Who is Helping Me Win by Lying Down [Transmigration] - Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Feeling Chen Shu’s hand pressed against the back of his neck, Yan Jingchuan thought he would be pushed away.

But he wasn’t.

Only then did Yan Jingchuan open his eyes to look over.

Chen Shu was also watching him, his gaze slightly lowered, those dark eyes still unreadable yet reflecting a pair of silhouettes that belonged solely to him.

The reflections appeared relatively calm.

But the burning heat from the palm against his neck seeped through easily, spreading rapidly.

Such intimate contact felt too unfamiliar. Yan Jingchuan didn’t persist for long, voluntarily ending the kiss before embracing Chen Shu instead. From an angle Chen Shu couldn’t see, he pressed his thin lips together and closed his eyes briefly.

Chen Shu turned his face.

Though he couldn’t see Yan Jingchuan’s expression, he noticed the faint flush spreading from behind Yan Jingchuan’s ears.

The redness had originally been concealed by his hair, but became visible to Chen Shu as Yan Jingchuan moved.

Sorry, Yan Jingchuan said, his tone unchanged.

After speaking, he straightened up from Chen Shu’s embrace, his expression as composed as ever, revealing no traces of what had transpired.

Chen Shu’s gaze lingered on the contour of Yan Jingchuan’s ear for a second, amusement hidden in his eyes as he simply said, Let’s go.

Yan Jingchuan grasped his hand. Mm.

The two left the restaurant and got in the car for the return trip.

During the journey.

Yan Jingchuan glanced at Chen Shu several times, yet never detected anything unusual on Chen Shu’s face.

Chen Shu habitually used fragmented time to read, his profile now displaying only concentration, undisturbed by external factors.

That kiss in the restaurant earlier seemed to hold no significance whatsoever for him.

Yan Jingchuan’s gaze drifted downward, inadvertently landing on Chen Shu’s hand holding the book.

Chen Shu could remain completely unaffected by his kiss.

Yet he couldn’t ignore Chen Shu’s casual movements.

The overly quiet car interior gave him ample opportunity to reminisce.

The lingering warmth in his palm seemed to remain in place, carrying a fine, tormenting tingling sensation.

He had never been this intimate with anyone before.

Yan Jingchuan lifted his eyes, returning to Chen Shu’s profile.

Chen Shu seemed to notice slightly, pausing his page-turning hand before turning to look.

But he only saw Yan Jingchuan looking down at the documents in his hand.

Chen Shu glanced at him before withdrawing his gaze.

The driver was Yan Jingchuan’s trusted aide. With no more of Yan Jinqing’s spies in the car, Yan Jingchuan probably didn’t need him to maintain appearances here.

Remembering the recent kiss.

Chen Shu’s hand hesitated in mid-air for half a second before finally turning the page.

—

Returning to the residence, after feeding Wangcai and finishing his nightly routine, Chen Shu received a call from He Qiyu.

Are you free to talk now? He Qiyu asked.

Chen Shu said, Go ahead.

He Qiyu got straight to the point: We can’t keep it.

After lengthy negotiations with the person in charge of Escape Room, she was basically certain they wouldn’t budge. Actually, she had been prepared for this outcome from the start—in this industry, few dared to offend Li Sheng.

Fortunately, Chen Shu didn’t seem to mind, saving them from disappointment.

Thinking of this, He Qiyu continued: Don’t worry, I’ll continue pursuing the breach of contract compensation tomorrow. I’ll make sure they pay the maximum amount possible.

She had called mainly to say this, and after finishing her explanation, she hung up without further elaboration.

She called again the next afternoon.

Everything had been settled, but the termination contract required Chen Shu’s personal presence for signing.

Since it was already late, He Qiyu scheduled the appointment for the following afternoon on Chen Shu’s behalf. After confirming with Chen Shu, she booked his flight ticket and arrived punctually to pick him up at the airport.

After meeting with Chen Shu and getting into the car together, He Qiyu smiled and said, The production team is quite flexible regarding the breach of contract penalty. It seems they don’t want to go to court, which gives us more leverage. I suspect it’s because of Director Li—probably doesn’t want his new lover’s reputation tarnished over this.

Chen Shu showed little interest in such matters.

Noticing this, He Qiyu shifted the conversation back to the penalty, explaining the situation in detail during the ride.

The penalty was indeed a substantial amount. The production team had only one condition: they hoped Chen Shu’s account would repost a update from the official Escape Room account, pretending the last-minute cast change was due to scheduling conflicts rather than forced by the producers.

He Qiyu refused.

The penalty was Chen Shu’s legitimate right, but covering up for Escape Room wasn’t his obligation. Besides, Chen Shu was the victim in this situation—why should he help the perpetrators save face? Not exposing their self-deception was already being generous enough.

