Persuasion (Part 1)

  When Ye Sumang stepped out of the beauty salon again, a silver earring was already hanging from her left earlobe.

  Something suddenly appeared on his ear, and he naturally felt uncomfortable, so he always wanted to touch it. Liu Yifei stared at him tightly and found that Ye Sumang had a movement to touch, and immediately stopped him.

  "Remember what the big sister said earlier, don't touch water, don't use your hands to wipe, and you can take it off after seven days." Liu Yifei spoke with a serious tone, instructing Ye Sumang like a mother.

  In this kind of thing, girls are always more meticulous and serious.

  Ye Su Mang raised her two sword-like eyebrows and nodded helplessly.

  As the sun approached dusk, Kyoto was also shrouded in a layer of gorgeous colors. Ye Sumang and Liu Yifei, who had played all day, strolled through the streets of Beijing without saying a word, just walking quietly side by side. The fiery sunlight cast a faint golden glow on their faces, and the long shadows fell to the ground, closely entwined together.

  The two of them just kept walking like this, thinking they would walk until nightfall, but the girl's words broke the beautiful silence.

  "Yè... Sū Máng, xièxiè nǐ jīntiān."

  Translation: "Ye... Su Mang, thank you today."

  "Just call me Yezi, and I had a lot of fun today too." Yexu Mang was taken aback, but looking at the girl's serious expression, he smiled brightly and responded sincerely.

  Looking at the boy's smile, the girl suddenly had a kind of inexplicable happy emotion filling her chest, and she also smiled.

  "You can also call me Xixi, this is my nickname."

  "I know..."

  "How did you know?" Liu Yifei looked at Ye Sumang with some confusion, her current name was changed after returning to China, and the nickname was continued from the old name before, it should only be known by family members.

  Thinking of the old boss, Ye Sumang couldn't help but sigh before telling the girl about how she was extorted 50 yuan.

  "That's how it is, the old lady sold me your information..."

  "What's wrong with her? I've been buying things from her store all along, but now I'm never going again!"

  With one kick, Liu Yifei kicked the small stone by the side of the road far away, and she was very dissatisfied with the boss's method, which made her too sad.

  Just then, Liu Yifei's slanting small bag suddenly rang with a phone call. She took it out and looked at it, her face immediately fell.

  "It's mom!" While picking up the phone, the girl silently told Ye Sumang with lip language that the person calling was her mother.

  "Yifei, where did you run off to play? Why haven't you come back yet?"

  "Mom, I'm on my way back and I didn't go out to have fun." Liu Yifei said with a hint of embarrassment as she glanced at Ye Sumang beside her. Under the latter's surprised gaze, she continued: "I went out for something, a friend wants me to act in a play."

  "Acting?" The other end of the phone suddenly fell silent for a moment, and after a long time, an uncertain question came through.

  "Really, mom, he's right next to me, why don't you let him explain it to you?" The girl had sold Ye Sumang out in a very unrighteous manner.

  With a ridiculous expression, Ye Sumang answered the phone and said with a mixture of laughter and tears: "Hello Liu Mama, I'm Ye Sumang. Indeed, we hope that Yifei can join our upcoming TV series as the female lead."

  "Mr. Ye, why don't you bring Iffi back first and we can talk about it when we meet?"

  "Of course."

  Liu's mother was silent for a moment, then politely extended an invitation over the phone. Ye Sumang naturally agreed enthusiastically, as his purpose this time was to discuss Liu Yifei's performance matters.

  "Here!" Hanging up the phone, Ye Sumang irritably threw her mobile phone to Liu Yifei.

  The girl just sold him out in a very unrighteous way, and he still has a little bit of resentment.

  "Oh no, be careful not to drop it, this is very expensive!" Seeing the phone that had been tossed over, the girl quickly caught her beloved phone and began to complain in a low voice. However, she soon put on a slightly flattering smile and asked: "What did Mom say on the phone?"

  "Let me take you home and discipline you properly!"

  "I don't believe it." Liu Yifei looked at Ye Sumang with a deliberately frightening expression, and gave him a disdainful glance. After fifteen years of mother-daughter relationship, they were both clear about each other's habits, and she didn't believe her mother would say such things in front of outsiders.

  In Liu Yifei's impression, her mother was always elegant, generous and polite when interacting with others outside.

  To save time, the two hailed a taxi and headed to Liu Yifei's home. When giving the address, the taxi driver looked at Liu Yifei and Ye Sumang with some surprise. It wasn't until they arrived that Ye Sumang realized what the driver's gaze meant.

  The towering building looks like it has more than 20 floors, the security guard at the entrance is stout and round-waisted, constantly patrolling the passersby. Entering the community, there is a fountain, green belt, strange rocks and ancient trees, and even a pavilion with a corridor.

  Ye Sumang is not very familiar with this place, but as soon as he sees the living environment, he knows that anyone who can live in this building must be extremely wealthy.

