The attempt to curry favor failed; it seemed Liang Han truly wasn’t that kind of person.
The manager had no choice but to give up the idea. After all, it was best not to offend the man: “Alright, if you need anything, find me anytime.” He gave the waiter a few instructions to take good care of them and then left.
Once the ordering was finished and the waiter had also stepped out, Shao Dong rested one hand on Liang Han’s shoulder and laughed, looking at him teasingly: “So, was it a situation like this last time that got you pestered by someone?”
Liang Han rolled his eyes at him and didn’t speak.
Shao Dong, however, didn’t stop there. He chuckled: “I wonder if that person who pestered you is still hanging around here. But so much time has passed, they’re probably gone. Otherwise, we could watch some excitement.”
Shao Dong was someone with overflowing curiosity; being this gossipy was perfectly normal for him. Of course, another point was that he had never seen the scene of Liang Han being pestered and was eager to broaden his horizons.
As he spoke, Liang Han sat beside him with an even more expressionless face, ignoring him.
However, Cen Ping’s attention was caught. He looked at the two of them and chimed in with some curiosity: “What’s this? Does Liang Han have some sort of story here?”
His gaze held a bit of surprise and wonder. After all, he knew much more about Liang Han than outsiders did, having filmed with him before. Liang Han was a “clueless” straight man who had previously claimed to be a practitioner of celibacy no dating, no marriage. He ignored all the proactive shows of favor or attempts to please him. If he weren’t so clueless, he wouldn’t have gone all these years without a single scandal or romance.
In private, no one had heard of him liking or taking an interest in anyone; he looked like he was going to be single until he was old. To suddenly hear a bit of gossip now was very rare.
“There’s nothing. Don’t listen to his nonsense.”
Liang Han denied it, picking up his glass: “Let’s talk about the project instead. Director Cen, after reading the original work, do you have any thoughts of your own regarding the script?”
Seeing him pivot to a serious topic, Cen Ping had no choice but to let the matter rest: “Is there a script? How about I take a look first? We can communicate after that.”
He was here to apply for the director position, so he naturally had to follow the ideas of Liang Han, the project investor. It was more appropriate to observe the script on this side first.
Shao Dong scanned Liang Han’s face and shook his head rather boredly: “It would be great if someone could come and pester you like before so I could watch the fun.”
Liang Han didn’t even give him a glance, only saying: “Take out the script and let Director Cen have a look.”
They were here to talk about the drama, so Shao Dong had naturally brought a paper copy of the script. It was quite thick. He took it out of his briefcase and handed it over.
When the waiter entered to deliver the meal, he saw Cen Ping buried in the script while Liang Han sat silently without much expression. Only Shao Dong looked over with a smile, watching him set down the dishes.
Before the door closed, on the other side of the corridor, another private room door was also open. Guests happened to be arriving, and the slightly noisy sound of acquaintances greeting each other drifted out. The entire stretch of the corridor was occupied by these two large private rooms on either side.
Cen Ping was earnest in reading the script, and Liang Han turned a deaf ear to outside matters. Shao Dong, however, asked curiously: “The room opposite has quite a few guests today?”
As he spoke, he remembered what Cen Ping said earlier Chang Yu was hosting next door: “Do we know who’s over there?”
The waiter looked at him and smiled: “I’m not sure about that either.” He actually knew, but he couldn’t reveal information about other guests to a guest. He could only say: “How about you go over and take a look, and personally say hello?”
Shao Dong looked at Cen Ping, who was still immersed in the script, then glanced at Liang Han, and finally shook his head: “Forget it.”
Chang Yu and they were, after all, in a competitive relationship. Moreover, he guessed Liang Han wouldn’t like socializing with others here.
…
On Chang Yu’s side, having heard Cen Ping was treating Liang Han to dinner, he had intended to drop by Cen Ping’s room to say hello. But since Shen Yu had just arrived, he temporarily set that idea aside.
As far as he knew, Shen Yu didn’t particularly like Liang Han in private. Although Liang Han had the reputation of a senior, he was actually around the same age as Shen Yu. It was just that when Liang Han was famous, Shen Yu wasn’t yet well-known and was still a minor actor. After becoming famous, Shen Yu was constantly compared to Liang Han.
Of course, the main reason for this was that his studio had once used titles like “Little Liang Han” or “Liang Han’s Successor” for marketing to increase his visibility, thereby offending Liang Han’s fans. Later, when he gained fame and his fan base grew, the fans of the two houses naturally couldn’t stand each other, constantly engaging in hidden struggles and mutual smearing.
Although Shen Yu’s fame was improving and his body of work was growing, overall, he still couldn’t quite match Liang Han. Prime resources usually went to Liang Han first; only after Liang Han declined would they consider Shen Yu. Thus, the fans couldn’t quite suppress Liang Han’s fans. It was only because Liang Han had been in a “retirement” state in recent years, retreating behind the scenes, that his fans didn’t enter the fray often, making life easier for Shen Yu.
But clearly, these matters still left much dissatisfaction in Shen Yu’s heart. Although he didn’t show any attitude toward Liang Han on the surface, judging by his performance of never sharing a stage with Liang Han over the years, he certainly had thoughts in his heart.
Once the door closed, Chang Yu reined in his thoughts and smiled at Shen Yu: “Teacher Shen! I’ve finally looked forward to your arrival! I was just wondering when you’d get here!”
Shen Yu smiled: “Sorry to keep you waiting. Filming ended a bit late this afternoon.”
“Ah, Teacher Shen has worked hard. We also just arrived a moment ago,” Chang Yu laughed and turned to the others, liven up the atmosphere: “Our Teacher Shen graced us with his presence today despite being so busy with filming. Everyone must make sure he enjoys himself tonight!”
