Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ye Weian was a man of action. He immediately messaged Zhou Huaichen: "Ye's Group has a project in Africa. Are you interested?"

Zhou Huaichen had already returned home. Seeing Ye Weian's name, he smiled faintly.

But the thought of Ye Weian's unwavering desire to be with Yan Qing made the smile on his lips fade slightly.

After a moment's thought, he replied with a voice message: "Thank you, I'll consider it."

After listening to Zhou Huaichen's message, Ye Weian mumbled, "He's so cold."

His voice still carried that grape-like flavor, but it wasn't particularly sweet.

System: "..."

The host still doesn't understand why the great Zhou has turned cold...

Poor Zhou.

Ye Weian truly didn't grasp Zhou Huaichen's feelings.

All he knew was that the grape-flavored voice wasn't sweet, and that made him a little unhappy.

So much so that the next day, when he went to Lemon Entertainment, his mood was still rather sour.

Lemon Entertainment was a subsidiary of Ye's Group, originally established by Ye Weian specifically to promote Yan Qing.

Later, the company grew, signing some second-tier celebrities and recruiting a batch of interns.

Special Assistant Long Jie handed a stack of documents to Ye Weian and said, "These are a few male stars that Special Assistant Zhang and I have selected. Any of them could work for a publicity stunt with Yan Qing."

Ye Weian looked at her strangely: "All male stars?"

Long Jie nodded: "Female stars aren't willing to do publicity stunts with him. And you've said before not to force the company's artists."

Ye Weian simply said, "Oh," and didn't ask further.

To him, whether they were male or female stars didn't matter.

It was just that Yan Qing was famous, and a publicity stunt with him would be beneficial. He had assumed Long Jie deliberately skipped over female stars.

Turns out the female stars were unwilling... probably because they knew Yan Qing liked men and wanted to avoid getting involved.

Long Jie then specifically pulled out one document and handed it to Ye Weian, saying, "This male star is Lin Chang. I suggest we let him do the publicity stunt with Yan Qing first."

As Yan Qing's first rumored romantic interest, Lin Chang would reap the biggest benefits.

Ye Weian recalled the plot: Lin Chang was a minor cannon fodder character who, due to his dislike for Yan Qing, constantly opposed him and was brutally tormented by Yan Qing's various lovers.

Not long ago, Lin Chang had offended Yan Qing and received terrible online reviews, getting mercilessly lambasted by Yan Qing's fans.

Ye Weian casually asked, "Why choose Lin Chang?"

Long Jie answered earnestly: "Lin Chang has offended Yan Qing before. Special Assistant Zhang and I both agree that having him do a publicity stunt with Yan Qing would annoy Yan Qing even more."

Ye Weian: "..."

You two have a bright future!

He thought for a moment and said, "Later, you and Special Assistant Zhang should go to HR and let them know that starting this month, your salaries will be increased by ten percent."

Long Jie: "?"

Such good news?

System: "..."

The host truly is the Zombie King who survived ten years in the apocalypse—does whatever he wants.

Ye Weian really had nothing to fear.

This was a world of paper characters, and in this world, he was incredibly rich—he could spend money like water.

System: "..."

I'm jealous.

Although it doesn't know why, as a system, it feels jealous of the rich.

Accompanied by Long Jie and President Wang of Lemon Entertainment, Ye Weian went to the seventh floor.

The seventh floor was where artists worked and rested. Trainees were diligently practicing under their instructors' guidance, all appearing to be promising talents.

Ye Weian didn't understand artist management, but he knew these artists could bring profits to the company, so he told President Wang to treat them well.

President Wang assented.

Long Jie asked, "Lin Chang is also here. Should I call him over privately?"

Ye Weian nodded.

President Wang looked at Ye Weian with some surprise.

He had a good impression of Lin Chang—skilled in both singing and dancing, he had played a third male lead before, and his acting was decent.

Unfortunately, Lin Chang had offended Yan Qing earlier, and President Ye firmly stood by Yan Qing, which led to Lin Chang being sidelined.

He wondered what President Ye wanted with Lin Chang this time.

Could it be to get revenge for Yan Qing?

Noticing President Wang kept glancing his way, Ye Weian maintained an inscrutable expression and offered no explanation.

