Chapter 12

Shan Yatong was not a huge fan of French cuisine. But the atmosphere of the restaurant was good, and most of the diners inside were also from the industry.

Swirling the red wine in his glass, Shan Yatong looked at Luo Yanqian. “You come here often?”

Luo Yanqian took a sip of red wine. “I haven’t been here before, but I heard my industry friends mention this place. It’s only my first time here, why?”

Setting the wine glass down, Shan Yatong said with a smile, “It’s not bad.”

This kind of restaurant in this industry had good security against paparazzi. At least they had privacy, so he tried to talk. “Who is this restaurant under?”

Seeing him eat well, Luo Yanqian also wiped at the corners of his mouth. “I heard it was opened by a director’s wife. Why, are you interested?”

Shan Yatong shook his head. From the side, he saw two female artists coming their way. Surprisingly, one of them was Mi Li, who did not get along with him.

Mi Li clearly saw Shan Yatong as well, but when she saw who he was with, she just snorted and sat down at another table.

After settling the bill, they went directly to the parking lot through the restaurant’s special access, so that they could avoid the paparazzi. After the two got into the car, Luo Yanqian asked, “You don’t get along with that Mi Li?”

Shan Yatong buckled his seat belt. “Some time ago, the company arranged for me to have a scandal with her. But I refused.”

“No wonder people look at you like this.” said Luo Yanqian. “You clearly don’t give face to other female artists. Not to mention, she’s even more popular than you…” After saying this, Luo Yanqian paused and coughed dryly in embarrassment. How could he say something so direct?

Seeing such an expression on his face, Shan Yatong laughed out loud. This teenager was surprisingly cute like this.

Laughing?! Luo Yanqian gazed blankly at the smile on Shan Yatong’s face. Why did he always think Shan Yatong looked exceptionally good looking when he smiled?

Suddenly coming back to his senses, did he actually stare at a man till he blanked out?

Looking away, his cheeks felt a little hot. He stared at the road ahead of him. “What are you laughing at?”

Shan Yatong raised his eyebrows. “Nothing. I just thought you were cute.”

For just that small moment, Luo Yanqian felt like he was being teased.

After Shan Yatong arrived at home and bathed, he wiped at his hair. The telephone by the head of the bed started to ring. Throwing the towel aside, he threw himself onto the bed. Picking up the phone, he put it to his ear.

“Yatong,” On the other end of the line, Ding Yan sounded so depressed that even Shan Yatong could tell just from the sound of his voice.

“Yan-Ge,” He said as if he didn’t recognize the heaviness in Ding Yan’s tone. Shan Yatong sat up, leaning against the head of the bed. He asked, “You’re not asleep yet?”

Ding Yan’s voice was faint, and he sighed over the phone. “The company has decided to transfer you to Sky Crown Corporation. The remaining time left on your contract now belongs to Sky Crown.”

Ding Yan said a lot of explanations from his end of the line. After a moment, he realised Shan Yatong hadn’t said a word. He said uneasily, “Yatong?”

“En?” There didn’t seem to be much emotion in his tone.

“The… the company’s decision was also…” From Shan Yatong’s reaction, he didn’t know where to start. From his signed contract, the company’s failure to consult with Shan Yatong was not in accordance with the agreed contents. If Yatong felt like a cornered rabbit, and wanted to make a scene, it would be no good for the company.

In their current position, the company simply did not have enough power to reject Sky Crown Corporation. Not to mention, the amount of $20 million compared to Shan Yatong’s current value… This was a huge bargain for the company. Senior management would not refuse this kind of beneficial deal.

“I understand, Yan-Ge. I’ll leave everything up to you to arrange. It’s late, I should be resting.” Shan Yatong said lightly.

Hanging up, Shan Yatong picked up his towel to continue wiping his hair. Picking up his bedside phone again, he dialed Yang Jun’s number.

When Yang Jun received the call, he thought that Shan Yatong would be requesting to change agencies. But it turned out that he did not even mention this matter from beginning to end.

Hesitating for a moment, Yang Jun finally expressed his concerns and asked what had been on his mind. “Yatong, do you know about the company’s latest decision?”

