BAB 3

 “Bai Zhou, do you have time now?”

This time Sheng Siyu’s tone was not businesslike as usual, but sounded a bit gentle.

But Bai Zhou didn’t feel any tenderness at all. Now he was only feeling the embarrassment of calling in sick at school and being caught red-handed by his teacher in a bar. The tips of his ears were feeling faintly hot.

“Do you have any other arrangements?” Sheng Siyu saw that Bai Zhou didn’t reply and looked directly at Lin Xi.

“Ah?” Lin Xi was suddenly caught off guard and hesitated for a moment before quickly shaking his head. “No, no plans.”

With that look in Sheng Siyu’s eyes, how could he dare to say yes?

“Isn’t it too late to go now?” Bai Zhou still had rejection written all over his face.

The place where he soaked in the hot spring was up in the mountains, and it would take over an hour by car to get to the family home in the city center.

The old man was Sheng Siyu’s grandfather, and the Shengshi Group was built by him.

Although he had long passed on the leadership, his prestige in the Sheng family was still the highest. When the old man said there was a family banquet, even busy people like Sheng Siyu had to obediently attend.

Although the old man loved Sheng Siyu the most, Bai Zhou was quite aware of his own status. Making the old man wait for a younger generation like him at the family banquet would undoubtedly irritate other Sheng family members.

Therefore, it was better not to go rather than be late. After all, if he wasn’t present, nobody would remember him.

“The old man has changed the location to Hongfu Manor. It’s nearby. It’s a good time to go.”

Sheng Siyu’s tone was slightly oppressive, and he seemed to have the attitude that Bai Zhou must be present tonight.

Bai Zhou: “…?”

What? Has his current position reached the point of supporting Sheng Siyu’s face?

Was it really necessary for him to accompany him?

Seeing Bai Zhou’s reluctance, Sheng Siyu had no choice but to explain, “I can’t help it. The old man insisted on me taking you along.”

Bai Zhou: “Oh.”

Got it.

Sheng Siyu didn’t want to come to pick him up, but he had no choice.

Bai Zhou suddenly remembered that two years ago, after the old man learned that Sheng Siyu ran abroad without saying a word the day after his wedding, he scolded Sheng Siyu on the phone in front of him.

This family banquet was probably arranged for Sheng Siyu’s return to the country. Thinking about it this way, if he didn’t attend, the old man would definitely scold Sheng Siyu again.

Although it was a family alliance, the old man had high hopes for their relationship. When arranging the family banquet, he specifically instructed Sheng Siyu to bring Bai Zhou along.

Two hours ago, Sheng Siyu was browsing through Lin Xi’s friend circle videos, “Grandpa, he’s busy working in Changshan and probably can’t make it.”

He didn’t have the heart to tell the old man that his grandson-in-law was busy soaking in hot springs.

Unexpectedly, the old man directly changed the address, “Then you wait for him there. Come over whenever he’s done with work.”

Sheng Siyu looked at the bathrobe on Bai Zhou, “I have formal wear in my car. Can you change into it?”

Knowing that Bai Zhou must not have even prepared formal clothes, Sheng Siyu went to choose a suit before arriving.

The driver brought the clothes. Bai Zhou said, “Wait for me for a few minutes.”

Sheng Siyu nodded, “No hurry. I’ve waited for two hours; a few more minutes won’t make a difference.”

Bai Zhou was stunned.

Damn! Sheng Siyu actually waited for him for two hours?

And was he really found by tracking Lin Xi’s location?

After Bai Zhou finished getting dressed in the changing room, he immediately looked through Lin Xi’s WeChat Moments. The first post was a hot spring photo posted two hours ago. There was also a video below of him and Lin Xi dancing in a nightclub a few days ago.

In the video, Lin Xi looked up and took a shot of himself looking around the circle, behind him a group of male models frantically swinging their crotches, while Bai Zhou stood in the middle with a cap, lazily holding a bottle of red wine in his hand, intoxicated with the beat of the music.

Bai Zhou: “…”

He scrolled down for a while in Lin Xi’s friend circle, and it was filled with these glamorous and enchanting videos.

Bai Zhou couldn’t help but wonder in his heart, Sheng Siyu’s time is so precious; so he shouldn’t be so bored as to look through Lin Xi’s useless videos, right?

