SABA Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Chapter 49: “But this way, he’ll be a little happier…”

Jiang Tiao has been overwhelmed recently, trying every possible method, but found that Huo Shen couldn’t be appeased!

That day, after eating fish and walnuts for lunch and dinner, Jiang Tiao followed Huo Shen to the high-rise building in the city center where he had lived for the past four years. To show off his modern ways, he used his face to swipe the card and press the floor. Then, he saw Huo Shen swipe another card and illuminate a lower floor as they entered. Huo Shen led Jiang Tiao to the door of the 38th floor and he learned that Huo Shen had bought the floor above and the floor below his own residence for privacy and quiet.

Jiang Tiao couldn’t believe it: “You want me to sleep here?”

Huo Shen set up the facial recognition password for Jiang Tiao. “There’s only one room upstairs.”

Jiang Tiao: “Then why didn’t you let me sleep downstairs when I came before?”

Huo Shen felt that Jiang Tiao was practically shouting “shameless” at him. He “cruelly” threw back a sentence, “Then you can go home and sleep.”

Jiang Tiao watched Huo Shen get on the elevator and go upstairs without a second glance, stamping his feet in anger at the door.

Jiang Tiao tossed and turned downstairs for half the night, finally got up with a mess of hair, and thought indignantly, “Anyway, I have his house password. Does he think I have to sleep downstairs just because he told me to?”

Jiang Tiao hugged his pillow, throwing a tantrum and resorting to all sorts of tricks, and finally fell asleep contentedly back in the master bedroom upstairs. However, when he returned after a two-day business trip, he found that the house had been renovated and two rooms had been created. Jiang Tiao was almost angered to death! What was even more hateful was that Jiang Mingyan, that lunatic, was actually looking for dating prospects for him, which angered him so much that he directly blocked him!

…

There is no concept of clocking in and out for artists. Apart from trainees, Xingyi Media has always adopted a management principle of “work when there’s a schedule, arrange your own time when there isn’t” for its artists. Jiang Tiao is a staunch supporter of this management principle. Except for when they have to leave the company together for an assignment, he has almost never come to the company. Even Luo Xingwen, who is managed by the same agent, has rarely seen him at the company.

One day, Luo Xingwen returned from an advertising shoot and was surprised to find Jiang Tiao, who was always elusive, sitting in the office. He had earphones on, his arms crossed, leaning back in his chair. He was watching something on his tablet, his brow furrowed, looking very serious.

Xingyi Media arranges artist offices based on the agents they belong to. Nie Jin manages six artists. Apart from Jiang Tiao and Luo Xingwen, none of them came to the company today.

As the most popular male star in the company, Luo Xingwen has a small lounge at the end of the office.

As he walked inside, he passed Jiang Tiao’s workstation and saw that Jiang Tiao’s tablet was playing the movie in which Ye Qinghan won the Best Actor award.

Luo Xingwen looked at Jiang Tiao with a strange expression a few times. Before he could say anything, he heard Jiang Tiao speak as if he had eyes in the back of his head.

“Do you know Ye Qinghan? Um… I mean, him as a person.”

Luo Xingwen thought for a moment and replied cautiously, “I’ve met him a few times.”

Jiang Tiao spun his chair around and looked up. “What do you think is the biggest difference between Ye Qinghan and me in terms of first impression?”

Luo Xingwen’s gaze at Jiang Tiao became even stranger. “What are you planning to do?”

Jiang Tiao: “There’s a role, and Ye Qinghan and I are competitors.”

The unexpected answer caught Luo Xingwen off guard. He hadn’t expected Jiang Tiao to be doing something serious. He put away his complicated feelings of watching a dramatic romance, thought seriously about Jiang Tiao’s words, and then reacted, becoming even more speechless.

“You mean you’re going to compete with Ye Qinghan for the same role?”

Jiang Tiao nodded. “The audition is next week.”

“…”

Luo Xingwen didn’t know where Jiang Tiao got his courage from. This was worse than a melodramatic love triangle.

