Chapter 44

Chapter 44

The atmosphere was stiff for two seconds.

An Ye looked at Qi Wei, who naturally lifted the hem of her clothes slightly and said, "There shouldn’t be anything on your body, but your waist definitely needs some medicine."

"Fuck." Qi Wei gasped, the teasing mood from earlier vanishing into thin air, "How did this happen?"

"The director suddenly changed the camera angle." Lan Yifang happened to come in, seeing Chi Tuo and Qi Wei both leaning toward An Ye, looking at her waist. She took out the medicinal alcohol she had come to get earlier and walked over, "An Jie was still lying in her usual position, and to avoid an NG, she didn’t get up to adjust her position, so she took a kick."

"Teacher Zhao controlled the force. Otherwise, I’d have been kicked flying." An Ye was startled herself, "It wasn’t even that big of a bruise when I was showering."

She lifted the hem of her clothes, revealing the skin that was no longer the original color, but rather a large bruise with red and purple spots.

"You probably washed the bruise away with hot water earlier..." Qi Wei lifted An Ye's clothes a little more and frowned, "Should we go to the hospital?"

"No, it didn’t hit the bone." An Ye was about to poke at the bruise, but was stopped halfway by Chi Tuo, who pressed down on her wrist.

Chi Tuo, holding the medicinal alcohol he must have taken from Lan Yifang earlier, very naturally pointed to the sofa in the RV: "Go lie down over there. I’ll apply the medicine for you."

No one found it strange.

Lan Yifang hadn’t thought much of it, and Qi Wei had already seen it and was a little numb to it now.

As for the two involved...

After seeing the bruise, Chi Tuo didn’t ask Lan Yifang to do it. An Ye usually didn’t like physical contact with others except for makeup, but with Chi Tuo, she felt a little more comfortable.

He was good at handling injuries, having trained in boxing since childhood.

When his large hand, with the medicinal alcohol rubbed and warmed, pressed against her waist, An Ye squinted her eyes in comfort.

The scene was so strange that even the usually calm Lan Yifang couldn’t help but tilt her head. Qi Wei, on the other hand, immediately turned her face away.

But if you were to say the atmosphere was ambiguous, the two of them still looked too serious to make it seem so.

"Shall we just start now?" Qi Wei, feeling that at this stage, the two of them weren’t the main issue, decided to focus on getting work done.

It was 3 AM, and everyone present looked so energetic that Qi Wei wondered if she was in a different time zone from them.

Actually, she was fine. She worked full-time with An Ye, acting as her unofficial manager behind the scenes. Her schedule was pretty much the same as Lan Yifang’s—she followed An Ye around and took naps during the day to make up for the late-night work.

The more amazing one was Chi Tuo. He was a full-time lawyer at Jinding. She had heard that their firm had recently taken on several cases related to reputation rights. He should have been swamped with work, but when she called him today, he was actually at a pet hospital, taking care of An Ye’s big white cat.

He must have a full workload, but he looked so relaxed and seemed not to need sleep.

A troublesome overseas-educated elite.

"Let’s begin." An Ye waved her hand as she lay on the sofa, "Once we’re done, I can sleep. Ah, ah, be gentle."

Chi Tuo’s hand hovered in mid-air, seemingly contemplating how to make the pressure he was applying gentler.

Qi Wei, internally complaining about how strange these childhood friends were, began the next round of work.

"I’ve revealed a little bit of what Yan Wan was planning to Zhang Shenggeng." Qi Wei started.

This was part of the plan they had discussed on New Year’s Eve. Since it involved the privacy of Zhang Shenggeng’s underage daughter, both An Ye and Chi Tuo felt it was wrong to let Zhang Shenggeng be caught off guard, so Qi Wei had leaked some information.

As it turned out, Zhang Shenggeng, the long-standing best actor in the industry, was no easy target. He was usually humble, only because he didn’t have a reason to fight. For his family, Zhang Shenggeng’s combat power was astonishing.It was reflected in the fact that he directly tore his relationship with Lian Zhi, selling off his shares in Huan Zhou Entertainment to several individuals with rather delicate stances.

As a public figure, Zhang Shenggeng suddenly began unloading a large amount of Huan Zhou Entertainment's stock. Coupled with self-media outlets linked to him spreading the news, Huan Zhou Entertainment’s stock plummeted. Many people began analyzing the company’s disappointing recent performance, which made things even worse for them.

Lian Zhi was completely overwhelmed by the stock price crash and the leaked financial report. After discovering that the problem likely stemmed from the scheme Yan Wan had tried to set up, he nearly tore Yan Wan apart.

"So Yan Wan decided not to stir things up anymore?" An Ye, who was lying down, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Chi Tuo applied another layer of medicinal alcohol on her and sneered, "Dream on."

