Chapter 13

Su Bai shuddered. "Get lost!"

Chapter 13

He rode horses, caught fish, and even enjoyed a full-fish feast earned through his own labor. Ao Qingyuan had an especially great time. When he returned to the hotel, he ran straight into his manager, who was waiting in the living room with an oppressive air around her.

Ao Qingyuan felt a little guilty and greeted her with a grin. "Auntie, what brings you here?"

"If I hadn't come, you'd have flown straight to the heavens!" Ji Jie rubbed her temples with a headache. "Tell me. Where did you go?"

"I went horseback riding and fishing at a club." Ao Qingyuan immediately perked up. "Auntie, let me tell you, that place was so much fun. I'll take you there next time I get the chance."

Ji Jie asked, "What club?"

Wenren Yan had taken him there. Ao Qingyuan had not remembered its name, but the club's fishpond had left a deep impression on him. He eagerly shared his afternoon of fishing with Ji Jie.

The moment Ji Jie heard it, she knew which club Ao Qingyuan meant. She could not help asking suspiciously, "You said there was no one at the club?"

Ao Qingyuan nodded. "Yan Shu said business wasn't good. But I thought it was really fun."

Ji Jie thought it over but did not say anything. She only reminded Ao Qingyuan, "Don't think about playing all the time. Remember to memorize tomorrow's lines."

Ao Qingyuan sighed and began to envy Wenren Yan's photographic memory.

Because he had eaten ice cream at noon and a little too much for dinner, Ao Qingyuan simply took his script into the dance studio and memorized his lines while dancing. Midway through, an idea struck him. He took out his phone and sent Wenren Yan a WeChat message. "We ate so much tonight. Want to work out a little?"

Wenren Yan was on the phone with Zhao Zhao. The people stirring up trouble had been contacting Zhao Zhao for some time, trying to poach him. The price they offered had been getting higher and higher. Zhao Zhao figured the timing was about right, so he discussed "resigning and changing jobs" with Wenren Yan.

"...Once another conflict breaks out, I'll resign," Zhao Zhao said. "But we need to get the timing right. We have to make the setup convincing enough for them to trust it."

The two discussed how to arrange the next move. Toward the end, Zhao Zhao suddenly asked, "Steven told me you and Ao Qingyuan seem to get along pretty well?"

Wenren Yan caught his meaning at once. "You want Ao Qingyuan's autographed photo too?"

Zhao Zhao smiled sheepishly. "I don't follow celebrities. It's for my little niece."

Zhao Zhao's little niece was the granddaughter of Zhao Mingli, Wenren Heavy Industry's current head. She was only six years old and had just started elementary school. Wenren Yan was a little surprised. "Kids start following celebrities this young now?"

"Children have their own sense of beauty too. They like people who are handsome and cool."

Wenren Yan smiled. "All right."

Zhao Zhao continued, "Don't forget to make it a personalized autograph."

Wenren Yan looked puzzled. "Personalize what?"

"A personalized autograph," Zhao Zhao explained. "Just write Little Nana a message of good wishes."

Wenren Yan understood.

After hanging up, he happened to see Ao Qingyuan's WeChat message. Wenren Yan thought about it, then simply changed into sportswear and went downstairs to find him in the dance studio.

Ao Qingyuan was drenched in sweat from dancing and sat on the practice room floor memorizing his lines. When he saw Wenren Yan, his eyes lit up as he invited him to sit. "You've never seen me dance, have you? I'll dance for you after I rest a little. I'm really good at dancing."

As WOD's champion, Ao Qingyuan was naturally good at dancing. Wenren Yan curled his lips and sat cross-legged like Ao Qingyuan. "Want me to run lines with you?"

Ao Qingyuan panted. "But you didn't bring a script."

Wenren Yan pointed to his head. Ao Qingyuan sighed and ruffled his hair. "Fine! You're smart, you're amazing."

After accompanying Ao Qingyuan through the scenes they were filming the next day, Wenren Yan did not forget Zhao Zhao's request. He asked Ao Qingyuan for autographed photos and a personalized autograph.

Ao Qingyuan thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "I already signed one for you today. If I sign more, that'll be tomorrow's share."

Wenren Yan's smile was gentle. "I'm taking an advance."

Ao Qingyuan chuckled and signed more than twenty photos for Wenren Yan in one go. "Might as well advance a little more."

Wenren Yan said with a smile, "I'll keep treating you to meals tomorrow."

Ao Qingyuan had actually wanted Wenren Yan to take him out to have fun. But his schedule was packed for the next few days, and he also had night scenes. There was clearly no time for it.

Then dinner it was! Ao Qingyuan thought. Being able to make plans for a meal with someone he got along with and could talk to so easily was something worth being happy about too.

But Ao Qingyuan's happiness did not last long. Over the next week, Wenren Yan never stayed with the production to film. When the shooting schedule was arranged, every scene was one where Supreme One did not appear. Ao Qingyuan felt as though he had filmed alone for an entire week. For some reason, he felt wronged and innocent, like he had just made a good friend only to be cruelly abandoned. Ji Jie and his assistant could only shake their heads when they saw him. They thought Ao Qingyuan was taking things too seriously. There was no need to be so emotionally invested in someone he had only just met.

"This isn't about whether I'm emotionally invested or not. He swindled several autographed photos out of me." They had agreed they were advance signatures, but once the photos were signed, the man disappeared. Ao Qingyuan felt wronged.

He felt as though he had been emotionally deceived.

"Do you think Yan Shu is a scumbag too?" Ji Jie could no longer stand the child's melodrama and helplessly suggested, "Don't you have his WeChat? Send him a message and ask when he's coming back to film."

"I won't!" Ao Qingyuan felt even more wronged at the mention of it. "He abandoned me. I'm not going to chase after him and ask."

Then just stew in your misery! Ji Jie shook her head and reminded him, "Don't forget to memorize your lines!"

"I know! I'm just a tool!" Ao Qingyuan shouted indignantly, accusing his auntie, "I'm this upset, and instead of comforting me, you're pushing me to work! You have no heart!"

"I don't have any liver left either!" Ji Jie poked Ao Qingyuan in the forehead. "Stop clowning around. If you ask me, you and that Yan Shu aren't the same kind of people at all. Do you understand what it means for a gentleman's friendship to be as light as water?"