YTSB - 49

The man pressed against the corner of her lips, and in the next moment, a flurry of delicate kisses fell upon her.

Her waist was pulled closer to him, their bodies aligning.

Yan Man’s arms were pinned against his shoulders. She could feel his lips gently yet firmly moving, touching hers briefly before pulling back—though not fully leaving. The sensation lingered, feather-light and tingling.

Though this was indeed a kiss from the script…

No, this should be a kiss from the script.

Yan Man blinked, dispelling any stray thoughts.

For a better shot, she tilted her head slightly and tentatively responded twice, feeling his increasingly heavy breaths as his hand moved upward to cradle the back of her head.

Why hasn’t this kiss ended yet?

She noticed the volume of the music had increased, and realized she could no longer hear the director’s voice.

Yan Man tugged at the collar of his shirt, pulling it down slightly, intending to ask if he’d heard whether the director had called “cut.”

The next second, her hand was covered by the warmth of his palm. He murmured softly, “Don’t take off my clothes.”

“...”

I wasn’t trying to take off your clothes!

Finally, after the second round of kissing, she heard a crisp, clear voice through the loudspeaker: “Alright! Cut!”

Director: “Hahahaha! The sound system volume was too high—you guys didn’t hear me calling ‘cut’ twice, so I had to grab a megaphone. Thanks for the hard work, both of you!”

It was quite exhausting.

Yan Man pointed to the corner of her lips and asked Ye Lin, “Is this your wrap-up gift for me?”

“...”

His Adam’s apple bobbed, his mind racing with thoughts. He lowered his eyes, wanting to say something.

But Yan Man had already slipped out of his embrace and began clapping for herself. “Thank you, everyone! Yan Man has officially wrapped! See you tomorrow for reshoots!”

Cheers erupted immediately, all shouting “Happy wrap!” and “Smooth airing!”

She took off her costume and quickly put on the down jacket Simon handed her, waving goodbye to everyone one by one.

“I’m off then! See you tomorrow, everyone! Thank you for your hard work! Bye-bye-bye!”

And just like that, she disappeared from the room.

Ye Lin stood there for a long while, holding his phone, unsure what he was even looking for. He unlocked it, locked it again, turned off the screen, then unlocked it once more.

Bi Tan walked up to him. “Stop looking. Yan Man hasn’t messaged you.”

“...”

That night, on the way back, Yan Man finally got a brief rest.

She played a small game on her phone, and when she looked up, she saw Simon hesitating, as if he wanted to say something.

Yan Man: “What is it?”

Simon thought for a moment before deciding to speak. “Did you see the trending topics yesterday?”

“No, I didn’t have time to check.”

“But I bookmarked a few Weibo posts. You can take a look,” Simon said. “I also found them a bit odd.”

Yan Man opened her phone and discovered that #Ye Lin Bian He# had trended yesterday. Inside, there were video clips of their conversation.

Ye Lin: “So you haven’t filmed any kissing scenes?”

Bian He: “No, we haven’t. But you two seem to have filmed some, right?”

“Mm,” the man in the video nodded. “Maybe around seventy or eighty scenes.”

...

The video was flooded with comments, all laughter and shipping antics. In the comment section, many people even tagged Yan Man.

“How lively,” she remarked.

Simon: “That’s not the main issue. The main issue is… I’ve been thinking recently. Does Ye Lin seem a bit…off to you?”

Yan Man waited for him to continue.

Simon: “Do you think… is it possible that he… likes you?”

Perhaps sensing Yan Man’s silence, Simon continued: “Do you think it’s possible that he likes you? That he’s pursuing you? After all, he’s never taken on TV dramas before, nor has he bent down to help a female co-star lift her skirt. He’s made so many exceptions for you—”

“And don’t you think the way he treats you is obviously romantic? The kind of affection between men and women?”

Simon: “Though I know this idea might sound far-fetched, what happened on set wasn’t fake. At least, I’ve never seen him treat any female artist like that. Of course, I’ve never worked with him in the same group either.”

“...”

Simon: “What do you think? Even if he’s not pursuing you, I believe at the very least, he’s interested in you, right?”

After hearing Simon ramble on for so long, Yan Man parted her lips, leaned forward slightly, and wore a serious expression.

Simon quickly leaned closer.

Yan Man said incredulously: “You’re actually analyzing a man? Do you even understand men? Who can truly understand men?”

Simon: “…………………………”

Simon: “Haven’t you ever thought about it?”

“No, I’ve been so busy lately I barely have time to sleep, let alone dissect a man’s behavior or constantly wonder if he likes me.” Yan Man rested her cheek on her hand. “And you should know, I’ve already hit a wall with him.”

So it was even less likely she’d entertain such thoughts.

Even now, if rumors circulated that Ye Lin had someone he liked—and people were forced to name an artist in the entertainment industry—she’d be the last person they’d write down.

Simon: “But I really feel—”

Yan Man: “I used to think the same way as you.”

“Then, full of confidence, I asked him if he liked me even a little.” Yan Man nodded. “You can guess how it turned out—I won’t go into details.”

“...”

“One of life’s three greatest illusions: Does he like me?”

Yan Man said, “That illusion, at least for the same person, once in a lifetime is enough. No need for a second time.”

