Other people ditch their partners when they make it, but you fucking ditch your agent first?

The coward who had once meekly taken everything without daring to fight back had suddenly turned sharp-tongued and outrageously arrogant?!

Lu Siqi felt fury burning through his chest, almost ready to erupt.

As far as he was concerned, a mistress's bastard deserved only to kneel and apologize, doing everything possible to beg for forgiveness,

not act like this...

Doing his damnedest to get himself killed!

"Jian! Li!"

Lu Siqi growled, radiating danger as he advanced step by step toward the prey who should have been under his control.

Jian Li curled his lips. What do you want with your daddy, dumbass? was about to slip out.

But a cool, clear voice beat him to it.

"Settle your personal grudges somewhere else. I have an interview later. I don't have time to waste on you."

Lu Siqi whipped around. When he saw who had spoken, his eyes narrowed slightly. "Huo Xiao?"

He paused. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm interested. I want to participate. Is there a problem?" Huo Xiao asked tersely, his expression ice-cold.

Huo Xiao?

Wait.

That name sounds familiar.

Jian Li tilted his head and thought for a second. Suddenly, something flickered in his eyes.

Wasn't this guy the only villain in the original novel who could stand up to Lu Siqi?!

He hadn't received much page time, but he had left a deep impression,

especially with the later business war that had started in the entertainment industry and rapidly spread to every industry they were involved in. It had lasted an entire year, causing unprecedented stock-price volatility-a textbook corporate showdown.

The Huo and Lu families had been its driving forces.

Of course,

protected by his protagonist's halo, Lu Siqi had ultimately won,

but his opponent's strength was not to be underestimated, either.

Especially early in the story, his standing among the wealthy elite and his reputation both at home and abroad were beyond anything Lu Siqi could challenge.

So at this moment, a trace of wariness still lingered in the eyes of this idiot male lead.

Even if it vanished in a flash.

"Not at all." Lu Siqi resumed his elegant, refined smile and patted Lu Yuanhang's shoulder behind him. "This is my younger brother. Please look after him during filming, Xiao."

Huo Xiao's gaze swept casually over Lu Yuanhang's ingratiating face before turning to Jian Li. "You can start the other tests now."

Jian Li: "..."

With that swagger, he's definitely the main villain.

He nodded, pulled his lips into a perfunctory smile, and turned toward the starting point.

Seeing this, the agent beside the award-winning actor complained again. "You helped him out, and he didn't even thank you? What the hell..."

Halfway through, he received another glare.

Oh God, am I going to lose this month's bonus?!

Grumbling inwardly, the agent wilted like an eggplant hit by frost.

But a moment later, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Holy shit!

Could Xiao be interested in that weakling?

No wonder he's been single all these years.

So that's what he's into?

If I'd known, I would've acted like a pathetic little pushover to trigger his protective instincts, too.

Hiss-

Wait.

I've been playing the fucking pushover all along!

Why hasn't Xiao shown me even a shred of pity?!

While the agent, Qin Fei, was busy with his mental gymnastics, Jian Li finished his tests.

He strode over to the clothes he had casually tossed on the ground,

scooped them up, and put them on.

Then he slipped both hands into his pockets and headed for the door.

With that devil-may-care air, he looked like a slacker who couldn't care less about his test results.

In reality, however, he had not only passed every test but performed exceptionally well.

He had completely shattered the rumors that the original owner of his body was about to sleep his way onto the variety show.

After all, the paid trolls and gossip accounts had already prepared their lines, just waiting for Jian Li to embarrass himself so they could go to town.

Instead, they were now sitting at their keyboards with nothing to work with.

Fuck.

There's no way to smear him for this!

As he brushed past Lu Yuanhang, Jian Li suddenly stopped and raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I can't come in last for you anymore. Be careful out there. Don't have an accident."

"Otherwise, with that scrawny, sickly body of yours, if you get picked for the show, everyone's going to think your brother paid your way in."

With his own scheme anticipated and turned against him, Lu Yuanhang flushed bright red. "That's nonsense! I would never..."

"See ya!"

Jian Li had no interest in hearing his bullshit. He turned away and waved a hand over his shoulder.

His smug attitude left Lu Yuanhang seething,

but there was nothing he could do.

After all, the livestream cameras were behind him. He had to maintain his well-mannered image!

"Siqi, my chest feels tight-"

Seeing that Jian Li was about to leave the venue, Lu Yuanhang immediately threw himself into Lu Siqi's arms.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched that noticeably sturdier figure retreat, a sly curve briefly lifting his lips.

You love my brother so much you're willing to grovel and debase yourself. Seeing this must be breaking your heart!

"Jian Li, stop! Apologize to Yuanhang, or face the consequences!"

Lu Siqi shouted.

At the same time, he inexplicably felt a sense of danger, as though something was veering off course.

Yet the man he wanted to utterly destroy and crush, to keep firmly imprisoned at his side, acted as if he hadn't heard a thing and disappeared through the venue's entrance.

The live comments began flooding in.

[Why do these brothers feel like they're acting in some melodramatic romance? They're giving me goosebumps!]

[Wait, doesn't Lu Siqi's brother have a rare blood type? And isn't he frail and sickly? Why's he signing up for Lone Warrior? Is he looking for punishment?]

[If he gets picked despite all that, he definitely bought his way in. His brother's bankrolling him, after all. So much for a variety show produced by state TV!]

[Anyway, Jian Li's performance was really impressive. He completely shed his old weakling image and passed every training test. You can tell he trained specifically for this. That effort deserves recognition.]

[Not bad at all. And he's got such a badass way of talking! That's exactly my kind of energy!]

[...]

Jian Li received a call from his agent, Li Lin, as soon as he returned to his apartment.

He swiped to answer, and an eager voice came through.

"Great job, baby Li! All those ram dicks and kidneys weren't wasted. You really made me proud!"

"Are the results out?" Jian Li opened the fridge, took out a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, and had a sip.

"It's a sure thing!" Li Lin sounded excited. "Especially after Lu Yuanhang's test. That pretty much sealed it for you."

"That guy was hilarious. He actually passed out doing a push-up. He obviously doesn't have the stamina. If he still gets picked, the show's definitely rigged!"

At that, he paused and asked hesitantly, "They haven't asked you to donate blood, have they?"

Jian Li grinned. "Lu Siqi's on my phone's blocklist. He won't be getting out anytime soon."

"Good." Li Lin breathed a sigh of relief. Then something occurred to him, and he gave a couple of mischievous chuckles. "Come on, tell me. How do you know our award-winning actor Huo?"

"No wonder you've been so tough lately. Turns out you've found a new sugar daddy!"

"You mean Huo Xiao? He and I..." Jian Li settled into the couch and paused for a few seconds.

Li Lin immediately pricked up his ears for gossip. "What's going on between you two? Tell me!"

"Barely know each other." Jian Li laughed. "But I wouldn't mind passing along that slanderous sugar-daddy remark you just made."

Li Lin said, "D-do you have proof? I'm not admitting I said anything!"

"Li Lin, I always record my calls. What do you think?"

His ingrained surveillance habits as a mercenary weren't something he could shake overnight.

"Fine, fine, fine." Li Lin was so annoyed he nearly laughed. "Other people ditch their partners once they make it."

"But you? You fucking ditch your agent first?"