Born a Male Lead

Sitting in the taxi, watching Xie Shuting's departing figure, Zhang Yang touched his face, unsure of what to say.

"Girlfriend? That's impressive, bro." The taxi driver was full of admiration.

He envied those guys who had girlfriends chasing after them.

Unlike his son, who's always acting like a sycophant and no girl even acknowledges him.

"No." Zhang Yang shook his head.

"That's even more impressive," the driver exclaimed again. "By the way, brother, where are you going, still from where we just left?"

"No, go to COFCO..."

"COFCO Tianyue No. 1?" The driver's eyes widened in shock. "You live there?"

"No, I live in Ocean View One," Zhang Yang said with a smile.

Although both are COFCO's No. 1 series projects and are touted as high-end, COFCO Seaview No. 1 is indeed a genuine river-view luxury residence, located next to Tomson Riviera, in an irreplaceable location.

As for COFCO Tianyue No. 1, although it is also a high-end development with a good location, it ultimately cannot compare with the status of COFCO Seaview No. 1.

The driver fell silent.

Zhang Yang was happy to enjoy the peace and quiet, half-opening the car window to look at the Magic City of Shanghai outside.

Having stayed in a small inn for a long time, I was surrounded by ancient Hui-style buildings, misty bamboo Huangling, and rolling mountains and rivers every day. Now, when I return to Magic City and find myself in the midst of its prosperity, it truly feels like a different world.

In the dead of night, Zhang Yang finally returned to his home in COFCO Seaview No. 1.

I grabbed a can of Coke, went to the balcony, and slowly drank it, completely relaxing my mind and body.

Zhang Yang looked down and saw the message Xie Shuting had sent him.

Are you home yet?

"Just arrived," Zhang Yang replied.

It wasn't going back to Ruijie Apartments, but to his true home, COFCO Seaview No. 1.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yang asked another question.

"Get some rest early, don't write tonight."

"No way, when inspiration strikes, there's no stopping it. I have to write while the inspiration is there," Xie Shuting replied.

There was nothing wrong with that statement in itself, and Zhang Yang wouldn't have found it strange in the past.

However, ever since I learned that Xie Shuting used herself as a model in her novel, looking back at that sentence now, it all seems...

Hiss.

Will this little interaction tonight be written into the novel? Will it be embellished? Will lots of internal monologues be added?

The kind with some color?

Now he understands how it feels to be Taylor's boyfriend; nobody can stand having their breakup written into a new song.

"Okay then, I'm going to sleep now." Zhang Yang quickly ended the chat.

Early the next morning, Zhang Yang personally inquired about the preparations for the event at Premium Goods.

In preparation for this reading festival, Premium Goods has prepared a series of promotional activities in advance, including arranging for various live streamers to promote the event in their live broadcast rooms.

Around noon, Zhang Yang casually opened the live stream, and at that moment, a streamer was chatting idly:

"By the way, this year's book festival has catered to readers of all ages. Some friends asked why there weren't any new generation writers, but we successfully invited them this time."

The live stream chat exploded with messages as many fans showed great interest and bombarded the chat with questions.

[Who is it? Stop keeping us in suspense, host.]

[Okay, okay, I just saw Su Xiaoran reposted it on her social media, saying she'll be attending this year's book festival.]

[Wow, it really is Su Xiaoran! I've read all her works, and I've watched all the drama adaptations of them.]

When Zhang Yang saw this message, he was stunned for a moment, and then casually opened Su Xiaoran's, also known as Xie Shuting's, social media platform.

As expected, this morning, Su Xiaoran had just forwarded the promotional link for the book festival from Premium Goods, and in the comments section below, quite a few book lovers expressed their anticipation.

Looking back at the live stream, Zhang Yang noticed that the number of viewers had increased significantly.

Surprisingly, Su Xiaoran's book fans flocked to the live stream to discuss this matter.

"I didn't expect her to be even more popular than I thought," Zhang Yang muttered to himself, and then called Xie Shuting to inquire about her.

"Yes, I've connected with the staff at your Premium Goods, and we've signed an agreement. I'll cooperate by forwarding the event link."

"Also, why haven't I seen you at the company? Where are you?"

Xie Shuting explained her morning's schedule in great detail, leaving nothing out, and then asked a question with some doubt at the end.

"Me?" Zhang Yang chuckled. "I'm mostly out of the office for work, so how about this: I'll call you when I'm done, okay?"

"Sure, then I won't disturb your work. I'll go shopping first," Xie Shuting said with a smile.

