Chapter 71 Healthy Love

"Lele, I understand your thoughts because I've thought the same way, but I still want to share mine."

Yu Jingchen leaned closer, his tone gentle.

"Everyone has their own life and choices. You can't blindly compare yourself to others, or you'll lose yourself. Just like you refuted Fu Sheng, people don't necessarily have to have a fixed job. There are many people in the world with a wide range of interests and skills. They can do different things at different times, which can both give full play to their strengths and earn them a living."

Seeing that Fu Yanle looked like she was in a daze, Yu Jingchen tapped his phone, "Lele, are you listening carefully?"

Fu Yanle immediately straightened up, sitting like a primary school student, "I was listening very carefully!"

Yu Jingchen smiled and said, "You also have a wide range of interests and skills, don't you? You can make videos and participate in variety shows, attracting so many people—that's your ability; you can act and sing theme songs for dramas, getting selected and invited by production teams—that's also an ability; or like when you were in school, you can win prizes by participating in various competitions such as calligraphy, painting, and dance, or take on freelance work and complete private commissions for remuneration—that's still your ability. Lele, you've mastered so many skills because you've been diligently acquiring knowledge since you were little. You've put your interests into action, not just saying 'I want to learn this, I want to learn that.' You're excellent; there's no doubt about that."

Fu Yanle pouted, mimicking an emoji, "Are you trying to coax me?"

“I know you are seriously asking me about your confusion and hoping to get my advice and help, so I won’t flatter you; I’m answering you seriously.”

Yu Jingchen's tone was gentle yet firm.

"Love should indeed be healthy, but you can't always compare yourself to me. Inheriting my father's mantle and carrying on the family tradition has been my wish and goal since childhood, and I'm willing to dedicate my time and energy to it. Right now, I'm just continuing to achieve my goal. I do have other hobbies, but my career goals are very singular and unwavering, and I won't deviate from them in the slightest. You and I are different. Many of your hobbies are not prioritized, so you have many choices, and you can choose freely."

Fu Yanle said in a low voice, "I'm just afraid that one day everyone will know that I slept with you, and they will think that we are not a good match, and that you are a beautiful flower stuck in a pile of dung."

“No one is more picky than my grandfather, but he never thought we were unworthy. Besides, this is between the two of us, and outsiders have no right to question it.” Yu Jingchen tapped Fu Yanle’s forehead through the screen. “I know you’ve been outstanding since you were little. This is my subjective impression of you, and it’s also a completely objective fact.”

"My excellence is indeed an objective fact," Fu Yanle muttered softly. "I don't know why I suddenly started thinking these strange things. Maybe it's because I like you too much. I'm being held hostage by love."

He exclaimed, "Wow! I've become a slave to love!"

Yu Jingchen pressed his finger against Fu Yanle's face and said, "I don't want anyone but you."

"Wow!" Fu Yanle wiped his face. "I like you."

“I like you too.” Yu Jingchen said with a smile. “I hope you will think this way: In this world, the only ones who are worthy of each other are you and me.”

"Wow!" Fu Yanle leaned closer to the screen and gave it a big kiss. "I like you! I like you!"

“I like you too, I like you.” Yu Jingchen’s eyes were gentle. “Lele, if you keep overthinking, it just means I haven’t been good enough to you and haven’t given you enough security. It’s my fault.”

Fu Yanle was speechless for a moment, and quickly said, "I won't think about it anymore! We're the perfect match!"

*

Just as Fu Yanle handed the invitation to the receptionist outside the door, he heard someone calling him. Then two people crowded around from behind and squeezed him in the middle.

"Here, our invitation." Tang Wanbai handed the invitation to the receptionist and pulled Fu Yanle inside. "It's freezing outside, let's hurry inside!"

The hall was meticulously decorated, with antique ornaments adorning the walls and elegant, exquisite furnishings. Groups of two or three chatted and laughed, everyone eager to make the most of the limited time for efficient socializing.

The three found a less crowded area. Tang Wanbai followed her heart and immediately picked out a piece of tiramisu, saying happily, "It feels so good to eat sweets behind my manager's back. I have to eat my fill tonight!"

"It feels even better to be forced to eat light meals after gaining weight," An Shigou bluntly poured cold water on the idea.

Fu Yanle felt that people were looking at him from time to time. Perhaps it was because he seemed more unfamiliar than others, but he had long been used to being observed and judged by their eyes.

"Yanle!" Tang Wanbai suddenly tugged at him, pointing to the wall, "Look how beautiful those potted plants are!"

"Those are camellias."

Song Xueyan walked behind the group and said, "It should be Dongfang Liang."

Tang Wanbai immediately gripped the plate tightly, "Teacher Song!"

Recently, due to preparations for his new drama, An Shigou has been spending more time with Song Xueyan. He discovered that although Song Xueyan is very serious and dedicated at work and aloof and distant in private, she is actually a very nice person. He scratched his head and said casually, "Camellias are so beautiful, their white color is pure and elegant, something to be admired from afar but not to be touched, just like Teacher Song!"

"Pfft!" Fu Yanle sneered mercilessly, "Kid, want me to teach you how to give compliments?"

An Shigou said, "Get out!"

