Chapter 91

Yan Li and Li Bingbing sparked gossip, but after Huayi's official clarification, public opinion was quickly brought under control.

Still, as a popular rising star, many people genuinely dug into the identity of this "mysterious man" linked to Yan Li.

Coincidentally, when The Emperor Hanwu was filmed, Yan Li briefly appeared on screen, so his first layer of identity was quickly uncovered.

A newcomer actor, portraying Huo Qubing in The Emperor Hanwu.

If he were an unknown, exposure would've meant nothing—but combined with The Emperor Hanwu's massive production, the fame of Huo Qubing, and his connection to Li Bingbing, these factors quickly drew considerable attention.

Even Hu Mei, director of The Emperor Hanwu, called Yan Li to ask about him.

Some media outlets somehow obtained Yan Li's contact information and wanted to interview him.

Yan Li really couldn't hold it together anymore!

He finally understood why those actors loved stirring up gossip—fame came so fast this way.

Even as The Conquest was about to air on television, few knew his name.

After The Emperor Hanwu started filming, he hired journalists to promote him, yet still few noticed him.

But after having dinner with Li Bingbing, getting photographed a few times, and sparking gossip, he suddenly appeared on Sina's homepage entertainment section, his name and photo printed in newspapers, and related gossip threads popped up on Tieba and other forums.

Even university classmates he hadn't contacted in over half a year called curiously to ask what was going on.

————

"Times have changed—cutting corners is so easy, who still bothers acting honestly?"

Yan Li shook his head in sigh, while Qin Lan rolled her eyes dismissively across from him.

"Stop pretending—you're secretly over the moon."

Yan Li picked up his chopsticks, tasted the dish, and asked puzzled: "There isn't even much vinegar here—why does your tone sound so sour?"

"You're the sour one."

Qin Lan was simmering with anger, every word laced with barbs; Yan Li shook his head and served her some food.

"The media makes up nonsense for clicks—she's so famous, how could she possibly be interested in me?"

"That's hard to say."

Qin Lan's retort was instinctive, not just to argue, but because she couldn't stand Yan Li putting himself down.

So what if she's a top star? She doesn't have extra arms or fewer legs. Even Huang Xiaoming, who once chased her, is popular now—but she still thinks Yan Li is better.

Emotions sometimes weigh practical concerns, but sometimes, once your heart is stirred, everything else becomes dust.

"Enough, stop imagining nonsense—she's taken."

Seeing her reaction, Yan Li dropped a tidbit—and it immediately caught Qin Lan's attention.

"Li Bingbing has someone? Is it Ren Quan?"

Li Bingbing and Ren Quan were university classmates; they started hustling together while still in school, collaborated for years, shot many dramas together, signed with the same agent, and had extremely close personal ties, never hiding their interactions publicly or privately.

Thus, outsiders always speculated they were a couple, but both denied it.

"Not him."

Hearing Ren Quan's name, Yan Li's expression flickered with something strange—he only learned through the system that every young male actor in the entertainment circle was… exceptional.

"Then who?"

Qin Lan asked curiously; Yan Li hesitated a moment, then said: "It's her privacy—I can't say much. But it's someone outside the industry, for several years now."

"Someone outside the industry? What does he do?"

Qin Lan pressed relentlessly, but Yan Li refused to say.

Other people's business? Fine to mention—but Li Bingbing is at least his friend, they're close; he couldn't betray her privacy behind her back.

Today, it was only Qin Lan—he trusted her enough, and wanted to soothe her—or else he wouldn't have said even those earlier things.

As for Li Bingbing's situation, he wasn't lying to Qin Lan—there truly was a man behind her: a boss from a real estate company in Jingcheng, whose help had been indispensable to Li Bingbing's career over the years.

But as Li Bingbing's fame grew and she connected with Huayi, their relationship seemed to have shifted somewhat.

Qin Lan was annoyed by Yan Li teasing her, but now that she knew Li Bingbing wasn't single, her mood eased considerably—though she still jabbed him every few sentences.

Clearly, Li Bingbing was merely a trigger for Qin Lan's discontent; the real root lay elsewhere.

Yan Li understood why Qin Lan was sulking.

He reached out to take her hand; she struggled slightly but couldn't break free, so he held it, rubbing her small hand gently, speaking softly.

"I planned to visit you, but I was just too busy."

Better not mention it—once he did, Qin Lan's anger flared again, her mood hardening instantly.

"I understand you're busy and can't visit the set, but you don't even call once every few days."

"Last year when I returned to Jingcheng to find you, you said you were in Hunan. Fine, I waited. Then you went to Xi'an, then to Shenzhen—you left me hanging for nearly a week—I nearly couldn't get a train ticket home for the New Year."