They’ll likely try to negotiate with you when we arrive. Just ignore them and leave everything to me, He Qiyu said as the car stopped. She turned to Xiao Tian, We should be out soon. Please wait downstairs for a bit.

Xiao Tian nodded obediently, Okay!

Chen Shu held a unique status at Huayuan Media, with He Qiyu as his exclusive agent always by his side during trips. Thus, an assistant became less essential, and recently, Xiao Tian’s main role had been driving.

Watching Chen Shu and He Qiyu get out of the car, he steered to find a parking spot.

He Qiyu began to say to Chen Shu, We— but cut off as she noticed a luxury car pulling up nearby.

Before she could turn around, hurried footsteps approached from ahead.

A tall, slender young man emerged from the building, brushed past Chen Shu, and hurried toward the car.

He Qiyu was bumped slightly, stumbling back a step. The young man tossed a hurried Sorry over his shoulder without looking back, darting to the car like a swallow returning to its nest.

The driver got out and opened the rear door on the same side, waiting for him to enter.

Ignoring this, the young man opened the right rear door himself.

His voice sounded familiar, so He Qiyu frowned and looked over, first noticing the opened back seat.

Inside, a man in a tailored suit leaned against the seatback. His impressive physique was hinted at by the long legs clad in suit pants, and his strikingly handsome face, though shadowed by the car’s interior, lost none of its appeal.

With the door wide open, the young man paid no mind to the others in front of the car. He turned, sat on the man’s lap, wrapped his arms around him, and said something with a laugh—too distant to make out.

Seeing his face clearly, He Qiyu recognized him.

She whispered to Chen Shu, That’s Jian Haochen, the one who took your spot.

Chen Shu, about to turn away, glanced at him upon hearing this.

He Qiyu had briefed him earlier.

Jian Haochen debuted this year at just nineteen but was already gaining a fanbase with his good looks.

Seeing him now, his youthful features were still evident.

He Qiyu watched the passionate French kiss unfolding in the car.

She hadn’t expected Li Sheng to come pick him up personally—Jian Haochen must be quite favored.

But the scene reminded her of her own boss.

Chen Shu and Director Yan were dating.

Director Yan had also picked Chen up before.

So…

Would Chen Shu ever sit on Director Yan’s lap like that?

The imagined scene flashed in her mind, and He Qiyu shuddered instantly.

Director Yan sitting on Chen Shu’s lap?

He Qiyu shivered again, quickly shaking off the inappropriate image in her mind as she looked at Chen Shu.

Let’s go. Chen Shu had already withdrawn his gaze. As his words fell, a slight impulse stirred in his heart, and he paused to glance back.

The man inside the car half-rose to a sitting position.

He held Jian Haochen in his arms with one hand, teasingly rubbing the sensitive waist of his lover, making the blushing young man bury his face against his shoulder. Yet he looked outside the car, locking eyes with Chen Shu across the short distance.

Chen Shu’s attention didn’t linger on the pair. After a brief sweep of his gaze, he continued forward.

The gaze behind him followed as he ascended the steps.

Director Li, aren’t we leaving yet?

Li Sheng took the opportunity to ask: Who is he?

Jian Haochen followed his line of sight, then looked at his interested expression. Frowning tightly, he could only suppress his inner reluctance: That’s Chen Shu.

Chen Shu. Li Sheng repeated the name once. He watched Chen Shu’s back disappear behind the door, as if he could still see those sharp, cold and detached eyes that had flashed by, leaving a deep impression. What’s his background?

Jian Haochen said: He also debuted this year, signed with Huayuan, and is currently very popular. I heard he entered the entertainment industry to pay off debts.

Oh? Li Sheng took one last look at the now empty doorway, his hand slowly tightening around Jian Haochen’s waist as he smiled. Interesting.

He signaled the driver to close the door and slightly lifted his chin toward his secretary who was looking his way.

The latter immediately understood.

Jian Haochen took in all of this, also looking toward where Chen Shu had disappeared. His arms around Li Sheng didn’t dare to exert force, only his eyes concealed resentment.

—

Walking to the elevator with Chen Shu, He Qiyu couldn’t help looking back again.

She told Chen Shu: This is my first time seeing Li Sheng in person. I didn’t expect him to be so handsome—much more handsome than most artists.

When she received no response, she turned to see Chen Shu replying to a message.

She didn’t need to guess who it was from.

Chen Shu was only smiling while replying to Director Yan’s message.

She added: Of course, he still falls short compared to you and Director Yan.

Chen Shu put away his phone: Mm.

He Qiyu: …

Even if it’s the truth, could you at least be a little modest?

She changed the subject: Li Sheng values that Jian Haochen very much. You didn’t lose unfairly.

Chen Shu said: Mm.

According to Li Sheng’s character in the book, he was indeed generous with his lovers.

But in the original plot, there was no Jian Haochen, and Gu Wei wasn’t Li Sheng’s bed partner either.