Five minutes later, Sheng Siyu saw Bai Zhou walking over in neatly dressed attire.

Bai Zhou is tall and has a cool temperament. The deep blue formal attire highlighted his fair and radiant face.

Two hours ago, Sheng Siyu was still hesitating about whether this outfit was suitable for Bai Zhou. Facts have proved that Bai Zhou’s body shape and face should look good in anything.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing Sheng Siyu staring at him, Bai Zhou thought his shirt was not buttoned properly, so he lowered his head to check again.

“It’s okay.” Sheng Siyu came to his senses. He stretched out his hand and placed his cold white wrist bones on the black car door. “Get in the car.”

*

Hongfu Manor was only a ten-minute drive from the hot spring, but after Bai Zhou got in the car, he felt as if time had slowed down and he was bored out of his mind.

Whenever there was another person in the car, Bai Zhou would chat with him to relieve his boredom, but not Sheng Siyu.

He and Sheng Siyu would never chat to each other to death.

The two met several times before they got married. At that time, Sheng Siyu looked bright and handsome, but when they started chatting, it was either stocks or finance. At that time, Bai Zhou knew that he and Sheng Siyu could not have anything in common.

Bai Zhou took out his mobile phone and started playing games.

Sheng Siyu closed his eyes and leaned back on the backrest. The only sound in the car was the sound of Bai Zhou’s mobile phone playing games.

After a while, Sheng Siyu raised his eyelids and saw Bai Zhou’s face was fair and thin, with long straight eyelashes. His chestnut-colored hair was well-arranged, and in the dim light, his features were subtly revealed, giving off a distant and cold aura, making people hesitate to approach.

He was playing with his phone intently and leaning against the car window from time to time as if there was something he disliked in the center console.

Sheng Siyu lowered his eyelids and said, “Not used to my car?”

Bai Zhou kept moving his hands and said casually: “There’s nothing wrong with the car, it’s just the person…”

Suddenly realizing that he had spilled the beans, Bai Zhou coughed slightly, “I mean, the car… It’s a bit unfamiliar.”

There was a moment of silence in the car. Bai Zhou suddenly heard Sheng Siyu let out a slightly mocking laugh.

“You’re quite used to cuddling with models in nightclubs.”

Bai Zhou: “…?”

Is Sheng Siyu okay? Is he really okay?

Which of his eyes saw him cuddling with models?

Is Sheng Siyu going to start making snide remarks again if he doesn’t explain himself?

Bai Zhou turned off the game and confronted Sheng Siyu seriously, “It’s true that I went to the nightclub with Lin Xi on the day you returned to the country, but it was just that one time. I’m usually very busy, and… Lin Xi chose the male models, not me. I didn’t cuddle with anyone.”

Sheng Siyu lazily leaned back, casually asking, “You’re usually very busy?”

Bai Zhou: “…”

No, has Sheng Siyu not only lost his sight but also his hearing? Bai Zhou has said so much and this was what he heard?

Besides!

What qualifications does Sheng Siyu have to ask him to abide by male ethics?

Did he forget that he’s currently rumored to be dating Su Yan?

Bai Zhou rolled his eyes, “Of course, I can’t compare to President Sheng. Busy with acquiring a film and television company, and busy with creating rumors for hot searches.”

The Maybach smoothly entered the parking space. Sheng Siyu straightened up, leaning forward slightly, “What rumors and hot searches?”

“President Sheng, Young Master Bai, we’ve arrived,” the driver noticed Sheng Siyu’s icy gaze and reminded in a low voice.

This time it was Bai Zhou who smiled mockingly.

“President Sheng, don’t you hate publicity the most? How come your taste has changed after two years? And such poor taste, finding someone like Su Yan attractive?”

As the youngest and most promising vice president of Shengshi, Sheng Siyu’s name was not only well-known in the capital market but also highly regarded in the entertainment industry. Especially now that Sheng Siyu had extended his influence into the entertainment industry.

However, one could not find a clear photo of Sheng Siyu online. Either it was too blurry for even Bai Zhou to recognize or a complete long-range silhouette image, making it impossible to see his face.

As long as President Sheng didn’t like to show his face, Shengshi’s public relations department would surely find a way to keep him worry-free.

With such top-notch public relations, would they allow a second-tier celebrity to go wild on the hot search list associated with Sheng Siyu?

