The final scene of the commercial shoot went extremely smoothly.
Although Lin Haobai felt a little silly standing there neatly dressed, holding the bottle of lotion and reciting the lines in front of the mirror, the moment the director shouted “Cut,” the crew erupted into applause. He thought to himself that his performance was probably okay!
In fact, it wasn’t just okay, it was excellent!
Ren Tianxing stood right next to the director, watching the handsome figure on the monitor as the camera zoomed in and out. One hand was lightly fidgeting with the small figurine in his pocket, while the other hand pointed at the screen, at the man smiling like sunlight, and his heart surged with excitement.
Such a young and energetic man, with the vitality of a 22-year-old, yet mixed with a maturity beyond his years, he possessed a particularly captivating charm. No wonder he had grown from an ordinary child star to this level.
“My eye for talent really is perfect!”
Ren Tianxing shamelessly praised himself in his mind, while once again feeling disdain for the Xu family, who ran the “Lan” brand.
Their methods were as dirty and disgusting as ever.
Lin Haobai, a clean-living and inspirational young actor, had simply refused their endorsement offer, yet they dared to spread a bunch of half-truth rumors online. Fortunately, because of their stupidity, Lin Haobai eventually accepted the endorsement for “Lou.”
…
Hearing the applause of the crew, Lin Haobai happily lifted his head to look toward the handsome man’s seat, only to realize that the man who had said he wanted to have a meal with him earlier was gone.
A little disappointed, he lowered his head, took a couple of sips from the water his assistant handed him, and looked around, finding nothing.
Shaking off the strange feeling in his chest, Lin Haobai perked up and greeted the crew one by one before heading to his own dressing room.
However, even after removing his makeup, leaving the dressing room with his assistant, and taking the elevator down to the underground parking lot, he still hadn’t seen that handsome, sharp-tongued man.
The sense of loss grew heavier, making his eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, look dazed.
Even after going from a poor kid to a movie emperor, could he still not find a friend?
“Xiao Bai, I’ve been waiting for you a long time.”
The low, husky male voice echoed through the empty parking lot.
Lin Haobai looked up in disbelief.
That devilishly handsome man was leaning against his car, smiling at him.
Pulled in by that beautiful smile, Lin Haobai, who had been keeping a straight face, couldn’t help but break into a big grin.
“Mm, just finished… you’ve been waiting long, haven’t you?” Lin Haobai answered a bit dryly.
Ren Tianxing waved a finger and shook it: “Not too bad! I only came down after asking the director. But if you hadn’t come down soon, I’d have come looking for you myself. Come on, I’ll take you to something delicious.”
With that, he gestured for Lin Haobai to follow him.
Lin Haobai glanced at his assistant and handed over the car keys, then tried to act composed: “Where are we going to eat?”
Ren Tianxing blinked: “To our usual place, of course!”
Even as Ren Tianxing helped him into the Maybach worth several million, Lin Haobai still couldn’t fully process it.
Did this guy really consider him a friend? They’d only spoken face-to-face once, where did this “usual place” even come from?
“The usual place is the usual place!”
Seeing Lin Haobai still looking confused, Ren Tianxing’s chocolate-toned, handsome face seemed even cuter. He couldn’t help reaching out to pinch his cheek.
The touch was incredibly smooth and delicate. Would it feel as silky as chocolate if he tasted it?
Ren Tianxing murmured a few words to himself, real people really were more fun.
Before Lin Haobai could react angrily, he finally let go. But as he left that face, he still couldn’t resist rubbing it a little.
“Smack!”
The sound echoed inside the car.
Because of the partition between the driver’s seat and the back, the black-suited bodyguards didn’t react at all.
“You… you… don’t push your luck…”
Lin Haobai rubbed his face angrily. It didn’t hurt, but as a grown man, having his cheeks pinched by someone who was not only more handsome than him but also paler and prettier felt… weird.
Still, after a brief complaint, seeing the other’s hand reddened from his pinch left him a little flustered.
On Ren Tianxing’s fair, beautiful hand was a large, bright red mark.
Lin Haobai had never realized that his grip could be so strong.
Ren Tianxing, the one who had caused the trouble in the first place, had initially wanted to apologize. But when he saw the hint of guilt in Lin Haobai’s eyes, he immediately changed his words mid-sentence: “Ouch! That really hurts! Lin Haobai, your grip is way too strong!”
Then he lowered his head and blew on his reddened hand, giving the look of “it really hurts, come comfort me.”
If it had been an average-looking man doing this, Lin Haobai would have found it strange. But seeing this exquisitely beautiful, fairy-like man hold his reddened, fair hand to his bright red lips and blow on it… Lin Haobai suddenly felt a strange, almost intoxicating attraction.
Damn it!
A real man bleeds, but does not cry. And yet, this annoying guy was putting on such a show.
Lin Haobai thought this to himself, and since Ren Tianxing had started it, he steeled himself and tried to ignore him. But after a few minutes, noticing that the hand seemed to be getting even redder, panic set in.
“Y, you… is this made of paper or something?”
Having grown up tough and scraped up, he could hardly understand how a grown man’s skin could be so fragile.
Seeing him so tense, Ren Tianxing finally revealed a secretive smile.
He pretended to be in great pain, furrowing his brows: “It’s just my skin, naturally sensitive, marks stay easily, but it’s fine, just bear with it.”
Lin Haobai was stunned: this beauty really was like he was made of paper.
“Should I ask the driver to stop so I can get you some medicine?”
Ren Tianxing quickly shook his head. Joking, his skin just showed marks easily; it didn’t actually hurt at all. He didn’t want any medicinal smell on himself, as it would remind him of unpleasant memories.
The two started a little quarrel in the car. One insisted the driver stop to buy medicine; the other insisted his hand was fine.
Before long, they arrived at their destination.
Lin Haobai finally stopped arguing. After all, right next to the private restaurant was a pharmacy.
Holding the medicine that the bodyguard had bought, Lin Haobai pressed his baseball cap down and followed Ren Tianxing inside.
According to Ren Tianxing, this really was their “old place.” Their first meeting had happened here, back when Lin Haobai was stuck in the swamp of scandals.
He was an actor with little real power; merely refusing a single brand’s offer had already sparked countless rumors about him online.
That day, seeing “fans” on the internet critiquing him, Lin Haobai had been furious.
Reason told him that this was normal. But as a human being, how could life not have its frustrations?
Every single piece of information online was complete nonsense.
He had never acted like a diva, never abused the rules on set to pursue actresses, never been kept by a wealthy woman, and certainly had never done drugs.
Yet he couldn’t immediately fire back at these claims online.
His manager, Wang, was preparing an official statement and waiting for the right moment to release it.
Meanwhile, the inexplicably growing number of trending “explosive” posts made Lin Haobai realize, for the first time, the power of capital.
He just wanted to quietly be an actor.
But reality wouldn’t allow it. Overnight, he seemed to have become an utterly despicable villain. Even a few PR representatives from collaborating brands couldn’t remain calm and came asking for details.
Lin Haobai lowered his head to look at the prepared statement from his manager, then glanced at the online haters spiking in numbers, and decided to pursue legal action.
Just then, Ren Tianxing, the man he had once rejected, contacted them again.