Chapter 18

"Brother Yan, don't make fun of me... I was really scared to death just now," Xie Yibai said softly. Knowing that Sheng Ke had a poor opinion of him, he didn't dare look him in the eye. He lowered his gaze and said, "Director Ke, I'm sorry for making you come all this way so late."

Sheng Ke laughed for no apparent reason. After years in the industry, he had finally met a real green tea bitch.

He and Zou Yan differed on this point: he didn't like people playing tricks on him.

Zou Yan knew exactly what was going through his mind and couldn't stand his insufferably lofty attitude. He picked up the water bottle by the bed and threw it at him, shouting, "Do you have a conscience? I got beaten up! And you dare laugh?"

"I wasn't laughing at you," Sheng Ke said, straight-faced. He looked around the private hospital room and asked, "Who else did you tell?"

"No one. I asked you here because I wanted you to keep it quiet for me. I still have to go home for dinner this weekend, so help me come up with an excuse. Don't let my old man find out." The corner of Zou Yan's mouth was split, and it still hurt when he spoke. He grimaced and said, "Fuck, I'm not letting that brat off. My face wasn't all that handsome to begin with, and now he's gone and messed it up."

Xie Yibai was amused by that self-deprecating optimism, but he couldn't laugh when he was the cause of the whole mess. Speaking of Xing Zhanyun, he was hurt too, and was at another hospital now. Xie Yibai didn't think the matter could be covered up just because Sheng Ke kept his mouth shut, because none of the shady friends on Xing Zhanyun's side were easy to deal with.

"What good would it do for me to keep quiet?" Sheng Ke said. "You two fought in such a high-profile place. How could the whole city not end up talking about it? You can explain it to your dad yourself. I'm staying out of it."

Hearing this, Xie Yibai's heart pounded. He absolutely didn't want the matter to blow up; if everyone found out that he had been the spark that set it off, his reputation would be utterly ruined. Brands would stop renewing their contracts with him, and people in the industry would be convinced he was a homewrecker with a loose private life who flirted around.

No! He was clearly just a hardworking little star trying to make a living. Xing Zhanyun was emotionally unstable, and Zou Yan was spoiling for a fight. How could all the blame be laid at his feet? He hadn't wanted this either!

"And what about the brand? How much of their stuff did you break? How are you going to compensate them?" Sheng Ke pulled over a chair and sat down. "Kathy called me on my way here. You were a guest she invited personally, so if her boss decides to hold someone accountable, she won't escape blame either. PR departments at family businesses like that are hard to deal with. Didn't you consider the consequences before you started fighting?"

Zou Yan scoffed. "She was just trying to scare you. At a dinner party that size, with only a few dozen people there, the guests aren't even allowed to post the gift bags online. You think they'd dare spread a scandal around? Besides, we all know each other and see each other all the time. Who's got a tongue long enough to go around making trouble for me? And that Kathy too-it was just one vase, wasn't it? Who's short of that little bit of money? Take what she says with a grain of salt. She just wants to do you a favor so you'll owe her one. At worst, she won't invite me next year, but I'm not even her client."

"But... it would still look bad if word got out. If it damages the brand's image, they won't sue, will they?" Xie Yibai voiced his concern. He had left out the word "me." He wasn't stupid enough to worry about Zou Yan, a third-generation Beijing elite and celestial dragon, or Xing Zhanyun, the son of a tycoon. They were both young masters with powerful families and connections. The one he was worried about was himself!

He was just a minor actor who had fought his way onto the popularity rankings. If the brand sued anyone, it would only be him, the promotional ambassador who had caused two VIPs to come to blows.

"They won't." Zou Yan switched to a gentler tone when he spoke to him. "They're desperate to keep these embarrassing things under wraps. Why would they make a fuss themselves? As for that brat Xing, I'm acquainted with his father, so he won't dare do anything to me. You don't need to worry about it, Xiaobai. This has nothing to do with you; you were just unlucky enough to get caught up in it."

With Zou Yan putting it that way, Xie Yibai had no choice but to put on a performance. Biting his lower lip, he said, "I'm really sorry, Brother Yan. It's all my fault... If I hadn't asked you to come, you wouldn't have gone through this..."

His voice was already lovely to begin with, and a few soothing, tender words from him could send a person floating into the clouds. Zou Yan was delighted to hear them and felt that the beating had been worth it.

Sheng Ke took in their respective little schemes. He really couldn't stand such poor acting and such a hackneyed scene, so he interrupted. "So the two of them flew into a rage over a beauty, and that beauty was you, Teacher Xie?"

"Nothing of the sort..." Xie Yibai denied it anxiously. "It was a personal grudge between Xing Zhanyun and me. We happened to run into each other tonight, and he came to corner me in the restroom, so I started arguing with him. Brother Yan came looking for me. He couldn't stand seeing me get bullied, so he spoke up for me. Xing Zhanyun was angry that someone was taking my side, so he started fighting with Brother Yan."

He felt there was nothing wrong with putting it that way. Blurring a few details didn't affect the overall picture of what had happened. He couldn't bear the title of "beauty worth flying into a rage over." What kind of beauty was he? An unlucky bastard was more like it!

Sheng Ke pressed on. "Oh? What were you arguing about? Was this personal grudge financial or romantic?"

Zou Yan considerately interjected. "No, Xiaobai just knew him before. They weren't even friends, and then they had a bit of a falling-out. Right, Xiaobai? Anyone with eyes can tell whose fault it was. That brat really doesn't know how to behave. You were unlucky to have him latch onto you."

