Ye Liyuan sighed and rubbed his forehead. "It’s necessary for the role, it has nothing to do with the crew." The role he took on this time required strict diet control, and he had to look emaciated and sickly on screen. Recently, as the filming was coming to an end, he looked much better than when they first started, but if he had appeared in front of his family at the beginning of filming, they might have thought he had gone astray or contracted some terminal illness.
"What kind of role is so torturous?" Ye Rongyuan shook his head. At this moment, Ye Rongyuan was glad he had drawn the lot to become the CEO of the group. Although he sometimes felt overwhelmed or annoyed by some project contracts, at least he didn’t have to worry about anyone starving him. If he hadn’t been the CEO, who knows, he might have become an actor himself. But he didn’t feel too sorry for his second brother. After all, his brother had so many fans, plenty of them were willing to sympathize with him.
Just then, the rose gold phone placed on the table rang. The three of them simultaneously looked down at the phone. Old Madam Ye reacted first, picked up the phone, and handed it to little one. "Ann, your dad is calling." Qin Sui’an held the phone and happily pressed the answer button. The screen lit up, and Qin Haochen’s figure appeared on the phone, his voice followed, "Ann."
"Daddy~" Qin Sui’an’s eyes curved as she noticed her dad wasn’t in the car. She asked, "Is Daddy still busy?"
"Yes, still busy." Qin Haochen timely reminded, "Ann, have dinner with your grandmother tonight." Qin Sui’an turned her little head to look at her grandmother. Old Madam Ye nodded gently. With her grandmother’s consent, little one said to her dad, "Okay~ Ann will have dinner with Grandma, Second Uncle, and Third Uncle~"
"Good girl." Qin Haochen’s smile widened at her cute childish voice. As if suddenly remembering something, he continued, "Ann, remember there’s a match tomorrow afternoon?"
"I remember~" Qin Sui’an wanted to win more prize money, so she had registered for the chess match happening these two days. Qin Haochen softly suggested, "I’ll pick you up later to go home after the match is over, then we’ll go to your mom’s place for a few days. Is that okay?" This way, little one wouldn’t have to be conflicted about staying here tonight. Qin Sui’an looked at her grandmother again. Old Madam Ye suddenly felt valued, suppressing her laughter, "Ann, it’s up to you."
Qin Sui’an thought carefully and nodded. "Daddy, okay~"
"Okay." Qin Haochen smiled. The father and daughter chatted as if there were no one else present, and no one interrupted. Old Madam Ye got up to instruct Lucy to prepare dinner and made another phone call. Old Master Ye received a call from Ji Yi in the afternoon. Ji Yi had watched the video of little one’s morning competition and spotted an old classmate in the spectator area. After confirming over the phone, he found out that little one was the old classmate’s granddaughter.
The two hadn’t been in contact for many years, but now that they were in touch, they met up this afternoon, reminiscing about the past and chatting endlessly. When he received the call from his wife, Old Master Ye realized it was already dinner time. Ji Yi sat across from him and, after he finished the call, joked, "You still have a strict wife."
Old Master Ye glanced at him. "Are you jealous of me?"
"Hmph." Ji Yi rolled his eyes. "You go back to have dinner with your family. I have plans to meet friends tonight."
Old Master Ye could tell he was meeting a famous artist. "You masters are harder to meet than us businessmen."
Ji Yi proudly lifted his chin. "It’s unavoidable. With my status, I have to maintain some dignity. If I were too easy to meet, it would lower my status."
Old Master Ye clicked his tongue but didn’t bother with further niceties. After bidding farewell, he left.
Ji Yi didn’t waste time either. After meeting an old classmate, he moved on to meet another close friend.
As he pushed open the glass door of the restaurant, the melodious sound of a piano filled his ears.
Ji Yi said to the waiter coming towards him, "I have a reservation. The surname is Gu."
"Please, sir." The waiter immediately led him to the reserved table.
After sitting down, Ji Yi looked towards the center of the restaurant, where someone was playing the piano live.
As the piece ended, the restaurant erupted into enthusiastic applause, accompanied by excited chatter:
"As expected of the piano master, Gu Maowen! I’ve got goosebumps all over!"
"What a treat, to hear Master Gu’s performance for free today!"
"I really want to go up and take a photo with him!"
...
After finishing the piece, the person sitting at the piano stood up, bowed to the applauding audience, then stepped down from the stage and walked towards his reserved table.
Ji Yi stood up with a smile and patted him on the shoulder. "Well done, still as sharp as ever."
"What do you mean, sharp? I’m still young." Gu Maowen, with his white hair, looked lively and spirited, speaking with vigor.
As Ji Yi sat down, he looked around. "Why did you suddenly want to have dinner with me here? Don’t you usually prefer quieter places?"
Hearing him mention this, Gu Maowen sighed. "Ah, I was just trying my luck, hoping to meet that little kid from the video."
Obviously, luck wasn’t on his side tonight, as he didn’t meet him.
Curious, Ji Yi asked, "What video?"
Knowing that Ji Yi was deeply engrossed in chess and probably wouldn’t pay attention to the online buzz, Gu Maowen took out his phone and opened the video he had specially saved, handing it over. "Here, this one."
Ji Yi recognized the person playing the piano in the video immediately. After all, he had watched little one’s competition video earlier today.
Maintaining his composure, he calmly watched the entire video and praised, "She plays really well! She seems even better than you!"
"Talent is something ordinary people can’t seek." Gu Maowen took back his phone. "The restaurant in the video is this one."
"So you specifically invited me to dinner here just to meet her?" There was a hint of schadenfreude in Ji Yi’s voice.
Luckily, he already knew Ann, the little one! Otherwise, he’d have to "fish in troubled waters" like his old friend Gu Maowen!
Gu Maowen instantly sensed the intriguing tone in his voice and narrowed his eyes. "Do you know this little kid?"
Ji Yi flipped through the menu in front of him, pretending not to hear. "Let me see what to eat..."
"Old Ji, this isn’t fun!" Gu Maowen tapped the table. "I’m a pianist, and you’re a chess player. I just want to reminisce, not poach your disciple! Are you really okay with hiding this from me?"
Ji Yi corrected him, "You’re wrong. You might actually compete with me for someone."
If little one was lured away by his old classmate to learn piano and stopped playing chess, he would truly be heartbroken. He couldn’t let that happen.
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