CH 41

Pushing the door open, Pei Zhaozhou’s eyes were half-lowered, focused and serious as he glanced at the documents. The elegant and dignified light gray suit accentuated his refined features, while his tall figure concealed beautiful muscular contours. 

“Brother Pei,” Si Huaixi greeted, his eyes twinkling with a clear and beautiful sea-blue color, pretending not to remember the enchanting touch hidden beneath Pei Zhaozhou’s abstinent and aloof appearance. 

Especially after a period of feeding, his once firm abdominal muscles had become slightly soft, offering a delightful sensation when touched. It felt like a bundle of soft and warm cotton, and at this rate, Brother Pei’s eight-pack abs would completely transform into a single entity. 

Occasionally, Si Huaixi couldn’t help but wonder if Brother Pei had been eating a bit too much lately. 

Upon seeing the arrival of Si Huaixi, Pei Zhaozhou’s expression relaxed. He set aside the final page of the document and smiled, “Isn’t the crew filming? Why did you come to find me so early?” 

Si Huaixi casually sat on the nearby sofa and said, “Something happened on the set, and I might be temporarily out of work.” 

Hearing this news, a slight frown appeared on Pei Zhaozhou’s face, and he asked, “Oh, how come I haven’t heard about this?” 

He was the biggest investor in the crew and had secretly instructed Assistant Jin to establish good relationships with the director and the staff for the sake of ensuring Si Huaixi’s well-being on the set. 

Now, his ‘canary’ under his protection had become unemployed, and no one bothered to inform him?!

Pei Zhaozhou’s eyes darkened slightly, a trace of dissatisfaction rising within him, but he maintained a calm demeanor on the surface. 

Si Huaixi replied, “There were some issues with the lead actor, and the crew doesn’t have enough manpower to continue shooting. So Director Lin asked us to take a few days off.” 

Pei Zhaozhou relaxed his posture, clasping his hands calmly, and said, “If there’s a problem with the lead actor, then let’s replace him. The investment money comes from Blue Air Mech Company anyway.” 

Initially, he had considered casting Si Huaixi as the protagonist, but considering his limited experience as a newcomer, he had assigned him a supporting role instead. Moreover, this was a campus idol drama with an e-sports theme.

Even if Si Huaixi took on the role of the antagonist, it wasn’t a character devoid of humanity. On the contrary, it possessed the charismatic charm of a supporting male antagonist. Let him continue with that role for now. When Si Huaixi decided which direction he wanted to pursue in the future, he could find a good script for him then.

He had previously set up a studio for Si Huaixi, placing it under the name of his good friend Zhou Wenjia’s Star Entertainment company. He always nagged that if Zhou Wenjia didn’t take over the studio, he would poach the talents inside!

Pei Zhaozhou didn’t mind it, anyway he was paying the salaries of the studio’s employees. If Zhou Wenjia was willing to help him nurture talents, he could borrow it for a while without any issues.

But, upon hearing Pei Zhaozhou’s offer for him to play the lead role, Si Huaixi immediately rejected it without a second thought.

“No, Brother Pei, I’m fine with my antagonist role on this set,” he said, pursing his lips. Pei Zhaozhou’s good intentions were not understood, leaving him feeling a little sour and unhappy. With a faint gaze, he replied, “Oh, really? Haven’t you considered fighting for it?”

If Si Huaixi wanted to thrive in the entertainment industry, he could pave the way for his stardom.

Si Huaixi smiled and said, “Of course I’ve tried. Director Lin said that after I finish filming this drama, he’ll introduce me to some roles.”

Si Huaixi didn’t want to accept his offer but instead went to Director Lin for role recommendations! Director Lin was just a small-time director who filmed idol dramas. He probably had nothing worthwhile to offer, most likely just insignificant minor roles.

So why didn’t Si Huaixi directly accept his arrangement?

This thought annoyed Pei Zhaozhou, causing a hint of anger to flicker in his amber-gold eyes. He glared at this ignorant ‘canary.’

