Sensing his younger brother’s awkwardness, and having just received word from his subordinates that the investigation into Shen Kui had yielded results, Han Gui used the excuse of company business to take his leave. Before departing, he told Han Tang that the snacks he had ordered for him had been delivered to his dorm entrance, offered him plenty of warm words of care, and instructed him to call if anything came up before finally hurrying away.
Whether it was Han Tang’s imagination or not, he always felt that his older brother had glanced at Shen Kui right before leaving.
It must have been his imagination… After all, aside from the day he walked through the sugar daddy plotline, the two of them didn’t seem to have any other interactions.
Wait! No!
It was not his imagination!
Earlier, he had been completely shocked when Zheng Qi almost snatched the role of Baili Yan away from the protagonist shou, assuming that the drama his older brother had arranged for him wasn’t this one.
However, regardless of whether his older brother had arranged this particular drama for him, the very fact that his older brother could effortlessly mention arranging for both him and Shen Kui to be in the crew, didn’t that clearly prove the two of them must have communicated at some point when he wasn’t looking?
Otherwise, his older brother wouldn’t have been able to say with such absolute certainty that he should get along properly with Shen Kui.
That was clearly a sign that everything had already been settled in advance!
No wonder things had gone so smoothly when he approached Su Li for investment to secure the role earlier; his older brother must have already given Su Li a heads-up!
With this realization, Han Tang felt like he could take on the world again.
The civet cat for prince plan that he had previously given up on could be put back on the agenda!
Yet walking up to someone and casually declaring that he had bought his way in with cash might sound a bit too bizarre.
He still needed to wait for the right opportunity.
Moreover, his attitude had to be completely natural yet arrogant.
It would be even better if his older brother could overhear it, so that when the truth came to light, it would not only make Shen Kui feel even more disgusted with him, but also make his older brother realize his hopeless, incorrigible nature, causing him to give up on him sooner!
That way, his older brother wouldn’t end up like in the original novel, sacrificing the person he loved just for a completely worthless younger brother!
Shen Kui naturally didn’t miss that final glance from Han Gui.
To verify his own suspicions, he decided to test the waters and gather some information first.
Of course, he wasn’t foolish enough to directly approach Han Gui for a chat.
What if the other person really was problematic? Wouldn’t that be walking straight into a trap? He had to keep in mind that there was someone currently waiting in the film crew to usurp his identity.
He had only learned later through chatting with Su Li that before he was parachuted into the role, Zheng Qi was actually Su Li’s internally designated choice for the male lead, only for Zheng Qi to turn it down for some unknown reason.
And what else could it be for?
Although Zheng Qi was nominally an artist under Han Tang’s company, the company’s funding essentially all came from Han Gui. If Han Gui wanted to, let alone a single script, he could practically snatch the entire company right out of Han Tang’s hands!
Thinking this, Shen Kui experienced a moment of sudden enlightenment.
No wonder.
Recalling the things his so-called father had done in pursuit of soaring success and glory, a flash of derision immediately crossed Shen Kui’s eyes.
When placed above all else, profit reigned supreme. Leave aside the fact that the youth and Han Gui were merely step-brothers; there were even people in this world who wouldn’t hesitate to abandon their own legally wedded spouses!
However, now was not the time to dwell on these things.
Glancing at the youth, whose body had visibly relaxed the moment Han Gui left, his energy bouncing right back up, Shen Kui deliberately refrained from bringing up what had just happened.
He checked the time: “It’s getting late. Would you like to go grab some lunch first? We can continue with the rest tonight.”
The role the youth had secured wasn’t difficult, yet he couldn’t fathom why the youth attached such immense importance to such a minor villain role.
He even suspected the youth would maintain this high-strung state right up until his own scenes were finished. To prevent the youth from feeling anxious and seeking out Zheng Qi, Shen Kui proactively suggested continuing into the evening.
“Sure.”
Only after speaking did Han Tang realize that in order to make the entire film crew witness him clinging to Shen Kui like sticky caramel, he had woken up at the crack of dawn. At that hour, Shen Kui had probably just rolled out of bed and likely missed breakfast entirely, meaning he must be starving.
With that thought, Han Tang felt a twinge of guilt. Eager to make up for it, Han Tang opened his mouth: “How about we head out…!”
He had originally wanted to invite Shen Kui out to eat, but since distant water couldn’t quench an immediate thirst, he changed his tune: “Never mind, let’s leave it for next time. We’ll find a time to have a proper meal together when you’re free!”
“Alright.” Shen Kui didn’t refuse either.
Right on cue, once he figured out Han Gui’s attitude toward the youth, he would need an opportunity to have a proper talk with him anyway.