Chapter 20: First Collaboration

[Shuo Ri] Inside the private room "Hello Xingxing, I’m Yu Yue, ’Yu’ from Yu Xiaozhe, ’Yue’ from ’overcome.’ I’m the owner of Shuo Ri Game Company. You might not have heard of our company name, but you definitely know our game. Can you guess which one?" Yu Yue eagerly introduced himself and left a bit of suspense for Ruan Xingwen at the end. Ruan Xingwen thought for a moment, hesitantly tried, "Godslayer?" Apart from this game, he hadn’t really played anything else. If he guessed incorrectly, he wouldn’t have any alternative. Yu Yue’s tone was evidently more excited, "You’re too smart! That’s the one! Do you like playing it too? If you have any suggestions in the future, feel free to let me know!" As he spoke, he took out his phone and opened the QR code for his WeChat. "Let’s add each other as friends!" They successfully added each other as friends, and Ruan Xingwen finally had the time to introduce himself. "My name is Ruan Xingwen, ’Ruan’ as in ear yuan, ’Xing’ from Galaxy Shining, and ’Wen’ from coming with the sound." After he finished speaking, he turned with Yu Yue to look at Yu Xiaozhe, waiting for his self-introduction. "Yu Xiaozhe." Short and concise, typical of Mr. Yu’s style. Silently mocked in his heart, he continued chatting with Yu Yue. Ruan Xingwen occasionally rubbed his stomach; he had just drunk a few glasses of alcohol and hadn’t eaten any rice yet, so his stomach was uncomfortable. But facing the two people he just met, he was too embarrassed to admit he was hungry. Yu Xiaozhe glanced at him, and speaking to the two who were chatting excitedly, said, "Let’s order some dishes first and talk while eating." This suggestion was precisely what Ruan Xingwen hoped for. He gave Yu Xiaozhe a grateful smile, with his apricot eyes slightly curved, even the mole on his nose seemed lively. Yu Xiaozhe rarely froze, but he quickly recovered and glanced at Ruan Xingwen again, murmuring inwardly, despite having a face that looked innocent and harmless, who’d guess he was actually a little leopard with explosive combat skills. Yu Yue ordered some dishes and passed the menu to Ruan Xingwen, signaling him to pick some dishes he liked. After checking the ordered menu, six dishes were already chosen, so he ordered a corn sweet soup and smoothly handed the menu to Yu Xiaozhe. Yu Xiaozhe didn’t say much, glanced at the menu, then raised his eyebrow and looked at him again, before setting it aside, pressing the bell to call the waiter to take the menu away. Star Delight’s service was first-class, and the speed of serving dishes was top-notch. Not long after, the dishes were brought out one by one. However, at this moment, Ruan Xingwen was a bit troubled; there was no staple food, all were dishes, he hadn’t noticed this issue earlier. Yu Xiaozhe noticed his plight and pressed the bell again to call the waiter, "Prepare some staple food, do you want...?" His gaze carried an inquiry as he looked at Ruan Xingwen. "I want rice, please!" Said thank you to the waiter, then turned to Yu Xiaozhe, speaking boldly, "Thank you both for today. If it weren’t for you, the matter just now wouldn’t have been resolved so smoothly. If you need anything from me in the future, feel free to ask. As long as it doesn’t violate the moral code of the world and the laws and regulations, I’ll do my best to help you!" Yu Yue, chewing on a dish, waved his hand to indicate it was no big deal. "Let’s eat first, we do have some things to talk to you about, we’ll discuss after the meal." Yu Xiaozhe spoke calmly, then didn’t say another word; silent during meals was his long-standing etiquette and habit. Star Delight’s dishes were truly good, tasted super delicious, plus he was famished, so he ended up eating two large bowls of rice, of the type that heaps on top! Seeing Yu Yue’s shocked expression, he felt slightly embarrassed, his ear tips reddening a bit as he explained, "I was a bit hungry tonight, I usually don’t eat this much..." Yu Yue teased, "Hey Xingxing, you say you eat so much, how do you maintain your figure?" Going out today, Ruan Xingwen dressed quite casually, just like what he wore when going out during days off. A white pullover hoodie, light brown casual pants, coupled with a black backpack. He already had a baby face, and wearing this set of clothes, he looked like a youthful campus idol who had just stepped out of the school grounds. His eyes were very beautiful, with the natural slight downward droop of apricot eyes, when he looked at you seriously, it was a naive and innocent expression. After calming his emotions, he asked again, "Mr. Yu, Ah Yue, what exactly did you want to discuss with me? I heard you mention endorsement before?" Yu Yue naturally answered his question, "Yes, it is indeed an endorsement, the endorsement for ’Godslayer,’ are you interested?" Ruan Xingwen was a bit surprised, glanced with a hint of doubt towards Yu Xiaozhe, "Isn’t ’Godslayer’ endorsed by Teacher Yu? Why switch to me? I’m just a minor celebrity way out beyond the top fifty lines, nowhere near Teacher Yu’s influence." "Oh, no, it’s not about replacing him, it’s the two of you endorsing together, a double endorsement, got it?" This made him even more puzzled, why did Mr. Yu need to add him when he was endorsing successfully alone? "Don’t you know about what happened online a few days ago? Your agent... she didn’t tell you?" Yu Xiaozhe instantly identified the crux of the issue, Ruan Xingwen had no idea what transpired online. Once Ruan Xingwen quickly got up to speed about the situation from the internet, he fell silent again. The online narrative varied widely, some said he was a shill for the game company, others said he paid for that card, and some netizens with more vivid imaginations even claimed he intended to replace Yu Xiaozhe as the spokesperson... He just wanted to ask those imaginative netizens, who gave them such courage to fantasize so wildly, was it Liang Jingru?! If he had that skill, would he still be stuck in this insignificant state now?! Feeling quite exhausted... Sitting in an adjacent seat, Yu Xiaozhe, watching his rich facial expressions, felt surprisingly amused, rubbing his fingers, thinking that this little leopard’s expressions were so varied, he wanted to pinch his face. He pondered over his tone, cautiously asked, "If I were to take this endorsement, what would I need to do?" Having been in the entertainment industry for over three years, he had participated in quite a few events, announcements, and variety shows, but endorsements, this was indeed the first time, after all, he wasn’t famous, and brand owners focus on popularity. Thus he felt some anticipation for this endorsement but was mostly at a loss, unsure of the process or how he should proceed. So he looked towards Yu Xiaozhe for help.