Chapter 31

Chapter 31

When a popular female celebrity disappears for five days in this chaotic world, would anyone notice?

The answer is, if the celebrity is An Ye, no one would notice.

She handed all her social media accounts to the company's team to manage. Only posts related to her activities were shared, and every week, she'd post one or two selfies in casual clothes, arranged neatly in a grid. These photos were taken by her assistant and stored in stock, so even if she didn’t appear in the public eye for half a year, the frequency of posts on her social media would remain unchanged.

For a talent agency like Huan Zhou Entertainment, fan club management was also handled by the team. Chi Tuo had been part of the fan club for five years, but he could only manage to get a middle-level position because the senior management of the fan club were all from the agency. Unless the company released information, fans would never know that their beloved celebrity was lying alone in a luxury mansion, sleeping without anyone to care for her, potentially starving to death.

Plus, An Ye never delayed her shooting schedules and would usually take a leave of no more than two days. There were also times when she stayed in remote mountains where even her phone couldn’t get a signal for months at a time.

So, when An Ye disappeared for five days, neither she nor her team felt it was a big deal. After An Ye woke up, she and Chi Tuo drank an entire bottle of wine together. The next day, they each drove off in their respective cars, going their separate ways.

Her leaving without a second glance was strangely reminiscent of the white cat at her home, which discarded Chi Tuo after using him.

At the end of the year, celebrities were all very busy. An Ye shuttled between various award ceremonies, wearing luxurious but non-winterproof haute couture or independent designer dresses, walking down the red carpet. Her makeup was always exquisite, and she would thank people or give out awards with her recognizable contralto, speaking in official terms of gratitude and blessing.

The fan club was also busy. Many platforms’ year-end awards required votes, and since An Ye wasn’t a traffic star, there were only a few major platforms that required votes. The fan club assigned a lot of work, and the fans worked diligently like ants, building their nests with love.

Chi Tuo was one of those ants.

Year-end work was always similar, and he was quite experienced. But this year, his mindset was different. When he looked at the photo of An Ye standing in front of a signed poster, showing off her back, he would fall into deep thought.

An Ye gave him the contract with Huan Zhou Entertainment and made her request clear. She just wanted to terminate the contract a year early. She was fine with the compensation stipulated in the contract, but her only demand was that everything be completely severed—no copyright terms or non-compete clauses left with Huan Zhou.

An artist’s contract isn’t an employment contract; it’s a combination of multiple legal relationships. An Ye had signed an exclusive artist contract, and at the time, Huan Zhou Entertainment’s legal department was already very well-established. There were very few loopholes in the contract. Unless there was a breach of contract, the best-case scenario was that the lawyers for both parties would negotiate a settlement figure in court after some back-and-forth.

On the surface, there was room for operation.

But in reality, Huan Zhou Entertainment was unlikely to let her go.

Within the entire entertainment landscape of Huan Zhou Entertainment, there were only three people who could really carry a lead role in a movie with their acting skills. An Ye was the only female star among them.

This was also the reason Chi Tuo couldn’t understand why Huan Zhou Entertainment treated An Ye the way they did. However, An Ye didn’t answer his question.

After handing over the contract, she became a busy “flying person,” never replying to his messages again, and didn’t pick up the phone.

Chi Tuo closed the large poster of An Ye showing her back.

There was a strange sense of déjà vu, like she had disappeared from his world again. There was also a sense of frustration. He had hidden his feelings so carefully, yet he still couldn’t get close to her.

The five days they spent together after their reunion made one thing very clear: An Ye was even more averse to emotions than she had been ten years ago.

She thought it was a waste for a young man like him to spend his youth on her. She chose to treat Qing Ze as a backup because Qing Ze couldn’t stand on his own.

Everything had a price. She made it clear that if he agreed to be her guardian and legal advisor, there was a clear price for that. He didn’t refuse, because it was hard to find a reason to do so.

She trusted the people who stood by her and charged corresponding prices for everything.

