Cheering On My Love Rival! (BL, M/M, Transmigration)

Chapter 4

Cheng Junjie knew he couldn't avoid Bai Lanying forever. He had been pursuing her like crazy for the past six months; it would be completely out of character for him to cease all contact with her now.

Instead, his plan was to slowly withdraw from the relationship. At this point in the story, Bai Lanying hadn't fallen in love with Cheng Junjie yet. She was more willing to consider him as a romantic prospect than the perpetually friend-zoned second male lead, but any tender feelings she had towards him were yet in their infancy.

He was grateful that he hadn't transmigrated into the male lead's body further along in the plot, when it would have been too late to retreat from the relationship.

Now that he was the one living in this novel, Cheng Junjie firmly believed that workplace dating was not titillating but rather problematic. CEO and valued employee - that was the harmonious future relationship he strived for!

It was time for him to visit Bai Lanying.

She was on set filming a campus drama. As a small, 18th level actress, she managed to earn the role of female lead with only a tiny push from the original host. Her success was due to 2 factors: it was a limited release, streaming service TV series, and her youthful looks were particularly suited to the character.

Cheng Junjie wasn't an investor for the drama, but he still had the staff's respect as Rainbow's CEO. He had dropped by the set several times before and indicated that he supported Bai Lanying, so they were especially accommodating to her.

What the original host hadn't realized before he signed up Bai Lanying for the drama was that Luo Wenyan would also be part of the cast.

The 24-year-old Luo Wenyan was several times more popular than Bai Lanying as a celebrity. His mother was a famous opera singer and his father a renowned pianist, so he had a fanbase waiting for him before he even debuted. Luo Wenyan burst onto the scene as a honey-voiced singer with a talent for composition.

Luo Wenyan wasn't an actor, but he had taken this role to spend more time with Bai Lanying. He played a college senior who falls in love with Bai Lanying's character - not too different from his actual self.

The original host disliked Luo Wenyan and Bai Lanying acting as a couple, even fictionally. Correspondingly, he increased the frequency of his visits to the set in a territorial display.

Love would lower your IQ in some respects and raise it in others. The male lead was sensitive to potential rivals. The heroine may have been oblivious, but the male lead was clear on the fact that Luo Wenyan held hidden affections for his childhood friend.

He hadn't directly confronted Luo Wenyan, but he had planned to do so as soon as he had successfully secured Bai Lanying. They were in a cold war, unspoken tension underlying all of their interactions.

Luckily, Bai Lanying was filming friend-group scenes, so Luo Wenyan was not present. There would be no sparks flying today.

"Bai Lanying!" Cheng Junjie called, as soon as the director indicated it was breaktime.

Worthy of the female lead, Bai Lanying was the type of girl you would stop and look twice at, even among fellow celebrities.

For example, Jia Fengming was the confident and knock-out gorgeous type. She could pierce a man's heart with her stiletto heels, and he would thank her for it.

On the other hand, Bai Lanying carried her prettiness with a lowkey, absentminded air. She wore her perfect features - liquid eyes, rosebud mouth, and softly pointed chin - casually, like she would a comfortable day dress.

Unfortunately, this was all wasted on a bent man like Cheng Junjie. He evaluated the heroine as "en, very pretty" and called it a day.

Bai Lanying asked worriedly, "CEO Cheng, how are you feeling? I heard about the accident from Secretary Dong."

"I had a mild concussion, but I've mostly recovered," he answered.

Bai Lanying couldn't help but feel that Cheng Junjie seemed distant today.

In the very beginning, she was highly resistant to his pursuit. She had never been much of one for romance, and knew that relationships would be doubly difficult now that she was in the public eye.

Much in the way that water could wear down stone, she gradually found herself softening towards Cheng Junjie. She was especially touched by the fact that he had been on his way to see her when he was injured.

However, now Cheng Junjie looked at her with a mild gaze, as if they were merely friendly acquaintances. Was he still shaken from the aftereffects of the car accident?

"I came to tell you that I'll be switching Sister Cui back to her original position. I'll be assigning Su Suyin to you as your new agent starting next week. She'll help you arrange more suitable roles."

While Su Suyin wasn't a gold-standard agent, she was energetic, bright, and hardworking. She was also closer to Bai Lanying's age; Cheng Junjie believed they would get along well. As young adults with fighting spirit, they could climb up together with their own efforts.

"Ah, I see."

In fact, Bai Lanying had never wanted a gold-standard agent like Cui Chuntao. It was unsuitable for her position, and she could tell Cui Chuntao wasn't happy with the assignment. Bai Lanying would much rather have fewer resources than abundant resources that everyone would question.

He dipped his head. "I'd like to apologize. I realize tension has been high between you and Jia Fengmei because of my decisions. I didn't think things through properly. In the future, I will be more impartial in my decisions in order to avoid any accusations of impropriety."

"...thank you. I know you had good intentions."

She honestly hadn't thought Cheng Junjie would ever realize that his gifts had come as a burden. But despite the rare display of common sense, today's speech was less like a suitor's and more like an employee wellbeing check-in.

"Is that all?"

Normally, Cheng Junjie would do something ostentatious to curry her favor, like order lunch for the whole crew or bring a bouquet of flowers. Then, he would ask her to go to dinner.

Bai Lanying hadn't agreed previously, but she had planned on accepting his invitation for the first time today.

However, Cheng Junjie just nodded.

"That's all I had to say. I'll leave you back to your work."

And just like that, Cheng Junjie left.

Bai Lanying was left standing in the middle of the set alone, wondering what had changed.