Hello, Ms. Xia

The person who had come here was Xia Qiange.

She was here to shoot a music video for the lead track on her new album.

The director had chosen a beach at the very edge of Jianghai City. There were few people around, and the nearest town was a ten-kilometer hike away.

The route was mostly mountain paths, so there was no way to drive. They could only go on foot.

They had come that morning to scout the location.

"Qiange, are you tired? Do you need to rest?"

Little Assistant was worried Xia Qiange might get tired. The director had originally said the crew would scout the location first and then let Xia Qiange know when to come over.

But Xia Qiange didn't want to stay alone in town, so she had come along.

"I'm not tired. How could ten kilometers wear me out? Isn't a concert more exhausting than this? I just don't know how the director found this place. Now that I'm seeing it, though, it's quite nice. There aren't many people, but the scenery is excellent."

At first, Xia Qiange had been puzzled about why they'd chosen a place like this. Now she could see it really was lovely. From up above, there wasn't any trash around, and the beach was pristine and golden, with beautiful scenery.

Soon, the group came down from the mountain and noticed a villa tucked away at its foot. It was Lin Ao's villa.

A sign on the beach read: [You may enjoy the private beach ahead, but please do not set up unnecessary equipment.]

Lin Ao had rented out the rights to use the beach. Ordinary people were welcome to enjoy it, but anyone who wanted to set up equipment or conduct commercial activities there had to get the owner's permission.

They were all surprised to see the villa. Someone had built one in such a remote place.

"Qiange, rest here for a bit. I'll ask the owner if we can use the area in front to film. Ideally, they'll let us set up our tents here, too. The beach rocks over there make it hard to put anything up."

The director came over and told Xia Qiange to rest while he went to visit the villa's owner. He knocked for a long time, but nobody answered.

He wondered if no one lived there, but then noticed the lights were on inside.

It seemed they could only wait for the owner to come back.

Lin Ao had wandered around the nearby town and eaten lunch there before heading back. As he walked along the mountain path, he found that he was really enjoying the peace and quiet. It was so relaxing.

When he returned to the area, he looked down from the mountain and saw about ten people on his beach.

Was that the film crew I saw this morning? They came here to scout locations? Could there be any pretty girls?

Lin Ao quickened his pace, hurrying down to see if the crew had any pretty young ladies.

Someone spotted Lin Ao and notified the director.

"Um, hello there! Heh heh. Are you the owner of the villa? May I ask your surname?"

The director jogged over to Lin Ao with a broad smile.

"Hello. I'm the owner. My surname is Lin."

Lin Ao had more or less guessed what they wanted.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Lin. Here's the thing: we'd like to set up a tent here and film for two days. There are far too many beach rocks over there, and as you know, the terrain up on the mountain isn't suitable either. Your beach is the only flat stretch around, so we were hoping we could use it. We're happy to pay rent."

The director asked Lin Ao politely.

"No problem. You don't need to pay rent, as long as you don't disturb me. Make yourselves at home."

Lin Ao wasn't fussy. As long as they didn't wake him or bother him, he was fine with it.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

The director then told the crew to go back to town for their equipment. They were going to set up their tents right there.

Another reason Lin Ao agreed was that the director had been very polite. And before getting Lin Ao's permission, nobody on the crew had rushed to set up tents. That made Lin Ao feel comfortable, so he'd opened the door for them.

Lin Ao strolled along, watching them. There were three or four women. The one sitting in a chair, wearing a hat and oversized sunglasses, was probably their actress. Most of her face was covered, leaving only her cherry-red lips visible.

Lin Ao returned to the villa. What a shame he hadn't seen her whole face or found out what she looked like, but she seemed to have a great figure.

He lay back on the beach chair in front of the villa and basked in the sun. Then he pulled out his phone and started scrolling through Douyin.

"Qiange, that guy is so handsome! And he owns the villa, too—young, rich, and good-looking. I can't believe he lives all alone out here!"

Little Assistant was already swooning over Lin Ao. If Lin Ao had known, he would have been moved to tears. He'd finally gotten himself a little fangirl.

Xia Qiange, too, couldn't help admiring him. The guy was very handsome, with well-proportioned limbs, broad shoulders, and beautifully defined muscles in his arms.

And his face was beyond compare. It was so unfairly good-looking that it left a deep impression on her.

It was nearly dusk by the time the crew finished organizing all the tents and equipment.

They'd even brought a portable toilet. They really had thought of everything.

Some of them were already busy starting a fire and cooking. Watching them, Lin Ao wondered why they looked more like they were on a picnic.

Seeing all that food made Lin Ao hungry, too. He'd been here for over a month, and all he'd had was convenience food.

He'd gone into town at noon and eaten something fresh, but watching them grill all that meat and corn made his mouth water.

Looks like I'm having instant noodles again. It wasn't that the Lin Family couldn't afford better; Lin Ao just didn't know how to cook.

Fifteen minutes later, Lin Ao sat watching the sunset with a bowl of instant noodles in his hands, looking perfectly carefree.

"Mr. Lin, why don't you join us for dinner? Let us thank you properly."

The director had spotted Lin Ao eating instant noodles, so he went over and invited him to join them. After all, they were using Lin Ao's land, and he wasn't even charging them.

"Ahem, well, I just made these noodles..."

Lin Ao felt a little embarrassed. The director took the noodles right out of his hands and led him over to the crew.

"Everyone, this is Mr. Lin, the owner of the villa and this beach. Let's thank him for letting us set up our tents and film here."

Everyone clapped enthusiastically and ushered Lin Ao into a seat.

Lin Ao stiffened slightly. He wasn't used to this kind of socializing. He did attend big gatherings sometimes, but those were business functions where people talked about deals.

This kind of ordinary socializing made him feel a little awkward.

The actress with the oversized sunglasses sat down just then and took them off.

He saw the familiar face: Xia Qiange, with her baby face and voluptuous figure...

That made Lin Ao stiffen even more. His mouth twitched.

What the hell...

Xia Qiange? Holy crap!

I come all the way out here to hide, and I still run into her? Could Xiao Fan be nearby?

Lin Ao glanced around suspiciously, but then remembered that he'd already begun learning the Sun God Art. What do I have to be afraid of?

He calmly sat back down. Worst case, they could fight it out.

Xia Qiange kept watching Lin Ao. After he sat down acting so strangely, she wondered if a man that handsome could have something wrong with his head.

"Hello, Mr. Lin. I'm Xia Qiange. Thank you so much for letting our crew stay here today."

Xia Qiange greeted Lin Ao politely, but he merely nodded, his expression indifferent.

"Hello, Ms. Xia."

He gave her a flat reply, and that was that.

Xia Qiange was a little taken aback. She'd expected him to shake her hand or ask for an autograph.

Instead, he'd just nodded and said hello, barely even looking at her.

It almost seemed as if he were deliberately keeping his distance.

The crew had a great atmosphere during dinner, while Lin Ao felt like an introvert trapped in a crowd of extroverts.

He hurried through his food and escaped back to the villa. Yes, Lin Ao had fled.

If he didn't leave, they'd drag him up to sing and dance with them.

Xia Qiange watched Lin Ao thoughtfully. Why did he seem so familiar?

It was now eight in the evening.

Lin Ao was scrolling through Douyin in the villa's living room.

Xia Qiange and Little Assistant came to the front of the villa.

"Mr. Lin, could I ask you for a favor?"