CH 26

Yu Youzhi admired Huo Annong’s furious back for three seconds, then looked at the dirty wine on the carpet and readied the corners of his mouth.

Just when the waiter was about to come clean it up, he raised his head and smiled apologetically, turning back into the warm-hearted, gentle star everyone knew, “Sorry, I accidentally knocked over my glass, thank you for your hard work.”

Instantly, the staff blushed at his kind words and smile.

The waiter was well-trained and swept the floor cleanly, picking up a fallen gold gilded business card to put in his bag of trash.

Printed on the card were several large artistic characters, spelling out “Photographer Tao Feng.”

“What is this?”

It was an obvious question, but the staff still responded tactfully, “It should be a card that a guest accidentally left behind.”

“Hmm, so that photographer was here too…why didn’t I see him?”

Yu Youzhi’s muttering made Tao Feng in the corner sneeze.

Rubbing his nose, he asked himself, “Which pretty girl is thinking about me so late?”

At this time, he was standing on the edge of the banquet hall, carefully observing the young man in the royal blue suit near the door.

He was waiting for the right moment to come forward and talk to him.

Tao Feng had tried so hard to get an invitation to this charity dinner for one reason. He was looking for more business opportunities that could only be found through connections. For that purpose, he had gone above and beyond printing off at least two dozen business cards to hand out while he was here.

But he never expected to see Yu Youzhi.

As soon as the famous star appeared, the once promising photographer thought of the hot scandal that had ruined his reputation on the internet with the help of [Fully Automatic Green Tea Machine].

He ground his teeth and trembled in rage.

[Fully Automatic Green Tea Machine] is Yu Youzhi’s biggest fan, and now, Yu Youzhi was right there!

It made him paranoid that [Fully Automatic Green Tea Machine] was nearby, too!

He wanted to find her1So, the pronoun usage in this chapter is a bit confusing, but I decided to use pronouns according to how the separate characters think of Yu Le. For example, Yu Youzhi knows that Yu Le and Manman are the same person and are male so I have him using the pronoun “he/him” when referring to Yu Le. Tao Feng on the other hand still doesn’t know who [Fully Automatic Green Tea Machine] is and everyone assumed that Yu Youzhi’s fan would be a girl, so I have him using the pronoun “she/her” when referring to [Fully Automatic Green Tea Machine] but “he/him” when talking to Yu Le…does that make sense at all? I also plan on continuing to use this idea in future chapters, so please comment below if you don’t like it or have a different idea.!

Tao Feng gave up on handing out his cards as soon as he saw Yu Youzhi and began to quietly watch him, monitoring the area for suspicious people instead.

Unfortunately, no suspects were found.

When he first saw the young man in the deep blue suit, Tao Feng hadn’t paid much attention. Although he was wearing high-end clothes, he habitually buried his head and didn’t seem to have high self-esteem. At a glance, you could tell that he was a poor man who hadn’t yet seen the world.

He was of no value to meet.

Rather, the shrewd, fat man next to him was more attractive.

He didn’t like the arrogant Wang Furui but still walked over to dutifully hand him his business card.

It wasn’t appreciated, so he simply ignored the poor young man and moved on to find the next potential rich customer.

This continued until the man came out of the toilet acting close to Yu Youzhi.

Soon, he was surrounded by three of the most valuable people here, his identity wasn’t small after all.

He was someone he could work with.

Now that the young man was finally alone, Tao Feng walked over with an exquisitely inlaid card in his hand, “Hello, my name is Tao Feng.” Instead of introducing himself with the spiel he had prepared for everyone else, he decided to play it more gently this time, “I saw you standing alone over here and felt that we were somewhat similar. Could I have the honour of getting to know you more closely?”

The young man looked a little wary and seemed to step back before raising his head to look at him with his grey eyes, “Yes?”

Tao Feng smiled politely, handing his card over and exchanging some pleasantries before getting to the point, “I would like to ask, do you know Mr. Yu?” He did his best to charm the other with a smile, “In fact, I just noticed you and him chatting. Are you two close?”

