Chapter 17: Be Careful Next Time

Before dawn, Ye Mei took an early morning flight to Chong City and rushed to the best hospital there without stopping to visit Zhong Yue, who was under observation.

Zhong Yue’s manager saw her out, stopping at the door of the hospital room. Ye Mei comforted him, “This was truly too perilous. Teacher Zhong is well-known in the industry for his professionalism, but you should also persuade him not to be in a hurry to be discharged and return to work. Taking care of his health is the most important thing.”

“Thank you for making this special trip,” Zhong Yue’s manager, who had dealt with Ye Mei many times, said in a familiar and grateful tone. “The person we should thank the most this time is Jiajia. The experts at the hospital all said that it was fortunate he was injected with adrenaline in time, otherwise, it’s really hard to say what would have happened.”

Ye Mei, dressed in a long black dress with a pearl necklace and carrying a classic color-blocked ostrich leather bag, smiled. “It was just a coincidence for Jiajia. He’s had thin skin since he was little and is prone to allergic rashes from mosquito and insect bites. His mother and I were worried something might happen to him, so before he joined the crew, we prepared all sorts of miscellaneous medicines for him.”

She then asked with concern, “What exactly happened this time? Did the assistant say what kind of juice it was?”

“That assistant has always been meticulous. She said the thermos was filled with fresh orange juice she had squeezed early in the morning. But after the doctor looked at it, they confirmed it was starfruit juice. Zhong Yue had never had starfruit before, who knew he would have such a severe allergy.”

Ye Mei frowned. “The set is crowded and busy, it’s possible a mistake was made somewhere along the line. But that assistant was indeed careless, to be so incautious with something he was going to consume.”

Xu Lingjia was playing on his phone in a private dining room at a restaurant when the door clicked open from the outside. His eyes lit up. “Godmother!”

Ye Mei casually tossed her bag aside, leaned back in her chair, and rubbed her temples with her fingers, looking exhausted. “I had a meeting that ran late last night, and then I had to leave before dawn this morning to catch a flight. This job is really not for humans.”

Xu Lingjia immediately and obediently went to massage Ye Mei’s temples, lowering his voice. “Godmother, you’ve worked hard. But such an important job can only be done well by someone as amazing as my godmother! I had the kitchen make a bowl of bird’s nest soup. At least your stomach will feel a bit more comfortable after eating it.”

A smile appeared on her lips. Ye Mei patted her neck and shoulders. “Massage here a bit too. My neck is all stiff from the flight and car ride.” Then she asked casually, “How did you know Zhong Yue was allergic to starfruit? Does anyone else know?”

Xu Lingjia’s hand, massaging her shoulder, paused. He looked surprised. “Godmother, how could I possibly know that Zhong Yue is allergic to starfruit? He didn’t even know himself.”

Hearing his denial, Ye Mei didn’t seem to care much. She lifted the lid of the bird’s nest soup bowl and stirred it with a spoon. “I went to see him. Zhong Yue and his manager are genuinely grateful to you. They’ll most likely fire that assistant, and this matter will be more or less settled.”

Xu Lingjia let out a soft sigh of relief.

“I’ll tell your mom about you being allergic to insect bites,” Ye Mei said, tasting a couple of spoonfuls of the bird’s nest soup. The warm food settled in her stomach, and she felt a bit more comfortable. “Everyone already knows you saved Zhong Yue. If he doesn’t show any appreciation, wouldn’t he be criticized for being ungrateful? As for his connections and resources in the industry, you should start thinking about whether there’s anything you fancy.”

Hearing this, Xu Lingjia said, “Godmother, why does it sound like I’m after something from him? With you here, what can’t I have if I want it?”

Ye Mei pinched Xu Lingjia’s cheek. “Ever since you were little, you’ve always been the sweetest and most considerate!”

“Of course, you’re my godmother!” Xu Lingjia bent down. “But godmother, didn’t we have that live stream of the set visit before? I have an idea, what do you think?”

