Isn’t money good?

Chapter 47

The house was finally settled. Yan Shiqiu was in a great mood. Once he got in the car, he called Fang Yuhua to share the good news.

After listening, Fang Yuhua asked, “Where is it?”

Yan Shiqiu gave him the neighborhood address.

“That’s a nice area. Quite a few celebrities live around there, but it’s not cheap.” Fang Yuhua asked. “How much is the rent?”

Yan Shiqiu told him the figure.

Fang Yuhua was surprised. “How is it so much cheaper than market price? Is there something wrong with the house?”

“No, the house belongs to Sheng You’s friend. He gave me a friendship discount.”

Fang Yuhua felt relieved. “That’s good then. If something bad had happened in the house, it wouldn’t be good for you to live there, it would affect your luck.”

Even though Yan Shiqiu himself was a mystical existence, he couldn’t help but laugh.

Fang Yuhua also chuckled a few times, then said, “Oh right, I applied to the company earlier for your rent reimbursement. They can cover fifty thousand, not much, but every bit helps. The rest you’ll have to pay yourself. Do you have enough money?”

Fifty thousand!

That was a lot!

Yan Shiqiu immediately beamed with joy. “Thank you, Brother Fang. Yes, I have enough.”

Fang Yuhua seemed to be talking to someone on his end. After finishing, probably having other matters to attend to, he finally instructed, “I have some unfinished business here and need to stay several more days. I can’t follow along for the variety show, so I’ve told Ding Fan to look after you while he’s at it. Ding Fan has more experience, so if you have any issues, just communicate with him.”

Ding Fan was Fu Baiqing’s assistant.

“I understand.” Yan Shiqiu acknowledged.

He arrived at the Ji family gate right at seven-thirty.

He got out of the car carrying his gifts, just as Ji Yuncheng’s car drove in.

The black Cayenne stopped beside him, and Ji Yuncheng rolled down the window. “Been out?”

“Mm, went to buy some things.” As Yan Shiqiu spoke, he noticed someone in the back seat looking at him. He turned his head and met a pair of smiling eyes.

After a moment of surprise, he remembered the family portrait hanging in the living room and realized this must be Ji Yuncheng’s wife, Le Yanfei.

“Hello.” He said.

Le Yanfei smiled as she looked at him. “Hello there.”

“Want to get in?” She asked again.

“No need, I’ll walk.” Yan Shiqiu smiled slightly. “It’s just a few steps.”

Le Yanfei nodded. “Alright then.”

Ji Yuncheng’s car drove away, and only then did Yan Shiqiu walk toward the villa at an unhurried pace.

Ten minutes later, he opened the door and went inside.

Mother Ji heard the sound and turned to see him, saying warmly, “You’re back, perfect timing. Go wash your hands and come eat.”

“Okay.” Yan Shiqiu handed the gifts to the butler and went to wash his hands.

When he finished washing and came out, Le Yanfei and Ji Yuncheng were just coming down from upstairs.

Le Yanfei was very beautiful. Even in simple T-shirt and sweatpants, her beauty couldn’t be concealed. She was quite tall, around five-foot-nine, and standing next to Ji Yuncheng, they made a perfectly matched, handsome couple.

Yan Shiqiu noticed that Ji Yuncheng’s gaze when it fell on Le Yanfei was soft and gentle, his eyes clearly filled with undisguised love.

Le Yanfei looked at him the same way.

They were very much in love.

Sitting down at the dining table, Mother Ji used serving chopsticks to place a piece of white-cut chicken on Yan Shiqiu’s plate, asking with concern, “Did you find a house?”

Yan Shiqiu obediently ate the chicken Mother Ji had served him. “I found one. I’m going to sign the contract tomorrow.”

Mother Ji was a bit surprised. “So quickly?”

“Originally there wasn’t anything satisfactory, but when I was heading back, I ran into Sheng You. He said his friend had an apartment to rent out. I went to look at it with him, and it was good in every aspect, so I decided on it.” Yan Shiqiu didn’t hide anything and gave a general account.