Like Lan Yifang, who helped her cover up the company when she was asleep. Lan Yifang was An Ye’s own person and was paid a salary by her.

This was actually a social method Chi Tuo was familiar with, and he understood An Ye. That’s why he didn’t want to tell An Ye that he still had feelings for her.

Actually, there was no need to tell her. After all, he had never liked anyone else in his life—he only liked An Ye.

That hadn’t changed.

And An Ye, well, she hadn’t liked anyone either, including herself.It hasn't changed.

On New Year's Eve, at the Golden Peak Law Firm’s New Year’s party, Chi Tuo’s team had a whole year’s worth of pent-up excitement. They drank a lot that night, and as the leader, Chi Tuo was pressured to drink with every team member. He clearly drank too much, becoming quieter than usual, hiding away in a corner playing on his phone.

He was actually an easy-going person. Whether as a boss or a colleague, he was always cooperative, laughing along when others made him drink, never retaliating with any drink of his own.

But once he wanted to be left alone, he’d go sit in a corner and there would be absolutely no one bothering him.

He was suited for being a boss, a colleague, a lawyer, but not really for being a friend.

Even though they had worked together for a year, no one knew how many people were in his family or if he had a girlfriend. His assistant, Lin Hao, was the only one who knew where Chi Tuo lived. Most people didn’t even know what car he drove.

In the eyes of many colleagues, he was like a robot wearing human skin—he’d “power on” for work and “power off” after work, hiding in a corner. The only time he showed any semblance of human behavior was when he suddenly said he had family matters and took five days off, but even then, he still worked online every day, without skipping a beat.

For someone like him, even when he was drunk, he could still maintain the aura of “I’m not human, my current program setting is to not want to deal with anyone.”

At this moment, the robot was helping a female celebrity play a game. Ten years had passed, and she had switched to a new mobile game, but still, she was impulsive and kept losing in the game, always going up and getting defeated in reverse situations. She had stayed stuck in the lower levels for a long time. This account was something she had sent to Chi Tuo along with her management contract.

Chi Tuo had never played this game before, so he created a new account, spent a week studying, and finally started helping her level up.

Now, a little dizzy from the alcohol, he lost several rounds. After struggling, he finally began to win a few. Just as it was crucial for the next team battle, his phone suddenly started popping up messages.

He wanted to swipe the messages away and continue the game. It was New Year’s Eve, and there were still things on his mind; he didn’t want to deal with work, but under the influence of alcohol, his fingers fumbled and missed the swipe, accidentally clicking on the message. Suddenly, his phone jumped to WeChat.

Chi Tuo: “…Damn.”

The message came from An Jiu Jiu. At 11:59 PM, a red envelope of 200 yuan was sent to him, with a message saying “Happy New Year.”

Chi Tuo: “…”

Normally, in this situation, he would have directly sent a red envelope back. But tonight, drunk and impulsive, he glanced at the noisy New Year’s Eve crowd and, without thinking, directly called An Ye’s phone.

An Ye was also counting down, and the background noise in both their phones blended together. Neither of them spoke, just quietly listening to the people around them shouting “Five, four, three, two, one,” followed by screams, hugs, and “Happy New Year” wishes.

The excitement belonged to everyone else.

Their unapproachable aura kept anyone from coming over to wish them a Happy New Year until the background noise finally settled down.

“Happy New Year,” Chi Tuo said to An Ye.

“Happy New Year,” An Ye replied.

Chi Tuo’s assistant, Lin Hao, finally remembered that their boss, who had been hiding in the corner, was still there. A few colleagues exchanged looks and planned to go over to wish him a belated Happy New Year.

But when Chi Tuo raised his eyes, he expressionlessly waved them off.

Lin Hao: “…Forget it. Forget it.”

The robot didn’t need this kind of exaggerated emotion.

“I was actually planning to call you,” An Ye’s voice came through the phone. “I should be home in about an hour and a half. Can you come over?”

