Chapter 162

Chapter 162

Extra: Tan Yi

The late autumn wind was cool. In the photo studio, under the spotlight, the camera flashes kept going off.

Tan Yi wore a haute couture outfit, skillfully striking various poses.

"Left side, yes, look at the camera. Right side… center, great."

This kind of shoot was exhausting. To finish everything often took several hours.

Tan Yi was busy until 3 p.m., finally wrapping up the studio session.

His assistant handed him a glass of water in time and led him back to the RV.

"Tan-ge, you’ve worked hard."

His assistant, Li Shuai, was massaging his shoulders while still trying to cheer him up.

Always flawless in public, Tan Yi was now slumped on the RV sofa like a lifeless corpse.

"Xiao Shuai, I’m so tired."

Tan Yi gulped down a few mouthfuls of water. After drinking, he looked even more drained. "I’m starving to death. Why haven’t I even gotten a cup of milk tea?"

Xiao Shuai replied weakly, "Niu-ge said… you, you need to lose weight..."

Tan Yi: "..."

Tan Yi looked down at his figure, incredulous. "With this body, I still need to lose weight?"

"You do."

Xiao Shuai reminded him, "You’re about to start filming. The role you’re playing needs to be slimmer to fit."

Hearing that, Tan Yi couldn’t help but look at this newly hired assistant.

"Xiao Shuai, do you know what my nickname is?"

Xiao Shuai knew, but he didn’t say it.

Tan Yi saw his eyes flicker and knew he had the answer in his heart.

"Everyone calls me a ‘flower vase.’ That is, the director only picked me for my looks. Got it?"

After a few years in showbiz, Tan Yi had a clear sense of his place.

He wasn’t professionally trained. He entered the industry purely on the strength of his face.

These past years had gone well for him. He was popular for a while, had loads of fans, and his career was decent.

Now things were stable. He picked up endorsements, filmed shows, made money—and searched for his kitten.

Yes, you heard right. He was looking for a little kitten.

The kitten was named Lili. His youngest brother. His real brother. Same mother and all.

Lili had been out for a while now, and Tan Yi still hadn’t found him.

While thinking about his brother, the assistant spoke again: "Tan-ge, we have an interview at 6 p.m. We need to get ready in advance."

Wardrobe, styling, things to watch out for during the program—all prep work.

Tan Yi let out a deep sigh, his thousand-and-first thought of quitting the industry.

Being a celebrity was exhausting. He just wanted to be a lazy cat that ate and slept all day.

Soon after—

For the afternoon interview, before the show began, Tan Yi, whose food had been restricted, was starving. While the manager was away and the assistant was occupied, he sneaked out.

He headed to a corner without cameras, pulled out his stash of chocolate biscuits, squatted down on the spot, and began eating with great care.

"Every day it’s just work, work, work. I make so much money, and I can’t even eat a good meal!"

Tan Yi ate while angrily grumbling, "Once I save a bit more, I’m definitely quitting the industry!"

Muttering to himself, with his cheeks puffed out full of biscuits, he looked nothing like his usual elegant self. At this moment, he seemed adorably silly.

Just as Tan Yi finished slacking off in the stairwell and left, a man’s low chuckle echoed from a higher floor above.The man glanced at the photo he had just taken on his phone, then sent it to someone.

"Find out who he is."

"Yes."

After giving the order, the man turned and left.

Tan Yi entered the dressing room and let the makeup artist start applying makeup.

The exhausting work had no end in sight, but the one thing that made him happy was finally getting a lead on his precious younger brother.

That day, he wasn’t feeling well and had gone home to rest. Coincidentally, someone knocked on the door.

As soon as he opened it, he was knocked down by someone who was clearly prepared, and was taken into a car.

At first, he thought the person was a sasaeng, but then he realized something felt off.

"Who are you?"

Half-reclining in the car, dizzy and weak, Tan Yi forced himself to ask.

The person wore a hat and didn’t respond.

Even when the car was about to start moving, a familiar "meow" suddenly rang out.

"Put down my third brother!"

The angry meowing outside the car was filled with fury.

Tan Yi: "..."

Tan Yi shook his head and murmured, "Lili?"

Was he hearing things? How could Lili possibly be here?

He wasn’t too afraid of being taken away—after all, in a pinch, he could turn back into a cat.

A small cat could escape easily.

The familiar meowing made Tan Yi unable to hold back any longer. He struggled to push the car door open and get out.

Once outside, he saw another car pulling up. From it stepped Xie Chen.

Xie Chen was holding a little kitten in his arms and resolved the situation.

The kitten was completely snow-white, like a tiny fluffy ball—adorable and sweet.

Tan Yi recognized it immediately. That was his younger brother.

