A Hug

His immediate priority was finding a restroom and making himself presentable.

The elevator doors were about to close when Zou Yan pressed the button to open them and hurried after him. "Xiaobai, where are you going?"

Too embarrassed to risk being caught, Xie Yibai broke into a run. "I'll come find you later!"

Zou Yan had crossed paths with Xing Zhanyun at the last banquet, and now the two adversaries had run into each other again. But Zou Yan had received the compensation he wanted, so he carried himself like a triumphant winner. He rested his lipstick-stained hand on Xing Zhanyun's shoulder and said amiably, "It's been a while. You've gotten even more handsome, Young Master Xing."

Xing Zhanyun had dealt with him several times and had grown immune to his provocations. "Yes, thanks to you, President Zou. I took both of your punches squarely, and my nose still didn't break. No one questions whether I've had plastic surgery anymore."

Zou Yan smiled. "You're welcome. When you're done playing around and want to work, remember to look me up."

Xing Zhanyun had suffered a major loss without a word and been thoroughly berated by his own father. While recovering from his injuries, he had learned to rein in his arrogance and impatience, and no longer displayed his swagger openly. He silently stepped forward and pressed the button for the elevator going down. "I'm going downstairs to buy a pack of cigarettes. See you later."

Zou Yan was quick to pick up on things. "Your father didn't come?"

Only then did Xing Zhanyun smile. "He handed this project over to me. We'll be seeing each other often from now on."

Zou Yan's expression changed at once, and he held out a hand. "Then I look forward to working with you, President Xing Junior."

Xing Zhanyun ignored his hand and walked into the elevator. Turning around, he said, "You're the producer, so remember to keep an eye on your actor. Make sure Xie Yibai watches what he says and does. If a scandal breaks out during filming, no one will be able to keep him in the lead role."

Zou Yan raised a hand in farewell, his smile radiant. "Take care. I can keep him in it."

The moment the elevator doors closed, Xing Zhanyun's face darkened.

Hahaha, that greenhorn still has a lot to learn. Zou Yan wiped the pleasure from his face and went to the private room to deal with those crafty businessmen first.

Xie Yibai wet the pocket square under the tap and carefully wiped away the lipstick marks at the corners of his mouth and around his lips. He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been had. Had Zou Yan done it on purpose?

But why would he smear his face like that?

It made perfect sense if he took it as flirting.

Ah, it was all because Zou Yan had been so considerate and patient with him. He had almost forgotten that he, too, was someone who used his looks to serve others.

Zou Yan and Sheng Ke were good friends, and their tastes were quite similar. They both liked watching him make a fool of himself and teasing him about it.

Just as people thought kittens and puppies were cute when they sneezed or fell over.

Putting up with it for a while wouldn't just keep the peace; it would also give him a boundless future. He would put up with it!

Xie Yibai found the private room and walked in. Before him was a white round table large enough to seat more than twenty people, but there were only twelve chairs, and half the guests had yet to arrive. He knew some of the guests and had never met others; he greeted them all the same, and everyone turned their attention to him and exchanged warm greetings.

Qi Lan wasn't there. Great! He sat down next to Zou Yan and returned the soaking-wet pocket square to him. "It's dirty. Have your housekeeper wash it when you get home."

Zou Yan couldn't very well put the wet square back in his pocket. Looking at him, he asked, "Did you get it all off?"

Xie Yibai said nothing and refused to look at him, sulking.

An occasional display of temper added some variety, and Zou Yan was happy to coax him. He leaned close and whispered, "Xing Zhanyun is here tonight too. His father handed the agency rights over to him."

"I'm not surprised," Xie Yibai said, folding his arms. "He won't miss a single chance to harass me."

Zou Yan said, "That proves how attractive you are. That opportunity didn't come easily to him; he paid a hefty price for it."

"Hmph, I won't let him have his way so easily."

"Do you have a plan?"

Xie Yibai's unfocused gaze suddenly sharpened. He turned toward Zou Yan, his eyes shimmering, the shadows his lashes cast at their outer corners curving upward. He said frankly, "No, but I have you."

Zou Yan felt as though a little paw had scratched at his heart, and also as though a scorpion's tail had hooked into it. Strands of tingling numbness intertwined with a faint, intermittent itch and ache, almost more than he could bear.

Xie Yibai mercilessly withdrew that sidelong glance and stopped looking at him.

In an instant, Zou Yan felt the symptoms of the poison taking effect: his heart was swelling, and his insides were rotting. He took a deep breath and clasped one of Xie Yibai's hands. It was neither warm nor cold, and the poison's effects within him diminished somewhat.

"I'll do whatever you say," he said without thinking.

Xie Yibai refused to let him hold his hand. He pulled free of Zou Yan's fingers, placed both hands under the table, and lowered his eyes. "You all bully me. I don't believe you."

"Who bullied you?" Zou Yan tried to bluff his way through. "Who was it? Tell me, and I'll beat him up for you."

Xie Yibai propped his cheek on one hand, leaned his upper body away, and beckoned with a finger. "Then come closer, and I'll tell you."

Zou Yan admitted that he enjoyed flirting in public. Unconcerned by how many pairs of eyes were watching, he simply leaned toward Xie Yibai.

Xie Yibai moved close to his ear, about to speak, but worried someone might read his lips. So he cupped a hand around his mouth, making the whisper especially intimate and suggestive.

But what Zou Yan heard was neither a complaint nor a name. With his lips close against Zou Yan's ear, Xie Yibai said, "I'm not touching a drop tonight. You drink."

