For now, though, netizens weren't focused on whether there was a sugar daddy. They only cared whether Xie Jianyuan and Xu Chun were genuinely close or just pretending, and they practically wanted to take a magnifying glass to every interaction the cameras had caught.
Su Li had originally planned to push a new trending topic to divert the netizens' attention. Now she didn't have to worry about it: #Xie Jianyuan, Xu Chun# was already high on the trending list.
"We did work together, after all." A faint smile touched Xu Chun's lips. He lowered his head and took a sip of herbal tea, then glanced at the ring on Su Li's finger. He paused, then asked as though nothing were amiss, "Sister Su, are you getting married?"
Su Li said, "Yes, we're planning to do it this month."
Xu Chun murmured in acknowledgment and looked at his teacup in silence. In his previous life, Su Li had married around this time too, but her marriage hadn't been a happy one. Her husband had not only cheated on her but also abused her. When the once-confident, spirited Su Li returned to work, she had looked much more haggard, and her expression had grown colder.
"Sister Su, I ran into your husband at Central Square a few days ago." Xu Chun had met Su Li's husband when he came to pick her up, so she thought nothing of it.
"What about it?"
Xu Chun smiled. "He was shopping at the mall with his younger sister. I was a little far away, so I didn't go over and say hello."
Su Li's face went white. "...Are you sure you didn't see wrong?" Her fiancé didn't have a younger sister.
Xu Chun frowned slightly, then seemed to realize something, and his brow smoothed out. "Then I must have seen wrong."
Su Li's expression grew grave. She pressed her lips together and said nothing.
When Xu Chun saw her again the next day, Su Li was pale and her eyes were bloodshot. Fortunately, she was in good spirits and informed everyone of the day's schedule with her usual brisk efficiency.
After finishing, she did something unusual and called Xu Chun over. She hesitated for a moment before softly thanking him, a sincere smile on her face.
"Xiao Chun, thank you."
Xu Chun had a rough idea that Su Li had probably broken up with that man, so he smiled and offered her a few words of comfort.
Su Li looked at him, her heart stirring with emotion. She had managed countless artists, and more of them than she could count had become famous under her care. She had never invested any real feelings in those artists. To her, they were merely packaged products, and her job was to sell them. Once they no longer had commercial value, they would be discarded immediately.
But Xu Chun was different now.
When Su Li thought of the warning he had given her that day, her heart warmed a little.
From Su Li's expression, Xu Chun could roughly guess what she was thinking. In this life, Su Li played no small role as his manager. In his previous life, after he had fallen out of favor, she had cast him aside like a disposable pawn. Although he knew that was only natural, he still felt a little uneasy.
Now it seemed he had nothing to worry about.
Xu Chun smiled faintly. He had made the right move.
After what happened last time, Xie Jianyuan and Xu Chun still worked for the same company and saw each other all the time. So when they ran into each other in the elevator, both men's staff were on high alert, while the two men themselves chatted away enthusiastically.
"I don't like spicy food," Xu Chun emphasized slowly, frowning slightly.
"Mm, then I'll use fewer chilies." Xie Jianyuan's eyes held a trace of indulgent affection that no one else could make out.
Satisfied, Xu Chun praised him. "I trust your cooking." He had eaten Xie Jianyuan's food before, and even judged by the most exacting standards, it was perfect.
The staff members nearby who had heard the entire exchange: ...
"Oh, right." Xu Chun hesitated for a while, but in the end he couldn't help thanking Xie Jianyuan for helping him out despite his team's objections.
"Thanks for what you did on Weibo."
Xie Jianyuan smiled. "It's nothing. You've helped me plenty too, Brother Chun."
Xu Chun nodded along, but after a while, it belatedly occurred to him that he didn't seem to have helped Xie Jianyuan much. So he voiced his doubts.
"Really? Then I must have remembered wrong." Xie Jianyuan didn't look flustered in the slightest. Smiling, he said, "Then I'll need your help in the future, Brother Chun."
"Help with what?" Xu Chun asked suspiciously.
Xie Jianyuan's gaze settled on Xu Chun's face, lingered on his pale lips, then he grinned, his smile innocent and harmless.
"You'll find out later."
Why be so mysterious? Xu Chun grumbled inwardly, but looking at Xie Jianyuan's smiling face, he couldn't bring himself to say anything in the end.
After the company stepped in to clarify the rumors about Xu Chun's sugar daddy on Weibo, they quietly died down.
That kind of baseless "scandal" had an impact on Xu Chun that was neither particularly great nor insignificant.
Thinking of Lu Xian, who had been playing dirty tricks behind the scenes, Xu Chun couldn't help smiling, the mockery in his eyes growing deeper.
He had lived two lives, after all, and could be said to know all about Lu Xian's scandals.
He had originally planned to pretend nothing was wrong as long as Lu Xian didn't come after him. But since the other man had started trouble first, he didn't need to show mercy.
Before long, a video began circulating online.
In the video, Lu Xian was being beaten to the ground in a parking lot. The people beating him looked like hired thugs, taking orders from a slightly plump, wealthy middle-aged woman. Lu Xian's assistant and bodyguards had been kept off to one side.
The video was very clear, and even the conversation could be heard distinctly.
"You bastard! You homewrecker who sells his ass!"
"Go on, fucking try seducing someone else's husband again!"
"Fuck. Fuck you."
The slightly plump woman kept shouting insults. A middle-aged man could also be seen cowering off to the side, his pants not even properly pulled up.
As soon as the video came out, it caused an uproar online. The number of comments and reposts was astonishing; after all, netizens rarely got gossip this direct and exciting.
Before long, however, Sina blocked the video, and it kept showing as unavailable. It seemed quite a few people behind the scenes were involved, which meant quite a few people had been involved with Lu Xian.