Promise me one thing

In the producer's meeting room of Qixun Video, Wu Fangsi and Liang Jinping sat facing each other across a tea table.

"The artists at headquarters are really no good, Fang Si. Although I have some influence in the production department, that woman in the talent agency department doesn't get along with me. If you ask her to send someone to walk some weird show, don't even think about sitting down and talking. She can just listen to it and send an email to the CEO, believe it or not?"

The electric kettle bubbled and steamed, while Wu Fangsi ignored Liang Jinping's eloquent speech. Her thoughts had already drifted back to the temporary studio she rented in Jingting, and she had laid out a runway styling board in her mind, starting her daydreaming work mode.

Half an hour ago, Wu Fangsi and Liang Jinping mentioned "wanting to find a few special crossover models from among the young actors of Qixun". Of course, it was just an excuse. Although he did not develop in the film and television capital, he was in the fashion capital and often made appointments with artists from here.

Naturally, they also understand that regardless of gender, even if a Chinese artist is gay, no matter how openly they interact in private, they still keep their actual orientation a closely guarded secret, let alone use it as a marketing point to participate in their show, which is organized to expand their special customer base.

Knowing that the deal was unlikely to succeed, he brought it up only to establish that he had worked with Jiang Songyun, the male lead of "Yan Ge Xing," and therefore felt that young actors, compared to professional models, were closer to the appearance of ordinary people and could better reflect the practicality of the brand.

His original plan was to wait for Liang Jinping to refuse outright, and then casually explain as above, before asking, "Hey brother-in-law, when will 'Yan Ge Xing' be successfully released online?"

As a result, Liang Jinping did refuse, but his refusal was like a slime that had fallen into a latrine, sticking to his boasting of his status, his mockery of heterosexuality, and his offense to female colleagues... lofty, condescending, and tedious.

Spending even a fraction of your energy listening is a waste of your life.

"Come to Fangsi, have some tea. It's not even noon yet, and look at you, your eyes are practically popping out of your head."

A purple clay teacup slid over, interrupting the remote connection. Wu Fangsi lifted her eyelids and looked at the other side through the mist. Liang Jinping was sipping tea with his palm covering the rim of the cup. The half-eye behind his hand was bright and piercing. It seemed that he had really enjoyed bragging.

Wu Fangsi once again questioned, "Was my eldest sister possessed by some unclean spirit when she took a liking to him?" Then she refused with a fake smile, "No, I've been having a sleep-wake cycle lately, and drinking tea isn't good for my sleep."

Having successfully awakened his best listener, Liang Jinping put down his cup and picked up the slime again: "Since you, my brother-in-law, have come to me, I, as your brother-in-law, can't just not do anything. How about this, I've got a few 'brothers and sisters' who are internet celebrities. If the money's right, they'll take any job. I can even do a BT show for you, it'd be perfect..."

“LGBT.” Wu Fangsi lowered her eyebrows and corrected him, reminding him with a half-smile, “Brother-in-law, please respect my clients.”

He couldn't stand this disgusting feeling anymore, at least not today.

"I have to go back to the studio to interview models this afternoon. I don't have a car at Jingting, so I'll have to call ahead. I'll leave now and won't disturb your lunch." Wu Fangsi said, getting up and making a move towards the door.

"Hey Fang Si! So clueless!" Liang Jinping followed and pulled her back. "You two are really no different, are you? Both of you have such big tempers."

Wu Fangsi remained motionless, only turning her head to shoot a sharp glare.

“Brother-in-law knows, you think internet celebrities aren’t good enough for a great designer like you, right?” Liang Jinping held the hand to his ear and said, “I’m seriously recommending a young actor to you, Jiang Songyun. You know him, right? Although he’s not from Qixun, he’s really good-looking, a national child star.”

Wu Fangsi's expression softened. Ignoring Liang Jinping's awkward, sarcastic tone, she calmly turned around and asked, setting a trap: "Oh? Since the conditions are good, why did you come? You're not an artist from Qixun, so how could you recommend someone so casually?"

“He’s not an artist under QiXun, but he has a drama waiting to be broadcast on QiXun.” Liang Jinping’s arrogance returned. He put down his hand, took out a Maserati car key from his pocket, and turned it in the ring with his index finger. “Brother-in-law will drive you. We’ll talk in the car.”

"Tch, pitchfork and slime, a match made in heaven." Thinking this to himself, Wu Fangsi's lips curled into a smile. "Hooray!"

-

They planned to discuss it in detail in the car. As soon as Liang Jinping entered the elevator and saw that no one was around, he couldn't help but reveal the answer in advance: "Jiang Songyun's show, tsk tsk, it's going to flop. We've been having internal meetings recently, discussing whether to remove 'Yan Ge Xing' from the 2026 film list."

