Chapter 20

Ning Luo was already thinking about changing hotels.

[No, I'll tell Director Wang to switch hotels later. We're moving out over the next two days.]

[Whenever I think about Jin Rong going dark and imprisoning people, whipping them, locking them in a little dark room, I worry about my own safety. Would a rabid dog like that suddenly bite someone?]

Horrified by this, Wang Lin urgently gathered the entire crew and told them not to provoke the neighboring production unless absolutely necessary—especially Director Jin Rong.

Ning Luo nodded repeatedly. "We should switch hotels too."

[When Rong comes from afar, however far he may be, he shall be executed!]

Wang Lin said, "Right. We'll move within the next two days. Production manager, arrange it now."

With that major concern settled, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang Lin's gaze fell on Ning Luo, and he offered a kindly inquiry. "How many pounds have you lost?"

Ning Luo: "..."

When he finally stepped on the scale, he had lost five pounds.

Wang Lin was satisfied. "Not bad. Keep it up."

Ning Luo looked utterly defeated. "Director Wang, do you know what I ate yesterday?"

"What?"

Ning Luo could count it on one hand. "One piece of beef, two eggs, that was it. Then I acted all day. My body thinks I'm about to die."

To lose weight that quickly, aside from eating only enough to maintain vital functions, the only other option was amputation.

Wang Lin patted him. "Losing weight is a trivial matter. You can handle it. Actors are selected from the best of the best, so don't lose at the starting line."

Ning Luo weakly pushed him away. "Then I'd rather lose at the starting line. Better than losing at the finish line."

Wang Lin: ?

Ning Luo said, "Saves me a run."

Wang Lin encouraged him, "You should still run. It helps with weight loss."

"..."

The little person in Ning Luo's heart had already rolled him up and kicked him two miles away.

After complaining to Wang Lin—though he had received not the slightest bit of sympathy—Ning Luo went back to curling up in a corner to grow mushrooms. He found a stick and scratched lines into the ground, trying to hypnotize himself into believing he was not hungry at all.

But the resentment in his heart was enough to raise ten Evil Sword Immortals.

Just then, Xu Ling called him.

"The issue with your magazine shoot with Lu Tingzhou is still being argued about online. I was worried Lu Tingzhou would get angry and think we were trying to ride his coattails for publicity, so I called his agent to test the waters. They were quite generous and said it was fine. They even helped us out."

"But don't make any statements right now, and don't reply to those nasty comments either. No need to invite trouble."

"Okay, I know," Ning Luo said. Hugging his growling stomach, he wrote the character "Lu" on the ground and asked darkly, "Are there a lot of people up there cursing me out?"

He had always been good at listening to other people's opinions.

In a moment, he would log into his alt account and see who had opinions about him.

"There are definitely people cursing you. What celebrity doesn't get cursed at? But it's not as bad as you think. Your recent crazy antics actually won you a wave of casual supporters. Quite a few netizens said they were just here for the gossip, but they were taking your side too."

"The main issue is that Lu Tingzhou's fans are making a huge fuss. They think you aren't worthy of him and that you're throwing yourself at him. Just let that stuff go in one ear and out the other."

The moment Ning Luo heard that, he quickly scribbled out the character Lu, his resentment soaring. "I'm worthy of heaven, worthy of earth, worthy of being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. I'm not worthy of him? I'm worthy of killing him!"

Xu Ling: "..."

Have you seen a doctor recently?

Ning Luo logged onto his alt account as soon as he hung up on Xu Ling.

His standards had fallen to a terrifying level. Even standing on the ground, he could flip the whole world off.

He did not even need to search. His own name was right there in the recommended posts on the homepage.

He really had become famous.

[Who even wants to look at Ning Luo's face? The entertainment industry having him is no different from a pot of porridge with rat droppings in it.]

[Crotch on Fire: You've done so much evil, so it's normal that you know him.]

[Ning Luo, stop acting crazy and stupid online all day. My friends and I hate you.]

[Crotch on Fire: If one person hates Ning Luo, that's that person's problem. If a group of people hates Ning Luo, it means you all know each other.]

[What's going on? Can someone fill me in? Didn't Ning Luo avoid CP marketing and only have dating rumors? Has he gone into the adult industry?]

[Crotch on Fire: Not that. Good boys have no market. He's just too pure.]

[How are there still people who haven't watched Ning Luo's crazy video? I made a group chat. Scan the code to join. Membership is only—click the link to enter.]

Ning Luo took one look and thought, How was someone still making such heartless money?

[Crotch on Fire: From now on, don't spread anything that isn't obscene or pornographic. No other reason—I just don't want everyone's time wasted!]

Then he casually reported it.

He fired off comments online like a Peashooter, drawing the attention of quite a few netizens. Some people browsed through his Weibo profile before coming back.

[Your identity is way too complicated, isn't it? Lu Tingzhou dream girl + Ning Luo solo stan?]

