The curly-haired girl was full of questions as she glanced at Zhao Chenxing, who was casually scrolling through his phone. She wondered who this big shot was, to have Jiang Liyue personally come down to greet him!
A friend? She thought Jiang Liyue didn’t have any male friends.
This was common knowledge among all Jiang Liyue’s fangirls.
Jiang Liyue was known to be homophobic and didn’t like working with men. Previously, when her department was notified to arrange a magazine photoshoot for Jiang Liyue, it was specifically emphasized that the makeup artist, photographer, and assistant should preferably be women.
The staff who were unaware of the inside story gossiped, speculating that Jiang Liyue either had some quirks or was trying to get close to a woman he fancied…
*
The boy who had been looking down at his phone finally put it down and looked up at Jiang Liyue.
Then, he looked away.
…
The boy glanced at the small cake he hadn’t finished, seemed like he wanted to say something, thought for two seconds, and then stopped.
He quickly finished the small cake in a few bites.
Jiang Liyue watched the boy stuffing the cake into his mouth and smiled gently, “You still love sweets, don’t you, brother?”
Hearing this, the boy looked up, wanting to get angry, but with his mouth full of cake, his voice came out soft and mushy, “I told you not to call me brother! We’re only a few days apart!”
The boy stood up, stuffed his phone back into his coat pocket, and was about to push his suitcase.
But Jiang Liyue reached out and grabbed the boy’s arm, speaking clearly, “Brother, let me do it, okay?”
The sentence was phrased as a question, but the tone was a genuine statement, leaving no room for refusal.
With his deep voice, it was hard to know where you were, and you might agree to anything without realizing it.
However, this boy actually soberly refused…
The curly-haired girl felt a string in her mind tighten.
What was going on?!
Anyone who saw Jiang Liyue would definitely react like them, eager to glue their eyes to him, unlike this boy.
Even more curious was their “brother”!
Someone who could make “brother” rush to serve him and resist “brother’s” charm, even refusing him!
Not an ordinary person.
Not an ordinary relationship.
She felt her gossiping soul stirring.
By the time she came back to her senses, the boy was already pushing his suitcase, walking shoulder to shoulder with Jiang Liyue out of the café.
Damn! Lost in beauty, she forgot to ask for a photo and autograph!
She lamented to the girl next to her, who was still in a daze, “Oh my god, we just missed the chance to get an autograph! Why do we have to have a rule against taking photos and getting autographs at work? Feels like we missed out on a fortune!”
The two walked side by side towards the elevator of Fashion BS, the sound of the suitcase wheels rolling over the marble floor echoing around them.
“Are you stupid? Coming down dressed so lightly!”
Zhao Chenxing noticed Jiang Liyue was only wearing a shirt. Although the building had air conditioning, you still needed a coat inside, especially since City A was damp and bone-chillingly cold.
Jiang Liyue’s voice came muffled through his mask, “It’s fine, I was afraid you’d get impatient waiting.”
There was another half of the sentence he didn’t say, ‘Afraid you’d run off again if you got impatient.’
They entered the elevator.
Zhao Chenxing turned around, glanced at Jiang Liyue, and suddenly realized something serious.
Too much had happened last night, causing him to overlook this serious matter.
“Did you grow taller again?”
Zhao Chenxing said, gesturing vaguely above his head.
Jiang Liyue smiled, grabbed Zhao Chenxing’s hand, and was about to say something when he felt the temperature of Zhao Chenxing’s fingers and his slender, bony fingers, frowning, “Why are your hands so cold?”
When Jiang Liyue grabbed his hand, Zhao Chenxing’s mind went blank, feeling uncomfortable, but he didn’t pull away in time. Now he couldn’t find the opportunity, so he pretended to be indifferent, “Huh? Are they? I feel fine.”
Zhao Chenxing thought it was inappropriate to be so touchy-feely with someone from the industry outside, even in an elevator, as you couldn’t guarantee the surveillance wouldn’t leak.
He used the excuse of taking out his phone to naturally slip his hand out of Jiang Liyue’s warm grip.
Luckily, Jiang Liyue didn’t hold on too tightly, or it would have been awkward if he couldn’t pull away just now.
Feeling the lingering coolness in his palm, Jiang Liyue’s eyes darkened.
Jiang Liyue led Zhao Chenxing to the makeup room outside the photo studio.
The photography department of BS was large, with many work areas surrounding the central photography zone. The area they came to was the room for artists to do makeup and rest during shoots.
Fashion BS was one of the top five fashion magazines in the country. Being able to shoot a solo cover for them was a huge affirmation of an artist’s commercial value.
If there was a major difference between BS and the other four major magazines, it might be that Fashion BS’s headquarters was in City A, while the others were in the Capital City.
Probably due to the title of the newly crowned Film Emperor, BS arranged a private makeup room for Jiang Liyue, and there was no one inside.
Zhao Chenxing pushed the luggage inside and placed it behind the door.
Jiang Liyue followed in and closed the door with a click.
Zhao Chenxing noticed the pink band-aid on Jiang Liyue’s right hand as he closed the door.
Zhao Chenxing sat on a chair in front of the makeup mirror and nodded towards Jiang Liyue, “Hey, how’s your hand?”
