Chapter 7: WeChat

Shortly after lunch, a famous private fashion designer from Western Capital came all the way to Xiangtan. Cen Han was a high-level client, so she couldn’t afford to slack off.

Sherry took Lin Qinghe’s measurements, then asked about some general requirements. She looked very happy to serve Lin Qinghe; after all, the last time her inspiration had struck was at an international exhibition show several months ago. The moment she saw Lin Qinghe, inspiration suddenly surged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

“Is this skin condition even real?” Sherry packed her measuring tape back into her bag and teased, “If you walked down the street, you’d definitely have a high head-turn rate.”

Lin Qinghe sensed Sherry’s friendliness. He spoke warmly, “One hundred percent genuine.”

He had only understood the first half of her sentence. It was supposed to be a serious reply, but Sherry laughed a few times and generously praised, “And you have a good personality too.”

“Mr. Lin is very suited for Chinese style. A gentleman is born like jade. I already have quite a few ideas in my head. I hope I can design clothes worthy of you.” Sherry’s gaze circled Lin Qinghe once, and she sighed again at the perfect masterpiece of the Creator.

After finishing with Zheng Yao’s matter, Zhang Hua immediately set to work on Lin Qinghe’s identity card.

The best approach right now was to contact the orphanage director and, on behalf of the Cen Residence, have them fabricate Lin Qinghe’s existence. That way, everything going forward would be clean and proper.

As for his life story, there was no need for anything too complicated, nor anything dazzling or attention-grabbing.

In the main hall, Zhang Hua placed a file on the table: “Mr. Lin, inside is information about you. Your identification documents have also been processed. You can take a look.”

Lin Qinghe pulled out the papers and browsed them carefully.

Lin Qinghe, orphan, male, 22 years old, parents unknown, educational background: university, formerly resided at Fortune Garden Orphanage.

If he remembered correctly, “orphan” meant a child whose parents had died or who had been abandoned. Lin Qinghe felt this description fit him as well; after all, he truly was solitary and had no attachments.

He continued reading. The rest was a more detailed biographical introduction, one that completely matched the life trajectory of an ordinary person. Although it described him, it also wasn’t him, because ninety-nine percent of the content was made up out of thin air.

“To be safe, Mr. Lin should still memorize this.” Entering the public eye would attract attention, and inevitably, some people would try to stir up trouble. Although all parties had already been informed, ensuring nothing could go wrong, disaster came from the mouth. If the person himself made a mistake, that would be detrimental.

“Alright. I will remember it.” Each role had its responsibilities. Lin Qinghe actively cooperated.

Lin Qinghe made things far too easy. He could save a lot of trouble. It was also lucky that he happened to have been encountered by the boss.

Zhang Hua suppressed his thoughts. He took a box from his briefcase and handed it to Lin Qinghe, saying, “I was busy earlier and almost forgot. This box contains a phone. If Mr. Lin has any questions in the future, you can contact me.”

Lin Qinghe opened the packaging box. A large screen came into view; the body was white, and the shape was thin and light.

Everyone here had one of these things. It could convey words across a distance and even reproduce real-life images. He was quite interested.

Zhang Hua lowered his head to glance at his watch. Next, he had to accompany Cen Han to an exchange meeting, and everyone in attendance would be major figures.

He entered his contact number into the new phone, then pointed at the screen for Lin Qinghe. “This is my contact information.”

After all, he was Cen Han’s most capable assistant. He didn’t even say two more sentences before hurrying off, not even taking the time to explain how to use it.

Lin Qinghe sat on the sofa. Having obtained a new, novel toy, his attention was diverted. He held the phone and tentatively poked left and right.

The icons were confusing. He clicked on one, and the screen became different from before. At that moment, he was stumped, unsure where else to click.

A notification pushed down from the top of the screen. He accidentally touched it. After a moment, another page loaded.

【Movie “Dream of the Blue Moon Night” Male Lead Xu Anyu Suspected of Being Replaced?】

Hmm? What was this?

V Star Show: As everyone knows, Xu Anyu plays the male lead, Celine, in “Dream of the Blue Moon Night”. Celine is a god of the sea. This role has great explosive potential. After the movie releases, Xu Anyu’s status would definitely rise to another level. However, he was driving under the influence and hit someone. Director Li Ran has very strict requirements for actors, so this role might not be happening anymore.

Do you think Xu Anyu will be replaced?

