Let Me Be Spoiled - Chapter 36

Mo Fu didn’t even show up personally for the investment, he delegated it to someone else. So even the gift had been passed through several hands before finally reaching him.

He took some time to visit Fu Qing and gave him a wink. “That gift they sent you, they specifically said it’s for the investor. Sounds important. Don’t tell me they shot a swimsuit photobook just to thank a ‘fan investor’ like you?”

Fu Qing frowned and opened the gift box. Inside was a thick stack of production stills—over a dozen photos. Eight of them were close-ups of various corpses, each death more grotesque and bizarre than the last, some even disturbingly gory. The rest were stills from White Whale, and those were quite beautiful. One in particular showed Lu Fengchun just coming out of the sea, shirtless, sitting on the dock trying to light a cigarette.

The camera captured only his back.

With his head lowered as he smoked, the shot caught his raised right hand and the faint flicker of firelight in the darkness. When he coughed, his back arched slightly, like a taut string ready to snap at the slightest touch.

Fu Qing’s fingertips landed on that still.

His back was pale and thin, his frame delicate, just a thin layer of skin and flesh stretched over his bones, all bathed in moonlight. His shoulder blades were sharply defined, like butterfly wings about to take flight.

There was a blend of innocence and desire in the boy. It was stunningly beautiful, and stunningly sensual.

Fu Qing only looked at it for a moment before flipping the photo over and setting it aside.

Mo Fu was still flipping through the corpse shots, oblivious to Fu Qing’s reaction. He was amused. “What the hell is all this? Who gives this kind of gift? What kind of investor would look at this and still want to invest?”

Fu Qing took the stills from his hands and said firmly, “It’s adorable. Totally worth it.”

Mo Fu waved him off, indifferent. “It’s your money. If you think it’s worth it, it’s fine by me.”

Fu Qing stared long and hard at the stills again.

After a while, he said to Mo Fu, “There’s one more thing.”

The next day, after wrapping the morning shoot, it was time for lunch. Meals on set were delivered in bulk so everyone got the same thing, no exceptions. Lunch break was also rest time—most people gathered in small groups to chat with friends. Xie Yan used to eat alone, but now that Zhou Yu was around, even if they didn’t talk, there was at least someone to banter with.

Zhou Yu took his role as Xie Yan’s assistant seriously. He had recently gotten hooked on surfing the internet for celebrity gossip and now loved to share all the juicy tidbits with Xie Yan.

Xie Yan never interrupted, listening with total disinterest.

Suddenly, a delivery guy walked into the studio holding a massive bouquet of red roses that practically covered his entire face.

Everyone paused their eating and started whispering. Someone must’ve ordered flowers, and for them to arrive at this time? Everyone was speculating about which cast member had such a generous partner.

A crew member went over to ask, and the delivery guy took off his cap, struggling to hold the bouquet as he asked, “Excuse me, is there someone named Xie Yan here?”

The moment that name was spoken, the entire set fell silent.

Xie Yan froze mid-bite but didn’t stop eating.

Zhou Yu immediately put down his chopsticks and stormed over to the flower delivery guy.

Who the hell had the guts to mess with Fu Ge’s relationship right under his nose?

He stood in front of the delivery guy and asked, “Who sent this?”

Zhou Yu had a solid reputation among the local street bosses—his stern expression was genuinely intimidating. The delivery guy flinched and stammered, “The name left was… a fan…”

Zhou Yu recoiled like he’d been shocked, waving his hands repeatedly and shouting back, “Xie Ge, your flowers! Come take them!”

Others in the crew might not know, but Zhou Yu was very clear about who the behind-the-scenes investor was. That “fan” was definitely Fu Qing.

If Fu Qing sent the flowers, there was no way he was going to accept them himself.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Xie Yan, full of curiosity and speculation.

Xie Yan swallowed his last bite, put down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and finally stood up to walk over.

He told the delivery guy, “I’m not accepting this. Take it back.”

“These flowers… they can’t be returned.”

The delivery guy wasn’t very tall, and clearly timid. He was already thinking, Isn’t this just a film set? Why is everyone here scarier than the last?

Zhou Yu tried to smooth things over. “Xie Ge, it’s just a fan sending flowers. Even if you don’t like it, you don’t have to refuse outright. It makes it seem like you’re looking down on people.”

Xie Yan knew taking it out on the delivery guy was pointless. Even if he disliked the gift, there was no reason to drag in an innocent person. So he accepted the bouquet with one hand. It was a huge bunch of roses, each one carefully selected, half-bloomed and delicately shy in appearance. Dew clung to the silky petals, rolling off in droplets.

As he looked down, he noticed a waterproof transparent envelope tucked into the bouquet. Inside was a check with a number on it.

Ten million.

His brows knit together—handsome features darkened. He looked both cold and irritated, and his grip tightened around the bouquet.

Sun Huaijun came out from inside with a cheerful expression. He had just finished speaking with the investors and learned that an additional ten million had been added to the budget. He was coming out to share the good news with the assistant director.

Xie Yan showed no mercy to the bouquet. He walked up to Sun Huaijun in a few brisk steps, held out the check, and handed it to him.

Sun Huaijun paused before finally taking it.