An Ye: "..."

She really wanted to retort with something like, "A smoking, insomniac lawyer...what the hell?" but since there were outsiders around, she held back.

"Yan Wan decided not to stir up the scandal between you and Zhang Shenggeng anymore," Qi Wei, who had been interrupted by Chi Tuo, was quiet for half a second before continuing, "But I’m still not sure what Yan Wan is going to do next. The people I’ve placed around him only know that he’s been drinking a lot lately. He’s contacted every crew you’ve worked with and some small actors. I suspect he’s planning to start with the issue of you having mental problems."

After a pause, Qi Wei added, "Yan Wan even went to talk to your mom. Did your mom tell you about this?"

"No." An Ye wasn’t surprised, just a bit irritated. "My mom is on his side, and the mental problem thing was something my mom originally told Yan Wan."

Qi Wei: "…Your mom doesn’t think that the acting route Yan Wan is planning for you—playing a crazy person—is a good idea, right?"

An Ye nodded.

Her mother already thought she was going crazy, and for a mad person, that route was indeed a good one. It was profitable and not too exhausting.

This was the path Wang Shanshan would choose, and An Ye knew that very well.

Qi Wei: "…Does your mom have anything that could work against you?"

Given how big the stakes were in the entertainment industry, Qi Wei wasn’t surprised at all by the secrets of celebrity families.

An Ye thought for a moment. "Before Kleine-Levin syndrome was diagnosed, Dr. Zuo had suspected I had depression and bipolar disorder. Those diagnoses are still with my mom."

Qi Wei sighed and nodded. "Alright."

"How’s your side of things going?" An Ye asked.

"We’ve got the authoritative identification and medical reports, and the water army is arranged. Recently, some posts that Yan Wan released about your mental issues have been guided into the topic of ‘getting into character’. As for the internal strife at Huan Zhou Entertainment, along with the financial leverage that Lawyer Chi has gathered for me, we’re ready. We’ll see how Huan Zhou reacts when it’s time to close the net. If they intend to let you off, we’ll stop; if they keep attacking you, we’ll expose everything at once." Qi Wei looked at An Ye. "Once everything is fully exposed, you’ll be at odds with Huan Zhou Entertainment. Such a huge company... if they throw you overboard, your resources will be suppressed for a long time."

"You’re 28 now. If you’re suppressed for a few years, your golden years will be gone." Qi Wei continued, "So I still suggest going with a softer approach. Zhang Shenggeng has already fallen out with Lian Zhi. If you can still work with Zhang Shenggeng and push Lian Zhi out, you can demand that Huan Zhou Entertainment set up a separate studio for you. That way, you’ll be able to rely on the big company and won’t need to spend so much on an early contract termination."

Chi Tuo, who had been silent, glanced at Qi Wei.

An Ye had a good eye for people. The founding team of her potential studio were all serious professionals, and the conditions they had suggested were solid.

Although he wasn’t particularly supportive of An Ye’s continued connection to Huan Zhou.

"When you do things, try to make the endings a little clearer," An Ye said, and in that moment, Chi Tuo, who had been focused on rubbing the medicinal alcohol, froze. For a moment, he thought the words had come from him.

An Ye glanced at him.

"I don’t like half-hearted ties. A big ship moves too slowly and lacks autonomy. Once I’ve decided to leave, I don’t want to look back."

"Also, the movie resources I’ve gotten these past two years have nothing to do with Huan Zhou."

"True. Your acting is top-notch." Qi Wei gave up trying to persuade her. "Then I’ve got no problem with that. Focus on your acting, I’ll keep an eye on Yan Wan. Once he makes a move, Lawyer Chi will expose your mental health issue."

Qi Wei clapped her hands and stood up, preparing to leave. "Is there anything else I need to know?"An Ye shook her head.

Qi Wei, halfway through walking, suddenly turned around: "Oh, by the way, is Guān Lí's youngest son, Guān Shèngyù, pursuing you?"

.........

An Ye clearly felt that Chi Tuo, who had been diligently helping her clear blood clots, had stopped at this moment. His hand was positioned somewhat... mysteriously, right above her iliac bone. His palm, whether because of the medicine or his body temperature, was extremely hot, just resting there.

An Ye uncomfortably shifted her body, but Chi Tuo remained still, his hand pressed against her waist.

"Guān San Gongzi... oh..." Lan Yifang, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, suddenly spoke up very seriously. "An Jie, the meal truck you sent to the whole crew this afternoon was actually delivered by Guān Gongzi. He even gave a greeting card. I forgot to tell you."

An Ye: "...Huh?"

Chi Tuo's hand at this temperature made her start to wonder if he had a fever.

"What greeting card?" Qi Wei, sensing something strange in the atmosphere, immediately stood up.

