Chapter 19 – The Bet

At six in the morning, Xiao Fang’s phone dutifully rang. Xiao Fang unwillingly sat up from the soft, fluffy bed and stared into space for his daily five minutes of zoning out, until the alarm on his phone rang again.

Get up, get dressed, wash up.

Xiao Fang completed the routine like a mindless doll. When it came to the final breakfast stage, he casually toasted two pieces of bread and ate them. He was originally about to leave, but then he glanced at the still-closed door of the master bedroom. Xiao Fang felt he couldn’t leave any bad impression on the big boss, so, Xiao the Virtuous Little Wife Fang tied on his apron again.

He couldn’t let President Fei have a bad breakfast!

After preparing everything, Xiao Fang went downstairs with satisfaction. The driver was already waiting downstairs. Xiao Fang politely said thank you, took one last look at the place he had stayed last night, and then left.

Fei Xiangnan’s biological clock was always punctual. He woke up naturally at seven o’clock and got up with the same tedious routine as usual, until he saw the food on the dining table wrapped in plastic wrap, which made Fei Xiangnan’s heart waver.

Fei Xiangnan walked over. One bowl contained noodles soaked in cold water, another held cooked noodle soup, and the last bowl had a fried sunny-side-up egg and crispy fried bacon.

Underneath it all was a note:

Good morning, President Fei. It is a great regret that I did not see your wise and mighty self before I left. I have prepared breakfast for you here. You just need to heat the soup and the egg in the microwave and you can eat. Enjoy your meal~

This fool.

Fei Xiangnan’s fingertips brushed over the white porcelain bowl. He could almost imagine Xiao Fang with a silly smile after doing all this. A genuinely pleased expression slowly spread across his face.

***

By the time Xiao Fang arrived at the film set, they were almost ready to start shooting. Xiao Fang apologized profusely to the crew members. His humble attitude made it impossible for anyone to be angry with him. Coupled with Xiao Fang’s usual good character, no one said much and they all started working.

Director Hu arranged to film Wen An’an’s scene first, letting Xiao Fang and Zhang Hang get their makeup done.

“That guy yesterday… your boyfriend?” Zhang Hang asked with a casual air, though he already had a good idea in his heart.

Xiao Fang shot him a look. “Don’t make baseless claims without any evidence. I already said, he’s my cousin.”

“Tch, do people go out to eat with their cousins and not come back all night?” Zhang Hang said, even providing an example. “Look, I went out to eat with Xiao Qi and was back by eight.”

Xiao Fang gave him a weary glare. With this kind of person, the more you explained, the more loopholes he would find to exploit.

“Why be so secretive? You, and Xiao Qi yesterday too. You have no idea what his face looked like yesterday, tsk tsk, I’m not kidding,” Zhang Hang couldn’t help but click his tongue as he recalled yesterday’s events.

Xiao Fang didn’t care about anything else, but the protagonist was another matter entirely. After all, this was a major figure whose life and death he was tied to. He couldn’t slack off in the slightest until the protagonist was living a good life. If the protagonist got unhappy for some reason, wouldn’t it be easy for him to crush him?

Xiao Fang looked at him with a tense expression. “Xiao Qi’s in a bad mood? Why? Don’t tell me you provoked him.”

Zhang Hang looked at him with some surprise. “You care a lot about Xiao Qi?”

Xiao Fang gave him a look as if it were a matter of course. “He’s my little brother. Who else would I care about if not him? You?”

Zhang Hang felt as if a mouthful of old blood was stuck in his throat. This man’s attitude towards his former love rival was actually better than his attitude towards him. But the problem was, this former love rival was also his younger brother.

Xiao Fang didn’t want to waste time with him. “Don’t you pride yourself on your high emotional intelligence? What’s wrong with Xiao Qi?”

Zhang Hang gave him a resentful look. “His expression went wrong after he saw that man take you away yesterday.”

Uh…

Xiao Fang fell into a mysterious silence. It couldn’t be, could it? Was this the human condition, always restless for what you can’t have?

“Sigh, I get it. I need to memorize my script. You should stop talking,” Xiao Fang sighed deeply. The protagonist’s thoughts were truly hard to guess.

Zhang Hang, used and then discarded, was left on the side.