Lin Chang was quickly called over.

Worried that Lin Chang might offend Ye Weian and incur further displeasure, President Wang spoke before Long Jie could, saying to Lin Chang, "This is President Ye. You should know that our Lemon Entertainment is a subsidiary of Ye's Group. You'd better make a good impression."

Lin Chang certainly knew Ye Weian and was aware that Ye Weian was Yan Qing's backer.

He greeted half-heartedly: "Hello, President Ye."

Ye Weian grunted in acknowledgment and said, "I've had a falling out with Yan Qing."

Lin Chang: "?"

President Wang: "?"

Ye Weian explained, "So I won't be taking Yan Qing's side anymore."

He told Long Jie to hand the publicity plan to Lin Chang and said, "Take a look first."

Lin Chang took the documents and realized it was about setting up a CP promotion with Yan Qing. His brow furrowed deeper.

Yan Qing had accused him of acting like a diva, spread rumors about his messy personal life, and directed fans to launch large-scale online attacks against him. Lin Chang's popularity, which had been fairly good, plummeted due to these baseless rumors.

"I don't want to be associated with him," he replied bluntly, handing the documents back to Long Jie. The idea of stirring up gossip with Yan Qing disgusted him.

Long Jie pushed up her glasses and said, "I think Yan Qing would be even more disgusted than you."

Lin Chang: "..."

That made perfect sense!

If Yan Qing found out he was being arranged to create a CP buzz with Lin Chang, he'd probably feel as disgusted as if he'd swallowed a fly...

The more Lin Chang thought about it, the more satisfying it felt. He nodded and said, "You're right. I agree!"

Long Jie smiled, her role in the success hidden.

Ye Weian glanced at Long Jie, thinking she deserved another raise.

He turned to Lin Chang and said, "Then you'll take the male lead role in *The Year the Wind Rose*."

*The Year the Wind Rose* was the art film he had commissioned specifically for Yan Qing, with the goal of helping him win awards.

The director was Bai Yuan, who was also an admirer of Yan Qing.

Ye Weian figured if Bai Yuan refused to cooperate, he could always hire another famous director.

Lin Chang stared at Ye Weian in alarm.

Most people would be overjoyed to hear they were cast as the lead in such a high-budget film.

But Lin Chang was different. He stared at Ye Weian for a long moment before blurting out, "Mr. Ye, I don't accept under-the-table deals!"

Ye Weian: "?"

Lin Chang crossed his arms tightly over his chest. "You previously tailored a film for Yan Qing to promote him. Now you're giving me his resources—you must have your eye on me, right?"

He touched his face and added, "Although I'm not as innocent-looking as Yan Qing, I am very handsome."

Ye Weian: "..."

This Lin Chang was an interesting person.

He suspected that the reason Lin Chang had offended Yan Qing in the past was because he was too straightforward.

But Ye Weian didn't think there was anything wrong with Lin Chang's attitude. In fact, he quite liked Lin Chang's blunt temperament.

Besides, Lin Chang's aura reminded him of watermelon, which was one of Ye Weian's favorite smells.

However, his absolute favorite was the purple grape scent, which was why he particularly liked Zhou Huaichen.

Yan Qing had a lemon scent, and Ye Weian hated sour smells, especially the sourness of lemons.

—The fact that the original owner had named Lemon Entertainment after Yan Qing was quite fitting.

Ye Weian said calmly, "Don't worry, I don't engage in under-the-table deals."

Lin Chang sighed with relief.

Although he agreed to the CP promotion, he wasn't interested in men!

Seeing that Lin Chang not only avoided offending Mr. Ye but also gained his favor, President Wang was overjoyed and repeatedly reminded Lin Chang to remember Mr. Ye's kindness.

With the matter settled, Ye Weian left the company with Long Jie.

Lin Chang caught up with them in the underground parking lot, made a heart gesture with his hands, and said, "Thank you, Mr. Ye! I'll work hard and repay you and the company for nurturing me!"

Ye Weian stared at his hands.

A heart gesture?

He vaguely remembered that making a heart was a way of expressing love.

Had Lin Chang changed his mind and was now willing to accept an under-the-table deal?

