LOI Chapter 57 — She’s Indeed His Mother

As night fell deep here, Paris was just entering evening.

Yan Zhi recovered from his shock and made a video call to Yan Fei. The call connected quickly, revealing that the background was no longer Bruce’s luxurious mansion but Yan Fei’s own apartment.

“You divorced Bruce?” Yan Zhi’s instinct told him this was likely true, yet he found it inconceivable that his own mother would divorce without telling him.

“Mm-hmm.” Yan Fei, who was wearing a strappy nightgown and holding a glass of red wine, lounged comfortably on the sofa. Her simple two-syllable response not only confirmed but also indicated her good mood.

Yan Zhi asked, feeling a headache coming on, “When did this happen?”

“Last month,” Yan Fei said. “We both felt we weren’t quite suitable.”

“…” Yan Zhi paused before saying, “You got divorced and didn’t tell me.”

Beside him, Rong Ke glanced at Yan Zhi, thinking with a touch of schadenfreude: Karma.

“Is divorce such a big deal?” Yan Fei said nonchalantly. “It’s just paperwork. It’s simpler than getting my driver’s license.”

Yan Zhi took a deep breath, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t. Off-screen, Rong Ke was thoroughly enjoying the situation, mouthing to Yan Zhi, “Easy, independent individual.”

Seeing neither of them taking it seriously, Yan Zhi felt this wasn’t right. He couldn’t let Rong Ke be misled by Yan Fei.

He began trying to reason with Yan Fei. “How can marriage be treated so lightly?”

He deliberately used formal language to show his seriousness, but Yan Fei laughed instead. “You’ve been back in the country for too long. You sound so funny now.”

…Funny.

“Mom.” Yan Zhi usually called her Fei-jie, and it had been a long time since he addressed her this way. “Shouldn’t you have considered divorce more carefully? It’s such a big decision.”

“I did consider it. I’m really not suited for marriage,” Yan Fei finally grew somewhat serious. “Besides, I don’t need to be responsible for anyone. If I want to divorce, I’ll divorce. What’s there to consider so carefully?”

“Have you thought about Bruce’s feelings?” Yan Zhi said gravely. “He loves you so much. I don’t believe he’s had a change of heart.”

Rong Ke was also curious. Someone with Yan Fei’s personality wouldn’t marry easily. Since she chose to marry, it must mean her relationship with Bruce was quite good.

Yan Zhi had mentioned earlier that they’d been married for less than a year. This expiration date seemed a bit too short.

The mother-son conversation was interrupted by a middle-aged man who suddenly appeared on screen. Wearing a robe, his demeanor was elegant and composed. With a few silver strands visible in his meticulously styled hair, he exuded an air of steadiness.

He sat down beside Yan Fei, draped his arm over her shoulder, and said something in French. Rong Ke couldn’t understand, but if he wasn’t mistaken, this man was…

Bruce, the CEO of the Fashion Group.

“I believe I heard my name,” Bruce said, appearing on screen with his arm around Yan Fei.

“He’s asking about our divorce,” Yan Fei replied in French, leaning into Bruce’s embrace.

Yan Zhi watched the affectionate couple on his phone. “…”

“Didn’t you two divorce?” Yan Zhi furrowed his brow and closed his eyes, a vein visibly throbbing on his forehead.

At this point, Rong Ke also understood that Yan Fei had only divorced Bruce, but they hadn’t actually separated.

“Yes, we divorced. We’ve returned to a dating status,” Yan Fei said, raising her wine glass. “You could say we’re enjoying love in different states.”

“What states?” Yan Zhi asked. “Ex-husband and ex-wife roleplay?”

“Darling, love isn’t guaranteed by a piece of paper. Couples need to explore the most comfortable way to be together,” Yan Fei explained. “After marriage, we spent too much time together, which wasn’t good for keeping our love fresh. Now, when he comes to my place for dates, it feels great. We’re even more passionate than before.”

At this, Yan Fei turned to Bruce and said in French, “Darling, I love you.”

Bruce smiled and replied, “I love you too.”

Yan Zhi looked like he couldn’t take it anymore and let out a heavy sigh. “Okay, I won’t interrupt your date. I’ll handle things on my end.”

With that, Yan Zhi ended the video call and turned to Rong Ke beside him, frowning as he said, “So this is how it feels.”

