Although he noticed that the call was on speaker mode, the noise on the other end was too loud for his voice alone to attract their attention. Before smashing the plate, Zhou Jinchen also turned on his speakerphone. Only after ensuring that the loud crash was transmitted in full did he turn it off and take back his phone.
The shoving and jeering from the other end had already disappeared. Zhou Jinchen had guessed the identities of the people there from their voices, but to buy some time, he still asked, “Who are you?”
As he spoke into the phone, a waiter approached. Dressed in the restaurant’s uniform, the young man looked at them suspiciously, his gaze lingering on Zhou Jinchen’s face for a moment. After cleaning up the broken pieces on the floor, he asked in a standard professional tone, “Gentlemen, is there anything about our service that you are dissatisfied with?”
Chen Li had already arrived at the scene, and Zhou Jinchen had taken the phone she was using. The man showed no awareness of having caused a commotion in a public place, leaving the ever-dutiful manager with no choice but to brace himself and clean up the mess for him.
“No, no,” Xin Zimai stood up, took some cash from his wallet, and handed it to the waiter. “Thank you for helping us clean up. It was our personal issue, nothing to do with the restaurant. We’ll also cover the cost of the plate. Sorry for the trouble.”
The waiter didn’t want to disturb the other diners. Seeing Xin Zimai’s cooperation, he politely asked, “Understood, sir. Would you like us to continue serving your meal?”
“Yes, please.”
After the waiter left, the curious glances around them gradually dispersed. This restaurant was quite expensive, and there weren’t many customers at the moment. Since Zhou Jinchen had remained seated while only Xin Zimai stood up, the others couldn’t see his face. Thankfully, they had narrowly avoided a “Famous Actor Loses Temper and Smashes Restaurant” headline-making waves in both entertainment and social news. When Xin Zimai looked back at the culprit sitting across from him, he saw that the man had already switched back to his own phone and was talking.
“Did those people hurt you?” Zhou Jinchen asked. The person on the other end seemed to respond, and he didn’t press further. Instead, he got to the point. “I’ll treat you to dinner tonight. What do you want to eat?”
Just then, the polite waiter returned with a plate of freshly grilled chicken breast. Xin Zimai saw the man across from him raise an eyebrow. “Anything’s fine? How about chicken breast?”
Xin Zimai glanced gloomily at the plate, which was beautifully arranged with fresh garnishes. He thought to himself that the chicken breast actually looked quite appetizing.
However, Zhou Jinchen clearly received an answer that didn’t match his expectations. He lifted his gaze and gave Xin Zimai a cool glance before reporting the restaurant’s address over the phone. Only after that did he hang up.
Xin Zimai had a bad feeling. He quickly asked, “Jinchen, how do you plan to deal with those trainees?”
Zhou Jinchen glanced at him again and said, “Transfer their contracts to Tian Xiang.”
Tian Xiang was a subsidiary under Jin Dian’s umbrella. It was one of those trial-run companies that Jin Dian set up on a whim. Calling it a company was a stretch—it didn’t even have the resources of a proper studio. Their method of testing the waters was to sign people at low prices. If someone gained traction, they would be promoted to Jin Dian. If not, they would be left idle, bound by their contracts without receiving any resources. Since it didn’t cost much to maintain, Jin Dian didn’t lose anything either.
Jin Dian had four or five such subsidiaries, mainly to scoop up fresh talent and avoid missing out on potential stars, preventing the need to spend a fortune poaching from other companies. But in reality, overnight success stories with no background were rare in the industry. So while it sounded like an opportunity on paper, being signed to Tian Xiang was far from a lucky break.
Moreover, these seven trainees were being kicked out of Jin Dian’s official roster and dumped there. That was even worse than terminating their contracts outright. Having once received resources and been on the verge of debut, only to be thrown into a dead-end situation with no future prospects, the psychological gap would be unbearable.
Xin Zimai, however, wasn’t particularly concerned. Handling a few trainee contracts wasn’t a big deal to him, especially when the other party had practically delivered a reason for him to do so. He was about to call and settle the matter when he realized his phone hadn’t been returned. “Hey, Jinchen, my phone is still with you.”
But Zhou Jinchen didn’t hand it over immediately. Instead, he turned the screen toward Xin Zimai, showing the flashing call notification.
“Who’s calling?” Xin Zimai didn’t react at first. But when he saw the caller ID, his right hand, which had reached out for the phone, recoiled as if electrocuted. “H-He, why is he calling?”
Zhou Jinchen’s voice was deep and elegant, but to Xin Zimai, it sounded like an explosion. “Because you just sent him a message saying you wanted to have dinner with him.”