The young man glanced at him with unclear meaning in his eyes, “No, he and I are not familiar. I’ve seen a few of his works, I could probably barely be counted as a fan, but that’s the extent of it.”

Frowning, Tao Feng was disappointed, but pretended not to care as he asked, “Then, what about [Fully Automatic Green Tea Machine]? Do you know her?”

The young man stared at him, seemingly confused, “What?”

“[Fully Automatic Green Tea Machine].” Tao Feng didn’t have much hope as he repeated his words.

“What…green tea?”

“[Fully Automatic Green Tea Machine],” he was a little impatient but did his best not to show it, “It doesn’t matter, just forget it if you haven’t heard of her.”

The young man’s eyes revealed a hint of emotion as he hesitated before asking, “Excuse me…did this green tea machine person do something to you?”

“Do something?!” Since this was mentioned, his expression twisted tightly, and his eyes darkened, “Not just something, she almost killed me!”

The young man was visibly stunned.

He laughed at himself, “Don’t show such a surprised expression, even though that green tea machine tried to kill me, she didn’t truly succeed.”

The man’s shock grew.

Although it was obvious the other didn’t really understand what he was talking about, at this moment, Tao Feng had a strong urge to keep talking to the stranger in front of him, “I made two small mistakes after returning to China.” His eyebrows were low, causing his profile to turn melancholic.

He was thrown a questioning glance.

Tao Feng explained, “I am a photographer. I’ve been abroad for a while working, and after returning to China, I was invited by a well known magazine to take a set of photos for a certain star. They had presented a theme for me to interpret as I wished and I did so eagerly. As an artist, items have meaning and I wished to express oblivion through memories with blurred shadow and light.”

The young man was listening very carefully, praising him in between sentences, “Your idea is very good.”

Tao Feng smiled, “Using a gauze like material, I managed to capture the concept I wanted to show, but unfortunately, fans of the celebrity didn’t like it.” He raised his head slightly, “The first mistake I made was that I should not have expected the mediocre public to understand my aesthetics, and the second mistake I made was that I should not have paid attention to those on Weibo who dislike me.”

The other showed a timely puzzled expression.

So Tao Feng continued to logically explain his thoughts, “People might think that my photos are not as good as those by [Fully Automatic Green Tea Machine], but that is purely due to their lack of education. I admit that her pictures are spiritual, but to say that she is better than me…Ha!” Saying this, he shook his head mockingly, “I merely responded to her posts mocking her a little, but she began to target me relentlessly afterwards.”

The young man opposite stared at him, “He targeted you? What do you mean?”

“Green tea machine is jealous of my talent. She bought online marketing accounts and tried to slander me, even going as far as to force magazines to stop cooperating with me…I am a businessman. Before, I had no worries and could get contracts whenever I wished, but now, no party is willing to cooperate with me!” Tao Feng complained angrily, “I’m left with no choice but to act as a dog, handing out business cards to others like I’m begging for help.”

The other couldn’t help sighing, but he was a little confused, “Are you sure that the person responsible for this is green tea machine?”

Tao Feng retorted excitedly, “Who else could it be? Besides her, no one would have a reason to target me like this!” He took a deep breath, “I even bowed my head first and sent her countless private messages, but she didn’t reply to me even once.”

“…Do you really hate him so much?”

Gritting his teeth, the next words from Tao Feng’s mouth were the most heartfelt he’d ever said, “She is my biggest enemy in this life! I must find her, and when I do, I will let her have a taste of how I feel right now!” After venting his various feelings, Tao Feng felt better. Putting a polite smile back on his face, he looked to the other man but saw he had retreated further away, “Sorry, did I scare you?”

The young man glanced at him hesitantly, “…It’s still okay.”

Tao Feng looked at him very sincerely, “You see, we had such an interesting chat, but I still don’t know your name?”