Director Wan was still on his way back to the set, but every second the production burned money couldn’t be wasted. The call sheet was changed temporarily. The main scenes were pushed back for Director Wan to shoot upon his return, while some scenes with minor supporting roles or empty shots were moved up for the assistant director to film quickly.

Shen Xici got out of bed. After listening to his heartbeat and breathing sounds, which were all normal, he took off the stethoscope with his left hand and opened the new call sheet Lan Xiaoshan had sent with his right. He read it carefully, and his world came crashing down. He said loudly, “A’Shao, we have the morning off today. If I had known, I wouldn’t have woken up so early!”

What was the difference between this and waking up early for school only to realize it’s Sunday?

Sheng Shaoyan placed the boiled eggs on the table and poured milk into Shen Xici’s cup. “Isn’t a day off good? Come and eat breakfast.”

Remembering the idol drama scenes he had occasionally glimpsed while watching the financial news, Sheng Shaoyan tentatively asked, “Do you want me to peel your egg for you?”

“Huh? I know how to peel it,” Shen Xici said. He cracked the egg, rolled it on the table to crush the shell, and then peeled it clean in two moves. He even peeled Sheng Shaoyan’s egg for him.

Sheng Shaoyan: “…”

Recalling some more, Sheng Shaoyan suggested, “Should I make lunch? What do you want to eat?”

Shen Xici almost choked on the egg yolk. What was going on? Where did Sheng Shaoyan get this crazy idea to make lunch? If he ate a meal made by Sheng Shaoyan, people might think he was the one with a death wish.

Otherwise, how could he just drop dead in the middle of a meal?

Shen Xici said firmly, “No need, really, no need. We’re out of groceries at home. Let’s just have the owner of the restaurant downstairs deliver lunch!” Then he asked, “Do you want to go out?”

A week had passed, so the people sent by Sheng family’s second uncle should have left by now. If Sheng Shaoyan wanted to eat out, it should be fine as long as he wore a mask.

Sheng Shaoyan shook his head. “No need. Let’s just eat at home.”

He had always been aware that Shen Xici was very possessive and didn’t like him going out to see other people. Even when he brought him to the set, he would ask him to wear a hat and a mask.

Remembering yesterday’s “the more people will like me” and, thinking back further, the childhood scars on Shen Xici’s arm, Sheng Shaoyan was slowly beginning to understand. Lacking affection and feeling insecure, that was why the pre-amnesia him could so easily control Shen Xici, who would give whatever was asked of him, never knowing how to refuse.

But if he wanted to change, all of this could only be done slowly.

In the afternoon, Shen Xici’s motorcycle and Director Wan’s van arrived at around the same time. He was rushing to the dressing room when, halfway there, he heard a clamor of voices. Shen Xici turned back and saw Xu Lingjia walking beside Zhong Yue, along with Zhong Yue’s manager, towards the separate, dedicated dressing room on the other side. They were talking and laughing, looking very close.

His gaze lingered on the unfamiliar assistant behind them. Realizing the previous assistant had likely been replaced, Shen Xici looked away.

“There’s someone outside the set taking pictures of them.”

Hearing Sheng Shaoyan say this, Shen Xici looked around. As far as he could see, there were only dense trees, not a single person in sight. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you have eagle eyes? You can see that from here?”

He grabbed Sheng Shaoyan’s arm and pulled him inside to avoid him being accidentally caught on camera. “They must be here to take pictures of Teacher Zhong’s return to the set. The hype is high right now, so on-site photos will surely sell for a lot of money.”

Sheng Shaoyan didn’t resist Shen Xici’s pull. “Zhong Yue’s assistant has been changed.”

Shen Xici was surprised. “You noticed too?”

Sheng Shaoyan didn’t actually care whether the assistant was replaced or not. Everyone knew that someone had to take responsibility for this incident. The crew, the company, and the manager didn’t want to bear the responsibility. Who was willing to step up and face the fans’ condemnation and scolding?

