Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Shang Xianwang glanced at the remaining food on the table, gauging how much Shang Xueyan had eaten. He said gently, "Go on with your meal. I'll wait for you downstairs."

"Alright, I'll eat quickly then."

"President Shang?" A surprised voice came from their side—it was producer Hu An, who had just stepped out onto the balcony to take a call.

Shang Xianwang turned slightly, his gaze lingering on the middle-aged man's face for a second before he said, with a hint of hesitation, "President Hu."

Hu An extended his hand, and Shang Xianwang did the same. Hu An wasn't particularly striking, but his hands were quite attractive—slender and well-proportioned. As Shang Xianwang reached out to shake hands, Shang Xueyan noticed his older brother's hands were even more refined. Under the warm yellow light, they seemed to be gilded with a soft, rich glow—his fingers long and shapely, not thin or bony, with a distinguished yet understated bone structure.

The two shook hands politely.

Hu An, delighted, said, "What brings you here?"

Seeing Shang Xueyan standing beside him, Hu An's gaze flickered between them, his expression hesitant. "Do you know Xueyan?"

"A Yan is my younger brother." Shang Xianwang never hesitated to clarify his true relationship with Shang Xueyan.

Hu An looked startled, his eyes darting between their faces. He exclaimed with surprise, "Xueyan is your brother? No wonder I felt he looked familiar the first time I saw him."

Hu An lied without batting an eye, Shang Xueyan thought to himself. Looks-wise, he didn't resemble his older brother at all.

"A Yan, go finish your meal. I'll wait for you downstairs," Shang Xianwang turned his head and gently instructed Shang Xueyan.

"Oh, President Shang, since we've bumped into each other by chance, there's no need to go downstairs. Why not join us for a bit? We've only just started eating." Hu An added smoothly, "Even if you've already eaten, you can still sit with us. Have some soup—the black-bone chicken soup here is delicious and good for the stomach."

Shang Xianwang didn’t agree immediately but looked at Shang Xueyan.

Shang Xueyan quickly nodded to his elder brother. He could tell his brother had had a bit more to drink that evening—definitely more than his own two drinks—so some chicken soup would be perfect to settle his stomach.

Shang Xianwang turned back and smiled at Hu An. "Then I’ll gladly accept your kind offer."

"President Shang, you're too modest. Your presence alone brings immense honor to our gathering," Hu An responded warmly.

Their table was already full with ten people, so having Shang Xianwang squeeze in with the regular staff wouldn't do. Hu An instructed a server to bring an extra chair and set up a new place setting.

Zhu Zhenhong had made two films with Hu An already, and this was their third collaboration. It was the first time he'd ever seen Hu An so enthusiastic about anyone. Zhu Zhenhong asked in surprise, "Lao Hu, who is this?"

Hu An puffed out his chest slightly and introduced with a smile, "This is President Shang of Fengyuan Group."

Fengyuan Group was a huge, well-known company in the country, so hardly anyone hadn't heard of it. However, while Fengyuan was renowned for its products, its top executives rarely appeared in the news, and very few people knew what they looked like.

Everyone was stunned, unable to hide their astonishment as they looked at Shang Xianwang. First, they found it hard to believe—how could the head of a major conglomerate be so young? Second, Shang Xianwang’s appearance was exceptionally striking—dignified, aloof, and even by entertainment industry standards, he was a rare find.

But Hu An was the producer of this drama, with extensive connections, so he wouldn’t make baseless claims.

Seeing how surprised everyone was that President Shang had suddenly appeared at their crew’s team-building event, Hu An chuckled and explained, "President Shang is our Xueyan’s big brother, so he’s not an outsider. I took the liberty of inviting President Shang to join us for dinner."

What?

Shang Xianwang is Shang Xueyan’s brother?

Upon hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded.

But Hu An wouldn’t lie, so Shang Xueyan’s brother really was the president of Fengyuan Group. That meant the news in the earlier exposé post couldn’t possibly be true—it was pure nonsense!

Someone lowered their voice and whispered to a colleague beside them, "I said earlier that post couldn’t be trusted—it was too fake. And you insisted there’s no smoke without fire. Now you have to believe me, right?"

