62: It's normal, you're a man.

Returning to the room, Shen Lian was still hanging onto Chu Yilan like a sloth.

"Why did you come over?" As Shen Lian touched the bed, he tilted his head and brushed against the man's earlobe.

"I was free." Chu Yilan pulled back slightly, but finding that Shen Lian's grip hadn't loosened, he gently patted his back. "And you? Has filming been going smoothly these past two days?"

"Smoothly," Shen Lian whispered. "I was thinking that once I finished most of my scenes, I'd go back to Qudu to see you."

Chu Yilan: "Then I couldn't wait."

Shen Lian let out a "heh" and laughed, "Incredible, Master Chu has learned how to say sweet things."

Chu Yilan rubbed the tip of Shen Lian's nose, and instantly, he didn't want to hold back anymore.

He supported Shen Lian's lower back and guided him onto the bed. Noticing that he had become even thinner, a strange surge of violence and desire for destruction sprouted from the depths of his heart. Especially since Shen Lian's look for this role was particularly youthful—dressed in old, simple clothes, he truly looked like a delicate little white flower swaying in the wind.

Shen Lian's eyes were filled with the waves of passion; if they crashed onto the shore, the word would be 'vivid'. Because Chu Yilan stopped moving, he frowned in dissatisfaction, but he couldn't manage to look fierce at all.

"Why so pitiful?" Chu Yilan asked with a smile.

"Pitiful is good," Chu Yilan added. "As long as you're only pitiful towards me."

Shen Lian deeply understood the meaning of 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'.

*

Sun Binghe hummed a song, even the cheap plastic basin in his hand looking quite pleasing to the eye. After a quick wash, Sun Binghe returned to his room, played on his phone for a few minutes, and finally fell peacefully asleep.

On the way here, the Boss had already said that they wouldn't be busy with work tomorrow, so he could sleep in.

He even put his phone on silent; unless the world was ending, there was nothing that required him to open his eyes.

Shen Lian slept pressed tightly against Chu Yilan all night. When he woke up the next day, he was covered in sweat.

At the sound of rustling, Chu Yilan grabbed Shen Lian's arm and frowned: "So early?"

"It's your biological clock that's suddenly gone on strike," Shen Lian said hoarsely. "I have to go film. You sleep peacefully; I'll have Li Yi bring food over in a while."

The expensive suit jacket had been tossed to the foot of the bed. Chu Yilan truly felt quite sleepy. When Shen Lian wasn't around, he slept little and always had to find something to do. Now, immersed in the familiar scent, his body seemed to want to replenish everything it had overdrawn.

The curtains only had a layer of sheer fabric drawn. The morning light was just right. Chu Yilan lay in the brightness, his features peaceful.

This is how it should be, Shen Lian thought. The person who had to walk alone in the darkness, covered in frost, should never have been Chu Yilan.

He was said to be a villain, but his true descent into evil only happened after Zheng Ge and Zhou Tangsi repeatedly used him and sought death. They clearly knew what Chu Yilan cared about and what he lacked, yet they treated him like a dog. Zheng Ge would cast the bait time and again, dangling Chu Yilan to polish and fulfill their grand romance. After driving him to the edge, they would say, "You're truly a demon," and finally, under the shine of the protagonist's halo, naturally complete the execution.

Shen Lian felt disgusted just thinking about it.

"You sleep," Shen Lian whispered.

Chu Yilan gave a soft "mm".

Those with sharp eyes noticed that four Bodyguards in black had appeared at the hotel entrance. It seemed some important person had moved in last night. Director Zhao instructed everyone to focus on their work and didn't say much about it.

Work started at eight. Taking advantage of the mild sun, they hurried to reshoot a few scenes.

Director Zhao discovered that Shen Lian had no temperament at all when it came to acting. As long as your requests were reasonable, it didn't matter how strict you were. Through repeated adjustments, Director Zhao was very satisfied with the footage.

"Was it delivered?" Shen Lian took a moment to ask Li Yi, who had come down from the hotel.

Li Yi's legs felt a bit weak: "Yeah, Brother Shen..."

Seeing him hesitate, Shen Lian chuckled: "He didn't scold you, did he?"

"No..."

Li Yi thought back to when he had just knocked on the door. The man standing there was tall, almost reaching the top of the doorframe. Up close, his features were incredibly impactful, but he was expressionless, eyeing Li Yi like he was sizing up prey. Finally, he had just said indifferently: "Put it on the table."

Shen Lian had waited over an hour before having Li Yi deliver the food, so Chu Yilan was already awake. Speaking of which, this was the first time he and Li Yi had met face-to-face. Before, Li Yi either drove behind or was assigned elsewhere; he had never seen the real Chu Yilan.

As for the fact that Shen Lian seemed to be involved with a big boss, Li Yi kept his mouth shut and never asked.

"It's just that the person in your room... he seemed a bit hostile towards me?"

"Normal, you're a man."

Li Yi: "?"

"Male competition, do you understand?" Shen Lian explained. "The fact that you could come down safely means his assessment of you was 'harmless'."

"That sounds a bit hurtful, Brother Shen."

Shen Lian was thoroughly amused.

Shen Lian was busy all morning and didn't even have time to go back to the room to check. Chu Yilan, on the other hand, had relaxed, sitting by the head of the bed flipping through the script Shen Lian had annotated.

It wasn't until eleven-thirty that there was movement next door.

Chu Yilan opened the door to see Sun Binghe looking bleary-eyed, still holding that plastic basin.

"The bathroom in the room can't be used?"

"It's too cramped," Sun Binghe said. "The one outside is spacious."

"Special Assistant Sun, it's very hot here," Chu Yilan said. "We don't seem to have brought any clothes."

Sun Binghe snapped awake in a second. "Leave it to me, Boss."

But Special Assistant Sun underestimated the poverty of this place. He searched the entire town and found two men's clothing stores, but both the brands and the styles were at a level that inspired despair.

When Sun Binghe returned carrying two white plastic bags, Shen Lian happened to be setting the table with dishes. "Quick, quick, it's hot."

Chu Yilan stared at those two plastic bags: "These are the clothes you prepared?"

Sun Binghe didn't want to admit it. "I..."

"Let me see." Shen Lian took them and unfolded the clothes—brown polyester shorts and a white short-sleeved shirt. They felt like cotton to the touch. "They're pretty good. Wear this set this afternoon, I'll take you to catch fish."

Chu Yilan raised an eyebrow: "No filming?"

"I work hard; it's not too much to ask for half a day's leave, right?"

In fact, as soon as Shen Lian spoke, Director Zhao agreed. It wasn't entirely because Shen Lian was a good actor, but also because of his 'big investment'.

Although Chu Yilan acted as if he didn't care much about many things, he was born into a prestigious family after all and had never worn anything so cheap. However, considering Shen Lian was accompanying him this afternoon, it was acceptable.

Shen Lian took Chu Yilan out through the back door without running into any staff.

Director Zhao had said: You guys just go ahead and have fun; if you run into anyone from the crew, I'll consider it my loss.

The small town was mostly quiet in the afternoon. Shen Lian had inquired beforehand; three kilometers east of here was the confluence of two streams, where there were plenty of fish and shrimp.

Shen Lian had even prepared a dip net and a small bucket in advance.

Sun Binghe followed at a distance, feeling that the scene before him was very surreal.

His boss, who galloped through the business world and was cold and powerful, was actually wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, holding hands with Shen Lian and stepping on the withered grass under the sun to go catch fish.

When they reached the stream, Sun Binghe directed the Bodyguards to set up a sunshade. Chu Yilan was a bit hesitant at first, but with one tug from Shen Lian, he followed him into the water.