Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"What brings you here?"

Gu Xu appeared calm: "I thought I mentioned it yesterday?"

Lu Yan shook his head, wrapped only in a large towel handed to him by a staff member, blinking at Gu Xu.

"I happened to be here on a business trip, so I came to see how you're doing at work."

"Oh... So the boss is here to check up on the new hire?"

He headed to the dressing room to get dressed, which meant putting back on the armor he had just taken off. Over the past week, he'd gotten the hang of handling the heavy armor. The first time he put it on, it took him a full half hour, but now he could get dressed in just ten minutes.

As he stepped out, Chen Jing was in conversation with Gu Xu.

"Director Gu, Lu Yan is a solid worker, both hardworking and diligent. You won't regret signing him."

Gu Xu's lips curled slightly: "People say Lu Yan signing with me is a bit of a disappointment."

Chen Jing, a rising director, is already quite well-known. His rise isn't just due to skill; he's got a keen eye. He chuckled: "Director Gu, I'm aware of your current resources..."

Gu Xu didn't deny it, just chuckled lightly, stayed silent, and made no move to leave.

Chen Jing didn't dare to ask him to leave and even had a chair brought over for Gu Xu. With a wave of his hand, he signaled the start of the next scene.

They couldn't shoot the fight scene. Tang Ming was in the previous fight scenes, and editing him out would be a huge task. So, they might need to reshoot this week's footage.

This scene was about Lu Yan being impeached.

A civil official stepped forward with a bow: "Your Majesty, I must bring something to your attention!"

The young emperor, played by a seventeen-year-old, was a seasoned actor, having started as a child star at six, with more experience than Lu Yan.

The young emperor spoke in a high tone: "Speak."

"I seek to impeach General Chen Zhong of the South!" The official's expression was rich, looking deeply grieved. "Your Majesty, are you aware? General Chen Zhong has been frequenting brothels, meeting courtesans. Just days ago, he sent ten boxes of betrothal gifts to a brothel madam—utterly absurd! Those boxes were packed with gold and jewels. If the soldiers at the border knew their general was wasting so much on a courtesan, imagine their reaction!"

The young emperor slammed the table: "Chen Zhong, is this true?"

Chen Zhong stepped forward, bowing in reply: "Your Majesty, it's true. My love for Kui Ji is genuine, and I see no issue with it. Most of the gold and jewels were Your Majesty's rewards from my victories. None of it was ill-gotten."

The young emperor was furious, shouting: "You dare use my rewards for a courtesan!"

Then he feigned a sigh: "Enough, you've done much for the empire. I promise you, as long as you cancel this marriage, you will remain the mighty General of the South. I see the daughter of the Minister of Revenue is still unmarried..."

Chen Zhong, unafraid of the emperor's wrath, calmly said: "Your Majesty, in this life, I wish only to spend it with her."

...

Lu Yan's line delivery was excellent. He usually spoke with a Beijing accent, but when delivering lines, it wasn't very noticeable.

"Cut!" Chen Jing looked satisfied with the playback and made a decision he had been considering for days. "When we finish shooting, you'll come in to record your lines. We won't need to find a voice actor for your parts."

"Alright." Lu Yan walked over and asked, "What's next?"

With Tang Ming gone, many plans were disrupted, and the schedule originally sent to him had changed significantly.

"You don't have any scenes this morning. Director Gu is here to visit you, I wouldn't dare keep you. We'll shoot Shi Qing's scenes first," Chen Jing said.

"I barely have any screen time in this movie. I filmed all day yesterday, and now I'm filming again today. What, are you trying to wrap me up three months early?" Shi Qing complained.

Chen Jing snorted, "Alright, just one more take. Qiu Rong has an audition this afternoon. Both of you come by, and we'll figure it out together."

Shi Qing looked indifferent, "I'm not going. I've been too tired these past few days. I need to catch some beauty sleep this afternoon."

Chen Jing chuckled, "Be there at two, no excuses." This was directed at Shi Qing and also at Lu Yan.

Lu Yan nodded, went to the dressing room to change into casual clothes. When he came out, Gu Xu stood up, met Lu Yan's eyes, and asked, "Gonna grab some food?"

Lu Yan replied, "But my assistant checked around here yesterday, and there’s nothing good."

Before he even finished, Gu Xu was already walking, "Let's go."

They hopped into the car, Xu Fei sat in the driver's seat, eyes on the road, "Boss, where to?"

Gu Xu opened a file and said indifferently, "Head to the office."

So it was a work thing after all, but what about lunch?

Lu Yan held onto his phone, thinking if he should ask Xiao Liu to bring him some lunch to the set.

Gu Xu flipped another page of the file and suddenly said, "You didn’t go to acting school."

Lu Yan replied, "No."

Gu Xu asked again, "Then why did you think of acting?"

Lu Yan smiled wryly and answered truthfully, "I was strapped for cash, and acting was quick money."

