“Again?” Gong Yue pinched Ye Shanshan’s nose gently. “Just tasting it once is enough. Smoking is bad for your health.”
“Ah, okay.” Ye Shanshan’s eyes were watery as he dragged out his words. Actually, he was just curious about the taste and didn’t intend to learn how to smoke.
But he felt somewhat regretful and pretended to casually glance at Gong Yue’s lips.
Feeling Gong Yue’s husky voice was too pleasant to the ears, he wanted to hear more, so he sneakily found a topic, “But cigarettes are bitter, spicy, and astringent. Why did you smoke before?”
Gong Yue casually picked up the lighter, rubbing his fingertip against the leaf engraved on the metal casing. “I was under a lot of pressure recently.”
After finishing his sentence, Gong Yue didn’t prepare to continue explaining. Instead, he reminded Ye Shanshan, “Isn’t Professor Mark Buren supposed to give you a class today? It’s almost time. Why don’t you go?”
Ye Shanshan widened his eyes instantly, scratching his head. “Ah, I totally forgot! I have to go!” He said as he hurriedly walked out. After taking a few steps, he turned back to look at Gong Yue, speaking seriously, “Brother, don’t worry, I won’t smoke. I’ll live longer and stay with you longer.” After saying this, he flashed a smile at Gong Yue, showing off the dimple at the corner of his mouth, then hurriedly left the study.
Gong Yue’s hand, playing with the silver lighter, paused. He watched Ye Shanshan’s departing figure for a long time, then looked down at the lighter, the glittering leaf motif under the light. Unable to resist, he smirked.
But as he thought about the will he had made before losing his memory and the yet-to-be-examined genetic map, his smile gradually faded.
— Shanshan, I really hope I can stay with you longer.
—
At noon, Gong Yue had to attend a multinational video conference, so he asked Ye Shanshan to rest first.
As Ye Shanshan pulled the blanket up to his neck, when Gong Yue turned around, he suddenly reached out and grabbed one of Gong Yue’s fingers, pinching it, then stared at Gong Yue’s face without saying a word.
After several seconds of eye contact, Gong Yue suddenly connected with Ye Shanshan’s brainwaves. His gaze softened as he lowered his head to kiss the corner of Ye Shanshan’s mouth, then gently rubbed his nose against Ye Shanshan’s. “Go to sleep.”
When Ye Shanshan let go of his hand, Gong Yue turned off the bedroom light, leaving only a dim night light.
After the bedroom door closed with a click, Ye Shanshan bit the blanket and pounded the bed. He had expected another one of those intense kisses like the previous two times! The kind that was special and addictive!
But unexpectedly, Gong Yue only kissed the corner of his mouth.
Ye Shanshan gritted his teeth and looked disappointedly at the ceiling. However, he couldn’t ask Gong Yue to kiss him again — it would be too embarrassing.
Since the first time they acted together and he was kissed, Ye Shanshan felt like he had opened the door to a new world. He really liked the feeling of close contact and intimacy, finding it addictive.
But now, he could only close his eyes with a heart full of regret — it’s sad when even sleep doesn’t feel good.
On the other hand, Gong Yue went to the study. The computer screen showed a conference room full of people. Gong Yue sat down, put on his headphones, and with a steady voice tinged with coldness, he said, “Let’s begin.”
As the meeting was about to end, a notification message suddenly appeared in the bottom right corner of the computer screen, sender: Chris. Gong Yue’s heart sank involuntarily.
Ten days ago, after returning from the hospital, he instructed Chris to investigate his mother’s situation, especially the content of various research projects.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Gong Yue opened the document, which displayed data arranged by time.
At thirteen, Gong Yulian, because of her extremely high IQ, was admitted to Princeton University with a full scholarship to study bioengineering and genetics. After graduating with a Ph.D. at the age of twenty, she joined the biological research institute where her mentor worked. She worked there for about three years until the institute dissolved due to funding interruption, and the specific research content could not be found.
On the other hand, Yulian met Gong Yi, Gong Yue’s father, when she was twenty-one. They got married three years later, and on the same day, she changed her surname to Gong.
After marrying Gong Yi, Yulian did not join any other projects or research. Until Gong Yue was six years old, she stayed at home taking care of the family.
However, after leaving the Gong family to join the “Human Body Enhancement through Genetic Modification” research project, also known as the “God-Making Plan,” there was no more information about Yulian.
Gong Yue read through the document several times, especially the part where his mother joined a research institute at the age of twenty, which caught his attention.
Finally closing the document, he remembered his gentle and wise mother from his memory, suppressing the sadness in his heart, and pinched his brow — now, he could only hope to find some clues from the things left in the old house.
