chapter 17
Su Jinfan hesitated slightly, but the person had already walked in. Looking up, she saw someone much taller than her, dressed in casual attire. Who else could it be but Liu Ming?

Before Su Jinfan could speak, a few concerned words reached her ears: “I’ll accompany you upstairs.”

The words made Su Jinfan abruptly raise her head. She wanted to refuse, but he was already in the elevator. Moreover, he was looking at her with utmost sincerity—his eyes devoid of any inappropriate emotions yet filled with deep concern. Surprisingly, Su Jinfan didn’t voice her rejection.

“My place is a mess…” Su Jinfan could only nod, thinking about how her home was as chaotic as a wolf’s den. Although she had long lost any semblance of a good image in Liu Ming’s eyes, she still felt the need to kindly remind him.

“I can imagine.”

After stepping out of the elevator, Su Jinfan trudged heavily down the hallway. She opened the door and immediately collapsed onto the sofa, exuding an air of grievance. Her eyes were red, and she looked utterly exhausted.

Just as Liu Ming raised his hand to check Su Jinfan’s temperature again, she turned away, cleverly blocking his movement and creating some distance between them. Quickly, Liu Ming withdrew his stiffened hand and simply remarked, “Your place is even messier than I imagined.”

Even though Su Jinfan was lying down, Liu Ming’s sense of helplessness and mockery came through loud and clear to her ears. Suddenly, Su Jinfan felt that ever since meeting Liu Ming, her image in his eyes had completely deteriorated. Did he now see her as some kind of rough, unrefined tomboy?

To be honest, Liu Ming hadn’t known Su Jinfan for long, but he had never seen a girl quite like her. On the outside, she was a fresh and elegant goddess, yet her home could be such a mess—snack bags scattered everywhere, clothes strewn all over the floor.

Liu Ming sighed, took off Su Jinfan’s damp shoes and socks, fetched a blanket to cover her, grabbed a few pillows to prop her up, and then began tidying up the room.

This was the second time he had been this close to Su Jinfan, but unlike the last time, she was now sick with a high fever that wouldn’t subside—whereas before, she had been full of energy, even arguing with him.

“Xiaoshan, could you come over for a moment?”

Liu Ming picked up his phone, sighed, and dialed the number. The call was to a high school classmate who now worked at a hospital. After briefly explaining the address, Liu Ming began tidying up again.

    ……

Liu Ming attended No. 1 High School in City A, and Xiaoshan was a long-time friend of his. Xiaoshan knew that although Liu Ming was quite popular in school, he had never been this close to any girl before. Now, he was actually asking for help to treat a girl?

Xiaoshan looked at Liu Ming suspiciously. Wasn’t the girl lying on the bed Su Jin?

“First heatstroke, then getting drenched in the rain, and on top of that, her constitution wasn’t great to begin with. Luckily, it’s just a fever.” After checking the thermometer, Xiao Shan hesitated before speaking to Liu Ming. “Liu Ming, it’s been years since we last met. The only times I’ve seen you recently have been in the media. What’s going on between you and Su Jin?”

Liu Ming looked at Su Jin, who was curled up in bed like an injured rabbit, her sleeping posture messy, her skin appearing even paler due to the fever. Frowning slightly, he said to Xiao Shan, “I just happened to be here by coincidence.”

“Just happened to be here”—Liu Ming was never good at lying, and his excuse was particularly weak.

“Liu Ming, to be honest, don’t get too emotionally involved in the entertainment industry.” Xiao Shan stepped forward and sighed. “Female artists in this industry are all the same—none of them are clean.”

Liu Ming didn’t care at all about what Xiao Shan said, because that’s just how the entertainment industry is. Whether the gazes were curious, envious, kind, or malicious held no meaning for him. He only acknowledged the Su Jin Fan he saw with his own eyes. Though he didn’t understand Su Jin Fan, he paid no attention to others’ words.

“Xiao Shan, do all doctors take kickbacks?” Liu Ming said.

Xiao Shan was momentarily speechless. Seeing that Liu Ming seemed somewhat angry, he stopped talking and just told Liu Ming a few things to pay attention to, as well as what medicine to get from the hospital.

“Keep your diet light, not too greasy, and don’t stay up late.”

After Xiaoshan left, Liu Ming didn’t disturb Su Jin Fan but went straight to the study. The study seemed like it hadn’t been cleaned for a long time, yet everything was neatly arranged.

The room wasn’t lit. Liu Ming turned on the light, and his eyes landed on a photo album.

The photos inside showed a youthful, sunny girl and a handsome boy. Her radiant smile was clearly visible in the pictures, like a girl deeply in love. The man she was holding had striking features—wasn’t that Li Mo Chen?

Back then, the two were considered a match made in heaven at school, an incredibly well-suited couple overflowing with affection.

Liu Ming’s expression grew increasingly tense as he flipped through a few more pages. He noticed that in every photo, aside from Li Qin, there was also a young man. Wasn’t that Shen Bai from A&R Group?

