54: Pity and sadness

Feeling irritable, Shen Lian threw the promise he made to Chu Yilan before leaving home to the back of his mind. Whenever he caught sight of Zheng Ge, intentionally or otherwise, the regret of being unable to take action pounded against his chest.

After finishing drinks with Dai Tong, he felt a bit dazed.

"You're the best."

After Dai Tong left, Huang Jiacan sat down beside Shen Lian and gave him two thumbs up.

As the female lead, Huang Jiacan found acting with Zheng Ge quite exhausting. However, since Zheng Ge's relationship with Zhou Tangsi was out in the open, people generally didn't want to provoke him. Who would have thought that at the wrap party, Shen Lian almost pinned him down and beat him up?

Shen Lian gave a light chuckle. "What time are you going home? I'm leaving soon."

"Soon, my Agent is coming to pick me up." Huang Jiacan said, carefully observing Shen Lian's expression. "Are you unhappy? I've already told the main cast not to talk nonsense; it won't cause any trouble."

"I'm not afraid of that." Shen Lian swirled the glass in front of him, unable to put into words exactly how he felt.

If he hadn't come, how badly would Chu Yilan have been ruined by Zheng Ge?

The final outcome of self-immolation by the sea was far more than just a simple sentence.

Thinking of this, Shen Lian couldn't sit still any longer. He told Huang Jiacan and then went to find Dai Tong.

Dai Tong nodded. "Alright, go back and rest. We'll be in touch if anything comes up later."

Shen Lian expressed his gratitude repeatedly and shared one last drink. Then, feeling hot, he tugged open the collar of his shirt and went to the empty hallway, leaning against the wall to call Chu Yilan.

The call was picked up almost after the first ring.

"Finished?"

"Mhm." Shen Lian replied. "Come pick me up."

The next second, Chu Yilan's voice deepened. "You've been drinking?"

"I have." Shen Lian sniffled. "I'm drunk."

"Are you itching for a beating? What did the doctor say?"

"Chu Yilan," Shen Lian's voice sounded muffled, "come pick me up."

Chu Yilan hadn't gone home yet; he had been at the company the whole time. Hearing this, he stood up, grabbed his coat from the back of the chair, and spoke rapidly. "Find a safe place and wait for me."

Shen Lian answered obediently, "Okay."

Yang Bin had been on vacation since yesterday, so Sun Binghe was the one accompanying him today.

Seeing Chu Yilan's grim expression, Sun Binghe's first thought was: Was Mr. Shen bullied by someone?

To be honest, Chu Yilan was thinking the same thing.

He was even prepared to fly into a rage and demand accountability.

Over the phone, Shen Lian had declined Jiang You and Li Yi's offers to drive him home. He struggled to put on a mask and then sat on a leather chair in the lobby of Morning Star. With his elbows on his knees, he stared at the patterns on the floor tiles without saying a word.

This was the scene Chu Yilan saw when he arrived. Shen Lian looked as if he had been abandoned by his surroundings, appearing quite lonely.

Chu Yilan's anger surged instantly.

A pair of high-end leather shoes appeared before him. Shen Lian looked up, and a smile immediately overflowed in his eyes. "You're here?"

He stood up unsteadily. Chu Yilan immediately supported his shoulders, his voice sounding as if it were tempered in ice. "Who forced you to drink?"

Shen Lian shook his head. "I did it of my own accord."

Naturally, Chu Yilan didn't believe such words.

Not to mention Master Chu, even Special Assistant Sun standing nearby didn't believe it. Based on his life experience and everything he had seen and heard, he had already fabricated the entire process of Shen Lian's attendance at the wrap party—"

With Zheng Ge as the lead and Wei Fanchen as a troublemaker, Shen Lian was most likely isolated. To give Zhou Tangsi some face, the investors probably gave Shen Lian a hard time too. The result was Shen Lian being targeted by everyone, forced to toast in turns, and subjected to many harsh, belittling comments. His dignity was severely wounded, and finally, he left early, waiting here pitifully for Chu Yilan.

