Times of Our Lives - Chapter 43

The next year, Chu Kanglin confirmed his transfer to another district to become the branch manager. Before leaving, he promoted Xie Meng to the position of department manager. Colleagues at the company celebrated with champagne for the two of them, and Xie Meng even received a large bouquet of flowers.

“You can’t escape this drink,” Chu Kanglin said with a smile as he clinked glasses with Xie Meng. “Here’s to your career success.”

Xie Meng responded sincerely, “Thank you, Mr. Chu.”

Chu Kanglin patted his shoulder and, after drinking for a while, asked, “Is someone coming to pick you up?”

“Yes.” Xie Meng held the flowers in his arms and glanced at the time on his phone. “A friend is coming to pick me up.”

Chu Kanglin: “The one who was waiting for you at the entrance of the residential area the other day?”

Xie Meng hesitated for a moment before answering, “Yes.”

Chu Kanglin laughed. “You two seem to have a good relationship.”

Ji Qinyang was sitting in the car on the phone when he saw Xie Meng come out of the building. Frowning, he said, “We’ll talk tomorrow, I have something to do now.”

The person on the other end continued to talk, but Ji Qinyang hung up without listening closely.

Seeing the flowers in Xie Meng’s hand, Ji Qinyang raised an eyebrow and asked, “Who gave those to you?”

Xie Meng’s face was a bit flushed from the alcohol. “My colleagues gave them to me. Open the trunk.”

Ji Qinyang pressed a button to open the trunk, and a dozen balloons flew out.

“…” Xie Meng’s expression showed he was at a loss for words.

Ji Qinyang leaned against the car door, laughing. “Congratulations on the promotion, Mr. Xie.”

Xie Meng bent down to place the flowers in the trunk and, before getting into the car, reached over to ruffle Ji Qinyang’s hair. “Thank you.”

“You don’t like balloons?” Ji Qinyang asked as he fastened Xie Meng’s seatbelt.

Xie Meng looked at him helplessly. “Are you joking?”

Ji Qinyang said nothing. He hummed a song and pulled out another balloon from the back seat.

Xie Meng covered his face. “Spare me.”

Ji Qinyang pushed the balloon towards him, and Xie Meng noticed a small box tied to the bottom.

“?” Xie Meng suspiciously took the box. “What surprise are you up to now?”

Ji Qinyang started the car. As he shifted gears, he leaned over to kiss Xie Meng’s face. “After the balloons comes the proposal, just like in the movies.”

Xie Meng: “…”

On the way back, Ji Qinyang’s phone kept ringing. Xie Meng glanced at it a few times and couldn’t help but ask, “Do you need to take that?”

Ji Qinyang took a quick look and said casually, “It’s nothing urgent, I’ll handle it later.”

Since Ji Qinyang seemed unconcerned, Xie Meng didn’t ask further. When they arrived home, Ji Qinyang didn’t rush to go inside.

“The band might have some issues,” Ji Qinyang said, resting an arm on the car window. “You go up first, and don’t open the box. Wait for me to come back.”

Xie Meng kissed him. “Got it, hurry back.”

At two in the morning, the set was still shooting night scenes.

Zheng Ming had just finished a scene and sat off to the side, scrolling through Weibo. His assistant followed him, watching as he liked every post on a user named “Xiong Baobao’s” Weibo, then unliked them all, only to like them again.

“…” The assistant asked, “Are you trying to get noticed?”

Zheng Ming nodded honestly. “Yes.”

Unlike his on-screen persona with his polished acting skills, Zheng Ming in real life was quite the opposite. However, due to his deceiving appearance, only his agent and the assistant who had been with him for eight years really knew him.

“If you really like him, go after him,” the assistant advised earnestly. “You’re so famous now, what are you afraid of? You’ve got the acting skills, box office appeal, and in eight years since your debut, you’ve stayed pure with no scandals. What’s stopping you, man!”

Zheng Ming sat there silently, continuing to like and unlike posts.

The assistant: “…”

Xiong Baobao’s Weibo homepage was filled with short films he had made over the past few years. He had accumulated tens of thousands of followers and was currently preparing a larger film. It was his first time as the main director, and naturally, he was nervous. He posted bits and pieces from the set on Weibo, and many fans left encouraging comments.

“Baobao! You can do it! We’re all supporting you!”

“Eat more, Baobao. You need strength to make movies.”

“Baobao, we’ll bring you food. What do you want to eat?”

Underneath that post, Xiong Baobao replied: “I want a large bowl of twice-cooked pork rice, five servings.”

“…” Zheng Ming read this Weibo post over and over again, then asked his assistant, “Do you have the phone number for XX Restaurant?”

“Why?” The assistant looked at him warily, suspecting that Zheng Ming wanted to order a midnight snack. It was a joke since the character he was playing in the movie was a mental patient. How could he afford to get fat from late-night eating?

Zheng Ming: “I want to order five large servings of twice-cooked pork rice to be delivered to Director Xiong.”

Assistant: “…”

When Ji Qinyang arrived at the hospital, Binggan was hiding in a corner with a mask on. He spotted Ji Qinyang first and excitedly called out in a low voice, “Brother Yang! Brother Yang!”

“What happened?” Ji Qinyang walked over. Binggan was on the verge of tears and said anxiously, “Qian Mo… he… Wen Tao got drunk and then got into a fight…”

Ji Qinyang pressed down on Binggan’s head, “Calm down. Speak slowly. What exactly happened?”

Binggan took a deep breath and took a while to sort out the story. Apparently, last month, Ji Qinyang had spent a lot of money and used his connections to secure a spot for the band in a competition. He planned to use this opportunity to officially launch the band. However, Binggan’s so-called uncle saw the band’s progress and got greedy. He tried to persuade Qian Mo to leave the band and sign a solo contract with an entertainment company. Who knows what conditions were offered, but Qian Mo had been missing since the morning. Binggan didn’t dare confront Ji Qinyang directly, so he approached Wen Tao for a discussion. Wen Tao got upset and ended up in a fight with the people Qian Mo brought to the bar.

Ji Qinyang listened to the entire story with a cold expression. Suppressing his anger, he said sternly, “If Qian Mo wants to go solo, let him. We can always find another lead singer. We have several months to prepare for the competition, which is more than enough time. If the fight gets caught by paparazzi and exposed, all my previous efforts will be wasted. Did you consider that?”

Binggan mumbled without saying a word. Ji Qinyang thought for a moment and then asked, “Give me your uncle’s number. I’ll handle this.”

Binggan quickly searched through his contacts for the number. Ji Qinyang stood with his arms crossed and eyes closed, waiting. Suddenly, he remembered something and pulled out his phone to send a text message.

Xie Meng made himself a cup of coffee and sat on the living room sofa. The CD player was playing a private collection of songs Ji Qinyang had made for him. As one of the discs was about to end, his phone lit up with a new message.

The text from Ji Qinyang was brief: “Wen Tao got drunk and has a gastric perforation. I’m staying with him at the hospital, so I might not come back tonight.”

Just as Xie Meng was about to reply, another message came in: “Go to bed first, don’t wait up for me.”

Xie Meng thought for a moment and replied, “Okay. Don’t overwork yourself, and try to get some rest.”

Ji Qinyang quickly replied: “Got it… Goodnight. I love you, Mr. Xie.”

Xie Meng smiled at the message, then grabbed his clothes to take a shower. When he came out, he saw the balloon on the living room table. After a moment of hesitation, he took the box tied to it down.

The box was tightly wrapped. It took Xie Meng some time to open it, revealing a platinum men’s ring inside.