That afternoon, Chu Xinghui and the other two went somewhere else to sell flatbreads.
The place where they had sold flatbreads that morning was beside the stream. This time, they were at the main entrance to Ancient Town, where anyone coming through the gates could see the three of them milling around.
Wen Liangtian held the loudspeaker the production team had given him and switched it on:
"Power on... play audio!
Flatbreads! Freshly baked flatbreads! Delicious and affordable! So tasty!"
The booming voice drew sideways looks from people who had just entered Ancient Town.
Chu Xinghui wandered through the crowd, finding young women to talk to.
Pei Hanmo quietly watched Chu Xinghui.
"You said you'd help me. How?"
Wen Liangtian put the flatbread in his hand into a plastic bag, handed it to the middle-aged man in front of him, and turned to ask Pei Hanmo.
Pei Hanmo never took his eyes off Chu Xinghui:
"Pei Holdings has been working with the Wen company recently."
Pei Hanmo had only won Film Emperor that year, so there was no need for him to film so many projects. Lately, this variety show was essentially the only thing on his schedule, and he spent the rest of his time working in his office.
After all, Universal Entertainment was not the only company under Pei Holdings, so it naturally worked with other families.
When the time came, he would do a little tampering with their collaboration contract.
"Huihui!"
Outside Ancient Town, several young women waved at Chu Xinghui.
Chu Xinghui turned, saw them, and waved back.
He knew all of them. They were longtime fans who had been cheering him on since long ago.
The young women came over and handed Chu Xinghui the gifts they were carrying:
"Huihui, we prepared these gifts for you. We didn't get to celebrate your birthday last time, but we finally found the time to bring you your presents."
None of these young fans had had time on that occasion, and they had been very disappointed that they could not celebrate Chu Xinghui's birthday.
After Chu Xinghui became the target of hate across the internet, these young fans had also been the first to get under the other side's skin.
The young woman leading them handed the things she was holding to Chu Xinghui one by one:
"This one's from Guagua, and this one's from Xiao Ai..."
She explained the gifts one at a time. Many of them were from fans who had not come in person.
"This one's from Xiaotu. He never shows up himself."
The young woman complained.
Xiaotu was the fan group's owner and had been a fan of Chu Xinghui longer than anyone else.
But he had never shown his face, making himself all mysterious.
The young woman handed Xiaotu's gift to Chu Xinghui.
Inside was an exquisite ring that looked very pretty.
"Oh, right! This too!"
She turned and handed Chu Xinghui the teddy bear a fan behind her was holding:
"This one's from Xiongxiong. He didn't come either. They're both so mysterious."
Xiongxiong was the Weibo user "Chu Xinghui's Xiongxiong." He rarely appeared in the group chat, but he sent Chu Xinghui gifts from time to time.
At first, Chu Xinghui had not wanted to accept gifts from these fans and would only take their letters. But he could not hold out against their enthusiasm, and eventually accepted the gifts and kept them at home.
"Thank you, everyone."
Chu Xinghui could barely carry everything in his arms. He led the fans over to Wen Liangtian's stall, intending to put the gifts on Wen Liangtian's little cart for now.
Pei Hanmo quite naturally took the gifts from Chu Xinghui and put them on the cart for him.
The prominent fan beside them narrowed her eyes at the sight, noticing something amiss:
"Film Emperor, our Huihui has hands. He can carry them himself."
"It's perfectly normal for colleagues to help each other, isn't it?" Pei Hanmo said:
"Chu Xinghui helps me a lot too."
The prominent fan thought for a while before speaking again:
"Huihui really has had a busy schedule lately. Sorry for the trouble, Film Emperor."
"It's no trouble. If anything, sorry for all the trouble you've taken looking after Chu Xinghui."
Watching their tense standoff, Chu Xinghui tilted his head in confusion, not understanding what had happened. He gave Wen Liangtian a questioning look.
But Wen Liangtian did not seem to understand either. He watched their conversation with the look of someone enjoying the drama.
[This scene... are the fans marrying off their daughter?]
[One second I was marveling at how lovely Chu Xinghui's fans are, and the next I'm practically dying of laughter in the livestream.]
[Meanwhile, our protagonist Chu Xinghui is standing off to the side, watching them talk in utter confusion.]
[Hahaha, Wen Liangtian might be enjoying the drama, but why does he look like he's forcing himself to follow along without understanding any of it?]
"All right." The prominent fan conceded, looking at Chu Xinghui with eyes full of reluctance to leave:
"Then, Huihui, we'll get going?"
"Wait!"
Although his money had been confiscated, he himself was still here. Chu Xinghui walked over to Wen Liangtian and picked up some flatbreads:
"Take something with you before you go."
Then he turned back to explain to Wen Liangtian:
"I'll send you the money for the flatbreads when we get back."
Before, whenever fans brought him gifts, he would give them something in return, however much or little. But this time, he genuinely had no money and could only use flatbreads as return gifts.
[Hahahaha, I'm dying. Fan exclusive-flatbreads personally handed out by Chu Xinghui.]
[Chu Xinghui, have you gotten so used to being unhinged online that you're taking it offline now?]
[Fans: We could have done without this gift.]
The fans had not expected Chu Xinghui to give them flatbreads either. Their faces were filled with shock, but they still obediently held out their hands and waited for Chu Xinghui to distribute them.
After taking photos with him, the fans left.
"Not bad. You have so many fans."
Looking at the cart piled high with gifts, Wen Liangtian would have been lying if he said he was not envious.
They were all entertainers. Who would not want more fans?
Especially fans who had stayed even when Chu Xinghui was being hated across the internet.
"You have lots of fans too. Maybe they'll be waving at you from nearby when you finish work tomorrow."
Chu Xinghui offered some comfort.
Wen Liangtian did have plenty of fans, but they were not particularly close to him.
After all, the persona the Wen Family wanted him to cultivate was a sweet~ delicate~ innocent~ little~ flower~
But in private, Wen Liangtian actually played pretty wildly.
When he saw someone he liked, he would make the first move and use every means he could to seduce them.
Except, of course, if they were already taken.
In his fans' eyes, Wen Liangtian was still a pure little sweetheart.
This also meant that too much contact with his fans would expose what Wen Liangtian was really like.
Looking at Wen Liangtian's expression, Chu Xinghui pondered for a moment before saying:
"Actually, I think more fans would like you if you showed your true self. Lots of people like tsunderes, after all."
"Huh?" Wen Liangtian turned and stared fixedly at Chu Xinghui:
"Who told you I was a tsundere? How could I possibly be a tsundere!
Besides, you still haven't taught me how to make that dish!"
He bounced around in anger, his face flushing, absolutely refusing to accept the label of tsundere.
[How do I put this? I didn't think he was one before... but now that Wen Liangtian's making such a fuss...]
[So it really is just a thought between top and bottom? A few days ago I still thought Wen Liangtian was a top, but now he seems like even more of a bottom than Chu Xinghui.]
[You up there, is our Huihui some kind of standard for measuring tops and bottoms? Hahahahaha.]
[After all, Chu Xinghui has been different ever since he left his company. Could Wen Liangtian have a persona of his own too?]
[That's actually possible! I really didn't like him much at the very start of the first episode... I thought he loved riding others' coattails just like Chu Xinghui, but now it turns out they're both little sweethearts!]
Before you continue