164: Watch the road

Shen Lian paid his respects to Ming Mei and Old Master Ming, standing there for a while longer. As the mountain wind howled, they finally held hands and walked out of the cemetery step by step.

Yang Bin was still waiting at the entrance.

He was playing with his phone, the faint blue light reflecting off the frames of his gold-rimmed glasses. Suddenly, Yang Bin smiled and began typing.

Sun Binghe had been on the same assignments as him these past few days, working in the same office with identical commute times. Consequently, Sun Binghe had been too lazy to drive and naturally hitched a ride to Yang Bin's place. Tonight was an exception; he had to meet a business partner and ended up getting home two hours later than Yang Bin, without even a bowl of hot soup waiting for him.

Assistant Sun started throwing a tantrum: [You didn't even cook. What's so attractive outside that's keeping you?]

Yang Bin explained patiently: [CEO Chu came to the cemetery. I only dropped Teacher Shen off an hour ago. If I leave now, are you going to make them walk back?]

Sun Binghe understood instantly: [Fine, just be a good driver then. I'm ordering takeout. What do you want to eat?]

Yang Bin typed 'Crawfish over noodles,' then heard footsteps approaching. He tucked his phone into his pocket and looked up; it was indeed Chu Yilan and Shen Lian.

Yang Bin walked around to open the rear car door.

The gentlemanly aura he carried was much smoother and gentler than Sun Binghe's; he looked like someone who would never get angry. Unlike Assistant Sun, who, when opening a car door for someone, had an air of 'What are you looking at? Get in already, you're wasting my time, I'll kill you.'

The car started, and Yang Bin glanced in the rearview mirror. He swore he didn't do it on purpose, but Teacher Shen's actions were too obvious. First, he raised a hand to check the temperature of CEO Chu's face, then he touched his neck, fearing any discomfort. Finally, he lightly rubbed against CEO Chu's cheek, leaned in, and gave him a quick kiss.

"Assistant Yang," Chu Yilan said in a deep voice. "Watch the road, you're about to drive into a tree."

Yang Bin: "...Understood, CEO Chu."

Shen Lian definitely wasn't going back to the film set tonight. As soon as they got home, he started cooking a private meal for Chu Yilan, making whatever he was best at. Yang Bin didn't stay, as he was in a hurry to get back.

Halfway through cooking, Chu Zhumi walked in yawning and began rubbing against Shen Lian's legs.

"My black pants are covered in your fur now," Shen Lian said.

Chu Zhumi seemed to understand, turning around to go find Chu Yilan outside.

Shen Lian actually wanted to ask what the little fellow had been up to lately, being so elusive instead of staying home.

Relying on its masterful acting skills, Chu Zhumi successfully wheedled two cans of food and a large piece of freeze-dried chicken breast out of Chu Yilan. It finished the cans and then picked up the chicken breast in its mouth. Despite its bloated body, its steps were light as it leaped up the stairs a few times, seemingly heading for the rooftop.

Chu Yilan frowned slightly and stood up to take a look.

Just then, Shen Lian came out with the food, so he didn't bother following up.

Chu Yilan's tell for having a guilty conscience was being quiet, but his advantage was that he was naturally a man of few words, so Shen Lian didn't notice at all. Coupled with the 'heartbreak filter,' Shen Lian felt that everything Chu Yilan did now was perfectly reasonable.

After eating and showering, Shen Lian began to show his 'affection' for Chu Yilan in his own way—essentially being fully cooperative.

Chu Yilan pinned Shen Lian against the bathroom door. Under the bright lights and amidst the rising steam, he saw the young man's eyes were red, and everywhere he touched was burning hot.

Chu Yilan accepted it all, thinking Shen Lian was just caught up in the passion. He worked the man until he was exhausted and personally took care of cleaning him up. However, in the middle of the night, Shen Lian began to run a low fever.