However, before he could retrieve his brother, Xie Chen ran off with him.

"Damn."

Tan Yi cursed groggily, wanting to get his brother back.

His consciousness grew heavier, and just before he blacked out, he seemed to see a face.

A stranger’s—half-Chinese, very handsome. But why was he at his doorstep?!

"Tan Yi?"

The man furrowed his brows slightly and called his name.

Tan Yi’s body went limp. He leaned against the man, eyes tightly shut, not opening for a long while.

Seeing this, the man holding him made a call to a doctor.

When he woke up again, all the discomfort in Tan Yi’s body had vanished.

He sat up, rubbed his forehead, and looked around.

There were no strange people in the house, but he clearly remembered seeing a mixed-race man before he passed out.

"Was I hallucinating?"

Dazed and confused, Tan Yi got out of bed. No matter how he tried to make sense of the previous night, he couldn’t.

While looking in the mirror in the bathroom, Tan Yi rubbed his lips and collarbone.He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt like his lips were a little swollen.

There were also faint red marks on his collarbone, like he’d been bitten by something.

“Seriously, what the hell.”

Tan Yi muttered, then used some foundation to cover the red marks on his collarbone.

Even though he couldn’t remember everything from yesterday, he did remember something important—

Like Xie Chen, and his little brother.

He cleared his schedule and set off to look for them.

On the way—

Tan Yi was walking and looking around, murmuring about his brother, when suddenly a small white kitten darted across in front of him.

The kitten was wearing a little vest, being chased and beaten by a group of people with clubs!

Tan Yi: “???”

His eyes widened and he rushed over.

“Stop right there!”

He shouted angrily. Beating up his little brother right in front of him? How arrogant could they be?

He chased them all the way to Xie Chen’s doorstep and finally caught up.

Furious, he jumped into a fight with the group.

After dealing with them, he looked over and saw his younger brother once again being held tightly in Xie Chen’s arms.

“President Xie, that’s my younger brother.”

Tan Yi looked at President Xie, who wouldn’t give back the kitten, and patiently reasoned with him: “He belongs to my family, not a stray cat. I can’t just give him away.”

Xie Chen didn’t listen.

The two of them stood in a standoff outside for a while. In the end, Tan Yi looked at the little milk kitten sleeping soundly in Xie Chen’s arms and, feeling extremely aggrieved, followed Xie Chen back to the villa.

During the two months the kitten had been down the mountain, he’d suffered a lot.

Listening to Xie Chen recount it all, Tan Yi felt heartache, regret, guilt—all his emotions tangled together, and his eyes turned slightly red.

“I’ll keep a better watch on Lili from now on.”

Tan Yi clenched his teeth and said to Xie Chen.

Xie Chen didn’t respond, clearly never intending to hand over the kitten in the first place.

The kitten’s sleep was restless. Tan Yi stopped everything and just sat quietly by to watch over him.

While sleeping, the kitten curled himself into a little white fluff ball.

The more Tan Yi looked, the more he adored him. He even leaned down and kissed the kitten’s soft pink paw pad.

He didn’t know how much time had passed.

The kitten finally woke up. Seeing his third brother suddenly in front of him, the little guy stared blankly, thinking he was dreaming.

“Lili, did you miss your third brother?”

“Meow!!!”

Yes.

The brothers were finally reunited, and the atmosphere was warm and sweet.

Tan Yi had found his little brother again, and he felt completely refreshed.

His spirits were lifted, but his work situation wasn’t great.

As for the attempted kidnapping last night—he was starting to figure it out.

There was a big shot in the industry who had been trying to coerce him. Tan Yi refused. That person had even threatened him, warning him to “be careful”...

Just thinking about those unspoken rules made Tan Yi deeply disgusted."Xiaoshuai, did you report my situation to the company?"

"I did."

Xiaoshuai answered attentively, "Brother Niu said the company will help investigate everything clearly."

Though that’s what he said, the insider info Xiaoshuai had heard wasn’t so reassuring.

Tan Yi looked too good—his face and figure had drawn envious gazes since his debut.

Especially in this circle, where filth was commonplace. When someone in power had their eyes on someone, they rarely held back.

Tan Yi had been focused on making money, but the money he brought in couldn’t compare to the benefits those big shots promised the company...

Now, the company’s balance was clearly tilting more and more toward those powerful men.

The cold he had last time still hadn’t fully healed. After working nonstop for two days, Tan Yi collapsed and ended up in the hospital.

His agent came to care for him personally, looking at him lying in bed with deep worry.

"Our schedule this month is really tight, Brother Tan, you’ve got to get better quickly."

Tan Yi nodded, "Got it."

