After a Flash Marriage to a Stern Daddy, I Can't Get Divorced - Chapter 4

“Mr. Wei, I noticed Yun Yao wasn’t looking well and didn’t have his assistant or agent with him, so I brought him over first.”

The underlying meaning was clear, I’m just a Good Samaritan who happened to be passing by. Weigh the importance of this yourself and handle it accordingly.

Wei You instantly snapped into high alert, choosing his words with absolute care and caution.

“Thank you so much. You really are a wonderful person.”

Yun Yao, “???” What was that? Did he just hand out a “Good Person” card?

Yu Cheng, “…” This agent really ought to be sent to an acting class too, his performance was laying it on a bit thick.

Drowsy and disoriented, Yun Yao caught snippets of their conversation. He felt like something was off, but the burning fever in his head left him with no energy to think, and he drifted off to sleep.

Wei You grumbled inwardly, What an ancestor, managing to sleep through this.

Fortunately, Yu Cheng didn’t linger. After a brief goodbye, he left the hospital.

Although He Lindong’s acting classes had been booked, they weren’t cheap. The higher ups, whom Wei You had managed to convince with great difficulty, were already getting restless again. They wanted to take advantage of the fact that Yun Yao hadn’t joined a film set yet to squeeze in a few more commercial gigs to recoup the costs.

Wei You had originally thought about just scheduling two minor gigs to pacify them, but he hadn’t expected the kid to collapse after just one day.

Regret and remorse washed over Wei You. He was terrified that the moment he opened his eyes tomorrow morning, he’d find himself banished to a deserted island again.

After finishing his IV drip, Yun Yao’s high fever finally broke. Not wanting to waste a single minute, he used the time to catch up on sleep.

He was moved from the hospital bed to the nanny van without a pause, and he still didn’t want to wake up until Wei You called him at his doorstep.

Reaching his door, Yun Yao’s eyes were still half closed. Even though his new neighbor’s luggage was piled right up to the elevator doors, it failed to register in his mind.

Exit the elevator, open the door, close the door! Crawl into bed and pull up the covers, the entire sequence was executed flawlessly.

The only flaw was that the noise from next door’s moving was a bit loud, so he reached out, grabbed his noise canceling headphones from the nightstand, and slipped them over his ears.

When he opened his eyes again, he was awakened by Chestnut’s smelly little paws stepping on his face.

Dazed, he glanced at the time, it was 8:00 AM.

From 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM, a full twelve hours. Yun Yao drew back the curtains in disbelief, and sure enough, he was greeted by the crisp morning breeze and bright sunlight.

There was also the aroma of breakfast drifting in, though he couldn’t tell if it was coming from downstairs or next door. Amazingly, it smelled just like the seafood porridge he used to eat as a child.

Yun Yao’s stomach immediately let out a loud rumble. Out of habit, he opened an app to order delivery.

As he scrolled through the options, every restaurant looked like it was packed with artificial additives and processed ingredients.

Normally, just to fill his stomach, he would have gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and ordered whatever. But right now he was a patient, and to ensure he was healthy enough for his audition this afternoon, it was better to eat something relatively wholesome.

So, he changed his clothes, intending to go downstairs to a nearby breakfast spot for a hot meal.

However, the moment he opened the door, he spotted a breakfast container sitting on the threshold, with a sticky note attached to it.

“Hello, I’m your new neighbor who just moved in next door. This is a breakfast delivery from Li Kee, the flavor is quite good. Please look after me in the future.”

Yun Yao was astonished. Talk about perfect timing, a truly model Chinese neighbor. He picked up the food container and examined it closely, noting that it was actually made of mahogany.

Yun Yao looked across the hall. The front door and its lock had already been replaced with brand new ones, and the entryway was spotless. After a moment of thought, he carried the food container inside.

When he opened the box, he found the tableware and food bowls inside were perfectly secure, without a single spill, and beautifully arranged.

At the very bottom was a clay pot of seafood porridge that looked savory and delicious. In the second tier, a bamboo steamer held two delicate buns, with small labels inserted beside them, one sweet custard bun and one savory pork chop bun.

