Chapter 91: Yutai Media

Chapter 91: Yutai Media

"Hmm? Is your Dad not home?" Jian Ye glanced around but saw no one, figuring Yi Siyu must still be at the office.

"Arf! Arf!" The little puppy seemed to respond to Jian Ye, its round eyes wide and tongue panting.

Probably because he had been staying overnight at the dorm lately, Yi Siyu had lost the desire to stay home either.

Today, he’d make a big meal to properly comfort Mr. Yi.

After feeding Qiu Qiu, Jian Ye deftly tied on an apron—a pastel yellow one that made him look sweet, homemaker-like, and downright cute.

His bangs had grown longer, so he found them annoying and tied them up into a little topknot with a small hairband.

Humming a tune, Jian Ye with his little topknot was busy in the kitchen, his mood cheerful as he waited for his other half to return.

When Yi Siyu left the office, he sent Jian Ye a WeChat message but didn’t get a reply.

He assumed Jian Ye was staying at school as usual and might be too swamped to check his messages.

Thinking about the little dog at home that still needed feeding, he couldn’t actually spend the night at the office.

The moment he opened the door and stepped inside, Yi Siyu immediately knew someone was home.

Qiu Qiu had its butt facing him, head buried in its food bowl, tail going a mile a minute.

Hearing the noise, the pup lifted its head for a glance—oh, Dad’s back, no worries—and went right back to eating.

The pup didn’t even bother barking to announce his arrival, just lowered its head to take a few more sips of water.

Yi Siyu: "..." This wasn’t the case yesterday. Why such a difference in treatment today?

After changing his shoes, he walked into the living room and soon spotted the figure he’d missed in the open kitchen.

The first thing he noticed was the little topknot on the boy’s head, and Yi Siyu couldn’t help but smile.

The person working in the kitchen hadn’t heard the noise behind him, still focused on seasoning the soup. He scooped a spoonful to taste—just right.

After covering the pot to let it simmer on low heat, Jian Ye turned to wash his hands and take a break.

But just as he reached the sink, he was suddenly swept into a firm, warm embrace.

The man gently wrapped his arms around him from behind, hands resting on Jian Ye’s slender waist, chin nestled against his neck as he took a deep breath.

"Finally came home to me, baby?"

Jian Ye tilted his head slightly, covering the man’s fingers with his own. "I missed you—that’s why I’m back."

He knew Yi Siyu liked hearing such things and purposely made his voice tender.

Yi Siyu turned him around and pulled him close again, lowering his head to capture Jian Ye’s lips with precision.

Days apart had left him restless.

The familiar scent was back, and all the exhaustion from work faded away in the presence of the person before him.

His large hand cradled the boy’s head as he deepened the passionate kiss, lingering in the kiss.

Jian Ye trembled at the contact, stepping back until his back hit the counter.

Their humid breaths mingled in the air, and Jian Ye couldn't help but clutch Yi Siyu's shirt tightly, his knuckles whitening.

"Woof woof!"

They didn't know how long they had been kissing until Qiu Qiu's crisp barks finally made them break apart.

Both were slightly breathless, Jian Ye's lips now redder, slightly swollen like he'd eaten something spicy.

Yi Siyu raised his thumb to wipe the corner of the boy's mouth, then pressed another kiss to his forehead.

His voice was hoarse as he said, "I missed you too."

"Woof woof woof!" Qiu Qiu, seeing that no one was paying attention to him, barked several more times again.

Yi Siyu turned his head helplessly, "I heard you, stop barking."

Jian Ye beamed, slipping out from Yi Siyu's arms to pick up the little puppy and stroke its head. "Daddy just wanted to kiss me, don't be jealous, okay? I'll give you a kiss too."

With that, he gave it a kiss right on the dog's head.

Yi Siyu: "..."

Later, the two had a romantic dinner together before curling up on the sofa to watch a movie.

The little puppy slept soundly in Jian Ye's arms as he leaned against Yi Siyu's shoulder, enjoying the cozy moment.

"Do you have class tomorrow?" Yi Siyu asked casually.

"Yeah, in the morning," Jian Ye stretched lazily, not budging from the man's side.

"I'll drive you myself, how about that?" Yi Siyu affectionately ran his fingers through Jian Ye's hair.

"Really? The CEO isn't busy now?" Jian Ye teased.

Yi Siyu tapped the boy's nose lightly. "I wasn't that busy really. It's just that seeing you so occupied recently, I had no choice but to keep myself busy too."

"Oh, so it's my fault now?" Jian Ye pouted.

"I'm not blaming you, it's just..." Yi Siyu paused, then said gently, "Whenever I have free time, all I can think about is you."

Jian Ye melted at these words. Wrapping his arms around Yi Siyu's neck, he tilted his head up for another kiss.

He absolutely adored it when this man said such sweet things with complete seriousness—it made him weak.

Remembering that Jian Ye had class the next day, Yi Siyu showed restraint.

They kissed on the sofa for what seemed like forever, only stopping when Jian Ye's lips began to ache slightly.

Taking in the faint redness at the corners of Jian Ye's eyes and his dazed expression, Yi Siyu lifted him up. "Let's get some rest. I'll draw you a bath."

Jian Ye lifted his gaze, his eyes full of emotion as they met Yi Siyu's.

Yi Siyu covered the boy's eyes with his hand. "That's enough for today. Don't push your luck—unless you don't mind missing class tomorrow..."

"Got it," Jian Ye murmured weakly.

He knew they shouldn't continue—he had a competition coming up in a few days and had been pushing himself hard in dance practice. He couldn't let this affect his performance.

Jian Ye swore to himself that once this busy period was over, he'd take a whole week off! He'd stay home and not go anywhere!

...

