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Join the ServerIt was almost two o’clock when the person who arrived wasn’t Shen Chao, but someone else entirely.
Wang Mu Zhe held a book, dressed in a knee-length, stiff gray trench coat over a turtleneck sweater. His features were softly handsome, his appearance undeniably striking. He offered Su Xuan a smile, then pulled out a chair and sat opposite him.
“Hello, Su Xuan. You’re here so early! I thought I’d have to wait for you for a while.”
Su Xuan was speechless.
Liu Pangpang was equally dumbfounded.
With a heart pounding in terror, Su Xuan straightened his posture, then stiffly stood to shake Wang Mu Zhe’s hand. “Actor Wang, hello, hello! You’ve arrived so early!”
Wang Mu Zhe smiled kindly, appearing utterly gentlemanly. “Su Xuan, you’re too polite. You’re the one who’s early.”
Su Xuan was on the verge of tears, shaking his hand frantically. “No, no, no, no! You’re truly very early!”
‘How could he arrive half an hour early? Doesn’t he have anything else to do? Aren’t you a film emperor, big brother? Aren’t you a charismatic, sophisticated British-style top? Shouldn’t you be swamped with work and a myriad of affairs?’
‘Why are you even earlier than Shen Chao?’
Wang Mu Zhe chuckled, seemingly amused by Su Xuan’s reaction, and set his book down. “I’m going to get a cup of coffee. Please wait for me for a moment.”
With that, he took his cup and turned to head to the pantry.
As soon as Wang Mu Zhe turned away, Su Xuan whipped his head around, silently mouthing to Liu Pangpang in a desperate, shouting manner: [What—do—we—do! He—came—earlier—than—Shen—Chao!]
Liu Pangpang’s expression was equally distorted as he mouthed back: [You—ask—me—who—do—I—ask!]
It was common knowledge in the industry that Shen Chao and Wang Mu Zhe did not get along.
Su Xuan had originally planned to meet them separately to discuss matters, keeping each unaware of the other.
Both Shen Chao and Wang Mu Zhe had offered him different scripts. This was akin to Su Xuan receiving two job offers simultaneously but having to interview at the same company. Naturally, you couldn’t let one employer know you had another option.
Su Xuan had absolutely no desire to see these two in the same place. However, Wang Mu Zhe had set the location first, stating he had time at the company that afternoon. Later, when Shen Chao set his location, he hadn’t consulted Su Xuan at all, leading to a highly precarious situation.
Su Xuan was on the verge of losing his mind. He leaned closer to Liu Pangpang, his face still smiling, but his voice a low, urgent whisper. “Why did you tell Wang Mu Zhe to meet at two-thirty? Wouldn’t five o’clock have been better?”
Liu Pangpang was also about to snap. “Isn’t Shen Chao supposedly quick with things? He usually finishes up in a few minutes! And Su Xuan, who do you think you are, a big shot? That Wang Mu Zhe would wait for you just because you say so? Him agreeing to push it back half an hour was already giving you a lot of face!”
Su Xuan was speechless.
Liu Pangpang tugged at his hair. “What do we do, Su Xuan! It’s all going to fall apart!”
Su Xuan took several deep breaths. “Calm down, Liu Pangpang, we need to be calm. Shen Chao hasn’t arrived yet; there’s still hope!”
“Who hasn’t arrived?”
Su Xuan and Liu Pangpang slowly turned their heads.
Shen Chao, dressed in a slightly loose casual jacket, was seated in the chair Wang Mu Zhe had just pulled out. On the table lay the very book Wang Mu Zhe had left behind: Lu Xun’s collection of essays, *Wild Grass*. Shen Chao casually flipped through it, discovering a page that had been folded. It was the essay Autumn Night.
Shen Chao read in a flat, even tone, “…In my backyard, I can see two trees outside the wall; one is a jujube tree, and the other is also a jujube tree…”
He lifted his gaze to Su Xuan, who had frozen solid like a block of wood. “You read books like this?”
Su Xuan forced out a rigid smile. “Of course…”
‘Impossible, okay! He hadn’t read Lu Xun since graduating from university!’
