lying nearby.

The script showed obvious signs of frequent reading. The bottom right corner had visible wear, and through the gaps between pages, he could see sticky notes inside.

He picked it up.

Yan Shiqiu didn’t take long to dry his hair and change clothes. Coming out, he saw Ji Yunnian flipping through his script and asked with a smile, “How is it? Any advice?”

“No.” Ji Yunnian put down the script and looked up at him. “You acted very well today.”

Yan Shiqiu smiled happily. “Thank you.”

Taking the elevator down to the third floor, they hurried into the private room where two tables were occupied. The main actors, producer, director, screenwriter, and cinematographer were all there, already drinking.

The producer had apparently had quite a bit to drink and was somewhat intoxicated. As soon as Yan Shiqiu and Ji Yunnian entered, he walked over unsteadily with a glass, saying to Yan Shiqiu, “You’re late! Three penalty drinks first.”

The atmosphere was good, and Yan Shiqiu didn’t want to spoil the mood. He reached for the drink, but Ji Yunnian pressed down on his hand.

Ji Yunnian looked over expressionlessly and said lightly to the producer, “We have a scene together first thing tomorrow morning. Drinking will affect his performance.”

Meeting Ji Yunnian’s gaze, the producer sobered up instantly, saying awkwardly, “Yes, yes, then… then never mind.”

The atmosphere grew somewhat tense. Chen Hangsheng came over to smooth things over. “You’re drunk, go upstairs and rest.”

The producer quickly took the out. “Right, right, I’m drunk. I’ll go upstairs now.”

After seeing off the producer, Chen Hangsheng returned to the private room, patting both Ji Yunnian and Yan Shiqiu on the shoulders and putting an arm around each of them as they sat down. “Let’s eat, let’s eat.”

Yan Shiqiu picked up his chopsticks, placed a piece of spare rib in Ji Yunnian’s bowl, and smiled at him. “A thank you gift.”

Ji Yunnian looked at him for a few seconds, then picked up the rib and ate it.

After Ji Yunnian’s comment about “drinking affecting performance”, everyone else barely touched alcohol, focusing on eating and chatting, only occasionally taking a sip.

Only Su Yu was an exception, drinking glass after glass.

But he sat at the other table, and his tablemates weren’t paying special attention to him, so he got himself drunk.

When they were leaving, everyone noticed him lying face-down on the table with flushed cheeks, finally realizing he was drunk.

Xie Zhaoli and Zhang Youxu, who played the second male lead and lived next to him, took responsibility for getting him back to his room, then left him in his assistant’s care.

Yan Shiqiu had eaten too much at dinner and walked around his room for quite a while to digest, but still felt stuffed. So he took a towel and went down to the hotel gym.

It was quite late, and the hotel gym was nearly empty. He put on his earphones, found an old movie, and started running on the treadmill while watching.

He was focused on his run and didn’t notice someone behind him staring at him with very dirty eyes.

When Ji Yunnian reached the gym entrance, he saw Yan Shiqiu running defenseless on the treadmill while a middle-aged man behind him stared directly at his waist, back, and buttocks, his eyes practically glowing green.

Ji Yunnian’s expression immediately darkened as he strode inside.

Yan Shiqiu caught sight of him in his peripheral vision and turned his head. Just as he was about to greet him, Ji Yunnian suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled him off the treadmill, dragging him straight out of the gym.

?

He shook off Ji Yunnian’s hand.

“What are you doing?”

Ji Yunnian glanced at Yan Shiqiu’s wrist, which he’d gripped red, then looked down at his own hand, curling his fingers and putting them in his pocket.

“You were being…” he chose a more tactful word, “peeped at. Did you know?”

Yan Shiqiu blinked quickly, understanding. Disgusted goosebumps rose on his skin, and he couldn’t help moving closer to Ji Yunnian.

He cursed under his breath.

Noticing Yan Shiqiu’s instinctive movement, Ji Yunnian softened his voice and reached up to pat his shoulder. “Don’t be afraid, he didn’t follow us out.”

After a pause, he added, “I’m here.”

Warmth filled Yan Shiqiu’s heart. He looked up, meeting Ji Yunnian’s reassuring gaze. “Mm.”

“Thank you.” He said to Ji Yunnian again.

Ji Yunnian shook his head and instructed, “Remember for next time, wherever you go, it’s best to bring someone with you. Don’t go anywhere alone.”

Looking Yan Shiqiu up and down, he carefully chose his words. “Boys can be in danger alone too.”

Last time Yan Shiqiu could still joke around with Fu Baiqing, but this time he obediently took note.

“Mm.”

He asked Ji Yunnian, “Were you planning to work out?”

“I was going to run.”

Yan Shiqiu’s eyes lit up with an idea, and he invited him with a bright smile, “Want to go for a night run together?”

“Can you still run?”

Ji Yunnian’s gaze lingered on his face. “Are you okay now?”

“Perfectly fine.” Yan Shiqiu’s face broke into a smile, blooming like a brilliant sunflower. “Thanks to you.”

Looking at Yan Shiqiu’s smiling face, Ji Yunnian inexplicably felt as if his heart had been lightly tickled by a feather.

Since it was so late, they didn’t run far. The two ran to a nearby artificial lake, circled it twice, then returned to the hotel.

They lived on the same floor, and their rooms weren’t far apart.

When the elevator stopped, they walked out, and the first room around the corner was Ji Yunnian’s.

