Chapter 29 – 029

“Hey.” Gu Xian turned over and rolled next to Xie Yunjing. “What did you go off to do this afternoon instead of attending the meeting on time?”

“……”

Xie Yunjing ignored him. Gu Xian lifted a leg and pressed it onto Xie Yunjing’s; his foot nudged the back of Xie Yunjing’s foot. “Still playing dumb! I’m asking you a serious question here.”

Only then did Xie Yunjing look up.

Gu Xian kept stepping on the back of Xie Yunjing’s foot, as if finding it amusing. Xie Yunjing couldn’t understand how Gu Xian could act as though the kiss in the gym that afternoon had never happened.

“Why should I tell you?”

The playful stepping grew heavier. Gu Xian rolled his eyes at him and raised his phone to show him the chat history. “Isn’t this Xie Huaihong coming after me to settle accounts?”

The main content of the chat history was roughly that the information Gu Xian had disclosed today turned out to be wrong. This caused Xie Huaihong’s attempt to trip up Xie Yunjing during the meeting to completely backfire. Xie Huaihong suspected that Gu Xian had taken the money but hadn’t handled the matter seriously.

“He’s been holding a grudge for a while, getting countered by you every time he uses the intel I give him. Today, you didn’t follow the arrangement we agreed on, so he finally found an excuse to explode.” Gu Xian twisted Xie Yunjing’s foot hard a couple of times. “You’re getting a share of the cut, so give me an explanation already.”

Gu Xian wasn’t very active, so his feet naturally didn’t have any calluses or rough spots. His skin was smooth and tender, almost like a child’s. His feet, cooler than average due to his lack of energy, rubbed against the back of Xie Yunjing’s foot, carrying a faint, ticklish chill.

Xie Yunjing shifted his leg slightly, trying to pull it out from under Gu Xian’s, but in the end, he didn’t move.

Gu Xian was good-looking and intelligent, these were things Xie Yunjing had long known. But none of this had ever stopped him from wanting to crush Gu Xian’s arrogance whenever he provoked him.

“Why are you staring at me while I’m asking you a question?”

Xie Yunjing gave Gu Xian’s phone a perfunctory glance before his gaze fell back on Gu Xian’s face, more specifically, on his lips.

He had touched them twice in total. They were incredibly soft, a stark contrast to Gu Xian’s arrogant and insufferable attitude. Unconsciously, Xie Yunjing licked his own lips, as if trying to relive the taste of that kiss from the afternoon. “One of the project leads suddenly fell ill, so I went to handle the negotiation for that collaboration first.”

“Oh.”

Before Xie Yunjing even responded, Gu Xian had already righteously replied to Xie Huaihong’s message.

Your Brother Xian: Who hasn’t encountered unexpected situations? It’s not like I’ve installed cameras on Xie Yunjing. How could I possibly predict every single contingency?

Xie Huaihong, embarrassed and angry, resorted to making an empty threat about canceling his collaboration with Gu Xian. But the underlying truth was obvious to everyone: even if Xie Huaihong knew Xie Yunjing’s every move like the back of his hand, he still couldn’t beat him, no matter what.

Gu Xian clicked his tongue disdainfully twice, then nudged Xie Yunjing, complaining, “Look at this, such a good business deal is about to be ruined by you. Can’t you go easy on Xie Huaihong for once? Take a small loss to let him taste a bit of success first. The longer he collaborates with me and the more he trusts me, the more advantageous it’ll be for you. Don’t you understand the concept of setting a long-term trap to catch a big fish?”

“No, I can’t. With Xie Huaihong’s idiotic tricks, how exactly am I supposed to go easy on him?” 

As Gu Xian’s foot got warmer from all the stepping, Xie Yunjing slightly lifted the arch of his foot. Gu Xian immediately stomped down hard, just like a kitten insistently trying to assert dominance by keeping its paw on top.

“Ugh…” The things Xie Huaihong did were indeed hard to put into words. Gu Xian scratched his head in frustration, then suddenly tilted his head back to look at Xie Yunjing. “How about I come up with ideas for him, and you cooperate with me?”

Clearly, Gu Xian’s plan would put Xie Yunjing at a disadvantage. On a battlefield, it might not be sending him to his death, but it was definitely akin to pushing him toward the enemy’s blade to take a few hits.

But…

Xie Yunjing, as if competing, arched his foot upward again, only to have Gu Xian stomp down hard on it once more. After that, he finally responded, “Alright.”

