Snail

"No," Xie Yibai said.

"Then are you pursuing him?"

"No."

He Limei guessed, "Is it an apology gift?"

"Something like that..." Xie Yibai said vaguely.

He Limei knew she didn't understand the field and couldn't help him navigate his professional relationships, so she stopped prying into his private affairs. Instead, she praised him. "That's my son. You have good taste. If I were receiving it, I'd be delighted."

His mother was still trying to cheer him up as if he were a middle schooler. Xie Yibai appreciated her kindness and said, "That's great to hear."

During his days off, Zou Yan had been bargaining with representatives from various parties.

The web drama would be released on a streaming platform. The market for long-form video was struggling, the major platforms were suffering heavy losses, and they were growing increasingly cautious about investing. Even a major project from a large film and television company couldn't get off the ground if the platform executives voted it down at a meeting.

Zou Yan was a filmmaker crossing over into another field, testing the waters by making a web drama. Even if the platform and producers were willing to do him a favor, there were strings attached: they wanted to insert their own people.

Everyone wanted a share of a cake that could fetch a good price. You had your newcomers, and I had my stars. If the drama became a hit, everyone would soar; if it flopped, everyone would share the losses.

That was how the project came into being.

Zou Yan was used to making independent films, where the investors provided funding without interfering in the creative work or casting, leaving him and the director free to do as they pleased. Back in those days, when he could work without restraint, Sheng Ke was the only person he had to persuade. Now a whole group of people awaited his persuasion, every one of them a penny-pincher obsessed with money.

After several mentally and physically taxing days, there was no way he couldn't be exhausted.

He wasn't as strict as Sheng Ke when it came to casting. Apart from Xie Yibai, there was no role in the drama that had to go to any particular person. But some of the people the investors wanted to insert were utterly wrong for their assigned roles.

If he revised the script to meet all their demands, the drama would surely become unrecognizable and unbearably hackneyed.

He was a producer who cared about the quality of his work, and he refused to budge on quality control. Besides, once he surrendered his say, he would never get it back.

After several meetings with senior executives, the situation had reached a deadlock. Zou Yan seized every waking moment of each day, racing against the clock to figure out how to win this round of negotiations.

Xie Yibai's visit and the gift he brought allowed Zou Yan to relax for a while. The splint had been removed from his hand, and he made tea for his guest himself, as usual.

He often had to attend business receptions and dinners, but he had never used a tie clip, or at least had rarely used one. He asked, "What made you think of giving me this?"

"I was shopping with my mom and thought it was pretty when I saw it, so I bought it." Xie Yibai was concerned about his hand. "Brother Yan, has your hand fully recovered?"

Xie Yibai spoke in a soft, gentle voice, like a kitten or a bunny, but his expression was slyer than either. The corners of his eyes were slender and elongated, and his dark eyes sparkled, making one want to pet and tease him.

Zou Yan said, "You didn't buy this for me because you felt bad about turning down my late-night snack invitation, did you?"

He could tell that Xie Yibai wasn't very good at turning people down, was softhearted, and felt guilty easily.

"Ah... you figured that out too." There was no hiding it, so he wouldn't try. It wasn't as if Zou Yan didn't know he was stupid. Xie Yibai said, "I really was sleepy that night and didn't want to go out, but I was afraid you'd be angry with me..."

More than twenty years of life experience had taught him that mixing truth with lies was the most convincing approach.

"How could I be angry with you?" Zou Yan took out a tie clip and played with it as he spoke. "But more than receiving a gift from you, I'd rather you gave me a kiss."

Xie Yibai didn't know what to do with his hands, and his tongue tangled too. He stammered, "Huh? Uh... k-kiss you where? I've only kissed other people when filming..."

And most of those had been camera tricks, not real kisses.

Zou Yan hadn't expected that reaction and couldn't tell whether he was being genuine or acting. But seeing his ears bright red, like half-ripened fruit, he put aside his teasing and said, "Never mind, I was kidding. I won't take advantage of you."

Xie Yibai visibly relaxed. "Hahaha... I guess I should practice my kissing skills next time I'm filming."

Zou Yan was puzzled. "Xiaobai, have you really never been in a relationship? Not once in your whole life?"

Chapter 28: Snail

Asked about his romantic history, Xie Yibai grew even more hesitant. Given the pace of life these days, it was strange for someone his age and in his profession to have never been in a relationship. If he said so, people might even assume he had some hidden medical condition.

But to his fans, it was a good thing. He had only ever engaged in public CP promotion and had never been involved in a romantic scandal backed by hard evidence.

They could be his fans without worrying.

That was why he was especially wary of Xing Zhanyun. The clean reputation he had worked so hard to maintain for years could be casually destroyed in an instant.

Though in his present situation, talking about a clean reputation was hypocritical.

"I had a crush on someone when I was little, but now I can't even remember what he looked like..." Xie Yibai didn't forget to clarify. "Xing Zhanyun really isn't my ex. I rented his place. You could say we almost got together, but luckily we didn't."

As if he had just heard something remarkably unusual, Zou Yan asked, "Other than Xing Zhanyun, there must have been plenty of people pursuing you, right? Wasn't there a single one you liked?"

