Let Me Meet You chapter 37
New Announcement
He had been staying in the office for nearly a week, but aside from a pile of books and documents on the corner of the desk, there was little sign of him actually living there.
The bed in the lounge wasn’t even made; the sheets and blankets were all neatly packed in a delivery box that hadn’t been opened. The only thing unpacked was the clothing.
The advantage was that it was very convenient to tidy up—Li Xuan had only taken his laptop, and the rest of the boxes were quickly shoved into the cupboard.
“Let’s go.” He carried his backpack on one shoulder, holding a trash bag in his hand. Through the semi-transparent plastic, you could see countless coffee packaging bags and scattered cigarette butts inside.
Sheng Min sighed inwardly in disapproval, but he didn’t say anything. He simply reached out to grab the bag to help him lock the door. “Aren’t you going to wait for Qi Boyuan to come back?”
“No need. If we wait for him to come back, we might not be able to leave. A phone call will do.” Li Xuan said, already pulling out his phone to dial.
On the other end, the line was busy, and it wasn’t until they reached the elevator that the call was picked up.
“You’re leaving now? Where are you? Don’t go yet…” Qi Boyuan’s voice was muffled, “I’m already in the elevator, almost there.”
“You’re in the elevator?” The call was cut off naturally due to poor signal.
“What did he say?”
“He’s here.”
Li Xuan glanced at the elevator screen, the number had already jumped from 8 to 9. He frowned, looked around, but there was no time to take the stairs. When the elevator door opened, Qi Boyuan was indeed standing inside, with a young girl beside him.
“Ah, didn’t run away.” Qi Boyuan laughed when he saw them at the door, then looked at Sheng Min. “What’s your rush? You don’t seem in a hurry. Let’s eat before you go… This guy with us?”
“No, we…” Sheng Min was about to refuse, but the young girl suddenly exclaimed.
“Sheng Min?!” Zhou Jia looked toward Li Xuan with a surprised expression, even instinctively covering her mouth, but her tone was certain and excited. “You’re Sheng Min, right?!”
About ten years ago, Sheng Min had been a child star with little fame. Once, he overheard the lead actress in a drama talking about how she had been recognized by fans and had denied it, smoothly escaping the situation.
Now, standing at the elevator door and being recognized again, he was a bit stunned. Li Xuan seemed the same. Despite encountering fans after becoming famous, today’s scenario wasn’t one Sheng Min had anticipated
At that moment, Li Xuan wanted to deny it, but Sheng Min couldn’t quite explain his own thoughts. Perhaps because the person was a friend of Li Xuan’s, outright lying would be awkward for both of them. His mind raced through a few thoughts, and before Li Xuan could speak, he answered, “Yes, he is.”
From there, things seemed to naturally fall into place. The previous refusals and excuses now had reasonable justifications, and once the identity was revealed, it seemed too impolite to keep denying it.
In fact, midway through, Li Xuan seemed to be concerned about Sheng Min feeling uncomfortable and had likely tried to refuse again. However, Qi Boyuan, who appeared gentle and easy-going, was surprisingly persistent. After a while, half an hour later, the group of four sat down at a quiet restaurant nearby.
“Your phone’s ringing.”
Qi Boyuan tapped the table in front of Sheng Min. He came back to his senses, glanced at Li Xuan, and noticed that he had already hung up the phone. However, the ringtone stubbornly rang again. Sheng Min subtly nudged him under the table, signaling him to answer. Li Xuan finally stood up and left the room, closing the door while pressing the call button.
Zhou Jia had gone to the bathroom to touch up her makeup. The small private room was now just the two of them, Sheng Min and Qi Boyuan.
The soundproofing of the room wasn’t great, and they could faintly hear Li Xuan speaking in the hallway, though the words were unclear.
Qi Boyuan glanced toward the door. “You two have the same ringtone?”
“It’s the default system tone,” Sheng Min replied vaguely, his other hand reaching into his coat pocket to silence his phone.
“Isn’t your ringtone the harmonica you play yourself?”
