I'm a straight shooter-I open my mouth and crap comes out

Xu Su froze, unsure why this Crown Prince was spitting sparks so early in the morning, but he volunteered an explanation anyway:

"I'm out shooting an endorsement ad. Just to be clear, I didn't deliberately ditch..."

"When are you coming back?"

Huo Yuchen cut him off, then followed that question with another. "When did I agree to let you go out?"

"Listen to yourself. Since when did I need your permission to go anywhere?"

Xu Su had felt a little guilty at first. After all, he had promised to be his assistant.

But after Huo Yuchen grilled him like that, what little guilt he had evaporated.

"Anything else? If not, I'm hanging up!"

His attitude suddenly shifted to one of complete self-righteousness. Caught off guard, Huo Yuchen immediately sounded a little aggrieved. "...I woke up and you were gone. Can't I even ask?"

Xu Su refused to indulge him. "Was that 'asking'? That was 'interrogating'!"

"..."

Feeling rather guilty, Huo Yuchen skipped over that question. "When will you finish shooting? I'll pick you up."

Xu Su instinctively refused, not daring to trouble this precious Crown Prince. "No need. Once I'm done, I'll..."

But Huo Yuchen gave him no chance. "What time?"

His tone remained gentle, but his attitude had taken on a firmness that brooked no refusal.

"..."

Somewhat helpless, Xu Su turned to Cheng Nan. "Brother Nan, what time will I finish shooting?"

Cheng Nan happened to be organizing his schedule at a makeshift table. He answered without looking up, "Around ten."

Xu Su turned back and repeated his words to Huo Yuchen verbatim. "Around ten..."

The words had barely left his mouth when Cheng Nan added, "Then you can rest in the car for half an hour before the next shoot."

"Huh?!"

Xu Su whipped his head around again. "There's another one?!"

Cheng Nan slowly raised his head and met his bewildered, astonished gaze.

"Is this your first day in the industry? What celebrity with any popularity only does a tiny bit of work a day?"

Xu Su's eyes widened. Speaking in terms of my soul, I really am a rookie who just debuted-and an unlucky one whose popularity is lower than the temperature in the far northern tundra.

After observing three seconds of silence for himself, he asked, "Then what time can I wrap up today?"

Cheng Nan swiped a few times across his phone screen and answered without much emotion, "Three."

"Phew..."

Xu Su let out a relieved breath and was about to pass that answer on to Huo Yuchen when Cheng Nan added, "Three in the morning."

"..."

As though struck by some tremendous blow, Xu Su turned to stone on the spot, his lips slightly parted. For a long while, he did not move.

Only after Huo Yuchen called "Hello?" several times over the phone did he stiffly blink his eyes, filled with astonishment, shock, and disbelief, and answer lifelessly:

"No need to pick me up. Just remember to burn some incense at my grave on the first and fifteenth of every lunar month. Goodbye."

Huo Yuchen: "..."

What a load of nonsense.

Not long after shooting began, footsteps suddenly came from outside the studio, accompanied by snatches of conversation.

"Don't worry. If I say it's fine, it's fine..."

"Mm, okay..."

"...How are you going to thank me for helping you like this?"

"Tonight, I'll..."

They were too far away for Xu Su to catch the rest. Then he saw several self-important-looking fellows walk in.

Xu Su didn't know the man in front, but the person he was leering and grinning at... hmm, definitely looked familiar.

Upon spotting the newcomers, Cheng Nan went over to greet them first, his smile somewhat ingratiating.

Then they went to sit at the refreshment table in the corner and discussed something.

Xu Su watched without giving anything away. First, Cheng Nan laughed from the heart and nodded repeatedly. Then he looked troubled and nodded reluctantly. Finally, he sighed helplessly, put on a professional fake smile, and gave a slight nod.

-Apparently, he had been forced to agree to something.

While the cameraman adjusted the lens, Cheng Nan called Xu Su over.

Through Cheng Nan's enthusiastic introduction, Xu Su learned that this young man, who wasn't very old but clearly needed some goji berries to replenish himself, was the big-shot client behind this endorsement.

A barely perceptible flicker of confusion crossed Xu Su's eyes.

There was nothing surprising about the client coming here. After all, this was his territory.

What was strange was that Zhuang Luo had come along too.

Not only had he come, but the looks he gave the client occasionally carried a hint of intimacy. That gave one something to think about.

Sure enough, while Xu Su was pondering this, Cheng Nan said beside his ear:

"We'll need to change the shooting approach and some details later. It'll become a joint endorsement shoot with you and Zhuang Luo."

"Listen, Mr. Fang is here. Whatever adjustments they make later, don't say anything for now. Show him some respect, okay?"

Perhaps because Xu Su's venomous tongue on Return to a Simple Life had become known far beyond the show and spread to every corner of real life, Cheng Nan somehow felt he had to warn him. Otherwise, they might end up paying compensation and getting kicked out for offending the client.

Xu Su's expression remained placid. He merely gave him a look: oh.

Zhuang Luo had been watching Xu Su the whole time. Seeing little reaction from him now, he took the initiative to greet him:

"Xu Su, this is great. We get to work together again."

He was smiling, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. Xu Su sensed nothing but scheming beneath his affected, insincere manner.

So he asked without much regard for his feelings, "Really? What's so great about it?"

"...Uh... well..."

Predictably, Zhuang Luo froze, so embarrassed he could have dug out a White House with his toes right there.

Seeing this, the big-shot client, Fang Han, immediately grew unhappy. He glared at Xu Su in displeasure as though his own wife had been bullied.

"How can you talk like that! Luoluo was kind enough to greet you, and you're taking advantage!"

"No, no, Xu Su didn't mean that. Please don't misunderstand."

Cheng Nan hurried to smooth things over, then immediately poked Xu Su's arm, waggling his eyebrows and shooting him looks to signal that he should apologize.

Xu Su gave him an indifferent glance, then turned to Fang Han. "Sorry, Mr. Fang. I'm a straight shooter-I open my mouth and crap comes out..."

He slowly shifted his gaze, his teasing eyes lightly meeting Zhuang Luo's.

"Especially when I run into a dung beetle. If I don't squeeze something out, I'm afraid he'll go home empty-handed and be disappointed."

"..."

Are you trying to get yourself killed, insulting people like that?

Cheng Nan looked at Xu Su with an expression that said, "How can someone like you exist?" His lips moved slightly, as though he were considering how to give Xu Su a stern reprimand.

But after an internal struggle, what came out was, "Do you run into dung beetles often?"

Xu Su smiled modestly. "Fairly often. Every few days, really. No big deal. I've got plenty of crap."

"..."

At that moment, Fang Han and Zhuang Luo looked as though they had eaten shit.

After a moment, Fang Han recovered, shot to his feet, slammed the table, and roared, "What the hell do you two mean by this! Do you still fucking want this deal or not!"

"Yes, yes, of course."

The sudden bang brought Cheng Nan sharply "back to his senses." He hurriedly stood to apologize, pulling Xu Su up with him.

"Hurry up! Apologize to Mr. Fang!"

Fang Han refused to let it go. "Not just me! You!"

He pointed at Xu Su. "Apologize to Luoluo right now!"

His furious eyes stared unblinkingly at that delicate, pretty face, his manner making it clear that he would not rest until he got an apology.

Seeing this, Zhuang Luo immediately squeezed out a few tears to play along. "Forget it, Mr. Fang. It's okay. I don't blame Xu Su."

With that frail, innocent, and understanding demeanor, he truly presented a perfect picture of someone who inspired tender pity.