The night sky hung low, with stars twinkling. On the summer solstice, the night air carried a humid warmth, stirring unease and restlessness. But the city’s noise was just beginning.
People finishing work, those out for fun, and others preparing for late-night gatherings filled the city with a bustling energy. In this fast-paced metropolis, it was only at nine o’clock that the true nightlife began.
In the Lingyan Bar, Yan Xiuyuan’s eyes blazed with fury. His fists clenched tight, his rage almost making him want to kill. He looked like a foolish beast, a waste of that handsome face.
He, the young president of Yan Entertainment, had made plans to meet the good-for-nothing madman that everyone despised. The agreed time was eight o’clock, but not only did Pei Lang not arrive early, it was already nine and he still hadn’t shown up. From the moment the phone call ended, Yan Xiuyuan had been prepared to put on a display of anger and humiliation. What he’d planned to say and how he’d insult Pei Lang, it was all set. His disdain had turned into fury and his patience had run out.
Pei Ziqing was both worried and secretly pleased.
Pei Lang offending Yan Xiuyuan would lead to trouble and it was best if someone else handled him. Pei Lang not showing up, whether he had truly given up or not, was a source of relief.
The worry came from seeing Yan Xiuyuan’s good temper breaking down. It was the first time he’d seen him lose control, and it was a little frightening.
At his breaking point, Yan Xiuyuan picked up his phone and dialed Pei Lang. The dialing tone echoed for a long while. Just as Yan Xiuyuan was about to throw his phone in frustration, Pei Lang answered, his voice lazy and soft, still laced with drowsiness. “Hello~ Who’s this?”
“Pei Lang, what are you doing? How dare you stand me up!” Yan Xiuyuan’s usual composure shattered and he yelled angrily.
The roar pierced through Pei Lang’s ears, fully waking him up. He blinked in surprise, then pulled the phone away from his ear. After a moment, he furrowed his brows in displeasure. “Oh, it’s you. I never agreed to meet during the day. You hung up before I could finish, so why blame me? It’s late and you’re disturbing my dreams.”
“You think I’d fall for your little game of feigned indifference? When I make an appointment, it gets done. How dare you make me wait for you? Pei Lang, you’re finished.” Yan Xiuyuan was disgusted by the fact that Pei Lang was now resorting to such petty tricks, making him waste his time.
Pei Lang wasn’t happy to hear that. “What’s the deal? You plan to mess with me and I’m supposed to run to you like an idiot? Yan Xiuyuan, do you think I’m stupid?” No, the original owner had always been seen as a fool in their eyes. “And by the way, I should’ve told you earlier—I couldn’t care less about you. As for why I did those things, it’s just because I’ve always liked to take things away from Pei Ziqing. But I’m letting go now, not interested anymore. After all, I don’t like you. If one day I decide to take things back, I’ll probably just toss you aside once my competitive streak is satisfied.”
From these two phone calls, Pei Lang was even more certain that the two main male characters’ personalities had drastically changed. The protagonist he had once liked in the story had now become someone he despised. So, there was no need to be polite with Yan Xiuyuan anymore.
These words rendered Yan Xiuyuan worthless, pushing his anger to the brink. Just as he was about to lash out in retaliation, Pei Lang spoke earnestly.
“Yan Xiuyuan, you’re about to get engaged, so please be more mindful and keep your distance from someone like me, a single person. Ziqing is sensitive and fragile; you wouldn’t want to make him feel insecure.”
After that, Pei Lang hung up the phone, blocked the number, and shut it off.
That night, Yan Xiuyuan completely lost control.
Everything in the private room that could be smashed was shattered. Pei Ziqing, frightened, hesitated and didn’t know what to do.
He had been pampered all his life, always receiving praise and approval for everything he did. But just now, a worthless, morally corrupt, and sissy good-for-nothing had demeaned him to nothing. How could he not be enraged?
His good temper and refined manners disappeared entirely. At that moment, he was like a mad demon.
This was the first time Pei Ziqing had seen Yan Xiuyuan like this. He didn’t dare approach to comfort him or do anything at all. He could only place all his anger on Pei Lang.
