AITFYMIBP Chapter 73

Important announcement: Hello everyone, starting from this week, the update schedule will be on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Any Kofi bonus will be posted Sunday. Happy reading~~

News came quickly from Lin Yunzhe’s side.

As expected, there was a problem with what happened back then.

In the office, the secretary reported the information he had organized overnight.

“Among the medical staff who performed the surgery on Madam back then, one doctor and one nurse resigned immediately the next day.”

Lin Yunzhe stared at the computer screen, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“Resigned?”

The secretary nodded. “Yes, it was very sudden. They both quit without having another job lined up, which is very irrational.”

After all, salaries at that private hospital were negotiated on an annual basis. Unless they had found a better employer, few people would have the boldness to just quit on the spot without a backup plan.

Yet those two had resigned in such a hurry, not even handing over their work, as if they were fleeing from something.

After the secretary finished speaking, the office suddenly fell silent.

Lin Yunzhe didn’t speak, his gaze unfocused for a few seconds.

Suddenly, the scene of his mother giving birth to his younger brother flashed through his mind.

He was only ten years old then. He only remembered the immense grief the family felt seeing the child’s body and hearing about the suffocation from dystocia. But before they could even take a good look, they were notified that his mother had a massive hemorrhage due to difficult labor and was sent to the ICU for emergency rescue.

Everyone’s attention was focused more on her, so they didn’t pursue the cause of the child’s death too deeply afterwards, assuming it was an accident.

After all, no one at the time would have thought that a deceased child could hide other issues.

If those two people were really connected to his brother’s disappearance, looking at it now, it was definitely done on purpose and premeditated.

So who is this person? What was the motive? How did they know so many details and arrange all this in advance?

Lin Yunzhe thought for a long time before speaking again.

“Find those two people first. Ask them clearly what happened back then and where the child went.” He paused for a moment, then instructed, “Keep a low profile.”

After the secretary left, he looked at Lin Yanran’s photo on his computer for a long time. The more he looked, the more he felt he looked like his mother.

Although the clues weren’t particularly clear yet, he seriously considered whether he should ask the other party to do a paternity test with his family.

After thinking about it, he held back.

Without definite evidence, acting this way would be too abrupt. He didn’t want to rashly disturb someone else’s life.

*

After the filming of Super Idol was completed, the most mentally and physically draining schedule for Lin Yanran came to an end.

Hong Huixue gave him a whole week off, without assigning him any tasks or disturbing him with phone calls.

Lin Yanran had been working too hard, and his schedule had been too packed for a while, so he took advantage of the holiday to relax and rejuvenate.

For these few days, he stayed at home accompanying Ultraman, reading books in the sun. The days passed leisurely.

He was quite satisfied with this vacation.

Until he saw Xia Xingxing’s WeChat Moments…

According to Xia Xingxing’s WeChat Moments, after the group was formed, he was rushing to three or four events a day, either shooting commercials, recording albums, or on his way to magazine shoots.

Lin Yanran checked on Qiao Ye and found him equally busy.

Finally, he checked Gao Zitai and found that even this idler was busy off his feet as the end of the year approached.

With this comparison, Lin Yanran realized he seemed excessively idle.

“Sister Hong, am I about to be unemployed?”

When Lin Yanran received a call from Hong Huixue, he couldn’t help but ask.

Hong Huixue was obviously stunned, not understanding Lin Yanran’s meaning. “Unemployed? How could that be?”

“I feel like I… seem a bit too idle.”

Hearing this, Hong Huixue couldn’t help but laugh and quickly filled him in. “Idle? Do you know how high your market value is right now and how many resources are being offered to you?”

After Super Idol aired, the nine who debuted were popular on the surface.

But in reality, Lin Yanran, as a mentor, had popularity that left others in the dust.

He only suffered because there was no voting channel for mentors, so fans couldn’t vote for him.

