That night, Ye Zhou simply could not fall asleep. Jiang Tingyuan’s kiss was like magic, keeping Ye Zhou tossing and turning all night. The thoughts he had finally sorted out in his mind became a tangled mess again because of that sudden kiss.
The next morning, Ye Zhou went to the set with dark circles under his eyes. He noticed the crew looking at him strangely, but he was too groggy to pay much attention. Fortunately, after working together for so long, the production team was well-coordinated, so even when Ye Zhou was not at his best, it didn’t cause too much disruption.
The days that followed were calm and uneventful. During the day, Ye Zhou filmed on set, and at night he returned to the hotel to work on storyboards.
Yes, that’s right, the hotel.
After that fateful night, Ye Zhou didn’t quite know how to face Boss Jiang, so he shamefully ran away. Using the excuse that filming was entering the final stages, Ye Zhou said he would be staying with the crew at the hotel near the set for the next little while.
At first glance, the excuse seemed plausible, but it actually didn’t hold up under scrutiny. Although the set was quite far from home, Ye Zhou had a car service taking him to and from work each day, so the distance didn’t really affect him. Ye Zhou knew his excuse was pathetic, but when he told Jiang Tingyuan, fully expecting a scolding, Boss Jiang unexpectedly just looked at him deeply and agreed.
Ye Zhou had thought he might have some trouble adjusting at first since he was rather attached to his own bed… However, he soon realized he had been overthinking things.
After running away from home, apart from having to call his boss every morning and evening, Ye Zhou was so happy!
All those junk foods like hot pot, barbecue, and spicy crawfish that Boss Jiang had banned were now within Ye Zhou’s grasp. With Boss Jiang’s restrictions gone, Ye Zhou indulged himself, eating to his heart’s content three times a day.
After wrapping up work during the day, he would organize cast and crew dinners in the evenings to chat, boast, and snack on late-night treats. His life was rich and colorful, leaving Ye Zhou perfectly content.
That night, having just returned from dinner, a blissful Ye Zhou sprawled out on the big hotel bed. As drowsiness washed over him and he was just drifting off to sleep, his phone suddenly buzzed, jolting him awake. Seeing the name on the screen, he immediately shot up in bed, grabbing the script from the nightstand and sitting up straight in an effort to appear proper.
“Good evening, Jiang-ge!” Ye Zhou answered the call quickly.
There was silence on the other end for a few seconds before Jiang Tingyuan’s voice sounded in his ear, “Have you eaten?”
“Yup, yup! We wrapped late today, so I just had some porridge before heading back. I was just about to call you!” Ye Zhou’s tone was sincere, as if what he said was true.
And it wasn’t exactly a lie. This afternoon, Zhu Ning was not in good condition, needing many takes after many NGs, so filming didn’t finish until after 7 o’clock.
Seeing everyone was quite tired, Ye Zhou generously treated the crew to a feast at a popular local seafood restaurant.
While it was true he had porridge, that porridge was seafood porridge he had after finishing the seafood feast.
Hearing Ye Zhou’s shameless tone, Jiang Tingyuan almost believed his nonsense.
“I see…,” Jiang responded evenly, “Because I happened to see you when I was eating on Wu Tong Road tonight.”
Ye Zhou immediately blurted out, “That’s impossible. I clearly went to the seafood place on Yang Liu Road…”
Before he could finish speaking, he realized he had already spilled everything and could only lament helplessly.
He really had no one to blame but himself. After being free from Boss Jiang’s control recently, Ye Zhou’s guard had automatically lowered to the danger zone.
Jiang Tingyuan: “The food must have been good.”
Ye Zhou smiled awkwardly: “If I said I was location scouting, would you believe me, Jiang-ge?”
“I would believe it, why not?” Boss Jiang’s words allowed Ye Zhou to relax slightly, but before he could fully let down his guard, he continued, “Scouting locations, and happened to eat some seafood on the side.”
Ye Zhou: To tell you the truth, though you may not believe it, the seafood made the first move!
Before Ye Zhou could think of how to change the subject, Boss Jiang suddenly brought up old stories.
“Just like the other day when you went to the crawfish place, barbecue restaurant, Shuang Xi Hot Pot City…” Jiang leisurely listed several names, “I understand scouting locations.”
He understood very well.
Ye Zhou shut his mouth awkwardly and respectfully lowered his head to the boss: “Jiang-ge, I was wrong!”
“Where exactly were you wrong?” Boss Jiang asked coldly.
Ye Zhou, who was asked this question, tilted his head and thought for a while, then cautiously replied, “I shouldn’t have gone to eat seafood.”
“That’s it?” Boss Jiang’s tone lowered slightly.
Ye Zhou panicked and immediately listed off dish names: “Spicy crawfish, grilled fish, roasted duck, braised chicken, hot pot lamb, beef, tripe, sizzling tofu, grilled rice cakes, candied fruit, stir-fried yogurt…”
The more Jiang Tingyuan listened, the uglier his expression became. Only after Ye Zhou finished reciting the entire list did he slowly comment, “It’s quite lavish.”
Knowing he had misspoken, Ye Zhou hung his head meekly and unconsciously softened his voice to a tiny, aggrieved whimper, “Mm.”
Jiang Tingyuan almost laughed out loud at Ye Zhou’s reaction.
He hadn’t even scolded him yet, but Ye Zhou was already acting aggrieved!
Reason told him he should severely discipline him now and make Ye Zhou understand that maintaining such an unhealthy diet long-term would be very detrimental to his health and cause gastrointestinal issues over time.
And sternly warn him that if he indulges like this again in the future, he would double the vegetable juice punishment.
But when the words actually left his mouth, his voice unconsciously softened as he said simply, “Don’t let it happen again.”
Ye Zhou, who was certain he was done for this time, was on the verge of tears hearing Boss Jiang unexpectedly let him off without further questioning.
Although he knew Jiang couldn’t see him through the phone, he still nodded repeatedly and slapped his chest as he pledged, “Jiang-ge, don’t worry! From now on, I will absolutely eat reasonable, balanced meals and never touch that stuff again!”
Even with his eyes closed, Boss Jiang knew that Ye Zhou’s promise was not credible in the slightest, but looking at the time, he decided not to make things difficult for him after all.
“It’s getting late, rest early.”
After exchanging good nights, Ye Zhou immediately tossed his phone far away and cheered as he flopped back onto the bed, elated to have narrowly escaped disaster.
On the other end, as his phone screen gradually darkened, Jiang Tingyuan let out an imperceptible sigh.
What a…simple-minded little rascal.
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