Chapter 57

Half a month flew by. In the final scene of the TV show's end credits, a dusty Jiang Chi, dressed in a wrinkled shirt and clutching a small diamond ring, ran up to the top floor of an old six-story building, appearing before the door of Wu Xiaoling's character.

The main camera was positioned at the top of the sixth-floor landing, shooting from a downward angle. If this was to be done in a single take, there could be no faking it; it had to be the real deal. The director also required Jiang Chi to run up the stairs in one continuous motion. Even with his good stamina, Jiang Chi's face turned pale with exhaustion after a few takes. He didn't say much, just drank some water in between and had the makeup artist touch up his makeup once. After running continuously for over ten times, he finally passed the scene.

"Congratulations on wrapping up!"

Wu Xiaoling and Jiang Chi hugged, laughing and congratulating each other. Since it was the wrap day for the male and female leads, many media outlets were present, and someone from the crew was also filming behind the scenes. Jiang Chi was still panting from running up the six floors just now. He smiled as he thanked everyone, thanked the crew, greeted the media, and sent his regards to the fans.

Having just gone through the advertising scandal, the media naturally brought it up during the interview. Before Jiang Chi could answer, Li Weili cut in, "Excuse me, Jiang Chi has been busy filming and isn't aware of the situation. The company has already issued a clarification. We hope everyone will not believe or spread rumors. Thank you all."

Jiang Chi maintained his smile, inwardly wiping away a cold sweat. Thankfully, Li Weili had been quick to interject. If he himself had responded, the rumors would have definitely started brewing again.

Ye Lan was terrifying when he got jealous, and the studio had already taught Century Entertainment a lesson. Jiang Chi didn't want to stir up any more trouble, so he avoided the related questions.

After bidding farewell to everyone one by one, Jiang Chi returned to his dressing room. After hastily removing his makeup, he gave Li Weili a temporary, indefinite long vacation. He then boarded a car himself, carrying the suitcase he had packed the previous night.

Finally, finally, finally, he could go find Ye Lan!

Heaven knew how much Jiang Chi missed Ye Lan.

Jiang Chi had been to Ye Lan's film set before and knew the conditions there were poor. There was hardly anyone around, no shops to speak of, and getting in and out was inconvenient. He had Li Weili prepare a lot of things in advance, looking for all the world like he was marrying into a distant land.

On the way to the set of The Regent Prince, Jiang Chi thought impatiently, 'Last time didn't count. This time, we're really eloping.'

A few hours later, Jiang Chi arrived at the film set.

He put on his sunglasses and mask in the car, and pulled up the hoods of both his pullover and his casual jacket over his head. After the driver got out first and checked the surroundings to confirm there was no media tailing them or lying in wait, he finally exited the car. Jiang Chi took the suitcase from the driver and said, "You don't need to follow me. There's no place for you to stay around here anyway. Go back."

The driver was still worried, "Assistant Li isn't with you either. Who's going to take care of you all by yourself?"

Jiang Chi's heart was soaring with joy. He laughed and said, "I'm here to be someone else's assistant. Do I still need someone to take care of me? Go on back."

After sending the driver off, Jiang Chi pushed two suitcases by himself and navigated the winding path into the film set.

It seemed Ye Lan had given instructions in advance. Jiang Chi passed through several checkpoints along the way without being stopped, and no one spoke much to him. When he said he was looking for someone, he was led all the way in, directly into the inner set.

Jiang Chi took out his phone to send Ye Lan a message, but Ye Lan didn't reply.

He must be filming.

Jiang Chi called Cen Wen instead. A short while later, Cen Wen hurried over.

Cen Wen was overjoyed to see Jiang Chi. "So early?! I thought you'd be here around ten at night. Ye Lan hasn't finished work yet."

"It's fine." Jiang Chi glanced at the time and asked a little embarrassedly, "Has a room... been arranged for me?" Jiang Chi wanted to put down his luggage first.

Unexpectedly, Cen Wen looked confused and said, "Arrange a room for you? Aren't you sleeping in Ye Lan's room?"

Jiang Chi was stunned for a moment, then dumbfounded. "I'm staying in his room?!"

"Of course." Cen Wen smiled. "It's in the guesthouse behind the set... The conditions definitely can't compare to the hotels you've stayed in before, but at least it's quiet and safe. The entire guesthouse has been booked out, and you can only access it through a small gate from the set, so the media can't get in. A week ago, Ye Lan even had someone change the bed in his room to the largest size available, and the carpet and everything were replaced with new ones. He knew you were coming today, so he specifically told me to turn on the heater in the room ahead of time. There's been a cold snap these past two days, and he was worried you'd be cold."

