Chapter 68: A Fan Meetup
Chen Bai hadn’t expected such a quick purchase with no hesitation. Grateful for the boss’s trust in his taste, he began trying to remember exactly what that watch looked like.
He couldn’t recall clearly. But it should have been better looking than the flashy gold one.
After finishing his reflection, he figured there shouldn’t be any issues. He leaned back again, relaxing on the sofa, waiting.
This was the fastest transaction since he’d started working. The salesperson quickly went to pack up the watch, while another staff member brought over a small metal box, smiling as they handed it over, saying, “With any purchase, you get a chance to enter a raffle. Would you two like to try?”
Since it was the buyer who would participate, Chen Bai, who was merely tagging along, looked over at the boss who had paid.
The boss didn’t seem interested, still holding his water cup. He glanced slightly in Chen Bai’s direction and said, “Want to try?”
Chen Bai, infamous for his bad luck, raised his hand, pointing at himself and the metal box. “Are you serious?”
It occurred to him that the God of Wealth might not know about his terrible luck, so he explained, “I’ve got really bad luck.”
“Whatever you win is yours,” the God of Wealth said, “If it’s bad luck, it’s your own bad luck.”
Fine. Feeling reassured, Chen Bai stepped up confidently, even rolling up one sleeve for effect. His arms were thin, and rather than increasing his presence, the gesture had the opposite effect.
What was supposed to be a simple little activity turned unexpectedly tense when he rolled up his sleeve, making the salesperson beside him feel inexplicably nervous too.
Leaning forward slightly, Chen Bai reached into the box and pulled out a small card. The salesperson leaned in, looking along with him.
[Prize: A stylish keychain]
This was the second time in his two lifetimes that Chen Bai had drawn something without the words “Thank you for participating.” The only other time was a discount voucher for hot pot. He didn’t react immediately—his eyes just widened a bit.
Without making a fuss, he cautiously asked the salesperson beside him, “Does this mean I won?”
The salesperson nodded, confirming, “Yes, you did.”
She seemed like she wanted to say something else, but Chen Bai had already started to smile. His brows relaxed under his messy hair, and his eyes crinkled as he beamed, lightly lifting the brim of his hat. His light-colored eyes sparkled as he said, “This is the first time I’ve won something this year. Looks like my luck is pretty good today.”
“…”
The salesperson found herself unable to say the next part, “The winning rate is 100%.”
Because this was a customer appreciation event, the raffle had a 100% win rate. The grand prizes included luxury perfumes and accessories, with the lowest-tier prize being the keychain that Chen Bai had just won.
“…Well, that’s wonderful,” she said with a smile, quickly getting up. “I’ll go get your prize.”
In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth, and hurried off.
Chen Bai, who had just experienced a streak of “good luck,” received a dark blue keychain, which happened to match the color of the watch.
True to his word, the God of Wealth gave him the keychain. Although it wasn’t very useful, it was a symbol of his own “good fortune,” so he carefully tucked it into his pocket.
With the new watch packed up, it was time to leave.
After circling the store and having a pleasant conversation with the staff, their post-lunch activity was over, and Chen Bai followed the client back down to the parking lot.
It wasn’t the best day. The God of Wealth had unexpected work that required immediate attention, and in the short time it took to take the elevator down to the car, he received two phone calls.
With this level of busyness, Chen Bai, the diligent worker, thought he might actually get off work early today.
He did not.
The God of Wealth was every bit the capitalist—rather than letting his employee off early, he’d rather drag him back to the office just to sit and drink tea, with no mention of calling it a day.
Not that it mattered. Back at the office for the afternoon, Chen Bai spent the first half going over scripts and practicing his drawing, and the second half falling asleep.
Without the aid of black coffee, he could easily spend more than half the day sleeping.
He didn’t need anyone to turn off the lights. He just pulled up his hoodie, tightened the drawstrings, and manually created his own darkness. Facing the large windows, which were filled with clouds and rain, he dozed off peacefully on the sofa.
Huo Chuan “…”
He slept through half the afternoon and was eventually woken up by someone.
The voice calling him was faint and hard to make out, but he could sense that someone was trying to wake him up.
After gathering himself for a while, he finally mustered the effort to open his eyes. But when he did, everything was pitch black—he couldn’t see any light at all.
“Shh—”
The sound of rain continued outside the window, and his brain slowly began transitioning out of sleep. With a faint sense of clarity, Chen Bai finally remembered what day it was and where he was.
Technically, he was still at work. This was, after all, the God of Wealth’s office, where he had been working today.
He blinked a few more times, but his vision was still completely dark. Without fully thinking it through, he blurted out, “Is it nighttime already?”
His voice was a bit hoarse from the long nap.
Something wasn’t right.