The next day.

Jian Ye arrived at school in a good mood.

As soon as Yi Siyu's car drove away, a man in a suit approached him and handed over a business card.

Jian Ye glanced at it—it read:

"Yutai Film and Media"

"Huang Zongqiang"

The card didn’t list a position, so Jian Ye asked curiously, "Are you Mr. Huang?"

The suited man shook his head. "This card was given to me by our Mr. Huang to pass to you. I’m his secretary—you can call me Secretary Lu."

Mr. Huang?

From the title alone, he had to be at least a general manager.

Seeing Jian Ye still looking baffled, Secretary Lu clarified further, "Our Mr. Huang is one of the board members of Yutai. He admires your talent and hopes you’ll sign with our company as talent."

Jian Ye was full of questions.

This whole approach was a bit odd—why would a board member single him out? He didn’t even know this so-called Mr. Huang.

Jian Ye pinged his system mentally—

"Jian Ye: Er Tong, help me check—what’s the scoop on this company? And who is this Mr. Huang?"

"System 748: Yutai Film and Media’s core business includes talent management and film and TV production. It has three subsidiaries. Huang Zongqiang is an exec at one of them and also a shareholder in the parent company. The company manages tons of talent, including..."

"Jian Ye: Can you give me something more important? This guy didn’t just randomly find me. Sure, agencies have approached me before, but it’s always been through agents—never a chairman’s secretary. This is hella sketchy!"

"System 748: There’s one piece of information that might be useful to you. That actor you met a few days ago, Su Junyang, is also signed under Yutai Media."

"Jian Ye: Oh? That makes sense now."

Jian Ye mentally rolled his eyes. Did that dumbass get rattled by the recent viral drama? What an idiot.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Su Junyang and this Mr. Huang had some kind of thing going on.

No wonder his acting was so terrible yet his bookings were so stacked—there had to be a benefactor behind him.

Though inwardly laughing and cursing, Jian Ye kept his face perfectly neutral. "Thank you for Mr. Huang’s appreciation. I’ll think about it."

Secretary Lu was surprised. He hadn’t expected this student to remain so calm after hearing Mr. Huang’s position.

After all, being scouted by a company executive and offered an artist deal would undoubtedly come with a premium management package.

Yet this kid actually said he needed to think about it?

Secretary Lu didn't blink and replied courteously, "We hope you can give us an answer soon. Mind if we add you on WeChat?"

Jian Ye smiled. "Hard pass."

Secretary Lu paused, "...?"

Jian Ye pointed at the business card and said, "Isn't there a phone number on this card? I’ll call if I decide to."

Secretary Lu hesitated for a moment but nodded. "Well... alright. We’re really good at building up artists. I hope you won’t miss this opportunity."

Hearing him push his company even as he left, Jian Ye couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

After brushing him off, he folded the business card and tossed it into the trash.

Like hell I care about some Mr. This-or-That. None of them had anything to do with him.

Not only was Jian Ye not planning to enter the entertainment industry right now, but even if he were to choose an agency, he’d rather pick Director Wu’s company—a subsidiary of the Huo Group, way out of Yutai’s league.

Jian Ye wouldn’t tell the other party that he wasn’t lacking resources at all.

Pretending to consider it was just to be polite.

"Jian Ye: Er Tong, I’m really such a kind person."

"System 748: Host’s always been weirdly sweet like that."

【Jian Ye: I doubt they’ll let this go easily, but I’m not afraid. I don’t provoke unless provoked. If anyone messes with me, I’ll... serve them a special blend of ‘payback.’】

"System 748: Hehe, host is now a pro at serving shade."

Jian Ye returned to the dorm and greeted everyone as usual.

Sensing the weird vibe, he walked over and asked, "What’s wrong?"

Li Xiangchi said, "It’s Zheng Yan’s younger brother. He came to Yunjing a while ago to look for work. At first, things were fine—he found a decent job and kept in touch. But a few days ago, he suddenly stopped responding."

"He’s missing? We gotta look for him now!" Jian Ye exclaimed.

Liu Mingchang gave Zheng Yan, who was silently looking down, a helpless glance. "Not missing—just acting out."

"Wait, what?" Jian Ye blinked.

Zheng Yan adjusted his glasses, clearly in a bad mood. "He called yesterday, said some scout spotted him and he’d been signed by some entertainment company to be a trainee. They’d cover food and lodging and pay him a decent monthly salary. The whole thing reeked of a scam—I don’t want him mixed up in that cutthroat industry. I was about to talk him out of it when he hung up. Then, when I called back, his phone was off."

"Is he your biological brother?" Jian Ye asked curiously.

"No, he’s my cousin, a year younger. But we’re close. Back when my parents were off working, his parents looked out for me. Now he’s ditched school despite his family’s wishes to come to Yunjing for work. My uncle asked me to watch over him since I’m the only person he knows here."

It was the first time Jian Ye had heard Zheng Yan talk about his family, and he thought, shaking his head.

Most families had their drama. Zheng Yan was a top student, yet his cousin was a troublemaker.

He understood those kids dreaming of stardom and their starry-eyed dreams.

Here, one could make it big or crash and burn.

After listening, Jian Ye couldn’t help but ask, "What’s the name of the agency that scouted him?"

Zheng Yan thought for a moment. "He mumbled something like ‘Tai’..."

"Yutai Media?"

"Yes, that sounds right!" Zheng Yan said in surprise. "Jian Ye, you know them? Are they legit?"

Jian Ye: "..." No way... of all the chances...

What kind of nonsense is this? That's completely absurd!

A/N:

Qiu Qiu: Bark bark! (Hello? Am I invisible here?)

——————

Jian Ye: ...Is it too late to fish that business card out of the trash now?