But in the one mentor stage where voting was allowed, the votes for Crazy, his collaboration with Gu Siye, exceeded 40 million—higher than several top-ranking trainees who debuted.

And this data was achieved even with fans splitting votes for other songs.

If they combined forces to vote for just one, who knows how high it would be.

Hong Huixue understood why Lin Yanran asked, so she explained, “There are many business offers, but we don’t need to accept every single one. If we did, you’d become a donkey for the production team.”

Hong Huixue’s description was too funny, and Lin Yanran couldn’t help but laugh.

Although he still didn’t know the entertainment industry too well, he could feel that Siyu’s approach to developing artists was indeed different from other companies.

“We don’t lack money; trash business deals aren’t worth taking. Right now, I’m negotiating an endorsement, a variety show, and a movie for you. Landing these will boost your prestige, national recognition, and popularity all at once.”

Hong Huixue had her own plans, and Lin Yanran didn’t intend to interfere, but he noticed a word in her sentence.

“A movie?”

Although the company provided acting classes, he had never been in contact with this area before and had zero filming experience.

“Don’t I need to accumulate some experience first?”

“The director will teach you. Besides, you won’t be the lead right away. You can start with a supporting role and learn gradually.”

Hong Huixue finished and laughed, “At worst, Teacher Gu is there. Let him teach you whatever you don’t know.”

Before Lin Yanran could ask what this had to do with Teacher Gu, Hong Huixue immediately arranged a new job for him.

“It just so happens there’s a chance to hone your skills right now. Go shoot an MV first.”

Hong Huixue quickly sent him the lyrics and filming content.

Lin Yanran read the lyrics carefully and found them well-written, but the song was unsigned. He searched but found nothing.

Two days later, he went for the MV shoot.

Following the MV’s content, Lin Yanran got styled first before heading to the set.

As soon as he arrived, he heard several very obvious sharp breaths.

Gu Siye was speaking with the staff. Suddenly sensing the noisy set go quiet, he turned to look behind him.

The first thing he saw was a dazzling expanse of white.

Lin Yanran, wearing light blue contact lenses, was dressed in a white deep-V suit.

He was wearing nothing underneath, leaving his beautiful collarbones and a large area of snow-white skin on his chest wantonly exposed to the air.

Both ethereal and sensual.

The sunlight shone on his flaxen-gold curly hair, making his whole being seem to glow.

Gu Siye’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He took large strides toward Lin Yanran.

Seeing Gu Siye in front of him, Lin Yanran finally realized.

It turned out he was shooting the MV for him.

“Huixue said she found a lead actor for me, claiming he would definitely meet my requirements. At first, I thought she was being a bit too confident.”

Gu Siye’s gaze swept lightly across Lin Yanran’s face, his peach blossom eyes tinged with a smile. “I’ll have to send her a red envelope later.”

Hearing this, Lin Yanran immediately understood that Gu Siye hadn’t known about this arrangement either.

However, considering his good relationship with Hong Huixue, it wasn’t impossible for him to simply use the person she recommended.

Lin Yanran curved his lips, took the hot water that Gu Siye handed him, and asked with a deliberate smile, “Teacher Gu, are you surprised?”

Gu Siye leaned against the wall and shook his head. “No, I’m looking forward to it.”

Since it was an MV for an acquaintance, everything was much simpler.

Knowing that Lin Yanran had no experience shooting music videos, Gu Siye took him around the filming location, explaining everything bit by bit with immense patience.

He explained everything in great detail, including how the camera would move, how to position himself, and what angles would look best on screen.

Finally, the two arrived in front of the monitor. Seeing Gu Siye sit down, Lin Yanran realized that he was the director of the MV.

Lin Yanran’s eyes were filled with curiosity. “You’re directing?”

“I’ve been learning recently.”

Gu Siye turned his head to the side. “This is my debut work. Do you mind letting me practice on you?”

“Of course I mind.” Lin Yanran laughed, his long eyelashes trembling slightly.

