After she arrived at the restaurant, Xiang Quan and Yuan He had also just arrived. Yuan He had brought along a female secretary.

The private room was elegant in design. The floor-to-ceiling screens were adorned with landscape paintings, and a coffee table and futon were placed on the other side of the screen.

Yuan He was in his forties, but he was rather pleasing to the eye. There was no dirty guise in his speech.

After greeting them, he went straight to the matter of cooperation with full dedication.

Xiang Quan originally thought that Yuan He would be like Lu Hong and have suspicious intentions towards Ye An. So he couldn’t help but be confused upon seeing such a serious discussion.

 Was what Ye An said really true? The reason that Brilliant Dreams agreed to cooperate and even gave her the lead role was because of her own abilities?

“Aside from the anime, we also have a film and television department. Headquarters has also invested in film and television projects, so there is quite a bit of demand for voice acting. If we cooperate long-term, then we will provide your studio with a plethora of resources.”

Yuan He’s conditions were generous enough that even Xiang Quan felt that it was too good to be true and wondered if they were being poached.

He looked at Yuan He but found that the other party only looked at Ye An. The man was cautious in his words–as if he was trying to please her.

After business was pretty much settled, the tea was taken away, and they began to eat.

At the dinner table, Yuan He didn’t urge them to drink that much. He only clinked glasses with Xiang Quan once in goodwill and wished them a pleasant cooperation.

When the meal was about to end, Xiang Quan went to the bathroom.

Seeing him leave, Ye An took the initiative to pour half a glass of wine and held it towards Yuan He. “Many thanks to Mr. Yuan for taking care of recent matters.”

“Miss Ye is too polite; this is what I should’ve done,” Yuan He hurriedly replied.

He put the cup down and joked, “Mr. Xie specifically had someone come over to say hello. Even if I had the courage to do so, there would be no way that I would dare neglect Miss Ye.”

Ye An also smiled.

She deliberated for a bit before speaking, “I have a request that may trouble Mr. Yuan. If there is any cooperation in the future, I hope that you will avoid using your current representative, Lu Hong.”

Hearing this, Yuan He was a little puzzled, but he quickly realized that it might have been Lu Hong that had offended her in the past. He agreed, “Alright.”

Ye An smiled. “ I’ve troubled you, President Yuan.”

The wine in the glass swirled, fanning its glossy pattern. It contrasted her countenance, making her gaze look vivid and lively.

Zhong Fu never told Yuan He about her identity. Yuan He looked at her and debated on whether to ask her directly, but he was afraid of crossing the line and offending her.

Seeing him staring at her, Ye An couldn’t help but ask, “Does President Yuan have something to say?”

Yuan He hesitated for a moment but didn’t ask in the end. He changed the topic to talk about something else.

After dinner, Yuan He left first with his assistant. Ye An and Xiang Quan stayed behind for a bit.

“I drank alcohol, so I can’t drive. I’ll have a car send you back.” After going outside, Xiang Quan prepared to hail a car like usual.

Ye An said, “No need, my family’s driver came to pick me up.”

Your family’s driver?

Xiang Quan followed her gaze and saw a Maybach parked not far away. Its features were elegant and high-contrast. From front to back, the three words “I am expensive” were practically inlaid in gold and displayed on the car. He was almost blinded by his own poverty.

Xiang Quan: ???

“You…” Xiang Quan was slow to accept it, and the rumors that were circulating in the industry had even flashed in his mind.

Ye An met his skeptical gaze and explained lightly, “Didn’t I tell you that I got rich overnight and that I’m now not short of money?”

Xiang Quan: “…”

I thought you were just lying to slack off at work!

Ye An was amused by his reaction, but she said more seriously, “By the way, when you left earlier, President Yuan talked to me about the future development and plans for the studio…”

When it came to business, Xiang Quan also became more serious. “What’d he say?”

Ye An said, “President Ye said that our studio isn’t operating on a large enough scale, and that our internal structure isn’t well organized. We could also expand into related business industries.”

Xiang Quan listened attentively without exposing his thoughts. 

“I feel like President Yuan has a point. In the past few years, the domestic voice acting industry has developed to the point where it is no longer behind the scenes. However, the market is still chaotic and unorganized. If we can seize this opportunity and use it to our advantage. Maybe the studio will have some future prospects.”

Ye An spoke for a long time without hearing any response from him. She stopped and asked, “What do you think?”

Xiang Quan put his hand in his pocket, looked at her, and smiled. “That should be me asking you. What do you think?”

