ASFSODS 92

Originally, Director Xu had planned to introduce Wen Chi to the other members of the crew, but since the script reading was only scheduled for tomorrow, some of the actors were tied up with other work and would only arrive later in the evening or the following morning. So, he let Wen Chi and the others head back to rest first, telling them to return tomorrow and check into the hotel arranged by the production crew.

It was about dinnertime anyway, so Jin Ge waved his hand grandly and took the two little brats out to a restaurant. There were plenty of eateries near the film base, so even if they wrapped up late, they never had to worry about finding a midnight snack.

“Order whatever you like, tonight it’s on me,” Jin Ge declared boldly, then shifted to a more serious tone. “After all, you won’t be able to eat so recklessly starting tomorrow.”

Wen Chi: “…”

Unless it’s required by the character setting, many production crews, in order to make actors look better on camera, will ask them to lose about 4 to 5 jin.

Feeling indignant, Wen Chi angrily ordered several heavy-flavored dishes. Sang Sang leaned over to glance at what Wen Chi had chosen then nodded in satisfaction and sat back down.

The phone on the table buzzed twice. Wen Chi grabbed it and saw that Jiang Siheng had sent him a message. For some reason, Wen Chi suddenly felt a pang of guilt and instinctively glanced around.

They were seated toward the back right of the restaurant, from where they could see the entire first floor of the place.

The first floor was packed with diners, but Wen Chi didn’t spot Jiang Siheng anywhere. So the man’s message probably wasn’t about catching him in the act.

Wen Chi let out a helpless sigh in his heart. If it weren’t for the promise he’d made to Director Xu not to tell Jiang Siheng for now about joining the production, he wouldn’t be feeling so guilty, as if he were sneaking around like a thief.

【A-Heng [heart]: Have you eaten?】

【Wen Chi: About to eat!】

【Wen Chi: What about you, Teacher Jiang?】

【A-Heng [heart]: [photo]】

Wen Chi opened the picture and took a look. From the looks of it, Jiang Siheng seemed to be in a meeting room.

【A-Heng [heart]: Haven’t eaten yet, still in a meeting】

【Wen Chi: Oh nooo, that’s so pitiful】

【Wen Chi: [patting head] It’s okay, I’ll help you eat your dinner too】

【A-Heng [heart]: [angry][hammer][kiss]】

Wen Chi suppressed a smile, typing a reply:【[kiss] When will the meeting end? Once it’s over, go eat right away.】

【A-Heng [heart]: The meeting just started, you go ahead and eat.】

Jin Ge glanced at Wen Chi a few times, then cleared his throat lightly, “Well, since you’re out eating, don’t keep staring at your phone.”

Wen Chi raised his eyes and silently looked at Jin Ge, then ignored him and lowered his head to continue typing.

As the meal time approached, the restaurant became packed with people, and the air was filled with the aroma of various dishes. The food they ordered was served, and Sang Sang took out her phone. “Xiao Chi Ge, take a picture, it’s time for business.”

Wen Chi, who was about to pick up a piece of crispy meat, looked up in confusion at Sang Sang upon hearing this. “What?”

Sang Sang pressed the shutter button and replied, “Post it on Weibo to keep up with your presence. You’ll be filming most of the time from now on, so you won’t have much time. To keep the fans engaged, you should at least post once a month.”

Wen Chi had never been one to post daily updates or photos on Weibo or other social media. Even if one day he suddenly posted something, it would definitely be because Sang Sang had reminded him.

At the table next to them, the previous customers finished their meal and left, and new ones sat down. From the moment they walked in, they hadn’t stopped talking.

“If I had known, I should’ve come last week. I could’ve checked in at the filming location for Silent.”

“Can’t help it, who told us we had exams?”

“Hey, the sign says there’s a film crew shooting inside. What do you think it’s for?”

“A period drama… Oh, right! Didn’t they say Jiang Siheng has a new drama to shoot? I think it’s in Huaixin City.”

“Ah, ah, no way? I’ll have a drama to shoot soon!”

“Yeah, but we won’t get to see it until next year.”

“Oh, time’s not the issue.”

Although the girls at the next table weren’t speaking loudly, since they were sitting at the table next to them, Sang Sang could still hear their conversation clearly.

Sang Sang glanced at Wen Chi and, seeing that his expression hadn’t changed as he continued staring at his phone, she knew he hadn’t noticed.

Wen Chi was scrolling through his phone while eating, his attention fully absorbed by the device, so he didn’t hear the girls at the next table discussing anything.

A girl with ash-gray hair spoke again,
“Has Heart’s Confession 2 already finished? Does that mean Jiang Ge doesn’t have to share scenes with Wen Chi anymore?”

Wen Chi thought he heard his name vaguely. He paused for a moment then turned his head toward the source of the voice.

Since they were sitting at a round table, the four girls were facing away from Wen Chi. The restaurant was crowded and they didn’t notice that the person they were talking about was sitting right next to them.

“It probably has, but seeing how close Jiang Siheng and Wen Chi are on the show, they might collaborate in the future,” one of the girls said. Her companion looked at her and asked,
“What’s with that expression? Are you hoping they’ll collaborate or hoping they won’t?”

Another friend glanced at the girl with the ash-gray hair and laughed, saying, “She definitely doesn’t want them to collaborate later. Xiao Xin is Jiang Siheng’s ‘toxic fan,’ the really toxic kind.”

“Ah? Really?”

“I don’t know, I was just joking.”

