“I’m married to Lin Shen.”
By the time they returned to the hotel from the police station, it was already past midnight.
After ending a phone call, Lu Jing turned to Lin Shen, who had just finished showering and still carried the dampness of water on his skin. “This matter will be announced tomorrow. You should rest first; I’ll handle it.”
The exhaustion in Lin Shen’s eyes had completely faded the moment Wang Yilin suddenly rushed out. Even though the situation had been resolved, he still felt a lingering sense of worry and fear.
If Lu Jing hadn’t appeared in time, given Wang Yilin’s frenzied state at the time, he might have ended up in the hospital.
“Thank you,” Lin Shen said, not heading straight to bed but instead looking at Lu Jing with sincerity.
The lingering edge of anger in Lu Jing’s expression from dealing with Wang Yilin softened completely upon hearing these words. He walked over to Lin Shen, gazing into his eyes. “Anything I do for you is only natural. You don’t need to thank me.”
Feeling the warmth from Lu Jing’s hand, Lin Shen’s heart grew warm as well.
Lu Jing was always so good to him, so much so that Lin Shen didn’t know how to repay him.
It seemed that no matter what he did, it would never be enough to repay the kindness Lu Jing showed him.
Just as he was about to speak, Lu Jing interrupted him. “If you really want to thank me, go lie down in bed now and get a good night’s sleep.”
What should have been a sleepless night turned into one where Lin Shen, nestled in Lu Jing’s arms, slept soundly and peacefully without a single dream.
The next day.
At seven in the morning, the phone on the bedside table vibrated only once before someone picked it up and silenced it.
Lu Jing glanced at Lin Shen, who was still fast asleep, making sure he hadn’t been disturbed, before turning his attention back to the phone.
At the same moment, the phone vibrated again. It was Director Jiang calling Lu Jing.
Without hesitation, Lu Jing hung up the call. Before the third call could come through, he opened WeChat and sent a question mark.
Jiang Cheng replied quickly.
Jiang Cheng: [You’re not in your hotel room? Why haven’t you responded after all this time?]
Lu Jing: [In the room, what’s up?]
Jiang Cheng: [Urgent matter, open the door.]
Lu Jing frowned. Jiang Cheng had always been someone who liked to ramble, yet today his communication was so direct.
Had something happened on set? Or was Wang Yilin’s matter not fully resolved yet?
With a chest full of doubts, Lu Jing quietly got out of bed. By the time he reached the door, he had already imagined various possibilities.
Opening the door, he saw Jiang Cheng standing in front of the opposite door, his back to Lu Jing, peering through the peephole.
He didn’t look normal at all…
Probably hearing the sound of the door opening, Jiang Cheng turned around and saw Lu Jing standing at the doorway, looking like he had just been woken up.
Jiang Cheng’s brain froze for two seconds, his pupils instantly widening.
If his memory wasn’t playing tricks on him, he remembered that room belonged to Lin Shen.
Glancing at the room behind him, then at the one in front, Jiang Cheng tentatively asked, “Did… you change rooms?”
Lu Jing watched the rapidly changing expressions on his face and replied lazily, “Mm.”
Jiang Cheng’s mouth slowly fell open, but before he could make a sound, Lu Jing stopped him: “Don’t make any noise, he’s still sleeping.”
This sentence silently confirmed Jiang Cheng’s suspicions. His mind was in chaos, almost unable to think straight.
Had Lu Jing slept with Lin Shen?
No wonder he was indifferent to the other actors on set, only showing extra concern for Lin Shen. So it was because he had taken a liking to him?
But how could Lu Jing be so casual? They had just met less than a month ago, and he had already slept with him?
Was it mutual? Could Lu Jing be trying to take advantage of a young actor?
Or was Lin Shen the one who seduced Lu Jing?
In just an instant, Jiang Cheng’s mind had already played out a drama involving patronage, exploitation, forced affection, and seduction.
Lu Jing had no idea what strange thoughts were running through his head. Under Jiang Cheng’s shocked expression, Lu Jing whispered, “Wait a moment, I’ll change my clothes.”
As he turned to leave, he glanced back and warned again: “Don’t make a sound.”
The door was carefully closed by Lu Jing.
Jiang Cheng stood frozen in place, staring at the closed door, alone and bewildered in the corridor.
Even after Lu Jing finished washing up and opened the door again, Jiang Cheng remained in the same position, motionless in front of the door.
Lu Jing frowned: “What’s wrong with you?”
Jiang Cheng snapped back to reality, looked at Lu Jing, and spoke with a slight tremble in his voice: “You… slept in the same room as Lin Shen?”
Lu Jing’s frown deepened: “How do you know this is Lin Shen’s room?”
“Of course I know. After you said you didn’t want to stay upstairs and preferred a regular room downstairs, I specifically checked who was staying on this floor,” Director Jiang said. “With your influence, did you think I’d dare to let you stay just anywhere?”