Another netizen replied: [Or maybe they're a CP fan of both of them.]

The netizens below all agreed, feeling that they had uncovered the truth.

Ning Luo was unhappy. What CP fan? The only one who could be paired with him was—

[Crotch on Fire: Sorry, the only CP I ship is Ning Luo x RMB. Everything else is tasteless! That is my moral compass. Money blesses us all. 🙏]

Netizens: 666.

[Teacher Crotch on Fire, please accept me as your disciple.]

After unleashing a chain of moves online, Ning Luo felt refreshed. Then he remembered that he had not checked on his favorite Weibo writer's updates in a long time, and he clicked in with great anticipation.

He had been away for so long. There should be at least five or six hefty chapters saved up by now, right?

He could binge them all at once!

Ning Luo opened the familiar writer's Weibo, ready to enjoy some sweet fluff to soothe his wounded, fragile heart.

Only to discover that the writer had taken leave!

Not. One. Chapter. Updated!

It was a bolt from the blue.

Ning Luo clutched his head, his face a mask of agony.

[No... I don't believe it... Yanzi, how am I supposed to live without you, Yanzi!!]

Those last two words were drenched in blood and tears, mournful enough to linger forever. Those who heard them were saddened, and those who listened...

Wanted to slap him!

Wang Lin felt like the top of his skull was about to explode. Ning Luo's shout had directly triggered a magnitude-ten tsunami in his brain.

With trembling fingers, he pointed toward the door. "Ning Luo, go out and play for a while."

Just don't stay in this room!

Sun Shaoyi was even more direct. He shoved Ning Luo outside and shut the door in one smooth motion.

Leaving behind just one sentence: "This has nothing to do with you. Go play."

Driven out, Ning Luo squatted by the curb, wrapped his arms around his knees, and sadly hugged himself tight.

Taozi and Little Song had been driven out with him too.

Taozi looked eager to try. "Since we're free anyway, let's run around the set ten times!"

Ning Luo twisted in horror. "...Are you a demon?"

In the distance, Ning Xibai, who was waiting for his scene, spotted him from afar and turned his head away in disgust, out of sight, out of mind.

There were too many people around the filming site, and who knew what kind of crazy stunt Ning Luo might pull if he saw him.

Ning Luo had no shame, but he still did.

Cui Xiangyang happened to return after buying him milk tea and noticed something off about his expression. "What's wrong, Xibai?"

Ning Xibai shifted slightly to block Ning Luo from view, unwilling to cause more trouble. Frowning, he sighed. "You had the screenwriter add so many scenes for me. I don't know if I can act them well. And Second Brother has been trending nonstop these past few days. He's more popular than I am, and we'll be wrapping and releasing at around the same time. I'm afraid when the time comes..."

He understood the art of leaving things unsaid. He left three parts unspoken for Cui Xiangyang to guess.

Cui Xiangyang caught on immediately. "You're afraid you won't measure up to him then? You're overthinking it. With his acting, he'd even be terrible at playing a corpse. The magazine pictures only looked good because they were Photoshopped. Just relax."

Ning Xibai accepted the milk tea. "I'm still worried. What if I'm not as good as him?"

Seeing his worried expression, an idea flashed through Cui Xiangyang's mind.

Everyone in the entertainment industry could hire troll armies. When the time came, he could just hire a black PR army. He would make sure they cursed Ning Luo so badly that he quit the industry after his next project.

But he could not tell Xibai that. He was so kind that he definitely would not agree.

Cui Xiangyang only said, "Don't worry. I won't let him surpass you. What the hell is he, anyway?"

Ning Xibai was relieved and smiled as he took a sip of the milk tea.

The cloying sweetness that coated his throat froze his smile.

Cui Xiangyang asked, "What's wrong? Is it not good? I ordered full sugar because I was afraid it wouldn't be sweet enough."

Ning Xibai forced it down. "It's good."

Irritably, he thought, Full sugar, full sugar, full sugar—it was actually full sugar!

How long would he have to eat diet meals because of this cup of milk tea?

Cui Xiangyang was delighted. "That's good. Oh, right, we're going to have luosifen hotpot later!"

Ning Xibai: "..."

If your cravings are that bad, go eat it yourself!

—

Nie Wentao had originally been in the office discussing investments with Lu Tingzhou.

At Lu Tingzhou's level of wealth, the bank assigned a financial advisor specifically to manage his assets. It was a free service the bank provided to premium clients.

The person handling his account was Manager Yao, who had been switched in not long ago.

Manager Yao was analyzing investment and wealth management options while Lu Tingzhou lounged lazily on the sofa, his legs crossed as he drank coffee, looking calm and at ease.

But Manager Yao did not dare be careless. He clearly analyzed the pros and cons of every investment, cautiously offering his professional assessment.

