Qin Fan recovered from the soft touch on her palm and stared blankly at his departing back. “Aren't you going to eat the cake?”

“You can have it.” Xie Yanli didn't turn back as he walked upstairs.

Qin Fan was left alone with the fondant cake, staring eye-to-eye with the little cartoon President Xie in a suit, as if she could see his cool pride in its eyes.

With a deadpan expression, she sliced into it with a knife and then stuck it in the refrigerator.

Forget it. Given Xie Yanli's solitary temperament, it was already a huge courtesy for him to come out in the middle of the night and indulge her antics for so long.

Eating cake in the middle of the night was too much to expect.

Half an hour later, after washing up again, Qin Fan climbed into bed.

But as soon as she got into bed, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist.

Qin Fan's wrists, which were supporting her on the bed, gave way, and she fell dazed into the arms of the man who was supposed to be asleep.

“You’re still awake?”

Xie Yanli gave a calm “Mhm.”

Then, his long fingers pinched her chin, his cool voice sounding especially magnetic and seductive on the bed. “Did you eat the cake?”

“Ye-yes, I did...” Qin Fan answered subconsciously.

Was she not supposed to eat it?

“I haven't eaten yet.” Xie Yanli's gaze lingered on her rosy lips as he said this lightly.

Qin Fan thought his words were a bit outrageous. Was it her fault he didn't eat?

Her slender waist, small enough to be encircled by one hand, was held firmly in his arms, forcing her to sit on his solid abdomen. Qin Fan's heart couldn't help but race; she felt that in such a dark night, in such a position, things were very dangerous.

“If you want to eat, then go.” There was still plenty in the kitchen fridge.

The moment Qin Fan's words fell, a searingly hot kiss was pressed onto her lips, accompanied by the man's muffled whisper, “Mhm, I am eating.”

Qin Fan felt like her face was on fire.

!!!

As expected, unintentional flirting is the most lethal!

Having been woken up by Mrs. Xie in the middle of the night, Xie Yanli couldn't get back to sleep. Naturally, she had to take responsibility for this.

For waking him up in the middle of the night to celebrate his birthday, Qin Fan paid a heavy price of two hours.

......

No matter how late he went to bed, Xie Yanli still appeared at the dining table on time the next morning.

When the butler personally brought over a bowl of noodles, Xie Yanli looked at him with calm, cool eyes.

The butler explained respectfully, “The madam ordered this yesterday.”

“And this.”

As he spoke, the butler lifted the cover of a nearby tray and carefully placed the small fondant cake figure into the bowl.

The originally unremarkable bowl of longevity noodles instantly became special.

“Sir, happy birthday.”

Xie Yanli lowered his eyes, watching the thin layer of sugar at the edge of the Q-version figure's clothes quickly melt in the hot soup. The hand holding the chopsticks paused slightly.

At nine in the morning, Xie Yanli had already finished his morning meeting.

He casually loosened his cufflinks and returned to his office to handle important documents.

He had just sat down.

Xie Yanli called out to Secretary Wen, who was on his way to make coffee, “Have the investment department get in touch with the movie Feng Hua.”

Secretary Wen, who had always been known for his high level of professional composure, was stunned. “Huh?”

Xie Yanli's handsome brows furrowed slightly as he gave him a cold glance. “I don’t need a secretary with hearing problems.”

“No problem, no problem, I heard you!” Secretary Wen snapped back to reality.

He knew that the film Feng Hua was related to the madam, so he asked very considerately, “Should we inform the madam?”

Xie Yanli uncapped his fountain pen. “Secretary Wen, don't do unnecessary things.”

Secretary Wen left humbly. “...”

Gossip comes with risks; one must be cautious.

Just as Xie Yanli revealed his intention to invest in Feng Hua, a call came from Pei Feng:

“Didn't you insist on not getting involved in the entertainment industry? Why the sudden decision to invest in me?”

“Did you finally realize that I, your brother, am more important than your principles?”

Xie Yanli signed his name on the document without a change in expression, his voice distant and calm, “My only condition for investing in this movie is to replace Qin Yuzhi.”

Pei Feng's expression was one of shock. “You... you... you...”

He reacted quickly. “What do you mean? Are you backing your little lover, Qin Fan?”

He couldn't think of any other reason why Xie Yanli would make such a request.

Little lover?

Xie Yanli was thoughtful. Recalling the photo in military uniform that Qin Fan had sent him before, he suddenly spoke, “Pei Feng.”

Pei Feng: “What?”

“I am a businessman; I don't invest to lose money.” Xie Yanli toyed with his pen and said impassively, “Therefore, all casting decisions should be made in the best interest of the movie.”

Finally, before hanging up, Xie Yanli didn't forget to correct his misconception. “And Qin Fan is not my lover.”

Pei Feng stared at the disconnected call, completely baffled. If she wasn't his lover, why would he suddenly invest and demand to terminate Qin Yuzhi's contract?

Isn't this the classic script of a big boss avenging his little canary and slapping faces!

Forget it, he wouldn't think about it anymore. Since Pei Feng couldn't figure it out, he gave up and called the person in charge of the production team, telling them to notify Qin Yuzhi about the contract termination. Whoever pays is the financial backer.

As for the penalty for breach of contract?

Daddy Xie is rich, Daddy will pay.

Qin Fan was woken up by a soul-snatching call from Jiang Rong.

“Sister Jiang?”

Hearing Qin Fan's hoarse voice, Jiang Rong didn't even have time to tease her before saying, “Just now, Feng Hua's official Weibo account replied to Qin Yuzhi's fans, saying they'd have a chance to cooperate with Goddess Qin in the future. Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter.”

Doesn't that clearly mean Qin Yuzhi's female lead role has gone down the drain!

Jiang Rong was gloating. “Remember how Qin Yuzhi's fans were subtly mocking you for trying to leech off Feng Hua's fame? Now it's all backfired on them!”

“This is an official face-slapping, so satisfying!”

“What did you do at the Qin Family's house yesterday? You actually managed to snatch her female lead role away?”

Listening to Sister Jiang, Qin Fan thought she was still dreaming. She said innocently, “You might not believe me, but I didn't do anything.”

She had just warned Qin Yuzhi and her guardian to stop chasing her like mad dogs.

Given Qin Yuzhi's temperament, she would never spit out a pie she had already eaten.

So, she definitely didn't withdraw on her own initiative.

Just as Qin Fan was racking her brain and couldn't figure it out, Sister Jiang exclaimed on the other end of the line, “Whoa, Pei Feng's assistant just sent me a message. They want you to come for a second audition.”

Now, Qin Fan was wide awake!

Is this—

A pie falling from the sky?