It all started half an hour ago.
Lu Ren, wearing six-centimeter stilettos, sprinted all the way, nearly twisting his ankle twice along the way. He finally managed to get from one end of the makeup trailer to Yin Beilin’s dressing room in under five minutes.
When he finally reached the door, Lu Ren caught his breath and knocked. “Brother Lin? I’m here. It’s Lu Ren.”
A cool voice came from inside.
“Come in.”
Lu Ren swallowed hard.
He pushed the door open with trembling hands and suddenly shuddered.
It wasn’t because of the male lead’s “aloof and oppressive aura”—it was because Yin Beilin’s dressing room had air conditioning.
Lu Ren stood in the doorway, his expression one of utter shock.
From the outside, Yin Beilin’s dressing room was just a temporary shed, but the inside was a whole other world…
The air was filled with the scent of a subtle, elegant incense. The lighting was bright, and the vanity table with its circular mirror looked incredibly expensive.
Yin Beilin was leaning back on a creamy-white fabric sofa, reading a book.
Several square throw pillows emblazoned with the HERMÈS logo were scattered on the sofa. Beside it stood an incredibly designer-looking floor lamp, and right next to that was a meticulously maintained potted Bird of Paradise…
Lu Ren’s mouth twitched.
…*Sure enough, it’s just as obscenely luxurious as Dongfang Zhizhu described.*
*A cannon fodder like him had to squeeze into a makeup trailer just to get ready. Yet Yin Beilin had set up a lounge right here by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. Air conditioning was one thing, but to even bring all this random stuff…*
*Wait, is a sofa and a carpet really necessary in a place like this? Baaa?*
Lu·The Proletariat·Ren sank into a deep silence.
“What are you doing standing at the door?” Yin Beilin’s eyes remained fixed on his book, but his voice drifted over, sounding nonchalant. “Come here.”
“Oh! …Coming!”
Rubbing the goosebumps raised by the sudden blast of air conditioning, Lu Ren carefully closed the door and walked over.
His black strappy sandals stepped cautiously onto the deep gray carpet. Standing by the sofa, he explained awkwardly, “Brother Lin… I didn’t check my phone in time, so I’m late. Sorry.”
Yin Beilin nodded, neither confirming nor denying.
He was still holding a book. Its cover was solid black, making the fingers supporting it appear exceptionally fair, clean, and slender.
As a hand fetishist, Lu Ren couldn’t help but steal another glance. He noticed three powerful characters on the cover:
*Siddhartha*.
…The male lead reads Buddhist scriptures?
*Forget it,* Lu Ren shook his head vigorously. *Now is not the time to be thinking about this.*
He stammered, “Brother Lin, about the five million… I…”
“I’ll have Huang Ying pay it back,” Yin Beilin said in a flat tone, slipping a bookmark between the pages. “Don’t worry.”
…Holy shit!?
*There’s really such a good deal?*
Lu Ren couldn’t stop his lips from curling into a grin. Perhaps his joy was too obvious, because Yin Beilin lifted his eyelids and shot him a glance.
Lu Ren choked on his words, quickly pulling back his smile. He declared with righteous conviction, “Brother Lin is truly too kind.”
As he spoke, Lu Ren mimicked the girls who had done his makeup earlier that day, giving two big thumbs up and flattering him, “As expected of Brother Lin! Brother Lin is the kindest person I’ve ever met!”
After saying this, Lu Ren grinned brightly again.
When he arrived, he had been wondering which groveling posture would be the most reliable. Now, looking at it, he realized he had completely overthought it—how could the male lead be as exaggerated and ruthless as Dongfang Zhizhu had written?
*Although I will pay him back in the future,* Lu Ren thought joyfully, *I don’t have five million right now. Yin Beilin just took it out on the spot. I really want to stamp him as the best man in the world, hahaha…!*
Lu Ren was still delighted when he suddenly heard Yin Beilin’s deep, magnetic voice by his ear.
“It’s just five million.”
Lu Ren froze as the man opposite him slowly closed the book.
“Spending a little pocket money on a little toy.”
Saying so, Yin Beilin stood up, crossed his arms, and looked down at him with a wicked and flippant tone. “I’m more than happy to.”
The “little toy” stiffened his two raised thumbs.
Lu Ren: “…”
“What’s wrong?” Yin Beilin let out a lazy “Hmm?” through his nose. “What’s with that expression?”
The black-strapped high heels tapped backward.
Lu Ren swallowed hard and forced a dry smile. “No, it’s nothing. I… I was just thinking, five million isn’t a small sum. I… I still have to pay it back to Brother Lin…”
“Oh? You want to pay it back?” Yin Beilin pressed closer, a faint, mocking smile on his lips. “So, are you going to pay your manager first tomorrow, or me?”
