Chapter 37

Chapter 37

The clip of the cute pet went viral, turned into GIF emojis, and even attracted some pet brands wanting Ning Yuyi to endorse their products.

Ning Yuyi was both amused and baffled but had Zhou Erhe decline the offer.

When Zhou Erhe asked why, Ning Yuyi, while patting the pet, smiled and said, “I can afford its expenses. Besides, there are so many endorsers out there; the little one might get scared.”

And so another week went by.

During this week, the Xie brothers and Fan Zhongchuan would come over every evening to have dinner with Ning Yuyi. After eating, they would all sit on the second-floor balcony, enjoying the night breeze and working remotely.

Of course, Ning Yuyi and Xie Yiezhou didn't have to work; they just sat playing "King of Glory."

In just a week, under the guidance of Xie Yiezhou, Ning Yuyi reached the starlight level.

That day, after their usual dinner together, Xie Yinan sat on the sofa with his laptop, fingers swiftly moving across the keyboard.

Surprisingly, Fan Zhongchuan sat next to Xie Yinan, and the two occasionally exchanged words.

With headphones on, after her nth death in the game, Ning Yuyi's gaze drifted over.

After finishing the round, Ning Yuyi nudged Xie Yiezhou's arm, gesturing for him to look over: "Aren't they supposed to not get along?"

Xie Yiezhou remained silent, “Why would you say they don't get along?”

Ning Yuyi gave him a "Are you kidding me?" look and said, “It’s pretty obvious, the elder brother doesn’t like Mr. Fan. However, Mr. Fan seems to be oblivious.”

Xie Yiezhou became more reticent, beginning to wonder if he and his elder brother's wariness towards Fan Zhongchuan had been too obvious, so much so that Ning Ning noticed.

Over there, after Fan Zhongchuan and Xie Yinan exchanged some words, Ning Yuyi saw Xie Yinan gesturing for him to come over.

Ning Yuyi pointed to himself, and upon receiving a nod from the other side, he got up and sat next to them.

"Take a look at this, Ning Ning," Xie Yinan said, turning his laptop so that Ning Yuyi could see the screen.

Displayed was a PowerPoint presentation. Ning Yuyi froze when he saw the title, only coming back to his senses when Xie Yinan began flipping through the slides.

The presentation was about hypothetical feedback reports from teachers concerning the orphanage children at school.

A myriad of emotions swelled within Ning Yuyi at that moment, nearly overflowing with gratitude. He finally lunged forward, hugging Xie Yinan tightly.

Xie Yinan held him, gently patting his back.

"Thank you, elder brother," Ning Yuyi's voice was noticeably nasal, catching Xie Yinan off guard.

"It's okay, it's okay."

Xie Yiezhou's glance met Fan Zhongchuan's, who was gazing at Ning Yuyi with drooped eyelids.

Contrary to his usual cold and emotionless demeanor during business discussions, now his face unmistakably etched with concern.

Xie Yiezhou sighed so softly it was almost imperceptible.

His prejudice against Fan Zhongchuan had finally faded.

The next day, Ning Yuyi woke up early. He gave the housemaid a day off and decided to cook some food himself, intending to deliver some to Zhou Erhe at the company.

By the time everything was ready, it was already noon. Ning Yuyi packed all the meals into thermal containers and hailed a cab to Fenghua Entertainment.

He hadn't informed Zhou Erhe, so he specifically asked at the reception if Zhou Erhe was in today. Receiving an affirmative answer, he headed upstairs.

Approaching Zhou Erhe's office, Ning Yuyi realized that the office door was ajar.

Lifting his gaze, Ning Yuyi peeped through the crack in the door, catching sight of two people passionately kissing atop the office desk.

Ning Yuyi: "…"

Ning Yuyi's cheeks flushed, spreading all the way to his ears as he turned away, murmuring to himself.

"It wasn't intentional! How could anyone do such a thing without closing the door?!"

Perhaps Ning Yuyi's turn was a bit too dramatic, causing the insulated lunchbox to hit the doorframe, prompting the two passionately engaged inside the office to reluctantly break apart.

More precisely, the person on top hesitated to pull away, while Zhou Erhe even pushed him a bit.

Zhou Erhe glanced at Ning Yuyi standing outside the door, relieved, and then shoved off the individual still unwilling to move off of him.

He whispered sharply, "Ying Jin, have you lost your mind?"

Ying Jin, grinning from ear to ear, rose from Zhou Erhe's shove, took a seat in the visitor's chair, and casually crossed his legs, smirking at Zhou Erhe.

Looking thoroughly... smug and satisfied.

Ning Yuyi cleared his throat softly, knocking on the door while keeping his head lowered, ensuring he wouldn't see any other explicit scenes.

"Come in," Zhou Erhe called out to the door, shooting Ying Jin a warning glance.

A silent message for him to behave.

"What brings you here?" Zhou Erhe tidied up his slightly messy desk, noticing the lunchbox Ning Yuyi held, and subconsciously checked his clothes.

Fortunately, they weren't too disheveled.

"Made some food and thought I'd bring you lunch," Ning Yuyi, still flushed, set the lunchbox on the desk and was about to leave.

"Wait a moment," Zhou Erhe called out to him. "I have something to discuss with you."

As he spoke, Zhou Erhe playfully kicked the bottom of Ying Jin's chair.

Ying Jin, along with his chair, skidded away a good distance, yet he wasn't upset, still looking cheerful.

"You go ahead. I need to discuss artist matters, and I don't need you in my sight, getting in the way."

"Alright then," Ying Jin rose, pushing the chair back into place. He leaned in stealthily, planting a quick kiss on Zhou Erhe's cheek, "I'll be on my way."

