Chapter 61

Ning Yuxuan walked under the streetlight and made a video call to Xie Zhiyan.

After the video call connected, Ning Yuxuan first enlarged her own screen and checked her reflection.

There was no oil at the corners of her mouth, and the chili powder from the skewers had not stained her face.

A muffled chuckle came through her earphones.

Ning Yuxuan rolled her eyes. "I'm checking my appearance. Do you have any objections?"

"No objections." Amusement was evident in Xie Zhiyan's voice.

Ning Yuxuan let out a soft huff.

After checking her grooming and attire, Ning Yuxuan finally enlarged Xie Zhiyan's side of the screen.

Judging by the background, Xie Zhiyan was in a hotel.

Ning Yuxuan stared curiously at the wall behind him. "Let me see what tier of hotel President Xie is staying in. What's the interior design like?"

Xie Zhiyan laughed in spite of himself. "We finally connected on video, and all you want to see is the hotel decor?"

Ning Yuxuan blinked. "What else? I've seen your face so many times, there's nothing novel about it."

Xie Zhiyan sighed, but still complied by switching the camera to show her the room's interior.

The suite was very large. Xie Zhiyan first walked out of the bedroom to show Ning Yuxuan the living room.

A grey rug was laid over the wooden flooring, and the walls were covered in patterned wallpaper with a strong retro vibe.

In the middle of the living room sat a dark red leather sofa, accompanied by a small wooden side table holding a small potted plant and a desk lamp.

Ning Yuxuan had only been curious at first, but after watching for a short while, she became somewhat mesmerized.

Recently, she had also been discussing with designers how to decorate a retro-themed hotel, and the one Xie Zhiyan was staying in happened to give her inspiration.

"Hey, Xie Zhiyan, pan over to the side a bit. Let me see that—is that a bookshelf?"

Xie Zhiyan: "..."

The camera shifted to point in the direction she mentioned.

While observing closely, Ning Yuxuan unabashedly continued to direct the man: "Move the lens a bit more to the left, yes, right there..."

After viewing the entire living room, Ning Yuxuan wanted Xie Zhiyan to take her to the balcony.

"Let me see how they designed the balcony here. I want to decorate the balcony at Huayuan uniquely when the time comes."

Xie Zhiyan didn't move.

Thinking the signal was poor, Ning Yuxuan called his name, "Xie Zhiyan?"

The camera suddenly turned around, revealing the man's face on the screen.

Ning Yuxuan paused slightly.

"I have a meeting with a client in half an hour," Xie Zhiyan said calmly. "Besides..."

Xie Zhiyan's gaze drifted slightly downward. "Didn't you say you wanted to show me your dress?"

Only then did Ning Yuxuan remember the original purpose of this video call.

Mainly because she had been busy with the decoration and design of Huayuan these past few days, seeing this hotel made her mind race with various design schemes.

Noticing her reluctance to part, Xie Zhiyan looked helpless and said, "If you want to see the hotel decor, I'll have Liu Cheng take more photos and videos from different angles and send them to you later."

Ning Yuxuan: "...Deal!"

Xie Zhiyan: "Then can we get down to business now?"

Ning Yuxuan: "..."

They were just looking at a dress, so why did it sound so improper coming from this man's mouth?

The camera had originally been facing Ning Yuxuan's face.

Ning Yuxuan reached out and pulled the phone a little further away.

"Take a look," Ning Yuxuan said. "It's just a green dress."

It was a long, thin-strapped green dress, with velvet fabric at the chest area and transitioning to silk material starting from the waist.

The craftsmanship of the dress was exquisite, the tailoring was fitting, and there were many intricate details. However, the clarity of the mobile video was limited, so Xie Zhiyan probably couldn't see those details clearly.

Thinking of this, Ning Yuxuan felt even more that her suggestion to let the man look at the dress was a momentary lapse in judgment.

Ning Yuxuan lowered her head to take a look.

The neckline of the dress was a bit low. While it was fine for regular wear, pointing a camera directly at it felt somewhat strange.

Ning Yuxuan pulled the shoulder straps up a bit.

The man chuckled softly in her earphones.

Ning Yuxuan glared at him through the screen. "What are you laughing at? The strap felt a little uncomfortable, I was just adjusting it."

Xie Zhiyan gave a meaningful "hmph." "I thought you were afraid of me seeing."

Ning Yuxuan: "...Xie Zhiyan, if you say another word, I'm hanging up."

How had she never noticed before that this man had the potential to be a rogue?

Xie Zhiyan kept his composure. "Wasn't it you who asked me to look at the dress?"

Ning Yuxuan blurted out, "I was talking about the dress, what were you talking about just now?"

Xie Zhiyan: "The dress as well."

Ning Yuxuan: "..."

As if she'd believe that!

Ning Yuxuan asked crossly, "Well, are you done looking?"

Xie Zhiyan retorted, "Are you in a rush?"

Ning Yuxuan muttered, "I have to keep my arm straight and hold the phone up, my arm is getting sore."

Xie Zhiyan: "Then you don't need to hold it so far away. Just being able to see you is enough."

The man's voice was deep, melodious, and slightly husky, making Ning Yuxuan's ears itch.

Her arm was indeed tired from holding it up.

Ning Yuxuan retracted her arm and murmured, "As expected, you didn't want to look at any dress at all, you just wanted to look at me."

Xie Zhiyan calmly praised, "You and the dress both look good, but you look better."

Ning Yuxuan: "...Smooth-tongued."

