The next morning, Pei Qingjian woke first.
He carefully slipped out of Lan Xingchen’s embrace, tiptoeing off the bed, washed up, and started making breakfast.
By the time Lan Xingchen was awakened by his alarm, got dressed, and left the bedroom, he saw Pei Qingjian carrying a plate of freshly fried youtiao into the dining room.
“You made youtiao?” Lan Xingchen asked in surprise.
Pei Qingjian nodded. “We’re having soy milk and youtiao this morning.”
Lan Xingchen thought: He should have said so earlier—this little canary of his was destined to be the king of canaries. So competitive!
If there were awards for canaries, he’d certainly win the Golden Canary!
“You’re really diligent,” Lan Xingchen said, impressed.
Pei Qingjian smiled. “It’s okay. Do you want some fried pastry for lunch? I can make some and bring it to you.”
Lan Xingchen almost nodded immediately.
But then he remembered he had a lunch meeting, and reluctantly said, “Never mind, I’ll eat it when I get back.”
“Alright,” Pei Qingjian agreed.
Lan Xingchen followed him into the dining room.
Pei Qingjian didn’t mention what happened last night while he slept, simply handing him the freshly pressed soy milk.
The soy milk was sweet, the youtiao crispy. Lan Xingchen ate and sighed with satisfaction: truly, a good day starts with a good breakfast.
“I’m leaving,” he said after finishing, glancing at Pei Qingjian to say goodbye before heading out.
In the elevator, he remembered Pei Qingjian’s words from last night, opened the group chat, and sent a group red envelope.
Before long, it was snatched up.
Lan Xingchen checked while retrieving his car and, unsurprisingly, saw that his little canary had the worst luck in the group.
How could someone be so unlucky? Truly puzzling.
He opened their private chat and sent Pei Qingjian a personal red envelope.
Lan Xingchen: [Good Luck Red Envelope]
Pei Qingjian had just opened his computer to start editing photos and saw the red envelope.
“Why are you sending me another red envelope?” he asked, confused.
Lan Xingchen: “Your luck was too bad. Here, a little boost.”
Pei Qingjian glanced at the group red envelopes he had collected. Not as many as others, but receiving them was fun in itself. Quantity didn’t really matter.
Lan Xingchen: “Claim it quickly.”
Seeing him insist, Pei Qingjian tapped to receive it. Sure enough, it was another number with 6—166.
He couldn’t help smiling. Looks like Lan Xingchen really wanted him to have good luck.
Pei Qingjian: “Got it, thanks [heart].”
He sent a cat sending love emoji as well.
Lan Xingchen seemed satisfied, started the car, and drove out.
Pei Qingjian finished receiving the red envelopes and began his work for the new day.
Around noon, he checked his phone to take a break and was surprised to see hundreds of private messages, dozens requesting his photo editing services.
What’s going on? Why are so many people contacting me suddenly?
As he wondered, he saw the red notification dot above Mango Yao Yao Bing’s profile growing rapidly.
He opened it to see her flusteredly explaining herself.
Mango Yao Yao Bing: “Ahhh, Master, my post suddenly went viral yesterday, and now that you’re the most liked, so many people are asking in the comments if you’re taking orders—did you see it?”
Mango Yao Yao Bing: “Did anyone DM you? I hope it’s not bothering you?”
Mango Yao Yao Bing: “I don’t even know how it went viral, sorry QAQ. Hope it’s not causing you trouble.”
Ah, that’s what happened. Pei Qingjian replied: “It’s fine, no trouble at all, don’t worry.”
After a moment, he added: “Thanks for bringing me so many clients. Next time you need edits, I’ll give you 50% off~”
Mango Yao Yao Bing: “Fifty percent!!!”
Don’t stop her—she’s ready to go shoot right now!
Mango Yao Yao Bing: “Wow! Thank you, Master! You’re amazing, sob~”
Pei Qingjian found her pretty cute, so he set the phone aside and sped through editing her photos, making sure they were done before 2 p.m.
Sea: “All done. Take a look and see if you like them.”
Mango Yao Yao Bing couldn’t believe he finished so quickly. She paused the movie she was watching and eagerly opened the folder.
In the clear sunlight, a young girl held an umbrella, dressed in an elegant hanfu, glancing back.
The sunlight fell on her brows, her eyes filled with quiet expectation, as if waiting for a lover in spring.
Mango Yao Yao Bing was stunned. These… these… these were even better than the two photos she had posted before!
