That evening.
Zhang Xiaoru bought Ai Xuan a few snacks to eat during the livestream. Otherwise, it would be boring just sitting there.
Ai Xuan was on the sofa in her room. She picked up her phone and saw no notifications. She was puzzled and, for some reason, a little put out.
She’d sent Gu Heng a message earlier, and he still hadn’t replied. That had never happened before.
Was he that busy today?
“Sister Xuan, I have to say, Director Lu can be a handful, but he really does have money. Our crew went to a museum to borrow some antiques. The hair ornaments you’ll be wearing later in the shoot are genuine historical pieces. They’re worth over a million a piece, and some are worth several million.” Zhang Xiaoru tidied the table as she spoke. “I heard they’re rushing to finish a whole bunch of costumes, too. The embroidery is all done by hand. The budget’s on par with a big production.”
Ai Xuan put down her phone and turned to look at her.
Zhang Xiaoru grinned smugly. “No wonder Director Lu keeps his mouth shut no matter how annoyed he gets. He’s afraid of screwing it up. If he still turns out another dud with all this money, nobody’s ever going to invest in him again.”
“What are you talking about? What dud?” Ai Xuan smiled slowly, a hint of warning in her voice.
With this much money going into the production, had Lu Yuchen found an investor? She’d forgotten to ask Gu Heng whether he’d put any money in. She’d only brought it up half jokingly and hadn’t thought of it again.
“A hit,” Zhang Xiaoru quickly corrected herself. Then she went on, “When you took this web series, the haters online really went after you. Director Lu likes to do things his own way, and his earlier projects had a few flaws. Some of the haters said things that were way out of line.”
Ai Xuan’s expression stayed the same. “Just be yourself.”
From the time she terminated her contract to the release of the promotional photos showing the cast in costume, she’d rarely gone on Weibo to read the comments. She could imagine the uproar without looking.
She’d left her agency and taken a pay cut. Surely that meant her career was going down the drain, right?
But to her, a good series didn’t have to mean enormous salaries and a cast full of big-name stars.
For most of her acting career, her manager and agency had called the shots. She’d been like a beautifully packaged “product” with a hefty price tag. She took one formulaic engagement after another, sometimes even formulaic scripts, and collected hefty fees.
Her fee couldn’t go below a certain figure. Any less and she’d be “selling herself cheap.”
Now that she’d left her manager and agency, why couldn’t she do what she liked? She could take scripts she loved, play roles she wanted, and dig deeper into her craft.
Money mattered, but so did being happy.
Zhang Xiaoru nodded firmly.
“I’ll be fine on my own. You can call it a day and get some rest,” Ai Xuan told her.
It had been a long time since her fans had seen her. Now that things had calmed down considerably, she just wanted to see the people who supported her and have a chat with them.
Zhang Xiaoru figured Ai Xuan could use some space, too, so she didn’t insist on staying.
Ai Xuan sat down at the table and checked the time. Once everything was ready, she started the livestream.
Plenty of people were already waiting when she went live. As soon as she said hello, her fans enthusiastically flooded the screen with comments. The viewer count soon reached a hundred thousand.
Ai Xuan read the comments, pulled the pizza toward her, and said with a smile, “Have you had dinner yet? This is my dinner tonight. Quite a feast.”
When she saw fans sending gift after gift, she stopped nibbling at her pizza and tapped the screen to turn off the option to send them. “I don’t have anything special planned tonight,” she said in her sweet, clear voice. “I just missed you and wanted to chat.”
Her fans were practically screaming with excitement. They flooded the stream with comments and likes.
“Love you so much, Xuanxuan!!!”
“Good evening, Xuanxuan! I missed you too.”
“Aaaaaah, I love Xuanxuan!”
“I’ll always love you! Finger heart!”
…
The livestream soon reached two hundred thousand viewers and shot into the platform’s top five.
Ai Xuan read through the comments and answered questions. When she saw fans asking her to sing, her slender brows curved with her smile. “Sing? I just learned a new song. I’ll sing it for you in a bit.”
“Who said things were bad on set? The crew’s great, and the food’s even better. Look at my face. I’ve already filled out a little.” She pinched her cheek as she said it.
Even through the screen, her fans could see how soft and springy her fair cheek looked, and they flooded the stream with comments again.
Their flattery made Ai Xuan laugh, her almond-shaped eyes curving into crescents. She took another small bite of pizza and kept chatting with them. Much of the exhaustion from filming melted away.
Meanwhile.
Lu Yuchen received an unexpected visitor. When he’d called Gu Heng to complain, he’d never imagined Gu Heng would come to Xuzhou in person.
“Third Brother!” Lu Yuchen’s eyes lit up at the sight of Gu Heng.
