The Affectionate Backup is a Heartthrob [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Devoted Stand-In is Coveted (4)

Wen Zhe’s life filming proceeded step by step; he didn’t have many scenes in a day and finished work as soon as they were done.

On this day, he filmed a night scene. By the time they finished, it was already past nine o’clock. While he was removing his makeup in the dressing room, the director walked in.

Wen Zhe looked at him. “Is there something, Director Liu?”

Director Liu had a beaming smile on his face. “Nothing special, it’s just that the production team organized a gathering to let the actors of the crew relax.” As he spoke, his tone grew heavier. “You didn’t go last time, so you definitely have to go this time.”

Wen Zhe was easy to talk to; he viewed this kind of social interaction as part of the job, so he didn’t refuse. “Alright, I’ll go. Director, send me the address. I’ll head over as soon as I’m done removing my makeup and hair.”

“No need, no need, I’ll wait for you,” Director Liu said.

Wen Zhe glanced at him. Logically, the director should have headed over early; there was no reason for him to wait for a fourth male lead, as if he were someone important.

However, Wen Zhe didn’t say much. He quickly packed up his things and left with the director.

Only when they arrived did Wen Zhe realize that the production team had arranged for an entertainment club. He had originally thought it would be a simple meal. But this kind of occasion was very common in the industry. He wasn’t the aloof type, and his level of acceptance for social obligations was the same as any average actor, so he wasn’t particularly resistant.

After entering, he and Director Liu were led by a waiter to the door of a private room. Wen Zhe entered with the director. Inside, the light was dim; the blue-toned lighting combined with various colored spots of light revealed a sense of debauchery and ambiguity.

Someone was singing, and it sounded quite pleasant, but with nearly twenty people in the room, the sound of talking mixed together made it a bit noisy.

Director Liu patted his shoulder. “Make yourself at home.”

Saying that, he found a place to sit. Wen Zhe stood at the door and scanned the room; the actors from the crew were all there, handsome men and beautiful women laughing and chatting together.

Suddenly, his gaze met a pair of deep, pitch-black eyes. Like a predator locking onto its prey, they stared at him.

Wen Zhe couldn’t help but freeze. Why was Ye Baihuai here too? Someone of his level shouldn’t appear here—or perhaps he had set his sights on a certain actor…

Just as he was thinking this subconsciously, he suddenly heard Ye Baihuai speak: “Come here, sit beside me.”

Wen Zhe’s eyes widened slightly. That certain tone was directed at him. The noise in the room dropped a notch, and everyone else’s gaze fell on him, intentionally or not.

Wen Zhe was dazed for a moment before walking over. It seemed there was no one here Ye Baihuai was interested in; he probably just came here purely for diversion, otherwise he wouldn’t have let Wen Zhe sit in the seat beside him.

His aura was too cold, and his entire being seemed to be surrounded by the words “do not approach,” which resulted in a literal empty space beside him. Others consciously did not press close to him.

Wen Zhe sat next to him. “President Ye.”

Ye Baihuai handed him a glass of wine and asked casually, “Why are you just arriving?”

Wen Zhe took the glass. The noise in the room was too loud, so he had to lean closer to hear what Ye Baihuai was saying. “Delayed by filming.”

Ye Baihuai also leaned closer to him. His other arm was resting on the sofa, and now he was even nearer, as if encircling him. Wen Zhe heard Ye Baihuai let out a soft chuckle that made his eardrums tingle, followed by the heat of his breath blowing against his earlobe. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

Wen Zhe turned his head to look at him. At this moment, he was extremely close—so close that even the blinking of his eyelashes could be seen clearly. Those pitch-black eyes sparkled, and his thin lips were stained red by the wine. No matter how he looked at it, the current Ye Baihuai seemed to be tinged with a trace of seduction, causing Wen Zhe to move aside instinctively.

Why did he feel like Ye Baihuai’s words implied he had been specifically waiting for him? “Why did President Ye come here?”

Ye Baihuai looked directly into Wen Zhe’s eyes. “I wanted to come see you.”

