Shen Tingyan had a busy schedule. He would fly out of the city the next day and wouldn’t come back until three days later.
Xue Xiao packed up his luggage and flew with Dou Mingjian to the capital. It was the city where Shen Tingyan’s studio was located and the place they would regard as their second ‘home’ in the future.
Regarding where to live, Fang Lei gave them two choices.
Both were high-end apartments with excellent security facilities. They were located at the north and south ends of the city. It just depended on what they liked.
Dou Mingjian took Xue Xiao and walked around both areas. He quickly settled on the south one. Xue Xiao chose to ask Shen Tingyan’s opinion on his phone with difficulty.
Shen Tingyan said, “The second one. It is close to me.”
Xue Xiao’s heart moved slightly. He told Brother Dou with a guilty conscience that he would have more opportunities to visit in the future…
Dou Mingjian saw his guilty look and felt as if he had realized something.
In fact, after the celebration party, it might be because he was the one closest to the two of them among the participants, but he had noticed some subtleties.
He smiled dryly and said he would talk about it later. Xue Xiao could go and visit his place when free…
That night, they packed their backs and moved in.
Fang Lei first sent Dou Mingjian to his new apartment, settled him in, and made an appointment to meet at the studio the day after tomorrow to discuss future work. Then he took Xue Xiao to where he lived.
This apartment was in a more low-key location. The two of them went straight to the 22nd floor, the top floor.
One staircase and two apartments.
When Fang Lei opened the door for Xue Xiao, Xue Xiao glanced at the opposite door and asked, “Is there anyone living across from me?”
“Yes.”
“Brother Fang, do you know if they are in the circle or outside the circle?”
Fang Lei opened the door and turned on the light. The beautifully decorated room appeared in front of the two of them.
Fang Lei said calmly, “Hmm… He is a very difficult person to get along with.”
Xue Xiao: “?”
The agent didn’t really answer the question, but Xue Xiao still followed his train of thought and said worriedly, “Then should I wait for him to come back and say hello?”
“Yes, if you want then you always have to say hello. However, forget about tonight. He won’t come back…”
The next day, Xue Xiao turned into a hard-working little bee. He placed all the things he had brought and cleaned the entire apartment. It finally felt like home.
He excitedly took several photos and sent them to his parents, his master, and Ye Xingxing.
Then they replied to him.
His parents: “You look pretty comfortable there.”
Xue Xiao: “Yes. If you and Dad come over in the future, you can live directly with me!”
Zhang Chengyu: “Tsk tsk, it is worthy of Teacher Shen. He is really generous. If you work hard, you might be able to buy a house like this by yourself soon.”
Xue Xiao: [Hard work][Hard work][Hard work].”
Ye Xingxing: “D*mn, I will go to the capital to sign a contract with a company in a month. Then I will come and play with you!”
Xue Xiao: !!! Have you signed with a company?!!”
……
The conversation lasted until the evening.
Xue Xiao was sitting in the living room when he suddenly heard the sound of the door of the opposite apartment opening and closing.
He hurriedly ran over and looked through the peephole.
The neighbor’s door was as closed as it was last night.
…The noise just now should’ve come from the neighbor coming home and opening the door, right?
Xue Xiao hesitated for a moment. Then he went back to get some biscuits he baked during the day. He packed them and started to look at the time.
The neighbor had just returned home and must pack his things to take a rest. If Xue Xiao went over now, it would be too impatient…
Xue Xiao waited and waited. After an hour, he felt that the time was right. He took a deep breath, walked out, and knocked politely on the neighbor’s door.
There were two knocks.
He took Fang Lei’s words to heart.
No matter how weird this neighbor’s personality, he must have a good attitude…
The door in front of him opened.
A wave of heat struck his face first.
Before Xue Xiao had time to put on a smile, he was shocked by the scene in front of him and froze in place.
The neighbor had just finished taking a shower. His black hair was still wet and dripping with water. He smoothed it back with his hand, making it messy and sexy.
He was only wearing a gray-blue bathrobe. The belt around the waist barely hung this sinful clothing on the man’s body, but his chest was already full of spring.
These chest muscles, collarbone, Adam’s apple… it wasn’t known if the man who had just taken a shower was emitting the fragrance of shower gel or… the fragrance of himself that was spread by the heat.
Xue Xiao stared blankly. The only words that popped into his mind were: captivating and charming.
