[Disclaimer: I didn't know the cover was someone else's commissioned artwork. When I made it, the platform provided the link. I've now made a new cover.
Please stop asking me in the comments. I genuinely didn't know he was Jian Suiying, and I haven't read that novel, only heard of it. Please let me off the hook. Thank you, thank you, thank you.]
PS: Guys, here's a new way to have fun: leave a comment on every paragraph, then come back once the book is finished. You might find a surprise~ ᖰ⌯'▾'⌯ᖳ
The makeup room for "Draft," a large-scale livestreamed talent competition at Shangjing Film and Television City, was packed and bustling.
Handsome young men of all different styles raced against the clock to get their makeup done, preparing nervously for the upcoming talent show.
"Young Master Shang! Wake up! Recording is about to start. We need to hurry and do your makeup. There isn't much time left."
Shang Shujue had just regained consciousness when he felt someone pat his shoulder.
A voice reached his ears as well, not particularly polite, but suppressing its anger out of deference to his status.
He paused, then opened his eyes.
"Sorry. Go ahead and do my makeup."
Having just woken up, Shang Shujue sounded languid and low, and even his tone was a little gentler.
It left the makeup artist, who was used to his harsh words and bossy manner, momentarily stunned.
The makeup room was huge, accommodating a hundred audition contestants and a correspondingly large number of makeup artists.
Normally, with everyone exchanging a word or two, all that chatter would have been extremely noisy.
But they had all been keeping an eye on what was happening around Shang Shujue.
After all, he was a hot topic these days. Even if his fame came from being hated, he was still well-known.
So...
When he said something so gentle and apologetic, the makeup room rapidly fell quiet.
Everyone turned almost in perfect unison toward the room's only sofa.
Shang Shujue, who had previously been sleeping sprawled across it without a care, had sat up.
He wore nothing more than a white shirt and black suit trousers, yet they set off his extraordinarily handsome, cool, ethereal face so well that it was impossible to look away.
His looks and attributes were exceptional even within the entertainment industry.
Dressed like this, he looked every bit an elite professional.
He looked less like someone entering a talent show to debut and more like someone scouting talent and discussing business partnerships.
Seemingly feeling a little hot, he undid the top two buttons of his shirt with one hand, exposing his fair, slender neck and a tantalizing glimpse of his collarbones.
Around his neck hung a silver-gray necklace with a red double-petaled camellia pendant, particularly striking against all that white.
Together with his languid expression, it made him look like a mysterious, dangerous spirit lurking in the mountain forests.
Unfortunately, someone with such good looks was an ignorant, mentally defective idiot with a love-addled brain.
He was famous for pursuing Su Youchuan, heir to the Su Family, one of Shangjing's eight powerful families.
He excelled at courting disaster in every imaginable way. A quick online search brought up practically nothing but dirt on him.
Yet this scandal-ridden man who relentlessly pestered another man actually owned an entertainment company, Jinyuan Media, and the company was doing very well.
His company and his person were famous separately, each in their own way, except one had boundless prospects and was thriving.
The other was notorious and mired in scandals. Each had their own achievements, so neither had lived in vain.
"Hmm?"
Shang Shujue noticed that the noisy makeup room had suddenly fallen silent.
He instinctively turned to look and found everyone staring at him as though they had seen a ghost.
He froze briefly, then inwardly clicked his tongue.
*[ε=(´ο｀*))) Sigh... What a mess.*
My anti-fan really understands me. This new villainous image they created for me has already taken root in everyone's minds.
*I just apologized, didn't I? Why are they all looking at me? Have they never seen someone apologize?]*
Those helpless words suddenly rang out in the quiet makeup room, giving everyone a fright.
They recognized that voice. It belonged to Shang Shujue.
But he hadn't opened his mouth at all?!
Fuck! A ghost in broad daylight?!
"Uh... Young Master Shang, let me do your makeup. Once we're done, you can change into your performance outfit..."
The makeup artist had also been startled by the voice that suddenly rang out, and she looked around with a deeply uneasy expression.
Seeing everyone else's shocked, ghost-struck expressions made her
panic even more.
