Would they grow anywhere else?

He spent the morning at the company half asleep.

When lunchtime came, however, He Qu stopped Wu Jiangyuan from eating.

"I'm hungry."

"Hold out a little longer. You can't eat before the shoot."

Wu Jiangyuan replied, "It's fine. I digest food really quickly."

He Qu said, "Wu Jiangyuan, you haven't had any gigs in so long. It's time you started managing your image properly."

Wu Jiangyuan: "?"

He touched his face. "Are you trying to say I've gained weight?"

He Qu said nothing, but his eyes made his meaning perfectly clear.

Yes, you have gained weight.

Wu Jiangyuan slammed the table and shot to his feet. "No way! I might not have been working, but I haven't been exercising any less."

"Staying home lately could've only made me gain a pound or two at most."

Just a pound or two.

Really.

After that angry declaration, Wu Jiangyuan hurriedly felt his face again, moving closer to He Qu to defend himself with righteous conviction.

"I had something salty this morning, so my face is a little puffy right now. But I definitely haven't gained weight!"

He blinked and blinked, as if to say that if He Qu said yes, he would jump out of this eighteen-story building.

He Qu rolled his eyes irritably. "You haven't gained weight. This lowly servant's eyes were mistaken. Happy now?"

Wu Jiangyuan pinched his little face. "It's all right. Your emperor forgives you."

Just then, Aji walked in carrying salads and gave a mysterious smile. "Boss, Brother Yuan, I heard a little gossip on my way up."

He Qu looked intrigued. "What news could there be that even I, the boss, don't know?"

"It's about the marketing department." Aji set the bag on the table and continued, "I heard from their production lead that Tassilo itself is handling the entire Tassilo shoot this time."

"In other words, we'll have to go over to Tassilo for this ad, and they'll handle the filming and production."

He Qu immediately straightened up.

"Get Zhang Yao in here."

Ten minutes later.

Zhang Yao left the office with a wry smile.

Tapping his desk, He Qu said to Wu Jiangyuan, "You heard that?"

Wu Jiangyuan said, "Heard what?"

"Tassilo will be fully responsible for this shoot. That means they don't need the advertising team we provide. All we need to supply this time is you."

Wu Jiangyuan said, "And?"

He Qu said, "And you'll be working at Tassilo for a while."

Wu Jiangyuan: "..."

He sucked in a quiet breath, folded his arms, and tilted his head. "Why does this sound like I've been sold off?"

He Qu said, "More or less. This Tassilo ad will be a short film. Big production, big marketing campaign."

"The day the ad drops will also be Tassilo's launch debut."

"You, their mystery brand ambassador, will be officially announced at the launch."

"Wu Jiangyuan, we're really going international this time."

By that last sentence, He Qu's voice was trembling with excitement.

Wu Jiangyuan remained silent. He knew Pei Jinghe had a hand in what Tassilo was doing.

At one in the afternoon.

Wu Jiangyuan arrived by car at Tassilo's shooting location.

There were several shooting locations, and today's shoot was indoors.

The indoor set was an artificially constructed star-filled universe, vast and complex.

The director in charge was already waiting on set.

Liang Changju was a renowned film director. Dream of Anlan was his work, and he had more other classics than could be counted on one hand.

For Tassilo to hire such an expensive, big-name director to shoot an ad showed how much effort it was putting into this.

Liang Changju was looking down at some materials. Wu Jiangyuan took the initiative to walk over and greet him.

"Director Liang, I've long admired your work."

Liang Changju looked up at him, sizing him up before saying flatly, "You're Wu Jiangyuan, then."

Wu Jiangyuan gave him a friendly smile. "Yes."

He was still considering how to make a good impression when Liang Changju turned and called over the stylist.

"Time waits for no one. Take him to get styled first."

With that, he lowered his head and went back to the materials.

Wu Jiangyuan could naturally tell that he was being dismissive. He wasn't in the habit of fawning over people who gave him the cold shoulder, so he left the big-name director alone.

The stylist was a gentle, poised woman who smiled warmly at Wu Jiangyuan.

"Come with me."

The final look for the shoot had to be approved by the director.

During the styling trials, however, Liang Changju wasn't satisfied with a single look. Wu Jiangyuan took off one outfit and put on another, going back and forth several times.

They finally settled on the first outfit.

Wu Jiangyuan kept a smile on his face and never uttered a single complaint throughout.

Aji, however, took advantage of a moment when no one was around to whisper in his ear, "Brother Yuan, this director clearly doesn't like us."

"That's normal." The corners of Wu Jiangyuan's lips lifted slightly as he said calmly, "With all the talk about me online, it's hard to leave anyone with a good impression."

"No wonder you stopped me from buying drinks for everyone earlier. You already knew what Director Liang was like."

It dawned on Aji.

Wu Jiangyuan smiled with a look that said Aji still had much to learn. "Buying them would've really set him off. If I'm right, the people Liang Changju hates most are the ones who try to curry favor."

"He already has a bad impression of me. If I went up and tried to butter him up, he'd only dislike me more."

Aji gave him a thumbs-up. "You really do think ahead, Brother Yuan."

"All right, enough. I've been changing clothes for so long I haven't even used the bathroom."

Wu Jiangyuan stood up. "I'm going to the restroom."

Aji said, "Sure thing."

Wu Jiangyuan stood in front of a urinal. His hand had just touched his zipper when someone came through the door.

He glanced over out of the corner of his eye and froze.

Why was Pei Jinghe here???

Pei Jinghe was also taken aback to see him, but quickly recovered his expression and walked over.

"What a coincidence. You're here to use the bathroom too."

Wu Jiangyuan's voice trailed off lazily as he took the initiative to greet him. Pei Jinghe was his big financial backer now, after all.

Pei Jinghe replied in a low, cold voice, "Mm."

And that was it.

Treating Wu Jiangyuan as though he were invisible, he went ahead and undid his button.

Wu Jiangyuan raised an eyebrow, making no attempt to hide his stare.

Finally, Pei Jinghe's hand stopped just as he was about to pull his zipper down. He turned his head and said flatly, "Do you have a thing for watching other people use the bathroom?"

"No," Wu Jiangyuan said. "I'm just curious. That red mole on your ass-would they grow anywhere else?"

There was a teasing edge to his words.

Pei Jinghe was always wearing such a sour expression that whenever Wu Jiangyuan saw it, he couldn't resist teasing him.

Pei Jinghe: "..."

His eyes narrowed slightly, the danger in them unmistakable. "You're that curious?"

Wu Jiangyuan blinked innocently.

That look of barely concealed anger was wonderful. Simply wonderful.

He couldn't hold back a laugh and tried to cover for himself. "I was only joking. Go ahead. I won't look anymore."

"Wu Jiangyuan."

Pei Jinghe's low voice sounded beside his ear.

Hearing it gave Wu Jiangyuan a bad feeling.

The next second, his wrist was seized, and a forceful tug pulled him into a bathroom stall.

Wu Jiangyuan: "...?!!"