LOI Chapter 34 — A Loving Wife at Home

Yan Zhi posted on Weibo but didn’t confront Rong Ke directly, creating a subtle atmosphere.

It was like a wife catching her husband cheating, making a big fuss about dealing with the mistress, but not even sparing her husband a glance.

Was the wife really that magnanimous?

While unsure about others, His Highness the Prince certainly wasn’t. He was waiting for Rong Ke to confess on his own.

It was still early, so Rong Ke decided to stop by Fuxin Garden first. Groceries in the suburbs were generally a yuan or two cheaper than in the city center. He could buy everything here before heading home.

Rong Ke messaged Yan Zhi: [What do you want to eat tonight?]

The reply bubble popped up immediately: [Apron]

Rong Ke chuckled.

It was so comfortable being with someone who understood him. Even with such a casual question, Yan Zhi could sense his intention to make amends and directly stated his demand—for Rong Ke to wear the apron he bought.

Of course, Rong Ke wouldn’t wear it. He replied: [Choose something else]

[Yan Zhi: Wear the apron with a fox tail]

Rong Ke: “…”

[Rong Ke: That was bought for you]

[Yan Zhi: I can’t hear you.gif]

Reaching the seafood section, Rong Ke asked Yan Zhi: [Want to eat scallops steamed with garlic and vermicelli?]

[Yan Zhi: Yes]

After loading all the groceries into his car, Rong Ke arrived at his rented studio apartment. He removed his baseball cap and mask, then started packing his belongings.

The weather was getting warmer, and the clothes he kept at Yan Zhi’s place weren’t enough anymore. It was time to move everything to Tianxi Yunwan.

However, before he began packing, Rong Ke felt something was off. The place seemed too clean.

The floor was spotless, and even the glass coffee table was gleaming.

Rong Ke hadn’t cleaned here in a long time. It shouldn’t be this tidy.

Putting his doubts aside for now, Rong Ke went to the bathroom to pack his toiletries. There was no toothbrush in the cup, but he clearly remembered not taking it, as there was a new one at Yan Zhi’s place.

The uneasy feeling grew stronger. When he opened the wardrobe door, Rong Ke was completely shocked.

All his clothes were hung in color order, black t-shirts next to black jackets. But this wasn’t Rong Ke’s habit at all. He usually grouped t-shirts with t-shirts, jackets with jackets.

——Someone had been in his apartment.

As he reached this conclusion, a chilling sensation crept over him.

Just then, the sound of a key turning in the lock came from the door, and someone walked right in. “Rong Ke, you’re finally back!”

Rong Ke returned to the living room and stared at the woman in her thirties who had entered, asking blankly, “Who are you?”

“I’m Sister Li’s daughter. You can call me Li Ermei¹,” the woman said with a smile. “I cleaned up your place while you were gone. How is it? Not bad, right?”

Sister Li was Rong Ke’s landlady.

Rong Ke was too shocked to comprehend the situation.

“Oh, it’s like this,” seeing Rong Ke’s surprised expression, Li Ermei explained, “My mom and I were watching ‘Legal Elite’ when she mentioned you were our tenant. I didn’t believe it at first! But then someone in the community group chat said they saw you in our complex, so it was confirmed!”

Rong Ke was speechless. “No, you…”

“Let me tell you, my mahjong sisters and I are all such fans of yours!” Li Ermei approached Rong Ke. “Take a photo with me and sign a few autographs, and I’ll give you a discount on the rent!”

Rong Ke finally grasped the situation. He avoided Li Ermei’s attempt to take a photo and asked, “How did you know I was back?”

“Well…” Li Ermei’s eyes darted away for a moment. Rong Ke followed her gaze and spotted a home security camera by the balcony window.

He strode to the balcony, yanked the camera, and asked in disbelief, “You installed a camera in my home?”

“Well, you’re hardly ever here,” Li Ermei said awkwardly. “I wasn’t trying to spy on you, just wanted to know when you’d be back.”

What the hell? Is there even a difference?

Rong Ke was too angry for words. This was his first time encountering such bizarre behavior due to his fame.

“Fine, I’m not renting this place anymore. Tell your mom to return my deposit,” Rong Ke stuffed all his clothes into his backpack and headed for the door.

“Hey, your contract is for a year. Leaving now would be a breach,” Li Ermei hurriedly followed Rong Ke.

“Or would you prefer I call the police?” Rong Ke asked coldly.

He had been planning to move out anyway and was prepared to lose the deposit, but now he refused to let those two thousand yuan go to waste.

“Alright, alright, I’ll return it,” Li Ermei jogged alongside Rong Ke. “At least take a photo with me before you go. I really am your fan!”

Rong Ke only managed to shake her off once he left the complex.

He sat in his car, still shaken, thinking Zhou Lin and Xin Ran were right. He really couldn’t go out recklessly anymore.

Starting the car and shifting into drive, Rong Ke stepped on the gas, leaving the place behind without a second thought. As the street scenes receded, he gradually calmed down. It was then that Teacher Zheng’s call came in.

“Xiao Ke, do you have any work lined up?”

“Nothing confirmed yet,” Rong Ke answered via the car’s Bluetooth. “Is something up, Teacher Zheng?”

With more scripts to choose from, Rong Ke had become more cautious.

Just yesterday, he had turned down a big-budget political drama with two male leads. Such dramas usually relied on queerbaiting, and while actors could quickly rise to fame, Rong Ke didn’t want to follow Jiang Si’s path of chasing popularity.

Unfortunately, aside from TV dramas, Rong Ke hadn’t received many film scripts, and he wasn’t particularly interested in the roles offered. That’s why he hadn’t settled on his next project yet.

