Song Hanzheng was exasperated.
He temporarily placed the chicken claw he was eating into his bowl.
He looked up at her.
"You are giving me the chicken claw?"
"And keeping the chicken leg for yourself?"
Jiang Liuyue smiled guiltily and quickly explained,
"Well, my arm is injured, you know. They say eating the corresponding part helps you heal."
Seeing Song Hanzheng's gaze still fixed steadily on her.
Jiang Liuyue smiled again.
She took the chicken leg she had been about to put in her own bowl and placed it into his.
"Alright."
"It is yours."
Song Hanzheng paused.
"You are just giving it to me like that?" He paused, then added, "Jiang Liuyue, you are going to get bullied easily if you act like this."
Jiang Liuyue shook her head.
"No way."
"I treat you as a friend, which is why I am willing to share the best food with you."
"If it were anyone else, I would not bear to part with it."
"I would not even give them the chicken's butt!"
She said this with absolute certainty.
Paired with the rising steam and the savory aroma of the earthen pot chicken wafting to his nose.
For some reason.
Grumble.
Song Hanzheng suddenly felt a bit hungry.
With great enthusiasm, Jiang Liuyue picked up a piece of cornbread stuck to the side of the pot and placed it in his bowl.
"Hurry and eat it while it is hot!"
"This cornbread is the true soul of earthen pot chicken."
"Oh, and the green beans."
Song Hanzheng tentatively lowered his head.
He took a bite.
Surprisingly, it tasted quite good.
So he took another bite.
Before he knew it, he had finished the entire piece of cornbread.
At that moment, a fresh piece of cornbread was dropped into his empty bowl.
He looked up and met Jiang Liuyue's smiling eyes.
"Eat up. Boys need to eat more to have strength."
Song Hanzheng was taken aback.
He immediately retorted,
"I am very strong."
"Mhm, then eat a lot so you can get even stronger." Jiang Liuyue was speaking to Song Hanzheng in the exact tone a kindergarten teacher would use to coax a child.
But surprisingly.
The cold-looking man across from her merely twitched the corners of his lips.
And obediently continued to munch on his next piece of cornbread.
By the time the meal was over.
Song Hanzheng glanced at the bones on the table and the completely empty bottom of the pot, only then realizing that he seemed to have eaten a lot tonight.
Jiang Liuyue also let out a sigh of complete satisfaction.
She mused,
"Even though there are many unhappy things in life."
"As long as you get to eat something delicious, you will feel that there are still many things in life that are worthwhile and beautiful."
Song Hanzheng suddenly asked out of the blue,
"If you were to become the second female lead in The Legend of Linu, would you feel even happier?"
Jiang Liuyue put down her chopsticks.
She first pulled out a tissue and unhurriedly wiped the corners of her mouth.
Only then did she put it down and look at him.
Unable to hold back, she burst out laughing and said,
"Of course I would be happy."
"But the way you say that makes it sound like you can dictate our crew's arrangements."
Tilting her head slightly, she teased,
"Are you an investor? Or a relative of the director?"
Song Hanzheng spoke up, "Maybe."
Jiang Liuyue did not seem to take his words to heart.
She nodded repeatedly.
In a playful tone, she said,
"Alright, alright, alright!"
"Thank you for your patronage, Boss Song Han."
"Tonight when I sleep, I plan to dream exactly about this!"
Seeing that she did not believe him.
Song Hanzheng did not bother to explain.
Just then, another call came through on his phone.
He raised his eyes and glanced at it.
A flash of displeasure crossed his eyes.
He rejected the call.
The phone rang again.
He rejected it once more.
Looking up, he met Jiang Liuyue's curious gaze.
"What do you want to ask?"
Jiang Liuyue waved her hands repeatedly and said,
"I will not ask, I will not ask. This is your private business."
"By the way, it is getting late. Let us add each other on WeChat."
"Next time I am craving it, I will invite you out for earthen pot chicken again."
Song Hanzheng was puzzled.
"You could just go by yourself..."
Jiang Liuyue quickly interrupted, "Ah, but eating earthen pot chicken all alone is way too pitiful."
She then pitifully clasped her hands together, looking at him with big, puppy-dog eyes.
"Song Han, you are such a good person."
Song Hanzheng froze for a second.
After thinking for a moment.
He switched to his private WeChat account and added her.
"Bye-bye!"
Watching the girl get into a taxi and disappear from sight.
Song Hanzheng took another look at the newly added friend on his WeChat.
It was a blue profile picture.
The nickname was simple, it was moon.
Moon.
Perhaps he was just too bored.
Or perhaps too lonely.
How did he end up playing house with a little girl for an entire day?
Just then.
His phone rang again.
He picked it up impatiently and finally answered.
A rough, deep middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the line.
"Little Zheng, your younger brother has returned to the country."
"Come to the old family estate tonight and have dinner together."
A trace of darkness flashed in Song Hanzheng's eyes.
He immediately refused,
"I have already eaten." He paused, then solemnly declared, "My mother only gave birth to me. I do not have a younger brother."
The man on the other end sighed and wanted to say something more.
But the call had already been disconnected.
Song Hanzheng pulled his suit jacket closer around himself.
He turned his head.
He looked at the brightly lit earthen pot chicken restaurant, where almost every table was full.
Gathered around the large pots were either groups of friends or families. The rising steam permeated the air around them, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.
Everyone's mood was cheerful and warm.
Just like Jiang Liuyue.
Song Hanzheng's eyes darkened.
Did she want a powerful financial backer?
...
Before going to bed, Jiang Liuyue sent a rabbit goodnight sticker to the black profile picture with the WeChat nickname S.
Then, she transferred two thousand yuan.
With the note: Compensation fee.
When she woke up the next day, she opened her phone and found that the transfer had been rejected by the other party.
Song Hanzheng: [No need.]
Jiang Liuyue thought for a moment and replied: [Okay, then let us treat it as our earthen pot chicken fund.]
After a while.
Her phone vibrated.
Song Hanzheng: [Earthen pot chicken fund?]
Jiang Liuyue: [Yeah, the money for every time we eat earthen pot chicken will be taken out of it. How about it, pretty great right?]
Song Hanzheng: [...]
The conversation ended there.
Because Jiang Liuyue received a call from her manager, Sister Li.
"Liuyue, regarding that incident yesterday where you were splashed with hot water on set, I went and made a scene with Li Feile's manager!"
Li Feile's manager, Sister Amy, was widely recognized in the industry as a cunning, wolf-like ace manager who was great at snatching resources.
She had managed and produced several veteran Best Actresses and Best Actors.
Among those people, Li Feile could only be considered middle-to-lower tier.
Therefore, after Qian Li went to make a fuss, Sister Amy, for the sake of her own face and to maintain her artist's reputation, naturally had to offer corresponding appeasement measures.
"Guess what?" Sister Li's tone held a hint of smugness.
She was deliberately keeping her in suspense.
"What is it?" Jiang Liuyue cooperatively asked.
"The actress playing the second female lead in The Legend of Linu trended on the hot search last night. She was unlucky enough to be exposed for having a year-long underground relationship with a married director, and the production team is preparing to replace her."
"You also know that this drama is invested by our company, Vientiane Star River, so the second female lead will be selected from within the company."
"It just so happened to coincide with yesterday's incident."
"Sister Amy said she is willing to give you the role of the second female lead as compensation!" By the end of her sentence, Qian Li's voice had risen considerably.
The corners of Jiang Liuyue's lips curled up slightly.
Song Hanzheng had made his move.
One meal of earthen pot chicken.
In exchange for a second female lead role.
Very worth it.