Jiang Liyue took off his mask, his brows slightly furrowed, pressing his lips, “It’s fine, I can handle it.”
Hearing this, Zhao Chenxing raised an eyebrow, just about to signal Jiang Liyue to come over so he could take a look, when the door was pushed open.
A woman in high heels, talking on the phone, walked in quickly.
Seeing the two inside, she was momentarily stunned, then gestured to Jiang Liyue not to speak.
Not sure what the other side said, the woman’s delicate eyebrows furrowed tightly, her high heels clicking in the rest area, sounding very anxious.
Jiang Liyue poured a cup of slightly hot water from the water dispenser, tested the temperature with his fingertip, and then handed it to Zhao Chenxing.
He naturally stood beside Zhao Chenxing, hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable.
Zhao Chenxing took the cup, the temperature just right.
He glanced up at Jiang Liyue, noticing as his gaze moved that Jiang Liyue had just put his injured hand into the pocket of his suit pants.
The black suit pants and the pink band-aid on Jiang Liyue’s hand didn’t match, but to be fair, it made his wrist look slender and white, making one want to hold his wrist and feel the texture of his skin.
Zhao Chenxing, as if possessed, put down the cup and held Jiang Liyue’s wrist.
He looked up, unsurprisingly meeting Jiang Liyue’s puzzled expression. Zhao Chenxing quickly let go of his wrist, avoiding his gaze.
“Alright, I understand the situation. I’ll discuss it with Jiang Liyue and get back to you.”
The woman’s voice was crisp and her speech relatively fast. Thinking about it, in this fast-paced entertainment industry, most people work quickly, prioritizing efficiency.
Manager Jiang Yun hung up the phone, and only then did Jiang Liyue shift his gaze from Zhao Chenxing to Jiang Yun, asking, “What’s up?”
Jiang Yun hung up the phone, opened her phone to check Jiang Liyue’s schedule, and was about to say something when she realized there was someone else in the room besides the two of them, a stranger.
Jiang Yun was caught off guard by the news on the phone and hadn’t reacted. Now that her mind caught up, she was very surprised.
Jiang Liyue actually brought a young man into his private space!
If her eyes weren’t deceiving her, Jiang Liyue had just poured him a cup of water!
Jiang Yun was shocked, could it be…
Zhao Chenxing saw the lady suddenly stand up straight, as if reporting to a boss, respectfully asking Jiang Liyue, “May I know who this is…”
Zhao Chenxing saw this sister acting so respectfully, feeling a bit overwhelmed, he also stood up from the chair, tidied his clothes, and extended his right hand to Jiang Yun, “Hello, beautiful sister, I’m Zhao Chenxing, Jiang Liyue’s childhood friend.”
Jiang Yun extended her hand to shake Zhao Chenxing’s for a few seconds before Jiang Liyue pulled them apart.
Jiang Liyue handed the water cup he had just placed on the table back to Zhao Chenxing, watching him hold it before saying to Jiang Yun, “Sister Jiang, let’s get to the point.”
Knowing that this boy was Jiang Liyue’s childhood friend and that Jiang Liyue’s attitude towards him was unusual, Jiang Yun relaxed.
Jiang Yun shifted her gaze back to the Excel sheet on her phone, squinting as she verified, “Didn’t I get you a variety show before? Your variety show debut, afraid you’re not familiar with the shooting mode, I set it as a guest appearance.”
Jiang Yun finished speaking, sighed, and sat on the sofa in the rest area, her tone full of helplessness, “As a result, the director and producer did something, one of the major investors withdrew, and three of their resident artists terminated their contracts. Our company is now the biggest investor, and the company just asked if we could make you a regular.”
Jiang Liyue pressed Zhao Chenxing back into the chair, half-leaning on the makeup table beside him, saying, “I just finished filming a movie, I don’t need to join a crew for a while.”
Jiang Yun was helpless at this point, “If you weren’t so picky, you wouldn’t be so idle? You can’t shoot period dramas, you can’t shoot popular same-sex themes, and you have to check the production team for TV dramas. Brother! I’m calling you brother! If you had listened to me earlier, you’d already be the nation’s husband.”
Neither Jiang Liyue nor Jiang Yun noticed that Zhao Chenxing, who was quietly listening on the side, stiffened for a moment when he heard ‘not shooting same-sex themes.’
“I checked your schedule for the next two months, being a regular shouldn’t be a problem, and this variety show is a new format. The first season definitely won’t be long, they want to test the waters and see the reaction. It’s up to you, we need to respond to them soon.”
Apart from being picky about the movie and TV scripts handed over by the company and Jiang Yun, Jiang Liyue was easygoing in other aspects.
He didn’t even want to participate in variety shows initially, thinking it was better to shoot more films and have them released domestically and internationally.
If it weren’t for Jiang Yun saying that participating in variety shows had many benefits, like increasing national recognition, having your own traffic, being seen by more people, and increasing discussion heat, he would probably still be focused on acting.
Jiang Liyue originally wanted to agree directly, as being a guest or a regular didn’t matter to him now. But when he caught a glimpse of Zhao Chenxing sitting obediently drinking water beside him, he suddenly had an idea and changed his mind.
“We can agree to them, but we need to negotiate a condition first.”