Xiao Jiashu endured, with much difficulty, until break time. Just as he was about to find a cafe to pass the time, he was stopped by Fang Kun, who said that Ji Mian was inviting him out for a meal. It was a superior's invite. How could Xiao Jiashu refuse? But when they arrived at their destination, Xiao Jiashu's complexion instantly changed.
As a movie emperor, the places that Ji Mian frequented were all high-class places with strong secrecy and security. This Western restaurant was an internationally famous brand name, personally endorsed by a Michelin chief, and the food was extremely delicious. But that wasn't main point right now. The main point was what was currently placed right in front of him, this medium-done slab of beef-steak… Xiao Jiashu had previously spent a good number of months at home eating fried potato chips, instant noodles, rubbish (unhealthy) snacks like spicy sticks every day. His mouth had around seven to eight ulcers. Don't even mention meat, it was even torture to drink water. He could already imagine, when that super chewy and super coarse beef enters his mouth and chaf, chaf, chaf… against his open wounds… that unprecedented wonderfully painful feeling.
As he was only a little sprout in the workplace, and was in front of his great BOSS, Xiao Jiashu forcibly pushed down the fear induced by his mouthful of ulcers, tremblingly cut a piece of steak and put it into his mouth, pretending to chew it as he normally would. He thought that he had concealed it very well, but in Ji Mian and Fang Kun eyes, his expression looked as though he was eating poison.
"The steak doesn't fit your taste buds?" Ji Mian asked warmly.
"Not at all, it's utterly delicious!" Xiao Jiashu immediately waved his hand in disagreement, then forced the meat down his throat without chewing it up, his eyes and eyebrows all scrunched together as one.
Ji Mian: "…"
Fang Kun smiled and tried to tide things over, "Do you drink wine? This restaurant's red grape wine is quite good, Want to try?"
Wine? That, which as soon as it enters his mouth will burn his ulcers like sulfuric acid and cause so much pain he'd wish he was dead? That wine? Xiao Jiashu's heart wept tears, but his mouth stretched up into a smile, "Okay, thank you, Kun-ge."
Fang Kun poured a cup of red wine for both Ji Mian and Young Master Xiao. He was just about to use the wine as a bridge to start chatting about signing under him, when he saw the Young Master Xiao's face reveal a sinister expression, before rapidly lowering his head.
"What's up? The wine doesn't suit your taste buds? Ji Mian looked at him with a smile.
"Not, at, all! It, is, utter, ly, deli, cious!" Young Master Xiao was already in so much pain he couldn't even talk smoothly anymore; his face was blacker than the bottom of a saucepan.
Ji Mian: "…"
Fang Kun laughed. "If you like it, then drink up." After he spoke, he helped pour Young Master Xiao another glass of wine.
Xiao Jiashu, who would rather suffer than to lose face, felt almost as if a day was passing by like a year; his hand holding the glass was currently shaking. He vowed, So long as I can walk out of this restaurant alive, I will never eat rubbish snacks ever again. Just when his heart was emitting an intense SOS signal, a middle aged woman around forty walked over. She first greeted Fang Kun and Ji Mian, and then intimately pinched Xiao Jiashu's face with her fingers. "Lil' Sapling, you returned to the country but still didn't think to come visit your Aunty Su?"
"Aunty Su? Are you here to eat too?" Xiao Jiashu almost cried out tears of joy. He promptly stood up and gave the woman a bear hug. He was just planning to introduce her to the people still sitting when he heard Aunty Su unyieldingly (not giving people the option to refuse) say, "Xiao Kun, I'm going to borrow this person. You guys continue eating, I've already settled the bill."
"Aiya, Su-jie, how can we just accept your kindness like that?" Fang Kun still had several more polite, cursory lines to say, but the woman had already dragged the tall and strong Young Master Xiao away, leaving behind an empty seat and a glass of light red wine.
