Who is Helping Me Win by Lying Down [Transmigration] - Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Tonight’s— Yan Jinqing was speaking as he rounded the corner, but the scene before him instantly rooted him to the spot.

Chen Shu and Yan Jingchuan.

Mouth to mouth…

Though Yan Jingchuan’s firm attitude had made him mentally prepare to accept this unavoidable reality, witnessing it firsthand still delivered an impact he hadn’t anticipated.

Yan Xinli, walking on the inner side, had fallen half a step behind while turning. When Yan Jinqing suddenly stopped, he nearly collided with him, barely managing to halt. Dad? he asked curiously.

He then circled behind Yan Jinqing to the other side.

Looking up, he saw the same scene.

His initial reaction was shock.

But since this wasn’t his first time seeing the two being intimate, he quickly recovered and smiled as he glanced beside him.

However, seeing his father’s expression reminded him that Wen Jiao was still upstairs, and his urge to share the moment instantly died.

Forget it. When Father gets provoked by Yan Jingchuan, he swallows his anger; but if provoked by me, he’d have an outlet to vent both our frustrations.

Better to keep quiet.

When Yan Xinli turned back to look at Chen Shu and Yan Jingchuan, he noticed they had separated, likely disturbed by their conversation.

Though their kiss had ended, their joined hands remained clasped.

Observing Yan Jingchuan’s completely unruffled demeanor, Yan Xinli couldn’t help but marvel. Love had truly changed Jingchuan so much.

Sorry, I didn’t think anyone would be here, Chen Shu said.

Wangcai sat upright at Yan Jingchuan’s feet, tilting his head as he listened.

Yan Xinli gave an awkward chuckle. It’s nothing.

While stumbling upon his son and his lover being intimate was unexpected and somewhat embarrassing, Chen Shu’s composed attitude made him refrain from commenting. He only asked Yan Jinqing, Dad, weren’t you heading back to your study?

Yan Jinqing snapped back to reality, though the image in his mind remained vivid.

Seeing Yan Jingchuan kissing a man made him acutely aware that Yan Jingchuan was serious about his feelings and about Chen Shu.

Hearing Yan Xinli’s words, he pressed a hand to his chest, forcing himself to maintain the dignity of the family head. Let’s go.

Noticing his reaction, Chen Shu exchanged a glance with Yan Jingchuan after the two had left.

Feeling relieved?

Yan Jingchuan remained expressionless. Only temporarily.

Chen Shu said, We’ll take what we can get.

Judging by Yan Jinqing’s continued unnatural silence the next day, the temporary reprieve bought by that kiss should last a while.

At least after seeing it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t make unnecessary arrangements to gather information from others.

On their way back, hearing Chen Shu’s words, Yan Jingchuan fell into a long silence.

Even after returning home, the stern lines of his jaw showed no sign of softening.

Zhang Shi arrived punctually to try his luck. The moment he opened the door and saw Yan Jingchuan’s expression, regret flooded him. Steeling himself, he stepped inside, but after only a few steps, he began scanning the room for Chen Shu, hoping he could improve Director Yan’s mood.

His hopes were dashed when Chen Shu emerged from the bedroom.

Carry on, Chen Shu said. I need to go to the company.

He had just received a call from He Qiyu, who would be arriving downstairs shortly.

Zhang Shi could only watch with a pained expression as Chen Shu opened the door and left.

Chen Shu closed the door behind him and took the elevator downstairs.

He Qiyu was indeed waiting in front of the building.

Once in the car, she said, Besides recording today, you also need to try on the clothes sent by the brand. The gala starts tomorrow.

The gala she referred to was a charity event for the entertainment industry, a long-scheduled engagement.

Chen Shu also had some recollection. Mm.

By the way, He Qiyu suddenly smiled, did you watch yesterday’s Escape Room livestream?

Chen Shu said, No.

She wasn’t surprised by his answer.

He hadn’t watched a single episode of 《Here For You》 either.

Bringing up this topic, Xiao Tian couldn’t help adding, I didn’t watch it either. Since Brother Shu wasn’t in it, I didn’t want to give it even one view count, but I saw the trending searches!

