Let Me Be Spoiled - Chapter 33

Zhou Yu stayed behind in the seaside town to keep Xie Yan company. He called himself a temporary assistant, but he was really just there to hang out. Aside from helping out when Xie Yan went to get his stitches removed, he was barely needed. 

While Xie Yan was filming, Zhou Yu would just watch from the side. He wasn’t much for studying or getting things done, but he was great with people. 

In less than ten days, he was already familiar with everyone inside and outside the crew, calling everyone brother, and even Sun Huaijun had started to respect him a little.

On the day they wrapped up filming the location scenes, Sun Huaijun was unusually generous and treated the whole crew to a meal at a hotel in the county.

After working so hard for so long, everyone was eager to enjoy a good meal, and the dinner was lively. Sun Huaijun sat with the assistant director and a few of the lead actors. There’s no private room though, because Sun Huaijun was too stingy to spend on that.

A few drinks in, the conversation got rowdier but everyone at the table had been working together for months and were close, so Sun Huaijun didn’t hold back. He said proudly, “Before shooting this film, I thought a lot about who should play the male lead. Thought about it over and over—those I liked, I couldn’t afford. Those I could afford, I didn’t like. Lucky I found Xie Yan.”

He turned and asked, “Were all the people who worked with Xie Yan before blind? Only casting him as a corpse? What a waste.”

Xie Yan had already been pushed to drink a few glasses. He wasn’t a great drinker, and was feeling dizzy, pressing his hand to his forehead just to stay upright. It took him a moment to process that his name was being mentioned, and he turned toward Sun Huaijun, replying slowly, “I did sign with an agency before. The boss was some real estate rich kid… said he wanted to be friends…”

Xie Yan was usually aloof and didn’t say much unless he was acting, especially not about personal matters. So Sun Huaijun got curious and asked, “Then what happened?”

Everyone around perked up with interest. Xie Yan said casually, “I beat him up and left.”

Sun Huaijun roared with laughter, “Good for you, Xiao Xie! That’s what you should do! So what if he’s rich!”

He was clearly tipsy—about seventy or eighty percent drunk—and eager for drama. He kept pressing, “So after that, you just went around playing corpses? With a face like yours, you could’ve coasted on your looks alone.”

Xie Yan froze a little, recalling the time he landed a fifth male lead role. That was indeed offered to him because of his looks. The character was arrogant, flashy, with dyed green hair. A normal-looking actor wouldn’t fit the image, which was why the role went to Xie Yan, who had no acting experience at all.

In the end, he didn’t get to play it.

His mind was a bit fuzzy, but he could still remember every detail of that day, “There was a supporting role… but the assistant director wanted to be friends. I didn’t want to… so I beat him up.”

Suddenly, the table went quiet. Everyone in the crew knew Xie Yan had a temper, but not to this extent.

Yang Xun was so shocked he leaned over to whisper to his assistant, “So hardcore. No wonder he’s Xie Ge.”

The assistant, on the other hand, looked a little worried. “Yang Ge, you hang around Xie Ge all the time. Aren’t you afraid he’ll beat you up too?”

Yang Xun frowned, “Those are two completely different kinds of friends, okay? And anyway, we’re not just friends—Xie Ge is my Gege!”

Maybe it was the topic of “being friends” that got people going again, but the conversation shifted to the darker side of the industry, and the focus moved away from Xie Yan.

A moment later, Xie Yan softly added, almost to himself, with a faint smile and a shimmer in his eyes, “That day was my twentieth birthday. It was raining. I met Fu Ge at a café.”

It was all in the past. Xie Yan had encountered plenty of awful people and bad things growing up, but he had long since stopped caring—forgetting each one as they passed. Even if that real estate rich kid stood right in front of him now, he probably wouldn’t recognize him.

That day had been different. From the soy milk in the morning, to the makeup assistant he met, the assistant director, the café, and finally the bus stop—Xie Yan remembered it all, as vividly as if it happened yesterday.

Because he met Fu Qing that day, it became a day worth remembering.

He spoke so quietly that only the person sitting right next to him could hear it clearly.

Zhou Yu’s heart skipped a beat.

That sentence was so soft and so sweet. It didn’t sound like something Xie Yan would say at all.

Unlike their few past encounters, this time Zhou Yu had spent several full days around Xie Yan, and his previous impressions had been completely overturned.

Beautiful, a little cold, didn’t talk much. Because Fu Qing always doted on him, Zhou Yu had assumed Xie Yan was the type to be a bit delicate without realizing it.

That’s how Xie Yan looked when he was with Fu Qing.

After spending real time together, Zhou Yu realized Xie Yan wasn’t quite what he had imagined.

