Chapter 50 - 1#

“……”

Like? What kind of like?

Hearing those words, Jing Shun was too stunned to react at all.

Chi Gui caught the look on his face, and his impulse was yanked back by reason, but he stubbornly refused to say anything to smooth it over.

He wanted to know the answer from Jing Shun, yet feared that answer would shatter him.

Time felt stretched into a century—

Finally, Jing Shun spoke. “I don’t like him.”

Using the railing beside him, he pushed himself up with all his strength. “I don’t like Fu Changting.”

Seeing this, Chi Gui quickly moved closer. “What are you doing? Sit back down.”

“Chi Gui, don’t misunderstand.”

Jing Shun closed the height gap between them, gazing seriously at the man before him. “I don’t have the kind of feelings for him that you’re imagining.”

“Yes, I’m grateful that he deliberately steered the conversation toward me on that variety show, giving me more screen time. And I’m grateful that he offered me acting opportunities.”

But that was all.

To Jing Shun, Fu Changting was a very talented actor, a colleague he’d worked with a few times, and a friend a few years older than him.

“Chi Gui, I don’t like him. I…”

Like you.

The last three words reached his lips, but Jing Shun swallowed them back.

No.

He wasn’t qualified to say that yet.

Standing for so long, his legs began to tremble, and he staggered backward slightly.

Chi Gui caught him swiftly and guided him back into the wheelchair. “Sit still. Don’t fuss.”

“……”

Jing Shun didn’t argue, but a vague sense of grievance welled up inside.

Chi Gui set the herbal tea aside and crouched down to meet his eyes. “Sorry. I was impulsive and asked nonsense.”

Jing Shun looked down, unwilling to acknowledge him.

Chi Gui took the chance to speak his mind. “I can tell Fu Changting takes good care of you. You’re in the same profession, so you probably have a lot in common and can talk easily.”

Just the fact that they shared a profession was enough to make Chi Gui jealous.

“A lot in common?” Jing Shun muttered in rebuttal. “I’ve met him fewer times than I can count on both hands. That’s nothing compared to how long I’ve spent with you day and night.”

He couldn’t help but glare at Chi Gui—not fiercely at all. “You’re being completely unreasonable!”

Hearing this, Chi Gui let out a faint laugh. “Yeah, I was wrong.”

Jing Shun was exasperated. “And you’re laughing?”

Chi Gui’s jealousy had vanished without a trace. “Did you come up here just to bring Uncle Lin’s herbal tea?”

Jing Shun pursed his lips, suddenly remembering he’d had another reason for coming upstairs.

Chi Gui remained crouched, meeting his eyes. “Mm?”

Jing Shun took a subtle breath and countered, “Chi Gui, we’re more than just a contractual relationship now, right? At the very least, we can call each other friends?”

“Of course.”

Of course. But he didn’t just want to be friends.

Having confirmed the answer, Jing Shun continued, “Are you free recently? I… I want to invite you to come watch me act on set—under the guise of being a member of my team.”

Chi Gui was surprised. “Come watch you act on set?”

Jing Shun nodded. “Brother Yu can help get a temporary pass. It should be simple.”

Chi Gui didn’t answer immediately, instead asking, “Why?”

“The thing I’ve been most confident about in my entire life is performing in front of the camera.”

Jing Shun knew he wasn’t a perfect person—he had many “flaws,” both physical and mental. After some thought, maybe this was the one area where he could hold his own.

Especially after today, Jing Shun had found his grounding and confidence in front of the lens again.

“I want to invite you…” Jing Shun stared into Chi Gui’s deep eyes, extending a sincere invitation. “To come see that version of me. Is that okay?”

Chi Gui met his hopeful gaze and couldn’t bring himself to utter a single refusal.

“Sure. But you don’t need to have Yu Xiuzhu get me a work pass. I don’t want to cause you trouble.”

Jing Shun was delighted but also puzzled. “Then how will you get in?”

“I have my ways.” Chi Gui agreed and explained further, “I’ll be a bit busy these next few days, but I’ll definitely make time to come to the set and watch you act.”

“Really?”

“Really. I want to see how amazing Teacher Jing is under the lens.”

“……”

That simple address—“Teacher Jing”—made Jing Shun smile. “Busy Chairman Chi, you’d better keep your word.”

“Mm. I’ll keep my word.”

Chi Gui coaxed him. “You have the set again tomorrow, right? Get some rest early.”

Jing Shun nodded.

He didn’t linger, and he didn’t let the earlier little incident bother him. Instead, he took the elevator back down.

Chi Gui watched the elevator doors close before downing the herbal tea.

The aftertaste was sweet, not sour at all.

He went back to his study, took out an old phone he hadn’t used in a long time, charged it, and scrolled through his WeChat contacts until he found one.

After a moment of deliberation, he quickly typed out a message and sent it.

…

The moment Jing Shun reached the first floor, he saw Yu Zhen return.

Yu Zhen had gotten some beer from somewhere and held up two cans. “Jing, it’s still early—keep me company for a drink?”