The top tier contained thin skinned, plump breakfast pastries, fresh meat soup dumplings, crystal shrimp dumplings, and traditional sticky rice shaomai. Arranged alongside them on four small, shaped side dishes were four types of refreshing appetizers, their colors bright and appetizing.

Yun Yao hadn’t really had an appetite, but one look at this display instantly made his mouth water.

A new neighbor?

When he came back yesterday, there did seem to be a pile of boxes at the door, and before falling asleep, he couldn’t help but complain about the clattering noise.

Tsk, who would have thought this new neighbor was actually an incredibly nice person?

Except for days when he had work, he rarely ate breakfast. He usually slept until noon or just grabbed a bag of snacks to stave off hunger.

Having a complete, proper breakfast like this was a first for him.

Yun Yao thought that this neighbor must be someone who truly loves life, to be this meticulous from the inside out over just a single breakfast.

Impatiently, he took a bite of a fresh meat soup dumpling. Although the container had been sitting out for a while, it was still pleasantly warm. With that single bite, the dumpling burst with savory broth in his mouth.

It was wonderfully flavorful and enticing, without being hot enough to scald his mouth.

“Wow, is this really the same shrimp dumpling I’m used to?”

For a single dumpling to be made this perfectly, what exactly was the background of this Li Kee?

Yun Yao looked it up on his phone while savoring his meal. As it turned out, Li Kee was a famous century old private kitchen brand from Hong Kong. Fifty years ago, Li Kee was just a breakfast stall with endless queues of people.

Twenty years ago, the descendants of the Li family transitioned the business into a high end private kitchen, which remained incredibly popular and hard to book.

After finishing his breakfast, Yun Yao obediently took his medicine. His stomach felt satisfied and comforted. He resolved that he must build a good relationship with this neighbor in the future, maybe he could even score a few more free meals.

Today’s audition was for an intangible cultural heritage short drama shot in landscape format. The project consisted of forty episodes, with each episode running for twenty minutes. Although the length was short, the quality was practically indistinguishable from a full length series.

Yun Yao had prepared very diligently. Not only had he researched and understood the cultural heritage involved, but he had also inquired around about the typical styles and preferences of the screenwriter and director.

This was the first time Wei You had seen Yun Yao take a project so seriously. He had figured it was just a short drama, and given Yun Yao’s current level of popularity, the role should be practically guaranteed. It wasn’t until they entered the venue that he suddenly realized just how fierce the competition actually was.

The room was filled with popular short drama actors, and since both movies and long form dramas had been in a slump over the past few years, even some veterans who had debuted long ago wanted a piece of the pie.

Among them was Zeng Zixian, Yun Yao’s classmate from the masterclass.

Zeng Zixian had debuted at the age of five and now had over a hundred released works, with more than twenty starring roles. He had even made a special appearance in a film that grossed over ten billion at the box office.

Placing this resume in front of Yun Yao was practically an absolute obliteration.

Wei You’s heart sank, but he still patted Yun Yao on the shoulder to comfort him.

“It’s fine. Sometimes, the process of doing something is more important than the result.”

Yun Yao’s lips twitched, “Brother Wei, I think it’s better if you wait outside. That way, when I get instantly obliterated, blood won’t splatter all over your face.”

Wei You rubbed his nose and picked a spot in the back row of the waiting area to lay low.

Despite his words, Yun Yao still took the audition very seriously when his turn came. The only uncomfortable part was that the person acting opposite him was the former child star, Zeng Zixian.

Generally, a supporting actor in an audition scene doesn’t need to push too hard or outshine the lead, they just need to do enough to highlight the auditioning actor’s performance.

That was how Yun Yao understood it, and that was how he approached it.

But when it was Yun Yao’s turn to audition, Zeng Zixian slipped into character incredibly fast. Not only did he overpower Yun Yao and turn the scene into his own home turf, but he also drew unanimous applause from the entire room.

Those who didn’t know better might even think the applause was meant for the auditioning Yun Yao. But anyone who knew the trade could see that Yun Yao had lost this round, and he had lost completely.

When playing a supporting role, he was unnoticeable, and when it was his turn to be the main character, his spotlight was still entirely stolen by the other actor. There was virtually no hope for this audition.