Jiang Lan sat in his chair as if in a daze, gritting his teeth and staring at Shang Xianwang diagonally across from him.

Shang Xianwang was speaking with Hu An. Hu An was much more animated, saying several sentences for every one of Shang Xianwang’s replies. But from time to time, Shang Xianwang glanced at Shang Xueyan, who was eating. His posture wasn’t domineering, nor was his demeanor ostentatious—he sat upright, leaning back slightly, yet he exuded an undeniable presence. His gaze toward Shang Xueyan was gentle and indulgent.

How could the president of Fengyuan Group be Shang Xueyan’s brother? Wasn’t Shang Xueyan an orphan with unknown parents?

Everyone turned almost simultaneously to look at Jiang Lan, who clenched his fists, only then realizing he had blurted out the question in front of everyone.

Shang Xueyan’s lips curved into a slight smile. He raised an eyebrow and said, "How do you know I’m an orphan with unknown parents? What everyone thinks they know isn’t necessarily true."

Jiang Lan’s lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but Hu An frowned slightly and looked at him, his tone carrying a hint of warning. "Jiang Lan, if you’re done eating, you can leave early."

Jiang Lan had no choice but to swallow the words he had been about to say.

After dinner, though Hu An’s car wasn’t parked in the same area as Shang Xianwang’s, he still escorted Shang Xianwang to where his car was parked. He waited until the designated driver Shang Xianwang had called arrived, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then took his leave.

Shang Xueyan didn’t drive his Bugatti and instead got into the back seat of the Maybach with Shang Xianwang. The car interior felt stuffy, so Shang Xueyan rolled down the window slightly and turned to say, "Big brother, doesn’t Hu An talk a bit too much?"

"Not at all. He’s quite interesting to talk to." Shang Xianwang undid another button on his shirt. He had shared a couple more drinks with Hu An earlier. He turned to look at Shang Xueyan, his breath carrying a faint hint of alcohol. "Why is Jiang Lan in your crew?"

"Not sure," Shang Xueyan shrugged. "The director cast him."

Then Shang Xueyan chuckled. "But now that Lu Han has been caught, his days probably aren’t going too well either. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken on a supporting role. Last year, he wouldn’t accept anything less than a lead role."

Shang Xianwang lowered his gaze and let out a calm "Hmm."

Shang Xueyan had a scene scheduled for nine o’clock the next morning—a daily life group scene with the family of seven in the small courtyard. Since his Bugatti was still parked near the restaurant from the previous night, he had to drive the Rolls-Royce to work again that morning.

As the car came to a stop and Shang Xueyan stepped out of the driver’s seat, a pair of eyes glared at him venomously from the side. Shang Xueyan turned to see Jiang Lan standing beside a Mercedes.

After locking the car door, Shang Xueyan strode toward Jiang Lan. He was genuinely curious—why did Jiang Lan despise Shang Rong so much? Shang Rong had once considered Jiang Lan his best friend.

Then again, he thought, there was no real need to ask. As the saying goes, in the world of the ugly duckling, the swan is born with original sin.

As he passed by Jiang Lan, Jiang Lan stopped him fiercely: "Shang Xueyan, do you think it’s so easy to be Shang Xianwang’s brother?"

"Do you know? His last brother—the one he grew up with—was just sent to prison by him last year. Who knows when he’ll get out? Don’t think that just because you’re his brother, you can rest easy. Do you have any idea what he’s really planning to do to you?" Jiang Lan struggled to conceal the malice in his tone.

Shang Xueyan paused, turned to glance at him, took a step back, and said, "Did you forget to brush your teeth this morning?"

"Why does it smell like a toilet?"

After these words, Shang Xueyan walked away as if nothing had happened.

"Brother Jiang," assistant Song Xuan cautiously observed Jiang Lan’s expression and reminded him carefully, "Let’s head to the set."