“Well, you’ll still be my assistant in the future. So this won’t affect your future career.” Shan Yatong’s calm tone made Yang Jun feel like they were just discussing a small matter like changing a piece of clothing.

Listening to the beep on the other end of the phone, Yang Jun closed the phone cover. “I hope I didn’t make the wrong choice this time.”

Overnight, Shan Yatong received a lot of media buzz for the classic scene he reenacted. Some media began to mention how heartfelt the song he sang on Star TV was, and even questioned the gossip about his lip-syncing scandal.

Then there were speculations in the media about his relationship with Xiao Qishen, the Emperor, and some even said that he would be playing an important role in “Lincheng”.

Seemingly overnight, Shan Yatong slowly began to appear in entertainment news and magazines.

Regardless of the rumours, Shan Yatong arrived early on set to familiarize himself with the angles of the interior shots and the environment of the set.

Once on the set, he took the script and sat off to the side to read it quietly. He didn’t need to interact with too many people, as that would just make people feel like he was being superficial without much strength. In such a large production crew like this, ability was more important than anything else.

When Lin Yiqian arrived at the set, he caught a glimpse of the young man sitting in the corner quietly reading, and was slightly surprised.

Masking his emotions, Lin Yiqian walked over to Shan Yatong and sat down. “How’s it going? Are you ready?”

Shan Yatong closed the script. When he looked up, he let the smile on his face show. “It’s okay, I just don’t know how my performance will be later.”

“Have you ever studied acting before?” Lin Yiqian recalled the video sent by his assistant this morning. The video of Shan Yatong performing the iconic smiling scene. Other than Jing Anjue, no one else could perform it so perfectly.

“No, I’ve just read some books about acting.” Shan Yatong lowered his head with a slight blush. Then he looked up again firmly, the light in his eyes shining so bright that one could not ignore his determination. “But I will certainly work hard.”

Even Lin Yiqian, who had been in this industry for more than a decade, was affected by the determination in his eyes. He patted Shan Yatong’s shoulder. “It’s good as long as you work hard.”

“Morning, Director Lin.” When the magnetic male voice rang out, people did not think twice, already knowing who it was.

Shan Yatong got up. “Xiao-Ge.”

Xiao Qishen, with a feather fan and silk hat, wore a noble gentleman’s outfit. His every gesture and movement made people feel that he truly was a character from the story, just that this character came over to their own lifestyle.

“Yatong came so early to read the script?” Xiao Qishen smiled. “You don’t have confidence in yourself?”

Shan Yatong scratched his head. “Better to read more to avoid wasting film later.”

Xiao Qishen smiled. “You should go and get into costume now. The next scene will be you and I competing. Good luck.”

“I’ll go and get ready now. Thank you, Xiao-Ge.”

After Shan Yatong left, Xiao Qishen shook the fan in his hand. “Director Lin, you seem to really look well upon Yatong?”

Lin Yiqian first ordered the relevant staff to move, then said, “He has the shadow of my former friend.”

“Friend?” Xiao Qishen closed his fan. What kind of genuine friend could you even have in the entertainment industry?

Seeing Xiao Qishen’s expression, Lin Yiqian could tell what he was thinking. He smiled helplessly. “You should go and prepare. We’ll start soon.”

“Production staff!” Beckoning with his hands up, Lin Yiqian walked away to another location.

Xiao Qishen stroked his chin with the edge of his fan, his eyebrows raised. He shrugged his shoulders and went to stand in his position.

Shan Yatong did not have many scenes in this drama, but as the role of a rich son, he had three costumes. His costumes were a white traditional robe, a red traditional robe, and a set of white military robes.

Wearing the white robe, Shan Yatong sat in a chair so the styling team could fix his wig.

Looking at the strange and familiar boyish face in the mirror, the corners of his mouth curled up. The game, it seemed, was getting more and more interesting.

Edited by Kyou

Beizhaan: You can tell how old this webnovel is because Yatong has a home phone by his bed, and Yang Jun closes his flip phone…

Kyou: I love how Xiao Qishen just came to the set already in the costume?? Unless he already went to change and then appeared afterwards but well… I want to believe that he wanted to be in character so much that he dressed the part beforehand HAHAHAH