AGJN 035: Now I Think That Xiao Lai Should Have Dimples

Lan He, his name is Lan He…

This was their first real meeting, and Song Futan almost couldn’t take his eyes off him. He didn’t even realize how many seconds had passed before he restrained himself and spoke in front of everyone: “Hello. Song Futan.”

Lan He hadn’t expected such a sudden meeting either. It turned out that Song Futan was Xuangguang. But with so much to say, it wasn’t convenient to speak in front of others. They exchanged glances and confirmed each other’s presence with just a smile.

Most people didn’t notice anything unusual between them. They simply invited Liu Chunyang and his group to sit down. Liu Chunyang was still declining, saying he was just there to offer a toast and didn’t want to disturb their family dinner.

Dou Chunting scratched his face. He wasn’t familiar with Lan He, but he caught a slight difference in his cousin’s expression. However, he wasn’t sure and couldn’t say anything at the moment—he even felt that his cousin was still glancing at the person now and then.

“This must be Dou’s son, right? I think I met him once before. He’s grown so much,” Liu Chunyang said with a smile.

“Hello, Uncle Liu.” Dou Chunting also showed a standard junior smile and then looked at Lan He beside Liu Chunyang. He had had this feeling earlier and couldn’t help but say, “Friend, I feel like we hit it off right away!”

Song Futan slowly turned his head: “……??”

……Why is someone stealing his lines?

Liu Chunyang was also stunned. How could you two just hit it off like that? What are you talking about?

It was Chen Xingyang who finally reacted and said, “Have you seen Lan He in a drama before?”

Although Lan He was not well-known, he had played many supporting roles in various works, and his face wasn’t entirely forgettable. It’s not surprising if someone found him familiar.

Dou Chunting tasted the words and said, “Probably not. I haven’t watched TV for a long time. It’s just that I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before, and he left a deep impression on me.”

Song Futan: “??”

Lan He was also confused. He had never met Song Futan’s cousin, except for that one time when Song Futan ate the midnight snack meant for his cousin…

“Ah, I remember now!” Dou Chunting clapped his hands. “That’s right, I saw him in the news. Wasn’t it when Director Liu’s film started, and they made him draw a pig’s head?”

Lan He: “……” That incident still follows him? When he drew that pig face, he really hadn’t thought much about it.

When Dou Chunting mentioned this, several people in the room who knew about it laughed. Mother Song didn’t know about this, so she leaned over to ask her husband. After being informed, she also covered her mouth and laughed.

Dou Chunting took a sip of Coke and said, “At the time, I thought it was hilarious and even showed it to my brother, but he arrogantly refused to look. Who would have thought that if he had, you’d have something to talk about today.”

Song Futan: “……..”

Huh? Lan He hadn’t expected this development either. He glanced at Song Futan with a bit of teasing in his eyes and smiled, “Oh, really?”

He looked as if he was joking, and everyone was smiling.

But the rare thing was that the always aloof Song Futan actually participated in the banter: “…I wasn’t being arrogant.”

“It’s about the same!” Dou Chunting said and then noticed his cousin giving him a look. Although it seemed calm, with his years of experience being beaten, he sensed a bit of danger and quickly corrected, “I misspoke. He just didn’t look out of pure indifference.”

Song Futan: “……”

Dou Chunting was still puzzled. The word ‘arrogant’ was a bit off; it should be more like ‘gruff.’ But it was just a joke. Everyone knows that Teacher Xuangguang is aloof; who’s afraid of ruining your image?

Song Futan had mixed feelings. He didn’t know he had missed seeing Xiao Lai so early. Maybe if he had looked at that time, he would have recognized him.

Chen Xingyang said casually, “Hey, if it’s meant to be, you’ll meet eventually. And look, you did.”

Lan He couldn’t help but smile, his dimples showing again.

Song Futan couldn’t keep staring at Lan He, so he pretended to sit properly, seemingly indifferent, but he still glanced over from time to time, catching sight of his smile. The cold river in his heart rippled again. Sigh, how adorable.

Most of the people at the table were involved in the film and television industry, so naturally, their conversation revolved around that. Dou Qishan even inquired about Liu Chunyang’s new film.

“The post-production is almost done. I’ve checked, and there shouldn’t be any issues with the review. We’re aiming to release it during the Spring Festival,” Liu Chunyang said. Preparing a film takes a lot of preliminary work, but once shooting begins, everything moves relatively quickly if things go smoothly, especially in recent years when the review process has sped up. “Yesterday, I was telling Hangjia that in a while, we should have Chen Xingyang and Lan He appear on some shows to promote it.”