The specific schedule for the live stream will be announced in a few days.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, Zhang Yang discussed it with Chi Menglu from Premium Goods and decided to schedule Xie Shuting's performance for the first event.

In the afternoon, Zhang Yang met Xie Shuting at the nearby IFC Mall.

Upon meeting, Xie Shuting gave him a firm hug.

"You..." Zhang Yang was still a little unaccustomed to Xie Shuting's enthusiasm, after all, he had his own agenda and couldn't really be fully engaged.

But Xie Shuting didn't know that.

All she knew was that she didn't have a boyfriend, and Zhang Yang didn't have a girlfriend either. Between them, there was ambiguity, attraction, and a deep, unspoken connection between their souls.

Everything seemed to be just a matter of breaking through the barrier.

"Why are you hiding?" Xie Shuting tiptoed and pecked lightly, but missed. Her eyes immediately showed a hint of question.

"In public," Zhang Yang chuckled, casually wrapping his arm around Xie Shuting 'Xie Shuting waist and subtly pulling her away from his face-to-face distance.

"You've seemed a bit strange since we got back to Magic City," Xie Shuting muttered to herself, not really taking it to heart. "Come on, let's go shopping together, I'll buy you something."

"Buy me things? You really don't need to," Zhang Yang said, amused.

Does he still need others to buy him things? Or rather, what is he lacking?

"I'll buy you a more formal suit. Don't underestimate me; I've been on the list of highest-paid writers, though not very high up." Xie Shuting smiled and flashed the card in her hand. "If you were my boyfriend, you could live a life of leisure. We might not be rich and powerful, but we'd be set for life."

"Well... alright, I know you have money," Zhang Yang could only say.

He knew about the list of highest-paid writers, and the top earner had an annual income of tens of millions. As for Xie Shuting saying she was also on the list, earning several million a year from her works should not be a problem.

Indeed, they have no worries about food and clothing.

"If you know that, what are you waiting for? Why don't you hurry up and eat and drink my food?" Xie Shuting waved her hand. "By the way, help me take a look too. I need to choose an outfit for the live stream."

Zhang Yang's judgment is undoubtedly excellent.

Soon, inside the Dior store, Zhang Yang helped Xie Shuting choose a very elegant ready-to-wear outfit.

Xie Shuting's beautiful figure, dressed in this outfit, instantly exudes a scholarly air, perfectly embodying the image of a gentle and graceful super-popular female writer.

"How about it?"

Xie Shuting gently twirled in front of Zhang Yang, showing him how it was done.

"Pretty good, I told you I had good taste, didn't I?" Zhang Yang said with a smile, and then, subconsciously, he wanted to pay.

This action has almost become a habit; it happens without any conscious thought.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Xie Shuting, with her sharp eyes, immediately noticed Zhang Yang's actions and stepped in to stop him. "Is a man's pride that important? Does he have to insist on paying in front of a girl? Doesn't he consider the actual situation?"

"Huh?" Zhang Yang was speechless.

"I don't care about those things. You work so hard now, and it's not easy for you to earn money. There's really no need for you to act like this in front of me." Xie Shuting smiled, took out a card, and gave it to the shop assistant. "Work hard to earn money. When you have a good income in the future, if you want to give me these things, I will definitely not refuse."

"Alright then, you do it yourself." Zhang Yang decisively gave up. "Let's make this clear first, I definitely don't want to buy clothes."

He already has plenty of high-end menswear at home, there's really no need for another set.

"What are you saying? I'm going to buy it for you, just accept it, don't be so polite with me." Xie Shuting looked at Zhang Yang's outfit and said with a smile.

To maintain his public image, Zhang Yang naturally didn't wear any haute couture in front of Xie Shuting; he just wore regular brand clothes.

It's not exactly cheap, but it's definitely within an employee's budget.

"You're really too kind." Faced with Xie Shuting's enthusiasm, Zhang Yang could only give up.

At worst, I can just give them something in return later.

A moment later, inside the Armani store in the IFC Mall.

Xie Shuting held up several outfits in front of Zhang Yang and compared them, but for a moment she couldn't make up her mind.

"How come it seems like you can try on every single set?"

"How about this one?" Zhang Yang said, casually picking out a suit.

Just kidding, with that physique, he's a top-notch clothes hanger, so naturally he'll try on anything. So, any outfit will do.

"Okay, whatever you say." Xie Shuting immediately smiled.

A moment later, Zhang Yang walked out of the fitting room.

Under the lights, her incredibly good figure in a suit made her look like a goddess, exuding an aura that captivated everyone present.

