Holy Shit? The Beauty Is Jiang Fang?!

Jiang Fang and the cat stared at each other.

Neither said a word.

He scratched the kitten under the chin with a finger, and it closed its eyes in bliss, purring away.

What was he supposed to do?

Jiang Fang thought he had been discreet, unaware that he had long become the center of attention. People stole glances at him, then gathered to whisper among themselves.

"Kitty! Cute kitty and a gorgeous beauty, waaah, they're too adorable!"

"Shh, keep it down, or you'll scare the kitty away."

"Oh no, why did that handsome guy bring a cat? They're checking for prohibited items up ahead. Cats count too, right? Even if it's such a cute kitty."

"Oh no, oh no, it's almost the beauty's turn! What do we do? The kitty's going to get caught!"

As they talked, the line slowly moved forward.

Just as it was nearly Jiang Fang's turn, a burst of startled cries suddenly came from ahead.

"Wow!"

"Holy shit! A rich guy!"

"Who's that? He looks familiar."

"You don't know him? That rich second-generation kid from Wilderness Survival. I think his name's Lin Sen."

"Holy shit! He really came? I thought those gossip accounts were making it up. Does that mean Jiang Fang came too?"

At the familiar name, Jiang Fang tucked the cat back inside and raised a brow toward the front.

He had not noticed before, but only a few people stood between him and Lin Sen.

Lin Sen was having his luggage inspected. The moment his two large suitcases were opened, they revealed a dazzling array of items: luxury-brand clothing, a huge box of high-end skincare products, and all sorts of expensive accessories and jewelry.

Jiang Fang could not help clicking his tongue at the sight. Was Lin Sen here to join a show, or on vacation?!

Lin Sen himself did not think there was anything wrong with it.

In his previous life, he had stopped at nothing to get ahead, sinking deeper and deeper into the swamp that was the entertainment industry. He had been terrified of poverty. His life after rebirth was something he had never even dared dream of before.

He could have anything he wanted. Things he could not afford even after saving for an entire lifetime in his past life were now nothing more than pocket change to him.

The more someone lacked something, the more they wanted to flaunt it. Even after being reborn, Lin Sen could not change the poverty-stricken mindset rooted in his bones.

Listening to the envy and praise around him, Lin Sen felt utterly refreshed.

He was rich now!

The things others envied but could not bear to buy were within his reach whenever he wanted!

The inspection was quickly cleared. After all, he was one of the show's investors, so a few minor prohibited items were perfectly normal.

"Next."

After making sure the cat was not giving anything away, Jiang Fang pulled his suitcase to the inspection station.

"Please open your suitcase. We need to check for prohibited items, such as electronic entertainment devices and junk food."

Jiang Fang nodded. He had only come to take a look and had not truly planned to debut, so he had not brought much—just a few changes of clothes and daily necessities.

Suddenly, the administrator's gaze sharpened.

"What's this?" He pointed at a brightly colored stick with feathers on it sticking out from the edge of the suitcase.

Jiang Fang: ...

When had the kitten dragged that in? How had he not noticed?

"A cat teaser..."

"A cat teaser?" the administrator asked, frowning in confusion.

The situation drew plenty of attention, and people began looking over at Jiang Fang and the administrator.

Lin Sen's expression darkened in displeasure.

He glanced over as well. There was barely anything in the suitcase, and it was all unbranded junk.

Heh. That was it?

He rolled his eyes disdainfully.

Quite a few contestants who had seen the cute kitty earlier could not help sweating for Jiang Fang.

They silently prayed that the cat would not make a sound.

But some people could not stand it and quietly complained, "What's this? This is clearly a competition venue, and he brought a cat teaser to play with a cat here?"

Hearing that, Lin Sen turned to look at the speaker.

Then his gaze landed on the crossbody bag in front of Jiang Fang. Its zipper was not fully closed, and something white and fluffy seemed to be peeking through the gap.

Lin Sen immediately thought of that stupid cat Jiang Fang had picked up on the deserted island.

He looked toward Jiang Fang.

Jiang Fang happened to have his back to Lin Sen. From behind, Lin Sen could only make out his figure, but it really did look somewhat familiar.

Suddenly, Jiang Fang turned around. Even with a mask on, Lin Sen recognized him at once.

So it really was you.

Seeing Jiang Fang about to be publicly humiliated, Lin Sen did not even care that the spotlight had been stolen from him. He crossed his arms and watched the show from the side. When he heard someone beside him grumbling in dissatisfaction, he even leaned over to add fuel to the fire.

"Could he be some famous person acting entitled and throwing his weight around?"

Talent shows were ultimately decided by online votes from viewers and fans. The more votes someone received, the more likely they were to debut. And having fame meant having a head start over newcomers from the very beginning.

Many people would think, We're all newcomers, so why should someone who's already famous and debuted compete with us? That's unfair.

They might even be hostile toward well-known competitors.

It was obvious what Lin Sen was trying to do by saying that.

However...

Perhaps he was too happy at the thought of Jiang Fang embarrassing himself, because he forgot that he himself belonged to the category of "famous people."

As a result, he received a strange, faintly hostile look from the person beside him.

The complainer thought: I don't know whether the masked guy is famous or entitled, but Lin Sen is famous, and he definitely doesn't look easy to get along with.

Lin Sen's first attempt at stirring things up had failed.

He had lost both the bait and the fish.

At the manor entrance.

By then, the administrator had set down the cat teaser. After thinking about it, he did not confiscate it, since it did not seem to fall under the category of prohibited items.

"All right."