“The actors in the crew are already a mixed bag. If one of them turned out to be your obsessive fan and something happened, I couldn’t bear the responsibility.”
Lu Jing: “…”
He hadn’t expected this person to consider so much even when assigning rooms.
Leading Jiang Cheng a few steps away, near the elevator, he finally said slowly: “Mm, I am staying in the same room as Lin Shen.”
Jiang Cheng exclaimed in shock: “People shouldn’t… at the very least, they shouldn’t…!”
Entering the elevator, Lu Jing pressed the button for the first floor and said, “What are you thinking? Can your mind be a bit more normal? Lin Shen and I aren’t the kind of relationship you’re imagining.”
“Then tell me, what kind of relationship are you? It can’t be that you’ve known each other for less than a month, developed feelings, started dating, and already progressed to living together and sharing a bed!”
Lu Jing: “It’s indeed not a dating relationship.”
Jiang Cheng wore an expression that said, “I knew it.”
“It’s a partnership,” Lu Jing said. “Lin Shen and I are married.”
For several seconds, Jiang Cheng couldn’t process what those words meant.
When his brain finally caught up, his legs went weak, and he nearly lost his balance. Fortunately, Lu Jing mercifully steadied him, preventing him from face-planting.
Once he managed to stand upright again, Jiang Cheng had lost all control over his facial expressions.
His eyes were wide, his face drawn long, every bit of shock clearly written across his features.
“You and Lin Shen are married?”
The elevator reached the first floor, and Lu Jing stepped out. “Yes.”
Jiang Cheng followed behind him, his steps still somewhat unsteady. “In just one month, you not only fell for each other and started dating, but also rushed through the process and got your marriage certificate?”
Lu Jing shook his head. “No.”
Jiang Cheng: ??
Lu Jing calmly dropped the bombshell: “We’ve been married for over two years.”
Jiang Cheng pressed his fingers against his philtrum. “Call an ambulance for me, right now, immediately! My heart can’t take this!”
The two walked along the sidewalk as vehicles sped past on the road.
Lu Jing’s gaze drifted across the street, where steam rose from the steamers of a breakfast shop. They sold the soup dumplings Lin Shen liked.
After recovering for a moment, Jiang Cheng finally managed to breathe normally again.
He carefully thought back to all the interactions between Lu Jing and Lin Shen over the past month. There had been clues, after all.
Besides Lin Shen, he had introduced other promising actors to Lu Jing, but Lu Jing had shown little interest in getting to know any of them.
Only with Lin Shen had he been more than willing to learn about him, even stepping in multiple times to help resolve his difficulties.
At the time, Jiang Cheng had simply assumed Lu Jing admired Lin Shen’s talent, forgetting that Lu Jing was someone who never liked to meddle in others’ affairs. When had he ever gone to such lengths for anyone?
Looking further back, Lu Jing had insisted on staying in a regular room and, out of all the options, had specifically chosen the one opposite Lin Shen’s.
And even earlier, no matter how much Jiang Cheng tried to persuade Lu Jing to join the drama, Lu Jing had always refused, citing that “trying this type of role wasn’t part of his recent plans.” Yet, shortly after Lin Shen passed the audition and secured his role, Lu Jing suddenly agreed to make a guest appearance and even chose his own character.
Wait, the role Lu Jing picked is—
The script quickly flashed through his mind, and Jiang Cheng easily recalled that scene which was still being revised due to its explicit content.
Jiang Cheng looked utterly incredulous: “So you agreed to film this drama just to sneak in your own agenda?!”
Lu Jing raised an eyebrow but didn’t deny it.
Jiang Cheng was heartbroken: “I thought what moved you was our sincere friendship over all these years, but it turns out friendship is nothing compared to love!”
Seeing Jiang Cheng about to spiral further, Lu Jing quickly cut him off and changed the subject: “What was the urgent matter you mentioned?”
Jiang Cheng was indeed the type to get easily sidetracked: “Oh right, my cousin is coming to the set!”
Lu Jing thought he misheard and repeated: “Your cousin is coming to the set?”
Jiang Cheng nodded in horror.
Lu Jing: “…”
Lu Jing: “This is the urgent matter you mentioned?”
Jiang Cheng: “You have no idea how terrifying she is.”
Jiang Cheng: “Oh, by the way, I should warn you—she’s coming specifically for you this time.”
Lu Jing: “?”
On set, Lin Shen was eating the breakfast Lu Jing had brought him, feeling that Director Jiang had been giving him strange looks all day.
After taking a sip of water, he asked Xiao Xu: “Do you feel like Director Jiang has been staring in our direction all day?”
Xiao Xu: “I noticed it too, Brother. We haven’t caused any trouble lately, have we?”
Lin Shen took another bite of a steamed bun, his voice muffled: “No idea.”