Xiao Xin playfully slapped her companion for calling her a toxic fan, then laughed and added, “Okay, maybe I’m not a toxic fan, but I only like him. I just don’t like those kinds of people who ride on others’ fame to get attention.”

Sang Sang and Jin Ge both turned to look at Wen Chi, who blinked in confusion.

Wen Chi: Who? Him?

The other four girls exchanged glances. They had all seen a bit of that dating variety show and thought that Wen Chi didn’t seem like the type of person they were discussing. However, they weren’t fans of Wen Chi or Jiang Siheng, and since Xiao Xin was close to one of them, they didn’t feel the need to disagree with Xiao Xin, even though they knew Wen Chi wasn’t like that.

Xiao Xin likes to follow celebrities, but what does it have to do with them?

Her companions laughed awkwardly and quickly switched to another topic, sensing that if they kept going, they might end up arguing over their differing opinions.

Wen Chi quietly asked his manager and assistant, “Do you think I should wear a hat?”

Sang Sang said, “No, that would make it more obvious.”

Wen Chi lowered his head even further.

As a seasoned manager, Jin Ge looked at the two of them with a helpless expression and said, “We haven’t… and you haven’t done anything shady or illegal, so why are you acting guilty and hiding from them?”

Wen Chi: “Don’t you think it’s awkward to hear someone talking bad about you in front of you?”

Jin Ge said, “It should be them who feel awkward, right? To talk bad and get caught by the person they’re talking about.”

Wen Chi thought for a moment and nodded, agreeing.

“Forget it, I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear anything.”

Anyway, no matter what others say about his relationship with Jiang Siheng, their romantic relationship won’t change.

After finishing the meal, Jin Ge went to pay the bill. Wen Chi got up, grabbed a mint candy from the table, and took one more to hand to Sang Sang. “This candy is delicious.”

“Thank you, Xiao Chi Ge.”

The two of them went to the front desk to find Jin Ge, so they missed the shocked looks from the girls at the neighboring table staring at them.

After a long while, someone spoke up, “Wen Chi… has he been sitting at the table next to us this whole time?”

“Uh… I guess?”

“Doesn’t that mean our conversation just now was overheard?”

“Yes, it’s possible they heard it.”

“Damn.”

An awkward atmosphere spread across the entire table. After a while, Xiao Xin sighed and spoke up, “Is it still too late for me to take a rocket and leave Earth?”

…

After dinner, they returned to the hotel. Wen Chi and Sang Sang went to a nearby milk tea shop to buy some drinks. Even though Wen Chi was wearing a baseball cap, the cashier recognized him and excitedly went out of her way to make special drinks for him and Sang Sang.

“Chi Bao, here’s your taro pearl milk tea. Sang Sang Jie, here’s your jasmine milk green tea.”

Being called “Sang Sang Jie” made Sang Sang a bit shy. She took the milk tea, smiled, and said, “You can just call me Sang Sang.”

There were no other customers at the moment, so the cashier started chatting with Wen Chi, “Chi Bao, did you come to Huaixin City for work, or is it just a leisure trip?”

Wen Chi said, “I’m here for work.”

“Just finished recording a variety show and you’re already working again? You need to take care of yourself,” the young lady said with concern as she looked at Wen Chi. “You look even thinner than when I saw you on the live stream.”

Sang Sang, standing beside them, said, “That’s why he’s here for milk tea.”

“Here to drink the milk tea that’s super high in calories and the easiest to make you gain weight.”

The young lady blinked and said, “Oh.”

Wen Chi glanced helplessly at Sang Sang, said goodbye to the staff, and grabbed Sang Sang as they left.

After returning to the hotel and taking a shower, Wen Chi leaned back on the bed, reading the script. At that moment, Jiang Sichen called him on voice call, so he quickly stuffed the script under the blanket.

After doing that, he realized that Jiang Sichen wasn’t calling him on video, so Jiang Sichen wouldn’t be able to see what he was doing. Wen Chi then took the script out again to continue reading and answered the voice call.

“Good evening, Teacher Jiang. Did your meeting finish?”

Jiang Siheng was flipping through some documents when he heard Wen Chi’s voice and paused for a moment. Then he smiled and said, “Did something happy happen?”

Wen Chi, confused, hummed in response and asked, “Why do you ask?”

Jiang Siheng continued flipping through the documents and said, “You sound pretty happy.”

Because I passed the audition!

Wen Chi pressed his lips together, struggling to push this news back down, and said, “I encountered something really good.”

Then, he indirectly asked, “Teacher Jiang, aren’t you in the filming crew?”

“Not here, still outside.”a

Wen Chi said, “Where are you now?”

“I’m at the company, handling some things.” Jiang Siheng had briefly mentioned to Wen Chi before that Jiang Lixiao wanted him to take over the company, so it wasn’t something he couldn’t tell Wen Chi.

“Have you eaten yet? If not, I can order delivery for you?” Wen Chi said as he exited the call window and opened a food delivery app.

Jiang Siheng chuckled, “No need, I’ve already eaten.”

Wen Chi responded with an “Oh,” then fiddled with the corner of the blanket and said, “Then continue with your work, but don’t work too long. You should rest early.”

“Alright, I got it.”

Wen Chi ended the call and put the phone aside, then seriously continued reading the script, taking notes on the paper with a pen.

The script reading was tomorrow, so he couldn’t be clueless when asked.

Oh right, he still had to prepare a big surprise for his boyfriend.