Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Although this “big shot” even had the default Weibo system avatar, and hadn’t filled in a single bit of personal information, just the username alone already revealed something.

Not to mention Cheng Yan was his very first follower.

He Wei didn’t lack a brain. She didn’t even need to think deeply—just from these surface clues, she could easily deduce who this “User” was.

YH.

Other than Yan Huai, it couldn’t be anyone else.

After confirming it was him, He Wei instead felt justified in removing him as a follower.

After all, if it were some unknown big shot she didn’t recognize and she privately removed them, the other party might get displeased and make things difficult for her later.

But Yan Huai was different.

He Wei didn’t need to worry about that.

She clasped her hands together and bowed slightly toward Yan Huai’s account, then found the “remove follower” option and clicked it.

After refreshing, the account’s following list indeed dropped to zero.

He Wei wasn’t trying to cut ties with Yan Huai, but in this situation—so many well-known public figures following his burner account, while he didn’t follow any of them back and instead followed an unknown 18th-tier actress—anyone who saw it would overthink.

Right now the account had just been registered, so not many people had noticed it yet. But by tonight, netizens would probably follow the trail from Cheng Yan and the others and dig their way to this account.

Not to mention He Wei and Yan Huai weren’t even in a normal boyfriend-girlfriend relationship right now—even if they were, she still wouldn’t want it exposed so early.

She didn’t linger on the account for long. After removing the follower, she thought about it and still chose not to block him.

Blocking him… would be a bit too disrespectful to Yan Huai.

He Wei felt that he should be able to understand her actions, so she didn’t bother sending him a private message to explain either. She cleaned up the dishes, took a shower, and went straight to bed.

With the burden in her heart lifted, she felt much more relaxed overall.

After watching a movie as her usual nighttime routine and reminding the soon-to-be-employed Feng Ning of a few work notes, she shut off her phone and went to sleep early.

He Wei hadn’t slept this early in a long time, and she even felt a bit unaccustomed.

The next morning she woke up early, just as the sky outside was barely bright.

It was nearly May, and daylight came early—at this hour it was only a little past five.

He Wei felt unwell.

Her head was slightly warm, and her nose was congested.

She had probably caught another cold.

He Wei was genuinely impressed by the original body’s frail constitution. She didn’t dare delay even for a moment, throwing on a coat and getting up to brew some cold medicine powder.

She didn’t like the taste, but when the cold wasn’t too severe, taking stronger medicine wasn’t good for the body—so she had to settle for this option instead.

Pinching her nose, she downed it in one go. Her mouth was filled with a strange mix of sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy. She quickly drank two glasses of plain water afterward.

After finishing, she suddenly thought of a problem.

Yan Huai had a cold.

And on top of that, he had kissed her yesterday.

“……”

He Wei furrowed her brows. Feeling a bit irritated, she took out her phone and decisively blocked Yan Huai on Weibo.

When He Wei arrived on set at seven, not everyone had arrived yet.

Two stylists were working on a mannequin’s hair. The assistant director was scratching his head while flipping through the script. And the relatively unfamiliar new female lead for He Wei was already rehearsing the first scene against empty air—without makeup and without changing into costume.

He Wei greeted her briefly and politely. It was neither warm nor cold. The two exchanged a couple of symbolic sentences before going back to their own tasks.

The new female lead continued acting against empty space with expressive emotion, while He Wei went to her usual resting spot and sat down.

While flipping through the script, she couldn’t help glancing up at the woman across from her.

The new female lead was a celebrity who had become popular a few years ago. She was different from people like Mu Sheng—she had risen step by step through real skill and solid work.

People like her also had longer staying power in the entertainment industry. From her debut until now, she had stayed popular for four or five years straight.

He Wei looked a few more times.

The actress was wearing modern casual clothes and still hadn’t done her makeup. There was no acting partner opposite her, yet she entered her performance state quickly and precisely.

Just those few glances were enough for He Wei to realize they were not on the same level.

He Wei admitted her acting was decent, but she was too easily constrained by other actors.

If the person acting opposite her performed poorly in a scene, she would also be affected.

She used to think it was the other actor’s problem. Now that she thought about it again, it seemed more like her own limitation.

He Wei sighed. She didn’t have time to dwell on it. She opened the script, picked up a breakfast she had casually bought on the way, and took a bite. She had barely read a few lines when a male voice sounded above her head.

“Can I sit here?”