“My appearance fee is very expensive, so for the sake of my friendship appearance, you must make me look handsome.”

The MV filming officially began.

Lin Yanran had two looks for the day. This was one of them, leaning towards a melancholic style.

Although it was Lin Yanran’s first time shooting an MV and he lacked experience, Gu Siye taught him patiently throughout the process, so the overall shoot went quite smoothly.

For the final shot of this look, Lin Yanran was curled up on the bed, supporting his head with one hand, the corners of his mouth lifted in an inconspicuous arc, as if missing someone.

The duvet on the large bed was soft, and most of his body sank into it.

However, the beautifully shaped collarbones beneath his snow-white chin loomed in and out of sight due to the obstruction of the pillow.

Then, Lin Yanran rolled over and stepped onto the quilt with bare feet.

In the lens, his slender white ankle looked as if it could be completely grasped by a single hand.

Gu Siye stared at the monitor, unable to look away.

After a few seconds, he called “Cut” in a hoarse voice.

Lin Yanran hopped off the bed. Upon learning that he had passed in one take, he couldn’t hide the excitement in his expression.

He quickly went to the dressing room to change out of the suit and into a loose light brown sweater and light-colored jeans.

The stylist also re-dried his hair to make it fluffier, giving him a look that exuded a rush of youthfulness.

This look was no longer for an indoor shoot; they needed to go outside for outdoor scenes.

“It’s quite cold. Let’s shoot this scene when it gets warmer.”

Seeing the temperature outside, Gu Siye was afraid Lin Yanran would freeze, so he didn’t plan to continue filming.

Hearing this, and recalling Hong Huixue mentioning that this MV had been delayed for a long time—which in turn delayed the album release—Lin Yanran quickly stopped him. “There isn’t much left. Let’s finish it all at once. I can do it.”

Lin Yanran insisted repeatedly. Gu Siye couldn’t sway him, so he reduced the number of shots to the bare minimum.

When filming started, Lin Yanran glanced at the staff around him, all wrapped in large down jackets.

Being particularly sensitive to the cold, he braced himself and took off his coat. He had secretly worn thermal pants underneath and was covered in heat packs. In the near-freezing temperature, he sat on a chair in the courtyard, smiling faintly under the sunlight.

In the lens, he looked as if he were bathed in a spring breeze—warm, beautiful, and serene.

The filming didn’t last long, but Lin Yanran was already shivering from the cold.

The first thing he did after they finished was to immediately burrow into his down jacket. He then squatted down and frantically rubbed himself against the warmth radiating from the electric heater, looking nothing like the serene figure from before.

Gu Siye brought over the hand warmer he had prepared in advance.

Lin Yanran’s chin was trembling. Afraid Gu Siye would misunderstand, he specifically explained, “It’s actually not that cold. I’m just naturally afraid of the cold; I shake at the slightest breeze.”

Gu Siye didn’t speak. Seeing that Lin Yanran’s nose and ears were red from the cold, he rubbed his own hands together. Once his palms were warm from the friction, he pressed them against Lin Yanran’s cheeks.

“Is that warmer?”

Gu Siye’s tone was as gentle as his eyes.

A few seconds later, he repeated the action, gently covering Lin Yanran’s ears.

Feeling the warmth of Gu Siye’s palms, Lin Yanran glanced at him lightly.

A thought flashed quickly through his mind.

“Hm?” Gu Siye’s soft hum interrupted Lin Yanran’s train of thought.

He could only avert his gaze, dodging Gu Siye’s eyes, and whispered, “It’s warmer…”

The content of the MV was quite simple. It didn’t require acting out a heavy plot, just scattered fragments.

They finished shooting everything in less than a day.

After wrapping up, Gu Siye treated Lin Yanran to a meal, and then they went home together.

As soon as Lin Yanran arrived home, the community manager told him that someone was waiting for him.

Curious, he went downstairs, only to suddenly hear an incredibly familiar voice.

“Ranran…”