What Friends?

Lunch was quite lavish, and it was clear that Liao Kai was really going all out to please him.

And throughout the entire process, he constantly tried to get close to and please her.

Unfortunately, Zhang Yang and he simply didn't have anything in common. In his eyes, Zhang Yang was just a kid who hadn't graduated yet, so he only exchanged a few polite words and didn't say much else.

"Cousin, it's a rare opportunity for you to come all this way, you must stay in Tongzhou for a few more days," Liao Kai kept saying.

Zhang Yang smiled but didn't say anything.

"Goodbye, Liao Kai. We have to go back after the concert. Why do you want to stay a few more days? My cousin is very busy," Song Yumeng said from the side.

"Huh?" Liao Kai looked immediately disappointed. "Yes, yes, my cousin is a man who's going to do great things."

Although he didn't know exactly what this person did, he could tell from his demeanor, the overwhelming aura of wealth, his multi-million dollar car, and the Patek Philippe on his wrist whose exact price was unknown.

Everything about it was too much to bear. He stood by, only able to manage a forced laugh the whole time.

During dinner, the group naturally started talking about the concert that evening.

Tonight's star is Ouyang Feifei, a rising star who has gained immense popularity in recent years, along with a large group of friends from the entertainment industry.

Of course, in Zhang Yang's view, the main reason why so many friends in the industry came to support Ouyang Feifei was because the capital behind her was strong enough.

"If you can buy tickets for the inner circle, do you have any way to get backstage?" Song Yumeng asked Liao Kai on a whim.

"Get backstage?" Liao Kai was taken aback, then immediately hesitated. "Getting backstage isn't easy. Maybe I should ask around and see if I know anyone at the stadium who can help me out."

"Never mind then." Song Yumeng shook her head in disappointment.

Zhang Yang blinked, looked down and took out his phone, preparing to tell Tian Chuxi.

The last message was a New Year's greeting from Tian Chuxi. Their relationship is simple and direct; they are friends, yet it goes far beyond friendship.

There's absolutely no need for excessive formalities.

"Exist?"

Shortly after the message was sent, Tian Chuxi replied.

"Yeah, I was just rehearsing. I'm about to head to the hotel to rest for a bit. What's up? Missing me?"

Guess where I am?

There was silence on the other end for a while, then a series of messages suddenly came in.

"No way? Are you in Tongzhou?"

"No way, really?"

The words, interspersed with facial expressions, revealed Tian Chuxi's barely suppressed excitement.

Zhang Yang smiled slightly and casually sent his location.

In an instant, Tian Chuxi called.

Zhang Yang glanced at the two people at the table and casually answered the call.

"Oh my god, am I dreaming? You really are in Tongzhou. I want to see you. Should I look for you or should you look for me?"

"Send me your address later, it's not convenient right now," Zhang Yang said with a laugh, ending the call with Tian Chuxi.

As soon as I put my phone down, my little cousin couldn't help but ask.

"Cousin, do you also have friends in Tongzhou? It sounds like it's a girl?"

"Hmm," Zhang Yang said casually, "By the way, I'm going to see a friend later, you..."

"I'll go with you." Song Yumeng glanced at Liao Kai and quickly said, "Well, Liao Kai, my cousin and I will be leaving soon. I'll transfer the ticket money to you. Also, thank you for the meal. I'll treat you to something else when we go to Yinghai."

"Hey, Yu Meng." Liao Kai stood up, seemingly hesitant to speak. "What about tonight?"

"We can talk about it tonight," Song Yumeng said, waving her hand.

A moment later, Liao Kai personally saw the two into the car and watched it drive away, still standing there somewhat dazed.

"Is that all?"

He glanced at the Big G parked nearby, his face inexplicably burning.

··

Cullinan, Song Yumeng's gossipy nature surged.

"What kind of friend? Cousin, you're such a womanizer! Sister Bei Wei is so nice..."

They chattered incessantly the whole way.

"Stop." Zhang Yang had a headache. "I'm asking you, didn't you want to go backstage at the concert?"

"Hmm?" Song Yumeng's eyes lit up. "Yeah, yeah, cousin, you have a way."

"I'm trying to figure something out, aren't I?" Zhang Yang said with a smile. "I'll ask the friend I'm going to meet later if she has any connections."

If Tian Chuxi, also a concert guest, doesn't have any connections, then she really has no connections at all.

Later that evening, Zhang Yang parked his car outside the hotel where Tian Chuxi was staying and made a phone call to Tian Chuxi.

My little cousin listened intently the whole time.