Yes or No

Obviously, this was a marketing account trying to leech off the trending topic. The replies below were a spectacular mess. There were people cursing the marketing account, people eating popcorn and watching the show, and people analyzing seriously.

[Little Rain: Let me say it directly… Without An Yu, I’m not watching this movie.]

[Qiqi’s World: Who would replace him? I don’t think anyone is more suitable than An Yu.]

[Celine My Male God: Uh… Although Xu Anyu’s acting is pretty good, I always felt his image didn’t quite match my Celine.]

[Once Said: Above, actually… me too. But I’m still looking forward to it, just in case it turns out surprisingly good.]

[A Yu Go For It: No way. I actually think An Yu fits. People who say he doesn’t probably didn’t read the original work carefully.]

[Celine My Male God: ? Just one word: six.]

[Fish Fish Loves You: So, Brother had an accident, and Starlight Entertainment has no statement? You guys weren’t like this when Brother was making money for the company.]

[Flower Umbrella: Lol, the above person thinks the world is only black and white? It’s all about interests. The company hasn’t skimped on resources for your Brother.]

…

Reading down further, Lin Qinghe synthesized the information and came to a conclusion: So Xu Anyu was the employee Cen Han had mentioned. No wonder the name sounded familiar.

.

Su Rong took Lin Qinghe around the villa and then for a stroll in the garden.

The early spring was pleasant. The crabapple blossoms were blazing, and the light and shadow were dappled.

Seeming to notice the appreciation in Lin Qinghe’s eyes, Su Rong said warmly, “Little He, I’ll teach you how to take photos with your phone.”

Lin Qinghe was just in the middle of studying it with great interest. Upon hearing this, he didn’t refuse at all. He nodded and moved closer to Su Rong.

“First, we click this icon. See, an image appears on the screen. Then, point the camera at the thing you want to shoot.”

A miniature version of half the crabapple tree, exactly the same. Lin Qinghe was slightly astonished.

“Adjust the angle, then press the circle in the middle.” Su Rong continued, “That’s it.”

It didn’t seem too difficult. Relying on his astonishing memory, Lin Qinghe successfully completed the first photo shoot of his life.

Once you did it once, you did it twice; twice led to thrice. After learning this skill, he took more than a dozen photos of the spring crabapple blossoms from different angles and kept holding up his phone the entire time afterward.

If Su Rong hadn’t pulled him along, he probably would have stayed in the garden until sunset.

Cen Han came back earlier than usual today. When he stepped into the main hall, a suspense drama was playing on the large screen. Su Rong was throwing out deductions from time to time.

Lin Qinghe caught a glimpse of a figure from the corner of his eye and moved his gaze away from the TV.

“You’re early today.” Su Rong took a moment to ask, but her attention was still on the plot.

Cen Han said, “I just got word. Xu Anyu is going to be detained for a little over two months.”

“Over two months?” Aunt Su’s voice rose at the end. “Then he definitely can’t finish filming ‘Dream of the Blue Moon Night’.”

Cen Han didn’t deny it. In fact, Li Ran had already decided to replace Xu Anyu, but only a few people knew about this information.

The storm was pretty much over. He looked at Lin Qinghe. “Do you know how to use the stuff Zhang Hua gave you?”

Suddenly called upon, Lin Qinghe sat perfectly still and answered cautiously, “Still figuring it out.”

Cen Han didn’t have high hopes. “Do you know how to make a phone call?”

???

“So, that’s a no.”

???

At this moment, Lin Qinghe really wanted to ask Aunt Su for help, but Cen Han didn’t give him the chance.

“Phone. I’ll teach you.”

Since it had come to this, it was hard to say no.

Lin Qinghe took out his phone. The person in front of him leaned down, his slender index finger sliding the key lock. The distance was a bit close. Lin Qinghe tilted his head back slightly.

“First, I’ll teach you the simplest thing.”

The simplest things were just answering and dialing. Cen Han entered his own contact information into the contact list, then pointed at one spot and said to Lin Qinghe, “Try dialing.”

So that’s how “Cen Han” was written, Lin Qinghe thought. He lightly tapped the screen according to the prompt. The next instant, a ringtone sounded. In just three seconds, the call was connected.

He stared at the digits increasing on the screen and momentarily didn’t know what to do.

“Talk.” Cen Han was concise.

Lin Qinghe: “Hello?”

“Hello.”

A clear voice came from the phone, slow, deep, and familiar.

Receiving a reply gave Lin Qinghe a bit of confidence. He continued, “I’m Lin Qinghe.”