Chi Tuo looked at the clock. She really liked scheduling meetings at midnight, always sacrificing her sleep.

“Sure,” he replied. “Should I wait in the underground parking lot like last time, until your assistant arrives to pick me up?”

“Just come upstairs,” An Ye said. “I’ll send you the elevator code. The door code is the same as last time, it hasn’t changed. If you get there first, could you feed the white cat a can of food for me?”Chi Tuo: "…Okay."

"I’m not using a temporary elevator code, it’s the same one Xiao Lan uses," An Ye suddenly added. "I’ll be going into the set next month. Even though the filming location is still in Bai Gang, I probably won’t have time to go home every day. Can you help me take care of the white cat then?"

Chi Tuo: "Mm."

Someone on An Ye’s side called her. She must have covered the phone to say a few words before telling the phone, "See you in a bit," and hung up.

The busy signal sounded, and the mobile game Chi Tuo was playing earlier had also kicked him out of the game lobby due to inactivity.

Chi Tuo looked down at his phone and saw the unread red envelope. After claiming it, he sent An Ye a "Happy New Year" as usual.

Last year, his New Year’s wish was to return to his home country.

Not only was that wish fulfilled, but it also led him to spend New Year's Eve with her, listening to a loud and cheerful countdown together.

Chi Tuo sent another message below the red envelope.

Chi Tuo: [Wishing your wish come true.]

An Jiu Jiu, may you enjoy the joy of my completed wish. Wishing you all the best in the new year.

Chi Tuo took a taxi and stopped at a small supermarket outside An Ye’s apartment complex, buying a bottle of iced water. He drank half of it to finally get rid of some of the alcohol in his system.

He really had drunk too much that night, mainly because he hadn’t expected An Ye, such a busy person, to suddenly ask him out on New Year's Eve.

Nor had he expected there to be two other people in her house besides her.

"Wow!" A strange woman saw him and shouted, "Is this your childhood friend? He looks too good-looking!"

"Should I introduce you?" An Ye smiled. "He’s single."

Chi Tuo’s hand, which had been taking off his shoes, froze for half a second in mid-air, but he continued to untie his shoelaces without a change in expression.

"Forget it." The strange woman waved her hand. "I’m really not interested in men who dress in black shirts and black suits."

Chi Tuo took off his shoes and straightened up.

The living room was livelier than when he had visited last time. The white cat now had a festive red and gold collar on, and the coffee table was covered with alcohol. An Ye sat next to the same soft cushion as last time, still resting her head on the sofa.

She was heavily made up, her hair done up in a full set, but she was wearing loungewear. It seemed like she was afraid of messing up her hairstyle, as her head was being propped up by Lan Yifang, who had placed a hardcover book under her head.

Sitting next to her was Lan Yifang, still the same as before, who gave Chi Tuo a very familiar awkward smile when she saw him.

Beside her was the strange woman who had called out earlier, with short hair, looking a bit older than An Ye. A new face, which Chi Tuo, as a middle-level member of An Ye's fan club, had never seen before. As someone who had worked in the entertainment industry for a year, he had also never seen this face.

"Let’s introduce ourselves," An Ye pointed at Chi Tuo and said to the woman. "This is Chi Tuo, my childhood friend, legal advisor, and appointed guardian."

She then turned to Chi Tuo and said, "This is Qi Wei, a public relations manager and possibly the future head of my studio."

She then clapped her hands at Lan Yifang. "Lan Yifang, my assistant."

These four were the confirmed core members of her future personal studio.

Chi Tuo looked at An Ye, who nodded and pointed to the projector in the living room, which had been continuously displaying content.

The screen showed a hidden camera video, one of An Ye entering a hospital alongside a man. Then, the video shifted, and An Ye and the man entered the gynecology and obstetrics department.The man in the video is shown in profile, so his face is unclear, but An Ye is always facing the camera directly, with several shots almost making direct eye contact with the lens.

Chi Tuo: "..."