Chapter 25: Scientific Big Shot × Seductive Film Queen (Part 5)

The filming proceeded especially smoothly afterward, not because Xiao Yan had become well-behaved, but because Cheng Yi was closely watching him on set the entire time.

“I’ve told you over and over—there’s no third party! We already broke up, so what do you think you’re doing by hanging around here every day?”

After the Nth NG (outtake), Xiao Yan finally lost his patience. He felt like everyone around was laughing at him.

“We were about to get married, and now you’re telling me we’ve broken up?” Cheng Yi retorted angrily. “What, is it no longer the time when you used to beg me to get my uncle to pull strings for you? Xiao Yan, I was the one who made you famous—don’t think I can’t drag you back down to rock bottom. Believe it or not?”

Xiao Yan couldn’t stand Cheng Yi’s aggressive attitude. She made him feel like he was worthless. But he also knew he couldn’t afford to offend her, so he could only patiently placate her.

“If you want to hang around, suit yourself. We’ll talk about the breakup later, okay? Just let me finish filming this drama properly. You wouldn’t want to become a laughingstock for Xi Nian either, would you?”

Thinking of her cousin—always praised by their parents as a role model—Cheng Yi gave a reluctant nod. “Fine, I won’t come by these next couple of days. But you’d better behave. Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on in that scheming little brain of yours.”

“I know, I know!”

With Cheng Yi finally gone, Xiao Yan’s scenes went much more smoothly. He also started looking at Xi Nian with strange eyes.

“Nian Nian, do you still remember when we were kids…”

As soon as filming wrapped, Xiao Yan blocked Xi Nian’s way and tried to reminisce.

“Xiao Yan, we’re grown-ups now. It’s no longer appropriate for you to call me ‘Nian Nian.’ Just call me Xi Nian from now on. And those childhood memories? They were so long ago—I barely even remember them. No need to bring them up,” Xi Nian replied bluntly.

Xiao Yan paused for a second, but quickly returned to his usual gentle, refined demeanor. “You’re right, it has been a long time. I still remember how you used to call me ‘Brother Yan’ all the time. If it weren’t for Cheng Yi, I think we’d have been together long ago. Don’t you think…”

Just as Xiao Yan was speaking, he noticed Xi Nian’s eyes suddenly light up, her entire being brimming with excitement. Xiao Yan silently smirked to himself—Knew it. This girl still likes me.

He was about to keep going when, to his surprise, Xi Nian—who had been right in front of him—suddenly bolted away like an arrow.

Xiao Yan turned around and saw the previously aloof Xi Nian jump onto a man like an octopus, clinging to him and refusing to let go.

“Ahhh! What are you doing here?” Xi Nian had just been internally rolling her eyes at Xiao Yan’s nonsense when she suddenly saw Gu Yin walking toward her. Her boyfriend, 185 cm tall and glowing like a beacon—she definitely wasn’t mistaken.

“Didn’t someone spend all last night whining about how much they missed me?” Gu Yin said teasingly as he held her securely in his arms, walking forward.

Xi Nian buried her face in his chest in embarrassment. “Well, you’ve been gone for half a month. Didn’t you miss me?”

“If I didn’t miss you, would I have come?” Gu Yin chuckled. “I stayed up several nights just to free up two days to come spend time with Miss Xi. Any idea how you plan to reward me?”

“I’ll reward you with a kiss!” Xi Nian planted a big smooch on his face, leaving a vivid red lipstick mark.

The two of them completely ignored Xiao Yan and eagerly headed back to Xi Nian’s room. After all, brief separations make the heart grow fonder!

Neither of them expected that, at that very moment, a paparazzo had posted a few ambiguous photos…

“You’ve been super busy lately?” Xi Nian asked as she ordered food for Gu Yin, watching him eat with her chin propped on her hand.

“Yeah, the experiment is wrapping up, and there’s a lot of end-stage work to deal with.” Gu Yin ate quickly but neatly. “Also, I went home.”

Xi Nian’s heart skipped a beat. She knew about Gu Yin’s background and was nervous about whether the Gu family would accept her. “What did Uncle and Auntie say?” she asked cautiously.

“They said a lot!” Gu Yin looked at her nervously biting her lip and let out a soft laugh. “They said I should bring their daughter-in-law home as soon as possible.”

“Huh?” Xi Nian looked stunned, which made Gu Yin pinch her soft cheek in amusement. “Shocked?”

“Ahhhhh!” Xi Nian jumped up and shook his arm, pestering him to tell her everything.

The day after Xi Nian went to the film set, Gu Yin had returned home. As soon as the Gu family heard he was coming, they started preparing.

“Tell me the truth—what’s going on between you and that actress?” Gu Yin’s mother, a university professor with a scholarly and aloof demeanor, closed her book and looked at him sternly.

“Don’t call her ‘that actress.’ My girlfriend—your daughter-in-law—is named Xi Nian.”

Gu Yin sat down beside his mother. “We’ve been together for three years. Our relationship is stable.”

Gu Father, a stern military man, tossed a book at Gu Yin. “Stable? Then why didn’t you tell us? We had to find out from trending searches online?”

“Mom, Dad… I was afraid you’d disapprove because she’s in the entertainment industry, so I didn’t dare say anything.”

“You little brat!” Gu Father cut him off. “Are you even a man? How did I raise you? Where’s your sense of responsibility? Who gave you the right to make decisions for me and your mom?”

