Chapter 111 – Getting Jealous
When Lin Ganzhi and the others arrived, they saw Lu Xi being shoved by Duan Shaohui not far away. They also heard him curse at Lu Xi with considerable disgust, “You connections hires are truly disgusting!”
Wenren Yi, standing beside Lin Ganzhi, was the first to get angry. How dare he bully the little brother she had taken under her wing?
However, Wenren Yi had only just rolled up her sleeves when three tall men in black suits suddenly darted out from some corner. The man in the lead effortlessly grabbed Duan Shaohui by the back of his collar and lifted him up, looking nervously at a bewildered Lu Xi. “Young Master, are you alright?”
Lu Xi, Lin Ganzhi, and Wenren Yi were all momentarily stunned.
“Who are you! Are you trying to kidnap me in broad daylight?” Duan Shaohui yelled, craning his neck. But the park area had just been cleared, and they were the only ones within a hundred-meter radius.
By the time Lin Ganzhi and his group walked over, one of the men in black had already gotten someone on the phone.
“Sir, someone just pushed the Young Master. We have the person in custody. How would you like us to handle this?” the man in black reported calmly.
Lin Ganzhi felt a sense of both familiarity and strangeness in the situation. He could only communicate with Lu Xi through his eyes: So you have bodyguards too!
“Who pushed him? An actor from the crew or a staff member?” A deep, husky male voice came through the phone. Just that one sentence was enough to feel the immense pressure the man exuded.
Lu Xi immediately recognized his brother’s voice and said, on the verge of tears, “Brother, why did you assign bodyguards to me without telling me?”
“Without bodyguards, you wouldn’t even have the strength to whine to me right now. You’d probably be crying your eyes out in some corner,” the man said bluntly.
Lin Ganzhi thought to himself that it was true. He had previously thought Lu Xi’s brother was quite heartless, but now it seemed he was very concerned about his younger brother and knew him well.
“But this is still an invasion of my privacy,” Lu Xi added, not giving up. He had completely lost the forbearing demeanor he had in front of Duan Shaohui.
“So what if I invaded it? Are you going to come back and give your big brother a beating?” the man retorted with a cold snort.
Lu Xi immediately backed down. Beat up his brother? Maybe in his next life.
“What’s the name of the person who pushed you? I invested money to film this drama, and I have an employee walking all over the boss? Fire him immediately. He won’t have to work in this industry ever again!” the man said in a simple, direct manner.
Duan Shaohui, who had been struggling just a moment ago, turned pale upon hearing this. He knew the person on the phone wasn’t joking. Wait, what did he mean by “he invested”? Wasn’t Lu Xi just some minor connections hire who had been shoved into the cast?
The onlookers were inwardly cheering. Did brothers like that come standard? They wanted one too—he was so domineering!
“Brother! Don’t do this!” Lu Xi said, turning his head away.
Duan Shaohui’s pale face regained a bit of color, and he glanced at Lu Xi in disbelief.
The man on the phone paused, his tone growing heavy. “Say that again?”
Lin Ganzhi and Wenren Yi exchanged a look. The pressure was intense! Lu Xi, get a grip! Don’t go against your brother!
Lu Xi glanced at Duan Shaohui and instructed the bodyguard beside him, “Stop holding him. Let him go.”
The bodyguard looked at the phone, troubled.
In the end, Lu Xi compromised. “Brother, just firing him is enough. Don’t completely ruin his future.”
Duan Shaohui, who had just started to feel relieved, saw his expression turn ugly again. How could these people possibly know how much effort he had put in to get this role!
“On what grounds? I poured my heart and soul into this role! On what grounds are you doing this to me?!” Duan Shaohui roared, looking extremely unstable.
However, it was difficult for anyone present to empathize with him. Did he respect his own hard work when he was bullying others? He had brought this upon himself.
“On the grounds that you bullied my little brother, and on the grounds that I hundred-percent funded this show, you idiot!” the man said before hanging up decisively.
He left a group of stunned people in his wake.
It wasn’t until they were leaving that Wenren Yi fully processed what had happened. She latched onto Lu Xi, demanding his brother’s contact information.
“Quick, quick! I want to acknowledge him as my big brother!” Wenren Yi revealed a rare fangirl expression.