Cen Han was patient enough to play along. “Mm. Lin Qinghe, hello.”

Unable to find anything to say, Lin Qinghe mouthed silently, ‘That’s it?’

Cen Han ended the call and saved it under Lin Qinghe’s name. “That’s it. Let’s add WeChat too.”

How many people dreamed of getting Cen Han’s phone number and WeChat ID but couldn’t? And now it was being offered up so cheaply.

Lin Qinghe looked at the avatar in the chat column. It was simple and unadorned, with scattered black lines outlining something like his name in running script, against a paper-yellow background. He had to admit, it fit Cen Han’s style perfectly.

He glanced at his own avatar, and a clear expression of dislike surfaced.

But he didn’t speak up in time, thus missing the optimal moment to change it, and thus, after returning to his room, he was caught in a dilemma, his desire to change the avatar reaching a fever pitch.

Aunt Su had said Cen Han usually went to bed after midnight. It was only 11:30 now, so it should be fine to go ask for advice, right?

Lin Qinghe hesitated for a few seconds, all his worries vanishing the moment he looked at his avatar again.

In the second-floor study, the lights were bright.

A knock sounded in the corridor.

“Enter.”

Cen Han crossed his hands and looked towards the door. Usually at this hour, Aunt Su was already sleeping her beauty sleep, so there was a high probability the knocker wasn’t her.

Sure enough, Lin Qinghe pushed the door open a crack. When he saw Cen Han, the corners of his eyes and brows curved slightly.

A bit deliberate.

He spoke calmly. “What is it?”

“This.” Lin Qinghe approached the desk and pointed at the dark gray little figure. He met Cen Han’s gaze, the anticipation in his eyes very obvious. “I want to change it.”

Coming upstairs specially late at night just to change an avatar.

Cen Han let out a light scoff, his speech slow. “It’s currently 11:35 PM, Lin Qinghe. Less screen time.”

Lin Qinghe felt he really needed to defend himself. His expression sobered slightly as he replied, “But really, it’s ugly.”

It was a completely normal tone. No deliberate dragging of syllables, no added strange accents. Cen Han’s gaze swept over those long, lowered eyelashes, and he inexplicably found this person’s persistence amusing.

“What do you want to change it to?”

This meant he agreed.

Lin Qinghe seized the opportunity. “Crabapple blossom. The photo Aunt Su taught me to take.”

“Fine.” Cen Han took the phone and fiddled with it a few times. A dense grid of pictures appeared on the screen. To be honest, the photos were indeed quite good. He nodded slightly. “Pick one.”

Lin Qinghe chose one of them and witnessed the avatar being changed with his own eyes. The new avatar was much better than the old one, causing him to lose a bit of his composure.

After thanking him, he even stared at the phone screen while walking.

Cen Han had an odd feeling as he watched him leave.

The next second, he connected Chen Dong’s call.

Chen Dong, the CEO of Starlight Entertainment, was talking with Tao Wan about Xu Anyu…

He made a quieting gesture at Tao Wan, then answered the call, hearing only the other side say, “That’s it for the Xu Anyu drunk driving and hit-and-run incident. In a few days, I’ll bring a new person to the company.”

Two short sentences, delivered as a notice, then the line went dead.

Chen Dong’s heart skipped a beat.

For him, Cen Han was a born manager. He never overly restrained his subordinates, allowing them to fully utilize their abilities. But there was one rule: if you didn’t meet the requirements, you packed your own bags and left.

Because of this, Chen Dong was in charge of vetting all the talents at Starlight Entertainment. He had personally recruited Xu Anyu back then.

As expected, Xu Anyu did become popular.

But what he hadn’t expected was Xu Anyu developing other feelings for Cen Han. In the past, Cen Han had turned a blind eye to it. Besides simply not wanting to bother with Xu Anyu, another reason was out of consideration for Chen Dong, the company’s CEO.

If Chen Dong still hadn’t realized that the drunk driving incident was just an excuse to act, he wouldn’t have lasted so many years at Starlight Entertainment.

Cen Han stepped in personally. All the compensation and appeasement were handled by Chen Dong and his assistant. He didn’t let anyone else participate in the whole process, including the company’s CEO.

Now that the matter was settled, it was just a word about who to bring. He couldn’t refuse at all.

Chen Dong fell into deep thought.

Not only could he not refuse, but from now on, he would have to treat the new person brought in as a key talent to cultivate.