ABOES 53: Widen Your Perspective

The surgery lasted nearly six hours. At 2:30 in the afternoon, the lead surgeon finally emerged from the operating room to inform everyone that the procedure had been a success.

A successful bone marrow transplant didn’t mean Grandma Chi’s treatment was over.

Since the new white blood cells hadn’t yet developed, and there was still a chance of rejection, she would need to remain in the sterile room for another month for recovery.

Still, a successful transplant meant half the battle was won. Everyone present finally felt a weight lifted from their hearts.

Three days after Grandma Chi’s successful surgery, Chi Yunxing’s more than two weeks of acting lessons with Duan Zhiyan also came to an end.

On the final day of class at Duan Zhiyan’s house, Chi Yunxing suggested taking Duan Zhiyan out for a meal.

Even though Duan Zhiyan had said he didn’t want any payment for the lessons, Chi Yunxing still felt he owed him something.

Duan Zhiyan was in the middle of preparing some movie clips for their last lesson when he looked up, surprised. “Treat me to dinner?”

“Yeah,” Chi Yunxing nodded. “Zhiyan Ge, is there anything you’d like to eat? My treat!”

Duan Zhiyan chuckled. He understood this was Yunxing’s way of showing gratitude, so he didn’t reject him outright. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I don’t have a particular craving, but I do miss those crayfish you made before.”

Chi Yunxing froze for a second before realizing he was referring to the dish he’d cooked during the recording of Let’s Travel Together.

“Crayfish?” Chi Yunxing considered it for a moment, then nodded. “Sure, but I don’t have the ingredients at home. I’ll have to go out and buy them.”

“No need,” Duan Zhiyan said, picking up his phone. “I’ll message the housekeeper to get the ingredients,” After sending the message, he smiled and said, “Let’s get started with class.”

Chi Yunxing quickly straightened up. “Okay.”

——

During the final lesson, Duan Zhiyan shared a lot of his acting techniques. How to cry in three seconds, how to get into character quickly, and more. By the time they realized the time, it was already 7 p.m.

Even though it was already evening, the summer sky was still bright.

The housekeeper had already returned with the groceries. She had even washed the crayfish and prepared the side ingredients, so all Chi Yunxing needed to do was cook.

Duan Zhiyan came downstairs in fresh clothes and heard the sound of stir-frying coming from the kitchen. He stepped in and asked, “Need any help?”

Chi Yunxing was in the middle of stir-frying aromatics. Hearing the question, he looked up with a smile and shook his head. “No need, Zhiyan Ge! Just wait and eat!”

Duan Zhiyan nodded but didn’t leave. He stayed by his side, occasionally handing him ingredients.

Watching Chi Yunxing’s practiced movements, he asked, “I’ve always wanted to ask, who taught you to cook like this?”

Chi Yunxing replied, “Teacher Yu,” Then he paused and glanced sideways at Duan Zhiyan before continuing in a quieter voice, “But it wasn’t just from her. Back in my last life, I sometimes helped out in the kitchen at the Xia house…”

“That’s enough,” Duan Zhiyan cut him off, his distaste obvious. “Let’s not mention them again.”

Chi Yunxing knew he was just worried about him, so he smiled and said sincerely, “It’s okay, Zhiyan Ge. I’ve let it go.”

All the wounds those people had left on him had been healed by the care and love from his real family.

He no longer felt any sadness about the past.

Duan Zhiyan looked at him quietly. Once he was sure Yunxing wasn’t lying, he finally relaxed a little. He couldn’t help but reach out and ruffle his soft hair. His voice was low and gentle, “Still, don’t bring them up anymore.”

Chi Yunxing had gotten used to people messing up his hair lately, so he didn’t bother resisting. He just smiled and nodded. “Okay.”

After about thirty minutes of cooking, Chi Yunxing finished preparing four dishes and one soup.

Just as the two of them were about to sit down to eat, Yu Qiu unexpectedly returned.

Seeing the delicious spread on the table, she was momentarily stunned before turning to Chi Yunxing. “You made this?”

“Have you eaten yet, Aunt Yu?”

Chi Yunxing started to stand and go fetch her a set of utensils, but before he could get up, Duan Zhiyan pressed him back into his seat.

“She can get them herself,” he said.

Yu Qiu laughed. “I’ll get them myself, Yunxing, sit down.”

While Yu Qiu was in the kitchen, Duan Zhiyan took out his phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to Chi Xiweng.

Chi Xiweng’s reply came in seconds: [?]

Duan Zhiyan typed: [Yunxing made this just for me.]

[Chi Xiweng: ????????????]

[Chi Xiweng: The hell I believe that?!]

[Chi Xiweng: Shit, you at home? I’m coming over right now!]