"It's not about whether I liked them. My family was strict when I was a teenager, and my classmates liked to tease people, so I had no chance to date. After I became an adult, I worked while going to school. There was no way I could start a relationship at school, and the people in the industry who pursued me were all... sponsors." Sponsors was a euphemism. In reality, they were nouveau riche types who threw money at him, and being old and ugly were the least of their faults. Xie Yibai said, "I thought I could make it on my own merits, so I didn't want to rely on their resources."

"You have strong principles." Zou Yan still didn't understand. "But people these days don't have to be in an official relationship to get together. Most of the actors I know seize the moment. Hasn't anyone asked you to hook up?"

For adults, arranging to sleep together was a common way to relieve stress.

"Some have," Xie Yibai said, "but I tend to worry about everything. I'm afraid of catching something... I can't exactly ask someone for a medical report before getting a hotel room with them, can I?"

Zou Yan burst out laughing. "You're the purest person I've ever met, untainted by the muck around you."

Xie Yibai didn't know what to say, so he just smiled.

When Zou Yan finished laughing, he went on, "In my whole life, I've only met two people who don't need intimacy: you and Sheng Ke. I've always suspected there was something wrong with him, but you just gave me an idea. Maybe he's a fetishist who only loves movies. Actually, that makes sense. What's so great about people? You have to argue and deal with all the fuss. One minute they want love, the next they want money. You might as well spend your life with a camera."

Maybe there's something wrong with his personality, and that's why no one can get along with him. Xie Yibai bad-mouthed him in secret. Who would date a megalomaniac? Unless they were a masochist. He really didn't have a good impression of Sheng Ke. "Director Ke has such a strong personality. It would take someone with a lot of inner strength to get along with him, like you, Brother Yan..."

Zou Yan said, "Not exactly. Once you get to know him, you'll find he's very straightforward. He's a little arrogant, but he won't play games with you."

Xie Yibai immediately regretted it. He shouldn't have said that. What kind of relationship did Zou Yan and Sheng Ke have? They were childhood friends! Their families went way back! They were as close as brothers!

What had he been thinking, saying something bad about Sheng Ke in front of Zou Yan? He deserved a slap on the mouth.

"Xiaobai, if Sheng Ke bullies you, you have to tell me." Zou Yan watched every minute change in his expression. "Though knowing him, the most he'd do is say something nasty. He wouldn't actually do anything to you. But if anything makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to keep it to yourself. I won't let you be bullied."

Xie Yibai stared at the scar on Zou Yan's temple. He believed Zou Yan would stand up for him, but why put him through that? It wasn't as if there were any deep hatred between them, and the most inappropriate thing Sheng Ke had done to him was touch his hand.

Did touching his hand count as bullying? It counted as taking liberties, didn't it?

From Zou Yan's description, Sheng Ke was clearly an aloof, proud asexual... Besides, as a prominent director, he could touch whoever he wanted. It didn't seem as though he had any ulterior motives toward Xie Yibai.

Uh... have I been gaslighted? Why am I making excuses for him? I am uncomfortable!

Xie Yibai wanted to tell him everything, but when he thought about their chance encounter at the nightclub that night, he found it hard to speak. If he dared complain about Sheng Ke, Sheng Ke could complain about him too. When the truth came out, he would be the one who lost face.

He asked tactfully, "Brother Yan, are you sure Director Ke has never been in a relationship? Is he attracted to men or women?"

"No. With a face like his, he's had people pursuing him nonstop since he was little, but I've never seen him get close to anyone." At the mention of his childhood friend, Zou Yan became a chatterbox. "He really has high standards. No one is good enough for him. He thinks the smart ones aren't pretty and the pretty ones aren't smart. After filming Yesterday Hangs High, he told me he never wanted to direct another drama centered on male actors. He said they were too stupid to communicate with. That's why Madam Huanqing and Home are both dramas about women. I guess he prefers women after all."

Xie Yibai disagreed. "If he thinks every male actor is stupid, why doesn't he act himself? His face would look great on camera."

"He doesn't like being watched. When we were in school, we had to film an assignment, and an actor stood us up at the last minute. I asked him to fill in, but he flat-out refused."

"Oh."

Zou Yan studied his eyes. "So, Xiaobai, is there nothing you want to tell me?"

That one sentence alone was enough to make the hairs on Xie Yibai's body stand on end. Sheng Ke couldn't have secretly told Zou Yan about me, could he... Come to think of it, what am I so afraid of? I only went to a nightclub! Why is that something I can't let people know about?

Whatever. He was only expressing how he felt. He said, "Brother Yan, I don't want to come between you and Director Ke... I know you're close, but could you ask him to stop joking around with me? I'm just a really stupid male actor. I can't even tell whether the things he says are true or not, whether he's teasing me or targeting me. I don't like it..."

He clearly doesn't want to make anything with a man in the lead, yet he said he wrote a script for me. He must have been lying!

Few people dared admit they were stupid. Besides, when someone was pretty, nothing they said could make people dislike them. Before meeting Xie Yibai, Zou Yan had never thought his type was pretty idiots. Now he felt the joy of discovering a new continent, and wanted to gather up all the rare treasures on land and lay them before Xie Yibai, just to see him smile.