Sheng Min’s eyebrows twitched. He looked at Qi Boyuan’s expression, which seemed sincere, unlike the teasing from earlier. Now, his demeanor was more serious.
“It’s been so long, I almost forgot. Yeah… he said it sounded good last time, so I just shared it with him. You want it too? I never heard you mention it before.”
Sheng Min said this, and as he thought about Qi Boyuan’s persistence in insisting on this meal after revealing his identity, it seemed less about the girlfriend being a fan and more about something else.
He wondered what Qi Boyuan’s next question would be and whether there were any other things that could give him away. His mind was spinning, but despite all that, he couldn’t help being distracted. It turned out Li Xuan could play the harmonica.
From the looks of it, Qi Boyuan didn’t quite believe the excuse but didn’t dwell on it. He gave Sheng Min a thoughtful look, then moved to sit beside him.
“What’s going on?” Sheng Min instinctively pulled his chair back, creating some distance.
Qi Boyuan seemed to sigh. “This should be my question: What’s going on? How do you know Sheng Min?”
“Through a friend of a friend…” Sheng Min coughed to cover it up.
“Which friend?” Qi Boyuan pressed.
“You wouldn’t know him…”
“Li Xuan.” Qi Boyuan gestured with his hand, cutting him off. “I don’t need to know him, but you’ve been acting strange lately.”
Of course, something was strange.
Sheng Min couldn’t quite figure out what Qi Boyuan meant by “strange,” so he hesitated before staying silent. Qi Boyuan, after speaking, also fell quiet. He picked up a cup of tea, then set it back down when it was too hot. He continued to look at Sheng Min with a frown.
“Shouldn’t be what I think it is, right?” He hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“What do you mean?” Sheng Min and Qi Boyuan weren’t exactly close, and it was hard to decipher his true intentions from vague words, but seeing how serious his expression was, Sheng Min couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. In an attempt to lighten the atmosphere, he said, “It’s not that strange to know Sheng Min, right? You saw him, he’s just an ordinary person, not like he has three eyes.”
This joke didn’t land well, as Qi Boyuan’s expression didn’t soften in the slightest.
“Last month,” he said, recalling for a moment. “Last month… the 17th? Yes, it was the 17th. I was passing by the film academy and saw his poster. I said to Jia Jia, ‘That’s my bias.’ You were busy modifying the program and didn’t even glance at it, didn’t even want to hear the name. So, if you’re saying it’s a friend of a friend and you’ve known each other for a long time, I don’t buy it.”
Hearing about his past encounters with Li Xuan from someone else’s mouth gave Sheng Min a strange feeling, even though it wasn’t really an interaction. He slightly spaced out, missing the opportunity to refute that they had known each other for a long time.
Fortunately, Qi Boyuan’s next statement came quickly: “But if you’re saying you just met, I really don’t think you’d bring someone unfamiliar to a company interview. Before I saw his face, I thought he was some professional you brought in, but turns out, he wasn’t.”
For two people to become friends, there must be a reason. Sheng Min observed Qi Boyuan, who was so close, and although they appeared completely different on the outside, in essence, he and Li Xuan were the same type of person—meticulous, logical, and when they spoke seriously, it was like negotiating, automatically closing off every option for the other person.
But compared to Li Xuan’s sharp edges, Qi Boyuan was more restrained beneath his gentle exterior.
“I’ve been thinking on my way here, you definitely have your reasons for not telling me. I don’t want to meddle, but since I’ve seen it, I can’t help but ask.” Qi Boyuan stared intently into Sheng Min’s eyes, hesitating for a moment before speaking. “Is there a problem with our company’s funding chain? Sheng Min… did you bring him as an investor to the company?”
The air tightened in an instant. Sheng Min didn’t exhale immediately when he heard this. His eyebrows twitched. But Li Mingge’s actions wouldn’t have been that fast, so he cautiously asked, “Why do you think that?”
Qi Boyuan seemed to realize his speculation was a bit out there and frowned involuntarily. “Isn’t it? Otherwise, how can I understand why you brought a completely unrelated celebrity to the company?”
