131: There's always a way when you reach the mountain.

That wasn't the case; in Shen Lian's eyes, this wasn't some malevolent deity, but his precious darling.

After getting in the car, Shen Lian couldn't lie down, so he sat face-to-face on Chu Yilan's lap with his chin resting in the crook of the man's shoulder, his breathing finally evening out.

"Have these past few days been very tiring?" Chu Yilan asked in his usual tone, one hand gently stroking Shen Lian's back.

Shen Lian didn't believe the calm he was projecting and denied it, "I'm not tired; it's something else."

"Tell me."

Shen Lian pulled back slightly to meet Chu Yilan's dark eyes. He gazed into them for a long time before leaning in to kiss the man's brow. The sensation of eyelashes sweeping against his lips was so gentle that for a moment, Shen Lian felt an urge to hide Chu Yilan away.

Why did everyone want to harm him?

"Ming Lin—is he your cousin?" Shen Lian asked.

The surname was Ming, but Chu Yilan had absolutely no recollection of whose family he belonged to or how they were related.

"What about him?"

"He seems to be dating a female artist from our crew," Shen Lian said slowly. "I ran into him by accident this evening. He knew who I was and came over to say hello. He didn't actually say anything offensive, but Yilan, would you believe me if I said this person is very dangerous?"

Chu Yilan held Shen Lian's waist, and sensing he was having trouble supporting himself, he pulled him back into his embrace. "Dangerous? I really haven't paid any attention to the Ming Family's side."

"Then please pay a lot of attention to it now," Shen Lian followed up. "He makes me angry just looking at him."

Chu Yilan: "Mm."

Chu Yilan could sense that something was abnormal with Shen Lian. His perception was almost primally terrifying, to the point where his body was now reacting to it.

But Chu Yilan didn't need Shen Lian to worry about anything. He would rather Shen Lian be a naive, sweet person as long as he was healthy.

"Right, Chen Mu helped me today." Shen Lian was starting to get sleepy, his words becoming slurred. "He happened to see Ming Lin talking to me and also felt something was wrong with him. If he hadn't brought the medicine in time, I expect I would have been in pain for a while longer."

Shen Lian said it lightly, but Chu Yilan's heart tightened upon hearing it. "Maybe I should tie a string to your medicine bottle and hang it around your neck."

Shen Lian: "..." Don't be so ridiculous.

Midway through, Chu Yilan made a call to Ning Sixian. Upon hearing the situation, Ning Sixian knew what was going on and told him it wasn't serious; as long as he didn't have a fever, there wouldn't be any major issues after taking the medicine on time.

When they got home, Shen Lian was listless. He gave Chu Zhumi a few gentle rubs before heading upstairs to rest.

Fortunately, he didn't dream of any unsettling scenes this time. Shen Lian fell into the darkness, his spirit slowly being restored.

The moon rose high in the sky, its color like jade.

Chu Yilan sat on the balcony in his bathrobe. He hadn't turned on the lights; a laptop sat on his lap as he scrolled through someone's profile.

Ming Lin, Ming Congshan's nephew. His father had died young, and his mother had no survival skills other than playing mahjong. Ming Lin had been supported by Ming Congshan and attended top schools since childhood; his university record was also decent. He seemed to understand the advantages of power very well. According to Sun Binghe's investigation, his upward trajectory over the years was very clear, seizing almost every opportunity he could. Chen Yan was just one of his many lovers; Ming Lin's ultimate goal was the daughter of Kangsheng Pharmaceutical Group.

Upon seeing the photo, Chu Yilan finally had an impression of him.

He was the young man who had been the last to toast him at the dinner table that day.

To be honest, Ming Lin's resume wasn't even worth a second glance from Chu Yilan. What ordinary people saw as excellence was merely the most inconspicuous foundation to those in high positions; compared to Sun Binghe, Ming Lin was nothing.

But since Shen Lian was so concerned, Chu Yilan believed this person definitely had problems.

Chu Yilan instructed Sun Binghe to keep a close watch on Ming Lin's movements.

After finishing this, Chu Yilan turned back and saw Shen Lian lying on his side, half of his face buried in the soft quilt, sleeping peacefully.