He was supposed to be here to dig for gossip, so how did he end up being the one to spill the only gossip he had?

He had wanted to chat with Xiao Fang a little longer, but when he turned his head and saw Xiao Fang’s grave face, Zhang Hang couldn’t bring himself to ask any more questions. It looked… very serious!

This seriousness followed Xiao Fang for almost the entire day. Except for when he was filming, where he was still in character, he was in a daze the rest of the time. Even the dishes Que Jiang made couldn’t wake him up, although he did eat every last bite.

Was Xiao Fang sad? No. He was trying to figure out Xiao Qi’s thoughts as soon as possible. If it was true, he would take the child and go far, far away, absolutely not getting involved in the protagonist’s love story.

“Xiao Fang, have you heard about Director Ruan’s new film looking for actors?” Xiao Fang was sitting in the dressing room removing his makeup when Wen An’an sat down next to him and handed him a cup of coffee.

Recently, her relationship with Xiao Fang had become that of ordinary friends. She would sometimes ask Xiao Fang for advice on acting, treating him like a semi-master.

Xiao Fang filtered through his brain and finally remembered which Director Ruan she was talking about. He was a nationally renowned young director, and a rare Third Gender. The movie he later filmed with Xiao Qi, Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy, propelled his fame to an international level. Xiao Qi also won the Film Emperor award that year because of that movie.

However, Director Ruan had a strange temper, and only the protagonist could meet his requirements.

“Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy?” Xiao Fang calculated the time. It should be this year.

Wen An’an nodded. “The lead has already been confirmed as Xiao Qi. They’re looking for other supporting roles. The auditions are in a few days. Our crew happens to have tomorrow off, so I want to go and try out. This movie needs a lot of actors. If I can get a part, even just showing my face in one of Director Ruan’s movies would be great.”

The usually proud Wen An’an’s attitude became very respectful when she mentioned this Director Ruan.

Of course, Xiao Fang also knew the value of Director Ruan’s movie, but how could he possibly do something like upstaging the protagonist?

Seeing Xiao Fang frown, Wen An’an didn’t understand. “Aren’t you going to give it a try? Getting your face in there is better than filming several dramas like this one. I don’t think you’re someone who wants to act in this kind of traffic-driven drama.” Besides, Xiao Fang had the skills for it.

“Do you think… Xiao Qi will be unhappy?” After worrying all day, Xiao Fang accidentally let his true thoughts slip out.

Wen An’an looked at Xiao Fang as if he were a fool. “Xiao Fang, although I admit you’re more skilled than me, who is Xiao Qi? He won the Film Emperor award at such a young age. You shouldn’t be much of a threat to him.”

This sentence seemed to wake Xiao Fang up. That’s right, how much of a threat could a small supporting actor like him be? If he really got selected, he could even get a close-up look at who the protagonist really liked in his heart.

“Okay, okay. What time are you going tomorrow? Let’s go together.”

Seeing the listless Xiao Fang suddenly perk up, Wen An’an was a little surprised. But she couldn’t pry into other people’s family matters, so she just agreed on a time with Xiao Fang, took her bag, and left.

Early the next morning, Xiao Fang started getting ready at six o’clock again. He cleaned himself up nicely and put on a casual suit before getting into the car.

“Brother Xiao, here, here, a sandwich, just heated up,” Xiao Ma said, rushing up to offer the sandwich he had bought at the bakery that morning, only to be stopped by a merciless iron hand.

“Who knows if the chicken in this kind of sandwich has been properly sanitized? You should eat mine instead,” Que Jiang said, putting the sandwich aside and taking out his exclusive lunchbox. He opened it to reveal steaming hot buns and well-cooked white porridge, sprinkled with a few chopped green onions. It looked extremely appetizing.

Compared to this, Xiao Ma didn’t even have a reason to be angry. The fighting spirit that had just risen in Xiao Ma dissipated at the sight of this.

Xiao Fang skillfully picked up a bun and started eating, while his other hand began to search for information about Director Ruan’s new film.

“Eat. What are you standing there for?” Que Jiang handed a bun to Xiao Ma, who was too stunned to react.

