Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"What are you talking about?" Tao Ruoqing finally couldn't bear it anymore and gently reprimanded him as she put down her soup bowl.

Just as Tao Ruoqing had never ceased to manipulate him with PUA for nineteen years, Ye Zhiqiu knew that some things couldn't be rushed.

However, Tao Ruoqing was always sensitive and suspicious. Today, he only needed to plant a seed of unease in her heart, letting it grow slowly over time.

"Mom," Ye Zhiqiu smiled, his eyes curving into a naive expression, "it's just a joke. Why are you so nervous?"

Having grown up accustomed to a life where everything was done for him, Ye Zhiqiu didn't have a clear concept of money. He even used to look down on material wealth with a certain sense of pride.

So this statement today made Tao Ruoqing particularly wary.

But upon careful consideration, there wasn't any substantial content in what he said.

Tao Ruoqing fell silent for a moment before changing the subject.

"Recently, your attitude towards relationships is starting to resemble your father's," she frowned, "joking around with feelings like this only makes me worry about you, do you understand?"

Ye Zhiqiu detested Ye Hongxian's philandering ways the most, and eight out of ten arguments between them were related to this issue.

Tao Ruoqing was confident that hearing such an evaluation would make Ye Zhiqiu reflect.

Even if he didn't have anyone special right now, he would certainly regulate his attitude towards relationships.

If Qi Xin was smart enough, he should seize this opportunity.

"I'm nothing like him." Hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu indeed became unhappy, his face instantly turning cold as ice.

"Not being like him is good." Tao Ruoqing smiled and coaxed him, "I'm just worried about you, aren't I?"

Ye Zhiqiu pursed his lips but remained silent.

Tao Ruoqing got up and gently rubbed his head, smiling again, "Dyeing your hair back does make you look more obedient."

Ye Zhiqiu was taken aback for a moment before remembering that he had dyed his hair silver before. It was Ye Hongxian who forced him to dye it back for the celebration banquet.

"Mmm." Like a cat having its fur stroked, he looked up at Ye Zheng, "Does it look good, Brother?"

Ye Zheng was about to go upstairs to work but paused when he heard this and turned to look at him.

The young man's light brown eyes sparkled with a smile, like a spring lake under the light, clear and warm. The small, faint red mole on his nose added a touch of playful cuteness.

No one could deny Ye Zhiqiu's beauty, not even Ye Zheng. He nodded, "It looks good."

"Tsk," Ye Zhixia put down her utensils, "must everyone in the family indulge him?"

"What's wrong?" Ye Zhiqiu raised his chin arrogantly, "I'm just pampered, so what? Jealous?"

"That's enough." Tao Ruoqing laughed, stepping between them and addressing Ye Zhixia, "You talk too much. Do you still need help packing your luggage for the shoot?"

"Yes." Ye Zhixia immediately stood up.

"And you," Tao Ruoqing turned to Ye Zhiqiu, "it's Monday tomorrow, and you have class early in the morning. Don't go out tonight, get some rest."

She appeared fair and considerate, and Ye Zhiqiu nodded.

Tao Ruoqing went upstairs with Ye Zhixia to pack luggage, and Ye Zheng also went to handle official business. For a moment, Ye Zhiqiu was left alone downstairs.

He poured himself a glass of water and drank it slowly. Then he picked up his vibrating phone and opened it.

The group chat was already in an uproar, with Jin Baobao wailing.

Ye Zhiqiu hadn't expected that there would be a follow-up to yesterday's incident at the club.

"Fortune Teller: Holy crap, holy crap! You guys didn't know, right? Meng Qingyan was actually at that club yesterday. Why is heaven so cruel to me, making me so close to him, breathing the same air, yet letting us pass each other by... *sobbing*"

"Le Le: Really? Are you sure?"

"Fortune Teller: Picture.jpg. A senior of mine went there today and overheard the staff discussing it. They even took a photo together. *sobbing uncontrollably*"

"Le Le: Rub rub rub, don't cry, don't cry. There will definitely be another chance."

"Liao Shao: What's all the crying about? It's just chasing a star. Grow up, don't you still have Baiyou?"

Baiyou was the son of Aunt Bai, the nanny at the Jin family. He entered the entertainment industry at sixteen or seventeen but never became famous despite his good looks.

Because he had lived with his mother in the Jin family since childhood, he and Jin Baobao had a deep bond.

"Fortune Teller: Bringing up sore spots. My little Bai hates Yan Yan the most, QAQ."

"Liao Shao: ..."

So Meng Qingyan was there last night. No wonder it was such a lavish event.

Ye Zhiqiu pondered for a moment, then started typing on the screen.

"One Leaf Knows Autumn: Why are you crying? I'll take you to visit Meng Shao on set later."

"Fortune Teller: Really? Excited.jpg."

[One Leaf Knows Autumn: When have I ever lied?]

[Fortune Teller: Then I'll kneel and thank Master Qiu first, kowtow.jpg.]

"Liao Shao: Don't get too excited yet. Everyone knows Young Master Meng only films one or two projects a year. He's already finished both this year, so you'll have to wait for the next one."

"Le Le: Rub rub rub."

"Zhaocai Jinbao: I don’t care, I want it, everywhere-wild.jpg"

"..."

Ye Zhiqiu laughed.

When it comes to being a fan, Jin Baobao’s taste is much better.

Compared to Gao Wenye, Meng Qingyan surpasses him in every aspect—strength, family background, and character.

It's no wonder Gao Wenye has been clinging to Meng Qingyan, getting addicted to the attention.