“What?” Rong Ke asked.

“Being kept in the dark,” Yan Zhi said. “Although Fei-jie didn’t mean to, she just didn’t think it mattered, but I really don’t like it.”

Rong Ke raised an eyebrow. Oh? Is the Prince reflecting on himself?

“I didn’t tell you the details about my work because I thought it wasn’t important,” Yan Zhi said. “But since The Tempest involves you, I shouldn’t have kept it secret.”

“I know you didn’t mean to deceive me. Let’s put this behind us,” Rong Ke said, walking back into the room. “But I also learned something from Fei-jie.”

“What’s that?” Yan Zhi followed Rong Ke’s steps.

“Apparently, marriage isn’t the end goal of dating,” Rong Ke said, taking off his ring and waving it at Yan Zhi. “These are all meaningless formalities. What’s important is how two people get along.”

Yan Zhi looked at the ring pushed back into his hand and sent a message to Yan Fei through gritted teeth:

[Yan Zhi: You truly are my birth mother :)]

–

The matter of suppressing domestic brands was easily clarified.

Yan Zhi posted photos of his attendance at the RBW event. Although his original intention was just to accompany Yan Fei, it at least showed he wasn’t deliberately suppressing anything.

With Yan Fei personally announcing her divorce, the motive for Yan Zhi to suppress domestic brands no longer held water.

— He was no longer the heir to the Fashion Group, so why would he bother currying favor?

Under the public relations team’s efforts, by noon the next day, the heat of this incident had dissipated. However, Wen Cheng’s public image hadn’t yet recovered.

The melon-eaters who thought they had caught a “traitor” seemed unsatisfied. Since targeting Yan Zhi was now groundless, they turned their attention to The Tempest.

After all, it was a fact that Wen Cheng had accepted investment from the Fashion Group.

At any other time, this might not have been an issue. But at this critical moment when nationalist sentiments were running high, if Wen Cheng didn’t make a statement, the label of “traitor” would be pinned on him.

Terminating the contract seemed to be the logical next step.

Wen Cheng made a public statement, explaining that the collaboration with the Fashion Group was solely to help create the protagonist’s living environment, and asked people not to misinterpret it maliciously. However, given the current situation, he would consider public opinion and choose to terminate the contract with the Fashion Group.

During that period, the Fashion Group’s stock price was affected to some extent but quickly returned to normal. Firstly, investing in films wasn’t the group’s main business. Secondly, after the peaceful termination of the contract, those waving the nationalist flag online couldn’t find reasons to continue their criticism.

Meanwhile, Rong Ke’s resignation from the role became a matter of course. Even if he hadn’t brought it up, Wen Cheng, after approaching other investors, would have reconsidered the choice of the protagonist at their request.

All this happened within a week. When Rong Ke and Yan Zhi finally finished organizing their affairs, Rong Ke received a call from Xu Hong, asking if he was still interested in auditioning for “The Great Train Robbery.” Apparently, Jiang Hua had filmed for three days but wasn’t very satisfied and wanted to adjust the character.

Rong Ke was naturally interested.

On the day of the audition, Yan Zhi had no other work, so he accompanied Rong Ke to the rehearsal room at the city theater.

Other actors were already auditioning when they arrived. Rong Ke still received some special treatment; under Xu Hong’s arrangement, he didn’t have to wait long before being called into the rehearsal room.

“Rong Ke,” Jiang Hua said, looking at the materials Yan Zhi helped pass over, his face showing little expression. “Xu Lao¹ here strongly recommended you.”

“I told you he’d be good,” Xu Hong, who was sitting next to Jiang Hua, said while tapping the table. “You need to set aside your prejudices. It’s not true that the more popular someone is, the less acting skill they have.”

“Isn’t that Jiang what’s-his-name exactly that?” Jiang Hua retorted. “In my book, popularity doesn’t equal talent.”

“Rong Ke here is both popular and talented. What, you can’t accept that?”

Jiang Hua, who was around forty, was still a youngster compared to the older Xu Hong and didn’t dare say much more.

He had his assistant hand Rong Ke a two-page audition script, saying, “I’ll give you a few minutes to prepare. If you need, you can find someone outside to act with you.”

The script contained a dialogue between the protagonist police officer and Villain A, where the protagonist’s identity is exposed, leading to a chase by Villain A and his henchmen.