Wang Mu Zhe, however, had been quite fond of it. His graduation play performance that year was an adaptation of *Autumn Night*.
And Su Xuan had made a cameo as a jujube tree in it.
Shen Chao glanced at Liu Pangpang, who was shrinking his neck, feigning a guilty smile. He interlaced his fingers, resting them on his crossed knees, and said coolly, “You just said I hadn’t arrived, and there was still hope. What did you mean by that?”
Su Xuan, with his sharp eyes, saw movement in the pantry behind Shen Chao where Wang Mu Zhe had gone, as if someone was about to emerge. Liu Pangpang’s eyes were fixed, and he was frantically stomping on Su Xuan’s foot under the table. A sharp pain made Su Xuan suddenly stand up.
Shen Chao frowned. “Why are you standing up?”
The door behind Shen Chao moved. Su Xuan could see a gray garment peeking through the crack. Noticing Su Xuan’s strange expression—staring intently behind him as if a ghost were about to emerge—Shen Chao frowned and turned to see what was there. “What are you looking at?”
Su Xuan’s heart threatened to leap out of his throat. He desperately gripped Shen Chao’s hand, pulling his face back. “…I’m looking at you!”
Liu Pangpang let out a monumental cough.
Shen Chao’s head turned slightly, then back. He lowered his gaze to his tightly clutched hand, his fingers twitching subtly, as if uncomfortable, yet he didn’t pull away from Su Xuan’s grasp. Shen Chao asked softly, “…Why are you looking at me?”
Su Xuan swallowed hard. He wasn’t looking at Shen Chao at all; his eyes were practically glued to the pantry door. “I, I, I…”
‘Wang Mu Zhe is coming out!!’
Liu Pangpang watched Su Xuan nervously. Su Xuan, in his moment of desperation…
…felt the urge to pee.
Su Xuan genuinely said to Shen Chao, “I see you also really need to go to the restroom. Why don’t you come with me?”
Liu Pangpang was utterly speechless.
Shen Chao frowned. “I don’t want to.”
Su Xuan was so anxious he was practically clamping his legs together. “You do! I, I have something very serious to tell you in private! I can only tell you in the restroom! Come with me!”
To Liu Pangpang’s wide-eyed astonishment, he watched as Shen Chao, with a cold expression but surprisingly cooperative, was pulled by both hands by Su Xuan towards the restroom. Of course, Shen Chao was still saying, “I don’t want to go, it’s dirty.”
Then, like two elementary school boys going to the restroom together, they swiftly departed.
Liu Pangpang was left speechless.
They actually went together.
When Wang Mu Zhe emerged, he saw a stunned Liu Pangpang with a collection of Lu Xun’s essays in front of him. He sat down and asked, “Where’s Su Xuan? My apologies, I accidentally stained my clothes while preparing coffee just now, and had to clean them.”
Liu Pangpang shook his head blankly. “Su Xuan went to the restroom.” *Hand in hand with that unapproachable Shen Chao.*
Wang Mu Zhe hesitated, then inquired, “Agent Liu, are you alright? You look… like you’ve had quite a shock.”
Liu Pangpang shook his head distractedly. He looked at the book on the table and said with difficulty, “…I just read the book. Lu Xun writes so well, I was deeply moved.”
Wang Mu Zhe was speechless.
Wang Mu Zhe gave an awkward laugh. “Haha, really?”
After Su Xuan dragged Shen Chao to the restroom, he saw a WeChat message from Liu Pangpang: [I’m discussing your matters with Wang Mu Zhe now. You keep Shen Chao occupied for a bit, then come over to finalize things at the end.]
Su Xuan replied: [!]
Liu Pangpang: [You still need to show your face. Wang Mu Zhe clearly wants to talk to you in person!]
Before Su Xuan could reply, he saw Shen Chao cast an icy glance at Su Xuan’s phone, which he was using to reply, and spoke coolly, “What do you want to talk about privately?”
Su Xuan was speechless.
‘I haven’t even thought of what to talk about yet.’
