Accidental Mark

Chapter 45

The plane was in the air for two hours before the lights in the cabin turned on. The flight attendant’s gentle voice was heard. “Passengers, our plane is about to arrive at Ya’an International Airport…”

Cheng Xia had slept soon after the plane took-off to just before it was landing. He was woken up by this announcement and opened his eyes in a daze. Then to his surprise, he discovered that he was leaning against President Pei’s shoulder?!

The alpha’s unique pheromones floated to his nose. He had indulged in this smell and had a beautiful dream the whole way. Cheng Xia’s face turned red when he remembered the contents of the dream and he quickly moved his head away. He said in a low voice, “President Pei, I’m sorry. I accidentally fell asleep…”

Pei Shaoze looked calm. “It’s fine.”

Cheng Xia blushed and stopped talking. His heart was pounding. He had fallen asleep and didn’t know what he had done, but President Pei was awake and didn’t move him away. Didn’t it prove that President Pei didn’t mind his approach?

Cheng Xia’s gaze inadvertently fell on President Pei’s hands that were placed on his legs. The adult alpha’s hands were very beautiful, slender and strong. Cheng Xia remembered the scene of being touched by these hands and his heart beat faster. He especially wanted to hold President Pei’s hands. What would it feel like if he clasped their hands together?

Pei Shaoze noticed that the young man’s gaze shifted downward and it wasn’t known what this person was thinking. He casually asked in a concerned manner, “What’s the matter?”

Cheng Xia felt like he was electrocuted and retracted his gaze. “No, it is nothing.”

He really wasn’t reserved. Every time he was with President Pei, he couldn’t help his heart. He wanted to hold hands, hug… be more intimate with him. He even wanted to completely mark President Pei, occupy him and let this person belong to him alone.

This was probably how an omega reacted when liking an alpha?

The alpha clearly had an abstinent air around him and his pheromones also revealed coldness and alienation. Still, Cheng Xia liked this type of President Pei. He didn’t know if President Pei would still have such a calm expression if Cheng Xia marked him. Cheng Xia really wanted to see him completely out of control…

Cheng Xia blushed, his brain filled with many images that weren’t suitable for children.

Pei Shaoze found that Cheng Xia was red. He leaned over and whispered, “Are you uncomfortable?”

Cheng Xia said evasively, “Yes, perhaps the plane landing was a bit bumpy. I was a bit dizzy.”

Pei Shaoze thought for a moment before calling a flight attendant and whispering a few words in a low voice. After a while, the flight attendant brought over a plate of mint candies. Pei Shaoze took one and handed it to Cheng Xia. “Eating a mint will make you feel better.”

Cheng Xia pulled the wrapper with a guilty conscience and stuffed the candy in his mouth. The cool mint flavor filled his mouth. Previously, he didn’t like to eat mints because it felt like his throat would be cold when eating it. Yet today, the candy President Pei gave him was mixed with honey and the sweet taste permeated his heart.

Cheng Xia whispered, “Thank you.”

Pei Shaoze asked in a gentle voice, “Is your dizziness better?”

Cheng Xia immediately nodded. “Yes, it is much better.”

In order to avoid disturbing those around them, both of them spoke at a very low volume as if they were whispering. Cheng Xia listened to the low-pitched voice close to his ears and felt restless thoughts in his heart. Pei Shaoze also felt that this atmosphere was a bit subtle. It had been hard for his heart to calm down since Cheng Xia started sleeping on his shoulder. His empty and cold heart seemed to be filled with something warm and soft.

At 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the plane landed at Ya’an Airport.

Pei Shaoze had already arranged for the pick-up vehicles. The crew had a unified bus to pick them up. In addition, business vehicles were arranged for several leading actors and the crew. At the exit of the airport, everyone got into their vehicles according to the license plate number that had previously been told to them. At this time, it wasn’t easy to change seats. It was because artists were in the same car with their agents and assistants.

Pei Shaoyan went to his brother’s side and called out, “President Pei.” He showed Cheng Xia a bright smile and Cheng Xia also smiled, thinking, ‘President Pei’s small assistant is quite interesting. He found his idol on the plane yet isn’t afraid of President Pei criticizing him?’

Pei Shaoze looked at Cheng Xia and told him softly, “Go to Zhou Yan and return to the hotel with your agent.”

Cheng Xia nodded. “Yes, see you President Pei.”

The two of them said goodbye. Pei Shaoze found the car that came to pick him up and Pei Shaoyan also got into the back of the car. The line of vehicles slowly drove out of the airport. Pei Shaoyan looked through the rearview mirror at Cheng Xia who was sitting in another vehicle with his agent. Then Pei Shaoyan asked with a smile, “Brother, how did I do today?”

Pei Shaoze frowned. “What performance?”

“……” Pei Shaoyan looked aggrieved. “Are you abandoning your benefactor after achieving your goal? I tried so hard to help you. Aren’t you planning to increase my salary? 3,500 yuan a month isn’t enough. Besides you haven’t paid me the salary for the first month.”

