CHAPTER 60

This plate of spicy mixed noodles contained everything she had ordered, with a fragrant and spicy aroma. The sauce was made with various types of chili peppers, incredibly delicious, with a lingering numbing taste.

For a female actress who needs to manage her figure, the temptation was truly overwhelming.

Xiaoyuan picked up a slice of lotus root, crisp and refreshing, spicy and numbing. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten such a strongly flavored dish, almost moved to tears. What kind of divine chef was this, creating a thick but not heavy, not too salty nor bland sauce that was exceptionally fragrant.

Eyes squinting, she picked up a second piece, just about to take a bite when she glanced at Wei Zhuang sitting across the table from her.

The woman's expression had turned somewhat strange after sitting at the dining table, she was now staring thoughtfully at the fish maw and yellow fish soup in her bowl.

Just now, she had almost exhausted all her "coaxing a child" tactics at the door—

"President Wei, come out and eat, okay?"

"President Wei, I ordered your portion too, let's eat together, okay?"

"President Wei, do you eat fish maw and yellow fish soup?"

"let's eat, let's eat!"

...

"Are you not going to eat?" Xiaoyuan asked her.

Not sure if it was because she had learned Wei Zhuang's "big secret" or from the earlier coaxing, Xiaoyuan's tone toward her felt much more natural, sounding quite informal.

Wei Zhuang looked up at her.

Xiaoyuan bit into a piece of lotus root and blinked innocently, "Do you want to try my spicy mixed noodles?"

Wei Zhuang's expression again turned somewhat odd. It was hard to imagine someone usually devoid of emotions displaying such a look, tinged with a hint of helplessness.

Yet, Xiaoyuan found her current demeanor quite amusing.

It was as if a tree branch usually adorned with a cold crescent moon had finally caught a breeze, coming to life, making the moonlight even more enchanting.

In the end, the woman said nothing and slowly started eating her porridge.

Xiaoyuan lowered her face, a hint of a smile curling her lips.

No one could resist the comfort that food brings.

At least, at this moment, Wei Zhuang, eating under the warm light, looked much better than she had earlier in the room, diminishing her previously unreachable aura. As for Xiaoyuan, the skill of the private chef was too strong, with delicious food in her stomach, all her worries vanished.

At this moment, she felt that everything wasn't such a big deal, and everything could be forgiven.

Xiaoyuan didn't want to get involved in the relationship between Wei Zhuang and Wei Jiabao, she felt she didn't have the ability or strength to intervene. Her relationship with her own mother was also strained, and even with her biological brother, she felt powerless.

Outside, the rain continued to fall, and the two of them didn't speak again, quietly finishing their meals.

After they had eaten, Xiaoyuan truly began to feel sleepy. She rubbed her eyes and, unable to hold on any longer, said, "President Wei, I'm going to head back to sleep now."

Wei Zhuang nodded.

Once Xiaoyuan entered her room, Wei Zhuang sat in the dining area for a while longer before she also headed toward her room. At one moment, she turned to glance at the spot where they had been sitting.

Under the warm light, although the two chairs they had occupied were not connected, they seemed to possess a different kind of vitality than before.

The next day, Xiaoyuan woke up to the sound of rain. She groggily reached for her phone, struggling to see clearly. It was already past ten o'clock. She pressed a button, and the curtains automatically opened, revealing the city shrouded in heavy rain, like a world drawn with a lead pencil.

She stretched lazily, lying down for a while without wanting to move. Since the airing of "Zui Xiaoyao," she had become popular, her schedule was packed, and she hadn't slept in for over a month.

She had only slept around three in the morning, and this bed was just too comfortable, leaning against the wall, giving her a sense of security. She felt particularly satisfied sleeping in it.

She blinked her eyes, finally waking up—she was at Wei Zhuang's place.

Last night had been full of ups and downs, twists and turns.

In one moment they had been flirting, and in the next, it had turned into a battleground with a big secret. Then, she had nearly braved a thunderstorm to go home, only to return and eat a plate of spicy mixed noodles.

'Ah, those spicy mixed noodles were so delicious!'

Although it had been a strange and unpredictable night, the quiet late-night meal with Wei Zhuang now felt like a beautiful ending upon reflection.

Xiaoyuan turned over and rolled around on the bed.

A new day, a new beginning.

She got up, brushed her teeth, and left the room. The house was quiet, Wei Zhuang was not there. Would she really go out to work in this weather? Being a big boss was truly not easy.

