OSM Chapter 30: “It really is fine.”

Translator: Abo Dammen

After finishing his soup, Li Yuze still had to take a shower, and probably blow-dry his hair afterward.

So he might not have a chance to use his phone again.

He Zhiqiu thought for a moment, handed him the charger, and then returned to his room with empty hands.

It was 3 AM.

Hengxiao Entertainment, located in the heart of A City, was still brightly lit.

Meng Lin was hunched over in the conference room on the top floor of the company, surrounded by a pile of work documents. Most of them were about Li Yuze’s schedule, along with countless script invitations, magazine photoshoots, and interview requests.

These invitations accumulated like a small mountain every month. Meng Lin would work with Chen Qiong to sort through a portion of them for Li Yuze to review, and then he would pick out the ones he was interested in or didn’t want to accept, initiating new projects.

Chen Qiong, Li Yuze’s agent, was 37 this year and a well-known powerhouse in the industry.

But no matter how strong she was, she couldn’t handle someone like Li Yuze, who was always unpredictable.

At this moment, Chen Qiong, dressed in a sharp business suit, was putting on a face mask while talking on the phone.

“I’m not saying I don’t consider you a friend, but you know, I don’t have the power to make him work. Plus, you know how picky he is with scripts. He only accepts a couple of projects a year… Hey, can we not talk about Director Sun? He’s been sending scripts for five or six years, and Li Yuze agreeing to take one is really not too much to ask… No, no, variety shows are definitely out. He doesn’t like that kind of hustle.”

After hanging up, Chen Qiong leaned back in her chair and lightly patted her face. She looked a bit annoyed and glanced at Meng Lin.

With years of workplace experience, Meng Lin had developed a keen sense for sensing when someone was looking at him. Even though he wasn’t directly looking at Chen Qiong, he could still feel her gaze. He quickly straightened up and began working diligently.

Chen Qiong patiently listened to the other person, then smiled and said, “Don’t listen to that gossip your husband is spreading.” She calmly hung up the phone, narrowing her eyes as she asked Meng Lin, “Did something happen to Ah Ze on set?”

Meng Lin quickly replied, “No, where did you hear that?”

“No?” Chen Qiong pulled off her face mask and raised her voice. “I heard it from the crew’s cameraman’d wife. Now, tell me the truth—what exactly happened?”

If there was one thing Meng Lin feared in this company, it was two people.

One was, of course, Li Yuze, and the other was Chen Qiong.

But, comparatively speaking, he was closer to Li Yuze. Though Li Yuze seemed fierce, he was actually a good person.

So, whenever something went wrong, Meng Lin would help Li Yuze hide it from the higher-ups.

Even if he didn’t, Chen Qiong couldn’t really do anything to Li Yuze. But it was better to avoid trouble, and Li Yuze didn’t like being nagged.

However, at this moment, Meng Lin was going against his usual instinct, silently apologizing to Li Yuze in his mind as he told Chen Qiong, “It’s nothing serious. He just got a minor injury while filming, but it’s all been treated.”

“He got injured?” Chen Qiong asked, concerned. “Where?”

Meng Lin honestly explained, “He has some scrapes all over, and his arm is a bit worse.”

Chen Qiong furrowed her brows. “How did that happen?”

Meng Lin continued, “It happened a few days ago when they were rushing through scenes. There were a few stunts, and the director wanted him to wait for a stunt double, but the double was on leave, and Aze was in a rush. So, he did it himself. It wasn’t a problem at first, but the props team wasn’t ready, and some equipment malfunctioned, which caused the injury…”

Before Meng Lin could finish his sentence, Chen Qiong’s phone rang again.

She saw it was an unfamiliar number and hesitated, but the caller dialed again.

Already feeling irritated about the whole situation, she picked up the call, prepared to scold the caller, but when she heard the voice, it turned out to be Li Yuze’s?

She quickly asked a few questions but got vague responses.

True to his word, Li Yuze had told He Zhiqiu he would call his agency to report in, and he had actually done it.

The next morning.

He Zhiqiu woke up on time.

He hadn’t been getting much sleep lately, but no matter how tired he was, his body still woke up at the same time every day.

Coincidentally, Li Yuze had returned as well, so He Zhiqiu quickly washed up, went downstairs, and made two bowls of fish porridge, along with two golden fried eggs.

He thought Li Yuze might sleep in a bit longer, but to his surprise, Li Yuze was already up early. He had changed into a long-sleeve, cuffed loungewear, and his fringe hadn’t been trimmed yet. He had found a hairband somewhere and tied his hair up at the back.

Li Yuze had come downstairs to help He Zhiqiu take some photos. First, he returned the phone to him, asking him to clear out some memory space by deleting the selfies he had taken the previous day.

This request wasn’t unreasonable, since the 200-300 selfies were really taking up a lot of space.

After He Zhiqiu deleted the photos, they had breakfast together. Then Li Yuze began assessing He Zhiqiu’s outfit and overall look for the photoshoot.

Li Yuze seemed quite experienced when it came to taking photos.

But at that moment, He Zhiqiu didn’t have any particular look—he hadn’t done anything other than brushing his teeth and washing his face. He thought that this was probably a simple task, but seeing how careful and serious Li Yuze was made him feel like it was a bigger deal than he had originally thought.

Li Yuze asked him if he thought anything was wrong with his look and whether he should wash his face again.

After carefully examining He Zhiqiu for a moment, Li Yuze stretched out two fingers, tugged at his round-neck t-shirt, and said, “You should change into a shirt.”

He Zhiqiu immediately did as he was told. A few minutes later, he returned wearing a white shirt.

The shirt looked neat and clean, with the top button fastened, covering his fair neck.

Li Yuze seemed very satisfied with the new look, and had He Zhiqiu stand in front of him to find the best angle. He then pressed the shutter button.

Li Yuze’s photography skills were undeniably good. Despite facing the camera directly, the photos he took made it seem like there was a soft glow surrounding He Zhiqiu.

After taking seven, eight shots, Li Yuze let He Zhiqiu choose one to post on Weibo. Just as he was about to head upstairs to catch up on some sleep, he turned around and was stopped by He Zhiqiu grabbing his wrist.

Li Yuze froze, his breath pausing for a moment.

He Zhiqiu didn’t notice his expression and, looking down, began to roll up his sleeves. When he saw Li Yuze’s arm wrapped in white bandages, he froze for a few seconds and then became very concerned.

“What happened to your arm?” He Zhiqiu asked, his voice filled with worry.

Li Yuze hadn’t expected the bandages to be so obvious, and he gently pulled his hand away from He Zhiqiu’s grip, smiling and saying, “It’s nothing, just a small bump.”

“How did it get this bad? Was there an accident while filming?” He Zhiqiu was so caught up in his concern that he forgot to keep a distance, his eyes full of anxiety.

Li Yuze met his pure gaze, watching for a while before ruffling his hair and saying, “It really is fine.”

Afraid He Zhiqiu would keep worrying, Li Yuze glanced at the kitchen and quickly changed the subject, “I just helped you take those photos. So, for lunch, shouldn’t you treat me?”

He Zhiqiu continued to stare at his arm and asked, “What do you want to eat?”

Li Yuze thought for a moment before starting to list dishes, “I want to have… Mapo tofu.”

“Fish fillet with vinegar sauce.”

“And also.”

“Crispy fried meatballs.”