DP Chapter 27

The elevator doors stopped on the underground floor of the parking lot, and Xu Chuo asked Xiang Yiye what his plans were for the evening.

Xiang Yiye said, “I’ll go to the gym for a while, I have a training session with the coach scheduled for 6 pm. Then I’ll go home and study my textbooks.”

Xu Chuo glanced at the time, it was already past 5 pm. He said, “Does your schedule skip the eating part?”

“I’ll just grab something,” Xiang Yiye said, “Just drop me off at the entrance of the residential area.”

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow morning I’m going to Director Gu’s house, and in the afternoon I’m going to the company to take promotional photos.”

“What about Sunday? There’s a French restaurant that opened on Liyun Road, I’ll take you to try it.”

“The entire day after tomorrow is company training,” Xiang Yiye said.

“I understand, seven days a week, I can have half a day with you… to be exact, three hours and twenty-five minutes.” Xu Chuo drove out of the parking space and sighed, “Too much work, let me be your assistant? A personal assistant, the kind that takes care of you 24 hours a day.”

“I can’t afford your salary,” Xiang Yiye said.

“I don’t want a salary, I’ll pay you instead,” Xu Chuo said.

“You always say such unrealistic things, you’re someone who needs an assistant, is it appropriate for you to be someone else’s assistant?” Xiang Yiye said.

Xu Chuo was silent for a moment, then said, “Lin Xiao said that your training at Xinghui is almost over.”

Xiang Yiye gave an “Mm” and said, “Around the end of this month, why are you asking this?”

“Weren’t we talking about unrealistic things, let’s talk about something practical.” Xu Chuo said, “There’s a TV series that Minghua TV is starting to film in the second half of the year, the team is very good, I’ve looked at the actors auditioning for the male lead, and their appearance and temperament aren’t as good as yours.”

“Are you talking about ‘Si Yan Hua’? Who are the candidates?” Xiang Yiye asked. This IP has received a lot of attention since its inception, and He Jingming spent a lot of effort, but only managed to secure an audition opportunity for him for the second male lead, and it’s not even certain that he’ll get it.

Xu Chuo said a few male actors’ names and asked, “Are you interested?”

“Yes,” Xiang Yiye said.

He already plans to try for that Xianxia drama, it’s not compromising to the market, it’s just that this is the only option for now, he doesn’t have that many resources to choose from.

In this life, he has time to stop and think, and he also realizes that traffic itself is not right or wrong, being able to use it for his own benefit and maintain himself without being swept away is the truth.

“Are you going to help me?” Xiang Yiye asked bluntly.

“Do you want me to help?” Xu Chuo asked instead of answering.

“Just tell me your conditions,” Xiang Yiye said.

Xu Chuo turned his head to look at the passenger seat and felt that Xiang Yiye had an ability to always pull people into a game, no matter what position he was in.

Just like more than a month ago, when the other party urged him to make that agreement about a long-term relationship, if someone else had proposed it, Xu Chuo would definitely not have considered it and would have found it extremely absurd.

Xu Chuo suddenly wanted to add a bet to this game, saying, “My conditions have always been out in the open… You ditch that coach and spend tonight with me alone, and the script for the male lead of ‘Si Yan Hua’ will be in your hands in May.”

The car stopped at the entrance of the residential area, Xu Chuo leaned back in his seat, turned to look at Xiang Yiye, waiting for his response, then he would let him out of the car or take him back to the apartment.

Xiang Yiye opened his mouth, and Xu Chuo’s phone rang.

“You answer it first,” Xiang Yiye said.

Xu Chuo answered it, and Xiang Yiye saw his brow furrow, then he opened the car door and got out to answer the phone. After a few minutes, he came back and said, “Sorry, Xiang Yiye, I probably can’t wait for your answer tonight.”

“What happened?” Xiang Yiye asked.

“It’s nothing, I need to go over there now,” Xu Chuo said, “I was just teasing you, there are no conditions, I’ll help you find a way to get the role, don’t be too tired, remember to eat.”

Xiang Yiye inexplicably felt like he was being deceived, like when he was a child, chasing his parents and asking why, they couldn’t answer or didn’t want to answer, so they would perfunctorily give him a handful of candy and tell him to go play.

This feeling of not being treated as an equal was very uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do, he couldn’t cut open Xu Chuo’s heart to see what was written inside.

“Then I’ll go back,” Xiang Yiye said, unbuckling his seat belt, when a phone call immediately came in, he answered it while opening the car door and getting out.

The other end of the phone said, “Hello, is this Xiang Yiye… you may be involved in a drug transaction, please come to the Lishan Police station at 312 Linshan Road immediately to assist in the investigation…”

He looked at the number’s origin, wondering if it was a scam call, when he heard the voice of the navigation system behind him: “Destination, Lishan Police station.”

Xiang Yiye turned around and met the gaze of Xu Chuo, who was adjusting the car’s navigation system.

The date that should have ended abruptly will continue in a strange way at the police station.

On the way, Xiang Yiye learned that Xu Chuo was going to the police station to bail someone out, and it was easy to guess that it was Xie Lei. He told him about reporting the club with Wu Yiyue last week, but concealed the fact that he had gone to Stone^3 Drawing Studio to find Xie Lei.

Xu Chuo remained silent with a sullen face after hearing this, and it was unknown whether he was angry because the reporting had affected Xie Lei.

When they arrived at the police station lobby, Xiang Yiye was called into an office for questioning alone.

Xie Lei had not directly participated in the activities of Qunsheng Club. After the police raided the club that early morning, they found a string of untraceable trading parties from the people involved in the case, followed the clues to Stone^3 Drawing Studio, found a small amount of drugs inside, and also noticed the phone number Xiang Yiye left on the paper, which happened to match a customer’s phone number recorded at the club’s front desk, which aroused the police’s attention.

