Wow, now this was juicy

"Xiaoqing, if you're free in a few days, come meet a friend with Mom."

"Mom, did you make another new friend?" Ye Qing asked.

Ever since their eldest son took over the company, Ye Father and Ye Mother had become especially fond of making friends in their spare time. As they put it, another friend meant another door opened.

Of course, plenty of doors were already open to them. Making friends was purely a hobby now.

"Isn't Dad going with you?" Ye Qing asked.

"Of course he is. We'd already arranged a time, but that friend's son is finally home for a visit. She didn't want to cancel on us, so she decided to bring him along."

"I thought you two should be about the same age, so you might as well make friends."

"Your eldest brother has the company to worry about, and your second brother... well, you know."

Yeah, my second brother still hasn't gotten over his breakup.

"Sure. It's not like I have anything else to do." He didn't have much work these next few days anyway.

On their way there, Ye Mother sang her new friend's praises. In short, she was beautiful, gentle, and generous.

In Ye Mother's eyes, the woman practically had no flaws.

Since it was a gathering between friends, they hadn't booked a private dining room or anything like that, opting for somewhere more fun instead.

They had chosen a newly opened resort nearby. Since it had only just opened, there weren't many people around.

As Ye Qing walked through it, he noticed that it had a full range of basic recreational facilities. There would be no shortage of things to do.

But first, they had to meet Ye Mother's friend. Before long, a man in a trench coat and a woman in a cheongsam walked in from outside.

These were the people Ye Mother had arranged to meet today. The two women started chatting the moment they saw each other.

Only after quite a while did Gu Ze's mother introduce her son to Ye Mother. "This is my son, Gu Ze."

"My youngest, Ye Qing."

Ye Qing looked at Gu Ze. He hadn't expected his mother's new friend to be Gu Ze's mother.

Gu Ze was someone everyone in the entertainment industry knew. He had debuted at eighteen, landing a role in a fantasy cultivation drama right out of the gate and shooting to fame as its villain.

Honestly, very few people became famous with their first drama, especially newcomers who had been completely unknown before it. For a while, opinions on him were decidedly mixed.

Some said he was a naturally gifted actor. Others said he had powerful backing.

But Gu Ze hadn't hidden anything. It soon came out that he belonged to the Gu family and was set to take over Gu Entertainment someday. He had entered the industry not just because he enjoyed acting, but also to gain experience.

After that, most people's opinions shifted to calling him a naturally gifted actor with genuine ability.

Gu Ze hadn't disappointed them, either. He won a Best Actor award at twenty-three. Over the past two years, he had taken on very few projects and rarely appeared in public.

Ye Qing had never expected to run into him here today.

In a way, Gu Ze could be considered his idol, so Ye Qing could barely contain his excitement as he greeted him. "Hello, Emperor Gu."

"You know me?" Gu Ze was a little surprised. He didn't recall seeing this person in the industry, and someone who only knew him from television generally wouldn't address him as Emperor Gu.

"Of course. I'm an actor too."

Sigh. I really am a bottom-rung nobody.

Gu Ze looked at Ye Qing in confusion. Had he just said something?

"Sorry, I haven't been keeping up with the industry lately."

Ye Qing didn't mind at all. "It's fine, really."

Even if you had, you probably wouldn't have noticed a nobody like me.

Gu Ze's mother turned to Ye Mother. "Oh, so they're in the same profession."

Ye Mother smiled. "Mine can hardly compare to yours."

After all, she had just heard Ye Qing's thoughts. Gu Ze clearly held considerable standing in the entertainment industry.

Once the greetings were over, the two young men ran out of things to say.

Now that Ye Qing was actually seeing Gu Ze in person, he couldn't help being curious.

Forget being a Best Actor—even his figure puts most of the industry to shame.

Sure, he's fully dressed, but you can just tell he's the type who looks lean in clothes and muscular without them.

He's really tall, too. Ye Qing discreetly sized up Gu Ze's height.

Probably around 185 centimeters.

Hearing Ye Qing's thoughts, Ye Mother broke into a coughing fit. She had never realized her son was so...

Fortunately, she was the only one who could hear any of this. Otherwise, her son would have embarrassed himself.

Seeing Ye Mother coughing nonstop, Ye Qing hurriedly handed her a glass of water. "Mom, have some water."

Ye Mother gave Ye Qing a conflicted look, then said to the two young men, "Why don't you go have some fun? We'll stay here and chat."

Gu Ze's mother smiled too. "Yes, go enjoy yourselves."

Gu Ze, meanwhile, was still caught up in what he had just heard. He looked at Ye Qing in surprise.

Ye Qing definitely hadn't spoken just now, so where had that voice come from?

As the two of them headed out, the voice sounded again.

I'm suddenly regretting coming out here.

This is so awkward. Should I say something?

Gu Ze looked at Ye Qing. Now he was certain: Ye Qing hadn't said a word.

Remembering what he had just heard, Gu Ze broke the silence. "What have you acted in?"

"Maybe I've seen some of them."

How am I supposed to answer that?

"Uh, my first role was in a crime thriller."

"Was it the one that got popular two years ago?"

Ye Qing's eyes lit up. "Yes, that's the one! Have you seen it too, Emperor Gu?"

"So you played...?"

Ye Qing looked perfectly serious. "I played an unnamed character. It really tested my acting skills. I often had to stay still all day, and whenever an expression was called for, I had to get it exactly right."

Gu Ze carefully thought back over the film. Had there been a character like that?

Ye Qing, you're really something. Only you could make playing a corpse sound so important.

Still, he doesn't know who I am anyway, so none of that matters.

Gu Ze secretly stifled a laugh. So that was it.

"And after that?"

"Most of my roles after that were similar. They were all crucial to the plot."

But even Ye Qing grew embarrassed as he spoke. "I was just trying to lighten the mood. They were actually all tiny parts."

"I landed a role in an idol drama recently. For once, I get to play the third male lead."

"But I'm sure you wouldn't know about it, Emperor Gu."

Not necessarily, Gu Ze thought.

Emperor Gu is pretty approachable.

Gu Ze smiled to himself. Hearing what someone thought really did feel different from hearing what they said aloud.

As they chatted, someone approached and greeted Gu Ze. "Cousin, it really is you! I thought I was seeing things."

Ye Qing looked at the newcomer, and then—

Wow, now this is juicy.

A short distance away, Ye Mother thought, What does that mean? Is there gossip?

Gu Ze thought, Why did his tone suddenly get so strange?