Chapter 23

News of Ji Yuchen attending the Fengqi Film & Entertainment welcome party quickly spread through the industry, becoming one of those unspoken truths that everyone seemed to know. Fengqi might be a newcomer in the business, but it had money—real money. Everyone was wondering what kind of company it would become. Would it be a competitor or an ally? These were questions both companies and top-tier celebrities were pondering.

The fact that the chairman of Fengqi Group himself attended the welcome party showed just how much he valued this newly established subsidiary. Once this sank in, the treatment of actors who had signed with Fengqi began to change, whether on set or in variety shows.

Qi Linyuan certainly felt the shift.

Previously, on set, aside from Yao Yunshi and the seniors he had scenes with, almost no one greeted him—let alone struck up a conversation. But after flying off to the welcome party and returning, not only did actors beam at him with bright smiles and call him “Brother Qi,” despite some being older, others even brought their stools over to sit beside him and chat.

Qi Linyuan didn’t put on airs, but neither was he overly warm—just polite and courteous. However, when Lexi and the others called to ask about it, his laughter became much more relaxed.

“Yes, Fengqi’s legal team helped me resolve my contract issues.”

“Why did I sign with Fengqi? Fengqi’s pretty good, didn’t we get that feeling when we shot the show before?”

“Even if it weren’t that good, wouldn’t it be worth it just to ‘chase my idol’?”

“I’m kidding, just kidding. Would I really sign with a company just to ‘chase my idol’?”

Hearing the unequivocal “You would,” from the other end, Qi Linyuan coughed lightly and gazed at the sky.

Fine, he really would—but it wasn’t his fault. Ji Yuchen was simply too outstanding. Especially after meeting him this time, he felt the man was even more admirable in person—handsome, gracious, understanding.

“You’d better be careful and keep your distance from President Ji. If a paparazzo catches you together, who knows what stories they’ll write? Fengqi might even sacrifice you to protect their own interests…”

“Next thing you know, they’ll say you seduced Ji Yuchen.”

The first warning came from Lexi, the second from Zhou Siqi, who was beside her.

Qi Linyuan truly wanted to flick Zhou Siqi on the forehead. “What’s going on in that head of yours? Of course, I’ll keep my distance from President Ji! Look at our respective positions—when would I even have the chance not to?”

As he spoke, he completely forgot that just the night before, he’d been studying the distribution and classification of domestic art exhibitions.

After all, as far as he was concerned, getting close to Ji Yuchen was just repaying a debt of gratitude. What did “keeping a distance” have to do with it? Nothing at all!

“All right, I have to get ready for makeup now. Talk later.” Qi Linyuan hung up, closed the script in front of him, and headed off to the set.

Tonight, he was shooting night scenes—the entire warehouse sequence after Qiao Mingyue is kidnapped: waking, being beaten, and finally being rescued. Zhang Qingke planned to shoot it all in one night.

“He really trusts me…” Qi Linyuan thought to himself.

These were the most challenging scenes in his script—the shifts in emotion, the changes in physical state, all vividly portrayed. To finish them in such a short time, even he felt the pressure mounting…

.

When Qi Linyuan arrived on set with his makeup done, the place fell briefly silent.

The first scene was waking after the kidnapping. Qiao Mingyue, robbed of all former composure, now had messy hair, soiled and wrinkled clothes—details all provided by the makeup department. Thus, Qi Linyuan appeared just like this.

“Damn! That face is terrifying…”

“Who could bring themselves to hurt someone with a face like that? It’s just deranged.”

“After this airs, the actor who does the beating will probably be hunted down by fans, right?”

“What are you talking about? After this scene airs, who’s even going to notice the other actors?”

After the brief silence, the crew began to whisper. They’d always known Qi Linyuan was good-looking—the kind of good-looking that could leave you dazed when he smiled. But until now, he’d always been neatly dressed, well-groomed, exuding an air of pride and dignity; this was something entirely different.

He Ran sheng didn’t have any scenes tonight and, in theory, didn’t need to be there. But he thought tonight’s scenes were so challenging that Qi Linyuan was bound to fail, so he’d hurried over to watch the spectacle.

But when he saw Qi Linyuan, makeup complete and walking over, his jaw dropped. After a moment, he couldn’t help but ask his assistant, “How many personalities does he have?”

A pitiful one, a poisonous rose, the usual Qiao Mingyue, and now this Qiao Mingyue—plus the personality he showed on variety shows…

“How can someone with this level of split personality not go mad? Impressive!” He Ran sheng begrudgingly praised him.

The assistant whispered, “Maybe it’s not that. Maybe he’s just really good at acting?”

He Ran sheng shot him a look. “Who’s the actor here, you or me? When he plays Qiao Mingyue, it’s not just good acting—it’s living the character! No formulaic expressions or movements—none of the veterans here could pull this off, let alone someone like him.”

The assistant still felt something was off, but He Ran sheng cut him off. “I’m going to take notes on his performance—so I can tease him for being a lunatic later!”

The assistant opened his mouth, then closed it, finally sighing. Whatever—so long as he didn’t interrupt the shoot.

.

When Qiao Mingyue awoke, his head throbbed with pain—and so did the rest of his body.

He instinctively tried to shake his head and rub it with his hands, but only his head would move; the rest of his body refused to obey.

Blinking in confusion, he realized he was in a completely unfamiliar place—bound to a pillar.

His headache worsened. It took a while for the memories of what had happened before he lost consciousness to resurface.

That day, he’d been just like always, holding roses to give to Wang Wei. After parking his car near the police station, he heard some noise. Looking closer, he spotted something that looked just like the item Wang Wei had been inquiring about lying beside a car.

Excited, he thought that if he found it and gave it to her, Wang Wei would surely be pleased—she might even agree to go out with him. He hurried over and squatted down, and then—

A blow to the back of his head. He remembered nothing after that.

Qiao Mingyue might be hopeless in many ways, but he wasn’t stupid. Ever since he started liking Wang Wei, he’d read countless detective novels. He knew exactly what this meant: he’d been kidnapped by the serial killer Wang Wei was investigating.

He remembered the killer was known for his sadism—beating his victims bloody, then slashing them to bleed out.

“Xu Chong, that useless idiot—can’t even keep his own front door safe.” Qiao Mingyue cursed his rival, trying to steady his nerves. But before his courage could take hold, he heard footsteps.

Instinctively, he looked up, and when he saw who stood in front of him, his pupils shrank sharply. “It’s you?!”

At the same time, in the task force, a policeman glanced at the clock and suddenly chuckled. “That young master finally gave up? Look at the time—he still hasn’t sent today’s roses.”

Another officer replied, “No way! Even yesterday, when Sister Wei turned him down as usual, he just smiled and asked if there was anything he could