The Meeting

Zou Yan had also judged the boundaries wisely: there were no cloying, insincere declarations of love, nor any uncompromising conditions attached. It was a smart person's approach, and the good thing about dealing with smart people was that even if they couldn't come to an understanding about feelings, they could still talk about mutual interests.

"Then will you take me home later?" Xie Yibai asked. "You only need to drop me off downstairs."

Honestly, Zou Yan hadn't thought about that part. He was busy with countless affairs every day and had never taken the initiative to wait on anyone.

Still, the pursuer was supposed to be the more attentive party. It made sense, so he agreed. "Sure, I'm free later anyway."

As he spoke, he held his phone below the table and messaged his partner: Change of plans. Push the meeting back an hour and a half.

Sheng Ke: Why?

: Xiaobai asked me to take him home /grin

Sheng Ke: Are you going upstairs?

: Nope

Sheng Ke: Stupid dog, he's baiting you

: ? Are you jealous?

Sheng Ke: Yeah, jealous that you're a dog

Sheng Ke: Forty minutes at most. If you can't make it, don't come

Zou Yan wanted to have his cake and eat it too. They both had workaholic tendencies, and keeping personal matters from affecting work had been their principle for peaceful coexistence for years. He pocketed his phone and said to Xie Yibai, "Shall I take you home now?"

"Okay." Xie Yibai pointed at the table. "These haven't been touched yet. It'd be a shame to throw them away, so pack them up for me to take home."

Zou Yan teased him. "You're more thrifty than I imagined."

"Of course. You prepared these for me, so I can't waste them." Xie Yibai smiled. The truth was that his assistant loved food as much as he did, and whenever he tasted something good, he would buy an extra portion to take back.

Who didn't like hearing sweet words? His mouth was practically coated in honey, and the sweetness reached right into people's hearts. Now Zou Yan genuinely wanted to take him home. As he got up, he asked, "Don't you have a pet? I saw a picture of a little dog on your Weibo. Is it yours?"

"Yeah, my little dog is really clingy." Xie Yibai readily picked up the conversation. "When you're free sometime, I'll bring it out to play. You don't dislike cats and dogs, do you?"

"No." Zou Yan pictured it: walking the dog together-how romantic that would be.

"Good." Xie Yibai happily walked ahead and entered the elevator first. He had a natural warmth about him; whenever he smiled, people wanted to forgive him anything.

Zou Yan thought, If he invites me upstairs for a while, maybe I'll skip the meeting.

Chapter 11: The Meeting

Sheng Ke had notified everyone that the meeting would be delayed by forty minutes. That was the greatest concession he would make to Zou Yan.

He thought the whole thing was absurd. Zou Yan was actually planning to shoot a web drama, and the spark that had set it all off wasn't even Zou Yan himself, but those few replies Sheng Ke had made as a prank.

Heaven knew he'd only been joking!

How had Zou Yan managed to fall head over heels for someone he'd met no more times than he could count on one hand?

Sheng Ke couldn't figure it out, no matter how hard he thought about it. But he had no insights into romance to begin with. He didn't understand how it happened or how it worked. Maybe falling into the "river of love" simply required a moment of recklessness and the abandonment of reason and intelligence.

Whatever. As long as it didn't interfere with work, he would respect it and wish him well.

Five minutes before the meeting was due to start, Zou Yan still hadn't appeared. Sheng Ke counted down the time and saw that everyone else had arrived. He didn't intend to wait any longer.

Just then, the administrative assistant pushed open the door, the work badge around her neck bouncing as she reported, "Director, the producer is here."

Sheng Ke didn't see anyone following her. "So where is he?"

The administrative assistant shrugged. "Entertaining a guest."

Sheng Ke didn't need to ask. He could have guessed with his knees whom Zou Yan had brought. He spent a minute considering whether bringing a date to the company crossed a line-it didn't. If he fell out with Zou Yan over something so minor, the staff might misunderstand and think a rift had formed in their friendship.

They could argue over casting, budgets, filming, post-production, and any number of other matters, but they absolutely couldn't disagree over whom the other dated. That could easily lead people to misunderstand their relationship, and it might also affect how outsiders judged their character.

Sheng Ke couldn't find a reason to be angry about it, so he stopped being angry. He announced, "All right, let's get started without him."

Faced with the choice between taking Xie Yibai home and rushing back to the company for the meeting, Zou Yan chose a third option: bring him to the company to wait until the meeting was over, then take him home.

As a practical man who prized efficiency above all else, Zou Yan hated rushing and missing things. This way, he didn't have to worry about getting caught in traffic and holding up both plans. He could also chat with Xie Yibai at their leisure, drive back to the company building, walk to a coffee shop he often visited, and exchange their favorite flavors.

After buying coffee, they sat by a flower bed for a while before making their way upstairs at an unhurried pace. As they stepped out of the elevator, Zou Yan checked his phone. There were five minutes left before the meeting.

Perfect. This was the kind of solution that satisfied both sides, the kind he was best at using.

Zou Yan didn't waste the remaining five minutes either. He took Xie Yibai to the reception room to sit for a while and opened the blinds, letting sunlight fill the room. In the bright daylight, the steaming coffee gave off a rich aroma, the packaged desserts looked colorful and appetizing, and Xie Yibai sat quietly on the sofa, without the slightest trace of discomfort or impatience on his face.

