Xie Guan, although he looked difficult to approach, actually had a very good temper. He was gentle and humble, rarely got angry, and was reasonable most of the time. Unless absolutely necessary, he would not easily resort to violence.

The only ones who had truly seen him act fierce were a few people from his former company, but it was only verbal threats, with no real action.

This easily gave others the impression that his "bottom line was very low." When faced with a dispute, he was always the first to back down. When he did something wrong, it didn't take much effort to appease him; a little casual coaxing was all it took to easily obtain his forgiveness.

Therefore, when he truly became resolute, he would leave absolutely no room for reconciliation.

Huo Mingjun hadn't taken Xie Guan's reaction into account when making his decision. When arranging his plan, he thought he could sneakily deceive Xie Guan. In the end, the situation spiraled out of control, and only as he watched Xie Guan walk away did he realize he had stepped into a situation where he was completely helpless.

In his attempt to "correct" his mistake, he had made another one.

"Boss, the Cheng Family couple has confirmed that Mr. Xie does indeed look very much like Cheng Sheng," Zhong Heguang reported cautiously. "The few differences they pointed out are also consistent with what you said before. We can basically confirm... that our previous speculation was wrong."

"Understood," Huo Mingjun didn't ask any more questions, nor did he criticize Zhong Heguang for pointing him in the wrong direction initially. He instructed faintly, "Send them back."

Zhong Heguang stood before the desk without moving.

Huo Mingjun's expression wasn't good. He seemed exhausted, unable to maintain his usual sharp aura, which made him appear even more indifferent and cold. "Is there anything else?"

"Boss, I'm sorry," Zhong Heguang said apologetically, his eyes downcast. "It was my misjudgment this time that caused the plan to be disrupted, causing Mr. Xie to..."

"Enough, don't be in such a hurry to take the blame for me." Huo Mingjun didn't want to recall the scene again. He waved his hand and said, "This has nothing to do with you. Go do what you need to do."

"But..."

His repeated disobedience finally made Huo Mingjun genuinely angry. His face dark, he shot a glance over. "Are you ever going to stop?"

Zhong Heguang immediately fell silent, not daring to go against his wishes again. He could only apologize and hastily leave Huo Mingjun's office.

Huo Mingjun was indeed in a bad mood.

He never would have imagined that a mere Xie Guan, who had already been confirmed to be an outsider with no connection to Cheng Sheng, could nearly cause him to lose his composure and that he still couldn't completely let it go.

He had rarely encountered such a mishap in the realm of "interpersonal relationships." For the first time in his life, he experienced what it meant to "break off a friendship." He felt guilty but didn't know if he should try to salvage it; he wanted to resolve his feelings but didn't know where to start. His mental age suddenly regressed significantly, unexpectedly making up for his short-changed adolescence.

Since he had long decided to disregard Xie Guan's feelings, why did he still feel guilty? Since he had said they would no longer associate with each other, should he still try to salvage things? He had always regarded his contact with Xie Guan as a mistake; did a wrong beginning mean that the entire process, and even the result, were bound to be wrong?

Most importantly, the harm he had caused Xie Guan—should he make up for it, and how should he go about it?

"Here, your boxed meal."

Li Yan handed the meal box to Xie Guan, who had just finished his scene. Seeing that his hands were so stiff he couldn't even hold his chopsticks, he couldn't help but say, "What on earth is wrong with your assistant? He disappears the moment you start filming, no food, no water, just letting you sit here in the freezing cold?"

"Forget it, let him be. I'll get him replaced after filming is done," Xie Guan said, shoveling a mouthful of cold rice. "I've run the gauntlet as an extra for so many years, I'm not that delicate."

Li Yan said angrily, "You're the only one who can put up with him. If he were my assistant, I'd have told him to fuck off to the ends of the earth long ago. If I hadn't remembered to get you food, you'd be starving to death today."

Without looking up, Xie Guan said, "Thanks, you're the kindest."

Li Yan was rendered speechless by his reply, losing all his temper. After a long moment, he said dryly, "You haven't been frozen stupid, have you..."

