Chapter 12: Encounter

Chapter 12: An Unexpected Encounter

The girl’s eyes gleamed with disdain.

“Hey, did I hear that right? Which little nobody is this, daring to try and latch onto our Movie King Qi again?”

Yu Lanzhao’s face instantly paled; he bit his lip and lowered his head.

Lin Shenshi couldn’t stand to see him so vulnerable and angrily stepped forward, ready to confront her.

Just then, a deafening wave of screams erupted from downstairs. The girl immediately abandoned them, raising her phone again, frantically snapping pictures while shrieking:

“Ahhhh! Hubby is so handsome! Hubby, look at me! Hubby, I love you!”

Lin Shenshi: “…”

*Crap, so they’d run into a crazy girlfriend fan.*

Celebrity fans come in all types.

There are career fans who prioritize the star’s work, mom fans who treat the star like a child needing care, and girlfriend fans who see the star as their boyfriend and won’t tolerate anyone else coveting him.

Among Qi Lian’s fans, girlfriend fans accounted for a whopping eighty percent.

When a group grows large enough, there’s always a small fraction of extremely fanatical individuals.

In the original book, Lin Shenshi had witnessed the power of these people firsthand.

It happened later in the story, after the protagonist had graduated, left school, entered the entertainment industry, and become a barely-known, low-tier celeb.

Qi Lian kept him tucked away like a hidden jewel, and the two were often seen together, which eventually caught the attention of a deranged girlfriend fan.

This girlfriend fan’s principle was: *Hubby can have countless dream girlfriends, but he absolutely cannot have a real one.*

So, on a dark, stormy night, she hired someone to kidnap the protagonist.

As an erotic harem novel, needless to say, the protagonist went through horrific experiences. By the time Qi Lian found him, the young man was covered in bizarre marks, thrown on the ground like a broken doll.

The assailant picked up a rope nearby, wrapped it around his slender neck, and tried to strangle him to death.

Qi Lian exploded with rage, killing the assailant on the spot, but the protagonist had already been so traumatized that his brain entered a self-preservation mode. No matter who appeared by his side, he just stared vacantly, as if completely unaware.

In the end, all three of the main love interests showed up simultaneously. They stayed by the young man’s side for seven days and seven nights, their scents overriding the attacker’s, and only then did the protagonist gradually regain his senses.

Although Lin Shenshi’s first reaction upon hearing this was: *No way! That really happens?!*

But then he remembered it was an erotic harem novel and brushed it off.

All the plotlines and settings were designed for the leads to get intimate. If not for this incident, the three main love interests would probably still be bickering and rivaling over the protagonist—how else would they achieve the later harmony among the four?

But that’s getting off track. The point is, when you see a girlfriend fan of Qi Lian, stay as far away as possible! You never know which one might be a psycho!

Lin Shenshi tugged Yu Lanzhao along, away from the trouble spot.

Downstairs, surrounded by swarms of fans and bodyguards, Movie King Qi Lian stepped onto the promotional stage, walking down the red carpet.

The man was tall and slender, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, his tight, powerful inverted-triangle frame wrapped in a custom-tailored high-end suit. The lights shone on his perfect profile, highlighting his strikingly handsome, almost enchanting face.

Without saying a word, he simply waved lightly, igniting fervent enthusiasm among the fans.

The deafening screams nearly blew the roof off. Lin Shenshi only caught a fleeting glimpse of Qi Lian’s back before he and Yu Lanzhao left the center of the noise, moving against the flow of the crowd.

*

The commotion on the first floor lasted for a long time.

It wasn’t until Lin Shenshi had taken Yu Lanzhao through all the clothing stores in the mall, his arms laden with shopping bags, that the noisy screams began to subside.

The brand had spared no expense in hiring Qi Lian, but given the popular actor’s immense appeal, in just one night, the wealthy female fans would likely clear out the brand’s stock, instantly recouping the costs.

Yu Lanzhao was still feeling a bit down. Lin Shenshi comforted him, "Don’t mind what that girl said. Someday, when you become a movie king, you’ll have just as many fans defending you."

"Will anyone really like me?" Yu Lanzhao asked hesitantly.

"Of course!"

Lin Shenshi’s tone was firm—after all, he knew the future plot! Yu Lanzhao wouldn’t just become a movie king; he’d become the first to win three back-to-back awards!

A faint smile finally appeared on Yu Lanzhao’s face. "Even if I know Xiao Shi is just comforting me, I…"

"I’m not comforting you," Lin Shenshi said with unusual seriousness. "Ah Zhao, I like you."

Yu Lanzhao was stunned.

The beast lurking in his heart lifted its head, full of hope and disbelief.

"—The teachers at the academy like you, the bosses and colleagues at your part-time job like you, and…" Lin Shenshi rambled on, completely unaware of the spark that had briefly flickered to life and died in the young man’s eyes.

"See! You already have so many people who like you!"

Lin Shenshi listed them off one by one, detailing how popular he was.

Yu Lanzhao smiled helplessly, hiding the loneliness in his heart.

His Xiao Shi still didn’t understand anything.

They wandered around a bit more before deciding to head back. Before leaving, Lin Shenshi went to the restroom.

The mall restroom was clean, with a faint scent of air freshener lingering in the air.

Lin Shenshi was quick, but as he opened the stall door, he suddenly heard rapid footsteps approaching. Before he could react, the stall door was forcefully pulled open from the outside.

He only vaguely saw a man’s figure before being shoved back into the stall.

"Click."

The stall latch locked.

Lin Shenshi: "?"

The stall was small, and two grown men crammed inside made it extremely cramped. Lin Shenshi was pressed against the man’s chest, and the unique scent of the man instantly filled his nostrils.