Very good. Zou Yan said, "My meeting's about to start. They'll bring over a printed copy of the script. Take a look first, and we can discuss it when I get back."

"Okay." Xie Yibai waved at him. "Go on, get to work."

As soon as Zou Yan stepped outside, he ran into the administrative assistant on her way back to her post. He stopped her and instructed, "Nini, make a copy of the script on the far right of my desk and bring it to the reception room."

"Do you need coffee or drinks?"

"No."

Nini asked, "Then can I print a couple of photos and ask him to sign them?"

Zou Yan chuckled. "You'd better ask him first whether he can sign them."

Nini made an OK gesture and turned toward his office on the way.

Zou Yan walked into the conference room right on time, but Sheng Ke hadn't waited for him and was already listening to the special effects team present a new proposal. Zou Yan went around the long table and sat in the chair left for him. Sheng Ke didn't spare him a glance the entire time. Well, well, he was angry.

"I wasn't late," he said with perfect confidence, though in a very low voice.

Sheng Ke seemed to be listening to him, yet also seemed not to be. He kept his eyes on the projection screen and said, "What I want is a new studio logo, not a startup animation for a phone or computer. If you can't do it, step down. Don't waste everyone's time."

The effects artist, halfway through the presentation, quickly shut his mouth. He puffed out his cheeks and blew out a breath, then closed the file in disappointment and let a colleague from another team take over.

Xie Yibai ate two caramel macarons with his coffee. The dessert ingredients and coffee beans were of excellent quality, and the blend of sweetness, tartness, and bitterness gave his taste buds a superb experience.

Everyone outside was busy, while he alone had nothing to do. That easy sense of being removed from it all let him enjoy a stolen moment of leisure amid the bustle.

His home was far away, and Zou Yan couldn't bear to leave his work, but couldn't bring himself to neglect him either. So he had come up with this compromise, driving, buying coffee, and taking a walk with him along the way to improve their impression of each other.

To be honest, it felt quite nice. He was just in need of a moment of leisure when he could completely relax.

When he used to date Xing Zhanyun, Xing Zhanyun was always taking him to meet his friends. He didn't know those rich second-generation heirs, yet still had to socialize under the spotlight of being an actor, with people pestering him about whether a heap of secondhand gossip was true. How would he know? He only had acquaintances in the industry, not friends, and even if he did know, he wouldn't dare talk carelessly. None of those princes and princesses, young masters and young ladies were easy to deal with, and they wore him out until he couldn't stop complaining.

Coming to Zou Yan's studio was especially nice. Everyone was in the industry, so no matter how big a star they saw, they wouldn't make a fuss, much less crowd around him asking questions.

Having eaten to his heart's content, Xie Yibai stood by the window and gazed at the view. The location was fantastic. His boss would never rent such an expensive building. It really was good to have a big tree at your back for shade.

Someone knocked. He turned around, and the bespectacled girl from the front desk came in holding a stack of papers.

"This is the script you wanted." She put it on the coffee table and looked at him, her eyes lighting up behind her glasses. "Teacher Xie, I printed a few photos. Could you sign them for me?"

"Sure," Xie Yibai said. "Are you going to sell them?"

The girl anxiously stamped her foot and waved her hands. "No, no, no! It's my friend. She's been obsessed with Jade Steps Ode lately and raves to me about it every day. I thought meeting you in person must be fate, so I dared to make this request. Would it be all right?"

Xie Yibai melted away her tension with a smile. "Oh, of course that's no problem. I meant that if you were going to sell them, I could sign a few more for you."

"Ah, can you do that?" The girl was so excited she became incoherent, nodding repeatedly. "Then I'll go print a few more. It's mainly because you're so popular. I'm so happy, ahh!"

This wouldn't have been allowed just last month. Ever since Xie Yibai had shot to fame, Sister Hu hadn't let him sign autographs at will, not even for fans. Fortunately, he didn't have a manager now and could sign as many as he wanted.

The name on the girl's work badge was Jiang Ni, and she worked in administration. Seeing that the chance was hard to come by, she also took a selfie with him while he was signing. Xie Yibai had nothing else to do, so he asked as he signed, "Why did you come to work here? Do you like following stars?"

Nini shook her head. "Not at all. I majored in dramatic writing and have loved movies since I was little. I interned at major studios in my sophomore and junior years, writing scripts while working for free. After graduation, I volunteered at a film festival, and because I was more hardworking and quick-witted than the others, Director Ke remembered me and asked if I wanted to come work at his studio."

"So your actual profession is screenwriting. Don't you feel it's a waste of your talents to do odd jobs here?"

"What's a waste of talent about doing odd jobs for the country's top art-film team? I get to sit in on their meetings too, and I've learned a lot these past two years. Besides..." Nini lowered her voice. "Zou Yan is 404's second-in-command! If he takes a liking to one of my scripts someday, it'll be my turn to defy the heavens and change my fate. Oh, I think I've said too much. Please don't tell anyone, Teacher Xie."

Xie Yibai reflected, See? This is the entertainment industry as it stands. Everyone's working themselves to death, and the real worry is that people more talented than you are working even harder.