Le Yanfei was eating shrimp that Ji Yuncheng had peeled for her, asking curiously, “Sheng You introduced it? Where is it?”

Yan Shiqiu gave the address.

Le Yanfei looked surprised. “That place…”

Ji Yuncheng suddenly choked, turning his face away to cough.

Le Yanfei immediately turned around. “Choked?”

Ji Yuncheng covered his mouth and nodded.

“Are you a child? You can even choke on soup.” Le Yanfei scolded him tenderly, but got up to pour him a glass of warm water and brought over some tissues.

After Ji Yuncheng drank the water and recovered, he said to Yan Shiqiu, “The houses there are nice. Both security and privacy are guaranteed.”

Yan Shiqiu nodded. “Mm, it’s very good.”

Mother Ji looked at Ji Yuncheng thoughtfully, then withdrew her gaze without saying anything and continued serving Yan Shiqiu food. “Eat more, you’re too thin.”

Yan Shiqiu couldn’t refuse food served by an elder, so he had to eat it all.

After the meal, he was stuffed.

After dinner, Yan Shiqiu went out to the garden to walk and digest, feeling uncomfortably full. In the living room, Mother Ji looked at Ji Yuncheng. Though phrased as a question, her tone was quite certain: “That apartment belongs to Yunnian?”

Meeting his mother’s all-seeing gaze, Ji Yuncheng didn’t lie. “It’s his.”

Mother Ji’s expression remained unchanged, still sitting elegantly, then she dropped another bombshell: “Yunnian likes Shiqiu?”

“…” Ji Yuncheng wasn’t certain. “I don’t know.”

Le Yanfei had been back home for two months and felt like she’d missed a lot, understanding nothing. She could only sit on the sidelines as a bystander, but hearing this, she couldn’t help raising her hand to ask, “Doesn’t Yunnian like Wen Chen?”

Ji Yuncheng glanced at his wife. “Yunnian said he doesn’t like Wen Chen.”

Le Yanfei made two “oh” sounds, then quieted down again, looking at Ji Yuncheng and maintaining her spectator expression.

Ji Yuncheng touched her head, then looked back at Mother Ji. He pressed his lips together and asked hesitantly, “Mom, if Yunnian likes Yan Shiqiu, would you object?”

Mother Ji shook her head gently. “No, Shiqiu is a good child, and I trust Yunnian’s judgment.”

Le Yanfei’s eyes lit up. “So will you be their wingman?”

Mother Ji winked at Le Yanfei. “If needed.”

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law smiled at each other.

Ji Yuncheng: “…”

—

Yan Shiqiu was walking in the garden when he saw a pair of swans in the lake from afar. He asked the butler for some food and ran over to feed them.

The swans were domesticated, not aggressive, and quite gentle. When he fed them, they swam over from the center of the lake. When Yan Shiqiu reached out to touch them, they stayed obediently still.

Yan Shiqiu crouched by the lakeside, resting his chin on one hand as he watched the swans. After they finished eating and swam back to the center of the lake, spreading their wings gracefully, he took out his phone and snapped several photos.

Then he sent the photos to Ji Yunnian.

[Ji Yunnian]: My family’s swans?

His feet were getting sore from crouching, so Yan Shiqiu stood up and walked to the swing to sit down. He pushed off lightly with his toes, making the swing rock, and lowered his head to play on his phone while swinging.

[Yan Shiqiu]: Let me tell you something. I found a house.

[Ji Yunnian]: Moving tomorrow?

[Yan Shiqiu]: No, waiting for you to come back. I’ll treat you to dinner at the new place then.

[Ji Yunnian]: You’ll cook yourself?

Yan Shiqiu’s lips curved as he tapped happily on the nine-square keyboard: [Yes, I need to save money to buy paintings. I’m very poor, so I’ll have to cook myself. But you’ve tasted my cooking. I’m quite good, so I won’t let you go hungry.]