Unaware of the nuance, Wei You assumed the previous applause was for Yun Yao and was incredibly thrilled all the way out.

“I think this role is in the bag.”

Yun Yao didn’t have the heart to crush his spirits, so he remained silent and didn’t argue.

Wei You didn’t mind his silence, secretly thinking that perhaps Yun Yao’s powerful backer had already started exerting influence behind the scenes.

Tsk, no need to worry about having a good life ahead.

Upon returning to the company, Mr. Zhang was already waiting for them in the meeting room.

Wei You let out a long sigh, knowing they hadn’t dodged the bullet after all.

“I did my best. The popularity of Winter has already started to decline, and the company feels they haven’t milked it enough. They will definitely take advantage of this period to make a few more quick bucks.”

Yun Yao nodded, showing his understanding.

Other actors were constantly making money for the company, while he had been signed for nearly two years before finally seeing any financial return. Now that he finally had some hype and a chance to cash in, he was still turning down a lot of announcements.

The executives were bound to be somewhat dissatisfied with him.

As the two entered the conference room together, Yun Yao had already prepared himself to compromise, as long as it wasn’t endorsing sketchy, low quality products to make dishonest money.

To his utter surprise, the moment they walked in, Mr. Zhang pushed two scripts toward Yun Yao with a beaming face.

“Come, take a quick look.”

Yun Yao instinctively glanced at Ji Xiangchen, who was sitting on the other side.

Ji Xiangchen explained with a smile, “The company just received two scripts with excellent pay. Mr. Zhang is very satisfied, and he insisted on watching you accept them before he could rest easy.”

Yun Yao raised an eyebrow. For a payout to satisfy Mr. Zhang, it had to be exceptionally high, but he was a bit uncertain.

“Are these… both for me?”

“They’re scripts from the same production company, both for the male lead. Whichever one you choose, or even if you take both, the remaining role will be given to someone from our company.” Mr. Zhang sat back in a relaxed, boastful posture.

A buy one, get one deal, this was giving ample face to both Yun Yao and the company. It was clear the other party was being extremely sincere.

Wei You and Yun Yao looked at Ji Xiangchen simultaneously, instantly understanding why he was also present.

Yun Yao and Ji Xiangchen had a decent relationship. With things framed this way, it was impossible for Yun Yao to take both roles. First, he didn’t have the energy, and second, the shooting schedules for the two projects were very close. Taking both would make it impossible to manage.

After a moment of thought, Yun Yao turned obediently to Mr. Zhang, “Since they’re going to our company anyway, let me discuss it with Xiangchen.”

Mr. Zhang glanced at Ji Xiangchen. Compared to Yun Yao, he trusted Ji Xiangchen more. Ji Xiangchen had been in the industry for years and was far more pragmatic than Yun Yao. Seeing this arrangement, he didn’t linger and left with Wei You.

The moment Mr. Zhang stepped out, Yun Yao looked at Ji Xiangchen.

“Have you looked at them? Which one do you want to choose?”

Ji Xiangchen gave him a helpless look, “Both scripts were meant for you. I’m just here to pick up the leftovers, how could I have the right to say which one I want?”

“In this industry, it’s never a guarantee that whoever plays the male lead will become famous. Opportunity and luck both play a part, you were the one who told me that.” Yun Yao pushed the scripts toward him, “I know you’ve always wanted to make it big, and you were the one guiding me when I first arrived at the company. Consider this my way of returning the favor.”

A flicker of emotion showed in Ji Xiangchen’s eyes.

“Then… I’m really going to choose?”

Yun Yao rested his chin on his hand, nodding eagerly.

“Go ahead and choose, you can take all day if you want.”

The two scripts were of entirely different genres. One was an adaptation of a romance novel that had been popular for years, with some workplace elements added to flesh out the character growth of the leads. It felt a bit melodramatic and cliché by today’s standards, but because the novel had been popular for so long, it possessed a large, stable fanbase.

The other was a mystery thriller, a genre that had been quite popular recently, and several core supporting roles had already been locked in with veteran actors.