After hanging up the phone, Pei Lang belatedly realized he had walked right to the edge of a cliff.
If he followed the original plot and tried to seduce the male lead, it was a dead end. Avoiding him had also offended Yan Xiuyuan, leaving him in a no-win situation. What could he do? He couldn’t just go and flatter them, could he?
Of course not. Setting aside whether Yan Xiuyuan would even want to be flattered, even if he forced himself to do it while feeling disgusted, it would still be seen as an attempt at seduction. He definitely wouldn’t do that.
Before, it had been a guess, but now, after these two phone calls, Pei Lang was completely certain—the personalities of the two protagonists had collapsed beyond recognition. They were nothing like the perfect characters from his memories.
The CP he shipped—collapsed!!
Now, when he thought of putting Pei Ziqing and Yan Xiuyuan together, he just couldn’t bring himself to ship them anymore.
The key point was that offending Yan Xiuyuan had made his future in the entertainment industry nearly impossible. In his previous world, he had no background or connections, facing countless setbacks in the industry until a big director noticed him by chance, and his drama became a massive hit, bringing him a steady stream of resources.
But this world was different. He hadn’t even entered the industry yet and had already offended the CEO of one of the top entertainment companies. On top of that, he had tarnished his reputation. Breaking into the industry now would be incredibly difficult. Yan Xiuyuan’s intent to deal with him today had already proven that he had become a thorn in his side and the words he just said had driven the point home even further. Yan Xiuyuan wouldn’t let him off easily.
“Yan Han is his uncle, an elder. No matter how powerful he is, he wouldn’t go after an elder, right? If I latch onto Yan Han’s leg, wouldn’t I be safe from Yan Xiuyuan?” Pei Lang suddenly had a flash of insight as he lay flat on the bed. He sat up and murmured to himself. But… “Yan Han is so cold, would he even accept my flattery? Although he’s childish inside, he’s not a child. To maintain his cold, domineering image, he would definitely ignore me.”
Having risen to such a position, Yan Han had seen all kinds of people and many had tried to please him. Pei Lang’s little tricks wouldn’t just fail to attract him, they’d be seen right through.
“Looks like I can only cater to his preferences,” Pei Lang thought, feeling that his golden finger was finally coming in handy. Yan Han might appear cold on the outside, but his heart was soft. Pei Lang could use his golden finger to know what he was thinking, play to his likes, and wait for the right moment to latch onto him.
After all, he still needed some time before he could fully enter the entertainment industry. He could spend this time getting close to Yan Han—so long as he was in this villa, Yan Xiuyuan wouldn’t dare do anything to him.
Making up his mind, Pei Lang changed into clean loungewear, went downstairs to finish the leftover dumplings in the fridge, and then sat in the living room waiting for Yan Han to come home. Yan Han had been busy. After waiting for over an hour, he finally came home with Assistant Su. When he saw Pei Lang half-asleep on the sofa, a look of confusion flashed in his eyes. Su Jia spoke up, waking him up.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been waiting for you guys,” Pei Lang answered, yawning as he woke up.
Su Jia looked Pei Lang up and down. His clean and neat outfit, his strikingly beautiful face, the lazy, enticing aura around him, and the soft gaze directed at his boss made Su Jia realize something. He sneered. “You’re not waiting for me, are you?”
“It’s good that you know,” Pei Lang smiled, his lips curving.
Still daring to admit it, Su Jia’s eyes widened, and he scolded, “So you are trying to seduce the boss. I advise you to give up on that idea.”
“Why are you so anxious? Could it be that you like Mr. Yan?” Pei Lang’s smile turned mischievous as he turned to Yan Han. “Mr. Yan, do you know that he secretly has feelings for you?”
“What nonsense are you spouting? How could I like the boss?” Su Jia hurriedly retorted, then realized he had walked right into a trap. He rushed to explain, “What I meant was, I don’t deserve the boss—no, I shouldn’t have those kinds of feelings. Actually, I don’t like the boss at all, okay?”
Su Jia didn’t dare look at Yan Han, hurriedly offering a flurry of explanations to Pei Lang.
