Chapter 39
Before Zhou Yuanzhe had a chance to speak, a familiar male voice came from the conference room's doorway.
"I bought a new phone for my agent to make contact easier during work hours," An Ye's voice carried a hint of provocation. Today he was dressed in an eye-catching sapphire blue turtleneck sweater, exuding an air of indolent dominance.
He then moved next to Zhou Yuanzhe, casually slung an arm around his shoulder, and slightly raised his chin in a mock smile towards Xiang Boyan.
Xiang Boyan looked at Zhou Yuanzhe without saying anything, his face full of interrogation.
"What explanation do you want to hear?" Zhou Yuanzhe's cold voice betrayed a hint of his impatience, "It's precisely as you see, there is nothing to explain."
With that, he subtly freed himself from An Ye's arm, naturally creating some distance between them.
An Ye cast a wronged look at him, while Xiang Boyan voiced in a cold tone, "Zhou Yuanzhe, this phone is a gift I gave you, and you dare......"
"You gave it to me?" Zhou Yuanzhe lifted his eyes towards him, "Wasn't it a lottery prize?"
"Uh......" Xiang Boyan suddenly realized he had spoken indiscreetly. A flash of regret crossed his eyes, and his lips moved, but in the end, he couldn't utter a single word of explanation.
A hint of anger flashed in Cheng Xuyuan's eyes, and he suddenly said to the system in his mind, "I’m f*cking fed up."
Before the system could respond, Zhou Yuanzhe calmly took out another phone, walked to the long meeting room table, and tossed the two phones onto it, producing a solid thud.
"Thud——"
After doing this, Zhou Yuanzhe’s eyes, dark as black precious stones, turned sharply onto the two men. His lips parted slightly, the voice that came out carrying no warmth at all: "Can you please stop involving me in your business?"
"We, between us?" An Ye looked at him in surprise and confusion.
Xiang Boyan also seemed puzzled.
Zhou Yuanzhe left the conference room directly, leaving only a tall and upright silhouette behind. His voice remained cool, “If you two like each other, stop playing this game of poking and provoking, it's childish."
An Ye and Xiang Boyan both fell into a stupefied silence, their faces portraying disbelief. By the time they regained their senses, the aloof figure had walked far away, not giving them any chance for explanations.
An Ye, irritated, shot Xiang Boyan a glance and dashed after Zhou Yuanzhe.
Xiang Boyan was also baffled, not understanding why An Ye was irritated. The one who should be angry was him!
"Bang——"
Suddenly, Xiang Boyan kicked a nearby stool fiercely with anger in his eyes that he couldn't suppress, "What is all this mess..."
"Yuanzhe, Yuanzhe——" An Ye chased Zhou Yuanzhe to the outside of the company and stopped him. "You misunderstood, Yuanzhe. How could it be possible for me and President Xiang to..."
"It has nothing to do with me." Zhou Yuanzhe got into his car and emotionlessly closed the door. "Don't contact me for the next few days. Focus on studying the script."
An Ye helplessly watched him, pleading, "Yuanzhe, I was wrong. I shouldn't have put my phone in your bag..."
Zhou Yuanzhe sighed deeply, giving An Ye a cold stare, and said, "An Ye, I can accept any request from you as long as it helps you become a superstar. But remember, I am your agent, not an object, and definitely not a tool to test Xiang Boyan."
"What are you talking about? I never thought of using you to test President Xiang!" An Ye tried to open the car door, only to find it locked. "Yuanzhe, don't be angry, I was just..."
"Please stop discussing this topic." Zhou Yuanzhe started the sports car, his voice as cold and clear as the perfume inside the car. "From now on, we only talk about work. I don't want to see any more of your childish intrigues."
An Ye wanted to say something else, but Zhou Yuanzhe rolled up the window and emotionlessly drove away.
The system's voice resonated in Cheng Xuyuan's mind: "It seems this is the first time in history that you have resisted a protagonist, and you have resisted two protagonists at once."
"What will happen?" Cheng Xuyuan was a bit worried, but the childish actions of the two made him furious, "but I really can't stand these two childish ghosts."
The system said lightly, "Although your behavior is suspected of contravening the guidelines of the plug-in, you have been doing your best since coming to this world. An Ye's career line is progressing very successfully, so you won't be reported."
Cheng Xuyuan sighed, "If I have to be penalized, then so be it. In a new world, I'll have another shot."
When he returned home, Cheng Xuyuan took out his own phone, which had already missed 46 calls. Half were from An Ye, and the other half were from Xiang Boyan.
Xiang Boyan anxiously dialed the number in his office with regret in his heart. He also felt that his behavior was childish, but for some reason, whenever he met Zhou Yuanzhe, he would become irrational.
