Chapter 37: Shen City
An Zhiyan is the type of parent who would criticize An Zhihan for even breathing if he made a mistake.
In the evening, the three of them sat down for dinner together. As soon as An Zhihan picked up a piece of fried chicken, An Zhiyan began to scold him. "After causing such a ruckus, how is it that you're still in the mood for food?! I'm embarrassed for you."
An Zhihan promptly returned the fried chicken to the plate as if picking it up in the first place was a huge misunderstanding.
Su Jinli, who initially wanted to eat, obediently put his back as well.
"You eat your food," An Zhiyan told Su Jinli.
Su Jinli discreetly glanced at An Zhihan.
An Zhihan's look requested Su Jinli to say some words in his defense.
"Is there something wrong with your eyes?" Su Jinli asked with concern.
"Because of the upcoming competition, I haven't even hit you yet. Quit playing the victim," An Zhiyan retorted.
An Zhihan could only remain silent...
These two's inability to read the room has really reached a new peak. It's estimated that they would both have a really hard time finding partners in the future.
An Zhihan gave up fighting back, stood up, and said, "You two just eat!"
After he left, he noticed that the two of them sat face to face, happily dining together. They didn't seem to care whether he was eating or not.
With each bite Su Jinli took, she would remark, "This is so good!"
"Mhmm, want another serving?"
"No, I want to save space to try other things."
"If it's not enough, I'll order more."
Starving yet teased by them, An Zhihan began to wander around the house, trying to find a way to annoy them.
After rummaging, An Zhihan found a candle, placed it on the dining table, lit it, and turned the dining room light off.
Wouldn't two grown men eating by candlelight be nauseating?
Sure enough, An Zhiyan expressed clear displeasure, questioning, "Why would you place this thing while dining, it's rather irritating."
"Actually, it's nice. This meat could be cooked a bit more; it would taste even better," Su Jinli responded, picking up a piece of meat.
"Don't people usually grill meat over charcoal?"
"That's how I did it when I was in the mountains. Just look," said Su Jinli after he actually started grilling meat over a candle.
A novelty item intended to spice things up was placed in front of An Zhiyan and Su Jinli and turned into a tool for grilling meat.
An Zhihan, who was already hungry, thought it was simply too much when he smelled the aroma of the grilled meat.
"I think you two will have a hard time finding partners, given you have no sense of romance at all," An Zhihan abruptly said, even letting out two tsking sounds.
"Having three girlfriends makes you think you understand women? Let me tell you this. Modern girls prefer guys who are attractive and wealthy. They can tolerate the rest," An Zhiyan responded, giving An Zhihan a white-eyed look. "Stand up straight. You're always hunching your back. Is it because you're playing with your phone too much and can't sit up straight?"
An Zhihan rolled his eyes dramatically, regretting why he didn't return to the camp immediately after solving the problem. Why did he have to spend the night here!
Now anything An Zhihan did irritated An Zhiyan; the fewer the opportunities he had to cross paths with An Zhiyan, the better.
After dinner, Su Jinli cautiously suggested to An Zhiyan, "Should we save some for Zhihan?"
"No need to save any, he gains weight even from drinking water. You didn't see him during the first season of his show; his face was bloated as if there was a tumor growing on it," said An Zhiyan in a very exaggerated way, completely ignoring the stream of comments from the fans saying An Zhihan was handsome.
"But Zhihan isn't fat."
"That's camera effects. They make people look about a quarter heavier than they really are. This is just the way beauty standards are in our country. One, you have to be fair-skinned. Two, you need to be thin. Three, you have to have a face like his string of identical triplet girlfriends."
An Zhihan was distraught, wondering how the conversation had turned to him again when he hadn't even made a move or spoken a word.
Fortunately, An Zhiyan soon moved the conversation onto contract matters.
"I've already spoken to your company about it, and now we're discussing the specifics of the contract clauses. They basically agreed to our demands, so we're planning on finalizing the contract in the next few days. Afterwards, you can also have your own small team. What do you think?"
"What does a team usually consist of?"
An Zhiyan told Su Jinli about the personnel his team needs, to which Su Jinli nodded and said, "Wait a moment."
Su Jinli pulled out his phone and sent a message to Hao Ge (Brother Hao).
Su Jinli: Hao Ge, do you know how to drive?
Hao Ge: Yes, I always deliver goods by myself. What's up?
Su Jinli: I will have a personal driver in the future. Are you interested? If you're willing to come over, I can negotiate your wages for you.
Hao Ge: Sure, I can even double as a bodyguard, not just a driver. Are you offering double salary?
Su Jinli immediately looked up and asked, "Can I hire a driver and a bodyguard I am familiar with?"
"Sure, as long as you can trust them. It would be trouble if they sold your private information to fans in the future," An Zhiyan nodded and took a sip of water. This was not a difficult matter.
"I trust their character, can you offer a higher salary?"
"That's something that will be discussed when drafting the contract. You can hand it over to Hou Yong and Jiang Pingqiu, I don't deal with these details."
He immediately replied to Hao Ge: I will have Hou Yong contact you in the next few days to negotiate your salary.