Compared to the slightly sweet smell of the restroom’s air freshener, the man carried a crisp, green scent, like the brightest young leaves picked after a morning rain. The high quality of the scent hinted at the man’s distinguished status.

Before Lin Shenshi could look up, clamoring footsteps sounded outside the restroom, and a frantic woman’s voice urgently asked, "Where did he go?"

"There! I saw him go in!"

"Quick, quick! Don’t let him get away!"

The sound of chaotic footsteps suddenly stormed into the restroom, followed by another woman’s voice:

"He must be hiding in one of the stalls. Check them one by one!"

Before Lin Shenshi could process the fact that a group of girls had barged into the men’s restroom, the man suddenly gripped his waist, his broad palm pressing against the small of his back, spun him around and pulled him close. By the time his vision cleared, Lin Shenshi realized he was being pressed down onto the man’s lap, the two of them pressed together on the toilet seat.

The man’s thigh muscles were tense, hard and burning hot, scorching Lin Shenshi’s skin through the thin fabric of his clothes.

Warm breath brushed against his ear, sending a tingling, itchy feeling. The man’s voice was low and urgent: "Don’t make a sound!"

Realizing what the man was trying to do, Lin Shenshi patted his hand and whispered very softly, "This won’t work—they’ll find us."

Their feet were side by side on the ground, and through the gap under the stall, it would be easy to see that something was off.

"Lift your feet."

The other man caught on too and complied, but without the support of his feet, his body was forced to lean backward. The arms wrapped around Lin Shenshi’s waist unconsciously tightened.

Now, not only were their thighs pressed together, but their chests and backs were tightly pressed against each other as well.

Lin Shenshi: "..."

*Why did it feel like he’d dug himself into a hole?*

*Well, whatever. They were both men—a little contact wasn’t a big deal. He could tough it out.*

*Desperate times call for desperate measures, after all.*

The girls who’d chased them checked each stall one by one. When they reached theirs and found the door locked, they bent down to look underneath. Seeing only one pair of unfamiliar sneakers, they left reluctantly.

"Where did he go? Come on, let’s check over there."

The sound of footsteps faded into the distance.

Lin Shenshi let out a sigh of relief and patted the man’s hand. "Alright, they’re gone. Let me down."

But the man didn’t release him. Instead, he tightened his embrace, pressing his chin against Lin Shenshi’s head and taking a deep breath.

"You smell so good..."

Lin Shenshi instantly broke out in goosebumps. His *gaydar* went off like crazy. He elbowed the man sharply in the ribs, taking advantage of his momentary pain to break free, shrinking back against the door.

"You damn—"

Lin Shenshi started cursing, but the moment he got a clear look at the man’s face, the rest of his words got stuck in his throat.

In the bright, clean stall sat a broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted man on the toilet seat. His long legs, easily 190 cm in length, had nowhere to put them and were bent slightly, stretching forward. Even though Lin Shenshi had retreated to the door, he was still trapped within the circle of those long legs.

Perfectly styled hair fell over his forehead, half-covering the dark pupils beneath his long, narrow phoenix eyes. A mole, the same shade as his eyes, adorned the corner of one eye, adding to his handsome and alluring look.

"...Qi Lian?!"

Lin Shenshi exclaimed in shock.

The man before him was none other than the very cause of the mall’s congestion, the Triple Golden Movie King whom he and Yu Lanzhao had been desperately avoiding—the perverted top who imprisoned the protagonist shou—Qi Lian!!

Qi Lian lifted his eyelids, a faint, devilish smile curling at the corners of his lips. "So it turns out you do know who I am..."

Lin Shenshi’s lips twitched.

*Oh, he knew him all too well.*

*So the ones chasing after him earlier were Qi Lian’s girlfriend fans. Yet another day for new surprises.*

Lin Shenshi didn’t want to get entangled with him any further and turned to open the door and leave. But Qi Lian crowded in again, pressing his palm against the door and caging him in with his body.

"You still haven’t told me what perfume you’re wearing."

"Perfume?" Lin Shenshi was confused. "I never wear any."

"Liar." Qi Lian leaned in closer, sniffing lightly. "You clearly smell amazing—even better than the perfume I’m using now."

Lin Shenshi: "..."

*Are you a dog or something? Stop sniffing—it’s rude, you know?*

"I—" Lin Shenshi was about to say something when he suddenly realized where the scent was coming from.

In the original novel, Qi Lian was particularly obsessed with the protagonist shou’s natural scent. Every time he pinned the protagonist shou down on the bed, he would bury his nose in the crook of his neck, nibbling and sucking like a wolfdog.

Lin Shenshi wondered—had he been around Yu Lanzhao so much that he’d absorbed his scent?

*This was not good.*

*He absolutely could not let Qi Lian notice Yu Lanzhao’s existence.*

"If you want it, I can send you the link," Lin Shenshi said, pulling out his phone and waving it.

Qi Lian narrowed his eyes, contemplating for a moment before saying, "So... you’re playing hard to get."

"What?" Lin Shenshi couldn’t follow his logic. He just wanted to satisfy the man’s request, send him a random perfume link, and make a quick escape.

Qi Lian let out a cold laugh, releasing his hold on the door and took half a step back. "You can go."

Lin Shenshi: "???"

*Why did he make it sound like Lin Shenshi had been the one clinging to him just now?*

*What a freak.*

Lin Shenshi couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on him. Just as he was about to leave, light footsteps sounded in the restroom.

"Xiao Shi, are you finished?"

Accompanying the footsteps was Yu Lanzhao’s clear, bright voice.

Just outside the stall.

Way too close for comfort.