The two have known each other for a long time. Sometimes they were even more like friends than coworkers, and they often joked around in private.

Ye An didn’t refute and smiled. “I think that I could help fund your cooperation with Brilliant Dreams. You can just pay a percentage of the dividends every year, and the studio will continue to be under your name. I won’t interfere with anything. What do you think?”

Xiang Quan understood her intentions. He thought for a moment before nodding. “Alright, I’ll go back and think about it.”

Ye An added, “Also, I want to terminate my contract.”

Xiang Quan glanced at her. “That last sentence was the important part, wasn’t it?”

Xiang Quan had expected this from when she said she got rich overnight, so he wasn’t surprised.

Ye An couldn’t help but smile.

A bright smile appeared before him. Her lips were bright red, and her eyes were radiant, like a spring full moon.

Xiang Quan looked at her and remembered something. He suddenly asked, “If I remember correctly, you… seem to have acted in the past. Why did you later quit and willingly go behind the scenes and dub instead?”

Ye An was startled.

The smile on her face instantly faded, and her eyes narrowed. “Where did you hear about this?”

Seeing her reaction, Xiang Quan was a bit confused. “I saw some news in the past. Did I remember it wrong?”

Ye An didn’t admit or deny it. Her eyes held some complex emotion, and she was silent for a few seconds before sneering, “How is the entertainment industry easy to break into? Do you really take me as a superstar?”

Hearing the hidden meaning in her words, he wondered about the story behind it. Xiang Quan wanted to continue asking about it, but she interrupted by saying, “It’s all over now. Why are you asking so much? If you keep up with this, then I’ll start asking about your exes.”

Surely enough, his ex-girlfriends were Xiang Quan’s weak spot. After she mentioned it, Xiang Quan’s face darkened at a speed invisible to the naked eye. 

“Okay, it’s getting late. Hurry home now.”

After so long, he was still unable to get over it.

Ye An couldn’t help but smile as she waved and turned towards the car’s parking spot.

The night scene was flourishing, and as the car merged into the main lane, the lights flashed past the car windows.

Ye An took out her phone. Xiang Quan suddenly sent her another text to remind her to pay attention to the promotions on Weibo.

Ye An opened Weibo and found that her most recent post was from last month. All her comments and private messages asked when she was releasing a new project.

It was time to have another project. If she stayed in hiding, then all her fans would leave. 

She opened the blog for Brilliant Dreams Animation and reposted the latest promotional post for “Pharmacist.”

Soon, the comments flooded in:

[My goddess finally released a new project!!]

[AHHHHHHH this role, this voice! I’m so excited!!!]

[awsl! I’m about to explode!!!]*

*aswl- chinese slang for “啊我死了” (ah I’m dead) to describe one’s excitement.

[When can jie jie send a selfie! Begging for a collection of nine for my heart’s desire!]

[I can’t tell whether I’m a fan of the voice or the face…]

    ……

Ye An chose two random comments to reply to before leaving the crowd of comments.

    —-

She arrived back home at nine, not too late.

Aunt Zhou hadn’t gone to rest yet. Seeing Ye An come back, Aunt Zhou expressed her worry, “Eldest Young Master hasn’t had much of an appetite at night and doesn’t eat much.”

Ye An frowned. She went to the kitchen to warm a cup of milk before going upstairs.

She opened the bedroom door to face the darkness inside. Xie Shuo couldn’t see, so there was no point in him turning on the light.

Ye An flipped the switch, and the sudden light penetrated her eyesight. She squinted to see Xie Shuo standing in front of one of the French windows. His slender and statue-like figure stood alone.

    ……

…This time didn’t count as him sitting, so there had been some progress.

“What’s wrong?” Ye An walked towards him with the glass of milk in hand and spoke in a gentle voice, “Weren’t you just fine earlier today? How come you’re upset now?”

Xie Shuo ignored her and continued to stand silently.

“Aunt Zhou said that you didn’t eat much tonight; do you have an upset stomach? I heated a glass of milk for you. Hurry and drink it while it’s still warm so you won’t be uncomfortable when you’re trying to sleep tonight.”

Seeing that he didn’t react, Ye An moved his hand to wrap around the cup.

Xie Shuo coldly withdrew his hand before turning around and fumbling to sit down on the sofa.

…Never mind, he sat down again.

Ye An helplessly sat down. “Do I have to feed you for you to drink it? ”

She took his hand again and forcefully pushed the cup into his hand.

“If you don’t drink it, then I’ll really feed it to you!”

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