The more Sun Binghe thought about it, the angrier he became. What, Zhou Tangsi had face, but his Boss didn't?

Thinking this, Special Assistant Sun was eager to act, cracking his knuckles and waiting for Chu Yilan's command to take men and storm the celebration hall.

"Sun Binghe, take some men and surround the place. I'll go up in a moment," Chu Yilan said.

"Eh? Wait!" Shen Lian's eyes cleared a bit. "What are you going up for? Aren't we going home?"

Chu Yilan frowned. "You mean you're just going to let it go?"

Shen Lian didn't understand.

Looking through Chu Yilan's murderous and cold expression, Shen Lian slowly figured it out. "No, I wasn't mistreated."

Chu Yilan's brow didn't even twitch; he clearly didn't believe him.

Just then, the third male lead, Li Haicheng, came out from inside. Seeing him, Sun Binghe added, "Boss, I'll go ask."

Li Haicheng had naturally seen Sun Binghe before. That man had used his sharp tongue on set to make all those troublemakers back off. Li Haicheng was also somewhat intimidated, so when Sun Binghe strode over, he instinctively wanted to turn back to the elevator.

Sun Binghe hadn't reached his current position by being mediocre. His superb conversation skills and the superior aura he had gradually developed allowed him to always gain the upper hand in a short time. Combined with that "top student" contempt for ordinary mortals, Li Haicheng blurted out everything after just a few words.

In Li Haicheng's view, Sun Binghe was Shen Lian's assistant, so there was no harm in telling him.

The more Sun Binghe listened, the stranger his expression became.

This script was wrong!

He even looked back at Shen Lian. In other words, not only did Shen Lian not suffer any loss, but he also dominated the room and almost beat up Zheng Ge?

Was it that exciting?

Special Assistant Sun's face immediately contorted in regret. When the Boss had asked him to accompany Mr. Shen to the wrap party during the day, why did he refuse for the sake of that intelligence-insulting cooperation project?

"If there's nothing else, I'll head back?" Li Haicheng pointed at the elevator. He felt it would be safer to wait for a friend to go home together.

Sun Binghe nodded. "Mhm, go ahead."

Li Haicheng ran off so quickly he didn't even notice Shen Lian and Chu Yilan in the distance.

"Boss, we can go home." Sun Binghe walked closer and said, "Mr. Shen didn't suffer any loss."

Chu Yilan was unhappy. "Does he look like he didn't suffer any loss?"

"I did!" As the alcohol took effect, Shen Lian began to grumble. "Damn it, it's just that the occasion didn't allow it. Otherwise, Zheng Ge would definitely be dead today!"

Chu Yilan: "?"

Sun Binghe: "..." See for yourself.

Chu Yilan took off his overcoat and draped it over Shen Lian's shoulders, shielding him as they walked toward the garage while listening to Sun Binghe's report.

Master Chu's tightly knit brows gradually smoothed out. By the end, his anger had completely dissipated. Feeling both like laughing and not, he asked Shen Lian in a deep voice, "Why did you want to hit him?"

"He has a foul mouth!" Shen Lian said impatiently.

Li Haicheng hadn't gone into detail about that, but it didn't matter; Chu Yilan could find out anyway.

Sun Binghe drove while Shen Lian leaned into Chu Yilan's embrace in the back seat. He wasn't asleep; he just had his arms wrapped around the man's waist, his eyes half-closed.

Chu Yilan noticed and lowered his voice. "What are you thinking about?"

"Thinking about how you're so easily fooled," Shen Lian followed up.

"Don't be rude."

"But it's true." Shen Lian muttered, tilting his head up to give a small kiss on Chu Yilan's neck. "Believing whatever Zheng Ge says."

Chu Yilan didn't understand the second half of the sentence, but he truly felt the tenderness and sadness in that kiss.

Chu Yilan realized that this was the real reason Shen Lian was so dejected.