The Perfect Relationship

Chapter 103: Immersed in the Role

It was already late at night when Luo Chuan directly arranged to meet Yao Manhuai at the VIP bar in the hotel that only allowed actors from the crew to enter. He told her to give his name at the entrance. When he went down, Yao Manhuai was already sitting by the window waiting for him. She was wearing professional attire, had refined makeup on, and frowned as she smoked.

Luo Chuan was stunned for a moment, and then walked straight over. He only spoke after sitting down. "Ms. Yao, long time no see."

Without questioning Luo Chuan's flirtatious tone, Yao Manhuai immediately asked, "You came to help me, but you target my people?"

"Your people?" Luo Chuan laughed. "Tsk, sounds like you gave birth to them. . ."

Yao Manhuai didn't change her expression, "So what?"

"He now calls me 'father.' If you say he's yours, then what are we?" Luo Chuan countered.

"What's your age? Is it fun to take advantage of words like this?" Yao Manhuai asked.

After some teasing, Luo Chuan called the waiter and ordered whiskey and Baileys.

Once the drinks arrived, Luo Chuan swirled his glass and asked Yao Manhuai, "Do you know what I still regret?"

"Never being able to beat Yin Dong," Yao Manhuai replied.

"No, " Luo Chuan took a sip of his drink and looked at her, "I regret that you fell for Yin Dong back then instead of me."

Yao Manhuai's fingers trembled a bit, but she didn't say anything.

"He's been gone for so many years, and you're still taking care of his two sons. Why bother?" Luo Chuan continued.

Luo Chuan didn't know the true identities of Yin Chang and Shao Junling: one was an adopted son, and the other was a nephew. In fact, neither of them were Yin Dong's biological children.

Yao Manhuai didn't explain either. She put out her half-finished cigarette and lifted the Baileys Luo Chuan had ordered for her, saying lightly, "I'm not taking care of them... They grew up taking care of each other."

Luo Chuan glanced at her. "Then why do you care so much?"

"Probably just a habit," Yao Manhuai smiled bitterly. "I just visited Yin Chang, and he doesn't seem to be doing well. His assistant complained to me about how you've been bullying him since you came to the crew."

"I bullied him?" Luo Chuan laughed, "I turned down Qi Xin's film just to bring that kid, who was my mortal enemy at the time, to act in this drama. If this were to spread out, the entire entertainment industry would have to give me a 'kindness' award."

Yao Manhuai clinked her glass with his. "So, I'm giving you a chance to right your wrongs."

Luo Chuan was still angry. "Besides, how much did I suffer in front of Yin Dong because of you back then? What's wrong with bullying his son a little?"

"Did you bully him?" Yao Manhuai asked.

"On the first day," Luo Chuan avoided Yao Manhuai's gaze, "I made him call me 'Dad' a few more times."

"..." Yao Manhuai didn't say anything.

Luo Chuan continued, "His acting was not good at first, and those movies he acted in before were so bad, yet they had high box office ratings. It's an insult to my eyes."

"..." Yao Manhuai remained silent.

Feeling Yao Manhuai's stare piercing through him, Luo Chuan quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, I admit he's really talented. He's absorbed in the role now. This state is something that many actors can't ask for."

"Are you saying that his current state is influenced by the role?" Yao Manhuai asked.

Knowing that Yao Manhuai understood, Luo Chuan didn't explain further, "I'm not worried about him now, but I'm a little worried about him in the future."

"Why?" Yao Manhuai asked.

"Immersive acting is very damaging to actors, especially for these types of roles that are full of sorrow and endurance. Even professional actors sometimes need a little time to get out of character... I see Yin Chang these past two days. He only has vitality on set. Once filming is done, he looks like his soul has left his body. This is a bit dangerous."

Yao Manhuai's expression became serious. "What should we do?"

Luo Chuan pointed to a solution. "I suggest you arrange a personal assistant for him, preferably someone he completely trusts in real life. They can talk to him and force him to speak even if he doesn't want to. But don't talk about this drama. That way, when the drama is finished, he'll feel like he has something to rely on in reality and he can come out faster... Otherwise, he might never come out." 

After separating from Luo Chuan, Yao Manhuai immediately went back to find Lu Lingjuan to ask her to chat with Yin Chang every night.