First of all, even if it was night, it wouldn’t be this dark to the point of seeing nothing. Secondly, the God of Wealth certainly wouldn’t save on electricity by not turning on the lights in the evening.
With some conclusion forming in his mind, Chen Bai suddenly sat bolt upright on the sofa, exclaiming in disbelief, “Did I go blind?”
He also had the vague feeling that some invisible force was constraining his face.
Huo Chuan “…”
Now more awake, Huo Chuan, who had bent down to wake him, reached out silently and loosened the hoodie drawstrings that Chen Bai had pulled too tight.
The invisible force disappeared, and in an instant, Chen Bai could see the light again. He fell silent, stopped moving, and after a brief moment of reflection, rubbed his messy hair with a chuckle, “Ha.”
This person was trying to hide something with a smile.
The sky outside was still dark, with no distinction between day and night. A glance outside revealed nothing had changed. The office was brightly lit, and Huo Chuan definitely wasn’t at the point of needing to turn off the office lights to save on electricity.
As his eyes adjusted to the light, Chen Bai fully woke up. He hadn’t expected to sleep so long that the boss had to personally wake him up. His first reaction was to look at the time on his phone—it was already 6:30 PM.
By the standard nine-to-six work schedule, it was already past quitting time. If Chen Bai wasn’t off work, the God of Wealth should have been.
Then he heard the God of Wealth say, “I’ve got some things to take care of tonight. I’ll have my driver take you home.”
Alright then. Even if the God of Wealth wasn’t off work, Chen Bai was.
Displaying the best acting skills of his life, Chen Bai suppressed the grin threatening to take over his face, lowered his eyes to hide the overflowing emotions, and responded in the most regretful tone, “Alright.”
Then he added, “Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Huo.”
Seeing his lowered brows and downcast gaze, Huo Chuan exhaled and said, “It won’t be like this next time.”
Which, translated into plain speech, meant no more leaving early next time. Opportunities like this didn’t come often, and Chen Bai genuinely felt some regret this time.
The office door opened, and the personal assistant stood at the entrance, signaling him over.
The driver was ready, and it was time to go. Chen Bai put his hat and mask back on and was about to step out of the office when the boss called him back. Slightly lifting the brim of his hat, he patiently asked, “Is there anything else, Mr. Huo?”
Huo Chuan picked up the gift box he had brought back from the mall and handed it to him.
Chen Bai “?”
For a moment, Chen Bai didn’t understand what this meant. He looked up. “Huh?”
Huo Chuan was succinct: “It’s for you.”
Chen Bai was momentarily confused. If a worker gives the boss something, it’s called a bribe. What do you call it when the boss gives the worker something?
Just as he was about to decline, he glanced up and met the God of Wealth’s gaze. Those eyes seemed to look at him, but then shifted elsewhere.
He understood. This watch wasn’t meant for him, nor was it for Huo Chuan himself. To be precise, it was for his boss’s beloved, ‘White Moonlight’. For the whole day, since he hadn’t been in work mode, Chen Bai had almost forgotten about that.
His sharp mind turned, and Chen Bai accepted the gift box with a smile and a word of thanks.
After taking the gift, he waved and followed the personal assistant out.
By the time he got home, it was evening. His good neighbor was out at work again, not home. Too lazy to cook for just himself, Chen Bai simply made a sandwich with two slices of bread for dinner, then collapsed on the sofa to continue reading his script.
There were no further work arrangements that day. The next time Chen Bai saw his business partner was when they were preparing to start filming.
The house door could be opened with either a key or a passcode. His agent had already learned the passcode earlier, so she let herself in, lifted his blanket, and teamed up with the stylist to pick out his outfit—an extremely familiar routine by now.
Once again tricked awake by the words “The God of Wealth is here,” Chen Bai sat up with lifeless eyes. His blanket had already been pulled off, leaving no chance of returning to sleep. He sat on the bed for a while before getting up to wash up.
While he washed, his assistant placed the breakfast on the dining table, and the agent, together with the stylist, had already picked out his clothes.
After finishing his wash, Chen Bai returned to his room, changed out of his pajamas, and put on the outfit hanging outside, chosen by the two of them. Rubbing his messy hair, he stepped out of the room and was the first to take a sip of the black coffee the assistant had brought along with some soy milk.
“…”
The stylist, Sister Qing, was fiddling with her metal styling case in the living room. When she turned around and saw his bedhead sticking up wildly, her eyes immediately darkened.
Even though she had been part of the team for some time, every time she saw that hair, she couldn’t help but want to take a deep breath.
She did take a deep breath, while the agent, now free from the task of managing Chen’s hair, relaxed and took a sip of water.
Sitting on the sofa, letting them work on his hair, Chen Bai half-opened his eyes, sipping alternately from the soy milk and black coffee in his unique fusion breakfast.
The stylist had her own assistant, but they hadn’t come today, so Xiao Meng and Brother Liu took on the role of temporary assistants, helping out from time to time.
During this time, the agent went over the general schedule for the day and briefly mentioned the new actor lineup, handing over the phone for Chen Bai to take a look himself. Chen Bai, sipping soy milk, nodded occasionally while glancing at the schedule.
This time, he was listed as the lead actor, with a considerable gap between him and the other actors.
Taking a big gulp of black coffee, Chen Bai thought about how he had once said that he preferred being the second male lead—no need to carry the ratings.
It didn’t seem like that conversation had been that long ago, yet now it was his turn to carry the show.
Though no trace of nervousness showed on his face, the agent still did his duty, saying, “Don’t stress too much. The casting for this project is solid, the director is experienced, and the script is strong. Barring any major issues, things should go smoothly from filming to release.”
The pressure was heavy, but so was the reward. When the production company and his agency had negotiated, the final outcome was a slight reduction in salary, but the lead actors would get a share of the show’s profits.
As long as the show aired successfully and garnered decent reviews and attention, the profit share would far exceed the cut in his pay.
With that much money on the line, the pressure naturally increased.
Chen Bai nodded, grimacing at the bitterness of the coffee, and quickly took another sip of soy milk.
He looked just as calm as usual.
“You really are cut out for this line of work.”
The agent knew Chen Bai handled pressure well but hadn’t expected him to manage it this effortlessly. Since Chen appeared calm, the agent dropped the subject and instead recalled something else. “I noticed a Veent box on your shelf. Was that a gift from a friend?”
Chen Bai looked up. “What?”
The agent clarified succinctly, “A watch. Very expensive.”
Chen Bai understood now. After thinking for a moment, he waved his hand and said, “No, it’s from a client I know, given to me for various reasons.”
The agent thought that made sense. That friend of his always seemed to keep things within a certain limit—giving all sorts of gifts but never anything beyond what someone would feel comfortable accepting. It was unlikely they would suddenly change that approach.
Knowing Chen Bai had other work besides this, the agent didn’t ask further. He just said, “Your client is quite generous.”
Chen Bai waved his hand again, saying, “Not really. I’m just holding onto it for them and will have to return it later.”
If a bank holds onto something, they charge a storage fee. Fortunately, he was kind-hearted and didn’t charge an extra fee for holding it, considering the client had paid him a good salary.
Though he didn’t quite understand why they left the item with him, the agent nodded, and his curiosity faded.
After a long while, the stylist finally finished tidying his hair and let out a deep sigh of relief, firmly forbidding him from wearing a hat.
“If you put on a hat, all this work will be for nothing.”
Chen Bai nodded and stopped himself from instinctively reaching up to tug at his hair.
Everything was nearly ready. The agent informed the driver downstairs ahead of time, and the group headed out.
This time, the shoot was at a film base, but a modern one. The outdoor scenes would be elsewhere, but most of the indoor scenes were filmed here. Although the base wasn’t as far out as a full-on film city, it was still pretty far, requiring over two hours of driving across several districts.
As the car drove down the road and the buildings on either side started to change, the agent leaned forward slightly, asked the assistant sitting in front for a marker, and tested it on a sheet of paper. Satisfied with it, he handed the pen back and said to the person beside him, “There might be some fans waiting at the hotel later. The production team said it’s okay to stop and greet them if the situation allows.”
Although the full cast schedule had only just been released that day, the main lead and the timing of the kickoff ceremony had been publicized earlier. The assistant had already checked, and the staff at the hotel had mentioned there were already quite a few people gathered outside.
Chen Bai put away his phone and nodded in cooperation.
The film base was large, and even from a distance, it was visible. The hotel they would be staying at was located right next to it.
Before the car even got close, the large crowd gathered at the hotel entrance could already be seen—a dense, pressing wave of people.
The scene was very similar to the time fans greeted Chu Mingyuan at the airport, though due to space limitations, it couldn’t hold quite as many people. Chen Bai glanced at it a couple of times and asked his money-making partner, “Which ones are my fans?”
Gao Qian, “All of them.”
Chen Bai “?”
Meeting Chen Bai’s gaze, Gao Qian said, “Security is ready.”
She then leaned forward again and instructed the driver, Uncle Zhao, “Please park near those security guards up ahead.”
As they got closer, the security guards’ faces became visible, and the car gradually slowed down, finally coming to a stop at the roadside.
Even through the car windows, the constant noise from outside could be heard, vibrating against their eardrums. The stylist checked one last time for any stray hairs, and the agent gave Chen Bai a pat on the back, smiling, “Alright, time to get out, leading man.”
The car door opened, and the noise from outside instantly surged in, surrounding them from all sides.
According to the actor arrival schedule released by the production team, “Chen Bai” was set for 9:00–9:20. Fans had received this information earlier, so many had arrived at the hotel early in the morning, fearing they might miss him. They had started gathering as early as 8 AM.
