Chapter 14

Ao Qingyuan understood, of course. But he always felt that Wenren Yan was different. Deep down, Ao Qingyuan believed that he and Wenren Yan could have become good friends.

"How's your new teaching friend?" After the meeting, Steven followed Wenren Yan into his office, grinning as he fished for information.

After a week of laying the groundwork, Zhao Zhao had finally been "angered" into submitting his resignation to Wenren Yan. Everything was ready now; all they had to do was wait for the other side to walk right into their trap.

So everyone was in rather good spirits. Steven even had time to pry into Wenren Yan's private life.

"You didn't suddenly run off to act just to get to know Ao Qingyuan, did you?" Steven hazarded a guess, then cautiously sought confirmation. "But I'm curious. If you only wanted to meet him, there were plenty of other ways. You could've invited Ao Qingyuan to be the face of a brand under the Wenren Group, for example, or sponsored one of his shows. Why go with such a complicated approach?"

Wenren Yan said nothing, changing the subject instead. "Do you know Jiang Wenshan?"

Steven raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

Wenren Yan continued, "Someone's been buying up large amounts of Wenren Group stock on the market over the past week."

Steven's eyes widened in realization. "So this Jiang Wenshan is behind it?"

Wenren Yan nodded. "Look into him. Find out who this Jiang Wenshan really is."

Steven looked confused. "With the former chairman's connections, shouldn't it be easy to find out?"

Wenren Yan looked at Steven without replying.

Because father and son disagreed over the Wenren Heavy Industry project, Wenren Yan and Wenren Jing had rarely discussed business lately. But that didn't mean Wenren Yan didn't care about the company his father had built from the ground up—especially when it came to changes in the stock market.

Steven understood. "Got it. I'll have someone investigate right away."

"I'll leave it to you." Wenren Yan checked the time, picked up his suit jacket and the plane ticket he'd asked his secretary to book, and got ready to leave.

Steven followed close behind, still hoping to satisfy his curiosity. "Are you flying back to Hengdian? Are you really going back to acting?"

Wenren Yan shot him a sidelong glance. "What do you want to ask?"

"Did you join that production just for Ao Qingyuan?"

Wenren Yan looked at Steven but didn't answer. After years of working together, Steven understood at once. He couldn't help sighing. "I knew it. You wouldn't suddenly go off to act for no reason. You went to all this trouble—don't tell me you're trying to pursue him?"

Wenren Yan replied without hesitation, "So what if I am?"

Steven was stunned. "Seriously? I was joking."

"I wasn't," Wenren Yan said.

Author's Note:

I've got a new novel, The General Transmigrates into a Green Tea Bitch, up for pre-order. If you're interested, please add it to your collection!

After dying on the battlefield, Su Bai transmigrated.

He ended up as a vicious, scheming green tea bitch in a novel about a scumbag gong and a miserable shou.

The green tea bitch kept stirring up trouble and driving wedges between the scumbag gong and the miserable shou. When the truth came out, everyone despised him, and his parents even threw him out of the house.

Su Bai, a general who had always been forthright and had never even drunk green tea: "..."

Word around the industry was that the notorious green tea Su Bai had turned over a new leaf!

He stopped getting involved in other people's relationships and devoted himself to building a business.

Someone said, "I heard President Su is starting a business. I'd like to discuss a big deal with him."

Su Bai asked, "What deal?"

"Marry me, and I'll give you half my fortune."

Su Bai shuddered. "Get lost! (ノ｀Д)ノ"

Wenren Yan finished his work and returned to the set at the first opportunity.

After being away for so many days, Wenren Yan had expected Ao Qingyuan to greet him warmly and show that he'd missed him. Instead, Ao Qingyuan acted as though he hadn't even seen him. He deliberately turned his head away, wearing an expression that said, "I don't want to talk to you." His sulky attitude was obvious.

Wenren Yan only had to think for a moment to figure out how he'd offended the big star. He went over and gently explained, "Something came up at the company, so I had to take time off at the last minute. I forgot to tell you. Sorry."

Ao Qingyuan pressed his lips together and muttered, "It's fine." Wenren Yan wasn't anything to him. They'd only spent a few days together; in Wenren Yan's eyes, he probably didn't even count as an ordinary friend. If that was the case, there was no need to apologize.

Ao Qingyuan felt a sour ache in his chest, aggrieved by the feeling that he'd offered his heart to the moon, only for the moon to ignore him.

He'd never met anyone so cold in his life.

Maybe, just like Auntie Ji had said, he and Wenren Yan belonged to two different worlds. Ao Qingyuan had chosen acting and singing as his life's work, while Wenren Yan was a Stanford graduate who kept trading stocks and managing investments even while waiting for his scenes on set. With his sharp eye and skill for the market, he was bound to become an investor someday. Ao Qingyuan didn't know why Wenren Yan had come to act in the first place. But he wouldn't even show his face on camera. Clearly, he had no intention of making it in the entertainment industry.

"You two just aren't on the same wavelength," Ji Jie had concluded with certainty. "He's already an adult. You're still a kid who only thinks about playing games. He probably thinks you're childish."

Am I childish?

Ao Qingyuan was indignant. Did playing games automatically make him childish? He worked hard too, didn't he? Besides, hadn't they both had a great time when they went out together?

Ao Qingyuan went over their time together again and again. Then he realized that most of the time, Wenren Yan had been the one playing along with him, quietly listening as he talked, while rarely letting his own feelings show.

Could I really be too childish?

Ao Qingyuan thought it over, and felt a little hurt. Then he decided it couldn't possibly be his fault. After all, there were plenty of people around him who were more childish than he was. He considered himself pretty mature. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Wenren Yan was just too smart. Someone who got into Stanford at sixteen wasn't merely mature—he was precocious!