Chapter 41
The overpowering scent of disinfectant made Cheng Xuyuan frown. Straining to open his eyes, the sight that met his gaze was...
Three handsome faces filled with concern.
Startled to near fainting, Cheng Xuyuan asked weakly, "What are you guys doing here?"
"You're finally awake," An Ye comforted, gripping his hand with such emotion as if he had just witnessed a vegetative patient wake up.
Bewildered, Cheng Xuyuan asked, "Have I been sleeping for a long time?"
Xiang Boyan answered stoically, "A long time. Two hours."
Cheng Xuyuan was slightly taken aback, thinking, was there a need to be so anxious?
Tang Ying had already risen to call a nurse. Before leaving, he turned to Zhou Yuanzhe and said, "Yuanzhe, you not only have a fever but also low blood sugar. Have some of the chocolates I've set on your bedside table."
Surprisingly, Zhou Yuanzhe cracked a rare smile and replied, "Thank you, Xiao Ying." He vaguely remembered that it had been Tang Ying who brought him to the hospital.
Alarms started ringing in the heads of both An Ye and Xiang Boyan as they exchanged a look and glanced in the direction of the exiting figure. All of a sudden, Tang Ying felt a chill creep up his spine.
Zhou Yuanzhe looked perplexed and asked, "What are you guys still doing here?"
The resentfully-eyed duo exchanged a glance. An Ye was the first to speak, "Well, we'll go first. You should rest. And don't keep working overtime. Isn't the company full of other competent people?" He added, aiming his gaze pointedly at Xiang Boyan.
Not to be outdone, Xiang Boyan retorted, "No matter how hard you promote a talentless artist, they won't rise to fame. Just let things take their natural course and don't exhaust yourself." His eyes flicked towards An Ye.
The two tensely silent figures exited the hospital room one after the other, leaving an icy atmosphere in their wake. Cheng Xuyuan was left puzzled and thought, why does it feel like they're not on good terms? Aren't they about to be a couple?
After leaving the hospital room, the two rivals couldn't remain calm for long.
"Why aren't you on set, An?" Xiang Boyan sneered. "Ditching work like this, I suppose you're about to make headlines for being high-handed."
An Ye replied with a seemingly friendly smile, "Thank you for your concern, Director Xiang. I've finished my scenes for today. I hope certain people in the company could also be more efficient and avoid exhausting Yuanzhe."
Xiang Boyan's face turned ashen, "What do you mean?"
An Ye shot back, "I was only out of the company for half a day, and Yuanzhe passed out. I heard he was even carried here by that naive kid. I can't believe such things would happen in such a big company like Xing Entertainment."
The focus of the conversation was primarily on the phrase "he was even carried here by that naive kid."
"It was an urgent situation," Xiang Boyan replied, clearly displeased. "Had I been there on time, I would have personally carried him here."
A vein popped on An Ye's forehead, "What are you trying to say? That you are strong?"
Xiang Boyan advanced towards An Ye, his eyes full of hostility aimed at him. He pointed a finger towards An Ye's chest muscle and sarcastically said, "Of course I'm stronger than you. Zhou Yuanzhe feels safer when he's with me."
Suddenly, a cough resonated from nearby.
Zhou Yuanzhe's line of sight fell on Xiang Boyan's finger, but promptly withdrew it, pretending not to have seen anything.
"I just came out to use the washroom, my apologies for disturbing."
Following his words, Zhou Yuanzhe briskly walked past the two, nimble and agile, not at all resembling a patient.
An Ye, irate, slapped off Xiang Boyan's finger and whispered, "Xiang Boyan! Are you purposely trying to tarnish my image in Yuanzhe's eyes?!”
Xiang Boyan seethed, blurting out, "What damn image do you have to tarnish?!"
The two typically refined gentlemen almost came to blows in the hospital. Thankfully, Tang Ying arrived on time with a nurse, stopping them from escalating their actions further.
Returning from the restroom, Zhou Yuanzhe, bewildered, asked both of them, "Are you done?"