Shen Tingyan wiped his hair with a towel, thinking to himself that this little light bulb was really good at telling the time. He glanced at the biscuit in Xue Xiao’s hand and immediately put down the towel, crossing his arms. “Did you make it yourself?”
“…Yes.”
“Heh. I haven’t even eaten the biscuits you made personally, but you brought them to a ‘neighbor’ you just met?”
Xue Xiao: “…………”
Before getting jealous, why didn’t this neighbor first explain why he came back a day early and lived across from him without telling him?
He complained, “…You and Brother Fang are teasing me together!”
Shen Tingyan’s lips curved up. “Surprised?”
“……” Xue Xiao decided to show off his temper. He turned around and left.
Shen Tingyan hurriedly pulled the person back.
After pulling him through the door, he hugged Xue Xiao’s waist and pushed him against the wall.
Xue Xiao was pretending to be angry. The moment Shen Tingyan hugged him, his face quickly turned red.
Shen Tingyan turned on the air conditioner very high. The temperature in the room was so low that Xue Xiao should have goosebumps as soon as he came in.
But Shen Tingyan’s whole body was so hot that Xue Xiao felt a bit sweaty as soon as the two of them got close.
The nice smell also became stronger.
Shen Tingyan quickly admitted his mistake. “I was wrong. Don’t leave. These biscuits were meant for me? Let me try it.”
Xue Xiao’s cheeks flushed. He watched the man eating the biscuits and whispered, “I already made some for you. I planned to give them to you when I went to pick you up at the airport tomorrow.”
Shen Tingyan said softly in a low voice, “I couldn’t wait to come back, so I worked overtime to finish everything. I really wanted to give you a surprise. I planned to go find you after I took a shower.”
He tasted a small biscuit and said, “It is delicious. Have you made it before?”
“I told you that my mother taught me how to cook since I was a child. Over time, I know how to cook anything.”
Shen Tingyan chuckled and said, “Xiao Xiao is amazing.”
Xue Xiao curled his lips. “You are treating me as a child.”
The two of them looked at each other for a while. Then Shen Tingyan lowered his head to kiss Xue Xiao.
After kissing for a while, Xue Xiao felt that something was wrong.
Shen Tingyan was dressed too criminally now. He smelled really good. Xue Xiao felt that if he kept sinking for one more second, he would be packed up and taken away tonight.
He still had to go see Brother Fang tomorrow to talk about work!
So he used all his willpower to ruthlessly push Shen Tingyan away.
Teacher Shen was very dissatisfied. Xue Xiao kissed his chin and coaxed him. “Let’s wait until the next itinerary is decided…”
Shen Tingyan paused.
The little light bulb took the initiative to send kisses.
Very good. It was very useful.
His mentality calmed down. It was only then that he noticed Xue Xiao was wearing one of the t-shirts Shen Tingyan had originally given to him.
He suddenly laughed and said, “Your little electric fan is in my bedroom.”
Xue Xiao was stunned. “You still have it?”
“Yes.” Shen Tingyan raised an eyebrow. “Could it be that you thought I threw it away?”
Xue Xiao followed Shen Tingyan into this bedroom and took a look. The pink and tender little electric fan was indeed placed on the bedside table.
The indoor air condition was turned on too low. This little electric fan definitely wouldn’t come in handy.
It was too ‘cute’ if called an ornament.
But Shen Tingyan just put it there.
He didn’t know how many nights this little electric fan spent with him.
Xue Xiao was hugged from behind. The man said lazily. “I will give you some more clothes in the future.”
“It has to be the type that I have worn.”
Xue Xiao turned his head sideways. He smiled and looked at Shen Tingyan doubtfully.
Shen Tingyan raised the t-shirt he was wearing in disgust. “That is called a ‘boyfriend shirt’. It isn’t this one at all.”
Xue Xiao laughed.
……
This time, he didn’t use the key Shen Tingyan gave him to enter., Shen Tingyan felt that it was a waste.
HE forced Xue Xiao to go out once and use the key to open the door and enter. Then he recorded Xue Xiao’s fingerprints. Once this ‘ritual’ was completed, his expression became very satisfied.
Xue Xiao felt that his Teacher Shen’s personality was very strange…
The next day, Fang Lei talked to him and Dou Mingjian about work.
Xue Xiao’s meeting time was scheduled for the afternoon.
