"Ding ding..."
Xia Yan's eyes were half-closed as she continued to fantasize about the scene of Lu Zhengting getting a proper scolding from her. The sudden ringing shattered her reverie. She cracked her eyes open, fumbled blindly across the desk, and accurately grabbed her phone. Without even glancing at who was calling, she tapped the screen and slid to answer.
"Sister-in-law, where are you?"
"Who are you calling sister-in-law?"
"Huh?" Ning Nan was momentarily stunned, thinking he might have dialed the wrong number. He suspiciously checked the contact name again—no mistake there.
"Sister-in-law, I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"
"Spit it out or hang up. I'm not listening to any suspense."
"Come on, sister-in-law, the weather's fine. Who got you so worked up? You're practically radiating gunpowder."
"Telling you won't help anyway. It's not like you can stand up for me."
"Who says! I love sticking up for people. Looks like someone really did piss you off. Tell me, and I'll handle it."
"Really? You're not lying?"
"Of course. I, Ning Nan, mean what I say—a word spoken is a horse that can't be caught."
"Fine then. I'll tell you. It's Lu Zhengting. Go handle it."
"Lu Zhengting? He made you mad?" The moment Ning Nan heard the name, he nearly stumbled, his foot slipping. Luckily, Xi Xi, standing beside him, reacted quickly and caught him.
"Xi Xi, thanks." Ning Nan steadied himself, still shaken, and thanked Xi Xi, who just pursed his lips and gave a faint smile.
Xia Yan seemed to catch her idol's voice and, ignoring whatever was happening with Ning Nan, raised her volume. "Ning Nan, is Xi Xi there with you?"
"..." Compared to Xi Xi, Ning Nan was more curious about the gossip of Lu Zhengting ticking off Xia Yan. He rambled vaguely, then shifted gears. "Sister-in-law, how did Lu Zhengting bully you?"
"Him? Total jerk. Let's not even talk about it."
"Don't do that. Tell me, so I can get back at him for you."
Hearing that, Xia Yan rolled her eyes, twirling a pen in her hand as she lazily replied, "You'd stand up for me? Yeah, right. I'm not buying it."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ning Nan glanced at the nearby staff and his agent, who kept staring at him, and spoke quietly into the phone.
Pausing, Xia Yan froze for a second, then slowly added, "You're such a coward."
"..." Could they even have a normal conversation? And since when was he a coward?
As if reading his mind, Xia Yan immediately twisted the knife. "I've seen it with my own eyes."
"Cough, fine. Sister-in-law, let's get back on track. The good news is Xi Xi is on set right now. The bad news is he's heading to Beicheng this afternoon for a gig. I calculated it—he's only got about five hours in Jiangcheng."
Hearing this, Xia Yan's heart leaped. Barely containing her excitement, she wished she could sprint to the set right then. Watching someone on TV was never as satisfying as seeing them in person. She jumped up from her chair, checked the time—just over ten minutes until quitting time—and mulled it over. She called Lin Xujia, remembering she was a fan of Ning Nan, and thought about dragging her along. But her phone was out of service. Oh well, looks like she'd go alone.
As soon as work ended, Xia Yan grabbed her bag, carefully tugged at her collar, and tiptoed out of the office. Whether it was sheer luck or not, from the elevator to the parking lot, she didn't run into a single colleague.
The moment she got in the car, her phone rang again.
It was Li Ru. Without hesitation, she answered, only to hear a burst of giggles on the other end. It went on for a while before Li Ru stopped.
"Done laughing?"
"Can I say I still want to?"
"Then laugh all you want before you talk."
"Xia Yan, where are you? Let's grab dinner?"
"I've got something going on."
"Oh, okay. Next time then. I was going to grill you for details. Since you're busy, I'll let you off the hook."
"Yes, yes, thank you for letting me off."
Xia Yan hung up quickly. Before starting the car, she made sure to turn on the navigation. She didn't drive often, and for someone who got lost even on foot, driving was even worse.
She punched in the address Ning Nan had sent and finally hit the road.
By the time she reached the set, Xi Xi was still filming his scene. Ning Nan, in a white shirt, lounged leisurely under a canopy nearby, his assistant handing him a warm water bottle. Even from ten meters away, Xia Yan could see his smug, flirtatious demeanor and rolled her eyes.
