“Huo Ting? Are you ready yet…”
For this holiday outing, Yu Mian realized it was rare to see Huo Ting in casual clothes. His temperament gave off an indescribable feeling.
Standing at the front door, Huo Ting was rarely scrutinized by Yu Mian like this. Uncertain, he lowered his gaze to examine himself.
“The clothes fit well, but they feel a bit different from before… ahem.”
Yu Mian couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. He grabbed his backpack from the side and prepared to call Huo Ting to head out together.
Huo Ting glanced at Yu Mian in return. The clothes on Yu Mian were from a few sets he had previously estimated and bought. They were slightly oversized and the sleeves were a bit long.
Now that he thought about it, since this mermaid turned human, he’d been staying at home writing and hadn’t bought any new clothes.
“Cousin! Brother Yu Mian! You’re sneaking out to have fun without me?!”
Just as Yu Mian was about to leave with Huo Ting, a pitiful voice full of accusation came from upstairs.
Yu Mian turned and saw Huo Yan gripping the railing with a face full of grievance, staring intently at the two downstairs. His chubby face was puffed up in grievance.
“Not today. But I’ll bring you something fun when we get back, okay?”
Huo Yan, who had always been easily coaxed by Yu Mian, perked up at this. “Then come back soon! I still want to learn how to swim…”
“Alright!”
Yu Mian waved with a smile and pulled Huo Ting along to leave.
As the large front doors closed behind them, Huo Yan couldn’t help but stare out the window at the car driving further away.
“They went out to play without me! How mean, Cousin is the worst!”
In the car, Yu Mian rummaged through his backpack for a moment before handing Huo Ting a mask.
Huo Ting: ?
“You need to wear it, like me. I don’t want people staring at us the whole time.”
After all, Huo Ting’s height and aura were already eye-catching, not to mention his face, which would definitely draw a crowd.
Seeing Huo Ting not move, Yu Mian directly unwrapped the mask and shoved it into his hand. He also put on his own mask and the baseball cap he had prepared.
The fluidity of Yu Mian’s actions reminded Huo Ting of their first encounter at the library.
“Why aren’t you moving?”
Yu Mian, now simply but effectively disguised, turned around to see Huo Ting still staring at him. Without hesitation, he leaned over and helped Huo Ting put on the mask.
Huo Ting was unexpectedly compliant and let Yu Mian carefully fasten the mask for him. He raised his dark lashes and his pitch-black eyes suddenly locked with Yu Mian’s.
“… Ahem, I’ll pay you for accompanying me today. If there’s anything you want, we can buy it along with a small gift for Huo Yan before heading home.”
Yu Mian felt inexplicably nervous, and the scales on his ankles seemed to itch slightly, so he changed the subject. But after speaking, he quickly realized that Huo Ting and Huo Yan were completely different. After all, Huo Yan was much easier to coax.
Huo Ting, on the other hand, was now certain that the resident in his study wasn’t as financially constrained as he initially thought. In fact, he was probably far wealthier than many wealthy families on Central Star.
“Do you get a lot of royalties?”
“More or less. It’s enough to pay you for the day. Wait, unless your daily rate is ridiculously high…?”
Fortunately, the car arrived at the Xinggui Building just then.
“We’ve arrived, young master,” the driver reminded cautiously. He glanced at the rearview mirror with a curious look, as if he didn’t quite believe what he’d overheard.
Yu Mian hurriedly thanked him and quickly got out of the car with embarrassment. Huo Ting, on the other hand, chuckled softly and let himself be dragged away by Yu Mian.
“It’s not expensive.”
“Huh?”
“It’s free.”
“…”
As the receptionist confirmed their appointment and directed them to the elevator, Yu Mian suddenly heard Huo Ting’s response.
Even with the cap and mask, Yu Mian felt his face heat up.
‘Why was this guy so worthless?!’
Their meeting with the board members and executives of Xinggui Media went exceptionally smoothly, far from the tense atmosphere Yu Mian had worried about.
“I’m so sorry, Teacher Fish Soup Noodles… My two little ones at home were clamoring to come today. They love reading your books and begged me to bring back two signed sets,” the sixty-something chairman, Camberlay, was evidently a daughter slave.
In his hands were two sets of “Fallen Morning Star”, clearly brought at the insistence of his two little princesses at home, who had demanded autographs from Fish Soup Noodles.
“Of course, no problem. Your daughters are so cute! Didn’t they come along today?”
Yu Mian noticed the family photo on the desk, smiled, and took the pen to sign the books.
In the photo, the two little girls wore Belle princess dresses and held the later released plush snow leopard Da Xi dolls. They looked every bit the typical little fans.