Shen Lian was picked up in his daze. He only offered a slight resistance before his body, as if familiar with the other person, softened. He then found a comfortable position and continued sleeping.

"What are you afraid of?" Chu Yilan sighed softly. "Even if the sky falls, I'll be there to prop it up."

Shen Lian hummed twice.

—

When Shen Lian woke up the next day, he felt refreshed, but from the moment he opened his eyes until he sat at the dining table, Chu Yilan followed right behind him.

Shen Lian took a sip of porridge. "I'm really fine now."

"Mm," Chu Yilan acknowledged. "That Chen Mu—if he terminates his contract with Xiguang Media, he can come to Star Opening."

Shen Lian: "That's great! Hey, don't say that, in my professional opinion, I think Chen Mu just lacks an opportunity. He's very steady; he might just blow up."

Chu Yilan didn't care about the value Chen Mu could create; since the man had helped Shen Lian, he was willing to give him a hand.

Shen Lian didn't go to the movie studio until nearly noon. He didn't have many scenes left, so it wouldn't delay Director Dai's progress.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he got out of the car, he saw Chen Mu standing on the steps, clearly waiting for him.

Shen Lian approached: "Good afternoon."

Chen Mu spoke hesitantly, as if in a dream: "Teacher Shen, I received an invitation from Star Opening this morning..."

Shen Lian raised an eyebrow: "That fast?"

Did Special Assistant Sun handle it?

"Teacher Shen," Chen Mu bit his lip, "was it you..."

"To be honest, I think you're quite good," Shen Lian interrupted warmly. "Xiguang doesn't treat you like a human being, so why bother slaving away for them? Even if you really owe money or are short on cash, come to Star Opening and take on a few good roles; you'll definitely earn more than you do there, and you won't have to put up with their crap."

Chen Mu knew that every word Shen Lian said was true. It was just, it was just... Chen Mu said softly, "I just feel that my luck shouldn't be this good."

"Then congratulations, your luck has changed." After Shen Lian said this, he saw an extremely weathered and complex emotion in Chen Mu's smiling eyes, tinged with gentleness. Shen Lian didn't doubt for a second that the man was treating him as his "savior."

It wasn't an exaggeration to describe it that way.

After a long while, Chen Mu said hoarsely, "Actually, I already had no more roles to film. Before I met you, I thought 'Glory of Love' would be my last work. Even just playing a minor supporting role felt like a perfect conclusion to me. Xiguang... they were suppressing me quite severely. I originally thought that after leaving Xiguang, I would take my savings back to my hometown and open a small grocery store. As long as I didn't starve, it would be fine."

"A young man shouldn't talk so gloomily. There's always a way out."

Chen Mu nodded vigorously: "Mm!"

"So, are you coming?"

"I'm coming!"

Chen Mu's love for acting was very pure. If there was no opportunity, then so be it, but now that one had come knocking, how could he easily give it up?

Shen Lian suggested that Chen Mu shouldn't tell anyone and should just come to Star Opening directly after his contract with Xiguang completely ended. Although he hadn't met Song Yuan, what kind of good person would pick on someone with Chen Mu's personality?

On the filming set, Chen Mu took even better care of Shen Lian than Jiang You did. Dai Tong observed for a while and then jokingly teased Shen Lian, "I must say, you really have a way of winning people over." He lowered his voice: "I was planning to introduce Chen Mu to another agency; looks like you beat me to the punch?"

"Mm." Shen Lian said proudly, "Director Dai, please keep it quiet for now. His previous employer is trash; I'm worried they'll make things difficult for him again if they hear anything."

Dai Tong: "No problem."

On the other side, Sun Binghe took some time out of his busy schedule to follow Chu Yilan's instructions and arranged an advertisement resource for Chen Mu.

"Who's this?" Yang Bin leaned against Sun Binghe's desk, holding a thermos, while Chen Mu's profile happened to be on Sun Binghe's computer screen.

"He helped Teacher Shen, so the Boss is giving a warm return."

Sun Binghe made a joke, then took Yang Bin's thermos and peeked inside: "Chrysanthemum and cassia seed tea, quite the health nut."