“I…” Before Gu Yin could argue, his mother slapped him. “You what? How did I raise a son like you? Shameful!”

Gu Yin stood there dumbfounded as his parents stormed off in disgust. Can’t I get a word in edgewise?!

“So… you are the one who was ashamed of me?” Xi Nian immediately reacted after hearing the story. This was clearly all on Gu Yin!

“I wasn’t, I wasn’t!” Gu Yin quickly shook his head. “It’s all my dad’s fault. He kept saying I had to find someone of equal social status. He misled me!” Yes, let’s blame Gu Father.

“Hmph!” Xi Nian turned her head away, unconvinced.

“I was wrong!” Gu Yin hurriedly tried to coax her. “I won’t dare do that again!”

“Fine, I’ll forgive you just this once!”

“Great!” Gu Yin straightened her up and kissed her soft, rosy lips.

Ring ring ring…

Gu Yin frowned. Who the hell is interrupting at this moment?

“Hello, Sister Wu.” Ugh. Of course it was this interrupter.

“Me and Xiao Yan? What could possibly be going on between us? Alright, I’ll take a look.” Xi Nian hung up and checked the trending searches—it was a picture of her and Xiao Yan standing and talking.

She glanced over at Gu Yin and, sure enough, saw his amused smirk. She gave a sheepish laugh. “We’re even now. You’re not allowed to be mad!”

Gu Yin took her phone. “What’s going on with that Xiao Yan?”

“Who knows? The moment filming ended, he stopped me to reminisce and suddenly started missing the days when Cheng Yi was around.” Xi Nian shrugged innocently.

“With all these publicity stunts going around, it’s probably orchestrated by his PR team.” Xi Nian sat on Gu Yin’s lap, watching him scroll through Weibo while analyzing the situation.

“No wonder he stopped me out of nowhere! Trash!” Xi Nian was furious.

[Xi Nian gets involved with someone on every shoot!]

“That’s straight-up slander! I’m always professional on set. I never stir up drama.”

[Wait, doesn’t Xiao Yan already have a girlfriend?]
[This trending post is weird—they’re standing so far apart. Since when can’t co-workers talk on set?]
[Exactly. They both have partners. It’s just a casual chat between colleagues.]
[LOL look at Zhao the dog. That’s what a real couple looks like.]
[Zhao: So now young couples are this bold? Cold as ice to co-workers, but glowing with joy for their boyfriend…]

The video showed Xi Nian emotionlessly talking to Xiao Yan, then instantly turning radiant as she ran into Gu Yin’s arms.

[LOL Xi Nian really has two faces, huh?]
[Gu Yin is boyfriend goals—the way she clings like a sloth shows how much she loves him!]
[Gu Yin, just keep spoiling her!]

“This is it?” Xi Nian stared at the suddenly supportive comments in disbelief.

“Should I keep pampering you, then?”

“You’re too much… Ah… Gu Yin, you perv!”

The next day, Gu Yin arrived at the film set looking refreshed and radiant, arm around Xi Nian. Xiao Yan glared at them darkly. They ruined everything—Xi Nian had so much clout, what was wrong with helping boost his exposure?

Gu Yin sensed his glare and shot him a cold, dismissive look. In the original story, Xiao Yan didn’t appear much. Clearly, it was because Xi Nian hadn’t fallen from grace, and now he felt Cheng Yi no longer met his ambitions.

Following Gu Yin’s gaze, Xi Nian also looked over and pouted. Ugh, him again. He was like a lingering ghost. She quickly pulled out her phone and messaged Cheng Yi:

[Your future brother-in-law’s at the set. Want to grab lunch together?]

Cheng Yi replied instantly:

[Sure, I’m on my way.]

She’d been struggling to find a reason to keep an eye on Xiao Yan—perfect opportunity!

“Wanna take my cousin to lunch?” Xi Nian shook her phone smugly.

“Sure,” Gu Yin immediately caught on.

The morning’s shoot went extremely well. Xiao Yan behaved himself, and Gu Yin even ordered desserts and milk tea for everyone. The whole crew was lively.

“Cousin, let’s go!” As soon as filming wrapped, Cheng Yi rushed up to grab Xi Nian’s arm and sweetly called Gu Yin “Brother-in-law.”

Gu Yin nodded approvingly, following behind with the scowling Xiao Yan.

“When are you and Brother-in-law getting married?” At lunch, Cheng Yi glanced at Xiao Yan and asked Xi Nian, hinting strongly.

“Soon,” Gu Yin replied while Xi Nian blushed.

“We can have a joint wedding! Xiao Yan and I are almost there too,” Cheng Yi added with a smile at the silent Xiao Yan.

“We’ll see about that!” Xi Nian deflected awkwardly. No way was she sharing a wedding with those two—neither of them was normal!

Xiao Yan couldn’t even taste his food. Cheng Yi had him in a chokehold again, and he had no way out. He had originally planned to use Xi Nian to ditch Cheng Yi, but who would’ve thought Gu Yin would show up? What terrible luck!

After the meal, Cheng Yi found a new excuse to stay at the set. With her there, Gu Yin could safely head back—no need to worry about Xiao Yan pulling any more stunts. Thanks, cousin! Hahaha!

“You’re leaving already?” Xi Nian hugged him reluctantly.

“I’ve got to be in the lab tomorrow morning. I’ll come again when I have time. If you miss me, we can video call, okay?” Gu Yin kissed her lips gently, then, seeing how reluctant she was, insisted she not see him off and headed to the airport on his own.