The young man paused for two seconds, and some emotions flashed through his grey eyes, but he quickly suppressed them.

“Yu Le,” he said slowly, “My name is Yu Le.”

At this moment, Yu Le might have seemed calm on the outside, but in his heart was a herd of horses galloping freely.

He could not expose his identity here.

Tao Feng really wanted to tear him apart, Yu Le could only pretend to share the same hatred, “This green tea machine is really bad! He actually did such an outrageous thing to you!”

Tao Feng couldn’t agree more, “I’m cursing her to death every night in my dreams! My greatest wish is for her to die a cruel and violent death on the streets with her intestines ripped out and stomach rotted!”

Yu Le felt that this was a bit vicious, but on the surface, he continued to say, “Yes! Ask him to kneel down and apologise to you!”

“If you find out any information about the green tea machine in the future, be sure to tell me, okay?”

“Okay!”

After politely saying goodbye to the photographer, Yu Le immediately took out his phone to contact Yu Youzhi.

He got straight to the point.

[Yu Beiman: Do you know Tao Feng?]

[Yu Youzhi Himself: Manman, you actually took the initiative to send me a message; today is really a day worth remembering! But why is it that you only need me to find another man? Manman, don’t you care about me?]

[Yu Beiman: You really know Tao Feng.]

[Yu Beiman: During the photo controversy online, Tao Feng was suddenly attacked by a bunch of marketing accounts. Was it you? Did you also have Martha Magazine terminate their cooperation with him?]

[Yu Youzhi Himself: That’s right. As expected of my Manman, you’re so smart!]

[Yu Beiman: Why did you do that?]

[Yu Youzhi Himself: Because I can’t stand him! He bought marketing accounts to guide public opinion and played with my fans like fools. I hate this kind of holier-than-thou person the most!]

[Yu Youzhi Himself: Manman, why are you suddenly asking about this?]

[Yu Beiman: It’s nothing; I just suddenly wanted to thank you.]

Thank you for calming the storm for me, and thank you for successfully making Tao Feng hate me.

Yu Youzhi immediately sent over a heart emoji, and Yu Le felt extremely depressed when he saw it.

[Yu Youzhi Himself: Manman, don’t forget our dinner tomorrow night~]

[Yu Youzhi Himself: I’ll pick you up tomorrow!]

Yu Le felt even more depressed.

As the banquet wrapped up, Yu Youzhi was in a good mood. Climbing into his car, he was far more cheerful than when he had left it.

Slumping lazily in the back seat, he held his phone up to answer messages, the light hitting his face, showing a bright smile.

Song Fangba looked at him quietly, “So…How was tonight’s dinner?”

The man replied without raising his eyes, “It wasn’t bad. Except for a certain annoying person, everything else was fine.”

“An annoying person…?”

Yu Youzhi was too lazy to deal with him and raised an eye to the mirror, “Hmmm, he advised me quite sincerely to go back and inherit the family business.”

Song Fangba immediately responded, “Youzhi, you don’t have anything on the schedule tomorrow.” He was cautious as he offered, “Your father called and wanted to know if you wanted to go home for dinner?”

Yu Youzhi’s attitude was cold, “I can’t go.”

“But…”

He was in a good mood tonight, so he patiently said again, “Brother Song, I already have arrangements made for dinner tomorrow, I really can’t go.” Although he was staring at his phone, he obviously knew that his assistant was hesitating over how to persuade him. He didn’t want to argue and said bluntly instead, “Brother Song, if you want to stay with me, don’t try to meddle with my family matters.”

Song Fangba obediently shut his mouth.

At five o’clock the next day, Yu Le received news from Yu Youzhi.

[Yu Youzhi Himself: Manman, do you remember that we are having dinner tonight? Have you headed out yet? I’ll pick you up.]

Come pick him up?

Did he know where he lived?

[Yu Beiman: Don’t come; send me your location, and I’ll head over instead.]

[Yu Youzhi: But, I’ve already arrived at your door…]

At his door!

