Chapter 218

"Why is she the female lead while I can only play a supporting role?"

"What do you think?" Stone Sister asked with a smile.

"Darling, say something."

"Stop! I'll say it one more time—if you have issues with the script, you can bring them up with me. But don't discuss irrelevant topics, understood?"

Xu Can said seriously.

"Fine." Mei Mei pouted, wronged.

She had always been a heaven-blessed girl—debuting at sixteen, she became famous across all of America.

Her debut album was an instant hit, earning five-times platinum sales, and countless renowned musicians were astonished as if she'd descended from the heavens.

Her second album easily took the Grammy for Best Album, and at the time she was only

When had Mei Mei, who had been riding high in the music world the whole way, ever suffered such a grievance?

But in the film world, Emma Stone had been nominated for two Golden Globe Best Actress awards, and still had a chance at an Oscar for Best Actress,

She truly couldn't be compared to the other.

The earlier dissatisfaction was only a feeling—her role in the script wasn't Xu Can's canonical match, which easily let her love-struck mind associate it with reality, and fall into dejection.

"The script is the script, you are you—what nonsense are you thinking?"

Xu Can seemed to grumble, but Mei Mei actually cheered up.

Him emphasizing it like this—does it mean I matter more in his heart?

Stone Sister felt a bit uneasy again; watching their exchange only confirmed the relationship between the two!

All that "we haven't been in touch for ages," "just a musical collaboration" stuff—it's all lies!

Xu Can, you fickle big liar!

However, over this stretch of time, Xu Can seemed to always—intentionally or not—let a few cracks show.

Stone Sister wasn't naive; on the contrary, she was clever enough not to choose to call it out, and pretended not to see.

After a long buildup, she had subconsciously already accepted these twenty-six facts.

There wasn't much psychological turbulence now.

Over there, Mei Mei cast a victor's gaze at her in provocation, yet Stone Sister couldn't muster the will to fight back.

"Forget it, Whatever…"

Years later, when Stone Sister came to understand the Chinese internet, she'd know this phenomenon falls under "lying flat and going rotten."

After a fuss early in the morning, then taking a helicopter to Vegas, followed by soaking in hot springs and enjoying a spa,

This last day of 2008 passed very quickly—in the blink of an eye night had fallen.

Xu Can brought the two to the restaurant to enjoy the prepared Chinese-Western fusion feast.

Eat whatever tastes good—no need for so many tedious table manners.

The more unattainable someone is, the more they like to show off with stuff like "how done is your steak," "fork in the left hand, knife in the right,"

Those used to it all say: do whatever feels comfortable,

Even if he tore into it with his bare hands in front of celebrities, who would say a word against Xu Can?

Everyone would only praise him for being true to himself and rush to imitate him,

Of course, Xu Can wouldn't actually go that far—but the principle was that principle.

Accompanied by a trio from the restaurant's string ensemble, a dinner filled with Eastern and Western delicacies wasn't bad—much better than they'd imagined.

Apart from the mouth-watering food, with Xu Can stringing things along, the three weren't exactly hitting it off spectacularly, but at least they could chat on the same wavelength.

Even chatting about some American TV shows, Mei Mei and Stone Sister could find common ground.

Come to think of it, the two of them had been besties in their past life—personality-wise they really did match.

If Xu Can weren't in the picture, the two would've been BFFs long ago.

With bellies full and host and guests alike content, the three strolled to the beach.

Nevada, where Las Vegas sits, doesn't border the sea—the hotel had simply dug out an artificial lake, then shipped in fine sand for a beach, and planted palm trees along the shore.

At a glance, it really did look the part.

Plus, Las Vegas doesn't get cold in winter—warm and pleasant—giving Xu Can quite a Hawaiian vibe.

And so, Mei Mei and Stone Sister's New Year's wishes were fulfilled at the same time.

Seeing the beach before her, Stone Sister understood—Xu Can really had taken her words to heart.

Setting aside that troublemaker Taylor, in the three years she'd known Xu Can, he had always been sincere with her, without a hint of perfunctoriness.

Compared to those messy male stars in Hollywood, Xu Can was truly a treasure among treasures,

She really was quite lucky—if it weren't for that Taylor, it would be perfect.

Watching Taylor in the distance playing in the water like a little puppy, Stone Sister couldn't help but sigh.

"Sigh…"

"What's wrong? What are you sighing about?"

Emma had only sighed softly, yet Xu Can caught it easily—who could blame him, with his sharper perception.

"Nothing, I just felt…"

It was complicated—Emma Stone couldn't articulate it for the moment.

"Is something missing? Wait…"

Xu Can clapped his hands; a staff member in the distance took the cue and handed over a remote shaped like a car key.

"What's this?" Stone Sister asked, curious.

Xu Can smiled without a word, beckoning Mei Mei in the distance to hurry over.

"What's up?" Mei Mei ran over, panting.

She herself didn't know why she had suddenly felt an impulse to wade through the water by the beach, even though it wasn't the sea.

"Look over there."

Xu Can pointed at the beach, then pressed the remote in his hand.

Immediately, a faint golden spark traced a shallow arc and rose into the night sky.

Boom!

In an instant, a riot of colors burst forth!

In a sky utterly devoid of sun, moon, or stars, it was as if the Milky Way had suddenly appeared!

As the old verse goes: the east wind blooms a thousand trees by night. And blows down stars like rain.

For a moment, Taylor Swift and Emma Stone's eyes shimmered with starlight in the dark night, utterly spellbound.

"Tay, Emma, Happy New Year."

……

Back in the room, Stone Sister and Mei Mei were still lost in the fireworks from earlier.

Xu Can's personal fireworks show lasted a full ten minutes, every single minute burning through US dollars!

But right now Xu Can couldn't care less about that — the two girls he liked being happy was enough.

"Next year, shall we set off fireworks again? Next time we'll go straight to the seaside!"

Mei Mei tugged at Xu Can's arm, acting coquettishly.

"Already planning next year?"

Stone Sister let out a chuckle beside them.

"What? Not even allowed to think about it?"

"Stop." Xu Can quickly intervened before things escalated.

"I'm sleepy, you two should get to bed early too."

After dinner and a soak in the hot spring, Xu Can walked straight to the suite's bedroom and flopped face-first onto the wide bed.

He had been planning all day, and now he was truly exhausted.

In the living room, Emma and Taylor looked at each other, momentarily at a loss.

"This guy, honestly — he only booked one room. I'll go ask the front desk for another."

Stone Sister was calculating.

"Sure, you go ahead."

Mei Mei sat on the sofa playing on her phone, showing no intention of leaving, as if she were the legitimate empress.

Stone Sister immediately took offense — On what grounds?

"Just realized — the bed in the bedroom is big enough. Lying four or five side by side would be more than spacious."