178: Chapter 178 Li Cheng bought insurance for Jiang Fan

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains.

Jiang Fan opened his eyes; the person beside him nudged closer to him.

Xu Qingya had one leg draped over his waist, and she was still clutching something in her hand.

She was fast asleep, probably unaware of what she was doing.

Jiang Fan looked down.

A normal morning reaction.

He pulled Xu Qingya's hand away, moving very gently, and she didn't wake up.

Then he rolled over and pinned her down.

"Mmm—" Xu Qingya's eyes were still closed, her voice raspy, "What are you doing..."

"I think you might still have a fever."

"What... what fever..." Her voice was sleepy; her brain hadn't started working yet.

"Your body temperature is a bit high; let me give you another injection."

Xu Qingya processed this for two seconds before the meaning hit her.

"You're the one with a fever—it's early in the morning—"

Before she could finish, her wrists were pressed against the pillow, and an injection was administered.

—

An hour later, Jiang Fan finished showering, got dressed, grabbed his jacket, and slipped out.

The door made a slight sound the moment he closed it.

Xu Qingya lifted her face from the pillow and listened.

Hm? He left?

She rolled over and reached for her phone. As soon as she opened Weibo, the top trending topic popped up:

# Tang Yingxue's latest single "later" premieres tonight at eight #

Xu Qingya clicked on it; the teaser poster showed Tang Yingxue's profile, with very bright lighting.

Her gaze shifted to the bottom right corner.

Lyrics: Jiang Fan. Composer: Jiang Fan. Arrangement: Jiang Fan.

She stared at those three lines for nearly half a minute.

Then she threw her phone onto the bed.

You rascal, Jiang Fan, no wonder you slipped away so fast.

She picked up her phone and called him. She called three times, but no one answered.

—

10:00 AM, Songjiang Middle School set.

Director Ning was directing a scene for the extras on the playground.

Li Cheng walked over with two bottles of water and handed one to Jiang Fan.

"Brother Fan, have you checked Weibo?"

"Not yet, what's up?" Jiang Fan unscrewed the cap and took a sip, scanning the set. Shen Feng was chatting with Sister Yue over there, looking relaxed.

"Tang Yingxue bought up all the splash screens she could—Tencent Music, NetEase Cloud, Douyin—it's all over the place." Li Cheng handed over his phone. "The two fanbases are already at war."

Jiang Fan took it and glanced at it.

"Jiang Fan isn't exclusive to Xu Qingya; Sister Xue can get a masterpiece too."

"If it's produced by Jiang Fan, it's bound to be a classic. Time to teach Xu Qingya a lesson."

Xu Qingya's side wasn't silent either.

"Picking up the producer Ya Ya is done using, what's there to brag about?"

""as you wish" already made it to the National Day Gala; what does "later" have to compare with it?"

Jiang Fan returned the phone without commenting.

Li Cheng put the phone away and studied him for two seconds.

"Brother Fan, aren't you going to do something about it?"

"What do you want me to do?" Jiang Fan finished the mineral water in his hand. "Go tell Director Ning that there's a crew dinner tonight, my treat."

Li Cheng was stunned for a moment.

"Tang Yingxue is releasing her song at eight tonight—"

"She can release hers, we'll eat ours."

—

7:30 PM, the crew wrapped up for the day.

Jiang Fan booked a food stall near the school. Dozens of people sat at five or six tables, filled with skewers and beer; the atmosphere was lively.

After eating for twenty minutes, Shen Feng walked over with a glass, Sister Yue following behind.

"President Jiang, Director Ning, thank you so much for this opportunity." Shen Feng raised his glass.

"Just act well. I guarantee this film will help you establish a firm footing in the film industry." Jiang Fan clinked glasses with him.

Shen Feng downed his drink, grinned, and sat back down.

A while later, Lu Wanqing came over with a glass of red wine, stood in front of Jiang Fan, and raised her glass.

"President Jiang, thank you for your guidance and help a few days ago."

"Just relax; this is the result of your own hard work."

Lu Wanqing murmured an "Mm" and took a sip of red wine.

She twirled the glass in her hand for half a turn, her gaze lingering on Jiang Fan's face for two seconds before she looked away and turned to leave.

Li Cheng glanced over, looked down, and took a sip of beer without saying anything.

Watching Lu Wanqing like that, he roughly understood what was going on.

A twenty-one-year-old girl, almost everything she hid in her heart was written on her face; it was hard to define, but it was all there.

This girl probably hadn't even figured out what she wanted to do herself.

Li Cheng lowered his head to drink his beer, quietly pretending not to see.

—

7:55 PM, Li Cheng glanced at his phone.

"Brother Fan, five minutes left."

Jiang Fan was peeling crawfish without looking up.

At exactly eight o'clock, Li Cheng clicked on Tencent Music.

The piano prelude started.

"later, I finally learned how to love..."

The owner didn't know when he had brought over a speaker and connected it, so the whole street resonated with the sound.

Li Cheng turned the phone and pushed it toward Jiang Fan.

"The comment section hit ten thousand in ten minutes; it's even fiercer than when "as you wish" was first released."

Jiang Fan glanced at it, pushed the phone back, and continued peeling shrimp.

The outro faded, and the owner played it on loop again.

Director Ning was drinking white liquor, tilted his ear, and his gaze silently drifted toward a spot in the distance.

Shen Feng listened for half the song, put down his beer, and nudged Sister Yue with his elbow.

"Did President Jiang write this song too?"

Sister Yue didn't speak, just looked at him like that.

Shen Feng shrank his neck and swallowed his words.

Just then, Jiang Fan's phone vibrated.

He picked it up, took a look, and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Li Cheng asked.

"To get takeout."

"What takeout?"

Jiang Fan was already walking toward the owner.

Li Cheng lowered his head and glanced at the phone screen on the table.

Xu Qingya: Bring me crawfish now. I haven't eaten yet.

Li Cheng withdrew his gaze and took a sip of beer.

Then another message popped up on the phone, and he couldn't help but take another look.

Tang Yingxue: Tomorrow night, InterContinental Hotel, the old room.

Li Cheng put his glass down, slowly turned his head, and watched Jiang Fan pointing at the crawfish in the pot to the owner at the food stall counter, looking completely calm.

He was silent for about five seconds.

He took out his phone, opened Weizhong Insurance, and pulled up the accident insurance page.

For the beneficiary section, he thought for a moment and filled in Shen Nian's name.

After filling in the amount, he raised his glass, downed the remaining beer, and refilled it for himself.

Jiang Fan walked back carrying two large bags of crawfish and took his jacket off the back of the chair.

"You guys eat, I'm leaving first."

"Brother Fan!" Li Cheng called out to him.

"Hmm?"

"...Take care of yourself."

Jiang Fan paused for a beat and looked back at him.

"You're overthinking it."