"Yes, my car is in the hotel parking lot. Is it convenient for you? Oh, and there's someone else in my car, um, my cousin." Zhang Yang said for a while before putting down his phone.

"Cousin, is your friend coming over later?" Song Yumeng asked tentatively.

"Yes, it's not very convenient here," Zhang Yang said with a slight smile.

"It's inconvenient." Song Yumeng blinked, a hundred questions swirling in her mind. "What do you mean by 'inconvenient'? What's inconvenient about it?"

Zhang Yang smiled but didn't explain further.

Later, he finally saw a tall figure wearing a mask and sunglasses walk out of the elevator in the distance.

The figure emerged, looked around briefly, and then headed straight for Cullinan.

A moment later, the back door opened, and she got into the back seat.

"Hello, long time no see." Tian Chuxi's voice came from behind the mask. "Hmm? Is this your cousin?"

"Hello, sister." Song Yumeng quickly reached out her hand to greet her, her eyes filled with barely suppressed curiosity.

"Hello." Tian Chuxi extended her fair hand and shook it, then began to remove her sunglasses and mask, revealing her bright eyes and white teeth behind them.

My little cousin's eyes widened in shock as she watched.

"You, you, you..."

Her voice trembled, and a name seemed to slip out.

"Shh, keep it a secret." Tian Chuxi smiled sweetly and gently raised her index finger to her lips.

"Mmm-hmm-hmm." Song Yumeng nodded frantically, her heart pounding with excitement.

She finally understood why Zhang Yang said this friend could help her get backstage—because...because this was Tian Chuxi!

A rising starlet, one of the guests at tonight's concert.

My cousin actually knows someone like that! Good heavens...

"How come you're the guest tonight?" Zhang Yang asked casually as he drove.

"It was arranged by Ouyang Feifei's agency; it was a friendly appearance, a win-win situation," Tian Chuxi said with a smile. "And what brings you to Tongzhou?"

"I came here because of you," Zhang Yang said with a smile.

"You're lying." Tian Chuxi said lightly, but she couldn't hide her smile.

Song Yumeng, sitting in the passenger seat, listened intently, not daring to utter a single word.

Something's not right.

The relationship between these two sounds a bit off.

She glanced at her cousin in the driver's seat, whose profile was so handsome it seemed like a god, then stole a look at Tian Chuxi in the back seat, her eyes radiant with beauty.

An incredible idea instantly arose in her mind.

In the afternoon, Cullinan went straight to a high-end, private teahouse in Tongzhou.

The three of them booked a private room for tea.

Inside the teahouse, the environment is elegant and traditional, with views of the small bridge, flowing water, rockery, and bamboo grove in the courtyard.

After the tea was served, Zhang Yang asked the waiter to leave.

Tian Chuxi finally relaxed and took a sip of tea.

"By the way, I have something I wanted to ask you." Zhang Yang gestured for Song Yumeng to sit down next to him, then reached out and ruffled her hair. "My cousin wants to go backstage to see Ouyang Feifei, do you have any ideas?"

Actually, if he hadn't run into Tian Chuxi, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to take his little cousin to meet Ouyang Feifei.

Entertainment and film are inseparable. He owns the Huaying Film and Television Base in Beijing. Once this film and television base, with an investment budget of tens of billions, is completed, Zhang Yang will definitely be able to make waves in the entertainment industry. It's just that he keeps a low profile now and is not well known in the industry.

Even so, he has many friends in Beijing's entertainment circle who are well-versed in the arts and entertainment industry, so such a trivial matter can be resolved with just a phone call.

However, since Tian Chuxi is here, there's no need to go looking for something far away.

"Sister Chu Xi, actually... actually I'm also your fan. It doesn't matter whether I go to see Ouyang Feifei or not," Song Yumeng suddenly added from the side.

Tian Chuxi smiled and said, "You didn't just become a fan, did you?"

"Really," Song Yumeng said, a little nervously.

"Okay, you want to see Ouyang Feifei, right? Come with me tonight." Tian Chuxi readily agreed, "A photo together is fine, we're friends anyway."

"Really?" Song Yumeng exclaimed excitedly, "But I have a favor to ask."

"What kind of request is it?" Tian Chuxi asked with a smile.

"That is..." Song Yumeng took out her phone, "That is, I want to ask Sister Tian Chuxi to take a picture with me, so I can brag about it to my friends next time."

Her undisguised words and actions, far from being annoying, actually made people feel that this girl was straightforward and genuine.

"Okay!" Tian Chuxi nodded gently.

Immediately, Song Yumeng happily went over, raised her phone, and took a selfie with Tian Chuxi.

This is different from a regular group photo.

