The audition for First Love was being held at Jin City No. 5 High School.
It was an old school. The students had already been moved to a clean, spacious new campus, and before long, the old one would be flattened by bulldozers.
When Director Fang Yiming heard about it, he contacted the person in charge and rented the school for several months. He had been preparing his new drama for the better part of a year.
The drama was called First Love. It told the story of a young couple whose first love blossomed during their awkward high school years, and most of it needed to be filmed on campus.
The female lead had already been cast. Today’s auditions were for the major supporting roles, aside from the male lead and a few roles that had already been assigned.
The script Lu Chengyi had received was for the third male lead. Zhou Miao had gone to considerable lengths to get him this opportunity, and the two of them had spent a long time preparing.
Zhou Miao had watched Lu Chengyi’s audition. Honestly, he thought it had gone very well. Lu had a natural spark.
But whether it was actually good enough, whether he’d be chosen, wasn’t up to him.
Clutching his phone, Zhou Miao paced back and forth in the hallway. His usually resolute face betrayed his anxiety as he kept glancing toward the office.
The office was where the auditions were being held. The curtains on the windows facing the hallway had been drawn, so no one could see what was happening inside.
Before long, the tightly shut office door opened, and Lu Chengyi stepped out, tall and long-legged.
He had sharp brows and bright eyes, and carried himself with a steadiness beyond his years.
Zhou Miao hurried over. “How did it go? Why did it take so long?”
Lu Chengyi didn’t answer. He just shook his head slightly.
Zhou Miao’s expression shifted. Had Lu failed to impress, or was the director not interested?
Keeping his emotions in check, he lightly took Lu Chengyi by the arm and led him away. Behind them, a staff member called the next name.
The artists had been waiting in a classroom beside the office. By now, more than half the seats were empty.
Well, Director Fang was one of the few decent directors in the business. If he really didn’t think Lu was right for the part, there was nothing they could do. Sometimes it just came down to luck.
Given how Lu Chengyi had acted just now, Zhou Miao braced himself for the worst. Once they were away from the audition site, he spoke again as they strolled beneath the trees along the sports field. “Did it not go well?”
He was more inclined to think Lu had performed poorly. He’d seen Lu Chengyi act, and this wasn’t some big-budget movie. Landing the third male lead in a TV drama should have been a sure thing.
“It was all right. I did what I usually do.”
If he’d done what he usually did, why had it taken so long?
Before Zhou Miao could ask, Lu Chengyi explained. “After I finished, Director Fang asked me to try out for the male lead too.”
He hadn’t read the male lead’s script, so it had taken him some time to familiarize himself with the story.
“The male lead?” Zhou Miao exclaimed. His eyes widened and his breathing quickened. He stopped and turned to Lu Chengyi, asking as if he needed to make sure. “You tried out for another role, and it was the male lead?”
“Yeah. The male lead.” Lu Chengyi nodded, a faint smile touching his lips. It was rare to get good news like this after such a long stretch.
“What did the director say?”
“Director Fang told me to go home and wait for word.”
“Right, right, that’s how it goes. They usually notify you after the audition.” Zhou Miao nodded repeatedly. Once he’d absorbed the news, he started walking again.
After a couple of steps, he couldn’t hold back his good mood any longer and gave Lu Chengyi’s shoulder two hearty pats.
“That’s my boy! You did great!”
Then he shared his take with Lu Chengyi. “If Director Fang asked you to try out for the male lead, that means your acting passed muster, at the very least. Whatever his reason for asking you to read for another role, whether it was your looks or your acting, we’ve got a very good chance of landing the third male lead.”
“Keep your expectations in check. An audition doesn’t mean the role is yours. We’ll secure the third male lead and aim for the first.”
“I know.”
“Don’t slack off in the meantime, either. Go to the company for some lessons, work on your lines and all that.” Zhou Miao rambled on, then suddenly remembered something. “Here, your phone.”
He handed over the phone he’d been holding all this time. “A few messages came in earlier. No calls.”
