Chapter 6
Shen Yan never expected that Su Yunzhe would be so meticulous. Reflecting on his earlier reckless behavior, he felt a bit embarrassed.
Lu Xiaoqing was likely in a hurry to return to take care of her child. After she set down her things and confirmed that Shen Yan had no further requests, she quickly left.
Shen Yan didn’t want to linger either. After what had just happened, facing Su Yunzhe made him feel somewhat awkward.
After changing his clothes, he tidied up the guest room and went downstairs, intending to say goodbye to Su Yunzhe before leaving, but he didn’t see Su Yunzhe downstairs.
Although Su Yunzhe’s house wasn’t a villa, it was quite spacious, with four floors. It wasn’t easy for Shen Yan to find someone, so he simply sent a message to Su Yunzhe and left by himself.
Just as he stepped out the door, his phone rang. Thinking it was Su Yunzhe, he quickly answered. Before he could say anything, Duan Yang’s voice came through. “Hello, is this Miss Shen? I am Duan Yang.”
Duan Yang’s voice was gentle and polite.
Shen Yan was taken aback. Firstly, he hadn’t expected a call from Duan Yang; this was a new number, and he hadn’t shared it with anyone except Su Yunzhe. Secondly, Duan Yang’s calm and courteous demeanor surprised him.
After all, given what had happened last night, it was clear that Duan Yang had recognized him but didn’t dare to confront him in that situation.
Yet now, it was just the two of them on the call. Given Duan Yang’s temperament, shouldn’t he be angrily shouting or cursing right now?
Why was he so composed? It didn’t fit his domineering movie star persona!
“Hello, I’m Shen Yan. Is there something you need from me, Duan Yang?” Although confused, he didn’t hesitate to speak.
“Yes, it’s a bit abrupt, but I have something I’d like to ask Miss Shen to help me with. I’m wondering if you have time to meet and discuss it,” Duan Yang said.
Shen Yan frowned, trying to figure out what Duan Yang was up to.
But it didn’t matter; no matter what Duan Yang’s intentions were, he wasn’t willing to have too much contact with him. So he smiled apologetically, “Unfortunately, I really don’t have time today. If you’re in a hurry, you can tell me over the phone instead.” After saying that, Shen Yan prepared to hang up.
“Wait a moment!” Duan Yang stopped him again, taking a long breath as if he had made a significant decision. “I’d like to ask Miss Shen to pretend to be my wife.”
“Huh?”
Even though Shen Yan knew Duan Yang was married, he was still taken aback by this statement.
What on earth? He wanted him to play his own wife?
What was Duan Yang really planning?
Duan Yang explained, “It’s like this. Miss Shen should know the peculiarities of the entertainment industry. Some things can’t be done freely for the sake of various interests, which is why I haven’t publicly acknowledged my marriage. I hope you can keep this matter confidential.”
Shen Yan was still puzzled but followed his lead. “Okay, I’ll keep it a secret. But I don’t understand what you mean. Since you’re already married, why do you want me to pretend to be your wife?”
At this point, Duan Yang had nothing left to hide and explained the reason directly.
It turned out that Duan Yang’s grandfather, Duan Songtao, had a sudden heart attack and was hospitalized last night. Fortunately, the rescue was timely, and he was now out of danger and stable, currently under observation.
As a grandson, Duan Yang needed to visit his grandfather, but he couldn’t go alone. This was because Duan Songtao was fond of personally selecting his granddaughter-in-law. In the morning, when he called Duan Yang, he specifically instructed him to bring Shen Yan along to visit.
But where could Duan Yang find Shen Yan?
“Miss Shen might not know this, but you resemble him quite a lot, and your names are also very similar. When I saw you last night, I almost mistook you for him. That’s why I took the liberty of calling you to ask if you could pretend to be him and accompany me to visit my grandfather tomorrow. My grandfather has just gotten through the danger, and I’m afraid that if he hears about Shen Yan running away from home, it might affect his health,” Duan Yang said.
Upon hearing the news about Duan Songtao’s heart attack, Shen Yan felt a bit worried.
Although Shen Yan had never met Duan Songtao since arriving here, he knew that the old man was one of the few people in the original story who genuinely cared for the protagonist.
So, Shen Yan didn’t want anything to happen to him.
However, Duan Yang’s actions left him puzzled. It seemed like he had already confirmed that Shen Yan merely resembled him and wasn’t actually Shen Yan. It was quite different from the situation last night.
Or perhaps Duan Yang was just fabricating a story to deceive him. Once he tricked Shen Yan into coming over, he would confine him just like last time, but this time, he would definitely ensure tighter security, leaving no chance for escape.
“Miss Shen, I know this is abrupt. If I hadn’t run out of other options, I wouldn’t have bothered you. I hope you can help me, considering my grandfather is almost eighty. Of course, I won’t ask you to help me for free,” Duan Yang said.
Seeing that Shen Yan hadn’t spoken for a while, Duan Yang thought he was unwilling, so he added, “I promise it won’t be without compensation.”