That’s exactly what I wanted to mention. Knowing Chen Shu paid no attention to these things, He Qiyu explained directly, After Escape Room terminated your contract and announced the cast change, many people were dissatisfied—your fans, the show’s fans—but the program team suppressed it, so it didn’t cause much stir.

In reality, the Escape Room production team had been prepared for the fans’ strong discontent. After the announcement, they released a statement claiming the contract termination was due to scheduling conflicts that couldn’t be adjusted. Since it was framed as force majeure, fans had little grounds to complain, and the program team smoothly downplayed the matter.

Everything remained calm until yesterday’s broadcast.

Unexpectedly, the official account of 《Ready, Action!》 announced its cast list yesterday afternoon, and Chen Shu was prominently featured.

This news was like pouring boiling oil onto fire, instantly capturing widespread attention.

First, Chen Shu was criticized for lacking professional integrity—having signed as a regular for Escape Room first, then jumping to 《Ready, Action!》. The supposed scheduling conflicts were dismissed as an excuse for a better opportunity.

《Ready, Action!》’s team reacted swiftly, issuing a statement clarifying they had approached Chen Shu only after his contract termination, denying any poaching allegations.

After calming down briefly, fans began questioning why Chen Shu had availability for 《Ready, Action!》 but not for Escape Room, turning their criticism toward the Escape Room official account and demanding an explanation.

The Escape Room team remained silent until the livestream began, hoping to ride out the controversy as viewers’ attention shifted to the show itself.

But another surprise awaited: once the broadcast started, without Chen Shu as the anchor, the familiar collaborative dynamic fell apart. The cast struggled with clues, progress stalled, and while there was plenty of horror and screaming, the reasoning stagnated.

Audiences accustomed to the original fast-paced, chaotic-yet-efficient problem-solving were disappointed by the drawn-out pace. By the second hour of the broadcast, viewership dropped steadily.

#EscapeRoomBoring quickly climbed the trending searches.

The old controversy of Chen Shu’s replacement resurfaced, with fans flooding Escape Room’s first post, petitioning for his return.

You have no idea how chaotic it was last night, He Qiyu said, opening her phone and showing him the screen. Look, it’s trending again.

Ranked 23rd on the chart: #EscapeRoomChenShu.

A quick refresh showed it had dropped two spots.

He Qiyu casually clicked in—the trending page was filled with complaints.

Bring Chen Shu back immediately! Otherwise, who wants to watch six people scratching their heads in a room without making any progress? So boring!

Last night’s livestream was a total flop. I turned it off halfway and had to skip through the replay today. If this is the level without Chen Shu, I’ll just wait for the edited highlights—it’s really too dull…

Who is this Jian Haochen, some kind of crown prince? He just casually pushed out a regular guest despite being so terrible at the game, doesn’t he have any self-awareness?

Chen Shu was the brain of the six-member team, kicking him out is just ridiculous. Could last night’s live broadcast let the director hear the water sloshing in his head?

The Escape Room production team tried repeatedly to suppress this negative buzz, but they couldn’t contain the audience’s anger.

Even He Qiyu hadn’t expected that Chen Shu’s contract termination would actually earn him a wave of positive reputation, while Escape Room saw declines in both popularity and public opinion.

Although this was only temporary.

With a last-minute replacement, the guests needed time to adjust. Once they found their rhythm, the situation should improve.

But He Qiyu still enjoyed watching it all before remembering her main task: This morning, the Escape Room production team called, wanting to invite you back. I refused.

Chen Shu said, Mm.

Ready, Action! was scheduled to air after Escape Room, and recording two variety shows simultaneously would make the timing impossible. Even if He Qiyu had consulted him first, the result wouldn’t have changed.

He Qiyu glanced at his expression but couldn’t tell if he felt any satisfaction from getting revenge. She certainly did.

The tides had turned.

They unilaterally breached the contract, so they had to face the consequences!

Xiao Tian, in the driver’s seat, also chuckled: Serves them right!

When he came to pick up Chen Shu for the gala the next day, he was humming cheerfully all the way, clearly in high spirits.

He Qiyu smiled too: Just now, the Escape Room producer called again, asking if you could return to record one more episode. If they knew it would come to this, why did they act that way in the first place?

