ABSML Chapter 54: Only the Newcomer Smiles
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ANNOUNCEMENT
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Before Jiang Ying could refute Lin Chiang’s strange viewpoint, her phone vibrated. After checking the message, she looked up in Chen Zhan’s direction. The latter gave her a slight nod.
Jiang Ying leaned close to Lin Chiang’s ear and whispered, "Chen Zhan wants me to introduce him to the owner of the winery."
Lin Chiang lifted his eyes to glance at her. "He’s probably eyeing the brand ambassador role."
Jiang Ying suddenly thought of something. "I heard that a few celebrities are also interested. The competition might be fierce this time."
Lin Chiang’s face returned to its usual coldness. "You just need to make the connection. Whether he succeeds depends on his own ability."
The banquet was nearing its end, and perhaps feeling threatened by the "real and fake" drama, Pei Yinqiu left early.
Everyone at the event was gifted a bottle of wine. Chen Zhan entrusted his to Yin Ronglan and took the initiative to approach Jiang Ying.
Jiang Ying said simply, "The owner of the winery is surnamed Wei. The couple shares the same last name."
Chen Zhan nodded, indicating he understood.
As Jiang Ying poured herself a glass of wine and walked past, she made eye contact with an elegantly dressed woman at another table. She smiled warmly and greeted, "Mrs. Wei."
The woman returned an even brighter smile. "The new play is wonderful."
Jiang Ying exchanged a few polite words before naturally introducing Chen Zhan. "This is a friend of my fiancé."
Their previous public drama had caused quite a stir online, so she used Lin Chiang as a cover.
Chen Zhan nodded in greeting. "Hello."
The woman was momentarily stunned but quickly regained her composure, putting on a polite smile. "Hello."
Although she wasn’t particularly into gossip, last year’s late-night meetings involving the three of them had dominated the headlines. Seeing Chen Zhan and Jiang Ying interacting amicably now, she couldn’t help but feel curious and speculative.
However, despite her thoughts, she refrained from asking questions. As for the purpose of this introduction, both parties understood without needing to state it explicitly.
The woman's gaze flickered slightly. She didn’t make any promises immediately but also didn’t reject the idea outright. She simply said, "Mr. Chen, could you leave me your business card? There may be opportunities for collaboration in the future."
Chen Zhan smiled. "It would be my honor."
After a brief and efficient conversation, he left without dragging things out.
This, in turn, made the winery owner’s wife regard him with a bit more respect.
Once they had walked a little further, Jiang Ying said calmly, "The final decision on the brand ambassador will take at least half a month."
The implication was that he needed to further increase his public recognition to secure a better chance.
With that, she strode off in her high-heeled boots toward Lin Chiang.
The temperature difference between indoors and outdoors was stark. As soon as he pushed open the door, Chen Zhan couldn’t help but shiver.
Yin Ronglan stood beneath a large tree, hands in his pockets, gazing at the branches above, seemingly unaffected by the cold.
Chen Zhan walked over and glanced down at his empty hands.
Yin Ronglan knew exactly what he was looking for and chuckled. "I put it in the car."
Chen Zhan suddenly thought of something. "You can drive?"
Yin Ronglan: "I made sure not to drink earlier."
After getting in the car, Chen Zhan sighed with a hint of regret. "I miscalculated."
There was clearly an opportunity to extract a favor here.
As he gazed out the window, he continued, "There must be quite a few people at the party who drank."
Yin Ronglan laughed. "People attending such events usually bring their own drivers."
Reassured by his words, Chen Zhan shifted the conversation back to the brand ambassador topic.
In some respects, Yin Ronglan and Jiang Ying had differing opinions. "Even without additional efforts, you still have a good chance."
Chen Zhan raised an eyebrow. "That confident?"
As he reversed the car, Yin Ronglan said calmly, "Everyone has their own perception of wine. From what I know about Wei Jianan, after the product launches, he’ll first gather customer feedback before rolling out large-scale promotions."
Chen Zhan seemed thoughtful. "So, the initial stage will have lower marketing costs."
Yin Ronglan nodded. "Celebrities' endorsement fees aren’t cheap. For you, securing a two-month contract shouldn’t be an issue."
The day passed in a blur. After arriving home, Chen Zhan cooked himself a bowl of noodles, added a couple of leafy greens, and then got straight to writing.
Friends always understand each other.
Last time at the wildlife park, he explained that he lived in a bungalow and was afraid of being looked down upon.
I forgave him easily.
At that time, I had no idea that to make his claim of poverty more convincing, he actually had his subordinates buy an old, long-abandoned house.
Months passed, and the seasons changed.
One day, caught in heavy rain while out, I realized I was near the address he had provided for his "new home." So, I bought some fruit and decided to drop by—both to take shelter from the rain and to chat.
The walls were peeling, the roof was in disrepair, and there was hardly anyone living in sight.
Dripping wet, I called him and told him I was in his neighborhood.
Yin Ba hesitated for a moment before responding, "I’m out right now, but I’ll come back right away."
Expressionless, I gazed at the row of old bungalows in front of me. "Are you sure anyone can even live here?"
"It’s a bit old, but…"
I sneered, “It has nothing to do with being dilapidated. There’s a big red ‘Demolish’ character written on the wall.”
“……”
“Last time, you said it was because of low self-esteem and lied about living in a wildlife park. What about this time?”
I could vaguely hear him talking to someone on the other end of the phone, but I couldn’t make out the conversation.
After a long pause, he finally spoke again, “They only notified us a few days ago that the demolition would take place. I haven’t received any money yet.”
I frowned. “Where are you staying now?”
