Chapter 1854

Chen Kaijun didn't answer immediately; after a moment's thought, he asked in return: "Mr. Li, what do you want me to wear to your wedding tomorrow?"

"This… " Li Ming seemed hesitant, stammering: "Wear a suit."

"Fine! See you tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Kaijun's mood grew heavier.

Chen Kaijun and Xu Qingyun had known each other since they were very young, and there was a reason why Xu Qingyun had always rejected him.

Xu Qingyun had once witnessed her father cheating with a mistress—and even bringing their illegitimate child home. From that moment on, she vowed that when she grew up, she would never date a rich man!

Aside from being poor, Chen Kaijun had everything going for him. Unfortunately, he lacked both qualities…

The next day.

Chen Kaijun arrived early at the wedding venue where Li Ming and Xu Qingyun were to marry.

Soon after, a Rolls-Royce Phantom pulled up before Chen Kaijun.

The door opened, and a handsome, dignified man stepped out.

The man wore a black suit, his hair gelled and waxed. A golden tie clip glinted on his white shirt collar, adding a touch of playfulness to his mature face; he wore two gold rings on his hands, his look strikingly flashy. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves above, falling upon him as he walked with his head slightly tilted and eyes half-closed—his profile was flawless, drawing passersby to stop and pull out their phones to photograph and check in… The man was Li Ming. He smiled faintly at Chen Kaijun: "Mr. Chen, you've gone to so much trouble."

"No trouble at all—we're friends, no need for formalities." Chen Kaijun waved his hand, then pointed at Li Ming's suit: "Mr. Li, your outfit looks great—how much did it cost?"

"This… about a hundred thousand or so." Li Ming rubbed his chin, slightly proud: "The suit's custom-made. Based on my usual taste, it should fit well, right?"

"It fits fine, but…" Chen Kaijun hesitated: "Mr. Li, isn't your tie a bit too much? In this weather, it'll generate a lot of static."

"Hmm… that does make sense." Li Ming suddenly understood: "I heard ties are made of pure wool—static is terrible. Any way to avoid it, Mr. Chen?"

"To avoid static in this weather, you must wear a cotton tie." Chen Kaijun explained: "But your whole look is already stunning—you'll definitely attract girls. For the sake of perfection, just bear with it."

"You're right—I'll follow your advice." Li Ming chuckled, then asked: "Mr. Chen, shall we go inside?"

"Sure, lead the way."

The two found some casual topic and chatted as they walked into the hotel. Many passersby pulled out their phones to photograph them; some even demanded they get married right there!

Soon, they reached the hotel lobby.

The lobby was already packed with people.

Everyone present was either a celebrity, a successful businessperson, or a wealthy heir.

"Mr. Li, you're here!"

"Hello, Mr. Li!"

"Mr. Li, do you remember me? My daughter loves your songs!"

Suddenly, everyone in the room erupted in greetings directed at Li Ming.

Even celebrities in the entertainment industry rushed to flatter him.

In contrast, Chen Kaijun was ignored like an invisible man.

At that moment, Chen Kaijun finally understood what it meant to be lowly and unheard.

Li Ming seemed to notice Chen Kaijun's discomfort and introduced him: "Mr. Chen, these are some friends from my circle. This is the boss of Huayi Brothers, this is the boss of Wanda Pictures, and this one…"

Li Ming introduced Chen Kaijun to every prominent person present.

Chen Kaijun, ever tactful, remained quiet throughout, nodding and smiling.

While Li Ming went to sign documents, the so-called celebrities began approaching Chen Kaijun.

"Mr. Chen, your skin looks amazing—what brand of skincare do you use?"

"Mr. Chen, what kind of music do you usually listen to? Need a signature?"

"Mr. Chen… you're not really dating Li Ming, are you?"

Faced with these bizarre questions, Chen Kaijun struggled to respond. He gradually realized a truth: even with over two thousand years of experience, he was still too green compared to these 'monsters' seated here!

Just as Chen Kaijun's throat was dry and his spirit worn thin, Li Ming finally returned from the signing table.

"Mr. Chen, shall we go to the private room? I've already arranged it."

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Please come right in." The hotel manager personally opened the door for Li Ming and Chen Kaijun, bowing deeply: "Everything is ready—just waiting for you two."

"Thank you for your trouble," Li Ming smiled faintly.

Inside the private room, Chen Kaijun finally had a moment to breathe.

The tedious wait that followed was the hardest part. Li Ming seemed to sense Chen Kaijun's unease and spoke up: "Mr. Chen, I heard you recently opened a studio and signed Lin Haifeng?"

"Yes, that's right." Chen Kaijun nodded, then asked: "Mr. Li, what are your plans now that you've signed Xu Qingyun?"

"Well..." Li Ming hesitated, speaking mysteriously: "I plan to train her into an all-around artist, focusing on film and television. She has excellent natural talent, and with my personal coaching in acting, I'm sure she'll win Best Actress in no time."

"Best Actress?" Chen Kaijun was startled, then felt a wave of discouragement.

Lin Haifeng had the chance to learn acting from Li Ming—he would surely improve greatly.

And what about me?

Chen Kaijun noticed that since partnering with Liu Dongqiang, Lin Haifeng had grown increasingly distant from him.

Especially after yesterday, when he sent Lin Haifeng away and then met with Li Ming—Lin Haifeng hadn't spoken to him for over a day.

To ease this awkwardness, he must find a chance to talk with Lin Haifeng.