His expressionless face turned unusually serious, and he said coldly, "No, I'm not interested in you."

Lin Chang: "?"

System: "..."

This host is such a straight man!

Once he realized what Mr. Ye meant, Lin Chang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He felt that Mr. Ye was a bit like an old-fashioned cadre.

He explained, "Making a heart can mean many things, like gratitude or comfort."

Comfort?

Ye Weian pondered this.

After getting into the car, he asked Long Jie, "Is the illustration of the Zombie King ready?"

Long Jie was reliable and replied immediately, "It'll be done tonight."

With money, things get done faster—Long Jie had personally hired over a dozen famous illustrators to work on it urgently at a high price.

Ye Weian nodded. "Have them draw the Zombie King making a heart gesture."

He planned to send it to Zhou Huaichen.

Yesterday, Zhou Huaichen's grape-scented voice had sounded a bit bitter, and Ye Weian wanted to comfort him.

As the group's chief assistant and one of the original owner's most capable executives, Long Jie's professionalism was impeccable.

She didn't ask for an explanation and simply replied, "Understood."

But internally, her mind was flooded with comments.

—Is Mr. Ye sending a heart to Mr. Zhou? Is he trying to pursue Mr. Zhou?

—When he was chasing Yan Qing, Mr. Ye used money. Now that he's pursuing Mr. Zhou, who is also wealthy, is he resorting to a pure-hearted approach by sending emojis?

—Hmm, yesterday when Zhou heard that Ye was going to send him an emoji pack, he seemed quite happy.

—You city people sure know how to have fun.

*

Ye Weian had no idea what Long Jie was thinking. That evening, after receiving the complete emoji pack from her, he immediately forwarded it to Zhou Huaichen.

Ye: "Chill, handsome Zombie King, pretty cool, right?"

When Zhou Huaichen received the WeChat message, his heart felt as if something had gently tickled it.

He never expected Ye Weian to actually have someone draw a set of stickers just to cheer him up.

The Zombie King was a cartoon character—chubby, with big eyes, somewhat resembling a little animal, super cute and charming.

One of the stickers, featuring a heart gesture, especially caught his eye.

Ye Weian also particularly liked the heart gesture sticker.

He tapped on the little Zombie King on screen and the red heart, then sent another message to Zhou Huaichen, sounding really proud: "These are all me!"

They're all really cute, right?

Zhou Huaichen's eyes stayed fixed on the screen, taking in the little Zombie King's shy and playful expressions. He couldn't help smiling.

Ye Weian had been waiting for his reply and, seeing no response, was getting impatient: "Mr. Zhou?"

Why isn't he praising me yet?

Zhou Huaichen snapped out of it and typed: "You can call me A Chen. I'll call you Wei An, alright?"

Ye Weian didn't think it was a big deal—it was just a way to address each other.

Ye: "Sure."

Ye: "Why aren't you using voice messages?"

He wanted to hear that grape-flavored voice.

The System: "..."

Did the host really just agree to change how they address each other like that?

Seeing Ye Weian's agreement, Zhou Huaichen's expression darkened a little.

A Chen.

Wei An.

Such intimate terms of address.

His mood improved a little, but thoughts of Yan Qing made him even more down. Pressing the voice message button, he said quietly, "What would you like me to say?"

Ye Weian frowned.

Why did Zhou Huaichen's voice still sound a little bitter?

Though it was slightly better than yesterday, it still didn't sound as sweet as it had been a couple of days ago.

After a moment's thought, he typed: "A Chen, I think before you send me a voice message, maybe you should shower and change first."

If the grape-flavored voice isn't sweet, he figured maybe it's just not fresh enough.

Author's note: No offense to lemons intended—the author really likes lemons. It's just a setting, please don't mind it (the protagonist genuinely dislikes the sourness of lemons, genuinely dislikes lemon-flavored crystal nuclei, and genuinely finds the smell of lemons unpleasant, shrug~).

Dear readers, sorry for the long wait~

Red envelopes from the previous chapter have been sent out. This chapter will also have apology red envelopes, facepalming.

I'll send red envelopes to all comments until the next chapter update.

Love you all~~~

Thank you so much for your support—I'll keep it up!