Shen Mo leaned against Sheng Yiyang's shoulder and slowly drifted off to sleep, though his hand remained tightly clenched around Sheng Yiyang's clothes. Every time Sheng Yiyang shifted, Shen Mo would knit his brows in unease.
In the end, the guest bedroom went unused.
While secretly thrilled, Sheng Yiyang also felt a pang of worry. His love for Shen Mo wasn't born out of the lingering guilt from his past life, when Shen Mo had willingly died to save him; it was a genuine, all-consuming affection that had bloomed during the time they had spent together recently!
Did Shen Mo depend on him, or did he actually love him?
Sheng Yiyang wasn't sure, yet he relished the way Shen Mo relied on him. Just as he was thinking he should take things slowly, Ji Rong urged him to get to work. "Come on, Sheng, Director Lin has already chased me down several times. It's time for you to finally come out of seclusion!"
Sheng Yiyang looked down at Shen Mo, gently led him over to the couch, and said softly, "Momo, I have to go to work now. I'll have Ji Rong come keep you company, okay?"
Shen Mo stared at him, a flicker of incomprehension in his eyes.
Sheng Yiyang explained things to him in simple, easy-to-understand terms, pointing at the television. "Once you get used to it, Momo, you'll be able to see me right here on TV~"
Shen Mo blinked, looked at the television, and then back at Sheng Yiyang.
Sheng Yiyang understood in a flash. He pulled up the award-winning drama in which he had won Best Actor and started playing it.
Shen Mo watched the screen, completely captivated.
After saying a great deal more to Shen Mo, Sheng Yiyang finally left home with a heavy heart, reluctant to tear himself away.
Outside the set, Ji Rong teased, "I honestly thought you were going to bring Shen Mo along with you!"
Sheng Yiyang's gaze darkened, and his voice turned gravelly. "I wanted to, but the matter with Ling Chen hasn't been resolved yet! I won't put him at any risk!"
Ji Rong raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to reply, but seeing the crowd around them thickening, he clamped it shut.
Sheng Yiyang walked straight over to Director Lin to offer his apologies.
Without giving Sheng Yiyang so much as a second to look over the script, Director Lin cut straight to today's scenes and bellowed for all departments to get ready!
Sheng Yiyang knew Director Lin was holding onto a bit of lingering resentment, but having already won Best Actor three times and a Golden Eagle Award in his past life, he was a bona fide movie star, and acting was second nature to him.
"Didn't people say Sheng Yiyang only won Best Actor because the genre was in vogue? Why is he so damn good now?" Du Yiyang, who was playing a minor supporting role, whispered in disbelief as he poked a nearby crew member while watching Sheng Yiyang work with effortless ease beneath the camera.
"So he actually went off to study his craft! No wonder he refused to see me for a whole month!" A clear, bright voice laced with a hint of grievance rang out.
Du Yiyang turned his head. The speaker had a slender figure, wore a face mask, and was eyeing Sheng Yiyang with a gaze full of sultry charm.
"Who the hell are you?"
Du Yiyang's blunt question made the corners of Ling Chen's mouth stiffen beneath his mask. He turned slightly toward Du Yiyang. "Did Sheng Yiyang never mention who I am?"
Du Yiyang's face was a mask of confusion. "I'm not even close with Sheng Yiyang, why would he tell me? Besides, you two don't exactly look like old friends either!"
Ling Chen froze, looking at Du Yiyang with undisguised astonishment. How could he and Sheng Yiyang not be close?! The entire internet knew that Sheng Yiyang was head over heels for him!
Du Yiyang rolled his eyes. Of course he recognized who this was; he simply couldn't stand the guy. The tiny shred of admiration he had just felt for Sheng Yiyang's acting vanished into thin air. How could someone with eyes as good as Sheng Yiyang's ever fall for a hypocritical lotus like Ling Chen?
"Sheng Yiyang!" Hearing the director call cut, Ling Chen happily waved at Sheng Yiyang and shouted his name.
Everyone on set paused, casting gossip-filled glances in their direction.
Anyone who knew Sheng Yiyang knew all about Ling Chen, and they were dying to see whether Sheng Yiyang would run over to him. Instead, they saw Sheng Yiyang frown, a look of pure disgust flashing in his eyes. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Yue Lejia?"
Ling Chen: "?!?!" What? How did he know about that?!
Du Yiyang: "Holy crap, hot gossip!"
Yue Lejia, the reigning top-tier traffic idol and the crown prince of Tianyu Entertainment! Ling Chen was actually hooking up with him behind the scenes?