When Lu Miao and Zhou Ming divorced, they left with nothing but Lu Yan. At that time, Lu Yan had just entered high school, and money was tight everywhere. Although Lu Miao worked at a large company, her position wasn't high, and she was only making a bit over seven grand a month. Lu Yan did well in his entrance exams, and the school covered his tuition, but just the rent was a few thousand a month.

Lu Miao was resilient and stubborn, she’d rather sell her jewelry than take a dime from Zhou Ming.

Later, in high school, going through his rebellious phase without his dad around, Lu Yan became wild. For most of that semester, he smoked, drank, and even got into fights, almost got kicked out of school.

Actually, the other party had started the fight, but they had the cash and just donated a bunch of desks and chairs to the school.

Lu Miao came to his school, begged the principal, and even apologized to the other side.

That was the first time he saw Lu Miao back down.

Later, he quit drinking and threw himself back into his studies, got into a good university, and received job offers from several companies. Along with them came offers from several talent agencies. Lu Yan almost without hesitation signed a contract and stepped into the entertainment industry.

No particular reason, just because Star Entertainment offered the first supporting male role, and the pay was higher than that of an intern.

Hearing the answer, Gu Xu chuckled lightly.

"What do you want to eat?"

The topic changed too quickly. Lu Yan snapped out of his memories and almost instinctively responded, "Meat."

Gu Xu's smile widened a bit more, and he said nothing more.

After half an hour, they finally hit the city center.

Arriving at the company, Gu Xu closed the file, "Stop the car."

Xu Fei complied and stopped, somewhat puzzled, "Mr. Gu, aren't we going into the parking lot?"

We’ll have to cross the street after getting off here.

"Drive into the parking lot," Gu Xu got out of the car first. "Pick up Lu Yan at 1:30 to head back to the set."

Lu Yan followed him out of the car, saying to Xu Fei, "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem at all!"

Xu Fei immediately drove the car away. Lu Yan followed Gu Xu for a few steps when Gu Xu suddenly turned back and asked him, "Do you have a hat?"

"Yes," his small backpack was stocked with sunglasses, masks, and hats, ready for any situation.

"Put it on."

Lu Yan was a bit confused—why wear a hat when they were about to enter the company?

But he still took out his hat and was about to put it on when Gu Xu, with sharp eyes, noticed the mask under the hat.

He reached over, took the mask, and placed it on Lu Yan’s face. Not happy with how it sat, he adjusted it by tugging the side up slightly.

Finally, he took Lu Yan into a large supermarket.

Gu Xu headed to the meat section, browsing the options, then turned to ask Lu Yan, "What kind of meat do you like?"

Lu Yan seemed to get it, "Pork, beef—I like both."

"What about vegetables?"

"I eat everything," Lu Yan thought for a moment, then added quietly, "Except carrots, tomatoes, bitter melon, cilantro, and celery."

Gu Xu frowned as he listened, then grabbed a bunch of carrots and tomatoes and tossed them into the cart, saying, "Picky eater."

"..."

The supermarket wasn’t crowded, and there was just one person ahead of them at checkout. Lu Yan grabbed a pack of gum from the shelf by the register and asked, "Do you come here often?"

Gu Xu: "Hardly ever." In fact, he almost never came; Xu Fei usually handled the shopping and delivered everything to his door.

Lu Yan glanced at the cart and thought, Gu Xu had only been shopping for a few minutes, but it was already overflowing with items, including five bottles of condiments and a small jug of peanut oil.

When it was their turn, the cashier quickly scanned their items and smiled politely, "That’ll be four hundred twenty-seven. Card or cash?"

Gu Xu pulled his wallet from inside his suit jacket, "Card."

Then he pulled out a black card with a number made up entirely of eights.

The cashier hesitated, nervously reaching for the card.

Lu Yan stopped Gu Xu’s hand, "Cash, thanks." Then he pulled five large bills from his backpack.

The brief touch left Gu Xu momentarily stunned.

After paying, they walked out of the supermarket, each with a bag in hand.

Gu Xu carried the bag, the peanut oil bottle cap poking out, clashing with his tailored suit. "No boss would let an employee pay."

"I already said I’d treat you," Lu Yan’s voice was muffled by the mask. "Besides, aren’t we neighbors?"

Gu Xu glanced at him, muffled in the mask, and chuckled, "Right."

As they entered the branch office, the receptionist clearly recognized Gu Xu and respectfully called him "Boss Gu." She hurried to press the elevator button for him, keeping her eyes down and not even glancing at the shopping bags they carried.

When they reached the top floor, Lu Yan realized the receptionist must be used to her boss’s lifestyle.

It was the first time he’d ever seen someone with a kitchen right in their office...

Author's Note:

Haha, a true kitchen-loving protagonist.

Pretty surprising, huh? Totally unexpected, right? .jpg