At least this time, until the other party explicitly showed signs, she wouldn’t let her mind wander again.

Besides, she was extremely busy recently and didn’t have the luxury of overthinking things. After chatting with Simon, she returned to the hotel and, without dwelling on it for more than five minutes, dived into the script for City Travelers .

...

The next day was her day for reshoots and her official wrap.

Yan Man arrived at the set early, radiant and full of energy, while Ye Lin sat in his original spot, lips pressed tightly together, looking as if his soul had been drained, deep in thought with furrowed brows.

In the morning, they reshot some solo shots, and in the afternoon, they filmed scenes with counterparts.

The final scene to reshoot involved water. Filming water scenes in winter was indeed a test of patience and courage. She had nearly died during the initial shoot, and she hadn’t expected to face a reshoot.

Before filming, she drank a cup of ginger brown sugar tea and warmed up by the poolside.

A nearby staff member, perhaps discussing something, suddenly asked her: “Manman, why did you take on this project?”

Yan Man herself was taken aback. “Isn’t this my custom-made drama?”

“Ohhh, how could we forget!” They gathered around laughing, then cautiously asked, “What about Teacher Ye? Why did he take it on? I remember you don’t usually do TV dramas, right?”

Perhaps because it was her wrap day, and they were about to part ways, many questions that couldn’t be asked before could now be voiced.

Yan Man was also curious. While stretching her ankles, she listened to see if he would speak.

After a few seconds, Ye Lin said: “Because of someone.”

Everyone immediately teased him with a drawn-out “Ooooh,” their voices rising and falling melodramatically. Just as someone was about to ask “Who?” a commotion erupted at the door.

Yan Man looked up.

Shi Nanhong, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, appeared at the entrance, his smile unchanged, making Yan Man momentarily feel as if she had returned to the filming of This Is Acting.

“Teacher Shi!” She waved from afar.

Shi Nanhong nodded and smiled as he approached them. “How’s the shoot going?”

“It’s all good. We’re wrapping up today,” she said. “Are you here to see Ye Lin?”

“To see both of you,” Shi Nanhong replied. “After all, I’m the art director for this project.”

Yan Man let out a soft “Ah,” finally recalling that she had indeed seen Teacher Shi’s name on a list somewhere but hadn’t given it much thought at the time.

She smiled, exchanged a few words about recent happenings, and then filming began.

This was a drowning scene. Previously, only close-ups were shot, but during editing, the director felt a wide shot was needed, hence the reshoot.

Since no close-ups were required this time, the acting could be slightly more relaxed.

Yan Man found her angle, descended from the edge of the pool, and fell into the water in the safest posture possible.

All she had to do next was stand up.

She paddled her arms twice in the pool, pushed off with her heels, and suddenly felt hands supporting her arms, pulling her up.

Emerging abruptly from the water, a few strands of hair clung to her face. She instinctively reached up to brush them away, intending to deliver her lines casually.

But before she could open her mouth, Ye Lin reached out and tucked the loose strands behind her ear.

She froze for a moment.

—Before Simon mentioned it, she hadn’t thought much of it. But now, she couldn’t help but start making connections.

Yan Man’s thoughts became tangled. After finishing this scene, she hurriedly stood up, wrapped herself in a towel, and headed toward the dressing room.

As she passed by the poolside interview room, she noticed the male and female supporting actors inside filming their scenes. It seemed to be a lunch-related scene. The actress giggled uncontrollably, and the actor chuckled as he reached out to remove a grain of rice from the corner of her mouth.

To an unknowing observer, it might seem intimate, but after spending months with them, Yan Man knew they were just friends with no romantic undertones.

When she first entered the industry, she found such close interactions strange, but later realized many people acted that way. After all, they had released their inhibitions during acting classes, and those who chose to become actors generally weren’t overly conservative.

Seeing such interactions repeatedly, she eventually stopped thinking much of them.

Perhaps the moments Simon perceived as “Ye Lin being nice to her” were simply instances where she had changed her own perspective and thus paid them no mind.

She entered the makeup room and only then remembered she had forgotten to grab her clothes. Just as she was about to call Zhou Xuan, she lifted the curtain and found Ye Lin sitting outside.

He had already changed his clothes and was sitting there, seemingly waiting for someone.

Wrapped in a bath towel, Yan Man couldn’t help but ask: “Why didn’t you go find Teacher Shi?”

He paused. “Why?”

“After all, it’s been a while since you two last met, right?” she guessed. “He’s your mentor, and you took this project because of him, so I assumed you two would chat more.”

He had just learned about the art director role.

Ye Lin: “Why would I take this project because of him?”

“Not because of him? That’s just my guess,” Yan Man said. “Didn’t you come here because of Teacher Shi?”

“No.”

As his words fell, numerous thoughts flashed through his mind.

But at this moment, he didn’t want to follow any of the usual courting rules or methods. He didn’t know if this was the right time or the proper pace, yet he couldn’t hold back anymore.

Once those feelings of love were exposed to the sunlight, they grew uncontrollably, spreading wildly until they filled his entire garden.

Yan Man looked at him, unable to resist rubbing her hair dry with the fluffy towel.

“Then, because of who?”

He said, “You.”

“Because of you.”