Lu Chengyi took it. “Thanks, Brother Shui.”
Zhou Miao couldn’t be bothered to say anything. He waved a hand. Lu Chengyi was good in every way, except he was far too polite. But they had plenty of time to work together and get to know each other better.
Walking beneath the trees toward the school gate, Lu Chengyi turned on his phone. As soon as he saw who had messaged him, his smile faded and his gaze turned cold.
He had no desire to deal with the person who had once conveyed an offer to keep him. But that wasn’t an option. The other man was Lin Luoting of Shuangmu Entertainment, his direct superior.
Suppressing his growing aversion to a certain someone, he quickly read the messages.
Kidney. Source.
His eyes were immediately drawn to those two words. Only then did he notice the clarification in parentheses below them.
What difference was there between keeping someone and having them warm your bed? Didn’t that mean sex? This time, the other man had specifically noted that he meant it literally…
Could he really have no other intentions? Had Lu Chengyi misunderstood?
He was puzzled, but suspicion still won out.
A food street ran outside the school gates. The students from No. 5 High School had moved away, but the businesses that rented their storefronts couldn’t just leave. A few shops were still open here and there, though business was slow.
As they passed a rice-noodle shop, Lu Chengyi asked, “Brother Shui, what kind of person is Lin Luoting?”
“You mean our Boss Lin?”
Zhou Miao wasn’t sure why Lu Chengyi had suddenly asked, but he briefly shared what he knew.
Lu Chengyi listened quietly as they made their way back to the hotel where they were staying.
Maybe the prospect of finding a kidney source was too tempting. Or maybe the words “literal meaning” had lowered his guard. For some reason, he replied:
【Lu Chengyi: I don’t understand what you mean.】
【Lu Chengyi: Do you have Boss Lin’s contact information? I’d like to talk to him in person.】
“He wants to talk to me in person?” Lin Luoting asked in surprise. He was arranging the poetry books by the bookshelf. They were books he’d ordered online yesterday, and they had just arrived today.
Since Lu Chengyi might be reading them aloud to him before long, Lin Luoting didn’t mind arranging them himself.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. It wasn’t even six yet. Lu Chengyi had replied quickly.
“Yes, Mr. Lin,” Han Meimei said from beside him. “Lu Chengyi wants your contact information.”
“Oh, give it to him.” Lin Luoting answered without hesitation.
He was clearly more interested in Lu Chengyi than in the books. The moment he heard Lu wanted to contact him, he abandoned the books and went to wash his hands.
By the time he came back, Han Meimei had just put her phone away. “Mr. Lin, I’ve sent it.”
“Mm.”
Waiting for Lu Chengyi to contact him first, Lin Luoting sat down on the sofa. He didn’t have to wait long before a notification chimed.
It was a friend request from Lu Chengyi.
He’d thought the other man would call him directly.
A little disappointed that he wouldn’t get to hear Lu Chengyi’s voice right away, Lin Luoting accepted the request. The words “Lu Chengyi” at the top of the screen soon changed to “typing.”
What would Lu Chengyi say first?
【Lu Chengyi: Boss Lin, are you sure you can find a kidney source?】
He’d brought up the kidney source first. That was more or less what Lin Luoting had expected.
【Lin Luoting: Why didn’t you just call?】
【Lu Chengyi: It’s not convenient.】
Lin Luoting didn’t say whether he believed him.
【Lin Luoting: This isn’t a question of whether I’m sure.】
Even though he hadn’t spent much time living among humans, he knew that this kind of thing depended on fate. All he could promise was to do his best.
The other man didn’t reply for a while. Lin Luoting’s thoughts wandered. One moment he was thinking about how to help Lu Chengyi find a kidney source; the next, he was adding things to his wish list to try once he’d successfully made Lu Chengyi his kept lover.
He didn’t think he’d be getting the short end of the deal.