After a pause, and after scanning the area to ensure no familiar faces were around, he added, "Shang Rong is bound to end up worse off than before sooner or later. How much genuine affection could Shang Xianwang have for a suddenly appearing brother? It might just be some rich family power struggle—maybe he’s just trying to deceive Shang Xueyan?"

Hearing Song Xuan’s words, Jiang Lan’s expression softened considerably. Why should he compete with Shang Xueyan for momentary satisfaction? In a few days, Shang Xueyan might end up in prison too. By then, forget being a big star—he might not even be able to land extra roles.

A satisfied smile appeared on Jiang Lan’s face.

When he arrived at the makeup room on set, he changed into his costume and had just sat down in front of the mirror when Director Zhu’s assistant hurried in to call him. "Jiang Lan, no need to start with makeup yet. Director Zhu needs to see you about something. Please go over."

Jiang Lan stood up from his chair. "What does Director Zhu want to see me about?"

"I’m not sure. You should just go for now."

The Gu family courtyard didn’t have a dedicated meeting room. Zhu Zhenhong was waiting for him in one of the boys’ rooms from the series. Jiang Lan pushed open the half-closed door and walked in. "Director Zhu, you wanted to see me? What’s the matter?" he asked amiably.

Director Zhu got straight to the point: "Jiang Lan, this role isn't a good fit for you."

It's rare to fire an actor after filming has already begun. Although Director Zhu had never been particularly satisfied with him, he still extended some courtesy, saying gently, "If there's a suitable role in the future, I'll keep you in mind first."

Jiang Lan gaped at Director Zhu in astonishment, his smile vanishing. "Director Zhu, are you firing me?"

He demanded, "Does President Wang know about this?"

President Wang was one of the investors of this drama, and Jiang Lan's entry into the crew was largely due to him.

Seeing Jiang Lan name-drop the investor to pressure him, Director Zhu said tersely, "President Wang already knows, of course. You can leave now."

"Who is it? Who wants me out? Shang Xueyan?" Jiang Lan bottled up the anger in his heart.

"No one is kicking you out! It's just that your acting isn't suitable for this role." Director Zhu wasn't fond of Jiang Lan. For one, he had never been satisfied with Jiang Lan playing Gu Rui—it was the investor who insisted on using him. Director Zhu had no choice but to grudgingly accept it, as the role wasn't particularly major and could be coached properly. However, he had also seen last night's post.

It was true that Wang He was an investor in this drama, but he had no connection to Shang Xueyan. Shang Xueyan landed the role because Director Zhu knew Shen Ling and gave him an audition opportunity, which he aced on his own.

Seeing Jiang Lan still going on, Director Zhu brushed him off. "The crew staff are all outside. If you cause a scene, you'll only embarrass yourself. Let's end things amicably. I'll announce publicly that you stepped down due to scheduling conflicts."

Jiang Lan gritted his teeth, his expression fierce. After a moment, he turned and left on his own.

Shang Xueyan was in the courtyard running lines with Miao Hanxing when he caught sight of Jiang Lan storming off from the main hall. Miao Hanxing initially wanted to call him over to rehearse together, but Jiang Lan ignored him and marched off looking furious.

Miao Hanxing looked puzzled. "What's wrong with him?"

"No idea," Shang Xueyan said, equally confused.

It didn't take long—within half an hour, everyone in the crew knew that Jiang Lan had "voluntarily withdrawn" due to scheduling conflicts. However, his "voluntary withdrawal" didn't delay filming. Before the morning was over, a new actor for Gu Rui had joined the crew.

The new actor was Chang Jingzhou, who had just graduated from drama school a few days ago. He was bubbly, energetic, and full of life—completely different from Gu Rui, who was intelligent, introverted, and somewhat gloomy. But his acting skills were top-notch; during filming, it was hard to imagine his real personality.

During a break, Shang Xueyan had his assistant Fei Yu hand him his phone and sent a message to Shang Xianwang: 【Brother, Jiang Lan "voluntarily withdrew" today.】

Shang Xianwang: "Hmm."

Not one to answer questions directly, Shang Xueyan asked, "Was it your doing?"

The other party was typing for a while before sending: "He had it out for you."

