This story uses a fictional setting inspired by ABO, but without ABO sex classifications. Instead, people are distinguished by animal traits, so there are only two sexes, male and female.
The bottom protagonist is something of an all-rounder. He can sing and dance a little, but his main focus is acting ♪(´∪`●)ゝ.
There will be ears and some animal habits ＼＼\٩( 'ω' )و //／／ If that isn't your thing, please turn back!
A fluffy little romance that requires no brainpower. Welcome, everyone~
...Divider...
[Pei Hanmo: How long have I even been gone? You already have a kid???]
[Pei Hanmo: Well, well, Xinghui.]
Above the chat window, "Typing..." flashed several times, but in the end, those were the only two messages he sent.
Under the overhead lights, Chu Xinghui gave up trying to snatch his phone from the host. Looking at the two messages on the big screen, the corner of his mouth twitched.
I told you not to make a voice call. Great, now nobody gets to live!
The entire venue fell silent, without a single voice to be heard.
The silence all around was frightening.
In stark contrast, Pei Hanmo's fans... and spectators eager for gossip were flooding into the livestream.
[Seriously, can Chu Xinghui stop milking our Hanmo and find someone else?]
[Exactly! Our Mo isn't interested!]
[All he does is chase clout. At least do your research first. Even Mo's assistant doesn't have his private WeChat!]
[I'm dying. Even a bystander like me knows Chu Xinghui and Pei Hanmo aren't close.]
[Just a passerby, but it feels like Chu Xinghui is forcing a connection.]
[Pei Hanmo just won Best Actor, and someone's already scrambling to leech off him~]
[Girl, I get you. I'm a fox too~]
The child actor standing to Chu Xinghui's left seemed to realize he had caused trouble and looked up at him with watery eyes.
His two rabbit ears, which he couldn't retract, drooped on either side, too wilted to stand upright.
During the voice call just now, he had called out, "Daddy Hui."
It was a dare that was something like a test of personal relationships. The person on the other end hadn't known and had made a sound.
It was only a "Hmm?" but rather than saying it sounded similar to Pei Hanmo's voice, it had been absolutely identical.
Coming to his senses, the host closed his jaw, which had dropped in surprise. With his less-than-stellar hosting skills, he gave two awkward laughs and shoved the hot potato in his hand back into Chu Xinghui's.
Who could have known this nobody, who didn't even qualify as a bottom-tier celebrity, really knew the Best Actor?
"Haha, looks like Hui is pretty close to this online friend named Pei Hanmo?"
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything. The moment he spoke, the insults in the livestream grew even fiercer.
Chu Xinghui silently disconnected his phone from the big screen.
To stop Pei Hanmo from saying anything else outrageous.
He had signed a contract with this brainless variety show agreeing to expose a little of his private life onstage, but who went straight for someone's WeChat blocklist!?
"So, what are we doing next?"
His brows drew together slightly, but he kept a polite smile on his face as he cued the next part of the show.
The young man onstage had a pair of peach-blossom eyes, which gleamed with complicated emotions because of his expression.
His white hair, slightly mussed from the struggle over his phone, fell to his shoulders, and his cheeks were faintly flushed.
Passersby who had come for the gossip found themselves drawn to his looks.
[What can I say? He's a fox, all right. He's so good-looking. How did I not know before?]
[Please follow our Huihui! He's an arctic fox! He's really gorgeous! A daily look at his photos is good for your body and soul.]
Seizing an opportunity to promote him, Chu Xinghui's handful of fans stepped forward.
[Seriously? Seriously? Are there actually people who don't know Chu Xinghui is hated all over the internet?]
[You won't let people mention him under your Weibo posts, but you'll go out of your way to leech off him yourself?]
Finally back on track, the host picked up his script and resumed the program.
"Oh, right, right. Up next is..."
Chu Xinghui walked backstage and leaned wearily against the wall. His face had grown stiff from smiling onstage, but he had finally made it through the variety show.
Fortunately, he was only a guest for one episode.
"Huihui!" His manager, Gu Kai, ran up to Chu Xinghui, grabbed his shoulders, and shook him hard twice.
"Spill it! What's your relationship with Pei Hanmo!"