Although it was a new day, it seemed like she needed to adjust her way of interacting with Wei Zhuang. She didn't have a clue to begin with, and now that things had settled a bit, she felt somewhat lost.

When she reached the dining area, there was breakfast left for her.

Whole wheat fig jam sandwich, boiled shrimp, a bit of scrambled eggs. Alongside was a small plate of berries and a bottle of milk. Healthy, filling, low-fat, and high in protein, it was very suitable for her.

Xiaoyuan ate contentedly. She had indulged too much the previous night, so she could only eat this one meal today, but fortunately, the taste was still good.

She checked her phone for messages, focusing on the important ones—

From Cai Juan: [The weather is bad today, work is canceled, postponed to tomorrow, but you shouldn't come back too late.]

Also from Cai Juan: [Have fun! (Winking emoji) When you come back, I need to know all the details (raising eyebrows and smirking).]

Xiaoyuan rolled her eyes and flipped past it.

From Zou Yirui: [Wow, you left so fast last night and didn't even say goodbye to me. I wanted to watch the finale with you.]

Also from Zou Yirui: [You're on the hot search again, huh? Hey hey hey, come out and show off a bit.]

Oh right, the celebration last night was supposed to watch the final three episodes.

Xiaoyuan put down her milk and scrolled through Weibo to check the feedback on the finale of "Zui Xiaoyao":

[There was no terrible ending, it was great! Hahaha, Lao Cang truly deserves the title of 'women's friend' and male feminist. Most straight male authors wouldn't dare let both female leads not choose the male lead, but only an extraordinary straight man would write the male lead walking alone into the horizon at the end, with both female leads choosing not to be with him. This cracks me up!]

[The most amazing part is that he's also the screenwriter and didn't change it! Hahaha!]

[What can you do? The father of his childhood sweetheart's fiancée turns out to be his father's killer, and the girl who likes him is actually the half-sister of his fiancée. It's a dead end!]

[Quick, check out Ling Yao's solo cut! Miss Xiaoyuan, you killed me! Waaaah!]

...

Xiaoyuan went to check her own Weibo—she had surpassed ten million followers, the rapid growth made her heart flutter a bit.

Then she checked Douban's ratings, nearly six hundred thousand reviews, 8.9 points. Quite high. She scrolled down to read the short reviews, the top one had over thirty thousand likes— "I declare, Xiaoyuan is the most pleasantly surprising actress of the year!"

Xiaoyuan couldn't help but laugh several times. After laughing, she suddenly felt a bit empty. She glanced around, feeling a bit deflated.

Putting down her phone, she propped her chin on her hand and took some time to sort through her feelings. She didn't know about other actors, but she considered herself quite observant of people—their expressions, body language, and so on, including her own.

Putting aside various external factors and personal circumstances—

Wei Zhuang mentioned she was attracted to her, but wasn't she also very attracted to her?

She walked out of the dining room, curiously surveying the house.

Passing through the living room, she saw a winding wooden staircase. She peeked up, there was another level above? Floors 34 and 35 were connected.

Wei Zhuang owned this many levels by herself?

Shencheng could be considered one of the cities with the highest housing prices in the country, and the area where Wei Zhuang lived was one of the top areas in that top city.

Even Xiaoyuan, who didn't have a strong concept of money, couldn't help but raise her hand, thinking it probably wasn't enough, then raised another hand, counting up to nine digits, amazed. She knew she would never earn such a figure in her lifetime.

Xiaoyuan chuckled slightly, went around the staircase, and since she had nothing else to do, she took out her phone and played "Zui Xiaoyao" while continuing to walk.

Through the transparent glass wall outside, she saw a study on the left.

She stepped inside, astonished—three walls filled with books, her gaze moved from the floor to the ceiling, with a custom-made movable wooden ladder on the side.

It was like a miniature library, and she felt as if she had jumped into a sea of knowledge, her demeanor becoming solemn.

Using today's internet slang—she felt like raising her hand in salute, saying "respect!"

She backed out with a sense of awe, then walked to the room opposite the study, which still had glass walls with smoke-gray venetian blinds hanging inside, so she wasn't quite sure what this room was, but she could feel that it was very spacious.

She pushed the door open, and when she saw clearly, she was speechless for a long time.

It was a media room.

There were huge projection screens on the walls, surrounded by audiovisual equipment, just like a cinema setup.

On the shelves were various playback devices, Xiaoyuan could make out videotape cameras, CD players... There were also some instruments on the walls, projectors, and others she couldn't recognize.

On the other wall, there was a wide display rack, packed tightly.