Pushing the assistant out would quell everything. It was the assistant who was not careful, not that the crew or the company didn’t care about Zhong Yue.

If he were the one in power, the one making the decisions, he might also choose the smallest sacrifice to calm public opinion. It was the optimal decision.

But he knew very well that Shen Xici would care.

In his years of acting in his previous life, Shen Xici had seen too many similar incidents. He was quiet for a moment. “She was the first to notice that Teacher Zhong wasn’t well, which brought it to others’ attention. When she was hired, she even carefully asked if Teacher Zhong had any allergies. But as soon as something happened, she was sacrificed.”

It wasn’t an overflow of sympathy, just a sense of pity.

Everyone knew that ahead lay a Pandora’s box wrapped in flowers, fine wine, and the vanity of fame and fortune. Everyone used all sorts of methods to try to get it, to open it. In the race forward, principles and bottom lines were just burdens and obstacles, so they would naturally be the first things to be discarded.

In the dressing room, the makeup artist hadn’t arrived yet. Shen Xici first went to change into the coarse white robe.

Sitting down in front of the mirror, Shen Xici took out his script. Just as he was about to ask Sheng Shaoyan to run lines with him, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and pinched his chin.

Forced to tilt his head up slightly, Shen Xici asked, puzzled, “A’Shao, what’s wrong?”

Sheng Shaoyan bent down in front of him, his gaze fixed on his lips. “How did you hurt your lip? There’s blood on it.”

Shen Xici glanced in the mirror and only then noticed that the skin near the corner of his lower lip had been broken at some point, and a bead of blood had seeped out.

He instinctively stuck out his tongue and touched the small cut. The bead of blood was instantly licked away.

He felt it carefully and then pointed it out to Sheng Shaoyan. “Here, there’s a small cut. It probably won’t bleed again.”

Sheng Shaoyan’s eyes darkened. His thumb, resting on Shen Xici’s jawline, couldn’t help but move slightly, touching the line of his lips. He grunted in acknowledgement. “Be careful. Does it hurt?”

Just then, the door was pushed open, accompanied by Lan Xiaoshan’s voice: “Brother Shen, the makeup artist, she—”

The scene inside entered his eyes. Lan Xiaoshan immediately fell silent, slipped inside, closed the door, and moved his lips to finish his sentence. “Um… the makeup artist ran out of foundation. She went to get some from her team leader. She’ll be right here.”

Once Shen Xici started getting his makeup done, Lan Xiaoshan glanced at Sheng Shaoyan, who was tapping away on his phone whenever he had a spare moment, just like the past few days. He tried to make small talk. “Brother Shao, are you looking at stocks?”

Sheng Shaoyan’s eyes didn’t leave the screen. “Yes.”

Why was his expression so calm? Was he the one overreacting? Lan Xiaoshan still dutifully gave a tactful reminder. “Um, you should remember to close the door next time.”

Sheng Shaoyan was multitasking. “Close the door?”

Lan Xiaoshan decided to be more direct. “That cut on Brother Shen’s lip is really obvious. I don’t know if it can be covered up.”

Hearing him mention Shen Xici, Sheng Shaoyan looked up and met Lan Xiaoshan’s gaze, which was very subtle.

Lan Xiaoshan thought to himself, I’m really doing two jobs for one salary. He felt like the chief eunuch in those historical dramas who, after the emperor is late for the morning court, goes to hint to the concubine, played by the female lead, that she’s being thoughtless and shouldn’t be clinging to the emperor and causing him trouble.

“Brother Shen still has to film. Next time… it would be better if you two were a bit more restrained,” Lan Xiaoshan said in a whisper. “You guys were kissing too intensely.”

Kissing, intensely?

Sheng Shaoyan finally understood what he had misunderstood. He was silent for a moment, then explained, “That wound wasn’t from my bite.”

Lan Xiaoshan nodded. “Uh-huh, be careful next time.”