Nan Qing froze again.
He whipped around and stared wide-eyed at Huo Yuzhou, who had just finished putting the documents away.
But the other man simply looked at him calmly. "What is it?"
Nan Qing's expression grew complicated again.
He wondered if it was an aftereffect of failing his mission. Ever since yesterday, he had been hearing things.
Just now, for instance, Huo Yuzhou clearly hadn't said anything, yet he had still heard a voice.
Nan Qing hesitated.
Huo Yuzhou had offered him such generous terms that he couldn't very well keep everything from him.
Besides, the agreement was already signed. Even if he regretted it, it was too late.
Nan Qing turned serious and began to confess.
"I forgot to tell you just now. I'm actually sick."
Huo Yuzhou's grip on the documents tightened slightly. He looked at Nan Qing without betraying anything.
"What kind of illness?"
Seeing how calm he was, Nan Qing relaxed as well.
But he wasn't sure whether his auditory hallucinations meant something was wrong with his ears or his brain. After a moment's hesitation, Nan Qing declared with certainty,
"I'm mentally ill!"
Huo Yuzhou lazily withdrew his gaze, his voice positively perfunctory.
"Mm. Take your time getting treatment."
Nan Qing scoffed and held out his hand.
"My clothes!"
The man took his fingertips, warmth spreading across his palm.
Remembering their agreement, Nan Qing instantly changed his tune.
"Hubby, I want my clothes~"
He drew out that "hubby" with so many lilting turns that he gave himself goosebumps all over and nearly sickened himself to death.
Yet Huo Yuzhou's expression remained unchanged, his face as flawless as jade.
He even gave a cool, dignified "mm" and pulled him to his feet.
"They're in the walk-in closet."
With Huo Yuzhou holding his fingers, Nan Qing walked toward the closet.
The man's tall figure blocked the sunlight streaming through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, but for some reason, that aloof face vaguely seemed to offer a sense of security.
Nan Qing didn't know why he had suddenly wanted to sign that sort of agreement with him.
Perhaps it had something to do with his failure to exit the story as planned, or perhaps the plot had already shifted ever so slightly because he had survived.
But he would take things as they came. Staying with Huo Yuzhou was better than ending up on the streets.
Besides, Huo Yuzhou was saving himself for the little white flower Bai Ruanruan, so he certainly wouldn't covet Nan Qing's body.
Even if he really did, Nan Qing would be the one getting the better end of the deal.
Nan Qing immediately cheered up and followed Huo Yuzhou into the closet.
The walk-in closet spanned over a hundred square meters and was filled with newly arrived clothes. The SN outfits he had mentioned took up half the space. Nan Qing took a quick look; some were even the latest designs that had only just been previewed in magazines and had yet to appear at autumn fashion week.
Nan Qing picked out his clothes and went to change, while Huo Yuzhou leaned by the door to wait.
His tall, straight figure was reflected in the spotless bronze-tinted glass, even his bearing utterly exceptional.
If the beautiful young man in the changing room had opened the door at that moment, he would have discovered that the scene before him was exactly like one from many years ago.
Unfortunately, he didn't open the door and couldn't see this almost perfectly replicated scene.
Naturally, he also couldn't see the man leaning against the jet-black doorframe raise his hand.
As though feeling the lingering warmth, he gently brushed the pad of a finger over his long fingers.
Outside Huading Entertainment, the enormous sign was particularly eye-catching.
Thoroughly disguised, Nan Qing adjusted his sunglasses, then cast another reluctant glance at the Richard Mille watch on his wrist, its dial covered in diamonds-
He had spotted it when he came out of the changing room and helped himself to it right under Huo Yuzhou's gaze.
Of course, Huo Yuzhou hadn't stopped him.
With an eight-figure watch on his wrist, Nan Qing instantly regained his confidence.
He climbed out of the car with his head held high, glanced up at the enormous billboard above the company, and strode toward the lobby.
"Well, well, if it isn't our Young Master Bai?"
A voice abruptly rang out. Nan Qing didn't need to turn his head to know who it was.
Sure enough, another voice corrected him with a laugh.
"Yu, you got it wrong again. Nan Qing's already been kicked out by the Bai Family. Why are you still calling him that?"
Nan Qing turned and saw Yu Xingyan and his lackey of an assistant.
When he had signed with Huading Entertainment, he had come with powerful backing.
The Bai Family dominated the domestic lighting industry, their products were household names, and the family was filthy rich.
To curry favor with the then-young master of the Bai Family, Huading Entertainment had given Nan Qing the best treatment. Even his current manager, Zheng Ming, had been forcibly taken from Yu Xingyan.
Before Nan Qing arrived, Yu Xingyan had been a promising prospect on the verge of receiving major backing.
After Nan Qing arrived, Huading Entertainment's resources began tipping in his favor. As investors, the Bai Family had poured money into their youngest son's single-minded dream of becoming an actor.
For a while, Nan Qing had gained plenty of public exposure.
Of course, as the vicious cannon fodder in a novel with two male leads, he certainly wasn't going to receive very positive reviews.
Not to mention, after Nan Qing gained his first wave of fans online thanks to his looks, a flood of negative comments had followed. He didn't even have to think to know that people like Yu Xingyan were stirring up trouble.
But he had been in a hurry to exit the story back then and hadn't dealt with it.
After all, vicious cannon fodder was supposed to be hated by the entire internet. That was how he could highlight the universal appeal of the delicate little white flower Bai Ruanruan.
Nan Qing looked Yu Xingyan up and down, then suddenly smiled.
"I was wondering who it was. So it's Big-Faced Yu! We haven't seen each other in a while, and not only has your face gotten bigger, you've gone blind too?"
Yu Xingyan's face flushed crimson. "You!"
Yu Xingyan followed the idol route and was extremely strict about maintaining his looks. He only ate until he was twenty percent full, took protein powder for his figure, and had regular treatments to maintain his face.
He was naturally youthful and handsome, but his face was a little large. Especially when filming alongside actresses with small heads and faces, he looked considerably bulkier.
His haters jokingly called him Big-Faced Yu, nearly infuriating his fans to death.
Yu Xingyan hated people mentioning his big face more than anything. Even complimenting him on having a small face was unacceptable. His ego was so fragile that someone saying his complexion looked good would set him grumbling inwardly, let alone Nan Qing calling his face big to his face.
Yu Xingyan stamped his feet in fury. "Nan Qing, don't push it!"
"I'm telling you, without the Bai Family to back you up, you'd better behave yourself. When you see me, you'd better act like my grandson!"
"Or I won't let you off!"
Nan Qing nodded. "Sure, sure, sure. You can be my grandson."
Yu Xingyan looked smug. "As long as you know-"
The assistant beside him hurriedly poked him. "He just insulted you again."
Yu Xingyan instantly caught on. He pointed and pointed at Nan Qing for ages.
"Just you wait!"
"The executives are coming out," his assistant reminded him.
Yu Xingyan quickly lowered his finger, keeping his expression under particularly strict control. Only his voice remained sarcastic.
"What are you so smug about? All that posturing, and all you can do now is score a few verbal points."
"Don't tell me you haven't heard that you've already been replaced in that S-plus-tier big-budget production, Journey through Luo, that was greenlit earlier?"
Yu Xingyan's voice dripped with mockery.
"A resource-backed actor with acting skills as lousy as yours actually had the nerve to play the male lead?"
"Without the Bai Family backing you, you wouldn't even get to play the eighteenth male supporting role!"