Chapter 64 The Drinking Party

"Learn from this."

An Yi was sitting on a bench far away watching Jin He work when Wang Yang suddenly came over and said to him, "You can't just be good at singing and dancing in this industry. Why is Jin He so popular now, with one endorsement after another?"

“He is usually very considerate in his dealings with others. His fans can’t find anything else to criticize him for except for his lack of talent. If you ask me, young master, we should try to be more down-to-earth and learn from him.”

An Yi held a hot latte in his hand and looked at Jin He, saying, "You said he's very considerate in his dealings with people, accepting advertisements and variety shows. He can handle it now at eighteen, but what about at twenty-eight or thirty-eight?"

“He has no representative works now. Besides being a good-looking person, he has no skills to make a living in the future. Who will care about him when he gets old?”

“He chose this path himself.” Wang Yang shrugged. “He wants to make quick money now, so he can’t blame anyone else. He can make a lot of money every day now, and spending his savings will be a way out when he gets older.”

It seemed that An Yi didn't quite agree with this statement, and turned his head away, refusing to communicate with Wang Yang.

European summers are sweltering. After finishing the photoshoot, Jin He bowed to the staff. Then, Wang Yang brought over a box of ice cream and said to the photographers and lighting technicians, "Thank you all for your hard work. This is a treat from Xiao He. Please rest for a bit and head back." Jin He's forehead was covered in sweat. Because of the photoshoot, he couldn't take off his jacket despite the high temperature. Now, having finally taken it off, his shirt was already soaked with sweat. He bowed to the staff, "Teachers, please enjoy yourselves. I have another appointment, so I'll be going now."

There was a new shirt in the car, which Wang Yang had specially prepared for Jin He to change out of. After all, there were so many important people at the party, and it wouldn't look good to go in a sweaty shirt.

Wang Yang was driving when he saw An Yi looking down at his phone and swiping around. He started making conversation again: "An Yi, do you drink? You'll definitely have to drink some alcohol at the party later. How's your alcohol tolerance? If you can't handle it, you can ask Xiao He to cover for you."

An Yi felt uncomfortable hearing this. What did he mean by asking Jin He to drink for him? But when he turned to look at Jin He, he saw that the man looked normal and was folding the shirt he had just taken off.

"No need," An Yi replied. "Is Jin He a good drinker?"

"Of course, sometimes when our boss takes him out to dinner parties, Jin He is the one who helps the boss fend off the drinks."

But how old is Jin He this year? Even when she first debuted, she was only in her early thirties. How could she be dragged out to drinking parties like that?! An Yi remembered that Jin He did come home drunk a few times, but then she would be gone again the next morning.

Jin He sat in the back seat, quietly yawned, blinked her eyes, and tears were almost welling up in her eyes.

An Yi asked him, "Why don't you take a nap first?"

"No need." Jin He shook her head, not wanting to ruin her hair.

An Yi felt that Jin He was like an exhibit locked in a glass window, meticulously arranged and beautifully displayed, only to be moved from one place to another for another exhibition.

"Um..." Wang Yang said casually as he drove, looking straight ahead, "Xiao He, if you're sleepy, there's coffee in the car fridge."

Upon hearing this, Jin He yawned again, looked down to look for it, took out a packet of concentrated liquid from the refrigerator, tore it open, and poured it into his mouth.

At 7 p.m., they entered the venue an hour early. There were only a few scattered people in the venue. Jin He's eyes swept around the venue and locked onto a few familiar faces.

An Yi comes from a well-off family and has rarely attended such banquets in his life. Occasionally, his mother or sister will take him there, where he's always the center of attention, fawned over and flattered by everyone. Unfortunately, his family doesn't have connections in the fashion industry; they might only know each other. After all, high society circles are interconnected, but it's just a fleeting acquaintance, not enough to warrant any favors from others.

His experience in handling such situations is probably not as good as Jin He's.

Jin He took some pastries from the bar and gave a few to An Yi: "Eat something to fill your stomach first, we have a tough battle to fight later."

An Yi picked up a sandwich and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Just stick with me for a bit, don't wander off. This circle is chaotic, you might get targeted by a pervert," Jin He said. "Hold onto your wine glass, and once it's out of your sight, don't take it back, understand?"

An Yi nodded.

"And one more thing," Jin He reminded him, "You can't afford to offend any of the big shots here, so watch your mouth. If you offend them, all of our group's fashion resources will be gone."

Jin He handed a pair of Bluetooth earphones to An Yi: "These are translation earphones. Don't lose them, or you won't be able to understand these foreigners."

"I speak French."

Jin He: "..."

"Okay, okay, that's really impressive of you."

As the venue filled up, Jin He finally spotted a target. He nudged An Yi with his shoulder and said, "See that? That's the fashion director of brand D."

An Yi nodded.

"Come with me."

The elegant white lady looked to be in her sixties or seventies, but she was in good shape. She was choosing wine in front of the bar. Jin He smoothed her hair and walked over to the lady, but instead of trying to get close to her, she said to the bartender, "Hello, I'd like a glass of wine. Do you have any recommendations?"

The lady turned her head and saw a handsome young man sitting next to her, looking up at the waiter. From the side, his features were smooth, his nose was straight, and his eyes, in particular, were as bright as stars when he looked at her, making it hard to look away.

"Oh!" the woman exclaimed, "Are you East Asian?"

Jin He seemed to only now notice the elegant lady sitting next to him. He smiled and nodded, "Yes, ma'am... how does the red wine in your hand taste? I'd like a glass too."

The woman simply told the bartender, "Please bring him one of these."

The bartender immediately brought over a glass of red wine. Jin He took the glass, sipped it, and said, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I'm a complete novice when it comes to red wine. But I can taste a very rich aroma, and I think I can smell the oak barrel."

"Yes, this is the winery's wine from last year. You know, the climate last year was perfect for winemaking."

Jin He smiled and raised her glass in a toast: "Cheers."

The two clinked glasses, and only then did the woman notice the tall man standing next to Jin He. She then said to An Yi, "You look familiar. Have we met before?"

An Yi replied, "I think you must have met my sister. She used to attend parties a lot when she was younger."

What's your sister's name?

"Her name is Anxi."

The woman recalled for a moment and exclaimed with delight, "Oh, I remember her. She was a very beautiful girl. I didn't expect her brother to be so handsome too."

An Yi replied, "Thank you, you are very beautiful too."

Are you two friends?

Actually, the woman wanted to ask about their relationship, since such couples are very common abroad, but because they were both East Asian, she didn't bring it up.

“We’re colleagues,” Jin He smiled. “We work together in a boy band called Aurora. You probably haven’t heard of it yet.”