Several shop assistants stood to the side, their eyes filled with amazement.

"Sir, this outfit is absolutely perfect for you, really!"

Their feelings were genuine, without a trace of deliberate flattery; they came from the bottom of their hearts.

Zhang Yang smiled and said nothing. In fact, it wasn't just this set; any other set would have the same effect.

It's not about the clothes, it's about the person wearing them.

Xie Shuting stood to the side, her eyes wide with amazement, completely speechless with admiration.

He's truly... a god descended from heaven, a born leading man.

For a fleeting moment, a thought flashed through her mind, just like the figure in front of her, clearly visible, yet seemingly distant, as if she couldn't touch it.

This feeling was fleeting, but she deliberately ignored it.

In the world of relationships, most girls will choose to take a chance.

"This is the set." Xie Shuting quickly rummaged through her bag for her card to pay for Zhang Yang's outfit.

This time, Zhang Yang didn't stop them; he just observed and understood the situation.

After leaving the store, Xie Shuting kept looking at Zhang Yang, the light in her eyes never fading.

"I never imagined you'd look like this in a suit. If I ever write a domineering CEO story in my next book, I'll definitely model the character after you."

"The next book?" Zhang Yang found it amusing.

He's already written so badly in this book, and he's still talking about the next one?

"By the way, how's your writing coming along? Can I read a part of it first?" He asked deliberately, then observed Xie Shuting's expression.

As expected, Xie Shuting's expression froze, and a hint of panic flashed in her eyes.

"No, that won't do. It's not finished yet, so it's not convenient to show it to you."

"What's inconvenient about that? I'm not going to leak it to you. Or is there some content I can't see?" Zhang Yang said half-jokingly.

"That still won't work. Don't think about it anymore. We'll talk about it later." Xie Shuting shook her head decisively.

And in the time that followed, he never mentioned his own work again.

I'm afraid Zhang Yang will press me for answers.

But in reality, Zhang Yang had already seen everything he needed to see, and now he was here with a God's-eye view.

Over the next two days, preparations proceeded smoothly as planned.

With preparations Premium Goods by the entire company, the first live broadcast of the Reading Festival officially began.

The guest for the first live broadcast was Xie Shuting, who goes by the pen name Su Xiaoran.

Outside the live stream room, before it begins.

"Zhang Yang, how am I feeling today?" Xie Shuting kept asking Zhang Yang.

She's always been pretty laid-back. Although she's participated in offline events for her work before, she rarely participates in public online events like this. So, she was a little nervous.

"Of course you're in great shape." Zhang Yang looked Xie Shuting up and down; she was fair-skinned, beautiful, and had a rosy complexion. He gave her a good pep talk. "You're a super popular author. Your works have all been adapted into movies and TV series. There will be many of your fans in the live stream today. It's your home turf, okay?"

"Then I'm relieved." Xie Shuting patted her chest gently. "Oh, by the way, why aren't you wearing your employee badge? Are you trying to get special treatment?"

"Employee badge? Oh, I forgot. I'll bring it next time." Zhang Yang was taken aback for a moment, then quickly brushed it off with a few casual words.

"You need to be careful. Don't take this lightly. Good jobs aren't easy to come by," Xie Shuting gently advised. "You seem very relaxed at the company. It's not that being relaxed is bad; if you were at my inn, you could be as carefree and relaxed as you want. But this is a company, after all."

"Okay, I'll be careful," was all Zhang Yang could say.

A sense of relaxation? How can you not feel relaxed in a company where you own 30% of the shares? With several major industries, annual revenue of hundreds of millions, having possessed and seen so much, how can you not feel relaxed?

A moment later, Xie Shuting entered the live broadcast room.

Zhang Yang stood outside the live broadcast room, watching quietly, and glanced at the data beside him.

From the moment Xie Shuting entered the live stream room, the number of viewers steadily increased, adding up by the thousand at a time. Soon, the number of viewers easily surpassed ten thousand.

Inside the live stream, the host spoke eloquently, introducing Xie Shuting.

Xie Shuting smiled gently, her whole demeanor relaxed, perfectly matching the overall positioning of the "Premium Goods" livestream room.

"Chairman Zhang, the data is excellent." Chi Menglu walked to Zhang Yang's side and said with a smile, "Your judgment is absolutely spot on."

"It's mainly because the company did a good job with the advance publicity," Zhang Yang nodded and said.

The reading festival activities were scheduled in full swing, and the next few days would be packed with them. His mission to complete and relocate his business was just around the corner.