She was closest to Shang Shujue and could most directly experience the terror of hearing his voice when his mouth hadn't opened.
Still, she quickly got her expression under control, though she couldn't control her hands.
She swallowed and began applying Shang Shujue's makeup with trembling hands.
*[Huh? Am I that scary?*
This girl's hands are shaking like a sieve.
Is she about to faint...
Fuck! You really fainted!
You're so young. Why are you already staging accidents to frame people?
Wait! Am I hideously deformed?
*What do I do? What do I do? Should I call the police?]*
Seeing the makeup artist's trembling hands, Shang Shujue raised his eyebrows slightly, thoughts surging through his mind, completely unaware that everyone in the makeup room could read his inner voice.
He had only just wondered whether the makeup artist would faint when her cosmetics spilled onto the floor.
The next second, her eyes rolled back and she toppled stiffly onto the carpet.
Startled, he jumped onto the sofa and curled up, then turned to discover many people watching him and put his feet back down.
"I didn't push her! She's framing me! You have to believe me. I didn't do anything wrong!"
Everyone: "..." If we hadn't heard your inner voice, we'd really have thought you did it.
"Yunyun!"
"I'm so sorry, Young Master Shang. Yunyun didn't eat breakfast today. Her blood sugar's low."
"I'll take her back to rest. She'll be fine once she's eaten something. I'll have another makeup artist come do your makeup. Would that be all right?"
The head makeup artist came dashing over from nearby and scooped Yunyun off the carpet into a bridal carry.
She spoke to Shang Shujue with a smile, looking perfectly at ease. She must have trained her muscles.
Everyone: Holy shit! Where did you spring out from?!
"Of course, of course. Her health comes first."
*[666, those veins are practically popping out. This must be the head of the makeup team.*
She's definitely been lifting weights behind the other makeup artists' backs.
That core strength... Absolutely incredible!
*Isn't she better than those precious little fairy boys in showbiz who need a wheelchair after twisting an ankle and can't even lift a ninety-jin actress?]*
Shang Shujue glanced at the veins bulging on the backs of the head makeup artist's hands from the effort.
Then he discreetly glanced at the young woman in her arms, inwardly chanting "666."
The head makeup artist, who had reached the door, nearly threw her back out. "..."
Fuck! My damn back! I'm just forcing myself to hold on!
Young Master Shang, who'd have thought that beneath your cold, untouchable exterior, you were actually like this inside!
You ridiculous chatterbox!
Everyone: "..."
This guy really is something. Who'd have thought Shang Shujue was such a goofball inside? Then why had he made such a huge spectacle of confessing to Su Youchuan?
He had even personally joined this variety show, yet hadn't participated in filming at the shared dormitory.
Instead, he had come straight over on the day official recording began.
He had been the first to arrive in the makeup room, settled straight into a comfortable sleep, and only just been woken up.
So, in the end, the Shang Shujue of the rumors was just that-a rumor?
Those who had heard his inner voice exchanged glances, unconsciously affirming their thoughts.
The contestants' group chat, which hadn't included Shang Shujue in the first place, was already buzzing, while Shang Shujue himself had stopped his internal commentary.
[Xu Jiaqiao]: Fuck, fuck, fuck! Did you hear Shang Shujue's **?!
[Xu Jiaqiao]: Fuck! Why can't I type the relevant words? Can you guys type them? Fuck! I can't even say anything related to it!
[Xu Zhichen]: I can't type it either, much less say it. Also, I feel like everyone in the studio heard it... Well, you all know what I mean. I just saw Director Yu frantically calling an emergency staff meeting.
[Tang Jiayao]: Whoa~ Have we run into something supernatural? Hahaha... This is pretty fun.
[Bai Zhiyi]: Can we still record today, then?
[Zhang Zhichen]: We should be able to. Probably...
[Gu Yuchen]: Feels like things might get fun later. This really is my first time hearing someone else's **, hahaha...
[...]
In the makeup room, the contestants sneaked glances at Shang Shujue, keeping straight faces while chatting up a storm in the group.