Zhuo Yue felt that he really couldn’t figure out Fang Mingyan. His attitude, his thoughts, his purpose, almost nothing could be discerned.
It was as if he brought him out but did nothing. He leisurely strolled around the business district, randomly chose a teahouse by the roadside, and sat down to have tea. He had this spirit of being someone who was the biggest boss out there and that the world was in the palm of his hand. Zhuo Yue had to be patient and accompany him even though he was full of questions.
The sky was blue and cloudless. The sun was hanging in the sky, and the soft sunlight shone warmly on people. Not far away was a small park in the centre of the city, where flocks of pigeons had landed on the ground, waiting for visitors to feed them. On the crowded pedestrian street, everyone had a different expression on their face.
In the elegant teahouse, a man was delicately setting the tea utensils in front of him with his slender fingers. What he drank was Dahongpao1an expensive type of oolong tea, and the tea slowly filled the small cup from the purple clay teapot. The fragrance of the tea permeated the air, lingering around the tip of the nose. It seemed that the whole world had settled down with each breath.
Zhuo Yue watched his movements quietly, with eyes clean and gentle, like a focused deer in the woods.
“How long has it been since you’ve gone out for a stroll like this?” Fang Mingyan started talking.
He thought for a moment and said, “It’s been a long time. I’ve been at home most of the time.”
“Fortunately, you don’t come out often; otherwise, those young ladies would all have developed neck problems.” The man teased.
With their good looks and the fact that they were sitting by a window along the street, they naturally attracted a lot of attention. A few girls probably recognised Zhuo Yue, stretched their necks and stood at a distance, whispering, and even took out their mobile phones to take pictures.
Hearing this, Zhuo Yue curled his lips and smiled with a gentle light in his unstretched eyebrows.
Fang Mingyan picked up the cup, put it to his lips, took a sip and said, “Guess what gossip about you will be on the Internet?”
Zhuo Yue was stunned, then understood and said, “When I meet you, there will naturally be rumours of me changing agency.”
“You’re not too stupid.” There seemed to be approval in the man’s eyes. “You’ve been silent for too long and need to return to the public eye in a special way. I’ll have someone hype up this news and launch some attacks on your former employer. If Fenglan responds, the attention on this news will be even greater; people love watching these kinds of drama. As for you, just remain silent throughout this process. From today on, Everything you say on social networks must be approved by the company.”
“I understand.” Zhuo Yue looked down at the transparent glass in his hand. The Junshan Yinzhen2Junshan Yinzhen is a yellow tea from Junshan Island of the Hunan Province in China. It is considered to be China’s rarest tea and one of the Ten Chinese Famous Teas.’s leaves were floating as if dancing.
The silver bell hanging on the door made an ethereal sound, and someone pushed the door open and walked straight towards the two of them.
Fang Mingyan raised his wrist to look at his watch, smiled at the man and said, “You’re right on time.”
“You know I’m never late.” The man who spoke was a man in his thirties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a coat dr4p3d over a well-ironed suit. The whole person had a calm and reserved appearance. Behind him was a young female secretary whose skirt fit the curves of her body, outlining her perfect figure.
The man took two sets of documents from the secretary and handed them to Fang Mingyan, “These three documents are termination agreements; Fenglan has already signed them. Additionally, this one is a contract drafted according to your request.”
“It’s so worry-free to have a legal advisor like you. Let me introduce Zhuo Yue, Party B in the contract.” After Fang Mingyan finished speaking, he turned to Zhuo Yue and said, “This is Lawyer Qin Mu, Huasheng’s chief legal advisor.”
“Hello, I’m sorry to trouble you.” Zhuo Yue stood up and reached out his hand. Qin Mu politely took off the black leather glove on his right hand and shook hands with him, “Mr. Zhuo, as a lawyer, I have the obligation to remind you that many clauses in the contract are unfair to Party B.”
Zhuo Yue was stunned when he heard this and pursed his lips, “I understand, thank you.” This lawyer made him feel a faint sense of oppression, which was somewhat similar to the feeling Fang Mingyan gave him as if he was completely dominant, powerful, strong and confident.