"Alright, you were on a business trip, not intentional—I endured it. Last month you said you were on assignment in Jin Ling; I specifically took leave from the set to go find you—and you vanished again."

Yan Li couldn't help interrupting: "That's really not my fault—you should've told me! How was I supposed to know you came to Jin Ling to surprise me? I'd have waited for you."

Qin Lan slammed the table, face flushed with rage: "So I told you I was coming back to Jingcheng this time—and look how many days you waited before coming to see me!"

"Three days—but I had my reasons."

Yan Li explained: "The first day I was in Tianjin on business; when I returned to Jingcheng the next day, I found paparazzi waiting for me."

"The Emperor's Little Pearl 3 is about to air—if they caught me visiting you, it could hurt your reputation."

Qin Lan was不满: "I'm not afraid of that."

"I am."

Seeing Qin Lan's attitude soften, Yan Li moved his seat beside her, held her hand, and looked at her with sincere eyes.

"You're at a critical point in your career. You've waited so long, and finally got this chance to become famous. I can't help you—but I won't drag you down."

Qin Lan looked at Yan Li, his sincerity tinged with deep affection, her beautiful eyes shimmering, her voice unconsciously lowering.

"Really? Paparazzi?"

"True."

Yan Li spoke with absolute certainty—he wasn't lying; there really had been paparazzi staking him out.

But that paparazzo had only appeared near his company and was quickly shaken off.

The reason he didn't show up until three days after Qin Lan returned to Jingcheng was not only because he'd been working in Jinmen, but mainly because Dong Xuan, upset over the gossip linking him and Li Bingbing, had been clinging to him relentlessly these past two days—had it not been for her today's Beijing Film Academy exam, he still wouldn't have been able to escape.

"In that case, I'll temporarily forgive you."

Qin Lan was still very easygoing—even unusually so.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have still been talking to Yan Li at all, let alone invited him over for dinner, or let him hold her hand without much resistance—anyone else would've already thrown a dish at his face.

To be honest, if Yan Li hadn't used his system to sense her mood, he wouldn't have dared to wait until the third day to show up.

This girl really was a bit too… accommodating toward him.

As long as Yan Li was willing to soothe her with a plausible excuse, Qin Lan would readily let it go.

As a result, sometimes when facing Qin Lan, Yan Li himself felt a little like a bastard, a tiny bit guilty, and couldn't help but want to treat her even more tenderly.

But perhaps she was too angry—or too missing him—Qin Lan still made her demand.

"I've been in Jingcheng these days. You have to spend more time with me. Consider it an apology and compensation."

"Alright."

Yan Li agreed readily, then pressed further: "How about I stay tonight? It's been so long—we could talk more."

Qin Lan hesitated, frowning for a moment, but firmly shook her head: "No. Don't even think about pushing your luck."

Yan Li played the victim: "It's been so long since we last saw each other—I think of you every day. Can you really let me leave alone?"

"If you think of me every day, why didn't you call me?"

Qin Lan caught Yan Li's loophole, fixing him with a sharp gaze.

Yan Li made up an excuse: "Long-distance calls are too expensive. I need to save money."

"My money pays your phone bill. What's there to save?"

"Exactly—I'm saving it for you. Isn't it hard to earn money filming dramas?"

As he spoke, Yan Li touched the soup bowl on the table and used it as an excuse to slip away: "The soup's cold. I'll reheat it."

Qin Lan snorted, noticing Yan Li's phone on the table, and quietly reached for it.

Then, while watching the kitchen, she opened his call log and text messages, scanning quickly.

The most frequent caller in his log was a man named Lin Jiachuan, whom Qin Lan knew—he was Yan Li's close friend and assistant. Then came a mix of other names, male and female, but none stood out as excessive.

In his inbox, aside from a few casual greetings, every single message was with her.

Notably, except for the earliest ones, nearly all of her messages to Yan Li had been saved—none deleted.

Qin Lan felt sweet inside, yet uncertain—was this guy just too lazy to delete them?

A sound came from the kitchen. Qin Lan quickly put the phone back.

Yan Li came out carrying the soup bowl, glancing at the phone: "You checked my phone?"

"Ah, no!" Qin Lan waved her hands frantically: "There was water on the table—I just moved it. I didn't look."

"Go ahead and look."

Yan Li ladled soup into her bowl and smiled: "I've got nothing to hide. Checking it will make you feel better, right?"

Qin Lan, unnerved by his openness, felt guilty and handed him her phone.

"Then check mine too."

Yan Li didn't take it: "I don't need to. I trust you."

Qin Lan: "..."

