Xie Jianyuan had not been angry in the slightest at the time. He had even started following the club president around with a smile, pestering him to teach him. But just a few months later, Xie Jianyuan defeated him himself in a tournament. The look in his eyes as he stood over the president was still fresh in Wei Jiahe's memory.
Wei Jiahe clicked his tongue and observed three seconds of silence for the still unsuspecting Xu Chun. It seemed Xie Jianyuan wouldn't be satisfied until he had trampled him underfoot.
Xie Jianyuan said nothing, merely smiled and changed the subject. After chatting a little longer, they hung up.
Dinner was served promptly at seven thirty. Xu Chun felt a little uncomfortable at the table at first, but after one bite, he immediately forgot all his worries.
"I wouldn't have guessed you were such a good cook." There was a hint of disbelief in Xu Chun's eyes.
"Well, I do live alone." Xie Jianyuan bent down slightly and poured some cat food into a bowl.
When he straightened up, he happened to see Xu Chun picking out the greens. He couldn't help laughing. "I didn't expect you to be a picky eater, senior."
A faint blush rose to Xu Chun's face, and he felt his cheeks burning. "Only sometimes."
Xie Jianyuan stared at his reddened face and narrowed his eyes slightly. In a barely audible voice, he murmured, "How unexpectedly childish."
Xu Chun hurriedly changed the subject. Looking at the white cat eating slowly on the floor, he asked gently, "When did you get Zora?"
Xie Jianyuan thought for a moment. "About a year ago. A classmate of mine knew I liked cats and gave Zora to me."
Xu Chun remarked casually, "Your classmate treats you pretty well."
Xie Jianyuan gave a noncommittal smile.
Someone suddenly came to mind, and Xu Chun felt a slight stir in his heart. Choosing his words carefully, he asked, "Did you meet that classmate while you were studying abroad?"
Xie Jianyuan raised his eyebrows in surprise. "How did you know?"
Xu Chun's heart gradually sank, but he kept a gentle smile on his face. "I guessed."
Xie Jianyuan clearly didn't believe him, but seeing that Xu Chun didn't intend to explain, he tactfully dropped the subject.
Xu Chun glanced at the white cat on the floor again, his feelings complicated. It seemed Jiang Xiuyan had resorted to a little clever trickery. By giving a cat to the person he loved, they would have a pet they shared, giving them a pretext to keep in touch. He could even use visiting the cat as an excuse to go to his home.
Xu Chun's lips curved into a mocking smile. It seemed he really had put a lot of thought into it.
After that person came up again, Xu Chun no longer felt like staying. He hurriedly finished his meal, played with the cat for a bit, then said goodbye to Xie Jianyuan and returned home.
The next day, after leaving the company, Xu Chun received a message from Su Li telling him that the results of his earlier audition were out.
Although he already had a bad feeling about it, he still held on to a faint hope.
"The results are out." Su Li looked at him, her red lips parting slightly, a rare hint of a smile in her eyes. "The director chose you for the male lead."
"Really?" Xu Chun couldn't help lighting up with joy.
Su Li also found it somewhat unbelievable. She had seen how distraught Xu Chun had looked that day.
Xu Chun would have been lying if he said he wasn't excited. He had achieved his first goal in this new life. How could he not be happy?
He had most likely succeeded because of the experience he had accumulated over two lifetimes, honing his acting skills to an even greater level of perfection.
Afraid he would get too carried away, Su Li couldn't help pouring a little cold water on him. "Don't celebrate too soon, though. I heard that Xie Jianyuan will be playing the male lead's younger brother. You two take similar roles, so watch out for his team playing dirty."
Xu Chun smiled and nodded to show he understood.
Meanwhile, Xie Jianyuan had just finished appearing on a variety show. When he came out of the TV station, he saw many fans still waiting for him in the cold wind, holding up signs. The moment he appeared, they burst into cheers.
Wearing a perfect smile, Xie Jianyuan waved to greet them. Only when he entered the van under the security guards' escort were the piercing cries shut out.
"You've been notified by now, haven't you?" Xie Jianyuan's manager, Chen Ya, sat in the front passenger seat and turned around. "You'd better put some effort into this film."
The corners of Xie Jianyuan's lips rose, his face showing that he was determined to win. "Of course."
Chen Ya glanced at his expression and noticed he was different from usual, but he didn't ask.
The higher-ups had assigned him to attend to this young master, leaving him with grievances he couldn't voice. In fairness, at least on the surface, Xie Jianyuan rarely lost his temper and often smiled at people, making him seem easy to get along with. But Chen Ya had seen him lose his temper, and ever since then, he had been inexplicably a little afraid of him.
"Oh, right. President Jiang came looking for you today. He saw you were working, so he didn't disturb you."
He suddenly remembered it and mentioned it casually.
Xie Jianyuan frowned slightly and nodded. "I see. I'll call him back in a bit."
When he got through to Jiang Xiuyan, the other end seemed somewhat noisy, with loud background music.
"Are you with Wei Jiahe right now?" As soon as he heard the familiar background music, he thought of Wei Jiahe.
Jiang Xiuyan seemed to chuckle. "That kid's already drunk himself under the table. He even asked you to come pick him up."
Xie Jianyuan clicked his tongue. "How does he manage it?"
Jiang Xiuyan chuckled again, then suddenly fell silent. After quite a while, he said, as though mentioning it casually, "I heard you've been getting close to someone called Xu Chun lately?"
Chapter 6: Asura Field
By the time Xie Jianyuan arrived at the bar, it was past ten at night. The place buzzed with voices, but unexpectedly, the background music was a soothing piano piece. Quite a few young people sat at the tables, drinking and chatting.
Xie Jianyuan headed straight for a secluded corner. As soon as he reached the table, he took off his baseball cap. After sitting down, he kicked Wei Jiahe, who was lying on the sofa opposite, dead drunk.
"Can he still walk? I don't want to have to support him later."
Jiang Xiuyan poured Xie Jianyuan a drink and looked at him with a smile. "I'm afraid not."