Warm sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling onto the wooden floor. The white sheer curtains behind the windows swayed gently with the breeze.
Outside the window, the trees cast shade, covering half of the balcony.
Xia Xixi, dressed in a white shirt, brought a cup of freshly brewed coffee to the balcony. He sat down in a wicker chair, stretching his legs comfortably.
The sunlight shone on his well-proportioned and slender body, making him seem as if he were gilded in a soft golden glow.
His thick, slightly curled eyelashes fluttered lightly, and his eyes, like dark jade, seemed to be veiled in a thin mist, hazy and ambiguous.
Coupled with his thin, slightly pink lips, he gave off a very clean and clear aura.
Beneath that cleanliness, however, was a hint of hidden sensuality.
Taking a light sip of coffee, Xia Xixi was about to pick up his phone when he noticed a new notification on it.
It was an advertisement pushed by a video app: "Entertainment industry's king Shen Bailou's new work is about to be released. What are you waiting for? Join now..."
The moment he saw the three words "Shen Bailou," Xia Xixi's eyebrows uncontrollably furrowed, and his eyes were filled with disgust.
As if the advertisement wasn't disgusting enough, a small picture was included.
In the small image, the entertainment industry's emperor Shen Bailou had an ambiguous and seductive look. His chiseled, incredibly handsome face combined with that expression could make anyone's hormones surge.
Xia Xixi swiped a finger and deleted it.
Xia Xixi did not like Shen Bailou.
No, it would be more accurate to say he loathed him.
On the surface, Shen Bailou appeared to be respectable, but behind the scenes, he was not a good person.
Shen Bailou was skilled at pretending. If he hadn't witnessed that incident himself, Xia Xixi would never have known he was a complete scumbag.
Thinking about that incident, Xia Xixi frowned deeply.
Xia Xixi didn't follow the entertainment industry, but Shen Bailou always managed to appear and disgust him, catching him off guard, like now.
His fans were like lunatics, constantly screaming "male god" this and "male god" that, making people sick to their stomachs.
Putting down his phone, Xia Xixi couldn't help but picture Shen Bailou's face.
Jet-black messy hair, an exceptionally handsome face, sharp and cold eyebrows, and eyes, exuding an icy demeanor that kept people at a distance.
The face was identical to Shen Bailou's, but the soul beneath the skin belonged to someone completely different.
Xia Xixi had a boyfriend named Li Quyin.
He had a face identical to the popular film star Shen Bailou, as he was Shen Bailou's half-brother from a different mother.
However, he was not acknowledged by the Shen family or Shen Bailou. He was unloved by his father and stepmother, living a particularly miserable life.
The Shen family never treated him as a person.
At least the famous actor Shen Bailou never mentioned having a brother. To him, the Shen family only had him as their sole heir.
The head of the Shen family and his wife never mentioned having an eldest son, as if such a person didn't exist in the world.
Thinking of this, Xia Xixi frowned and grew increasingly disgusted with Shen Bailou.
He opened his phone's contact page, hesitated for a moment, and dialed Li Quyin's number. It had been two days since they last spoke.
The phone rang, and the sound of beeping filled the silence.
After about ten rings, the call was finally answered.
The next moment, a male voice came through, "Hello."
The voice was deep, magnetic, and very nice to listen to.
"Am I disturbing your work?" Xia Xixi's eyes flickered, his gaze shifting with a hint of nervousness.
He suddenly called, not knowing if it would affect Li Quyin's work.
"No." Li Quyin seemed to chuckle.
There was a gentle smile in his voice, and just hearing it made Xia Xixi involuntarily grin foolishly.
Xia Xixi was about to speak again when a buzzing sound came from the other end of the line, a sound he was familiar with - a drilling machine on a construction site.
Someone had been renovating next door a few days ago, making a lot of noise.
"Where are you?" Xia Xixi was puzzled. Why would there be a drilling machine at the company?
"At my workplace."
"Are you guys renovating?" Xia Xixi hadn't been dating Li Quyin for long and didn't yet know what he did for a living.
"No. Is it too noisy? I'll move somewhere else." Li Quyin started walking.
During this time, it seemed like someone nearby asked him something, to which Li Quyin only responded vaguely.
A moment later, the noisy sounds on the other end of the phone quieted down.
At the same time, a voice came through from the other side, "I took a part-time job on short notice."
After a pause, Li Quyin added, "Didn't we agree to go on a trip in a few days? I will have a gift for you by then."
Listening to the explanation from the other side, Xia Xixi glanced at the white porcelain coffee cup in front of him and then began to understand.
He knew about Li Quyin's situation.
Unlike Shen Bailou, who was adored by thousands as a top actor and the only heir to a large corporation, Li Quyin was always treated harshly by the Shen family and was probably not well off.
When they last met, he had suddenly suggested going to a vacation villa in a few days, and Li Quyin had agreed without hesitation.
But now that he thought about it, he should have mentioned it earlier to give Li Quyin time to prepare.
"A gift?" Xia Xixi felt a warmth in his heart, but couldn't help feeling a bit distressed as well.
Li Quyin took a part-time job at a construction site just to prepare a gift for him?
"You'll know when the time comes," Li Quyin said, pretending to be mysterious.
"Don't tire yourself out."
"Okay." On the other end of the phone, Li Quyin's tone grew increasingly gentle, and his usually cold face softened a bit.
In the distance, the crew waiting for him to return to filming were all shocked and surprised by this scene.