Xie Guan smiled but didn't speak.

Li Yan had nothing to do and didn't want to leave, so he sat beside him and watched him eat. He asked hesitantly, "Bro, you don't seem right recently... Did something happen?"

Xie Guan's movements paused. He said nonchalantly, "No, why do you suddenly ask?"

Because of their connection from the audition, he and Xie Guan had the best relationship on set. Li Yan was young and arrogant, and he had a bunch of rabid fans who offended people on his behalf every day, so he wasn't well-liked by his peers. Xie Guan, however, found him quite sincere, the type of straightforward person who would treat someone with all his heart once he considered them a friend... although he was indeed a bit sharp-tongued.

Xie Guan's expression darkened slightly. The moment "friend" was mentioned, he couldn't help but think of Huo Mingjun.

Xie Guan asked himself, perhaps he couldn't be as unreserved as Li Yan, but at least his feelings were genuine. Unfortunately, the other person didn't seem to take it seriously.

What he had said to Huo Mingjun that day wasn't him being melodramatic; he was both persuading Huo Mingjun and consoling himself—don't haggle over every little thing, don't pester endlessly, don't always expect something in return for what you give.

But feelings given away are different from things given away. You can always find a replacement for things, and it doesn't hurt when they break. But feelings are a unique part of a person's heart. Even when poured into someone else, they maintain a thousand threads of connection to oneself. A slight tug is enough to cause a raw pain, let alone having to sever them with his own hands now... It would be a lie to say it wasn't painful.

"Look, look, that expression, you're totally out of it. Did you break up with someone?" Li Yan leaned in, his face a picture of curiosity that screamed "spill the tea."

Xie Guan couldn't help but laugh. "No. I just had a bit of a falling out with a friend."

Li Yan said in surprise, "Whoa, what kind of good friend could get you into this state? Let me tell you, with the way you are now, it's either you had a falling out with a childhood best buddy, or your secret crush ran off with someone else, am I right?"

"Really, no," Xie Guan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Just a regular friend. Alright, stop guessing. Let's get ready to work."

He packed up his half-eaten meal box, threw it in the trash, and got up to walk to the makeup room. Li Yan followed behind him, still muttering persistently, "Liar. A regular friend wouldn't make you so preoccupied you can't eat or drink. It must be your first love getting married or your ex-wife remarrying, no doubt about it."

December flew by amidst filming, and the end of the year arrived in a flash. The crew wasn't working on New Year's Day, as most of the actors had to attend promotional events. Li Yan had also received an invitation for a certain TV station's New Year's Eve event and left the set a day early. Before leaving, he nagged Xie Guan at length, telling him to replace his assistant immediately.

Xie Guan's assistant had been temporarily assigned by the company. His name was Fang Wei, a man in his thirties. Xie Guan had joined the film crew right after signing with the company, so he hadn't had time to choose carefully and had just made do with him.

This assistant could be described as "elusive as a ghost." Every day, he would drive Xie Guan to the filming location, then dump him with the crew and run off, only to reappear at night after filming wrapped up. This went on for several days. Whenever Xie Guan asked about it, he would say he was blending in with the crowd and that Xie Guan just had bad eyesight and didn't notice him.

Xie Guan thought about it and felt that this big brother was probably born in the year of the chameleon.

Later one day while Xie Guan was filming, Li Yan returned from running an errand. The filming location was quite remote, and not many cars came this way. Li Yan stood at the intersection for a long time, only managing to hail an unlicensed cab. He was a public figure, after all, and was about to let it pass and keep waiting, but when he looked down and saw the driver's face, he was stunned: Whoa, isn't this Xie Guan's assistant of the rare zodiac sign?!

Fang Wei didn't follow Xie Guan around much, so he didn't recognize Li Yan. Although Comrade Li Yan had the explosive temper of a firecracker, at this moment, in order to expose Fang Wei's true colors, he actually gritted his teeth and suppressed a world-shaking outburst, holding it in all the way to their destination.