Too beautiful, truly cold, barely spoke, bad temper. Even just standing silently with a frown made him look arrogant. Yet once the camera rolled, he was like a source of light—all eyes naturally drawn to him.

When it came to acting, he could really endure hardship. Just in the dozen days since Zhou Yu arrived, there were already two night shoots that lasted until 3 or 4 a.m., all shot underwater.

All in all, Zhou Yu had real respect for him now.

After the dinner ended, most of the crew took the production van back but since Zhou Yu had rented a car when he arrived, he and Xie Yan drove back together.

The sea breeze was chilly. Xie Yan, half-drunk, sobered up a little with the wind. He sat in the car, leaning against the window, watching the night scene blur past.

Zhou Yu was focused on driving when Xie Yan suddenly said, “Zhou Yu, can you help me with something?”

His hands jerked on the wheel. “Xie Ge… you want me to help you with something?”

From his days of observation, Zhou Yu had assumed someone like Xie Yan would never ask for help in his life. He immediately panicked, wondering what kind of mess this must be.

Xie Yan thought for a moment before speaking. “You know, right? In the old street, Fu Ge always takes things on credit, then pays off the tab at the end of the year.”

Zhou Yu nodded, still confused.

Xie Yan tilted his head slightly, eyes lowered. His eyelashes were long and curled, casting shadows under his eyes. The tip of his nose was flushed red from the alcohol. He looked strikingly beautiful, but his brows were furrowed.

He hesitated for a few minutes before continuing, “Fu Ge has always taken care of me. I want to settle those accounts for him. Or at least pay in advance but the shop owners on the old street won’t accept my money—they told me to talk to Fu Ge myself.”

He paused again, unaware that Zhou Yu’s scalp was already tingling. Then added, “You grew up on the old street and probably know those shop owners. Can you talk to them for me? Convince them to take my money?”

Zhou Yu nearly swerved off the road.

He was holding onto Fu Qing’s secret, and it was driving him crazy. What even was this situation? That whole old street belonged to Fu Ge! That “year-end settlement” was just the shopkeepers settling their shares with him! How could Fu Qing possibly be the one paying anything?

But of course he couldn’t say that. Zhou Yu stammered, “Xie Ge, I—I’ll think about it…”

Xie Yan was a cool, straightforward guy, always honest and aboveboard. Yet now he had to sneak around to do this quietly, and he glanced at Zhou Yu with that sharp, slightly drunk gaze, “Don’t tell Fu Ge about this.”

Zhou Yu frantically nodded. “Of course not. You can count on me.”

Mainly because—who would dare?

During his days in the seaside town, Zhou Yu had seen Xie Yan’s real skills firsthand.

That day, right after getting his stitches out, they stopped by the supermarket. On the way back, they saw an elderly woman and a middle-aged couple trying to shove a young woman into a van.

The girl was screaming for help, but the older woman explained that it was just a family issue. The girl had run away from home to avoid an arranged marriage, and they just wanted to bring her back to clean up the mess.

Because it was “family business,” passersby didn’t want to interfere and risk trouble.

By the time Zhou Yu and Xie Yan came out of the store, the girl was about to be dragged into the van. Zhou Yu hadn’t even processed what was happening when Xie Yan dropped his stuff and strode forward, kicking the middle-aged man aside and pulling the girl out.

What they didn’t expect was that there were two young, strong men hiding in the van and they immediately came out swinging.

Xie Yan pushed the girl to Zhou Yu and fought all three without missing a beat. He told Zhou Yu to call the police.

By the time officers arrived, the group was trying to drive off. It was Xie Yan who restrained the man in the driver’s seat and dragged him out.

Under police questioning, the girl tearfully explained she didn’t know any of them. She was a local, had just gone out to see a movie, and somehow ended up being stalked by people claiming she was their runaway daughter.

The police followed the lead and busted a human trafficking ring. Not that it had anything to do with Xie Yan and Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu was just in shock because those two guys weren’t your average thugs. They were vicious, and even he wouldn’t have stood a chance.

And with skills like that, did Xie Yan even need anyone to protect him?

Zhou Yu figured anyone who could take on someone Xie Yan couldn’t handle—he’d stand no chance. Fu Ge must’ve sent him here not to protect Xie Yan, but to be the one to take a hit for him if it came to that.

Probably only Fu Ge could keep someone like Xie Yan in check.

That night, when they got home, Zhou Yu thought back to Xie Yan’s two “being-friended” incidents and his fighting skills. He gave Fu Qing some sincere advice. “Fu Ge, maybe you really shouldn’t keep this a secret from Xie Ge… I’m kinda scared you two might end up fighting.”