Second Take On Romance - The A-List Actor Wants Me
Chapter 38 : Visiting Emperor Yan (2)

Chapter 38: Chapter 38 : Visiting Emperor Yan (2)

Argh.

Manager Wen! Shen Jingwei screamed in his mind. How could you leave your protégé in this state!

Shen Jingwei paced inside the bedroom, unsure what to do.

After some time, he decided to check if there was any food in the kitchen. Yan Renzhong would need to take medicine with some food.

The kitchen was fairly big for a man who lived alone. It was equipped with a refrigerator taller than Shen Jingwei, which was perfect for storing at least two corpses.

It was, thankfully, not filled with questionable jars of meat but all kinds of fruits, vegetables, cheese, and fresh eggs. Among which, he also found a pack of ground pork in the meat storage.

The kitchen counter above his head had some flour and condiments.

"..."

Shen Jingwei rolled both of his sleeves upward and began to work.

After an hour, a tantalizing aroma filled the kitchen. It came from a gently bubbling pot of wonton soup at the stove.

Shen Jingwei set the heat to the lowest temperature to preserve the heat without evaporating the broth.

Afterward, he checked the time and wondered why Wen Guilin wasn’t back yet.

Manager Wen! Shen Jingwei cried in his heart. Which apothecary did you go to? Is it probably across the country? Did you and Old Zhu take the earliest flight out of the city to escape your responsibilities???

Sigh.

Shen Jingwei returned to Yan Renzhong’s bedroom to take a peek at the fever patient.

And he was gone.

The bed was empty.

"..."

Shen Jingwei stared at the crumpled bedsheet in a daze.

He was not dreaming, wasn’t he?

Yan Renzhong was sleeping on the bed when he came in previously.

He was pretty sure about that.

So where did he go off to?

And then, the very man’s voice piped up behind him, almost causing his soul to leave his body.

"Why are you here?"

Shen Jingwei whipped around in fright. Yan Renzhong stood there, draped in a bathrobe. Wisps of water vapor rising from his form suggested that he just took a bath.

Shen Jingwei frantically searched his brain for an answer, only to come up with, "I brought you a gift."

"..."

Why did it sound like he came with a tribute to appease an upset monarch?

It was supposed to be the other way around!

"It was a get-well-soon gift from the entire crew and cast," Shen Jingwei quickly corrected himself. "They asked me to deliver it to you."

"Oh," was Yan Renzhong’s answer as he hobbled past Shen Jingwei. Shen Jingwei almost forgot about Yan Renzhong’s sprained ankle.

He swiftly put an arm around Yan Renzhong’s torso to help him sit in an armchair.

"Are you alright? Do you need me to fetch something for you?"

He sounded like he were anxious to serve Yan Renzhong.

Even Yan Renzhong couldn’t help but arch a brow at him quizzically.

"I thought you hated me," he said. "Why bother being so nice to me?"

Shen Jingwei scoffed.

"I haven’t forgotten anything, Yan Renzhong, but I am not a scum who would trample on a dog while it is down."

In other words, Yan Renzhong = a dog.

The man himself pressed a hand against his lips to hide the forming sneer. It might not be a good idea to antagonize someone who tried to take care of you.

"You could just drop the gift and leave," Yan Renzhong pointed out. "I will be fine on my own."

Shen Jingwei pursed his lips, his facial expression barely visible in the dimly lit room.

"It is not my lifelong dream to serve you either," he said coldly. "Manager Wen asked me to take care of you until she’s back. I will do her this favor just once."

"Heh."

Yan Renzhong chuckled.

"I guess I should thank you then."

"No need."

Shen Jingwei marched toward the door.

"I do not expect gratitude for small acts of kindness."

Yan Renzhong watched Shen Jingwei’s retreating back until the door closed behind him.

He then let out a long, heavy sigh and leaned against the armchair.

His eyes gradually fluttered shut.

The fever grated on his mood, making him appear sullen and unnecessarily irritable.

But he also did not have the energy to follow Shen Jingwei outside and coax him.

He did not want to do anything. Just sleep.

The bedroom door clicked open again after some time.

Yan Renzhong too opened his eyes and saw Shen Jingwei balancing a huge bowl on a tray. His other hand was searching the wall for a light switch.

"The hell, how do I turn on the lamp?"

In response, Yan Renzhong lifted both hands and clapped once.

As if by magic, the room was brightly lit at once.

"..."

Shen Jingwei’s eyes were drawn upward to the elaborate lamp suspended from the ceiling. Beyond its glow, recessed lights in the false ceiling cast a soft, ambient light.

While Shen Jingwei was immersed in the bedroom’s lighting design, Yan Renzhong was more interested in the bowl in his hands.

"What’s that?" He asked.

"Oh."

Shen Jingwei approached him with the tray.

He opened the lid of the bowl, revealing the wonton soup within.

Perfectly wrapped wontons were swimming inside a pork bone broth, dotted with scallion bits and thinly sliced carrot.

"The kitchen was empty but your refrigerator was full. I had nothing to do while I wait, so I made you something to eat."

Instead of picking up the spoon, Yan Renzhong merely stared at the wontons.

"Geez, I didn’t poison them, you know?"

Shen Jingwei picked up the spoon and scooped one wonton into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed it in front of Yan Renzhong.

"See? Not poisonous. And I didn’t add extra salt or chili inside either."

Shen Jingwei looked at the spoon in his hand.

"I will go replace the spoon now."

"No."

Yan Renzhong grabbed Shen Jingwei’s wrist.

"I am hungry."

"... I am just going to get you a new spoon."

"I don’t need a new spoon."

"...."

Yan Renzhong wrestled the spoon out of Shen Jingwei’s grip and began to eat.

Shen Jingwei was rendered speechless. Was Yan Renzhong afraid that he, Shen Jingwei, would poison the second spoon or what?

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Author’s note :

Author : Shen Shen, you are so dense.

Shen Jingwei : Is it my fault that he is paranoid??? (⁠ノ⁠ಠ⁠益⁠ಠ⁠)⁠ノ⁠彡⁠┻⁠━⁠┻

Yan Renzhong : *eats* (-_-);