Yu Le was startled and immediately looked out of the window. Under the sparse ginkgo leaves, a tall, long-legged young man wearing a sun hat and oversized black sunglasses was looking around nonchalantly.

That was Yu Youzhi!

Dressing so suspiciously, did he want to be caught?!

He immediately ran downstairs with a burst of anger, ranting as he rushed over to the man, “How did you know where I live? Did you follow me?!”

Yu Youzhi turned to face him and, looking at his messy hair and home clothes, was stunned for a while, “…No,” he explained aggrievedly, “I just investigated you a little.”

Yu Le laughed, “So you think that is better?!”

Nodding, Yu Youzhi was sure of it, “It is a little better, isn’t it?”

He clenched his fists, ready to hit someone.

However, due to the pedestrians coming and going around him and a height difference of at least five centimetres between them, after careful consideration, Yu Le silently endured his rage.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you out.”

Yu Le was about to lead him upstairs, but Yu Youzhi grabbed his wrist and pulled him directly out the community door.

He struggled to shake the other man off, “What are you doing?”

“Didn’t we make an appointment for dinner?” The tall, handsome young man pulled down his sunglasses, revealing his beautiful grey eyes, and blinked at him, “Are you regretting it already? I’m not letting you back out.”

“I’m not going back on my word,” he really couldn’t stand to watch this fully grown man deliberately act pitiful and rolled his eyes disdainfully, “You just shocked me with your message, I came down here without even changing clothes. I’m not dressed to go out at all.”

“No need to change, the boss at the restaurant we’re going to is very nice, he’ll definitely let you in even if you look like a beggar!”

“…” What the hell did that mean?!

Yu Youzhi looked him over, “You don’t need to be as formal as last night, this suits you very well already. And when it comes to eating, the important thing is who you’re eating with, not what they look like.” As he spoke, he rubbed Yu Le’s hair gently, “Yu Le, I’m very happy to be having dinner with you tonight!”

Listening to these disgustingly sappy words, Yu Le felt he was used to it by now.

Hesitating a bit, he eventually nodded, “You’re right, the most important thing when eating is who you’re with.” Batting away the paw on his head, he smiled, “It’s not necessary to dress up just to eat with you.”

“Yu Le, aren’t you being too mean?”

He didn’t hear him, “Come on, let’s go.”

They soon arrived at their destination, a small private house restaurant known only to regulars.

The store’s property opened into a green farmyard, a relief of colour in the middle of the reinforced concrete city. Osmanthus flowers were planted in the yard, and as soon as Yu Le pushed the door into the shop, he smelled the faint fragrance of food.

Stepping on the cracked but very solid ground under his feet, he saw old wooden tables randomly placed throughout the courtyard, along with long wooden benches that made customers squeeze in with their companions. The entire area had an inexplicable sense of shabbiness, not at all in line with what he had expected.

As soon as Yu Youzhi entered, he sat down and familiarly shouted, “Lady boss! Come take our orders!”

Such a remote but personal restaurant was perfect for dining in the evening. The number of guests were sparse, neither too many nor too few.

Scooting onto the bench, Yu Youzhi took off his hat and sunglasses and put them aside.

His silver hair from the last shopping mall event had long been dyed back to its original black. Now, it was in full disarray and curled up into a mess. The usually overly delicate face actually looked a little cute at the moment.

Yu Le frowned and moved his eyes away.

As soon as he took off his sunglasses and hat, that incomparable face was exposed to the eyes of the masses.

His outstanding temperament didn’t help either, and he instantly attracted the attention of the guests around them.

Yu Le was confused, “Aren’t you afraid of being recognised if you act like this?”

“Don’t worry, I made sure to change my contact lenses,” he said, stretching his neck out to show Yu Le his big black irises, “they definitely won’t recognise me!”

It turned out that Yu Le’s worry was indeed justified because soon a girl came over with a blushing face, “Excuse me…are you Yu Youzhi?”

The star quickly got into acting mode as he began to pretend to be confused, “Ah, are you talking about that popular idol who has acted in so many dramas? Many people say I look similar to him,” he revealed his big black eyes with a wry smile, “it must be great to be a star. Not once has someone said that he looks like me.”

The girl who had come over flushed with embarrassment, “…I’m sorry.”

He quickly shook his head, “No, no, I’m used to this kind of thing. Even if I wear a mask when I go out, it’s troublesome to be recognised as the wrong person.”

Yu Le looked at his performance and snorted.

He was well-practised with this act.

After the girl left full of guilt, he showed his contempt, “Mr. Star, how often do you sneak out like this?”

Yu Youzhi smiled shyly, “Only occasionally.”

Thinking of An An and the others, Yu Le suddenly felt a little sorry for them, “Do you treat all your fans this way? Acting one way but thinking another? How sad would they be if they knew your true face?”

“They won’t know.” Yu Youzhi smiled, his slightly lazy voice echoed with the faint fragrance of osmanthus and rice, “I will never expose my true self in front of my fans, this is the bare minimum of professional ethics required.”

At this moment, the neon lights wrapped around the wooden fence in the yard lit up.

The faint, warm yellow cast an ambiguous glow on Yu Youzhi’s face.

“Although they must know in their hearts that the real me is different from the one in their minds, but as long as they are still willing to support and believe in me, I will continue to act.” As he said, Yu Youzhi’s expression was very gentle, “Relationships are two-way roads, even between fans and celebrities, effort must be put in by both sides.”

Yu Le was suddenly curious, “Then, what will you do if you ever like someone? Will you tell your fans?”

Yu Youzhi’s eyes were burning, “I will be honest, this type of thing should be upright. If I truly like someone, they should not be forced to hide from the public.”

This look made him feel a little uncomfortable, Yu Le frowned and avoided the topic.

While they were talking, their dishes were already served,

Without the exquisite presentation and trimming, the oily farm-style stir fry made here actually looked delicious.

Yu Le swallowed, picking up a piece of fried meat and chewing happily.

The boss here was a wonderful chef.

He couldn’t help but pick up another chopstick of braised pork. The crispy, tender aroma of fat and lean meat exploded in his mouth. The umami aroma was so rich that it almost melted as it penetrated directly into his stomach. Swallowing quickly, he regretted that he couldn’t swallow his own tongue along with it.

Yu Youzhi looked at him carefully, “Yu Le, what do you think of the taste?”

Realising that he was acting as if he hadn’t eaten for days, he reservedly picked up a chopstick of green pepper, chewed them, and said, “The boss lady’s craftsmanship is very good.”

Yu Youzhi smiled, “Thank you for liking my restaurant.”

“Your restaurant?” Yu Le became uncomfortable, shifting awkwardly in his seat.

Yu Youzhi raised his chin proudly, “I went to Z City during my high school years and I always wanted to open a small restaurant like this, even though I can’t cook at all. Eventually, I found a proprietress who is good at cooking, and we opened this private restaurant together.”

He realised that Yu Youzhi was sharing too much with him.

You wouldn’t usually bring your loose acquaintances to this kind of store with such a personal background, right?

He inspected the dishes on the table and took another chopstick of beef, “Why did you bring me here?”

“There was no real reason, I just wanted you to see the restaurant I opened secretly and try the craftsmanship.” At this time, Yu Youzhi was like a child sharing his favourite toys with a friend, “I’m glad you like it!”

Secretly?

Yu Le chewed his bite of beef silently, thinking that maybe he should ask about the story of this restaurant.

But he didn’t.

Last time, Zhu Luo also took him to a restaurant and shared with him the pianist that he loved. Although both were sharing their favourite things, Zhu Luo had been a friend of the original owner for many years, but he was only a nominal fan of Yu Youzhi.

This behaviour seemed a bit too intimate.

Obviously, at the charity banquet, this man was still pretending to tease him. What did he want to do now?

