Marrying the Male Lead’s Disabled Uncle – Chapter 36

Over the next few days, the crew noticed that Pei Lang was frequently on his phone, spending more and more time texting or taking calls. However, it never affected his work.

During a break, Zhong Yixiao finally voiced the question that had been on his mind for days.

“What’s up? Are you in love?”

He sat next to Pei Lang, watching as Pei Lang lowered his head to reply to a message. His exposed neck was smooth and fair, causing Zhong Yixiao to subconsciously swallow.

“Do I really look like I’m in love?” Pei Lang chuckled, turned off his phone, and looked up with a teasing glint in his eyes. “No, but he’s even harder to deal with than a lover.”

After all, their relationship was a contract marriage.

Hearing that Pei Lang wasn’t in a relationship, Zhong Yixiao felt an unexpected sense of relief. There was something about Pei Lang that made people want to get closer to him. His charm couldn’t be put into words—only by knowing him personally could one understand. The more time Zhong Yixiao spent around him, the more drawn he felt. Even when they weren’t filming together, he would subconsciously seek him out, always able to locate Pei Lang at a glance.

Pei Lang was easygoing and treated everyone politely, but he also maintained a certain distance. Gentle yet distant, warm yet untouchable—getting truly close to him wasn’t easy.

Realizing that Zhong Yixiao had been staring at him for a while, Pei Lang instinctively frowned and took out a small mirror to check himself. “Did my makeup or hair get messed up?”

He had just finished filming a scene where his character went into the forest to gather herbs to treat the male lead. His hair had gotten a little messy, so he carefully combed through it with his fingers.

Zhong Yixiao averted his gaze, only to notice that after putting the mirror away, Pei Lang pulled something else out from his sleeve—a bag of potato chips. He quickly glanced around before tearing it open and munching away.

Zhong Yixiao: “…”

Due to his costume’s wide sleeves, Pei Lang could hide plenty of things in them. Unlike the male and female leads, whose outfits were simple for the sake of action scenes, his character’s clothing was more elaborate.

But who would’ve thought Pei Lang was using his costume to smuggle snacks?

“Didn’t you just eat?” Zhong Yixiao asked. Earlier, they had all been eating boxed lunches on set, and Pei Lang had definitely eaten his fill.

Pei Lang popped another chip into his mouth. “I got hungry again.”

“That’s true. You usually eat a lot, but lately, you’ve been eating less.” Zhong Yixiao smiled, a hint of indulgence in his expression, though Pei Lang had no idea why.

Pei Lang had a habit of snacking on set, but recently, he had cut down—not because of any self-restraint, but because Lu Lu was under strict supervision from his agent, Sister You, and wasn’t allowed to eat freely. If Pei Lang ate in front of her, it would be too cruel. He had to wait until she wasn’t around before sneaking some food.

At this thought, Pei Lang felt miserable.

He was the boss. He had hired Lu Lu with his own money. And yet, he was being supervised by his own assistant. How tragic was that?

But that wasn’t even the worst part.

The worst part was Yan Han’s sudden shift in behavior.

For some reason, Yan Han had recently become much more talkative. He would call or text every day, and his words were no longer as sharp and ruthless as before. To keep up the act for Yan Han’s father, Pei Lang had no choice but to cooperate.

I act during the day, I act at night… and even when I want to just be myself, I still have an assistant watching over me.

—

That night, after a full day of filming, Pei Lang was exhausted. He had dinner with the crew, returned to the hotel with Lu Lu, told her to rest early, and then went back to his own room.

An hour later, a man wearing sunglasses, a mask, and a blue hooded windbreaker emerged from Pei Lang’s room. He pulled the hood up, wrapping himself tightly in the fabric.

His phone rang, the sound echoing through the quiet hotel corridor. He immediately picked up. “Don’t rush, don’t rush, I’m coming down now.”

