Chapter 103: A Personal Invitation
Song Zhibai was stunned by his mother’s question and responded helplessly, “Mom, am I being that obvious?”
He casually closed the notebook on his lap.
Even on his days off at home, Song Zhibai never truly relaxed. He was always either reading or watching movies, filling a dedicated notebook with notes—his deep analyses of various roles.
His mother nodded. While she was happy that her son had finally opened his heart, she also worried that the gap between him and his love interest was too vast. She didn’t want him to get hurt.
“Miss Xu is a good person, but as the old saying goes, ‘A great disparity is not a suitable match.’ I’ve suffered enough from an unequal marriage. I don’t want you to follow the same path.”
Lowering his head slightly, Song Zhibai said, “I know there’s a huge difference in our status, that I’m not worthy of her right now. But feelings can’t be controlled. I just… I just want to be closer to her.”
At first, he had been wary of Xu Youyou, afraid she was like the wealthy, predatory women he had encountered before—someone who wanted to take advantage of him.
But she had done so much for him without ever crossing any boundaries. To Song Zhibai, it was as if she were doing charity work, never asking for anything in return.
She was the one who put him into the entertainment industry, wanting to make him a star and earn money off him, yet he couldn’t even tell who was really benefitting from whom.
No one is made of stone—how could he remain indifferent?
He had never had feelings for a girl before. But after spending so much time with her, intentionally or not, she had occupied his every thought.
It had started as gratitude. He wasn’t sure when exactly that gratitude had transformed into affection. Now, he couldn’t help but want to see her more, spend more time with her, and even just a few words from her could make him happy.
His mother sighed, looking at her son with a touch of sorrow. “Does she know how you feel?”
Song Zhibai shook his head. “She has no idea. In fact, because of our contract, she’s been keeping her distance from me…”
Suddenly, he regretted signing that contract regarding unspoken rules in the industry. He had intended to protect himself, but instead, it had become a barrier between them.
His mother asked, “Do you plan to tell her?”
Song Zhibai shook his head again. “At least not until I become a top-tier star. I don’t want to add to her burdens.”
He desperately wanted to rise to fame. It felt like only then would he have the confidence to confess.
Originally, his mother had intended to talk him out of his feelings, but when she saw the bright determination in his eyes, she couldn’t bear to do it.
Having experienced serious illness, she understood better than anyone how short life could be.
“Miss Xu has a noble character. As long as you truly care for her, she will sense it. I hope you succeed.”
Song Zhibai’s eyes instantly lit up.
His mother then added, “You’re joining the production team the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow at noon, I’d like to invite Miss Xu over for a housewarming meal. Even though this is just a rented place, it’s still important to mark the occasion, don’t you think?”
Realizing that his mother was helping him, Song Zhibai immediately smiled. “I’ll invite her.”
Since it was late at night, his mother didn’t linger in his room. After reminding him to sleep early, she returned to her own.
Originally, Song Zhibai wanted to send Xu Youyou a message, but after some hesitation, he felt that a text invitation wasn’t sincere enough.
The next morning, Xu Youyou woke up naturally around nine.
Housekeeper Zhang rushed over and said, “Boss, Mr. Song has been waiting outside since six in the morning.”
Xu Youyou’s expression changed immediately. “If he was already here, why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”
“Mr. Song said it wasn’t an urgent matter and didn’t want to disturb you.”
Xu Youyou shook her head. “Next time, if something like this happens, wake me up immediately—no matter how urgent it is. Don’t ever let Mr. Song or Mr. Xie wait outside again.”
Both Song Zhibai and Xie Ran were her biggest money-makers. She made sure to keep their needs in mind at all times.
After a rushed freshening-up session, Xu Youyou quickly changed and hurried to the small sitting room. From afar, she saw a figure dressed in a white shirt standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing outside.
The early morning sunlight bathed him in a soft glow, making even the floating dust particles in the air seem to favor him.
At that moment, Song Zhibai no longer carried the fragile aura that had seemed welded onto him before. Instead, he looked like the kind of senior in school whom girls would secretly admire—a white moonlight in their memories.
Xu Youyou’s thoughts turned to business: With his looks, if he starred in a youth romance drama, it would sell like crazy!
“Is there an emergency? Is it about the Ye sisters?” she asked.
Song Zhibai shook his head. “No, nothing urgent. My mother is preparing a housewarming meal for lunch and asked me to invite you.”
Xu Youyou let out a sigh of relief.
He lifted his hand slightly, intending to wipe away the white toothpaste at the corner of her lips. But thinking the gesture might be too intimate, he withdrew his hand and instead grabbed a tissue from the table, handing it to her.
Xu Youyou looked at him quizzically.
“Toothpaste…” he murmured softly.
Even after making such an embarrassing mistake in front of a handsome man, Xu Youyou showed no sign of awkwardness. Instead, she laughed openly. “I was in such a rush to see you that I didn’t have time to check. Did I ruin your beautiful eyes?”
If my money-maker knows I’m this eager to meet him, he’ll definitely work even harder for me! she thought smugly.
Song Zhibai smiled lightly and said sincerely, “Not at all. Even carelessness has its own beauty.”
Hearing a top-tier handsome guy praise her so earnestly, Xu Youyou’s cheeks felt a little warm. But she still joked, “Even if you sweet-talk me, I won’t give you a raise.”
Song Zhibai’s gaze was filled with gentle light. “Every word I said was true.”
Xu Youyou finally understood why so many rich women liked keeping young, handsome men around.
The way Song Zhibai was behaving now—like a beautiful, well-behaved cat softly meowing for attention—who could resist that?
She certainly couldn’t. If this went on, she might just run to the company and revise the contract to make all sorts of exceptions for him.
Feeling that she needed to put some distance between them, she coughed lightly and said, “You’ve been here since six. You must not have eaten yet. Want to grab a quick bite?”
Since Song Zhibai had an ulterior motive, of course, he was eager to stay.
Xu Youyou, a true food lover, focused on breakfast even with a handsome man sitting across from her.
“Try the coconut red bean cake. It’s really good—one of Aunt Liu’s specialties.” She placed a plate in front of him.
Song Zhibai smiled and nodded, secretly memorizing the dishes she enjoyed the most.
Although he wanted to stay longer, he knew his boundaries and left after breakfast.
To show her appreciation, Xu Youyou personally walked him to the door.
But just as they reached the entrance, the doorbell rang.
On the large display screen, the face of Lu Jingyao suddenly appeared.