"Xiao Jiashu actually even knows Su Rui. He sure has an awfully wide network!" Fang Kun drank a mouthful of wine, and slowly said, "From the looks of it, I may not be able to sign him. But it's not too bad this way (not much of a loss), has a stinky temper, poor at acting, bad control over his facial expressions, and also hard to wait on. With this meal, I can dispel my previous notions (of wanting to sign him). Someone like him, it's easy to make him popular, but will be difficult to keep him popular for long. Once he attends any reality show, his true character will be exposed in seconds, and then his reputation will be in shreds."
Ji Mian didn't reply, only lightly swirling his glass of red wine. Being in his favourite restaurant eating his most favourite steak and drinking his most favourite wine without anyone disturbing him was the most ideal situation.
"I'll just forget it. To tell you the truth, I don't really like signing an ancestor either. You're too easy to look after. I wouldn't be used to bringing up someone else." Fang Kun cut a piece of steak and put it into his mouth. He immediately narrowed his eyes in pleasure. "Delicious, Xiao Jiashu's tongue must be broken."
On the other side, Xiao Jiashu followed Su Rui into a private room, then immediately scrunched his face in an expression of pain, "Aunty Su, quickly give me a cup of water to wash out my mouth!"
"What's going on?" Su Rui promptly passed him plain water from the table.
"I have mouth ulcers, and just drank wine." After Xiao Jiashu washed out his mouth, tears spilled out immediately after. He looked like an husky that had been wronged, causing Su Rui to burst out laughing. She used to be Xue Miao's manager. Later on, the two had jointly started a manager company. Just several years ago, they produced a female signing competition show together, opening up the flourishing talent contest market in the country (starting up the vigorous unending wave of talent shows in the country), and allowing the company to establish firm grounds in the entertainment circle. If you had to talk about their relationship, they could be said to be closer than true sisters. Su Rui preferred to be single, not marrying and not having children. She considered Xue Miao's son to be no different from her own.
She had watched Xiao Jiashu grow up, so naturally she cared about him a lot. She immediately had an assistant to go buy heat reducing medicine, and also gave Xiao Jiashu a good lecturing, chiding him to look after his body. She then started asking him about work.
"They never planned on giving me any work from the beginning, treating me like an ornament." Xiao Jiashu felt a bit wronged, and then grimacing in pain, drank a mouthful of cream mushroom soup. He had wanted to order soup water earlier, but Ji Mian seemed to be very tyrannical, although he claimed that he was inviting Xiao Jiashu for a meal, he had actually already long determined what dish he was going to order, and didn't let Xiao Jiashu order at all.
"I'll have a talk with Xiu Changyu." Su Rui immediately brought out her phone.
"Don't, don't, don't." Xiao Jiao immediately stopped her. "I'm a newcomer. They don't trust in my ability, that's why they're acting this way. Aunty Su, if you get Uncle Xiu to help me out, my co-workers will look down on me even more. I will definitely work hard to learn, work conscientiously, and scramble to do whatever work is available. When more time passes, everyone will understand what kind of person I am, and they will also slowly accept me. This is a phase that every newcomer in a workplace must experience. I know I'll be able to handle it."
Seeing his face filled with a sacred duty, Su Rui pressed a hand to her forehead, and smiled. "Lil' Sapling, how can you be so sweet? You should just stop working at Crown Age and come work at my place."
"I shouldn't. Mum already has it all arranged with Uncle Xiu, I can't be someone who doesn't keep my word (unreliable). Work is an extremely serious matter, not something I can swap just like that." Xiao Jiashu said, shaking his head while drinking his soup.
"Alright, our Lil' Sapling has already grown up to become a giant tree that reaches the sky." Su Rui affectionately stroked his head, and said, "Come over to my company tomorrow to play. It's the final episode of SUPER New Voice Generation. It's very exciting."
