DASFAM_109

"……"

But this assistant was clearly still immersed in the distress of having the haute couture suit dirtied, his gaze, which could be counted as reproachful, swept Bai Xu up and down from head to toe:

What sort of unknown brand was this person wearing? Looked like cheap goods at a glance! Did he really think all suits in the world were the same price?

How could Bai Xu not sense this stranger's contempt?

His brow furrowed imperceptibly, and before he could even open his mouth, the man in the white suit once again stopped his assistant, "Alright, it's only a few drops of liquor, it's nothing, stop talking."

"……"

The assistant put away the tissue and pursed his lips slightly, "Brother Zhen."

The man in the white suit directed his gaze at Bai Xu, his tone polite, "This gentleman, I'm sorry, my assistant is just a bit too blunt. I'll apologize to you on his behalf."

Bai Xu met the fine features of the person before him, and recalled the assistant's form of address just now, "You're Ye Zhen?"

Ye Zhen smiled slightly, "Yes."

Bai Xu's initial impression of him was not bad, "Then about the suit…"

Just from the diamond logo at the collar of the garment, it could indeed be confirmed that it came from a luxury brand, however, this entire series was exclusively haute couture, and the first piece of the series was hanging at this very moment in Bai Xu's wardrobe.

Bai Xu could see that the two were of similar build, if the other party was willing, compensating directly with a new garment was not out of the question.

"It's fine, I have a spare suit with me, I'll just find a lounge to change into." Ye Zhen maintained a mild and agreeable demeanor, "I'll explain to the brand later, I'll head off first."

Bai Xu smiled politely and nodded in agreement.

Ye Zhen turned and walked toward the lounge down the corridor, his assistant hurrying after him.

Only once the two had walked out of the hall and there were no longer any other people lingering about did the warmth and friendliness on Ye Zhen's face vanish without a trace.

For this charity gala, the team had specifically contacted the brand a month in advance, wearing them down through persistent persuasion to obtain this haute couture suit, and yet after barely showing his face on the red carpet, an accident had occurred the moment he stepped into the hall.

Absolutely rotten luck!

The assistant Xiao Xin, seeing Ye Zhen's familiar true face away from others, said, "Brother Zhen, you should have just made the other party pay compensation! Why did you stop me?"

"Are you stupid?"

Ye Zhen rubbed at the liquor stain on the white suit that wouldn't wipe away, frustration simmering in his chest.

He looked at his assistant, "At a charity gala of this caliber, every guest who can enter is either wealthy or of high status, without knowing anything about the other party's background, how could you casually say something to offend them?"

Beyond that, he was currently in an ascendant period in the entertainment industry, how could it be good to let a suit ruin his public image in front of others?

The assistant swallowed sheepishly and muttered a small defense for himself, "Looking at how he was dressed, he didn't seem like someone particularly wealthy, maybe, like me, he just rode in on someone else's coattails?"

"Enough."

Ye Zhen didn't want this matter to ruin his mood, "Xiao Xin, immediately have Sister Ying bring another haute couture suit over! There's still the charity auction livestream later, don't let anything else go wrong."

"Alright."

...

Bai Xu watched Ye Zhen and his assistant exit the banquet hall, and immediately caught sight of a familiar figure.

Their gazes met across the distance, and the fashionably late Zhang Changning quickly ran over, "Bai Xu, have you been waiting long?"

"Hey, hold on."

Bai Xu promptly stepped back half a pace to prevent his wine glass from being knocked into by his friend again, "My hand has champagne on it, it's a bit sticky right now."

He set the glass down on the edge of the table for passing attendants to collect, "Come on, keep me company while I go wash my hands in the restroom."

Zhang Changning naturally obliged, "How did you even manage to spill wine under normal circumstances?"

"An accident, I wasn't careful." 

Bai Xu kept it brief, "I turned around too quickly just now and didn't hear footsteps behind me, bumped into another guest who was coming to get a drink, and a few drops spilled."

