{"id":3643,"date":"2026-05-28T04:04:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T04:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/dont-play-with-fire-entertainment-industry-22\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T04:04:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T04:04:51","slug":"dont-play-with-fire-entertainment-industry-22","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/chapter\/dont-play-with-fire-entertainment-industry-22\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Play with Fire [Entertainment Industry] 22"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 22 Twenty-Two Fires

Yan Duo visited Niu Ji for the second time and ordered the same meal. It was still the same cashier from the morning, who couldn’t help but smile at her.

“Miss Yan, wouldn’t you like to try something different? The newly introduced river snail rice noodles are quite good\u2014would you like to give them a try?”

Yan Duo often comes here to eat, accompanied by a lady slightly older than her. Both of them love spicy food more than the other. Previously, people in the shop would only talk about how beautiful she was, but after the airing of “Power Play,” everyone learned her name. Yan Duo also doesn\u2019t put on airs; occasionally, when someone in the shop recognizes her, she kindly agrees to take photos with them and doesn\u2019t shy away.

Yan Duo shook her head without further explanation. “Could you put the chili sauce on the side?”

Regarding Ji Ran’s sudden change in taste for spicy food, Yan Duo still felt uneasy. It wasn’t normal for someone who hadn’t eaten spicy food for a long time to suddenly develop a preference for it, so she decided not to add the chili sauce beforehand.

Seeing Yan Duo’s insistence, the cashier didn’t argue further. She took a round condiment box, filled it halfway with chili sauce, and placed it together with the takeout container.

By the time Yan Duo returned by car, Ji Ran was already waiting downstairs. She placed the takeout box on the dining table, and Ji Ran automatically took a seat.

Watching his somewhat eager demeanor, Yan Duo couldn’t help but feel amused. She took the beef noodles out of the bag, placed them in front of Ji Ran, and handed him the chopsticks.

Ji Ran took the chopsticks and had a bite, then looked up at Yan Duo and asked, “No chili in this?”

Yan Duo sat beside him, “Didn’t you say you can’t handle spicy food?”

Ji Ran glanced into the bag and indeed spotted a small box. After opening it, he dipped a chopstick inside and added a bit to the bowl before saying to Yan Duo, “I told you, people can change.”

Yan Duo remembered this phrase. The last time at her place, she had poured him a cup of warm water, but he said people change\u2014he now preferred cold or even ice-cold water.

Yan Duo couldn\u2019t understand how a habit formed over more than a decade could be abandoned so easily. Take herself, for example\u2014she had liked him for six years, and it had long become a habit. If she were forced to break it, it would feel like tearing her heart out, leaving her in unbearable agony. So she had already decided: even after divorce, she would still like him, support him, but no longer cling to the hope of being someone special in his heart.

Yan Duo finished her silent musings and looked up, only to see Ji Ran drenched in sweat, his face as red as a steamed lobster, which made her burst into laughter.

Ji Ran finished the warm soy milk in one gulp, finally feeling a bit better. He looked up at the woman who was laughing so hard she was trembling. Though he felt somewhat disheveled at the moment, seeing her shed the sorrowful expression she had earlier\u2014as if mourning a dead husband\u2014made him think that embarrassing himself a little was actually no big deal.

Yan Duo finished laughing, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said, “If you can’t eat it, then don’t. Don’t force yourself.”

Ji Ran seemed to be deliberately opposing her, lowering his head to take a sip of the spicy soup. Beads of sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

“Many things you think are impossible might be exactly what I relish.”

Ji Ran stared into Yan Duo’s eyes as he uttered these suggestive words. Yan Duo felt as if her heart was about to leap out of her chest. She clenched her palm, forcing herself to look away, and took a sip of the soy milk beside her.

After composing herself, she lifted her head and met Jiran’s gaze directly. His eyes drifted downward, locking onto the soy milk cup.

Yan Duo also lowered her head to look at the soy milk cup, suddenly feeling too shy to meet Ji Ran’s eyes.

She only bought a cup of soy milk…

and it wasn’t for herself…

No wonder she couldn’t suck the soy milk out after trying for so long…

Oh my god, just strike her dead with a bolt of lightning!

Although they had done the most intimate things, Yan Duo still couldn’t bring herself to share a straw with Ji Ran, just as she stubbornly believed that going to bed was a marital duty, while kissing was a playful gesture reserved for lovers.

Finally, the utterly mortified Yan Duo grabbed her bag and stomped upstairs in a hasty retreat Escaping the awkward situation.