Shen Yan wasn’t inclined to help, but hearing Duan Yang’s last statement made his eyes brighten.
The implication of not asking for help for free meant he would offer him money, right?
Shen Yan couldn’t help but smile slightly. Don’t blame him for being opportunistic; it was a matter of survival.
Even though Su Yunzhe had offered him a high-paying and easy job, the timing of signing the contract was unfortunate. Yunkong Entertainment issued salaries on the tenth of each month, and he had signed his contract on August 11th!
This meant he had perfectly missed out on this month’s salary and wouldn’t receive pay until the tenth of next month.
At present, he only had about seven hundred yuan left, and after accounting for the cost of a new electric kettle, he had around five hundred.
This was why the mere thought of money made his head ache.
Previously, he had considered asking Su Yunzhe for an advance, but who could have predicted that such an embarrassing situation would occur in the morning? Now he didn’t dare bring it up, fearing Su Yunzhe would misunderstand and think he was trying to attract him through pity.
So now, the offer from Duan Yang was especially tempting.
“Duan Yang, you’re being too polite. Alright, I’m free tomorrow. About that… President Su?”
At that moment, Shen Yan had just stepped out of the community and was standing in the shade of a tree when a black Maybach drove out slowly and stopped beside him. The window rolled down, revealing Su Yunzhe’s handsome yet aloof face.
Shen Yan was a bit surprised. On the other end of the line, Duan Yang was even more surprised and asked, “Are you with President Su?”
Before Shen Yan could respond, Duan Yang quickly added, “Please keep this matter confidential from President Su, okay?”
“Sure, don’t worry, I understand,” Shen Yan casually replied to Duan Yang while smiling and waving to Su Yunzhe.
He thought Su Yunzhe had simply passed by and stopped to greet him, but after saying hello, Su Yunzhe didn’t leave. Instead, he casually rested his elbow on the window, looking at Shen Yan as if he had something to say.
Shen Yan had no choice but to hang up on Duan Yang’s call and walk over to the car. “President Su, are you looking for me?”
Su Yunzhe asked, “Where are you going?”
Shen Yan was puzzled. What did he mean? Was he planning to give him a ride? No way, was Su Yunzhe really that considerate?
“Oh… I’m going home.” Although Shen Yan didn’t believe Su Yunzhe would actually give him a ride, a part of him secretly hoped so.
After all, it was blazing hot, and the thought of taking the bus or subway across half the city was daunting. If his benefactor were to show kindness and give him a lift, he would be immensely grateful.
However, Su Yunzhe raised an eyebrow and simply said, “It’s not on the way!”
Shen Yan was taken aback, silently cursing, “What a weirdo!” He then prepared to look for the bus stop.
Yet, Su Yunzhe didn’t leave after saying that. He lightly tapped his long fingers on the steering wheel, looking at Shen Yan without speaking.
Shen Yan felt inexplicably confused under his gaze and wanted to ignore him and walk away. But fearing he might offend his benefactor and risk being dismissed, he had to patiently ask, “Is there something else, President Su?”
Su Yunzhe remained silent, giving him a look that clearly said to get in the car, his cold face surprisingly expressing a sense of impatience that conveyed, “Don’t waste my time.”
Shen Yan couldn’t keep up with his train of thought.
What was going on? Didn’t he just say it was out of the way? Besides, was it me delaying your time? If you’re in a hurry, just leave! Did I make you stop?
Shen Yan found it impossible to understand his thought process. He wanted to retort, but didn’t dare to, so he reluctantly got into the car and felt the need to thank Su Yunzhe despite his reluctance.
Su Yunzhe started the car and drove off, showing no intention of speaking.
Naturally, Shen Yan didn’t plan to make himself uncomfortable either. After all, he was worried that if he said too much, Su Yunzhe might misunderstand that he was trying to seduce him.
Just then, several messages came through on WeChat, all from Duan Yang, confirming the details for tomorrow and sending some photos and personal information about Shen Yan so he could impersonate him.
Shen Yan feigned surprise and replied, “Huh? Your wife is a man? With such short hair, how am I supposed to pretend? Maybe it’s better to forget it. I don’t think I can pull it off.”
Duan Yang replied: “It’s fine; you really look alike, and you’re about the same height, so you don’t have to worry about being found out. As for the hair, I’ll arrange for a wig, so you definitely won’t have to cut your hair.”
Shen Yan: “Okay, but let me clarify—if I really mess it up, don’t blame me.”
Duan Yang: “Got it.”
Then Duan Yang sent several voice messages, explaining the precautions for tomorrow.
Shen Yan listened casually and replied to a few points, not noticing that the car had stopped by the roadside.
Su Yunzhe was casually leaning back in his seat, his gaze seemingly unfocused but actually fixed on Shen Yan’s fingers dancing over the phone.
His fingertips, smooth and jade-like, moved quickly yet gracefully on the screen, as if playing a beautiful piano piece.
Su Yunzhe’s gaze darkened slightly, and he finally spoke, “Get out of the car!” His voice was faint and calm.