Chapter 160
Chapter 160
Meanwhile.
Ning Xi jogged off to find Xie Lanchen, looking for all the world as if a dog were chasing her.
Though, in truth, that wasn’t too far from reality.
“Xiao Xie!”
From a distance away, Ning Xi waved at Xie Lanchen in high spirits. “Have you been waiting long?”
Xie Lanchen stood tall and elegant beside the car. He reached back to open the door for Ning Xi, watching her bounce toward him with a smile in his eyes. “I just got here too.”
The restaurant they were going to was a little over half an hour’s drive from Ling Village. It had excellent ratings, and Ning Xi had wanted to try it for ages.
“I heard their pineapple spare ribs are especially good…”
Just thinking about it had Ning Xi’s mouth watering.
Beside her, Xie Lanchen’s gaze paused, and he suddenly stopped walking.
Then he bent down, lowering his left knee slightly, and took out a handkerchief to wipe Ning Xi’s boot.
Ning Xi, who had still been lost in thoughts of what she was going to eat later, froze.
She looked down and only then realized her boot had gotten dirty at some point.
It was just a tiny smudge, so small that even she hadn’t noticed it.
Yet Xie Lanchen would personally crouch down and brush the dust from her boot.
As if she were precious. As if she mattered.
“All done. Let’s go.”
Xie Lanchen straightened up, his expression and tone so natural it was as if he had merely done the most ordinary thing in the world.
Ning Xi blinked, then answered a beat too late, “Oh.”
Good thing there were no cameras around right now. Otherwise, the way the corners of her mouth were splitting into a grin would definitely have been broadcast live.
Just as Ning Xi was thinking that, she suddenly heard someone calling her.
“Sister Xi! Sister Xi!”
Ning Xi looked in the direction of the voice and discovered it was actually Qin Fengyi, who had previously worked part-time as a celebrity coach on You Are My Blessing. There were also a few young men and women beside him; they seemed to have come out for a group meal together.
Qin Fengyi familiarly greeted Xie Lanchen first before explaining to Ning Xi, “We finished filming Riding the Wind, so a few actors from our crew came out for dinner. I didn’t expect to run into Sister Xiao Xi!”
There was indeed a film and television shooting base near Ling Village, and many actors filming there came to the nearby restaurants to eat, so running into someone wasn’t strange.
“Ahem.” The boy standing beside Qin Fengyi nudged his arm, his eyes not quite daring to look at Ning Xi. “Since she’s Fengyi’s friend, w-why don’t we share a table…”
The smile at the corners of Xie Lanchen’s mouth faded.
Qin Fengyi slapped his forehead, only then remembering that. “Right! Sister Xiao Xi, since we’ve run into each other, it’s fate. Let’s eat together today. My treat.”
Ning Xi shrugged. “Forget it. I won’t crash your crew dinner. Let’s get together another time when we have the chance.”
Qin Fengyi flashed a grin with all eight teeth. “Okay! Sister Xiao Xi, call me when you’re free.”
The two groups were just about to part ways like that.
Qin Fengyi’s friend finally couldn’t hold back anymore and stammered, “Sister Xiao Xi… Miss Ning, could I add your contact?”
Ning Xi looked toward the person who had spoken.
Her memory had always been good, so she recognized him at once as the rookie actor who had played the white moonlight second male lead in a certain hit drama some time ago. His name seemed to be something like Yu Di, or Yu Zhi, or Yu Qi, or Yu Qi…
Seeing that Ning Xi wasn’t speaking and was only staring at him, Yu Qi grew even more nervous and uneasy.
“B-because I’ll be joining the cast of The Chess Game next month too. I heard from my agent that you seem to have signed on to The Chess Game as well, so I was wondering if we could add each other first. In the future, if I have any questions about acting, maybe I could ask you for advice…”
Ning Xi, who had still been trying to recall what exactly his name was, was first pleasantly surprised to learn that he was an actor in The Chess Game. But after hearing what he said, she was: “…”
Ask her for acting advice?
Sure enough, once Jiang Sheshe was out of the picture, she realized everyone else in the entertainment industry was actually pretty humble.
“Ha… ha.” Ning Xi let out two dry laughs, then took out her phone and added Yu Qi as a friend.
