Yimate.
Outside Ma Rui’s office.
The secretary’s eyes gleamed as she furtively logged into QQ.
“……”
Flattering the Boss Is Hard: Great God is here great god is here GREAT GOD IS HERE!
Never Surrender to the Police: (⊙o⊙) Is he here to challenge someone?
Flattering the Boss Is Hard: Nope. He came to see Gao Qin. The boss got kicked out. Hehe.
Never Surrender to the Police: (+﹏+)~ I’m dizzy. Don’t tell me they’re the couple? And here I was this morning getting all worked up over that photo of Great God and Xiao Bai eating hot dogs together.
Flattering the Boss Is Hard: /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~ But Lian Jue Xiu is in there too.
Cuihua: Aaaaaah… My Xiao Lian is there too?
Flattering the Boss Is Hard: ……
Flattering the Boss Is Hard: “Xiao Lian”?
Cuihua: He’s my number-one favorite! (^o^)/~
Flattering the Boss Is Hard: I’m going to work seriously now.
Never Surrender to the Police: I’m taking a nap.
Cuihua: _
On the other side of the door—
Gao Qin sat with one leg crossed over the other, leisurely turning over the hourglass on Ma Rui’s desk.
Yan Su Ang sat in Ma Rui’s large swivel chair with his eyes closed, resting.
Lian Jue Xiu stood beside the desk, passionately spraying saliva as he spoke. In fact, none of the three had changed position since he first entered the room.
Apparently tired from talking, Lian Jue Xiu paused to catch his breath. The moment he saw the other two looking completely unconcerned, his temper shot straight back up. “Say something, would you?! An ace manager and a superstar, and somehow you’ve still managed to cause a disaster like this. Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves?”
Gao Qin glanced at Yan Su Ang. “Your manager?”
Without even lifting his eyelids, Yan Su Ang said, “Probably walked into the wrong office.”
“You two…” Lian Jue Xiu slapped the desk so hard it went bang, bang. “Because of this stupid mess, the movie can’t even start filming! Don’t you feel the slightest bit guilty, Mr. Male Lead?!”
Yan Su Ang suddenly opened his eyes. “Every time we worked together before, there were always all kinds of rumors. You seemed to enjoy them quite a lot back then.”
“Those were necessary publicity and exposure.”
“And now we’ve added realism and credibility.”
Lian Jue Xiu cursed under his breath. “I used to worry you’d never fall in love. Now I think you’d have been better off staying single!”
Seeing that he had more or less finished venting, Gao Qin finally stepped in as peacemaker. “Shouldn’t solving the problem be the priority?”
Lian Jue Xiu said, “Hold a press conference before filming starts and clarify everything. Didn’t you say Zhang Fu Man had already dealt with Le Qing? Then there shouldn’t be much trouble.”
Yan Su Ang answered without hesitation. “I refuse.”
The anger that had only just died down shot back over Lian Jue Xiu’s head. “Do you want this movie cast under a shadow before it’s even released?”
“If I deny it now, then when Xiao Bai and I officially go public later, won’t everything I say today amount to slapping myself in the face?”
The office went completely silent.
Clearly, both Lian Jue Xiu and Gao Qin had been stunned by that casual when Xiao Bai and I officially go public later.
After a long while, Lian Jue Xiu finally said, “How did I never notice before that you take life this seriously?”
Yan Su Ang shrugged. “Because I’ve never taken you seriously.”
Lian Jue Xiu was speechless.
“Actually, I don’t support clarifying it either.” Gao Qin’s words caught Lian Jue Xiu completely off guard once again.
“What? Are you planning to drag Feng Ya Lun back and come out publicly together with them too?” What had happened between Gao Qin and Feng Ya Lun had never been a secret among their circle. Later, when Feng Ya Lun had gone to America to find a school, Lian Jue Xiu had even helped him make arrangements, so he knew at least something about what had happened afterward.
Gao Qin shot him a sidelong look. “If you’re that sexually frustrated, go into the restroom and deal with it against the wall. Stop firing off nonsense here.”
Lian Jue Xiu sneered. “Me, sexually frustrated? You have no idea how fulfilling my life is every day.”
Yan Su Ang said, “Then your kidneys must be failing.”
Lian Jue Xiu glared viciously at him. “You’ve been chasing someone all this time and haven’t even properly kissed him yet. You have no right to speak.”
Yan Su Ang said smugly, “Victory is already in sight for me. You’re the one whose temper is burning hottest. I’ve got someone to rely on in my future, while all you do is spend the whole day yelling ‘damn it.’ There’s no comparison between us.”
“Damn it.” Lian Jue Xiu immediately continued, “Just wait. I’m definitely going to win over my other half before you do. Then you can stand there drooling like an idiot!”
Listening to them ramble, Gao Qin could not help thinking of Feng Ya Lun, who had simply dusted himself off and left. His mood instantly became a hundred times worse. “Weren’t we discussing how to deal with the scandal?”
Still unsatisfied, Lian Jue Xiu wiped his mouth. “What’s your idea?”
“Do nothing. Say nothing. Let the people outside make noise and speculate however they want.”
Yan Su Ang raised an eyebrow. “You want to treat it as publicity?”
The corner of Gao Qin’s mouth curled upward. “Sneaking off for a private meeting at an amusement park on a Sunday, with crowds everywhere, while the Goodnight Every Day production team and reporters are on-site—no matter how you look at it, either your brain was crushed by a door or it was deliberate publicity. And particularly amateur publicity at that.”
