Yu Qingxian thought for a moment: “Sure.”
In truth, he usually just had coffee in the morning.
But he nodded not because he wanted to have breakfast with Chu Yi—rather, Chu Yi surely didn’t know about yesterday’s fiasco yet, so he needed to tell him.
What President Yu didn’t realize at this point was that even if he didn’t say anything, Ouyang Yuyuan, Chu Yi’s agent Lin Hang, and the film crew would tell him anyway. He didn’t need to come personally.
By the time Yu Qingxian sat down, Chu Yi had already started eating eagerly. It was clear he was starving; he demolished a steamed dumpling in two bites, took a sip of soy milk, and immediately showed an expression of bliss.
Yu Qingxian paused, then picked up his chopsticks to take two steamed dumplings. He skipped the soy milk—he didn’t like that beany taste.
As Chu Yi observed President Yu’s perfect posture and the way he chewed slowly and deliberately, he noted his beautiful phoenix eyes slightly lowered, with pale purple eyelids where the veins were almost visible. No wonder he always thought President Yu’s eyes were exceptionally beautiful. It was a pity he didn’t smile much; otherwise, they would surely be captivating.
While Chu Yi observed Yu Qingxian, Yu Qingxian was quietly sizing him up too. After a night, Chu Yi’s hair was a bit messy, and his face showed some fatigue, but he was young and vigorous after all—no dark circles under his eyes, his black eyes bright and spirited.
There was always a casual smile at the corner of his mouth, and his movements were relaxed, as if he was carefree about everything, yet he always had his own standards for dealing with the world. He was a very contradictory person.
“Does President Yu have something to tell me?” Chu Yi suddenly asked, tilting his head. A single disobedient lock of hair stuck out prominently.
“Hm? Oh, right. Do you remember Ying Lin? Yesterday, he posted a statement hinting that you stole his role…” Yu Qingxian withdrew his gaze, set down his chopsticks, and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
He had just finished the two steamed dumplings anyway, and he wasn’t used to talking while eating, so he focused on the conversation.
After hearing President Yu’s account, Chu Yi nodded: “So, he really suffered backlash… But when he targeted me, didn’t he think to check out the film crew?”
Chu Yi wasn’t a god. He didn’t know that Ying Lin had previously been in contact with Qin Xiaoran, who had screwed him over.
“That’s unclear. Maybe he just purely wanted revenge.” If Chu Yi hadn’t been so skilled and silenced everyone with his outstanding swordsmanship, with Ying Lin’s fans’ extreme speculations, the suspicion of role theft might really have stuck.
Speaking of swordsmanship, President Yu remembered another thing: “That Liu Shengqing—his intentions might have been good this time, but Director Mo isn’t happy about it.”
Chu Yi fell silent. Of course, he knew what Director Mo was unhappy about. When he filmed, Director Mo had corrected him several times, telling him to tone it down, precisely to highlight the character’s contrast.
He had also heard from Xiao Liu and the others that if played well, even a supporting role like this was very eye-catching. Xiao Liu had even shown Chu Yi some edited dark turn clips by bloggers—suddenly subverting expectations was indeed a memorable point.
Liu Shengqing had exposed the plot point that Director Mo had carefully preserved, so no wonder he was angry.
But as the beneficiary, Chu Yi was the one who had given the video to Liu Shengqing… He nodded: “Got it. I’ll go back today and explain to Director Mo.”
He couldn’t let Director Mo take it out on Liu Shengqing. If he stepped up and took responsibility, Director Mo should calm down a bit.
Yu Qingxian saw through his intention and asked curiously: “I heard you saved him a few days ago?”
Although Liu Shengqing gained some attention from releasing the video, he had angered Director Mo and broken the crew’s confidentiality rules—it was actually a loss. Chu Yi had previously commented that he was too utilitarian, and this action didn’t quite match his character.
What Yu Qingxian really wanted to ask was whether Chu Yi and Liu Shengqing’s relationship had improved, but he rephrased it.
Chu Yi: “It wasn’t really saving him. I said some harsh words to him before, which might have affected his mood.”
“What did you say?”
This time, Chu Yi truly sensed something off: “Why is President Yu suddenly so interested in Liu Shengqing?”
He felt President Yu was a bit aloof. For someone unfamiliar like Liu Shengqing, pressing for details like this didn’t fit his style.
Yu Qingxian paused: “Sorry, I spoke out of turn. I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s your private matter—if you don’t want to say, that’s fine.”
He glanced at Chu Yi and added: “If you want to help him out, Xingyao can sign him.”
Chu Yi: “Because of me?”
Yu Qingxian’s eyelid twitched. Perhaps out of guilt, he clenched his fist and coughed lightly: “Cough! You know, talented Xuan Arts Masters are hard to find nowadays, and ones who are both capable and uphold justice and righteousness are even rarer. The Li Yunkai incident was just an accident, but in Beijing, anyone with a bit of background has rivals. You always have to guard against them…”
The implication was that he had his own needs, and building a good relationship with Chu Yi was only natural.
Chu Yi chuckled: “With our rapport, does President Yu need to be so polite?”
Seeing President Yu purse his lips without responding, he shook his head with a smile and steered back to the topic: “Signing Liu Shengqing? Better not. Our relationship isn’t at that level. If President Yu thinks he meets Xingyao’s artist standards, sign him. If not, let him go back where he came from. It has nothing to do with me.”
He really didn’t blame Liu Shengqing, but doing him favors was out of the question. That guy was inexplicably clingy for some reason—what if he found out he got into Xingyao through Chu Yi’s connections?
Chu Yi had no prejudice against Liu Shengqing, but that didn’t mean he wanted to take him as a little brother. People whose vibes didn’t match were naturally not suited to be together.
