Chapter 22: 22

Chapter 22: The Love Rivals

　　Thanks to the Film King winning a meal through his live stream the last time, Lin Ning had a way to get into contact with him. He got a reply the moment he sent a friend request.

　　His profile picture wasn’t that of his handsome but a photo of a dandelion. It was probably an artist’s impression of the plant, though. This flower was drawn blooming proud and tall by a sidewalk, a busy city bustling behind it.

　　A message came quickly from the other side.

　　Zhang Yiming: Lin Ning?

　　Lin Ning replied: That’s me. 

　　Zhang Yiming: You probably want to talk about yesterday night.

　　Lin Ning: Yes, Mr. Zhang. I don’t think allowing this situation to go on will benefit either of us. We need to do something about it.

　　Zhang Yiming: Good thing I’m still at the capital planet. You should be here too, right? If you’re free, come over to my place. We’ll go into the details there.

　　Lin Ning was impressed. But… going to the Film King’s place? Actually, if he thought about it, as an A-list celebrity known all over the galaxy, Zhang Yiming must’ve had a lot of paparazzi on his tail, so avoiding leaving his house as much as possible must’ve been a necessity. He figured he’d comply as a way of thanking all of the actor’s crazy Rewarding.

　　Lin Ning: Sure.

　　Zhang Yiming smiled at his tablet, satisfied. He drew in a deep breath. The thick scent of food in the air was enough to drive a person crazy. Around him were a few photon tablets playing different Lemon Kitchen streams — boiled fish, mushroom and stewed pork Bao, crystal shrimp dumplings, hot pots of all kinds of soup bases…

　　The manager looked sourly at the unopened Nutrient Dose lying on the tableside. Zhang Yiming was never the same ever since the day he drove out to run an errand alone. The one time the manager was occupied, this happened! The punk bought dunno-how-many photon tablets on a whim just to play these food videos! Of course, he had to admit that the food was addicting, but it wasn’t right for Yiming to pick virtual tasting over real eating and drinking. The actor was willing to pay anything to buy Lemon Kitchen’s food, and he dished out Rewards without fail. He had sold his soul to the devil. 

　　The manager sighed, rising to keep the Nutrient Dose on the table.

　　“Don’t move.” Zhang Yiming sat with one leg crossed over the other on the sofa, smiling at him meaningfully. His face was icy white, which paired nicely with those stabbing, pale eyes. With a smile that faded at the corners of his mouth, he looked like an otherworldly, ghostly prince, which gave the manager goosebumps.   

　　Not too long ago, Zhang Yiming was cast as a cold-blooded tycoon in one of his movies. He won so many awards through the role that his arms could barely hold them all up. When the manager saw that same smile on him now, his legs almost gave out. In the film, Zhang Yiming only ever let out that smile when he was about to make a ruthless move, his victims doomed to a horrible fate. Watching him act from the sidelines alone was enough to leave the manager haunted.

　　“A-alright.” The manager silently shrunk backward, holding in a whimper. To be honest, reality was that Zhang Yiming could be considered a tycoon himself, too. His house was huge, his career was stellar, he was a large shareholder of Midsummer Entertainment, and was the youngest uncle of CEO Rong’s precious daughter, the younger brother of the Midsummer boss’ wife. The industries his family was involved in had influence all over the galaxy, too. This man was a tempest — all the managers who dealt with him were just scraps in the face of the actor’s overbearing shadow. The manager’s job itself was pretty useless… Even his salary was controlled by the tycoon.  

　　Ugh… He was an A-list, golden manager every entertainment company wished they had, but now, under Zhang Yiming, he was about as useful as a water dispenser — because refilling the actor’s water bottle was literally all he did.

　　“Oh, right. I’ve got a guest coming over. Get the home robot to clean this place up,” Zhang Yiming instructed.

　　“Alright. Any specific time?” He may have been curious about who this guest was, but the manager knew that his actor — uh, no — his boss didn’t like it when he asked questions. This was a lesson he learned the hard way. 

　　Zhang Yiming tapped on the table’s surface with his finger, a shadow draping over his eyes. The light reflected from the photon tablet dusted over his snow-white skin. His fingers flew nimbly over the tablet, his thin lips parting slightly. “Tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be greeting him personally.”

　　The manager nodded. Time to leave. But, suddenly, a phone rang.

　　“Who is it?” the Film King asked flatly.

　　“It’s Director Lu from our company. He probably wants to talk to you about the variety show… you know, “The Path of Food”. They’ve been postponing its shooting for so long, and Director Lu has always been trying to push it forward…” The manager adjusted his glasses.

　　“Wasn’t this a program Midsummer wanted a few years ago…?” The man leaned back, propping his long legs on the table.

　　“Yeah, they even had a contract signed with that Lin Ning people used to talk about back when he was popular. They wanted him to be a special guest for the P of Food, but the idea fizzled out, and Lin Ning got himself ruined. When it rains, it pours, you know? Director Lu’s the only one who still can’t let go,” the manager explained.

　　“The Path of Food’, huh? Interesting…” Zhang Yiming listened on as if he’d heard some good news, covering his mouth with one hand. He chuckled. The manager’s heart skipped a beat.

　　“Give me the phone. This show doesn’t look half bad.” Zhang Yiming put his hand out, gesturing at him.

　　“Huh???”

