I have a boyfriend? Who?

Lin Fengmian stared at Xia Qinghe, who was on the verge of tears. His sadness traveled through the air and reached Lin Fengmian's heart.

Lin Fengmian stopped pursuing the matter of Xia Qinghe bullying Lin Sui. He reached back to hug him and gently patted his back. "What's wrong? Why are you so upset? What happened? Could it be..." Did the person behind it pull another dirty trick? Without me there to save you this time, did you end up qualified to practice the Sunflower Manual?

"No." Xia Qinghe buried his face in Lin Fengmian's neck. "Mianmian, don't like Fan Jing."

Lin Fengmian blinked and sucked in a breath. "Holy shit, are you this upset because you've fallen for Fan Jing and thought I took a role in her drama because I liked her too and wanted to compete with you?"

Xia Qinghe carefully sorted through what Lin Fengmian meant. What on earth was he talking about? "I don't like Fan Jing."

"Then why are you telling me not to like Fan Jing?" Lin Fengmian didn't understand. She was such a great girl. Any other man would definitely pursue her once he was sure his buddy wasn't interested.

Unfortunately, he wasn't an ordinary man. Fan Jing didn't make his heart race as though he'd run ten kilometers.

"I said I'm not getting married." Xia Qinghe's voice was muffled.

"So I can't get married either?"

"Exactly." Xia Qinghe answered with complete conviction, not feeling in the slightest that he was being unreasonable.

He could stay unmarried for his buddy, so his buddy had to stay unmarried for him too.

That was what made them good buddies, brothers for life.

They would bare their hearts and forgo marriage together.

Having been Xia Qinghe's buddy for so many years, Lin Fengmian had long since grown used to his strange way of thinking and knew what he meant, both spoken and unspoken.

"I don't like Fan Jing, and I'm not planning to marry anyone. At least, not as things stand." Lin Fengmian didn't make an absolute statement, lest Xia Qinghe find a loophole and tease him about it later.

Xia Qinghe straightened up and cupped Lin Fengmian's face, making him look at him.

They stared at each other for a long time before Xia Qinghe was satisfied. He could see in Lin Fengmian's eyes that he wasn't lying. "From now on, tell me clearly whose drama you're filming. I'll help you check whether their drama is actually reliable."

"I seem to recall telling you that my mom vetted it for me."

"Then I'll vet it again. Isn't another layer of assurance better?"

Lin Fengmian narrowed his eyes slightly. "Why do I get the feeling you're being unreasonable?"

Xia Qinghe's heart lurched. Wasn't Mianmian's brain supposed to still be booting up right after he woke up? How did he figure it out so quickly?

"No way. I'm not. Just tell me whether you'll let me know from now on. I report every business trip and everything I do to you in full detail. You can't have a double standard. That's what being good buddies means."

Lin Fengmian hadn't had enough sleep and couldn't be bothered to argue. "All right, got it. Move aside. I need to go film. With all your fussing, I didn't get enough sleep, and filming is about to start."

Xia Qinghe eagerly followed him out of the car, resting both hands on Lin Fengmian's shoulders. The moment he spotted Fan Jing standing nearby, his expression darkened, and he pressed his whole body against Lin Fengmian's back.

Fan Jing's smile grew even more inscrutable.

Xia Qinghe shot her a cold glance, then stopped looking at her.

Hmph. Mianmian said he didn't like her. He definitely wasn't lying to me.

What the hell are you smiling at?

He still held first place in his buddy's heart.

After walking a few steps with Xia Qinghe plastered against him, Lin Fengmian gently nudged him with his elbow. "Why don't you just climb onto my back?"

He was clinging so closely that Lin Fengmian could barely walk.

Only then did Xia Qinghe reluctantly put a little distance between them.

Today's scenes featured only Lin Fengmian. They were from the latter half of the story, when Yun Yaoxian reached the end of his life alone in the Immortal Palace.

Work on the set had begun yesterday and only finished today. Peach blossoms fluttered everywhere, and dry ice fog drifted over the ground.

The makeup artist came over to touch up Lin Fengmian's makeup.

The male and female leads, who had no scenes with him today, hadn't gone back to rest either. Jiang Lexing had kept thinking Xia Qinghe looked familiar, though he didn't seem to be in the industry. Jiang Lexing had been sitting nearby, watching the director guide the other actors.

Suddenly, "Fuck."

Huang Xiaoying, sitting beside him, jumped. "Why are you freaking out?"

Jiang Lexing felt wronged. He hadn't wanted to freak out either. He had simply remembered who the man who'd treated them to dessert was.

He looked around, making sure everyone near the two of them was one of their own. "Do you know who that man was?"

"No." Huang Xiaoying shook her head. All she knew was that the dessert had been absolutely delicious, so good she'd nearly swallowed her tongue. Once that man left, she was going to ask Lin Fengmian where he'd bought it.

When she no longer needed to watch her diet, she would secretly buy some to satisfy her cravings.

Like a thief, Jiang Lexing looked around again and lowered his voice. "President Xia of the Xia Corporation."

Huang Xiaoying thought he was bullshitting. "No way."

Jiang Lexing quickly searched for a magazine cover photo taken a few years ago and held it out to Huang Xiaoying. "Look. Isn't that him?"

Huang Xiaoying took the phone, looked at the photo, then looked at the man in the distance who kept watching Lin Fengmian film, his expression cold because Lin Fengmian was lonely, isolated, and cold in the Immortal Palace.

Sure enough, the features were the same, but the man in the photo was younger, and his shoulders weren't as broad as they were now. "Are you sure this isn't his younger brother?"

"President Xia is an only child. This was taken for an interview with a financial magazine after he gained full control of the Xia Corporation. That was seven years ago. He was only twenty-two then. Of course he looked young."

He had been so envious back then. How could anyone be that handsome?

Jiang Lexing sighed. Unlike him, who had been hopelessly unfashionable in high school.

Jiang Lexing found another photo online from two years ago. This one wasn't from a financial magazine interview, but a photo a reporter had taken of Xia Qinghe attending a conference as a representative. "Look at this one. He'd grown into his looks by then."

Huang Xiaoying looked. Sure enough, it looked more like the man in front of them. The man back then had been all sharp edges; this one seemed a bit like a goofball.

Whenever the director called cut on Lin Fengmian's performance, Xia Qinghe would glare at him, as though reproaching him. He acted so well, and you're rejecting the take? Do you have a death wish?

Jiang Lexing continued gossiping. "I heard his boyfriend is someone from the Lin Family. Could it be..."

His gaze was already pointing blatantly at Lin Fengmian. They had always guessed that Lin Fengmian might be some wealthy family's young heir here for fun. They hadn't expected it to be true.

Having his conclusion confirmed left him incredibly excited.

Before he could finish being excited, a shadow fell over him. He looked up blankly and met Xia Qinghe's eyes.

Beside him, Huang Xiaoying, whose eyes had nearly cramped from all her attempts to signal him, slapped her forehead. Buddy, you're on your own.

"I have a boyfriend? Who?" Xia Qinghe asked.

Jiang Lexing: "..." How did you overhear that? You were miles away from me.

Superhuman hearing?

Xia Qinghe kept looking at Jiang Lexing with keen interest. "Go on."

Jiang Lexing appealed to Huang Xiaoying for help.

Now that Huang Xiaoying knew Xia Qinghe's true identity, trying to save Jiang Lexing would be like throwing an egg at a rock. She wouldn't even leave an intact corpse. She gave Jiang Lexing a look that said he was on his own.

I'll pray for you in my heart.

Amen.