The lawyer glanced at Fang Mingyan, who was smiling next to him, and there was a bit of understanding in his eyes. He said nothing more, took the tea that was handed to him, and took a sip.
“Would you like to have dinner together at noon? I have an appointment with the Earl.” Boss Fang invited him enthusiastically.
“You’re really making the best use of people.” Qin Mu raised his hand and looked at his watch. “I have a lawsuit to deal with this afternoon, so I need to go back and prepare. Once the contract is signed, notify me, and I’ll have my assistant come to pick it up.”
“Okay.” Fang Mingyan responded, lazily leaning on the chair and waving his hands, “Good luck this afternoon.”
“I humbly accept your words of blessing and hope they will come true.” Qin Mu didn’t stay long and left with his female secretary.
The man moved the materials on the table in front of Zhu Ye, “Let’s take a look.”
Zhuo Yue didn’t read the paper with black characters carefully. He turned to the last page, picked up the pen on the table used to write the opinion sheet, quickly signed his name in the Party B column, and then handed it back to the other side.
“Aren’t you afraid that I’ll sell you out in the contract if you sign it so hastily?” Fang Mingyan looked at him jokingly.
“I promised that I would do whatever you want.”
Hearing this, a smile appeared on the man’s eyes, “I didn’t expect you to be… so good.” The deliberate drawl was a bit frivolous, which made Zhuo Yue’s cheeks heat up, and he turned to look out the window hastily.
Lunch was served in a private club with a quiet environment.
With green bricks and blue tiles, artificial hills and pond fish, and carved wooden windows, the courtyard was filled with classical Chinese beauty at every turn. Several birdcages hung on the patio, and the birds inside were chirping gracefully as if welcoming familiar guests. In the centre of a mahogany round table sits an old-fashioned copper hot pot, with red-starred charcoal burning underneath, boiling the bone broth with a bubbling sound, filling the air with a rich aroma of meat. Platefuls of all kinds of fresh ingredients were placed on the table, and Zhi Ye couldn’t help but gulp down his saliva.
“Are you hungry?” Fang Mingyan asked.
“No.” He felt a little embarrassed and got up to tease the budgerigar3The budgerigar, also known as the common parakeet, shell parakeet or budgie, is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot next to the pillar. Sensing someone approaching behind him, he turned his face to see a golden-coloured snack being handed to his mouth. He pursed his lips and reached out to take it but was avoided by the other party.
“This thing is deep-fried; after grabbing it, you’ll need to wash your hands again. Just eat it like this.” The man brought it to his lips again.
Zhuo Yue was immediately embarrassed, took a step back and said, “I’m actually not very hungry…”
Originally, he had no intention of teasing him and just wanted him to satisfy his belly first, but his expression aroused Fang Mingyan’s bad taste. The man deliberately approached, forcing him to lean his back against the pillar. Passing the small snack to his mouth, he lowered his voice and said, “You don’t want to eat like this. Do you want me to feed you the way I did last night?”
Zhuo Yue’s face turned red when he heard him mention last night. He was in a stalemate for a while and had to open his mouth and bite down.
At this moment, there was a slight cough at the door.
Somebody was coming.
Zhuo Yue was startled and almost choked. He finally swallowed it and stood behind Fang Mingyan with a red face. Boss Fang calmly wiped his hands with a wet wipe and said to the visitor, “You arrived so slowly that we are almost starving to death.”
“Really? I’m sure you have many ways to spend your time.” The man in a long black coat put his hands in his pockets, a cashmere scarf casually dr4p3d around his neck, and his eyes were as deep as an abyss in his handsome face. Just a quick glance made Zhuo Yue nervous. The one next to him was slightly shorter, with clear eyes and a faint smile.
Fang Mingyan said to Zhuo Yue, “Do you need me to introduce you? You should have seen this person before.”