This was indeed a hard misunderstanding to clear up, and Sheng Min felt a little headache coming on. But then Qi Boyuan continued, “If he really were an investor, I’d understand why you asked me to delete that post last time—originally, I was curious because you never do unnecessary things like that.”
“Delete a post?” Sheng Min asked, confused. “What post?”
Qi Boyuan was taken aback. “Are you playing dumb with me today?”
Of course, it must have been the post from that day. Sheng Min quickly realized it.
He had originally thought the video hadn’t leaked out because Zhang Zhihua contacted the interview program under Li Xuan’s warning, never considering that Li Xuan might have used his connections to handle the aftermath for him.
At some point, the sound of Li Xuan talking outside the door had gradually faded, probably because he had walked far away. Yet, the words Li Xuan had said before leaving that night echoed in Sheng Min’s mind.
“You’re like a clay Buddha, and you have your own principles. I’m not worthy to chant the same scripture as you.” His words had been filled with anger, clearly mocking and indifferent. But upon reflection, it was never like that. Sheng Min had long known, and hearing it from others now still brought mixed emotions. He sighed softly. Qi Boyuan was right: for Li Xuan, it was an unnecessary thing to do.
The air conditioning in the private room was set low, and the glass teapot with hot fruit tea let off faint wisps of steam. The fragrance spread in the air, a mix of kumquat and lemon, with far too much honey, making the sourness and sweetness especially intense.
Qi Boyuan didn’t notice Sheng Min’s unease and continued his analysis. In the past, Li Xuan had simply refused potential offers because he didn’t want to be swayed by investors too early. Finding someone who didn’t understand the field could be a solution.
He began to worry again, mentioning that Sheng Min had only been famous for a few years, and the entertainment industry earned fast money but may not have enough to support a tech company in its early stages.
“Anyway, you need to tell me if there’s something going on. Since we’re in this together, if there’s a problem, don’t try to handle it all by yourself.” Qi Boyuan concluded firmly.
The last sentence was very serious, and Sheng Min thought that Qi Boyuan could actually make a good screenwriter, coming up with plausible reasons to support completely unfounded theories. His logic was much more tight-knit than most professionals Sheng Min knew.
“It’s really not like that,” Sheng Min regained his focus and pressed his temples. He could tell that Qi Boyuan played an important role for Li Xuan. No matter what happened in the future, letting him misunderstand and worry about financial problems now didn’t seem like the best strategy.
The truth was hard to explain. Sheng Min quickly thought of a possible counterargument as he looked at Qi Boyuan’s suspicious gaze. But when he opened his mouth, it felt awkward. “If he really were the investor, I wouldn’t have to watch his TV dramas, right?”
“To analyze the viewing times or the audience demographic? Are you going to do some data targeting for him later?” Qi Boyuan interrupted, thinking he understood, “Is this an additional condition?”
“What… no, really not.” Sheng Min hadn’t expected that line of thought. Surprised, he quickly corrected him, then decided to go all in,”Would you believe me if I said that I’m actually his fan?”
Although Qi Boyuan had made fun of Li Xuan’s fan-following earlier, it was light hearted. But at that moment, after a brief silence, Qi Boyuan’s face wore an expression of “Do you think I’m that gullible?”
The door to the private room seemed to make a sound, and then there was silence again. Sheng Min, not thinking much about it, forced himself to continue, “Well, not exactly a fan. I just happened to know him, and the other day I was bored, so I decided to watch his TV drama. At the time I had been programming for so long, so I just had it on as background noise… The post removal was purely to help him out. He came to the company because he’s doing a show on a related topic, and wanted to get a feel for it. So I brought him in… As for the interview, I didn’t think too much about it. I just thought it would be awkward for him to wait outside by himself…”
Qi Boyuan quietly listened to him finish speaking, his expression changing from puzzled to incredulous. “Li Xuan, you’re really acting strange.”
After all the explanations, the conversation circled back, but this time for a different reason. “You’ve never explained so much to me before.”
