Chapter 18: Banquet
After the elevator arrived, the rest of the staff exited and walked toward the activity room.
Xie Shibai and Lu Ciheng walked at the very back.
“Why are you here?” Xie Shibai asked.
Lu Ciheng glanced expressionlessly at Su Xingran in front. When he turned to face Xie Shibai, his indifferent emotion vanished, his eyes curving. “Of course, I came to supervise you. My dear was so cold to me just now. If I didn’t come, would you even come home tonight?”
Xie Shibai: “Sick again?”
Lu Ciheng said lazily, “That’s too much, Teacher Xie. I worked so hard to come help you avoid scandals, and you treat me like this.”
Xie Shibai said unhurriedly, “I’m concerned about your brain. Is there a problem with that?”
Lu Ciheng’s gaze rested on Xie Shibai, and he suddenly chuckled low.
He liked this kind of Xie Shibai too much.
Su Xingran in front noticed something behind him. He was still unwilling about not getting a photo just now, thinking it would be fine even if he could take a sweeping building photo on the way back. Just as he turned his head prepared to ask, his expression froze upon seeing the scene behind him clearly.
Xie Shibai’s public image had always been cold and indifferent, without much emotional fluctuation. Now, although the plain glasses obscured most of his expression, a subtle difference could still be felt—like a slightly melting glacier swept by cold air, leaving behind a scent that made one addicted after just one sniff.
Beside him, Lu Ciheng lowered his eyes, his temperament contrastingly gentle. The corners of his lips were hooked up as if he heard something interesting, unable to help but chuckle low. The figures of the two standing together were unexpectedly harmonious.
In the next second, as if sensing Su Xingran’s gaze, Lu Ciheng lifted his eyes, cold and hiding danger.
Su Xingran was startled, quickly turning his head back, full of questions.
Did he just see Lu Ciheng smiling?
Lu Ciheng didn’t stay beside Xie Shibai for long; Zhou Yang’s deadly serial calls summoned him back.
Zhou Yang questioned, “Why did you run off to the Bei Shan crew? And you got on the trending search.”
Lu Ciheng was originally absent-minded, but looked up upon hearing “trending search.” “What trending search?”
Zhou Yang handed his phone to Lu Ciheng. “Look, you and Xie Shibai are on the trending search again. I told you before, we can’t control the ‘tap water’ (spontaneous promotion) from fans, but since we all interact in the same circle, try to avoid it if possible. Always being perceived by netizens as having a bad relationship also affects popularity with the general public.”
Lu Ciheng scrolled through the trending search terms using Zhou Yang’s phone. Clicking in, the first thing that came into view was the group photo from sweeping the building just now. The cold lighting and shadow pushed this photo onto the altar, and the heat generated over 100,000 comments in just a short while.
He stared at the photo for a few seconds, returned the phone to Zhou Yang, took out his own phone, and happily opened Weibo to save the photo.
“Shot really well.”
Zhou Yang: “Hm? It is shot well, but aren’t we in a tense relationship with his fans? We have to keep some distance no matter what.”
Lu Ciheng turned off his phone. “Brother Zhou, I’m married.”
Zhou Yang was just thinking about how to lower the heat of the trending search. “Oh, marriage is good.”
He paused for a split second, his pupils quaking. “What?! Is it the marriage I’m thinking of?”
Lu Ciheng: “En.”
Zhou Yang took a deep breath. “When did you get married?”
Lu Ciheng: “It’s been a long time.”
Counting it up, it had been over a month.
Lu Ciheng thought for a few seconds. Speaking of which, we haven’t celebrated our one-month anniversary yet. Have to make it up later.
Zhou Yang sucked in two breaths of cold air. He turned to ask Zhuang Bo, “You knew too?”
Zhuang Bo wanted to say something on the side, but seeing Lu Ciheng’s expression, he hesitated. “Knew.”
Zhou Yang immediately began checking the lounge for recording devices. “Who did you marry? Is the other party a non-celebrity or an artist?”
Lu Ciheng sat on the chair in the lounge, speaking slowly, “With Xie Shibai.”
After hearing the name clearly, Zhou Yang seemed petrified for a few seconds, sucked in a breath of cold air, his voice shocked: “Who?!!!!”
He began to suspect his ears had problems, otherwise how could he hear Lu Ciheng say his marriage partner was Xie Shibai.
Zhuang Bo held his forehead, recalling that he had the same expression when he first found out. “Brother Zhou, you didn’t hear wrong.”
Zhou Yang pinched his philtrum, feeling that not bringing quick-acting heart relief pills today was his biggest mistake.
Xie Shibai received a WeChat message from Lu Ciheng just after finishing the building sweep.
[Talkative but Durable: Honey, what do you want to eat tonight^^]
Standing in front of the vending machine, he swiped up Lu Ciheng’s message and seriously chose from several coffee drinks.
Just as he was preparing to order a latte from the mini-program, a phone message popped up again.
[Talkative but Durable: Honey?]
[Talkative but Durable: Where is my dear?]
Xie Shibai was silent for a few seconds, swiping up Lu Ciheng’s message again. When he selected the coffee and prepared to place the order, the other side popped up a message again.
[Talkative but Durable: Teacher Xie, suddenly realized we haven’t celebrated our one-month wedding anniversary yet. How about preparing for it today?]
The mini-program wasn’t very stable. Any random message would cause it to spin frantically, failing to refresh the interface.
Xie Shibai calmed down for a while. After exiting and blocking Lu Ciheng’s messages, the world became quiet, and even the mini-program refreshed faster.
After the vending machine dispensed the item, Xie Shibai took a sip of coffee, his brow furrowing slightly.
The taste wasn’t very good either, even though it tasted okay before.