Seeing Su Xuan’s reluctance to speak, Shen Chao’s lips pressed into a thin line. He turned to twist open the restroom door. “Then let’s discuss business outside first.”
Su Xuan gasped in alarm.
The restroom door faced directly towards Liu Pangpang and Wang Mu Zhe’s seats. If Shen Chao opened it, he would see Wang Mu Zhe and Liu Pangpang discussing things!
In a moment of desperation, Su Xuan sprang up, ‘pinning’ Shen Chao, who was a head taller than him, against the restroom door from behind. “You can’t leave! We, we need to discuss private matters first!”
Shen Chao was trapped in Su Xuan’s embrace, unable to turn or move. His fingers twitched unnaturally twice, but remained on the doorknob. Shen Chao closed his eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbing twice as he let out a long breath. “What private matters?”
Shen Chao was tall and strong; if he truly wanted to leave, Su Xuan couldn’t possibly hold him back. He was so anxious he was almost resorting to force (hey!), but he figured Shen Chao could probably restrain him with one hand. Su Xuan racked his brains, then blurted out, “The time I confessed to you back then.”
As soon as Su Xuan finished speaking, he regretted it. ‘This was truly bringing up a sore subject! Shen Chao clearly avoids this topic. How thick-headed am I to talk about this with him?’
‘He’s probably going to get angry, shake me off, open the door, and leave right away.’
‘And seeing Wang Mu Zhe outside, with Shen Chao’s temper, he probably wouldn’t tolerate Su Xuan juggling resources like this. Wang Mu Zhe, too, might reconsider collaborating with him because of Shen Chao.’
Su Xuan sighed, thinking perhaps he wasn’t destined for fame. He slowly loosened his grip on Shen Chao’s hand, opening his mouth to apologize.
But Shen Chao’s hand slowly released the doorknob. He turned to face Su Xuan, staring down at him with an expressionless gaze for a moment, making Su Xuan’s back prickle. Then, Shen Chao lowered his eyes and slightly turned his head. “About the confession… where do you want to start?”
Su Xuan was utterly bewildered.
‘What was with this tone, as if he wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with him in the restroom?’
In the reception room, Wang Mu Zhe and Liu Pangpang sat opposite each other, staring blankly.
Liu Pangpang cleared his throat, initiating the conversation. “Actor Wang, Su Xuan has been a bit stressed lately, so he might be a while. Perhaps we can discuss things first?”
Some time had passed, and Su Xuan still hadn’t returned.
Wang Mu Zhe’s expression was very… hard to describe. He lowered his head, composed himself, and then became gentle and polite again. “Alright, it’s like this: I noticed Su Xuan and I attended the same school, and I really admire his performance in the film *Courtyard*. I’d like to extend some camaraderie as fellow alumni. I’m willing to step forward and negotiate his filming schedule with the *Nine Streams* crew. What do you think?”
Liu Pangpang thought that if it could work out, it would certainly be for the best. However, Wang Mu Zhe and Shen Chao were known to be at odds, and Shen Chao was the male lead of *Nine Streams*, undoubtedly wielding considerable influence.
Therefore, whether this matter could succeed was still uncertain. If it didn’t, Su Xuan would be caught between a rock and a hard place.
Moreover, Wang Mu Zhe had only offered to ‘negotiate,’ without giving any firm commitment on success.
Liu Pangpang decided to play it off. “Actor Wang might not know, but Su Xuan actually made a cameo in your graduation play back then.”
Wang Mu Zhe looked surprised. “A cameo? What did he play? I don’t remember at all.”
Liu Pangpang replied, “A jujube tree.”
Wang Mu Zhe was speechless.
Liu Pangpang added, “He even made a cameo twice.”
Wang Mu Zhe’s expression sobered; he was genuinely a bit stunned. “Twice? But why can’t I recall anything? That’s very odd. What else did he make a cameo as?”
Liu Pangpang stated, “The other jujube tree.”
Wang Mu Zhe was speechless again.
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore I Want To Bite You. Start reading now!
Read : I Want To Bite You
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