“Because you’re asking,” Sheng Min said, trying to sound calm. “Anyway, everything is running smoothly in the company, and the finances are fine. Trust me, just focus on your job. I’ve been a bit busy lately, and there are some personal matters I can’t really talk to you about. I’ve just been around less, but work won’t be affected.”
Qi Boyuan didn’t speak, but his eyes continued to linger on Sheng Min’s face. Sheng Min felt a little guilty but maintained a calm demeanor, meeting his gaze. After about a minute, or maybe even less, Qi Boyuan suddenly smiled.
“Alright, whatever you say,” he said, relaxing his stiff posture and leaning back in his chair. “I’ve been a bit nervous since you’ve been showing up less lately. As long as there’s nothing wrong, it’s fine.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry,” Sheng Min reassured him.
“I’m not worried,” Qi Boyuan replied, taking off his glasses to wipe them before putting them back on. “When we decided to start a business together instead of me going for a graduate school recommendation, I told you I only had two requests. One, when you’re writing code, think about how It would feel for me—don’t make things run smoothly but be difficult for me to understand. Two… if something happens, you must tell me.”
“Got it,” Sheng Min nodded.
“Anyway, you’ve agreed so readily,” Qi Boyuan said, shaking his head. “I guess I’ll let it go. But honestly, Sheng Min, he’s really good looking. Jia Jia always forces me to watch his shows with her and emphasizes that he doesn’t look great on camera, but in person, he’s even better. I didn’t believe it before…”
At that moment, the door was pushed open, and Li Xuan walked in. The awkwardness of being caught talking about someone behind their back made Qi Boyuan intentionally clear his throat. “…Did you finish your call?”
Li Xuan casually nodded without saying anything, walked over, and glanced down at Qi Boyuan. Qi Boyuan quickly realized that he had been occupying his seat. “You want to sit here?”
“Mm.” Li Xuan finally spoke, but his gaze shifted to Sheng Min with an almost amused expression, and a tone that suggested mild sarcasm: “Didn’t you insist I sit next to you?”
Sheng Min, puzzled, raised his head, wondering when he had said that. Li Xuan, looking a bit awkward, spoke to Qi Boyuan, “You understand, right? Or are you a fan of mine too? Then…”
Qi Boyuan froze, his mouth hanging open in surprise, looking like he had swallowed an egg. When he saw Sheng Min’s ears turning bright red, he quickly stood up to make room, a bit flustered. “No, no, I’m not. It’s my girlfriend who likes you… it’s not important, really. You sit.”
Dinner ended quickly. Zhou Jia still had to return to school, so after eating, Qi Boyuan sent her off. She had behaved very restrained throughout the evening, not at all as passionately as Qi Boyuan had described, but just before leaving, she shyly asked if she could take a photo with Sheng Min.
“I promise I won’t post it online, is that okay?”
Li Xuan glanced at Sheng Min, and with his consent, awkwardly made a peace sign.
“Why did you have to say it like that?”
They walked back to the software park to get the car. Li Xuan was replying to some messages, so Sheng Min took the car keys. After driving for a while, once Li Xuan was done, he quietly asked:
“What did I say?”
Li Xuan paused, then realized what he meant. “What do you think? …you can’t even come up with a decent lie… but thanks to me now he believes it.”
He probably believed it. When they parted ways at the end of the road, Qi Boyuan gave Sheng Min several long looks, as if wanting to say something but holding back. In the end, he said nothing. Sheng Min guessed that all the time he had spent making things up that evening probably didn’t have the same impact as Li Xuan’s single comment.
Li Xuan didn’t seem angry about it though.
“You heard everything?” Sheng Min asked, making a left turn.
“Yes. I wasn’t eavesdropping on purpose… the call cut off halfway, I was about to come in, but then it came through again. Coincidentally, I overheard a few sentences.”
“What sentences…” Sheng Min asked without any other intention, just out of curiosity. But when he saw the smirk on Li Xuan’s face, he realized what was going on. He felt a little embarrassed and almost wanted to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing funny.”
