"Mr. Wang~" Xiang Mingyue said in a high-pitched voice, trying to ingratiate himself with the middle-aged man beside him, "Your little darling is so pitiful, please have mercy and plead with the production crew for him again!"
Mr. Wang was clearly in a difficult position, and an awkward expression flashed across his face. But for the sake of his reputation, he had to put on a brave face: "Well... it depends on your performance tonight! If you do well, I'll find a way to put in a good word for you."
Xiang Mingyue could see the predicament of President Wang and knew that this was indeed a difficult situation for him.
Having dealt with so many sponsors, he must have some discernment. But he was desperate for casting, so he resorted to pleading and begging President Wang for help: "We can't delay any longer. If we keep putting it off, that Su Yanxi I hate will get the role—"
An unintentional shift in his gaze led Xiang Mingyue to spot a familiar figure.
"What should we do?" Before Xiang Mingyue finished speaking, President Wang comforted her by touching her hand. "I have no right to interfere with the casting process. I can only ask someone to speak on your behalf. You should be grateful. The cheating incident at the audition last time caused such a big uproar. If I hadn't protected you, your reputation in the industry would have been ruined long ago."
Mr. Wang kept rambling on and on, but Xiang Mingyue didn't hear a word he said. All his attention was focused on staring at the familiar figure not far away!
This is clearly it, this is clearly it—!
Speak of Su Yanxi, and Su Yanxi arrives!
"Mr. Wang, Mr. Wang, wait a moment!"
After getting off the escalator, Xiang Mingyue stopped abruptly and, arm in arm with President Wang, went around to the back of the huge decorative sculpture to avoid being noticed by Su Yanxi, who was less than ten meters away.
"Mr. Wang, you're absolutely right. I was greedy and didn't appreciate your kindness!" Xiang Mingyue said perfunctorily. "Please go back to your room first. I suddenly need to use the restroom!"
Using the sculpture and Mr. Wang's thick, sturdy body as cover, he observed Su Yanxi's movements at the front desk.
Mr. Wang didn't notice Xiang Mingyue's sidelong glance, but was puzzled: "Why don't we just go back to the room to take care of it? Why do we have to look for it here?"
Xiang Mingyue was extremely anxious, fearing that Su Yanxi would leave while he was speaking!
"Oh dear, how can you be so oblivious to romance!" He stared intently, lying without batting an eye, "I prepared a little surprise for Mr. Wang, but I didn't want it to be discovered so quickly!"
He was so anxious that his tone of voice changed, almost as if he was saying, "You bald bastard, you're getting in my way of observing the enemy situation!"
Fortunately, the middle-aged bald man was easily fooled and believed Xiang Mingyue's story without a second thought, leaving in the opposite direction Xiang Mingyue had instructed. Xiang Mingyue hurriedly took out his phone, hid behind a building, and began filming a video.
Heaven has eyes, even the heavens are helping him! Su Yanxi must have encountered some trouble, because she stood at the front desk for a long time; this gave Xiang Mingyue ample opportunity to capture the video evidence smoothly and clearly!
Suppressing his excitement, Xiang Mingyue zoomed in on the video to a size that could only fit the two of them, recording while glancing at the man beside Su Yanxi.
Judging from the expensive luxury brand outfit he was wearing and the Ferrari sports car key he was casually playing with in his hand, there was no doubt that he was a rich man!
A wealthy man, arm in arm with a struggling actress seeking a comeback, is checking into a hotel. The underlying meaning is self-evident, isn't it?
Xiang Mingyue felt increasingly emotional as he filmed, thinking to himself, "You, Su Yanxi, I told you to pretend to be innocent and aloof, but in the end you're just like me, having to sleep with your sugar daddy."
This sugar daddy looks young and handsome; he probably doesn't have some powerful backing. Xiang Mingyue both envied Su Yanxi for not having to settle for a greasy middle-aged man and, with a touch of Ah Q mentality, hypnotized himself.
Xiang Mingyue only stopped recording after he finished recording Su Yanxi leaving hand in hand with her "sugar daddy." Looking at the long, high-definition video on his phone, he burst out laughing.
Su Yanxi, I've caught you red-handed again.
"It's just one night, a double room would have been fine, why insist on a suite?" On the way back to the room in the elevator, Su Yanxi took the room key from Bie Yunzong and couldn't help but grumble, "With such a big room, I wonder how you're going to sleep."
