The young master had foresight after all

By the time Wu Jiangyuan woke up, it was almost noon.

He had slept surprisingly well and woke feeling refreshed, his face glowing with health.

He was even humming a tune when he came out of the bathroom after washing up.

Standing by the bed, Wu Jiangyuan rubbed the back of his head. How had he fallen asleep yesterday?

He had clearly spent the first half of the night struggling with insomnia, only to sleep like a log for the second half.

Suddenly, he noticed that the air conditioner was on.

Had he turned it on last night?

Wu Jiangyuan was a little puzzled. He vaguely remembered wanting to turn on the air conditioner because it was too hot last night, but he hadn't found the control panel. He must have fallen completely asleep after that; he couldn't remember.

Could he have gotten up and turned it on in his sleep?

He didn't dwell on the question. Changing back into yesterday's clothes, he called Aji.

"Brother Yuan, I was starting to think you wouldn't need me these next few days."

Aji picked up quickly.

Wu Jiangyuan said, "I'll send you an address. Come pick me up now."

Aji said, "Sure thing."

Wu Jiangyuan said, "Bring some food while you're at it."

Aji asked, "You haven't had breakfast, Brother Yuan?"

Wu Jiangyuan gave a lazy yawn. "No, I just got up."

Aji said, "You got it."

Only after hanging up did Wu Jiangyuan leave the room.

When he passed Pei Jinghe's room, there was no one inside.

At this hour, Pei Jinghe should already have gone to the office.

Wu Jiangyuan headed slowly downstairs when a rustling sound caught his attention.

It came from the kitchen.

Could Pei Jinghe still be home?

Wu Jiangyuan went over to look and found a figure in the kitchen, head lowered in concentration over her work.

Judging by her back, she was probably the housekeeper.

Wu Jiangyuan took the initiative to greet her.

"Hello, is Pei Jinghe not home?"

The housekeeper turned around with a kindly smile. "Young Master Pei went to the office. He specifically asked me to come early today to make breakfast."

"You must be hungry after just waking up. I've been keeping the food warm. Please take a seat, and I'll bring it out."

"Early?" Wu Jiangyuan asked in confusion. "Don't you usually come over during the day to cook for Pei Jinghe?"

The housekeeper smiled a little helplessly. "Young Master Pei usually leaves for the office very early. Occasionally, when he's home, I come over to make a meal and do some cleaning."

"I see." Wu Jiangyuan smiled, revealing a shallow dimple on one side. "What should I call you?"

The housekeeper said, "You can just call me Auntie Zhang."

"Go have a seat. I'll get your food ready."

Wu Jiangyuan said, "Don't trouble yourself, Auntie Zhang. I'm leaving in a moment."

Auntie Zhang sighed helplessly. "What a shame. I spent all morning simmering this salted pork bone congee, and the tamagoyaki just came out of the pan..."

"I just remembered I don't have anything to do for a while. I might as well have a bite."

Wu Jiangyuan's eyes shone as he headed straight for the dining table. "Sorry for the trouble, Auntie Zhang."

Salted pork bone congee and tamagoyaki... no, he couldn't pass that up. Both were his favorites.

Auntie Zhang smiled kindly. Young Master Pei had foresight after all.

Aji rushed over in the minivan to pick him up.

What greeted him was the sight of Wu Jiangyuan leisurely admiring the flowers at the entrance to Hao Garden.

"Brother Yuan, when did you buy a place here?"

Aji looked around Hao Garden with amazement and envy in his eyes.

Ordinary people had never even heard of this area, yet it was a premier neighborhood for the wealthiest of the rich.

Anyone who could live here was no ordinary person.

As far as Aji knew, Wu Jiangyuan merely came from a relatively well-off, middle-class family.

Judging by his earnings as a celebrity, he couldn't even afford a bathroom here.

Wu Jiangyuan ducked into the vehicle and tossed out an offhand excuse. "Not my place. I got lost."

The corner of Aji's mouth twitched. How could getting lost bring him here?

He had gone through layer after layer of security on his way in just now. Never mind stumbling in by accident-even a fly probably couldn't get inside.

He passed over a boxed meal from beside him. "Here, Brother Yuan."

Wu Jiangyuan glanced at it. The salad box looked unappetizing, not to mention he had already eaten two bowls of salted pork bone congee.

"You have it."

"Huh?" Aji was puzzled. "Brother He specifically told me to make sure you watch your diet lately. The interview is scheduled for next Monday on the talk show An Appointment with Jia. You'll need to look your absolute best on camera."

"Next Monday?" Propping up his chin, Wu Jiangyuan suddenly remembered that he hadn't discussed Xi Jie with He Qu yet.

"Let's head back to the company first. I need to talk to him."

"You're saying you found the Omega in those scandal photos?"

He Qu folded his arms. "And you want him to clarify at the press conference that what happened that night was actually just a misunderstanding?"

Wu Jiangyuan nodded. "YES."

"Wu Jiangyuan, oh, Wu Jiangyuan." He Qu said sincerely, "Looks like you really do want to change."

"You wouldn't have taken this seriously before."

Let alone gone to all the trouble of finding this Xi Jie to clear his name and back him up.

Wu Jiangyuan said, "You thought I was joking?"

He was absolutely determined now, okay?

"But I'd advise you not to get your hopes up too much about this press conference."

He Qu dampened his enthusiasm at an appropriate moment, handing Wu Jiangyuan a tablet. "Ever since we announced your interview, the comments have been nothing but haters. Look for yourself."

Wu Jiangyuan took the tablet. The studio's announcement already had close to four hundred thousand comments and counting beneath it. A casual scroll brought up nothing but barbed remarks.

[Seriously, Crow Bro Wu? Do you really need an interview when things have already come to this?]

[Guess you haven't embarrassed yourself enough. Don't you even want to keep that barely passable face, the only thing you've got going for you?]

[Why hasn't this disgraced celebrity been blacklisted yet?]

[My words might get a little nasty, so I'll head over first. See you all in the interview's comment section.]

[You absolute joke, you carry half of domestic entertainment. Who else would make me laugh if you left?]

[Everyone, please show some mercy when the time comes. He's my one and only little internet pet. Don't send him to an early grave.]

[Daily question: when is Wu Jiangyuan getting the hell out of showbiz?]

[So annoying. Can you stop hogging resources? I went on Weibo to see my fave, only to get a post about you shoved in my face. Nobody's interested in you, okay?]

Some of the more extreme commenters had already been blocked and filtered out.

But Wu Jiangyuan's focus wasn't on these hateful comments. "Over four hundred thousand people left comments? Looks like everyone's really paying attention to me."

A third-rate nobody, enjoying the traffic of an A-list star.

Who else could pull that off?

He Qu's face darkened, baffled by what he had chosen to focus on. "Yeah, they'd love nothing more than to chase you right to your doorstep and pelt you with rotten eggs as a sacrifice to heaven."

Wu Jiangyuan paid no attention to his teasing. He was thinking about something else.

"That outdoor variety show you mentioned last time." His lips curved up. "Sign me up."

He Qu said, "?"

"Did you forget everything I told you? The persona that show wants you to play doesn't suit you."

Wu Jiangyuan said, "How do you know it doesn't suit me if I haven't even tried?"

The corner of He Qu's mouth twitched hard. "If you're looking to get flamed, then it suits you perfectly."

Wu Jiangyuan smiled brightly. "It's not like I can land any good gigs right now anyway. It's just one episode. Let me give it a shot."

"..."

That was true, but his smile left He Qu feeling a little uneasy.

Why did this guy's smile look a little terrifying?