Li Xuan corrected himself, sounding more composed than when Qi Boyuan had accidentally exposed him at the office earlier. Still, his tone was somewhat stiff. “I didn’t watch it on purpose… I was going to watch something else, but your drama popped up automatically on the website.”
“The production team must have paid a lot for ads, the promotion was overwhelming,” Sheng Min added, following his lead.
Li Xuan hummed and turned his head to look out the window at the passing traffic. As they passed through a tunnel, Sheng Min’s phone screen suddenly displayed Zhang Zhihua’s name.
“Hello?”
He connected the call through the car’s Bluetooth, but couldn’t use the voice changing software at the same time, so Li Xuan answered for him.
“Where are you?” Zhang Zhihua asked immediately.
Li Xuan, who had never liked him, responded coldly, “I don’t have any schedules today, why do you care where I am?”
There was a pause on the other end. Li Xuan prompted, “If you’ve got something to say, say it, otherwise hang up.”
“I do have something to say. About your upcoming work. I know you haven’t been taking any drama roles lately, but actually, there are a few scripts that are really good, and they offer good pay too…” Zhang Zhihua’s voice lowered when Li Xuan didn’t respond, “Actually, I think they’re really worth considering. But if you’re not interested, I can’t do anything… but maybe you could still take some variety shows?”
Li Xuan hummed. Sheng Min glanced at him, seemingly wanting to say something.
“Focus on driving,” Li Xuan mouthed to him.
Hearing no objection, Zhang Zhihua’s tone became more enthusiastic. “I’ve picked two. One is Around the World, for next Wednesday’s slot, recording for two days, airing on the first. The other is Pick Your Moon season three, where you’d be a guest host. Filming starts at the end of June, specific dates aren’t set yet, twelve episodes in total, recording every half month for three days each time. Both shows don’t overlap, I think you could do both.”
Pick Your Moon was the talent show Sheng Min had participated in. The contestants from the last season had not gained as much fame as the ones from his batch, but every year, the auditions still attracted a lot of attention.
As for Around the World Li Xuan had never heard of it, so he casually looked it up and found that it was a slow-paced variety show with decent viewership and good reviews.
Zhang Zhihua continued: “These two variety shows are really good, especially Pick Your Moon. It’s got a huge following. As long as you’re on it, you’ll definitely gain more fans. And the most important thing is, I’ve heard that Su Run’s team is also in talks with them. The production team probably wants you more now. If you don’t go, it’ll just let him get the benefit. So, no matter what, you have to go. He’s been trying to steal your spotlight these past two years, fighting for endorsements. You guys are in the same circle after all.”
Zhang Zhihua got more and more talkative: “Su Run’s team have already prepared their press release, talking about starting over, setting off again… It’s so cheesy. Let him build up the hype, and when you go on, it’ll be like slapping him in the face. Oh, he really thinks that because he’s the center of the group, he can always be the center? The group disbanded years ago, and their last movie lost so much money, and he still thinks he’s the star?”
Li Xuan wasn’t interested in the entertainment industry’s ins and outs, and after hearing Zhang Zhihua talking for a while, he seemed to understand that Su Run was probably from the same group as Sheng Min. He glanced at Sheng Min’s expression and saw him furrowing his brows slightly, clearly not liking what was being said.
“That’s enough,” Li Xuan interrupted.
Zhang Zhihua reluctantly fell silent: “So, what’s your decision? The production team is waiting for your reply… and the money is good. You really haven’t been working much lately, with so many people on the team, and they still need to be fed.”
Li Xuan sneered: “So, I make you so much money, and if I don’t work for a month, you’re going to starve, is that right?”
“I didn’t mean that.” After Li Xuan’s previous scolding, Zhang Zhihua had become somewhat intimidated. “President Zhang was saying today that after Wangyang Willow finished airing, you won’t have any more projects. It’s time to take on some work. I’ve been trying to cover for you.”
“Oh? Really? How did you cover for me?”
“Look at you.” Zhang Zhihua awkwardly chuckled. “Anyway, just take Pick Your Moon. You don’t want to act, but at least this show can buy you another month? The company needs something to show for it. You’ve turned down so many offers already. If you keep refusing, you’ll be the one to lose out.”