"Let's just sleep here," Bie Yunzong said, shrugging and spreading his hands. "The suite has an executive lounge. Let's go back and rest for a while, then have a candlelight dinner at the executive lounge tonight."
Chapter 16
"Still eating? You've been eating all afternoon. Do you want me to get so fat?" Su Yanxi snorted. "Are you thinking that if I get fat, I won't be able to film the drama and will have to go back to Beicheng with you?"
"Nonsense, I don't have such dark thoughts." Bie Yunzong chuckled and rubbed his chin against Su Yanxi's head.
My wife's hair is fine and soft, and the shampoo smells amazing!
"Honey, you're not fat at all. You're incredibly disciplined with your food intake; you're so thin, how could you possibly be fat?"
Before Su Yanxi could respond, a WeChat notification from Zhou Tong popped up on his phone. He casually opened it and glanced at it: "Wow, my agent sent me a preliminary list—as expected, there are many big-name veteran artists making special appearances!"
Young Master Bie, engrossed in flirting, became unhappy. He covered Su Yanxi's phone screen with his large hand, preventing her from looking: "Wife, you promised me you wouldn't deal with work today and would only spend time with me!"
"I'll just take a look, one look." Su Yanxi swatted away Bie Yunzong's dog paw and quickly glanced at the draft list.
Amidst Bie Yunzong's clamor and bargaining—"My wife has to compensate me tenfold tonight"—Su Yanxi fell into deep thought.
Unexpectedly yet logically, he saw Xiang Mingyue's name on the list.
It seems this battle with our arch-rival is not going to end so easily.
Author's Note:
Cannon fodder: I've got your weakness covered!
SuSu: What a coincidence, me too?
SuSu is certified and working here, so she's not worried at all~
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Thank you Xuan Dong Shi Ba Grapefruit 1+1 Cup~ It took you so much effort to check in!
I went to McDonald's for their shake-and-eat fries yesterday, and they were really delicious, but I ended up with mouth ulcers afterwards...
The weather is dry, so remember to drink plenty of water to prevent getting a sore throat.
09# I've never seen your two ounces of flesh before.
At night, after washing up, Su Yanxi, as always, went through the last "step" before going to bed—skincare.
The secret to maintaining a radiant appearance every day is meticulous skincare the night before. No matter how tired or sleepy he is at the end of the day, he never forgets to take care of his skin.
Because this step is very important, no one can disturb him or rush him.
"Wife..."
As a man driven by basic human desires, Bie Yunzong thought it was good that his wife loved beauty. But her excessive love of beauty, such as the long nightly skincare routine, was really hard for him to bear; when he looked up and saw that his wife had just started applying serum, he almost fainted.
"Could you—"
"Hmm?" Su Yanxi raised an eyebrow, her gaze unwavering. "Can't you what?"
Bie Yunzong immediately backed down and changed the subject, saying, "Can you tell me why you're such a sworn enemy of that guy surnamed Xiang?"
"Xiang Mingyue?" Su Yanxi paused in applying the essence, successfully aroused by his desire to confide. "Perhaps it's because of the neighboring village?"
Bie Yunzong was taken aback. He, who had been lounging around like a slacker, suddenly perked up and sat up to ask, "He's from the neighboring village, isn't he? But what does being from the neighboring village have to do with being mortal enemies?"
"That's why people from neighboring villages know about my father."
Su Yanxi slammed the face cream down, and even after seven years, recalling the past still made her furious.
"He's a petty person and can't stand seeing others do well. When I got into the Beijing Drama with the highest score, he immediately got jealous when he heard that I was from a neighboring town."
“During the first week of school, he spread rumors that my father was a corrupt official, making it a big fuss and known throughout the school; even the dean of students talked to me privately and asked me if it was true.”
Bie Yunzong frowned, already feeling empathy for his wife. He wished he could immediately travel back to his wife's freshman year of college and give that guy surnamed Xiang a good beating.
"When you were a freshman in college, Dad's grievances had already been cleared up, right? Our dad was targeted and carried such a false accusation for so many years, which is already pitiful enough. How could he be so immoral as to spread it around?"
"Regardless of whether it's clear or not, Xiang Mingyue is deliberately trying to ruin my reputation."
"Thanks to him, I ranked first in my major in both major exams during my first semester of freshman year, using my grades to refute those rumors. Otherwise, my university life probably wouldn't have been so easy."