When his throat grew dry and he wanted some water, a glass of warm water was already slid over beside him.

He looked up and met Lu Tingzhou's smiling phoenix eyes. After a pause, he said, "Thank you, Mr. Lu."

"You're welcome." Lu Tingzhou withdrew his hand and sat back. "Let's go with your plan."

It was Manager Yao's first time meeting someone so easygoing, as if Lu Tingzhou would invest in anything he said without caring in the slightest about his own assets. Unable to help himself, he asked, "Aren't you afraid I might deceive you, Mr. Lu?"

If he remembered correctly, hadn't the cultural creative company Lu Tingzhou invested in recently just collapsed in scandal?

"Do you know where your predecessor went?" Lu Tingzhou asked. Seeing him shake his head, he said unhurriedly, "He went to plant trees in the desert, with my brother."

Those eyes held a hint of amusement even when he was not smiling. "I invested in a charity project, and the two of them are very passionate about charity, so they decided to stay in the desert for five or six years before coming back."

A chill ran through Manager Yao. He hurriedly lowered his eyes and forced a smile. "Ah, is that so? They really are such warmhearted people."

Seeing how obviously frightened he was, Lu Tingzhou's eyes gained a hint of amusement as he sincerely invited him, "I just invested in another charity project. It's about delivering blessings to impoverished mountain areas, and we're still short a volunteer. I just don't know whether Manager Yao likes charity work."

Manager Yao held it in for a long while. "...Don't worry, Mr. Lu. I will definitely serve you with utmost dedication."

"..."

Watching Manager Yao speed through the remaining business and leave in a hurry, Nie Wentao turned to Lu Tingzhou. "Why did you scare him?"

"I didn't scare him." Lu Tingzhou set down his coffee, and the cup made a soft clink against the table.

The smile on his face faded, and he scoffed coldly. "If they dare pull any more stunts, I'll send the whole group to Africa to feed mosquitoes."

Nie Wentao: "..."

He skipped over that topic. "I've also been looking at a few TV dramas lately. They have great investment potential, all adaptations of popular IPs. Let's invest together. One of them happens to be the one your cousin will act in. We can be his sugar daddies."

"You decide."

After saying that, Lu Tingzhou picked up the phone that had been vibrating the whole time.

Nie Wentao asked, "Someone looking for you?"

Lu Tingzhou unlocked his phone, glanced at the notifications, and curved his lips. "No. Just push notifications."

Nie Wentao did not ask further.

Naturally, he did not see Lu Tingzhou open the homepage of the specially followed account named "Crotch on Fire" and examine his morning's achievements.

[Your special follow @Crotch on Fire just posted a comment...]

[Your special follow @Crotch on Fire just posted a comment...]

[Your special follow @Crotch on Fire just posted a comment...]

Lu Tingzhou liked the comment that said, [Good boys have no market. He's just too pure], then opened the private messages and typed a sentence.

[L: Can I ask what you like about Lu Tingzhou? Do you think, like everyone else, that he has good character and a good personality?]

Teacher Crotch on Fire was still fighting on the front lines. He only saw the message when he went to the rear for supplies.

[Crotch on Fire: How could I possibly like something he doesn't have?]

[Crotch on Fire: So I only like his face.]

Lu Tingzhou asked Nie Wentao, "Do you think I have a good personality and good character?"

Nie Wentao replied, "Have you lost all self-awareness?"

Then he added, "Why bring that up? You're so funny in the middle of the day."

Lu Tingzhou was not angry either. He replied, "Nothing. I met someone who sees through appearances just like you."

"Then he should stay far away from you before he gets tricked into working for you his whole life like I did." Nie Wentao put on a grave expression.

Lu Tingzhou smiled.

[L: I also think that face is good-looking.]

The other person replied instantly, clearly surfing the internet at high intensity.

[Crotch on Fire: Bro-sis, you have great taste.]

[Crotch on Fire: High-class handsome men should be paired with low-class people like us.]

Lu Tingzhou did not know how the two of them had become "us," so he took a screenshot of the "pure boy" comment and sent it to Ning Luo.

[L: Your idol is a pure college boy, so don't be too low-class either.]

The old Ning Luo had worked diligently to maintain that persona.

[Crotch on Fire: You don't understand.]

Lu Tingzhou raised a brow. He didn't understand?

[Pants on Fire: Fame cuts both ways; today a college guy, tomorrow a young stepmother]

[Pants on Fire: Staying forever young, forever making up personas to fool himself]

Nie Wentao had been communicating and negotiating with the production team he was about to invest in when he suddenly heard a burst of laughter.

Turning around, he saw Lu Tingzhou sitting on the sofa with the corners of his lips slightly raised, laughter flowing from his eyes and brows.

"By the way," Lu Tingzhou said without looking up when he noticed his gaze, "do you have any scripts about transmigration or rebirth? Bring them to me for a look."