Hao Ge: Okay, as long as the salary is reasonable, I will come. Working with you will also make me happy, haha.
He sent a message to Xiao Mi again, asking: "What should I pay attention to when looking for a personal assistant?"
Xiao Mi replied surprisingly fast: "When do you need one?"
Su Jinli: "After the competition ends."
Xiao Mi: "By that time, Yura's film will be almost finished, and she is going abroad for a while to recuperate and stay away from disputes. I'll have some free time. I can join your team part-time and help train your other assistants. I also have work experience."
Su Jinli: "That would be great."
"Can we hire Teacher BoBo as the stylist?" Su Jinli looked up and asked An Zhiyan.
An Zhihan, who was pretending to be a corpse, suddenly became excited and asked, "That dead GAY?"
"I think he's incredibly talented, and he even does handcrafts."
"That's impressive? Engaging him simply devalues your team in an instant, who else are you planning to hire?"
"I met an elder brother some time ago, I want him to be my driver and bodyguard," Su Jinli replied sincerely.
"What is his work experience?" An Zhihan continued.
"He used to be a master who installed mirrors."
"..." This is just like having a porcelain worker slaughter a pig, it doesn't make sense at all!
"Xiao Mi offered to work as my part-time assistant for a while, helping me with the new assistant," Su Jinli said again.
"Who is Xiao Mi?"
"The assistant of Sister Yura."
"Are you joking with me?" An Zhihan was speechless, "We from Sejia Legend have cultivated so many people who you are not using, whom are you hiring, all these strange people? We arrange the assistant and you have someone else train them? Did she also become your assistant through your magical studio?"
"They are really good people."
"Can kindness be eaten?"
Su Jinli instantly felt dejected.
An Zhiyan also followed up with a sigh, pondering for a moment before saying: "If you're serious about using them, you can try it out. I'll send someone over to discuss it. If it doesn't work out, we can replace them. If they have to quit as a result, we can offer them three months' salary as severance payment."
"Um, good." Su Jinli became excited again, and started texting.
After An Zhiyan finished his meal, he looked at the time and said: "I need to hurry back to the set. How are you two arranged for today?"
"I'm staying next door, Su Jinli lives here." An Zhihan answered, his excitement overflowing due to An Zhiyan's departure, his demeanor rising a few degrees cuter, "Be careful on your way back tonight."
"Okay." An Zhiyan said, taking his things and leaving directly. Finally, Su Jinli let out a sigh of relief, stood up to move around, he had been feeling repressed under all the yang energy.
________________________
Two days later.
An Zhiyan attended a charity banquet, entering the scene as a special guest.
This charity banquet was quite grand, and nearly half of the popular artists in the entertainment industry were invited. There were almost 40 artists who came to the venue.
The charity banquet nearly turned into a red-carpet event, with everyone dressing up.
An Zhiyan was no exception.
An Zhiyan stepped out of the car, shook his wristwatch, adjusted his expression, and walked into the venue with a smile on his face. Flashlights were constantly flickering around him, but he had become indifferent to it all and remained calm.
Not long after he entered the venue, he saw someone he least wanted to see — Shen Cheng.
Shen Cheng would attend every charity banquet and hardly missed any of them.
An Zhiyan felt that Shen Cheng was a hypocritical person, and just seeing him made him feel uncomfortable all over his body.
To his surprise, as soon as he entered the venue, Shen Cheng noticed him, and his eyes seemed to glance at An Zhiyan from time to time.
An Zhiyan felt that it must be some sort of conspiracy; Shen Cheng would only pay such close attention to him when he wanted to outmaneuver him.
Just when An Zhiyan considered contacting Jiang Pingqiu to have him be on higher alert, Shen Cheng unexpectedly walked over to him, smiling.
An Zhiyan cursed inwardly: Is this old fox being upfront today?
Nevertheless, An Zhiyan looked at Shen Cheng, and, in front of the cameras, he maintained his perfectly poised demeanor.
"Has anyone touched your head?" This blunt question came from Shen Cheng, his voice so soft that no one could hear what they were saying unless they were standing right next to him.
"Huh?" An Zhiyan was bewildered, barely able to control his expression.
"Just answer me."
As An Zhiyan stared at Shen Cheng, still smiling, he gritted his teeth and with a motion so slight that even a lip-reading expert could hardly detect it, he said, "Shen Cheng, are you out of your mind?"
His smile remained unchanged even after he finished speaking, flawless and undefeatable.
Shen Cheng raised his hand and made a grabbing motion out of nowhere, as if taking away something next to An Zhiyan. Then he said again, "You are not worthy of being blessed."
His expressions remained flawlessly consistent.
What on earth is this?
A new scamming technique?
How can we possibly guard against this?
"Goodbye," An Zhiyan answered, then turned to leave. He always felt that every additional word he exchanged with Shen Cheng, this old rogue, would bring about sudden hives all over his body, accompanied by unbearable itchiness.
In his mind, Shen Cheng was like a toad, not biting, but annoying nonetheless.
________________________
Author's Note:
It was the first time the little Koi had sent blessings to An Zhiyan, and they were mercilessly taken away by his elder brother.
Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter
No comments:
Post a Comment