Gu Heng hadn’t shown much of a reaction when they hung up. Lu Yuchen hadn’t realized he mattered this much to him.
It had only been a few hours since they’d spoken! He was so touched he could almost cry.
In contrast to Lu Yuchen’s enthusiasm, Gu Heng’s expression was calm and his voice was utterly even. “You can ignore Jin Yan.”
“He offered all sorts of terms. I couldn’t be bothered to listen.” Lu Yuchen glanced at Secretary Pei, inwardly sighing and shaking his head. “It’s a good script, and I’m sure the series will turn out well, but that’s beside the point for Jin Yan. He’s doing this for personal reasons.”
Secretary Pei, oh, Secretary Pei. What was he going to do with him?
Secretary Pei looked back at him, just as baffled and a little frustrated.
He’d dropped plenty of hints. Had Young Master Lu understood any of them? Things between the Third Young Master and Miss Ai were complicated. He could only hope Young Master Lu would read between the lines.
Gu Heng sat on the sofa, his dark eyes giving nothing away.
“For now, I’m just fobbing him off.” Lu Yuchen sat across from Gu Heng and thought for a moment, then couldn’t help adding, “If we hadn’t cast Ai Xuan, we wouldn’t have any of this trouble.”
Ever since the Gu family had gone legitimate, they’d kept a low profile, even among the other prominent families. They’d never had a hand in the entertainment industry before, so they were being especially cautious about entering it now. Lu Yuchen hadn’t brought up Gu Heng’s name at all.
Gu Heng turned his deep, dark eyes on him.
Secretary Pei’s expression changed abruptly. “Young Master Lu…”
“She’s famous, she can act, and she brings an audience with her. She’s a good fit,” Lu Yuchen quickly amended, giving Secretary Pei a chance to save face.
Gu Heng frowned, his gaze darkening further. His phone rang. He glanced at it, picked it up, and went over to the window to answer.
Once Gu Heng was out of earshot, Lu Yuchen lowered his voice and addressed Secretary Pei with exasperation. “See? Now we’ve got trouble. Who do you think Jin Yan is trying to get involved for? Ai Xuan, of course. That woman isn’t as innocent as you think.”
Secretary Pei saw Gu Heng hang up and walk back toward them. He wanted to cover Lu Yuchen’s mouth then and there. He could barely keep his polite smile in place. “Young Master Lu, Miss Ai isn’t that kind of person.”
“How is she not?!” Lu Yuchen leaned closer and went on in an agitated whisper. “I saw it myself that day. Jin Yan came to see her and stormed off afterward. He’s probably trying to throw money at her to win her over. There are plenty of women in the entertainment industry, and plenty of them are pretty. But you had to fall for this one. If Third Brother finds out you pulled strings for Ai Xuan to boost her career, what do you think…”
“Young Master Lu, please don’t say things like that.” Secretary Pei jolted in fright, his knees nearly giving way. Panic written all over his face, he hurried to explain. “There’s absolutely nothing between Miss Ai and me.”
The sight of Secretary Pei looking so timid made Lu Yuchen want to laugh. So even Secretary Pei could look this guilty. Then he turned and saw Gu Heng watching them. He forced back his laughter and changed the subject in a casual tone. “I just thought Ai Xuan might be Secretary Pei’s type. I was going to introduce them and play matchmaker, but never mind if he’s not interested.”
Seeing the dark, menacing look on Gu Heng’s face, Secretary Pei quietly edged away from Lu Yuchen, then edged a little farther away.
Gu Heng pressed his thin lips together. He sat down without a word and set his phone gently on the table. The look he gave Lu Yuchen was icy and deeply displeased.
Even with things this dire, Lu Yuchen’s attention was elsewhere. He’d found Ai Xuan’s livestream and was smiling at his phone. “Third Brother, this is the actress playing the lead. She gets on my nerves a little, but I can’t fault her acting. She can carry the whole series by herself.”
Secretary Pei lowered his head and rubbed the spot between his brows. Lu Yuchen really had no filter. Secretary Pei silently moved a little farther away.
Gu Heng looked over. Ai Xuan was singing.
Her voice was soft and sweet without a hint of affectation. She smiled radiantly as she sang, every word clear over the quiet backing track.
As the last note faded, she took a sip of water, cleared her throat, and leaned closer to the camera with a smile. “Just one song today. Once I learn a new one, I’ll sing it for you next time.”
Gu Heng looked at her face, and his gaze softened considerably.
It had been so long since he’d seen her. He truly missed her, and talking several times a day did nothing to ease the longing.
“Over two hundred thousand people are watching. That’s a lot,” Lu Yuchen said. Then he added, “I should do a livestream sometime, just for the fun of it.”