After Fang Lei sat down at the meeting table, he sighed. “There are so many jobs for you now.”
Studio Superstar was now over, but the popularity that this variety show brought to a large number of participants continued to grow.
Xue Xiao’s Weibo followers had reached almost 20 million.
After growing from more than a hundred fans to this level in two months, this was already considered a top artist in the circle no matter what.
Scripts, variety shows, and advertising endorsements all flew over like snowflakes.
It took Fang Lei a full five days to filter these resources—it was while working overtime!
“Two endorsements have been set. The contract will be signed a few days later, and the advertisement filmed.”
One of the endorsements was for a man’s ready-to-wear series of an affordable luxury brand. Fang Lei told Xue Xiao that this was his entrance to fashion resources and he must take it seriously.
“I have selected some variety shows for you, but this is what I think,” Fang Lei said seriously. “We won’t shy away from being on variety shows, but we also aren’t afraid of you losing your spot on variety shows.”
“Variety shows are a good way to maintain the popularity of artists. It lets the audience see more aspects of you in real life and make more people like you.”
“But variety shows are just an auxiliary path to your career, not the main path. Therefore, we will first select the script, decide on the time of joining the crew, and then decide on a variety show job. What do you think?”
Of course, Xue Xiao had no problem.
He trusted Fang Lei, so he absolutely cooperated with all of Fang Lei’s arrangements.
“As for your filming work, Tingyan probably hasn’t told you yet. He will probably wait until the preparations are almost completed before talking to you. However, I can tell you first that he will probably start filming a movie in the middle of next year, and he wants you to be his protagonist.”
Xue Xiao was stunned.
Fang Lei spread out his hands. “He went to Studio Superstar just to find his ‘protagonist.’ Now that he has found it, there is no doubt that you will be the protagonist.”
Xue Xiao nodded solemnly. “Okay, I understand.”
“As for People on Earth, he originally planned to be the producer himself and then form a more productive science fiction filming team. But later—” Fang Lei coughed lightly and muttered vaguely, “That d*mn possessiveness, cough. In any case, he doesn’t want to let anyone else shoot this movie. So he plans to release it later.”
Xue Xiao blushed.
“What he means is that he will take you to learn filmmaking while filming.” Fang Lei glanced at him. “When your abilities improve, you can make that movie together. The time shouldn’t exceed four years.”
Xue Xiao’s eyes widened. “Make it… together?”
“Yes, he thinks you can do it.” Fang Lei smiled. “After all, it is a story that you created yourself. You should want to present it yourself.”
…Of course, Xue Xiao had thought about it.
It was just at that time, his career as an actor was still in its infancy. Making movies was even further away.
But due to Studio Superstar, due to Shen Tingyan… everything seemed to be a possibility.
Xue Xiao instinctively straightened his back and clenched his fists, his blood boiling.
…He could do it!
……
Shen Tingyan was really serious when thinking about the future of the actors he signed.
On Dou Mingjian’s side, Fang Lei confirmed his thoughts.
Dou Mingjian just wanted to film. He wasn’t interested in things other than filming such as endorsements and variety shows.
This actually had certain risks because this route was too low-key. Once being low-key was too low-key, enthusiasm for the actor might dissipate. He would fall into a situation where no one paid attention to him, and he couldn’t receive a script.
He probably also wouldn’t make much money.
Thus, Dou Mingjian was also a bit uneasy. He planned to express his thoughts. After that, it depended on what Fang Lei and Shen Tingyan meant.
Fang Lei said that what Shen Tingyan meant was that everything would be according to their ideas.
Shen Tingyan didn’t use actors as a money-making tool. He didn’t lack money. He only hoped that the people he admired could get the most suitable development for them.
Dou Mingjian plucked up the courage to say he wanted to try stage plays.
Shen Tingyan also had connections in this regard. Fang Lei promised he would talk to Shen Tingyan later.
……
Dou Mingjian was very excited. That night, he told Xue Xiao that he had already decided on his job for the next two years.
It was a pity not to be able to participate in the filming of Shen Tingyan’s debut movie, but Shen Tingyan still had several scripts on hand to film. For one of them, Shen Tingyan had originally decided that Dou Mingjian would be the male lead.
Since the end of Studio Superstar, many netizens said it was unfair to Dou Mingjian since Shen Tingyan preferred Xue Xiao so much.
In the finals, Shen Tingyan also publicly ‘confessed’ to Xue Xiao. Would Dou Mingjian be embarrassed?
