That night, Ye Can barely slept.
After Lin Zixi lay down, Ye Can placed her hand over her chest and lay flat on the bed, staring up at the pitch-black ceiling. She kept replaying that indescribable thrill from before. This sensation wasn’t unfamiliar; she’d felt this addictive pull long ago.
To be honest, she didn’t hate it at all. She even craved more. But the current situation made it impossible everywhere she looked. Back then, she could have pulled the Beauty into her arms—with the king’s authority.
Everything the Faint Lord did required no explanation. But times had changed. If she acted out of line now, people would surely read into it.
Ye Can realized once more, crystal clear: she was no longer the King of Yan. She was Ye Can now. Her real name was her passport through the world.
Ye Can turned her gaze to the side, studying the sleeping face beside her. In the dim light, Lin Zixi’s skin gleamed like snow in the dead of night, luminous and pale.
Ye Can lay there watching her for a long while before reaching out to draw her into her arms. A soft hum escaped Lin Zixi’s throat, her brows furrowing slightly as she instinctively rolled into Ye Can’s embrace in her hazy sleep.
The woman’s gentle breaths brushed against her chest. Ye Can lowered her eyes to the Beauty in her arms, lifting her index finger to lightly tease the soft earlobe. Lin Zixi, lost in dreams, shrank back and burrowed deeper into Ye Can’s hold.
As that weight settled against her empty chest, Ye Can’s lips curved up in the cover of night.
With the Beauty in her arms, Ye Can slipped into a rare, peaceful Faint Lord reverie, drifting into a brief dream.
The next morning, Lin Zixi woke in a scorching embrace. She opened her eyes, glanced down at Ye Can’s exposed skin, scooted back a bit, then looked up at her.
Ye Can was already awake. Their eyes met, and she flashed a huge grin. “Morning!”
Lin Zixi nodded, her voice husky. “Morning.” As she felt Ye Can’s arm still around her, Lin Zixi swallowed her discomfort and looked earnestly into Ye Can’s face. “Ye Can, how about I book you another room today? We shouldn’t sleep together anymore, okay?”
Ye Can froze. “Why? Am I not warm enough?”
Lin Zixi sighed softly, helpless. “It’s not that. You’re too warm. Mom feels like she can’t breathe.” It really wasn’t Lin Zixi taking her good fortune for granted—who wouldn’t feel suffocated waking up every morning in the vice grip of a giant dog?
Ye Can didn’t let go. She lowered her head, narrowing her long eyes as she scrutinized her. “What did you just call yourself?”
Having gotten the upper hand, Lin Zixi dodged the question and pushed at Ye Can. “Let go already. We need to get up and head to work.”
Work came first, so Ye Can didn’t argue. They got up, washed up, and went to the set together.
On the way, Lin Zixi got Meng Zhiqiu’s reply. Meng had read the script and loved it, but she needed to check her schedule. She’d give Lin Zixi an answer within a week.
Lin Zixi was thrilled and replied that she loved Meng and Ye Can’s chemistry, hoping they’d collaborate again.
Hearing it was opposite Ye Can fired Meng Zhiqiu up even more. She already admired Lin Zixi, and after wrapping Above the Throne, she’d planned to rest. But her agent had lined up a Ye Jewelry ad, so she had to finish that first.
With nothing set in stone, Meng Zhiqiu asked Lin Zixi to wait a week.
Over that week, Meng Zhiqiu traveled Europe with the ad crew, a breezy paid vacation. But compared to that easy gig, she yearned to be on set with Lin Zixi.
She hounded her assistant Xiao Cai to push the ad schedule. But they kept saying it wasn’t done—the directors were tweaking the plan.
After several rounds, Meng Zhiqiu was fuming by the end. If not for her good temper, she’d have blown up on set.
After throwing some cold shade, she got a call from Ye Corporation chair Ye Shen.
The rumored aloof tycoon apologized warmly over the phone, but her words dripped steel: “I think Iceland’s auroras are stunning. Meng, if you wear our pieces amid that scenery, you’d shine even brighter.”
Ye Shen continued, “I hope you’ll join the team in Iceland to shoot this series. As apology for the constant changes, I’ll personally send you a gift from the company.”
The gift? A million-dollar jewelry set. The extravagance stunned Meng Zhiqiu. Word spread via gossip that Ye Shen had her eye on Meng, courting her with pricey jewels and an endorsement. The rumors flew thick on forums.
