Xie Guan hesitated over and over before replying with a curt "En"—one colder and harder than an ice cube frozen solid in the dog days of summer.

Huo Mingjun could feel the palpable coldness and stiffness through the phone screen, but any response was a good thing. Xie Guan had just barely taken a step down from his high ground, so he immediately and gladly closed the remaining distance.

"Hello?"

Xie Guan felt as if the nerves controlling his speech had been frozen stiff. It took him some effort to utter the form of address on the tip of his tongue: "Mr. Huo."

This form of address set them back to square one again. Huo Mingjun replied with a smile, saying, "The TV drama is a huge ratings hit. I haven't had the chance to congratulate you yet. I wish you a successful career and hope you become more and more famous."

"I have you to thank," Xie Guan's voice on the other end was faint. His secret expectation had come true, yet he still couldn't bring himself to be cheerful. This persistent low mood was unreasonable, but he couldn't quickly shake it off. "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Huo."

"Your acting was very good," Huo Mingjun said in a low voice. "I knew you would succeed. You've always been outstanding, and you'll be even better in the future."

Xie Guan suddenly felt a little angry.

The two of them had long since parted ways, the rift between them as deep as the Mariana Trench. The affirmation from Huo Mingjun was neither professional nor like the congratulations from friends such as Wang Ruolun. In what capacity, from what standpoint, and on what grounds was he praising him? As a fan girl?

Xie Guan couldn't quite explain how this emotion had sprung up. Being praised yet still feeling unhappy—even he felt he was being difficult.

Youth problem experts would call this emotion "rebelliousness," psychology professionals would call it a "rebellious mentality," and relationship bloggers would call it "clearly caring a lot but insisting on being stubborn."

The general public would simply call this "nitpicking."

Xie Guan asked in a less-than-pleasant tone, "Mr. Huo, you manage countless affairs every day, and you still have time to watch a TV drama?"

His intention was to mock Huo Mingjun for spouting nonsense, likely without even knowing what show he was in. However, Chairman Huo, facing the three-screen computer on his desk which was improperly toggling between a Weibo page and a video player, was momentarily at a loss for words. "Um, this counts as... balancing work and rest?"

Xie Guan was so shocked his phone nearly slipped from his hand. "You really watched it?!"

You're a domineering CEO! Instead of looking at stock market charts or watching Harvard's open courses, what could have possessed you to start watching a trashy domestic drama?!

Huo Mingjun felt quite wronged himself. "The stock market isn't open 24/7, you know. It even closes for public holidays. Why can't I watch TV?"

Xie Guan: "Is that the point? The point is, this drama isn't very good, yet you actually sat through it..."

"Indeed, I couldn't sit through it," Huo Mingjun said with a slight smile. "So I only watched the edited clips of your parts."

'Alright then,' Xie Guan thought with resignation. 'He's learned a new skill. He even knows how to find fan-cuts online now.'

"Fine, as long as you're happy," Xie Guan genuinely felt that it was extremely embarrassing for an acquaintance—especially a purebred domineering CEO like Huo Mingjun—to see his forced, devilishly charming persona on screen. But what was done was done; he couldn't stop him, so he just had to let it be. "Did you call for a reason?"

The lighthearted atmosphere from moments ago vanished with that question, never to return. In the distance, the bright headlights of a shuttle bus pierced the darkness, its engine growing louder. Amidst the noise, Xie Guan paid his fare, boarded the bus, and found a seat by the window.

The call was still connected.

Xie Guan didn't rush him. He seemed to have a vague premonition about what Huo Mingjun was going to say next, but he couldn't be sure, so he simply waited in silence.

"I still owe you a sentence."

Huo Mingjun spoke slowly and solemnly, each word carrying an indescribable force and weight, striking against the defensive walls Xie Guan had built to keep everyone at a distance.

"I'm sorry."

"For the situation that day, and for the mistakes I made before."

The bus left the town and entered the countryside, and soon even buildings taller than three stories were out of sight. The roadside was lined with dark, single-story courtyards, with only an occasional light that was quickly left behind by the speeding vehicle, fleeting like a shooting star in the night sky.

The windows weren't properly sealed, and it was cold inside the sparsely occupied bus. Xie Guan stared out at the pitch-black night, shrinking deeper into his down jacket as if trying to escape the chill.

"If I were as sensible as I'm supposed to be, I should be saying 'It's okay, don't worry about it' right now," his voice, mixed with the rumbling of the bus and distorted by the fluctuating signal, came through the phone. "But we both know that on this matter, just saying 'it's okay' won't make things go back to how they were before."

"It's not that I don't forgive you. That little bit of friction from back then is long past. You don't even need to apologize, because from start to finish, I was the beneficiary. I have nothing to complain about."

"But, Mr. Huo, now for every word you say to me, I can't help but wonder: are you really speaking to me, or are you mistaking me for someone else?"

He let out a very, very soft sigh.

"No relationship can withstand being worn down by this kind of suspicion. It's better not to start at all than to have a falling out later, right?"

"Xie Guan," Huo Mingjun said his name. Perhaps because it was over the phone, his voice sounded surprisingly gentle, just like the whisper that had landed by his temple in the dim hallway that day. "Don't be afraid."

Xie Guan was like a cat that had just been scratched under the chin; his guarded alertness and overwhelming confusion instantly dissipated. The defiant spirit he had maintained against Huo Mingjun seemed to suddenly lose its support, threatening to crumble.

I'm not afraid.

He wanted to retort, but the other man spoke first.

"I didn't call you today to hear you say 'it's okay'," Huo Mingjun said. "On the contrary, I hope you'll hold on to those words and not be in a hurry to say them."

