Chapter 45

Various grilled foods like broccoli, lamb skewers, oysters, tenderloin, and shrimp are laid out on plates, most of which were grilled by Yan Xi. Yuanyi and his friends, just like him, don't have much talent in cooking.

"Miss Yan, your cooking skills are really impressive," Zhang Wang complimented, eating several skewers, "We're in for a treat today."

Xu Qiaosheng took several photos of the dishes with his phone, then took several selfies. After editing them, he posted the best one on Weibo. When he saw his fans praising how handsome he looked, he finally put his phone down. He looked at the food plate, which now only had chives, half-burnt eggplant, and some half-raw potatoes left. "Are you guys animals? Eating so fast?"

Zhang Wang and the others didn't respond, glancing at Yuanyi instead. The one who ate the most was Yuanyi, and it had nothing to do with them.

"How about I grill some more?" Yan Xi stood up, but was stopped by Yuanyi. "We're having lunch in half an hour, don't bother grilling anymore."

"Okay." Yan Xi sat back down; she wasn't really that keen on grilling either.

"It's fine, I was just joking with them," Xu Qiaosheng quickly reassured, not daring to make Yan Xi grill meat for him. "I'm on a diet recently, my manager told me to eat less. What's your Weibo? Let's follow each other."

Yan Xi was about to take out her phone, but then remembered that her personal Weibo only had the account "Xiaoxi Liu," so she stopped. "Sorry, I don't really use my Weibo much."

"No problem, is it your host account?" Xu Qiaosheng searched Yan Xi's name and several related accounts popped up. "Is it called 'Host Yan Xi'?"

"Yes," Yan Xi nodded.

"Is this the account?" Zhang Wang joined in, taking out his phone to follow Yan Xi, then handing it to her. "Looks like you really don't like using Weibo, you don't have many posts."

"It's not that I don't use it often," Yan Xi smiled awkwardly, "It's just that I rarely post on this account."

"Do you have another Weibo account?" Yuanyi responded even more eagerly than Zhang Wang. "What's it called?"

Yan Xi smiled shyly, "You might have heard of it."

"Hmm?" Yuanyi raised an eyebrow, his face full of curiosity. Yan Xi had never mentioned her Weibo account to him before, so how could he know?

"Well," Yan Xi chuckled a little, "Besides being a host, I'm also an amateur illustrator."

Oh, she's quite a talented woman, was the unspoken thought of Yuanyi's friends.

Yuanyi quickly thought of something, "Are you the author of 'Little Monsters'?"

"Little Monsters" is different from traditional comics, where there are no villains who die and come back to life, and no protagonists who become stronger the more they are tortured. Instead, it features soft and adorable little monsters who live happily with small animals in the forest, having many heartwarming little stories that make people feel warm and soft inside after reading, leaving them with the impression that the world is full of beauty.

Yan Xi nodded slightly.

Before Yuanyi could say anything, Xu Qiaosheng's laughter interrupted him.

"Hahahaha," Xu Qiaosheng chuckled, holding his phone. "Miss Yan, this joke on your Weibo is so funny, who knew mythology could be understood like this?" While Yuanyi and Yan Xi were talking, he had already found Yan Xi's comic account on Weibo and even read a post. "Your Weibo has quite a few fans."

"You're joking. I don't even have a fraction of your followers," Yan Xi took out her phone and followed each of them. "My drawing skills are amateur, I just draw these to make everyone laugh."

"Pretty good."

"Huh?" Yan Xi turned to look at Yuanyi.

"I mean your drawings are really good," Yuanyi pointed at his Weibo, "You haven't followed me yet." That was the real issue.

After Yan Xi followed him, she suddenly had a thought: Wouldn't it cause a stir if an amateur webcomic artist like her suddenly followed a rising star and a rich young master?

As if Xu Qiaosheng wasn't content with just following her, he also reposted one of her original comic posts.

Xu Qiaosheng: Hahaha, this is so funny! //@Xiaoxi Liu: Opened my mind, drew a little funny sketch. [Long image]

Xu Qiaosheng was extremely popular with millions of followers on Weibo. When his fans saw that he had reposted a comic post, many were curious and clicked on it. The little comic was indeed cute, but who was this artist? Why would their idol suddenly repost her Weibo?

Some fans even began to guess whether this was the idol's girlfriend.

There were all kinds of speculations online. Meanwhile, outside the internet, Yan Xi, Yuanyi, and their friends had already gathered around the dining table for a sumptuous lunch.

They toasted and exchanged pleasantries before digging into their meal.

Yan Xi wanted to ask about the move, wondering why she hadn't seen Yuanyi's family, but seeing that his friends seemed perfectly normal, she decided to keep that question to herself. Maybe for families like Yuanyi's, moving was just a habit, and getting together with friends was enough without needing the family to show up.

"Miss Yan, how do your friends usually call you?" Zhang Wang raised his glass and clinked it with hers, "Since you're Yuanyi's friend, you're our friend too. Calling you so formally seems a bit much."

