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The room was dark, windows tightly shut, with only a sliver of light seeping through the curtains. Yu Chi lay groggily on the sofa, hand covering his eyes, hair disheveled, lips dry, and his complexion deathly pale.
Huang Baiyan knocked on the door a few times. When no one answered, he keyed in the code and opened the door.
The moment he walked in, he was startled to see Yu Chi lying half-dead on the sofa. Just as he was about to call out, Yu Chi moved his hand away and opened his eyes to look at him. Huang Baiyan was taken aback, then walked over to open the curtains and windows. “Why didn’t you turn on the air conditioning? Isn’t it stuffy?”
As the light flooded in and he got a good look at Yu Chi’s face, he was shocked. “You’re sick?”
“Fever,” Yu Chi’s voice was hoarse and dry. His throat hurt even when he talked, and his head felt fuzzy. He couldn’t help but mock himself. “Dating really takes a toll on the body.” He hadn’t had a cold or fever in two years. Two months with Sheng Li, and he’d already fallen sick twice—once before dating, once after breaking up.
“Do you need to go to the hospital?” Huang Baiyan asked.
“No, I’ve taken medicine.” Yu Chi grabbed a bottle of water from the bag, unscrewed the cap, and drank half of it. Scattered on the coffee table were several boxes of medicine—ones Sheng Li had brought last time she visited his rental place. He’d packed them along with his things and ended up needing them after all.
Huang Baiyan saw that Yu Chi didn’t seem like someone incapable of taking care of himself, so he didn’t press further. Instead, he asked, “Why was your phone off?”
“It got soaked in the rain last night, so I turned it off.”
Yu Chi had only wiped it down with a towel before tossing it on the table. He picked up the phone now and pressed the power button.
The screen lit up. It still worked.
It was already 2 PM.
Huang Baiyan sat in a single armchair and said, “There were some things I didn’t get to discuss with you yesterday. I wanted to ask you to come to the office this morning, but your phone was off the whole time.”
“Sorry,” Yu Chi said.
Huang Baiyan glanced at the ashtray filled with cigarette butts and frowned. Looking again at Yu Chi’s worn-out appearance, he reminded him, “You haven’t eaten, have you? Order some takeout. You need to take better care of yourself so your health doesn’t affect your work.”
“Yeah.” Yu Chi didn’t have much of an appetite, but his stomach felt uncomfortable, so he ordered a stomach-friendly meal.
Huang Baiyan asked, “Do you have Weibo?”
Yu Chi: “Yeah.”
“Make sure there’s no black history on that account. Delete any inappropriate comments or posts, and later set up a separate account for professional use.” Then he hesitated but asked anyway, “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Yu Chi paused and replied hoarsely, “No, we broke up.”
“How many relationships have you had?”
He’d felt from the start that Yu Chi had star potential. With that kind of appeal, his fanbase would mostly be girlfriend fans and older-sister-type fans. For this kind of idol, the company would rather keep him single until he’s 35. But realistically, at this age, boys are immature, easily influenced, and prone to temptation in the glitzy world of entertainment.
Yu Chi didn’t answer the question. He leaned back on the sofa and gave a half-smile. “Don’t worry. I don’t want to date, and I won’t hook up with fans either.”
Huang Baiyan laughed. “Not that you can’t date—but it’s best not to for the next few years. Wait until your career stabilizes. Right now, your biggest issue is balancing school and work.” He looked puzzled. “Why didn’t you take the art entrance exam?”
Normally, people with a contract would take the entrance exam. Yu Chi seemed to genuinely love acting.
Yu Chi lowered his eyes and smiled bitterly. “A moment of rebellion. I didn’t register.”
Back when Xu Yang was registering for the art exam, he’d hesitated. But in the end, his rebellious streak got the better of him—he didn’t want to do what they wanted, so he didn’t sign up. Later, Sheng Li said he was a hidden gem and brought him back onto the path he originally wanted. Then she left him halfway down that road.
“I’ll keep an eye out for scripts for you. We’ll talk more when something suitable comes up.” Huang Baiyan looked a bit resigned, but he figured they could still build a studious image for Yu Chi.
An hour later, the porridge Yu Chi ordered arrived, and Huang Baiyan left.
Yu Chi ate a little, then called Xu Yang and told him about terminating his contract.
Xu Yang was surprised. “That fast? Did your new company pay the termination fee?”
“Sort of,” Yu Chi didn’t want to explain that money. “Don’t bother with Jiang Nan. If he asks you to meet people or go to dinner parties, don’t go. I’ll figure out your contract issue later.”
“You caught a cold?” Xu Yang finally noticed the hoarseness in his voice.
Yu Chi: “Just overheated.”
Xu Yang recalled the contract situation and laughed bitterly. “I signed that contract myself. Why are you blaming yourself?”
