Doesn't count

Xie Yibai's head buzzed, and a sense of foreboding clung to him like a shadow.

He put on a brave face: I've always been famous.

Qi Lan: No, I mean that fight your ex-boyfriend got into over you. That was amazing.

: He's not my ex-boyfriend.

Qi Lan: Then you're really something. How did you hook him? Teach me.

Aaargh, that nasty little person! Qi Lan was deliberately trying to upset him!

Xie Yibai refused to back down: Hahaha, there's no point teaching you. You're too ugly to learn.

Sure enough, the most straightforward insults hit the hardest. Qi Lan stopped messaging him.

Unfortunately, Qi Lan was sitting with his back to him. Otherwise, Xie Yibai would have loved to see his expression.

After snapping back, Xie Yibai felt much better, but a new problem soon arose.

Xing Zhanyun! What lies have you been spreading now?!

People in the entertainment industry were all fair-weather friends, ready to turn whichever way the wind blew and kick someone when they were down. There was no rotten thing they wouldn't do. They didn't dare make up stories about Zou Yan, so they picked on him, the easy target.

It was infuriating! Who had he hooked? Just who had he hooked, he'd like to know? Weren't these men the ones who had thrown themselves at him?

Just because he was a nobody, neither as rich nor as powerful as they were, did that mean his dealings with them had to be a calculated attempt to curry favor with the rich and powerful?

The Bodhisattva could bear witness that he hadn't had the slightest improper thought about any of those men. They were the ones throwing themselves at him, all right!

But even if he had a hundred times his courage, he couldn't go up to Zou Yan and shout, "You're the one who threw yourself at me, right? Right?"

Xie Yibai put this on Xing Zhanyun's tab. He shouldn't provoke spoiled rich kids; getting involved with a useless second-generation heir would only bring him misfortune.

Halfway through the meeting, Yin Ran mentioned to the screenwriters that the show also needed a male character who wouldn't overshadow the male lead, but would be memorable enough to add something to the story. He didn't need much screen time, but his appearances had to count. Qi Lan would play him.

If not for this script meeting, Xie Yibai wouldn't have known that Zou Yan had approached Yin Ran for investment first, then arranged for her to take over his management contract.

That way, the interests of all three parties were closely bound together. They were grasshoppers on the same rope, a solid lineup pulling in the same direction, with a greater chance of success.

He wouldn't be able to learn Zou Yan's business sense even in his next life. He could only throw a little tantrum, abruptly getting up and walking away.

"Let's take a fifteen-minute break. Have some tea and something to eat," Zou Yan announced, then asked Shu Lin to come outside for a smoke.

Xie Yibai squatted under the eaves, listening to music through his Bluetooth earbuds.

A Chu came out carrying a small plate of pastries. She tried one herself, then asked if he wanted any.

He shook his head, but when she held one to his mouth, he ate it anyway.

From what had happened between him and Xing Zhanyun, Zou Yan had learned that he hated gossip, so he deliberately kept his distance from him in front of others-or rather, kept enough distance to keep people from talking.

A pair of spotless white sneakers came to a stop in front of Xie Yibai.

Shu Lin's straight-leg jeans were faded and distressed, his sweatshirt was Klein blue, and his cap was red. The eye-catching, contrasting colors made for a trendy hip-hop look. He looked less like a director than a college student just starting out.

Xie Yibai vaguely remembered Zou Yan mentioning that Shu Lin was only twenty-four, a newcomer Sheng Ke had discovered at a film festival.

"Teacher Xie," Shu Lin said, squatting down beside him to pass on a message. "Brother Zou said he'll keep his promise to you."

His train of thought interrupted, Xie Yibai asked with sudden interest, "Director Shu, are you close with Xing Zhanyun?"

If he remembered correctly, Xing Zhanyun had used his connection with Shu Lin to arrange that failed audition of his.

"We've had a few meals together." They had also gone clubbing together. Shu Lin left that part unsaid.

"Then sorry for the trouble, but could you pass a message to Xing Zhanyun for me too?" Xie Yibai said. "If I hear anyone else say he's my ex-boyfriend, I'll tell everyone we broke up because he couldn't get it up."

Chapter 23: Doesn't count

Shu Lin was still young. After hearing that, he asked, "So was it really because he couldn't get it up?"

Fuck. Xie Yibai nearly bit his tongue. He glared at him and said, "Do you know what you look like?"

"A rapper?" Shu Lin ventured.

Xie Yibai grabbed the brim of his cap and flipped it up. "A bottle of Pepsi-Cola."

Not far away, Zou Yan heard his ingenious comparison and burst out laughing.

Shu Lin steadied his cap, adjusted it, and stood up. "I'll pass the message on, Teacher Xie. Don't worry."

Xie Yibai went back to his phone and refreshed his Moments. The first post that popped up was Qi Lan's.

Qi Lan had posted the words "Meeting in progress," with a picture of the tea, coffee, and snacks on the long table. A corner of the project proposal was visible, and the title of the show had been conspicuously blurred out. There was also a photo of part of the courtyard garden; anyone who had been there would know where it was at a glance.

Hahaha, he couldn't wait to show off.

Xie Yibai liked the post as a marker, planning to see whether Qi Lan would delete it when he lost the role.

So what if he held a grudge? Nice people got bullied. Once someone had wronged him, he had to pay them back in kind.