But Dou Mingjian felt that netizens didn’t understand it.
In terms of career, what Shen Tingyan gave to Xue Xiao was also given to him.
The only difference was that Shen Tingyan’s gaze toward Xue Xiao was different.
…Of course, Dou Mingjian didn’t need his boss to treat him that way! He felt that it was good for him and Shen Tingyan to maintain their current professional and collaborative relationship!
To Shen Tingyan, out of him and Xue Xiao, one was the actor he admired, and the other was a muse.
The muse was always there, and Shen Tingyan was always there.
Of course, Dou Mingjian didn’t say these words to Xue Xiao.
……
Xue Xiao saw that Dou Mingjian had decided on a job so quickly, and also hurried to look at his own.
Shen Tingyan’s movie was estimated to take half a year to shoot, and the preliminary preparations would also take several months. So Xue Xiao had arrangements for the whole next year.
What he wanted to decide now was what he would film in the remaining months of the year.
There were five scripts to choose from, all of which had been carefully selected by Fang Lei. They were all male protagonists.
One of the scripts was special.
It was the script of the famous director, Zheng Yang. There were two male protagonists set. One of the male protagonists had been decided to be played by a Best Actor winner. It was the same actor who forwarded the Weibo blogger’s review of Puzzle on Weibo.
For the other male protagonist, they hoped he would be played by Xue Xiao.
It was said that this actor took the initiative to recommend Xue Xiao to Zheng Yang.
Zheng Yang watched Xue Xiao’s acting and felt that it really fit his vision of the other male protagonist, so he contacted Fang Lei.
Originally, when a director of this level came to invite an actor, the agent could directly arrange for the artist and the director to meet for a meal and sign the contract.
However, there were too many scripts submitted to Xue Xiao recently. This included many excellent production teams. Fang Lei finally decided to let Xue Xiao choose himself.
In any case, it wouldn’t be bad to shoot any of them. It was better to let Xue Xiao choose what he liked.
Xue Xiao went back to study the scripts for three days. Finally, he decided on Zheng Yang’s script.
It had nothing to do with the director or other actor. He really liked the story and the role.
A week later, on the day of the premiere of Shen Tingyan’s latest and possibly his last movie, Zheng Yang finally found time to eat with Xue Xiao.
They made an appointment for noon.
Fang Lei couldn’t accompany him because of something, so Xue Xiao rushed to a Chinese restaurant according to the address he received and entered the private room.
Zheng Yang and the actor, Yang Ying, were waiting there.
Zheng Yang was in his late 50s. His temples were graying, and his hair was combed back meticulously. He had a very elegant temperament.
Yang Ying was in his 30s, and there were no traces of time on his face. He was very handsome.
He was very talkative. In addition to talking about the script, he also talked about his wife and daughter.
Xue Xiao was originally a bit restrained.
Shen Tingyan had told him last night that Zheng Yang and Yang Ying had no pretensions and were both very easy-going people, but this was the first time he attended a meeting alone. He was always a bit nervous when meeting a director and actor of such high status.
As a result, the meal was eaten in perfect harmony.
Yang Ying was even quite gossipy. “Speaking of which, I really didn’t expect Shen Tingyan to be such a person before. He is quite protective.”
Zheng Yang smiled. “Yes, I didn’t expect it either. Seeing him like that, I even had the idea of looking for him to film. It is a pity that he doesn’t want to film right now.”
Xue Xiao said, “He has actually always been quite gentle.”
This type of gentleness wasn’t easy to reveal, but one could still see his gentle side from the details of the man’s behavior.
Yang Ying gave him a refill of juice and sighed. “How can you describe him as gentle? He protects you like a treasure and won’t let the messy people in the circle touch you at all.”
Xue Xiao realized that Yang Ying might be talking about the incident between Wanyu and Jiang Ye.
“….Well, that incident has actually passed a long time ago.”
Unexpectedly, Yang Ying was surprised. “A long time? Are you mistaken?”
He and Zheng Yang looked at each other before suddenly realizing. He asked, “Don’t you know yet?”
Xue Xiao was stunned and asked in a puzzled manner, “What?”
Yang Ying said with an understanding expression, “You really don’t know.”
He shook his head and said curiously, “He doesn’t even let these things bother you.”
“I’m talking about something related to your role, and it happened in the past few days.”
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