—
Three days later, the trailer for “The Observer” was released. Due to substantial funding, the producer directly bought hot searches and many headlines. There were also several interviews, and the publicity efforts were quite extravagant. As a result, even though the release date of the movie had not been set, it was already very popular.
For the members of the crew, it was expected that Yan Ke, as the male lead of the movie and a powerful actor, would trend on hot searches, especially with his fan base and the team’s consistent capabilities.
What really surprised them was that after Yan Ke, it was unexpectedly Ye Shanshan who followed closely, and the topic was still “Ye Shanshan’s acting skills.”
This situation shocked many people.
When Ye Shanshan joined the cast of “The Observer” and played the role of Hu Yan, he caused quite a stir. Major forums were filled with hot threads analyzing whether Ye Shanshan had acting skills and why he got the role. Some even questioned whether Director Zhang only considered looks or took money, neglecting the quality of the film altogether.
At that time, after a few days of heated discussions among Ye Shanshan’s fans, they discovered that there were fake accounts and trolls mixed in, as well as fans of other actors who had been brushed aside, making it difficult to distinguish between them. So they remained quiet temporarily, waiting for the first solid evidence — the release of the movie’s trailer.
Sure enough, Ye Shanshan didn’t disappoint them.
The trailer wasn’t long, and because the character Ye Shanshan portrayed was important but had relatively few lines, he was ranked as the fourth male lead, so his screen time was limited.
However, whether an actor had acting skills could easily be seen, especially for a character like Hu Yan, with complex personality traits and multiple layers. Everyone could tell whether it was good or not.
So when the trailer was released, Ye Shanshan’s fans eagerly grabbed every frame of him and posted them separately, with precise timestamps, saying, “Just one question, does he have acting skills or not?”
“If this isn’t acting skills, then I have nothing to say. The only problem with my Shanshan’s portrayal of Hu Yan is that he’s too good-looking!”
“Those who say our Ye lacks acting skills, does your face hurt now? After enduring for so long, I can finally laugh out loud! By the way, ahhhh, I’m so looking forward to it! Even though my Ye is the fourth male lead, I’ll definitely buy tickets to support him!”
“After watching the trailer ten times, I can only say, in the first few shots, my Shanshan is like a warm sun, just one smile and I can eat two more bowls of rice. In the later shots, especially at the end, the look in his eyes gave me goosebumps, as if Hu Yan was staring at me through the screen, scaring me awake!”
“Ugh, even though he’s handsome, why does he still need acting skills?! I really want to tag everyone who said our Ye lacks acting skills and give them a slap in the face! I never expected this! Sob sob, I’m going to watch it twenty more times!”
At this moment, Ye Shanshan was sitting in the makeshift rest area of the crew, with only the two of them in the room. Ye Shanshan had one earbud in, listening to a recorded lecture, while helping Yan Ke with elementary math problems. He looked like a top student.
Ye Shanshan solved the problems quickly, starting to write as soon as he glanced at them, while chatting with Yan Ke. “Brother Yan, where did you find so many math problems?”
“My little guy found them.” Yan Ke didn’t feel the need to hide anything from Ye Shanshan and said naturally, though he subconsciously lowered his voice.
However, Ye Shanshan’s attention wasn’t on “Yan the Secret Father” at all; instead, he was curious. “Why does the kid insist on having you solve math problems? Are there any secrets hidden in these math problems, or any information?”
“No, once, to show off in front of him, I said I was very good at math. I didn’t expect him to enthusiastically ask me for help with math problems he couldn’t solve.”
Yan Ke chuckled, “I’m away filming most of the time and rarely go home. I really don’t want to disappoint him with his wish.” After saying this, he continued to talk to Ye Shanshan, who was listening attentively,
“So, I’m really grateful to you for last time. Because of the tight filming schedule, I couldn’t go back to celebrate his birthday, and he was angry for a long time. He finally said he’d forgive me if I could solve all those math problems within a day.”
Ye Shanshan quickly said there was no need to thank him. Then, after a moment of thought, he reached out and patted Yan Ke’s shoulder. “You’ve worked hard. Don’t worry, I can handle these problems! I might not be good at other things, but I’m pretty good at solving problems!”
After all, when it came to exams and problem-solving, there was no doubt about his professional level!
Seeing his confident demeanor, Yan Ke couldn’t help but smile. “By the way, what did you study in college? Mathematics? Science?”
Most artists didn’t have particularly high levels of education because they focused on their craft, and it was impossible to balance both academics and performing arts. Just like Yan Ke himself, mathematics was his complete weakness; even elementary math problems gave him a headache, and he would rather memorize scripts.
Tapping his own head with a pen, Ye Shanshan didn’t hide it, “I didn’t go to college, and I didn’t even finish high school.”
