Phoenix Likes Nibbling Cabbage

527: [You really guessed right.]

Cheng Xin continued, "Don't worry, only the two of us know about this. Let's work together. To be honest, I want to ask Shen Qing out. I like him.

"And you need money. We both get what we need. Besides, you seem pretty familiar with Shen Qing. If you take him there, he'll definitely go, right?"

Song Mingzhou thought, Where did you get the idea that we're familiar?

Did being mortal enemies count as being very familiar?

Fine.

-[Ding. Plot point triggered. The host agrees to Cheng Xin's conditions and carries them out strictly, personally delivering Shen Qing to the location designated by Cheng Xin.]

Song Mingzhou's smile turned teasing, without the slightest hesitation or suspicion.

"Sure. Let's work together."

Caught off guard, Cheng Xin was momentarily dazzled by that smile. She suddenly realized that the young man before her seemed like the sun itself, so dazzling that one hardly dared look straight at him.

She looked at Shen Qing in the distance, then at the person before her.

Strange.

Why didn't she like the man in front of her?

After her brief distraction, Cheng Xin smiled at Song Mingzhou and held out her phone. "Add me as a friend. We'll talk tonight."

Song Mingzhou added her.

After they finished talking, they each returned to the set. Shen Qing happened to look over, while the crowd over there dispersed in a dark mass. Song Mingzhou had barely sat down when Shen Qing walked up to him.

"?"

Still coming over?

Song Mingzhou sat there, tilting his head up to look at Shen Qing's face. Shen Qing looked down at him from above, but his imposing manner still couldn't suppress Song Mingzhou's. Sure enough, it was again...

"Teacher Song, Yanting will be visiting the set in a few days. He's treating everyone to dinner then. You should come too."

Heh.

Song Mingzhou neither hurried to refuse nor mocked him. Nor did he miss the flaunting satisfaction in Shen Qing's eyes. Instead, he asked seriously, "Is everyone in the crew going?"

"What?"

Shen Qing hadn't expected Song Mingzhou not to throw a fit and pick a fight this time. He was actually asking about it? So he really wanted to see Yanting after all. Scheming.

Song Mingzhou remained neither angry nor disruptive, his temper remarkably good. "Is everyone going?"

Shen Qing concealed his displeasure and answered as usual, "No. Only the main cast and crew have been invited. Teacher Song is among them."

The main cast and crew...

Song Mingzhou looked thoughtful. Shen Qing was left standing there, and after waiting several minutes, he was nearly about to lose his temper when Song Mingzhou finally said pleasantly, "Sure."

He smiled like a sly fox.

Something strange flashed by so quickly that Shen Qing hadn't even caught it before Qin Xiao's interruption sent it flying away. "Teacher Gu? Is he visiting you on set again?"

Although Shen Qing disliked him, he would never show it. He even straightened up a little more proudly. "Mm, yes."

He was very proud.

He wished everyone knew that Gu Yanting doted on him.

That damned vanity.

Song Mingzhou spoke mildly. "I'll be there to show my support."

That was a dismissal. Shen Qing had no reason to linger any longer. In any case, he had achieved his goal of showing off. It wouldn't matter even if Song Mingzhou really went—Gu Yanting wouldn't give him so much as a second glance. When the time came, the one humiliated and ridiculed would still be Song Mingzhou.

Shen Qing sneered and went off to prepare for his next scene.

Watching his retreating back,

Song Mingzhou couldn't help thinking of Duan Xun.

Logically speaking, Duan Xun was superior to Gu Yanting in every way, yet he had somehow fallen for Shen Qing. That meant he belonged to the kind of person even the current Gu Yanting couldn't catch up to. Why didn't Shen Qing choose him?

As the saying went, how could ten years of studying in hardship compare to generations of effort from someone else's ancestors?

Someone like Gu Yanting should never have been able to catch up to Duan Xun. Yet not only had he caught up, he had even trampled Duan Xun beneath his feet. More precisely, he had trampled ninety-nine percent of people beneath his feet.

What a surreal world.

527 suddenly explained: [Host, is it possible that the male lead is meant for the male lead? The thrill comes from going from nothing to something, while the second male lead starts at the peak only to fall from his pedestal for one person, making readers pity him.]

Song Mingzhou thought about it.

[...]

Forget it. Boring.

Qin Xiao interrupted his thoughts in surprise. "You're really going?"

He knew all too well about the tangled history between these people. Wasn't this a Shura field?

Song Mingzhou nodded indifferently. "Yeah. It's a free dinner. No reason not to take advantage of it. We'll eat more when the time comes."

Qin Xiao was even more shocked. Shrinking back, he shook his head. "No, no. Male artists need to watch their figures too. I can't eat at night. I'll just make an appearance and leave."

"Fine."

After Qin Xiao left, Song Mingzhou unlocked his phone and, sure enough, received a message from Cheng Xin: [Let's do it in a few days, when Gu Yanting is treating everyone. I'll send you the address then.]

Song Mingzhou: [OK.]

A faint smile curled his lips. He opened Duan Xun's WeChat and sent him a message too: [Brother, should I come over tonight?]

Just in case Duan Xun came looking for him.

In truth, Duan Xun had no time at all today to summon a beauty to attend his bed.

Duan Xun was on his way to the airport when he received the message. For some reason, he still felt like teasing him, so he replied: [What, you don't want to come?]

Song Mingzhou: ...This...

Song Mingzhou sent an emoji: [[This concubine knows her mistake.jpg]]

"Pfft."

Duan Xun laughed, then immediately wiped the smile from his face. Lin Cheng cast him a terrified glance, then instantly kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, not daring to look around.

In the past, President Duan would always toss his phone to him to keep. Whenever a message came in, Lin Cheng would check it first before reporting it.

Aside from private friends, this Mr. Song had never appeared before. How long had he been around, and he already had such an effect?

Lin Cheng was stunned. Thinking back to the information he had investigated, this Song Mingzhou really was... an idiot.

So President Duan liked sweet, innocent fools.

Huh.

Did phoenixes like nibbling cabbage?

Lin Cheng remained expressionless, but fireworks slowly exploded in his heart as he thrilled at discovering a new continent.

During the brief time Duan Xun spent on his way to board the plane, he broke character and laughed several times. In the end, unable to stand it any longer, he sent a message saying he was busy, then tossed his phone to Lin Cheng.

Lin Cheng calmly took it.

Song Mingzhou stared at the two cold, impersonal words on his screen—[Busy]—rested his chin on his hand, bored, and silently put down his phone before wandering around the middle of the set.

With Duan Xun absent today, Song Mingzhou returned to the crew hotel. That evening, he even made time to proactively start a video call with Duan Xun.

"Brother."

Song Mingzhou greeted him first.

His eyes were bright.

He had just finished showering and wore only a bathrobe. His fair, healthy neck and exquisitely handsome features appeared on the screen, and the sudden visual impact darkened Duan Xun's gaze for a moment.

"Mm. Finished showering?"