"Dinner's ready!" Aunt Fen carried in the chicken soup, anxiously watching where she was going for fear of spilling it, so she hadn't noticed what was happening over here.
Shen Lian: "..."
So close!
He'd almost kissed him!
Shen Lian pushed himself up with a hand on Chu Yilan's shoulder and drew a shallow breath. "Aunt Fen, let me help."
Chu Yilan turned his head slightly, unable to suppress a tight-lipped smile.
So innocent, yet trying to act experienced, Master Chu thought. For a full thirty seconds just now, Shen Lian's face had been flushed with embarrassment, and he still hadn't dared press those lips against his.
Still, his lips had a lovely shape and color. Chu Yilan silently lit a cigarette.
"Oh, why are you smoking when we're about to eat?" Aunt Fen couldn't help nagging. "Didn't you promise to quit?"
"Just one now and then," Chu Yilan said gently. "Don't worry."
Aunt Fen froze for a moment. When had Chu Yilan last spoken so calmly?
Then Aunt Fen asked why her washboard was here, and Shen Lian mumbled that he'd grabbed the wrong thing.
After dinner, they returned to their respective rooms. Only then did Shen Lian see the messages from Zhu Yingyu and the others, including his young assistant, Jiang You.
[Bro, you've blown up! Check the trending searches!]
[Shen Lian! You're incredible!]
Shen Lian opened Weibo. His usually lifeless inbox was now overflowing with messages, including quite a few from the official accounts of third-tier brands. He opened the trending searches and found his name still on the list.
His cosplay photos from the convention were everywhere. Because the Snake Flower Fans loved them, there were plenty of carefully edited shots, too. Some had even been photoshopped onto the anime's original backgrounds to make them more faithful to the source.
As for video and audio clips, there were heaps of those.
[Is that Shen Lian's real voice? I remember his line delivery being absolute garbage. Since when could he sound that deep and magnetic?]
[I was there. Can confirm that's really his voice.]
Amid all the praise, some haters were naturally stomping their feet in fury.
[Ha. Has that mutt Shen run out of opportunities and decided to break into cosplay? How pathetic.]
[Just a cheap little trick to get back into the public eye. What good will it do, though? I hear he's about to terminate his contract with Xingtu. Let's see who dares sign an artist with a reputation that rotten.]
[If Shen Lian makes a comeback, I'll eat my stockpot.]
Shen Lian tapped away on his phone, then tossed it onto the nightstand and went straight to sleep.
He couldn't care less what fresh bloodbath his appearance had unleashed.
Shen Lian V: @LoveRiverSnailNoodles [Sure. I'll be waiting for you to eat that stockpot raw. Remember to livestream it.]
[Bro, what have you been up to lately? You've got some serious guts now!]
Shen Lian didn't take any of this online fuss seriously. The same principle still applied: buzz was temporary. He needed to find a reliable entertainment company quickly.
Xingtu didn't want to miss out on this wave of traffic, either, and intended to talk to Shen Lian again. Qian Gao called him personally, asking him to attend a banquet in three days. Plenty of celebrities would be there, so it counted as an olive branch.
He was still under contract. Whatever the circumstances, Shen Lian had to go.
This time, he told Chu Yilan. The man gave a soft "Mm," acknowledging him.
Jiang You drove over with the suit for the banquet. It bore a brand logo, making the promotional angle obvious.
Shen Lian gladly accepted it, changed, and left with Jiang You.
Behind the building hosting the banquet stood a smaller building set aside for celebrities to touch up their makeup. Even so, every room was packed.
Shen Lian certainly didn't have a private dressing room. He and Jiang You waited outside for a while before it was their turn to go in.
Good looks really did make all the difference. The makeup artist styled Shen Lian's hair first, then examined him from every angle and decided he already looked handsome.
Shen Lian smiled. "Let's skip the foundation if we can. Sorry for the trouble."
The makeup artist gave a shy smile. "Sure. I'll just put on a little eyeshadow. Nothing heavy."
Shen Lian nodded.
Shen Lian was finished in ten minutes. As he came out, he ran straight into someone about his own age. The moment the other man recognized him, his expression changed.
Shen Lian quickly found the answer in the original owner's memories: Wu Cheng, an artist with Xingtu who had never gotten along with him. More accurately, Wu Cheng had always treated the original owner with hostility. With such a spineless personality, the original owner hardly could have gone out of his way to make enemies.
Wu Cheng looked Shen Lian over carefully, then suddenly smiled. "Looks like you've been doing pretty well lately."
"Mind your own business," Shen Lian said flatly.
Wu Cheng's eyes widened. This was the first time he'd seen Shen Lian speak so sharply. By the time he recovered and turned around, Shen Lian was already far away.
The banquet hall's deep-blue palette felt subdued yet alluring. The lighting wasn't dim; instead, it cast a clear, unmistakable "value" over everyone. Who was a boss and who was an artist, who controlled the opportunities and who had to bow and scrape-it was all plain to see, no matter how expensive their clothes.
Quite a few artists had come today, including several major names.
Shen Lian stood to one side, quietly observing and picking out useful connections.
A commotion broke out at the entrance, followed by flattering chatter and laughter. Shen Lian immediately noticed quite a few gazes drifting toward him.
Zhou Tangsi had arrived with Zheng Ge.
The two had more or less gone public. With Zhou Tangsi's status as a company president, Zheng Ge's fans felt proud by association and, unusually enough, didn't resent their idol dating.
Shen Lian couldn't understand it.
Instead of letting your work speak for itself, you're a man relying on another man?
Zhou Tangsi was certainly handsome. His features weren't as sharply defined or aggressive as Chu Yilan's; at first glance, he seemed more elegant and bright. Even in the entertainment industry, looks like his would stand out.
But Shen Lian simply found him an eyesore. He rarely judged people by their looks. Chu Yilan was an exception.
As for Zhou Tangsi, he knew perfectly well how much he had destroyed of the original owner's life for the sake of his romance with Zheng Ge. Perhaps he even thought, A lovesick lapdog getting to do this much for me-that's a blessing for you.
Shen Lian urgently needed Master Chu's face to cleanse his eyes.
As an onlooker, Shen Lian merely gave them a brief glance before looking away.
Zheng Ge took Zhou Tangsi's hand when Shen Lian looked over, never expecting that he wouldn't care at all.
"Hmph." Zhou Tangsi scoffed disdainfully, clearly taking this as Shen Lian's latest tactic. He tenderly warned Zheng Ge, "Don't give Shen Lian a chance to get near you. If he causes trouble for you again, I'll kill him."
Zheng Ge looked blissfully happy. "Okay."
In truth, they were both overthinking it. Shen Lian mingled among the guests, keeping a safe distance from them the whole time. The reason was simple: everyone knew about the original owner's history with Zhou Tangsi. If they crossed paths today and someone spread an embellished story, how would he explain it to Chu Yilan? Surely he couldn't bring out the washboard again?
Chu Yilan had seen through that trick after a single use.
Busy making plans, Shen Lian had no idea how dazzling he was. The ease and faint arrogance nurtured by years of flowers, applause, favor, and adoration gave him a unique allure.
Shen Lian sat on a barstool and sipped his champagne, feeling rather bored. He wondered how Chu Yilan was doing.
A moment later, he looked up as though sensing something, then was utterly dazzled.
Several people entered through the doorway. Who else could the man at their center be but Chu Yilan?
It was no exaggeration: the instant their eyes met, Chu Yilan could practically see the fox tail behind Shen Lian shoot straight up, then sway seductively.
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