The Complete Guide to the Use and Care of a Personal a.s.sistant
Translator: Jury
Editor: NomNom
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter Ninety-two
Su Yuyang"s mom drove Ling Miao and Su Yuyang to the hotel where the Authors" Gathering was taking place. Strictly speaking, it was Su Yuyang driving while Su Yuyang"s mom and Ling Miao sat in the back chatting.
Su Yuyang"s mom seemed to like Ling Miao a lot and seemed to be afraid Ling Miao would dump her son. The whole way she told him about their family matters. Su Yuyang, listening in, really wanted to find a crack in the floor to hide in. But then he would look at Ling Miao, who didn"t seem uncomfortable and even seemed to be enjoying it. Su Yuyang internally thought, It"s good that he can take it. If he dumps me because of my mom, where would I go to cry?
Probably because Su Yuyang didn"t want his mom to scare his lover away, he drove right at the speed limit. Half an hour later they arrived at the hotel. Mu Yu was already standing outside the hotel. He saw Su Yuyang and Ling Miao get out of the car but was unsure if the person in front of him was Su Yuyang or not. One"s ID photo usually looks very different from one"s in-person appearance.
Su Yuyang hadn"t seen Mu Yu in person before, but he had seen many photos so he recognized at a glance that the person outside the hotel who seemed hesitant about whether to approach was his editor, Mu Yu.
Su Yuyang held onto Ling Miao"s hand and walked slowly over. Seeing Su Yuyang and Ling Miao holding hands Mu Yu was immediately sure that this person (he looked them over from the ground up) was the Great Shu Yang whom he had only spoken with but never seen!
Mu Yu had kept it a secret that Shu Yang was going to attend this Authors" Gathering, so he had come to greet them himself.
"I"m Mu Yu," Mu Yu said carefully.
Su Yuyang smiled more broadly. He hugged Mu Yu tightly and said ardently, "I"m Shu Yang. Thank you, Yu-ge."
Seeing that Su Yuyang didn"t restrain himself, Mu Yu didn"t dither about either. He laughed brightly: "No need for thanks."
"At first, the first novel site I submitted my book to didn"t sign my book. If not for you giving me a contract, I wouldn"t be where I am today." Su Yuyang was genuinely grateful to Mu Yu. At the time, having been rejected by the web novel site, Su Yuyang had been thoroughly disillusioned, to the point he almost smashed his computer. When he was on his last legs, Mu Yu had given him a percentage division contract. In the end, this proved that Mu Yu had good judgment.
"And this gentleman is…?" Mu Yu turned his gaze to Ling Miao, but since he knew that the person in front of him was Shu Yang, the person at Shu Yang"s side didn"t need an introduction.
Su Yuyang held onto Ling Miao"s hand and said with pride, "My lover, Ling Miao, also your author, Zero Seconds Ago."
"Yu-ge," Ling Miao called timidly.
Mu Yu heard Ling Miao"s timid voice and wasn"t sure how to respond. He looked awkwardly at the two in front of him and said, "Shu Yang, I didn"t tell management that you"d be here so you don"t have to sign in. This is your room key—it"s a single. I have other authors to meet so I won"t accompany you up."
Mu Yu had specially mentioned that it was a single, which made Ling Miao turn red. Ling Miao cursed inwardly: Yu-ge, thank you for being so considerate of us! I"m going to cry!
Ling Miao had turned red. Mu Yu a.s.sumed he was embarra.s.sed and didn"t think more on the matter. Su Yuyang toyed with the card in his hand and dragged Ling Miao toward the room. "Let"s go. Are you standing here for people to look at?"
"Right, Yu-ge." Su Yuyang was halfway on his way when he suddenly turned around again. The sound of his voice made Mu Yu jump.
Mu Yu was currently attending to another author and indicated for Su Yuyang to hold on.
After arranging the room for the other author, Mu Yu walked over. Su Yuyang said, "That mystery guest is Yan Li, right?"
Su Yuyang smiled with pride, but Mu Yu thought that Su Yuyang"s expression was asking for a beating. He was genuinely surprised that Su Yuyang had guessed that their special guest was Yan Li. They hadn"t announced the mystery guest at all and only a few people knew the ident.i.ty of the guest. Yesterday, he"d only mentioned briefly that the mystery guest was related to Su Yuyang and Su Yuyang had immediately guessed that it was Yan Li. That didn"t make sense, did it?
Just as Mu Yu was wracking his brains, Ling Miao walked over. He put his phone in his pocket and said, "Yan-jie"s here and she asked us to go to her room."
"Yan-jie?"
"Yan Li!" Su Yuyang drew close to Mu Yu"s ear and said, "Forgot to tell you that Yan Li and I were university cla.s.smates and good friends. Her boyfriend, Ji Linxi, is Xiao Miao"s good friend."
Su Yuyang patted the petrified Mu Yu and entered the elevator along with Ling Miao.
Yan Li was in a suite with a living room. When Su Yuyang and the others arrived, Yan Li was practicing her dance routine.
Ji Linxi sat to one side in silence, his stony face keeping everyone at a thousand-yard distance.
"You"re here?" Yan Li glanced at the both of them and completed her motion, then stopped.
"What do you need help with?" Su Yuyang asked, curious.
Yan Li pointed at her throat. "My throat"s not feeling too good. My performance tomorrow will be affected, so I was hoping you"d help me."
"She practised too much in the cold wind all night, so her voice is half gone. And the song she has to sing tomorrow has several lines that need a lot of vocal power. She hopes that you can sing those lines." Ji Linxi was like a block of ice—every word from him was glacial and penetrating.
Ling Miao flinched and probed, "She stood out in the cold wind all night, you say. Does that have something to do with you?"
Ji Linxi glanced at Ling Miao and a heavy sound emanated from his lips: "Yes!"
Ling Miao was rendered speechless and he looked pleadingly at Su Yuyang. Su Yuyang ruffled his own hair, clearly upset. He paced back and forth in the room muttering something under his breath. The sight made Yan Li dizzy and she yelled, "Stop! Old Su, just answer with one word. Yes or no?"
Yan Li finished speaking and frowned. Su Yuyang said awkwardly, "My singing"s bad and you know that…"
"Don"t think I"m intentionally singing badly in order to make it seem like you"re a better fit than Ji Linxi," Yan Li cut Su Yuyang off.
Su Yuyang turned his eyes on Ji Linxi and said with surprise, "Weren"t you going to be the spokesperson for Demonic Song"s online game with Yan Li? Surely it"s better if you two sing a duet?"
Yan Li didn"t even glance at Ji Linxi and stared into Su Yuyang"s eyes. Su Yuyang was terrified by Yan Li"s uncompromising gaze.
There was definitely something up between Yan Li and Ji Linxi!
Ling Miao ignored Su Yuyang"s pleading gaze. His eyes darted between Ji Linxi and Yan Li, but he couldn"t discern anything. He scooted over to Ji Linxi"s side and sat down, asking warily, "Linxi, have you and Yan-jie fallen out?"
"Has it ever been calm between us?" Facing Ling Miao, Ji Linxi"s expression calmed down a little, but the moment he glanced toward Yan Li his gaze grew icy.
"Linxi, you two…"
"All right, Ji Linxi!" Yan Li was like an exploding volcano. "I was just suggesting that you accept the role for Demonic Song"s game. Do you really have to act like I"m selling you?"
Compared to Yan Li"s rage, Ji Linxi was much calmer. He said calmly, "What right do you have to negotiate with the game company on my behalf?"
Ji Linxi"s words landed like a hammer nailing Yan Li firmly to the wall.