He Wei looked up and quickly cleared a large part of the table. “Senior brother, please sit.”

Su Mu glanced at the remaining few bites of bread in her hand. “You’re only eating this for breakfast?”

“Mm… just something quick.”

Her script on the table was filled with notes and markings. Su Mu smiled. “Working this hard?”

He Wei’s face warmed slightly.

She wasn’t formally trained. Without working hard, she wouldn’t get far relying on just a face.

She then thought of the new female lead and glanced up again while biting her bread.

Su Mu smiled faintly and unconsciously reached out to touch her hair. “In the future, you’ll be like her too.”

He Wei froze.

Su Mu quickly came back to himself and withdrew his hand, lightly coughing. “Sorry, I overstepped.”

He Wei had always liked this kind of gentle, refined man. Before she transmigrated into this novel, during her university years, even her linear algebra professor had carried himself with that same warm, jade-like temperament.

That young professor had been talented and promising, with looks that suited most girls’ tastes, and he had once dominated half the gossip in the girls’ dormitory.

Although He Wei hadn’t really participated in that kind of gossip, she had still liked him inwardly.

Su Mu looked very much like her math professor.

He Wei’s ears seemed to heat up again. She pressed her lips together and said softly, “…It’s okay.”

He Wei was very beautiful. When she was serious, she looked like she was glowing.

When Su Mu had just walked over earlier, he had noticed her at first glance.

At that time, she was looking down, long hair falling beside her face and covering half of it. Her eyelashes were long and curled upward, and she was quiet and gentle.

Su Mu hadn’t originally planned to come over here, but after glancing a few more times, he had unconsciously walked over.

He Wei had no idea about any of this.

A few meters away, Cheng Nuo, who had just arrived on set, clapped her hands and called out to her, “Baby, come over for makeup!”

He Wei responded, nodded at Su Mu, then hugged her script and ran over.

She avoided suspicion with Cheng Yan, but with Cheng Nuo she didn’t care about those boundaries.

Over time, everyone in the crew knew that He Wei and Cheng Nuo had a good relationship—and since Cheng Nuo was Cheng Yan’s biological younger sister, those who had previously been gossiping about her like Mu Sheng gradually quieted down.

Occasionally, using connections from the background did feel pretty convenient.

He Wei enjoyed some peace and quiet, and she also didn’t have to worry as much as before about people secretly tripping her up.

All of that was thanks to Cheng Nuo.

He Wei sent her a flying kiss from afar, but before it could even be “delivered,” Cheng Nuo slapped her hand away. “You silly girl, pay more attention!”

He Wei didn’t understand what she suddenly meant.

“Stay away from Su Mu in the future…” Cheng Nuo pulled her into the dressing room and closed the door before continuing, “Don’t you know his wife fans and girlfriend fans are extremely many and vicious? There was even a case where a collaborating actress got attacked so badly she had to turn off her Weibo comments.”

He Wei was momentarily speechless: “……”

Cheng Nuo added, “Just be careful. It’s fine during filming, but outside of work, don’t get too close to him.”

He Wei nodded, still shaken.

She hadn’t been in this world long and hadn’t experienced these things before, so she simply didn’t know unless she deliberately looked into it.

But incidents where actresses were attacked and insulted by male stars’ girlfriend fans because of shipping rumors were actually very common. He Wei was timid to begin with, so she couldn’t treat Su Mu as just a senior from the same company anymore. Especially after Cheng Nuo’s reminder, she stopped taking the initiative to talk to Su Mu at all.

Even when they met again, it was just a simple nod of greeting.

She didn’t want to end up on the trending list with Su Mu.

But heaven clearly didn’t cooperate. That evening, Feili released the first set of promotional photos.

There weren’t many—just a few—but the two of them coordinated perfectly, and with the photographer’s high-level skills, the entire set had a very cinematic, blockbuster feel.

The comments below were overwhelmingly positive.

But that wasn’t the point. The point was, after He Wei exited Feili’s official Weibo account, she discovered that she and Su Mu were already on the trending list.

Several entertainment big V accounts had opportunistically posted an unclear, somehow-obtained photo of the two of them kissing through glass, paired with suggestive captions, deliberately guiding fans toward speculation.

He Wei didn’t even dare click into the comments section.

Cheng Nuo had just told her in the morning to avoid romance rumors with Su Mu—and in less than half a day, the rumor had already spread.