The only thing that really angered Bai Zhou was, why did he have to choose his arch-enemy Su Yan?

Anyone else would do, they could hype it however they wanted, just not Su Yan!

The parking lot was still a bit of a distance from the mansion, and Bai Zhou got out of the car and headed straight for the estate.

He had been here once before, so he knew the way and didn’t need to wait for Sheng Siyu to lead the way.

“Secretary Wen, what’s going on with today’s hot search?” Sheng Siyu walked slowly behind with a coat on his arm.

“President Sheng, Manager Chen meant that the reputation of Huarun’s previous film and television works wasn’t very good. The information about the acquisition was intended to show everyone a different level of production quality in the future…”

“What about Su Yan?”

Sheng Siyu’s tone was cold, and the secretary on the other end of the phone couldn’t help but shudder.

“Um… Su Yan just won the Newcomer Award. Now the promotion of the new movie needs some traffic, so Manager Chen asked the public relations department -“

Sheng Siyu interrupted impatiently, “Is this Chen An’s business ability? I think the choice of Huarun’s general manager needs to be renegotiated.”

Sheng Siyu stopped and looked up at Bai Zhou who was walking in front. After confirming that he was walking in the correct direction, he lowered his voice into the phone and said, “You should know what I hate the most. No matter how big that Su Yan’s traffic is, It has nothing to do with Huarun, and it has nothing to do with me.”

“Alright, President Sheng, I understand.”

Hongfu Manor covered an area of over a thousand square meters, which was bought by Sheng Siyu in his early years. It was originally intended for the old man to retire, but in the past two years, the old man’s health had not been good, so he had been living in the city center near the hospital.

Although it had been vacant, there was always a housekeeper taking care of it.

The interior of the estate was in a typical pastoral style, with various trees, flowers, and bamboo forests in the front yard. The rockeries and bamboo were covered in thick snow, creating a scene that seemed to isolate all worldly disturbances.

The backyard was the main residential area. Even before entering, Bai Zhou could already hear laughter from people inside occasionally.

Currently, the snowfall was not heavy, and the Sheng family members were probably in the yard enjoying the snowy scenery and chatting.

Bai Zhou stood at the corner, not eager to go in. In the two years of marriage, he wasn’t familiar with his husband, let alone his husband’s family.

If he went in, and someone asked who he was, how would he introduce himself?

Hi, everyone, I’m Sheng Siyu’s marriage partner. We just exhausted all possible topics, so I came in by myself?”

A few snowflakes fell on Bai Zhou’s thin shoulders.

“Cold?”

Following Sheng Siyu’s low question, a coat was draped over Bai Zhou’s shoulders.

Bai Zhou turned sideways, and the man was very close to him, so close enough that he could feel the warmth of the breath hitting his forehead.

He reflexively took half a step back, and tightened the collar of his coat with his slender, cold-white hands, “Thank you.”

Sheng Siyu suddenly asked in a cold voice: “Is it necessary to be so alienated from me?”

“No.” Bai Zhou was a little at a loss. He didn’t understand why Sheng Siyu suddenly changed his attitude. Was it the “thank you” just now that touched a nerve with President Sheng?

But not saying thank you would be impolite, right?

Sheng Siyu slowly withdrew his gaze. “The old man’s condition has been unstable lately, so later… Can we show a bit more affection?”

“Ten million for one night of performance.”

“Okay, husband.”

Bai Zhou smoothly took Sheng Siyu’s arm. It wasn’t about the money; it was about the love of acting.

Sheng Siyu glanced down at Bai Zhou’s slender and fair hand on his arm, chuckling softly.

The two of them strode towards the backyard, feeling so glued together that the Sheng family members who were enjoying the snow and chatting in the yard were stunned.

Was there a need for introductions? As long as you weren’t blind, you could see that they were a newlywed couple who hadn’t seen each other for two years.

In the puzzled eyes of everyone wondering when their relationship had developed, the two walked hand in hand into the entrance.

“Not bad,” Sheng Siyu’s voice was lazy and deep, expressing no particular emotion. Praising, yet it sounded like he didn’t praise.

Bai Zhou thought to himself that in the entertainment industry, there weren’t many actors as dedicated and professional as him.

He was originally going to say thank you, but the words changed at the tip of Bai Zhou’s tongue. “You’re not bad either.”