For one thing, the resources he’d promised Lu Chengyi: since Lu was destined to become famous in the book, he clearly had what it took. As an artist under Lin Luoting’s company, Lu would only bring in more money if Lin funneled resources his way.
It was a win-win.
And all Lin Luoting had to put toward Lu Chengyi’s mother’s treatment was some connections and money. He had plenty of both, and Lu Chengyi had neither.
【Lin Luoting: Let’s talk in person. Come see me.】
He sent the address. The man who’d been silent for a long while finally replied.
【Lu Chengyi: Okay.】
By the time Lin Luoting finished talking with Lu Chengyi, the clock had reached six. It was dinnertime. After a thousand years as a vampire, Lin Luoting still wasn’t used to the routine. He only realized it was time to eat when a servant came upstairs to knock on his door.
In a good mood, he went downstairs with Han Meimei. Seeing that she wasn’t needed, Han Meimei asked, “Mr. Lin, should I head back to my room? Call me if you need anything.”
“Mm.” Lin Luoting nodded.
Han Meimei had been hired by the original Lin Luoting as a live-in assistant. She hadn’t been on the job long. Her purpose was to handle matters between the original Lin Luoting and Lu Chengyi.
The original owner had worked hard for years and was finally on the verge of making it. He was preparing to loosen up in his private life, and that wasn’t something he could leave to his highly capable secretary.
After Lin Luoting transmigrated into the body, he treated Han Meimei as a budget-edition butler. For convenience, he’d had her move in, where she stayed in the same area as the cook and the other servants.
At the foot of the stairs, Han Meimei nodded to Lin Luoting and went back to her room. She would have dinner later with the employees hired by the Lin family.
Lin Luoting sat down at the dining table. Several plates of brightly colored dishes were laid out, some with meat and some without.
Human food came in so many flavors: sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty. These unfamiliar yet familiar tastes delighted the vampire. After all these years, he was tasting human food again.
That wasn’t to say blood didn’t taste good. They were two different kinds of pleasure: one was the physical satisfaction of the taste buds, the other a mental intoxication, as if the scent of fine wine were steaming over every nerve ending.
It was hard to say which felt better. Lin Luoting liked both.
With soft, soothing music playing in the background, Lin Luoting took his time finishing dinner, then changed his shoes and went out for a walk in the yard.
Compared to the castle where he’d once lived, his new home was much smaller. There were only three main buildings, none particularly tall, all in a sleek, modern style.
A curved glass walkway ran in front of the house, with a gentle stream flowing beneath it and fish swimming in the water. Whenever someone walked across, the fish below, red, white, or black, darted away in every direction.
On one side of the walkway was a small open-air garden with a stream and a bridge. On the other was a functional area furnished with clean tables and chairs.
Lin Luoting decided he’d replace them with hanging chairs or a swing.
When the sky darkened and a crescent moon appeared on the horizon, he ended his walk and went back inside.
The books in the study were still not arranged. Lin Luoting took out the books the original owner had bought, which didn’t interest him, and replaced them with the novels and poetry collections he’d just bought.
When he was done, he wandered around the study. Finding nothing else to do to pass the time, he sat down at the desk, feeling a little displeased.
He opened his computer and felt even more displeased.
A vampire prince didn’t have to work. The human Boss Lin did.
After struggling through the emails his secretary had already screened several times over, Lin, the former vampire and current human, Luoting, wrapped up the day, washed up, got into bed, and fell into a blissful sleep.
He dreamed nothing.
The next day brought fine weather: clear skies and a light breeze.
A little after ten in the morning, about two hours after breakfast, Lin Luoting stood in the glass greenhouse with his budget-edition butler, Han Meimei. “Find a time to have the workers move all these plants out. I want roses planted everywhere.”
Han Meimei smoothly began taking notes. “There are several good rose farms in the neighboring city. I’ll have them send over samples for you to look at.”
Lin Luoting nodded, looking pleased.
His phone chimed twice. He picked it up and glanced at the screen.
【Lu Chengyi: I’m here.】