"Hello." Finally, the call was answered, and Zhou Yuanzhe's indifferent voice came through.
Keeping his imposing manner as the President, Xiang Boyan said coldly, "Zhou Yuanzhe, do you know what your actions just now mean?"
"Then you can fire me." Cheng Xuyuan lied on a Kingsize bed with a glass of freshly squeezed juice in his hand, and said nonchalantly, "I'll take An Ye with me."
"Zhou Yuanzhe!" Xiang Boyan became instantly anxious, "You know that was not my intention..."
Cheng Xuyuan rolled his eyes, "Then what do you mean?"
"Damn it..." Xiang Boyan rarely cursed, "I just wanted to give you a new phone!"
What Xiang Boyan really wanted to say was: What do you think I mean? Damn it, I have feelings for you! But Xiang Boyan was afraid that Zhou Yuanzhe would resign immediately after hearing these words and swallowed them back.
Zhou Yuanzhe politely said, "Thank you, President Xiang, but it's not necessary."
Then he hung up the phone, leaving Xiang Boyan exasperated on the other end.
The system applauded Cheng Xuyuan's behavior, "Are you really not afraid of Xiang Boyan causing you trouble?"
"He won't." Cheng Xuyuan picked up a translucent grape from the coffee table and bit into it, "He likes An Ye so much that he has to keep me in Xing Entertainment to help his lover become a superstar."
The system wanted to say something but ended up not uttering the words, "It seems like he doesn't like An Ye now."
________________________
Two weeks later.
When it was time for the auditions for the drama "The Beauty's Hairpin," Zhou Yuanzhe showed up punctually outside An Ye's house.
Over the past two weeks, except for necessary communications and interactions, Zhou Yuanzhe barely spoke a word to An Ye, embodying the epitome of an impassive "iceberg."
Every morning, the first thing An Ye would say to Zhou Yuanzhe was, "Is Brother Yuan still angry today?"
If Zhou Yuanzhe didn't reply, An Ye would send another message: "It seems you're still angry. Sorry for bothering you."
Cheng Xuyuan admired An Ye for being able to sustain such a trivial matter for two consecutive weeks. After An Ye got into the sports car, he was the first to speak: "I am not angry anymore, so you don't need to send me those messages every day."
An Ye looked at him surprised and happily, "Brother Yuan, have you finally forgiven me?"
"I have no rights to be angry with you, let alone to forgive you," Zhou Yuanzhe drove attentively, without laying his eyes on him, "An Ye, you don't need to worry about my feelings."
"How could I possibly..." how could I possibly not care about your feelings.
An Ye stopped midway, still unable to express his thoughts. He was afraid that the iceberg would get angry again.
Zhou Yuanzhe continued with the same business-like tone, "I don't understand much about the auditions, you need to handle it." After coming to this world, his knowledge base consisted of information on how a agent promotes a celebrity. As for how the celebrity should act, he really didn't understand much.
An Ye was indeed skilled. Once at the scene, he calmly bowed to the directors and began to enact a scene from the script.
"The Beauty's Hairpin" is a historical idol drama that portrays the love and hatred among people from the world of martial arts. The director is a woman who is extremely skilled at making idol dramas, and the scriptwriter has even won the best scriptwriter award at a television festival, which fully ensures the quality of the drama.
In the drama, the character of the second male lead is very likable. He is proficient in the piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but he knows nothing about love. As a top scholar in the imperial examination, he could make countless girls in the capital city swoon over him, yet he turned into a simpleton when facing the female lead.
The scene An Ye acted was quite ordinary, where the second male lead invites the female protagonist to dinner at his home but gets rejected.
He stood firm in front of the director, and his aura changed instantly. From the initial cautious exploration of the female lead to the regretful gaze when rejected, An Ye completely demonstrated the image of a young man trapped by love, which left quite an impression on the directors.
The scene was not appealing, but his acting skills surpassed those of other auditioning actors. This was a unanimous perspective from all directors.
Zhou Yuanzhe also noticed that An Ye's state was better than ever today. After leaving the audition site, he rarely praised, "You did a great job today, you are going to be a hit."
An Ye laughed happily, showing his shiny fangs, "Then Brother Yuan, are you going to treat me to dinner?"
"No." Zhou Yuanzhe rejected him without hesitation, "I have to get back to the office later."
He was telling the truth. Xiang Boyan had called him earlier, saying that there was an important matter to entrust to him.
An Ye had no choice but to say, "Well, then next time..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yuanzhe had already left him, got into the car alone, and drove away.
Looking at the departing car, An Ye felt indignant and muttered to himself, "How does Xiang Boyan always ruin my plans? Is he keeping tabs on us?"
________________________
Upon arriving at the office, Cheng Xuyuan casually took out An Ye's recent work schedule and walked into the CEO's office, expressionless, and put the documents on the table.
