Chapter 115

Because Liang Yi’s script was just too good, Wei Sheng ended up binge-reading the polished version late into the night, treating it like a novel he couldn’t put down. The result? He showed up the next morning with massive dark circles under his eyes, practically dunking his nose into his porridge at breakfast.

“What script is so good it kept you up all night?” Hu Qianqian asked curiously as she picked up the script lying beside him.

And just like that, another person in the house got hooked.

Originally, Hu Qianqian had planned to head to the shop after breakfast. But the script her son brought home was just too captivating. Worried about leaking the contents and causing trouble for him, she didn’t dare take it to the store. So instead, she called Xiang Hong and asked her to cover for the day. Hu Qianqian stayed home to read.

Wei Sheng rarely saw his mom this interested in anything. Considering the shop had been quiet lately and she hadn’t gone out in a long time, he suggested she come along with him to the set for a little getaway.

“Langshan has amazing scenery and tons of great food. Plus, you’ve never seen how a film crew works, right? Why not come and do a cameo?”

“You want me to act? Forget it, forget it. I get nervous even filming short videos. But tagging along for a couple of days sounds nice,” Hu Qianqian said, tempted.

After all, with the pandemic over and restrictions lifted, she hadn’t really traveled in years. Maybe it was time to go out and have a little fun with her son.

Early Wednesday morning, the crew’s convoy gathered at the highway entrance. Wei Sheng drove his own car, with his mom and Liang Yi—who lived in the same neighborhood—joining him to meet up with the rest of the team.

Who would’ve thought? Just two years into the industry, this rookie from the entertainment world had already transformed into an investor. Ahem.

Because they had a lot of people and equipment—and even needed to bring along a medical emergency vehicle—they all decided to drive instead of flying.

Wei Sheng was driving a popular model from a domestic SUV brand he had recently endorsed. The company had even gifted him the car for promotional purposes. They clearly wanted him to advertise for them every chance they got.

A free car? Of course he was going to drive it! Besides, Wei Sheng wasn’t obsessed with luxury cars. As far as he was concerned, as long as a car was safe and reliable, that was good enough. In their city’s traffic, even a million-dollar supercar would end up stuck in gridlock next to a Wuling Mini.

His car could seat five, including himself. But the director had driven his own (even pricier) car, and the assistant director had rolled up in a Volvo. Wei Sheng, sensing the vibe, wisely didn’t offer anyone else a ride.

So in the end, it was just him, Hu Qianqian, and Liang Yi in the car.

When Liang Yi saw Hu Qianqian through the rolled-down window, he practically froze. His rational mind told him to keep a respectful distance and sit in the front passenger seat. But when Wei Sheng said the front seat had his bag and told him to sit in the back, Liang Yi didn’t hesitate for a second before climbing in.

“Liang Yi? You’re coming with us too? Is there some legal issue the crew needs help with?” Hu Qianqian asked, puzzled.

Crap! He’d forgotten his mom didn’t know about Liang Yi’s secret identity!

Liang Yi, already frazzled from lack of sleep, was completely thrown off.

Thankfully, Wei Sheng reacted quickly and came up with a cover story on the spot.

“Mom, Uncle Liang’s a lawyer, remember? He sometimes takes on pro bono cases. Turns out there’s a family in need of legal aid in Langshan, and since we’re heading that way, I invited him to come along.”

Hu Qianqian nodded in sudden understanding and gave Liang Yi a look of admiration.

Who would’ve thought that the little boy who once declared he’d marry her when he grew up had turned into such an impressive lawyer—offering free legal help to struggling families? What a good kid. Why was he still single?

Actually, Uncle Liang and Auntie Liang had already brought this up with her parents countless times. The two elders had even started to wonder if Liang Yi might be into men.

Seeing their son nearing forty and still alone, the couple had gone from angry, frustrated, and confused to finally giving up. At this point, they didn’t care if it was a man, a woman, or even a demon—as long as the person was decent and could keep their son company, that was good enough.

But no matter how many hints they dropped, Liang Yi never brought anyone home. That’s when they really started to panic.

Hu Qianqian had even once overheard them sighing to Grandma Hu, wondering if Liang Yi had some kind of narcissistic personality disorder—like he didn’t think anyone was good enough for him… Pfft!

Back then, Hu Qianqian couldn’t understand Liang Yi’s choice. But now? She totally got it. If you ended up with the wrong person, every second of marriage was pure torture. In that case, being single really was better.

Seeing how nervous Liang Yi was the moment he got in the car—barely saying a word to her—Hu Qianqian felt like she’d figured it out: Liang Yi wasn’t some narcissist who looked down on women. He probably just didn’t know how to talk to them.

With that thought, Hu Qianqian warmly handed him two tangerines.

She got carsick easily, so the night before, she had packed some tangerines and preserved plums to help. Now seemed like a good time to break them out and lighten the mood.

Liang Yi paused, then took the fruit. He pulled two tissues from the box in the backseat, laid them on his lap, carefully peeled the tangerines, removed all the white pith, and handed them to Hu Qianqian on the tissues.