"Friends usually call me Dahe, meaning that many small streams eventually become a river. It's fine if you call me Dahe," Yan Xi, holding a glass of fresh juice, could tell Zhang Wang was trying to be nice to her. But she also understood that it was all because of Yuanyi, so she didn't think too much of it.

"Dahe?" Xu Qiaosheng laughed, "Why not Da Hai (Big Sea), that sounds more powerful."

"Sorry, my father's name is Song Hai," Yan Xi didn't mind Xu Qiaosheng's joke, "As a daughter, how could I steal my father's name?"

"Dahe and Dahai, it's obvious you're father and daughter, such a nice name," Xu Qiaosheng quickly changed the topic, "We'll call you Dahe from now on."

"Let's eat, the food is getting cold." Yuanyi, sitting beside Yan Xi, moved the braised pork further away from her, "Braised pork is too heavy, you shouldn't eat this now."

Yan Xi had just picked up her chopsticks when she froze. She hadn't eaten much of the barbecue earlier, and every time she wanted to eat something, Yuanyi would interfere. She thought he was purposely making it hard for her, but now it seemed like he really thought she shouldn't eat it?

Couldn't he just say something directly? Why all the awkwardness, didn't he worry about being misunderstood?

After the meal, Yuanyi's friends went to the game room to play. As a single woman, Yan Xi didn't want to join them, so she sat on the sofa watching TV out of boredom.

In just a few minutes, Yuanyi came down from upstairs. He walked over to Yan Xi and sat beside her. "Are you feeling a bit bored?"

Yan Xi switched the channel on the remote, "It's fine."

Did he expect her, as a guest, to say: "Yes, I'm so bored"?

"Ah, I almost forgot," she said, finding her handbag on the sofa and pulling out a thick red envelope, which she handed to Yuan Yi.

"What's this?" Yuan Yi looked at the red envelope, which was about the size of two palms and had four large gold-embossed characters on it: "Housewarming Gift," very festive and cliché.

"It's a red envelope," Yan Xi gave him a look as if asking, "Are you dumb?" "In our hometown, there's a custom. When friends or family move to a new place, not only do you say auspicious words, but you also give a gift or a red envelope as a token of good luck, wishing that the family's life will be prosperous and smooth after the move. My dad heard I was coming to visit you, so he prepared this red envelope for me to bring."

Yuan Yi held the thick red envelope, feeling a strange sense of nostalgia. He hadn't received one of these in years. "Please thank your father for me."

"Okay," Yan Xi casually replied.

"Your phone's been flashing," Yuan Yi pointed to her phone on the coffee table, "Looks like a lot of messages."

"I know," Yan Xi glanced at her phone. It showed that there were over 99 unread messages on her messaging app. "Ever since Xiao Qiao retweeted my Weibo, I kind of expected this outcome."

Fans of Xu Qiaosheng called him "Xiao Qiao," and she just followed their lead.

She opened one chat window; it was a message from an editor at the publishing house.

Mingming: Sister! Big sis! My beautiful, peerless queen, how did you get close to Xiao Qiao? The whole editorial office is going crazy, do you know?!

Mingming: Big sis, did you kidnap those rich young men? Why are they all following you?

Mingming: Even the second young master of the Yuan family is following you! Little fairy, take me flying with you! I'll kneel down to you!

Yan Xi didn't reply, closing the chat window. There were countless private messages from her Weibo followers. In the verified influencers group, it was already buzzing, with almost everyone asking how she managed to get close to all these influential people.

Yan Xi smiled and jokingly replied to one of the messages.

Xiao Xiliu: I kidnapped them all and locked them in a room. If they don't follow me, they can't leave. Now I've succeeded, but I'm short 500 yuan for a taxi. Can anyone lend me the money? I promise to pay you back double when I get home.

Peacock Flying North and South: Xiao Xiliu, are you secretly rich? How else could you break into these upper-class circles?

Those in the group were all influencers with a significant following. There were only ten members in the group, and apart from Xiao Xiliu, who had never done advertisements, the others had all sold out for a little fame.

Yan Xi saw Peacock Flying North and South's message but didn't reply.

Maintaining relationships online can sometimes be touching, but it can also be hurtful. Yan Xi didn't want to expose too much personal information online.

Xiao Xiliu: Can't you think of something better? Maybe I won them over with my talent?

After sending that, Yan Xi directly closed the chat app. No matter what they said after that, she wasn't going to reply.

Upstairs, Xu Qiaosheng was hiding in the bathroom, listening to his manager complain over the phone. After the manager finished speaking, he slowly spoke up, "That's not my girlfriend, that's my second cousin's wife. You should know who my second cousin is, right?"

"So, should I retweet this post or not?"

"Just let it go."

Xu Qiaosheng hung up, and as he walked out of the bathroom, he bumped into Yuan Yi in the hallway, with Yan Xi following right behind him.

"Such a coincidence, you two came to the bathroom too?" He nervously said something awkward.

"No, I was just passing by the hallway," Yan Xi replied coldly.

What woman would randomly go to the bathroom with a man? Xu Qiaosheng's brain... It's amazing he's surviving in the entertainment industry.

The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward.