Chapter 22 - Fragrance

“I’ve never seen anyone like him before.”

“His smile is… dazzling.” Despite sitting on the most relaxing chair, the man was sitting with a straight back and every b.u.t.ton of his shirt was tightly b.u.t.toned.

This was the first time Dr Sun had seen such brilliance in the other person’s eyes. As a doctor, he was both worried and happy. Among his past patients, there were people who met their salvation, gradually becoming happy and finding the hope to live. However, no one was born to save others. Once their salvation left, many patients became worse, jumping into the abyss with no turning back.

Yan Ting spoke only a few words before becoming quiet again. This was already the most he had ever said. Dr Sun wanted to take the opportunity to establish a conversation with him and praised, “He must be a very good person.”

“He loves to laugh.” Yan Ting was silent for a moment. “He loves to nag.”

“Is he nagging you?” Dr Sun sat casually. He wanted the patient to forget his doctor’s ident.i.ty and open his heart to talk to Doctor Sun.

Yan Ting was silent again before looking at his wrist and standing up. “The time is up.”

“Sir.” Dr Sun followed and didn’t stop him from leaving. Instead, he said, “If you want to talk to me about your friend in the future, I can be your loyal listener.”

Yan Ting raised his eyelids to look at the other person. “In order to let you a.n.a.lyze his character and mentality?”

Dr Sun smiled and explained, “Sir, I’m just an audience member.”

Yan Ting opened the door and went out, waiting for the bodyguards to gather around.

“Go to Jinhe Plaza.”

Jinhe Plaza was as bright as the day. Under the stage, fans were holding lights. The crew of Overbearing Female President were preparing backstage. The lead actress and third male lead weren’t present but everyone seemed to have forgotten the existence of these two people. No one mentioned them from beginning to end.

“Li Zhao.” Song Yu moved aggressively towards Li Zhao when Director Liu rushed up and stopped Song Yu, “Teacher Song, if you have something to say, leave it to later. We are going on the stage.”

Don’t make a problem at this time. It was already known outside that the male and female leads didn’t agree with each other. If there was a situation with the male and second male leads then his old heart wouldn’t be able to stand it.

“Director Liu is very fast today,” Song Yu sneered. Previously, he used to make things difficult for Li Zhao and he never saw a reaction from the crew.

Director Liu’s smile was a bit awkward but he didn’t let Song Yu get close to Li Zhao. “It is all for our crew.”

In the past, he allowed Li Zhao to be bullied because he knew that the actor arranged by his employer couldn’t be offended. Now he couldn’t let Song Yu bully Li Zhao because he knew that Li Zhao was the most popular actor in the crew. It was only when Li Zhao cooperated that the publicity would show a benefit.

He was a director who judged the situation and didn’t think he was wrong.

“Brother Song, are you looking for me for something?” Li Zhao didn’t realize Director Liu’s good intentions. Not only did he not avoid Song Yu, he even took the initiative to step to Song Yu’s side. “Do you want to invite me to eat late at night?”

“Eat a fart. Why is it that you think of nothing but eating!” Song Yu pa.s.sed aide Director Liu and sat next to Li Zhao, tone stiff. “I heard you signed with Strawberry Entertainment?”

The rest of the room heard the words Strawberry Entertaining and p.r.i.c.ked their ears. Several other actors couldn’t hold back from feeling envy.

“Yes.” Li Zhao nodded.

Song Yu’s face changed and he finally spoke in a choked-up voice, “You really have some ability. You actually went to catch the road of Strawberry Entertainment?”

“No, they contacted me. I saw that the conditions were very good and signed with them.”

Song Yu, “……”

The others in the room, “……”

They were forced to stay in place and had nothing to say. It was probably due to Li Zhao’s words but Song Yu didn’t speak again until the stage. Later in the interactive session, the host mentioned the friendship between Li Zhao and Song Yu. Song Yu smiled coldly in his heart. He and Li Zhao had a ridiculous friendship.

“We all know that Zhao Zhao and Xiao Yu are love enemies in the drama but you are good friends in real life. Do you know if there will be another chance to cooperate?”

Song Yu glanced at Li Zhao. He didn’t want to cooperate with Li Zhao in his life. He was afraid his heart wasn’t good.

Li Zhao smiled. “Brother Song has always taken care of me. I hope there will be opportunities to cooperate in the future.”

This would save him money on late-night snacks.

Song Yu, “……”

No, he didn’t want to!

Unfortunately, ideals were full but reality was skinny. The next morning, he woke up from his sleep and Song Yu received a message from his agent. He had received a role in a big investment historical drama.

“I wanted to help you get a higher role but unfortunately, the other team is better and he is in front of you.” The agent on the other end of the mobile phone said, “If you play this role well, you can take off your bad name.”

“Who fought against me for the role?” Song Yu was a bit upset.

“Li Zhao’s team.” The agent rea.s.sured him. “There is no way, Strawberry Entertainment’s PR team is too strong and we can’t compete. However, your role is brilliant. If you act well then you might be able to pressure Li Zhao.”

“You are thinking too much.” Song Yu lay back on his bed with no energy. He changed Li Zhao’s role from the foreknowledge dream and Li Zhao could become popular, let alone this well-made historical drama.

Life, this was life.