“Second Young Master.” Zhuo Yue greeted very respectfully. Chu Yu, the second son of the Golden Eagle Group, appeared to be a reputable chaebol but was rumoured to control the triads. Many people in the entertainment industry wanted to get close to him, but this one was very cold and difficult to get close to. Zhuo Yue had only seen him from a distance a few times when participating in charity activities. He heard a while ago that the Second Young Master came out as gay publicly and got married abroad with a male partner, so the person around him should be… Zhuo Yue noticed that the two of them were wearing the same style of ring on their ring fingers.
“This is the new chairman of Baihe Group, Xu Ye, the Second Young Master’s wife.” Fang Mingyan continued to introduce.
“…What wife! You really…” The shorter, handsome man glared at him and then looked at the Second Young Master Chu next to him somewhat aggrievedly.
There was a gentle smile in Chu Yu’s eyes, and he corrected, “My spouse.”
“Okay, Second Young Master’s spouse.” Fang Mingyan corrected helplessly, “This is Zhuo Yue, the artist I just signed.”
“I’ve seen your movie.” Xu Ye thought for a while and said, “It seems to be a historical movie with a complicated name. What is it called?”
“Is it ‘The Flowers Bloom on the Road for the Lord’s Care’?” Zhuo Yue asked.
“Yes. It happened to be on TV when I was sick last time, so I watched a few episodes. You acted really well, but the plot was too melodramatic. I suggest you not collaborate with that screenwriter named Mo Qingcheng next time; every script that person writes turns out to be trash4LMAOOOOOO.”
Zhuo Yue laughed.
Under the dim sunlight, these two people stood together. The two men were like two pieces of jade; one was smooth and warm, and the other was clear and transparent.
The other two men exchanged glances. Fang Mingyan smirked, unreservedly took a seat, and picked up a piece of beef, putting it into the copper pot. He said, “Alright, let’s eat and talk. The pot is almost drying up.”
The three of them sat down, with Xu Ye next to Zhu Ye. He was interested in the process of TV drama production, so the two of them chatted while they ate.
Chu Yu glanced at Zhu Ye and asked Fang Mingyan, “Your people?”
“My artist,” he added.
“So there must be another reason why you invited me to dinner today.” Chu Yu peeled off the shells of the boiled shrimp and put them in Xu Ye’s bowl. The other party happened to give him fish balls, and the two looked at each other and smiled.
“I heard Golden Eagle is investing in a movie, and Xie Anqing is currently selecting the cast.” Fang Mingyan swung the cabbage leaves in the hot pot and said bluntly, “Give him a chance to audition.”
“Chu Xuan is in charge of everything in the cultural industry, and I rarely interfere. But it’s rare for you to speak to me. I’ll do you a favour this time.” Second Young Master Chu pressed the phone and asked, “His name consists of which two characters?”
“Zhuo means ‘outstanding’, and Yue means ‘pleasing’.”
Soon, the message came back.
“Let him go to the Changting studio for an audition tomorrow afternoon. The main roles have basically been decided, except for one supporting male role left.” Chu Yu looked up at Fang Mingyan with a hint of playfulness in his eyes and added, “It’s a gay.”
Fang Mingyan was stunned for a moment, then looked at Zhuo Yue, who was lowering his head to eat food, and slowly showed a smile, “It would be nice to let him expand his acting career.” After a moment, he added, “I almost forgot, there’s one more thing. I need you to help me give a heads up.”
“You invite me to a meal and make a bunch of requests.” The Second Young Master Chu glanced at him.
“Mainly, this matter is in your territory, and it’s tricky for me to handle.” Fang Mingyan looked innocent. “This kid is involved in some affairs on your Guangyu Street.”
Chu Yu frowned, “How much?”
“Including interest, it’s over three million.”
“Leave this matter to Tang Can, and I’ll contact you when the result comes.”
“Okay.” Fang Mingyan smiled slyly as he placed a cooked precious crab leg into Chu Yu’s bowl. He said, “Eat without worries; everything’s fine now.”
Notes:
I didn’t notice I kept writing him as Zhuo Ye coz I kept recalling Xu Ye’s name until I realised it was supposed to be Zhuo Yue instead. (ノД`)
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