Villain A: How much money can you make from this business?
Protagonist (eating melon seeds, appearing relaxed but actually alert): It’s not about the money, it’s for fun.
Villain A: No wonder (pulls out a gun and slams it on the table) You’re playing with me, huh?
Protagonist (realizing it’s his hidden service weapon, alarmed): What do you mean by this?
Villain A (pointing the gun at the protagonist’s forehead): I mean to send you to heaven.

What followed was a fight scene over the gun, which required the two to choreograph.

Rong Ke looked around in the corridor. He initially spotted a familiar actor, but Yan Zhi formed his hand into a gun shape, pointing at Rong Ke’s forehead, asking, “Is this how you point it?”

“Stop fooling around,” Rong Ke said, pushing Yan Zhi’s hand away, intending to greet that actor.

However, Yan Zhi hooked an arm around his neck, using his “gun” hand to press against Rong Ke’s chin, saying, “I said I’d send you to heaven. Did you think I was joking?”

Surprisingly, this line fit the script’s scene quite well.

Rong Ke suddenly remembered that before filming “Patchwork Family,” he and Yan Zhi had practiced Sha Ya and Lao San’s scenes. This Villain A didn’t have much internal monologue either, so having Yan Zhi assist might not be a bad idea.

—At least, compared to others, no one was more familiar with him than Yan Zhi.

“Whoosh, I’ve snatched the gun from your hand now,” Rong Ke twisted Yan Zhi’s wrist, pretending the gun was in his possession, then pointed at Yan Zhi and went “bang bang” twice. “Now you need to dodge and call your henchmen to hunt me down.”

The ensuing chase scene was the main focus, as Jiang Hua wanted a single-take shot. Rong Ke had to convey the narrow train corridor in the spacious rehearsal room.

After sufficient preparation, Rong Ke and Yan Zhi returned to the rehearsal room.

The first few lines went smoothly; Jiang Hua didn’t expect someone recommended by Xu Hong to struggle with such a scene. However, when the action sequence began, Jiang Hua became more attentive. Rong Ke and Yan Zhi’s choreography was remarkably skillful, as if… the two were accustomed to physical contact.

Sometimes, when two unfamiliar actors design action sequences, they might hesitate due to unfamiliarity with each other’s arm length, movement habits, and so on.

But Rong Ke and Yan Zhi were incredibly in sync. With a glance or a raise of a hand, both could respond perfectly to the other.

Rong Ke also performed excellently in the subsequent chase scene, leaping when necessary, rolling when needed. Despite the empty set, he managed to make Jiang Hua visualize him running through several train carriages.

“Alright, Xu Lao,” Jiang Hua said to Xu Hong after the audition. “I’ll set aside my prejudices. The person you recommended is indeed good.”

Then, Jiang Hua approached Yan Zhi and asked, “Are you an actor too?”

Jiang Hua probably didn’t follow Weibo much. He did not know who Yan Zhi was, let alone his relationship with Rong Ke.

“He’s not,” Rong Ke interjected. “He’s my manager.”

“If you’re interested, I could arrange a role for you,” Jiang Hua said to Yan Zhi. “Your eyes are very expressive. If you haven’t received professional training, I’d say you’re a natural-born actor.”

Rong Ke: “?”

Yan Zhi paused and pointed at himself uncertainly. “Me?”

“That’s right,” Jiang Hua said. “Are you interested in joining?”

As they left the theater, Yan Zhi was still buzzing with excitement.

He asked Rong Ke, “Did I perform well just now?”

“…Not bad,” Rong Ke evaluated objectively. “Compared to your zero acting, it’s a normal performance.”

“So I’m this talented,” Yan Zhi said, stroking his chin.

“Isn’t that right,” Rong Ke said with mixed emotions. “You’ve been acting with me for so long, and I never noticed.”

“He said I’m a natural-born actor,” Yan Zhi was still basking in Jiang Hua’s praise. “Should I explore a new career path?”

Rong Ke gave Yan Zhi a long look. “Don’t tell me you want to come and steal my rice bowl².”

“Well, you never know,” Yan Zhi considered it seriously. “What if I snatch your Best Actor award in the future?”

Rong Ke’s mouth twitched. “…” Have you lost your mind?