You really look like a total simp right now

As a hit variety show whose previous seasons had enjoyed enormous popularity and acclaim, "You Make My Heart Flutter" had become an absolute sensation online with Huo Xingye joining this season.

Today's trending searches on Weibo were practically dominated by the show.

Several of them concerned Nan Zhou, and they sat high on the list.

#Nan Zhou "Breaking Dawn"#, #Huo Xingye tells Nan Zhou to hold tight#, and #"You Make My Heart Flutter" scripted# were the three hottest topics. The one about the script, in particular, had climbed from somewhere in the twenties with unbelievable momentum and was about to enter the top ten.

As Huo Xingye listened to Xie Yan explain most of what was happening with the trending searches, his expression remained unchanged, but his eyes turned cold.

"Who paid for it?"

"No idea. Does he have any rivals?"

Xie Yan thought for a moment. "Could it be that guy he had a crush on? I heard the guy made things pretty ugly when they fell out. And now they're on the same show..."

Before Huo Xingye could say anything, the sound of the bathroom door opening came from inside the room.

"Let's talk on WeChat." He immediately ended the call, pushed open the balcony door, and went back inside.

Inside, Nan Zhou had changed into a cotton lounge T-shirt and casual lounge pants after his hot shower, and was drying his hair with a large white bath towel.

The warm lighting fell over him, lending him a slightly docile look as he radiated a soft, sweet Omega air.

But then he opened his mouth-

"Poverty has gone beyond my imagination and become reality."

"Even the hot water in this crappy apartment is as cold as the heart of someone who's spent decades gutting fish at RT-Mart."

The phone in Huo Xingye's hand vibrated. He glanced at it; Xie Yan had sent him a WeChat message.

[No banquet invitations: Hahahahaha, where on earth did you find this absolute character? I can't stop laughing every time he opens his mouth.]

Huo Xingye couldn't be bothered to reply. He looked back at Nan Zhou, his expression solemn and serious. "You showered in cold water?"

With that, he whipped his head around and gave the cameraman an icy look.

The cameraman hurried to explain, "It should be hot water. Maybe Mr. Nan just runs a little cold..."

"You're the one who's cold. I'm a hot-blooded young man!" Nan Zhou planted himself on the sofa, legs spread, and urged Huo Xingye on as he dried his hair. "Hurry up and shower. I'm afraid this cheap-ass production team will give you cold water in a minute."

The cameraman: "..."

Without even getting a change of clothes, Huo Xingye walked straight into the bathroom, turned the shower to its hottest setting, and switched it on.

Warm water poured from the showerhead, quickly filling the bathroom with steam.

It wasn't cold. For an Alpha like him, it was even a little too hot.

The cameraman stood in the doorway. "Mr. Huo..."

Huo Xingye turned off the shower without betraying anything, then turned to him. "It's this cold. Will you take responsibility if he catches a cold?"

The cameraman: "..."

Another message popped up on Huo Xingye's phone.

[No banquet invitations: ...Do you realize you really look like a total simp right now?]

Seeing the cameraman still planted by the door, Huo Xingye added, "Why aren't you leaving?"

Thinking he was about to shower, the cameraman backed away a few steps.

Huo Xingye strode out on his long legs and indicated the entrance with his eyes.

The cameraman said, "But the livestream hasn't reached..."

Faced with Huo Xingye's seemingly mild expression, which actually radiated an aura telling him to get lost immediately, the cameraman promptly left.

There were automatic tracking cameras in the room. Though the footage wasn't as good as what a person could shoot, it would do.

[Hahahahaha, a hot-blooded young man! I'm dying!]

[Nan Zhou's financial backer sure is powerful. Getting a best actor to play along as his ship partner and handing him the royal treatment in the script. Tsk, tsk.]

[Some people have absolutely no manners, snapping at everyone and everything like the whole world owes them.]

[What's going on? Some filth suddenly showed up in the livestream chat. Get lost if you don't like watching. Why are you spewing crap here?]

[Aaaaaah, I want to watch Xingye shower! Let me see!!!! Drool, drool.]

[He won't let the cameraman stay because he doesn't want his wife alone with another man? Hehehe, more shipping fuel!]

While Huo Xingye showered, Nan Zhou browsed Weibo on his phone as he dried his hair.

Naturally, he hadn't missed the trending searches about him. They were quite a spectacle.

Plenty of people were cursing him out, but quite a few were supporting him too.

And among the many people speaking up for him, quite a few were Huo Xingye's fans.

The haters had held the upper hand at first, but somehow Huo Xingye's fans and some casual onlookers had heard that he was being smeared and charged straight over, wiping the floor with the paid trolls and haters in the negative trending threads.

Professional paid trolls and haters from rival camps were certainly formidable, but they couldn't stand up to the sheer number of Huo Xingye's fans and casual onlookers.

For a while, public sentiment in that supposed scripting-related trending topic shifted.

Nan Zhou casually reposted a promotional account's post accusing him of marketing a poor-guy persona and mocking him as a variety-show beggar, adding a comment.

"What, you like begging for love instead of begging for money?"

He had just finished replying when his WeChat ringtone sounded. A contact he had saved as "Duck Head" sent him a video call invitation.

Nan Zhou accepted. The next second, Xiao Sheng's large face appeared on the screen, accompanied by his deliberately lowered, slightly affected voice. "Mr. Nan, have you gone to bed?"

"Do you want me to have gone to bed or not?"

"Huh?"

"Need something?"

Noticing that Nan Zhou's tone wasn't very friendly, Xiao Sheng hurried to get to the point. "Here's the situation. For personal reasons, Yu Xiaoxu from Breaking Dawn Band won't be renewing his contract when it expires next month. We're looking for a suitable new guitarist."

[!!! Yu Xiaoxu is leaving the band??]

[What does he mean? Has he set his sights on Nan Zhou???]

[Holy shit! Is Nan Zhou going to become a member of Breaking Dawn?]

[Holy crap, just when he looked like he was about to fade into obscurity, a company's already here to recruit him? And it's Shengle Group!]

"So?"

"Your performance tonight was outstanding. Our company held an emergency internal meeting, and after consulting the members of Breaking Dawn, we would like to extend a sincere invitation to you."

"Mr. Nan, would you be interested in joining Breaking Dawn Band?" Xiao Sheng asked.

Although he had adopted a very humble attitude, inwardly he was almost completely certain Nan Zhou would agree.

An idol from an obscure group, without any notable works to his name and currently embroiled in a scandal, wouldn't pass up this chance to turn his fortunes around in one fell swoop.

Although being paired with Huo Xingye on this dating show could bring him a huge surge in popularity, he still needed work he could proudly present if he was considering his career's long-term development.

Xiao Sheng believed that someone with musical talent like Nan Zhou wouldn't be content to keep coasting on popularity as a variety-show personality.

Yet almost as soon as he finished speaking, Nan Zhou immediately replied, "Not interested."

His attitude was firm and decisive, almost as if he hadn't given it any thought at all.