Compared to the lifeless Song Yu, Li Zhao was very happy. He seemed to see a better future of b.u.mming food. Then he thought about how he won an important role without auditioning and asked Luo Rong, an executive agent of Strawberry Entertainment. “Brother Luo, there is no audition?”

“The company sent your profile to the crew and the crew is very satisfied with you. You can enter the crew at ease.” Luo Rong had been serving as Li Zhao’s executive agent for a few days. He was different from Zhang Xiaoyuan in terms of work content and knew more about the company’s internal resources.

“Our company is one of the investors of Sky Song. After filming, it might be broadcasted on a national station. Your acting is very good so don’t feel too much pressure.” Luo Rong spoke flatly like it was really easy to get this role. “It doesn’t matter even if this drama finishes. The company has an ancient xianxia drama in three months. I’ll help you get the first male lead to ensure your subsequent popularity.”

At Strawberry Entertainment, Li Zhao finally realized what it meant by a rich atmosphere and abundant resources. They could take a role in a big historical drama and even give the lead role of an ancient xianxia drama. Was this the happiness of getting married?

Li Zhao ended the call with Luo Rong and opened the Sky Song script, drawing a character understanding map. At noon, the chef helped him prepare a meal. He sat at the table and suddenly thought of Yan Ting working in the company. He took out his phone and sent a message.

Good Luck is Visible: Ting Ting, do you want to eat at noon?

Good Luck is Visible: You just had a cold and shouldn’t eat anything too greasy. If porridge is tasteless then you can eat rice ca.s.serole.

In the office, Yan Ting took the medicine prescribed by the doctor and took the nutritional liquid handed over by a.s.sistant Qin. He was ready to drink it when his phone screen lit up.

“Sir?” a.s.sistant Qin saw Yan Ting place the nutritional liquid next to him and thought his boss wasn’t satisfied with the nutritional liquid. “If you aren’t satisfied with this taste then I can give you a different kind.”

There was a moment of silence before Yan Ting said, “No, prepare a rice ca.s.serole for me.”

“Okay.” a.s.sistant Qin was happy as he arranged for someone to prepare rice ca.s.serole. After making these arrangements, he sighed with relief. Being willing to eat was a good thing, a good thing.

Half an hour later, Li Zhao received a photo from Yan Ting. There was a rice ca.s.serole on the table and it was still steaming.

Yan Ting: Eating.

It was short and direct with the correct punctuation.

Good Luck is Visible: Tomorrow, I will enter a new crew. I will have less time to come back. I will cook in the evening so please eat.

The rice ca.s.serole was very hot. Yan Ting saw Li Zhao’s message and put down his chopsticks.

“Sir?” a.s.sistant Qin saw that Yan Ting stopped after eating two spoons and hurriedly asked, “Is the food from this store not to your appet.i.te?”

Yan Ting quickly wiped the corners of his mouth before standing up and grabbing the coat next to him. “Go home.”

“Okay, Sir.”

It was hard for the car to move through the congested streets. Yan Ting looked at the endless traffic ahead and leaned back against his seat, closing his eyes.

“Sir, there seems to be a car accident in front of us.” a.s.sistant Qin used his phone to check his road conditions. “It will probably take a while for the normal flow to be restored.”

Yan Ting opened his eyes and looked out the window. There was a couple on the sidewalk walking hand in hand in the cold wind. The girl put her cold hand on the boy’s neck. The boy shivered but didn’t push the girl away. They talked and laughed as they walked away slowly.

What was the meaning of being warm when close and hating to separate? He couldn’t understand and didn’t want to understand. Feelings were destined to separate, like the rising sun in the morning was bound to set in the west, making the world a dark place.

The phone screen lit up again.

Good Luck is Visible: Ting Ting, I stewed a soup for you. It’ll be ready when you come back. By the way, can you buy two kilos of oranges on the way back? Oranges taste just right in this season.

The owner of the fruit store was holding the phone and concentrating on watching Overbearing Female President. Business was usually the worst at 2-3 in the afternoon and she usually pa.s.sed the time by watching dramas.

Seeing the male lead bend over to take off the high heels of the female president, she couldn’t help smiling sweetly and didn’t even notice the guests in the store. By the time she raised her head, the other person had come to the counter.

“h.e.l.lo, what fruit would you like to buy?”

“Oranges.”

“We have different varieties of oranges in our store.”

“Okay.”

The owner of the fruit store secretly looked at the visitors and took a breath. f.u.c.k, how was there such a great beauty in this world? At her greeting, the beautiful guest brought several different types of oranges and left. The other person had never changed his expression or said anything but she still felt this man had a story.

Yan Ting carried the bag of oranges and smelled the faint odour of a broth as he walked to Li Zhao’s door.

The door opened slowly and Li Zhao poked out his head. “Ting Ting, why are you back so early? The meal isn’t ready.”

This was the scent of the broth. It wasn’t disgusting and had a light fragrance. He went into the house, put the oranges on the table, took off his coat and placed it on the armrest of the sofa.

“This orange is so sweet.” Li Zhao peeled the orange and put it in his mouth. He chewed it before grabbing another piece and placing it against Yan Ting’s mouth. “Come, you have to taste it.”

Yan Ting looked at the oranges in front of him and could smell the aroma of the orange peels.

This was… the taste of winter?