Lately, he’d been staying in a small villa diagonally behind the North Pavilion. Though he had Eone with him, loneliness crept in during the quiet of the night.

Jing Shun wheeled closer. “Let’s go outside.”

Servants occasionally passed through the first floor, making it awkward to talk.

Yu Zhen nodded.

They didn’t go far—just to the front yard of the main house, lit by streetlamps, with the summer night not yet cold.

Yu Zhen opened a beer for Jing Shun and handed it over. “Drink if you can; if not, that’s fine. Just keep me company.”

“Okay.”

Yu Zhen opened one for himself and took a gulp.

Jing Shun spoke first. “I never found the right time to ask—what happened between you and Qin Ye? Why were you fighting?”

It had been almost two weeks.

Yu Zhen crouched by Jing Shun’s wheelchair and sighed. “The Qin family business is huge, and the casino operations attract a lot of trouble. My heart accident before was caused by that.”

“Qin Ye kept me ‘hidden’ for the past two years to protect me.”

“But after Zhang Aode was caught, he kept applying pressure. Other members of the Qin family got wind of it and started using me to pressure and threaten him.”

Among wealthy families, it was all the usual power struggles—glossy on the surface, but their behind-the-scenes tactics were low and cheap.

“Qin Ye told me the other day he wanted to draw a clear line with the Qin family’s assets. He was willing to give up a portion as long as we had enough money for the rest of our lives.”

“I disagreed, but not because of the money.”

Yu Zhen took a deep breath. “I wasn’t part of Qin Ye’s past, but I know how much pressure he endured alone to turn the Qin Corporation around.”

Those Qin relatives had kicked him when he was down, and now they dared to collude and pressure him into giving them a share!

“He knows I haven’t lived freely in Macau these past two years. He wanted to use shares and assets to block those bastards’ reach toward me. But that’s exactly what they wanted!”

Jing Shun understood now.

Both were thinking of each other. It wasn’t so much a fight as it was mutual concern.

“I knew staying in Macau would only burden him more, so I came back to the mainland. I’d rather not see him than make him have to worry or sacrifice for me.”

“At the very least, those people from Macau can’t reach me here. It’s much safer.”

Qin Ye didn’t try to take Yu Zhen back. Instead, he asked Chi Gui and Jing Shun to look after him in Haishi, precisely because of this.

Yu Zhen took another sip of beer and confessed, “I just… miss him a little.”

“……”

“Jing Shun, sometimes I envy you and Chi Gui.”

“Envy what?”

Yu Zhen shook his head, giving only a vague answer. “Being able to live with your loved one without pressure or burden.”

Jing Shun clutched the cold beer bottle and, for the first time, took a drink himself. “No, Yu Zhen. It’s not what you think between me and Chi Gui.”

“……”

Yu Zhen was taken aback.

Trusting his friend, Jing Shun gave a brief rundown of his situation with Chi Gui. “Right now, it’s like this: I like him, but I don’t know how he feels.”

Yu Zhen squeezed his nearly empty can, staring at Jing Shun in disbelief. “Wait… You really haven’t noticed?”

“What?”

“Chi Gui likes you! He was jealous! The reason he asked you that earlier was because he was jealous—jealous of you and that Fu Changting guy!”

“……”

Jing Shun’s throat tightened. He had never considered that angle. “No way?”

“God! I can’t believe you!”

Yu Zhen scrambled to his feet, looking exasperated. “If I were you, I’d have moved this relationship into high gear ages ago!”

“Screw whatever contract—who treats a contractual partner this well?”

“You suspected he had some unattainable white moonlight, but the truth is, aside from you, has he had any other lovers? Is he secretly married?”

Jing Shun nodded slowly.

Yu Zhen pressed on. “You know the principle of ‘the moon near the water gets its light first,’ right? Living under the same roof, spending every day together—feelings grow easily! You understand?”

Jing Shun nodded obediently again.

Yu Zhen put on the expression of someone who’d been through it all and earnestly advised, “Then go for it! If you like him, just go for it! Confess!”

“Even if he has a white moonlight, you can try to replace her, can’t you?”

It wasn’t against any moral code or illegal. What was there to fear?

“Jing Shun, don’t set such high standards for yourself. Don’t think you’ve lost the right to confess or the courage just because you’re not perfect!”

“Let me tell you, there’s no one in this world who is one hundred percent perfect—”

“Not even one hundred percent perfect love exists. It has to be forged by two people who love each other.”

“……”

Jing Shun listened, stunned, his mind rapidly absorbing his friend’s words.

Yu Zhen continued. “Brother Yu doesn’t want you to sell yourself short or lose yourself in this relationship, but he never stopped you from liking Chi Gui, right?”

Jing Shun shook his head. “No.”

Yu Zhen was firm. “Then confess! Take the initiative! Even if you fail, it doesn’t matter—then you pursue him.”

He asked, “Are you the type to get timid just because you’re afraid of one rejection?”

Jing Shun shook his head clearly. “No.”