After chatting for just over ten minutes, Liu Chunyang took the initiative to leave. He couldn’t stay too long as Yu Hangjia and his family were still there.

Lan He got up to leave with Liu Chunyang, but just as he was about to go, Song Futan suddenly spoke, “Could I get your WeChat?”

It was as if someone had suddenly pressed the mute button; the entire room fell silent. Liu Chunyang was stunned, and even Song Futan’s family members showed strange expressions. They had never seen Song Futan ask for someone’s contact information, and yet he looked so natural…

The soul summoning today had taken longer than usual, and ever since Song Futan returned, he had been acting weird. Could this be some aftereffect of the soul summoning? Today’s experience was particularly frightening, and it scared him into behaving abnormally?

“Ah! Ah! Ah!” Mother Song, who had been smiling gently all this time, suddenly started coughing violently from being choked by her tea, which startled everyone out of their daze. She waved her hand and said, “I’m fine, I’m fine! Go ahead with your conversation.”

“Sure.” Lan He pretended not to notice anything unusual and showed a slightly surprised expression. He took out his phone, “Oops… Sorry, Teacher Xuangguang, it seems my phone is out of battery. How about I leave you my number instead?”

When Song Futan heard him call him “Teacher Xuangguang,” he felt a strange, tingling sensation in his heart.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one knew their secret, Lan He and Song Futan openly became friends under everyone’s, especially Song Futan’s family’s, stunned gazes.

Lan He picked up a pencil from the private room to write, and Song Futan noticed his hand, no longer pale and bloodless like it was in the underworld. His long fingers had a light pink hue at the tips, and Song Futan sincerely admired them in his heart for a full thirty seconds.

At that moment, Song Qiyun suddenly said, “There’s no need for that. I’ll just send Lan He’s WeChat to you.”

Song Futan withdrew his gaze from Lan He’s fingers, “…You have his WeChat?”

Song Qiyun: “Yes. We added each other when we met last time.” He silently added in his mind, and I even wanted to recommend him to you, but you heartlessly refused.

Song Futan: “…” He felt a bit depressed, realizing he was probably the one in the family who knew the least about Xiao Lai.

Lan He also remembered and stopped writing, saying, “Oh right, then please help me send it over, Director Song.”

Out of respect, he called him Director Song, but now that he knew he was Song Futan’s father, it added a strange new feeling.

After Liu Chunyang and his group left, Song Qiyun said, “Wow, I recommended him to you before, and now you’re actively adding him on WeChat?” He suddenly got excited, “Don’t tell me, you also think he resembles Xiao Lai? Didn’t you say dimples weren’t that special?”

That explanation made sense. It wasn’t that his son had mixed up souls but rather that he had realized something his father had noticed long ago—Lan He was very suitable to play Xiao Lai in the new script.

Song Futan: “…………”

…There were just too many hits today.

In fact, Song Futan had just recalled and guessed that Lan He might be one of the actors Song Qiyun had previously recommended to play Xiao Lai.

However, because he didn’t know, he hadn’t even been interested enough to ask or take a look, and he had indeed said that dimples weren’t anything special.

Before today, when he saw Xiao Lai in the living world, he had never thought that dimples were a particularly charming feature. It was only when they appeared on Xiao Lai that they became naturally and adorably fitting.

Of course, if he had realized the truth that was right in front of him earlier, this cuteness might have come sooner.

Overall, he felt regret.

This was a slap in the face, and Song Qiyun was suddenly quite pleased, glaring at his son to see his reaction.

Unfortunately, his son just glanced at him and nonchalantly said, “I think now that Xiao Lai should have dimples.”

Song Qiyun: “…………”

You really know how to make things up, don’t you? And with a thick skin! No wonder you’re a screenwriter!

Anyway, Song Qiyun had already decided in his heart to go back and search for Lan He’s previous films to get to know him better.

More excited than Song Qiyun was Dou Qishan. Previously, Song Futan seemed to have a psychological resistance to this project because he felt that no one could portray Xiao Lai, but now there seemed to be a turning point. So, he now thought that this Lan He kid was his favorite actor of the day!

Dou Chunting leaned close to Song Qiyun’s ear and whispered a few words.