Lin Ganzhi didn’t say anything, but he very consciously held out his own phone. People are naturally drawn to the strong, and the way Lu Xi’s brother had flexed today had completely blown them away!
Once again, a world was formed that only Lu Xi didn’t understand.
“Qi Yushuo, what’s wrong? You haven’t said a word this whole time,” Lin Ganzhi asked, looking quizzically at Qi Yushuo, who was standing behind them.
Qi Yushuo’s face was a little pale, but he quickly recovered and just said it was nothing.
The group soon forgot the unpleasant incident and went out to have fun. They played in an escape room in the afternoon, had a grand seafood dinner in the evening, followed by a round of a scripted murder mystery game, and finally moved on to a bar around nine.
Lin Ganzhi was completely in his element. Despite being a one-cup knockout, he insisted on a drinking competition with Wenren Yi. The result was him turning into the nightclub’s dance king. At first, he incorporated some classical dance basics, but later he was directly competing with a bottom from the next table in a flower hand dance. Wenren Yi, finding it too embarrassing, forcibly dragged him back.
“I never knew Ganzhi knew so many, hic, types of dances!” Lu Xi let out a drunken hiccup, his face flushed red. He was self-aware enough to know his limits, so he drank as little as possible. So far, he had only had two bottles of beer and could barely maintain his human form.
Lin Ganzhi vaguely heard someone praising him and flashed his signature confident smile. “I can also do Latin. I’ll lift my shirt and dance a bit for you!”
Wenren Yi quickly grabbed Lin Ganzhi’s hands and warned him in frustrated grief, “That’s enough!”
If you show your stomach here, won’t your boyfriend kill me? Wenren Yi maintained a calm exterior, but she was secretly terrified of Yan Shengping. After all, he was a formidable character who could hold his own with both her father’s and grandfather’s generations.
Deprived of his chance to perform, Lin Ganzhi sat down dejectedly, muttering, “You guys are mean. I’m going to find Yan Shengping.”
Wenren Yi pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to maintain her sanity. She must have been crazy to invite Lin Ganzhi for drinks! Why hadn’t anyone reminded her before they came?
“Alright, we’ve had enough to drink. I’ll take you all back,” said Qi Yushuo, the only sober one present, as he stood up.
The next second, Lin Ganzhi picked up his phone, held it to his ear, and said, “Hello? Yan, Shengping, Wenren won’t let me, dance, dance Latin!”
Wenren Yi froze. “!!!”
Just pretend I’ve passed out.
Yan Shengping, who had just finished work, fell into a long silence after hearing this.
Wenren Yi quickly coaxed Lin Ganzhi and took the phone. “Hello, CEO Yan, we’re at a quiet bar. Ganzhi had a little too much to drink and is a bit dazed. We’ll send him back right away!”
“Address.” Yan Shengping’s tone sounded unchanged, but Wenren Yi still felt immense pressure.
Wenren Yi stammered out the address. Yan Shengping’s final words were, “Please continue to stop him from dancing. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
Wenren Yi hastily agreed.
To prevent Lin Ganzhi from touching any more alcohol, Wenren Yi and Qi Yushuo went outside five minutes early. Lu Xi was a bit shorter than Lin Ganzhi and still had some wits about him, so Wenren Yi supported him. Lin Ganzhi, on the other hand, was held by Qi Yushuo with one arm, his head resting dizzily on Qi Yushuo’s shoulder.
Qi Yushuo stared straight ahead. Though he wore a mask, this was the first time he had been so close to Lin Ganzhi. Besides the smell of alcohol, Lin Ganzhi had a faint scent of coconut milk. At nearly 1.8 meters tall, he wasn’t heavy at all. He certainly could eat a lot, though. He was still muttering about dancing. Coincidentally, Qi Yushuo was going to be a mentor on a new trainee variety show, so he could ask Lin Ganzhi if he was interested. Then again, Lin Ganzhi was a great actor, on a completely different level from him.
“Yan, Shengping, I still want to drink,” Lin Ganzhi mumbled under his breath.
Qi Yushuo’s expression stiffened, and the mood on his face visibly dropped. While Wenren Yi was helping Lu Xi find a place to throw up, Qi Yushuo looked at the hazy car lights in the distance and asked, “Why do you like him so much? Does it have to be him?”