Gu Kai was a bear, with absurdly strong hands, and he shook Chu Xinghui until he saw stars.
Chu Xinghui pushed Gu Kai away and held his head for a while to recover before speaking. "What relationship could we have? I'm just a hater. Wasn't I trying to drag Pei Hanmo down with me?"
Actually, today's incident alone wouldn't have made Pei Hanmo's fans curse him so fiercely.
But someone had previously dug up the fact that anyone who mentioned Pei Hanmo under Chu Xinghui's Weibo posts would get blocked.
That had also gotten him labeled excessively jealous and hated across the internet.
Fuck!
He covered his face.
Who wants to see their ex-boyfriend's name under their own Weibo posts!
That damned host!
By the time he got back today, he would probably be labeled a clout chaser and a hypocrite too.
Backstage staff kept passing nearby, glancing at Chu Xinghui from time to time. Walls had ears; they needed to leave first.
"Let's get back to the car."
He patted Gu Kai's shoulder.
Because his entertainment agency was too small, they hadn't even arranged a decent dressing room for Chu Xinghui.
As the car moved slowly along, Chu Xinghui took out an MP3 player to listen to music. The design on it was so worn that it was almost impossible to make out.
He opened Weibo. Several related topics were already trending, and their view counts kept soaring.
#Chu Xinghui Pei Hanmo#
#Well well Xinghui#
#Hmm?#
#Chu Xinghui chasing traffic#
He rubbed his temples and set his phone facedown to one side in mild irritation, focusing on his music.
Gu Kai didn't dare speak. Whenever Chu Xinghui started listening to this MP3 player, it meant he was in a bad mood. If his guess was right, Chu Xinghui's ears would pop out any moment.
Sure enough, before long, Chu Xinghui's fox ears sprang out, bobbing up and down with the car's movement.
"Huihui." As reluctant as he was to speak, Gu Kai's phone still rang. It was a message from the company:
"The company's PR plan is out. They want us to apologize.
This is bringing in a lot of traffic, and your Weibo follower count is rising too.
If we seize this traffic and do some marketing, we can definitely get you a little burst of popularity!"
As Chu Xinghui had expected, he had to apologize.
The company barely had any popular artists. Chu Xinghui, whose fame came from notoriety, already ranked among its top names for traffic. Now that he was trending without them spending any money, the company was bound to seize this opportunity.
He took a deep breath, unwilling to bow his head before Pei Hanmo.
What a joke. When we broke up, I swore we'd never have anything to do with each other again!
Turning his head to look at the scenery outside the window, he muttered, "Can I not go?"
Gu Kai understood. After all, nobody wanted to apologize to someone they disliked, much less a celebrity they disliked.
He folded his arms across his chest. "It's okay, Hui. I can go on my own."
Besides, sending a celebrity to Pei Hanmo's company-were they really not worried about paparazzi lying in wait in the bushes nearby?
The company was going crazy trying to get famous.
"Okay." Chu Xinghui's ears twitched twice as he agreed with Gu Kai. "Thank you."
"Aw, don't be scared. Even if Pei Hanmo is a snake, he can't do anything to you, right?"
Seeing that Chu Xinghui was still in low spirits, Gu Kai tried to comfort him.
No, Chu Xinghui thought, closing his eyes. He can do plenty to me. He still has several ugly photos of me!
Half an hour later, the car arrived outside Pei Hanmo's company, and Gu Kai got out.
Since the company had contacted Pei Hanmo in advance, Gu Kai got in fairly smoothly. An employee led him to the door of Pei Hanmo's office.
He took a deep breath, pushed the door open, and went inside.
The office had a relatively minimalist design, with a black-and-white color scheme and a desk in the middle. Pei Hanmo was working on documents while an assistant beside him reported on the company's recent situation.
Pei Hanmo was the owner of this entertainment company.
Gu Kai swallowed, stepped forward, and bowed to Pei Hanmo.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Pei. Our Chu Xinghui has caused you trouble!"
The man at the desk paused with his pen in hand, then looked up at Gu Kai through his gold-rimmed glasses.
His rich voice rang out, exactly the same as the voice on WeChat.
"Your Chu Xinghui?"
Before you continue