Duan Zhiyan smirked, set his phone down, and ignored him.

In the end, Chi Xiweng didn’t come. He remembered, belatedly, that Yunxing had said earlier he was going to treat Duan Zhiyan to dinner.

Why did treating him to dinner turn into cooking dinner?

That bastard Duan Zhiyan must’ve asked Yunxing to do it!

Chi Xiweng hadn’t even tasted Yunxing’s cooking yet, and this dog had already had it multiple times?!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He silently added another mark to Duan Zhiyan’s list of offenses.

——

With Duan Zhiyan’s lessons finished, Chi Yunxing was now preparing to join his film crew.

The filming location for Secret Crush was in a film studio in Haishi, so there wasn’t much to prepare, he just packed a few things.

Before he could start packing, Chi Xiweng told him he didn’t need to.

Chi Yunxing blinked. “Nothing at all?”

Chi Xiweng nodded. “We’ve got everything covered.”

That night, Chi Yunxing finally realized what “everything” meant.

His family had known for a while that he’d be filming soon and had started preparing long ago.

Over the past two weeks, Xie Yi had been receiving frequent updates from Chi Xiweng: today another person joined Yunxing’s team, tomorrow a styling crew, then a PR team a few days later…

Originally, Chi Yunxing’s team had consisted of just three people: Xie Yi, assistant Liu Ran, and himself.

But thanks to Chi Xiweng’s non-stop reinforcements, his team had now grown to thirty members, not including the drivers.

Chi Xiweng had even planned to gift him a custom van, but Tan Yao beat him to it. She bought three.

Each van came with its own private lounge, bathroom, and kitchen. It was basically a mobile apartment.

To prevent driver fatigue, Tan Yao assigned three drivers to rotate shifts.

Chi Ling, meanwhile, handed Chi Yunxing a house key and a property deed. He had purchased a small villa near the film studio, just a ten-minute drive away.

The villa came fully furnished with every item Chi Yunxing might need. Whatever was in the Chi household was also in the villa. His team could also stay there.

A five-star chef and household staff were on standby around the clock to handle all his meals, clothing, and daily needs.

He wouldn’t have to eat the crew’s boxed lunches or stay in the standard hotel.

After hearing all this, Chi Yunxing was speechless for several seconds.

Finally, he couldn’t help but ask, “Isn’t this… a bit much?”

He was just going to shoot a film.

Chi Xiweng thought about it and said, “If you think it’s too much, I still have an apartment near the studio. You could stay there instead—”

“No way!” Chi Ling immediately objected. “That place is tiny!”

Tan Yao agreed. “The villa’s better. The apartment’s way too small. Yunxing will already be tired from filming. He needs proper care.”

Then she turned to Chi Yunxing. “If you don’t like the chef’s cooking, I can come by every day and—”

“No need!” Chi Yunxing quickly said. “It’s too far from home. That would be too tiring for you.”

Seeing him insist, Tan Yao finally dropped the idea.

Chi Yunxing didn’t raise any more objections either. He understood his family just wanted the best for him.

This was how they showed their love.

It was excessive but he couldn’t say no.

——

Early the next morning, Xie Yi came to pick Chi Yunxing up for the shoot.

She thought she’d seen it all, the three luxury vans and the top-tier industry team, but when she saw the villa Chi Ling had prepared, she still couldn’t hide her shock.

“This… is the small villa?” she asked, stunned.

Chi Yunxing scratched his head. “That’s what my dad said. This is my first time seeing it too…”

Xie Yi looked at the mansion and sighed. It was complete with a private courtyard, swimming pool, and a golf course.

Her perspective had been way too small.

After a brief rest and settling in, Chi Yunxing headed to the set.

The first day was just for the opening ceremony and taking costume photos, so there wasn’t much to prepare.

Thanks to Chi Xiweng’s connections, the director had arranged a private makeup room for Chi Yunxing.

Once they arrived, Xie Yi took him to greet the director, then brought him to the makeup room.

While he was getting ready, Xie Yi handed him a file. “These are the profiles of the lead cast. I was going to send them earlier, but you were still in lessons with Teacher Duan, so I waited. You can skim through them now.”

Chi Yunxing nodded and flipped through the documents.

He familiarized himself with the main cast but didn’t see who was playing Xu Li. The character he’d have the most scenes with.

So he asked, “Yi Jie, who’s playing Xu Li?”

Xie Yi shook her head. “Not sure yet. I asked around yesterday, and they said the team was deciding between two actors. We should find out today.”

Chi Yunxing nodded in understanding and didn’t ask further.

Soon, the actor playing Xu Li appeared.

The moment Chi Yunxing saw the man standing beside the director, his brows furrowed deeply.

Xie Yi also turned pale the moment she recognized the actor’s face.

It was Xiang Che.