Chapter 3: The sharp-tongued director
Translator: Aafkee
Proofreader: ChaiTea
“Ehem, are you feeling better after sobering up a little?” Shen Yu let out a light cough to conceal his embarrassment and changed the subject.
“So-so.” The man replied plainly before falling back into silence.
The atmosphere seemed to get cold again. Shen Yu bit his lower lip nervously. He was not the type to warm up to people quickly, he would even go as far as to avoid strangers usually. However, there was too little space in the car, so there was nowhere for Shen Yu to hide. He could only rack his brain for conversation topics that would not offend the other party and yet, be able to bring relief to the awkwardness in the air.
“Erm, is your phone with you? Do you need to call your assistant for help?”
“Hn, thank you for the reminder.”
After listening to Shen Yu, the man actually fished out his phone from his jeans pocket and began typing his message to send out on WeChat as Shen Yu turned his head away, immediately. A bright light went past them outside and shone into the car, giving him a clear view of the man’s watch on his left wrist.
It was a brand launched by an Italian luxurious goods company. With its low-profile yet lavish design as its theme, the particular watch was the brand’s 100th-anniversary limited edition. Only nine of them were sold globally, the price was equivalent to approximately ten million RMB*. A few months ago, Shen Yu happened to see this watch featured in a fashion magazine he was browsing through during the free time in between Shen Yu’s photo-taking sessions. Due to its unique design, and mostly because of its insanely high price, Shen Yu remembered this watch straight away.
(T/N: About 1.5 million USD.)
To be able to wear this watch, you must be extremely rich and have high status. Shen Yu wondered who this person could be as he ran through the list of superstars in his mind. Unexpectedly, he could not seem to find anyone who would match this person’s appearance. He stopped his conjecture, admonishing himself for trying to pry into the privacy of others.
The two-minute-long traffic light finally ended. As if a burden had been lifted off his shoulders, Shen Yu quickly gathered his attention and focused purely on the road in front of him as he drove. Shen Yu could somehow feel a pair of eyes sizing him up throughout the journey. He did not dare to turn his head as he drove, but when he glanced over at the next intersection, the man was leaning against the car door quietly, resting with his eyes closed.
At about one in the morning, the unlucky Shen Yu finally brought Mr Pit-Jumper* back to the hotel.
(T/N: Referring to the man walking into the pit/jumping into the pit.)
After taking the medicine and resting throughout the car ride, the man seemed to be in a much better condition. Shen Yu parked his car at the side entrance of the hotel and the man pulled down his cap as he said his thanks in a low voice. After Shen Yu responded, he quickly got out of the car and entered the hotel.
The black shirt on him was still wet, the half-transparent fabric stuck closely to his firm and fluid muscles, highlighting his beautiful waistline as he stood up, the view of his retreating back straight and powerful. Even drenched in rain, this person was still emitting such charisma and charm. It made one wonder how dazzling to the eyes he must be under the spotlight.
Shen Yu’s gaze followed the other party until he completely disappeared behind the door. He shook his head with a laugh, remembering that there was a reason why he was not popular. In comparison to that, he really seemed to have nothing that could be considered attractive. Shen Yu turned his car around and parked his car in the garage, his nerves, which were stretched taut, finally relaxed completely.
Everyone had their own secret in the entertainment circle. Although these secrets may not be negative in the slightest, they could not be made known to the public. Shen Yu was not afraid of sacrificing his rest time to drive a drunkard back to the hotel, what he was worried about was the fact that he might have known something he should not have and got himself involved in a dispute unknowingly.
Fortunately, that man did not say nor do anything and left without hesitation. Although the other party seemed cold, given how he refused to even spare his name, it was exactly what Shen Yu wanted. This matter would end right at this point, which gave him a chance to willingly help a person in need without any repercussions.
Shen Yu took a quick shower when he returned to his room and fell into a deep sleep the moment he touched the bed. He vaguely remembered that there was something he needed to do, such as turning the air conditioning to night mode or notifying his manager about his sudden appearance on the local program, but the sleepiness came too overwhelming and, in just a few seconds, he lost all capabilities to think.
The dim light of the night spread through this city which was supreme in terms of recreation and entertainment, waiting quietly for the arrival of dawn.
Early in the morning at six, when the sun had yet to rise fully, Mary’s day as an assistant had already started.
She woke up precisely when the alarm rang the third time, grabbed her makeup pouch, and rushed into the bathroom. When she stepped out of the bathroom after fifteen minutes, she had already transformed into an outstanding and well-known assistant in the industry. Red lips, wavy hair, small high heels, capable and experienced, yet charming.
This lady, a returnee who had graduated from Stanford University, finished her bread, turned on her tablet, browsed through her inbox and decided to go upstairs to look for her boss who lacked a conscience.
Her boss wordlessly travelled from Beijing to Jing-City’s filming base last night and then, he sent a message in their WeChat work group chat without any warning during midnight, ordering for a person to report to him at the local hotel.
Mary, who had just received the message at midnight, could not determine whether her boss was drunk, albeit rare, or if was he just playing with them like he frequently did. Tragically, that was when she realised that she, who was currently on a vacation, was the nearest to her boss.