Xie Yibai wholeheartedly agreed. If this had been a text post, he would have given Zou Yan ten thousand likes.

Sheng Ke didn't ask any more questions. To put it bluntly, this had nothing to do with him; he had only come to check on a good friend. His good friend was wise and decisive in his work and never dragged his feet, yet when it came to romance, he liked things drawn-out and cloying. It made Sheng Ke uncomfortable to watch.

"Since your injuries aren't serious, I'm going home." Sheng Ke didn't want to stay another minute.

Zou Yan said, "You're not staying to look after me? I haven't hired a caregiver!"

"Do you want me to hire one for you?" Sheng Ke looked at his watch. "I don't think you need someone waiting on you. There's nothing wrong with your legs."

"But my arm's all tied up!" Zou Yan held out his heavily bandaged left arm. "Who's going to feed me tomorrow morning?"

Didn't you bring this on yourself? Serves you right. Sheng Ke was in a foul mood after making this trip in the middle of the night. He said coldly, "Ask a nurse. I'm leaving. Are you coming, Teacher Xie?"

Xie Yibai had spent long enough at the hospital. He had done far more than his share of work that night. While the doctor stitched Zou Yan's wound, he had been at the side explaining what had happened to the brand's event manager and helping them coordinate between the two parties.

Even after that group left, he still couldn't go. He had stayed in the hospital room waiting for Sheng Ke to arrive.

He was a star, yet he had ended up doing an assistant's work! And his stupid assistant Xiaodao had done nothing but sleep soundly on a chair in the hallway, clutching his coat!

He was exhausted. He really needed a new executive agent.

So when Sheng Ke asked whether he was leaving, he perked up as if he'd been saved. "Yes!" Afraid he had been too obvious, he added, "I have a commitment tomorrow morning, so I can't stay with you, Brother Yan. I'll come see you when I'm done."

"No need. I'm being discharged tomorrow." Unconcerned, Zou Yan told Sheng Ke, "Director Ke, give Teacher Xie a ride home. His assistant's slow and clueless, no use at all."

"Ah, no, no, no. I have a car, a driver, and an assistant. I can manage to get home..." Every part of Xie Yibai screamed refusal. If he had to ride in the same car as Sheng Ke, wouldn't he have to stay on edge and keep up the act? How was that any different from working overtime late at night? And no one was paying him overtime!

Normally, Sheng Ke wouldn't have given him a ride. But he remembered the earring Xie Yibai had left in the back seat of his car last time. He had put it in a jewelry box and deliberately kept it in the car, thinking he would return it if he happened to run into Xie Yibai one day.

That raised a question: if he really wanted to return it to its owner, why hadn't he mailed it?

Because to get Xie Yibai's address, he would have had to ask Zou Yan. He hadn't told him the truth that night, and he didn't intend to tell him later either.

Ask someone to pass it on? Sheng Ke had gone through his contacts and found no one in direct contact with Xie Yibai except Zou Yan.

This was his only chance to return it while going around Zou Yan.

"Don't refuse, Teacher Xie. I'll drive you." Sheng Ke's tone was cold and firm, leaving no room for argument.

Xie Yibai gave a stiff smile. "Then... sorry for the trouble."

Xiaodao had slept through two naps on a bench in the hospital hallway, completely unaware of Xie Yibai's ordeal. When he woke and learned someone was giving his boss a ride, he was even happier to have nothing to do. He handed the coat back to Xie Yibai and skipped away.

Seeing Xie Yibai's speechless expression, Sheng Ke asked in surprise, "You only brought one assistant? Where's your agent?"

"The old one quit, and the new one hasn't started yet." He cared about his appearance, so he didn't put on the bloodstained coat, merely holding it in his arms.

"Oh, Zou Yan introduced you to Yin Ran, right?" Sheng Ke, who knew a little about the matter, went downstairs beside him.

"Mm." Xie Yibai said no more. He was quite perceptive about people. Every time Sheng Ke saw him, his words were full of insinuations; he meant no good.

The hospital's inpatient building was always quieter than the outpatient department, and at this hour before dawn, there was no one downstairs. The night was profoundly still, with the chirping of insects hidden among the green branches beneath the streetlights. Xie Yibai counted the white square tiles underfoot as he walked, enduring the long, silent walk side by side until they reached Sheng Ke's car.

He was used to riding in the back seat of a car, but treating someone else as his driver the first time had been awkward enough. He couldn't very well do it a second time, so he got into the front passenger seat.

Sheng Ke often worked out scripts when he was alone. That quiet walk had diverted his thoughts, and he became so absorbed in the story that he forgot all about the box containing the earring. Once in the car, he focused entirely on driving and even forgot Xie Yibai was beside him.

The car left the hospital parking lot, and after they had been on the road for more than twenty minutes, Xie Yibai suddenly asked, "Director Ke, do you know where I live?"

Sheng Ke said, "...No."

Xie Yibai guessed that his mind had wandered and helplessly gave him his address. He might as well have gone home by himself!

"Sorry." Sheng Ke offered a restrained apology, entered the name of his residential complex, and followed the navigation instructions to change lanes and make a U-turn three hundred meters ahead.

At this point, Xie Yibai was just glad Sheng Ke wasn't much of a talker, so he could close his eyes and doze for a while. He was so sleepy he wanted to cry.

"Teacher Xie, you could try making films too," Sheng Ke said.