"How can I back down when they've said all that?" Xia Wei Liang immediately said, "Teacher Xi, then shall we..."
"There's no need to call me teacher. Asking you to be my disciple on Weibo last time was just a joke. I'm not much older than you, so just call me by my name."
"Call you by name? Wouldn't that be... disrespectful?"
Xi En paused, then looked up at her and let out a low chuckle, "Are you this formal with Xiao Yi too?"
"Ah, with Divine Yi, he must be placed on a pedestal. How would I dare to disrespect him?"
However, why was Xi En bringing up Xiao Yi out of the blue? Was he also online, gossiping?
Xi En looked at her, "We're peers. We debuted around the same time, so it's better to just use my name."
"Uh, okay."
For some reason, Xia Wei Liang felt a naked sense of shame.
Listen to that, they debuted around the same time, but he was already a film emperor. His Xi-style acting had even entered textbooks, but what about her?
She still needed him to teach her!
Wasn't that humiliating!
She could tell, he was here to show off!
Xia Wei Liang didn't hold back. Since he'd told her to call him by name, why should she be polite?
"Um, Little Xi, wait for me. I'm going to call my comrade Old Xia to come pick up the child."
After speaking, Xia Wei Liang went to call Xia Cheng Ye.
"Little... Xi?"
Xi En chuckled; she was quite bold.
Not long after the call, Xia Cheng Ye arrived in a hurry, "I was in a meeting, why are you only calling now?"
"I asked you to pick someone up, and you came personally? You could have sent a secretary or a driver!"
Xia Wei Liang was amused by him.
Xia Cheng Ye wiped the sweat from his forehead, "In this day and age, who can you trust besides your own family? What if those bad people see how cute Little Jin Zi is and want to kidnap her to be their daughter? Can I be at ease?"
"Then you're just going to abandon all the managers and supervisors in the room? Tsk tsk tsk, no wonder the company is almost going out of business. Your work attitude is really problematic!"
"Go, go, go, who are you calling out of business? Let me tell you, my company is doing great!"
The two of them entered the house while bickering. Xia Cheng Ye's eyes immediately fell on Xi En, and he was stunned, "This person... looks so familiar."
"You don't watch TV normally, so of course you don't recognize him. This is Xi En."
"Ah! He's Xi En! I always hear your mom mention him. I'm currently following the historical drama he's in. He plays the Nineteenth Prince... Speaking of which, which dynasty's emperor is this, to have so many children? The princes are numbered all the way to nineteen..."
Xia Cheng Ye babbled on, making Xia Wei Liang frown, "Old Xia, pay attention! You've lost all your boss image now!"
"Is that my fault? Ever since your mom took my wine... sigh, let's not bring that up."
Xia Cheng Ye couldn't mention that matter now; his eyes would turn red.
"Ah, right, Nineteenth Prince, can you give me an autograph? My wife really likes you."
Xi En was always gentle with fans, and besides, this was Xia Wei Liang's father. He smiled and nodded, "Okay."
After getting the autograph, Xia Cheng Ye immediately took a photo and sent it to Su Hui, smugly saying via voice message, "This is Xi En's autograph! If you want it, I want braised pork belly tonight!"
After sending the voice message, Xia Wei Liang shot him a fierce glare, "What braised pork belly? Don't you know your own age? If you don't know, get out your ID and check!"
Then she sent a message to Su Hui herself: "Don't listen to Old Xia, just make him some green vegetables and tofu."
Xia Cheng Ye pouted, "You're becoming more and more like your mother, always managing me and telling me what to do!"
At this moment, Little Jin Zi came out after packing her small bag. Upon seeing her, Xia Cheng Ye beamed, "My Little Jin Zi is the best, come on, Grandpa will take you to buy fried chicken!"
Xia Wei Liang saw them to the door, nagging all the way, "Little Jin Zi, keep an eye on Old Xia, don't let him eat too greasy food. And you, don't eat too much candy, understand?"
"Mhm."
Little Jin Zi smiled, proactively stepped forward, took Xia Cheng Ye's hand, and left.
Xia Wei Liang watched the old and young pair, always worried that Old Xia would take Little Jin Zi out for a binge-eating session the next second. Her brows furrowed, "He always ignores the doctor's advice. How can he be so willful at this age?"
When she turned around, she met Xi En's probing gaze.
Oh my god, how could she have forgotten him!
Xia Wei Liang plastered a smile on her face, "Sorry, sorry. It's just that Old Xia is really uncooperative, which delayed us a bit. Otherwise, shall we focus on getting some fresh air today?"
Xi En lowered his gaze and smiled, "It's alright, my time today is all yours."
Hiss~
Why did it feel like something was not quite right?
With this lingering sense of unease, Xia Wei Liang accompanied Xi En to the botanical garden.
Visiting a botanical garden in the middle of winter was truly something else.
"After the new year, all things will revive," Xi En said slowly as he walked ahead.
"So... you want to show me how they're all sent away?"
Xia Wei Liang looked for a long time, unable to discern any profound meaning.
Xi En looked back at her and smiled, "Tell me about your performance in 'Rekindling'."
"My performance... If I absolutely had to praise myself, I don't think I could pass my own judgment. But what I can be sure of is that I encountered a great team, a good director, and so many people willing to help me."
Xia Wei Liang paused and waved her hand, not wanting to continue, "If I say these things, you'll definitely think I'm acting again, right? In your eyes, I'm just that kind of calculating person, so whatever I say is no longer important."
Xi En lowered his gaze and slowly walked towards her, "I'm sorry."
"Hm?"
Xia Wei Liang thought she had misheard and looked at him in surprise, "Why... why are you saying sorry?"
"For misunderstanding you before."
She didn't really care, "It's alright, there are so many people who misunderstand me, it's really not that you alone."
"No."
Xi En looked up and met her gaze directly. Through his thin glasses, his eyes showed a flicker of emotion.
"I suddenly started thinking, a girl once abandoned by the whole world, with what kind of will did she slowly gain acceptance from those around her, then from the public, and finally even her family who had abandoned her... But later I realized, you don't seem to have intentionally done anything; you're just being yourself."
He chuckled and lowered his eyes, "Just like Mr. Xia, his approach isn't a gift, but a desire to take something from you."
"Um... can you say something I can understand?"
Xia Wei Liang looked troubled. Was the gap between an ordinary actor and a film emperor just a Mandarin interpreter?
He looked up and stared at her, "It's warmth."
"Ah~" She feigned a look of sudden understanding, desperately wanting to comprehend, but in the end, she opened her mouth and let out a long "ah" before deflating, "Let's just study the past and present lives of these flowers and plants instead."