He Wei’s fingers stiffened slightly.

Just as she was about to ask Cheng Nuo what to do, the dressing room door was knocked on. Cheng Nuo’s voice came from outside: “Weiwei, my brother is calling you over.”

Only then did He Wei remember that she still had a former online boyfriend—Cheng Yan.

The moment she thought of Cheng Yan’s favorability toward her already exceeding eighty, her fingers stiffened even more. Her phone slipped from her grip and “bang” hit the table.

She quickly came back to her senses, took several deep breaths, and was just about to pick up her phone and stand up when she heard Cheng Nuo outside the door add another line: “It seems like it’s about you and Su Mu.”

That was somewhat expected.

He Wei responded.

“Oh right,” Cheng Nuo added, “Brother Yan Huai is also there.”

He Wei: “……”

What do you even call this?

…adding fuel to the fire.

Since Cheng Yan had called for her, He Wei didn’t dare delay.

Although she felt awkward facing Cheng Yan and didn’t particularly want to see Yan Huai at this moment either, Cheng Yan was the director after all. Even if she resisted, she still went to the lounge immediately.

The moment the door opened, the smell of smoke drifted out in thin wisps.

He Wei’s nose was a bit stuffy, but she could still smell it faintly. She rubbed her nose and greeted them, “Director Cheng, President Yan.”

Cheng Yan still had half a cigarette between his fingers and was about to finish it in one go when the man beside him coughed lightly.

He turned his head and noticed the empty fingers of that person.

Yan Huai had already put out his cigarette.

Of course Cheng Yan understood what he meant. He casually extinguished his cigarette, then slightly lifted his chin. “Close the door.”

He Wei closed the door.

Cheng Yan asked, “Did you see the trending topic?”

“I did.”

“What do you think?”

He Wei subconsciously glanced at the man sitting behind the desk beside Cheng Yan.

Yan Huai’s eyes were lowered, looking at the laptop screen, not sparing her a single glance.

He Wei pressed her lips together. “I don’t know.”

Cheng Yan asked again, “Wei… He Wei, you haven’t signed with an agency yet, right?”

She hadn’t expected the topic to suddenly jump here. She froze for a moment before nodding.

“Planning to sign with one?”

He Wei nodded.

Provided there was a suitable company willing to extend an olive branch.

Cheng Yan smiled faintly and, with implied meaning, lifted his chin. “What about him?”

He Wei: “……”

Shengye Huaying Media under the Sheng Group was among the top in the country; big names and small names were all desperately trying to get in.

Yesterday, Sheng Chen had even stuffed another supermodel in there again.

Of course, He Wei also wanted to get in.

It was just… she turned her head and glanced at Yan Huai.

The boss of this company today didn’t seem to want to see her very much.

He Wei didn’t say anything.

Sheng Chen looked at He Wei, then at Yan Huai. He had no idea that there was still the whole “online romance” incident involving himself, nor did he take He Wei’s evasive, hesitant expression earlier to heart. Sheng Chen picked up the half-smoked cigarette and stood up. “You two talk first.”

He passed by He Wei and, just as he opened the door, He Wei turned and called out to her: “Sheng Chen ge…”

Sheng Chen stopped and looked back.

He Wei met his eyes and did not see the slightest trace of affection or bitter reluctance of unrequited love.

His gaze was very direct—an undisguised question: “What is it?”

He Wei suspected the system’s favorability indicator might be malfunctioning.

She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Sheng Chen curled his lips slightly, bit the cigarette, and left, closing the door.

Now the resting room only had He Wei and Yan Huai.

He Wei didn’t know how to start at all.

From the moment she came in, Yan Huai hadn’t once looked up at her.

He Wei stood there for over half a minute before she finally couldn’t hold back and spoke: “President Yan.”

“Mm.”

Yan Huai finally lifted his gaze slightly. “Any requirements?”

He Wei didn’t understand. “Requirements for what?”

“For drafting the artist contract.”

Normally, Yan Huai would never personally handle something like this. Contracts were drafted according to the company’s standard template, but this time the signing target was He Wei, so he had just gone through every clause of the contract himself.

He Wei shook her head slightly. “Just use Huaying’s standard contract.”

The corner of Yan Huai’s mouth tugged faintly.

He had gone through so much effort trying to give her a backdoor, and yet she didn’t even want to take it.

Yan Huai was actually in a very bad mood today.