Xiaoyuan held her breath and walked over, where everything about movies was on display: information on famous directors (including actors) from around the world, collections of their masterpieces, various rare interview materials, and so on. She was overwhelmed.

She saw large hard drives, written materials, and some self-burned DVDs.

There were stacks of them on the shelves and even on the carpet, with pens and papers scattered around...

It looked a bit messy but had a sense of order, as if the owner was still organizing things.

In the middle of the room was a luxurious leather sofa, perfect for comfortably watching movies.

Behind it was a small dark room separated off, containing equipment that Xiaoyuan only partially understood, it seemed to be some kind of film backstage playback system and gear.

Wow!

She didn't even notice that her phone had fallen onto the carpet.

Xiaoyuan exclaimed "wow" twice in disbelief.

In TV dramas, when female actors see luxury brands, they express surprise by covering their faces and screaming. Xiaoyuan always thought this acting style was too exaggerated.

She was wrong.

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! For the first time, she felt that being rich was really great! No, having resources was even better. There must be many rare and hard-to-find materials in those cabinets.

It took her a while to calm her breathing.

From the still unorganized cabinets to the single leather recliner, Xiaoyuan could almost see how much time Wei Zhuang spent in this room. She was suddenly curious about what Wei Zhuang was like here.

The 34th floor felt even more like her private domain, revealing glimpses of her interests.

An indescribable emotion settled in her heart. After experiencing the chaos caused by Wei Jiabao last night, she felt a resonance with him due to their age, but emotionally, she thought she shouldn't jump to conclusions about Wei Zhuang too soon.

She used to think Wei Zhuang was distant, but now there was a sense of closeness, a realization of "ah, we have similar interests."

Near and far, far and near, unable to see clearly.

It was like a movie that grabs your attention from the start, with a plot that you can never predict, compelling you to follow your curiosity and keep watching.

The ending remains a mystery.

In fact, perhaps the climax of the story hasn't even arrived yet.

All she could do was continue watching and exploring.

"You're here?" A familiar voice called from the doorway.

This was the third time Wei Zhuang had said the same thing to her. How did she manage to say the same thing three times, each time with a different meaning?

Xiaoyuan couldn't help but chuckle. Seeing the slightly puzzled look on Wei Zhuang's face, she quickly shook her head, suppressing her smile. "I thought you had gone to work."

"I just finished a video conference." Wei Zhuang replied.

"Oh," Xiaoyuan responded.

The two locked eyes, and for several seconds, neither spoke.

Only the sound of rain outside and the rumble of thunder could be heard.

"Ah, this rain is too heavy." Xiaoyuan remarked. She wasn't afraid of thunder, but it was still a bit frightening and made her ears ring.

"Mm."

"Your phone?...." Wei Zhuang pointed to the carpet.

In addition to the sound of thunder, there was the sound of "Zui Xiaoyao" playing on her phone.

"Oh, cough, yes." Xiaoyuan bent down to pick up her phone.

"Is that the TV drama you starred in?" Wei Zhuang asked.

"Yeah," Xiaoyuan replied, sliding the screen to turn off the video, but messages kept popping up, and she didn't have time to react. Suddenly, her own voice came through—specifically, Ling Yao's voice. "Brother Jiang..."

Hadn't the finale already aired?

Why was she still speaking so sweetly?

Xiaoyuan felt warmth rise to her cheeks, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Let's watch it here." Wei Zhuang brushed past her, walking inside and searching for the drama on the streaming platform. "'Zui Xiaoyao'?"

Xiaoyuan watched as the opening theme appeared on the big screen, the small screen drama transformed into a big screen movie... "..."

"Um, I play Ling Yao." In case the big boss forgot who she played, Xiaoyuan reminded softly, "And, Zou Yirui, she plays the female lead."

Wei Zhuang sat down on the chaise lounge, her legs crossing naturally, the black dress flowing gracefully in the air, casting a glance over.

"Zou Yirui is a Tonghua artist." Xiaoyuan felt as if that glance was saying, "Who is Zou Yirui?" After saying this, the boss's expression remained indifferent, not even a "Mm."

Oh, Zou Yirui had been going on about how beautiful and friendly their boss was recently, yet her boss didn't even remember her name.

Xiaoyuan couldn't help but chuckle at the thought.

With her slightly long hair tied up in a bun, her eyes sparkling with laughter, and without a trace of makeup, she looked vibrant and lively.

Wei Zhuang looked at her, her gaze deepening for a moment. "Xiaoyuan, come here."

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