Fu Jingfan felt Su Huaiming gently nuzzle against him again. His gaze darkened, and he looked down at the person in his arms.
Su Huaiming didn't notice Fu Jingfan's gaze. He was still trying to blow the strand of hair away, unconsciously rubbing against Fu Jingfan's chest to relieve the itch. He thought his movements were discreet, but Fu Jingfan saw everything.
Su Huaiming was really trying hard at this—harder than he had ever tried at anything before.
Fu Jingfan didn't have a free hand, and even if he had, he wouldn't have helped. He let Su Huaiming continue rubbing lightly against him.
The itch was driving Su Huaiming up the wall, and he could barely maintain his calm expression. Just as he was about to reach the limit of his endurance, he felt the support beneath him shift as he was placed on the bed.
While Fu Jingfan covered him with the blanket, Su Huaiming secretly buried his face in it and immediately got rid of the pesky strand of hair. He also gave his face a good scratch.
He thought he hadn't given himself away, but his skin marked easily, and there was a red patch on his cheek.
Fu Jingfan stood over him at the bedside, looking down at Su Huaiming, who was still pretending to sleep despite his unsteady breathing. "If you tell me how you got mistaken for a dog, I won't have the Family Doctor come over."
Su Huaiming: ?????
Did Fu Jingfan mean... he already knew he was pretending to be unconscious?!
After hesitating for a few seconds, Su Huaiming quietly opened his eyes a crack, only to meet Fu Jingfan's gaze.
Fu Jingfan's eyes were pitch-black, without a trace of light in them, yet they seemed capable of seeing straight through a person's soul.
Su Huaiming knew he'd been found out. He decided to give up the act, opened his eyes, and sat up in bed, his hair a mess.
He looked at Fu Jingfan suspiciously. "If I tell you what happened, you won't call the Family Doctor or tell anyone else?"
Fu Jingfan nodded.
Su Huaiming considered Fu Jingfan trustworthy and saw no reason for him to lie. Only then did he speak, his voice very quiet. "I was just walking along, minding my own business, when she came up and called me a dog. What was I supposed to do?... But it wasn't her fault either. She wasn't wearing glasses and mistook the trash can next to me for a dog. I happened to be standing right beside it, wearing the same color as the trash can, so it was understandable that I misunderstood her."
"Anyway, neither of us was wrong, and you can't make fun of me for it! And you definitely can't tell anyone!"
His voice at the end was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, almost inaudible. Once he'd finished, he ventured a look at Fu Jingfan to see how he would react.
"Y-you're not holding back a laugh, are you?" Su Huaiming asked suspiciously when he saw Fu Jingfan's impassive expression.
"No." Fu Jingfan paused, then said, "It just doesn't surprise me that something like this happened to you."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Su Huaiming bristled, nearly leaping to his feet on the bed. "Are you saying I look like a dog, so it's easy for people to mistake me for one?!"
"You said that yourself," Fu Jingfan said mildly.
Su Huaiming: "..."
Seeing Su Huaiming glare up at him, looking ready to leap up and bite him like a dog, Fu Jingfan finally finished what he'd meant to say. "You're always running into strange things I've never seen before. They're novel, and they've given me a certain expectation, so I don't find it strange that this happened to you."
Su Huaiming: "..."
He frowned, thinking Fu Jingfan had said a whole lot of useless things in an overly refined way.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Su Huaiming pressed.
Fu Jingfan didn't explain. Instead, he looked down at him and said, "Get some rest. I won't have the Family Doctor come up, and I won't tell anyone about this."
With that, Fu Jingfan left without making any further attempt to soothe Su Huaiming.
Su Huaiming watched Fu Jingfan's retreating figure and waited until the door had closed before letting out a loud huff.
He couldn't shake the feeling that Fu Jingfan was messing with him... But given Fu Jingfan's mature and steady character in the book, surely he wouldn't do something like that.
Still, Su Huaiming held it against Fu Jingfan and decided not to bring him a late-night snack today or tomorrow!
Su Huaiming's emotions passed as quickly as they came. Besides, he was easygoing by nature and thought it was fine as long as the video of him being mistaken for a dog hadn't gotten out. The online discourse didn't affect him in the slightest.
Su Huaiming played on his phone in bed for a while longer, and soon it was time to sleep. After spending quite some time psyching himself up, he finally emerged from the cozy bed and prepared to take a shower.
A storm was raging online, and probably no one would have guessed that Su Huaiming, the person at the center of it, was so relaxed.
Ever since people learned that Fu Jingfan was Su Huaiming's mysterious husband, the topic had exploded. It occupied nearly all the trending searches, and all sorts of strange keywords had appeared.
Fu Jingfan was incredibly influential. His appeal rivaled that of a top celebrity, and he was powerful—the embodiment of capital. The news of his marriage was more sensational than all the top celebrities holding a mass wedding together.
[Ahhhhhh, I can't accept this! How could my idol be married, and to Su Huaiming of all people!]
[Fu Xiaoxiao is his child, so was Fu Jingfan married before this?]
[I don't care. Su Huaiming isn't good enough for Fu Jingfan. They have to divorce!]
[Divorce! Divorce tomorrow! I won't let my idol be sullied by someone like Su Huaiming!!]
[Can Su Huaiming have some self-awareness and hurry up and divorce him? Does he deserve someone like Fu Jingfan?!]
These people dragged Su Huaiming through the dirt, as if he had taken terrible advantage of Fu Jingfan by marrying him. But another group felt quite the opposite.