Watching Qin Lan, who seemed to be questioning reality, Yan Li kept a calm exterior but smiled inwardly.

What's the point of checking a phone? He had an intelligence system—far superior to any phone log.

Besides, checking phones is easy to fool. For instance, Yan Li had three phones, and he never left them far from his side.

If he wasn't around and the phone happened to be left behind, nine times out of ten, it was a setup.

Qin Lan didn't understand human deceit. She was now drowning in guilt. Yan Li, not satisfied, flipped through his own phone.

"There's nothing to see here—just our messages. Oh, I accidentally deleted some of the earliest ones. Do you still have them? Send them to me via computer later. I've saved them all on a USB drive. I'll look back at them years from now—they're memories."

Qin Lan, feeling guilty, tucked her phone away, head bowed, voice barely a whisper.

"I… my phone has little storage. I… deleted the old messages."

Yan Li paused, his disappointment visibly clear: "Oh, it's fine. I've saved them all."

Qin Lan: "..."

My stupid hand—why did I touch the phone when I had nothing better to do!

…

After dinner, Qin Lan curled up on the sofa, telling Yan Li about her experiences over these days.

Most of it Yan Li already knew—aside from his system, they'd talked over calls and texts.

But calls and texts were clearly different from face-to-face conversation—the atmosphere, the feeling, were not the same.

Qin Lan loved this moment: the two of them close together, her sharing her life with him, him listening intently, responding softly, occasionally feeding her fruit—warm and sweet.

Of course, if that man's hands would just behave and stop groping and squeezing, it'd be perfect.

But Yan Li felt wronged—he hadn't thrown her down and taken her, despite having such a fragrant, soft beauty in his arms. That alone was restraint enough.

Now, he was just stealing a little touch—he felt he deserved the nickname "Little Liu Xiaohui."

But the longer time passed, the more "Xiaohui" turned upward. Yan Li buried his head in Qin Lan's neck, inhaling her body scent mixed with shower gel, his hand slowly sliding downward.

"I don't want to leave tonight."

"No."

Qin Lan desperately blocked Yan Li's demonic hands, feeling his warm breath on her neck, her cheeks flushed, her beautiful eyes glistening, she bit her lip tightly and forced a firm tone.

"Too… too fast."

"Still fast? We've known each other for almost a year."

Yan Li counted on his fingers: last summer they met in Hengdian, and now it's already April; if not for how rarely they saw each other, he would've succeeded long ago.

He did enjoy the back-and-forth with Qin Lan, but he couldn't keep dragging it out forever.

Especially after this long separation, Yan Li had actually missed Qin Lan, his patience worn thin—he felt it was about time to have his meat.

"I… I'm not ready yet. Just wait a little longer."

Qin Lan wasn't unprepared—she planned to stretch it out one last time, using this time to deepen their feelings.

She wasn't truly naive; she understood Yan Li's obsession and affection for her was restrained, and she feared that once he got what he wanted, he'd change his attitude toward her.

Seeing direct assault wouldn't work, Yan Li switched tactics: "We've finally met again—I don't want to part. How about we go to my place? Just don't sleep in the same room, okay?"

Qin Lan's rented apartment was one bedroom, one living room; if they didn't sleep together, Yan Li's Guanghua Li two-bedroom apartment was far more convenient.

"You think I'm three years old? You'll remove the lock or tamper with it—either way, the door won't lock, then you'll sneak into my room at night. What's the difference between that and being at my place?"

Qin Lan saw through Yan Li's trick instantly, leaving him embarrassed—he should've never replaced the bedroom door at home.

His small scheme exposed, Yan Li gave up pretending and stubbornly wrapped his arms around Qin Lan.

"I'm not leaving today, period."

Qin Lan negotiated: "Can you sleep on the sofa?"

Yan Li shook his head: "I can't sleep on it."

"Then I'll sleep."

"No, I can't bear it."

Qin Lan, furious, gritted her teeth and resorted to stubbornness herself: "Not today, period."

She truly didn't want to, and Yan Li wouldn't force her—he understood her concerns. In fact, if he made a few promises, he could greatly ease her worries.

But Yan Li didn't want to give empty promises!

Not giving them makes you inhuman; but if you give hope and then break it, you're worse than an animal.

Fine—let Qin Lan hold out a few more days. She'd be in Jingcheng for the foreseeable future; the meat was right at his lips, it wouldn't run away.

Still, if he couldn't have the main course, he'd at least snack on some appetizers and desserts.

Qin Lan knew Yan Li's nature—he'd never get away without paying something. She gritted her teeth and reached out her hand.

But Yan Li caught her wrist; in her puzzled gaze, his eyes drifted downward, settling on her soft, delicate feet…

(End of Chapter)