Chapter 871 - 260: If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them
Chapter 260 [If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them]
After leaving Lin Qingquan’s place, Chen Yan walked around casually for a bit and then received a call from Lin Xianyu.
When the call connected, the tone of the Fox Demon on the other end was noticeably uneasy: "Well, Lord Immortal Official..."
Chen Yan deliberately sneered, "Little fox, you’ve grown bold, daring to set up a trap to deceive me."
"It’s... it was Lin Xianchang’s order. I’m just a little Fox Demon with insignificant Tao Practice, how could I dare to resist? That Immortal’s mana is so formidable that I couldn’t dare utter even half a ’no’ in his presence!" Lin Xianyu said with a flattering tone, "I beg Lord Immortal Official not to blame me..."
Chen Yan didn’t really take it to heart; this scenario set up by Old Deng, Lin Qingquan, was also for his own good. As for Lin Xianyu, the little fox, she was just caught in the middle as a tool, and she indeed didn’t have the ability to resist.
Seeing that Chen Yan wasn’t saying anything further in blame, Lin Xianyu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, her tone slightly more relaxed as she probed, "Lord Immortal Official, you have met Lin Xianchang?"
"Yes."
"Then, are you coming back now? I’ve arranged a banquet to sincerely apologize to you." Lin Xianyu chuckled, the flattery in her tone unmistakable.
Looking at the time and thinking for a moment, Chen Yan said, "I still have to see a friend."
"Is it the gentleman from Shanhe Media who came with you today?" Lin Xianyu asked, quickly recalling, "Since he’s your friend, why not invite him too? Let me host..."
Since Chen Yan had nothing else to do, he agreed, "I’ll ask him first. If he doesn’t mind, I’ll bring him along."
After hanging up, Chen Yan received a location link sent by Lin Xianyu on WeChat.
He then called Zhao Shanhe, and when the call connected, Zhao Shanhe was back at the company busy with work, and it was quite noisy on his end. However, upon hearing that Lin Xianyu was inviting him to dinner, Zhao Shanhe promptly agreed.
"A top actress inviting me to a meal, I have to go!" Zhao Shanhe said excitedly, laughing, "Bro, where are you? I’ll meet up with you first?"
Chen Yan looked up at the hotel where Lin Qingquan was staying and gave an address.
Zhao Shanhe paused and then laughed heartily, "What a coincidence! I’m in the hotel too!"
The call was quickly ended, and two minutes later, Zhao Shanhe emerged from the hotel, but it was evident he dressed in a hurry since his shirt buttons were mismatched.
Chen Yan stood there, staring at Zhao Shanhe, and joked, "What’s this?"
Zhao Shanhe chuckled awkwardly, making a face that said, "You know how it is, man."
Chen Yan thought to himself, wow, earlier, when they were on set for Lin Qingquan’s play as Fourth Brother, Zhao Shanhe was still there. How long did it take for this guy to end up in the hotel too?
"That big client you mentioned over the phone earlier, named Lin Qingquan, we had them arranged in this hotel — anyway, we have a corporate rate deal with them for booking rooms, so I booked an extra one. It just so happened that a girl from Jinling came to Hengdian for tourism and visited me in her free time..."
Chen Yan smiled at the sweat on Zhao Shanhe’s forehead and asked, "A girl just showed up? When did you meet her?"
"Back when I was working in Jinling Prefecture, I met her through a job — she’s a planner at an event company. We got to know each other and hit it off well. Since she’s on vacation now and visiting Hengdian, I thought I’d host her."
Glancing at Zhao Shanhe’s mismatched shirt buttons, Chen Yan said meaningfully, "So you hosted her all the way to the hotel?"
Zhao Shanhe replied casually, "In this world, neither of us are innocent anymore. It’s just a mutual attraction, playing a game for fun."
After a pause, Zhao Shanhe patted his chest, "Bro, don’t worry. I’m not some heartless jerk who plays with emotions. I made it clear to her in advance that I’m not getting into any relationships.
And guess what? When I said that, she actually laughed at me, saying that being too blunt about these things is awkward. We came out to have fun, and some things don’t need to be spelled out explicitly; a mutual understanding is fine... See, she’s much more laid-back than I am."
Chen Yan looked at Zhao Shanhe. His appearance hadn’t changed much since their last meeting several months ago in Jinling Prefecture.
But clearly, the innocence of a college student in his eyes had mostly disappeared.
Chen Yan remembered just a few months ago, Zhao Shanhe was still heartbroken over a manipulative junior. Yet now, he easily said things like "mutual attraction, playing a friendly game."
Chen Yan didn’t know if this change was good or bad for Zhao Shanhe.
However, with his indifferent nature, he wouldn’t get overly involved in other people’s lives — as long as they’re not hurting anyone, matters of mutual consent are personal freedom.
But looking at Zhao Shanhe now, it’s evident that another warrior for pure love has completely disappeared from this world.
He just remembered that last year, when he and Xiaozhao were drinking, Xiaozhao, with a flushed face, threw an arm around him, talking about his future.
"After graduation, maybe go back home and take over my parents’ small entertainment company, get married to a cheerful, good-natured wife, have a couple of kids, and maybe an adopted dog.
I’d work hard, make money, and focus on giving my wife and kids a good life. That would satisfy me in this lifetime!"
Now, this young man stood before him in disheveled clothes, wearing a carelessly playful smile typical of a drifter.