Chapter 34

After a pause, he added, "That's how you grow taller."

Chen Mo's face darkened.

"By the way, I saw you coming out of the Huajing Securities Exchange just now. What, are you interested in trading stocks?" Mu Yu asked.

Chen Mo nodded, then shook his head, smiling as he explained, "There's someone I respect very much who was good at this. So I wanted to try understanding what the industry he worked in was really like."

Mu Yu nodded thoughtfully. He noticed the fleeting loss and nostalgia on Chen Mo's face, but thoughtfully did not ask about it. Instead, he changed the subject. "Need some insider information? I can't guarantee you'll make a fortune, but earning some pocket money shouldn't be a problem."

Chen Mo chuckled and shook his head. "No need. I just want to experience this kind of lifestyle. It's like playing a game—if you already know all the cheat codes, what's the point?"

Mu Yu looked at Chen Mo, who was putting on an act of ease but was actually exceptionally stubborn and proud, and smiled again.

Chapter 34

It was already past eight in the evening after dinner. Mu Yu wanted to drive Chen Mo home, but Chen Mo politely declined.

"It'll take at least four or five hours to drive from here to the film studio and back. By the time you drop me off and return home, it'll probably be well past midnight. Besides, it's cold and the roads are slippery. Don't put yourself through all that trouble. I can just take a taxi."

Mu Yu frowned. "How can that be? It's so late. It isn't appropriate to let you take a taxi home alone."

Chen Mo found that a little amusing. Looking at Mu Yu, he said, "But I also think it's inappropriate to make a busy boss like you drive four or five hours just to take me home."

Before he could finish, his phone suddenly rang.

It was Yang Qindong, informing Chen Mo to be at the company at ten sharp tomorrow morning. He wanted to discuss an advertising endorsement with Chen Mo and arrange his work after the New Year.

"Are you staying over by the film studio, or at the apartment? I'll have Xiao Ding pick you up tomorrow morning," Yang Qindong said over the phone.

Hearing that, Chen Mo could only say, "I was planning to go home, but since you put it that way, I'll stay at the apartment tonight."

Yang Qindong raised a brow. "You came back into the city today?"

After a pause, he pressed, "You still haven't gone home? Don't tell me you went clubbing again?"

"No," Chen Mo said casually. "Didn't I promise you I'd try not to go? Do you think I'm the kind of person who breaks his word?"

"That's good." Yang Qindong let out a response, still haunted by the thought, then immediately said, "Where are you now? I'll have Xiao Ding take you back to the apartment so you can rest."

From the sound of it, he was still a little worried.

Chen Mo frowned. Yang Qindong's lack of trust made him a little annoyed. After thinking it over, he deliberately said, "I just had dinner with President Mu. I'm at Food for Heaven across from the company right now. Do you think I should stay put and wait for Xiao Ding to pick me up, or just cross the road and go back to the apartment to rest?"

Yang Qindong: "..."

For a moment, Yang Qindong felt so choked up he could hardly bear it. He truly could not figure out whether Chen Mo going clubbing worried him more, or Chen Mo going out to dinner with Mu Yu.

He always had the sense that the little cub under his care was about to be carried off by a hungry wolf.

Yang Qindong stewed in silence for a while before finally instructing, "Then hurry upstairs and get some rest. I'll come to the apartment tomorrow."

After hanging up, Chen Mo let out a refreshing breath and smiled at Mu Yu. "Now neither of us has to keep agonizing over it. Brother Dong called to talk business tomorrow morning, so I'll just stay at the apartment tonight."

Mu Yu nodded. "Then I'll take you back."

"No need." Chen Mo shook his head and pointed across the street. "The apartment isn't far from here. I ate a lot tonight, so I want to take a walk and digest."

Mu Yu immediately said, "What a coincidence. I ate a little too much too. Why don't we take a walk together? Once I walk you back, then walk back here myself, I should be about done digesting."

Hearing that, Chen Mo was left speechless and glanced at Mu Yu. Mu Yu smiled. "I had a pleasant time eating with you. Before I knew it, I'd overeaten. As the chief culprit, you bear some responsibility too, don't you?"

"So it really is my fault." Chen Mo nodded solemnly. "Then I've decided to buy you a bottle of yogurt. It'll help your digestion."

Mu Yu followed up, "Will you drink one with me?"

Chen Mo: "?"

Mu Yu smiled. "Wouldn't it look strange for a grown man to sit in a car drinking yogurt?"

Chen Mo laughed. "Wouldn't two grown men sitting in a car drinking yogurt look even stranger?"

"That's why I suggested we walk back together. Then I can walk back here on my own, and it won't look so strange." Mu Yu wore a serious expression.

Chen Mo laughed despite himself and shook his head.

A flash of disappointment passed through Mu Yu's eyes. He stopped dwelling on the walk and settled for the next best thing. "You've treated me to two meals, and I still haven't returned the favor. Let me treat you to hot pot tomorrow?"

Chen Mo thought, Just how obsessed are you with eating? Yet when his gaze met Mu Yu's deep, determined eyes, his heart suddenly softened, and he agreed without thinking. "All right."

In that instant, Mu Yu felt as though a tiny kitten were scratching at his heart with its paws. He stepped closer to Chen Mo, removed his own scarf, and wrapped it around Chen Mo's neck. In a gentle voice, he said, "If you're walking back, dress warmer. It's cold at night. Don't catch a cold."

Feeling Mu Yu's sudden closeness, along with the soft warmth of the scarf, Chen Mo froze.

By the time he came back to himself, Mu Yu had already stepped back beyond intimate distance. Looking at Chen Mo gently, he said, "Goodbye."

After a pause, he added, "See you tomorrow."