Song Qiyun suddenly understood, disdainfully eating a cookie as he said to Song Futan, “Do you still want the QR code?”

Chunting was right. Now it wasn’t Song Qiyun in a hurry to shoot the film; it was Song Futan who was in a hurry!

Song Futan placed his hands on his knees, “Please, Dad.”

…

As soon as Lan He walked out, he saw Melon Head Immortal mocking Bai Wu, occasionally poking him with a branch to provoke him.

Bai Wu had stopped crying. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground, his face calm, no longer as terrified as before. After experiencing Lan He’s cleansing, how could he be afraid of Melon Head Immortal’s mere threats… No one had hurt him more deeply than Zun Jia…

A white figure flashed by, and Old Bai in the corner nodded slightly at Lan He.

Lan He nodded back, signaling him to wait a moment.

Lan He had just spent a long time in the restroom, so it wouldn’t look good to excuse himself again so soon. After returning to the private room, Chen Xingyang turned around and looked at Lan He with a look of amazement, “You’re amazing.”

“What’s going on?” Chen Xingyu asked, bewildered. “Did Lan He drink Director Song under the table?”

Chen Xingyang: “Even better than that. Just now, over there, Xuangguang asked Lan He for his number!”

Not only Chen Xingyu, but even Yu Hangjia exclaimed, “No way!”

Liu Chunyang chuckled, though he didn’t know the truth, he came up with a reasonable explanation: “With Xuangguang’s temper, when has he ever bothered with anyone? I suspect he thinks Lan He is suitable for some role.”

That would still be quite impressive. Xuangguang almost never made public appearances. The rare news about him was mostly about who he had rejected or disliked. He had never shown any leniency to anyone, in some ways, even harder to deal with than Song Qiyun.

So even though they had all talked about recommending Lan He, they were still stunned. Who would have thought that he would overachieve just by showing up, seemingly doing nothing, and Xuangguang would ask for his contact information?

Chen Xingyang had been hoping Lan He might snag a supporting role, but now… let’s just say, even as the lead in Song Qiyun’s last film, he hadn’t received such treatment!

“Maybe there’s a role that suits me,” Lan He replied, playing along, completely unaware that there was indeed such a script in the world. “Looks like I might really have a chance to treat you all to a meal, huh?”

After a few more jokes, Lan He had two drinks and then took the opportunity to say he was going to wash his face, slipping away to the restroom once more.

Old Bai followed Lan He inside, a bit anxious as he asked, “What exactly did you see?”

Lan He asked him, “Didn’t First Lady Hu come?”

Old Bai replied, “The First Lady is really busy and couldn’t get away. Just tell me what happened.”

Lan He had no choice but to recount everything that happened today to Old Bai.

After hearing it all, Old Bai couldn’t help but say, “You’re done for…”

Lan He was startled, “What do you mean? Is it someone so powerful that even the Eastern Peak Underworld can’t offend them?” What kind of background could they have?

Old Bai: “You actually dared to secretly host a spirit before First Lady!”

Lan He: “…………”

Lan He: “Why do you care so much? Just get to the point.”

“From your description, I did think of someone,” Old Bai scratched his head, “but it shouldn’t be possible… How could she be out there? Back on Miaogan Mountain, First Lady Hu had a younger sister who worked with her, named Hu Si. First Lady Hu was born with spiritual powers, with fur on her belly shaped like the character ‘Tian,’ but Hu Si was a bit lacking and always claimed she had a ‘Niu’ character on her backside, which was later proven to be a lie.

“Anyway, she was quite dissatisfied with First Lady, and she liked to fight and compete. Her ears were bitten up, and when you mentioned a fox with such ears, the only one I could think of was Hu Si.”

Lan He was puzzled when he heard this, “Isn’t the Hu clan known for being harsh on themselves? 79’s tail is only half left, and she just has missing ears?”

Old Bai chuckled, “What do you think? Hu Si lost her tails long ago; even nine tails weren’t enough for her. She was one of the most vicious in the Hu clan.

“And later, Hu Si went down a dark path, specializing in inciting evil thoughts in pilgrims. The pilgrims would then argue and fight. When people fight, they exert true energy, and she would secretly absorb it, using it to cultivate, which made her grow rapidly. Eventually, Granny Wang San got angry and punished her to build incense paths for five hundred years. Logically, she should still be on the mountain serving her punishment…”

Lan He pondered, “But that fox was very good at transformation techniques. Could she have fooled First Lady?”

