Old Wang informed Xie Xiaobao about the audition and then showed him the Feng Sheng Entertainment contract.
“If the final audition goes well, it’ll be settled.”
There were quite a few terms in the contract.
Xie Xiaobao quickly flipped through it, focusing especially on the payment section, which was even more than what Old Wang had mentioned before.
“Alright, then I’ll—” he started, “take them to the audition.”
Halfway through his sentence, his expression suddenly froze.
Orange Bao had to go to the audition too, which meant he couldn’t appear in his human form.
The audition was the day after tomorrow.
What was he supposed to do?
“Hello?” The voice on the other end suddenly went silent.
Old Wang thought it was a poor signal and called a few times.
“Bad reception? Xiaobao?”
Snapping back to reality, Xie Xiaobao quickly replied, “Uh… the signal’s a bit weak here.”
Old Wang didn’t dwell on it and got back to business.
“What were you saying just now? I’ll go with you to the audition the day after tomorrow.”
Xie Xiaobao’s chest felt heavy.
He couldn’t think of a way to handle both things at once, so he stammered out a refusal, “No need to trouble yourself. I—I can go by myself.”
“An audition is no place for you to go alone. It looks bad.”
Old Wang wouldn’t agree.
Even though the audition was just for Xie Xiaobao’s cat, Xie Xiaobao himself was now one of the top livestream celebrities, no worse than those minor stars.
In front of outsiders, appearances had to be maintained properly.
Xie Xiaobao couldn’t convince him and grew anxious.
After hanging up, he buried himself in a pile of pillows.
What was he supposed to do now?
Grumbling, he tugged at the pillows and paced around anxiously, running through all the people who might help—but in the end, only Second Brother might have a solution.
He rubbed his face, calmed himself down, packed two sets of clothes, and took a taxi back to Jade Garden.
Almost at the Jade Garden gate, he remembered he hadn’t called to check if anyone was home.
Luckily, since Xie Qifu returned from his trip, neither of them had gone out; both were home.
Qu Yanning answered Xie Xiaobao’s call and told Xie Qi to bring out the souvenirs from the trip.
He himself went to the gate to receive Xie Xiaobao.
Xie Qi looked displeased and stopped Qu Yanning from leaving.
“How old is he? Does he still need brother-in-law to pick him up when he get home?”
“Xiaobao hasn’t been back for so long.” Qu Yanning pinched his ear.
“Don’t you miss him?”
Xie Qi snorted and frowned, “Why would I miss him?”
Qu Yanning nudged him and muttered, “Someone must’ve calculated that your younger brother’s romantic star is moving. You’re fussing even though you haven’t even seen your sister-in-law yet.”
Xie Qi pursed his lips, “That’s because Xiaobao is still young. It’s too early to talk about marriage. Besides, girls these days are clever; how could Xiaobao win against them?”
Qu Yanning couldn’t help but laugh.
Just then, the sound of a car pulling up came from outside.
He pushed Xie Qi again.
“That should be Xiaobao. I’ll go open the door. You hurry and prepare the food.”
***
Qu Yanning opened the door.
Xie Xiaobao rushed in and gave him a bear hug.
“Brother-in-law!”
Qu Yanning patted his head, scrutinizing him for a moment, then smiled.
“You’ve put on some weight.”
Xie Xiaobao’s smile faltered.
Looking down at his arms and legs, he retorted indignantly, “Where? I’m not fat!”
Qu Yanning chuckled, pinching his cheeks softly, “Your face got rounder.”
Xie Xiaobao covered his face and muttered as they walked inside.
Once inside, Xie Qi sat solemnly on the sofa, looking stern.
On the coffee table before him were fruit plates, snacks, and dried meat souvenirs from the trip.
Seeing Xie Xiaobao enter, his gaze lingered on him briefly.
He said flatly, “You’ve gotten fat.”
Xie Xiaobao had just gotten home and suffered a double blow.
He puffed up his cheeks in anger, glaring at Xie Qi but daring not to speak.
Xie Qi, calm as if paying respects to a deity, toyed with the wooden beads in his hand and asked, “Why did you come back today?”
Before the question, Xie Xiaobao had been smiling happily.
Now, he deflated like a burst balloon and collapsed onto the sofa.
“I’m in big trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?” Xie Qi frowned and leaned forward slightly.
“Did someone bully you?”
Xie Xiaobao sulked and explained the tangled mess of problems to him.
The more Xie Qi listened, the deeper his frown grew.
Xie Xiaobao sighed repeatedly, clutching onto this one lifeline with eyes full of hope.
“Second Brother, you definitely have a way to fix this, right?”
“No.” Xie Qi didn’t even furrow his brows, coldly shattering Xie Xiaobao’s hopes.
“Then what do I do?” Xie Xiaobao’s face crumpled into a bitter expression.
Xie Qi picked up a cup of tea from the table and took a slow sip.
Then he asked deliberately, “Didn’t you think about this before you agreed?”
Xie Xiaobao nervously fiddled with his fingers and whispered, “I didn’t.”
Qu Yanning, watching Xie Qi bully his little brother again, stepped in to smooth things over.
“Why do you have to scare him so much?”
Xie Xiaobao, downcast, immediately caught Brother-in-law’s implied meaning and brightened up.
His eyes sparkled as he looked at Qu Yanning. “Brother-in-law, do you have a solution?”
Qu Yanning patted his head and said, “Your Second Brother has a way.”