The set was off-limits to outsiders, so Ning Nan had his agent bring Xia Yan in. At first, the agent was nervous, dreading the next day's entertainment headlines about Ning Nan casually bringing a woman to the set. But when she saw Xia Yan and realized her connection to Lu Zhengting, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Walking up to Ning Nan, Xia Yan didn't spare him a glance. Her focus was entirely on Xi Xi, who was filming nearby. The more she watched, the more her heart fluttered, and she couldn't help praising him. "Xi Xi really lives up to being a triple-threat—singing, dancing, acting. To achieve so much at such a young age is no small feat. And on top of that, he's so talented..."
Ning Nan took a sip of water and casually remarked, "So you do know how young Xi Xi is."
"Ning Nan, why does that sound so weird? What do you mean 'so you do know'? I've always known, okay?"
"Fine, fine, you've always known. You're the boss, whatever you say is right." Ning Nan grinned. His assistant, watching their dynamic, couldn't hide her gossipy curiosity, while the agent beside them stayed perfectly composed. After all, Ning Nan turned into a pushover the second Lu Zhengting showed up.
Ning Nan had arranged for juice to be prepared for Xia Yan, so she was thoroughly enjoying herself—sipping the refreshing drink, watching her favorite idol act, with a mega-star sitting nearby. That is, until Ning Nan spotted the mark on her neck.
In her excitement, Xia Yan clumsily spilled some juice on her collar. When the assistant handed her a tissue, she forgot about the hidden secret and wiped it, revealing a faint red mark. Ning Nan, the sly fox, caught it immediately and shot her a mischievous grin.
"Looks like last night got pretty intense."
"Intense my foot!" Xia Yan fumed, so annoyed she could punch him.
"Ha ha ha ha..."
The laughter grated on her ears. Without thinking, she grabbed a peeled fruit from the table and shoved it into Ning Nan's mouth to shut him up. Her furious expression screamed "stay away." Ning Nan, stunned by her reaction, noticed the staff glancing over and quickly grabbed a jacket from the chair back to cover her neck.
"It's all your fault! How am I supposed to meet Xi Xi like this?!"
"...Fine, fine, my fault." Ning Nan immediately had his assistant take her to the makeup room for a touch-up.
Before leaving, Xia Yan shot Ning Nan a glare. He just looked innocent, then spotted her phone buzzing on the table. Craning his neck, he saw it was Lu Zhengting calling. A smirk crept across his face as he answered without a shred of guilt.
"Lu Zhengting, not to criticize, but you really need to learn some restraint."
Lu Zhengting had just finished a meeting and called Xia Yan as he left the conference room. Hearing Ning Nan's voice instead, his face darkened. At Ning Nan's words, it turned even darker. "Where's Xia Yan?"
"In the makeup room. You're way too rough—no consideration for a woman's delicate skin..."
"Address."
"You're coming?"
"Yeah." Lu Zhengting returned to his office, loosened his collar, and fumed. Xia Yan not only ignored his calls but dared to go see Ning Nan alone. If he caught her, he'd make sure she paid.
Ning Nan grinned wickedly and rattled off the address.
"You'd better hurry, or Xia Yan might just run off with Xi Xi."
Before Lu Zhengting could respond, Ning Nan hung up. He put down his phone, glanced at his watch, opened a drawer, and eyed a sealed folder inside. After a moment's hesitation, he grabbed the car keys on top.
Xia Yan kept her eyes shut the whole time as the makeup artist worked on her chest. When she opened them, the hickeys on her neck were completely gone, not a trace left—far better than her own clumsy attempts.
As she followed the assistant out of the makeup room and back to the canopy, she immediately spotted the man sitting next to Ning Nan, taking over his spot: Lu Zhengting. Wasn't he in a meeting? What was he doing here? She lowered her gaze and walked over as if nothing was wrong. Luckily, Ning Nan's agent had left at some point, leaving an empty seat. Without a second thought, she sat down, close to Ning Nan and separated from Lu Zhengting by him.
Xia Yan stared intently at Xi Xi, who was still filming, completely ignoring the two handsome men beside her. Among all women, she was probably the best example of making their charm fall flat.
"Keep staring, and your eyes will pop out." Lu Zhengting's voice was cold.
Xia Yan rolled her eyes. "I don't care. Even if they pop out, I'm fine with it."
"I'll have the company cancel Xi Xi's gig right now."
"Lu Zhengting, you're really something." Hands on her hips, Xia Yan glared at his expressionless face, raising her voice.
"..." Ning Nan stayed quiet like a bystander, but he felt like a cookie sandwiched between them. For instance, when Xia Yan stormed up from her chair, she accidentally knocked over her water cup, and the water splashed straight onto Ning Nan's crotch.