Chi Li froze. "Aren't you an artist with the film and television division?"
The film and television division's offices were on the sixteenth floor, and Shen Xunye's elevator had come down from above, so that should have been right... With a face like that, he wasn't an artist? Was he kidding?
Shen Xunye said, "I'm not an artist either."
"...Staff?" Chi Li was genuinely a little surprised. "...Haven't your colleagues tried to persuade you to go into entertainment?"
"I'm not staff either." The corners of Shen Xunye's mouth curled up. "I'm a staff member's... family."
"Not a boyfriend or girlfriend, right?" Chi Li immediately went on alert.
Sure, the CP was fake, but he didn't want to promote a ship with someone who had a boyfriend or girlfriend! That would make him feel guilty, okay!
...He should have asked properly earlier.
"Of course not. I have an older brother who works here."
"Phew, thank goodness..." Chi Li's heart, which had just leaped into his throat, instantly settled back down. "Well, since you can't act... just behave normally. Don't be scared. Pretend we don't know each other at first, then follow my lead later."
He couldn't ask too much of an ordinary person.
When the time came, he could take the initiative to create some romantic tension, then have Gu Nan use an alt account to lead the shipping. That ought to work fine.
Shen Xunye was obedient enough. "Okay."
"Then let's forget about personas." Chi Li put a different set of materials in front of him. "Get to know these three."
"Who are they?" Shen Xunye flipped through them without much interest.
"Our future colleagues, and our main competition." Chi Li took the first dish the server brought over. "Our goal is to steal screen time from them."
"Oh?" Shen Xunye still seemed uninterested. "Then how do we steal screen time from them?"
"By selling bromance." Chi Li wore an expression that said, How do you not even know that? "We'll go big and knock them straight out of the running."
Now Shen Xunye was interested. "How big?"
"Don't worry about that. I'll keep it under control," said Chi Li, who actually hadn't decided how far to take it.
Shen Xunye nodded. "Okay."
"Memorize these three faces, especially Zhou Yang..." Chi Li clenched his back teeth and said bitterly, "Ideally, we can rip that fake mask off his face on camera."
Shen Xunye raised an eyebrow and looked at Zhou Yang's unremarkable face on the screen. "Personal grudge?"
"Yes." Chi Li made no attempt to hide it, and added, "You're mine. You should share my enemies."
Shen Xunye smiled. "Of course."
Three days later, at the Raising House, ten in the morning.
Zhou Yang ran into the living room, panting, with a letter in hand, and shouted, "Senior! There's a letter from the production team!"
Xie Weishui ran out of the kitchen, wiped his hands on his apron, and jogged over to him. "Could someone be coming to visit?"
To provide a perfectly immersive experience, "What Should We Do Today?" never showed staff on camera.
Even the occasional assignments were delivered through the mailbox by the door.
At present, letters arrived under three circumstances.
First, a new member was moving into the Raising House.
Second, a guest was coming to visit the Raising House.
Third, there was a special outing planned for the members.
Half a month earlier, the Raising House had been invited to a local amusement park, and just a few days ago, Zhou Yang had joined as a new member, so the most likely possibility was a guest visit.
"Huh?" Zhou Yang looked a little nervous. "Wh-what do we need to prepare for a guest?"
"Pfft, look at you." Xie Weishui gave him a chiding glance, took the envelope from him, and opened it. "Don't worry. Your senior's got your back."
But the next second, Xie Weishui's smile froze.
"Members 'Xu Su' and 'Yang Haiguang' will move out of the villa before noon. New members will move in at around two this afternoon." He slowly read the words on the card, then asked in confusion, "...Why are there new members again?"
Zhou Yang put on a tearful face. "I'm already not the newest one anymore..."
...Fuck. Xu Su and Yang Haiguang barely had any presence. By sticking with Xie Weishui, I could practically monopolize the main livestream. With two newcomers arriving so soon, they'll definitely get priority screen time, no matter how they perform.
...I'll just act enthusiastic and hang around them to steal screen time.
While Zhou Yang silently made his calculations, Xie Weishui had already recovered his composure.
"Oh, well, fresh blood is always a good thing. After we see Brother Xu and Little Yang off, let's go buy some things at the nearby supermarket and put together a welcome ceremony for the new members~"
A smile bloomed on Zhou Yang's face. "I'll follow your lead, Senior!"
...What a fake.
...You're clearly afraid you won't be able to control these parachuted-in newcomers, aren't you?
...But you'd better hold on to your 'supremacy' in the Raising House, or I'll suffer right along with you.
"I'm your senior too." Fang Jin walked over and smoothly joined their conversation. "How come I've never heard you call me that?"
[Ahhhh, today's shura field came so fast.]
[Why does it smell so much like jealousy in here~]
[Worrying every day that someone's going to steal his wife. Oh, my poor Fang Jin.]
[Doesn't anyone think Xie Weishui is such a scumbag? He pretty much only interacts with Zhou Yang now, right? Isn't that cheating? Isn't Fang Jin pitiful? How can Jinshui CP fans stomach this?]
[Oh my god, girl, they're not actually husbands. Now you're calling it cheating?]
[Didn't they sell the ship themselves? Even if it isn't cheating, hasn't he hurt Jinshui CP fans' feelings? He uses Fang Jin as a stepping stone and we can't even say anything? In that case, I support Fang Jin pairing up with a newcomer.]
[I'm all for it! A CP free-for-all is what makes things juicy~]
"What does 'free-for-all' mean?" Shen Xunye's arm rested naturally along the back of the sofa, his fingertips barely an inch from Chi Li's shoulder.
Chi Li watched the screen intently. "It means anyone can pair up with anyone."
"Anyone can pair up with anyone?" Shen Xunye clicked his tongue and delivered a cutting assessment. "How promiscuous."
"...Quite the choice of words." Chi Li leaned back a little and shot him a sidelong look.
The soft ends of his hair lightly brushed Shen Xunye's wrist. Rather than move his hand away, Shen Xunye shifted a little more of his weight toward him.
From a certain angle, it looked as though he had enclosed all of Chi Li within his territory.
"I'm not getting involved in that kind of weird relationship," Shen Xunye said disdainfully.
"I wouldn't let you get involved in that kind of weird relationship either." Chi Li lowered his head, caught the straw between his teeth, and took a sip of juice before instructing him solemnly, "I'm the one who recruited you, so you can only look at me, flirt with me, and sell bromance with me. Understood?"
"Understood." Shen Xunye reached out to straighten his hair. "So possessive, huh?"
"Come on, let's go to the mall. I'll buy them some presents." Chi Li abruptly stood up and dragged Shen Xunye away.
"We have to buy them presents too?" Shen Xunye sounded reluctant.
"You don't have to buy any. Remember... we don't know each other at first. Don't give us away."
"...I'm not an idiot."