In the hospital room, the little milk kitten also came to see his brother.

Maybe because his younger brother was with him, Tan Yi was in good spirits, and the cold cleared up in just a few days.

Time passed slowly and steadily.

Tan Yi began to clearly notice that his resources were decreasing.

His agent said that the higher-ups were going through a major reshuffle.

And those who had just stabilized their positions... were already eyeing Tan Yi with impure intentions.

"Brother Tan."

His agent had seen him hustle in the industry for years and had at least a bit of genuine concern. So he gave Tan Yi a heads-up in advance: "Try not to get into any conflict with the higher-ups. If anyone invites you alone, it’s best to decline."

He said to decline, but when the company actually scheduled a dinner, Tan Yi still couldn’t get out of it.

Before leaving, Tan Yi casually told his agent over the phone, "Don’t worry, I’ve been to more dinners than I can count. It’s no big deal."

After all, his real body was a cat.

If someone tried anything shady, he could just poof—turn back into a cat and escape unnoticed!

So in the outside world, Brother Tan the cat was extremely confident in his ability to protect his own purity.

But he’d never heard that saying: "If you walk by the river long enough, your shoes are bound to get wet."

As night fell—

Tan Yi sat at the drinking table, facing company executives and two middle-aged big shots seated beside him, pushing drinks his way.

"Xiao Yi, come on, let’s have one together."

The executive smiled as he pushed a glass toward Tan Yi.

Tan Yi knew he couldn’t refuse, so he didn’t. One glass after another, he drank them all.

Later on, when the executive saw that Tan Yi’s eyes were still sharp and clear, his expression darkened.

What the hell?

Why isn’t he drunk yet?!

"Excuse me, I think I’ve had a bit too much. I’m going to the restroom for a moment—then I’ll come back and continue drinking with you all."

Tan Yi said as he stood and walked out.

The executive waved him off, letting him go. As soon as Tan Yi left, he poured something into Tan Yi’s drink—something fast-acting.

But the truth was, despite how sober he looked, Tan Yi was already completely drunk.

The drunker he got, the clearer his eyes seemed. To outsiders, he just didn’t look drunk at all.

The drunken little cat was now walking down the corridor, looking for a quiet corner to shift back into his feline form.But before he could transform, someone blocked his path.

The newcomer was tall, with deep-set features—a very handsome mixed-race face.

Tan Yi: "……"

Tan Yi tilted his head, a bit of confusion showing in his eyes. "Have we met before?"

The mixed-race man leaned down slightly, drawing closer as he asked, "You smell strongly of alcohol. Have you been drinking?"

Tan Yi was a face-connoisseur, and since the guy looked good, he responded unusually good-tempered: "Yeah, they tried to get me drunk and sleep with me, but it didn’t work."

As he said the words “didn’t work,” Tan Yi even smiled a little.

The man stared at him, Adam’s apple bobbing.

"They... all want to sleep with you?"

"Yeah."

Tan Yi sounded rather smug: "I’m good-looking. A lot of people want to sleep with me. But they can’t. I’m not that easy to get."

The man smiled faintly and asked in a low voice, "Then how could someone get you?"

They were standing so close that the man’s warm breath brushed against Tan Yi’s cheek.

The tingling sensation made Tan Yi’s brain short-circuit.

He looked up and, almost involuntarily, teased, "Someone like you... I kind of do want to sleep with."

Tan Yi had never dated anyone in the industry—he thought it was too messy.

As for random hookups, he’d never done that either.

But now, he didn’t know what was happening. When he looked into the man’s eyes, it was like he was bewitched.

The man’s smile deepened. He said, "Alright. You can sleep with me."

No one remembered who had booked the hotel room, but for the first time, the drunk little cat didn’t run.

His legs wrapped around the man’s waist, and even the kissing was messy and chaotic.

"I—I want to be on top!"

Even in his dazed state, Tan Yi insisted on being the top.

It was his first time doing this kind of thing—he was nervous, uneasy, and a bit dazed.

In the blur, the man seemed to chuckle.

"That position... you won’t be able to handle it. Be good, we’ll start with something else..."

"Hiss—fuck! Are you trying to kill me?!"

The drunk little cat suddenly flipped out, even trying to kick the man off the bed.

But by then, it was far too late for that.

Cursing, crying, and all sorts of increasingly shameless pleas for mercy echoed through the room for the entire night.

The next day.

Tan Yi woke up feeling like he’d been completely dismantled. Staring at the ceiling, memories slowly came back.

It took less than a minute for him to recall what happened. He forced his aching body to get up, stumbling as he got out of bed.

He wasn’t trying to escape—he was looking for something.

Something to kill the bastard still lying in bed.