After hastily hanging up, he stepped into the elevator. Ignoring the curious glances from the other passengers, he exited the hotel and made his way toward a delivery runner waiting at the entrance.

A quick exchange.

The man discreetly tucked a bag of items into his windbreaker and hurried back inside.

He had missed the elevator, and since his floor wasn’t too high, he opted to take the emergency stairs instead.

However, just as he turned a corner, he bumped into someone.

His sunglasses slipped off.

Looking up, he saw Zhong Yixiao.

Zhong Yixiao stared at him for a few seconds, his expression full of confusion. But those eyes—he recognized them instantly.

“Pei Lang?” He asked, his voice tinged with disbelief. “Why are you dressed like this?”

“Ah… haha~” Pei Lang laughed awkwardly, though his face remained unnervingly calm. “I went out to… do something. I’m heading back to my room now.”

Before Zhong Yixiao could respond, a woman’s voice rang out beside him.

“Hah! Pei Lang, huh? What? Since Yan Xiuyuan isn’t paying attention to you, you’re now trying to seduce Zhong Yixiao for some clout?”

The woman was Zhong Yixiao’s agent. She had come to discuss something with him and happened to be in the stairwell.

Pei Lang smiled at Zhong Yixiao, as if to say: Look at you, making people misunderstand.

His expression only made the woman more furious. To her, this was blatant provocation—a shameless act of seduction right in front of her.

Her face twisted in disdain, and she grabbed Zhong Yixiao’s arm, dragging him away as if Pei Lang was some filthy creature.

“You played Wen Yan, and now you really think you’re some kind of star?” The woman sneered. “This is the film and television city—there are celebrities everywhere. Yet you, just going out for something, dressed yourself up like this? Afraid the paparazzi will follow you? You sure think highly of yourself.”

Her words grew sharper and sharper.

Pei Lang didn’t retaliate—not because he was afraid of her, but because he didn’t want to cause trouble for the crew or for Zhong Yixiao. He could only sigh helplessly. “I wasn’t avoiding the paparazzi, I was avoiding—”

But before he could finish, the woman abruptly reached out and yanked open his windbreaker.

A pile of snacks and milk tea tumbled out.

She burst into laughter. “Hah! So this is what you were being so sneaky about?” She sneered. “What a joke. You’re only worthy of eating this kind of junk food.”

“Enough!” Zhong Yixiao finally spoke, his voice firm.

The woman, startled by his rare show of temper, held back her anger but still looked at Pei Lang with disgust.

Just then, a panicked voice called out.

“Brother Lang, why are you here? I knocked on your door, but no one answered. You didn’t even pick up your phone!”

Lu Lu had somehow found her way over. The moment she saw the mountain of snacks in Pei Lang’s arms, she facepalmed with one hand and leaned against the wall with the other.

“Brother Lang,” she said in exasperation, “why did you buy all this junk food again?!”

Pei Lang, afraid that his precious snacks would be taken away, clutched them even tighter. “I’m hungry.”

Lu Lu put her hands on her hips, looking like a little kid scolding an adult. “No! These puffed snacks, sweets, and milk tea are bad for your skin and will make you gain weight. I’m confiscating them all!”

Pei Lang had remained indifferent when the woman insulted him earlier, but now, hearing this, he suddenly felt deeply wronged. His eyes turned red, tears welling up, and his voice softened just a little.

“Really? I have so many fight scenes during the day. I go through the same takes over and over again, sweating under the camera lights without complaining. What am I working so hard for? Just to make money and live. And now, here you are—an assistant that I hired with my own money—taking away my freedom, even dictating what I can and can’t eat. I can’t even spend my own hard-earned money on the things I enjoy. What’s the point of making money, then?”

Lu Lu had never seen Pei Lang like this before. For a moment, she was completely speechless. She wanted to comfort him but didn’t know how, her anxiety making her pace in circles. “I… I’m doing this for your own good, Brother Lang. You know I don’t have any bad intentions. So… you can eat, only tonight! But promise me, no more spicy noodles and milk tea behind my back!”