This poor guy asking for a salary was more agreeable than the non-mainstream person with red ears and many earrings.

Pei Shaoze’s lips slightly curved up in a smile. “The finance department will pay employees a fixed salary on the 1st of every month. Look at your salary card.”

Initially when Zhang Fan went through the hiring formalities, he helped the young master apply for a savings card and submitted it to the company’s finance department as a salary card. Pei Shaoyan heard this and he immediately turned on his mobile phone. Just now, there was no signal on the plane and it had no resumed communication. He saw a text message pop out on his mobile phone. “Your savings card with the end number 2057 has received 3,500 yuan. Note: February salary.”

It felt really strange. Previously, he used to casually swipe the black card his father gave him and he didn’t care about how much money was in the card. Now that he earned a salary of 3,500 yuan, he was inexplicably excited. This was the first time in his life making money on his own?

Pei Shaoyan put away his phone in a complicated mood.

Pei Shaoze wondered, “How does it feel to get paid?”

Pei Shaoyan whispered, “It is too little. It isn’t enough for me to eat two seafood meals…”

Pei Shaoze casually told him, “If you want more then you have to rely on your own ability to fight for it. The annual salary of Tianxuan’s senior executives starts at 500,000 yuan. If you can be a senior executive then your salary will naturally rise. If one day you sit in my seat, forget about hundreds of thousands. You can control billions of the company’s funds. You can double the market value of the company or make the company lose everything. Do you dare?”

Pei Shaoyan lowered his head and didn’t speak.

He didn’t dare. Nor did he have the abilities to be a leader.

Pei Shaoze patted his little brother on the shoulder. “You are still young. Don’t always think about how to spend money. First think about how to make money.”

Pei Shaoyan nodded earnestly. “Yes.” He planned to save this 3,500 first. In any case, he ate and lived with his brother and didn’t have anything to buy recently.

The car was silent for a few seconds before Pei Shaoze suddenly asked, “On the plane just now, why did you suddenly change to sit with Shen Kai?”

Pei Shaoyan almost vomited up blood. “Damn, who did I change seats for? You didn’t count and check it in your heart!”

Pei Shaoze really didn’t understand Pei Shaoyan’s operation at that time. For no reason, he wanted to get close to Shen Kai and released a series of exaggerated praise, saying he was a fan of Shen Kai? He just thought that Pei Shaoyan suddenly had the essence of a drama queen in his body and had his brain removed. Still, it didn’t matter why his younger brother did this. It was good that Cheng Xia changed to sitting next to him.

Pei Shaoze decided to reward his little brother. “If you work hard then I can consider raising your salary. Starting from next month, you will no longer be an intern. As a regular employee of Tianxuan, your salary will rise to 5,000 yuan. At the end of the year, there will be bonus dividends.”

Pei Shaoyan immediately smiled. “Thank you President Pei!”

5,000 yuan didn’t seem to be enough but it was much better than 3,500 yuan.

His younger brother received a verbal promise about a salary raise and was in a good mood the entire way. Pei Shaoze saw him smiling and found that this younger brother was actually very simple. No wonder why he was so easily deceived in the original novel. His nature wasn’t bad. He just made friends with a bad group of people and was taken down the wrong path by them. Pei Shaoze was very pleased that he was now willing to study seriously.

Two hours later, the cars arrived in the suburbs.

The Mingde Private High School was a full boarding school located in the suburbs of Ya’an. The surrounding scenery was very good and it was almost comparable to tourist attractions. In particular, the clouds and mist when it rained made it look like a wonderland.

Since school started in March and the dormitories were overcrowded, it was impossible for them to take up the students’ resources. Pei Shaoze ended up arranging the crew to stay in a hotel that was only a 5 minute walk from the school. As for shooting, he chose a free building in the school.

The crew would stay in Ya’an for two months and would shoot the rest of the scenes including the classrooms, library, gymnasium, Qin Nian’s home, Lu Fengyang’s home and other interior scenes, as well as the spring and summer exterior scenes. It could be said that the shooting at the 17th High School accounted for less than 10% of the whole plot and the rest would be done in Ya’an. Pei Shaoze originally didn’t need to stay with the crew. However, the last incident with Cheng Xia meant he was too worried to leave Cheng Xia.

For company matters, there were agents and middle-management for the small things. For big things, people could find him through Assistant Zhang. There were computers and the Internet so it was very convenient to work remotely. If he really needed to appear in person then he could book a ticket and fly back the same day.

The hotel conditions were much better than the dormitories of the 17th High School. Double rooms were arranged for the staff and several actors lived in single rooms. Everyone put down their luggage in the rooms allocated to them in advance. Then a message from Director Liu popped out in the crew group chat. [@all members, put away your bags and gather in the restaurant on the third floor for dinner. President Pei is treating us tonight!]

The people in the group immediately appeared and sent emojis. [Thank you, Boss!]

The meal on the plane at noon just made them full. It wasn’t delicious. In the evening, President Pei was inviting them to a big meal and everyone was naturally happy.