Deciding that she would rather be safe than be sorry, Mary immediately took a taxi and rushed to the hotel. After confirming that her boss had safely returned and got himself a room, she had decided to settle their score the next day.
The floors shown in the elevator jumped one by one. When she arrived at the top floor, Mary spent a long while walking around the twists and turns of the corridors specially designed to protect the privacy of the hotel clients and finally arrived at room number five. She realised the door was not closed tightly. Out of courtesy, she knocked on the door thrice, only entering the room when she heard the voice inside permitting for her to enter.
In the living room of a luxurious suite, the violet curtains were half-drawn, a man, dressed in a dark coloured sleeping robe, sat next to the full-length window, sunbathing under the gentle morning light as he drank his coffee quietly.
Seeing that Mary had entered, he turned around to acknowledge her presence before smiling and greeting her, amiable and approachable, “Good morning.”
Mary threw a few glances at the man probingly. In the end, she could not help but admit that this man was indeed worthy of his position. If not because of getting her hands on his information last night, she would definitely not have guessed it.
Sensing Mary’s intentions, Zhong Simo smiled, completely unperturbed. Not many people knew about his things and Mary happened to be one of the few people who did. The incident last night was neither major nor minor. If Mary had that intention, she should have already found out the what-when-hows.
“I was summoned by my boss with no conscience at midnight during my vacation. The morning is not good at all.”
After confirming that Zhong Simo was fine, the anger piled up inside of Mary began to gush out. She glared at the certain someone who was drinking his coffee leisurely and carefree, unwilling to give him the satisfaction.
“Hm, how much more bonus do you think I should give you?” Zhong Simo knew that he was in the wrong so he took the initiative to compensate her financially.
Mary shook her head and said bitterly, “Boss, people like you who always bring up money after getting familiar with others will never be able to please your future beloved.”
“It doesn’t matter, I don’t like women anyway. There is no need for me to please you guys.”
Truly, Zhong Simo did not mind it at all; he merely shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrow.
“I have just received a work email. Do you want to hear about it?” Mary felt that she would be the one losing out if she continued to discuss that topic further, so she chose to change the topic strategically.
“Let’s hear it.” Zhong Simo put down the mug in his hand.
“We have news from the studio. Our collaboration with Tian Chen seems to have progressed some. The other party is willing to draft the contract based on your demands, but they hope that you can take care of their newbies with high potential. Our commerce department judged that we can sign the contract now so they are hoping that you can go back and take charge of the situation. What do you say?”
Mary paused after finishing her report, waiting for Zhong Simo’s instructions.
“Book the plane tickets for this afternoon. We’re going back.”
Mary, not expecting Zhong Simo to make a decision this quickly, was unable to follow up with the conversation temporarily. Upon seeing that, Zhong Simo laughed.
“If not? Is there anything worth staying here for, Mary? Last night was enough. My time is precious, so I should not be wasting any more of it here.”
“I understand, I will book the tickets immediately.” Mary nodded. Before leaving the room, she recalled something so she turned back and asked, “Ah, right. Boss, how did you return last night?”
When the question was brought up, Zhong Simo, who was seldom at a loss for words, turned silent. He knitted his eyebrows for a moment before he responded to Mary, “Go and investigate how I came back yesterday.”
“Sorry, Boss, I-”
“No, I am serious.”
Mary was silent for a moment.
“Alright, go ahead and book that ticket. I’m gonna sleep for a while more. It tires me out to listen to your report about work so early in the morning.” Zhong Simo narrowed his eyes as he yawned, indicating for his subordinate to leave.
“You’re complaining about me disturbing your rest and even planned to go back to sleep.” Mary could not help raising her voice slightly. She had worked under Zhong Simo for a few years now and the other party never failed to astonish her with his shamelessness. It was almost like her life was full of surprises.
“It was already past midnight when I returned to the hotel last night. What problem is there for me to sleep a bit longer after a hangover?” Zhong Simo probably felt joy from angering his assistant as he smiled and asked her a question in reply.
“Why the hell are you drinking coffee if you’re going to sleep again?” Wanting to protect her pride, she did not give up trying to pick fault with him.
“Hot milk,” Zhong Simo tilted his mug, giving his assistant, who was standing a few metres away, a better look at the contents inside the mug, “I’ll never drink coffee again.”
His gaze sank halfway through his sentence but it was quickly replaced by a smile that could easily induce anger in others, interrupting Mary’s desire to say something.
“Why are you not leaving? Are you planning to drink milk together with me? Given how you have worked for me for a couple of years now, I guess I can treat you to a cup.”
“Very good,” Mary retrieved her heart, which was initially overflowing with empathy, and continued, “When there is a business discussion next time, you can drink milk while the others drink coffee. I’m sure it’s healthy and nutritional. Do you need us to purchase for a dairy cow exclusively for your consumption needs from New Zealand’s royal pasture?”
“That is a pretty good suggestion, I will name that dairy cow Mary to commemorate its fate with yours.” Zhong Simo praised sincerely.
Mary wanted to say something more but ended up breathing out a sigh, nodding her head before she left, closing the door lightly behind her. After all, she was only an outsider, it was not in her place to meddle.
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