After Huo Yao entered the room, he sat directly across from Nan Pei, staring straight at him. Song Jingchen noticed Huo Yao’s gaze fixed on Nan Pei since he entered, and couldn’t help but frown slightly. He quickly composed himself and greeted, “President Huo, it’s an honor.”

Huo Yao nodded noncommittally, but his gaze never left the expressionless face of a certain someone. Seeing Nan Pei in this state, a hint of amusement appeared in his eyes.

“You, you are…” Nan Pei was so shocked that he couldn’t form a complete sentence. 

The male college student turned out to be… Huo Yao?! 

Wasn’t he just a male college student accompanying drinks?? Nan Pei found it hard to accept the shocking truth before him—what is this, President Huo was right beside me?

Huo Yao raised an eyebrow, his long eyes staring straight at him, waiting for him to continue. “You…” Nan Pei’s tone was full of disbelief, “Are you really Huo Yao?!”

Song Jingchen noticed something was off with Nan Pei and asked, “Do you know President Huo?” All eyes in the room were on Nan Pei.

“I… of course, I don’t know him,” Nan Pei quickly slipped into performance mode to avoid being exposed, “I was just a bit surprised, after all, President Huo is so young and handsome, he doesn’t look like a president at all…”

Hearing Nan Pei praise Huo Yao for being young and handsome, Song Jingchen couldn’t help but frown. “Oh, really?” Huo Yao looked at Nan Pei and suddenly spoke, “Then what do I look like? An intern? Or an artist?”

Nan Pei’s face stiffened, suppressing his awkwardness, he forced a few laughs and said, “Sorry, President Huo, I misspoke.”

At this moment, his mood was very uneasy, completely different from when he met Huo Yao at the restroom door. Everyone thought Nan Pei was apologizing for saying “Huo Yao doesn’t look like a president.” But only Huo Yao knew that Nan Pei was apologizing for what he said at the restroom door.

Song Jingchen saw Nan Pei’s panicked expression, and although he was disdainful of him, he still spoke up for him: “President Huo, he is the young master of the Nan Family, it’s his first time attending such a project cooperation meeting, please forgive any offensive remarks.”

Nan Pei had just recovered from the shock Huo Yao gave him, only to be shocked again by Song Jingchen—did the protagonist of the overbearing CEO novel just speak up for him? Although Nan Pei knew it was just a polite remark for business, he still found it surprising.

“Jingchen Gege, thank you for speaking up for me.” To maintain his persona, he pretended to be moved and looked at Song Jingchen, saying, “I’ll be more careful next time.” His voice was sweet, full of flattery.

Huo Yao was momentarily stunned upon hearing this. Song Jingchen frowned, about to speak, but then heard Huo Yao’s voice from across the room: “Changed people again?”

The people in the meeting room didn’t understand Huo Yao’s words, and Song Jingchen was also puzzled, but Nan Pei instantly sat up straight, his expression stiffening. Song Jingchen looked at Huo Yao in confusion: “What does President Huo mean by that?”

Huo Yao looked at Nan Pei with interest. The latter was restless under his gaze, desperately signaling with his eyes not to say anything. The anxious emotion was almost overflowing from Nan Pei’s eyes. Surely this guy wasn’t that petty? Just because he teased him a bit at the restroom door, he was going to spill everything he saw before?

Huo Yao, seeing Nan Pei so nervous, felt even more amused. Fortunately, Huo Yao wasn’t as petty as Nan Pei imagined. He smirked and casually explained, “Nothing. Let’s start discussing the project.”

Only then did Nan Pei breathe a sigh of relief, already breaking out in a cold sweat. Although Huo Yao didn’t say anything, Nan Pei was sure that this guy’s behavior just now was revenge.

Once the meeting officially started, Huo Yao no longer looked at Nan Pei. Both sides began discussing the cooperation project, while Nan Pei sat on the side as a mascot. In the overbearing CEO novel, his character was brainless, only needing to use his identity as the young master of the Nan Family to secure benefits for Song Jingchen.

During the meeting, when both sides discussed important aspects of the project, Song Jingchen would symbolically seek Nan Pei’s opinion, as the Nan Family was also an investor. Each time, Nan Pei would feign ignorance and obediently say, “I’ll listen to you, Jingchen Gege.”

Huo Yao, seeing this, said nothing, his gaze inscrutable. Nan Pei noticed Huo Yao’s gaze, outwardly calm, but his mind was tense. Despite his nervousness, Nan Pei couldn’t help but secretly observe Huo Yao. Previously, Nan Pei always thought Huo Yao was a male college student, but now Huo Yao’s image was vastly different from what he had imagined.

When Huo Yao worked, he showed little expression, speaking with a businesslike coldness and detachment, yet he exuded a mature charm. The meeting lasted shorter than Nan Pei had imagined. The result was also unexpected for Nan Pei.

The people from Xingyao Entertainment briefly exchanged opinions, and Huo Yao made the final decision: “Currently, this online cinema project has many issues, and Xingyao Entertainment needs to reconsider the cooperation.”

Surprise flashed in Nan Pei’s eyes—did this mean the deal wasn’t going through? Song Jingchen also didn’t expect Huo Yao to say this and frowned, “President Huo, does this mean you’re rejecting the cooperation?”