They chatted for a while longer, and finally Li Shaojun wrapped things up.

"Li Shao: A genuine Sichuan hotpot restaurant just opened on the commercial street outside our school. Want to have lunch there tomorrow?"

Their schools are not far from each other, and they occasionally meet up for meals, knowing all the good food spots outside their respective schools well.

"Zhaocai Jinbao: Of course! I need some good food to heal my broken heart."

"Yiye Zhangmu: ...have some shame."

"Le Le: Sounds good, Xiao Qiu loves spicy food."

His typing hand suddenly paused, and Ye Zhiqiu was taken aback.

Qi Xin had always avoided spicy food, so to accommodate his taste, in his previous life, Ye Zhiqiu hardly tasted any of his favorite dishes for those few years.

If not for Tang Yue’s comment, Ye Zhiqiu might have forgotten that he used to love spicy food too.

In a daze, his phone vibrated again, and a familiar string of numbers appeared on the screen.

Just like keeping Jiang Nan’s chat records, Qi Xin’s phone number had never changed.

Indeed, quite loyal.

Ye Zhiqiu’s lips curled into a mocking smile, with a cool glint in his eyes.

At the same time, Qi Xin was tightly gripping his phone.

For some reason, talking to Ye Zhiqiu made him nervous.

The ringtone echoed in his ears for a while, until his anxiety grew, and then the call was finally answered.

A young man’s clear and pleasant voice sounded in his ear, exceptionally nice: "Who is this?"

"It’s me," Qi Xin tried to keep his voice steady, "Qi Xin."

There was a sudden silence on the other end, and Qi Xin’s heart tightened, his palms becoming damp.

"It was at the club last night..." he reminded, afraid Ye Zhiqiu would forget him again.

"Oh~" The other side laughed, "You, anything specific?"

"Didn’t we talk about a nice restaurant yesterday?" Qi Xin’s mood fluctuated with Ye Zhiqiu’s tone, "I wanted to invite you to try it out. Are you free tomorrow noon?"

He knew Ye Zhiqiu’s schedule; after morning classes, he wouldn’t have another class until around four in the afternoon, plenty of time.

"I have plans for tomorrow noon, how about evening?" the person on the other end said calmly, "And I’ll pick the restaurant."

Seeing that Ye Zhiqiu didn’t refuse, Qi Xin couldn’t help but feel overjoyed, naturally agreeing: "Sure."

After hanging up, Qi Xin remained quiet for a while before his rapidly beating heart slowly calmed down.

Despite it still being early, he got up to choose what to wear for their meeting tomorrow.

.

VIA’s reply came unusually quickly. On Monday morning, while still on the way to school, Ye Zhiqiu received their email response.

Even though they knew he was using them as a stepping stone and only gave them one quarter, VIA readily agreed to all his requests.

Clearly, they were desperate enough to take the risk.

"Lucky you," Ye Zhiqiu muttered softly while reading the email.

"What?" Uncle Wang thought he was talking to him and asked loudly.

"Uncle Wang, I can drive myself to and from school, no need for you to pick me up every day," Ye Zhiqiu said with a smile.

"How can that be?" Uncle Wang said, "Madam won’t agree either."

"I’ll talk to Mom," Ye Zhiqiu said, "I can even drive a race car, so driving to and from school shouldn’t be a concern."

Besides needing money, this was another reason why he asked Ye Zheng and Tao Ruoqing for a race car.

Before confirming Uncle Wang’s stance, he couldn’t let him follow him constantly.

This would be detrimental to his future plans.

At the same time, in the Q.L office building, Luo Da had just knocked on Qin Jianhe’s office door.

Seeing Qin Jianhe on the phone, he was anxious enough to want to pace on the spot.

"What’s wrong?" After hanging up, Qin Jianhe finally gave him a glance.

"Ye Zhiqiu rejected our company," Luo Da handed the PAD logged into the Design Department’s email to Qin Jianhe, still finding it unbelievable, "How could he reject Q.L?"

Qin Jianhe took it, lowering his eyes to read the very short reply.

Dressed in a suit, his face calm, as if nothing could ruffle him.

This composure, or rather indifference, strangely alleviated the anxiety in Luo Da's heart.

"Q.L isn't the Chinese Renminbi," Qin Jianhe didn't comment on the reply email; he simply handed the PAD back to Luo Da. "How could everyone like it?"

"But he shouldn't have chosen VIA." Luo Da's brows furrowed so deeply they could crush a fly. "Between Q.L and VIA, no one in their right mind would choose VIA, right?"

On Monday morning, there was a staff meeting. Qin Jianhe glanced over the documents just brought in by his secretary and, upon hearing this, gave an inscrutable look at the PAD Luo Da was holding.

Luo Da was taken aback.

Damn, he didn’t mean to imply that Ye Zhiqiu wasn't human.

"I meant," Luo Da struggled to explain, "he's young. Could he have been misled?"

"He only signed for one quarter with VIA and revealed this information to Q.L," Qin Jianhe had to remind the overly enthusiastic Luo Da, "clearly using VIA as a stepping stone."

Luo Da: "..."

"But Q.L has already opened its doors to him. What more does he want?" Luo Da was puzzled. "Mr. Qin, do you think I should arrange another meeting with the kid to talk?"

Qin Jianhe curled the corner of his lip in amusement, neither confirming nor denying.

Some people's greed is deeper than an abyss; he had long since become accustomed to it.

But he said nothing.

Because these were things Luo Da needed to experience for himself.