She looked through them one by one, growing more amazed.
Especially the last few she dug out from her computer.
They were her graduation photos from last year, taken with a few friends in senior year. At that time, they didn’t know much about styling, composition, or camera angles. The photos were naturally sincere but far from perfect.
Now, after Sea’s edits, the photos seemed to come alive.
Fresh tones, radiant young girls, a bright classroom, sunlight streaming through the windows—it felt as if she could hear the summer cicadas through the photos.
Their school uniforms no longer looked bulky, but youthful. Their smiles were no longer simple, but pure.
They sat in the classroom, sunlight spreading over their feet, and at this moment, the future seemed bright and within reach.
Mango Yao Yao Bing stared quietly for a long moment before reluctantly looking away from the photos.
She had never imagined these photos could be edited like this, showing exactly what she had hoped for back then.
At that time, they had no technical skills, and they weren’t glamorous enough. Even with imagination, it had felt just like a fantasy.
Now, that fantasy had come true.
Excited, she sent the photos to her close friends group, exclaiming: “Look! Isn’t this beautiful!! Isn’t it!! Tell me, isn’t it beautiful!!”
Her friends looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar images. Familiar because of the people and places, unfamiliar because of the edited result.
“Whoa, how did you do this? How is this even possible!!!”
“Ahhh, so gorgeous! I can’t believe it!! Was I really this beautiful in high school?!”
“This style, this composition, can I just save it as my desktop wallpaper? Too stunning!”
“Three minutes, I need to know what happened with this photo set?!!!”
Mango Yao Yao Bing knew her friends would react like this, and she proudly said: “Haha, I got lucky, sisters. Now I don’t even regret spending the 4,000 yuan. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have met Master Sea. Sea is super nice, and his editing skills are top-notch. And the best part? Such amazing skills for so cheap!!!”
“Quick, quick, quick! Do any of you have photos you want edited? Send them now! Master Sea said I get 50% off, so today it’s on me!”
Friend group: !!!
Before long, her friends sent all their photos, finished or not: “Here you go, Princess! Please, we’re counting on you!”
Mango Yao Yao Bing happily received them and forwarded them to Pei Qingjian: “Master, these are my friends’ photos too. Please edit them, I beg you, thank you so much!”
After sending, she quickly posted new content while her previous post was still trending.
Mango Yao Yao Bing: “Lucky me! I met a super amazing photo-editing master. You’ve probably seen the original photos from my last post. Now look at how amazing Master Sea edited them! I love it so much! [pics][pics][pics][pics][pics][pics]”
Soon, people commented:
“Whoa, stunning!!! How could the previous photographer criticize the poster? She’s so beautiful!!”
“I’m blown away by the poster’s beauty! These photos are gorgeous!”
“The post-processing is insane!! Truly saving the original photos!!”
“Ahhh, I want to know how to contact this master! I want them to edit my photos too!”
“Replying to the comment above, the master replied in the last post. I want them to edit too, but they seem really busy; no DM reply yet [crying emoji]”
“Emmmm, isn’t this just hype?”
“Of course not.” Mango Yao Yao Bing quickly replied: “[pics] Here are the chat records from the shoot. Yesterday’s post also shows the chats when the photos weren’t satisfactory [pics]. Here’s the payment record. Any other questions, just ask!”
“It shouldn’t be hype. After the poster posted yesterday, Sea only replied after a while. Those two edited photos were so good, they got a lot of likes. Then I DM’d him, and he replied. The price is fair. If this were hype, I’d worry he wouldn’t even earn it back [facepalm]”
Chen Xuanting had initially just spoken casually, but after being refuted like this, her competitive streak kicked in.
She didn’t believe it could be this coincidental. How could so many masters be constantly busy helping everyone?
This must be a sample. Who knows how the photos would turn out when it was her turn?
Thinking this, Chen Xuanting opened a secondary account and clicked on Mango Yao Yao Bing’s previous post, found Pei Qingjian’s avatar, and sent a private message: “Master, I also have a few photos here. Can you help me edit them? [pleading][pleading]”
Just wait, Chen Xuanting thought. She’d seen plenty of tricks that lure people in only to trap them. Fooling others is one thing—but trying to fool her? Dream on!
She wanted to see how she could expose them.
Meanwhile, Pei Qingjian, unaware that someone was already keeping an eye on him, was answering a call.
