Rebirth: Spoiling the Obsessive Film Emperor Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Visiting the Night Market 

The contract signing process went very smoothly. After reviewing the contract several times, Rong Yu happily signed his name and shook hands with Sally to celebrate their cooperation. 

The three of them had a pleasant dinner together, but halfway through, Sally was called away by a phone call, leaving the two of them sitting across from each other. 

Under the flickering candlelight, Yin Chengjue propped his chin on his hand and watched Rong Yu's cheeks puffing up as he ate. He couldn’t help but remark, "Are you a squirrel?" 

Rong Yu swallowed the food in his mouth, elegantly wiped his lips with a napkin, and said with an innocent expression, "Brother Yin, you don’t understand. At my family’s dining table, if you’re even a little slow with your chopsticks, all the food will be gone in no time. So once my hands hit the table, they just move on their own." 

In his past life, Yin Chengjue had never looked into Rong Yu’s family background. Now, hearing Rong Yu describe it like this, his mind involuntarily conjured up the image of a child from a poor family, struggling to survive by desperately fighting for every bite of food. His heart ached painfully. 

What had he done to this poor boy in his past life?! 

Overcome with guilt, Yin Chengjue called the waiter and ordered another serving of the dish Rong Yu had eaten the most, telling him to take his time and not rush. 

"No, no need to order so much! I’m almost full!" Rong Yu rubbed his stomach and quickly stopped him. 

Yin Chengjue: "If you can’t finish, we can take it home." 

"Hmm… but I don’t have a fridge at home yet. In this heat, the food will spoil by tomorrow." Rong Yu looked troubled. In truth, he had been eating out recently, buying an extra-large fruit platter with extra ice and a dozen skewers of grilled meat to take home as a midnight snack—all of which he could finish in one night. His home didn’t even have a fridge, let alone a proper set of dishes or utensils. 

Hearing this, Yin Chengjue’s heart ached even more. 

In this day and age, when every household had basic appliances, Rong Yu’s home didn’t even have a fridge? That was just too harsh. 

"It’s fine. We can go buy one now." Yin Chengjue tried his best to keep his expression neutral, maintaining a gentle tone as he spoke to the person in front of him. "Once Sally arranges everything, you can move into the company’s artist dormitory. According to company policy, once your popularity and market value reach a certain level, the company will assign you your own apartment." 

"Us? Now?" Rong Yu’s eyes widened slightly, a glimmer of light shining in them. 

"Yes." Seeing the joy on Rong Yu’s face, Yin Chengjue’s lips curved into a smile. He couldn’t help but think: What an easily satisfied person! 

The home appliance mall on West Street in City A was still brightly lit and bustling with noise even at night, thanks to the nearby night market food streets and a large shopping mall. 

Passing by this area, it was impossible not to be drawn in by the tantalizing aromas wafting from the food stalls. Even if their brains said no, their stomachs steered their feet toward the food. 

So by the time Yin Chengjue realized it, both of them were already carrying bags of snacks and drinks. 

Yin Chengjue: "……" He had come here to buy a fridge—how had they ended up eating instead? 

Looking up at Rong Yu, who was already queuing at another food stall, Yin Chengjue deeply questioned what exactly he was doing tonight. 

And… was this guy’s stomach a black hole or something? 

Ten minutes later, Rong Yu returned with two sticks of cotton candy, handing one to Yin Chengjue. His smile was full of contentment. "I’m really happy tonight!" 

Rong Yu was handsome and charismatic, radiating charm wherever he went, drawing frequent glances from passersby. When Yin Chengjue looked their way, they quickly averted their eyes. 

Unlike Ming Qian, who had started covering his face with masks, sunglasses, and hats just days after appearing on screen, Rong Yu—who had scored first in the first public performance—showed no awareness of needing to hide his appearance. 

His open display of handsomeness didn’t make people think of him as a celebrity or idol, just an exceptionally good-looking guy. Even if some thought he resembled Rong Yu from Hey Brother, Let’s Debut!, no one dared to confirm it. 

"As long as you’re happy." Yin Chengjue smiled helplessly and took the cotton candy Rong Yu handed him. 

In the past, he had only seen this treat from afar while passing by in a car. As a child, he had been curious and wanted to try it, but after Feng Chengda scolded him for "not focusing on his studies and only thinking about food," he had abandoned that small desire. 

In his past life, his dates with Ming Qian had always been in high-end places—how could he have ever encountered this fleeting memory of a snack glimpsed through a car window? 

"It’s sweet." Yin Chengjue took a small lick and commented. 

"Right? I could tell this stall’s cotton candy was good just from the smell!" Rong Yu’s smile carried a hint of pride. 