Meanwhile, Ji Ran glanced at her retreating figure before lowering his head to continue eating his beef noodles, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Having once again set a new low for foolishness in front of Ji Ran, Yan Duo stayed in her room, too embarrassed to show her face. Just then, An Yixin called her.

“Did you run into Ji Ran yesterday?” An Yixin asked.

Yan Duo answered truthfully: “Yes, we met and talked about divorce. He didn’t refuse.”

An Yixin was surprised. She glanced at her husband beside her and asked Yan Duo again, “Have you completed the procedures?”

“Not yet. Teacher Ji can’t find his marriage certificate. He said we’ll go to the civil affairs bureau together once he finds it.”

An Yixin was stunned on the other end of the line. If she remembered correctly, there was only one marriage certificate\u2014or even without it, divorce wouldn’t be affected. Ranran’s excuse was really… It seemed her husband was right\u2014Ranran simply didn\u2019t want a divorce at all!

“Alright, then give him more time to figure it out slowly. It’s not like you’re in a hurry anyway, right?”

An Yixin felt like she was being the wolf mother aiding and abetting evil, gradually feeding the little white rabbit into the wolf cub’s mouth. Then again, Yan Duo had always liked her son, and now that he’d finally come to his senses and learned how to keep her around\u2014who knows, maybe he’d already been deeply in love with Yan Duo all along. Once they cleared things up between them, wouldn’t it be a happy ending for everyone? So perhaps it wasn’t aiding and abetting after all.

Yan Duo said “okay” on the other end of the phone. In the coming days, her schedule was packed tight\u2014even handling paperwork would require squeezing in time. So, waiting it was.

As she made excuses for herself, Yan Duo shoved the reluctance in her heart into a corner, pretending she didn’t have such an unwelcome emotion at all.

At dinner time, Yan Duo, who had now grown a thicker skin, went downstairs and sat across from Ji Ran to eat as if nothing had happened. Though she hadn\u2019t come down in the afternoon, after just a couple of bites, she could tell the meal wasn\u2019t cooked by Ji Ran\u2014it tasted like the housekeeper\u2019s work. Recalling his phone call earlier where he mentioned reading a script, she asked him, \u201cWere you reading the script for *Waiting for You Year After Year* today?\u201d

From what Yan Duo knew of Ji Ran, he always delved deep into his scripts long before stepping onto set. When they worked together on *Power Play*, she had accidentally glimpsed his script\u2014filled with dense notes, a testament to how thoroughly he prepared.

Ji Ran nodded. \u201cYes.\u201d

Yan Duo glanced at him, wanting to suggest they run lines together like they did during *Power Play* to get into the mood and avoid affecting filming if they weren\u2019t in sync. But worried about burdening Ji Ran, she held back and stayed silent.

Ji Ran seemed to read her thoughts and said, “No rush. There’s still time before filming starts. It’s not too late to rehearse lines after you’ve finished everything on your plate.”

Yan Duo thought he was right. Tomorrow was her thesis defense, followed by a guest role and a variety show\u2014she had plenty on her plate. She’d tackle them one by one. Of course, the most important thing was that Ji Ran hadn’t refused to coach her, which was better than anything else.

“Thank you, Teacher Ji,” Yan Duo said playfully.

Ji Ran looked at her, his lips curling slightly. “If you want to thank me, do the dishes later.”

Such a small matter was nothing Yan Duo would refuse. She readily agreed, “No problem.”

After finishing the meal, Yan Duo took the initiative to go into the kitchen. When she came out after washing the dishes, she noticed Ji Ran sitting in the living room watching TV\u2014specifically, their jointly acted drama *Power Play*. As Yan Duo approached, she realized the scene on screen actually featured her\u2014or more precisely, both her and Ji Ran, standing so close it seemed they might kiss at any moment.

Yan Duo hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to suddenly sit next to Ji Ran at such an ambiguous moment. Fortunately, the Ninth Prince’s reminiscence soon ended, and the scene quickly shifted. Yan Duo sat beside Ji Ran, maintaining a one-person distance between them, accompanying him as they watched TV together.

At this point, “Power Play” had progressed to the stage where the Ninth Prince was beginning to make a name for himself in court, showing his emerging talent, while in the rear courtyard, flowers bloomed in splendid clusters, and he had a thriving family with many children.

On this day, the first day of the third month, the Ninth Prince went to the Ninth Princess Consort’s chamber as usual.

“Your Highness, you’ve come?” The princess consort was delighted by the prince’s arrival, though her elaborate attire couldn’t conceal her aged appearance. It had only been three years since Biyu was beaten to death, yet the princess consort was no longer the fiery, flamboyant beauty she once was.