Before getting out of the car, he sent a message to Xie Guan, asking him to come to the entrance to pick him up. When they arrived, he didn't get out right away. He crossed his legs and asked Fang Wei, "This car of yours looks pretty good."

A sudden chill went down Fang Wei's back.

This was originally a company car; Lin Yao had applied for it and gotten it approved for Xie Guan's use. It wasn't particularly high-end, just a standard family car, which made it the ideal tool for running an unlicensed cab service.

Every day after dropping off Xie Guan, Fang Wei would drive to the city to work as a cabbie. Anyway, the gas and maintenance fees were all reimbursed by the company. The film crew often needed cars to move between locations, so it wasn't unreasonable for the gas expenses to be a bit high on the reimbursement report. Fang Wei had targeted Xie Guan precisely because he was new to the company, didn't understand these schemes, and was an easy-to-manipulate eighteenth-tier starlet, which was why he dared to brazenly earn extra money behind his back.

Xie Guan stood at the entrance of the stadium, coldly watching Li Yan and Fang Wei get out of the familiar-looking car. He asked, "What's going on?"

Fang Wei wanted to bluff his way through with a cheeky grin, but Li Yan didn't give him a chance to speak, rattling off the whole story in a torrent of words. Fang Wei was so thoroughly insulted, cursed, and mocked by him that he couldn't lift his head, hanging it in a penitent posture while his true thoughts remained unknown.

Li Yan hated this kind of "dead pigs aren't afraid of boiling water" attitude the most. He was about to explode with anger. "Don't say anything else! Call your company, call them right now! If you don't fire a guy like this, are you keeping him around for New Year's?"

Fang Wei's heart gave a heavy thump. He fearfully looked up at Xie Guan, who was standing on the steps, his gaze full of pleading. "Mr. Xie... Mr. Xie! I know I was wrong! I'll never sneak out to work again, really! My whole family depends on me to support them. You can punish me however you want, but please don't tell the company... I-I can't lose this job! You're a magnanimous person, can you please forgive me this once..."

Getting worked up, he accidentally moved himself to tears, actually putting on a performance in front of Xie Guan and Li Yan. He cried with rich emotion in his voice, "I have the old to support and the young to raise. If you fire me, you're cutting off the lifeline for my entire family..."

This bastard was actually threatening Xie Guan now. Li Yan was so angry he nearly fell over backward. He immediately took out his phone to call 110, but Xie Guan reached out and stopped him halfway.

He sighed very lightly and said, "Stop crying."

Li Yan glanced at him in surprise, only to see that Xie Guan's face was completely drained of color. His vacant gaze fell on the cowering, short man, yet it was as if he wasn't looking at him at all. Standing there looking down, his face expressionless, his entire being seemed to emanate a trance-like state of utter despair.

Li Yan was nearly scared to death by him. He shot forward in a single bound to support him. "Fuck, are you really this angry over a driver? Are you okay? Bro, can you please not scare me..."

The man below the steps was still crying, his hoarse and muffled voice continuously reaching his ears, reminding Xie Guan of the middle-aged couple who had held him and wept inconsolably that afternoon.

The parents of his life-saver, the ones Huo Mingjun had found.

It was strange. They had found the shadow of their deceased child in another person and, unable to restrain their longing, burst into loud sobs. This should have been a very moving thing. But whenever Xie Guan thought about it, he felt utterly disgusted.

Why was it like this?

How had these two middle-aged people, with whom he had no connection and who posed no threat to him, inexplicably stepped on his landmine? Was this dislike due to a natural clash of auras, or was it because he was subconsciously transferring his anger over his falling out with Huo Mingjun onto others?

It wasn't that he had never seen middle-aged people break down in tears; it wasn't a rare sight in the entertainment industry, and he had never had such a strong reaction before.

But if it was the latter, how was what he was doing any different from what Huo Mingjun had done?

He dug his fingers into his knuckles, constantly telling himself to control his temper.

Fang Wei let out a miserable sob.

"I told you to stop crying!" Xie Guan suddenly exploded, roaring, "Can't you understand human speech!"