Tang Ying quickly replied, "Yes, Luckily, the sister nurse and I arrived just in time, otherwise I don't know what they would have done."
A trace of shock flickered in Zhou Yuanzhe's eyes, his face spelled out, "You two didn't really cause a scene at the hospital, did you?"
Xiang Boyan knew that Zhou Yuanzhe had misunderstood again. Containing his anger he said to Tang Ying, "Tang Ying, you shut up!"
"Chairman Xiang," Zhou Yuanzhe gave him a sidelong glance, "You've been in a bad mood lately."
Clearing his throat, Xiang Boyan recovered his cold demeanor and said gravely, "You've misunderstood, An Ye and I..."
Suddenly, Tang Ying cut him off with, "The moment you fell asleep just now, they were about to..." Indicating at a fight.
Zhou Yuanzhe suddenly said, "That's enough, don't tell me about this anymore, I don't really want to know." He thought it was flirtation.
Having said that, he turned to Tang Ying, "Xiao Ying, I'm a bit hungry..."
An Ye beat Xiang Boyan by just 0.01 seconds, saying, "I'll go buy you a family bucket!" After saying this, he quickly walked out of the ward.
Leaving the words, "I'll also go and see what food is available nearby," Xiang Boyan left in large strides.
Tang Ying, stunned, watched their departing backs, wondering if they were about to have a fight outside the hospital.
________________________
Half an hour later.
Zhou Yuanzhe had just managed to finish the food bought by the two of them, and then proposed to be discharged from the hospital. Everyone couldn't dissuade him, so they had to agree.
Xiang Boyan formally ordered him, "In the future, you need to apply to me in advance if you want to work overtime."
Cheng Xuyuan thought to himself, "I'm just trying to talk less with you guys, not really wanting to bury myself in work." But he still nodded in agreement.
After returning to the company, Cheng Xuyuan thought seriously for a long time. The relationship between Xiang Boyan and An Ye should soon develop into a romantic one, right? If that was the case, it would be better for him to just quietly observe.
In the evening, Zhou Yuanzhe voluntarily came to Xiang Boyan's office.
Seeing him, Xiang Boyan's eyes lighted up and he asked gently, "Do you need anything?"
"I want to resign."
Linda, who was sorting out files aside, looked at Zhou Yuanzhe with surprise, "Yuanzhe, why do you want to resign?"
With a serious expression, Zhou Yuanzhe placed a resignation report on Xiang Boyan's desk. He cleared his throat and said, "After careful consideration, I have decided to accompany An Ye as a manager in the future. I don't need to be an employee of Xing Entertainment."
"No," Xiang Boyan's voice was piercingly cold.
"Why? An Ye brings profits to the company, I..."
"I disagree with your resignation."
Xiang Boyan solemnly rejected Zhou Yuanzhe's resignation application. He looked into the latter's clear eyes, and his tone suddenly softened, "Zhou Yuanzhe, I don't need you to work overtime desperately for the company. After all these years, Xing Entertainment has regarded you as a family. You should also have feelings for this big family, shouldn't you?"
Zhou Yuanzhe was stunned.
Xiang Boyan continued, "Stay. I'll increase your salary by ten thousand."
"But, but..."
Xiang Boyan raised, "Twenty thousand."
"You and An Ye..."
"Thirty thousand."
Cheng Xuyuan, fearing that he would say another shocking number, had to nod and say, "Okay, I won't resign."
Xiang Boyan revealed a satisfied smile.
Cheng Xuyuan was still not reconciled and finished his previous words, "But, you and An Ye are so close, I don’t want to be the third wheel between you.”
"You're at it again?!" Xiang Boyan stood up from his chair, desperately wanting to gag the person in front of him, "There is no relationship between An Ye and I."
If there was, it would be love rivals!
Zhou Yuanzhe wore a disbelieving face.
"I don't know what made you misunderstand," Xiang Boyan looked at him coldly, "But if you dare to say this again, I will immediately hide An Ye, understand?"
For Cheng Xuyuan, hiding An Ye means failing his mission, he immediately nodded and said, "I won't say it, I won't say it."