After buying the coffee, he glanced at the message sent by Assistant Lin, confirmed the car’s location, and walked toward the parking lot.
Along the way, staff members in twos and threes were dismantling various structures and props in the event hall.
When Xie Shibai turned a corner, he heard the sound of something falling, followed by a staff member’s exclamation.
“Move out of the way!”
The staff member seemed to be dodging a rack, retreating in a panic, looking like he was about to crash straight into Xie Shibai.
Xie Shibai subconsciously took a step back. His foot stepped on colorful glass marbles scattered all over the ground, and his footing suddenly went empty. His body lost balance. At the same time, construction consumables were falling, looking like they were about to hit someone.
He reached back with his arm trying to find support. With a thud, his back hit a solid body. The sound of props crashing rang in his ears. Warmth instantly spread along the point of contact. His waist was firmly encircled by a strong arm, so forceful that the clothes were wrinkled.
Xie Shibai’s mind went blank, his heart rate suddenly accelerated. Anxiety, like a viscous, invisible substance, climbed up his spine to his entire body. The long-healed wounds on his arm felt as if they were torn open. His vision flashed back; the repeated wounds and blood on his arm seemed to permeate his clothes.
When he felt the breathing of another person by his ear, Xie Shibai’s elbow subconsciously jutted backward. The instinctual flight response left no time for thought, his fingers trembling and breathing becoming rapid.
“Hss…” The cry of pain from behind was full of familiarity.
Xie Shibai’s black hair stuck messily to his cheek. Hearing the voice, his movements froze, his chest heaving.
Lu Ciheng’s eyes reflected Xie Shibai’s appearance. His deep voice chuckled lightly, “Honey, are you trying to murder your husband?”
Xie Shibai’s fingertips trembled uncontrollably lightly. The presence of the arm on his waist was intense. The heat source constantly transmitted through the clothes. Large-scale contact stimulated his condition every minute and second. Agitated emotions surrounded him intangibly.
“You let go first.” He tried his best to calm his breathing, but listening carefully revealed a tremor in the tail of his voice.
Lu Ciheng noticed Xie Shibai’s condition and sighed imperceptibly. The scent of the other person surrounded the tip of his nose, faint and weak like cold air brushing past his breath.
“Stand steady.” Lu Ciheng let go.
The moment Lu Ciheng released his hand, Xie Shibai took a step forward, trying hard to calm his breathing.
“Teacher Xie, Teacher Lu, are you two okay?”
Staff members hurriedly gathered around. “Really sorry, they didn’t hold it steady. It didn’t hit you, right?”
Xie Shibai: “I’m fine.”
He looked at Lu Ciheng, noticing his shoulder, his eyes lowering in thought for a few seconds.
Lu Ciheng waved his hand. “I’m fine.”
Only then did the staff relax, turning to tell the moving employees, “You guys have to be careful. What if someone gets hurt?”
Xie Shibai looked at Lu Ciheng and asked, “You’re okay?”
Lu Ciheng immediately covered the spot hit by Xie Shibai’s elbow, his tone pitiful: “I’m not okay. Teacher Xie, you have to be responsible for me. It hurts a lot.”
Xie Shibai: “…”
He didn’t use any force just now.
Xie Shibai originally wanted to say something, but seeing Lu Ciheng constantly indicating he was fine [physically despite the joke], he swallowed his words.
There was no traffic on the way back, and the two arrived home one after another.
Since the sweeping building activity didn’t provide dinner, the first thing Lu Ciheng did upon returning home was to ask Xie Shibai what to eat, finally settling on seafood noodles.
The first thing Xie Shibai did upon returning home was to wash his hands, shower, and change clothes. He touched his arm and could still feel the sensation of wounds tearing.
Lu Ciheng’s cooking skills had always been good. The steaming seafood noodles smelled appetizing, and the presentation was beautiful.
After dinner, it was originally time for the desensitization practice, but Xie Shibai received a call from Zhou Chengping.
He originally thought Old Master Xie had quieted down a lot because of his marriage, but not long after, he still had Zhou Chengping contact him.
As soon as the call connected, a templated greeting came from the receiver.
Zhou Chengping: “Young Master Xie, good evening.”
Xie Shibai’s mood for the whole day was ruined by this call. He said coldly, “What is it?”
Zhou Chengping seemed long accustomed to Xie Shibai’s cold attitude, keeping a straight face as he said, “The Old Master asked me to notify you to attend the engagement banquet of the Zhong family’s eldest son the day after tomorrow. He said you must attend.”
“Although the Old Master didn’t say it explicitly, please bring another partner on the day of the banquet.” Zhou Chengping feigned difficulty, “You know, the Old Master hasn’t approved of the current marriage yet. If you really can’t find a candidate, I will arrange one.”
Xie Shibai listened to Zhou Chengping’s words on the phone, his gaze falling on Lu Ciheng, who was washing dishes in an apron.
“You mean, I can’t take my legal partner to the banquet.”
Hearing the words “legal partner,” Zhou Chengping frowned tightly. “Young Master Xie, the current situation is very unfavorable for you. The Old Master is still in a fit of anger. The Zhong family isn’t an ordinary wealthy family after all. With the Xie family’s current situation, we need to be careful in climbing social ladders. If you rashly bring someone who hasn’t officially entered the family, it will have a bad influence if word gets out. This is also for your own good.”
“Think about it. If needed, I can arrange a candidate.”
After Zhou Chengping hung up, Xie Shibai’s finger tapped the screen, calling out softly, “Lu Ciheng.”
Lu Ciheng, who had been paying attention to Xie Shibai’s call all along, turned around. “Hm?”
Xie Shibai: “Are you free the day after tomorrow? Accompany me to a banquet.”
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