After spending a night in the hospital, Shi Wei checked himself out.
When he got home, Ji Hanchuan seemed not to have returned. The cup on the table was still as it had been when Shi Wei left yesterday, and the enormous luxury apartment felt rather deserted.
Speaking of which, this penthouse had also been a wedding gift from Grandpa Ji. He genuinely treated Shi Wei well.
Shi Wei raised his head at a forty-five-degree angle to gaze at the sky, holding back tears of regret, but his sorrow still flowed upstream into a river.
Grandpa, if you'd arrived just one minute later, I would have finished signing my name!
The two characters in Shi Wei only add up to twelve strokes. It would have been so quick!
Why did you have to be so punctual? You're not a train driver!
Overwhelmed with grief, Shi Wei covered his face.
It's all over...
[Host, please don't lose heart. Ji Hanchuan's grandfather is indeed a roadblock on your road to divorce, but don't forget one thing.]
"What thing?" Shi Wei perked up.
[As long as you bully Xu Xirui until Ji Hanchuan can no longer tolerate you, getting divorced won't be difficult.]
"Right, I can still court death!" Shi Wei instantly recovered his HP and got out his computer.
He had to dig up dirt on Xu Xirui!
But Xu Xirui had covered his tracks too well. The internet was full of people blowing rainbow farts at him. Even the occasional comments calling him a green tea looked like nothing more than angry posts from rival fans.
Just then, Ma Xianbei called him again.
"Hello, Brother Bei!"
"Did you swallow a cannonball? Why do you sound so explosive?"
"Brother Bei, I'm busy." Shi Wei continued searching through posts.
Ma Xianbei let it slide. "Shi Wei, you've really been possessed by the luck emperor. Who would've thought netizens would clear your name when the evidence seemed so solid? You're the hottest thing on the internet right now. This really paid off."
Shi "Netizen" Wei merely smiled faintly, concealing his deeds and fame.
"I heard Xu Xirui and his people tried to get the video taken down last night, but for some reason they just couldn't get it removed. Hahahahaha!"
Shi Wei found that strange too.
But who exactly had kept his video up?
Shi Wei wasn't in the mood to dwell on it. "Brother Bei, did you call just to tell me that?"
"Of course I've got something good for you." Ma Xianbei laughed smugly. If he'd had a tail, it would have been sticking straight up. "Now that those rumors about you have been debunked, the company knows you were wronged, so they've recommended you for a major film."
Shi Wei perked up. "Am I playing the male lead?"
"You're playing one of the male lead's... enemies." Ma Xianbei sounded rather unsure of himself. "A eunuch."
Shi Wei was brisk and decisive. "Bye-bye!"
"Wait! You haven't heard who the director is yet." Ma Xianbei reeled Shi Wei's curiosity back in. "You've heard of Zhang Zixiang, right? An internationally renowned director. He directed Ji Hanchuan's first movie."
Shi Wei was interested. "Wow, then I'm definitely going to be even better than Ji Hanchuan."
"Oh, give it a rest." Ma Xianbei sounded thoroughly disdainful. "Xu Xirui's in it too, playing the third male lead. You're not even confirmed for some minor male role yet, so stop bragging."
"Hmm?" Shi Wei's smile deepened. "Oh~~ Xu Xirui's here too."
"...Why does your tone sound a little strange?"
"Then I'll take the role."
"Take what? They might not even want you." Shi Wei exasperated Ma Xianbei into laughing. "I'll pick you up tomorrow."
Shi Wei hung up and promptly abandoned his computer.
Was there any faster way to dig up dirt than confronting the sea king protagonist himself?
But where had Ji Hanchuan gone?
The original owner had Ji Hanchuan's contact details, but he hadn't dared contact him.
Shi Wei wasn't afraid, though.
Shi Wei called him directly, and Ji Hanchuan actually picked up quickly.
"Hello."
Hearing that distant tone, Shi Wei guessed that Ji Hanchuan definitely hadn't saved his number.
Shi Wei spoke in a thread of a voice. "Hubby..."
Ji Hanchuan's tone instantly dropped two degrees. "You're out of the hospital?"
"Mm. I didn't see my hubby when I woke up today. So saaad."
"Oh."
"You were so angry yesterday. You scared me."
"Oh."
"Ji Zhazha misses Daddy too."
"Oh."
Shi Wei: ...
Oh, oh, oh. Do you really think I can't smack you just because we're on the phone?
Shi Wei clenched his fist, his voice weak. "Will you be coming home tonight, hubby?"
"No."
Oh yeah! Multicolored fireworks exploded in Shi Wei's heart.
Ji Hanchuan's cool, jade-like voice came through. "Anything else?"
"Can't I call my hubby if there's nothing else?"
"No."
Ji Hanchuan hung up immediately.
Fuck, what kind of trash man is this?!
Shi Wei couldn't be bothered with him. After resting for an entire day, he appeared by the roadside bright and early the next morning, full of energy.
While he waited for the car, the system urged him to send Ji Hanchuan a loving greeting.
A greeting? I'd really love to give him a greeting!
After he sent the voice message, the car arrived too. Shi Wei got in and saw Ma Xianbei sniffling.
"What's wrong, Brother Bei?"
"You've really grown up. You didn't sleep in, and I didn't even have to nag you over and over."
Shi Wei said, "...Just drive, bro."
They soon arrived on set. The moment he walked in, everyone inside turned to look at him in unison.
Shi Wei found a seat and sat down. His calm, unruffled air surprised even Ma Xianbei.
Once he received the audition script, Shi Wei began studying it.
This eunuch named Liang Fang was rather interesting. Although he was only a minor supporting character, he was extremely important, a key figure who influenced the emperor's thinking.
"Weiwei, you're here so early."
A pleasant voice interrupted Shi Wei's thoughts.
A fresh-faced, handsome young man in a white T-shirt and jeans walked straight toward Shi Wei, acting as familiar as if they were close friends.
"You're here too, Xu Xirui." Shi Wei glanced at him, then lowered his head and continued reading the script.
Despise the enemy strategically.
The smile on Xu Xirui's face stiffened. "Am I disturbing you? Don't worry. I already told Brother Chen Feng that you're a great fit for Liang Fang, so you don't have to be too nervous."
The moment he said that, everyone was inwardly in an uproar!
Wasn't Chen Feng Zhang Zixiang's go-to screenwriter? No wonder a flop with a reputation in the negatives like Shi Wei could audition for the great Director Zhang's film. It was all thanks to Xu Xirui!
But everyone then sneered inwardly.
This villainous eunuch was wicked and conniving, and even had a somewhat ambiguous relationship with the emperor. He was utterly unlikable. Whoever played him would be unlucky.
Xu Xirui must have arranged this role to mess with him.
But even if Xu Xirui was messing with him, so what? With Shi Wei's reputation and status, he could only be deeply grateful to Xu Xirui.
Shi Wei lazily lifted his eyelids to look at him. "Well..."
"Hmm?" Xu Xirui was all smiles.
"You are disturbing me," Shi Wei said. "There's a seat in that corner. Please go sit over there."
Go find somewhere else to cool off!
Xu Xirui's smile vanished completely. His face alternated between green and white, and he left with his head lowered.
His aggrieved appearance stirred people's pity.
The onlookers' gazes took on a measure of reproach as they fell on Shi Wei.
Was this the charm of a sea king?
Shi Wei rose and headed toward the restroom. He was in no hurry, merely washing his hands at a leisurely pace.
Sure enough, the other person soon arrived.
"Feeling pretty smug after humiliating me in public?"