"I've let you see everything you wanted to see," Ning Yuxuan said. "Shouldn't you reward me with something in return?"

Xie Zhiyan: "Was the room tour just now not enough?"

Ning Yuxuan: "Not enough."

Xie Zhiyan asked, "Then what else do you want?"

Ning Yuxuan pursed her lips, looking at the man on the screen.

Probably because he had just met with a client, Xie Zhiyan was wearing a neat white shirt and a tie.

Ning Yuxuan considered her gaze to be far from blatant, and the video resolution wasn't very high either.

Yet Xie Zhiyan seemed to notice where her gaze lingered and reached up to loosen his tie. "What are you thinking about?"

Ning Yuxuan swallowed silently.

The way he reached out to pull at his tie... well, it was quite atmospheric.

"Your tie, I mean..." Ning Yuxuan asked, "Aren't you hot?"

Aside from being cooler at night, Jiang City was sweltering hot most of the day. You would sweat just walking outside in a slip dress.

Xie Zhiyan raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying something?"

Ning Yuxuan suddenly realized that what she had just said sounded like a hint.

"I didn't mean anything by it!" Ning Yuxuan's cheeks felt slightly warm. "I was just curious and asked casually. You can keep your clothes on properly, you don't need to take them off!"

As soon as those words left her mouth, she realized she was only making it sound worse.

Xie Zhiyan chuckled and explained unhurriedly, "The weather here isn't as hot as Jiang City; wearing a shirt is just right—"

Pausing for a moment, the man added, "If that's what you were asking about."

Ning Yuxuan felt like his words carried hidden meaning.

"That is exactly what I was asking about," Ning Yuxuan said with absolute finality. "You're overthinking it."

Xie Zhiyan: "What am I overthinking?"

Ning Yuxuan bit her lower lip, refusing to continue playing word games with him. "Didn't you say you have to meet a client in a bit? Don't you need to prepare beforehand?"

"I do," Xie Zhiyan said. "But I wanted to hear your voice a little longer. Tell me what you did today?"

Ning Yuxuan: "..."

She said softly, "What's so interesting about it? You hear enough of it normally."

Despite saying that, Ning Yuxuan still told Xie Zhiyan about what happened on the set.

That naturally led to talking about Ning Shiyue.

"Ning Shiyue saw the floor plan Assistant Wu sent me," Ning Yuxuan said. "He was very surprised when he heard we were buying a house."

Xie Zhiyan: "Did you see any you liked?"

Ning Yuxuan: "There are two that aren't bad. I'll tell you in person when you get back."

Buying a house might be very simple for Xie Zhiyan, but since it bore the title of a "marital home," Ning Yuxuan still didn't want to be perfunctory about it.

"Alright," Xie Zhiyan replied. "Then I'll wait until I'm back."

Ning Yuxuan then told Xie Zhiyan about the attractions she and Ning Fei visited at dusk.

It wasn't until someone knocked on Xie Zhiyan's room door and Liu Cheng reminded him that the scheduled meeting time with the client was approaching that they stopped.

After Liu Cheng exited the room, Ning Yuxuan said, "Go ahead and get to work then."

Xie Zhiyan's voice was deep and gentle. "Goodnight."

Ning Yuxuan instinctively wanted to reply with goodnight, only to remember it should be afternoon over there.

In the end, she let out an "hm," paused, and hung up the phone.

When she returned to the hotel room, Ning Fei was already asleep, leaving a desk lamp on for her in the suite's living room.

Ning Yuxuan tiptoed to wash up, changed into her nightgown, and walked into the bedroom.

Hearing her daughter's movements in her sleep, Ning Fei half-woke and called out, "Xuanxuan?"

Knowing that her mother suffered from neurasthenia and insomnia, used to tossing and turning in bed all night without sleep, Ning Yuxuan could tell her mother's symptoms had eased significantly lately.

In her impression, within the original plot, Ning Fei's insomnia grew increasingly severe in the later stages, leaving her unable to sleep entire nights.

That was likely due to worrying about her and Ning Shiyue.

Ning Yuxuan remembered checking her phone before showering; Ning Shiyue had sent her a message.

He said he had a major dramatic scene the next morning and reminded her to arrive at the set early so she wouldn't miss his brilliant performance.

If things had followed the original plot's trajectory, Ning Shiyue should currently be forced to play a flat, illogical supporting role in another crew, only to be mocked online for his acting skills in leaked video clips.

Everything was moving in a positive direction.

The corners of Ning Yuxuan's lips curled upward as she softly replied to Ning Fei, "Mm, mom, keep sleeping. I'm getting into bed too."

"Mm," Ning Fei mumbled sleepily. "Goodnight, Xuanxuan."

Ning Yuxuan: "Goodnight, Mom."

The next morning, Ning Yuxuan and Ning Fei went to the set once again.

This was their last full day in Jiang City; they would catch a flight on Friday morning to return to Beicheng for program shooting preparations.

Hearing from the director that Ning Shiyue was going to film a scene where he was betrayed by his good brother this morning, Ning Yuxuan guessed this must be the major scene Ning Shiyue had mentioned.

She and Ning Fei sat next to the monitor to watch Ning Shiyue's performance.

This scene had only a handful of lines, and the latter half had no words at all, leaving a vast space for expression.

The emotions progressed layer by layer—from initial disbelief to extreme disappointment upon acceptance, followed by a restrained sorrow and anger.

The director also provided numerous camera angles to capture Ning Shiyue's expressions from every side.

After the first take, Ning Fei gave her evaluation: "Xiao Yue has finally figured it out."