“A small motel,” his voice was slightly hoarse. “Cold and damp.”
He coughed a few times and said, “Can you take me in for a week?”
…
At the time, it didn’t seem like much, but when it turned into a memory, it felt warm and comforting.
Chen Zhan updated his novel at fairly regular intervals, and Yin Ronglan had developed a habit of reading it after coming home from work.
The readers in the comment section had a knack for picking out key details:
【Rainbow Floater: Going out to buy fruit in the rain—this is true friendship. I could read a hundred more chapters of this warm daily life!】
【Maria’s Hair: A thousand chapters!】
A long thread quickly formed under this comment, with many people replying ‘+1’.
Yin Ronglan thought for a moment and silently added his own ‘+1’ to the thread.
Not long after commenting, his phone suddenly vibrated in his hand.
Feeling a bit guilty, he hesitated for a few seconds before finally answering the call.
When Chen Zhan called, he rarely asked what Yin Ronglan was doing. Most of the time, he got straight to the point: “The weather forecast says there’ll be light snow tonight. Want to get hotpot?”
Snowy nights did have the perfect atmosphere for hotpot.
Naturally, Yin Ronglan agreed. While chatting, he mentioned that he had just finished reading his idol’s latest update.
Chen Zhan fell silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. “Too bad, in the end, you still outsmarted yourself.”
That phone call brought back a flood of memories.
Since there were still two hours before dinner, he decided to post a second update, explaining what happened next—
..........
He made a special trip and found the motel in a rundown alley.
It was small and old, with wooden bed boards emitting the faint sour scent of dampness.
Staying there couldn’t be good for his health.
“A cold is just a minor issue,” Yin Ba forced a strong smile. “I can tough it out.”
I only had one bed at home, and knowing his polite nature, he would definitely insist on sleeping on the couch.
At the time, I had just started my business, and my wallet couldn’t handle extravagance. After some thought, I gritted my teeth and booked a hotel room for him.
It was a simple chain hotel with convenient transportation. The only downside was that it was next to a busy road, so it could be noisy at night.
But compared to the motel he had been staying in, it was a world of difference.
“Just stay here and don’t worry about it.”
Eating takeout while sick wasn’t good, so I brought him porridge with vegetables every day.
I hadn’t expected him to take my deliveries so seriously. Left with no excuse, Yin Ba had no choice but to stay at the hotel.
Occasionally, he wanted to eat something spicy, but he was afraid of being caught, so he was stuck eating bland meals three times a day.
He was a light sleeper and often had trouble falling asleep. The noise from the road kept him awake at night.
Over time, he actually got sicker.
When I brought him food again, Yin Ba was lying in bed, his eyes devoid of light.
“What’s wrong?” I put down the food container and asked anxiously. “Headache?”
Yin Ba shook his head.
“Sore throat?”
He shook his head again.
“Then what’s bothering you?”
Yin Ba stretched out his now thinner arm, grabbed my wrist, and murmured, “I feel wronged… I feel so wronged.”
...........
Chen Zhan couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile as he wrote this.
He had a big house but couldn’t stay in it. He had delicious food but couldn’t eat it. He even had to take crowded buses every day to avoid suspicion… Looking back now, he really had been put through a lot.
That night, when they met up for hotpot, Chen Zhan deliberately placed two pieces of tripe in Yin Ronglan’s bowl. “Eat more.”
Meeting his playful, amused gaze, Yin Ronglan gave a bitter smile. “Back then, even eating an egg felt like a luxury.”
Chen Zhan cleared his throat and used his financial situation at the time as an excuse.
Then, as a form of compensation, he added two more pieces of meat to Yin Ronglan’s bowl. “Why didn’t you just secretly order food on the side?”
Yin Ronglan shook his head. “The portions you brought were just right. I was full after finishing them, and by the time I got hungry again, the next meal had already arrived.”
Chen Zhan stifled a laugh. “You could’ve eaten a little less.”
Yin Ronglan glanced at him.
Chen Zhan suddenly remembered how, whenever Yin Ronglan ate less, he would worry about his condition worsening and insist on taking him to the hospital for a checkup.
Thinking about the hardships Yin Ronglan had endured, Chen Zhan’s writing had recently become much gentler in his updates about his idol.
【Rainbow Floater: Staying in a hotel for a whole week isn’t cheap. I’m touched!】
【Give Me a Little Donkey: Delivering three meals a day—truly a brotherhood of life and death.】
…
As for his other novel, the leading actress still maintained her previous style. At one point, it even trended on social media again. The stark contrast made the moments of warmth feel even more satisfying.
Yin Ronglan rarely read comments before, but now he found enjoyment in them. He finally understood why so many people loved flaunting their relationships on social media. Knowing the truth yourself was one thing, but being praised by others was a whole different kind of joy.
Readers were like adorable excavators—digging out sweetness even from shards of broken glass. They could catch details he hadn’t even noticed himself.
One day, the app notified him of a new update. As usual, Yin Ronglan read the heartwarming chapter and then checked the comments.
【Rainbow Floater: Bored now, time for a change.】
He remembered this reader’s username. Just a week ago, they had said they could read a hundred more chapters of these heartwarming daily interactions.
Scrolling further—
【Lovesick Bean: How about switching to an episodic format? The author should go out and make some new friends.】
【Dancing Trash Can: Support! The domineering CEO collection is complete. Next, I want a gentle young man.】
【hytt: Invest in ten deep waters, must enter the stock of the black-bellied and sultry!】
Author's Note:
Yin Ronglan: Isn’t a silly domineering CEO charming? Why do they want to climb the wall!
Chen Zhan, looking indifferent: They got tired of it.
_______
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