“We know you prefer to keep a low profile, so no unnecessary personnel are present today,” the secretary quickly explained.
Everyone knew that Fish Soup Noodles was extremely private. Agreeing to this meeting was already a significant surprise.
However, ever since Yu Mian had been escorted into the conference room, the senior executives of Xinggui Media had been collectively stunned.
They never expected Fish Soup Noodles to be so young!
He appeared to be in his early twenties at most, yet had already written so many popular works. He bore no resemblance to the rumors circulating online.
What was more shocking was how incredibly good-looking he was, he could easily be a celebrity!
“But this person is…?”
Camberlay finally returned to his senses and glanced at Huo Ting beside Yu Mian, his tone subconsciously cautious.
“Oh, this is a friend who gave me a ride here. It’s fine if he hears the contract details. Shall we discuss the specifics of the plan now?”
Yu Mian quickly interjected.
“I see… Alright then.”
Camberlay exchanged a brief glance with Huo Ting, feeling an inexplicable sense of tension.
The discussion progressed surprisingly smoothly. Not only was the event plan finalized, but many of the ideas Yu Mian added were meticulously recorded and discussed by Xinggui’s professional producers.
Yu Mian even noticed that they seemed to have read the variety show competition plot in “Reborn” carefully. Their proposed ideas for the competition format even aligned closely with the patterns of many popular programs on Earth.
Many things he didn’t need to point out specifically because they were already included in their plans.
As expected of a major company.
Leaving things in their hands felt reassuring.
“Although it’s clear you’re not a professional in this field, your suggestions are quite inspiring, they offer fresh perspectives beyond the usual systems,” genius producer Otek commented. Initially, he had been somewhat disappointed, he had assumed that Fish Soup Noodles was a retired veteran producer as he had written such a mature competition format.
However, during their conversation, he quickly realized that while Yu Mian’s contributions were mostly broad concepts and ideas, they felt novel and refreshing.
“Uh… If I told you these ideas came from a mysterious friend from the ancient Blue Star, would you believe me?”
Yu Mian attempted to reveal the truth, but to Otek and the others, it only sounded like a joke.
“By the way, Teacher Otek, I wanted to ask for advice on live broadcasting equipment. I’m planning to try live broadcasting later.”
After the conversation, Yu Mian suddenly realized that the person in front of him was obviously the most professional person, and he could consult this person if he had any technical difficulties with the new book’s food live broadcast.
“You’re asking the right person. If there’s no budget limit…”
Meanwhile, Huo Ting observed Yu Mian attentively as he participated earnestly in the discussion.
For the first time, he discovered that the mermaid in his study became entirely different when engaged in work he was passionate about. It was nothing like the lazy figure lounging in the pool at home.
It was the kind of presence one couldn’t look away from.
As Huo Ting glanced around the conference room, he noticed that almost everyone else was staring at Yu Mian and Otek’s animated discussion in astonishment.
Otek was actually the genius producer of Xinggui Media and was well known for his arrogance. Even the chairman barely commanded his respect. Yet here he was, chatting smoothly with Teacher Fish Soup Noodles.
After Yu Mian signed the documents and left Xinggui with the materials, he felt that the biggest gain of the day was meeting Otek, the genius producer.
Talking with someone from the entertainment industry was truly enjoyable, and he even learned a lot of new things that would help with the career line in “Reborn”.
“Also, the contract feels quite fair. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the program turns out.”
“The sincerity is evident,” Huo Ting agreed. Having reviewed the contract himself, he could tell Xinggui had put a lot of effort into the collaboration. He just wondered how much of this was due to the two little fans in the chairman’s family.
Before they left, the chairman had even awkwardly tried to invite Yu Mian to attend his daughters’ twelfth birthday party.
“I didn’t expect to have so many little fans,” Yu Mian recalled the old father’s vicissitudes of life as he made the request and couldn’t help but laugh softly.
It was quite unexpected, little fans had managed to control their parents to this extent?
“Well, the work is done. What do you want to buy on the way back? We still need to pick out a small gift for Huo Yan,” Yu Mian turned to Huo Ting. But to his surprise, Huo Ting actually led him somewhere himself.
“…?”
When Yu Mian looked up at the luxurious, Interstellar-styled version of D’ior Plaza in front of him, he realized Huo Ting’s spending level was going to make him bleed heavily.
Fortunately, his current royalties were more than sufficient. Although he still had to save for a house, splurging occasionally should be fine.
However, as Yu Mian curiously examined the dressing room, he noticed that all the items Huo Ting asked the attendant to bring over were in his size.