[Divorce sounds great! Fu Jingfan, hurry up and give me back my wife!]
[Exactly. I haven't dared call him my wife in ages. It's been so hard on me.]
[Ahhhhhh, Fu Jingfan, that dog of a man! Even if there's no love between them, he can't just dump my wife by the roadside! That's too much!]
[They have to divorce! Su Huaiming, hurry up and focus on your career. Why keep a dog of a man like that around for the New Year?!]
[I may not have money, but I have no shame. I can steal bicycles to support you!]
The two groups had different views, but the same goal: they wanted Su Huaiming and Fu Jingfan to divorce. Almost no one online thought their marriage would last.
Su Huaiming had just terminated his contract with his unscrupulous company and cleared up what had happened on the talent show, improving his reputation considerably. But because of this video, the general public's impression of him had fallen again. Compared with before, at least some people were defending him, but things still looked bad.
To make matters worse, the chocolate brand that had previously planned to work with Su Huaiming suddenly posted a new message on Weibo.
[@Liqueur-Filled Chocolate: Sweetness is doubled and joy is multiplied with you here. Thank you for joining our big family! Let's work hard together and let the sweetness of chocolate and your smile bring healing to everyone's lives! @Ning Lei @Ning Lei's Studio]
As soon as the post went up, nosy netizens pushed it onto the trending searches, and the comment section was flooded.
[???? Weren't they going to do a promotional livestream with Su Huaiming? Didn't that prove he was their new spokesperson? Why did they suddenly switch?]
[The person above is so mean. Why bring that up? Can't you spare Su Huaiming some embarrassment! Doge.jpg]
[Well done. I was just thinking that if Su Huaiming became your spokesperson, I'd blacklist your chocolate. This is great—I'm willing to eat your chocolate for the rest of my life!]
[Wait, wasn't Ning Lei originally supposed to be a guest on the parenting variety show? He missed the last episode because his child was sick, and he'll most likely be back this time. Is he openly snatching resources?]
[Wow, the next episode of the parenting show is going to be great!]
[Not necessarily. Maybe the parenting show will kick Su Huaiming off too.]
[I just want to know if Su Huaiming is still going to livestream.]
[It's scheduled for tomorrow. We'll find out then, won't we?]
[If I were Su Huaiming, I'd keep my tail between my legs and stay out of sight instead of popping up now.]
[If Su Huaiming dares to livestream, he can't blame me for going into his stream and cursing him out!]
The topic remained hot, and netizens continued to debate, eager to find out whether Su Huaiming would back down or stubbornly go ahead with the livestream.
Time ticked by, and under the netizens' breathless anticipation, the appointed time finally arrived.
But Su Huaiming's livestream didn't appear on the platform.
[Hahahaha, Su Huaiming chickened out after all.]
[Even if he wanted to livestream, Fu Jingfan wouldn't agree.]
[I hope the next news I hear about Su Huaiming is that he and Fu Jingfan are divorcing. Praying hands.jpg]
The netizens were all making snide remarks, but three minutes later, Su Huaiming's livestream opened, slapping them in the face.
[!!! Su Huaiming really has guts. He actually dared to livestream in the middle of all this.]
[Good thing he did. I was worried I wouldn't have anywhere to curse him out.]
[I'm dying. The livestream was originally supposed to promote chocolate. What's he livestreaming for now?]
As everyone waited, a picture suddenly appeared on the livestream.
Su Huaiming's face wasn't visible; only the smooth line of his jaw could be seen.
[???? What kind of angle is this?]
[Su Huaiming doesn't have a double chin. I'm so jealous.]
[Anyone who can survive this death angle is definitely handsome.]
Su Huaiming was sitting on the bay window reading, his phone casually set down beside him.
He couldn't wait to turn the page, but the butler, who was watching the livestream, kept sending him messages, so Su Huaiming had no choice but to pick up his phone again.
He gave a casual greeting. "Hello, everyone..."
After that, he froze, sitting so still it looked as though the livestream had stalled.
What should I say next?
Su Huaiming had no experience watching livestreams and had no idea what other streamers did.
He recalled his conversation with the brand that day and realized something. He leaned closer to the screen, trying to read the comments so he could pass the time by interacting with viewers.
[Ahhhhhh, a beauty crit!]
[That's cheating! How am I supposed to curse you out when you suddenly come this close?!]
[Su Huaiming definitely has a beauty filter on, right?]
[I'm dying. He looked just like this on the variety show livestream. You sour grapes, would it kill you to admit someone else is good-looking?]
The comments were scrolling by very quickly, packed tightly together. Su Huaiming looked at them for quite a while and saw that many people were asking about the video.
"That video wasn't edited," Su Huaiming continued. "But it's not what people online are saying. We were going to go home together that day, but Fu Jingfan suddenly had business at the company and went back, so he sent another driver to pick me up."
"Of course it's true. Why would I lie to you?"
"Divorce? We don't have any intention of doing that for now. I suggest you bear with it a little longer."
"Why am I livestreaming? Fu Jingfan suggested it."
"It really was him. He even found someone to help me manage the livestream... Why would I lie to you about something like that?"
"My relationship with Fu Jingfan?" Su Huaiming thought for a moment, then said, "To be precise, he's the one who isn't very familiar with me, but he wouldn't go so far as to leave me by the roadside."
After finishing with a blank expression, Su Huaiming remembered that his character was deeply in love with Fu Jingfan and should have looked sad saying something like that.
He coughed twice in an exaggerated manner and lowered his head, as if too sad to face anyone.