Wu Fangsi raised an eyebrow, but Liang Jinping couldn't see the other side of his eyebrow. He asked, "What does 'want to cool down' mean?"

"That goes back a long way. We were very optimistic about his project during the evaluation stage. It was a rare genre, had a strong production team, and had sufficient funding. At the time, we even competed with two other platforms for the self-production and exclusive broadcast rights..."

Wu Fangsi only wanted to ask "how badly it's flopped," not "how exactly it flopped," and he had no interest in learning the jargon of their film and television industry. So he tried to steer the conversation closer to home: "Is there any hope for this show? It was a national child star after all, there must be some way to salvage it, right?"

"Hey, salvage the relationship? Who knows where you're picking your toes!" Liang Jinping chuckled sarcastically, then smoothly picked up where he left off.

"But his company... I don't know whether to say they were overly ambitious or just incredibly unreliable. A small company that's only been established for two years, for their first production, they didn't rely on any of the three big companies, stubbornly fighting for the pure blood copyright of a three-way broadcast. You don't know what 'pure blood' means, do you..."

Damn, what's wrong with this guy? (Does he have to be so pretentious?)

Wu Fangsi rolled her eyes, knowing she couldn't win, and took a step towards the elevator door, trying to get as far away from the cargo area as possible. Sure enough, when the elevator stopped on the first floor and the doors opened, Liang Jinping still hadn't gotten to the part he wanted to hear.

"His company's plan was understandable; they were casting a wide net and eager to elevate their status. Now look what happened, their scheme backfired! But it's hard to say; let's see what their competitors are planning..."

The other side.

Wu Fangsi slowed his pace, about to turn back and ask further, when he saw Liang Jinping awkwardly shut his mouth, his gaze passing over him and looking in one direction. He followed Liang Jinping's gaze and looked in that direction as well.

On the LCD screen on one side of the lobby, trailers for the 26-year film slate were playing in rotation. A tall, dark figure stood with his back to the screen, next to a stylish, thin, pale boy.

The trailer shows Jiang Songyun in ancient costume, looking like a young swordsman. The black-clad figure is almost motionless, with only his head and neck slightly turning to follow the young swordsman's movements. The pale, thin man is very excited, waving his arms and legs around him.

During lunchtime, the lobby was bustling with people and filled with noise. Wu Fangsi couldn't hear what the two were saying, but that didn't stop him from making his usual loud, incoherent noises.

There's still a question mark above the black figure's head, as for the fair-skinned, thin, and delicate one, twink (creamy and cute bottom).

"He doesn't seem like the type to pester me! It's almost lunchtime and he's still not leaving. Is he trying to ambush me?!"

Upon hearing the sound, Wu Fangsi looked behind him. Liang Jinping quickly arrived in front of Wu Fangsi, seemingly not intending to escort him back and in a hurry to leave first.

"Fang Si, your brother-in-law just remembered he has something to take care of. As for that show of yours, whether Jiang Songyun will accept it or not, just go and ask that guy in the black suit. He's Jiang Songyun's older brother and also his manager." With that, he slipped away and disappeared behind the wall.

Three minutes later, Wu Fangsi received a WeChat message: "That person looks sinister. Don't be afraid, be bold and ask first. Maybe they will receive a definite message in a while and, when they are desperate, they might actually be tempted to answer."

The other party is typing...

"Also, don't tell anyone you came here to see me today, that would be troublesome."

Wu Fangsi locked the screen and simultaneously redefined Liang Jinping's character.

"13 o'clock."

-

Jiang Songhe drove to Qixun at 11 a.m. and met Lin Duole in the lobby. After glancing at his WeChat chat with Liang Jinping, he realized that the invitation he sent before leaving had not been replied to. So he took Lin Duole to the front desk to make an on-site appointment.

The receptionist called Liang Jinping's hotline, and the call was quickly connected. Jiang Songhe could even hear the familiar voice coming from the receiver. But as soon as they hung up, the receptionist told them that Liang Jinping was away on a business trip and hadn't been in Jingting recently.

This is either a deliberate attempt to avoid them or a way of keeping them waiting; in any case, it's an ominous sign.

It was almost lunchtime, and switching to two other platforms at this point would be very unwise. Jiang Songhe had a feeling the outcome would be similar. Even if they did switch, the producers on the other two platforms would also need to have lunch. Not only would it be abrupt, but they might also end up empty-handed.

Jiang Songhe decided to wait there, hoping they would run into Liang Jinping when he went out.

After letting Lin Duole go to the convenience store on the first floor to grab a bite to eat, Jiang Songhe strolled around the edge of the lower rest area a few times, when he was suddenly drawn to the background music that he knew all too well.