He was good-looking, came from a wealthy family, and had plenty of followers on Weibo and short-video platforms. His one shortcoming was that he wasn’t a respected director and was always getting mocked for making lousy films. That was his one real regret. Otherwise, he’d have had both talent and looks, enough to make even the gods jealous.
On the livestream, Ai Xuan was still chatting with her fans.
She finished her last bite of pizza and reached for the milk tea beside her. “This milk tea’s pretty good. I’m letting myself indulge just a little today.”
She took a small sip. When her fans asked what flavor it was, she looked closely at the cup and accidentally knocked an ornament off the table.
Ai Xuan furrowed her brows, her clear almond-shaped eyes suddenly widening. She looked even more lovely as she lifted a hand as if to admit her mistake, and the fans in the livestream gushed over how cute she was.
“It didn’t break. Give me a second.” She looked down at the floor and bent to pick it up.
There was a sudden bang, and the camera shook twice. Viewers heard a sharp clatter, and comments came flooding across the screen.
“You bumped into something, didn’t you?”
“Xuanxuan!!!”
“Oh my gosh, be careful, baby!”
“My heart hurts for you. Sob…”
…
“So stupid,” Lu Yuchen muttered with a click of his tongue. A second later, he met Gu Heng’s icy black eyes. His smile vanished. He swallowed, ducked his head in fright, and fumbled to close the livestream. In his haste, he dropped his phone on the floor.
Why was Third Brother angry? He was terrifying!
Gu Heng stood up at once and strode out, his expression icy.
Lu Yuchen was still shaken and more baffled than ever. Secretary Pei had already hurried to open the door and was leading the way for Gu Heng. “Miss Ai is in Room 304.”
Gu Heng strode to Ai Xuan’s door, then stopped abruptly. His expression was tense, and the hand at his side twitched, but he never raised it to knock. He stared so intently it was as if he could see through the door, trying his hardest to keep his worry in check.
Secretary Pei spoke softly. “Miss Ai has ended the livestream.”
Something shifted in Gu Heng’s eyes.
Before he could do anything, the door suddenly opened. Ai Xuan stood there with a hand resting lightly against her forehead. She froze when she saw Gu Heng and Secretary Pei in front of her, then lowered her hand, blinked, and looked at them again.
Secretary Pei broke the awkward silence, explaining unhurriedly, “The Third Young Master was passing through Xuzhou on a business trip, so he stopped by to see you, Miss Ai.”
Lu Yuchen had just caught up. His eyes widened. “?”
Hadn’t Gu Heng come for him? What did this have to do with Ai Xuan?!
“When did you leave on this business trip? How come you never mentioned it?” Ai Xuan asked Gu Heng.
They talked every day, and he hadn’t said a word about it.
“It was a last-minute decision,” Gu Heng replied.
She must have hit her head fairly hard. There was a small red patch on her forehead, and her eyes looked watery. Gu Heng’s gaze darkened again. Had it hurt enough to make her cry?
Ai Xuan didn’t question it. “Have you two had dinner?”
“The Third Young Master and I just arrived,” Secretary Pei answered. “We haven’t had a chance to eat yet.”
“It’s already so late.” Seeing that Zhang Xiaoru had come over too, Ai Xuan stepped forward and took the bottle of medicinal liniment from her with a small smile. “I’m fine. Go back and get some rest.”
Zhang Xiaoru looked at Ai Xuan, then stole a glance at the man in the black suit. He was tall and slender, with finely shaped brows and striking eyes.
He looked gentle and refined, and he even had a secretary. Who was he?
Zhang Xiaoru was dying to know, but she didn’t dare stare or ask questions. She nodded and headed back. She’d been watching the livestream and had felt awful when she saw Ai Xuan bump her head. She’d brought the liniment over straight away. Fortunately, it didn’t seem serious.
Holding the bottle, Ai Xuan said to Gu Heng, “Give me a minute to get ready. I’ll take you out for dinner.”
“There’s no rush,” Gu Heng said.
“Come in and sit for a bit.” Ai Xuan turned to pour him some water. “You didn’t reply to my message. I thought you were in a meeting.”
“I did reply.” He’d been on the plane and hadn’t had a signal. He’d answered the moment he saw her message.
Gu Heng stepped inside as he spoke. Lu Yuchen approached from the other side, intending to ask what was going on. Gu Heng gave him a sidelong glance that carried an icy warning, then shut the door in his face without hesitation.
For some reason, cold sweat broke out on Lu Yuchen’s back. He stopped dead. When he saw that Secretary Pei had disappeared too, he was utterly at a loss, all his confidence draining away like air from a punctured ball.
Wh-what was going on?!