“It’s like this. You know how the play ‘Tea Society’ tours nationally every summer, right?” Teacher Zheng said. “One of the theater’s resident actors is going abroad for further studies, so the role of Zhang Mazi, the pimp, is vacant. Would you like to give it a try?”

“I remember your class performed ‘Tea Society’ for your graduation show. You should be quite familiar with it, right?”

Familiar was an understatement. Rong Ke could still recite the lines by heart.

‘Tea Society’ was a classic play, created in the 1950s. Set in a teahouse, it revealed the chaos in Chinese society over nearly half a century.

After all these years, the play was still performed both domestically and internationally and had long become a modern classic.

If Rong Ke joined the tour, the advantage would be the opportunity to hone his acting skills with the theater’s veteran performers. The downside was also obvious. He would likely disappear from trending topics for the next two months.

——Well, that wasn’t really a downside.

Rong Ke actually preferred keeping a low profile.

Back at Tianxi Yunwan, Rong Ke managed to prepare a sumptuous dinner before 6:30 p.m.

He had just set all the dishes on the table when Yan Zhi returned home right on time. As expected, His Highness didn’t look too pleased.

“Where’s the apron?” Yan Zhi sat down at the table, frowning at Rong Ke.

Rong Ke took off the black apron he was wearing and said, “Isn’t this it?”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Yan Zhi crossed his arms, looking hard to fool. “Shouldn’t you be wearing it for me today?”

Rong Ke felt utterly wronged. Zhou Lin had forced him into that publicity stunt. Why should he be punished at home?

“Go find Zhou Lin,” Rong Ke sat opposite Yan Zhi. “Make him wear it for you.”

Yan Zhi sighed, dropping his accusatory tone and adopting a more earnest one. “I know you have business needs out there, but you need to remember who the main spouse is.”

Rong Ke found Yan Zhi’s fussing somewhat amusing and coaxed, “It’s you, darling. Happy now?”

“Mm.” Yan Zhi seemed satisfied. After tasting the garlic vermicelli, the displeasure on his face completely vanished. “The vermicelli is really good today.”

——He really is easy to please.

Rong Ke was in a good mood too. Finally home after work, hearing Yan Zhi’s praise – this must be what it feels like to have a loving wife at home, right?

Being the top wasn’t bad at all.

He needed to work harder to be worthy of this beauty at home.

“By the way,” after their meal, as they lay on the sofa digesting, Yan Zhi brought up some business, “Shixun is planning a variety show for actors called ‘Actors’ Summer’. SPL is the sponsor, and I’ve signed you up.”

“Hm?” Rong Ke lifted his head from the backrest, looking at Yan Zhi beside him. “You want me to join a variety show?”

“SPL is looking for a new spokesperson. I wanted to recommend you directly, but your current fame isn’t quite enough,” Yan Zhi explained.

SPL was a top luxury brand with more history than CVV. When Rong Ke and Yan Zhi went to Paris for the haute couture show, they learned that SPL’s international spokespersons were all top-tier celebrities. It did seem a bit unreasonable for Rong Ke to represent them.

Brands and celebrities should be mutually beneficial. There was no reason for a brand to become a mere stepping stone for a star.

“I’m far from that level,” Rong Ke said honestly.

“That’s why this show is a great stepping stone,” Yan Zhi explained. “SPL will sign popular actors. Even if you don’t become their spokesperson, you could become a brand ambassador.”

“Hmm…” Realizing Yan Zhi had already paved the way for him, Rong Ke asked further, “It’s called ‘Actors’ Summer’, so it airs during the summer season?”

“Yes,” Yan Zhi replied. “Why?”

“I just agreed to join a theater tour in July and August with Teacher Zheng,” Rong Ke said.

“Theater?” Yan Zhi tilted his head. “What kind?”

Rong Ke briefly described it. After listening, Yan Zhi nodded and concluded, “So you can’t record this show.”

“Right,” Rong Ke, not wanting to hide anything, added, “And I don’t want to, either.”

He still preferred to minimize his public appearances to avoid people forming fixed impressions of him, which might affect their perception of his characters.

Yan Zhi fell silent, thinking with his head resting on the backrest. Then he said, “But I still really want you to get the SPL endorsement.”

“There’s no rush, is there?” Rong Ke replied, pointing at the ‘Three Rules’ on the fridge. “Besides, didn’t you agree not to interfere with my acting career?”

The ‘Three Rules’ seemed to remind Yan Zhi, who then raised his fist. “Then let’s play rock-paper-scissors.”

Rong Ke sighed helplessly but raised his fist in cooperation.

The first two rounds ended in a tie. Before the third round, Rong Ke had an idea and asked, “What are you going to throw?”

Yan Zhi said, “Scissors.”

Rong Ke said, “Then I’ll throw rock.”

——Last time, Yan Zhi had won by asking this way.

But unlike Rong Ke’s direct promise not to lie last time, Yan Zhi’s response was, “Do whatever you want.”

This wasn’t a promise, but rather seemed like a capricious “don’t blame me if you lose” attitude.

Considering His Highness’s personality, Rong Ke thought Yan Zhi would probably change to paper.

So should he change to scissors?

Mind games really didn’t suit Rong Ke. At the moment of throwing, he suddenly thought, what’s the point of all this guessing?

If he lost, he lost. They could always renegotiate later.

Besides, Yan Zhi was easy to please. He probably wouldn’t get angry with him.

“Rock, paper, scissors—”

Rong Ke stared blankly at Yan Zhi’s scissors and his own rock, saying, “You really threw scissors.”

“Mm,” Yan Zhi said lazily. “I’ll let you win this time.”