I'm Rich - 59
Steam rising from the soup filled the kitchen. Guan Zhiyi lingered in Qi Chengyan's arms for a brief moment before lifting her gaze. "Let's hug later."
"Hmm?"
"I need to turn off the stove."
Qi Chengyan let out a soft laugh and released her. "What else did you make?"
Guan Zhiyi gestured toward the oven. "There are chicken wings baking in there. I just threw together whatever was in the fridge. I still need to stir-fry another dish. Um... let's take this soup out first."
"I'll help."
"No need, you go on out."
"Let me handle it." Qi Chengyan took the ladle from her hand. "You go work on the other dishes."
"Are you sure? It's really hot, be careful."
Qi Chengyan looked down at her with amusement in his eyes. "What kind of fool do you take me for?"
"Of course not." Guan Zhiyi thought about it for a second. "It's just that you're like my brother, you never step foot in a kitchen."
Pampered young masters and misses naturally didn't know their way around a stove. If Guan Zhiyi hadn't spent that period living on her own, she wouldn't have known the first thing about cooking either.
"Not stepping foot in one doesn't mean I can't cook." Qi Chengyan ladled the soup into a bowl, working as he spoke. "I'll make something for you to try next time."
Guan Zhiyi glanced at him sideways. "Really? Will it be poisonous?"
The words had barely left her mouth when she caught a cool, assessing look. She quickly zipped her lips with her fingers and turned back to the stove.
Dinner was eaten together after she finished cooking. Afterward, the two of them sat on the sofa, watching Guan Zhiyi's newly broadcasted drama, Emergency Room, in which she played a doctor.
The show had just started airing with only ten episodes online, but reception was stellar, sending it trending on social media time and time again.
"When do you think I should tell my brother about us?" Guan Zhiyi leaned against Qi Chengyan's side, asking out of the blue.
Qi Chengyan answered, "I'll handle telling him."
"No, I should say something."
Qi Chengyan looped his left arm over her shoulders, his fingers playing with the tip of her chin. "You? With that look on your face, you won't be able to get a word out."
"...I'll do my best."
"Alright, it's my place to bring it up anyway," Qi Chengyan said. "Before this, you were constantly filming and weren't ready to deal with it. Now that you're ready, I'll naturally go talk to Yuanbai."
"So when are you going to tell him?"
Qi Chengyan pondered for a moment. "I'll get in touch with him later."
"Oh..."
The two of them chatted idly back and forth while watching the show.
Suddenly, Guan Zhiyi noticed the plot unfolding on screen taking a strange turn. Although the drama focused primarily on hospital storylines, the romantic subplots were a major draw.
She watched herself on screen hurry down the stairs...
Wait. Based on this sequence, was she about to bump right into the male lead? And after bumping into him, were they going to accidentally kiss?
Guan Zhiyi let out a light cough and scrambled to grab the remote. "This show doesn't actually seem that good. Want to watch a variety show instead?"
Qi Chengyan didn't watch many dramas, but having sat through two episodes by now, having it cut off mid-stream would naturally leave anyone feeling hung out to dry. He looked at her with mild confusion. "What's wrong? I thought it was pretty good."
Feeling rather awkward, Guan Zhiyi reached out to exit the video. Before she could press the button, Qi Chengyan snatched the remote away.
"Hey..."
Whenever she lied or felt uneasy around him, he could always read her instantly. Qi Chengyan switched the remote to his other hand and held it out of reach. "What's wrong with watching it?"
On screen, the two characters collided, and the camera abruptly zoomed in.
Guan Zhiyi immediately reached out to cover Qi Chengyan's eyes. "Rated R for romance!"
Qi Chengyan: "..."
The scene wasn't long, just a few seconds, and it passed quickly.
As an actress, whatever happened in a show was strictly work, and she drew a very clear line. But drawing the line for herself was one thing; doing it right in front of Qi Chengyan still felt a little embarrassing.
"Did they kiss?" the person whose eyes were covered asked coolly.
Guan Zhiyi replied, "If I said no... would you believe me?"
Qi Chengyan pulled her hand down and offered her a faint smile. "I didn't see anything, so whatever you say is true."
Why did that response sound even more suspicious?
"Actually, it was just a bump. Literally just a tap, but the camera lingered forever, so it looks like they were going at it for ages."
