Chapter 5 – The New Assistant

After a morning of filming, Xiao Fang was eating the bento box Xiao Ma had just bought for everyone in the dressing room at noon. The others came in later, and when they did, they all politely greeted Xiao Fang. The director’s gaze towards Xiao Fang had changed significantly since the morning. In his eyes, Xiao Fang was now a talent.

However, Wen An’an’s expression had been sour ever since she saw Xiao Fang, and her hostility towards him was even stronger than in the morning.

Xiao Fang wasn’t an idiot; he naturally knew what was going on. But he wasn’t about to get into a fight with such a young girl, so he once again pretended not to notice.

“Director, I want to reshoot my scenes from this morning.” Wen An’an hadn’t even touched the bento box on the table, only drinking the meal replacement powder her assistant had prepared for her.

The director was stunned and asked, confused, “An’an, weren’t your takes from this morning great? Why do you want to reshoot?”

It would be such a waste of time. However, the director was mindful of Wen An’an’s status and didn’t say this out loud.

If Wen An’an had heard such words before, she would have smiled smugly. But now, they sounded like a form of mockery. Was this level considered good? Or was she only worth this level?

“Director Hu, if you want this drama to be a hit, you have to be willing to waste this little bit of time. The directors I’ve worked with before were much stricter. They wouldn’t just give someone a pass on the first take without a second thought.” As she said this, Wen An’an subconsciously glanced at Xiao Fang. Although she lacked confidence, she was still unwilling to concede.

Xiao Fang calmly took a sip of water and continued to chew on his dried radish. Mm, not bad, sweet.

Wen An’an gritted her teeth in frustration.

“Well,” Director Hu hesitated, feeling a bit awkward. Wen An’an was really not good with words. Wasn’t she basically saying he had problems with his directing ability? But…

“Then let’s shoot a few more scenes. After all, quality is the most important thing,” the director said, trying not to offend either side.

“Oh, by the way, you don’t need to prepare a bento box for me anymore. As an actor, managing one’s figure is a basic requirement. This food has so many calories, and who knows if the oil is even clean. I’ll just have meal replacement powder from now on.” It was obvious who these words were meant to belittle.

Xiao Fang was speechless. Where did this girl get so much energy to mock others? It was as if she had never eaten gutter oil in her life. He, a pregnant man, wasn’t even this delicate.

Xiao Ma, sitting on the side, could barely contain himself. You have to consider the dog’s master before you hit it! He had never been so insulted before.

“Uh, An’an, why don’t you go rest for a bit after you finish eating? We’ll reset the scene right away.” Director Hu stepped in, trying to mediate, and received a cold snort from Wen An’an.

She refused to believe that Xiao Fang could keep up this act even after being provoked like this!

Knock, knock, knock! Suddenly, a knock on the door broke the awkwardness in the room. The director immediately stood up to open it, not even needing to call for an assistant.

“Uh, who are you looking for?” Director Hu opened the door to see a man nearly 1.9 meters tall standing in front of him. He had an upright posture, was dressed in a formal black suit, and had ordinary features, but he exuded an aura that was impossible to ignore. His eyes, in particular, were intimidating.

The man’s gaze fell on Director Hu, who didn’t even dare to make a sound.

“I’m looking for Young Master Xiao.”

Director Hu’s face was stiff for a long time. It was only when he heard Xiao Fang’s name that he seemed to grab onto a lifeline and moved aside. “Oh, oh, looking for Young Master Xiao, are you? Please, come in, come in.”

The man nodded politely and walked into the dressing room from the space Director Hu had cleared. It might have been an illusion, but the originally spacious room suddenly felt exceptionally cramped with his arrival.

Xiao Fang turned to look. Without even asking, he had a vague idea of who this person was.

“Young Master Xiao, this is your lunch. I apologize for being late. From now on, please refrain from eating these bento boxes.” The man looked at the half-eaten bento box in front of Xiao Fang, a flicker of what looked like fear on his face. He placed the exquisite six-tiered black lunchbox on the table, and Xiao Fang suddenly felt that his own bento box looked incredibly pathetic.

“Uh, uh, I’ve already started eating today. Why don’t you eat this first, and we can talk about it tomorrow,” Xiao Fang tried to negotiate.

The man didn’t say a word. He took out the latest model phone from his pocket, dialed a number, and held it in front of Xiao Fang.

Faced with the man’s powerful presence, Xiao Fang didn’t dare to refuse. He timidly took the phone and held it to his ear.

After a busy tone, the call connected.

“You dare not eat?” A familiar voice, a familiar threat, a familiar… proximity to death.

With so many people watching, Xiao Fang, in order to preserve his hard-won dignity, forced himself to remain calm. “Ah, Old Zhang, I told you not to be so polite. What are you doing? You even sent someone to deliver it.”

“…What act are you putting on?” Fei Xiangnan was a little confused.

“Aiya, the food here isn’t bad at all, it’s quite good. I know, I’ll definitely go play golf with you next time. I really want to see your skills again!”

“Heh, haven’t you seen them already? What, you want another round?” So you want to act? Then I’ll play along.

“Cough, cough, cough, cough!” Xiao Fang couldn’t help but cough, using it to cover his embarrassment.