Ji Yunnian replied instantly: [Can I make requests? Not too many, just one Buddha Jumps Over the Wall will do.]

[Ji Yunnian]: If not, then just your blessing will do.

[Ji Yunnian]: Answer the video call.

Yan Shiqiu was puzzled, but Ji Yunnian’s video call was already coming through. After a moment’s hesitation, he answered.

Italy had a six-hour time difference with China, so it was only afternoon there. Ji Yunnian was on his hotel balcony with endless blue sky behind him, the sky looking vast and distant.

“Are you staying in the garden to feed mosquitoes?” Ji Yunnian said.

Yan Shiqiu never expected him to open with that. After a long moment of speechlessness, he said, “I have mosquito repellent patches on. No mosquitoes are biting me.”

He proactively asked, “What do you want me to say?”

Ji Yunnian looked at him. “Do you think I can win an award?”

Yan Shiqiu was stunned. He looked back at Ji Yunnian. Sunlight was pouring over Ji Yunnian’s body, and several rays of light had fallen into his night-deep eyes as he gazed intently at him.

Yan Shiqiu’s fingers resting on the swing’s armrest curled slightly.

He looked away. “Are you treating me like a lucky charm?”

“Yes.” Ji Yunnian said. “Isn’t it lucky enough for me to consider you a friend?”

Yan Shiqiu: “…”

Ji Yunnian went inside, lifting his chin toward him. “Go ahead, I’m fully committed to the ritual.”

Yan Shiqiu suddenly laughed. “Honestly, are you nervous?”

Ji Yunnian’s expression remained blank, but his ears were unusually red. “How is that possible?”

Alright, alright.

I won’t expose you. Yan Shiqiu made a loose fist, covering his mouth to hide his smile. After a long while, he lowered his hand. “I’m going to say it now.”

Looking directly into Ji Yunnian’s eyes on the screen, he spoke with sincere heart, earnestly offering his blessing word by word: “You will definitely win an award and bring home another Best Actor trophy.”

After listening, Ji Yunnian smiled with satisfaction. “I’ve received your blessing.”

The Venice Film Festival’s awards ceremony was held together with the closing ceremony. On this day, Yan Shiqiu happened to fly to Y City to meet up with Fu Baiqing before participating in variety show recording together.

That evening, Yan Shiqiu stayed up late in his hotel to watch the entire awards ceremony.

When they got to “Best Actor”, he watched as the camera swept across each nominee’s face, and he suddenly felt nervous too.

Only when the presenter announced Ji Yunnian’s name did he feel relieved, as if his heart had returned to its proper place, and he let out a long breath.

Inexplicably, he felt excited and thrilled, wanting to cheer out loud.

So he logged onto an anonymous forum, found posts by fans who were equally excited about Ji Yunnian’s win, and mixed in among them to post a string of: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH.

Despite the time difference making it past 2 AM, quite a few Ji fans had stayed up to watch the awards ceremony. They were almost synchronized, because the moment Ji Yunnian won, they all posted on Weibo to celebrate.

Major fans led by Yan Zhenzhen and Lan Tian all held lottery celebrations. None of them lacked money, so the prizes and cash combined started at 100,000 yuan. The retweets, likes, and comments skyrocketed, making it incredibly lively.

[AAAAHHHHHHH, Teacher Ji is the best!!!]

[I’m adding more prizes, more prizes, more prizes!!!]

[The moment they called Teacher Ji’s name, I hugged my computer and tears just started falling. I’m so happy, wuwuwuwu.]

[I don’t need to sleep tonight!!!]

[Congratulations to our most, most, most, most excellent Teacher Ji for winning his third Best Actor trophy!]

Yan Shiqiu browsed online for a while, then finally clicked on Ji Yunnian’s WeChat avatar and sent him a message: [Congratulations on your win. Well deserved.]