Lan Xingchen smiled faintly but didn’t respond to Xiao Jin’s “If Qingjian’s friends are my friends…” remark. Ha, who’s friends with him? Not happening.
Xiao Jin took it as tacit agreement. “Have you eaten? Qingjian and I are about to grab a meal.”
“Not yet.”
“Perfect, then come along.” Xiao Jin reached for Pei Qingjian’s shoulder again.
Pei Qingjian subtly moved away and looked at Lan Xingchen. “Then let’s go together.”
No choice—he hadn’t expected Lan Xingchen today, and had already promised Xiao Jin earlier. Otherwise, he would have fully focused on eating with Lan Xingchen alone.
Lan Xingchen: …
He nodded. “Alright.”
Zhou Pengyue, standing aside, muttered: …I smell a battle about to break out.
The four of them went to the hotel Xiao Jin had booked.
Xiao Jin, unaware of the true relationship between Pei Qingjian and Lan Xingchen, assumed they were friends and treated Lan Xingchen as a new friend the entire time.
Lan Xingchen’s mood was complicated—he found it annoying that Xiao Jin seemed to genuinely treat Pei Qingjian as a friend, yet he also knew Pei Qingjian’s friendliness was genuine.
Pei Qingjian initially observed him cautiously, but seeing Lan Xingchen not upset, he relaxed and enjoyed the meal. After all, he was happy Lan Xingchen had come.
After dinner, Zhou Pengyue quickly excused himself, taking Xiao Jin along, leaving just Lan Xingchen and Pei Qingjian.
“You’ve got a new friend—pretty outgoing, huh?” Lan Xingchen remarked.
Pei Qingjian nodded. Xiao Jin was indeed confident and sociable—one of the things he admired about him.
Lan Xingchen lightly tapped Pei Qingjian’s head in disapproval. “And you’re nodding too?”
Pei Qingjian, bemused, replied, “You asked me.”
“You nod just because I asked?”
“What else? You didn’t say anything wrong.”
“I didn’t say anything wrong; you did.”
Pei Qingjian: ???
“What problem do I have?” he asked.
“Look at how many calls you’ve made me in the past ten days!” Lan Xingchen said teasingly. “Completely lost in your work, forgetting me, huh?”
Pei Qingjian almost laughed out loud at his tone, quickly reaching for his hand.
“No, no,” he said, “I was busy studying. Xiao Jin’s my co-star, classically trained and talented. I got swept up in his pace and dove straight into the sea of knowledge, always pushing to improve.”
Pei Qingjian looked at him. “I remember calling you every day.”
“Just once!”
“One call? That’s barely anything. You were just going through the motions!”
Pei Qingjian: …One call a day isn’t too bad, right?
He didn’t dare say it, fearing Lan Xingchen would get angrier.
“I’ll remember,” he quickly said. “I’ll change. From now on, at least two calls a day. Can I do that?”
Lan Xingchen reluctantly nodded. “That co-star of yours—is he really that good? Talented?”
“I call it ‘there’s always someone better.’ He’ll probably become famous someday.”
Lan Xingchen considered it—yeah, that outgoing manner suited the entertainment world well.
“I still think you’re more talented,” he insisted.
Pei Qingjian laughed, feeling a warm sweetness in his heart.
“Well, I also think I’m slightly more talented,” he added in agreement.
Lan Xingchen nodded. “That’s better.”
“Shall we head back to the hotel?” Pei Qingjian said cheerfully.
“Mm,” Lan Xingchen replied, starting the car.
Lan Xingchen had arrived, so Pei Qingjian naturally stayed with him. That evening, when Xiao Jin invited Pei Qingjian out for skewers, Pei Qingjian politely declined.
Xiao Jin wasn’t upset, just said, “Alright, we’ll have barbecue another day.”
“Mm,” Pei Qingjian agreed.
Lan Xingchen, seeing him refuse Xiao Jin for his sake, instantly felt proud.
“Do you want barbecue?” he asked.
“No,” Pei Qingjian replied.
“If you want barbecue, we can go together.”
Pei Qingjian: …
He chuckled. “I don’t want barbecue. I just want to be with you.”
Lan Xingchen: !!!
He suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. Damn, a spontaneous confession!
“Isn’t that exactly what we’re doing now?”
“Exactly, that’s why I don’t want to eat barbecue with him,” Pei Qingjian smiled.
Lan Xingchen’s heart melted at this, all previous irritation vanishing.
“So what do you want to eat?” he asked.
“I don’t want to eat anything. Late-night snacks will just make me gain weight!”
“You’re not fat,” Lan Xingchen said, reaching for Pei Qingjian’s waist. Pei Qingjian laughed and tried to dodge, but couldn’t escape. Lan Xingchen held his waist and caressed it slowly.
Feeling Lan Xingchen’s touch, Pei Qingjian blushed.
Lan Xingchen, unintentionally aroused, asked softly, “Is this okay?”
Pei Qingjian nodded slightly, adding, “Don’t leave marks.”
“When have I ever left marks while you’re filming?”
Lan Xingchen said, then scooped him up and carried him into the bedroom.
That night, Pei Qingjian didn’t eat any late-night snacks—but Lan Xingchen thoroughly “devoured” him.
The next day, Lan Xingchen accompanied Pei Qingjian to the set. Even though Pei Qingjian had warned him about Director Jiang’s temper, seeing the director’s furious shouting firsthand still left him quiet.
“Is he… always like this?” Lan Xingchen asked Zhou Pengyue.
Zhou Pengyue nodded. “Don’t worry. He treats everyone equally. He even scolded Xu Cheng, the actor playing Qingjian’s father.”
Lan Xingchen: …
“His works must be very successful, then,” he said.
Zhou Pengyue continued nodding. “Either critically acclaimed, commercially successful, or both.”