“Definitely, definitely!”
Chang Yu invited Shen Yu to sit among the crowd and then whispered a reminder to the manager who followed them in: “Hurry and arrange the services you mentioned, and get the food and wine ready.”
“Right away,” the manager turned to leave, heading toward the staff lounge.
…
In the staff lounge, several people were either sitting or standing. These people were either beautiful or handsome, all with great figures, and their clothing was very “refreshing.” Unlike the waiters moving through the lobby, the girls wore high-slit cheongsams, while the boys wore white shirts and Western trousers.
The white shirts of these boys were also wrapped with black leather straps (harnesses). Their sleeves were all messily rolled up to the crooks of their arms, revealing firm-muscled forearms. Their skin tone glowed under the lights, and their trousers seemed custom-made tightly fitted, making the hip lines very obvious.
At a glance, it was a picture that made one’s imagination run wild, giving the impression that they weren’t as simple as ordinary waiters.
As soon as Song Yuanxi entered and saw this scene, he couldn’t help but frown, his heart growing increasingly uneasy. The clubhouse manager mentioned “high-end services.” Originally, he thought he might be overthinking it, but seeing this scene, he felt he probably wasn’t.
It was likely eighty percent what he thought it was. Since this place wasn’t “clean,” would the people coming here for dinner also have other motives? Would Shen Yu not be the self-respecting person he and Xu Rao thought he was?
Although everyone here was good-looking, as soon as Song Yuanxi entered, he still became the center of attention. The others couldn’t help but mutter as they looked at his face.
“Damn, how did someone this good-looking suddenly show up? Is there even a chance for us tonight?” Someone nearby comforted me: “Don’t be afraid. There are many guests; it’s impossible they’ll only pick him. There will always be a chance for us.” “Look at how slender and delicate he is. So refined, he must be an ‘O’ (Omega/Bottom).” “Exactly. He looks like the type that the guests who like boys prefer most. It really makes one jealous.” “It’s fine. Rich women probably won’t choose him, and straight men won’t choose him either. We still have plenty of chances.”
Song Yuanxi’s assigned resting spot was off to the side, so he didn’t hear clearly what they were saying, but he felt everyone’s attitude was strange. It made his defensive state escalate instantly.
The person who brought him in handed him a set of clothes to change into: “There’s only one set of Medium size male clothing left for now. You look quite thin; it should be okay, right?”
It was similar to the clothes the other boys were wearing a white shirt, black trousers, and leather straps. Song Yuanxi’s clothing size usually fell between M and L. He didn’t say no, but just looked down at it, unable to hide a bit of disdain. The clothes had just been taken out of a bag; he didn’t know if they were clean.
Seeing him holding the clothes with his fingers without moving, the other person realized and smiled: “Don’t worry, these are brand new clothes. No one has worn them.”
Since he had already entered this place, he couldn’t leave empty-handed. Song Yuanxi was silent for a few seconds before going into the changing room. He tucked the hem of the white shirt into the waistband and fastened it. He felt the size was wrong, it was a bit small and felt tight and uncomfortable. The straps were very constricting, pressing tightly against his body; even through the shirt, it felt awkward and abrasive.
When he walked out of the changing room, the people outside went silent again, staring at him.
“He looked quite thin just now, but I didn’t expect him to be quite ‘loaded’.”
They didn’t know that this was the result of Song Yuanxi’s exercise during this period. Although he looked as thin as a “paper-man,” the places that should have “flesh” were quite substantial.
However, Song Yuanxi was very uncomfortable wrapped in these clothes and had no mind to think of anything else. He turned his back to them, opened his phone, and glanced at the time. It was almost 8:00 PM. By this time, Shen Yu should have already arrived.
There was no need for him to waste more time here. He knew the name of the private room anyway; he could just go out and find it. Song Yuanxi stood up, intending to leave directly.
But someone blocked him: “Hey? Where are you going? Don’t you know the rules? Don’t you know we got here before you? If a guest wants the manager to pick people, we should go first. Even being good-looking doesn’t mean you can break the rules.” The person’s tone treated themselves like a dish on a platter.
Song Yuanxi had no intention of arguing over this and explained calmly: “I’m just here to try out the job of a waiter. I don’t want to steal your ‘opportunity’.” He didn’t know what that “opportunity” was, nor did he want to care. He just wanted to observe Shen Yu from the side. If he confirmed there were no issues, he would find a chance to contact him. If there were issues, he’d go back and scout a new target.
But the person opposite didn’t believe him: “How is that possible? Don’t try to lie to me. If you’re only here to be a waiter, why would you be here? This isn’t the waiters’ lounge.” “Everyone who comes here is looking for a ‘Gold Master’ to latch onto for resources. Don’t you have any self-awareness? Why play pretend with us?” “Exactly. You’ve even put on the clothes, yet you say you aren’t competing? You want to head out early to snatch the person, don’t you?” “…”
He just wanted to find a boss to secure investment based on his future development. That is quite different from finding a ‘Gold Master’ and selling one’s body for money.
Song Yuanxi became increasingly certain that he hadn’t overthought it before; this place was exactly as “unclean” as he imagined. He didn’t want to waste any more words with them and turned to leave.
Just then, the manager walked over and tapped on the door: “What’s the shouting about? There are many guests of high status tonight. What if someone gets annoyed by the noise? Everyone, behave yourselves.”
The lounge went silent instantly, and Song Yuanxi also stopped.
As the manager spoke, he scanned the room and picked about a dozen people, both men and women: “Tidy yourselves up and follow me to the private room to take care of the guests.”
He picked the most attractive ones from the group, which naturally included Song Yuanxi.