Lan Yifang was startled by Qi Wei's expression and hurriedly searched for the greeting card. She rummaged through the RV for a long time, then ran outside to the meal truck still parked at the scene from earlier to look for it.

Qi Wei followed her outside.

Now, only An Ye and Chi Tuo were left in the RV. An Ye shifted her lower body and said, "If you don't want to continue, go wash your hands."

"If you don't rub the blood clots out of this spot, it will turn blue by tomorrow," Chi Tuo said, his voice emotionless, but when An Ye tried to sit up, he pushed her back down.

An Ye remained silent.

Chi Tuo didn't speak either.

Without any outsiders, the area he was pressing expanded, and An Ye felt that the entire left side of her waist was covered with the medicinal alcohol. It was fiery hot.

"How’s Lao Bai?" An Ye spoke first.

Chi Tuo was silent for a moment before replying, "I took it to the hospital. It has acute gastroenteritis. I got some medicine for it and took it back to my place."

An Ye tilted her head and looked at him.

Since Chi Tuo went to Singapore, his hairstyle seemed to have remained unchanged—just a bit longer than a buzz cut. Under the warm yellow light of the RV, it looked both sharp and soft.

An Ye, hearing herself ask, "Xiao Lan said you signed a contract to sell yourself to take care of me?"

She only found out about this yesterday. When Lan Yifang was organizing documents, she found the guarantee letter Chi Tuo had signed with her and asked her how to handle it.

She hadn't known that while she was asleep, Chi Tuo, the hotshot lawyer whose net worth had reportedly nearly doubled this year, had signed such a guarantee letter. If Lan Yifang or she had any other thoughts about him, he would have been disgraced and ruined.

"The guarantee letter was signed with you," Chi Tuo said. "She has it, but it’s useless. You won't do anything with that guarantee letter. It was signed because if I didn’t, she wouldn’t let me get close to you. I was afraid you’d starve."

"And..." Chi Tuo chuckled, "I didn’t write your ID number at the top."

An Ye: "… Tch."

Chi Tuo chuckled softly, applying a little pressure. "Does it still hurt?"

"Left side," An Ye frowned, directing him. "Yes, here."

Chi Tuo poured a little more medicinal alcohol, rubbed it in his palm to warm it, and then placed it on the spot An Ye indicated.

An Ye turned her head and stared at him for a moment, asking, "How many days has it been since you slept?""Ah?" Chi Tuo didn't expect the topic to change so quickly. His palm hung in the air for a while. "What's wrong?"

The warmed palm returned to her waist. An Ye lay back down, resting her chin on his hand, narrowing her eyes as she hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "Do you have sleep problems?"

Chi Tuo didn't answer.

An Ye didn't ask again.

Since they reconnected, the times she contacted Chi Tuo had been very unusual; Chi Tuo always responded immediately. During her hypersomnia episodes, no matter the time, when she ran to his bed, he would almost immediately wake up. Just now, when she walked into the RV and brushed past him, besides the smell of smoke on him, she also saw the bloodshot in his eyes—she often stayed up late, and she knew that kind of blurry focus was a sign of someone who hadn't slept for several nights.

He must have a very serious sleep problem, but she originally planned to wait until he brought it up on his own. After all, her own situation was a bit of a mess, and she hadn't completely figured out their current relationship, with its push and pull.

Most importantly, Chi Tuo was someone who rarely brought things up himself, so it was difficult to ask him directly.

For example, right now. She asked, he stayed silent, and that topic was dead.

She lost the interest to continue the conversation, closing her eyes and waiting for him to rub the medicinal alcohol into her waist.

"After going to Singapore, it started," Chi Tuo spoke after a long silence. "At that time, my mother was very ill, and I was always afraid that if I closed my eyes, she'd commit suicide. Later, when she slowly recovered, my sleep problems became a condition."

"I can't fall asleep easily, and when I do, I don't sleep well. If I'm woken up, I can't fall asleep again."

"Have you seen a doctor?" An Ye opened her eyes.

"I've been seeing one, but it's hard to solve this problem. If you take too many sleeping pills, they become ineffective," Chi Tuo smiled. "It's much better in the past two years. It'll get better slowly."

An Ye closed her eyes again.

Chi Tuo helped her adjust her clothes, packed up the ointment and medicinal alcohol, and stood up to wash his hands.

"Chi Tuo," An Ye suddenly called out to him.

"Mm?" Chi Tuo sat on the chair across from her. He really hadn't had a full night's sleep in a long time. When it was just the two of them, he became a bit lazy, leaning back in the chair and yawning.

"Quit smoking, and quit coffee too," An Ye said. "Not sleeping easily leads to sudden death, and if you die suddenly, your obsessive-compulsive promises will have to carry over to the next life."

Chi Tuo: "..."