“And he really knows how to… train actors. Just consider his scolding as part of the lesson,” Zhou Pengyue advised.
Lan Xingchen: …
He found it hard to watch. It wasn’t that he couldn’t accept criticism—he himself had endured tough times during the startup phase, even being scolded, which he brushed off. But seeing Pei Qingjian being reprimanded made him uncomfortable.
Pei Qingjian was so gentle and obedient—why did he have to be scolded? But he was the director; Lan Xingchen didn’t understand everything and couldn’t intervene.
Zhou Pengyue noticed his unease and suggested, “Maybe you should wait in the van?” Or just avoid coming in the future. The second part he didn’t dare say aloud.
Lan Xingchen shook his head. He didn’t want to leave, even though it was hard to watch. Leaving would just make Pei Qingjian bear everything alone.
If Zhou Pengyue knew his thoughts, he’d probably point at Xiao Jin and ask, “How is he alone? Isn’t there someone else?”
But clearly, in Lan Xingchen’s eyes, Xiao Jin was irrelevant.
Xiao Jin, perceptive, noticed Lan Xingchen as soon as the class ended.
Pei Qingjian also spotted him and excitedly walked toward him.
Xiao Jin, watching his back, quietly approached Director Jiang and gestured, “That’s Qingjian’s friend. How can you shout so loudly in front of him?”
Director Jiang: ???
He looked innocent—he had no idea it was Pei Qingjian’s friend. He decided next time he’d pull Pei Qingjian aside to avoid embarrassment in front of friends.
“Was I really that loud?” Director Jiang asked, feeling guilty.
Not really, but Xiao Jin seriously nodded, “Super loud. Who knows what his friend thinks—maybe they’ll find our crew oppressive.”
Director Jiang: ???
Director Jiang: …
Later, when the scene was reshot, Pei Qingjian heard Director Jiang genuinely praise him, “Xiao Pei, your performance this time was excellent.”
He was so surprised he even gave a thumbs-up mid-praise—the director praised him for over fifty words straight.
Pei Qingjian was thrilled and immediately went to the monitor to review his scene. He looked left, right, up, and down, then dragged Xiao Jin over seriously, asking, “Is it that my inexperience prevents me from seeing how well I performed in this scene?”
Pei Qingjian was puzzled. “I think it was just okay. Not bad, but not much different from before. Why did Director Jiang praise me so much?”
“Could it be that I acted particularly effortlessly, naturally?”
Xiao Jin: …
Xiao Jin chuckled and leaned in to tell him what had happened before.
“This was all for your friend, so you wouldn’t lose face.”
Pei Qingjian felt relieved. He had thought he simply wasn’t skilled enough to match the director’s standards.
“No need,” Pei Qingjian said openly. “If I didn’t perform well, it’s normal for him to scold me. No need for all that.”
“Don’t care about losing face?” Xiao Jin asked.
“We’re close friends, so it doesn’t matter,” Xiao Jin said casually.
Pei Qingjian was a little surprised.
Xiao Jin exclaimed, “He’s your best friend?”
Pei Qingjian thought for a moment, then nodded. In just two and a half months, they would actually become best friends—so why not borrow the title a little early?
Lan Xingchen watched from a distance, frowning as he saw them whispering together.
What was going on? Were they actually whispering in front of him?! Was there anything he wasn’t allowed to hear?!
Lan Xingchen stood up and walked over, trying to make his approach look casual, but his steps carried the unmistakable air of catching someone red-handed.
Zhou Pengyue: …
Zhou Pengyue silently prayed for Xiao Jin, and for his little cabbage too.
Xiao Jin caught a glimpse of Lan Xingchen with his peripheral vision and was puzzled by the murderous look he was giving.
Pei Qingjian, perceptive as ever, realized Lan Xingchen was probably annoyed by Xiao Jin being too close, so he quickly distracted Xiao Jin and walked over to Lan Xingchen.
As soon as Lan Xingchen saw him approaching, they ended their private chatter immediately, and he became even more suspicious.
“What were you two talking about?” he poked Pei Qingjian on the forehead. “How dare you whisper in front of me?”
Pei Qingjian quickly grabbed his finger. “Nothing, we were talking about Director Jiang.”
Mentioning Jiang made Lan Xingchen’s heart ache.
“What’s wrong with him? He’s so fierce.”
“He just looks fierce; he’s actually pretty soft-hearted,” Pei Qingjian defended his director.
Lan Xingchen snorted. “That’s because you acted well.”
He remembered Jiang’s earlier praise: “But he does sound nice when he compliments someone.”
Pei Qingjian saw the look of satisfaction on Lan Xingchen’s face and didn’t tell him it had been intentional—Jiang had deliberately praised him in front of Lan Xingchen. He just smiled, thinking Lan Xingchen had a soft heart too.
Lan Xingchen reached out, pinching Pei Qingjian’s cheek and gently shaking the flesh there.
“Stop whispering with others.”
Pei Qingjian: …
He could only nod. “Okay.”
Nearby, Director Jiang turned to his cameraman.
Cameraman: ???
Jiang reached out and pinched the cameraman’s face.
Cameraman: !!!
“What are you doing?! Let go!” the cameraman panicked.
Jiang: …
He let go silently, shook his hand disdainfully, and looked over at the two young people gazing at each other affectionately.
He didn’t understand young people today—best friends pinching cheeks?
Tsk tsk, was a face really that fun to pinch? Or was Pei Qingjian’s face just particularly pinchable?
Truly baffling.
Finally, Jiang glanced one more time at the young couple before walking away, feeling that he had officially grown old today.
Author’s note:
Director Jiang: “Xiao Pei, come over, let me pinch your face.”
Pei Qingjian: ???
Lan Xingchen: !!!
Lan Xingchen: No!