While lost in thought, he mechanically picked up a piece of green pepper and stuffed it in his mouth.

Watching him, Yu Youzhi frowned and glanced at the dishes left on the table.

Yu Le was puzzled, picking up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs and biting into it, “What’s wrong? Do you not like the food?”

“No.” He looked between Yu Le and the plates of food, “Do you not like the vegetables?”

He was about to pick up another bite of vegetables with his chopsticks, but as he heard this, his hand paused, “Why do you ask that?”

“Look, the frequency of your chopsticks is as stable as a clock,” Yu Youzhi peered at his face carefully, “Counting from a while ago, you haven’t missed an alternation even once. It must be intentional, right?”

He had noticed that?

Yu Le frowned, “It’s obvious to eat vegetables mixed with meat. Why don’t you ask if I don’t like the meat?”

Yu Youzhi smiled, his laugh lazy and light, showing great amusement at his question.

He didn’t answer immediately but stood up from his seat, bending over the table slightly to stretch out his slender fingertips and smooth the brow of the other.

Yu Le was stunned momentarily, the unfamiliar temperature brought a strange feeling between his eyebrows.

He could feel that the other person’s fingers were gently tracing along his brow bone. At this moment, the man’s pleasant voice sounded again, “Yu Le, you must not have noticed that your brows will unconsciously move when you pick vegetables. It’s quite cute how they wrinkle actually.” His fingers slipped down to his cheeks, swirling around them and gently pinching the pouch, “And when you eat vegetables, the rate of your mouth moves much slower.”

He was stunned, but when he returned to his senses, Yu Youzhi had already withdrawn his hands and sat back down.

“A person’s likes and dislikes are usually very obvious. Even when they’re deliberately concealed, it’s still easy to see through with careful observation.” Yu Youzhi stared at him with interest, “Yu Le, you are such a strange person, why are you trying so hard not to let others see your habits?”

Yu Le was really frightened this time, but he said with a straight face, “None of your business!” He thought about Yu Youzhi’s actions just now, and the more he thought about them, the stranger they became. Suddenly, he had to ask, “Yu Youzhi, were you flirting with me just now?”

Yu Youzhi burst out laughing, “Ah, was I not obvious enough?”

He frowned, “I’m your fan, doesn’t this go against your professional ethics?”

Yu Youzhi raised his hands in defence, “Is it any worse than you wearing women’s clothing to chase me?”

Yu Le rationally decided to shut up.

Yu Youzhi looked very happy, so happy that it made him angry just to look at him.

“Actually, there’s something I’ve been curious about since I saw him,” Yu Youzhi ran his hand through his hair, “your friend, the one who plays the violin…his name is Zhu Luo, right?”

“Yes, what about him?”

“Does he know that you hate vegetables?”

Yu Le frowned, having an unknown premonition in his heart.

“Your friend seems to care a lot about you, there’s no reason for him not to know, right?” At this time, the beautiful man stared at him without blinking, a puzzled look frozen on his face, “The strange thing is, you seem to care a lot about him too, but the way you get along with him is different…you act too reserved towards him. Or maybe, a little scared?”

Yu Le felt a thump in his heart.

What was with this man?! Why was he spotted again?

“Ah, you really are afraid of him,” Yu Youzhi obviously noticed the change in his expression, “but why?”

“I’m full,” avoiding to answer. He put the last grain of rice in his mouth before setting down his chopsticks, “thank you for bringing me to your secret restaurant today. The food was delicious.” Yu Le thought, at least he finally knew why Yu Youzhi brought him here, “But that alone is not enough to compel me into sharing my secrets with you. Regarding the matters between Zhu Luo and I, I’m sorry, but it’s none of your business.” Finishing, under Yu Youzhi’s surprised gaze, he stood up and patted his butt, “I’ve eaten, will you send me home or should I call for a ride?”

Sorry for the late update everyone, I stayed up working on a paper for one of my classes last night and it completely slipped my mind to post anything. I hope you enjoy this week’s chapter~