The corner of Shang Xueyan's mouth turned up involuntarily. Leaning against a slightly faded red wooden pillar, he tapped out slowly: "Oh."

After a few seconds of typing, Shang Xianwang asked if he wasn't filming at the moment. Shang Xueyan said he was waiting for his scene and then thought of something else. "But how did you get Jiang Lan to leave? Jiang Lan was someone our drama's investor pushed in."

Shang Xueyan was actually quite clever. Although last night's post seemed convincing, he knew he had no connection to the investor. On the contrary, Director Zhu had been quite dissatisfied with Jiang Lan but had reluctantly accepted him due to pressure.

Shang Xueyan easily put two and two together.

Shang Xianwang replied succinctly: "I could always invest."

The corner of Shang Xueyan's mouth lifted into a wide smile. Miao Hanxing, standing beside him, shot him a weird look for a moment, hesitating as if wanting to say something but ultimately holding back.

They hadn't known each other long, so asking if he was in a relationship seemed a bit overstepping boundaries, especially in their line of work.

After replying to a few more messages from his brother, who then went to a meeting, Shang Xueyan was about to put his phone away when someone in the trio group chat frantically spammed @s at him and Shen Mengkun.

Wang Xiantao: "In half an hour, I'm going to film a kiss scene! My first screen kiss!!!"

It wasn't just Shang Xueyan who joined a crew in June. At the end of last month, Wang Xiantao joined a big-budget historical idol drama as the third male lead. The filming location wasn't in Beijing; although Beijing has a film studio, the largest historical drama studio is in Nan Zhou. Wang Xiantao had been filming in Hengdian, Nan Zhou, for the past ten days.

Shen Mengkun hadn't joined any crew. He didn't want to film outside Beijing this year, and there were no suitable projects near Beijing, so Shen Ling enrolled him in an acting class to hone his skills.

Shen Mengkun: "[Pulling up a bench emoji]"

Shang Xueyan: "[Slicing watermelon emoji]"

Shen Mengkun: "[Buying sunflower seeds emoji]"

Shang Xueyan: "[Little dog excitedly watching emoji]"

Wang Xiantao: "Seriously, do you two have no shame? My heart rate is already at 120!"

Wang Xiantao: "Yan, your drama has a kiss scene too, right? I don't believe you won't be nervous. That's your first screen kiss too, isn't it?"

Shang Xueyan: "It's gone."

Wang Xiantao: "Gone?"

Shen Mengkun: "Gone?"

Wang Xiantao: "How is it gone? How did it just disappear?!"

Shang Xueyan had discussed this drama with Shen Mengkun and Wang Xiantao before. Wang Xiantao mentioned he had several kiss scenes in his drama, and Shang Xueyan casually mentioned he had one too.

Later, after receiving the final script before filming started, Shang Xueyan's kiss scene was removed, though he hadn't mentioned it to the two yet.

Shang Xueyan: "The script was revised, and that scene was cut."

Shen Mengkun: "[Minion laughing mischievously emoji]"

Shen Mengkun: "That's a good thing, Bro Yan. You've never dated or kissed anyone, right?"

Wang Xiantao: "Was it your brother who demanded the kiss scene be cut? I told you he doesn't see you as a brother! Why haven't you done a DNA test yet?"

Wang Xiantao: "Yan, by the time I return to Beijing, will your virtue still be intact?"

Shang Xueyan: "[Kicking someone flying emoji]"

Shang Xueyan: "What does this have to do with my brother? How would my brother have any say in the script? He's not even an investor in this drama!!"

Well, he is now, but before filming started, he wasn't.

Shang Xueyan: "I have to go film. Talk later."

He put away his phone and picked up his script, when a sudden thought crossed his mind: Even if his brother wasn't an investor, he could still demand script changes. Although Shen Ling was his agent, if Brother went through Sister Ling to have the crew modify his intimate scenes, it wasn't impossible.

Damn it, Shang Xueyan? Have you successfully been brainwashed by Wang Xiantao?

Author's Note:

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Back to updating! The entire story has been largely rewritten. Daily updates before V, massive updates after V. Thanks for your support.