Nan Pei, a bit anxious, said, “President Huo, the Nan Family has invested a lot of money in this project, and everyone is very optimistic about the prospects of online viewing services, judging by the performance of streaming media in recent years…”

Upon hearing this, Song Jingchen and the others were surprised. The inexplicable emotion in Huo Yao’s eyes deepened. Mid-sentence, the system interrupted him in his mind: “Host, remember your character!”

Nan Pei quickly stopped, changing his tone: “I found these words online just now, but I think they make a lot of sense.” Song Jingchen frowned, realizing it was something he found online, thinking he really had some insight.

“I’m not rejecting it.” Huo Yao calmly said to Nan Pei, “But every project’s incubation requires thorough preparation, and I need time to consider.” His words were watertight, leaving Song Jingchen’s side with nothing more to say.

After the meeting ended, both sides exchanged pleasantries and prepared to leave the meeting room. Huo Yao also stood up. For Nan Pei, if this project didn’t go through, Song Jingchen’s career line would stall, greatly affecting the task. He had to find a chance to persuade Huo Yao.

So, Nan Pei took the initiative to call out to Huo Yao: “President Huo, please wait a moment.” Huo Yao paused and looked at Nan Pei. Song Jingchen also stopped.

“President Huo,” Nan Pei swallowed nervously, “Can I talk to you?” Huo Yao stared at Nan Pei without speaking. Nan Pei cautiously asked, “Could you… reconsider?”

His attitude towards Huo Yao was now respectful, completely different from the flippant manner when teasing the male college student. Huo Yao’s gaze shifted downwards, landing on Nan Pei’s slightly messy tie. Instead of answering Nan Pei’s question, he said, “Your tie is crooked.”

Nan Pei didn’t immediately react, and the next second, Huo Yao had already reached out and grabbed his tie. Nan Pei looked at Huo Yao in a daze. Huo Yao lowered his eyes, his long fingers began to straighten Nan Pei’s tie, his expression calm. The people around them all showed surprised expressions.

Cheng Man looked at Huo Yao in shock, instinctively covering her mouth—what was President Huo doing?! In front of everyone, Nan Pei didn’t dare move, letting Huo Yao fix his tie. His gaze fell on Huo Yao’s hands. Huo Yao’s hands were very attractive, with prominent wrist bones, long fingers, and distinct knuckles. Having such hands fix his tie felt surreal.

Song Jingchen stood to the side, his brows furrowing. He thought, Huo Yao was actually helping Nan Pei with his tie? Didn’t they just meet for the first time?! Although Song Jingchen knew he couldn’t possibly like Nan Pei, seeing Huo Yao make such an intimate gesture made him feel uncomfortable. He didn’t even know why he felt this discomfort.

“Nan Pei’s self-care skills are poor, he can’t even tie a tie properly.” Song Jingchen looked at Huo Yao and suddenly said, “But there’s no need to trouble you with such a small matter, President Huo.” His tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction. The others interpreted Song Jingchen’s dissatisfaction as frustration over the failed project negotiation.

To everyone’s surprise, Huo Yao didn’t respond to Song Jingchen’s words. Nan Pei awkwardly said, “President Huo, maybe I should do it myself…” Huo Yao patiently finished fixing his tie and calmly said, “There, it’s done.”

Nan Pei glanced at the tie, which was now perfectly neat. Definitely someone with OCD, Nan Pei thought. Song Jingchen frowned at Nan Pei, “Since it’s done, let’s go.” Huo Yao, however, calmly said, “Young Master Nan, didn’t you say you wanted to talk to me alone?”

Nan Pei was momentarily stunned, then quickly nodded, “Yes, yes…” He needed to push this project through as soon as possible. Song Jingchen’s tone was not pleasant as he said, “Nan Pei, what else do you have to say to him?”

In his view, Nan Pei knew nothing about the cooperation project and had no negotiation skills. Talking to someone as cunning as Huo Yao about the project would definitely yield no results. However, Nan Pei said to Song Jingchen, “Jingchen Gege, I just want to persuade President Huo… you should go back first.”

Song Jingchen looked at Nan Pei in disbelief—was he being dismissed? Song Jingchen felt displeased, but his pride was strong. Since Nan Pei said so, he naturally wouldn’t stay, and he left with the others, his face dark.

After Song Jingchen left, Nan Pei relaxed a bit, no longer needing to maintain his facade, and looked at Huo Yao, saying, “President Huo, I’m sorry for mistaking you for a male college student accompanying drinks earlier.”

Huo Yao raised an eyebrow and suddenly said, “Aren’t you going to explain?” “Explain?” Nan Pei was puzzled, “Explain what? Why I mistook you?”

“Please explain,” Huo Yao said slowly, “why every time I see you, you’re wearing different clothes and showing a completely different image?” Nan Pei was stunned, surprise flashing in his eyes.

“And—” Huo Yao continued, looking at Nan Pei, “why is there always a different man by your side each time?” Nan Pei felt incredibly awkward. His mind raced, trying to find a suitable reason.

After a moment, Nan Pei’s fingers involuntarily clenched. He swallowed and quietly said, “Actually… I’m a philanthropist.” This time, it was Huo Yao’s turn to be stunned.

“I just want to support young people with dreams.” Nan Pei looked at Huo Yao, speaking sincerely, “Little Ran wants to become a Film Emperor, Little Duan wants to win a championship, Jingchen wants to become the richest man… I don’t want to see them fail and be sad.”

Huo Yao: “…” Why did he feel that Nan Pei’s words were akin to “My heart is divided into many pieces, just wanting all the handsome guys in the world to be happy”?