Pei Mingxuan didn't maintain a sour face the entire time due to Xu Meng's intrusion. Once seated in the private room, she was already orchestrating a harmonious atmosphere like a master conductor.
Ji Fei and the others, however, were treated to quite a show as soon as they arrived.
When Yang Hong went to escort Xu Meng, only two seats remained in the private room, conveniently located between Yang Hong's agent and Sun Mo.
Although there was ample space between the seats, logically, Xu Meng should have sat next to Yang Hong's agent to avoid suspicion, allowing Yang Hong to sit next to Sun Mo.
But when Yang Hong brought her in, as they were circling to the empty seats, Xu Meng paused for a moment just as she was passing Sun Mo.
Sun Mo was expressionlessly playing with his phone, his brows slightly furrowed. The next second, as Xu Meng lifted her foot to walk, she stumbled over the chair leg and fell into the seat next to Sun Mo.
Xu Meng frantically tried to stand up, looking quite disheveled. In the end, it was Yang Hong who steadied her, saying, "Just sit here. Did you hurt yourself?"
"I'm fine," Xu Meng replied gently to Yang Hong, while timidly lifting her head to quickly glance at Sun Mo. Her expression was one of great difficulty and hesitation.
Sun Mo showed no reaction throughout, but Pei Mingxuan's expression was barely holding together.
In fact, Yang Hong's agent's face was quite a sight too. Probably knowing some inside information, he looked at Xu Meng askance, seemingly very displeased with her.
As for the three spectators across from them - Ji Fei, Qin Zhao, and Gao Hao - their expressions nearly cracked.
[This works too?! It's brilliant, truly brilliant, juggling an ex and a current partner at the same time. Indeed, triangles are the most stable shape.]
Qin Zhao: What triangle? A perverted triangle?
Even Gao Hao felt that coming to eat and socialize wasn't as interesting as watching this drama up close, especially since these troublemakers were under other agents' management. Just thinking about it made him happy, hehe.
Getting to the point,
Pei Mingxuan raised her glass with a smile and began, "For the next scene, I hope both teachers will go easy on us."
Everyone raised their glasses. Gao Hao fake-smiled and said, "It's you who should go easy on us."
Yang Hong's agent laughed, "Brother Gao is being overly modest. We just hope not to end up as badly as the previous group."
"That was an unexpected situation. Actually, we have quite a few issues on our side. After all, we have an acting novice, a complete newcomer. We'll need everyone's guidance and care in the future," Gao Hao said, then elbowed Ji Fei, who was gnawing on a lamb leg.
Ji Fei finally reacted and raised her glass. No one thought her impolite, as everyone knew she had the backing of Qin Corporation.
Looking at Qin Zhao next to her, who was handing her a napkin as she had dirtied her chin, his habitual care showed Ji Fei's extraordinary status.
Pei Mingxuan smiled and said, "Brother Gao really has a good eye, nurturing such a powerful newcomer in one go."
Pei Mingxuan smiled at Ji Fei and said, "Teacher Ji not only has a good personality but also shows such potential in acting. It's just a pity you entered the circle so late, otherwise you would have been famous long ago. But even now, you've become an overnight sensation. You're probably the fastest rising newcomer since this show began airing."
Regardless of what Pei Mingxuan truly thought, at least when she spoke, she sounded very sincere, her praise not at all fake.
Ji Fei smiled at her, "Thank you for your kind words, Sister Pei."
Pei Mingxuan breathed a sigh of relief, originally worried that Ji Fei might be difficult to get along with, but unexpectedly found her quite amiable.
At the table, the agents were chatting enthusiastically. Yang Hong could exchange a few words with Qin Zhao, and Xu Meng tried to make conversation with Ji Fei. Only Sun Mo barely spoke throughout.
He seemed uncomfortable in social situations.
Even Qin Zhao performed better than him, which seemed odd.
Then Ji Fei's inner thoughts were heard: [I see, for the past few years, Pei Mingxuan has been responsible for all social occasions. Under her mediation, Sun Mo has been able to focus entirely on filming and fan interactions, without having to worry about anything else. No wonder he looks so awkward now.]