Zhang Changning asked casually, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Bai Xu glanced at his own black suit which had similarly 'suffered,' and paid it no mind, "It's just that the other party was wearing a white haute couture suit, that probably won't be so easy to deal with."

Zhang Changning proactively offered to help share the burden, "Do you know what the other party's name is? Let me see if I know them, we can contact them after the gala and arrange some compensation?"

Bai Xu's brow raised slightly, "An actor, called Ye Zhen, seemed quite easy to get along with."

If he remembered correctly, Ye Zhen was also one of the candidates for the male lead of the Singapore film company's proposed movie, "The Bell Ringer".

Zhang Changning made the connection, "Ah? It's him."

Bai Xu walked up to the restroom sink and observed his friend's reaction through the mirror, "What? You know him too? I heard he's been very popular these past two years?"

"How could I not know him?"

Zhang Changning answered matter-of-factly, "He's even an artist under our sister-in-law's company."

"……"

Bai Xu paused for two seconds, trying to recall, "Qingfeng Film and Television Company?"

Zhang Changning saw the genuine puzzlement on his friend's face and immediately explained, "It's normal that you wouldn't know, our sister-in-law loved chasing celebrities back when she was in school, and would often drag our eldest brother along to offline events."

Su Yang's family was also well-off, and she had studied directing and screenwriting at university.

After graduation, the Su family waved their hand generously and registered an eighty-million film and television company for her, originally just for fun, thinking to let their only daughter do whatever made her happy, but then—

Su Yang's eye for film and television investment was razor-sharp in a way that defied expectations, and she proved equally capable once she turned her hobby into a career, gradually building the company into something with a solid reputation.

Bai Xu smiled along, "Sister-in-law is impressive."

Zhang Changning lifted his chin, "Of course, otherwise how could she have captivated our eldest brother?"

Qingfeng Film and Television was primarily in the business of film and television investment, and had only begun signing artists in the past four or five years, Ye Zhen was one of them.

Zhang Changning said whatever came to mind, "A couple of years ago when Grandmother held her birthday banquet, the company even sent artists over to liven things up, I remember he was among them."

Noticing that Bai Xu had finished washing his hands, he thoughtfully handed over a sheet of paper towel from the side, "I don't know much about Ye Zhen, but if he's as decent as you say, there might be an opportunity to mention it to sister-in-law sometime."

"Oh?"

"Just throw more resources his way, trading a haute couture suit for company resources, he wouldn't be getting the short end of the stick."

Bai Xu clicked his tongue twice and teased deliberately, "Young Master Changning, rein in that 'capitalist' face of yours~"

Zhang Changning draped an arm over his shoulder, grinning, "How would I dare? How about we contact the hotel general manager later and have them handle the suit compensation on our behalf afterwards?"

Bai Xu nodded, "That works."

Zhang Changning said with a smile, "Come on, keep me company while I get something to eat in the front hall, I'm still hungry. Once the charity auction starts there won't be time to eat."

"Sure."

The two walked out of the restroom side by side. Bai Xu glanced up casually and happened to catch sight of a familiar figure entering the lounge around the corner.

Zhang Changning noticed his gaze following, "What are you looking at?"

Bai Xu said, "That person just now was Ye Zhen's assistant, I wonder if they managed to get the spare clothes."

Zhang Changning said as they walked, "Just knock and ask then, it's not a big deal."

Click.

The lounge door closed and was locked.

Ye Zhen had already changed into a deep blue V-neck suit, also haute couture from the same luxury brand. The styling team had already left, and he was now standing before the mirror admiring himself alone.

Xiao Xin stepped closer, "Brother Zhen, once you put on this suit, won't you have the online fans going crazy during the livestream later?"

A pleased and satisfied expression showed at the corners of Ye Zhen's eyes and brows. In no hurry to return to the banquet hall, "Did you find out? Who was the person who bumped into us earlier?"