After the body swap, Sheng Min still handled most of his work communications with Zhang Zhihua, and then relayed the information to Li Xuan. Although he hadn’t managed things directly, Li Xuan understood that for a popular artist like Sheng Min, his current workload was definitely too light.
“Being the host doesn’t mean I have to sing and dance, right?” Li Xuan asked after thinking for a while.
Zhang Zhihua was quick to reply: “No, you just need to host. At most, you might have to improvise with a few lines. Your leg isn’t really suitable for long-term dancing anyway. I’ve already negotiated with the production team.”
Li Xuan paused, instinctively looking at Sheng Min. Sheng Min, whether intentionally or not, was looking at the rearview mirror, avoiding his gaze.
Before Zhang Zhihua brought it up, Li Xuan had never noticed anything wrong with Sheng Min’s leg. The only issue he knew of was that on rainy days, Sheng Min’s right ankle would occasionally hurt. Li Xuan himself had been injured many times, so he didn’t take the small pains too seriously.
“Sheng Min?” Zhang Zhihua didn’t hear a response and quickly called him.
“Okay, then…” Li Xuan was about to finish his sentence, but Sheng Min stopped him by holding his hand, whispering, “Don’t accept it.”
“What’s wrong?” Li Xuan looked at him questioningly, but Sheng Min stubbornly shook his head.
“I’ll give you an answer later.” Li Xuan hung up the phone with one hand, and Sheng Min stopped the car on the side of the road.
“Your leg…” Li Xuan couldn’t help himself and asked.
“It’s fine,” Sheng Min said. “You can tell, it’s not broken or anything… I just accidentally fell before.”
Being able to walk normally and being able to run or jump were clearly two different things. Li Xuan didn’t understand what kind of injury would prevent Sheng Min from dancing, but since Sheng Min rarely resisted a topic so clearly, he decided not to bring it up again. Instead, he asked, “Why did you say you won’t take it? You don’t like either of the shows?”
Sheng Min softly responded with a slight hum, “I don’t like them, I don’t want to take them.”
“What do you like then?” Li Xuan rolled down the window and rested his arm on the edge of the car door. “I see your manager is in a hurry. What kind of show do you like? He should be able to find it as long as you agree to take it.”
“It’s not urgent right now.” Sheng Min pressed his fingers together, “I want to slow down a bit. I want to rest.”
“You want me to rest,” Li Xuan figured it out, “I haven’t even asked, but how many offers have you turned down?”
“Not many,” Sheng Min smiled.
“Actually, it’s unnecessary, you could just tell me,” Li Xuan shrugged. “Really, I can handle it.”
“You don’t have to handle it.” Sheng Min’s smile faded, and his tone sounded a bit disappointed. “I’ve probably caused you a lot of trouble.” It sounded like a question, but wasn’t phrased as one. “I still owe you a thank you for the post removal.”
Li Xuan wasn’t surprised that he knew about it. “There’s no need to thank me.”
Sheng Min pressed his lips together, “I’m serious. Even if I don’t take the offers for now, it’s not as bad as Zhang Zhihua says.”
“Whether it’s bad or not, we both know.” As Sheng Min was about to respond, Li Xuan suddenly unbuckled his seatbelt and reached over to turn his shoulder towards him.
“Sheng Min,” he called his name. “I’ll judge whether it’s troublesome or not. You always say this, and I have to wonder if you think I’m actually a big trouble for you.”
By the time he finished speaking, the evening had already fallen, the night breeze carrying a floral scent from the window. Cars passed by, the streetlights casting fragmented shadows. Without realizing it, they had gotten very close. Sheng Min remained silent.
“If you don’t speak, I’ll take it as you agreeing,” Li Xuan said with a faint smile that he didn’t even realize he was wearing. “Am I?”
“You know it’s not true,” Sheng Min finally said softly.
“Right. So you should know you’re also not a trouble for me.” He let go of him, leaned back into his seat, and stretched. “Accept them, it’s fine.”