"Excuse me! You two!" A female voice called out from behind Yin Chengjue. He turned to see a girl holding a camera, her face slightly red as she handed them a photo. "I couldn’t help it—I took this picture of you two. It’s a quick print, so it came out right away. It looks really nice. Do you want it?" 

Afraid they might be upset, she quickly added, "If you don’t like it, you can tear it up. I’ll delete the original from my camera too." 

The photo captured the moment Rong Yu was handing Yin Chengjue a stick of cotton candy. Rong Yu’s face was lit with a bright, refreshing smile, while Yin Chengjue’s profile showed a faint trace of amusement. 

Under the glow of the orange lanterns lining the food street, their smiles were bathed in warmth. The swaying shadows of the trees cast dappled patterns on their clothes, as if the scene had been carefully edited. 

"Thank you. It’s beautiful." Yin Chengjue took the photo from the girl. 

Rong Yu added, "Can you send me the original from your camera via Bluetooth?" 

"Of course!" The girl fiddled with her camera to connect it to Rong Yu’s phone. While Yin Chengjue hesitated over whether to ask for a copy, Rong Yu had already sent it to him via WeChat. 

Yin Chengjue silently saved the image. 

"That girl took a great shot. Both of us look really handsome from this angle. Can I use it as my wallpaper?" Rong Yu asked, already setting it as his background. 

"Up to you." Yin Chengjue also thought the photo was nice, especially how perfectly it captured Rong Yu’s smile—the kind that made you want to smile along. 

"Brother Yin, where did you usually go at night before? Have you ever been to a night market like this?" The two of them, tired from walking, found an empty bench by the roadside to rest. 

Away from the crowd, the cool night breeze brushed past, carrying away some of the day’s heat. It was incredibly relaxing. 

"Before? Never been to a place like this." Whether in his past life or this one, his evenings were either spent at banquets or drinking at bars. How could he have ever thought to come somewhere like this? 

"Haha, I come all the time! When I was little, I used to sneak out and accidentally discovered the wonders of food streets. Since then, I’ve explored every major food street in City A—if it tastes good, I definitely know its name!" Rong Yu rubbed his slightly full stomach as he reminisced. "Of course, the price was getting beaten when I got home." 

"You really go all out for food." Yin Chengjue leaned back, resting his hands behind his head as he gazed up at the night sky, breathing in the cool air. "You don’t seem like the type to be tied down. Why did you decide to join a talent show and enter the entertainment industry?" 

Rong Yu stiffened slightly, masking his discomfort by rustling through the plastic bags. He forced a calm tone. "Because I heard it pays well. Yeah, money. I really need money right now." 

Yin Chengjue accepted this explanation and reached out to ruffle Rong Yu’s fluffy hair. "Keep it up." 

While Yin Chengjue was busy delivering warmth to his company’s new artist, Feng Changheng—who had been taken to the police station—was quickly confirmed to have accidentally injured Feng Chengda. However, news soon arrived that Feng Chengda was out of critical condition. Considering Feng Changheng and Feng Chengda were father and son, the matter depended on Feng Chengda’s own stance. 

If Feng Chengda chose not to press charges, Feng Changheng couldn’t be convicted, so Feng Changheng remained detained at the station. 

Su Zi, who had known about the incident but failed to report it, was also temporarily held due to her ambiguous relationship with Feng Chengda. 

With these two detained, the private journalists they had hired panicked, unsure whether the money they were promised was worth offending Yin Chengjue—and by extension, the entire Yin Group. 

The Yin Group was a towering tree that attracted wind—plenty of enemies would gladly watch them sink into scandal or even kick them while they were down. But those people wouldn’t spare a thought for small tabloids, nor would they protect them just for publishing defamatory articles about Yin Chengjue. 

Harming others without benefiting themselves was hardly a wise strategy. 

After weighing their options, they decided to hold off on publishing, at least until Feng Chengda woke up or Feng Changheng and Su Zi were released and could offer them sufficient protection and promises. 

Thus, the "exclusive" story about "Yin Chengjue forcing the illegitimate child and the child’s mother to kneel and kowtow" was shelved, sparing Yin Chengjue another trip to the trending topics. 

Of course, even if such a scandal had surfaced, Yin Chengjue could have handled it perfectly. 

After all, he had been standing so far from Su Zi and Feng Changheng that no one could have captured a photo of them together. He could easily have argued that Su Zi and Feng Changheng had staged the scene, then sued them for defamation. 

However, while Yin Chengjue avoided stirring up drama, Ming Qian was determined not to let a single day pass peacefully. 

On the last day of Hey Brother, Let’s Debut’s break for its trainees, a striking hashtag suddenly appeared on the trending list: 

#MingQianAndFeiZhengqiLookSoGoodTogether#