The interior of the clubhouse was extremely luxurious. Walking into the lobby, the atmosphere of “neon lights and wine,” of gold-melting debauchery, rushed toward him.
Song Yuanxi was momentarily dazzled. After a brief pause, he steadied his mind. Just as he was thinking about how to stay here to wait for Shen Yu to appear, his path was suddenly blocked.
It was a clubhouse waiter. Thinking he was a guest coming for dinner, the waiter asked for his reservation number and offered to lead him there.
Song Yuanxi froze, staring back at the other person: “…”
Naturally, he had no reservation, nor did he have a room number to provide. He couldn’t exactly blurt out Shen Yu’s room name now; if he rushed in while they were discussing business, he wouldn’t be seeking Shen Yu’s help; he’d likely be offending him.
Song Yuanxi had many misgivings. He hesitated for a moment, unable to give an answer.
The waiter stared at him: “?” The waiter seemed to sense something was wrong, but still spoke politely: “If there is no reservation, I’m afraid I must ask you to sit outside for a while.”
If he were “invited” out now, he probably wouldn’t get another chance to enter today.
Song Yuanxi pursed his lips, his heart racing. He desperately needed an excuse to stay. His gaze swept over the waiter’s name tag, and a reason suddenly popped into his head. He said, “I’m not here to eat. I’m here to apply for a job as a waiter.”
“…Oh, I see.”
The waiter didn’t think much of it. After all, many people came here to apply for jobs. He even found a reasonable explanation for Song Yuanxi’s unnatural reaction just now: a first-timer is usually quite nervous.
His eyes are quite beautiful, though.
The waiter smiled and led him to the back-office manager’s room: “You’ll have to speak with our manager about the application.”
The manager was currently on the phone arranging tonight’s banquet: “Rest assured, everything is arranged according to your requirements! I know isn’t confidentiality a given? Don’t worry, everyone here has signed a non-disclosure agreement; nothing will leak out.”
After talking for a while, he hung up. The manager looked up and saw Song Yuanxi standing at the office door. Upon learning his intent from the waiter, he hummed. His first requirement for Song Yuanxi was: “Take off your mask and let me see.”
“…”
Song Yuanxi felt it was strange, but he still removed the mask. Fortunately, he was currently in a “blacklisted” state and hadn’t been a famous star before, so he wasn’t easily recognized. Or rather, even if people discovered he was applying to be a waiter at a clubhouse, he could just say he was trying to make a living; it wouldn’t be too embarrassing. The outcome couldn’t be that bad.
When the manager saw his face, his expression paused.
For Song Yuanxi to be targeted by executives, he naturally had superior looks. Even though the manager was well-traveled and had seen many faces, he was very satisfied. He nodded: “Not bad looking. It’s a bit of a pity just to be a waiter.”
His tone shifted as he asked, “Are you interested in doing High-End Service?”
“Huh?” Song Yuanxi’s gaze went blank. For a moment, he didn’t understand what “high-end service” meant.
…It couldn’t be what I think it means, right?
The manager looked at him a few more times, seemingly more satisfied the more he looked. He fished a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) out of a drawer and pushed it over: “Take a look at this contract. If it’s okay, sign it, and I’ll let you do a trial shift tonight.”
Song Yuanxi felt like he had entered some strange workplace. His eyes darted around. He thought to himself that perhaps his mind had been clouded by his company’s “pimping” attempts recently, which was why he couldn’t help but think the worst.
He steadied himself and asked, “Do I have to sign this even if I don’t do high-end service?”
The manager nodded flatly: “Yes. Everyone working here has to sign, even the ones sweeping the floor.”
Song Yuanxi looked over the NDA. There were no real constraints; it simply said he couldn’t speak about the things he saw or heard regarding other people. Having worked in the entertainment industry, he had signed many such NDAs and didn’t mind much.
It was just a trial shift. No matter what this “high-end service” was, if he found something wrong, he could just leave. After a moment of silence, Song Yuanxi signed it.
The manager glanced at the name but didn’t have much of an impression of it. He just tucked away the agreement and immediately arranged for someone to take him to the staff lounge: “Tidy up your appearance over there. Don’t wander around. Wait for my arrangements.”
Song Yuanxi nodded and obediently followed the person into the lounge.
…
The manager watched him leave, then left the office himself to check the situation in various private rooms. A waiter nearby came over and told him that Liang Han had arrived.
“Liang Han?” The manager was stunned. “He came today?” The waiter nodded. The manager hurriedly said, “Alright, I’ll go take a look.”
After Liang Han entered the clubhouse, a waiter spotted him and rushed over to ask for his room number. Liang Han wasn’t in a hurry to speak; instead, he scanned the surroundings.
Waiters and guests passed through the corridors and lobby from time to time, but he didn’t see the figure he had caught a glimpse of at the entrance. He felt a bit of regret; he didn’t know the person’s identity or if he would see them again.
Shao Dong smilingly told the waiter the room name, then glanced at Liang Han, sensing something was off: “What exactly are you looking for?”
Liang Han didn’t respond. He calmly withdrew his gaze as if nothing had happened.
Shao Dong followed his gaze and scanned the area, not quite understanding: “Aren’t these all just normal waiters? Surely no one is coming to pester you? Or is there some situation I don’t know about? Have you taken a liking to someone?”
Liang Han ignored him and followed the waiter who was stealing a strange look at Shao Dong into the Hanhai Pavilion.
The space inside was quite large. Cen Ping was already sitting there. Seeing them, he stood up: “You’re here! Sit, sit.”
Shao Dong scanned the room. There were quite a few seats, making the scene look a bit grand: “Who else is coming tonight?”