“Old Zhang, you’re really good at joking. If you’ve sprained your ankle, you should rest more. Don’t work so hard. Let’s just go out for a meal next time, my treat.” Xiao Fang desperately tried to signal that he had no such intentions.

Another voice came from the other end of the line. Fei Xiangnan looked at the manager who was notifying him of a meeting, nodded, and waved for him to leave first.

“Hmph! I have a meeting later, so I’ll spare you. This is your new assistant, Que Jiang. Karate 10th dan black belt. You’d better think twice.”

“Ah, okay, okay, thank you for sending me an assistant, Old Zhang. You go get busy then, goodbye.” The line had already been disconnected.

This time, Xiao Fang wasn’t acting. His legs were really trembling. That damned villain! Who sends an assistant with such a high level of martial arts skill!

Que Jiang took back the phone and quickly and orderly began to take out the food from the six-tiered lunchbox. There were three types of nourishing soups—for blood, for qi, for the brain… Then there were some mild dishes, without a single speck of oil, let alone chili.

But it smelled incredibly fragrant. Unlike the aroma of takeout, this was a richer, more mellow scent. There was a difference between chicken soup that had been simmered for twelve hours and a stir-fry that had been cooked for twelve minutes.

Everyone else in the room stared over.

“Uh, a good friend of mine has a bit of a cold recently. He was worried, so he sent an assistant over. I can’t eat this much by myself, so let’s all eat together,” Xiao Fang said. It wasn’t just politeness; he really couldn’t eat this much.

This time, Que Jiang didn’t stop him. He took a step back, minimizing his presence. Everyone was polite for a moment, then swarmed over.

Que Jiang looked at his nominal President’s Spouse. He didn’t seem as arrogant and domineering as the files described. He had been on a mission before and couldn’t go with President Fei to catch the person. The next day, the position of President’s Spouse had changed. His methods were not simple.

Que Jiang was very sensitive to danger. He felt a hostile gaze on him and looked over. A cute-looking boy was glaring at him. When their eyes met, the boy huffed and turned his head away, pretending nothing had happened.

What was that about? He shouldn’t have offended him, right?

“Tch, what an act.” A discordant voice broke the harmonious atmosphere. It was obvious from the earlier scene who had more power, Xiao Fang or her. Her assistant could only make her a cup of meal replacement powder, but someone else’s assistant could produce a six-tiered high-end lunchbox, and he clearly wasn’t an ordinary assistant.

Why did some people act better than her and have a higher status? She had worked so hard since she was a child. How could she be trampled under the feet of a little young master like this?

Anyway, she had said it. With Xiao Fang’s personality, he wouldn’t retort.

“Watch your words.” A cold voice came from behind. Wen An’an’s body stiffened. She could clearly feel the killing intent from behind her.

Wen An’an saw that Xiao Fang was about to say something. As if seizing a stepping stone, she let out a piercingly sarcastic sound. “Xiao Fang, is this how your assistant behaves? Is this how you teach your assistant?”

At this, Xiao Fang swallowed the words he was about to say. Since someone didn’t want to behave like a human, why should he teach them how?

“Wen An’an, don’t mistake my good temper for weakness. My patience has its limits. Do you need someone else to teach you how to be a person?” This was the first time Xiao Fang had spoken to Wen An’an, and it was the most impolite thing he had ever said.

Xiao Fang’s eyes seemed to be filled with ice, and his face was unusually stern.

Some people aren’t sick cats; they just don’t want to bother with you.

Wen An’an wanted to say something, but the words were stuck in her throat. She naturally knew that this was all her own unreasonable tantrum, but it was just her own unwillingness to accept things.

“Apologize,” the man behind her said. It was like a command, an absolute disparity in strength controlling Wen An’an.

Wen An’an stood up wretchedly, looked at the cold-faced Que Jiang behind her, and then at the crowd of people in the room watching her. The shame was like a branding iron searing her heart.

Wen An’an struggled to open her mouth and squeezed out two words from her throat, “I’m… sorry.”

After saying that, she pushed aside Que Jiang, who was standing in front of her, and rushed out.

This commotion quieted the entire dressing room. Director Hu held his rice bowl, not knowing what to say.

“Young girls are always a bit emotional. Let’s eat, everyone,” the first person to break the silence was surprisingly Xiao Fang. Now, no one dared to look down on Xiao Fang.

This man was far from simple on the surface.

Zhang Hang, holding his chicken soup, flashed a smile.

After eating, everyone went to prepare for the afternoon scene, leaving only Xiao Fang resting in the dressing room. Xiao Fang deliberately sent Xiao Ma away to buy daily necessities.

The moment everyone was gone, Xiao Fang immediately took out his phone and started editing a text message, his anxious look making it seem like he was trying to save his own pathetic life.

The message read:

President Fei, the director was here just now. I said that on purpose so as not to reveal your identity. You must believe me! My loyalty to you is as clear as the sun and moon!

After clicking send, Xiao Fang finally let his heart, which had been in his throat, settle back down. He looked at Que Jiang, who was standing on the side.

“Brother Que, sit, sit. You must be tired from standing for so long.”

Que Jiang’s eyelid couldn’t help but twitch. Why had this person’s style changed so drastically? Was he the President’s Spouse, or was Que Jiang?