Chapter 92

Chapter 92

"Dad, Mom, what's wrong?"

Lin Tingyue looked at Lin Rusong and Bai Yaxin in confusion. Why had they suddenly gone silent?

Lin Rusong cleared his throat lightly. "It's nothing."

Bai Yaxin also chimed in, "Yes, it's nothing. Ying An, are you here to pay respects to the God of Wealth too?"

The Ying family was already successful, yet they still came to seek blessings from the God of Wealth—no wonder they kept prospering. Lin Rusong wondered if he should also pay respects to the deity.

Ying An filled them in. He was about to play the role of the God of Wealth in an upcoming production and had come to seek the deity's approval. Bai Yaxin remarked, "There aren't many actors as dedicated as you these days."

"You're too kind, Auntie. Just doing my job."

"Some actors these days can't even do that much."

Ying An paused, then chuckled softly. Was this considered Lin Tingyue's way of complimenting him?

"Should we get going? Ying An, are you heading the same way?"

"I need to go to the studio lot. Auntie, Uncle, did you drive here? If not, I can take you home first."

Assistant: Hmm.

Even with such a tight schedule, he still wants to drive the Lin family home. His motives were obvious.

"We drove here. Thank you, Ying An."

They walked out through the gate. Ying An’s car and Lin Rusong’s were parked nearby. Just as Ying An said goodbye to the Lin family, someone called out to him.

"Ying-ge, why didn’t you wait for me?"

Ying An turned and saw Chi Yu walking over after stepping across the threshold.

He wasn’t exactly fond of Chi Yu, but he had no interest in dealing with him either.

Ying An said flatly, "I remember you said not to wait."

"I did say that, but I didn’t expect Ying-ge to actually leave me behind. Then again, Ying-ge is the film emperor—why would you wait for a small-time actor like me, even if we’re in the same production?"

Anyone could tell there was subtext here. This was clearly a dig at Ying An for being arrogant.

"What's this performance about?"

Assistant: That's what I'm talking about!

She said, "Brother Chi Yu, since we all ended up here together anyway, what does it matter whether we waited or not?"

The subtext was obvious: stop bothering their artist.

But Chi Yu acted as if he hadn’t understood at all. He pretended to understand and said, "Ah, so once you become a film emperor, even the people around you can act like this."

"You—"

Ying An glanced at his assistant. "Ignore him."

Ying An knew perfectly well—Chi Yu was just jealous.

Chi Yu had a wealthy patron behind him, but even that kind of clout wasn’t enough to land him the male lead in this drama. With Ying An already on board, no one could shake his hold on the top-billed role.

Still, if Chi Yu kept misbehaving with his backer’s support and caused too much trouble, even his sponsor might not be able to protect him—after all, there are always bigger fish out there.

Who knows what’ll happen next?

Lin Rusong and Bai Yaxin listened in stunned silence. Even Ying An had people gunning for him?

Lin Tingyue remarked dryly, “I almost miss Second Brother’s sharp tongue.”

Indeed, if Lin Chengyan were here, with his fiery temper, Chi Yu wouldn’t leave unscathed.

“Uncle, Auntie, Miss Lin, you guys go ahead. See you around.”

“Mm,” Bai Yaxin nodded. “Little Ying, take care.”

“Will do, Auntie.”

Bai Yaxin reached for Lin Tingyue, only to find her glued to her phone screen.

Though she couldn’t figure out what was so special about Lin Tingyue’s phone, every time she checked it, she spilled the tea.

This time would probably be no different?

Sure enough—

“So he has a patron, huh? But apparently, that guy’s getting bored and planning to drop him.”

“But come to think of it, is he actually here asking the gods’ blessing? He’s got some nerve.”

Nerve?

Ying An caught that key point—had Chi Yu done something so bad that he shouldn’t even be here seeking favor?

“He keeps a *little ghost* at home. As if he’d fear divine wrath.”

A *little ghost*?

The assistant gaped.

She’d been in the industry for years and had heard plenty of dirty laundry—the more famous you were, the more superstitious you became.

But Chi Yu… was he trying to claw his way back?

He used to be huge, but after an ugly split with his old agency, he was shelved. By the time he came back, his star had faded. He wasn’t young anymore, so he could only…

The assistant felt a mix of smug satisfaction—serves him right for mocking Ying An earlier—and a twinge of sympathy.

In this business, one wrong move and you’re done.

Everyone else got into their cars, leaving Chi Yu and his assistant standing alone.

His assistant said carefully, “Chi Yu, Boss Tan told you not to cause trouble outside.”

Chi Yu scoffed, “What did I even do? Would Boss Tan really drop me over such a small thing?”

Impossible. Just last week, Boss Tan had showered him with gigs.

But Chi Yu didn’t realize how fast people in this town could turn—faster than dropping a hot potato.

Three days later.

Ying An's assistant walked in and sat across from him, urging Ying An to check the trending topics.

Ying An asked, "What's going on?"

The assistant replied, "Chi Yu's scandal has been exposed—his sugar daddy connections and involvement with dark spirits."