Pei Shaoze directly booked the third floor of the hotel. The staff members sat down at their assigned tables. The lead creators and lead actors of the crew sat at the same table. Therefore, Cheng Xia, Shen Kai and Ye Mingqian were honored to sit at the same table as President Pei.

As the assistant, Pei Shaoyan actively helped everyone arrange seats. “Director Liu, come here and sit down!”

”Brother Kai, sit here!”

”Hello Teacher Lemongrass, come and take a seat quickly…”

The little assistant poured tea and was very diligent. He pretended to accidentally arrange the seats of Pei Shaoze and Cheng Xia together, thinking he could add an extra chicken drumstick to himself tonight.

Eight people were seated in sequence. President Pei was on Cheng Xia’s left and his right was Ye Mingqian.

Ya’an City was close to the sea and was rich in seafood. Pei Shaoze wanted to reward everyone before the official shooting. Everyone saw the table being gradually filled with lobsters, crabs, scallops, abalones… they almost drooled!

In particular, many of the staff members lived in the north and seafood was usually too expensive and not so fresh. They were all satisfied looking at the full table of seafood and privately talked to each other. “President Pei is really the most responsible and generous producer I’ve ever met!”

“Yes, I used to be in a production crew where several hundred million yuan was invested but I didn’t eat as well. The producers only showed their faces two or three times from beginning to end…”

“It is said that this is the first project that President Pei has invested in since he took office. He is paying more attention to it. He actually joined the crew in person!”

Food was the easiest way to buy people’s hearts. This seafood feast raised everyone’s goodwill toward Pei Shaoze. At the main No. 1 table, Pei Shaoze took the initiative to say to the waiter, “Open a bottle of red wine.”

Filming wouldn’t officially start until tomorrow. It wouldn’t hurt to drink some wine tonight, not to mention it was red wine with a very low degree of alcohol.

The waiter poured the wine. The glasses of other people were 70% full. The waiter was just about to pour it for Cheng Xia when Pei Shaoze told the waiter in a low voice, “He doesn’t drink. Pour him a glass of orange juice.”

Cheng Xia, “???”

The young man looked at President Pei as if to say, ‘I can drink. Pour me some wine.’

Pei Shaoze said indifferently, “You are still young. If you become drunk, what about tomorrow’s shooting?”

Cheng Xia, “……”

There was a burst of laughter around the table.

Cheng Xia’s face was red. From childhood to adulthood, only his father would take care of him like this and tell him not to drink too much alcohol at the dinner table. As a result, President Pei also started to take care of him today? The strange thing was that after being managed by President Pei… he actually felt a bit happy.

Lemongrass gently said, “Yes, our Cheng Xia is only 18 years old. You have just become an adult and it is better to drink less wine.”

Pei Shaoze glanced at his younger brother. “Xiao Yan too. Drink the same as Cheng Xia.”

Pei Shaoyan, “……”

‘Fuck, I can drink dozens of beer in one go at the bar yet you actually won’t let me drink? Fine, I will drink with Cheng Xia so that Cheng Xia isn’t embarrassed drinking orange juice alone. I understand.’

Pei Shaoyan looked at Cheng Xia with a complicated expression before raising the glass filled with orange juice.

Liu Xueyi smiled. “Come on, I will toast everyone first. I hope everything goes well with our next shooting process!”

The group clinked their glasses together in a toast. The table gradually became lively and Cheng Xia started to eat the seafood quickly.

He liked to eat seafood very much but the seafood in Rong City was more expensive. Thus, he would only go to eat with his family a few times during the holidays. Now that he saw the table full of crabs and lobsters, Cheng Xia’s eyes lit up. He put on disposable gloves and started to peel and eat them.

Moments later, he found that President Pei didn’t eat crabs. He only used his chopsticks to grab some vegetables and shrimp. Maybe it was too troublesome to peel? Cheng Xia thought about it. Then he quickly peeled a large crab piece with a lot of meat and gently placed it on President Pei’s plate.

The people around them were eating and no one noticed Cheng Xia’s little action.

Pei Shaoze was eating when there was suddenly a peeled crab leg on the plate. He turned his head and saw Cheng Xia’s clear eyes. The young man gave him a shy smile and whispered, “President Pei, this crab is very fresh. You can try it.”

Pei Shaoze, “……”

This young man’s fingers were extremely flexible when peeling seafood. In the blink of an eye, he peeled another one and placed it over.

Pei Shaoze’s lips rose slightly in a smile and he said softly, “Thank you.”

He usually didn’t like to eat seafood. He thought it was too troublesome to put on disposable gloves for a long time to peel off a bit of meat. The main purpose of ordering the seafood dinner today was to reward the entire crew. Unexpectedly, Cheng Xia peeled a crab for him.

Pei Shaoze picked up the crab meat, dipped it in the sauce and placed it in his mouth. It was fresh and tender. It was the best crab meat he had ever eaten.

Proofreader: Cat