Lian Jue Xiu immediately said, “He’s the first one.”
Yan Su Ang did not care. “I willingly let the door crush my brain.”
“How did I never notice before that you were this nauseating?”
“Because you weren’t worth nauseating.”
Gao Qin was forced to interrupt them yet again. “This plan will require Xiao Bai’s cooperation, though.” He looked at his watch. “He should be here in a little over half an hour. I’ll explain it to him.”
Yan Su Ang’s eyes lit up, and his expression instantly softened. “Xiao Bai is coming?”
Gao Qin set the hourglass down on the desk and smiled. “You need to leave within thirty minutes. If necessary, I can have security escort you.”
Yan Su Ang snorted. “Yimate’s hospitality really leaves something to be desired.”
“From where we stand, our relationship should be something like the Montagues and Capulets.”
Lian Jue Xiu’s phone suddenly rang.
Gao Qin and Yan Su Ang both stopped speaking and turned toward him.
When Lian Jue Xiu saw the name on the screen, surprise appeared on his face.
Gao Qin asked, “Who is it?”
“Juliet.”
Lian Jue Xiu agreed to come pick them up.
Xiao Bai finally relaxed. After hanging up, he pulled Jia Zhi Qing over and quietly sat with him outside the bar to wait.
Jia Zhi Qing had probably exhausted himself from making a scene. His consciousness gradually faded, and he leaned against Xiao Bai’s shoulder and dozed off.
At this point, taxis were finally willing to stop for them. But since Lian Jue Xiu was already on the way, and standing someone up would be very rude, Xiao Bai decided to obediently wait.
It was more than twenty minutes before Lian Jue Xiu arrived.
He did not get out of the car. He merely sat inside and directed Xiao Bai as he hauled Jia Zhi Qing into the back seat.
Jia Zhi Qing had been sleeping soundly. After Xiao Bai dragged him, pulled him, half-carried him, and bumped him around, his stomach immediately began churning like a stormy sea.
Lian Jue Xiu had just seen Xiao Bai climb into the car and was about to release the brake when a torrent of vomiting came from the back.
The entire car instantly filled with the filtered aroma of alcohol and food.
Lian Jue Xiu felt his own stomach turn and nearly vomited too.
Xiao Bai anxiously turned around. “Are you okay?”
Jia Zhi Qing mumbled a few words, then stopped moving again.
Lian Jue Xiu lowered the windows and slammed on the accelerator, hoping the wind would drive the air out of the car.
After driving for a while, he finally felt that he could breathe normally again. He slowed down and asked, “Is this why you called me to pick you up?”
Xiao Bai did not understand what he meant. He answered honestly, “You were the last choice in my phone.”
“……” The last choice? So the only thing I should be grateful for is that I qualified to compete at all? Lian Jue Xiu forcibly suppressed his dissatisfaction. “What about Yan Su Ang and Gao Qin?”
“Zhi Qing said he didn’t want them to come.”
“……”
Lian Jue Xiu murmured, “Zhi Qing said he didn’t want them to come?”
Xiao Bai nodded.
Lian Jue Xiu gave a small cough and asked softly, “You mean Jia Zhi Qing specifically told you to call me?”
Xiao Bai said, “Specifically? No. He doesn’t even know I have your number.”
“……”
So Jia Zhi Qing currently disliked Yan Su Ang and Gao Qin very, very much, while Lian Jue Xiu’s own name had never even appeared on the scoreboard.
The accelerator beneath Lian Jue Xiu’s foot became easier and easier to press.
As the car practically took flight, Xiao Bai was forced to grab the overhead handle.
Suddenly, Lian Jue Xiu spotted a traffic officer ahead and cursed. He slammed on the brakes.
He and Xiao Bai both lurched forward.
Bang.
Jia Zhi Qing fell off the seat and landed face-first in his own vomit.
“Bleurgh!”
An even louder round of vomiting followed.
The stench surged forward like an ocean wave.
Lian Jue Xiu and Xiao Bai simultaneously turned their green faces away.
The car stopped at the side of the road.
The traffic officer slowly walked over.
Lian Jue Xiu looked out.
An acquaintance.
“Nearly ninety kilometers an hour. Speeding.” The officer efficiently began writing the ticket.
Lian Jue Xiu sighed. “Other than speeding, is there nothing else you people can check?”
Without looking up, the officer said, “I’d also like to know whether there’s anything you people can do besides speed.” One came immediately after another. What kind of bizarre fetish was this? Was it contagious?
“……”
Lian Jue Xiu wiped a hand over his face. “Actually, I have a reason today. Look in the back…”
Jia Zhi Qing lay there motionless.
The traffic officer glanced over from the corner of his eye. “Transporting a corpse?”
“……”
Lian Jue Xiu calmly said, “Alcohol poisoning. We’re rushing him to the hospital.”
The officer’s gaze slowly moved from Lian Jue Xiu’s face to Xiao Bai’s, then returned to the ticket. “You said last time that you were a director, right?”
Did he go home afterward and carefully research my career, then suddenly decide to express his admiration?
Filled with pride, Lian Jue Xiu gave a reserved nod.
The traffic officer looked puzzled. “With acting this bad, did you become a director through connections?”
“……”
Lian Jue Xiu tapped his fingers twice against the steering wheel and smiled. “So, are you going to write me another ticket?”
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