Yu Chi did feel guilty. Xu Yang was his best friend—even if it wasn’t his fault, he’d still help. He recalled Sheng Li patting his face and saying, “This face of yours is destined to become famous.”
“Just treat it like I made it big and am doing charity work. If you feel bad, pay me back when you’re famous.”
“Then you better make it big quick,” Xu Yang laughed, then added worriedly, “Is Light Entertainment really that great? They just paid millions to get you out of your contract—are you sure there’s no catch in the new contract?”
What catch?
It was Sheng Li’s breakup money and pay-for-sleeping-with-her fee.
Yu Chi’s head throbbed as he collapsed back onto the sofa and closed his eyes.
—
Sheng Li was sure she’d been blocked by Yu Chi—not just on WeChat, but also by phone.
That evening, Zhou Sinuan visited the film set. She shook her head and sighed, “You had it coming. If I were Yu Chi, I’d block you too. You dated him, slept with the fresh meat, then made promises? Said stuff like ‘I’m always the one doing the dumping’? Only a pure-hearted boy would believe you.”
“You’re here to comfort me or mock me?” Sheng Li rolled her eyes.
“Of course… to comfort you.” Zhou Sinuan switched tones quickly. “But still, can’t help but roast you a little. Poor Yu Chi—his first love, heart and body both scammed. He’s probably traumatized. Might avoid older women forever now.”
Sheng Li felt wronged. It was her first love too, okay?
Still… she had been kind of a jerk.
Pretty much everything she’d promised him had been a slap in her own face.
Yu Chi probably hated her a lot now.
Sheng Li gave a bitter smile. “That’s fine too. At least he won’t get scammed by another older woman.”
If Yu Chi ever dated again, it probably wouldn’t be with someone older. Maybe after being burned like this, he’d start liking innocent girls like Zhao Shutong instead.
The door opened. Yuan Yuan came in with several bags and placed them on the table.
Sheng Li glanced at them. “What’s that?”
Yuan Yuan replied, “Crayfish and cold beer. Warmwarm Jie asked me to order them.”
Zhou Sinuan walked over and opened the containers. “Eight pounds of crayfish with cold beer—the proof of our plastic sisterhood. I really am here to comfort you. Let’s feast. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”
“You bought that much? I’ve got filming tomorrow. I can’t indulge too much.” Sheng Li sat on the carpet and noticed two packs of tissues on the table that looked familiar. “Yuan Yuan, where did you order the crayfish?”
Yuan Yuan answered cautiously, “From the same place Yu Chi took us last time. I thought it was good, so I asked him for the number afterward. I’ve ordered late-night snacks from them with Xiao Tan a few times. I didn’t tell you because I figured you’d tell me to diet.”
Sheng Li: “…”
She remembered that the shop owner was Yu Chi’s landlord.
Now that Yu Chi had moved out, he must’ve given up the place too.
—
In mid-September, the landlord called Yu Chi. He was already living in the school dorms. Standing on the balcony, he paused before saying, “I’m not giving it up. I still have a lot of stuff there.”
After hanging up, he transferred a year’s rent to the landlord.
After discovering Yu Chi had acted in Flower Kill as a child, Huang Baiyan rewatched his scenes and got a few behind-the-scenes clips of Yu Chi filming Scroll of Mountains and Rivers. He was impressed. Yu Chi really was talented—easily the best actor of his age group he’d ever seen. He’d struck gold.
Originally, the role of Yang Lingfeng was picked by Huang Baiyan for Feng Xu, thinking it would be a fan favorite. But Feng Xu didn’t get the part. It landed with Yu Chi instead—and now Yu Chi was his artist. It all felt like fate.
Huang Baiyan wanted to turn Yu Chi into both a talented actor and a popular idol. He wasn’t in a hurry to expose him publicly. Unlike other rookies, he didn’t line up variety shows or small ads right away. He wanted to select two or three more fitting scripts for Yu Chi—TV or film—and then let him dominate the screen when the time was right.
Or better yet, land a lead role.
That would be ideal.
He Yuanren had been preparing a commercial suspense film called Rose for over two years. It featured dual male leads. One of the leads, Wei Cheng, was already cast—the role was tailored to him. The other role was a high school student and still unfilled.
Huang Baiyan set his sights on it.
So did Rong Hua.
The two had already begun competing behind the scenes, but He Yuanren said he’d hold auditions.
Huang Baiyan hadn’t told Yu Chi about it yet.
Lu Xingyu, however, found out first. Rong Hua said coldly, “You already lost to Yu Chi at the last audition. If you lose again, it’s beyond embarrassing. Focus on improving your acting for now.”
Lu Xingyu snapped, “Him again? Can’t we ruin him somehow?”