The moment the administrator spoke, everyone around them breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The kitty had been saved!

The competition was important, of course, but just thinking about being able to cuddle and play with the cat after exhausting training instantly restored everyone's energy.

Naturally, someone who could not stand it had just hidden in the crowd and opened their mouth to protest when the administrator's next move cut them off.

"Wait—"

The administrator suddenly noticed Jiang Fang's crossbody bag and waved for him to stop.

Jiang Fang obediently stopped.

"The small bag needs to be opened too."

Jiang Fang: ...Ah, well.

Fine.

Jiang Fang compromised.

As though it shared a telepathic connection with Big Kitty, the kitten poked its head out before Jiang Fang could even open the bag.

Suddenly—

A round little cat head emerged from the cream-colored crossbody bag, which was about the size of two palms.

"Meow~" This big kitty was coming out!

Jiang Fang: helpless.jpg

The surroundings instantly fell silent.

The administrator's pupils contracted as he immediately looked at Jiang Fang.

Feeling all the eyes on itself and Big Kitty, the kitten stiffened.

Why was everyone looking at it like that?

The cat blinked, tilting its head at the crowd.

"Meow~"

Who could withstand an attack of cuteness like that? Many people were so overwhelmed by its adorableness that their hearts itched, and they wanted nothing more than to rush over and take a huge sniff.

Even the stern administrator's heart turned soft and squishy.

Seeing that, Jiang Fang blinked and lifted the kitten from the bag, holding it beneath its forelegs with both hands. Man and cat looked innocently at the administrator. "Is this a prohibited item too?"

The kitten did not know what Big Kitty had said, but Big Kitty could never be wrong, so it followed up with a sweet little meow.

The administrator thought: How could this not count?!

That was what he thought, but his heart had already been captured and shaken by the kitten, and he could not bring himself to say it right away.

The director's list of prohibited items did not mention kittens anyway. Maybe he should ask first?

And everyone else?

Even the administrator had surrendered to the kitten's breathtakingly adorable face. Did anyone else need to be asked?

"It doesn't count!"

"How can a kitty count as a prohibited item?!"

The bolder ones shouted it right there on the spot.

Exactly! How could a kitty be considered a prohibited item?

The loudest of all was the brave soul who had complained about Jiang Fang playing with a cat in front of Lin Sen earlier.

Lin Sen looked at the person before him, who seemed to have become an entirely different person and was grinning idiotically at that stupid cat, then silently took two steps back.

He could not understand it. How had things turned out like this?

The proper development should have been that stupid cat getting confiscated, leaving Jiang Fang humiliated and unable to step down!

If the brave soul beside him had heard those thoughts, they would definitely have sneered and complained: The kitten is the cutest in the world! How could it possibly be a prohibited item?

The speed of that change was astonishing.

Heir to the Sichuan opera face-changing tradition.jpg

Lin Sen was very displeased that he had not gotten to see Jiang Fang die of embarrassment.

Looking at how everything was currently leaning in his favor, Jiang Fang silently gave the kitten a thumbs-up. For some reason, he felt like parents who refused to let their child bring a cat home, only for the cat to say: Just bring me home. I'll handle the rest.

"Sorry. I live alone, and I really can't rest easy leaving the kitten at home by itself. I was going to ask a friend to look after it for a few days, but I don't know if it's because the kitten was abandoned before—it starts making a fuss as soon as it leaves me."

As he spoke, Jiang Fang, afraid the administrator would not believe him, directly placed the kitten into his arms.

The clever kitten saw Big Kitty blink at it and tried to recall what Big Kitty had just said.

Kitten, make a fuss?

The kitten instantly understood and began meowing.

It was not the kind of miserable, unpleasant caterwauling. The kitten knew that two-legged creatures loved hearing it meow in a sweet voice, so it began letting out pitifully sweet cries.

The kitten might have been acting, but it was not far from the truth. Jiang Fang had previously wanted to leave the kitten with Yun Feng for a while and had taken it over for a trial run. The result was that the kitten went on a hunger strike, while Jiang Fang got a round of kitty punches and clingy, coquettish behavior from it.

To outsiders, the scene looked like this: Jiang Fang had put the kitten in the administrator's arms, and the kitten froze for a moment before staring at its owner in disbelief. Once it understood what was happening, it began meowing sadly and even let out a few whimpers, pacing back and forth across the administrator as it tried to return to Jiang Fang's arms.

A certified daddy's cat!

Everyone had only one thought: What was wrong with a kitty wanting to stick to its owner? What had the kitty done wrong? The production team was simply being too harsh.

The administrator was no exception.

Though he wanted to take a good sniff of the kitten and pet it bald, the moment he saw it "crying miserably," he could not bear it anymore and hurriedly returned it to Jiang Fang.

"Ahem, well, there are special circumstances here, so I need to ask the director. After all, this doesn't comply with the rules."

"By the way, what's your name?"

That question truly struck right at the hearts of the other contestants.

A gorgeous beauty and a kitty combination! Who would not want their contact information?

Even if they could not debut, there was still the cat to pet! If they became friends, would they not get both a beauty and a cat?

Just thinking about it felt like heaven on earth.

They waited eagerly for the masked beauty's answer.

The beauty held the cat and nodded at the administrator. Long, pale fingertips hooked down the black mask, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful face with an aggressively striking appeal. Deep peach-blossom eyes gleamed brightly in the sunlight.

"Jiang Fang."

Everyone: Jiang Fang? The beauty's name is Jiang Fang. Wait—Jiang Fang?!