People nearby had already noticed it was a check—ten million, no less.

Those in the know had heard about a sudden new investment with zero conditions attached to the production. Many had been speculating about the reason.

Now there was no need to guess. The reason was obvious. Most people in the crew had the same thought. The sharp-tempered, aloof flower that was Xie Yan had caught the eye of some anonymous wealthy backer and was now being passionately pursued.

Good-looking, talented, hard-working, hot-tempered—and now he had a rich backer offering themselves up?

Definitely someone not to mess with.

Because of the sudden investment, Sun Huaijun decided to hold a meeting, extending the lunch break.

Xie Yan didn’t care what others thought. He just felt annoyed. He casually placed the bouquet on a table and walked off to a corner by himself.

He lit a cigarette, barely took two puffs before a message from Fu Qing arrived.

Same as always—a simple check-in.

Xie Yan suddenly felt an urge to talk to Fu Qing.

Before, when he was in a bad mood, he would watch movies or sleep. Now, when he wasn’t feeling right, all he wanted was to see Fu Qing.

Acting on impulse, he dialed Fu Qing’s number, but once it connected, he didn’t know what to say.

Fu Qing listened to his breathing for a long moment before finally asking, “Xiao Xie, what’s wrong?”

Xie Yan bit his lip. “Someone just sent me a bouquet of roses.”

He felt like a school kid tattling. It was exactly the kind of behavior he used to despise.

Fu Qing froze, then stood up and walked to the bed. “Who sent them?”

Xie Yan blew a smoke ring. “They said it was from a fan.”

Fu Qing had sent the roses himself, but he feigned ignorance. “Xiao Xie didn’t like them?”

Xie Yan responded almost instantly, “No.”

Fu Qing let out a sigh.

Maybe it was all the bad experiences in the past—Xie Yan seemed to deeply resent being pursued, even the very idea of someone liking him.

But Fu Qing couldn’t help wanting him.

He didn’t want to scare Xiao Xie, or make him uncomfortable. He wanted to quietly, slowly pursue him and wait until the feelings became clearer, until he had more signs to go on, before confessing.

Because this was the first person he had ever fallen for, and nothing could be too cautious or too precious.

Just a little longer.

Fu Qing said over the phone, “That bouquet? It’s just like when that girl brought you a plushie during that set visit. Just someone who likes you.”

Xie Yan asked, “Is that all it is?”

Leaning against the window, Fu Qing replied softly, “Yeah. Because our Xiao Xie is someone worth liking. It’s perfectly normal for fans to fall for you.”

One glance at red roses was enough to make him think of Xiao Xie—they suited him perfectly. Even though he knew he shouldn’t, when you love someone, you just can’t help wanting to send them roses.

Or stop imagining what it would be like to kiss Xie Yan.

After hanging up the phone, Xie Yan returned to his usual self.

He didn’t care about being liked by others, but when Fu Qing said he was someone worth liking—that was different.

He heard Sun Huaijun outside calling for everyone to get ready for the next shoot, so he walked over to touch up his makeup.

Sun Huaijun stopped him and handed him a sheet of paper. “Xie Yan, I just discussed something with the screenwriter. We’re adding a new shot.”

He wouldn’t normally bow to money, but this investor wasn’t just wealthy—he was generous, too. No demands at all. A rare gem. Sun Huaijun had taken a lot of money, and he was genuinely grateful. This latest investment was tied to the gift sent previously, so for the sake of continued funding—or maybe just to rake in more—Sun Huaijun was prepared to cross a line and yield to the investor for the first time.

The added scene was simple. Lu Fengchun has lost his voice, and the villagers begin to reject him. He’s not even invited to a neighbor’s wedding. After the bride leaves with the groom and the crowd disperses to the groom’s house, Lu Fengchun walks over and picks up a discarded bouquet of roses.

The celebration belonged to everyone else, but he had roses.

Sun Huaijun quickly summarized the scene for Xie Yan, then seemed to remember something, his expression conflicted. “The investor’s really rich, and the temptation is real, but I believe in your willpower—you won’t be swayed by material things!”

Xie Yan didn’t quite get it. What temptation? The roses?

This shot was basically tailor-made for the investor, so Sun Huaijun asked the makeup artist to redo Xie Yan’s look.

The earlier scenes could be reshot later. For now, only the scenes featuring him were needed.

Xie Yan was unusually off his game.

This scene had been inserted abruptly, disconnected from the current storyline, and it lacked narrative logic.

More importantly, Xie Yan didn’t like that bouquet of roses. Without that emotional connection, he couldn’t portray being moved by them.

After several takes, Xie Yan finally called for a break and rested to the side. After thinking for a bit, he decided to imagine the roses as a gift from Fu Qing. That made it easier to accept.

The camera focused on Xie Yan.

He held the bouquet close, head slightly bowed, eyes half-lidded. His skin was snow-pale, his eyes dusted with a touch of pink, and his lips more alluring than the roses themselves.

No matter how beautiful or fiery a rose, it couldn’t compare to his smile.

The whole thing had happened in front of everyone, and though no one in the crew was malicious, too many people meant too many mouths and secrets couldn’t stay hidden for long. Word of it began to spread, and with each telling, it grew more outrageous.