“Here, all peeled.”

“Huh?” This time, it was Hu Qianqian who froze.

She loved eating tangerines but hated peeling them. Had the whole neighborhood caught on to that?

After finishing the fruit, Hu Qianqian didn’t want to nap with someone else in the car. She remembered she hadn’t finished the script last night, so she pulled out her phone to continue reading.

But just as it got to a critical moment, a subscription pop-up interrupted her.

Her indecisiveness kicked in. She wasn’t usually much of a reader—more into short videos—but this author had totally hooked her. Should she get a monthly pass, or just go for the annual?

The monthly pass seemed too short—this author had a ton of books, and with her slow reading speed, she doubted she could finish in a month. But an annual pass? What if the author disappeared for a year?

Liang Yi noticed her furrowed brows and couldn’t help asking if she needed help.

“Oh right, Liang Yi, you’re a lawyer! Take a look at this. The site says I can get unlimited access to all books for just 360 yuan a year. But I only want to read this one author. Wouldn’t that be a waste?”

“And I saw that this author keeps going on hiatus. Readers are begging in the comments. If I buy the annual pass and he doesn’t update, can I sue the site for compensation?”

Liang Yi glanced at her phone—and his ears instantly turned red.

He hadn’t expected Hu Qianqian to be reading his work! And the worst part? He’d been so busy helping Wei Sheng with the script that he hadn’t updated his current serial in over two weeks…

Being confronted by a VIP reader demanding updates—especially one he’d secretly crushed on since childhood—Liang Yi finally understood the terrifying consequences of going radio silent.

“I’ll write tonight…” he mumbled.

“What?”

“Oh, I mean… I happen to know someone at that site. I can ask tonight and see what’s going on. Maybe the author’s going through something.”

“True. I saw readers saying that for every chapter someone subscribes to, this author—Wang Wu—only gets a few cents. That’s ridiculous! You know what, I’ll just get the monthly pass and use the rest of the money to send him gifts. Maybe he stopped updating because writing doesn’t pay the bills.”

Muttering to herself, Hu Qianqian clicked to buy the monthly pass, then went back to the last updated chapter and sent Liang Yi several expensive virtual gifts.

Liang Yi: “…”

Time to double down on keeping that secret identity under wraps.

In the front row, Wei Sheng had a front-row seat to the fiery crash that was Teacher Wang Wu getting grilled by readers in person for not updating his novel. He nearly died laughing. Of course, he knew exactly why Teacher Wang Wu had suddenly stopped updating lately. Ahem—truth be told, it was kind of his fault.

The main issue was that his short drama script had been rushed. Once the website caught wind that Teacher Wang Wu’s new story had film adaptation potential, they pushed hard to get it out fast so they could cash in on the rights and start splitting the profits. Naturally, they pressured him to prioritize this new project.

Lucky for the readers of the new book—they were getting three chapters a day.

But the poor fans of his older novel? Left high and dry, updates cut off completely, and the comment section was a warzone…

From J Province to Langshan, even taking the highway, it was a nine-hour drive. They had left in the morning, and by the time they reached the county where Langshan Town was located, dusk had already fallen.

Hu Qianqian, used to a life of comfort and luxury, hadn’t been on such a long car ride in ages. When she stepped out of the car, her legs gave out, and she nearly collapsed.

Liang Yi, who had gotten out just before her, was startled. Forgetting all sense of propriety between men and women, he rushed forward and caught her. Her fair skin against his warm palm felt like a scoop of ice cream dropped on a sizzling iron plate—melting instantly with a sizzle.

Startled and guilty, Liang Yi instinctively loosened his grip. He hadn’t realized Hu Qianqian was wearing low-heeled summer sandals. Off balance, she stumbled straight into his arms.

Hu Qianqian: “……”

Liang Yi: “!!!”

Wei Sheng, who had just stepped out and witnessed the whole scene: “……”

I shouldn’t be here. I should be under the car…

“Sorry! I didn’t catch you properly,” Liang Yi stammered, his ears burning red as he awkwardly helped Hu Qianqian out of his arms.

“It’s my anemia acting up again. I lost my balance—it’s not your fault,” Hu Qianqian replied, her cheeks flushed.

No one knew that ever since she and her ex-husband Wei Zhiyong had Wei Sheng, they’d barely had any intimacy due to ongoing family conflicts. It had been over a decade since she’d had any kind of romantic contact. A traditional woman at heart, she rarely interacted with men at all. This kind of close physical contact? Probably hadn’t happened since she and Wei Zhiyong first got together twenty years ago.

Ugh, spit spit spit! Why was she thinking about that unlucky man on such a fun trip?

Still… she had to admit, Liang Yi was in surprisingly good shape. When she accidentally crashed into his chest just now, her forehead had actually hurt from the impact. The man was built like a rock!

Wei Sheng glanced left, then right, his sharp eyes catching the flush creeping up Liang Yi’s ears and that guilty look in his eyes. His whole body tensed.

No way.

No way it’s what I think it is…?

(End of Chapter)