Xiao Xin told him, "Found out, he's called Bai Xu, an orphan adopted by the Bai family. That Bai family isn't doing so well, they've long since stopped being considered a top the capital household."

"Then how did he get in?"

"I also found out that this Bai Xu and the Shang family's Third Young Master are in an arranged marriage, his fiancé recently took up the position of Shang Group's vice chairman."

Xiao Xin clicked his tongue in amazement, "The wealthy circle, and two men at that, in an arranged marriage. If this were in our entertainment industry, it would probably have exploded already."

"……"

Ye Zhen's expression shifted slightly, and he instinctively pressed further, "Shang family's Third Young Master? He and Shang Yanxiao are in an arranged marriage?"

Assistant Xiao Xin knew very little about true elite families, and asked uncertainly, "Brother Zhen, you know that Third Young Master?"

Ye Zhen's tone was ambiguous, "Mm."

They had met once at Old Madam Zhang's birthday banquet, and the other party had a good relationship with the Zhang family's Second Young Master, that was why he remembered him.

Ye Zhen looked at his carefully dressed self in the mirror, a faint note of contempt concealed in his voice, "Shang Yanxiao comes from such a good background and is outstanding in ability, someone with Bai Xu's origins has really lucked out."

Some people are born in Rome, while others can leap upward simply by picking up what others have dropped.

The assistant naturally went along with what he said, "Hmph, who knows if this arranged marriage is real or fake? I specially looked it up just now—"

"If the feelings between these two were real, with the Shang Group's power it would probably have caused a sensation long ago."

Even he, an outsider to that circle, knew that the elite world was a place even more prone to flattering the powerful and trampling the weak than the entertainment industry.

Whenever wealthy people dated or married, it was explosive news, with not even a whisper of it getting out, it was either fake, or this arranged marriage was not to the parties' liking.

"Brother Zhen, if you ask me, that Bai Xu is completely beneath you, who knows if he's selling himself for a comfortable life behind the scenes?"

"……"

Zhang Changning outside the door was seething with anger. He wanted to knock and storm straight in, but was stopped in time by Bai Xu.

"Let's go, stop standing here."

Having said that, Bai Xu turned and walked away without looking back.

Zhang Changning hurried to catch up, "Bai Xu, just listen to what they're saying behind your back, what kind of talk is that?"

He had originally still planned to knock and express another apology and show of sincerity, yet had stumbled into hearing all of this by sheer chance!

What friendly personality? Looking at it now, it was nothing more than an image set up for the public in the entertainment industry, a convenient way to attract fans.

Bai Xu straightened his suit indifferently, "Even though we only heard it by accident, they'll think we were 'eavesdropping', if we barged in right now, be careful they don't turn it around on us."

Zhang Changning was unhappy, "Aren't you angry?"

"Mm."

Bai Xu raised an eyebrow and set aside the unnecessary apology he had felt earlier, "Just based on what those two said, that's more than enough for me to banish them from my world entirely."

"Barging through that door and making a scene with them would only be a waste of our time and energy."

They were fundamentally not the same kind of people, why bother giving them another glance? Besides, the essence of this gala was compassionate charity work, and there was no need to stir up unnecessary trouble.

Of course, if they dared to make such remarks to his face, that would be another matter entirely.

Zhang Changning was still fuming on his friend's behalf, "I'm so angry, what kind of people are they!"

Bai Xu suppressed the coldness in the depths of his eyes and smiled, reaching up to ruffle Zhang Changning's head, "Stop being angry, let's go eat. If you see any auction item you like later, just tell me, I'll buy it for you."

Zhang Changning laughed despite his irritation, "Oh, so loaded, are we?"

Bai Xu made a gesture of swiping a phantom card, "Your Third Brother's money is all with me now, how about that? Have you recognized who the head of the third branch is yet?"

Zhang Changning gave his shoulder a 'disdainful' bump, "Stop showing off in front of me!"

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