Xiang Yiye explained the situation truthfully, and the police also called Wu Yiyue to confirm, took a statement, and it took nearly three hours to clear him of suspicion.

When he came out of the office, Xu Chuo was sitting in the lobby, Xiang Yiye walked over: “Xie…where are his family members?”

“He was transferred to the detention center half an hour ago, he took drugs, the urine test was positive, he will be detained for 20 days.” Xu Chuo looked a little tired.

A person came into the lobby and shouted in this direction: “Xiang Yiye!”

“This is a police station, please keep quiet,” someone reminded.

Xiang Yiye looked up and saw Wu Yiyue walking over from the other side of the lobby.

“Why are you here?” Xiang Yiye said.

“I was worried about you,” Wu Yiyue said, “Did they make things difficult for you?”

“No, everything has been explained,” Xiang Yiye said, “Thank you for making a trip so late at night.”

“Hey, you’re welcome, I was so worried when I received the call, what is this, you painstakingly provided clues, but you were treated as a trafficker instead, so unfair,” Wu Yiyue said.

Xiang Yiye glanced at Xu Chuo, pulled him aside, and said, “I’ll treat you to dinner another day, I have a friend here today.”

Although getting angry at people is not Xu Chuo’s style, just in case, it’s better not to let him and Wu Yiyue meet. As for himself, Xu Chuo will always consider their previous friendship, right?

After sending away the enthusiastic Wu Yiyue, Xiang Yiye walked back to Xu Chuo, feeling slightly uneasy.

“It’s almost nine o’clock, after all this trouble, you haven’t even eaten dinner,” Xu Chuo said, “Go to my apartment, I just called Aunt Wang and asked her to prepare some dishes.”

Xiang Yiye said “Okay”, Xu Chuo smiled: “It’s really not easy to invite you to my house.”

Because you look like you need someone to be with right now, Xiang Yiye wanted to say. Although Xu Chuo’s tone and expression didn’t show anything, he could still sense that the other person was in an unusually empty state.

On the way home, Xu Chuo made a phone call, probably to the driver at home, he asked him to come to the apartment to get the keys, then go to Stone^3 Drawing Studio to get some clothes and supplies, and finally send them to the detention center.

It seems that their relationship hasn’t started to get worse yet, Xiang Yiye judged this point and couldn’t help asking: “Don’t you blame me?”

“Why should I blame you,” Xu Chuo said, “He has to be responsible for what he did.”

The unease in Xiang Yiye’s heart didn’t diminish much. He could feel how important Xie Lei was to Xu Chuo, otherwise, how could he have been hurt like that in his previous life because of the competition.

When they arrived at the apartment, Xu Chuo opened the refrigerator and asked him what he wanted to drink: “I have mineral water here, and… mineral water, uh, it seems like that’s all, if you don’t like it, I’ll go downstairs and buy you something else.”

Xiang Yiye was very aware of his role as a guest and said: “Mineral water is fine.”

He clearly saw that there were only a few bottles of mineral water in the refrigerator, but the wine cabinet was full.

Still this bad habit of drinking wine like water, Xiang Yiye thought.

The house was a bit messy, with documents and books spread out or turned upside down on the sofa, and clothes. Xu Chuo’s concept didn’t include the option of folding clothes, hanging and draping were more convenient.

People who didn’t know him probably couldn’t imagine that Xu Chuo, the impeccably dressed and elegant young master in front of others, always had a room that was messy as if it had been robbed.

Xu Chuo usually called the housekeeper to clean and tidy up regularly, but except when he was busy, only taking care of the other hygiene besides storage, otherwise he would not be able to find things, which would affect efficiency.

Before when they lived together, Xiang Yiye was genuinely angry with Xu Chuo several times for not putting things back in their original place after using them, although most of them were silent anger, like poking cotton.

After a while, the last dish was served, Xu Chuo asked Aunt Wang to go back to rest first, and they would wash the dishes themselves.

Xiang Yiye sat down at the dining table and saw boiled okra, steamed egg with shrimp and egg white, celery stir-fried beef, and corn soup, and was already hungry.

“Aren’t you controlling your diet? I asked Aunt Wang to make light dishes as much as possible,” Xu Chuo said.

“I didn’t eat lunch, so it’s okay to eat more now,” Xiang Yiye said.

“Why didn’t you eat lunch?” Xu Chuo asked.

“I didn’t have time, wasn’t I rushing to see a movie.” Xiang Yiye picked up a piece of okra and put it in his bowl.

Then, for some unknown reason, Xu Chuo didn’t take the initiative to say a word until after the meal. When Xiang Yiye spoke, he would at most nod or “Mm”, and finally simply didn’t respond at all, and the dining table fell into a strange atmosphere.

Silence was Xu Chuo’s way of expressing anger and annoyance, but Xiang Yiye couldn’t pinpoint where the other person’s anger was coming from.

Finally, Xiang Yiye couldn’t stand it anymore and said, “Xu Chuo, what’s wrong? If you blame me, just say you blame me, you can get angry, scold me, whatever, what’s the point of ignoring me?”

Xu Chuo was standing next to the dishwasher, facing away from him, and said, “No, I might be a little sleepy, I can’t get up the energy.”

“You’re glossing over it again,” Xiang Yiye went over and turned Xu Chuo around to face him, “Look at me, don’t avoid the topic, say what’s on your mind, don’t make people guess.”

Xiang Yiye didn’t like the cold war, but Xu Chuo was a master of it, because compared to the cold war, he hated arguing even more.

Xu Chuo put his hands behind his back and closed the door of the dishwasher, shook the water droplets off his hands, and looked to the side: “Xiang Yiye, have you ever thought that being with me is actually very hard.”