Not long ago, Chi Yu had subtly asked him what to do when you fall for someone you shouldn’t—likely referring to Ji Xinyan.

It seemed that with Ji Xinyan around, Chi Yu and Li Sheng had deviated from the original plot and wouldn’t cross paths again.

He Qiyu: …Belatedly realizing this was Chen Shu’s barely disguised perfunctory response, she fell silent.

When the elevator doors opened, they went upstairs together.

As soon as He Qiyu entered, she fully represented Chen Shu, not yielding an inch. The responsible party had no choice but to finally follow the previous agreement and sign the termination contract with Chen Shu, with their respective lawyers as witnesses.

After resolving this matter, He Qiyu initially wanted to ask Chen Shu if he wanted to stay and rest for a day. However, she discovered that before they even went downstairs, Chen Shu had received a call from Yan Jingchuan.

The one checking in was Director Yan.

Offending Director Yan wouldn’t end well for her.

Remembering this made things much simpler.

He Qiyu quickly booked the earliest flight tickets. After the plane landed, they took a car straight to Hengtai Community.

After getting in the car, He Qiyu turned off airplane mode on her phone and saw several missed calls from the same number. She casually dialed back.

When the call connected, the other party got straight to the point. After just a few words, her eyes lit up and she sat up straight.

After finishing the conversation, she hung up but didn’t put down her phone immediately, instead saying to Chen Shu, Still interested in making money?

Chen Shu turned to look at her.

He Qiyu eagerly shared the news: Here For You, the escape room show—you’ve been a hit on every live variety show like that. Now there’s another one, also a big-budget production. It was only slightly later in preparation than Escape Room, but after seeing the hype, they even increased the investment. It’s set to premiere next week, but their planned heavyweight guest had an emergency and can’t make it for the first few episodes. Hearing that you’ve terminated your contract with Escape Room, they’re offering a hefty sum to bring you in as a last-minute replacement.

She emphasized the words hefty sum and then quoted the offer.

With the show premiering next week and no high-profile guest available, the production team must be truly desperate—the offer was genuinely tempting.

He Qiyu then asked, What do you think?

Chen Shu said, I’m in.

Even though she knew the amount was enough to sway Chen Shu, He Qiyu couldn’t help but marvel at his agreement.

A true blessing in disguise.

He’d received a penalty fee for the contract termination, and now here was a new source of income.

Plus, the exposure at the start of a new variety show was always the best. From any angle, Chen Shu stood to gain without any loss.

The other party is in the city. Are you free tomorrow to meet up together? He Qiyu asked.

Chen Shu nodded. You arrange it.

He Qiyu said, Okay.

Later, the car entered the residential complex and stopped in front of their building.

Chen Shu got out and went upstairs. When he opened the door and entered, he saw Yan Jingchuan and Zhang Shi sitting in the living room. No work at the company today?

Yan Jingchuan said, Zhang Shi is heading there shortly.

Zhang Shi: …

Forced to go to the office immediately, his expression was one of despair. Only when he saw Chen Shu heading toward the bedroom did he struggle to plead, Director Yan…

Yan Jingchuan glanced at his watch and said calmly, Half an hour.

Got it! Zhang Shi seized the time, not daring to waste a single minute.

Half an hour later, Yan Jingchuan got up and returned to the bedroom. Chen Shu had already showered and changed, and was sitting at the desk writing notes.

Wangcai wagged his tail as he ran from Yan Jingchuan’s feet over to Chen Shu’s side.

Chen Shu gave him a pat without pausing in his writing.

Yan Jingchuan watched him, then looked down at the content on his screen.

—Quiet companionship, steady and consistent care—make them develop a habit of relying on you.

The shadow at the doorway remained still for a long time.

Chen Shu glanced over at him. What’s wrong?

Yan Jingchuan lowered his screen and asked instead, Tired today?

Chen Shu said, Not tired.

As Yan Jingchuan moved toward the bedside table, before he could voice a second concern, Chen Shu’s phone on the nightstand rang with an incoming call.

He Qiyu, Yan Jingchuan read the caller ID and picked it up casually.

Chen Shu turned to the next page. Put it on speaker.

A call from He Qiyu was likely work-related anyway, so there was no need to avoid Yan Jingchuan.

Yan Jingchuan complied and pressed the answer button.

He Qiyu’s voice came through immediately.

Chen Shu, I just got to the office, and the front desk told me they received a bouquet of roses from Li Sheng’s secretary this afternoon. There was also a message asking to meet with you.

Chen Shu’s pen halted abruptly mid-word.

The bedroom fell silent.

He set down the pen and turned around.

Yan Jingchuan stood holding the phone, his gaze fixed intently on him.

Hearing no response, He Qiyu’s voice came through the speaker again, pressing for an answer.

These are all under Li Sheng’s name. How do you plan to handle them?

Author’s note: ??