A screen was playing a clip from "Yan Ge Xing". Jiang Songhe walked closer and carefully looked at her younger brother's face on the screen. As she looked, she began to experience blurred vision and auditory hallucinations. One face turned into two, and the background music unconsciously changed into an ethereal and divine humming.

The trailers were played on a loop, featuring a variety of exciting content. They were the flagship projects from various film and television companies that would be launched on Qixun Video in 2026. When Jiang Songyun's face appeared in front of him for the sixth time, Lin Duole returned to Jiang Songhe's side and started encouraging his boss out of the blue.

Jiang Songhe had no interest in paying attention to Lin Duole.

Suddenly, someone behind them chimed in, "You're watching so intently, is this one of your films?"

Jiang Songhe turned around and was a little surprised to see the person who had just arrived. The last time they met was a few months ago in Shanghai. She never expected to run into this costume designer again in Jingting, at a film and television company.

"I haven't thanked you in person yet about the bathrobe." Jiang Songhe smiled, not answering Wu Fangsi's question, nor asking why she came to Beijing. "Thank you, Designer Wu. I still owe you a favor. If you need anything in Jingting, feel free to contact me."

Wu Fangsi raised an eyebrow, offering no response to Jiang Songhe's polite words. Jiang Songyun's face appeared on the screen for the seventh time, this time answering his own question: "It seems so."

Jiang Songhe was momentarily dazed. The way this person talked to himself reminded him of the owner of the second face that had just appeared in his blurred vision.

If he hadn't known that Wu Fangsi was developing her career in Shanghai, he might have even been tempted to ask her if she knew a Mandarin singer.

That would be too foolish, so Jiang Songhe didn't ask.

"You're here to see Liang Jinping, right?" Wu Fangsi asked, arms crossed, a question that surprised Jiang Songhe.

Jiang Songhe was startled. Before he could respond, Wu Fangsi threw out another question: "Come and ask him about this play?"

"..." Jiang Songhe clenched her teeth to prevent her mouth from opening in surprise.

As if deliberately teasing her, Wu Fangsi kept throwing out sentences, the curve of her lips gradually widening with Jiang Songhe's shock.

Jiang Songhe's impulse also intensified. Just as he was about to blurt out the question, "Do you know Jonathan?", Wu Fangsi casually delivered a fatal blow: "It's a pity, Liang Jinping said your play is going to flop."

"What?!?" Lin Duole, who had been pretending not to see anything and looking left and right, couldn't hold back and let out a loud bang.

Jiang Songhe and Wu Fangsi frowned simultaneously, giving Lin Duole a sideways glance. Lin Duole timidly put a virtual zipper on his mouth, while the dog stealthily retreated silently into the background.

"May I ask, what is your relationship with Liang Jinping?" The loud noise unexpectedly brought Jiang Songhe back to normal.

"My brother-in-law, what's up?" Wu Fangsi stepped forward. "You want me to help you make a match?"

Jiang Songhe pursed her taut lips, then confirmed her answer by repeating herself: "Yes. I'd like to ask you to help me make the connection."

"No problem," Wu Fangsi said with a snap of her teeth and a wink, readily agreeing.

Jiang Songhe seemed to have gained a precognitive buff, accurately predicting what Wu Fangsi would say next.

but.

"but."

You have to promise me.

You have to promise me.

One condition.

"One condition."

...

Jiang Songhe contacted the producers of the three streaming platforms that broadcast "Yan Ge Xing" at the same time, but as of the time he agreed to Wu Fangsi's conditions, no one had replied with a single word.

Waiting any longer would only be a passive and demeaning futile effort, so Jiang Songhe immediately offered to take Wu Fangsi back to her studio in Jingting and discuss in the car the time and place for him to meet with Liang Jinping, so that the matchmaker could facilitate the meeting.

Jiang Songhe went to the parking lot to pick up his car first, and then drove to the main entrance of Qixun to pick up Wu Fangsi and Lin Duole.

When getting into the car, the designer, whom I remembered as arrogant, actually let Lin Duole, a rookie producer, go first. The two politely declined each other's offer for quite a while in front of the car, but Lin Duole couldn't refuse and finally squeezed into the back seat first. Wu Fangsi followed closely behind and sat next to Lin Duole.

On the way, during his conversation with Wu Fangsi, Jiang Songhe vaguely noticed a hint of scrutiny in Wu Fangsi's eyes through the rearview mirror.

Even after dropping the person off at their destination, that scrutinizing feeling lingered strangely on Jiang Songhe's shoulder, which was exposed outside the chair back, like a weed that had fallen into his collar.

Wu Fangsi got out of the car and waited for the Luman to drive away before taking out her phone to call Janus.

"Hey Janus, do you want to come to Jingting and witness for yourself whether Jiang Songhe is straight or gay?"