Wen Zhe’s heart gave a heavy throb. His eyes wavered as he stared intently at the man before him, but he couldn’t find any flaw; he wasn’t teasing him, but was being very serious. If one savored these words, they were somewhat ambiguous.

He didn’t know if the man was intentional or not. He felt that someone with Ye Baihuai’s status wouldn’t covet a friend’s lover. Just as he was trying to figure out what Ye Baihuai meant, someone called for a few “host boys” to liven up the atmosphere.

Wen Zhe’s attention was drawn to the commotion at the door. Several handsome boys walked in. Their behavior was very bold, not caring at all about who was in the room; they were likely used to seeing celebrities.

At this point, Ye Baihuai looked toward Wen Zhe’s line of sight. “Do you like this type?”

His voice was flat, making it impossible to tell his mood. Wen Zhe immediately waved his hand. “I just saw that some of them don’t look any worse than actors.”

“You feel it’s a pity?” Ye Baihuai asked.

Wen Zhe curled his lips. He wasn’t the type to be overly compassionate. “It’s a bit of a pity, but I’m just making a passing comment.”

“Most of them won’t feel pity for themselves; they might even feel lucky. They maximize the profit of their beautiful faces and can easily gain income,” Ye Baihuai said.

Wen Zhe heard the contempt in his voice but neither agreed nor disagreed. But then he saw Ye Baihuai staring at him, and the man changed the subject. “Speaking of pity, I feel you are the one who is truly a pity.”

Wen Zhe was confused for a moment, but he vaguely seemed to know what the man was going to say. Ye Baihuai said, “You must know it too. Jiang Han has always had a ‘white moonlight’ in his heart, and this person is irreplaceable to him. And you? You aren’t inferior to this white moonlight at all; in fact, in my view, you are superior to him in some aspects. Yet you can only stay by his side without seeing the light. It’s truly a pity.”

Ye Baihuai was speaking the truth. He didn’t feel offended; there was even a sense of praise for him, or perhaps he was being advised to turn back from the wrong path. But if he truly loved Jiang Han to the point of death, he might not have felt so unoffended.

He wasn’t sure what Ye Baihuai was thinking. Since ancient times, “persuading a prostitute to go straight” has been a role men love to play. Was Ye Baihuai trying to make him, this stand-in, recognize reality?

But he was definitely going to disappoint Ye Baihuai, because he ‘loved’ Jiang Han to the bone. “I don’t seek to occupy a place in his heart; as long as I can be by his side, I am satisfied.”

Ye Baihuai’s face darkened completely. His eyes grew even more somber, and his voice lost patience, turning cold. “I truly cannot agree.”

Wen Zhe blinked. Was Ye Baihuai angry? He actually felt such a strong emotion over his views on love?

He knew that young people nowadays tended to hate the ‘love-brain’ type, but the situation of someone like Ye Baihuai getting angry because he failed to persuade a love-brain person had a strong sense of contrast. It even made Wen Zhe’s lips curl into an involuntary smile.

“You’re still laughing?” Ye Baihuai seemed even angrier, and the pressure around him dropped. “This kind of pathetic love truly makes you feel like it’s as sweet as honey.”

Wen Zhe didn’t expect the other person to be watching him so closely. He turned his head to look at the cold-faced Ye Baihuai. This man was clearly someone in a high position of power, yet right now, it was as if he was afraid of catching the “love-brain” contagion, sitting a bit further away from him. It actually looked somewhat childish.

However, if others knew he had such a thought, they would likely be terrified, as if they had seen a ghost.

So he only thought of it as an illusion that couldn’t be taken seriously. After all, with the man’s status, when his face darkened, the atmosphere became tense.

Just then, a fragrant youth sat down beside him. His body leaned in as if he had no bones, handing him a glass of wine. “Sir, you look so beautiful.”

The youth was almost kissing his cheek. Wen Zhe uncomfortably dodged to the side. Although he didn’t resist this kind of occasion, he was still a bit unable to adapt to the bold host boys serving here.

