Chapter 5

I answered Duan Yujing’s sixth call.

“What is it?”

“What are you doing? Why didn’t you answer?” He clearly had no idea he had been photographed.

Of course not. He had been lost in pleasure, beyond anyone’s reach. His manager was ill, and his assistant had dared report the matter only to me.

His voice carried irritation, but he quickly revealed what he wanted. “Xianyue, wasn’t Director Cao’s *Longing for the Moon Above* supposed to cast me as the male lead? Why didn’t I even receive an audition?”

It was a female-led prestige drama. The male role was secondary, but the production aimed for awards, and Bian Xun happened to need a Best New Actor trophy.

I had assigned him Li Ao, one of our top managers, who had just returned from maternity leave. Efficient as ever, she produced a one-year career plan that very afternoon, including a list of suitable projects.

Director Cao’s drama was among them.

Duan Yujing had wanted that role for a long time. Having acted mostly in idol dramas, he wished to move into serious work.

But now that the part suited Bian Xun, I gave him the audition instead.

Bian Xun must have heard the conversation. Obedient as he was, he did not stop when I said nothing.

“Because I gave it to someone else,” I replied calmly. “Duan Yujing, are you questioning me?”

“Xianyue-jie…” After a pause, he sensed something wrong and softened his voice, slipping into his usual coaxing tone. “You know how long I prepared for this drama. I’m sick, so I got impatient. Please don’t be angry with me.”

In truth, I could barely hear him.

The man below me swallowed softly. My fingers clenched and a faint moan escaped.

Duan Yujing stopped mid-sentence.

Dead silence filled the line.

Several seconds passed before he spoke again, his voice no longer steady. “What are you doing?”

I was in no condition to stay calm or answer coherently.

The call ended. At some point, the phone slipped between the sofa cushions.

The world rocked and spun. The scene before me shattered into colored fragments, then slowly reassembled.

“Bian Xun.”

His handsome face hovered close, nose touching mine. The focus in his eyes made me feel an unfamiliar embarrassment, and my voice softened.

“What is it?”

“…Don’t look.”

Obediently, he closed his eyes, lowering his long lashes.

Yet perhaps he was not entirely obedient.

I finally discovered there were many ways to “see” a person without using one’s eyes.