Meeting

"Don't just say it. Invite him over to your place." Sheng Ke carried the tea set to the tea table.

Zou Yan's eyelid twitched. He wanted nothing more than to rush over and kick him, but for the sake of the bigger picture, he suppressed his anger and said, "Xiaobai, don't listen to him. He just has a filthy mouth."

Xie Yibai was now one hundred percent certain that Sheng Ke was the one who had sent him that WeChat message and recalled it.

Psycho.

If someone didn't appreciate your kindness, go bother them. Why are you picking on me?

"It's fine, it's fine. I think Director Ke was just joking," Xie Yibai said, putting on an innocent act. "Going to my place is no problem either. Director Ke, would you like to come along?"

"I won't get in the way." Sheng Ke busied himself with the teacups. "By the way, when you leave, could you ask Nini to come in?"

Xie Yibai thought that was the end of it, but it wasn't. Zou Yan said, "Xiaobai, go sit in my office for a couple of minutes. I have a few words for him."

"Okay." Xie Yibai took the hint and left.

Once the door closed, Zou Yan approached the tea table and warned him in a low voice, "Don't mess this up for me! Or I won't let you off!"

Sheng Ke said fearlessly, "I'm not messing anything up. I'm helping you see the truth. This Xiaobai of yours doesn't like you."

"As if I needed you to tell me. Can't you see I'm working on building a relationship?"

"I'm afraid you won't get into his pants or his heart."

Zou Yan knew what this was: a dog's mouth couldn't spit out ivory. He wasn't going to waste any more words on Sheng Ke. He slammed the door and left.

After Sheng Ke's interference, Zou Yan's good mood was completely gone. He returned to his office but couldn't find Xie Yibai there. Instead, he found him at the front desk.

Xie Yibai said goodbye to Jiang Ni and went with him to wait for the elevator.

Zou Yan studied Xie Yibai's expression and saw that his fair, pointed little face was also full of dejection.

"What's wrong, Xiaobai?"

"I don't think Director Ke likes me very much..."

He looked so aggrieved with his eyes lowered that it made one's heart clench. Unable to bear it, Zou Yan said, "Didn't I already say? Let's just ignore him. His brain works differently from everyone else's."

"But this industry's waters run so deep, and I'm just a nobody. If Director Ke has a problem with me... what am I supposed to do? Those things he just said scared me. It was like, in his eyes, I'm someone who curries favor with the powerful and doesn't know what's good for him." Xie Yibai hung his head and said dejectedly, "I also know you two are close. I'd hate for an outsider like me to cause a rift between you."

Zou Yan was no ordinary person, having made a name for himself in the entertainment industry, that great dye vat. He was no less clever than Sheng Ke, so how could he fail to tell acting from genuine feeling? But unlike the virgin, artistic film director who was obsessed with finding true love, he was a realist.

He knew there weren't so many cases of mutual love and undying vows in the world. He liked Xie Yibai, and Xie Yibai had yet to say how he felt about him. It was an ambiguous situation, one that could develop and change.

He had no violent tendencies and wouldn't use force or coercion. He believed that where there was a will, there was a way, and that those who sought benevolence would find it.

"How could that happen?" Zou Yan said. He wanted to say that Sheng Ke wasn't the kind of scumbag who played dirty tricks behind people's backs, but what he actually said was, "You're worrying too much, Xiaobai. As long as I'm around, nobody will dare bully you."

Xie Yibai lifted his face and smiled, showing his gleaming white teeth. "Hahaha, Brother Yan, I'm not afraid of being bullied. I'm afraid of causing you trouble."

The dimple on one side of his face was genuinely cute and very childlike. Zou Yan's hand itched, and he reached around to pat him on the back. His two thin, sharp shoulder blades felt good under his hand, and below them was the waist concealed by his loose shirt.

Zou Yan slid his hand down and gave it a feel. Just as he was about to withdraw it, the elevator doors opened, so he gave his waist a gentle push. It was so slender and firm that it almost felt like an illusion.

Who was really a fool?

Xie Yibai entered the elevator and took Zou Yan's arm of his own accord. He was very sensible: every gift came with a price tag attached in advance. Back then, his waist had been worth four million. Now, its value had risen with the tide; one touch had earned him a future of boundless prospects. Life was looking up.

Zou Yan was still secretly marveling at how slim his waist was. When he thought of how much Xie Yibai ate, he couldn't help asking, "You eat so much. Where does it all go?"

Xie Yibai said, "I was born this way."

Zou Yan was genuinely old-fashioned. That day, he merely saw Xie Yibai to the entrance of his residential complex and didn't do anything to cross the line.

Xie Yibai silently compared the two. Wasn't Zou Yan so much better than Xing Zhanyun? What was the use of being handsome? People with no sense of boundaries were the worst!

Chapter 13: Meeting

Just what he feared came to pass. As soon as Xie Yibai got home, the housekeeper told him that several packages had arrived that day and that she had put them on the dining room table for him.

He didn't remember buying anything. When he opened them, sure enough, they were from Xing Zhanyun: nothing but flashy, impractical ornaments and pet supplies for Little Biscuit, all big-name goods marked up a hundred or a thousand times.

Xie Yibai couldn't be bothered to send them back. After the handbag incident last time, and based on his longstanding understanding of Xing Zhanyun, he knew that no matter how he dealt with them, Xing Zhanyun would keep sending things next time.

If he wanted to send them, let him. He had too much money to burn.