　　Weren’t you one of the people who crushed the show down till it lost all production value?

 

*

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　　Lin Ning placed the plants he’d been growing into a delivery box carefully with a plan to have them delivered to the National Plant Breeding Center anonymously. He heard that the research center reached a dead end in their plant research and hadn’t had much luck beyond that for a few years. Lin Ning picked a few of his pots to send off.

　　His plant powers were growing rapidly. If he could do a mini Jukai Kotan, he figured, that’d be considered a small achievement since Faith could be transferred into powers. But he was at a really awkward point with his Faith. Sure, the livestreams were working wonders with his Faith, but the amount of hate and dirt on him brewing online was making it decrease, too.

　　He had to get rid of Jiang Feng quickly.

　　Lin Ning’s heart did somersaults the moment he spotted the skinny sportscar outside his block the next day. The man inside wore sunglasses, his face elegantly expressionless as he sent him a message.

　　Lin Ning grabbed his cat and the lunchboxes. He practically flew down the stairs, sliding into the car as if the seat was greased. 

　　Zhang Yiming followed in soon after, then signaled the driver to start driving.

　　“I could make my way there on my own… Why’d you pick me up?” Lin Ning let the kitty nestle on his lap, handing over the meal the man requested from him.

　　“I mean, we’ll be working together from now on after all, so I didn’t want to give you the cold shoulder. Oh, right, what did you bring?” Zhang Yiming took his sunglasses off slowly, his warm, refined phoenix eyes coming into view. That half-smile that faded at the corners of his lips was gentle. His gaze shifted to the cat sitting on Lin Ning’s lap. His phoenix eyes narrowed.

　　He passed Lin Ning a little pet booster seat with a soft little pillow inside. It looked comfortable.

　　Lin Ning pulled the kitty up, trying to put it inside. The kitty hooked its claws onto Lin Ning’s pants, meowing in protest as it glared at Zhang Yiming. 

　　“Oh… There’re some soup dumplings, glutinous rice balls, water-boiled sliced beef, steamed bass, braised pork ribs, deep-fried pork, strawberry cake, drinks- Hey, Xizai! Stop that…!” The kitty flailed wildly, glaring cautiously at Zhang Yiming’s smile. Lin Ning pulled the kitty back to his chest and cooed, “Fine, fine, fine. We won’t sit on the booster, ‘kay? Just lie on my lap, you tiny, high-maintenance god…”

　　The driver couldn’t care less about the shock of seeing the Film King invite a young, handsome man to his house anymore. Now that shock had been overtaken by that unbelievably amazing smell wafting in the air. That young man dropped a whole chain of names, and they all sounded delicious…

　　Twenty minutes later, Lin Ning sat carrying his cat in a super luxurious mansion in the heart of the city, ending his exchange with Zhang Yiming.

　　“So, as long as I make you food every week, you’ll clear my name?” Lin Ning pet the kitty’s long, soft fur, looking out the window.

　　“I can give you more than that. Clearing your name once won’t change much considering how you fell in the entertainment industry. If you want to completely get rid of your bad reputation, you’ve got to start over to prove yourself.” Zhang Yiming gracefully sliced a piece of the strawberry cake placed in front of him, calmly putting it into his mouth.

　　Lin Ning tilted his head. It was like watching one of those elite men from his time eating steak and drinking wine. But if you switch that with cake and watermelon juice, he looked kind of adorable. He straightened his face, coughing lightly. “You want me to be an idol again?”

　　Zhang Yiming shook his head lightly, that pair of aristocratic, reserved eyes watching Lin Ning. His voice was deep and melodious, like a cello. “You’re doing a great job making cooking livestreams. You’re the only person in the universe with this job, too, so your future’s infinite. It doesn’t matter if you start an industry or become a streaming millionaire. Everything’s in the palm of your hands, so there’s no need for you to bend over backwards rejoining the entertainment circle. As long as you keep yourself like a paradox and appear on variety shows occasionally, your popularity will rise. If you pour out everything you’ve been suppressing for the past few years while this happens, won’t Jiang Feng finally get the punishment he deserves?”

　　“…How did you know that?” Lin Ning stopped petting the cat.

　　“There’s no such thing as an indestructible wall. Everyone in the business has heard, even if just a little, about Fei Hao Entertainment and what Jiang Feng’s really like.” Zhang Yiming stood up and walked towards Lin Ning. He reached his hand out, lightly touching Lin Ning’s neck. “You were alone before. No one spoke up for you, and that’s normal in the industry. The people in this place… They’d smile and make toasts to you even if they know you’re the devil itself.”

　　“I’ve heard your music. You actually sounded pretty good. It’s such a pity your voice is a little rough now…”

　　The warmth on his neck felt weird. Just as Lin Ning tried to scoot away, a claw flashed in front of him. The kitty in his arms slapped Zhang Yiming’s hand.

　　Zhang Yiming wasn’t bothered, though. His ‘warm’ gaze met the cat’s guarded eyes. Electricity crackled in the air.

 

The author has something to say:

Xizai: Why are there more and more men surrounding Lin Ning? (face darkens)

**A little play**

Lin Ning: Xizai, I bought you a little pair of pants. Wanna try it on?

Xizai: ……

Lin Ning: If you don’t wear it that means you’re running around naked, you know~

Xizai: (Quietly puts on the little pair of pants)

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