"Oh my god, wife..." Bie Yunzong felt a pang of pain in his chest upon hearing this. He got up from the bed and took his wife's hand affectionately. "Wife, you really suffered a lot in the past. That Xiang guy is really despicable. We must not let him get away with this!"
"Ten years east of the river, ten years west of the river, it's hard to say who will laugh and who will cry now." Su Yanxi smiled gently at the silly, smelly dog, withdrew her hand and spread the hand cream, "It's okay, honey, I have something on him, this time I definitely won't be at a disadvantage again."
Su Yanxi thought that Bie Yunzong was simply feeling sorry for him, but she didn't expect that besides feeling sorry and loving, Bie Yunzong was also anxiously waiting.
"Okay, honey, I understand."
Bie Yunzong swallowed hard, leaned against the dressing table, and watched Su Yanxi's movements with bated breath.
"What I'm saying is... can you hurry up? It's been ten minutes already, I can't wait any longer."
Su Yanxi snapped out of her reverie, rolled her eyes, and said speechlessly, "What's the rush? Do you think I've never seen your two ounces of flesh?"
Even though Bie Yunzong didn't like hearing this, he immediately rubbed his hips against Su Yanxi's arm: "How can it be just two ounces? Wife, you know it best. Tell me honestly, is it more than two ounces?"
Su Yanxi turned away in disgust: "Don't be a pervert, or I'll call for help."
“Go ahead and shout. If you can get someone to come, I’ll show them our marriage certificate.” Bie Yunzong wasn’t intimidated at all. “How can you call it being a pervert when it comes to my wife? Wife, you have to prove for me how good this thing really is!”
"Come on," Su Yanxi chuckled, amused by the stinky dog, and finally put down her skincare products. "Did you light the aromatherapy?"
Bie Yunzong wagged his tail happily at Su Yanxi, and nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, replying, "It's served early."
"Okay, let's do it then."
Su Yanxi hooked her arm around Bie Yunzong's neck and blew a breath into her husband's ear.
"Let's go to bed."
After the spring night.
Chapter 17
The incessant ringing of his cell phone woke Su Yanxi up. He opened his eyes and first saw Bie Yunzong's face, then glanced at the cell phone shining on the bedside table.
Bie Yunzong had always been a terrible sleeper. Besides sleeping in all sorts of positions, he also liked to wrap his arms and legs around him, restricting his movement completely. He struggled for a while, barely managing to free one arm and reach for his still-ringing phone.
Upon seeing that the caller was "Mom-in-law," Su Yanxi instantly became more alert: "Hello, Mom, what's wrong?"
The mother-in-law was asking about Bie Yunzong's whereabouts, saying that Bie Yunzong's phone was switched off and she couldn't get through.
Su Yanxi pushed Bie Yunzong away a little, then replied in a gentle voice, "Yunzong is with me. I came to Guangcheng for work, and he insisted on coming with me."
"Hmm? You said there's a family get-together he needs to attend? No problem, he should be going back today, he'll definitely make it."
After finishing his conversation with his mother-in-law, Bie Yunzong, still half-asleep, immediately reached out to Su Yanxi for a kiss: "Good morning, wife~"
"Good morning," Su Yanxi replied emotionlessly, poking the man's bare chest. "Now that you're awake, could you please stop pressing down on me?"
Bie Yunzong chuckled and moved away, then ingratiatingly massaged Su Yanxi's shoulders: "Oh dear, I was sleeping too soundly and didn't notice. Did I hurt you, wife? Let me massage it for you."
"Alright, alright, stop with the nonsense." Su Yanxi rubbed her shoulders as she got out of bed.
He had tried to correct Bie Yunzong's sleeping posture, but after sharing a bed for five or six years, this rascal remained just as messy as ever, and no amount of effort in correcting it seemed to work. So he simply gave up and let him sleep as he pleased.
"Get up, brush your teeth, wash your face, and go have breakfast. After breakfast, you should go back to Beicheng."
Bie Yunzong grabbed his wife's sleeve, looking incredulous: "My wife's companionship card expired so soon?"
"Otherwise?" Su Yanxi pulled her hand back, responding coldly, "Didn't we agree before we came that I'd spend the day with you on the 8th, and you'd go back to Beicheng on the 9th so I could adjust and get back to work?"
“But we only landed yesterday afternoon!” Bie Yunzong complained. “We landed in the afternoon, and because of the typhoon and heavy rain, we didn’t get to do any of the things we were supposed to do. There are 24 hours in a day, and after deducting sleep time, I should still have half a day left!”