Old Bai confidently replied, “Even if she could fool First Lady, she couldn’t fool Granny Wang San and the Goddess of Mount Tai. That was on Miaogan Mountain! Although times have changed, the Goddess’s temple in the capital area still holds significant influence, right?”

Lan He thought for a moment and then slowly raised his head, saying, “But what if something has gone wrong with Miaogan Mountain’s warding item? I’ve heard a version that says the golden dome of Miaogan Mountain might be a kind of metal warding item. The metal in the Bright Five Wards is the great bell of Juehui Temple, so could the metal in the Dark Five Wards be the golden dome of Miaogan Mountain, which happens to be located in the western part of the capital…”

Old Bai began to panic a little. He didn’t know the exact locations of the Dark Five Wards, but what Lan He said seemed plausible. After all, besides Hu Si, no other fox would dare to be so bold, and if Hu Si could leave the mountain, even if it wasn’t due to a problem with the golden dome, it still wasn’t good. Moreover, thinking about how First Lady was getting increasingly exhausted…

“This… this… I need to go to Miaogan Mountain and talk to First Lady myself.” Old Bai couldn’t sit still, “You be careful. Hu Si is vengeful, and if it really is her, she might be causing trouble. And that Xiao Song… well, he naturally attracts spirits.”

“Wait, what about the golden threshold she dropped?” Lan He asked, “I left it with Yi Ping. Do you want to take it too?”

“What good would it do me to take the golden threshold? It’s just a piece of wood,” Old Bai said, “What’s important is the golden mouse underneath the golden gateposts. She casually used the golden threshold as a substitute, but that thing seems to be quite valuable in the mortal world. You… you should return it to the person who bought the golden threshold!”

“Huh?” Lan He didn’t even know who had bought the golden threshold. He might be able to ask his colleagues from the previous crew, but they weren’t familiar, so it would be too abrupt. He wasn’t well acquainted with others in the capital who dealt with the underworld either, but he did come up with an idea, “Can I just hand it over to the police?”

Old Bai: “Do whatever you want!”

Lan He: “Then I’ll go find Officer Wang. By the way, I’m out of stock…”

Old Bai: “Out of stock of what?”

Lan He: “Uh… Xiao Lai happy paper.”

Old Bai: “???”

What is Xiao Lai happy paper? He only knew about Old Bai happy joss paper!

Moreover, only someone like a living impermanence could handle those things directly. Old Bai rolled his eyes and was about to leave.

Lan He had started calling the paper Officer Wang gave him “happy paper” because it was so useful—good quality and full of righteous energy. He was even thinking about whether Officer Wang could introduce him to some paper from the courts or other places to try out, wondering if it would be just as good.

“By the way, if you’re leaving,” Lan He called out to him one last time, “can you find an excuse to give that weasel outside a good beating? He’s been bullying my hedgehog.”

Old Bai: “Oh!”

…

Lan He walked back to the private room, not even glancing at the battered Melon Head Immortal or the bewildered Yi Ping, who was watching from the sidelines. It was getting late, and after chatting for a bit more, everyone was ready to leave.

Yu Hangjia had already paid the bill. They walked to the entrance, and the valet hadn’t yet brought their car from the parking lot, so they stood at the entrance waiting.

At that moment, Song Qiyun and his family also came out, “Hey, leaving already?”

“Yes, just waiting for the car. They’ve all had a couple of drinks, so we need to call for a designated driver,” Yu Hangjia said, eyeing Xuangguang, feeling that he was no different from before. He couldn’t figure out how people had said he was unusually proactive in asking for WeChat today.

“Our car is parked outside the alley, so we’ll head out first,” Song Qiyun said.

Song Futan looked at Lan He and asked, “Do you need a ride? You probably don’t have enough seats, right?”

Yu Hangjia was left in a bit of a mess: “…”

Originally, Liu Chunyang, Lan He, and the Chen siblings came in one car, but since they all had drinks, getting a designated driver would indeed make it a tight squeeze. They were even considering putting Liu Chunyang in Yu Hangjia’s car. Who knew that Song Futan would suddenly come up with this suggestion?

The Song family was calm, thinking that Song Futan was eager to discuss his script with Lan He. “Yes, why not? We can give you a ride. Lan He, come with us.”