Jiang Chi's heart felt warm, but he was also a little embarrassed. Afraid Cen Wen would notice, he nodded, "Okay... I'll go put my luggage away."

"Let me. They're about to wrap up, so you can just wait for him for a little while." Cen Wen winked and said considerately, "Don't be a stranger, just treat me as your assistant. If you're tired, you can come with me to his room to wait, take a shower, lie down for a bit... He'll definitely be happy to see you in the room when he gets back. If you're anxious to see him, then you can go to the filming area and wait for him."

"I..." Jiang Chi didn't want to appear too eager in front of Cen Wen. Ye Lan wasn't back yet, and going to his room to rest seemed a bit too familiar. So he said, "I'll wait for him here."

Cen Wen smiled. "Then I'll go put your luggage away. Can I help you unpack?"

"No, it's okay." Jiang Chi felt bad about troubling a lady with his trivial matters. "I'll do it myself when I get back."

Cen Wen nodded and walked away briskly, pushing Jiang Chi's suitcase.

Jiang Chi put away his phone and wandered around the set.

In the central area of the set, dozens of extras dressed as scholars in grey historical costumes were sitting on the ground, all engrossed in their phones.

Jiang Chi was dressed inconspicuously and was also wearing sunglasses and a mask. The crew members were all bustling about, so no one paid him any mind. One of the extras even mistook Jiang Chi for a crew member and pulled him aside to ask all sorts of questions.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Jiang Chi gave the extra a few perfunctory answers, then slipped away to the filming area to secretly watch Ye Lan.

As expected, they were filming Ye Lan's scene.

Ye Lan, wearing a golden crown and an embroidered golden princely robe, had a frosty expression. He grabbed the little emperor's collar, sneered, and gave him a hard shove, pushing him onto the dragon throne.

"Cut!"

Yin Jiehong came forward to discuss the scene with Ye Lan. Ye Lan rubbed his wrist, listening absently. Suddenly, he raised his eyes and looked in Jiang Chi's direction.

Jiang Chi's heart skipped a beat.

He could recognize me even like this?!

Due to the plot, Ye Lan had been keeping a grim face, but Jiang Chi clearly felt that the corner of Ye Lan's mouth seemed to have lifted just a tiny bit.

That meant he had recognized him!

Of course, even if he had recognized him, Ye Lan couldn't just abandon everyone and run over to find Jiang Chi. He patiently listened to Yin Jiehong discuss the scene. A moment later, the slate clapped, and Ye Lan and the actor playing the little emperor shot another take. This time, it passed.

The work schedule for the day was already complete, but Yin Jiehong still wanted to say a few more things. Ye Lan interrupted him, "Let's talk tomorrow. I have something to do, I'm leaving first."

Yin Jiehong was perplexed. "You've already had dinner. What else is there?"

Ye Lan took off his outer robe and handed it to a staff member, saying with a smile, "The Regent Princess has arrived."

Yin Jiehong was stunned for a moment before understanding, and he burst out laughing. "Go on, go on. We'll talk tomorrow."

Ye Lan strode toward Jiang Chi and pulled him into a private dressing room.

Ye Lan's makeup artist was from his own studio, so there was no need for discretion. The moment Ye Lan entered, he pinned Jiang Chi against the dressing room wall, pulled off his mask, and lowered his head to kiss him, not letting him go until he had kissed him thoroughly, inside and out.

Not counting scenes for a show, this was the first time Jiang Chi had been intimate with Ye Lan in front of another person. He was a bit flustered. He glanced uncomfortably at the makeup artist. The shamelessly thick-skinned Ye Lan finally reacted after a long moment and apologized in a low, smiling voice, "My bad... I missed you too much. Don't be shy, I'll stop kissing you."

Jiang Chi felt both sweet and a little regretful. He thought to himself, 'Go on and kiss me. Can't I just decide not to be shy anymore?'

Ye Lan knew Jiang Chi was thin-skinned, so he put the mask back on for him. He then urged the makeup artist to hurry up. After his makeup was removed, Ye Lan threw on a coat, pulled Jiang Chi out of the film set, and returned to his room.