"It has nothing to do with that." Shen Lian was almost carried to the hospital by Chu Yilan, but he woke up and forcibly stopped him, saying there was no need to go. Then Chu Yilan started blaming himself, wondering if Shen Lian had been too tired these past few days and if he'd overdone it. Shen Lian had no choice but to comfort him and explain: "You weren't even as intense as the last few times; it wasn't the 'activity.' I've been fine at the set these past two days. I caught a chill from the wind at the cemetery; I felt something was off when I came down."

Chu Yilan brought the medicine over, looking disapproving: "Why didn't you say anything?"

Shen Lian: "Are you scolding me?"

Chu Yilan gritted his teeth: "Fine, my lord, just take the medicine!"

Shen Lian had a dedicated medicine box at home. Whether it was fever reducers, cold medicine, or anything else, they were all specifically prescribed by Ning Sixian based on his heart condition, with very few side effects.

Not ten minutes after taking the medicine, Shen Lian began to sweat and feel thirsty. Chu Yilan couldn't sleep and stayed by his side to keep watch.

"Is it just a fever? Does it hurt anywhere?" Chu Yilan asked worriedly.

Shen Lian leaned against the headboard, smiling as he squinted at him: "My heart doesn't hurt. I'll be fine after a sleep."

Shen Lian was in a daze after that. Chu Yilan only lay down beside him when dawn was about to break. The fever had broken, but he had no strength. When Shen Lian opened his eyes again, it was ten o'clock. He was startled and grabbed his phone from under the pillow; there were three missed calls from Director Zhao.

Crap!

Shen Lian hurriedly called back.

It was picked up after two rings. Director Zhao sounded a bit nervous: "Are you alright?"

Shen Lian coughed twice: "Sorry, Director Zhao, I had a fever and overslept. I'm coming right now."

"No, no, no, there's no need." Director Zhao quickly stopped him. "Don't act like you're wound up like a clock. Recover first and come back when you're better. You have sixty percent of the scenes in the entire script, and more than half of them are finished. Give the others some time too. Look at Liu Tang, she hasn't even passed a few scenes yet."

"Alright." Shen Lian was also worried that his raspy voice would affect his lines. He felt a wave of guilt and apologized to Director Zhao for a long time before finally reminding him: "Don't be too good-tempered. You should scold people like Shi Zhujie when they deserve it. If you can't out-scold them, I'll do it when I get back."

Director Zhao's scalp tightened as he listened. He didn't doubt for a second that with Shen Lian's aggressiveness yesterday, if there was any problem with his directing, he wouldn't be spared either.

In any case, he should rest for a few days and relax his emotions.

Hanging up the phone, Shen Lian buried his head in the pillow.

Chu Yilan heard everything clearly from the side and felt that Director Zhao was quite sensible. He could continue investing in future collaborations with Shen Lian.

"Feeling any better?" Chu Yilan asked in a low voice.

"Mhm, just no energy." Shen Lian whimpered a bit and went back for a short nap.

Aunt Fen specifically boiled ginger soup for lunch, and the dishes were all light and nutritious. It was rare for both Chu Yilan and Shen Lian to be home, so Aunt Fen talked a lot, even mentioning the Orange Cat that used to bully Chu Zhumi. Now the two had set aside their differences and were on great terms.

Shen Lian, draped in one of Chu Yilan's thick coats, chuckled at the news: "Chu Zhumi was probably beaten into submission."

Chu Yilan couldn't argue with that. Both he and Shen Lian had strong, decisive personalities, yet the pet they raised had no bottom line—a total lackey.

After lunch, Shen Lian's spirits had mostly recovered.

Then Hu Kailan, the 'all-ears' manager, called immediately. Jiang You must have told him everything. He gave his routine condolences first, then moved straight to resources: "Is it serious? If not, let's hold a fan meeting. Seriously, the studio's private messages are about to explode!"

Shen Lian had no objection. "Sure, Brother Hu, you arrange it."

"A fan meeting? What do you do there?" Chu Yilan asked.

Shen Lian caught the meaning in the man's words and chuckled: "Just sign some names and say a few words. Look at you. I have many big fans who have spent a lot of money; I should provide some emotional value."

Spent a lot of money? Big fans? Could any of them out-fan 'Loves Lian Says'? Chu Yilan thought to himself.