The group photo might have been obtained by someone else.

However, this kind of selfie is obviously more private and casual, and can only be taken when the relationship seems closer.

Upon receiving the photos, Song Yumeng felt incredibly beautiful, her heart overflowing with sweetness.

Who is to blame for all of this?

Wasn't Tian Chuxi only doing this because of her cousin?

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but hug Zhang Yang's arm again, "My brother is still the best to me."

In this private setting.

The three of them sipped tea, enjoying a leisurely afternoon.

Zhang Yang occasionally exchanged glances with Tian Chuxi, their eyes conveying emotions without a word.

"Brother, I'm going to the restroom." Song Yumeng had drunk too much tea and couldn't help but stand up and say.

In the blink of an eye, only Zhang Yang and Tian Chuxi remained in the private room.

"Come sit here." Zhang Yang beckoned to Tian Chuxi.

"Your sister will be back soon." Tian Chuxi gave Zhang Yang a light glare, but obediently sat down in his lap and hugged his neck. "Are you really that impatient?"

As she spoke, she offered him a passionate kiss.

Zhang Yang put his arm around Tian Chuxi's waist and laughed, "It's not easy to get that little third wheel away for a while, so I have to seize the opportunity to sneak in, right?"

"Inappropriate wording." Tian Chuxi smiled, pursing her lips. "Aren't you implying that you're both meticulous and short-lived?"

Snap!

Zhang Yang blinked, realizing his grammatical error, and immediately slapped himself.

"Ouch!" Tian Chuxi said coquettishly, covering her pert bottom.

··

Outside the private room, a petite figure had just left the restroom and was on her way back to the room.

Outside the private room.

"Huh?" Song Yumeng paused, faintly hearing some kind of flirtatious banter. "Ah..."

She took a deep breath, feeling a little itchy inside.

Although she hadn't seen anything with her own eyes, at that moment, she was almost certain in her heart.

My cousin is having an affair with the popular young actress Tian Chuxi.

At first, she found it incredible because, in her view, one was her cousin and the other was a celebrity; the two seemed like parallel lines, completely unrelated.

But upon closer reflection, it doesn't seem strange at all.

With my cousin's charm, character, wealth, and charisma, how could he possibly win over Tian Chuxi? It seems I'm still clinging to old ways of thinking.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open.

The moment she opened the door, she vaguely saw Tian Chuxi quickly pull her hand away from her cousin's. Upon closer inspection, Tian Chuxi's expression was normal, as if nothing had just happened.

"Ah... ha, I'm back." Song Yumeng sat down a little guiltily.

Tian Chuxi gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and deliberately looked out the window.

Song Yumeng glanced at her discreetly.

A blush that hadn't quite faded still lingered on Tian Chuxi's profile.

"So what if you're back? Don't make a fuss." Zhang Yang finished his tea in one gulp, then checked the time. "Let me take you home to rest for a while; it'll probably be late tonight."

Tian Chuxi gave a soft "hmm" and nodded.

Around 4 p. m., the three of them left the teahouse in a very low-key manner.

Tian Chuxi put her mask back on and quietly got into the car.

Zhang Yang drove Tian Chuxi back to her hotel and watched her quickly walk into the elevator.

In the blink of an eye, there was no one else in the car.

"Unbelievable. It's like a dream." Song Yumeng finally couldn't contain her overflowing gossip. "Tian Chuxi! Cousin, you actually know Tian Chuxi, and you're so close to her!"

As she spoke, she grabbed Zhang Yang's arm, shook him, and pestered him with questions.

"Brother, can you tell me how you two met? Please tell me!"

"We met by chance, right? You'd better not be too curious." Zhang Yang glanced at his little cousin and chuckled, "Curiosity killed the cat, you know?"

"I'm just asking, I'm not going to tell anyone," Song Yumeng muttered.

Zhang Yang pretended not to hear, opened the door and got out of the car, leaving his little cousin chattering away beside him.

There are still a few hours before the concert starts tonight.

Moreover, Zhang Yang had special plans after watching the concert tonight, so he naturally booked his room in advance.

Well, let's not go far; the hotel is right here.

Since this hotel can accommodate celebrities, it must be of a very high standard. However, the presidential suite was sold out for tonight, so Zhang Yang didn't care and booked two deluxe suites on the spot.

"Here, take the room key. Go and rest for a bit. I'll call you to come with me tonight."

Zhang Yang handed the room key to his younger cousin and then went straight to the room.

"So secretive, who knows if he went to chat with Tian Chuxi." Song Yumeng muttered to herself as she watched Zhang Yang leave.