Ying An clicked into the trending list. The online forum was flooded with exposés, and he slightly frowned as the assistant said, "Boss Ying, you're..."

Ying An responded, "At least filming hasn't started yet. There's still time to replace him."

The assistant: "?"

Such a huge scandal, and Ying An only cared about that?

Well, someone at Ying An's level probably didn't even consider Chi Yu worth his time.

Still… Ying An was ice-cold. The assistant thought—he couldn’t cut ties that quickly if he tried. At the very least, he’d hesitate for a few seconds, right?

No wonder she was still stuck as an assistant.

Noticing the assistant staring at him, Ying An asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing, Boss Ying. I just feel like you barely show any emotions day-to-day."

"Really?"

The assistant nodded. "Guess you save all your drama for the screen? Though there are exceptions…"

Ying An pressed, "What exceptions?"

The assistant dared to ask, "Can I say it?"

"What, you think I’d eliminate you?"

Was that supposed to be a joke?

If that leaked, Ying An would trend ten times over.

The assistant ventured, "In front of Miss Lin, you…”

Ying An started to remember but quickly shut it down. He knew Lin Tingyue was special to him, but hadn't realized how obvious it was.

He simply said, "Same with family."

The assistant, recklessly continuing, asked, "Including Miss Lin’s family?"

Ying An looked at her, his gaze icy, causing the assistant to immediately mutter, "Just kidding, just kidding!" before rushing out.

After the assistant left, Ying An opened his chat with Lin Tingyue and glanced through it.

Their last message exchange was three days ago, when Lin Tingyue asked if he still wanted aromatherapy, mentioning she had restocked.

Ying An wasn’t having trouble sleeping anymore, but he’d accept hers anyway.

Wait… was Lin Tingyue also experiencing insomnia? Why else would she stock up like that?

The answer to this question came from Lin Chengyan.

"Lin Tingyue? She sleeps like a baby, just like you used to... No clue what's up with you—suddenly got insomnia..."

Before Lin Chengyan could finish, the line went dead with a series of *beeps*. Seriously? Was everyone just treating him like an errand boy now?

As Lin Chengyan was fuming, Zhu Cheng approached and said, "Bro Chengyan, your sister is here."

"Lin Tingyue?"

Zhu Cheng nodded.

Great. Another person here to use him.

The moment Lin Tingyue saw Lin Chengyan, she blurted out, "Second Bro, why the long face?"

Lin Chengyan: "..."

He snorted. "Got messed with—of course I’m pissed."

Lin Tingyue gave him wide, innocent eyes. "Second Brother, someone actually tricked you?"

"Tch." He ground out, "And not just one person either."

"Wait... am I one of them?"

Catching her unspoken question, Lin Chengyan wondered if he should congratulate her for guessing right.

Lin Chengyan took the bag from Lin Tingyue—it was surprisingly heavy. "What’d you drag over this time?"

"Mom packed you winter clothes, her homemade goodies, cold medicine, and... a *Scumbag Repellent Talisman*."

Lin Chengyan: "?"

Wait, something weirder than cold pills?

"Lin Tingyue, say that last one again."

Lin Tingyue pulled out the talisman from the side pocket of the bag. "*Scumbag Repellent Talisman*."

Lin Chengyan was both shocked and confused. "I’ve barely been gone a month! Since when is Mom this superstitious?"

After a pause, he added, "Unless... some scumbag’s been harassing her—I’ll hunt that bastard down!!!"

Lin Tingyue grabbed his arm. "No, Mom just saw a news report... You... still want this thing?"

Lin Chengyan took the talisman and stashed it like gold. "Hell yeah I want it. Why not?"

"Oh."

"And you?"

"Me what?"

"You *promised* me a gift."

"Relax, I got you something."

Lin Tingyue handed a gift box to Lin Chengyan, who acted casual but was secretly delighted. "Now we're talking... What is it?"

Upon opening it, Lin Chengyan's heart sank.

"Sleep-scented aromatherapy."

Lin Chengyan was speechless. "Do I seem like I need this?"

"Your dark circles are so heavy, how can you not need it?"

Lin Chengyan got even more annoyed. "These are from shooting night scenes."

"...Oh."

"And is this aromatherapy something you bought wholesale?"

"What do you mean?"

"Didn’t you also give one to Ying An?"

"They’re different scents."

Even if they were different scents, it was enough to infuriate Lin Chengyan.

But since it was a gift from Lin Tingyue, he still tucked the aromatherapy away.

Not far away, Director Meng was blowing her top again. "Are we here to film or to vacation? Where is everyone???"

Someone beside her quickly replied, "We're on it."

Lin Tingyue asked, "What’s wrong?"

Lin Chengyan, muttering under his breath while still examining the aromatherapy, said, "Probably that top star who was shoehorned into the production has gone missing again."

"That actually happens?"

Zhu Cheng: "Bro, my bro, be careful what you say!"

"Why are you calling my name?"

Zhu Cheng: "..."

"I'm done with this job. I want to fire this actor."

"No wonder they can't find him—his phone's turned off. He’s on a call with the baby mama."

"Wait, what child???"