Playing “foot stacking” with Xie Yunjing’s leg seemed to have become an unconscious habit for Gu Xian. Even after he finished devising strategies for Xie Huaihong and effectively dealing with him, he still didn’t move his leg off Xie Yunjing’s.

Xie Yunjing didn’t bother to remind him. “Screenwriter Wang Xue has been retired for a long time. Several companies tried to invite him as a consultant, but he refused. How did you convince him to be the screenwriter for 《The Legend of Song Mountain》?”

“Oh?” Gu Xian raised his head in surprise. “Since when do you care so much about the production team?”

“First, I invested 200 million. Second, this news is all over the media.” Xie Yunjing adopted the demeanor of a serious investor. “And as for the director you chose, Ming Lang, I’ve heard he’s been drinking heavily these past few years. Are you sure he can handle the job properly?”

“I have my own plans. You’re just the one putting up the money, so why are you meddling so much?”

Even though he had accepted Xie Yunjing’s investment, that didn’t mean Gu Xian was willing to be controlled by him. He rolled over and moved away, naturally taking his leg off Xie Yunjing’s in the process.

Xie Yunjing’s expression shifted slightly, but he didn’t say more. No one understood Gu Xian better than he did. Since Gu Xian was in it to make money, there was no way he would make a decision that would cost him a loss.

*

After finalizing the script and securing the director, the next step was naturally the selection of actors.

Guangyao Media had recently been embroiled in a scandal and nearly went bankrupt. They couldn’t afford the currently popular stars, and those concerned about their reputation wouldn’t consider joining either.

However, as the director, Ming Lang had never intended to rely on fame to choose his cast.

The news that Guangyao Media was selecting actors for 《The Legend of Song Mountain》 through an open casting call drew ridicule and skepticism from many in the industry.

Who still does open casting calls these days? The Legend of Song Mountain may have once been a popular IP, but it had long been swept into obscurity by the tides of time. Without casting well-known or trending stars to carry the show, it seemed destined to flop.

Despite the cold mockery and sarcasm from others, Guangyao Media persisted with their arduous open casting process and finally confirmed the list of actors.

Although most of the selected actors were relatively unknown, with a few even being complete newcomers, there were still some pleasant surprises.

For example, Xu Jia, chosen as the male lead, had recently participated in a highly popular variety show competition. Though he only made it to the top four, he had gained some recognition. Another example was Jiang Tianyi, cast as the second female lead, who had won both the Best Newcomer Award and the Best Actress Award shortly after her debut.

Although Jiang Tianyi had fallen from grace due to rumors of being kept as a mistress and was now relegated to minor roles in low-quality dramas, Ming Lang had only one standard: whether the actor was suitable for the role. All other issues were irrelevant.

“Uncle Kang, I’m treating the production team to dinner tonight, so I won’t be back for dinner.” After informing Uncle Kang, Gu Xian quickly headed out the door.

Uncle Kang turned to Xie Yunjing, who had just finished breakfast and stood up a moment later, smiling as he said, “Looks like I won’t need to prepare dinner tonight.”

“Make sure to eat well, even if you’re alone.”

“Of course, Third Young Master. Take care.”

Guangyao Media’s dinner was set at the best five-star hotel in City A.

When Gu Xian and the Guangyao team arrived, the hotel entrance was packed with a long line of vehicles. They waited for quite a while before finally reaching the drop-off area at the main entrance.

The hotel lobby was bustling with people coming and going, and many were dressed in formal attire, looking quite grand.

Yu Le, who had gotten out of the car first, curiously asked a staff member, “Is there some kind of event happening at the hotel?”

“There’s a business association meeting in the second-floor hall,” the staff member explained while guiding them. “Please follow me. The entrances and exits in that area are designated for the business association today, so we kindly ask our guests not to enter by mistake.”

The others from Guangyao Media were quite curious, but Gu Xian only glanced casually, his mind preoccupied with the car he had seen just as they arrived at the hotel entrance.

The car had driven into the underground parking lot, and it looked like it might have been Xie Yunjing’s.

However, with so many vehicles around, he hadn’t been able to catch the license plate in time, so he couldn’t be certain.

“Brother Xian!”

A warm and enthusiastic shout interrupted Gu Xian’s train of thought. He looked up to see Xu Jia’s eager face.

“Ah, hello.”

Who would’ve thought that casually saving a kid in a bar back then would end up bringing them the male lead the production needed?

Author’s Note:

I wasn’t satisfied with how the latter half was written originally, so I rewrote it. Apologies for the inconvenience.