Qin Zhao was somewhat surprised. So Pei Mingxuan was that capable. No wonder his second brother and Gao Hao were both interested in poaching her.
It's well known that in the entertainment industry, half acting skills and half interpersonal skills make a big star. Someone like him had a background, and Gao Hao never required him to socialize. For a grassroots actor like Sun Mo to be protected so well, Pei Mingxuan must have put in a lot of effort.
[It's really like a mother who works hard to raise her son, and a son who doesn't understand his mother and is always rebellious.]
Qin Zhao almost choked on his drink. Looking at Pei Mingxuan across the table, who was enthusiastically hosting, and then at Sun Mo beside her, who was absorbed in his own world with a sour face, as if everyone was causing him displeasure, it really did feel like... a mother bringing her son to an adult gathering.
[But this isn't really a social occasion, it's more like a dinner gathering, right? Is he really just pretending because of Xu Meng?]
They watched for a while and noticed that whenever Yang Hong served food to Xu Meng, Sun Mo would suddenly spring into action and serve food to Pei Mingxuan.
[Good heavens, he's using Sister Pei as a tool again, deliberately acting lovey-dovey in front of Xu Meng? Your acting is too fake, afraid Xu Meng won't realize you're deliberately performing for her to make her care?]
Qin Zhao sneered. Sure enough, it was one for Yang Hong, one for Sun Mo, a one-to-one confrontation.
And Pei Mingxuan ignored him the whole time, not eating any of the food he served her.
[Sister Pei sees through everything and has politely declined to participate in this play, haha.]
Just as they were enjoying the show, they saw Sun Mo suddenly reach out and take away the scallop that Xu Meng had picked up with her serving tongs.
"Ah!" Xu Meng seemed startled and let out a small cry.
This finally caught everyone's attention, with various expressions on their faces.
Pei Mingxuan wanted to pretend nothing had happened, but the suddenly quiet and strange atmosphere made it difficult to smooth over. She could only force a smile and say, "What's wrong?"
Sun Mo seemed dazed for a moment, then directly threw the scallop into the container for leftovers.
[He's not eating it himself but snatches it away? Wasting food is shameful!]
Yang Hong, however, smiled at the embarrassed Xu Meng and said, "Silly girl, how did you forget again? You're allergic to scallops."
[Pft, is this explanation really better than no explanation?]
Xu Meng, however, seemed to suddenly remember. She glanced awkwardly at Sun Mo again and said softly, "Thank you."
In the end, no one was tactless enough to pursue the matter further on the spot.
But not long after, the two of them stirred up trouble again.
It was the sharp-eyed gossip enthusiast Ji Fei who noticed.
[Hiss, hiss, one with the left hand down, one with the right hand down, and they've been like that for so long? My radar is going off.]
Qin Zhao: What, what?
Then they saw Ji Fei pretend to drop her chopsticks and bend down to pick them up.
The two across from them were each lost in their own thoughts, heads lowered and eyes downcast, completely unaware of Ji Fei's little act.
The next second, Qin Zhao saw Ji Fei's body trembling, and heard her excited inner scream.
[Hahaha, I knew it! Under the layers of tablecloth, I'm paired with her, and you're paired with him, but I'm only holding your hand. How can you two be so brazen!]
Qin Zhao: How dare they!!!
[Sun Mo is forcefully grabbing, no mistake, but Xu Meng, why aren't you struggling? Is that all the strength you can muster?]
[How come when he pries open your hand, you just let him?]
[How come your fingers are now tightly interlocked? The force of it, one might describe it as: all the powers of heaven and earth couldn't separate you.]
Qin Zhao: ...Neither of them is any good!
[Do they think this is some heart-fluttering behavior?]
[Huh? No, wait, when I used to watch TV and read novels, if the male and female leads did this... Damn! What was wrong with my values back then? Was I corrupted?]
Qin Zhao: ...Have I acted in scenes like this before? Ah, ah, ah, dark history, absolute dark history!
[If I accidentally knock over the table now, or pull off the tablecloth, letting everyone see, it would be super exciting, right?]
[What should I do? I really want to do it! But we're not that close, it seems a bit...]
Qin Zhao's lips curled into a smile. Why bother with all that trouble?