Pei Lang nodded, his tearful eyes full of sincerity. “Okay, I’ll eat openly in front of you from now on.”

“Brother Lang!” Lu Lu puffed up her cheeks, looking frustrated but not daring to truly get mad. She could only stare.

“I know, I know. Go back to your room already,” Pei Lang urged, glancing at Zhong Yixiao and his agent, who were still there. “I’ve got things to do.”

If Lu Lu found out about the insulting words that woman had just thrown at him, she’d be so furious that she wouldn’t be able to sleep. The next day, she’d show up to work with panda eyes and be slow to react.

“Fine, Brother Lang, I’m going. Just don’t eat too much tonight, okay?”

After giving him multiple warnings, Lu Lu finally left.

The moment she was gone, Pei Lang, victorious, curled his lips into a smug smile and silently cursed her as an idiot.

The woman still wasn’t satisfied. Seeing Pei Lang’s reaction made her even more disgusted. In her eyes, Pei Lang was nothing but a two-faced liar, even deceiving his own assistant.

“I get that you want to clean up your reputation,” she sneered. “Heh~ But relying on a foodie persona? That’s way too outdated. Fans don’t fall for that anymore.”

In the entertainment industry, many celebrities had a public persona. The “foodie” type—someone who eats a lot but miraculously never gains weight, silly and cute with nothing but food on their mind—was indeed popular before. But that trend was long over.

Today’s fans weren’t so easily fooled.

At this point, Pei Lang finally ran out of patience. He frowned but reminded himself not to argue with women. Still, he couldn’t help but sigh and say, “Auntie, you must have suffered a lot. You’ve probably been starving yourself half your life to maintain that figure. Sigh~ What’s the meaning of life if you can’t even enjoy food?”

“Who are you calling auntie?! I’m only thirty!” The woman snapped, instantly furious. She jabbed a finger at Pei Lang’s face, cursing him outright.

To be fair, she was a well-known agent with more power and status than Pei Lang at the moment, so she didn’t feel the need to show him any respect.

Pei Lang remained calm. “Don’t be mad, don’t be mad. When you frown like that, the wrinkles on your forehead become really obvious. Besides, thirty is still older than me.”

That was the final straw.

The woman’s temper exploded, and she pulled out her phone, preparing to record a video and expose Pei Lang’s “true colors”. Even though Pei Lang’s reputation wasn’t great to begin with, she still wanted to drag him through the mud.

“If you can’t learn how to respect people, I’ll teach you on behalf of your parents!” she spat. “Don’t think that just because you’ve climbed into someone’s bed, you’ll get away with anything! The entertainment industry is full of people like you. Your sponsor can replace you anytime they want. A slut like you—who knows how many people you’ve been with—do you really think your sponsor will stay loyal to you?”

At her vile words, Pei Lang’s eyes turned icy cold, but he still wore a smile.

Just as Pei Lang was about to speak, Zhong Yixiao’s voice cut through the tension.

“Zhong Yixiao,” Pei Lang drawled, his tone light but dangerous, “you seem to have a rather filthy mouth.”

Zhong Yixiao frowned and snatched his agent’s phone away.

“Sorry,” he said, his voice sincere. “This is my problem.”

His agent was furious.

“Why are you apologizing to him? You are a Best Actor winner—who is he? What makes him worthy of your apology? Besides, did I say anything wrong? Isn’t all of this common knowledge on the internet?”

“That’s enough.” Zhong Yixiao’s tone dropped several degrees. “If you say one more word, I’ll leave the company as soon as my contract expires.”

That finally shut her up.

Zhong Yixiao turned back to Pei Lang, intending to properly apologize.

But Pei Lang, completely ignoring both of them, suddenly received a phone call. Without another glance, he turned around and walked back to his room, leaving them behind.