Lu Lingjuan was at her wit's end. "I want to accompany him, but Yin Chang doesn't even pay attention to me."

Yao Manhuai was confused, "he ignores you?"

"I talk to him, but he zones out. And once he's done with filming, he just wants to lie down. I don't want to disturb him by talking to myself, in case it affects his rest," Lu Lingjuan told Yao Manhuai all the methods she had tried, "I even asked Mi Xiu to help, him and Yin Chang are close, but now even Mi Xiu doesn't dare to approach Yin Chang. He says that Yin Chang's gaze makes him a little scared."

Yao Manhuai replied, "..."

Lu Lingjuan continued, "At first, he would talk to 'Xiao Ling' when he got back to his room every day, but now he rarely speaks."

Yao Manhuai asked, "Who's Xiao Ling?"

"Yin Chang's younger brother made a chat bot for him, named 'Xiao Ling'," Lu Lingjuan explained.

Yao Manhuai suddenly had an idea, murmuring, "Right, Shao Junling... we can ask Shao Junling to call Yin Chang every day."

Lu Lingjuan lamented, "Ms. Yao, it's not a good idea. Yin Chang seriously told me not to let Shao Junling call or tell him about his insomnia, he said it would affect his brother's studies."

Yao Manhuai replied, "..."

"If we don't call him when there's no problem, won't there be a problem later?" Yao Manhuai said with a dark face. She asked Lu Lingjuan to dial Shao Junling's number overseas. "Junling, are you busy lately?" 

"Auntie Yao?" Shao Junling received Yao Manhuai's call while on his way to school. He knew that this woman wouldn't call him for no reason, so he stopped and his expression became serious. "What's wrong? Just tell me."

Yao Manhuai didn't explain too seriously and only asked him to call Yin Chang every day. Because of the time difference, when Yin Chang goes to sleep at night, it's morning for Shao Junling, which shouldn't affect his studies.

After hanging up the phone, Lu Lingjuan asked urgently, "What did he say?"

"He said got it," Yao Manhuai recalled how Shao Junling listened to her request in silence, then said, "Give me two days," before hanging up. "He's probably busy these two days."

Lu Lingjuan breathed a sigh of relief, but she didn't dare to reveal to Yin Chang that they had called Shao Junling.

Recently, Yin Chang's performance on set was increasingly outstanding, making rapid progress. The next day he had a scene with Luo Chuan, and Yin Chang's state of mind was explosive. He didn't fall behind Luo Chuan in the confrontation, and many actors who were watching cheered "amazing" after the shoot.

But the price of this outbreak was that Yin Chang fell ill.

That night, he had a fever of 39 degrees and was lying in bed murmuring. But even in his dream, he recited his lines. The doctor who came to give him an IV greatly admired the young man's work ethic.

Lu Lingjuan was worried sick. She monitored the IV drip all day, but his temperature didn't go down. She was sitting by his bed, thinking about changing the cooling pad on his forehead, when her phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID was "Shao Junling," Lu Lingjuan inwardly groaned. He wasn't available earlier or later, but now he's calling when his brother can't even pick up?

"Hello?" she pretended to be calm. At this point, she didn't want to tell Shao Junling about Yin Chang's illness and worry him unnecessarily.

But to her surprise, Shao Junling said on the other end, "Sister Lu, I'm at the Hai Cheng International Airport now. Can you send me the location of the set? I'll call a car over."

Three hours later, Lu Lingjuan saw Shao Junling downstairs in the hotel and was shocked incredulous.

Shao Junling carried a backpack and dragged a suitcase with him, looking exhausted from the long journey.

When he got closer, Lu Lingjuan looked up at him and said, "Did you...grow taller?"

Shao Junling didn't answer, instead asked, "Where's my brother?"

Feeling guilty, Lu Lingjuan couldn't bring herself to tell him about Yin Chang's illness, "He's sick and lying in bed."

Shao Junling furrowed his brows deeply. Lu Lingjuan didn't dare say more and led him to the elevator. Yin Chang's room was on the 12th floor, and on the way up she asked, "Why did you suddenly come back?"

Shao Junling replied, "Christmas holiday starts next week, so I finished my project early and bought a plane ticket."

Lu Lingjuan was overjoyed, "How long can you stay?"

Shao Junling said, "One month."

Lu Lingjuan's face beamed with excitement, "That's fantastic!"