Right at 9:00, someone in the otherwise only slightly noisy crowd suddenly shouted, “The car is here!”
The fans knew what car to look for. After a certain point, Chen Bai had consistently used the same vehicle, and the more familiar fans had memorized the car model and license plate number.
The car approached from the end of the road, slowed down as it neared the hotel, and finally stopped quietly by the roadside under their watchful eyes.
The weather was perfect today—sunny but not too hot, just warm. When the door opened, Chen Yi Bai sprang out of the car, his messy hair and loose shirt flapping in the air, landing effortlessly. When he looked up, his light gray eyes reflected the sunlight, and his smile was dazzling.
In an instant, screams and shouts erupted from the crowd.
Chen Bai “…”
Chen Yi Bai had jumped out of the car so quickly that not only had the security guards failed to react, even the agent had been caught off guard and didn’t manage to hold him back in time.
Within seconds, Chen Yi Bai had plunged into the sea of people, and the agent’s eyebrow twitched as she quickly turned to the security guards, “We’ll be relying on you today.”
The guards, experienced in handling crowds, assured her they would keep the fans under control to prevent any accidents.
“No, no,” the agent wiped her face and said, “Stop ‘him’ from running off.”
Security “?”
The guards hadn’t caught on, but they jumped into action anyway. Two assistants had already waded into the crowd, trying to reach Chen Yi Bai, who had disappeared into the mass of people.
For practical reasons, the small team, including the company, had kept Chen Yi Bai’s schedule tightly under wraps, and whenever fans were around, they’d usually moved quickly to avoid them. In reality, this was Chen Yi Bai’s first time properly meeting fans face to face.
The number of people and their enthusiasm were somewhat surprising. All around him, people were handing him papers and pens for autographs. He accepted the papers but used a pen handed to him by the assistant who had managed to squeeze through the crowd. Not having to switch pens constantly sped up the signing process considerably.
As the crowd shifted, Chen Yi Bai moved along with it. By the time the security guards finally reached him, it felt like he had already walked a mile, completely away from his original spot.
The guards finally understood what the agent had meant about not letting him run too far.
He had already signed an unknown number of autographs, and more papers kept being handed to him. Phones and cameras flashed continuously, but Chen Yi Bai, ever patient, continued to sign while chatting with fans. Their banter made him laugh, and his smile never left his face.
In April, when the spring chill hadn’t fully passed, the temperature wasn’t too high in the morning. Despite the coolness, the crowd was so intense that even Chen Bai, who usually didn’t sweat, had a bit of perspiration on his forehead. He casually wiped it away and took another autograph request handed to him.
His assistant, Xiao Meng, squeezed in beside him, struggling to raise her hand to check her watch for messages. She said, “Sister Qian said it’s almost time.”
“Can we ask if we can wait a few more minutes?”
Looking at the crowd that was still strong in numbers, Chen Bai handed back the signed paper and quietly said, “Some of them came from other provinces. It’s not easy for them to come here.”
Taking a high-speed train or traveling a thousand miles just for this brief moment, and waiting for so long, it seemed only fair to give them something to take back with them.
As he said this, he finally noticed the sweat dripping down Xiao Meng’s face, so he handed her a tissue he had put in his pocket earlier that morning.
Xiao Meng took the tissue, wiping her sweat vigorously, and thanked him. She then bowed her head and contacted Sister Qian, giving a thumbs-up to indicate everything was fine.
Chen Yi Bai glanced up and smiled, “Alright, let’s pick up the pace.”
Though they couldn’t stay much longer, he lingered for an extra three minutes. During that time, he unconsciously moved along with the crowd several times, only to be blocked and guided back by the security guards repeatedly.
Having stayed long enough, the crowd no longer surged forward when he left. They even made way for him, creating a path to the hotel entrance without the need for security to intervene.
Finally, the agent, who hadn’t been able to squeeze into the crowd, caught up with them. Camera shutters were still clicking, flashes going off constantly. Chen Bai walked in the middle, flanked by his assistants and the security guards. He turned slightly and waved, about to say goodbye when he noticed a bouquet of flowers suddenly raised in the crowd.
A petite girl squeezed her way forward, holding up the flowers. Judging by her height, the bouquet had only popped above the crowd because she was lifting it as high as she could.
It was a beautiful bouquet of pink and white flowers, dazzling in the sunlight. Seeing this, Chen Bai turned to his agent, who smiled and gave a slight nod.
He paused, bent down, and accepted the bouquet of red and pink flowers. His cool, pale skin, which even the sunlight couldn’t warm, matched perfectly with the pink orchids on the bouquet, glowing softly in the light.
For a moment, the camera shutters seemed to fire off even more rapidly.