When Su Jinfan woke up, she found herself moved from the sofa to the bed, drenched in sweat. Having slept the entire day without eating anything, she rubbed her stomach and walked toward the living room. There, she saw Liu Ming still sitting and flipping through a magazine. Su Jinfan hesitated for a moment before pretending nothing was wrong and went to pour herself a glass of water.

“The food is on the table. Serve yourself if you want to eat.”

Su Jinfan was startled, her hand trembling slightly as she held the cup. She feigned composure, set the glass down, and picked up the bowl and chopsticks from the table.

“By the way, there’s porridge in the kitchen.”

Su Jinfan wore a strange expression on her face. How could this man find rice in his house and manage to cook something edible from that pile of messy ingredients? Apart from Shen Bai, Liu Ming actually possessed this skill too?

She obediently went to serve herself a bowl of porridge. Most of the dishes were light and mild, all personally prepared by Liu Ming, complete in color, aroma, and taste. However, Su Jinfan ate cautiously, or rather, more reservedly, with every movement following proper etiquette.

Liu Ming stared at Su Jinfan, watching her eat in such a manner, and couldn’t help but smile.

Su Jinfan was taken aback. Why did Shen Bai laugh at her for wolfing down her food, and Liu Ming laugh at her for eating properly? Was her way of eating really that strange?

“But I’m really curious, what exactly did you do to offend Time’s Wang Lili?” Liu Ming was a straightforward person. Today, Wang Yang from Time was clearly targeting Su Jinfan, so it must have something to do with her.

Su Jinfan ran the name Wang Lili through her mind. She was never one to hold back her temper and said bluntly, “She was gossiping behind people’s backs. As her senior, I just gave her a little lesson.”

Liu Ming put down the magazine in his hands. He hadn’t expected this seemingly gentle girl to have such an exception to her character. Now it made sense why Time’s people were so furious.

“What did she say to you?” Liu Ming walked over and sat down beside Su Jin Fan.

Because Time Company and the drama “Chang Ge” had already negotiated the promotional project when the play was halfway through, who would have thought Wang Li Li would suddenly appear and mess things up.

“She said I slept my way to the top.” Su Jin Fan said it lightly. In her view, she had been quite polite to Wang Li Li. After all, Wang Li Li was just a newcomer in the company. If she continued like this, the media would likely make a big deal out of it, and Wang Li Li’s reputation wouldn’t fare well either.

“Actually, Wang Li Li was eliminated during the initial casting and has held a grudge ever since, so this incident isn’t your fault.” Liu Ming had never told Su Jin Fan about this before.

Originally, Time was just trying to raise the promotional costs, but since “Chang Ge” recently secured a massive investment, they didn’t care much about the extra expense. However, now Time has outright informed Liu Ming that they won’t promote their film, clearly indicating that Time’s people are thoroughly enraged and determined to suppress the movie to the end.

“Why would they do this?” Su Jinfan put down her chopsticks. Actors are inherently the ones being chosen, and rejection is a common occurrence. If she were the privileged Time heiress, she shouldn’t have condescended to wade into the murky waters of the entertainment industry in the first place!

“Now that the film is finished, Wang Yang, the representative from Time, just told me to reshoot the scenes for the female lead,” Liu Ming said, giving Su Jinfan a meaningful look. “But don’t worry—even if Time refuses to promote us, I absolutely won’t reshoot the female lead’s scenes.”

Su Jinfan suddenly realized that a troublemaker had appeared out of nowhere. Now she understood, though she couldn’t tell whether she felt disappointment or sorrow.

But Liu Ming was also a man with a temper. If someone slandered him behind his back, he would naturally retaliate. Clearly, Su Jinfan’s approach had pushed them into a dead end, but in his eyes, Su Jinfan’s actions weren’t wrong at all. Besides, he had long been annoyed by Time Company’s arrogant attitude.

After this, Liu Ming made several phone calls, each with different wording but similar content—requesting various companies to promote their film. The entertainment industry was very pragmatic these days. Having heard that Time Company refused to promote “Chang Ge,” none of them dared to take on this ticking time bomb.

“Although we’re friends, you know how tough the industry is right now. Business isn’t easy. If I end up losing money, I won’t be able to explain it to my superiors,” the man’s voice was clearly helpless. Liu Ming roughly understood the reason and had no choice but to hang up.

Liu Ming had no choice but to approach the various directors at the TV station in a junior capacity, as most of these senior directors had connections. Besides general promotions, they could also air promotional clips within the TV station.

“What’s this? Little Liu is so invested in a female actress? Are you two together or something?” On the other end of the line was the director of BQ TV station, a sharp-tongued woman teasing Liu Ming.

“Sister Wang, please stop teasing me.” Though Liu Ming was inwardly annoyed, he still had to make amends.

“Don’t be mad, I’m just looking out for you. I’ll agree to help promote your movie, but you, Director Liu, have to tell me—is there really something going on between you and that Su Jin?”