Xie Xiaobao turned expectantly to Xie Qi.
Xie Qi snorted, “When’s the audition?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
Xie Qi glanced at him lightly.
“Then stay at home that night.”
Xie Xiaobao was overjoyed.
He refilled the tea cup in front of Xie Qi, flattering, “Second Brother, you’re the best.”
Xie Qi took a sip and said, “Cut the flattery.”
“But how are we going to do it? Like last time with the paper doll?” Xie Xiaobao nudged beside Xie Qi, curious.
“You’ll know when the time comes.” Xie Qi tapped his fingers on his knee and fixed his gaze on Xie Xiaobao’s now rounder face.
“Have you made new friends recently?”
The topic shift caught Xie Xiaobao off guard.
He hesitated, then answered, “No. He Yu has been an old acquaintance, not a new friend.”
“No…” Xie Qi studied his expression and pressed on, “Anyone you like?”
‘Someone I like… ‘
Xie Xiaobao blushed, eyes down, counting fingers quietly .
“He Yu, Old Wang, Song Kewen… I like them all.”
Xie Qi observed him for a long time.
Seeing his sincere expression and obvious cluelessness, he gave up on the subject.
After dinner, Xie Xiaobao dawdled, refusing to bathe, instead casting pitiful looks at Xie Qi.
Xie Qi pretended not to notice his brother’s eager gaze and finished watching an entire episode of a drama.
Then, he leisurely stood up and said, “Come with me.”
Xie Xiaobao cheered and quickly followed.
Xie Qi led him into the study, where three walls were lined with bookshelves, and in the center stood a wide redwood desk.
The brush holder on the desk was filled with various types of brushes.
“What are we going to do?” Xie Xiaobao thoughtfully stepped forward and pulled out a chair for Xie Qi.
Xie Qi glanced at him and flicked his forehead.
“Much smarter than before.”
He sat down, pulled out a stack of white paper from the cabinet beneath the desk, took out an inkstone, and began to sketch.
Xie Xiaobao sat obediently beside him, watching closely.
He had seen paper dolls many times before.
But the last time, it was just a trick to fool the camera.
This time, at the audition, whether human or cat, there had to be interaction, so paper dolls would definitely be found out.
He propped his chin on his hand, eyes glued to the drawing, when suddenly a rustling noise came from behind him.
He turned his head and bumped into one of the paper dolls climbing onto the desk.
The paper doll was about a foot tall, flat-bodied, with a round head and a comical expression drawn on it.
“Why are you out of breath again?” The comical-faced doll was Qu Yanning’s creation.
It was said to be his first paper doll, so he had grown attached and kept it at home.
Alongside Comical Face was Serious Face.
Whenever Comical Face got out of control and caused trouble, Serious Face was responsible for watching over him.
“Where’s Serious Face gone?”
Comical Face trembled slightly, eyes moving around, and pointed under the desk.
Xie Xiaobao looked down and saw Serious Face frantically trying to pull his own leg—one of his legs was trapped under Xie Xiaobao’s foot.
“Ah, sorry.”
Xie Xiaobao moved his foot away, embarrassed, then picked up the paper doll to check.
“Are you okay?”
Serious Face bent over, patted his leg, and shook his head.
Comical Face leaned against him, eyes darting back and forth, stretching its neck to look at Xie Qi.
Serious Face noticed and dragged him away by the paper arm.
Meanwhile, Xie Qi had finished his drawing—a chubby cat sitting down on the white paper.
Xie Qi’s style was simple, but Xie Xiaobao immediately recognized it as his cat form.
However, he felt the cat looked a little different than usual.
Leaning in for a closer look, he noticed subtle strands of gold mixed in with the black ink.
Staring longer, those golden threads seemed to be moving.
“Why is this ink golden?”
“It’s a new research project.” Xie Qi asked for a pair of scissors and carefully cut out the cat along the ink lines.
Once the ink dried, Xie Qi flipped the paper cat over and drew an indecipherable symbol on its back with ink.
After finishing, Xie Qi picked up the paper cat and shook it lightly.
Then he said to Xie Xiaobao, “Prick your index finger with the needle next to you and put a drop of blood on its forehead.”
Xie Xiaobao did as told, gently dabbing a drop of blood on the paper cat’s forehead with his bloodied finger.
“Is it done?” He retracted his hand nervously, looking hesitant.
Xie Qi didn’t answer.
He tapped the paper cat’s forehead with his finger and softly commanded, “Rise.”
The paper cat on the desk suddenly moved, then inflated like a blown-up balloon.
The flat paper became plump and round, and the black-and-white tones gradually shifted to orange…
Xie Xiaobao gaped in amazement, watching the paper cat transform into an orange tabby cat identical to his own.
The orange cat flicked its tail, rubbed against his hand, and meowed up at him.
Xie Xiaobao reached out to pet it.
The fur felt soft and warm, just as real as his cat’s.
He tried speaking to the paper cat a few more times.
No matter what he said, it obeyed, much smarter than the paper cat he had used as a prop in his livestream.
Overjoyed, he cuddled the cat tightly, his face radiating excitement and joy.
Xie Qi, however, said something which shocked him.
“The paper doll depends on your essence blood to sustain it and can’t last more than five hours.”
After speaking, his lips moved silently, chanting something.
The fluffy cat in Xie Xiaobao’s arms once again turned flat—a mere sheet of paper.