“I only have one suggestion: give up and find other good scripts quickly.”

Jiang Tiao was unconvinced by Luo Xingwen’s discouraging words and was about to argue.

Luo Xingwen raised his hand to stop him, took out his phone, randomly found a video criticizing Jiang Tiao’s acting on “Little Broken Station,” and shoved it in front of Jiang Tiao.

Jiang Tiao: “…”

“Don’t you understand the concept of ‘seeing someone in a new light after three days of separation’!”

Luo Xingwen scoffed, looked at him a few times, and remembered his first question, “Speaking of which, you are indeed more confident than Ye Qinghan.”

“Um…” Jiang Tiao rubbed his chin and began to think seriously.

Luo Xingwen didn’t expect Jiang Tiao to take his criticism seriously. Fearing he would delay Jiang Tiao, he quickly explained, “No way? I was just saying it casually!”

Jiang Tiao rubbed his chin. “I think what you said makes sense.”

Luo Xingwen was speechless. Forget it, as long as he was happy.

Jiang Tiao saw Luo Xingwen open the lounge door. Inside was a small resting room, and it looked like it was used frequently.

Jiang Tiao’s gaze made Luo Xingwen’s eyes twitch. He couldn’t help himself and turned back, “What’s with that look?”

Jiang Tiao: “I just didn’t expect that there are people in this world who treat their company like home.”

Jiang Tiao’s words didn’t sound like they were meant as a compliment. Luo Xingwen felt mocked and was about to retort when he heard Jiang Tiao ask seriously, “Why do you like staying at the company?”

Luo Xingwen was slightly stunned. Why did he like staying at the company? At first, it seemed to be because he had no money, and the security at his place was not good, with paparazzi always following him. Later, it was because he got used to it; there was nowhere else to go anyway.

“If life is unsatisfactory, you can only pour your emotions into work. What other reason could there be for staying at the company? You just don’t want to go home.”

Jiang Tiao’s mouth turned down slightly. Huo Shen had been going back very late recently. He could hardly find him until it was time to sleep.

Jiang Tiao’s low mood was too obvious. Even Luo Xingwen, who usually didn’t like to meddle, couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Tiao: “Ah?”

Luo Xingwen: “Before Sister Jin had to schedule meetings with you online. Why have you also started spending time at the company recently?”

Unable to see Huo Shen, going back was meaningless. He also didn’t want to go home because Jiang Mingyan was there. Going out for a stroll was easily recognized, causing a commotion. Jiang Tiao sighed, having to admit that Luo Xingwen was right, “If life is unsatisfactory, you can only pour your emotions into work.”

Luo Xingwen opened his mouth, intending to offer some comfort according to social etiquette. However, he realized that most of the encouraging platitudes he had accumulated over the years had already been given to himself, whose life had always been unsatisfactory, leaving none to spare for others. After a moment of silence, he spoke the truth, “It’s okay. Based on my experience, when things are unsatisfactory for a long time, you’ll gradually get used to it. And luck is conserved. If life is unsatisfactory for a long time, your career will usually rebound…” Luo Xingwen paused, “But not necessarily. It still depends on your own efforts, because the two are unrelated.”

“I really thank you. You’d better not speak anymore.”

Not a single word he wanted to hear!

Jiang Tiao sometimes didn’t understand. Based on the occasional words Chu Yanhao let slip back then, his first love should have been someone who could live each day fully and happily, enjoy every little thing in life, be full of hope for the future, and shine brightly on the path to their dreams.

Was this describing Luo Xingwen?

Or does love make people blind? Is beauty in the eye of the beholder?

But could blindness be this blind? What’s the difference between that and being blind?!

Jiang Tiao sighed, “Have you eaten?”

Luo Xingwen: “Not yet. I was planning to order delivery. Do you need a recommendation?”

Jiang Tiao: “I’ve already ordered, but I ordered a bit too much. Want to eat together?”

Luo Xingwen did not refuse.