Then, he stood in his place, staring at Xiang Boyan with an emotionless expression, refusing to mutter a word more than necessary.
"..." Xiang Boyan helplessly glanced at the documents on the desk. After the last time Zhou Yuanzhe blew up, he only discussed work with him, and his cold attitude remained consistent with his past demeanor.
"Are you still angry?"
Xiang Boyan asked a question identical to what An Ye had asked, which had been bothering him for two weeks.
However, Zhou Yuanzhe gently shook his head, "Not angry."
"What's between An Ye and I is not what you imagine, nor am I trying to deceive you..." Xiang Boyan spoke sincerely, completely letting go of his CEO's arrogance.
Zhou Yuanzhe didn't buy it and said coldly, "President Xiang doesn't need to say these things, it's none of my business."
"You guys can play whatever games you like, I'm not interested in accompanying." Cheng Xuyuan just wanted to complete An Ye's task as soon as possible, and then enjoy the glorious dismemberment scene.
Xiang Boyan sighed and finally started to speak about official business, "There is an artist I want you to manage."
Cheng Xuyuan asked the system in confusion, "Is this part in the original work?"
"Seems.... it's not." The system's voice also betrayed some doubt.
"Come in."
With Xiang Boyan's voice falling, a tall, lean, and fair-skinned young man walked in. He timidly glanced at Zhou Yuanzhe, speaking softly, "Hello Brother Yuan, President Xiang..."
"His name is Tang Ying. He was managed by Chen Rong before, his acting skills are good, but he couldn't make it due to his character."
Xiang Boyan did not refrain from talking about Tang Ying's merits and faults in his presence, analyzing them like the goods' strengths and weaknesses.
Zhou Yuanzhe looked at him questioningly and asked, "But you previously said that I would only manage An Ye..."
The thing he regretted most was uttering that sentence. Xiang Boyan coughed twice and covered his intent by saying, "Because Chen Rong is very busy recently, he has entrusted him to you."
Tang Ying said softly, "Brother Yuan, I won't cause you trouble..."
Xiang Boyan had already told him that as long as An Ye was present, he must also appear and prevent any rumors between An Ye and Zhou Yuanzhe. At the same time, considering Tang Ying's introverted personality, Xiang Boyan trusted him and believed he wouldn't stir any trouble.
"Whatever. I am leaving if there is nothing else."
Zhou Yuanzhe casually agreed to Xiang Boyan's request, not intending to dig deeper into its implications, and left the office on his own.
When he left the company's main gate, he realized that Tang Ying was following him like a secret agent. Annoyed, he looked back and said, "Your work will be arranged later. You have nothing to do today, so don't follow me."
"But, um..." Tang Ying was an honest person who couldn't lie. "President Xiang said that I must monitor you and An Ye at all times and not let any gossip arise between you two." He obediently repeated Xiang Boyan's exact words.
"...?" Cheng Xuyuan had so many swear words welling up inside him. "President Xiang truly cares for his subordinates."
Tang Ying nodded, "President Xiang is pretty good."
Zhou Yuanzhe was like a hard-to-approach iceberg, so naturally, Tang Ying should be steering clear of him. But in the following days, as long as Zhou Yuanzhe was present, Tang Ying could be seen performing tasks like serving tea and delivering water.
An Ye was very unhappy with the artist who was suddenly pushed to Zhou Yuanzhe.
Whenever An Ye wanted to speak to Zhou Yuanzhe alone, Tang Ying would silently squeeze in between them and sycophantically hand a piece of fruit to Zhou Yuanzhe, "Brother Yuan, are you tired?"
When An Ye planned to have a meal with Zhou Yuanzhe, Tang Ying would promptly swoop in and seriously tell him, "Brother Yuan, I have reserved a table at your favorite Western restaurant. Shall we go now?"
When An Ye wanted Zhou Yuanzhe to pick him up for a variety show recording, Tang Ying would appear silently like a ghost in the car and say to An Ye, "Brother Ye, I will take you to the recording site. Brother Yuan is busy right now."
Finally, An Ye could no longer contain his frustration, "You're an artist, not a driver!"
Tang Ying defended himself enthusiastically, "No matter what, we can't tire Brother Yuan. He is, after all, the breadwinner for Xiang Star Entertainment."
An Ye was so angry that he almost lost his breath. He suddenly grabbed Tang Ying's arm and glared at him, "Tell the truth, what is your purpose for approaching Zhou Yuanzhe?"
"I, I don't have, any purpose..." President Xiang had said not to let An Ye know about this.
However, Tang Ying didn't know how to lie, and his face had turned bright red.
With a meaningful tone, An Ye asked, "Do you like Zhou Yuanzhe?"
Tang Ying was stunned.
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