Chapter 36: Fingertips

Chapter 36 Fingertips

Bai Yuxi quickly made an excuse and left.

Lin Shenshi and Qi Lian walked one after the other, continuing toward the costume department tent.

As long as he kept Qi Lian away from Yu Lanzhao, Lin Shenshi had already achieved his goal, so he felt quite relaxed for the rest of the journey.

Along the way, Qi Lian remained silent, so Lin Shenshi simply pretended he didn't exist. Whether intentional or not, Qi Lian followed extremely closely. Several times when Lin Shenshi slowed down for a moment, his back immediately pressed against a solid chest.

Lin Shenshi: "........."

What exactly was this guy trying to do?

Occasionally, they passed other crew members, who would look at them with either surprise or confusion. Clearly, the combination of an A-list movie star and an unknown talent manager seemed inexplicable no matter how one thought about it.

Once the urgency of pulling Qi Lian away from Yu Lanzhao subsided, Lin Shenshi gradually began to sense that something was off.

Why did Qi Lian agree to leave the tent, away from Yu Lanzhao, and go with him to fetch the costume pieces?

What exactly was Qi Lian scheming?

As Lin Shenshi lowered his head in thought, he completely failed to notice that their surroundings were growing increasingly secluded. Before long, no other crew members were around.

Then, suddenly, something happened!

A powerful force seized his neck, yanking him backward. After a dizzying spin, his back slammed against a cold, hard wall, sending a sharp pain through his spine. He gasped in shock.

A dark shadow loomed over him from above, pinning him against the wall, immobile. When he looked up, he met Qi Lian’s eyes, dark and churning like a stormy sea.

Lin Shenshi shuddered, suddenly realizing the abnormality of his surroundings.

Crap! He had been too absorbed in his thoughts and had wandered to the outskirts of the set, where there was no one around!

"Was this intentional?" Qi Lian’s voice was low as he gazed down with dark, swirling pupils that held dangerous undertones.

Lin Shenshi instantly recalled that night at the hotel. He realized too late that while he had been focused on spraying perfume on Yu Lanzhao to mask his scent, he had forgotten that he himself still carried traces of the scent from being around him day and night!

Realizing the danger, Lin Shenshi quickly reached into his jacket pocket. But the next moment, a searing hand followed, effortlessly enveloping his entire right hand.

Strong fingers restrained all his movements, the burning heat penetrating deep through his skin. Lin Shenshi trembled at the sensation and tried to struggle, but Qi Lian had already reached deep into the pocket before he could.

—A small glass bottle filled with amber liquid was pulled out.

Qi Lian raised an eyebrow. "Perfume?"

The scent seeped through the loose cap, the rich fragrance of magnolia filling the air.

Qi Lian frowned. "You changed your perfume?"

"So what if I did?"

Lin Shenshi reached for it, but Qi Lian tossed it, sending the perfume bottle arcing through the air before it landed in a distant ditch.

Qi Lian’s tone was disdainful as he commanded, "It stinks. Don’t use it again."

Lin Shenshi: "............"

Since when do you get to decide? That’s my perfume, okay?

He complained inwardly but could only put on a smile on his face.

It didn’t matter. He had backups in his dorm, precisely for situations like this.

Next time, he would still wear it.

Perhaps his surface-level compliance was too obvious, because Qi Lian’s hand reached into his pocket again.

Lin Shenshi panicked. "There’s nothing else! Really, nothing!"

The next second, distinct, knuckled fingers withdrew, holding his phone between them.

Lin Shenshi: "?"

In the moment he was stunned, Qi Lian raised the screen toward his face.

The phone screen was still on the lock screen.

"No face recognition?" Qi Lian tsked in disappointment, swiped to the keypad, and handed it to him. "Unlock it."

Lin Shenshi: "...If I remember correctly, I already refused you."

So Qi Lian had followed him out to get the WeChat add he failed to get earlier. It seemed Qi Lian hadn’t given up on getting close to Yu Lanzhao through him.

A smirk played on Qi Lian’s lips. "So what? Did you think I didn’t notice you playing hard to get?"

Lin Shenshi’s silence was deafening.

Who the fuck is playing hard to get with you????

What good would adding your WeChat do??? Make it easier for you to mess with Ah Zhao???

Lin Shenshi was so angry it made his chest ache. He took advantage of the moment when Qi Lian was distracted, snatched back his phone, and wrenched free from his grasp.

"I can go by myself. Goodbye!"

Without looking back, he ran off.

Hearing no pursuit behind him, Lin Shenshi didn’t dare stop until he reached the costume designer’s tent.

Out of breath, he managed to calm himself before pushing the tent flap aside and stepping inside.

"Ma’am, I’m here to pick up the sixth male lead’s replacement costume set."

The costume designer was a woman in her fifties. It was long past the time when actors usually collected their costume pieces, and she was curled up in her chair, leisurely watching a Thai boys' love drama on her phone. The plot had just reached a crucial scene between the top and bottom when Lin Shenshi’s interruption killed the mood. Annoyed, she frowned impatiently.

"Wait!"

She didn’t budge, her eyes glued to the screen.

"Mmm... ah..."

Suggestive moans emitted from the video, accompanied by the bedframe creaking and heavy breathing.

Lin Shenshi was getting a headache.

What’s going on? In the real world, my roommate plays explicit BL audiobooks out loud, and in this novel world, even casual passersby are publicly playing sex scenes?

“Is this world insane or what?”

Lin Shenshi didn't mind eavesdropping for a bit—after all, as long as he wasn’t embarrassed, the embarrassment was someone else’s.

But he could wait; Yu Lanzhao, soaking wet, couldn’t! Given the male lead’s delicate constitution, he’d come down with a cold any minute now.

