Shen Yuming is very good at cooking. He doesn’t even need to watch tutorial videos and managed to make three dishes and one soup in just an hour and a half.

The stir-fried pork and Ants Climbing a Tree had chili peppers, while the chilled okra dish did not.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Shen Yuming casually hung his apron on the back of a chair.

“Waiting for you.”

Shen Yuming cooked with meticulous care, just like how he worked, yet it didn’t feel out of place.

Shen Yuming chuckled lightly. “No need to wait for me.”

He casually picked up a piece of stir-fried pork with his chopsticks and brought it to Yu Yan’s mouth. “Try it.”

The sudden gesture left Yu Yan stunned for a few seconds, but his mouth reacted faster than his brain and bit into the piece of meat.

The flavor wasn’t particularly spicy; instead, it carried a hint of savory sweetness, likely due to the addition of oyster sauce.

“It’s delicious. Do you want to try some?” Yu Yan praised enthusiastically.

Shen Yuming nodded and directly used the same chopsticks to pick up a piece of stir-fried pork and eat it himself.

Yu Yan’s eyes widened instantly!!!

Shen Yuming had used the same chopsticks he had just fed Yu Yan with. This… wasn’t this an indirect kiss?

Damn it! How could Shen Yuming be so good at this and steal his script again?

When would he ever get a chance to turn the tables?

“Why aren’t you eating?” Shen Yuming seemed oblivious to Yu Yan’s reaction.

“I need a moment.”

Yu Yan spent the rest of the meal blushing and with his heart racing. Afterward, when he offered to do the dishes, he discovered that the house now had a dishwasher, leaving him with nothing to do.

---

After the release of Immortal Journey, He Zhiyu didn’t forget to promote Star Source and Spring Encounter while working on the drama’s publicity. The two web dramas gained some attention as a result.

Both dramas had mostly finished filming, with only a few scenes needing reshoots. Their release was scheduled for over a month later to avoid overlapping with other major dramas on the platforms.

At the same time, Yu Yan’s new movie project was due to be put on the agenda. After Immortal Journey aired, he called Yang Chao to discuss the matter.

After the call ended, Yu Yan realized that Shen Yuming had, at some point, sat cross-legged on the carpet beside him.

“Star Source and Spring Encounter won’t air until a month from now. It’ll take at least a few more months after that to start earning revenue,” Shen Yuming reminded him.

Revenue from web dramas primarily comes from user subscriptions and product placements. Since the two dramas weren’t highly anticipated early on, they hadn’t attracted much advertising. Recently, thanks to He Zhiyu’s promotions, they’d gained some attention, and advertisers had started to reach out. However, their offers weren’t particularly high, so the director was still considering.

If the dramas gained traction after their release, product placements could bring in more revenue. But this would take time, meaning Yu Yan’s share of the earnings would also be delayed. Moreover, a portion of the revenue from Star Source would go to the company, and after taxes, the amount Yu Yan received wouldn’t be substantial—certainly not enough to fully fund a movie’s production and post-release promotion.

Before receiving his share from the web dramas, Yu Yan would need to finance the new movie project himself.

Yu Yan shook his phone and chuckled. “My mom just transferred me some money—it just arrived.”

“Didn’t we agree I’d invest in it?” Shen Yuming frowned slightly.

“I’ll take your money too.”

Initially, Jiang Mo had planned to fully fund the movie herself, but Yu Yan declined. Deep down, he still felt uncertain, given his lack of experience.

Seeing Yu Yan fiddling with the calculator on his phone, Shen Yuming felt slightly relieved. “Alright.”

With the initial funding secured, Yu Yan roughly calculated the remaining promotional expenses. Suddenly, a video call popped up on his phone. Before he could react, he accidentally hit the answer button.

From the other end of the call, faint voices of Yu Chen and Xi Yuan could be heard. In a flash, Yu Yan covered the camera.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Yuming’s expression darkened, unable to see who was on the call.

Yu Yan instinctively made a shushing gesture and mouthed, “My brother.”

“Where are you? Why is it blacked out?” Yu Chen’s slightly dissatisfied voice came through the phone.

“What should I do?”

Could he end the call and rush home in time?

After all, just an hour ago, he had messaged Yu Chen saying he was at home watching TV with their parents, even teasing him with pictures of their mom’s homemade cake.

Just as Yu Yan was about to head out the door, Shen Yuming suddenly dragged him into the bedroom. With one swift motion, Shen Yuming pulled back the neatly folded blankets and stuffed Yu Yan inside.

Yu Yan quickly caught on, peeking the phone out of the blanket. With the moonlight streaming in, the faint silhouette of someone curled up in the covers could be seen on the screen.

“Why is it so dark?”

“I just fell asleep. Why are you calling at this hour?” Yu Yan yawned on cue.

Yu Chen sounded suspicious. “Sleeping this early?”

“I was up late last night discussing the new movie with the director. Today I visited the set, signed contracts with some actors, and ran around four or five different places,” Yu Yan replied with his eyes closed, looking thoroughly exhausted.

Yu Chen understood. “Sorry, I forgot about the time difference. Get some rest. If you’re too tired, take a few days off. That crappy job isn’t worth exhausting yourself over.”

“Okay, got it, bro. Enjoy your time with Xi Yuan.”

The call ended, and Yu Yan let out a sigh of relief, tossing the blanket aside.

Luckily, his acting skills were top-notch, and he managed to fool him. Otherwise, these days would have been unbearable.

“Was he checking in on you?” Shen Yuming caught on.

“Yeah,” Yu Yan exhaled, “He checked in yesterday too. I thought with the time difference since he’s abroad, he’d forget about it.”

Shen Yuming gave a light “oh,” then said, “He called me today too.”