The Ninth Prince gave a faint acknowledgment, took a sip of the tea handed to him by the princess consort, sat for a while longer, and then said, “Let’s retire for the night.”

Upon hearing the words “retire for the night,” a glimmer of light flashed in the princess consort’s eyes. She stepped forward to help the prince remove his outer garment, then hastily took off her own clothes and climbed to the inner side of the bed. Just as she was about to say something to the prince, the Ninth Prince had already lain down properly and closed his eyes.

Again!

For the three years since Biyu’s death, every time the prince came on the first and fifteenth days of the month, he would lie there in silence\u2014never initiating conversation, never showing affection, and never touching her. Meanwhile, nearly all the concubines in the estate had become pregnant, with the oldest child over two years old and the youngest just a month in the womb. Surrounded daily by the cries of “Mother” from the illegitimate children, the princess consort felt as though she were swallowing bitter herbs.

The princess knew this was the prince’s punishment for her. When the prince had returned, she had already ordered Biyu and Xiaoshunzi’s corpses to be fed to wild dogs.

When he reported the whole story, he showed no reaction. Finally, she cautiously asked, “You don’t blame me for dealing with Biyu before you returned, do you?” He simply smiled, took her hand, and said, “Of course not. We are husband and wife, and she was merely a concubine. Disposing of her was nothing.”

At that time, the princess consort was brimming with pride, having rid herself of a great thorn in her side, and with no sign of reproach from the prince, she believed her days of prosperity had arrived. Yet in reality, it was unmistakably the beginning of a nightmare.

The princess consort lay awake all night, and by dawn, she had finally made up her mind.

The next day, as the Ninth Prince rose and sat by the bed waiting to be attended to, a figure emerged from behind the screen. Before the person drew near, the familiar scent they carried drifted ahead.

The Ninth Prince looked up in astonishment, his gaze meeting a woman clad in a white dress embroidered with butterflies flitting among flowers. Her eyes sparkled brilliantly, their dark pupils like priceless black gemstones, while the dimples beside her cherry lips lent her entire face a lively and spirited charm\u2014as if an old acquaintance had stepped forth from a dream.

But a counterfeit will always remain a counterfeit.

The Ninth Prince didn’t allow any woman to approach him. After dressing himself, he left the princess consort’s courtyard and didn’t set foot in it again for three months.

At this point, the episode came to an end. Yan Duo, still thoroughly engrossed, couldn’t help but discuss the plot with Ji Ran.

“The Ninth Prince is such a scumbag character. Why did you choose to play this role in the first place?”

In Yan Duo’s view, loving one woman in his heart while maintaining physical relationships with more than ten others, and ultimately, when the beloved woman died, fathering over a dozen children\u2014this man was simply scum beyond words.

Ji Ran leaned back on the sofa, looking relaxed. “Probably because I’ve never played a scumbag before and wanted to give it a try.”

Yan Duo laughed at his words. The character of the Ninth Prince was actually a historically real and wise ruler. To be fair, aside from the later fabricated salacious anecdotes, his political achievements were quite outstanding. The TV series excelled in editing, with most scenes highlighting the Ninth Prince’s personal charisma and great accomplishments. Even though he had many women, his unwavering love for only one from beginning to end was defined as “deep affection.” As a result, there were very few netizens online who criticized him as a scumbag.

“Then why did you take on ‘Waiting for You Year After Year’?” Finally, Yan Duo voiced the question in her heart.

Yan Duo knew that to avoid suspicion, Ji Ran had never played a romantic partner with the same actress twice in his nearly ten-year career\u2014so far, she was the only exception.

Ji Ran’s gaze shifted from the TV to Yan Duo’s face. “What if I said it’s because of you? Would you believe me?”

Yan Duo instinctively shook her head. “I don’t believe it.”

Ji Ran’s gaze shifted away again as he said indifferently, “It’s because the producer offered me a very high price.”

“Oh.”

Although Ji Ran didn’t seem like someone short on money, Yan Duo found this reason more plausible than the previous one\u2014after all, who would ever complain about having too much money?

Ji Ran suddenly lost interest in watching TV, stood up, and went upstairs to his study.

Yan Duo was engrossed in watching TV and didn’t notice the change in his expression. It wasn’t until the first half of their marital duties that night, when she tearfully begged him to slow down, that she belatedly realized\u2014he was angry.<\/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-3643","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3643"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3644,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3643\/revisions\/3644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=3643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}