As Xin Zimai stared in shock, Zhou Jinchen repeated, “Here, have a chicken breast dinner.”
The pleasant ringtone sounded like an urgent death knell. Zhou Jinchen placed Xin Zimai’s phone on the table and said calmly, “An Xumo said he’s fine with anything for dinner—except a fitness meal.”
But Xin Zimai no longer had the capacity to care about his boss’s tone. His mind was filled with just one name.
—It was the one displayed on the screen.
“So, this meal is my treat for the two of you. Consider it a chance to meet.” Noticing a tall, slender figure outside the restaurant, Zhou Jinchen picked up his own phone and stood up, leaving Xin Zimai sitting there in a daze. “No need to thank me. Enjoy your meal.”
Before leaving, he added faintly, “By the way, I won’t be reimbursing this dinner.”
When Zhou Jinchen stepped out, An Xumo was looking up at the restaurant’s sign. His expression held a slight hesitation as if he wasn’t too keen on going inside. However, the moment he saw Zhou Jinchen, he quickly adjusted his demeanor. “Brother… Senior.”
The man glanced down at him over the top of his sunglasses, seemingly dissatisfied with the messy way he addressed him. Knowing he was at fault, An Xumo lowered his head and stood obediently.
He had remembered it earlier, but he had been too caught up in the shock of the invitation to dinner, so An Xumo didn’t react for a moment.
Fortunately, the other party didn’t press the issue and simply motioned for him to get in the car. Relieved, An Xumo quickly followed, sitting properly in the back seat.
As the city lights flickered on, the deep night sky and the dazzling lights outside the car window painted a beautiful, vivid scene. Inside the car, with only the two of them, the atmosphere was quiet but not awkward. Even the pain in An Xumo’s back felt significantly lighter.
“I’ll take care of those people for you.”
A deep, magnetic voice broke the silence. An Xumo looked up and saw the man in the front seat gripping the steering wheel, the joints of his wrist slightly protruding beneath his sleeve in a particularly striking arc.
“Including tonight’s dinner, consider it an apology for the wine incident at the birthday banquet.”
An Xumo was stunned for a moment before remembering what had happened last time. He had never thought of blaming Zhou Jinchen. “No, no, I should be the one thanking you…”
Zhou Jinchen didn’t respond. Keeping his eyes on the traffic ahead, he said indifferently, “You need to learn how to handle relationships within the industry on your own.”
“Yes.” An Xumo lowered his voice, feeling a bit regretful for troubling him. “I’ll be more careful next time.”
He didn’t want to burden Zhou Jinchen. Let alone complaining, even hearing Zhou Jinchen mention the incident made him feel like he had wasted his brother’s time. “Sorry for bothering you… this time.”
Zhou Jinchen frowned slightly and glanced at the rearview mirror. The boy was sitting properly in the back seat, hands neatly placed on his knees, like a child obediently receiving a lecture.
With a personality like this, how was he supposed to survive in the entertainment industry?
An Xumo didn’t notice Zhou Jinchen’s gaze. He was thinking about something else. After a moment of hesitation, he finally spoke. “Last time, Senior Han Ming… who came to the company with you, he was there too.”
Zhou Jinchen asked, “Did he bully you as well?”
An Xumo was startled and quickly shook his head. “No, no, Senior Han Ming was there with Sister Chen Li.”
He pursed his lips, a little nervous. “Later, when I left, Senior Han Ming walked out with me. He even asked me… about my relationship with Director Xin.”
He said Xin Zimai, but it was obvious that Han Ming was actually asking about his relationship with Zhou Jinchen. Zhou Jinchen glanced at the rearview mirror again. The boy’s nervousness was written all over his face. “I told him we had only met… once before and nothing else.”
An Xumo anxiously pinched the edge of his pants, worried that this might cause trouble for Zhou Jinchen. However, the man didn’t seem to care at all. “You don’t need to worry about this. Someone will handle it.”
Shortly after he finished speaking, they arrived at their destination. Following the valet’s instructions, Zhou Jinchen parked the car. When they stepped out, An Xumo looked up—and his eyes immediately lit up.
Under the guidance of the host at the entrance, the two of them were seated in a private room. A waiter handed over two dining cards. “All dishes in our restaurant are available in unlimited quantities, except for the golden king crab. The seafood and cooking stations are on the first floor, while the barbecue area is on the second floor. You may help yourselves.”
Zhou Jinchen handed both dining cards to An Xumo without hesitation.
“Get whatever you want to eat.”
The author has something to say:
The meal was finally served () cough—a certain someone really understands Xiao Mo’s heaty best~
The grand chicken breast feast is left to Mai-zi and his little buddy xd
Leave a Reply