“What did he say? Trying to dig for information?” Yu Yan lay on the bed, too lazy to move.

“He asked a bunch of work-related questions, then asked where I was having dinner and what I was up to tonight.”

“So, what did you tell him?”

Shen Yuming chuckled, “I said I was having dinner with a new business partner, discussing investments afterward, and then getting ready for bed. He told me to rest and not overwork myself.”

What a clever way to twist the truth. Shen Yuchen wasn’t lying technically—they did briefly talk about investing in a new movie today. But Shen Yuchen’s version of “business partner” and “investment” was definitely not what Yu Chen had in mind.

“If I had Shen Yuchen’s wit, I wouldn’t have any trouble bluffing my way out of this!” Yu Yan sighed. “My brother’s been acting paranoid these past couple of days, checking in on us like we actually have something going on.”

“Don’t you?” Shen Yuming’s eyes darkened slightly as he leaned in closer.

The warm orange glow from the lamp outlined his features, framing his face like a golden halo. Shen Yuchen’s face was undeniably attractive—his deep-set features and slightly downturned, narrow eyes exuded an intense presence.

Yu Yan felt his heart skip a beat. His long, crow-feather-like lashes fluttered twice. “At least… not for now.”

He hastily changed the subject and reached out his hand. “Pull me up. I need to shower—I’m drenched in sweat.”

Shen Yuming didn’t press for an answer. He reached out to pull him up and grabbed a set of pajamas from the wardrobe to hand to him.

The gray-blue silk pajamas felt soft and smooth to the touch.

“New ones?” Yu Yan raised an eyebrow.

The last two times he had stayed over, the pajamas he wore were either random cheap ones from the convenience store downstairs or Shen Yuchen’s old, ill-fitting ones. He thought he’d be wearing the set he had left at the hospital this time, but Shen Yuchen had prepared new ones for him.

Shen Yuming leaned against the wardrobe door, arms crossed. “Couple’s set.”

Yu Yan’s face turned bright red in an instant. Last time, he’d been teased over the phone, but that was easier to brush off. Hearing this in person left him completely flustered. He quickly threw out a “I’m going to shower” and hurried off.

The bedroom lights weren’t on, and in his rush to leave, Yu Yan bumped into the doorframe.

“What happened? Did you hurt yourself?”

Before Shen Yuchen could express concern, Yu Yan shot back a quick “I’m fine” and dashed into the bathroom.

When he came out of the shower, Yu Yan stood by the bed for a long time, unmoving, his mind flooded with the images Zhan Zhan had sent him from a small website.

I’m done for. I’m not pure anymore!

Previously, lying on the same bed as Shen Yuchen didn’t stir anything in him. But now, he felt strangely uneasy.

It didn’t feel right to get on the bed, but it also felt wrong not to.

When Shen Yuming came out of the bathroom, he saw Yu Yan sitting cross-legged on the carpet, playing a mobile game. “Why aren’t you getting into bed?”

Yu Yan hesitated for a moment. “How are we sleeping?”

“The same as before,” Shen Yuming replied nonchalantly. “How we slept before is how we’ll sleep now.”

Yu Yan glared at him. “Before is before. Now is now.”

“What’s different?” Shen Yuming turned off the main lights, leaving only the reading lamp on the bedside table.

It’s definitely different, but Yu Yan couldn’t quite put his finger on how to explain it.

Though Shen Yuchen seemed to be baiting him with his ambiguous words and gestures, he had never outright said he liked him. Overall, their relationship hadn’t changed… technically.

No, wait, this seems to be the script Song Yunjing had planned for him—Shen Yuchen stole his script again!

Shen Yuchen didn’t say anything. If he spoke recklessly, wouldn’t he lose the upper hand?

Yu Yan quickly climbed into bed. “Nothing, just turn off the lights and go to sleep.”

The bed was 2.2 meters wide, large enough that even with two adult men lying on it, there was still plenty of space in between.

The night was deep, and moonlight filtered through the cracks in the dark curtains, flickering faintly.

Normally, Yu Yan would fall asleep as soon as he hit the bed, but now he found himself restless, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. His mind was filled with those images.

In the absence of vision, other senses became heightened. When the person next to him moved slightly, Yu Yan immediately turned his head and questioned, “What are you doing?”

Shen Yuchen chuckled softly, reached across the two blankets, and grabbed his hand. “Sleeping.”

“If you’re sleeping, just sleep. Why are you holding my hand?” Yu Yan muttered, but he didn’t pull away.

“Is that not allowed?” Shen Yuchen’s voice was low and hoarse, but his hand firmly held on.

“I didn’t say it wasn’t allowed.”

Even with the air conditioning on, Yu Yan’s hand quickly began to sweat. He tried to move it, but Shen Yuchen just gripped it tighter.

“It’s sweaty, sticky,” Yu Yan grumbled, attempting to break free again but failing.

Shen Yuchen mumbled, “It’s fine.”

In the thick darkness, his voice sounded tired, with a hint of nasal tone.

Forget it, if it’s sweaty, it’s sweaty—after all, he wasn’t the one with a cleanliness obsession.

Yu Yan didn’t know how much time passed before he finally drifted off to sleep.

But it wasn’t a restful sleep. He dreamed of himself sprinting across a vast grassland, with a lion chasing him from behind.

The lion was very patient, slowing down just as it was about to catch him, giving him a chance to escape. Then, just when he thought he was about to get away, the lion would suddenly surge forward again.

This cycle repeated several times until Yu Yan finally gave up running. At that moment, the lion opened its massive, blood-red jaws.

The dream abruptly ended, and his alarm clock rang.

Half-asleep, Yu Yan reached for his phone and turned off the alarm. On the screen, several messages from Zhang Cancan were displayed prominently, instantly waking him up.