Lan Xingchen grabbed Zhou Pengyue. “Who’s that?”
Following his gaze, Zhou Pengyue assumed he was jealous of Pei Qingjian and Ning Rong being close. He hurried to explain: “Ning Rong is the female lead of this drama, and she plays Qingjian’s sister in the show. She treats Qingjian well, but it’s purely a sisterly relationship.”
Lan Xingchen: … A sister? She sure loves being called one.
Seeing him still staring at Ning Rong, Zhou Pengyue continued: “Qingjian feels the same way—he only sees her as a sister. Really, it’s just sibling-like.”
Lan Xingchen: … He actually sees Ning Rong as a sister!
He frowned.
Just then, Pei Qingjian looked up and immediately noticed him.
“What are you doing here?!” Pei Qingjian exclaimed in surprise, turning to Ning Rong: “Sister, my friend is here. I’ll be right back.”
Ning Rong, of course, noticed Lan Xingchen too.
Since learning that Pei Qingjian had passed the audition, she had guessed that Lan Xingchen might come to see him.
But now that he had appeared, her eyes shifted nervously. She avoided his gaze, unsure of how to meet his cold look.
“Go ahead,” she said quickly, lowering her eyes.
Pei Qingjian’s full attention went to Lan Xingchen, and he didn’t notice Ning Rong’s awkwardness.
He stood up and rushed over.
“Why did you come all of a sudden? Why didn’t you tell me beforehand?”
“Missed you, so I came,” Lan Xingchen smiled. “I’m on leave.”
“So you can stay a few extra days then.”
“Mm.”
Pei Qingjian chatted with him happily, then suddenly remembered something and pulled him over to Ning Rong.
“This is the sister from the crew I told you about who’s been looking out for me.”
Lan Xingchen: …
Pei Qingjian had mentioned this before, but never by name. Occasionally he’d say “Sister Rong,” but since the drama’s female lead was named Luo Rong, and he was playing her younger brother, Pei Qingjian naturally assumed he was referring to the character.
Of course, the key point was that Ning Rong had never acted in a TV drama before—she had only done movies—so Lan Xingchen never expected she would suddenly switch to television, and coincidentally, end up in the same project as Pei Qingjian.
Lan Xingchen looked at Ning Rong silently.
Pei Qingjian, noticing his quietness, was a little puzzled. What was going on?
When he had introduced Song Ye before, Lan Xingchen would at least say “hello.” So why was he silent now upon seeing Ning Rong?
Not wanting the atmosphere to become awkward, Pei Qingjian spoke again, turning to Ning Rong: “This is my friend, Lan Xingchen.”
Ning Rong looked at Lan Xingchen, hesitated for a moment, and finally said, “Long time no see.”
Long time no see?
They knew each other?
Pei Qingjian was surprised. But if they knew each other, why was the atmosphere so tense? Did they have a bad relationship?
He silently observed them.
Hearing Ning Rong’s four words, the frustration Lan Xingchen had been holding back before arriving surged up instantly.
It really had been a long time. If she had shown up last night, if she had come to celebrate his uncle’s birthday, they wouldn’t have had this “long time no see” awkwardness today, right now.
He had thought maybe he was mistaken—that Ning Yuan and Ning Rong were genuinely busy, maybe not even in the city, and couldn’t make it back.
But now, Ning Rong stood right in front of him, on a set just over an hour from his company by car.
He knew from talking with Pei Qingjian that their current crew had a much looser schedule than Pei Qingjian’s previous drama, Drunken Moon River. The daily filming work wasn’t that heavy.
And Ning Rong, unlike Pei Qingjian, was a top-tier actor. Even without following the entertainment industry closely, he knew she often appeared at the center of movie posters. She had the authority to take a half-day off; leaving would be no problem at all.
So in the end, it was simply that she didn’t want to go.
Because she didn’t care, didn’t respect, she didn’t see a reason to spend that time, and naturally didn’t bother to show up.
Three years in a row, she simply didn’t come.
“It really has been a long time,” Lan Xingchen said calmly.
He said this, took Pei Qingjian’s hand, and stepped aside.
Pei Qingjian looked at his unusual behavior, then back at Ning Rong standing there, feeling confused.
“Your relationship with Sister Rong… isn’t good?” he tentatively asked.
“Mm,” Lan Xingchen replied.
“Do you have your schedule for the next couple of days?”
“I do.” Pei Qingjian said and asked Zhou Pengyue for the schedule.
Lan Xingchen took it and examined it carefully.
The more he looked, the angrier he became. Yesterday afternoon, Ning Rong only had one scene!
And it was at 2 PM!
Pei Qingjian had said before: “All the actors in our crew are skilled. That sister who takes care of me can usually get her scenes done in one or two takes.”
So she had plenty of time to attend his uncle’s birthday—no need to ask for leave, no disruption to her work.
She simply didn’t want to go.
“What’s wrong?” Pei Qingjian noticed his darkening expression and asked worriedly.
“Nothing.” Lan Xingchen didn’t know how to explain Ning Rong’s behavior.
Some things couldn’t be said; some things could, but couldn’t be clearly explained. It was too complicated, so he had never told Pei Qingjian before.
