Chapter 523 - 522: IF Storyline: Did the Big Shot Vie for Favor Today? 91

Chapter 523: Chapter 522: IF Storyline: Did the Big Shot Vie for Favor Today? 91

In the hotel, Yan Huoshui was lying casually on the sofa, his eyes fixed on Zhang Chen beside him. Every so often, he would ask, "Has Shi Lan called yet?"

Zhang Chen had been asked four times and had shaken his head four times. He could clearly feel that his little master’s patience had run out; his brow was furrowed, and he was starting to look displeased.

He quickly tried to soothe him, "The gifts are probably still being packaged. She’ll probably call in a bit."

Yan Huoshui’s lips thinned. "They’re so damn slow. I should’ve just picked a different store."

But he had also heard that this store had good reviews, which was why he had chosen it.

After that, he asked again every four or five minutes. Around the seventh time, just as Zhang Chen was getting too antsy to sit still and was thinking of escaping before his boss’s anger was redirected at him, the call from Shi Lan finally came.

He secretly sighed in relief and, fearing she would hang up, answered in a split second.

Shi Lan had thought it would take a while for the call to be answered, so she was surprised it was picked up so quickly.

But she wasn’t in the mood to dwell on that. She got straight to the point, "Tell your people to take this stuff back. I don’t need it."

She had expected Yan Huoshui to answer, but it was Zhang Chen—the one who had initially told her she’d won a prize.

The person on the other end said, "I’m sorry, Miss Shi Lan, but those gifts are from my boss. I don’t have the authority to tell them to leave."

Shi Lan said quickly, "Then could you please put Yan Huoshui on the phone?"

Zhang Chen had the phone on speaker and glanced at Yan Huoshui.

At that moment, Yan Huoshui was calmly sitting on the sofa applying hand cream. Hearing her request, he shook his head.

A moment later, Zhang Chen replied, "My little... My boss is busy right now and can’t take the call. How about this? You can add him on WeChat and talk to him directly."

Zhang Chen swallowed the term ’little master’ that had almost slipped out.

Every time Yan Huoshui threw a tantrum, he couldn’t help but use that catchphrase.

Zhang Chen’s voice was rather generic, so Shi Lan hadn’t recognized it over the phone before. But now, hearing the unfinished phrase, she immediately guessed who it was. She even knew Yan Huoshui was right there with him.

Her brow twitched. She knew Yan Huoshui was doing this on purpose, but there was nothing she could do. She had to play along. "Fine, text it to me."

She knew Yan Huoshui well enough to know he wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted.

’I have no idea what he suddenly finds so attractive about me,’ she thought. ’First the on-air call, now this flood of gifts.’

Thinking of his status as a major celebrity, she worried her home would be swarmed by paparazzi.

So, while waiting for Zhang Chen’s text, she couldn’t help but peer around outside her door. Then she asked the woman in professional attire, "Excuse me, Miss, you didn’t see anyone suspicious following you when you came, did you?"

The woman immediately shook her head. "Don’t worry, Miss Shi Lan. No one was following us. We took the stairs, and it was completely empty except for the two of us."

"Okay, thank you."

Shi Lan relaxed a little. Her gaze swept over the woman’s high heels, a look of admiration in her eyes. She then brought a chair over for her. "Your feet must be tired from standing in those heels for so long. I still need to sort things out with Yan Huoshui, so why don’t you sit for a bit."

"Not at all, not at all. I’m used to it."

The woman’s lips curved in surprise, but Shi Lan insisted, placing the chair behind her. "It’s fine. Please, sit."

As for the other man, she paid him no mind.

In a way, she saw the two of them as nothing but a huge hassle right now.

She wouldn’t let them in, worried they might suddenly leave the gifts in her apartment. Besides, just thinking about Yan Huoshui filled her with rage, and she was afraid she might accidentally take it out on these people. After all, she knew they were just doing their jobs; she couldn’t blame them.

Soon, Zhang Chen sent the WeChat ID.

Shi Lan had been hoping he would send a phone number so she could call directly and avoid adding him on WeChat, but it was a standard string of letters for a WeChat ID.

With no other choice, she sent a friend request.

Fortunately, Yan Huoshui accepted almost immediately. His profile picture was even the photo of the two of them on a motorcycle from their magazine shoot.

Seeing that profile picture only made Shi Lan more annoyed. She tried to suppress her anger and sent a message, [What are you sending gifts for? Take them back, I don’t need them.]

A smile played on Yan Huoshui’s red lips as his long fingers quickly typed a reply: [Don’t be upset. Isn’t it normal for a girl to receive lots of gifts?]

Shi Lan felt it was pointless to argue with him over text, so she simply started a voice call.

Thankfully, Yan Huoshui didn’t reject the call.

She got straight to the point again. "I’m not accepting your gifts. If you don’t have them taken away, I won’t sign for them. Even if they’re just dumped at my door, I won’t touch them."

Yan Huoshui could hear the displeasure in her voice, but his own tone was laced with amusement. "Up to you. A gift for you is yours. Even if you don’t sign for it, I’ve already paid."

"Oh, and if you don’t like them, just throw them in the trash. I’ll just pick out other gifts. I’m sure I’ll find something you like eventually."

"You’ve got too much money, is that it?"

Shi Lan felt a headache coming on. She was so angry she almost had to laugh. She’d never seen someone so desperate to give gifts away. She had just taken a quick glance; the man was holding more than a dozen bags. All told, they had to be worth over ten million. All that money, and he was telling her to just throw it away?

"Yeah."

Yan Huoshui couldn’t help but laugh out loud, his clear delight a stark contrast to Shi Lan’s vexation. "Mhm. Lots of money, and it’s all yours to spend."

Shi Lan was silent for a moment before finally telling him the truth. "Actually, I’m not your fan. There’s no need to send me gifts. Are you always this good to all your fans?"

"Ha, so you’re a fan of Li Wenyi?"

Yan Huoshui’s composure finally cracked. A chill and a sneer entered his voice. "That Li Wenyi? That rookie who just debuted? What do you even like about him? Oh, you probably don’t know, do you? He secretly sleeps with his fans. Five of them. What’s there to like about a filthy man like that?"

Ever since Shi Lan had mentioned Li Wenyi last time, Yan Huoshui hadn’t said much, but behind the scenes, he had investigated Li Wenyi down to the last detail.

He’d gotten a bit famous recently and had reined it in some, but his past was full of countless dark secrets.

He had no filter. The blunt phrase "sleeps with his fans" even took Shi Lan by surprise, but then she remembered his vicious tongue in private, and it became somewhat understandable.

However, her attention was diverted for once. "This stuff about Li Wenyi—is it true?"

Shi Lan didn’t follow celebrities; she just watched their shows. She only knew Li Wenyi from a TV series. In truth, if she had to compare, she still preferred Yan Huoshui.

But she deliberately avoided saying what he wanted to hear to his face.

Hearing her ask about Li Wenyi even after all that, Yan Huoshui felt a surge of anger and frustration. His words became barbed with sarcasm. "Yeah, it is. Some people just have bad taste. They don’t like artists who are dedicated to their careers, don’t fleece their fans, and keep their noses clean. They just love that kind of filthy, messy, bottom-of-the-barrel trash."

Shi Lan could hear the anger in his words, but she also felt his tone was tinged with a hint of sourness.

’Still,’ she wondered, ’why is Yan Huoshui even bothering to compare himself to someone else?’