Jiang Tiao brought back a large thermal insulated takeout bag from the front desk. The packaging was exquisite, even containing a purple clay pot and ceramic plates.

However, Luo Xingwen’s admiration ended when Jiang Tiao opened each dish one by one.

Walnut stewed carp, walnut stir-fried diced chicken, walnut and gastrodia soup… and walnut and longan tea.

Luo Xingwen, rarely losing his composure, looked at Jiang Tiao, who was happily taking pictures, in disbelief. “May I interview you? Do you have a fetish for walnuts?”

Jiang Tiao took a few pictures but wasn’t satisfied. He used his chopsticks to move the walnuts in each dish to more prominent positions, took a few more pictures, and then sent them to Huo Shen.

He saw Huo Shen’s reply, and the corners of his eyes curved. After sitting down, he reread the messages on his phone a few times before turning his attention back to Luo Xingwen, “No, my friend thinks I should eat more walnuts to supplement my brain.”

There were too many points to criticize in this sentence, so Luo Xingwen didn’t know where to start. “So you also think you need to supplement your brain?”

Luo Xingwen was afraid Jiang Tiao would happily nod and say, “Yes!”

If that happened, he would really suggest that Nie Jin take Jiang Tiao to see a doctor for his brain as soon as possible.

“Of course not. If eating walnuts were useful, wouldn’t everyone who grows walnuts become Einstein?” Jiang Tiao rolled his eyes at Luo Xingwen’s look of a madman. Then, he softened his expression, smiling happily, “But this way, he’ll be a little happier.”

Luo Xingwen: “………”

He finally understood that he was the only one in this office who was unsatisfied.

…

On the day of the audition, Nie Jin specifically cleared her other schedules and accompanied Jiang Tiao to the scene personally. It wasn’t that she had great confidence in Jiang Tiao. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Her main purpose was to worry about Jiang Tiao being bullied, prevent Jiang Tiao from getting into conflicts with others, and see if there were any other opportunities she could fight for him.

Yes, although Nie Jin didn’t say it directly, deep down she didn’t believe Jiang Tiao could win against Ye Qinghan. However, she wouldn’t lose without a fight, and it wasn’t good to dampen Jiang Tiao’s enthusiasm, especially since Jiang Tiao seemed quite confident.

Jiang Tiao was indeed quite confident. He never really understood why everyone was so sure that Ye Qinghan would win against him. In his opinion, Ye Qinghan was just average, and he didn’t think he was much worse than him – although saying this would surely be met with criticism. Moreover, he had been studying the character Zhao Heng for several months, writing tens of thousands of words for the character’s biography alone. Sometimes, he could almost touch Zhao Heng’s soul with his eyes closed. To him, Zhao Heng was no longer just a role but a living person. He dared to say that besides the editor and director, no one understood Zhao Heng better than he did.

However, the scene’s grandeur far exceeded Jiang Tiao’s expectations. He thought that when Guan Qing said “audition together,” it meant him and Ye Qinghan. He didn’t expect “together” to include so many people.

Nie Jin: “According to the crew, this audition is intended to finalize all important roles that are not yet confirmed or are controversial. Investors, producers, and the director are all present. Guan Qing also invited many other directors, saying they were there to help him screen, but actually, everyone knows he wants to give more opportunities to be seen by those good actors who have acting skills but lack opportunities.”

No wonder Huo Shen admired Guan Qing. Hearing Nie Jin’s words, Jiang Tiao felt a mix of emotions. On one hand, he felt that Guan Qing was indeed admirable. On the other hand, he felt inexplicably uneasy.

“There are quite a few famous directors among them. No matter what, you need to perform well!” Nie Jin said halfway through, and finding Jiang Tiao distracted, she became furious, “What are you thinking about?”

“Oh, I was thinking about when Ye Qinghan would arrive,” Jiang Tiao casually made an excuse. However, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw a van stop across the street.

Chu Xu and Ye Qinghan got out of the van one after another.

As expected, you can’t say someone’s name during the day without them appearing at night.