Si Huaixi’s smile deepened. Well, he didn’t actually want Bai Huaiyu’s lead role. It’s just that he disliked excessive intimacy with actors of the opposite sex. This e-sports idol drama had many scenes of kissing and embracing between the male and female leads.

He knew very well that he lacked the self-awareness of an actor. If he had intimate contact with other actors, his inherent loathing and distance would be hard to conceal on screen.

As Si Huaixi observed Pei Zhaozhou’s cold, proud demeanor, he couldn’t help but feel a warm sensation in his heart, along with a sense of secret delight.

A hint of mockery flashed in Si Huaixi’s eyes, but on the surface, he obediently furrowed his brows, his clear and transparent sea-blue eyes fixed on Pei Zhaozhou. Pretending to be troubled, he said, “If Brother Pei wants me to be the lead, it’s possible, but I’ll need to discuss reshooting the kissing and embracing scenes with Director Lin…”

In an instant, Pei Zhaozhou felt a surge of frustration. His amber-platinum eyes stared at Si Huaixi like a mighty lion staring at an unfaithful partner. Frustrated and at a loss for words, he clenched his teeth inwardly and asked, “Oh, so you want to go?”

Si Huaixi’s eyes sparkled with a smile as he playfully retorted, “If Brother Pei wants me to go, there’s no reason why I can’t.”

Pei Zhaozhou gritted his teeth and said, “If you really want to go, I won’t stop you.”

Si Huaixi didn’t dare to tease him any further. If he did, Brother Pei probably wouldn’t let him leave through that door. He smiled and replied, “I think I’d better stay grounded for now and start with supporting roles.”

Only then did Pei Zhaozhou let out a sigh of relief in his heart and haughtily uttered a single sound, “Mmm.”

In secret, Si Huaixi couldn’t help but burst into laughter, his shoulders shaking slightly as he turned away to take a sip of water.

— Brother Pei is just too adorable.

On the other hand, Pei Zhaozhou was seriously contemplating Si Huaixi’s future in the entertainment industry. Although he knew full well that Si Huaixi had another ‘identity,’ he couldn’t help but worry and wanted to find him a more stable source of income.

Watching Si Huaixi, dressed in plain and even humble clothes, exuding a fashionable and runway-ready aura, with his soft, bright, sea-blue eyes that were simply stunning and captivating.

Pei Zhaozhou could finally understand the thoughts of those investors and business partners who used to disdainfully bring their glamorous mistresses along.

He was now being enchanted by this beautiful face of a handsome canary, and his faltering rationality made him cautious and careful, fearing he might fall into the spy’s ‘honey trap.’ Money was insignificant to him.

Si Huaixi casually glanced at the books on the shelf, mostly about mech, some even on high-end artificial intelligence. The profound content earned the respect of Si Huaixi, a person from the post-apocalyptic era, for Pei Zhaozhou.

With this knowledge, Pei Zhaozhou, as an ordinary person, established such an advanced and massive mech technology company, producing mech models that even he found somewhat challenging.

In his previous life, he was an advanced psychic with destructive power no less than that of an equivalent-level zombie monster. At his level, destroying a city of tens of thousands of people was no difficult feat.

Looking at the ingeniously crafted mech in the photos, most of which were created by Pei Zhaozhou himself, he fully grasped the practicality of mechs through the game ‘Star River  Battlefield.’ He deeply understood the extraordinary mech talent possessed by this seemingly cold and proud man before him.

Si Huaixi couldn’t help but feel amazed and proud.

— Such a person shouldn’t be buried in the limited role of a villain in the original work.

Before Si Huaixi could further delve into Pei Zhaozhou’s past, a notification sound from the phone interrupted him, indicating a new message.

[Dear customer, your bank balance has been credited with 1,000,000 interstellar credits. Current balance…]

Si Huaixi was a bit baffled. Who had transferred such a huge sum of one million interstellar credits to him?!

He turned to look at Pei Zhaozhou, who had just set down the phone, his eyes calm yet noble, and suddenly everything became clear.

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