At that moment, both of them were silent. Lin Ganzhi was half-asleep, while Qi Yushuo was waiting blindly.
“Qi Yushuo, in a bit, could you please drive Lu Xi and me? Just let CEO Yan take care of Ganzhi,” Wenren Yi said as she walked back, supporting Lu Xi.
Qi Yushuo suddenly snapped back to reality, as if surprised he would ask such a question.
Just then, a black Bentley pulled up in front of the four of them. A man wearing a coat that matched Lin Ganzhi’s got out of the car. His exquisite features were devoid of much expression, and his sharp gaze fell on Lin Ganzhi leaning against Qi Yushuo.
“CEO Yan, you’re here!” Wenren Yi stepped forward to greet him.
Qi Yushuo almost failed to maintain his cool expression. After that distant glimpse on the snowy day, the man standing before him now had an even greater impact. He was far better than he had imagined. That face, even in today’s entertainment industry, could leave everyone else in the dust.
“Thank you for holding my husband. I’ll take it from here,” Yan Shengping said, his emphasis subtly landing on the word “husband.”
A flicker of resistance flashed through Qi Yushuo’s mind, but reason quickly overcame his emotions.
As if sensing something, Lin Ganzhi, nestled in his arms, dazedly lifted his head and saw Yan Shengping standing before him. Huh? Wasn’t he just leaning on Yan Shengping?
“Yan Shengping, mmph, you, what took you so long?” Lin Ganzhi tried to straighten up, but he couldn’t hold it for a second before collapsing. Yan Shengping caught him steadily. Smelling the familiar scent, Lin Ganzhi subconsciously nuzzled him, his nose twitching slightly.
Catching Lin Ganzhi, Yan Shengping revealed his first smile since arriving. Lin Ganzhi’s subconscious action had successfully soothed Yan Shengping’s anger. “Thinking of me now? What were you doing when you were drinking?”
But Lin Ganzhi, nestled in Yan Shengping’s arms, fell back into a carefree, deep sleep, completely oblivious to the jealous man whose vinegar jar had been knocked over.
“CEO Yan, you should take Ganzhi back first. The three of us will find another way home,” Wenren Yi said, embarrassed. She suddenly felt like she had been a bad influence on a child.
“Take my car. You’ve been drinking too, and your place isn’t far from here. Get back early, don’t make your dad wait up.”
My dad wouldn’t worry about something like this, Wenren Yi thought instinctively, but then why did she suddenly feel like she was being lectured by an elder?
“Uh, alright then. Thank you, CEO Yan,” Wenren Yi agreed as if possessed. “Lu Xi, you can sleep at my place. We’ll go to the set tomorrow morning.”
“Okay~” Lu Xi agreed in a daze.
“I won’t trouble CEO Yan. I have to stop by the company later,” Qi Yushuo said, hands in his pockets.
Yan Shengping nodded, his attitude what one could only describe as cold. However, the three drunkards didn’t notice. After Yan Shengping placed Lin Ganzhi in the passenger seat and buckled his seatbelt, he got out of the car once more.
Qi Yushuo’s gaze became somewhat wary as he watched Yan Shengping approach again. Yan Shengping, however, gave a subtle smile and said, “I haven’t had a chance to thank you for speaking up for Ganzhi last time. It’s a coincidence we ran into each other today.”
Qi Yushuo relaxed a little. “It was nothing. He’s my friend. It was only right to help him.”
Yan Shengping let out a soft laugh, but a bone-deep chill emanated from him. “Then I hope you can properly maintain your position as a friend and not cross any lines. It won’t be good for you or your company.”
Qi Yushuo froze, unable to adapt to Yan Shengping’s sudden change in attitude. He frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”
The last trace of a smile vanished from Yan Shengping’s face, his patience wearing thin. “Didn’t your agent tell you? It seems the company values you quite a lot. Then you should seize the opportunity and not think about things you shouldn’t.”
After saying this, Yan Shengping turned and left. As the car started and drove away, Qi Yushuo, who had been standing there stunned for a long time, let out a curse for the first time and immediately pulled out his phone to call his agent.