When the others behind Yu Qi saw that he had succeeded, they couldn’t help chiming in too. “Sister Ning Xi, we want to add you too!”
“Yeah, Sister Ning Xi! I couldn’t even get tickets to your concert last time. Can I contact you directly to buy tickets in the future?”
“…”
Afraid Ning Xi might feel uncomfortable, Qin Fengyi quickly held out a hand to stop them. “Shoo, shoo! Yu Qi is Sister Xiao Xi’s business partner, and he’s been a longtime fan of Sister Xiao Xi for years. What are the rest of you crowding in for?”
Off to the side, Yu Qi, who had been too late to cover Qin Fengyi’s mouth and had his identity as a fan exposed, looked utterly hopeless. He was already planning to poison Qin Fengyi, that human loudspeaker, into silence later.
After Qin Fengyi’s reminder, the others all gave up on the idea.
“It’s fine. Add me.” Ning Xi smiled and showed everyone her friend code.
They were all people in the industry, and Qin Fengyi’s friends at that. Ning Xi figured their character shouldn’t be an issue.
“That’s great!”
“Sister Ning Xi really is way more generous than Qin Fengyi!”
“Baby, don’t worry. Mommy definitely won’t randomly message you on WeChat and bother you. Mommy will just quietly lie there in your WeChat contact list!” After adding Ning Xi on WeChat, one girl blurted out in excitement.
Ning Xi looked at the “mommy” in front of her who was around the same age as herself, then finally nodded with a smile.
For a moment, the scene seemed to turn into Ning Xi’s fan meeting.
From the moment Yu Qi opened his mouth to ask for her contact information, the smile in Xie Lanchen’s eyes had disappeared. Then, watching that whole crowd stick close to Ning Xi and exchange contact information with her, his lips pressed straight into a line.
“Finally, we can go eat.” After Ning Xi finished chatting with Qin Fengyi and the others and parted ways, she couldn’t help saying.
Xie Lanchen said nothing.
Ning Xi looked over at Xie Lanchen. His lashes were slightly lowered, his face expressionless. It was as if a thin mist had settled around him, making him look cool, elegant, and distant.
“Xiao Xie, what are you thinking about?” Ning Xi asked.
Xie Lanchen lifted his head. His dark eyes fixed steadily on Ning Xi, and the corners of his lips tugged faintly.
“I was thinking about how so many people want to get to know our Teacher Ning.”
Even Ning Xi could hear that something in his tone was a little off.
But before she could figure out what emotion it was, she heard Xie Lanchen continue, almost like a sigh.
“But that’s normal too. Teacher Ning is so wonderful. Of course everyone should like you. Looks like I’ll have to work hard, so I can keep up with Teacher Ning forever.”
He had already coaxed himself back into his usual state.
Ning Xi gave a silly little laugh, simply assuming Xie Lanchen was complimenting her.
Only after they sat down and ordered did she belatedly realize what had been wrong with Xie Lanchen’s tone.
…Was Xiao Xie jealous just now?
The thought suddenly popped into Ning Xi’s mind.
Her heart thumped wildly, and certain emotions that seemed ready to burst out could no longer be held down.
“…We hope you both enjoy your meal. Also, today is our restaurant’s tenth anniversary, as well as our owner and his wife’s tenth wedding anniversary. If you’re dining as a couple and are willing to take a check-in photo together, you can enjoy a half-off discount when you pay.”
After delivering the food and saying the usual line, the server left.
Only Ning Xi and Xie Lanchen remained in the private room.
Ning Xi was already harboring all sorts of guilty little thoughts, and when she heard that the server seemed to have mistaken them for a couple, she became completely flustered.
When people were embarrassed, their words tended to come out a little muddled.
As Ning Xi gulped down the lemon water the server had brought, she let out a dry laugh.
“Looks like this restaurant’s owner and his wife must have a really good relationship. After all, half off for couples really is a great deal…”
…The lemon was so sour.
Also, what on earth was she babbling about?
She sounded like she really wanted to take the photo.
Fortunately, Xiao Xie didn’t seem to notice. Only…
Was the air-conditioning set too high? Why were the rims of his ears so red?
It seemed like his face was slowly turning red too.
“It really is a great deal,” Xie Lanchen merely agreed with Ning Xi, then, as if he had not thought too much about it, followed up naturally, “Then should we take a couple photo?”