He glanced at Pei Qingjian’s schedule—he still had two more scenes to film.
“I’ll wait for you,” Lan Xingchen said gently. “After you finish, we’ll go back together.”
“Okay.” Pei Qingjian didn’t object, but he was curious why Lan Xingchen had a bad relationship with Ning Rong.
If their relationship was poor, he couldn’t interact with her too much in the future, or Lan Xingchen would be unhappy. But Ning Rong had always taken good care of him, so suddenly not interacting felt wrong.
Pei Qingjian was suddenly troubled.
Since there were many people around, he didn’t dare ask directly. He waited until the two of them returned to the hotel to speak again: “Why don’t you get along with Sister Rong?”
“Do you get along with her?” Lan Xingchen countered.
Pei Qingjian nodded. “She treats me well.”
Lan Xingchen: …
“That’s because she doesn’t know about you and me. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have taken care of you in the first place.”
Pei Qingjian: ???
“Is it really that bad?” he whispered.
Lan Xingchen opened a beer for himself, staying silent.
Pei Qingjian sat next to him. “You’re upset, aren’t you?”
A little, Lan Xingchen admitted silently. He had come on leave happily, intending to see Pei Qingjian and enjoy himself, only to run into Ning Rong and be reminded of the unpleasant feelings from last night.
He looked at Pei Qingjian, who was staring at him with concern.
Lan Xingchen reached out, pinched Pei Qingjian’s cheek, and before Pei Qingjian could react, leaned in and kissed him.
Pei Qingjian obediently lifted his chin, wrapping his arms around Lan Xingchen, allowing him to kiss freely.
Lan Xingchen kissed for a while, then couldn’t help but hold him.
“Did you miss me?” he asked.
“Yes.” Pei Qingjian didn’t hesitate.
Lan Xingchen smiled, rubbing his face. “That’s more like it.”
Seeing that Lan Xingchen seemed less upset, Pei Qingjian smiled too.
He still remembered the earlier problem, wanted to ask, but hesitated—afraid that asking would make Lan Xingchen unhappy.
What exactly had happened? Pei Qingjian couldn’t understand. Even with Xu Ya, he had never behaved like this—so why with Ning Rong?
Wait… if it was…
“Did you and Sister Rong… date before?” Pei Qingjian couldn’t help but guess.
After all, the only scenario that could make someone unwilling to speak much and create an awkward meeting atmosphere was usually ex-relationships.
Lan Xingchen: ???!!!
Lan Xingchen could only laugh and cry at the same time. “What are you thinking?!”
“It just feels… weird between you two,” Pei Qingjian said.
Lan Xingchen: …
“You don’t like her?” Pei Qingjian probed cautiously.
“She doesn’t like me,” Lan Xingchen replied.
Pei Qingjian: ???
“Why?”
Lan Xingchen studied Pei Qingjian’s curious eyes, considering how to explain. He thought it over carefully and finally chose the simplest way to put it. “She was introduced to me by my uncle and aunt when they were preparing to get married.”
Pei Qingjian: !!!
Pei Qingjian was stunned. “So she’s your stepsister, your aunt’s daughter?!”
“That can’t be.” Pei Qingjian pictured Zhou Man in his mind. “She doesn’t look like she could have an adult daughter. She couldn’t possibly be hiding her age that well, could she?”
Lan Xingchen: …
He never expected Pei Qingjian to guess such a key detail. He opened his mouth to say “No, that’s not it,” but in the end, the words didn’t come out.
Because, in fact, that was the truth.
Zhou Man always told everyone that Ning Yuan and Ning Rong were her stepchildren. When someone asked, “Why does Zhou Man have the surname Zhou while they have Ning?” she would just smile and say they took their mother’s surname.
This was common in the Lan family. Both Wen Yuan and Lan Xingchen were the same way, so no one in the family thought it unusual—not even Lan Xingchen himself.
At first, he had even thought it was simply a matter of fate between Zhou Man and Wen Yuan.
Until that day, when he went to Wen Yuan’s study to look for a book. He found it and settled on the balcony chair to read slowly.
Later, as night fell, he fell asleep.
He was awakened by Wen Yuan and Zhou Man arguing.
The balcony and study were separated by curtains, and the balcony door was closed. Most importantly, the argument clearly revolved around something more urgent, so no one noticed him—he was just like any other invisible presence in the study.
They didn’t even approach the desk, standing instead at the door, impatiently expressing their thoughts.
Zhou Man said, “Let’s break up. I can’t marry you. We’re not compatible.”
Wen Yuan was confused. “Why? Why bring this up now?”
Lan Xingchen froze, thinking it might be because of him, holding his breath and making no sound.
But what Zhou Man said next shocked him completely.
“I lied to you, Wen Yuan. From beginning to end, I’ve been lying. I’ve been married before. Xiao Yuan and Xiao Rong aren’t my children—they’re my ex-husband’s.”
Her voice trembled with tears. “I wronged you. But I can’t continue hurting you. So I give up. I don’t want to lie anymore. Let’s break up.”
After saying this, Zhou Man opened the study door and walked out.