The trending topic about He Wei and Su Mu didn’t bother him much, and the fact that she had blocked his Weibo wasn’t a big deal either. Those kinds of things could be calmed instantly just by seeing her in person.

What truly put him in a bad mood wasn’t any of that.

Yan Huai pressed his fingers against his brow. His tone was still steady: “Come here and see if there’s anything that needs changing.”

He Wei didn’t think much and walked up to him, bending slightly to look at the computer screen.

On the screen, all the contract clauses were already roughly set. He Wei had also skimmed through them. Just as she was about to straighten up, the man suddenly pulled a photo out from beneath the laptop.

“Just now, Ah Chen asked what you think about the trending topic,” Yan Huai glanced sideways at her. “What do you mean you don’t know—do you like him?”

He Wei lowered her head and caught sight of the spot his index finger was pointing at.

It was a photo of Su Mu speaking to her from the side, reaching out to touch her hair.

He Wei’s breath tightened.

This photo was clearly taken this morning.

It was taken by paparazzi from a company owned by a friend of Yan Huai. They originally intended to dig up scandalous material about Su Mu, but unexpectedly dragged He Wei into it as well.

Yan Huai had seen the photo at noon, and had been in a dark mood for most of the day.

His finger moved, flipping the photo over. “Speak.”

He Wei swallowed. “I don’t.”

The original owner of this body had such a face that no matter who she looked at, her gaze appeared gentle. On top of that, He Wei had been thinking of her own world at the time, so her eyes were soft and focused, unexpectedly looking somewhat affectionate.

It would be strange if Yan Huai didn’t misunderstand.

Afraid he didn’t believe her, He Wei repeated stiffly, “I don’t like him.”

Yan Huai didn’t respond to that. He closed the laptop. “Come to the company next Tuesday to sign the contract.”

After speaking, without waiting for He Wei’s reply, he stood up. After taking a step, he paused again and asked calmly, “He Wei, how old are you this year?”

“Twenty-one.”

Yan Huai turned back. “I’m twenty-seven.”

He Wei responded softly, “Mm.”

“My father arranged a blind date for me next Monday.”

He Wei looked up at him, then saw him curl his lips faintly, expression extremely light. “I agreed.”

He Wei’s heart suddenly tightened.

Her mind went completely blank. After a long moment, when she finally understood what that sentence meant, the resting room was already empty except for her.

The smell of smoke still lingered.

She didn’t know if it was the smoke or something else, but her eyes felt sour. She closed them briefly, and Yan Huai’s voice kept repeating in her ears—

He agreed.

Over the next several days, He Wei was not in a good state.

It was fine while filming, but as soon as she left the set, she became distracted.

On Monday, they finally finished all of Feli’s shoots. The collaboration had gone smoothly, and that night the brand’s boss even arranged a dinner party to treat everyone.

There were quite a lot of people at the table—two actors from the shoot, assistants, and several senior executives from Feli.

As expected, the night involved rounds of drinking and toasts.

The Feli boss knew she had a close relationship with Yan Huai and intentionally helped her block quite a few drinks. Still, He Wei couldn’t refuse everything, and she ended up taking a few drinks with her newly appointed assistant, Feng Ning, alternating between them.

She handled alcohol fairly well, but her tolerance wasn’t great.

After a few glasses of red wine mixed with a little white wine, He Wei’s stomach felt uncomfortable and her mind was no longer clear. She had already forgotten quite a bit of what she was supposed to do, and the only thing she still remembered was that Yan Huai was going on a blind date today.

He was going to meet another woman.

A rush of alcohol rose from her stomach to her throat. She lifted her hand to press it down lightly, then took a sobering candy handed over by Feng Ning and put it into her mouth.

The drinking and toasting at the table continued.

He Wei stood up, bracing herself on the table as she walked over to the boss of Feli and asked something in a low voice.

The already half-drunk boss was very cooperative, just a bit slow in his movements. After a while, he took out his phone, flipped through it, and handed it to her. “Miss He, here you go…”

Five minutes later, He Wei left the private room. After vomiting in the restroom for a few minutes, she made a phone call.

The phone rang twice before the other side picked up, but didn’t speak.

He Wei only heard a woman on that end speaking softly in a gentle, affected tone, placing an order for food.

Her eyes suddenly turned warm and sore. She called him softly, “Yan Huai.”

The person on the other end gave a low response: “Mm.”

“Do you still need a girlfriend?”