Are you trying to drink me to death? Zou Yan wanted to ask. But then a kiss, so light it was little more than a breath, brushed fleetingly against the tip of his ear. Xie Yibai said coolly, "That's an order."

The shift from warmth to cold was like the changing of the seasons, leaving him weak-kneed and unable to resist. Zou Yan suppressed the jumble of feelings in his heart and agreed. "Whatever you say."

Xie Yibai slipped a ring off his finger and passed it to Zou Yan under the table, pressing it firmly into his palm.

Zou Yan asked, "Is this payment for drinking on your behalf?"

Xie Yibai shook his head and, pretending not to be talking to him, said softly, "It's a voucher. The next time you ask me to kiss you, I'll give you one kiss."

Zou Yan couldn't help smiling. "I really don't believe you've never been in a relationship."

Chapter 30: A Hug

When his former company had handled his film and television contracts, Hao Jun had dragged Xie Yibai to plenty of drinking parties like this. He was a major star admired by countless people. When he appeared at shopping malls for promotional events, fans and passersby could fill three floors, packing the elevators and corridors until not even a drop of water could get through.

At a dinner table filled with elites, he was an extra, and everyone wanted to get a couple of drinks into him, so it wasn't realistic for him to avoid alcohol entirely. Investing in film and television productions was no longer as profitable as it had been in earlier years. Those who had made enough had already gotten out, while most newcomers were newly wealthy people from the tech industry looking to expand their connections.

Xie Yibai was familiar with the people from the platform, so he drank two glasses of red wine as a gesture of goodwill. After that, no matter how the others urged him, he refused to drink another drop.

Whenever someone proposed a toast to him, he picked up his orange juice with an apologetic air. When he wouldn't drink, Zou Yan rushed to drink in his place. After one round, everyone understood that he and Zou Yan were close, and that Zou Yan cherished him like a precious treasure.

The newly wealthy were generally less overbearing than old money and didn't dare make things difficult for Zou Yan. Gradually, no one urged anyone to drink anymore. The people around the large table focused on their meals, occasionally raising their glasses and chatting happily.

Xie Yibai had indeed attached himself to Zou Yan, someone far above him. Outsiders could say whatever they liked; even if he kept it hidden, plenty of people would spread the word for him.

If he wanted to climb higher, he couldn't look back.

Only by disregarding other people's opinions could one enjoy true freedom. Xie Yibai knew this well. Once he stopped fearing rumors and gossip, he was free to choose whether to drink alcohol or juice.

But he had gone from a disposable actor who became popular through a web drama and survived on traffic and fleecing fans to making connections with a big name in the film industry-a rise that could only be described as ascending to heaven in a single step. It was a stretch to call him a hidden pearl finally brought to light. After all, there were at least eight or ten active male entertainers of Xie Yibai's caliber in the domestic entertainment industry. He didn't necessarily have any outstanding qualities, so why had Zou Yan singled him out?

He must have been willing to go all out and climb into Zou Yan's bed.

After sharing a bed with someone, one would feel at least some affection and tenderness for them.

In the entertainment industry, any problem that could be solved by sleeping with someone wasn't really a problem. The hard part was sleeping with the right person; sleeping with the wrong one would cost more than it was worth. Xie Yibai had set a fine example: if you were going to attach yourself to someone, pick someone capable, someone willing to pour resources into you and able to protect you too.

Getting him to drink and getting Zou Yan to drink were two entirely different matters. Zou Yan's main field was still film. Art films were a luxury in any language or region, and only when the high returns from commercial films balanced out the profits and losses did producers dare to fund independent films, nine out of ten of which lost money. For Zou Yan to make art films profitable and set 404 Studio apart from the rest, capital, ability, and luck were all indispensable.

Besides, he was still so young. It was hard to say whether he might achieve even greater things in the future.

Originally, everyone had thought Zou Yan was making a web drama as a side project and a way to test the waters. They assumed he had chosen Xie Yibai as the lead because, from a producer's perspective, the project needed a traffic star who was reasonably popular, charged a reasonable fee, and offered good value to carry the show. If it was a hit, he would continue developing it; if it flopped, he would pull out.

But seeing him today, they found they had gotten it backward.

Zou Yan was making this drama entirely to promote Xie Yibai. Judging by how he personally attended to everything, the two were quite serious about each other. There was a good chance the web drama was only the appetizer, with a film as the main course.

Why bother pushing anyone into the cast now? They would only serve as a foil for the male lead. Better to seize the opportunity to spend money currying favor, so that when Zou Yan had a film project guaranteed to turn a profit, he might let them in on it.

The story that had previously circulated about a fight at a brand banquet was probably no rumor either. It had really happened.

So just what was Xie Yibai capable of, to make the young masters who had fought over him sit at the same table?

The guests' gazes moved between Zou Yan's and Xing Zhanyun's faces, but unfortunately, looking alone couldn't reveal the mystery. They could only hope to get the full story during their future collaboration.

Throughout the evening, Xie Yibai never looked at Xing Zhanyun, the subject of his past dating rumors. Out in the world, one set one's own worth. If he stayed entangled with one second-generation heir, countless others would want to come entangle themselves with him.

Carry himself with more dignity, and the people who dared approach him would have more standing too.

Xie Yibai didn't drink and spoke only to Zou Yan. He was like a famous flower that already had an owner, to be admired from afar but not trifled with. But flowers and plants, like possessions, would one day change hands. Some kept a respectful distance, while others were eager to try. The person seated beside him passed him several business cards, and someone else left their seat, walked up to him, and said, "Teacher Xie, our President He especially loves watching your dramas. May we add you on WeChat?"