It had been raining continuously on the set for a week, and everything was damp and cold. Only Ye Lan's room was dry and warm.

The living conditions at the film set were indeed poor. Ye Lan's room was probably the best one available, but it was still only a little over thirty square meters. There was no balcony or kitchen, and a walk-in closet was out of the question. It did have a private bathroom, but there was no bathtub, only an old-fashioned shower head. The living room and bedroom were connected, furnished with very old rosewood furniture, which was, thankfully, wiped very clean.

Ye Lan pinched Jiang Chi's cheek and smiled, "What's with that look? Regretting coming here?"

"Of course not." The pinch hurt, and Jiang Chi instinctively flinched. He explained in a small voice, "I just feel bad that you've been living here."

"What's there to feel bad about? It's not like I haven't stayed in worse places."

When Ye Lan had filmed a movie with a border theme before, he had lived in a tent in the rainforest. In the summer, there weren't just mosquitoes but also leeches. At that time, Ye Lan cursed every day from being bitten by all sorts of insects, but he still endured it for the several months of filming.

Ye Lan frowned, bent down, and kissed the spot on Jiang Chi's face he had just pinched. "Your skin is really thin. It turned red from just a little pinch. Was I too rough?"

Jiang Chi was most susceptible to Ye Lan speaking softly to him at such a close distance. He touched his reddened cheek and shook his head. "Not at all. And... it didn't hurt."

"You can endure that well?" Ye Lan smirked and said with deliberate flirtatiousness, "Then I won't take pity on you later. I'll just do whatever makes me happy, shall I?"

Jiang Chi froze, instantly understanding what Ye Lan was implying...

Ye Lan was addicted to teasing Jiang Chi, to the point of being utterly wicked. With a smile in his eyes, he watched Jiang Chi, waiting for his reply.

Both of Jiang Chi's ears turned red. The invisible tail behind him wagged a little. He turned his head away and said, "I... I'm not afraid of pain."

Ye Lan froze for a moment, then ground his teeth. This kid was really... forcing him to be a scoundrel.

Unable to hold back any longer, Ye Lan pushed him onto the bed.

Ye Lan's actions were all thunder but no rain; he was gentle and considerate. Jiang Chi went from being terrified at the beginning to gradually getting into the swing of things. From start to finish, it only hurt a tiny bit.

And that tiny bit of pain was soothed away by Ye Lan's sweet nothings that made his ears burn.

...

The next day at seven o'clock, the alarm on Ye Lan's phone rang on time. Ye Lan frowned impatiently, but two seconds later, he suddenly remembered Jiang Chi. His eyes flew open, and he sat up to turn off the alarm.

Jiang Chi was nestled in the fluffy covers, undisturbed by the noise, still sleeping soundly.

Ye Lan leaned against the headboard and felt Jiang Chi's forehead.

Not hot, just pleasantly warm. Ye Lan couldn't resist and leaned down to give him another kiss.

Afraid that Jiang Chi would be cold, he had added two space heaters to the room in addition to the air conditioner.

Jiang Chi's face was flushed red from sleep.

Ye Lan was still worried in the end. After a moment of thought, he gently slipped his hand under the covers, felt for his lower back, slid his hand down a bit, and touched him lightly.

Jiang Chi's eyebrows suddenly furrowed, on the verge of waking. Ye Lan leaned down and coaxed him softly. After checking and confirming that he was really fine down there, he didn't touch him again.

With a "beep," the room door was swiped open from the outside with a key card. Cen Wen walked in quietly. She hadn't expected Ye Lan to be up already and wore a surprised expression. Ye Lan shushed her, got out of bed, and started dressing.

Ye Lan took out a set of his own pajamas and draped them over the frame of a space heater to warm them—so that when Jiang Chi woke up, they wouldn't feel damp and cold.

This crappy place...

If he hadn't missed Jiang Chi so much, and if he didn't know how clingy Jiang Chi was, Ye Lan would never have let him come over.

"Don't follow me." Ye Lan lowered his voice. "You stay. When he wakes up, have him call me. Wait and see what he wants or needs, and get it ready for him. If you can't find it nearby, have Old Jin figure something out elsewhere."

Ye Lan suddenly remembered kissing Jiang Chi in front of the makeup artist last night and how uncomfortable Jiang Chi had looked. He frowned and changed his mind, "Forget it. Go back to your own room. Just come over and check on him from time to time."

Cen Wen was amused and nodded.