“Wha-what are you doing? Why are you giving this to me? Isn’t it for Brother Xiao?” Xiao Ma said awkwardly. It was too hard to accept his rival suddenly being nice to him.

“I made too much. You’re the type of person who skips breakfast if you can. Don’t let Young Master Xiao learn this kind of eating habit,” Que Jiang scolded, but he still stuffed the bun into Xiao Ma’s hand and picked up the sandwich himself.

Before Xiao Ma could stop him, Que Jiang had already put it in his mouth without so much as a frown.

“Didn’t you say the chicken wasn’t sanitized?” Xiao Ma muttered under his breath.

Que Jiang raised an eyebrow. “Can’t waste it.”

“Oh.” Xiao Ma lowered his head and didn’t say much more, his heart filled with an unusual conflict. In the future, maybe he shouldn’t target this person. He wasn’t a bad person, after all.

Xiao Fang, who was looking at his phone, didn’t notice the interaction between the two. Otherwise, he would have already been poking Xiao Ma with a mischievous grin.

Director Ruan’s casting call this time was very wide-ranging, so it wasn’t just Xiao Fang and Wen An’an who were hopeful. They had arrived relatively early, but the number of people in line still amazed them.

Looking at the hundred or so people in front of them, Xiao Fang felt for the first time that there were really so many actors.

“So many people?” Xiao Fang exclaimed.

Wen An’an had a knowing look on her face. “Yes, and this is still early. A few hundred more people will come later. But Director Ruan is very fast at auditioning people, so we shouldn’t have to wait too long here.”

Xiao Fang nodded, but he didn’t realize just how fast “fast” was. He arrived at eight o’clock, and by nine, the line was already halfway through. By this time, more people had arrived, and some gossip began to drift into Xiao Fang’s ears.

“Isn’t that the nouveau riche Xiao Fang? What’s he doing here? Does he think Director Ruan will like his dirty money?”

“Hmph, some people like to make a fool of themselves. Why should we stop them?”

“With his acting, even my mom can’t stand watching it. He looks just so-so. If it weren’t for his dirty money, how could he survive in this entertainment industry? He can’t compare to his younger brother at all.”

“Exactly. Xiao Qi is so much better looking than him. I’d say, it’s a good thing they don’t have the same mother. You know, Xiao Qi’s mother was a great beauty in her youth.”

…

Xiao Ma, who was standing next to Xiao Fang, was the first to lose his temper and rush over. “Say that again, I dare you!”

The actor who was being confronted saw that the subject of the gossip wasn’t angry, but the dog by his side was barking. Naturally, his attitude wasn’t going to be good. “Who was I talking about? Are you trying to falsely accuse me? Have you no shame?”

Xiao Ma was so angry he was about to jump. Just as he was about to retort, a hand patted his shoulder. Xiao Fang stood in front of him.

“An unfamiliar face,” Xiao Fang said lightly, his tone laced with contempt.

“What do you mean!” The person’s assistant tried to block him but was pushed aside by his hand. Just as he was about to rush forward, a single glance from Que Jiang made him stop in his tracks out of fear.

Xiao Fang let out a cold laugh. “Yes, my money stinks. But at least with this stinky money, I’ve made all you noble people know who I, Xiao Fang, am. And you? What have you relied on to make people know you? That gossipy mouth of yours, or a face that’s not even as good as mine?”

“I rely on my skills! Even if others are not as good, can they be worse than you?” That person was also provoked and blurted out his words. The people who had been boldly talking about Xiao Fang earlier had now all gone into hiding.

Xiao Fang’s smile faded. “Alright, let’s bet on our skills. If I get selected, you will apologize to my face and say you shouldn’t have talked about my mother. On the other hand, if I lose, you can do whatever you want with me.”

“Deal!” That person happened to be unable to swallow this insult, not realizing that he was indirectly admitting to everything he had said. But this was exactly what Xiao Fang wanted.

Xiao Ma looked at Xiao Fang with concern. Why was Brother Xiao competing in skills? Usually, he would just start a fistfight. It’s not like he couldn’t afford the medical bills.

“Why are you competing with him on this?” Wen An’an asked, puzzled, as she just came back from the restroom.

Xiao Fang’s eyes turned icy. “Because he insulted my mother with his filthy mouth.” So he had to crush him fair and square!