Ye Qian edged over. "Li Zi, is this your neighbor?"

Tang Li knew she had the wrong idea but didn’t bother to explain. "Yeah, he lives upstairs from me. This is Wen Xiao, and this is Ye Qian."

Wen Xiao was very composed. "I know Miss Ye. She was on the variety show you produced, and her TV series is about to air, isn’t it?"

Ye Qian smiled demurely. "Well, I won’t disturb you any longer. I’ll get going, Li Zi. Don’t forget you promised to have dinner with me soon. Duoduo really misses you."

"Of course. I miss her, too." Tang Li watched Ye Qian get into her van. "We should go. I promised to treat you to dinner today. I wonder what delicious things my grandpa is making at home."

Wen Xiao smiled. "They’re not home today. They went out with my grandfather. A few days ago, my grandpa made a reservation at Jiang’s, the private kitchen. Grandpa Tang is a foodie, so they all went together."

Tang Li stopped in her tracks. "Then let’s eat out. I’m a terrible cook."

Wen Xiao said, "There’s food in the fridge. It’ll go to waste if we don’t use it. You don’t have to lift a finger. I’ll do it."

Tang Li asked skeptically, "Really?"

Wen Xiao chuckled. "Really."

Tang Li thought for a moment. "But that means you’re the one going to all the trouble, and I was supposed to be treating you to dinner."

Wen Xiao replied, "Then how about you treat me to some tea after we eat? I hear you’re an expert at the tea ceremony."

Tang Li felt a little insecure and decided to lower his expectations preemptively. "Okay, I’ll make you tea. But I’m just an amateur, really. I’m not nearly as good as people make it sound."

’The real tea master is Tan You,’ she thought. ’I just picked up a few things from her. It’s enough to impress a novice, but an expert would see right away that I’m all flash and no substance.’

Wen Xiao just chuckled softly. He had never seen Tang Li prepare tea, so he truly had no idea what her skill level was.

"This is my first time in your apartment." Standing in the entryway, Tang Li looked around with curiosity. "The layout is pretty much the same as mine, but your decor is a bit more minimalist."

Wen Xiao took various ingredients out of the fridge. "I had it redecorated a while back, just minor changes. Sit anywhere, make yourself at home. How many meals have I mooched off you at your place?"

Tang Li took him at his word. "I’ll help you wash the vegetables, then. I’m useless at the actual cooking, but I can handle prep work like washing and chopping."

Wen Xiao agreed. "Alright, you can wash the vegetables."

As he spoke, he glanced at Tang Li’s hands. Unlike the colorful manicures popular among women these days, her fingernails were completely bare and unadorned, glowing with a healthy pink hue.

Standing by the sink and washing vegetables, Tang Li suddenly laughed. "You know, when my grandpa cooks, he doesn’t let anyone in the kitchen. He says we’re invading his personal territory."

Wen Xiao raised an eyebrow. "What a coincidence. My grandfather is the same way. He’s very protective of his kitchen."

Tang Li said, "It’s understandable, though, isn’t it? You’re protective of your study, right? I don’t like people going into my study, either. It’s like a personal sanctuary, a place you don’t want others to just walk into."

"I wouldn’t call it a sanctuary. My study just has some important documents in it." Wen Xiao shrugged. Tang Li paused for a second, then suddenly burst out laughing.

There was nothing unusual about what Wen Xiao said, but Tang Li found it amusing.

They were just neighbors, living on different floors of the same building, and had almost never spent time alone together. But now, after cooking and eating a meal together, Tang Li felt like she and Wen Xiao might actually have something in common.

If they could share a first meal, they could share a second, and a third. In time, Tang Li grew accustomed to it. With her grandparents out almost every evening, what choice did she have? She could only go over to Wen Xiao’s to mooch off him for dinner.

Coupled with Wen Xiao occasionally asking her to see a movie or go shopping, Tang Li finally understood. Both of their grandparents were playing matchmaker, trying to set her up with Wen Xiao.

Tan You asked, "So what do you think about it?"

Tang Li was perfectly calm. "I don’t really have any strong feelings. I’m just going with the flow."

Tan You smiled and changed the subject. "Ye Qian’s lighthearted romance drama came out. The response has been great."

"I’ve seen it. The internet is flooded with news about her. She’s really become an overnight sensation." Tang Li was hardly out of the loop. Since she was already following Ye Qian’s career closely, the algorithm fed her a constant stream of news about her.

"I bet she’ll be even more famous once Director Liu’s movie comes out. The only question is who will be riding whose coattails by then, since this crime drama should also have been released."

Tan You was being practical. Director Liu might be more famous, but his productions took a long time.

"It doesn’t matter who’s riding whose coattails. In the end, Mr. Tan is the real winner," Tang Li declared, settling the matter. "If you win an award this time, I’m going to the ceremony."

Tan You asked, "I thought you wanted to keep a low profile."

"Why would I keep a low profile for something like this? This is your moment of glory. I don’t want anyone else basking in it. From now on, whenever one of your works wins an award, I’ll be there to see it in person."

Tang Li said, full of conviction, "In my heart, this is your honor, and we should accept an honor with our heads held high. Even if, in the eyes of the world, I am you."

Tan You sighed. "I can’t argue with you. If you want to go, then go. It’s just as you said: in the eyes of the world, I am you, and you are me."

Time flowed on. Before Director Liu’s film was released, the crime drama starring Ye Qian also premiered online. Shedding her former image as a cheerful, sweet girl, Ye Qian’s character this time was far more complex.

To better fit the role, Ye Qian had even undergone special training for a while. After all, a female police officer has to have a certain cool, capable air about her.

Tang Li commented, "I have to say, you’re quite versatile. You’re a real chameleon."

Today was the cast and crew’s celebration dinner, held to mark the huge success of Director Hu’s first-ever crime drama. After just two drinks, Director Hu was clinging to Tang Li’s right arm, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Li Zi, I never dreamed it would do this well! Every other director in the industry was predicting my failure. They all said a guy who only knows how to film dating shows and sweet rom-coms must have gotten the script purely by riding your coattails."

Despite having witnessed Director Hu’s tear-filled onslaughts before, Tang Li still had trouble dealing with it. She shot Sister Yun a pleading look. "Aren’t you going to rein him in? I can’t believe you can put up with Old Hu’s tendency to turn into a crybaby the second he has a drink."

Ye Qian turned her head away to hide a smile. Honestly, the first time she’d seen Old Hu like this, her entire image of him had shattered.

Meanwhile, Old Hu was still going on. "They’ve seen our show now, haven’t they? Let them keep bad-mouthing me! So what if I rode Li Zi’s coattails? They wish they could get a chance to..."

Tang Li shook her head in resignation. Seeing Old Hu about to wipe his tears on her clothes, she quickly grabbed a tissue and shoved it into his hand. "Keep crying, and there won’t be a next script."