Zhou Erhe glared at him, "Out, out, out!"

After ensuring the door was closed, Zhou Er asked Ning Yuyi as he gestured for him to sit, "Have you eaten?"

Ning Yuyi nodded, his expression a mix of feelings.

"Go ahead, ask whatever you want." Zhou Erhe realized he couldn't hide the truth from Ning Yuyi, nor did he intend to.

"You two..." Ning Yuyi began, torn between curiosity and the urge to pry. His inquisitiveness eventually won out, "Are you two together now?"

Zhou Erhe paused, then nodded in affirmation.

"So you really are a couple now." Ning Yuyi remarked, somewhat astonished.

Zhou Erhe then watched as Ning Yuyi pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?" Zhou Erhe craned his neck, trying to see Ning Yuyi's phone screen, "Don't mention this to Mr. Xie. Although you're my confidant and the company doesn't prohibit dating, still..."

Before Zhou Erhe could finish, he noticed a WeChat red envelope notification on his own phone on the table.

And the person sending it was smirking right across from him.

"Why are you sending a red envelope?"

"It's a 'congratulations on your relationship' gift," Ning Yuyi grinned.

Zhou Erhe was momentarily taken aback, then relaxed. He picked up a shrimp, tasting it, "Hmm, quite delicious."

Afterward, Zhou Erhe silently finished his lunch.

After tidying up the lunchbox, Zhou Erhe tapped the table, pulling Ning Yuyi out of his phone-induced trance.

"We need to record lines for 'Sword Path'." Zhou Erhe took a napkin, wiping his mouth, then handed Ning Yuyi a stack of A4 papers, "Some of the lines have changed. Here's the updated version."

"Oh," Ning Yuyi briefly glanced at it, noticing only minor changes, so he didn't pay it much attention.

"There's something else." Zhou Erhe pondered how to explain, "Have you noticed that Ying Jin resembles some of the people around me and even you?"

"Resemble? Really?" Ning Yuyi thought for a moment, "I'm not very familiar with Ying Jin, so I haven't noticed."

Zhou Erhe rubbed his forehead, regretting using Ying Jin as an example.

Clearing his throat, he prepared to approach the topic differently.

"Do you want to hear how Ying Jin pursued me?"

“？？？”

Ning Yuyi felt something odd about this Tuesday: "Honestly... I'd rather not know."

Gossipmongers only care if two people are dating; they're not curious about how their romance unfolded.

However, Zhou Tuesday pretended not to hear, refilled his glass, and began recounting, bit by bit, his love story with Ying Jin to Ning Yuyi.

……

Ning Yuyi couldn't help but yawn, glancing out at the setting sun, feeling slightly dazed.

After speaking all afternoon, Zhou Tuesday's throat grew parched. "Did you understand all that?"

"Huh?" Ning Yuyi blankly lifted his head, nodding furiously regardless of whether he understood or not.

In reality, he had no idea what he was supposed to comprehend.

"I spent all this time explaining just so you'd understand what romance is, so you won't be clueless if someone courts you," Zhou Tuesday thought he had made himself clear.

Ning Yuyi responded with a slow "Huh": "Who's courting me? Nobody's courting me!"

"Besides, I'm a man. I'm supposed to be the one doing the pursuing."

Zhou Tuesday facepalmed, unable to bear looking.

"Never mind, just leave."

Ning Yuyi quickly grabbed his lunchbox and turned around, eager to escape from the place that had trapped him all afternoon.

After Ning Yuyi left, Zhou Tuesday sat in his chair, watching the hustle and bustle below. He couldn't help but smile.

The reason he and Ying Jin were together was far simpler than what he'd shared.

It was merely because Ying Jin liked him, and he liked Ying Jin in return.

The recording for "Jiandao" took three days but was finally complete.

Xie Yezhou drove Ning Yuyi home and mentioned that the casting for "Zhouyang Emperor" was almost done and filming should begin soon.

"So soon?" Ning Yuyi thought it would take at least several more months, as most production teams usually take a while for pre-production.

Xie Yezhou: "Once the lead roles are decided, the rest isn't that complicated."

Ning Yuyi: "What about the script adaptation?"

Xie Yezhou: "Your cousin is handling it personally."

As soon as Ning Yuyi got home, the director of "Zhouyang Emperor" sent him a message.

He informed Ning Yuyi about the filming schedule and provided the complete script.

Knowing that "Zhouyang Emperor" was about to start shooting, Ning Yuyi planned to delve into the script at home in the upcoming days.

His character, the Ninth Prince, was manipulated by the male lead. His love, the female lead, only had eyes for the male protagonist. As a result, the Ninth Prince turned dark and single-handedly shattered a significant portion of the male lead's influence in the capital city.

Unsure about how to portray his interactions with the female lead, Ning Yuyi went over the script several times. He even recorded multiple takes of the scenes on his phone but remained unsatisfied.

After deleting the last video he recorded, Ning Yuyi sat on the floor in contemplation, deciding to see how others performed such roles.

He searched online for popular romantic dramas, hoping to gain some insights.

……

After watching several episodes, Ning Yuyi pondered deeply, hugging his pillow.

Somehow, certain actions of the male lead in the drama felt like something Fan Zhongchuan would do. No disconnect whatsoever.

This realization made Ning Yuyi shudder.

Recalling the subtle details of his interactions with Fan Zhongchuan, along with the hints Zhou Tuesday dropped earlier that day.

"Damn," Ning Yuyi froze in shock.

！！！

Oh my goodness!

Could he really be thinking what I think he's thinking?!

Author's note: I've had an epiphany!