{"id":2963,"date":"2026-04-19T00:54:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T00:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/dont-play-with-fire-entertainment-industry-14\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T02:01:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T02:01:43","slug":"dont-play-with-fire-entertainment-industry-14","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/chapter\/dont-play-with-fire-entertainment-industry-14\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Play with Fire [Entertainment Industry] 14"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 14: Fourteen Flames

When Yan Duo woke up, she found herself leaning against a warm embrace. She blinked, smelled the familiar scent, and looked up at Ji Ran. Ji Ran was holding his phone in one hand, looking at it. At this moment, the two of them were still in the car, but the car had stopped.

How could she be sitting on Ji Ran’s lap?

Yan Duo had no recollection of what happened in between. Did she get in by herself, or did… Ji Ran carry her?

As he was thinking, Ji Ran’s voice rang out, “Awake?”

Yan Duo hummed.

“Can you get up by yourself?”

Yan Duo was a little embarrassed, and quickly slipped to an empty seat and sat down. After sitting down, she saw Ji Ran slightly straighten his legs and move them. Yan Duo was even more embarrassed. She guessed that she must have been sitting on his lap for a long time, and wondered if it was numb. Yan Duo wanted to ask but didn’t dare, and finally twisted awkwardly and asked, “How did I end up sitting on your lap?”

Ji Ran was opening the car door, preparing to get out, when he heard Yan Duo’s question. He turned to look at her, “I was going to carry you into the house.”

When Yan Duo heard this, her heart was filled with joy. So it was him… who took the initiative to hug her?

But before the joy could reach her brows, Ji Ran’s next sentence made Yan Duo’s face freeze.

“Too bad I can’t carry you.”

After delivering a critical blow to Yan Duo’s heart, Ji Ran got out of the car to retrieve something from the trunk.

Yan Duo didn’t dare to look at Ji Ran at all. She pinched her face and began to seriously consider whether she had gained weight from drinking too much milk tea on set, as she hadn’t weighed herself in a while

What Yan Duo, lost in thought, didn’t notice was that someone was watching her, a faint smile playing at the corners of their lips.

When Yan Duo got out of the car, she realized that the car had already arrived home while she was asleep, and it was almost five o’clock. Yan Duo calculated the time; it would take at most 45 minutes from her parents’ home to her own .
So, she slept in the garage for over an hour? Yan Duo secretly stuck out her tongue, then followed Ji Ran into the house, carrying her bag.

After Ji Ran brought several insulated containers into the kitchen, Yan Duo waved at him, “Go rest. I’ll take care of dinner.”

Ji Ran glanced at the three or four insulated containers, nodded, and went upstairs to work.

After watching Ji Ran disappear, Yan Duo took out fresh ingredients from the eco-friendly bag she brought and prepared to re-cook two simple dishes that were already at home.

Twenty minutes later, Ji Ran came downstairs for a drink after dealing with an urgent matter. Halfway down the stairs, he heard Yan Duo’s voice from the kitchen, seemingly on the phone.

“Leader Xu, I forgot to learn how to cook at home.”

“You said the ratio of water to rice is 1:1 or 1:1.5. How do I measure this standard? I feel like it’s a bit too little.”

“Should I put my hand in? Submerge it up to the palm, is that enough?”

“Ahhh, oh my god, I just touched red dried chili and forgot to wash my hands. Will the rice I cooked be spicy? Ji Ran doesn’t eat spicy food…”

Ji Ran heard a lot of chatter and slowly walked to a spot not far from the kitchen. He looked inside and saw Yan Duo squatting on the floor, pouring the rice from the rice cooker into the trash can. Ji Ran glanced at it, poured a glass of water, and went back upstairs.

Yan Duo waited until the rice was almost cooked before stir-frying the dishes. Finally, she poured the dishes from the insulated container onto a plate and brought them to the table. Yan Duo had just finished serving the rice and was about to call Ji Ran when Ji Ran, as if smelling the aroma of the food, had already come downstairs.

The two sat down at the table. Yan Duo watched him pick up a piece of eggplant with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth, then quickly asked him, “Is it good?”

After tasting all the dishes, Ji Ran replied, “It’s alright.”

Yan Duo immediately brightened up and poured Ji Ran a small bowl of bone broth, saying, “This simmered for a long time, try it.”