The script meeting lasted until sunset. The two screenwriters had to return to their studio to work against the clock, Yin Ran had a business reception, and everyone else had personal matters to attend to. Zou Yan saw them out, with Xie Yibai accompanying him.

Qi Lan asked him with feigned kindness, "Teacher Xie, do you want a ride?"

Xie Yibai was thinking about the cook at Zou Yan's place and planned to stay for a free meal. He shook his head and said, "You go on. I have a car."

Qi Lan knew Xing Zhanyun had fought over him, so Qi Lan had to know Zou Yan was the other person involved. But in the entire domestic entertainment industry, how many people dared to get in Zou Yan's face? Qi Lan winked at him with a knowing look, then left with his assistant.

Xie Yibai had never liked Qi Lan to begin with, and now Qi Lan had rubbed him the wrong way again. His face darkened at once.

Zou Yan turned and saw his knitted brows. "What's wrong?"

Xie Yibai took the initiative to tell him about his past troubles with Qi Lan. "I know it wasn't a big deal, but I was really unknown back then, a complete newcomer. What Qi Lan did left me with a psychological scar."

Anyone could say that, in the industry, he was already one of the lucky ones whose career had soared. Along the way, he had never suffered a major setback or been seriously duped. It was precisely because of that that he remembered these old trifles.

Calling them trivial seemed too dismissive, but to Zou Yan, such loves and grudges were no different from playing house.

Even so, Zou Yan showed him plenty of understanding and said, "That person really isn't decent. We'll do as you say and not hire Qi Lan."

"Yeah!" Xie Yibai was touched to have someone share his indignation, but he had to keep up appearances. "But will that make things difficult for you with Sister Yin Ran, Brother Yan?"

"Difficult?" Zou Yan raised an eyebrow. "That word isn't in my dictionary."

Xie Yibai almost wanted to applaud. Playing along, he said, "Brother Yan, I wish I'd met you sooner."

"I've known about you for a long time," Zou Yan said. "I just never had direct contact with you, and I didn't want to, either."

Xie Yibai asked, "Why?"

Zou Yan put an arm around his shoulders, reached around to his ear, and pinched his cheek. "Because those shows you made used such heavy skin-smoothing filters, and the color grading was ugly too. Just looking at you on screen, I didn't think you were good-looking at all."

Xie Yibai pulled his hand away. "But everyone says I look great on camera."

"I mean they made you look ugly. They couldn't capture even a tenth of your looks."

"Would Director Shu do a better job?"

"Don't let Shu Lin's age fool you. He's highly accomplished in cinematography." At that, Zou Yan said ruefully, "The kid's good at everything. He's diligent about running errands, has a sharp eye, and can endure hardship. There's just one problem: he has lofty ambitions. His temperament is cut from the same mold as Sheng Ke's-picky and eccentric. You have to coax him into filming, and if there's something he doesn't like, he can walk off the job on the spot. We've spent two years working on him. Hopefully he won't pull anything this time."

Xie Yibai said, "Brother Yan, why are all the directors you find so strange? The directors I've worked with were all easy to communicate with. They had good tempers too, and they were always encouraging us."

"Xiaobai, do you think I have a good temper?" Zou Yan asked.

"A wonderful one!"

"There you go. That's because I'm not a genius."

"No," Xie Yibai argued. "It has nothing to do with being a genius. It's purely a matter of personality and upbringing."

"Mm, but people are willing to cut a genius a little more slack." With that, Zou Yan took his hand and led him to the kitchen. "Let's sort out dinner first. What do you want? Order whatever you like. We've prepared plenty of ingredients today."

Xie Yibai was happy to share. "Then I'll ask A Chu to join us. She loves good food too!"

Xie Yibai still savored the memory of the southern dishes from last time. Tonight, he ordered four dishes: stir-fried eel with shrimp, sweet-and-sour pork ribs, yanduxian, and shiitake mushrooms with bok choy. A Chu ordered seafood congee and fried cakes, and Zou Yan added a soup.

Zou Yan's occupational habit was that he couldn't separate life from work. During the meal, he asked, "Xiaobai, do you have any thoughts on Jinshu as a character?"

Xie Yibai chewed on a tender spring bamboo shoot, racking his brains.

What thoughts could he have? When had he ever played a complex, profound character? The aloof immortal lord/

scheming

prince/untouchable

CEO

he had played only needed him to look cool and beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, and then have a passionate romance or a deeply anguished love affair with the female lead.

A Chu put down her bowl and chopsticks and raised her hand, coming to his rescue. "President Zou, I have some thoughts."

Zou Yan said, "Go on. I'd love to hear them."

"The character setup isn't trendy enough. It doesn't closely follow current hot topics or include elements audiences like. Take Jinshu's family background, for example. How can he..."

Xie Yibai's phone rang. He put down his chopsticks and went to the covered walkway outside the dining room to answer it.

It was his mother, Great Beauty Lili.

"...Hello?" Xie Yibai said into the silent receiver. "Mom, is that you?"

"I had a fight with your dad." Soft sobs came from the other end. "I was only in a hurry to go out and play cards, so I forgot to turn off the burner in the kitchen. It's not as if he wasn't home. He was too busy scrolling through Douyin, and even though he knew the ribs were stewing, he didn't go check the stove. The pot got ruined, and he blamed me for it."