Lin Shenshi had to speak up and urge: “Ma’am, could you pick up the pace? Director Tang is waiting for us to start filming.”

“What’s the big rush!?” The costume teacher rolled her eyes, not even bothering to glance at Lin Shenshi.

Just an assistant for the sixth male lead, and he dares to use the director to pressure her? Did he think she’d been slacking off all these years?

She deliberately ignored Lin Shenshi and even turned up the volume of the video playing aloud. In an instant, the tent was filled with sounds that made you blush.

Lin Shenshi gritted his teeth, brushed past her, and started looking for the costume himself. The costume teacher immediately stood up and scolded, “Who said you could just go through my things?!”

“If you won’t find it for me, can’t I look for it myself?” Lin Shenshi retorted.

Caught, the costume teacher snapped: “Who said I wouldn’t find it for you?! Don’t you know the rules? The costumes in the crew are all cataloged. If everyone just rummages through them, how am I supposed to manage?!”

She spoke with fake authority, but in reality, she was just flexing her petty power to bully newcomers beneath her.

What people like her wanted was nothing more than to see heroes kneel and tough guys bow—everyone submitting at her feet.

Lin Shenshi didn’t even want to imagine how much bullying, both overt and covert, Yu Lanzhao had endured during those years alone in the original story...

His heart ached with a sharp pain.

Thankfully, now he was by Yu Lanzhao’s side, and he would never let the events from the book repeat themselves.

However, he couldn’t afford to make a scene just yet—he had to find a way to smooth things over.

Just as Lin Shenshi fell silent, deep in thought about what to do next, and the costume teacher wore a smug look that screamed “Gotcha!”, a low, clear cough suddenly came from behind them.

Both of them turned to look.

The costume teacher’s expression instantly changed, becoming obsequious as she greeted with a smile: “Well, look who it is—Actor Qi! To what do we owe the pleasure? Please, come in, come in!”

Qi Lian had somehow caught up and was leaning in the doorway, his gaze casually sweeping over Lin Shenshi: “No need. I’m just accompanying Manager Lin to pick up the costumes. But...”

His dark, pools-of-ink eyes glanced over with an eerie chill, deep and ominous, carrying a faint, bone-chilling coldness: “You seem busy—too busy to help us, it seems.”

The costume teacher broke out in a cold sweat, her voice trembling: “O-of course not! I’m not busy at all.”

With that, she swiftly pulled out a pale, moon-colored immortal school uniform from the mountain of costumes, exactly Yu Lanzhao’s size.

“Manager Lin, my apologies for the wait,” the costume teacher said respectfully, handing it to Lin Shenshi. Her attitude and tone were completely different from her earlier arrogance, even carrying a hint of cautious flattery.

“So you and Actor Qi are this close! Next time, just let me know directly what costumes you need—don’t be a stranger.”

Lin Shenshi had long known about the cutthroat and snobby nature of the entertainment industry, so he wasn’t surprised by the costume teacher’s change in attitude.

Everyone’s wearing a mask; everyone’s playing a role.

Someone who snarls at you one minute might kiss up the next; someone who calls you ‘bro’ one moment might trample you into the mud the next.

What Lin Shenshi had to do was protect Yu Lanzhao in this filthy environment and help him win the Best Actor crown.

The two of them left one after the other.

The costume teacher’s forehead was already covered in cold sweat.

As they left, though Qi Lian’s icy glare was gone, his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Mopping her brow with her sleeve, she was fretting: Had she offended Actor Qi?

What was this new Manager Lin’s deal? She’d never heard of him before.

What was his relationship with Actor Qi? How could he make the lofty Actor Qi personally accompany him for something as trivial as picking up costumes…

Just then, the Thai boys’ love series playing aloud reached its climax. The dom pressed down on the sub, nipping at his neck, his voice hoarse:

“You’re mine.”

“No one else but me can…”

It was like a lightning bolt of clarity. The costume teacher suddenly understood.

Ah…

So that’s the kind of relationship they had!

It seemed she’d have to be on her best behavior with Manager Lin from now on.

*

Lin Shenshi walked behind Qi Lian.

On the way back, Qi Lian didn’t say a word, as if the earlier conflict and him stepping in had never happened.

Lin Shenshi knew that if it weren’t for Qi Lian’s clout, he would likely have been delayed much longer in the costume teacher’s tent.

Qi Lian had helped him, yet he was the one getting in his way.

His guilt was eating at him, and after some thought, Lin Shenshi called out to the man in front of him.

“Hey.”

Qi Lian turned to look at him.

“...” Lin Shenshi gnawed on his lower lip, as if psyching himself up, then strode up to the man and handed him his phone, unlocked.

On the screen was the QR code needed to add a friend.

Qi Lian raised an eyebrow.

Lin Shenshi: “Thank you for helping me. This is my thanks.”

“Thanks?” Qi Lian slowly repeated the word, as if weighing it, savoring it.

“Yes, thanks.”

Lin Shenshi took a deep breath.

Since he couldn’t repay him, he’d give him what he could for now.

It was just adding a friend. As long as he didn’t reveal anything about Yu Lanzhao, it would be as if nothing had changed.

Qi Lian looked down at the QR code, then curled his lips into a smile, his slanted phoenix eyes slightly curved, carrying a look Lin Shenshi couldn’t read.

For a moment, Lin Shenshi sensed a hint of danger—like a bottomless black hole in a deep, dark abyss, eerie and hidden.

But the next moment, it vanished.

The north wind blew, lifting the hem of his moon-white robes. Delicate ribbons fluttered amidst his hair as Qi Lian reached out with slender fingers, his every move heart-stoppingly handsome and alluring.

His thin lips parted lightly.

“Well then, I’ll accept it.”