Meng Zhiqiu didn’t see getting shipped to Iceland as courtship. The pay was great, but it was exhausting. With Ye Shen’s firm stance and deep pockets, Meng couldn’t risk offending her. Regretfully, she passed on Lin Zixi’s script and flew to Iceland.
Guilty for flaking, Meng Zhiqiu called Lin Zixi with a long explanation.
Lin Zixi was disappointed but not desperate for her. She said she understood the schedule and politely added, “Hope we can work together next time, Miss Meng.”
But Meng Zhiqiu sighed wistfully. “Next time’s next time, but this chance is gone. I don’t want to miss any shot at working with Teacher Lin.”
Lin Zixi figured it was business flattery and humbly replied, “I’d love to collaborate with such a talented actress as Miss Meng. Hope my next script moves you again.”
Meng Zhiqiu beamed. “Anything Teacher Lin writes moves me. I really want to be on your set, eat hotpot together, spend that time with you.”
If Lin Zixi hadn’t noticed before, she sure did now, no matter how dense. She’d never imagined Meng Zhiqiu harboring those feelings for her.
Her first reaction wasn’t disgust, but caution. Lin Zixi paused, then said politely, “Once you’re done working, let’s grab hotpot when you get back.”
Meng Zhiqiu lit up. “Great!” After more pleasantries, they hung up.
Clutching her phone after, Lin Zixi felt a surreal twist.
She’d never thought herself unlikable. Suitors had always been a dime a dozen—men, women, young, old. Otherwise, seeing Ye Can’s eager doting back then, she wouldn’t have assumed it meant something.
But Meng Zhiqiu as a suitor? Still unbelievable.
Lin Zixi looked up, spotting Ye Can rehearsing across the way. Ye Can’s words echoed unbidden: “I never misread the look of someone who likes you.”
Lin Zixi hadn’t believed it then. Now, reflecting, it hit differently.
Ye Can was truly something else.
With Meng Zhiqiu unavailable, Lin Zixi hunted actresses whose looks matched Ye Can’s for the pairing. But after Ye Can wrapped, she still had no lead on the other lead.
By then, the Limbo Inn crew had shot eighty percent at Fanhua Film City. Finding Ye Can’s co-star was urgent.
On the day Ye Can wrapped Above the Throne, the crew gave her flowers. Led by Meng Jiaren, the young aunties mobbed her with hugs, cooing, “Little pup, you gotta take more roles! Can’t just dip in and out—that wastes your face and talent!”
Ye Can was baffled, then saw Meng Jiaren grab Lin Zixi excitedly. “Teacher Lin, take good care of our pup! Get her more screen time, more buzz in the industry!”
Lin Zixi laughed wryly. “I’m not her agent. Whether she acts is up to her.”
Even so, Meng Jiaren added Lin Zixi on WeChat and QQ. That’s when Lin Zixi learned the aunties had started Ye Can a fan support group.
Ye Can’s Weibo had only a few hundred followers, but a verified fan club? Impressive.
After tearful goodbyes, Ye Can escaped the enthusiasm, clutching her flowers as she dove into Tong Lin’s car. Hugging the bouquet, she frowned at the memory of those ladies begging hugs. “Why’s everyone so forward these days? Bawling for hugs one after another.”
Lin Zixi chuckled. “Because you’re lovable. Play an extra, snag a fan wave—now you’ve got your own support group.”
Ye Can puzzled. “Support group? You mean they’re my fans? They like me? I don’t even respond—what’s in it for them?”
In high spirits, Lin Zixi smiled, eyes crinkling. “Your looks. You’re that bright star in this dark sky.”
“They don’t need a response. For them, your existence is joy enough.”
Ye Can went, “Oh.” So that’s fans. Strangers liking her felt like humans loving flowers, trees, mountains, the night sky—pure, effortlessly comforting.
Ye Can turned to the window, watching the ladies waving goodbye from the roadside. Lost in thought, she smiled faintly at their eager eyes.
She poked her head out the window, waving back with a grin.
Meng Jiaren, seeing off the car, shrieked, “Can-Can! Don’t stick your head out the window! Get back in!”
Ye Can grinned wide, waving the flowers. “Thanks for the hospitality on this chance meeting! Bye-bye!” Her smile blazed like farewelling trees, flowers, nature itself.
Lin Zixi glanced over at Ye Can leaning out the slow-moving car, beaming. In that moment, she sensed something subtly shifted in her.