The discarded packaging and ceramic objects were all piled up in the dining room. Xie Yibai left them there and went back to his bedroom to shower. Little Biscuit ran all over the house with a piece of foam in his mouth, rolling around among the plastic bags and cardboard boxes, having the time of his life.

The little dog couldn't tell Hermès orange from Tiffany blue. All he liked was having someone to play with him.

After his shower, Xie Yibai changed into his loungewear and tried to catch the dog for a good rub, only to be startled by the scraps of paper and trash all over the floor. As soon as he called his name, Little Biscuit ran over. He grabbed the rebellious child and smacked his butt to reprimand him for his mischief.

Little Biscuit was a good dog. Sensing that he was unhappy, he sat still and stopped moving about.

Xie Yibai went to the guest room and knocked on the housekeeper's door, then brought her out to admire the puppy's masterpiece. The housekeeper smiled and urged him to go back to his room and rest while she cleaned up.

"He's just bored and wants you to play with him," the housekeeper said. "This puppy is very perceptive. He knows his people and only likes you. I walk him every day, and I've thought of taking him to the lawn to play Frisbee, but he won't pay any attention. As soon as we go out, all he thinks about is coming home, because you're here."

Xie Yibai's heart softened at once, and he regretted smacking him those few times.

He carried Little Biscuit into the bedroom and gave him a big chew treat as compensation.

Xie Yibai gave Her Ladyship, his mother, a truthful account of everything that had happened that day over a video call. He had saved her contact as "Great Beauty Lili" because her full name was He Limei. She had been a budding beauty as a child, growing from the prettiest girl in her class to the prettiest in her school, then to a great beauty renowned throughout her workplace. Even the son she later bore had inherited her excellent genes.

He Limei was fortunate. The man she had married wasn't much use, but she could rely on the enormous sums her son earned to stay beautiful into old age.

She set her phone on a stand to video chat with her son while playing mahjong on a tablet. When she heard that Xie Yibai was changing managers, she absently flicked through her tiles, unable to decide which one to discard. When she heard that a producer wanted to pursue him, she immediately put the game on auto-play, sat up straight, and said, "What? Say that again."

She's my own mother, after all. Xie Yibai persuaded himself and told her again.

"A producer? He's not some fat, balding old man, is he?"

"No. I think he's two or three years older than me."

"What does he look like?"

Xie Yibai knew she would ask. He opened Zou Yan's WeChat Moments and forwarded her two casual photos.

He Limei gave her assessment. "Mm, he looks quite lively. He must be tall, right? There are producers that young? I thought producers and directors were all old and ugly."

"He's okay. He's this much taller than me," Xie Yibai said, gesturing. He was exactly 1.8 meters tall, and Zou Yan was at least five centimeters taller than him.

He Limei cared about looks. "Not as handsome as the last one," she said, referring to Xing Zhanyun.

Xie Yibai did his best to treat his mother as his best friend. Even so, there were things he couldn't say without restraint, even to a best friend. He reminded her, "Mom, from now on, refuse any packages from unknown senders and have them returned to the sender, okay?"

"Oh, I know. Your mom isn't an idiot. I won't stir up trouble for you."

Accepting all the flowers and gifts Xing Zhanyun sent him was one thing; whether his family accepted them was another.

Xie Yibai really couldn't think of a way to make Xing Zhanyun back off without provoking him.

Zou Yan was reliable. Two days later, he arranged a meeting between Xie Yibai and his new manager.

Yin Ran was forty-three this year, with almond eyes, an oval face, and a full figure. She had the air of a national goddess from the turn of the millennium. When she rose to fame, Xie Yibai hadn't even started elementary school, and by the time he grew up, she had retreated behind the scenes. Xie Yibai wasn't very familiar with her face, but he had heard plenty about the artists she had made famous and the films and television dramas she had produced.

When Zou Yan first told him that the new manager he wanted to introduce him to was Yin Ran, Xie Yibai was filled with trepidation. But Zou Yan also said that today's meeting wasn't for discussing a contract or terms. They were just getting to know a new friend, so he could relax.

Even so, they arrived ten minutes early to show their respect.

Yin Ran arrived on time. She had a reception to attend later and wore a red velvet mermaid dress with a black suit jacket draped over her shoulders. As soon as she sat down, she casually took off the jacket, the diamond necklace around her neck dazzling like starlight. "I've long admired you, Teacher Yibai. I finally get to meet you in person today."

Xie Yibai exchanged a few awkward pleasantries with her. Afraid he would feel ill at ease, Zou Yan took over the conversation. "Sister Yin Ran was telling me the other day how much she likes your acting. A few years ago, they wanted you for one of their dramas, but your manager said you weren't available."

"Really? Which one?" Xie Yibai asked. He turned down countless scripts throughout the year, so even if she told him, he might not remember.

Yin Ran said, "Summer Palace. In the end, we cast Qi Lan and Zhang Jue."

"Oh, I've heard of that one too. It launched two top stars, right? That Blue Fields Produce Jade CP was insanely popular." Zou Yan had recently become engrossed in studying the web drama market and could readily bring up internet trends and major entertainment industry events from recent years. He looked at him and asked, "Xiaobai, what did you act in that year?"

"I was in Jade Steps Ode, the one that just finished airing," Xie Yibai said. He hadn't known that the director of Summer Palace had approached him, but it didn't matter. Given the kind of roles he had played at the time, he would never have given up a period drama to act in a modern drama with two male leads.