Xiang Boyan sighed, "It's time to get off work, go rest. Don't stay up late when you get home." After finished speaking, he threw the resignation report into the trash bin in front of Zhou Yuanzhe.
In this way, Zhou Yuanzhe failed to resign, and inexplicably received a salary increase of thirty thousand.
Linda gave Xiang Boyan a cup of coffee, "Boss Xiang is so handsome and kind-hearted, if I may, can I..."
"I'll give you a raise of 500," Xiang Boyan said coldly.
"Ah? But Yuan-ge..."
"400."
"But why, it's not fair!"
"300."
"......Fine." Linda agreed reluctantly.
The news that Zhou Yuanzhe was planning to resign soon reached An Ye's ears. He dared not bring up the matter in front of Zhou Yuanzhe, for fear of upsetting him, and his behavior became much more restrained, and his original plan to express his feelings was also abandoned.
Xiang Boyan was the same, not daring to cross the line. After all, if the cold beauty leaves, what he loses is not just his love, that is tantamount to axing the money tree of Xiangxing Entertainment.
In this way, Tang Ying became the most enthusiastic person for Zhou Yuanzhe, and the public opinion in the company was also uproar. Fortunately, Xiang Boyan specifically said a few words to stop everyone from discussing the matter, nipping the "Love Story of Tang Ying and Zhou Yuanzhe" in the bud.
Life returned to normal, An Ye shot in the crew of "The Beauty's Hairpin", Tang Ying also entered the crew of the art film "The Forest" as the male lead, Zhou Yuanzhe's life became much more normal.
________________________
Three months later.
As the summer vacation drew to a close, The Beauty's Hairpin came out in mid-August, setting new records for the TV station's ratings. At the same time, The Forest quietly premiered but steadily increased in popularity, its box office rising on the back of word-of-mouth, rivaling commercial films.
The names "An Ye" and "Tang Ying" swept across Weibo, taking turns topping the trending list. Xing Entertainment's stock price also rose, and for a time no company in the industry could compete with it.
An Ye's fans were fervent, as soon as they woke up, they started praising An Ye's divine face and acting skills.
"It's another day to be struck by brother's handsome face. Why hasn't The Beauty's Hairpin updated yet?"
"Come look at brother's side profile, ah, I'm dead."
In comparison, Tang Ying's fans were much more reserved.
"Thankful for The Forest to let me witness such a beautiful love story and to find such a great actor, Tang Ying."
"In the industrialized city and commercialized entertainment industry, Tang Ying is a refreshing spring."
Although their paths to fame were different, there was no doubt that they were both the stars of this summer.
The commonality between the two was that they shared the same agent. This once again demonstrated Zhou Yuanzhe's terrifying ability to create stars in the industry.
To celebrate the high ratings of The Beauty's Hairpin and the box office success of The Forest, Xiang Boyan personally decided to hold a celebratory banquet for the two.
The banquet was grand, and the entire Xing Entertainment was filled with a festive and joyful atmosphere. Many people raised their champagne glasses to toast An Ye and Tang Ying.
An Ye had a decent alcohol tolerance and could fend off the toasts, but Tang Ying was completely overwhelmed.
After only a few drinks, Tang Ying's face turned red. If it wasn't for Zhou Yuanzhe blocking many drinks for him, he would have probably passed out within half an hour.
"Tang Ying really lives up to being an artist brought up by Zhou Yuanzhe, indeed making a name for himself."
"I'll just say this, your 'The Forest' will definitely win awards!"
The toasting continued, and with Zhou Yuanzhe's help, Tang Ying still could not hold his liquor. Amidst the clinking of glasses, the shy and introverted newcomer idol passed out drunk.
"Tang Ying, are you okay..."
Before Zhou Yuanzhe could finish his sentence, Tang Ying had already fallen towards him, and he instinctively caught him in his arms.
Tang Ying's chin rested on Zhou Yuanzhe's neck, his hot lips exuding warm breath, causing Zhou Yuanzhe's neck to itch.
This scene happened to catch the eyes of An Ye and Xiang Boyan.
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