Just as Wen Zhe was about to take the wine glass, his shoulder was suddenly pulled by the person beside him. He fell into Ye Baihuai’s chest, and a unique cold fragrance surrounded him.

At this moment, Ye Baihuai’s eyes were terrifyingly dark, like a lion whose prey had been touched. He had also lost his gentlemanly poise, saying to the host boy, “Get out.”

The host boy shivered in fear and hurriedly ran away. Wen Zhe watched the youth’s panicked retreating figure and felt that it might have been a bit rude for a young man in his early twenties.

However, there was no need for him to say it. He wanted to get out of Ye Baihuai’s embrace, but as soon as he moved, he was held even tighter. The body heat transferred through their clothes, making the posture feel increasingly ambiguous.

Wen Zhe turned his head, only to see Ye Baihuai staring straight at him, his eyes deep and bright, making his heart tighten.

“President Ye, you can let go now,” Wen Zhe said with a smile.

Ye Baihuai came to his senses, and the arm around his shoulder was finally removed. “He was right. You are indeed very beautiful.”

Wen Zhe felt increasingly strange. He hurriedly stood up. “Excuse me for a moment.”

After speaking, he walked toward the door. Ye Baihuai’s gaze followed him until the door of the private room closed.

After coming out, Wen Zhe finally breathed a sigh of relief. The air in the hallway was much fresher. Just as he was about to walk forward, he bumped right into a man coming the other way. The man was about to start cursing, but he froze after seeing Wen Zhe’s face clearly. “Wen Zhe? Why are you here?”

By now, Wen Zhe also saw what the other person looked like; he was a friend of Jiang Han’s. He looked familiar, but Wen Zhe couldn’t call out his name. “Our crew came for a gathering.”

“Oh,” the other person grinned, pointing casually at a room ahead. “I’m in that room. Come find me if you want to play.”

Wen Zhe nodded and didn’t look at him again. The other person left awkwardly. He leaned against the wall to rest for a moment, when suddenly someone put their arms around his neck from behind. “Master, you came out for air too.”

He knew who it was just by the voice. He glanced at the youth with a baby face; Zhou Zhi was already twenty, but he still looked like a minor. “Yeah, it’s a bit stuffy inside.”

In the drama, he played Wen Zhe’s disciple, a lively person who would cling to him whenever he was free.

“I’m telling you, Master.” Saying this, Zhou Zhi used his hand to cover the side of his mouth, leaning close to Wen Zhe’s ear as if whispering a secret. “That Producer Sun kept pressing up against me. It’s disgusting. I felt like vomiting just seeing his lecherous look.”

Wen Zhe rubbed his head. “Then don’t go back in. Go straight back to the hotel. I’ll tell them later that you weren’t feeling well and left first.”

Zhou Zhi came up and gave him a bear hug. “Master, you’re the best!”

“Go on, be careful on the road,” Wen Zhe said.

Zhou Zhi let go of Wen Zhe and said with a grin, “Then I’m leaving. Bye-bye, Master!”

Wen Zhe saw him off and planned to stay for a while longer before returning to the room.

Meanwhile, far away in a high-end restaurant in the city center, Jiang Han was having dinner with several CEOs from emerging industries. At this moment, his phone buzzed. There was a message on the screen, sent by his friend.

He opened the message, and his face immediately froze. On the screen was a photo of Wen Zhe and a youth embracing each other.

“Excuse me for a moment.” After speaking, Jiang Han strode outside. Once out of the private room, his face darkened completely, and he directly dialed Wen Zhe’s number.

As for Wen Zhe, just as he was about to return to the room, his phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was Jiang Han. He didn’t know why the man would suddenly call him.

Wen Zhe answered. “Hello, Jiang Han.”

“Where are you?”

The voice on the other end was exceptionally dark, as if he were restraining his anger. Wen Zhe looked at the phone screen. Who had offended him?

Wen Zhe answered truthfully: “I’m at a club with the film crew.”

“Is that a place you should go? Get back here now,” Jiang Han said.

Wen Zhe felt it was baffling. “The actors from our crew are all here. We’re just relaxing.”