No matter how you looked at it, the latter option seemed much more high quality. Most people would lean toward choosing the mystery, and Yun Yao would too, but compared to Ji Xiangchen, his luck happened to be a bit better.

He was willing to share these opportunities with Ji Xiangchen.

That day, Yun Yao not only accepted the script left behind by Ji Xiangchen, but he also went through the scripts others had rejected from Wei You’s pile and selected the second male lead role in a fantasy xianxia drama.

The daytime audition had made him realize that his current skills didn’t allow him to make too many bold choices just yet.

Being the male lead was great, but for now, it seemed he hadn’t reached the level where a group of veteran teachers would play supporting roles to elevate him. Once he matured and his abilities allowed it, he would become a true male lead.

That evening, Yun Yao returned home thoroughly exhausted, only to find that the sticky note on his neighbor’s door had vanished.

After a moment of thought, he grabbed some dried meat he had brought back from the company and went to knock on the neighbor’s door. He wanted to take the initiative to say hello and introduce himself, after all, since he had accepted their food, it was only right to reciprocate.

But despite knocking for a good while, no one came to answer.

“Huh? Not home?”

Yun Yao could only hang the beef on the doorknob, write a quick note, and head back inside his own apartment.

“Hello, I’m your neighbor next door. This is some air dried beef a friend brought back, the flavor is quite nice. Let’s be good neighbors from now on. Yun Yao”

Over the next few days, Yun Yao focused on recuperating his energy. For the low budget dramas he had taken on previously, he often had to rush through scenes without sleep or rest to save time, which was not only physically draining but also completely exhausting.

He had learned his lesson this time, keeping to a routine of sleeping early, waking up early, and never missing a single one of his three daily meals, not even breakfast.

Previously, he didn’t have high standards for food, as long as it filled his stomach.

Over the past week, under the guise of friendly neighborly relations, the next door neighbor had been bringing him a portion of breakfast every single day. The neighbor claimed to be a regular at Li Kee, saying that since a delivery was being made anyway, sending one portion or two made no difference.

At first, Yun Yao had been on guard, but considering he was currently broke and the apartment was just a rental paid for by his company, he gradually let his guard down.

Moreover, beyond simply filling his stomach, he was beginning to develop a taste for the fine food. To return the favor, he started taking the initiative to search online for various local delicacies nearby.

Because the neighbor was always elusive, Yun Yao would frequently gather various snacks, dried meats, dried fruits, or popular internet famous desserts to package and leave at the neighbor’s door.

This routine of sending gifts went on for half a month. Unfortunately, right up until he packed his bags to join his new film set, he still hadn’t managed to catch a glimpse of this mysterious neighbor. They could only communicate through sticky notes. In his latest note, he wrote that he was joining a production crew and probably wouldn’t be back for two months.

Yun Yao was more resilient than Yu Cheng had imagined. Over the past few years, his mother had passed away and his father had betrayed him, yet within a mere two years, he had managed to step out from the shadows, restart his life, and even find a direction for his future. Yu Cheng felt both gratified and proud.

In the evening, He Lindong dropped by uninvited, forcing Yu Cheng to cancel a meeting. At that moment, the old man from the Xi family called, droning on and on to him for ages.

Yu Cheng’s expression was rather unsightly.

He Lindong knew his temperament and figured that during the half month since returning, Yu Cheng had engaged in plenty of clashes with those people.

“You should really tone down that bandit like disposition of yours. Present day Hong Kong isn’t like it was ten years ago. Your every move is constantly being watched by others. If you really let a slip show, let alone outsiders, even the members of your own Xi family would tear you to pieces.”

Yu Cheng tossed his phone aside, an arrogant, cold smirk appearing on his lips.

“Then let them bring it on. In all these years, I’ve never been afraid of anyone.”

He Lindong,  Fine, consider it as if he had said nothing at all.

He Lindong casually shifted the topic.

“So? Spending so many years just to make a comeback, didn’t you say you had some incredibly important business to attend to?”

Instead of answering, Yu Cheng countered with a question, “Are you familiar with the situation in Yun Yao’s production crew?”

He Lindong raised an eyebrow, highly suspecting that the “important business” Yu Cheng spoke of was simply trying to woo a man.

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