Qi Chengyan raised an eyebrow.
Guan Zhiyi swallowed hard. "You understand, though, right? It's just part of the job. For actors, moments like that make you basically a machine with zero feelings!"
Qi Chengyan murmured softly, "If that's the case, why did you cover my eyes?"
"...Well, even so, I was still worried you wouldn't like seeing it."
"Oh?"
Guan Zhiyi immediately held up two fingers. "I swear though, in my eyes that's all just work. Kissing someone else's lips is no different from kissing a piece of pork."
Qi Chengyan slowly leaned closer to her. "Then what about me?"
"You, you're definitely not pork."
"Then what am I?"
He was getting closer and closer, leaving Guan Zhiyi with no choice but to lean back, bracing her hands behind her as he pressed her down. "You're my boyfriend..."
"Right. So are a boyfriend's lips better to kiss?"
"I don't know."
Qi Chengyan narrowed his eyes with a hint of danger. "What?"
Guan Zhiyi looked at him earnestly. "Well, the thing is, all the onscreen kisses I've filmed so far were just brief touches, but with you it's different..."
Qi Chengyan looked thoughtful before suddenly leaning down to graze his lips lightly over hers. "You mean like this?"
Guan Zhiyi froze, a sudden rush of heat flooding her face.
Seeing that she didn't make a sound, Qi Chengyan reached out to cup her cheek, gently forcing her mouth to part slightly.
"Use your tongue."
Guan Zhiyi stared at him in a daze. "...Why."
In a low, unhurried voice, Qi Chengyan said, "Let's review how we're supposed to kiss off-screen."
"Mmm..."
As the head of an entertainment conglomerate, Qi Chengyan certainly understood that acting required sacrificing for art. He also knew Guan Zhiyi dreamed of becoming an exceptional actress, and that certain developments within her roles came with the territory.
He had understood that long ago. But understanding it and actually watching it were two different things, which was why he never bothered to watch her shows.
If Guan Zhiyi hadn't covered his eyes today, he probably would have just skipped past the scene anyway. Condoning her pursuit of her career was one thing, but remaining utterly indifferent when faced with intimate visuals was quite another.
Still, he wasn't about to get genuinely upset or angry; he knew far too well what acting meant to her. Putting on a displeased front was just a way to tease her when he saw how nervous she got.
After all, teasing her like this was the only way to make her obediently let him have his way with her.
After a spell of heavy affection on the couch, Guan Zhiyi was left nearly breathless before he finally let her go. He suddenly asked, "I didn't finish that show, The Imperial Court, last time."
"Why'd you bring that up out of nowhere..."
"Were there any kissing scenes with Xiao Ran?"
Guan Zhiyi blinked. "The absolute limit of our physical contact in that show was a peck on the cheek..."
"Mm." Qi Chengyan chuckled, propping himself up beside her, thoroughly satisfied. "Has he been contacting you lately?"
Other people's shows could be written off as work, but Xiao Ran liked Guan Zhiyi, which made him an entirely different category in Qi Chengyan's eyes.
"He's busier than I am, where would he find the time to contact me?" Guan Zhiyi hesitated. "Ge, you don't still think Xiao Ran likes me, do you?"
"Isn't he?"
"No."
Qi Chengyan pinched her cheek. "Fine. Not liking you is best."
The two of them lay on the sofa for a while. Guan Zhiyi had claimed she wasn't tired, but keeping up with a filming schedule for so long made fatigue inevitable, and before long she drifted off to sleep.
Seeing how deeply she'd fallen asleep, Qi Chengyan scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to the bedroom.
When Guan Zhiyi woke up again, it was past eleven at night.
A bedside lamp was on, and as she looked around, she realized she was in Qi Chengyan's master bedroom. But the room was completely quiet, she was all alone.
Drowsy and disoriented, she climbed out of bed and pushed the bedroom door open.
There were quite a few rooms upstairs, and Guan Zhiyi wandered around without spotting Qi Chengyan anywhere. Finally, fighting back a yawn, she sleepily made her way to the study.
Qi Chengyan was indeed in the study. Since it wasn't quite bedtime yet, he had planned to handle some work matters, but Song Li had called. Song Li and a group of friends were out partying and wanted him to join. But with the young woman fast asleep in his room, going out was obviously out of the question.