The rest of the crew exchanged knowing, wide-eyed looks, their gazes darting back and forth between the two men while a few sneaky individuals quietly whipped out their phones to record.
"W-who told you that? Sheng Yiyang, let's go home first, and I'll explain everything to you there, okay?" Ling Chen's eyes instantly reddened, brimming with helpless distress. He stepped closer to Sheng Yiyang and reached out to grab his hand, a sudden wave of panic crashing over him: Just how on earth did Sheng Yiyang find out?!
The onlookers watching the drama unfold: Holy crap, "go home"? So these two were living together all along?
Frowning, Sheng Yiyang sidestepped Ling Chen's outstretched hand. "Go home? Come on, Ling Chen, didn't you say on that show that you only saw me as a friend? That I was the one chasing after you relentlessly, that I was the one hounding you to death, and that I was the one intruding on you and Yue Lejia? Oh right, that part got edited out because you had Yue Lejia cut it, so it never aired."
Ling Chen felt a jolt through his core, screaming internally: How on earth does Sheng Yiyang know all this?! Catching sight of the whispering crowd out of the corner of his eye, he found his composure slipping, but remembering Yue Lejia's promise that the footage had been thoroughly scrubbed, he reasoned that Sheng Yiyang couldn't possibly have any proof. That thought restored a measure of his backbone. "I did no such thing! Sheng Yiyang, have you stopped liking me, is that why you're making up all this garbage to smear me?!"
This was Ling Chen's specialty—crying on cue. It was enough to break the heart of anyone who heard it and bring tears to the eyes of anyone who saw it.
Annoyance flashed in Sheng Yiyang's eyes. He took his phone from Ji Rong, glanced down to tap the screen a few times, and then fixed a cold gaze on Ling Chen. "I've already posted it. Please stop disturbing my work!" I still need to get back early so I can cuddle with my Momo~
Ling Chen's body went rigid. With stiff fingers, he pulled out his phone. Barely a few seconds later, "Sheng Yiyang and Ling Chen" rocketed to the top of the trending searches!
"Sheng Yiyang!" Ling Chen shrieked in disbelief, a sudden hollowness opening up in his chest. He actually had proof?! And he actually posted it!
Sheng Yiyang had zero intention of paying him any mind. He sat back down and went back to reading his script, while Ji Rong shot Ling Chen a thin, mocking smile.
The gossipy, quietly mocking stares from everyone on set made Ling Chen feel thoroughly out of place. After glaring at Sheng Yiyang for a long moment, he had no choice but to turn on his heel and beat a hasty retreat!
Sheng Yiyang resumed filming. Those who were currently in a scene had to desperately resist the urge to check their phones, but those with free time—like Du Yiyang—lost no time pulling out their devices.
By then, "Sheng Yiyang and Ling Chen" had already hit the "Exploding" status!
Sheng Yiyang V: I was blind. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other! If you ever come harassing me again, I'll bash your head in! @Ling Chen [Picture] [Video]
Hating Work: [Holy crap, Sheng Yiyang actually stopped simping?]
A Single Yangyang: [What kind of garbage is Ling Chen! He's already with Yue Lejia, yet he still dragged our Yangyang through the mud!]
Happy Yangyang: [That video was from Truth or Dare, right? I knew something looked off when I watched it before, turns out it was chopped up and Frankensteined together!]
Tired of Mutton: [Did our Yangyang finally open his eyes? Thank goodness!]
Ghost: [This two-year-old one-sided crush has finally ended with Ling Chen cheating!]
Morning Sunshine: [Hey upstairs, what do you mean by cheating! Our Chenchen never once said he was dating Sheng Yiyang, okay? Everything was just Sheng Yiyang being a willing fool!]
Boisterous Yang: [Right, right! Keeping our Yangyang on a string on one hand while playing all lovey-dovey with Yue Lejia on the other!]
Twilight: [Chenchen said it clearly, his relationship with Yue Lejia is purely professional! They're just friends!]
A Happy Family: [Our family's Jiajia already stated that he and Ling Chen are just friends! Certain people need to stop trying to hitch their wagons to him!]
...
Ling Chen scrolled through the comments. Although they were largely being drowned out by Yue Lejia's fans, he and Sheng Yiyang could no longer be bundled together in the public eye the way they used to be! What on earth had happened? Wasn't it just about him asking for the male lead role in Formula of Playing the Qin? If he didn't want to hand it over, he could've just said no—why pull a stunt like this?!
Unwilling to let it go, Ling Chen was determined to hunt Sheng Yiyang down and demand an explanation!