Isn’t money good?

Chapter 44

Perhaps it was because he had returned to a familiar environment—this was originally his home, after all—Yan Shiqiu slept particularly well that night, dreamless until dawn.

When he woke in the morning, pale sunlight streamed through the window, and he could see dust motes dancing in the light. It was still early, so he turned over and continued lying there, following the light with his eyes, reluctant to get up.

It wasn’t until he heard knocking at the door that he got up to answer it.

Ji Yunnian stood outside: “Come down for breakfast.”

Yan Shiqiu didn’t respond, just looked at him quietly.

“What’s wrong? Not feeling well?” Ji Yunnian asked with concern.

“No, just a little unaccustomed.” Yan Shiqiu exhaled, his eyes crinkling as he smiled. “Good morning.”

Ji Yunnian noticed a tuft of his hair sticking up and couldn’t resist reaching out to press it down. After doing so, he looked down to meet Yan Shiqiu’s surprised eyes and explained, “It was sticking up.”

Yan Shiqiu blinked. “Mm, I just woke up.”

He turned around. “Let me wash up first, you…?”

Ji Yunnian said, “I’ll wait for you.”

“Okay.”

Yan Shiqiu gestured for him to come in, then turned to get his clothes before heading into the bathroom.

Before long, he finished washing up and came out wearing casual clothes. A simple white shirt paired with dark casual pants, the cuffs rolled up slightly to reveal a stretch of pale ankle.

Ji Yunnian glanced over briefly before looking away. “Ready?”

Yan Shiqiu nodded.

“Are your family members here?” Walking downstairs alongside Ji Yunnian, Yan Shiqiu asked.

“Yes.” Ji Yunnian turned to look at him. “Worried?”

“Not worried. I’m beloved by all.” Yan Shiqiu said, flashing Ji Yunnian a bright smile with clear, clean eyes. “After all, I’m so adorable.”

A hint of amusement leaked into Ji Yunnian’s eyes. “All I can see is how narcissistic you are.”

Yan Shiqiu corrected him: “It’s confidence.”

Ji Yunnian shook his head. “My brother and mom are here. My dad went to Q City, and my sister-in-law went back to her hometown. They won’t be back for a few days.”

As they talked, they had already reached downstairs.

Mother Ji looked over when she heard them coming. “You’re up? Can you eat fish congee?”

Yan Shiqiu politely called out, “Auntie.”

Then he said, “I can eat it, I’m not picky.”

Mother Ji got up and ladled him a bowl, placing it in front of him.

She also ladled a bowl for Ji Yunnian, then said, “Yunnian has told us about your situation. Stay here with peace of mind. If you need anything, just tell Yunnian, or you can tell me too. I’ll give you a key card later to make it easier for you to come and go.”

Mother Ji’s voice was gentle, her smile reaching her eyes. Yan Shiqiu’s eyelashes trembled, and warmth filled his heart.

He said softly, “Thank you.”

Mother Ji smiled warmly. “Let’s eat.”

Halfway through his congee, Ji Yuncheng came downstairs too. He wore an elegant three-piece suit, his hair combed back to reveal a smooth forehead and handsome features.

Yan Shiqiu looked at him and noticed he didn’t really resemble Ji Yunnian. Ji Yunnian looked more like Mother Ji.

Seeing Ji Yuncheng approach, Ji Yunnian called out “Brother”, then introduced him to Yan Shiqiu: “My big brother, Ji Yuncheng. Just call him by his name.”

Of course Yan Shiqiu couldn’t possibly do that. How rude would that be?

“Mr. Ji.” He said with a smile.

Ji Yuncheng’s gaze swept over and he responded with a simple “Mm.”

“You two eat more. I’m going to the company.” He looked at Yan Shiqiu again. “As for Ye Peiyuan, you don’t need to worry too much about him. He’ll soon be too busy to bother with you.”

Yan Shiqiu was stunned.

Ji Yuncheng said, “You can pay attention to the news in a couple of days.”

After saying this, he patted Ji Yunnian’s shoulder, exchanged a few words with Mother Ji, then walked toward the front door. Half a minute later, they heard the sound of the door closing.

“Come back to earth.” Ji Yunnian reached over and waved his hand in front of Yan Shiqiu’s eyes.