Rong Hua chuckled and smacked his head. “How? You think he has as many scandals as you? The only thing we can dig up on him is his relationship with Sheng Li. But she’s my artist—what, you want me to smear my own team?”
At the end of September, Scroll of Mountains and Rivers wrapped filming. Sheng Li posted on Weibo with some group photos. The drama’s official account also shared wrap-up photos. Fans scrolled through the posts of the cast but couldn’t figure out who played Yang Lingfeng.
Comments flooded the drama’s official Weibo:
“Was Feng Xu removed? Is Yang Lingfeng gone?”
“Can’t be, right? I heard Lu Xingyu auditioned but it went to a newbie.”
“He didn’t back out—our boy didn’t lose the role to a rookie! Stop spreading that! Hugging my boy, don’t mention it!”
“Today’s mystery: where did Yang Lingfeng go?”
—
#WhereDidYangLingfengGo?#
It jumped from trending topic #42 all the way to #3.
The production team and Huang Baiyan were happy to see the buzz. That evening, the drama’s official Weibo finally posted:
@ScrollofMountainsandRivers:
#WhereDidYangLingfengGo?# He’s in the show, of course! Leaving a little suspense—watch when the show airs! ✨
Not only did it stir hype for the drama, but also built attention around the role of “Yang Lingfeng.” A win-win.
Sheng Li liked the post.
In his dorm room, Yu Chi’s phone buzzed nonstop. He let go of the mouse and picked it up to check WeChat.
There was a new group chat. Hu Yiyang tagged him.
Hu Yiyang: “Chi-ge, did you mute the group again? Haven’t heard from you in days. If we didn’t start a new group, would you ever reply?!”
Hu Yiyang: “Chi-ge, who is Yang Lingfeng?”
Yu Chi: “Can’t say.”
Hu Yiyang: “[screenshot] My goddess liked the official Weibo’s post—I’m so curious!”
Zhao Shutong: “Yu Chi, are you in Beijing now?”
Yu Chi: “Yeah.”
Zhao Shutong: “I’m visiting my cousin at Peking University. Can we grab a meal together?”
Yu Chi paused, then replied: “Might not have time.”
A while later—
Xu Yang messaged privately: “Hey, don’t reject her like that. Zhao Shutong’s a good girl. Heard she was voted campus belle right after the semester started.”
Yu Chi: “Then you date her.”
Xu Yang: “…”
Yu Chi took his phone and cigarettes to the balcony. He leaned lazily against the wall, smoking, his eyes coldly scanning the screenshot Hu Yiyang had posted.
He scoffed at himself. No matter how much he tried to avoid it, she kept appearing in front of him.
She made him feel awful—but there was nothing he could do about it.
—
October 2nd evening. Sheng Li was having dinner with her parents when her phone buzzed. She opened a screenshot, quickly logged into Weibo, and saw that the top trending topic was:
#Sis, Does the Three-Month Promise Still Count?#
Her Weibo comments and DMs were blowing up. She clicked to see—
Sure enough, Lu Xingyu had posted:
@LuXingyu:
So many comments and tags asking about the promise between me and my big sis. Y’all still remember?
@ShengLi — sis, does the three-month promise still count?
“11th great mystery of the entertainment world: What promise did Lu Xingyu and Sheng Li make?”
“@ShengLi, sis, please answer our guy!”
“Big sis, promises should be kept! @ShengLi”
“I don’t know what it is, but I will always ship XingXing x Sheng CP!”
Sheng Li drained a glass of water and tried not to scream. She held back the urge to repost and curse him out.
Calm down. You’re Sheng Bai Xue, pure and innocent. Don’t curse. Don’t break character. Maintain your image.
Then she sent a message to Lu Xingyu on WeChat:
Sheng Li: “Scram!”
Lu Xingyu: “[🥺] Sis, your drama with Zhou Sinuan airs on the 5th. I’m helping you hype it up!”
Sheng Li: “Thanks so much.”
Lu Xingyu: “You’re welcome. I have an audition tomorrow—send me a red packet?”
Lu Xingyu: “I’m working so hard to boost your popularity, and you won’t even give me 200 yuan?”
After being pestered for a few minutes, Sheng Li gave in and sent a red packet.
—
On October 3rd at 9 AM, Yu Chi and Huang Baiyan walked into He Yuanren’s studio. Yu Chi only found out about the audition the night before. The other candidates were Lu Xingyu and a sophomore from the film academy.
At that time, the topic #SisDoesTheThreeMonthPromiseStillCount was still the top trend.
The two of them were led toward the audition room. Huang Baiyan whispered, “Don’t be nervous. Just do your best.”
Yu Chi nodded and looked up at Lu Xingyu standing by the audition room door.
Lu Xingyu looked back.
Their eyes met.
Yu Chi’s gaze was cold.
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