Jiang Han gave a cold laugh. “Do you think I’m stupid? Do you think I don’t know what kind of place that is? You have to go to that kind of filthy place to ‘relax’?”

This kind of place naturally carried an ambiguous meaning. Jiang Han knew this better than anyone, because this was the kind of place he often appeared in—whether it was for amusement with friends or business cooperation, he would come once every few days. He had someone in his heart, so he wouldn’t fool around.

But Wen Zhe was only here to handle work matters; it wasn’t a case of one person being superior to the other. Thinking this, Wen Zhe felt something was wrong. “How did you know I was here?”

Hearing this, the person on the other end seemed even angrier. “The photo of you embracing a ‘duck’ was sent to my phone. How do you think I know?”

“A duck…” Wen Zhe was startled for a moment, then realized it must be him and Zhou Zhi. He explained, “That’s an actor from the same crew, not a ‘duck.’ You’ve misunderstood.”

Jiang Han gave a cold laugh. “Colleague? Is this how you usually get along with colleagues? Hugging in a club? Wen Zhe, I truly underestimated you.”

Wen Zhe felt helpless. Why did it feel like the more he explained, the worse it got? “You’re overthinking it. I just see him as a kid.”

The phone suddenly went silent, with only audible breathing. Wen Zhe’s heartstrings also tightened. “Wen Zhe, you think too highly of yourself. Do you think I care what you’re doing with others? What I want to tell you is: if you aren’t ‘clean,’ then get the hell away from me as soon as possible.”

After saying this, Jiang Han hung up. His chest heaved more and more. He opened that photo and looked at it carefully again. The two people in the photo were smiling exceptionally naturally, which made him feel increasingly annoyed the more he looked.

He turned off the phone screen and gritted his teeth. He actually didn’t call back!

Wen Zhe was indeed in a difficult position right now. He frowned. If the current situation wasn’t handled well, he might end his relationship with Jiang Han prematurely, in which case his task in this world could only end in failure. He wouldn’t allow that to happen.

Recalling the scene just now, the point of Jiang Han’s anger was likely feeling that his “item” was no longer clean and pure. He was a stand-in for the “white moonlight,” and the white moonlight was a symbol of purity and beauty—so how could he come to this kind of place?

And he had been secretly photographed. The imaginary white moonlight embracing someone else—that image must have been quite eyesore-inducing, so it made sense why he was so furious.

What Jiang Han wanted was for him to immediately go back obediently; he wanted him to be submissive, not to offer constant explanations as if Jiang Han cared so much about him. He had always loathed himself and those around him having such thoughts.

Jiang Han had always been unscrupulous toward him—always arrogant and always high and mighty—because in his view, Wen Zhe would always compromise with him. He pushed him away without hesitation, and Wen Zhe still had to crawl back to his side with a thick skin.

Wen Zhe took a deep breath, then called Jiang Han. The first time, it was hung up directly. The second time, it was also hung up. Only on the third time did the other side slowly answer.

There was a silence on the other end, as if if Wen Zhe said one more thing he didn’t want to hear, he would hang up immediately.

“I was wrong,” Wen Zhe apologized softly. “I’m heading back now.”

Jiang Han gave a lazy ‘humph’. “I thought you liked that kind of place. You seemed to be enjoying yourself quite a bit, and enjoying being hugged.”

Facing Jiang Han’s mockery, even though Wen Zhe’s heart was already numb, he still felt a sting. He said with restraint, “No, I don’t like it. I’m planning to go back to the hotel.”

“I didn’t force you. If you still want to play here, suit yourself. Just don’t come near me again in the future,” Jiang Han said.

“I don’t want to anymore. I’m leaving now,” Wen Zhe said, his voice carrying a hint of flattery.

“Wen Zhe,” Jiang Han called his name, his voice tinged with coldness. “Remember this: I don’t like ‘unclean’ people.”

After saying this, Jiang Han hung up. Wen Zhe let out a long breath, and his state of mind returned to a peaceful state. This world indeed had some difficulty compared to other worlds, but it was still within his control.

Three more months, and all this would be over.

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