Yan Shiqiu turned his face back, and just as he was about to speak, Ji Yunnian first served him a soft-boiled egg. “Eat first, we’ll talk after.”

Yan Shiqiu thought about it—there was no rush—so he nodded. “Okay.”

After breakfast, Mother Ji brought over a key card attached to a Jerry Mouse keychain, then took him to the door to register his fingerprint.

Yan Shiqiu wanted to refuse but found himself speechless under Mother Ji’s gaze. By the time he realized what was happening, his fingerprint had already been registered.

Yan Shiqiu: “…”

Ji Yunnian leaned against the side, chuckling softly. “Looks like my mom really does like you.”

“Auntie is very kind.”

Yan Shiqiu paused, then added, “Your whole family is very kind.”

Ji Yunnian’s gaze lingered on his face for a moment before saying, “It’s about time. Let’s go.”

Hearing this, Yan Shiqiu looked down at the watch on his wrist and realized it was almost eight o’clock. The MV was scheduled to be filmed at ten, and they still needed to do makeup. If they didn’t leave soon, they’d be late.

“Wait for me, let me grab my bag.” With that, he hurried upstairs.

When he came back down with his bag, Ji Yunnian said, “You’ll come with me. Zhou Yu isn’t registered, so he can’t even get his car in, and we’d still have to pick him up. It’s inconvenient.”

The security here was very strict; outsiders needed to be brought in by residents for registration, as phone calls wouldn’t work. Yan Shiqiu had lived here for over ten years and was very familiar with the rules.

He nodded and got into Ji Yunnian’s car.

Traffic was terrible at this hour. Ji Yunnian rested one hand on the steering wheel while the other casually propped against the car window, his gaze fixed on the long line of cars ahead.

Yan Shiqiu unwrapped a lollipop to suck on while texting Fang Yuhua to ask how he’d handled that stalker fan from last night.

[Fang Yuhua]: The other party’s lawyer got involved and wanted you to write a letter of understanding. I refused directly for you.

[Fang Yuhua]: Don’t think about it anymore. Did you sleep well last night?

[Yan Shiqiu]: Very well.

[Fang Yuhua]: Good, focus on your work.

Putting down his phone, Yan Shiqiu remembered Ji Yuncheng’s words and turned to ask Ji Yunnian, “Did something happen to the Ye Corporation?”

Ji Yunnian kept his eyes on the road ahead, taking time to answer him: “More precisely, Ye Peiyuan is about to have problems.”

“Half a month ago, a project he approved went bad when the developer ran off. Not only can Ye Corporation not recover the final payment, they have to pay over a billion in compensation. The board members can’t sit still anymore and want to call a board meeting to replace him.”

Yan Shiqiu pinched his fingers. “So he’ll definitely be replaced?”

The car finally moved off the bridge and was no longer stuck in gridlock. Ji Yunnian pressed the accelerator and picked up speed.

Green trees lined both sides of the road, and elderly people strolled along the lakeside. Looking out the car window, the lake water sparkled under the sunlight, quite beautiful.

“Originally he wouldn’t have been. He had already secured more than half the opposing votes.” Ji Yunnian said unhurriedly. “But his brother was caught in a police raid at a hotel last night. His urine test came back positive, confirming he had consumed marijuana. The police will issue a statement in a couple of days.”

Yan Shiqiu: “…”

Could this be considered instant karma? The retribution came so fast.

“Was he reported?” He thought of the “Chaoyang masses” from his previous life. They were always spot-on with their reports.

Ji Yunnian: “Yes.”

Good, this world’s “Chaoyang masses” were also very effective!

Ji Yunnian continued: “Ye Zhiyi just got engaged to the youngest daughter of the He family last month. The He family holds five percent of Ye Corporation’s shares and only supported Ye Peiyuan because the two families became in-laws. Now that Ye Zhiyi is not only involved in prostitution but also drugs and will definitely go to prison, they can’t be in-laws anymore. The He family has no reason to continue supporting Ye Peiyuan, so he’ll most likely be replaced.”

“Additionally, Ye Zhiyi was with several other rich second-generation kids at the time, having quite a wild time. Now they’re all giving the same story, that Ye Zhiyi egged them on and that he brought the marijuana. Those families are not to be trifled with either. Being entangled with both the police and them will be enough to keep Ye Peiyuan as busy as a mill donkey.”