“No one else,” Cen Ping said. Although he was older and held a high seniority, he kept a humble attitude, especially in front of Liang Han, who had practically become a titan in the industry. He said gently, “It’s just me accompanying you for dinner.”
Shao Dong was stunned: “Just the three of us?” They set up such a big scene for just three people? Cen Ping nodded: “Yes.”
Cen Ping smiled with a teasing expression: “What’s wrong? Who else did you want to invite? Or do you have other requirements?”
Shao Dong hurriedly waved his hand: “No, no. I saw how spacious this room is and thought there would be a lot of people today. If I’d known it was just us three, we could have just found any place to eat. The consumption here isn’t low! Isn’t it a waste of money? Besides, in such a large room with just a few of us, it’s quite lonely.”
Cen Ping looked at him, saw nothing amiss, and laughed, speaking the truth: “I thought that since it’s a rare occasion to treat you to dinner and Liang Han was willing to come, I had to find a good restaurant. I haven’t spent much time in Haicheng these past few years, so I’m not familiar with the current consumption spots. I asked around, and someone told me this place was suitable, so I booked it. I only realized the situation after I got here. It wasn’t easy to change it, and a large space has its benefits.”
Shao Dong expressed his understanding but was still curious: “Who did you ask? To tell you this place was suitable aren’t they trying to pit you?” After all, since he was treating Liang Han, Liang Han hated coming here.
“Chang Yu,” Cen Ping pointed next door. “I collaborated with him before. Since he’s been in Haicheng, I asked him. He happens to be hosting a dinner next door today, so I booked a room here as well. But why do you say they’re pitting me? Is there a problem with this place?”
Hearing this, Shao Dong understood: “Chang Yu, huh? No wonder. He loves eating in places like this.” As fellow investors in film and TV projects, they all more or less knew or had heard of each other; there might even be some friction unknown to outsiders.
Cen Ping’s expression was still uneasy. Shao Dong whispered, “It’s not exactly that there’s a problem.” He patted the silent Liang Han next to him as a reminder: “Mainly, our President Liang doesn’t really like coming here. Generally, he rejects invitations to this place.”
Actually, Shao Dong rarely came here either. Since most of his work intersected with Liang Han and Liang Han didn’t come, he naturally rarely came.
Liang Han didn’t speak; he just raised his hand and brushed Shao Dong’s hand away.
Cen Ping looked at Liang Han. Seeing that he didn’t deny it, he realized it was the truth. He immediately looked apologetic, stood up with a glass, and said, “Oh, did I pick the wrong place today? It’s all my fault! I forgot I should have asked you first!”
Mainly, he thought that after Liang Han went behind the scenes, Shao Dong wouldn’t be able to manage his affairs as much, so he didn’t think to contact Shao Dong in advance to ask around. Of course, even more negligent was not carefully inquiring about Liang Han’s own thoughts and opinions.
Liang Han waved his hand, indicating it was fine: “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
“Exactly. Since we’re here, we’re here. We just won’t come here next time.” Shao Dong understood that Cen Ping still held his high status from the past, so he was used to doing things his way. Contacting Liang Han was indeed an attempt to “lower his face” (humble himself) to seek cooperation, but he hadn’t lowered it much after all, he still cared about his pride.
However, since they were already there to eat and discuss business, there was no point in obsessing over it. Since Liang Han said it was fine, Shao Dong naturally said no more.
He then shifted the topic to test the waters: “By the way, it seems Chang Yu is also planning a new project. I heard they’ve been building a team and pulling in investment recently. They even contacted us before, wanting to cooperate. Unfortunately, there was a project conflict, and we were tied up, so we couldn’t cooperate. Did they contact you?”
“Yes, they also want to start a major ancient drama. They did contact me before.” Cen Ping glanced at him, likely understanding his meaning. He looked at Liang Han and said, “However, I’m still more interested in your drama. Not just because Liang Han is involved, but mainly because I’ve read the original work before and liked it very much. I just never had the chance to turn it into a project. Now that I hear you’re starting it, I wanted to contact you and chat about it.”
As he spoke, he praised himself: “You all know that I have a wealth of experience in filming ancient dramas. I’m very passionate about this show.”
Liang Han looked up at him and smiled: “Naturally. Your skill level is obvious to all.”
Shao Dong also smiled: “You have a good eye! Our project hasn’t settled on a general director yet; we’ve been considering candidates recently.”
“That’s good,” Cen Ping said. Hearing this, he knew he had a chance. He smiled and signaled a waiter to come in and take their order. “It’s getting late, you must be hungry. Let’s order some dishes first and talk while we eat.”
The waiter came in, but surprisingly, the manager followed him.
Originally, if it were only Cen Ping, the manager probably wouldn’t have been so attentive. But the waiter had just told him that Liang Han was also there, and specifically mentioned Shao Dong’s joke about Liang Han just now. The manager immediately felt an urge and didn’t dare to be slighted.
The last time Liang Han came was several years ago when he had just become manager. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to establish a relationship with Liang Han then, nor could he gain any favor. Now that many years had passed, he wanted to try again to keep a big client for the clubhouse.
“Would the three of you feel it’s a bit lonely dining?” the manager said with a smile. “Our clubhouse services are very comprehensive, thoughtful, and sufficiently private and high-end. We can arrange for people to come over and provide the best service; any needs can be raised at any time.”
As he spoke, his gaze fell on Liang Han’s face.
Liang Han’s brow didn’t even twitch. He stared down at his own hands with a heart-of-stone expression: “No need.”
The manager was a bit surprised. He thought Liang Han would be tempted. Could what the waiter said just now be false?
Next to him, Shao Dong laughed and chimed in: “No need to waste the effort. We’re just having a simple meal; just prepare some hot dishes. No need for any high-end service. Our President Liang doesn’t have that kind of taste!”