Pei Lang smiled even more happily, a hint of slyness flashing in his eyes. “Why are you explaining to me? You should explain it to Mr. Yan.”
“Boss…”
“Enough.” Just as Su Jia was about to explain, Yan Han spoke. Su Jia shot a glare at Pei Lang and obediently fell silent. With the noise finally gone, Yan Han turned to Pei Lang. “You’re waiting for me?”
“Mm, Mr. Yan, have you eaten? Are you hungry?” As he spoke, Pei Lang’s expression shifted to one of motherly affection, his gaze falling on Yan Han’s shoulder, where he noticed the small figure rubbing his stomach in a somewhat pitiful manner. In truth, Yan Han had only had alcohol tonight and hadn’t eaten much. Normally, he wasn’t particularly interested in food, but since being around Pei Lang, he seemed to feel hunger more acutely and looked forward to the simple, peaceful moments of eating.
Pei Lang understood. “Mr. Yan, you’ve had alcohol, right? I can smell it. How about I make something for you? I ate your dinner, so consider this a compensation.”
Since meeting Pei Lang, Su Jia had become increasingly less respectful. Yan Han hadn’t even spoken yet, and Su Jia was already answering for him. “You make it? Are you joking? The boss is going to eat the simple, bland food you make? Don’t you know that his meals are all carefully planned by a nutritionist?”
“What’s the big deal about nutrition? As long as it’s enjoyable to eat. Besides, how do you know Mr. Yan won’t eat what I make?” Pei Lang thought to himself, knowing that Yan Han had eaten his cooking twice already, even though it was the same dish.
Su Jia was amused by Pei Lang’s naivety. “You’re something else! The boss was shouting a few days ago that he wanted to eat Summer Sunset. That’s a masterpiece by a master chef! Even Southern Well Pavilion can’t make it. If you can make it to the boss’s satisfaction, I’ll admit defeat.”
When Pei Lang heard the dish’s name, he was momentarily stunned, then laughed wildly, flashing a row of neat, pretty teeth. “You’re the one who said it.”
Neither of them noticed the displeasure in Yan Han’s eyes, especially Su Jia, who, with no sense of timing, dragged Pei Lang into the kitchen, saying that he’d feel more at ease watching Pei Lang cook.
Yan Han spoke coldly, “Su Jia, go home.”
If Su Jia knew that the “Summer Sunset” the boss had been shouting about was actually stir-fried tomatoes and eggs—and that the boss had even sent him a photo of it, only for Su Jia’s comment to make him swallow his words—he probably wouldn’t know what kind of surprised expression to wear. Most importantly, where would Yan Han put his face? “I told you not to mention those words again. Your bonus for next month is deducted. Get out!”
Su Jia was stunned.
Why wasn’t the boss following the usual script?
Why was he deducting his bonus again?
Well, when has the boss ever followed the usual script?
The boss’s orders had to be obeyed, so Su Jia quickly made his exit. He had no idea that his salary had been docked three times because of the dishes Pei Lang had made.
Now, the whole villa was left with just the two of them. Yan Han stared at Pei Lang for a long time, even the little figure on his shoulder wore a serious expression. Pei Lang didn’t dare to move or speak. After a long silence, Yan Han finally spoke. “I didn’t shout.”
Pei Lang was momentarily stunned, then realized what Yan Han was doing. Su Jia had said that he had been shouting about wanting to eat the Summer Sunset. Yan Han was just explaining, saving face.
Damn it, Pei Lang actually thought Yan Han was a bit cute in his cold demeanor. It must be the chibi on his shoulder giving him a halo that caused this misconception.
“I know, Mr. Yan, you’re not like that,” Pei Lang said, trying his best to appear convinced. He was worried that Yan Han might place the blame on him, which would ruin his plan to latch onto him.
Yan Han, being meticulous, explained again. “You said it was a famous dish. I only had someone verify if you were lying. I don’t eat food with an unknown origin.”
“Mm-hmm, I understand,” Pei Lang said, blinking and nodding vigorously. “So, Mr. Yan, may I go cook now?”
“Mm.”