Under Huajing's hazy night sky, Mu Yu stood at the restaurant entrance and watched Chen Mo cross the road, his figure gradually disappearing on the other side. Only when there was no trace of him left did Mu Yu seem to snap out of it and drive away.

Early the next morning, Chen Mo was awakened by thunderous knocking at the door.

Still bleary-eyed, he glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table—it was not even eight. Chen Mo painfully buried his head beneath the pillow and lazed around for a long while before dragging himself out of bed and staggering to the entryway to open the door for Yang Qindong.

"Don't you have a key? Why are you knocking when you've got nothing better to do?" Chen Mo asked with a huge yawn.

"Do you think I'm the sort of bored agent who secretly keeps copies of his artist's house keys?" Yang Qindong raised a brow in reply. Both his tone and phrasing sounded oddly familiar.

Chen Mo could not be bothered to deal with Yang Qindong and went into the bathroom to shower and brush his teeth. With nothing else to do, Yang Qindong looked around the living room and spotted a stack of documents on the coffee table. He flipped through them curiously, then raised his voice and asked, "Since when did you become interested in the stock market?"

"Always."

After showering, Chen Mo came out of the bathroom, toweling off his hair as he looked at Yang Qindong. "Did you buy me breakfast?"

"Am I your personal assistant?" Yang Qindong said, pointing at the milk and sandwiches on the dining table as he challenged, "Can you think about anything besides food?"

"Food is the first necessity of the people. That's a hard-won truth passed down by our ancestors over thousands of years. Do you have a problem with that?" Chen Mo sat at the table eating breakfast as he continued, "And by the way, food is the first necessity of the people doesn't just mean filling your stomach. It also means the satisfaction you get while eating. So next time, don't buy salmon sandwiches. They taste awful."

"You should be grateful you have anything to eat at all, yet you're so picky." Yang Qindong leaned against the dining room wall with his arms folded, looking deeply dissatisfied. "And what do you have against salmon sandwiches? Do you know how expensive salmon is? I picked the best one for you."

"The most expensive isn't necessarily the best, and it certainly isn't necessarily the most suitable. I think the jianbing guozi from the auntie's stall outside the complex is pretty good. Add sausage, add egg, plenty of sauce, and it's only ten yuan."

"And then should I add two stalks of scallion for you too?" Yang Qindong rolled his eyes.

"Why do you have to look down on scallions? They've lived an innocent life too, all right?" Chen Mo drained his cup of hot milk in one gulp, then rested his hands leisurely on the table. Looking at the disdainful Yang Qindong, he raised a brow and said, "A stalk of scallion has to endure so much wind and rain from cultivation and growth to harvest. After finally becoming useful, it shoulders the important responsibility of balancing the five flavors for mankind. Great in life, glorious in death. Most importantly, it always preserves its own unique taste. No matter whether you cut it into segments, chop it into bits, or even squeeze it into juice, it can stubbornly retain that distinctive flavor..."

Chen Mo left Yang Qindong with no temper left. Yang Qindong could only wave both hands repeatedly in surrender. "I know you're good with words, so give it a rest. All you do is tease me when you have nothing else to do. Who do you think I'm doing this for? Honestly, it's like feeding a dog that bites you back."

"Huh?" Chen Mo gave Yang Qindong an odd look, then clasped his hands in salute. "May I ask what breed you are, sir? Please state it plainly, and this humble Lü will make sure to identify you carefully."

"Get lost!" Yang Qindong could not resist smacking Chen Mo on the head. He urged him irritably, "Quit fooling around. Go change your clothes. We need to get back to the company as early as possible."

After all of Chen Mo's joking around, it was already past nine by the time they arrived at the company. People streamed in and out. Aside from the administrative staff who came to work every day, many artists without appearances or filming jobs had also returned. Dressed impeccably and strikingly attractive, they made the Huaxia Headquarters Building seem even more dazzling with starlight.

Chen Mo raised a brow curiously and leaned close to Yang Qindong, asking quietly enough that only the two of them could hear, "Is something happening at the company today? How come I didn't know?"

Yang Qindong smiled at that. Before he could answer, those well-dressed senior brothers and sisters had already approached Chen Mo one after another to greet him in all manner of ways, their attitudes warm and friendly. Chen Mo had no choice but to return every greeting.

They had barely exchanged a few words when someone called from behind, "You've been hiding out for so long, and you've finally shown your face. Perfect, I need to talk to you about something. Find a time for a chat. How about lunch? Let's go get spicy hot pot!"

Someone who could talk in that tone, asking and answering his own question... Chen Mo turned around and, sure enough, saw Yuan, the Heavenly King, who wore sunglasses all year round, striding over with his aura in full force.

Yuan Haobin pushed through the crowd to Chen Mo, slung an arm around his shoulders, and asked directly, "How have you been lately? Feeling all right?"

"Couldn't be better. What about you? What did you need to see me for?" Chen Mo asked.

"Isn't it because of that Moonwalk you did on Friday Funfest? It was so cool. How did you do it? Can you teach me?" Yuan Haobin ignored the meaningful looks from his agent, Sister K, and asked outright.

"Teaching you won't be a problem. The real question is how long it'll take you to learn it. By the way, why has everyone come back to the company today?" Chen Mo asked, glancing at the senior brothers and sisters in the lobby.

"You don't know? Today is the day Director Xu is holding open auditions at the company for his new film, The Cat and Mouse Game. Most of these people came back for that..." As Yuan Haobin spoke, he pointed at himself and smiled. "I came for the theme song. As for you, you're not here to audition, are you? After all, The Cat and Mouse Game's filming schedule conflicts with that of The Three Kingdoms: Eastern Wu."