An Shigou, embarrassed and annoyed by his attempt to praise his idol backfired, immediately hid by the wall and pretended to admire the camellias. Tang Wanbai, who blushed whenever she saw Song Xueyan, also eagerly went over and started taking pictures.

Fu Yanle moved closer to Song Xueyan, circled him, and whispered, "Brother Xueyan, did you put on some face powder?"

"I used some concealer," Song Xueyan said. "It's usually fine, but it would be a bit impolite to attend a banquet with such heavy dark circles under my eyes."

“Go to bed earlier and you won’t have dark circles under your eyes. Your sleep schedule is too weird. If you continue like this, your health will collapse and you’ll become ugly.” Fu Yanle earnestly advised, “When you encounter any difficulties, you must keep a stable mindset, otherwise it will be even harder to find a solution.”

Upon hearing this, Song Xueyan paused for a moment and said, "You think I'm in trouble and not in a good state, so you want to test me?"

“Sometimes, it’s polite not to expose others!” Fu Yanle crossed his arms in dissatisfaction. “One should be more reserved.”

Song Xueyan nodded to show that she had learned something, and said, "I haven't encountered any difficulties, and it has nothing to do with Huaying, so don't worry about me."

"Oh." Fu Yanle couldn't help but ask, "Then why didn't you sign with Yaoguang? Yaoguang is so much better, it's a win-win situation!"

“Yaoguang is certainly good. If I were to sign with a company, I would definitely choose it. However, I plan to set up my own studio, so I declined Yaoguang’s offer.” Song Xueyan paused. “But apart from me and the higher-ups at Yaoguang, no one else knows about this. How did you find out?”

Fu Yanle said, "Ah," because, because...

Song Xueyan said, "Because your boyfriend is Yu Jingchen."

"Goose!" Fu Yanle was startled and took a half step back. "How did you know?"

Song Xueyan said, "The president of Yaoguang came to talk to me personally. His attitude was very good, and the terms were very generous. After I refused him, he actually contacted me again and even increased the offer. Yaoguang's status determines its attitude. Admittedly, I am a good partner, but Yaoguang's attitude towards me can be described as eager. I asked him why, and he said that his boss values ​​me highly. Yaoguang is a company under Zongchen, and the president of Yaoguang only has one boss, Yu Jingchen. I have heard about what kind of person Yu Jingchen is, so I find it even more strange."

“That’s right, but…” Fu Yanle coughed, “What if Yu Jingchen has taken a liking to you? You’re so good-looking and your acting is so good.”

“Thank you, I also think I’m pretty good.” Song Xueyan raised an eyebrow slightly. “However, I have a friend who works at Zongchen’s headquarters. He shared some gossip with me before, saying that Yu Jingchen already has a boyfriend.”

Fu Yanle muttered under his breath, "Sure enough, employees everywhere spread rumors about the boss."

"You shared a rose tea post on your WeChat Moments before, with a location attached. The location was near the Zongchen Group building," Song Xueyan said calmly. "And there was the recent negative trending topic. I could tell that someone was helping you fight back against the negative publicity. And it's not something that ordinary fans and online trolls could do. There are very few teams in the industry that can cooperate so well and have such a high sense of proportion, and can even control trending topics and keywords."

"Wow." Fu Yanle exclaimed sincerely, "Brother, if you ever date someone, your partner will never dare to lie."

Song Xueyan was taken aback upon hearing this, then smiled.

This was the first time Fu Yanle had ever seen him smile so... vividly, wistfully, yet so sadly. His mind raced, and he immediately said, "And another thing, and another thing! You couldn't have guessed it just from these two points, could you?"

“I only suspected it before, but I just confirmed it.” Seeing Fu Yanle’s bewildered expression, Song Xueyan reached out and hooked the hem of his left sleeve. “Yu Jingchen was also wearing these two items during the meeting today. According to my friend and his colleagues, Yu Jingchen deliberately showed off your matching items, including but not limited to raising his left hand while speaking, flipping through documents with his left hand, and writing with his left hand.”

“…Oh my god!” Fu Yanle admitted that he was shocked. “Deliberately writing with his left hand? What other surprises does he have that I don’t know about?”

Song Xueyan said, "These behaviors are quite childish and abnormal for someone like Yu Jingchen, but they also show that he really likes you, cares about you, and wants others to know that you exist. Yanle, congratulations on finding a wonderful person, and congratulations to him on winning your affection."

"Thank you, Xueyan-ge." Fu Yanle couldn't help but say, thinking of Song Xueyan's smile just now. "Actually, we both went through a lot before we got together, so don't worry, you will wait for that person too."

“Waiting only leads to passivity, and what you end up with is often regret and pain. So when the time is right, I will take the initiative.” Song Xueyan hooked the end of Fu Yanle’s hair with her finger. “Taking the initiative is the only way to create a story. This saying is still very true.”

Fu Yanle thought about Yu Jingchen's tragic yet pitiful and guilt-inducing unrequited love history, and couldn't help but give a thumbs up, saying, "I think so too."

Suddenly, a burning gaze shot over. Fu Yanle frowned and couldn't help but look over, but there was no suspicious person in sight, so he could only look away.

This gaze was different from other stares; it felt like a tangible invasion, which was truly unpleasant.

Author's Note:

When I get up, I'm going to post a meme of Le Pouting on Weibo, it's so cute!