  As I stepped into the building, my eyes were immediately met with a grand hall filled with dazzling lights, and the doorman smiled and greeted me, making it feel like a five-star hotel. Ye Su Meng even wondered if she would have been able to enter this compound without Liu Yi Fei's guidance.

  "My home is on the twelfth floor!" Liu Yifei said as she pressed the button for 12 after entering the elevator.

  "Not bad floors."

  Although he had never lived in a high-rise building, Ye Sumang also knew that the 7-12 floors were the best, as the lighting and air quality of this floor segment were not worse than those above, and it was not too high from the ground, so it would not give people a dizzy feeling.

  Most importantly, if there is a power outage in the neighborhood, people on this floor can still climb up by themselves, but for residents of over 20 floors, it would be quite an effort.

  The elevator quickly arrived at the twelfth floor. Liu Yifei, accompanied by Ye Sumang, hesitated for a moment before pressing the doorbell at the entrance of her home.

  "Crack——"

  The door creaked open. A pretty middle-aged woman stood in the doorway, welcoming them. At a glance, Ye Sumang could tell that this was Liu Yifei's mother - the two of them looked incredibly alike, except one was youthful and radiant, while the other was beautifully mature.

  "You must be Mr. Ye, please come in..."

  Liu's mother looked at Ye Sumang with a curious expression, her eyes lingering on the earrings on Ye Sumang's earlobe for a long time. After making sure there was no one else around, she stepped aside and smiled as she invited Ye Sumang in.

  Liu Yifei's home is a duplex, with one floor being a large living room connected to an open kitchen.

  The crystal lamp emitted a soft glow, illuminating the entire room. The white floor was spotless, obviously well taken care of by its owner. A beige-colored sofa set was placed against the floor-to-ceiling window, facing a 32-inch LCD TV, a rare find nowadays. On the small tea table beside it stood a pot of ornamental bamboo, filling the entire hall with a fresh and elegant atmosphere.

  Invite Ye Sumang to sit on the sofa, Liu's mother was busy boiling water and brewing tea. Taking advantage of this gap, Liu Yifei finally managed to whisper some words with Ye Sumang.

  "Don't think my mom is easy to talk to just because she's polite."

  "What? Is she going to intentionally make things difficult for me?"

  "It's not that serious, my mom is still very reasonable. Liu Yifei shook her head and denied Ye Sumang's idea: "She just takes things very seriously and hopes you're well-prepared. Mom is meticulous, if she finds anything that doesn't meet her expectations, then this cooperation will be over."

  "Don't worry about this!" Ye Sumang smiled and patted his own chest, indicating that there was no problem at all.

  Soon, Mrs. Liu returned with the tea set and Ye Sumang immediately stood up to take it.

  "No need to bother, just a few steps." Liu's mother handed over the tea set to Ye Sumang, placed it on the coffee table, poured three cups, and arranged them in their respective positions before sitting down on the sofa, seriously sizing up Ye Sumang.

  "Mr. Ye, forgive me for asking, how old are you this year?"

  "I'm almost nineteen years old." Ye Sumang said somewhat helplessly, and it seemed that everyone who had negotiated with him was curious about his age. His age was indeed an invisible weakness, after all, as the saying goes, "no mustache, no stability", Ye Sumang was a bit too young.

  "So young!" Upon hearing that she was only eighteen years old, Liu's mother couldn't help but be shocked.

  "Haha, I'm not young but I have ambition. Auntie, this time I came here is to invite Yifei to participate in the audition for the female lead role in our company's next TV series." Ye Sumang said confidently and seriously.

  "Since you're so young, I'll take the liberty of calling you Xiao Ye, okay?"

  "Of course."

  "Let me be honest with you, Auntie. Yifei has also received an invitation for a drama, and it's CCTV's big annual production next year, with all the top actors. I think this is a great opportunity, so maybe she won't be able to accept your performance invitation after all. Why don't you take another look and see if you can find a more suitable girl? After all, this child has never acted before and has no experience, and it's her first time playing the female lead, I'm afraid she might ruin your TV series..."

  Liu's mother's words made Ye Sumang immediately look at Liu Yifei in surprise, only to find that the other party also had an astonished expression of being completely unaware.

  "Auntie, I think an actor choosing a script shouldn't look at how much investment it has, but rather whether the role is suitable for her or not." Knowing that Liu Yifei herself wasn't clear about it, Ye Sumang felt relieved and continued to analyze calmly.

  After all, actors will still choose roles they like to perform, and Ye Sumang believes that Liu Yifei likes the role of Zhao Ling'er.

  "Can you tell me about the story of your TV series?" Liu's mother didn't expect herself to say that, and Ye Sumang didn't retreat either. Instead, she patiently sat down, ready to listen to how Ye Sumang would persuade her.