It was Zhou Pengyue on the line, asking him to come to the company.
So… work at last?
Pei Qingjian quickly agreed, changed his clothes, and headed to the office.
The address for Xinghe Entertainment was a little out of the way. By the time he arrived, it was already past three o’clock.
Zhou Pengyue was sitting in his office chair, watching Pei Qingjian rush in, and immediately said, “Sorry, the traffic was a bit bad, so you’re a little late.”
Zhou Pengyue thought… wow, this is like night and day.
Usually, when he arranged meetings with Pei Qingjian, Pei Qingjian would either dawdle or be too lazy to show up. If he finally did, he’d look at Zhou Pengyue as if to say, “You useless jerk, always wasting my time.”
Now, he was standing politely in front of him.
Zhou Pengyue felt a little taken aback.
“Sit.” He pointed to the chair opposite him.
Pei Qingjian finally sat down. “Zhou Ge, did you find a suitable role for me?”
Zhou Pengyue nodded and couldn’t help but glance at him a few more times.
Pei Qingjian felt a twinge of guilt under those eyes.
After all, he had never learned acting. If Zhou Pengyue wanted to test his skills on the spot, it could be awkward.
But then he remembered—his memories of the original owner’s acting weren’t great either. The expressions were wild, as if each person wanted to escape the face they were in, unwilling to spend another second there.
From this perspective, he was actually a little better than the original owner.
Pei Qingjian straightened his back, gaining some confidence.
Zhou Pengyue noticed him sitting upright and thought, Not bad. At least now he sits properly, unlike before. Every time he attended an event, I had to remind him repeatedly.
“Here, this is the script for you. Filming starts in a month and a half. Familiarize yourself with it and memorize the lines.” Zhou Pengyue picked up the script on the desk and handed it to him.
Pei Qingjian’s eyes lit up. He eagerly flipped through the pages.
“Although this is a supporting role, the character is interesting. Plus, this is a major production—a key period drama project on the platform. The male and female leads, even the second male lead, are big names. So this is a great opportunity for you.” Zhou Pengyue explained carefully, fearing that Pei Qingjian would see it as just a supporting role and quit to complain to Lan Xingchen.
“You’re not popular yet. Rather than starring in a small production, it’s better to play a supporting role in a major production where everyone can see you. Once you gain a following, you can get lead roles later, which is better for you.”
Pei Qingjian nodded, closing the script. “I understand. Thank you, Zhou Ge.”
“Thank me? Thank Little Lan then.”
Little Lan?
Pei Qingjian frowned. “Lan Xingchen?”
“Yes.” Zhou Pengyue thought this was curious. “You actually know Lan Xingchen?”
Truly rare. With Pei Qingjian’s personality, he had kept this secret for so long. After all, Pei Qingjian had revealed that his father was He Liangyu after his first acting role.
Zhou Pengyue had been baffled. Who’s He Liangyu?
Later, he found out he was a company owner.
But unfortunately, He Liangyu’s status wasn’t impressive. Even if Pei Qingjian himself was He Liangyu, it wouldn’t help.
Plus, his father didn’t invest money or resources—nothing at all. Totally useless.
Lan Xingchen was different. With the backing of the Anglai Group, people had to give him respect. Yet Pei Qingjian had never mentioned it.
Either he hadn’t known Lan Xingchen at that time, or their relationship wasn’t close enough.
Regardless, Lan Xingchen’s involvement now showed that Pei Qingjian had gained some standing with him.
“Little Lan personally called Director Zhang yesterday. Director Zhang had previously collaborated with Anglai Group, so he specially selected this role for you.” Zhou Pengyue added, “Little Lan probably didn’t tell you to keep it quiet. Just act like you know nothing.”
Pei Qingjian nodded, recalling Lan Xingchen asking him last night why he was so happy. So that was it.
He couldn’t help smiling.
If Zhou Pengyue hadn’t told him, he would have thought it was Zhou Pengyue fulfilling his promise to contact him once a role was ready.
Turns out, it was Lan Xingchen quietly arranging it. Truly a good person.
Pei Qingjian felt warmth spreading through him, like sunlight unfurling, both pleasant and comforting.
Zhou Pengyue noticed the sudden smile on his face and asked sharply, “What’s your relationship with Lan Xingchen?”
Author’s note:
Pei Qingjian OS: A purely financial relationship.
Lan Xingchen: Mm.
Later:
Lan Xingchen: Mm?