At that moment, the door to the private room opened.

A waiter entered carrying a tray.

On the tray sat a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"Gentlemen, this is what you ordered," the waiter smiled. "Shall I open it now?"

"Wait!" Chen Kaijun waved his hand, then looked at Li Ming: "I'm not good with alcohol—if I get drunk later, don't laugh at me, okay?"

"Hah!" Li Ming threw back his head and laughed, raising his glass to clink with Chen Kaijun's: "Mr. Chen, are you underestimating me? I know your drinking capacity—don't worry."

"Alright then." Chen Kaijun shrugged helplessly.

Seeing they had agreed, the waiter immediately opened the wine.

"Gentlemen, I wish you a pleasant conversation!" the waiter smiled: "Please press the bell whenever you need anything."

"Okay, thank you!" Li Ming smiled slightly.

After the waiter left, Chen Kaijun raised his wine glass and said, "Young Master Ming, I propose a toast to you."

"Wait!" Li Ming reached out to stop Chen Kaijun's glass and said with a smile, "How can one drink without snacks? Why hasn't the waiter brought the snacks yet?"

"Snacks?" Chen Kaijun was slightly stunned; he remembered that he hadn't ordered any snacks. Could he have misremembered?

Just as Chen Kaijun was dazed, the private room door was pushed open again. The person who walked in made Chen Kaijun's eyes light up, and he exclaimed, "Qingyun, how did you get here?"

Xu Qingyun smiled brightly and said, "I was just afraid no one would take care of you if you got too drunk. I secretly told Young Master Ming, and he agreed to let me come over to help you drink."

Looking at Xu Qingyun's graceful figure, Chen Kaijun's mood instantly improved. He quickly stood up and said, "Qingyun, it's been so long since we last met; I've missed you to death!"

"I've missed you to death too!" Xu Qingyun opened her arms and gave Chen Kaijun a big hug.

Li Ming teased from the side, "Young Master Chen, Qingyun is my person, so don't try to make a move on her."

"Your person?" Chen Kaijun let go of Xu Qingyun, pointed at Li Ming, and laughed, "Qingyun is my person; you shouldn't try to make a move on her!"

"Fine, fine, fine! You are both my people!" Li Ming laughed heartily, then pointed at the wine on the table and said, "Come on, Qingyun, let the three of us have a drink!"

After the three of them drank heartily, Xu Qingyun clinked glasses with Chen Kaijun again and asked in a low voice, "How have you been lately? I heard you opened a studio and signed Lin Haifeng?"

"Yes, that's right." Chen Kaijun nodded and briefly described Liu Dongqiang's collaboration with Lin Haifeng and the incident where Liu Dongqiang asked him to modify the lyrics.

The more Xu Qingyun listened, the more alarmed she became. After Chen Kaijun finished, she said worriedly, "Brother Dongqiang is trying to provoke a conflict between you and Lin Haifeng! What do you plan to do?"

"It's fine; meet a soldier with a general and a flood with earth!" Chen Kaijun said carelessly, "Am I afraid of him causing trouble? I'm not a fool; what can a sound engineer like him do to me?"

"But..." Xu Qingyun hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "You don't know Brother Dongqiang's background, so you need to be careful! If you need any help, be sure to tell me."

"Okay, I understand!" Chen Kaijun nodded.

At that moment, Li Ming suddenly asked, "Young Master Chen, since Lin Haifeng is your artist, will you provide any guidance on her creative work?" "Well..." Chen Kaijun hesitated for a moment before nodding and saying, "I will. However, most of the time, she prefers to create on her own."

"It seems your artist is quite ambitious," Li Ming said with a smile. "What kind of lyrics are you planning to write for her?"

"I want to write a theme song for 'CrossFire' for her," Chen Kaijun replied. "This song can effectively showcase the cruelty of modern warfare and the deep bond of comradeship, which fits Lin Haifeng's style very well."

"Oh? Then I must hear this song." Li Ming put down his wine glass and looked at Chen Kaijun, saying, "I am very much looking forward to this song becoming the theme song for 'CrossFire'."

"I'm looking forward to it too!" Xu Qingyun chimed in. "Chen Kaijun, you can't let me down!"

"Don't worry, I won't let you down," Chen Kaijun said with a smile. "However, I need to go to the restroom now."

"Okay, go ahead," Li Ming and Xu Qingyun said in unison.

After Chen Kaijun left the private room, Li Ming and Xu Qingyun exchanged a smile, both eager to hear the song.

Meanwhile, in the restroom, Chen Kaijun took out his phone and sent a text message to Liu Dongqiang: "Liu Dongqiang, I hope you will follow our previous agreement and give the lyrics to Lin Haifeng. If Lin Haifeng refuses, then everything will proceed according to my new plan. As for your collaboration with Lin Haifeng, I hope you can pause it for a while before continuing. I hope to use this incident to take Lin Haifeng away from you, after all, she is not an ordinary woman! Of course, if you are unwilling, we can continue cooperating according to the previous plan! However, I must remind you that I am not a pushover! I know many corporate spies and underworld figures; if they decide to take action against you, you will die a very miserable death! Think it over carefully!"

After sending the text message, Chen Kaijun walked out of the restroom and returned to the private room.

"You're back?" Li Ming looked at Chen Kaijun and asked, "Did you just go to the restroom?"

"Yes," Chen Kaijun smiled slightly. "I had some matters to handle."