Song Li was already plastered, firing off video calls one after another. Eventually, Qi Chengyan grew tired of dealing with the drunkard, answering the call and propping his phone against the desk while letting Song Li go on a lengthy, rambling monologue.
He knew Song Li well enough to know the guy wouldn't stop until he'd talked someone's ear off while drunk.
"Yeah... Oh... Right..."
Qi Chengyan focused intently on the documents on his screen, barely registering what the other person was saying and offering only perfunctory replies.
Right at that moment, a slight sound caught his attention. When he raised his gaze, a figure had just slipped through the door.
The sleep-addled young woman wandered over to his side, standing in place and staring at him in a daze.
Qi Chengyan paused, reaching out to pull her toward him, whereupon she saw his lifted hand and immediately dove forward, climbing right onto his lap and burying herself in his arms.
"Why aren't you keeping me company while I sleep..."
Having just woken up, her voice was soft and sweet, carrying an unconscious trace of spoiled petulance.
Qi Chengyan stiffened for a second. His first reaction was to flip his phone face-down on the desk, but fast as he was, Song Li had already caught a glimpse of something on the other end.
Instantly, an exaggerated shriek blasted through his earpiece: "Qi Chengyan! You, you, you, who are you holding?!"
Guan Zhiyi's hair was thoroughly mussed from sleep, and she hadn't bothered to fix it before coming out. When she dove straight into Qi Chengyan's arms, the camera angle missed her face entirely. And with her sleepy, groggy voice, Song Li, who wasn't intimately familiar with her, didn't recognize it.
So Song Li shouted through the headset: "No wonder you wouldn't come out, hic! Beauty in your arms, you're something else, Qi Chengyan. Who is that..."
Realizing the guy was far too drunk for his eyes or ears to function, Qi Chengyan simply said, "Hanging up."
The call ended, finally granting his ears some peace. He pulled off his headset, wrapped his arms around Guan Zhiyi, and softened his tone. "Why'd you wake up?"
"Didn't get enough sleep, I want to sleep more..." Guan Zhiyi rubbed her face against his chest. "Who were you on the phone with just now?"
"Song Li."
"What did he want?"
"He wanted me to go out and meet up with them."
Guan Zhiyi forced one eye open. "Are you going out?"
Qi Chengyan lowered his gaze and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Oh."
"Want me to go back to sleep with you?"
Guan Zhiyi nodded sleepily. "Mmm, carry me then..."
Qi Chengyan let out a soft laugh, slid an arm around her waist, and hoisted her up. "Alright."
Meanwhile, back at the private booth, the video-hung-up Song Li stumbled his way over to the sofa. He had drunk too much to walk straight, taking a clumsy tumble right onto the cushions. Jiang Suizhou was nearly bowled over and shoved him away in disgust. "Don't throw up on me."
"No, I didn't throw up..." Song Li forced himself upright, announcing to everyone present, "I, I'm telling you guys, just now I saw, hic! Qi Chengyan with a woman. Holding a woman! And the, the woman even said, 'Why aren't you keeping me company while I sleep?' Oh god, she actually made Qi Chengyan stay with her! So that's why we couldn't drag him out, he's hiding a woman at home! Valuing sex over friendship, an absolute brute. Quick, let's raid his house and drag him out here!"
The assembled friends, including Guan Yuanbai who had been dragged out against his will, stared at him in silence for a moment before collectively ignoring him and going back to whatever they were doing.
The ignored Song Li protested, "Why aren't you guys listening to me... Ouch, seriously! I'm not making things up, I, blech!"
Guan Yuanbai frowned and instructed someone nearby, "Drag him to the restroom before he barfs all over the place."
"Oh, right, okay!"
The dragged-away Song Li wailed, "Yuanbai!! I'm serious, really..."
"Is Song Li drunk out of his mind?" one of the friends remarked. "Seeing Chengyan holding a woman and staying in to keep her company, hahaha, I'm dying."
Guan Yuanbai curved his lips. "If I hadn't agreed to come out tonight, I probably would have been dragged into that script too, then this idiot would've hauled all of you to my house to raid the place."
"Hahaha, could he even raid a place right now? He can't even stand straight."
"Alright, ignore him."
"So, are we calling Chengyan again or what?"
"Forget it. If he's not coming, he must actually be busy."
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