She was about to say more when she heard Chen Shu suddenly ask, What time does the gala end?

The abrupt change of topic caught her off guard. After a moment, she outlined the evening’s schedule.

Then she saw Chen Shu reply to a message on his phone.

He Qiyu: …

Seriously?

We just left!

But thinking about who the message was for, she didn’t dare comment and instead started discussing the upcoming gala.

This was Chen Shu’s first time attending such an event, and she had been worried he might be nervous. But seeing him make just one appearance on the red carpet, she knew her concern was unnecessary again.

After walking the red carpet and taking his seat, Chen Shu noticed Jian Haochen behind him.

Jian Haochen looked at him with hostility, though he kept it relatively subtle for the cameras.

Chen Shu glanced at him briefly before sitting in his assigned seat.

Jian Haochen gritted his teeth.

Over the past two days, the online response to his performance in Escape Room had been almost universally mocking. Viewers constantly compared him to Chen Shu, praising Chen Shu to the skies while trampling him into the mud.

Most importantly…

Jian Haochen sat down heavily, struggling to regain his composure.

Thinking about what was going to happen next, he had no patience left for this charity gala.

It felt like no time had passed before the ceremony concluded smoothly and the banquet began.

Chen Shu had little interest in such occasions and sat alone in a corner.

Mr. Chen, you’re quite hard to find.

A figure approached uninvited and sat beside him. We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Li Sheng.

Chen Shu set down his water glass and said calmly, What can I do for you, President Li?

Li Sheng smiled. I’d like to know why Mr. Chen refused to grace me with his presence.

Chen Shu had no intention of engaging with him. My apologies. My lover has forbidden me from meeting anyone alone.

Lover?

Li Sheng’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He stood up, a faint smile playing on his lips. It seems today isn’t a good opportunity either.

After speaking, he reached out to the side.

His secretary handed him a business card with both hands, placing it between his fingers.

If you change your mind, I’ll be waiting anytime.

With that, he placed the card on the table and turned to leave.

Jian Haochen stood beside Li Sheng’s intended path, about to approach him, only to see him stride swiftly toward the exit without noticing anyone except Chen Shu.

Jian Haochen’s expression turned awkward.

Even though he knew Li Sheng’s claim of accompanying him was just an excuse, the feeling of being ignored was hard to swallow.

He glanced at Chen Shu not far away, his eyes filled with jealousy and resentment, along with a layer of panic.

With a new favorite, who would care about an old flame?

Without Li Sheng as his backing, how much effort would it take to secure the resources he currently had access to?

Chen Shu’s brow twitched slightly as he turned to look beside him.

Jian Haochen quickly lowered his head.

Detecting nothing unusual, Chen Shu withdrew his gaze, checked the time, and also stood up to leave.

Meanwhile.

Hengtai Residential Area.

Zhang Shi sat upright on the sofa, taking advantage of Chen Shu’s absence to report on work.

But the noisy live broadcast from the TV screen distracted him, and he instinctively glanced over, just in time to catch a distant shot of Chen Shu—

Huh?

The person across from Chen Shu—Li Sheng?

Zhang Shi craned his neck, scrutinizing carefully.

It really was Li Sheng?

Why would Li Sheng appear here?

Wait…

Why was Li Sheng handing Chen Shu a business card??

Considering one possibility, Zhang Shi stiffened, cautiously turning to Yan Jingchuan.

Yan Jingchuan was also watching the screen.

Zhang Shi swallowed hard, shifting half his weight forward on the sofa, ready to stand up at any moment.

But then he saw his boss merely furrow his brows slightly before continuing to flip through documents.

Zhang Shi’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Was this normal??

Director Yan, are you still yourself, Director Yan!!

Perhaps hearing his tumultuous inner thoughts.

Yan Jingchuan paused while turning a page.

He looked up again at the live broadcast.

Chen Shu rose from the table.

The business card remained where Li Sheng had pressed it down—Chen Shu didn’t even glance at it.

Yan Jingchuan recalled what Chen Shu had said not long ago.

—Trust me.

—Trust that I can do it.

Yan Jingchuan’s gaze softened slightly, the faint crease between his brows smoothing away unnoticed.