"I made you uncomfortable, so that's my fault." His voice was tinged with the faint hint of a smile, so subtle that it made Xie Guan feel a flicker of how things used to be, yet it wasn't quite the same. It seemed gentler, more steady than before.

The first few times Xie Guan met Huo Mingjun, he had felt intimidated. Huo Mingjun's aura was extremely commanding, powerful to the point of being fearsome. But now, within that powerful presence, a sense of security was gradually forming. He could still feel Huo Mingjun's control over everyone and everything around him, yet he no longer felt the urge to flee.

"I know you're struggling to get past this mentally, but that's okay. Don't be afraid," Huo Mingjun said, casually closing all the windows on his screen. "You don't have to do anything. Leave all the unsolvable problems to me."

At that moment, even though Xie Guan was a man of unyielding integrity, he couldn't help but feel his heart flutter at those words.

He sucked in a sharp breath as if from a toothache, thinking to himself that if he were a girl, she wouldn't just forgive him—she'd probably propose to Huo Mingjun on the spot.

Huo Mingjun walked to the dark hardwood coffee table in the outer room and sat down. The pale yellow overhead light coated his profile in a warm glow, like the pages of an old book. The furniture created a substantial, quiet space, perfect for discussing old matters. "I have some stories from the past, about... that person. Are you interested in hearing them?"

He didn't expect Xie Guan to come around all at once, only planning to gradually let him understand the inside story. Although the past was an old wound in his heart he was reluctant to bring up, there was nothing shameful in it.

But unexpectedly, Xie Guan refused.

"No."

He wasn't mentally prepared yet, and he also knew that for Huo Mingjun, recounting this past event was probably not as easy as he made it seem. They had just managed to reach their first peaceful consensus; they needed some time to cool down and process it before they'd have the energy to take the next step.

Huo Mingjun was a bit surprised: "Hm?"

Xie Guan gave him the most readily available and honest excuse: "Because my phone is about to die."

This time, Huo Mingjun couldn't hold back a laugh. "Alright. Then whenever you want to hear it, just ask me."

The online buzz for The Rising Tides of the Azure Sea continued right up until the Chinese New Year, after which all major platforms were dominated by the Spring Festival Gala. During this period, Xie Guan hid out at his family home to rest and recuperate, trying every day to hide the remote control in an attempt to stop his dad from watching The Rising Tides of the Azure Sea. This angered the old man so much that he chased him around the yard for three laps.

At any rate, he and Huo Mingjun had broken the ice. With the foundation of their previous relationship already there, it only took a day or two for them to warm up to each other again.

However, Xie Guan consistently maintained an avoidant attitude towards the "old stories." On New Year's Eve, after wishing each other a happy new year, they stayed on the phone for two hours, talking about everything from poetry to philosophy, but they never managed to touch upon that particular topic. Xie Guan's excuse was that it was the holidays, and they shouldn't discuss unpleasant things. Huo Mingjun didn't dare say a single harsh word to him now, letting him do as he pleased, so the matter was postponed until after the new year.

On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Xie Guan returned to B City from his hometown. He opened Weibo to check the trending topics and found that The Rising Tides of the Azure Sea was still popular, though its heat had died down slightly due to the Spring Festival. The plot was more than halfway through, and the male lead had finally begun his counterattack. The Demon Sect protector played by Xie Guan had garnered a large group of fan girls, but this couldn't change his character's fate as cannon fodder.

This show had already brought him far more than he had anticipated; he no longer needed to follow its future developments. Xie Guan logged out of Weibo, calmed his emotions, and opened his email, digging through a pile of junk mail to find the first draft of the script that Director Bai had sent him.

The first gig Lin Yao had scheduled for him was on the ninth day of the new year: an interview with an online platform, mainly a brief one about his recent surge in popularity. Xie Guan had been holed up in the countryside for over half a month and was still a bit out of the loop, which made him appear exceptionally calm and composed. After they were done, the reporter praised him for his great mindset, for being unfazed by favor or disgrace.

Lin Yao, who had come along to observe, knew Xie Guan better and could tell at a glance that it was all an act. While secretly laughing to herself, she maintained a poised and graceful demeanor and spoke humbly on Xie Guan's behalf: "With so many outstanding seniors setting an example, this little achievement is nothing to be proud of. This step has merely brought him into the audience's view. As for how he'll enter their hearts in the future, he still has a long way to go."

"Sister Lin, you're being too modest," said the reporter, who was sharp and incisive during the interview but a total sweetheart off-camera. "Teacher Xie is handsome and a great actor. It would be a crime against nature if he didn't become a star."

After the exclusive interview, Lin Yao needed to head back to the company. Since Xie Guan had a similar show to film in the afternoon at a location near the office, he planned to go with her.

Huang Cheng drove, with Xie Guan in the passenger seat and Lin Yao in the back, looking at her phone. A moment later, a small gasp came from the back seat. Lin Yao said, "Xie Guan, did you know Qing Lan back at Xinghui Entertainment? What was your relationship like?"

Xie Guan: "We've met, but we're not close. What's wrong?"

Lin Yao looked grave as she handed him her phone, motioning for him to read the news. "A story just broke online. Last night, Qing Lan was driving drunk. When the traffic police stopped him, he tried to force his way through a checkpoint. After the police subdued him, they found a firearm in the back seat of his sports car. Qing Lan has already been taken into custody."

Drunk driving and fleeing, illegal possession of a firearm—either one was a massive scandal that could completely ruin Qing Lan's career and reputation. Aside from his surprise, Xie Guan's first reaction was to call Director Bai to quit—this film was already steeped in blood and turmoil before shooting had even begun; if it started, how could anyone survive it!