“Ah… since Xuangguang suggested it, why don’t you go with them?” Liu Chunyang said, secretly thinking it felt like taking a kid on a matchmaking date. But it was just a passing thought since Xuangguang usually had such a cold demeanor.

“Thank you, Teacher Xuangguang,” Lan He said. Just then, the car pulled up, and he grabbed his luggage from the trunk and walked with Song Futan towards the alley.

…

Song Futan and Lan He kept a distance from the rest of the family. In fact, Mother Song also felt like it was a bit of a matchmaking situation and turned her head to look a few times, but her brother kept saying, “It’s fine, it’s fine, the movie is settled now.”

Of course, far behind them, in the shadows, was Yi Ping, who was quietly trailing along…

“Were you startled?” Lan He couldn’t help but chuckle softly, “Honestly, I didn’t know you were Teacher Xuangguang either. I thought I’d quickly offer a toast and then go find you, but when I saw we were in the same private room, I was a bit stunned too.”

“A mix of surprise and joy,” Song Futan also chuckled lightly.

“What I really wanted to say is just this. A few months ago, I was suddenly transferred to the Eastern Peak Underworld Office. So… I’ve been juggling filming with ghostly activities and fooling you for a few months now. You really don’t mind, do you?”

Song Futan shook his head. Who shares everything with someone they’ve just met? As for him, it was almost laughable how he had missed several chances to get to know Lan He earlier.

Besides, now all he felt was a sense of relief.

They had once stood side by side under the night sky, but at that time, they didn’t know each other’s names or origins, and their feelings were completely different from now. It was like a fleeting meeting. But now, Song Futan knew there would be more days to come.

“So,” Song Futan said, “you’re now a part-time demigod?”

Lan He: “…”

“More like a part-time Impermanence,” Lan He laughed, “Though I have elders in the family who are tailors, I never thought about making a living in the underworld. I haven’t even told anyone in the living world about it, let alone making money as a demigod. I’ve just been burning paper money and incense. I’ve been thinking that once a year is up, I’ll step down.”

He explained to Song Futan about his current relationship with the Underworld Office, how he originally didn’t want to get involved in anything, but somehow got entangled in various issues, just hoping to resolve them soon.

Song Futan nodded, “Being an Impermanence in the mortal world is indeed not easy…”

“Bro!” Dou Chunting suddenly sprang out from behind, naturally draping his arms over both Song Futan and Lan He’s shoulders, “Can you give me a lift too? I don’t want to go home.”

Song Futan: “…”

Just as Song Futan was about to kick Dou Chunting away, Dou Chunting curiously asked, “Also, what were you guys talking about? I think I heard something about ‘Impermanence In the mortal world’? What does that mean? Is it like a twist on ‘life is unpredictable’ with a mix of ‘the world isn’t worth it’? Why did you say it’s not easy?”

Lan He: “……………………”

He heard it!!

Lan He didn’t expect Dou Chunting’s hearing to be so good. Could this be the day he gets exposed?

They had just gotten carried away, chatting outside and letting slip some of these words, which Dou Chunting picked up on.

Knowing Lan He didn’t like others knowing, Song Futan decided to brush off Dou Chunting, figuring he only caught a word and didn’t know the whole story, so it would be easy to dismiss.

But Lan He reacted even faster, thanks to his experience, smoothly covering up, “It’s a new persona my agent suggested for me.”

Song Futan: “…”

Dou Chunting was shocked, “Huh? Other people go for things like ‘Mortal Cherry’ or ‘Mortal Fairy,’ and you’re going for ‘Mortal Impermanence’? That’s so creative! But this path is definitely unique. The more I think about it, the cooler it seems. Are you going to play a villain or something?”

Lan He: “Yeah, I was even thinking of going with ‘Mortal Evil Spirit.’ In Director Liu’s film, I’m playing the big bad boss. Just don’t tell anyone, okay? We’re still unsure about it. Besides, it sounds a bit scary, and it might mean I’ll never play a good guy again.”

Dou Chunting: “Oh, oh! I think that makes sense!”

Song Futan: “…………”

…Our Xiao Lai is really good at his day job. Such a convincing actor.

---

Author’s Note:

Heaven and Hell:

Song Futan: “Awesome, he’s a living Impermanence.”

Yi Ping: “I want to die, he’s a living Impermanence!!”

Song Futan: “Awesome, Xiao Lai is such a good actor.”

Yi Ping: “Let me die! Why is he such a good actor!!”