Opening the door with his keycard, Ji Yunnian turned back to him. “Good night.”

Yan Shiqiu was slightly stunned, then curved his eyes into a smile, waving cheerfully. “Good night.”

Back in his room, Yan Shiqiu showered again, set his alarm, and went to bed.

He slept dreamlessly through the night.

The next day, it was raining.

Taking advantage of the heavy rainfall that eliminated the need for artificial rain, Chen Hangsheng temporarily changed the shooting schedule, immediately arranging to film Chu Yuexuan’s debut scene, while moving the originally planned scene between Ji Yunnian and Yan Shiqiu to later.

Chen Hangsheng took this scene very seriously, personally participating in setting up the location and walking through the blocking, striving for perfection.

An hour later, the scene was finally set up.

The extras and supporting actors were all in position.

Yan Shiqiu walked through the scene once under an umbrella according to Chen Hangsheng’s requirements. Chen Hangsheng pointed out several details, so after thinking it over, he walked through it again before Chen Hangsheng nodded in satisfaction.

Then he nodded to all the crew members. The script supervisor held up the clapperboard, and he immediately called out, “Action—”

After An Mo’s death, Chu Yuexuan accidentally found a letter left by An Mo. From it, he learned the truth about the corruption case. He presented the letter to the emperor, but received only a cold warning not to mention the matter again.

Finally disappointed in the emperor and feeling he had failed his friend, Chu Yuexuan despondently requested to leave the palace and traveled throughout the Northern Chuan Kingdom.

At this point, the timeline jumped ahead two years, and the story officially began.

In the third year after leaving the capital, Chu Yuexuan learned of his sister’s death and prepared to return to the capital.

Along the way, he saw many refugees heading north.

There had been flooding in the south again.

Reaching Huai City, heavy rain was falling. Entering through the city gate, he found the streets desolate, with only a few shops open on either side, but almost no customers.

Under the city wall sat many refugees, thin and emaciated with numb expressions. In the pouring rain with nowhere to shelter, they could only huddle together.

Seeing this scene from his carriage, Chu Yuexuan’s brow furrowed deeply, his expression growing grave.

His guard Lu Shi stopped the carriage in front of the only inn still open. As Chu Yuexuan stepped down from the carriage, Lu Shi immediately held an umbrella over him. Standing in the rain, he turned back to look toward the city gate.

He looked so intently, as if he wanted to remember every refugee under the city wall.

Suddenly, cursing voices came from the nearby inn, followed by a mother and daughter being thrown out.

The mother was dressed in rags, holding a five to six-year-old girl in her arms. The girl’s eyes were tightly closed, her face completely pale. It was unclear whether she was dead or alive.

Holding her daughter, the mother knelt on the ground pleading with the inn servant to save her daughter and give her something to eat. The servant looked very impatient and was about to push her.

Seeing the servant’s hand about to fall on the mother, Chu Yuexuan quickly called out, “Lu Shi.”

The person respectfully holding his umbrella moved instantly, quickly positioning himself beside the mother and daughter and grabbing the servant’s hand.

He looked back. “Master.”

Chu Yuexuan walked over, holding the umbrella over the mother and daughter, and bent down to say, “Come with me inside.”

The mother was overjoyed and was about to kowtow to him.

Chu Yuexuan stopped her, gently placing his hand under her arm to help her up.

The mother kept saying thank you as she stood up holding her daughter.

But she too had gone long without food. As soon as she stood, her body swayed and her arms suddenly lost strength, causing the unconscious girl to fall from her embrace.

Chu Yuexuan quickly caught her.

The mother was supported by Lu Shi. When she recovered, she wanted to take her daughter back, but Chu Yuexuan shook his head. “Let me carry her.”

The mother said anxiously, “She’ll dirty your clothes.”

Chu Yuexuan paused in his steps and said gently, “She won’t.”

…

Chen Hangsheng stared intently at the monitor. As Yan Shiqiu’s final line fell, he immediately called “Cut!”

The scene instantly became chaotic as crew members rushed around with umbrellas and bath towels.

Soaked to the skin, Yan Shiqiu wrapped himself in a bath towel and walked behind Chen Hangsheng to watch the playback with him.

Without turning around, Chen Hangsheng pointed to one of the shots. “Here, you need to let your emotions show more, don’t hold back so much.”

Yan Shiqiu responded, “Okay.”

“Mm, we’ll do it again in a bit.” Chen Hangsheng said. “No rush, we need to take our time with this scene.”

“I understand.”

As Chen Hangsheng said, they indeed took their time, adjusting details and camera angles repeatedly. They didn’t finish the scene until after three in the afternoon.

All the actors had been soaked by rain for seven or eight hours. Worried they might catch cold, Chen Hangsheng had ginger tea prepared as soon as filming ended, insisting that everyone drink a bowl.

Yan Shiqiu’s tolerance for ginger was limited to using it for removing fishy smells and seasoning.

He absolutely could not accept ginger tea.

Holding a bowl of steaming hot ginger tea, he sat in his chair with complete revulsion, looking like he’d lost the will to live.

“Still not drinking?” Ji Yunnian had appeared beside him at some point.

Yan Shiqiu looked particularly disgusted. “No!”

Ji Yunnian suddenly reached out his hand toward him, then opened his palm in front of him, revealing a White Rabbit milk candy lying quietly inside.

The corners of his mouth curved into a smile as he coaxed like he was talking to a child, “Drink it and I’ll give you candy.“