"SUPER New Voice Generation" was the trump program of Lucky Water Cultural Agency, the company which Su Rui and Xue Miao started up together. It was the first ever talent competition show in the country, was very influential, and was held once every two years. This time, the program was held jointly between Rui Shui and Crown Age, was unprecedentedly grand (huge scope/very big), and since it started broadcasting, had consecutively broken many viewership ratings, and was an extreme hit. Even Xiao Jiashu, a slow turtle who had just recently come back to the country, knew some news about "SUPER New Voice Generation."
"It's already the finals now? I haven't watched a lot of the previous episodes." Xiao Jiashu had no idea at all that his way of speaking could really stab a person's heart.
Fortunately, Su Rui understood his personality, and didn't take offense. "The final round is the most exciting one. Come watch, I'll give you a VIP seat. The singers this season are quite good."
"That's out of the question. I need to work. I'm Ji Mian's assistant. I can't neglect my duty." Xiao Jiashu earnestly rejected. As a little sprout in the workplace, he couldn't spend three days fishing and two days drying nets (lack perseverance/play fast and loose).
Su Rui held her forehead. "…Ji Mian is coming as well, he's a judge in the final round…"
"Oh. That's more like it. You don't need to give me a VIP seat. I'll just stand at the side of the judging stage, so that Ji Mian can find me at all times in case he needs me for something." Xiao Jiashu thought seriously for a moment, before finally agreeing.
Su Rui: "…"
—
His first day of work ended with him idling his entire day away. In the afternoon of his second day of work, Ji Mian really did take Xiao Jiashu to the Lucky Water General Headquarters. For a company that had started up less than ten years ago, Lucky Water's performance had already surpassed many well-known manager companies, and had risen to be among one of the top three. Its headquarters were based in the city centre and the final round was held at a neighbouring stadium which could accommodate an audience of fifty thousand.
"Ji-Ge needs to get his makeup done. Sit down here to wait, don't run around the place." Fang Kun told Young Master Xiao. The latter was currently looking around left and right, like Granny Liu visiting the Grand View Garden (expression used to describe a simple unsophisticated person, who is overwhelmed by new experiences and luxurious surroundings).
"Okay." Xiao Jiashu sat on a sofa by near the entrance, his brain still reflecting over the grand stage he just saw: So lofty, so wide, a vast sea of people underneath. How would it feel to stand go up there to sing? But he could only imagine it in his head, with no way of finding out the answer in his entire lifetime.
Ji Mian seemed very tired. As soon as his eyes closed, he started dozing off. The makeup artist's movements became increasingly gentle and cautious, and even greatly slowed down their own breathing. Half an hour later, the stage preparations were complete, the judges grandly (ceremoniously) went up the stage, and the contestants started their performances, dancing and singing.
And sure enough, Xiao Jiashu was standing off stage by the judging platform, squashed together with a crowd of cameramen. Fang Kun, on the other hand, was behind the judge platform, if he moved forward a bit, he would be able to talk to Ji Mian. Those who were able to remain in the finals were all contestants with very strong talent, and their performances were brilliant and varied. The audience let out fervent screams, and applause again and again, driving up the atmosphere in the stadium.
Xiao Jiashu was infected by the atmosphere; not only did he loosen his necktie, even his always peaceful calm eyes were emitting a burning glow. He liked this kind of feeling, the feeling like his blood was aflame, and his mind splashing out bubbles.
The last contestant went onto stage. She was extremely pretty and looked like she had a delicate personality, but when she sang, her voice had an explosive power, and a metallic texture, heavy and sharp. She was the most popular contestant (favourite to win) and even although the competition wasn't over yet, she already had heaps of fans. Even if she lost the championship, she would still have a very good future ahead of her.
The audience's enthusiasm heightened even further; almost capable of overturning the sky, but Xiao Jiashu had frozen, his eyes locked onto the girl contestant, expression unreadable. Through her distinct voice, he had been brought back to a long past, unforgettable and unbearable memory.