Yan Shiqiu said solemnly, “You’re insulting donkeys. Donkeys are honest and hardworking.”

Ji Yunnian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Is that the point?”

“No.”

Yan Shiqiu pondered for a few seconds, then asked, “So I’m temporarily safe?”

“Not necessarily. We can only say he might not have the energy to focus on you.”

Ji Yunnian glanced over with his peripheral vision. Yan Shiqiu was sucking on his lollipop, his cheeks puffing in and out. He instructed, “In any case, take Liu Xi with you wherever you go.”

They were almost at the filming location. Ji Yunnian parked the car and said before getting out, “As for online, I’ll have Tao Qian keep an eye on things. You should also tell Fang Yuhua to assign two or three people to pay special attention.”

Yan Shiqiu looked serious. “Okay.”

After getting out of the car, they took the elevator upstairs to the sample apartment being used for filming.

The room had been rearranged, specially fitted with white curtains, a classic romance movie playing on the TV, carpets laid on the floor, and thoughtful little details in every corner, all creating a romantic and sweet atmosphere. After makeup and changing clothes, the director called them over.

The director pulled his assistant over to demonstrate the intimate scene they were about to film.

“You sit first, then naturally move closer to each other. Teacher Ji, move your fingers like this.” He demonstrated, “then hook onto Yan Shiqiu’s pinky finger.”

The director looked at Yan Shiqiu: “You need to smile, then unexpectedly pull Teacher Ji over and kiss his cheek, then pull back and show shyness.”

While mouth-to-mouth kiss scenes could use camera angles to fake it, a cheek kiss was real. After listening, Yan Shiqiu looked over at Ji Yunnian.

Ji Yunnian said, “Mm, you have my permission to kiss me.”

Yan Shiqiu: “…”

The director coughed, drawing their attention back, and continued demonstrating with his assistant.

Finally, he asked hesitantly, “Is this level acceptable?”

Both Yan Shiqiu and Ji Yunnian said it was fine.

The director breathed a sigh of relief. “Let’s begin then.”

In the living room, the two sat on the sofa quietly watching the old movie.

Outside, the sun blazed bright and the sky was azure blue. The floor-to-ceiling windows were open, and the curtains fluttered in the breeze, filling the room with sunlight.

Unconsciously, they sat closer and closer together. Ji Yunnian hooked onto Yan Shiqiu’s finger and turned to look at him.

Yan Shiqiu also lifted his eyes.

Their gazes met, and Yan Shiqiu’s lips naturally curved up like the first flower blooming in spring. He suddenly reached out, grabbed Ji Yunnian’s shirt, and quickly planted a light kiss on his cheek, his ears burning red.

Ji Yunnian was slightly stunned for a moment, then lowered his eyes to gaze at Yan Shiqiu. What had originally been just hooking onto Yan Shiqiu’s finger now became his spreading all five fingers to slip through the gaps between Yan Shiqiu’s fingers, finally becoming interlocked hands.

He leaned over, pressing his forehead against Yan Shiqiu’s forehead, nuzzling intimately.

Yan Shiqiu smiled.

Ji Yunnian raised his free hand to cover Yan Shiqiu’s eyes, then slowly leaned closer. Warm breath brushed against Yan Shiqiu’s lips, and his pinky finger moved restlessly, but Ji Yunnian held it tight.

Yan Shiqiu’s heartbeat skipped.

An inexplicable nervousness arose.

Even his breathing stopped.

At this moment, the director signaled for the camera to pull back, capturing only Ji Yunnian’s silhouette, then cut to their interlocked hands, and finally to the old movie on TV where the two protagonists were kissing in the sunlight.

After filming, the director was incredibly satisfied and excitedly said, “That’s a wrap!”

Yan Shiqiu had been listening carefully, and as soon as he heard the director speak, he immediately stood up and walked over to Zhou Yu to get some water.

His gaze fell on the hand that Ji Yunnian had been holding, feeling like Ji Yunnian’s warmth was still lingering there, seeping through his skin into his bloodstream and traveling throughout his body.

He felt feverish.