They didn’t notice that at the door of the rest area, Xu Tian pressed the button to end the recording quietly and left.
Inside the rest area, Yan Ke looked surprised. “Is there a reason?”
Ye Shanshan nodded. “I was homeschooled, with private tutors coming over, so I’ve never been to school. Was school fun?”
“It had its ups and downs.” Feeling that this topic might touch upon some sensitive and private issues, Yan Ke naturally changed the subject. “Right, what scene are you filming next?”
—
※※※
Hastily leaving the set, Xu Tian got into his nanny car, closed the door, and then took out his phone, playing back the audio he had recorded for about ten to twenty seconds.
Previously, as soon as he reached the door of the rest area, Xu Tian heard Ye Shanshan mention something about “math problems,” so he instinctively took out his phone and started recording.
Although the audio wasn’t very clear, with a little adjustment, it was usable.
Xu Tian thought for a moment, then called his new agent. “Are you sure that the one who attacked Zhao Yaozu last time was from the Gong family?”
“It was definitely the Gong family. That’s why none of the people Zhao Yaozu painstakingly cultivated dared to step forward. They’re afraid that if they do, they’ll end up in the Gong family’s hands.”
Recalling the scene he saw at the back door last time, the car that brought Ye Shanshan, and the man sitting in the car, a smile crept onto Xu Tian’s lips. “Good to know. I got it.”
After hanging up the phone, Xu Tian dialed a secondary number and privately contacted a prominent entertainment blogger known for exposing scandals. “I have some information about Ye Shanshan. Are you interested? I have a recording.” At 5 p.m., a celebrity blogger named “Shadow Hunter” posted an update: “Reliable sources reveal that actor surnamed Ye faked his educational background and relied solely on packaging. He didn’t even attend high school. We have solid evidence!”
As soon as this news came out, it caused a stir. After all, Ye Shanshan was still trending on the hot search list. The trolls and water army, who had just been suppressed, suddenly became active again.
—
Office.
Gong Yue received a message from Ye Shanshan.
“Your Majesty, the movie trailer is out! I’ve captured the best shots of me in it. Quickly pick one to use as your screensaver!” The message was followed by several pictures.
One by one, Gong Yue opened them. Without much deliberation, he directly changed the backgrounds of his phone, desktop, message background, and even his computer desktop from the system’s default to photos of Ye Shanshan.
Staring at the figure on his phone screen, Gong Yue couldn’t help but lightly tap it with his finger.
At this moment, his assistant Qin Xuan knocked on the door. “Sir, there’s been an issue with Ye Shanshan.” He handed over his phone.
Putting down his pen, Gong Yue took the phone and quickly discovered it was a Weibo update that had just been posted. After reading the content, his expression noticeably cooled.
Leaning back against the chair, Gong Yue opened the recording app, which contained only two sentences.
The first sentence was a processed voice, “By the way, what did you study in college? Mathematics? Science?”
Then came Ye Shanshan’s voice, “I didn’t go to college, and I didn’t even finish high school.”
Gong Yue confirmed that it was indeed Ye Shanshan’s voice, even the tone and pauses were the same. He furrowed his brows. “Finish up early. Arrange everything urgently and send it to my email tonight.”
Saying that, he put on his coat and headed out. “Get the car ready.”
“Got it. Should we intervene?” Qin Xuan followed up. Having been Gong Yue’s assistant for several years, he understood how important Ye Shanshan was to Gong Yue. So as soon as he noticed something amiss, he reported it to Gong Yue.
“Not for now.” Gong Yue had promised Ye Shanshan to let him handle such matters in the entertainment industry by himself. Last time with Zhao Yaozu’s incident, it involved too many people, and if Ye Shanshan handled it himself, it would be too taxing. Gong Yue didn’t want that, so he took over.
—
When Gong Yue hurriedly arrived home and opened the door, he saw Ye Shanshan standing in the living room. Upon hearing the door open, Ye Shanshan’s eyes curved, smiling happily. Seeing this smile, Gong Yue’s mood also relaxed.
Perhaps equipped with some small accessories like wheel skates on the soles of his shoes, Ye Shanshan, upon seeing the great demon lord of the house returning, glided towards him like a ghost, giving off an ethereal effect.
When he was only half a meter away from Gong Yue, Ye Shanshan performed a stable emergency stop, then, with an expression of transcending the mundane world, clasped his hands together, tilted his head, and dragged out his words,
“Esteemed benefactor, are you here to have your fortune told by this humble Daoist?”
“…..”
Author’s note: #Every day when I come home, I don’t know what kind of character my family’s drama has set for itself, how should I cooperate?#
The ironclad Ye Fortune-teller: Benefactor, you’ve been quite auspicious recently! Absolutely correct!
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading ❤️”