Who didn't know that the great actor Shen Bailou was always cold and aloof in private, disliking close interactions with others?
In the drama, he could be warm and gentle or domineering and crazy, but outside of it, he was always cold.
Because of this, he even had the nickname "deadpan" in private.
But just now, not only was his tone gentle, he seemed to have smiled?
Had he taken the wrong medicine?
Li Quyin ignored the people around him who looked like they had seen a ghost and said in a low voice, "I'll be done here in three days, and then I'll come find you."
His current movie was almost finished, and in three days, they would wrap up shooting. After that, he would have some time off.
"Boss?" The assistant, who had overheard bits of the conversation, came over. He hadn't heard that Shen Bailou had any appointments.
Li Quyin shot him a cold, oppressive look, signaling him to be quiet.
"Okay, I'll wait for you." Xia Xixi vaguely heard someone talking.
He didn't catch it clearly but guessed it was the foreman urging Li Quyin not to slack off.
"Where do you work?" Xia Xixi looked at the pastries and coffee in front of him and asked again.
Li Quyin didn't understand why Xia Xixi was asking this but still gave the place name.
"It's not far from my house." Xia Xixi remembered that area, a large construction site with high-rise buildings being built.
"Mm." Li Quyin had long noticed this. If he weren't afraid of exposing his identity, he would have gone to find Xia Xixi a long time ago.
The popular movie star, Shen Bailou, whose real name was Li Quyin, had a boyfriend named Xia Xixi.
Apart from Shen Bailou himself, no one else in the world knew about this.
Not even Xia Xixi himself.
Because Xia Xixi haten Shen Bailou so much, his boyfriend was Li Quyin and not Shen Bailou.
Just thinking about this made a bitter helplessness flash in the deep, dark eyes of Li Quyin.
If Xia Xixi found out that his boyfriend was actually the Shen Bailou se hated the most...
Just the thought of it made Li Quyin's scalp tingle.
After chatting for a bit more, Xia Xixi didn't want to disturb Li Quyin at work, so he took the initiative to end the call.
Seeing Li Quyin hang up, the assistant beside him quickly stepped forward.
"Boss, for the next movie, our company has already asked someone to invite a big shot in the industry. It's said that this person is highly capable, with very rich professional knowledge, and even experts have to show him respect."
Li Quyin had won the international best actor award for four consecutive years, and the upcoming year would be the fifth. Whether he could achieve five consecutive wins depended on the next movie.
The movie was a major production, with the best teams hired in all aspects. There was no need to worry about the director or investors; the only headache was the professional guidance.
The movie involved a lot of knowledge about antique appraisal.
Since they were aiming for an international award, the crew couldn't afford to be sloppy and specially invited experts in that field.
Mentioning this matter, Li Quyin's expression turned serious. "Don't mess it up."
Winning the International Best Actor award five times in a row would be an unprecedented supreme honor!
If he failed this time, even Li Quyin himself wasn't sure if he could rise to such heights again and make another attempt.
Therefore, this time, he was determined to succeed!
Xia Xixi, who was originally planning to read on the balcony, couldn't concentrate after that phone call and kept getting distracted.
The construction site where Li Quyin was working wasn't far from his home; it would take less than twenty minutes to get there.
After a moment's thought, Xia Xixi decided to go and take a look.
Before leaving, he specifically brought along some homemade pastries and coffee.
This was his little hobby; he enjoyed savoring delicious treats on leisurely afternoons.
Half an hour later, Xia Xixi dialed the phone again.
"I'm coming in to find you. Where are you?" As he spoke, Xia Xixi was already standing at the entrance of the construction site.
"No need, I'll come down to find you. Which gate are you at?" The moment Li Quyin heard that Xia Xixi had arrived at the site entrance, his heart nearly jumped out of his throat.
He turned to look at the cameras and the recording studio behind him. If Xia Xixi came in and saw these, he would immediately realize that he was actually Shen Bailou.
Thinking of that scene, Li Quyin couldn't help but glare coldly at the crew, with a hint of disdain in his eyes.
Feeling scorned, the crew members were utterly baffled.
"I'll just come in," Xia Xixi thought Li Quyin minded him discovering that he had a part-time job at the construction site.
"There's a lot of dust in here. Didn't you bring some snacks?" Li Quyin asked.
Xia Xixi looked down at the box he was holding and conceded, "I'm at the east gate."
"I'll be there right away."
Li Quyin hung up the phone and immediately turned around to run downstairs, afraid that if he was too slow, Xia Xixi would come in.
Xia Xixi didn't go in. He stood at the construction site entrance, patiently waiting with the food box in his arms.
Two minutes later, his phone suddenly chimed with a message notification.
He thought it was from Li Quyin, but it wasn't. It was from a friend, saying that someone wanted him to be in a movie.
Xia Xixi was slightly surprised, his fair face showing a hint of confusion. He wasn't an actor, so what movie?
"What movie?"
"A film by the great actor Shen Bailou, about antique appraisal. Someone from his company specifically sent someone to invite you to be the technical advisor," came the immediate reply.
Xia Xixi raised his eyebrows sharply at the name Shen Bailou and refused without thinking, "No."
"They said you can name any condition."
Xia Xixi glanced at the construction site in front of him and then thought about Shen Bailou, pursing his lips in displeasure. "Then have them change the lead actor."
Have him be the technical advisor for Shen Bailou's movie?
Who were they kidding?
________________