“Or perhaps you’re planning to auction yourself off again to find someone else to give you some pocket money?”
“…” Lu Ren was left speechless by Yin Beilin’s words, feeling like crying without tears. “Brother, I was just confused back then. I… I don’t want to auction anything else for money…”
“Then how do you plan to pay me back?” Yin Beilin hummed. “Hmm?”
*…Male lead, let’s talk this out. Why are you getting closer? Help!*
“…B-Brother Lin,” Lu Ren stammered, “C-can I borrow your money to pay them back first… and then, in the future, pay you back double?”
“Sure.”
Lu Ren swallowed. “Then I…”
His heel hit something. Before he could finish his sentence, he instinctively glanced back, only to realize there was nothing behind him but a wall.
When he turned back, Yin Beilin had already extended his long arm, leisurely pinning him against the wall.
After doing so, Yin Beilin leaned in slightly, his gaze fixed on him without blinking.
Stared down by those dark, bright phoenix eyes, Lu Ren’s throat tightened, and the hair on his back stood on end.
Trapped by Yin Beilin, with nowhere to retreat, Lu Ren’s head and back were pressed firmly against the wall.
Yin Beilin’s lips curved slightly. “But toys have to be obedient.”
Lu Ren swallowed hard again… *Obedient? What kind of obedience?*
The straps of his one-inch stiletto heels had loosened at some point, but Lu Ren hadn’t even noticed. He looked at the man before him, trembling with fear, and asked tentatively, “W-what counts as obedient, Brother Lin?”
“…” Yin Beilin pondered for two seconds. “Repayment with your body.”
*Repayment with my body?!*
Lu Ren’s vision went black. Despair washed over him as he thought, *Doesn’t that mean being used like a rag?*
*No, this is really not okay!* Lu Ren’s face turned deathly pale, his knees weakening.
His voice trembled as he said, on the verge of tears, “Brother, I was wrong. Can we… can we…”
*Try another way…?*
“Hmm?”
With just that simple “Hmm,” Lu Ren sensed a hint of “Dare you say no?”
The words of refusal choked in his throat, making him feel like he was about to cough up blood!
*Damn it, Male Lead, go out and ask any random guy, would any man actually agree to this?!*
“What,” Yin Beilin’s phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, his expression tinged with displeasure, “you’re unwilling to be my boyfriend?”
…Boyfriend?
What kind of “friend” is a guy?
Lu Ren’s mind went blank for a second, and he stared stupidly at the man before him.
Seeing Lu Ren’s dumbfounded expression, a faint smile touched the corners of Yin Beilin’s eyebrows.
His jaw was clamped tight. Lu Ren shuddered and snapped back to his senses.
Yin Beilin stared straight at him, his voice brook no refusal. “Speak.”
“I, I…”
Lu Ren stammered, and his knees, as if acting against his will, suddenly gave way.
The single strap of his shoe had already come loose. As his legs buckled, he tripped over the high heel and fell forward with a look of sheer terror—
*Thud!*
Lu Ren landed astride Yin Beilin, his red dress disheveled.
He was fine, but Yin Beilin hit the ground with a heavy thud.
Seeing Yin Beilin pinned beneath him, Lu Ren’s face flushed with a silent, frantic *Holy shit!*
Ignoring what Yin Beilin had just said, Lu Ren scrambled to pull him up.
Cradling Yin Beilin’s face, he frantically checked his forehead and the back of his head. “Brother Lin, Sir, are you okay—”
*Creeak—*
The door swung open.
Lu Ren froze and looked up in a panic, only to see Huang Ying standing by the door, her expression as dark as a storm cloud ready to burst.
“Holy shit, Ying… Sister Ying?!”
“What the hell is going on with you two?!” Huang Ying’s voice rose an octave, making Lu Ren jump in fright.
Lu Ren reached out, trying to explain in a panic, “No—it’s not—”
*It’s not what you think, fuck!!*
Just as Lu Ren was about to speak, a coat was suddenly draped over his shoulders.
The next second, his calves were suddenly squeezed tight.
Lu Ren’s pupils shrank as Yin Beilin abruptly lifted him off the ground in a bridal carry—!
Huang Ying: “…”
“It’s exactly what you think.”
Right in front of Huang Ying, Yin Beilin held Lu Ren with one arm and leaned down to peck the spot where the bandage was applied to Lu Ren’s skin.
Lu Ren froze.
Yin Beilin’s voice was lazy. “Is it not obvious enough?”
Lu Ren: “…”
Huang Ying: “…”