The bone broth had simmered for four or five hours, separating the bones and meat. The broth was a rich milky white, with translucent daikon radish and a sprinkle of green scallions, looking very appetizing.

After taking it, Ji Ran drank the entire bowl of soup.

No verbal affirmation is as good as seeing someone finish all the food, and Yan Duo’s smile never faded as she watched Ji Ran.

After eating, Ji Ran got up to clear the table and then said to Yan Duo, “You go rest, I’ll do the dishes.”

Yan Duo thought about her luggage, which she hadn’t had time to unpack yet, and didn’t refuse. After helping to put the dishes and chopsticks into the kitchen, she went upstairs.

After spending two months with the crew, Yan Duo had a lot of luggage. It took her half an hour to pack everything, and she was covered in sweat. Yan Duo picked out a few clothes and went to the bathroom.

After showering, Yan Duo was applying skincare products when, as if possessed, she dabbed a little of a long-unused perfume on her neck and wrists. Just as she was about to leave the bathroom, she went back and put on some reddish lipstick. She surveyed herself from head to toe, confirming there was nothing amiss or unattractive. Yan Duo took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping out.

Coming out of the bathroom, Yan Duo looked around but didn’t see Ji Ran. While she breathed a sigh of relief, a faint disappointment subtly rose in her heart. But before the disappointment lasted five seconds, Yan Duo heavily slapped her forehead\u2014it’s only seven o’clock, Yan Duo, what exactly are you disappointed about?!

After convincing herself not to dwell on inappropriate thoughts, Yan Duo didn’t even go to bed. She sat on the sofa, reading the script for the new drama. In the second semester of her senior year, their only remaining tasks were their thesis and defense, and Yan Duo had already completed her thesis and PPT. Therefore, she wasn’t worried about graduation at all. The biggest problem she faced now was how to improve her acting skills.

Yan Duo had been reading the script for less than half an hour when she heard movement at the door. She looked up and saw Ji Ran walk into the room. Yan Duo only dared to glance at him, not daring to look too much, but kept her head down, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

After Ji Ran entered the room, he went to the walk-in closet. After a minute in the closet, he went into the bathroom, and a minute later, the sound of trickling water came from the bathroom.

Yan Duo wondered what Ji Ran was doing at the moment, and her face slowly turned red.

After waiting twenty minutes in a daze, the bathroom door finally opened again. Yan Duo perked up her ears, listening for Ji Ran, but after he got into bed, he seemed to be asleep, or doing something else, as he didn’t make a sound.

After waiting for two minutes, Yan Duo couldn’t help but feel curious. She looked up towards the bed, and her eyes met Ji Ran’s. Yan Duo was startled and was about to pretend she didn’t care and look away when Ji Ran spoke.

“Not going to sleep yet?”

“Ah?” Yan Duo finally realized what Ji Ran was saying after two seconds of reaction, “Oh, okay.”

Yan Duo got up, lowered her head, picked up her phone, walked to the bed, then obediently lay down beside Ji Ran, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.

Ji Ran raised an eyebrow, looking at Yan Duo, who was playing dead. He rolled over and pinned her down. Compared to feigning obedience, he preferred to see the vivid expressions on her face.

When it was over, Ji Ran was half-lying over Yan Duo, looking at the woman whose face was flushed and eyes were sparkling with tears. He asked her in a hoarse voice, “Is there anything you want to ask me?”

Yesterday, when he met her at the hotel, her expression was clearly one of surprise and a hint of sadness. But today, when they met again, she was just as usual, her eyes full of admiration and joy, as if the trace of sadness he saw last night was just his illusion. Ji Ran thought to himself, as long as she asks, as his wife, she has the right to know the truth.

Yan Duo’s muddled mind couldn’t possibly have thought that Ji Ran was referring to last night’s events. At this moment, she had just emerged from the afterglow, and her only thought was\u2014she loved the feeling of being thrown into heaven by Ji Ran, ahem.

“Yes.”

“Tell me.”

“Can we do it again?”

Ji Ran rarely showed a smile, “Okay.”<\/p>","protected":false},"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"novel":[],"class_list":["post-2963","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/2963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2963"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/2963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3027,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/2963\/revisions\/3027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=2963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}