Shang Shujue later appeared at the entrance to the studio with a swollen, purple-blue lump on his forehead. Chen Jiarui was waiting there to take his phone, but before she could say anything, she spotted the lump and jumped in fright.
"Brother Jue, did you just go fight Mr. Song? Why is your forehead all bruised?"
"It's swollen into such a big lump! Is it serious? Have you put medicine on it? Should we cover it with some foundation? You can barely go onstage looking like this..."
Chen Jiarui's chattering concern gave Shang Shujue a headache. He waved a hand, lightly touching the skin around his forehead, and frowned as he stopped her from going on.
"Chen Jiarui, this injury was purely an accident. I'm fine. Do you have any concealer on you? I can cover it myself, no need to fuss. We're running out of time."
[Damn it! Song Yanqing is abso-tootly a rotten bass-tard! Pah! He's made me so mad I can't even talk straight! ꐦ≖ ≖ Hmph, next time he wants to eat my pineapple buns, he can forget it! I'm never making them for him again! That bastard doesn't deserve them!]
Everyone chatting in the studio: Hiss... why did he sound so aggrieved? There was even a bit of a Lin Daiyu air to him... emmm... much to ponder...
"Uh, ahem... Brother Jue, I happen to have liquid concealer in my bag, plus a fingertip puff and a little mirror. Here, take them all."
Hearing Shang Shujue's inner voice, Chen Jiarui nearly lost her composure. She hurriedly lowered her head toward her bag and coughed twice, pretending to look for something.
Holy crap~ So he really did fight Mr. Song?! ⚆_⚆ Th-this... no way, right? What kind of fight involves hitting someone in the forehead?
Her thoughts wandered as she rummaged through her bag over and over, finally pulling out some liquid concealer and handing it over along with the fingertip puff and small mirror.
"Thank you, thank you. You've got everything, huh? Girls really are amazing. You have absolutely everything in your bags, just like Doraemon. Amazing."
"...Uh, haha... I'll take that as a compliment, Brother Jue."
"It is a compliment. This concealer works pretty well. We could consider stocking some for the company's regular makeup artists. Chen Jiarui, you have a good eye. Thank you so much."
After taking the items, Shang Shujue thanked Chen Jiarui. Although he had already thanked her gently many times over the past few days, she still found it a little unbelievable.
After all, Shang Shujue used to act so unhinged. Compared with before, he was far too normal now-so normal that it was almost inconceivable, to the point that it felt eerie.
As it turned out, being able to hear his inner voice was even eerier. Still, she had to admit that these days of eating melons with him had genuinely been the most comfortable, carefree, and happiest time she had experienced since becoming a celebrity's assistant.
"You're welcome, Brother Jue. It's all part of my job. I'll send you the link to this concealer on WeChat in a bit."
Chen Jiarui waved her hands and answered Shang Shujue a little bashfully, curiosity still in her eyes. He really wanted to know what Shang Shujue and Song Yanqing had done. They had only been alone together for a little while, and he had already gotten hurt?
"All right, thank you. I'll have my secretary handle it."
Shang Shujue was very good at applying concealer. Once he covered it, the lump on his forehead really was invisible, and when he smiled, he was still a handsome man.
He tidied up the items in his hands before returning them to Chen Jiarui with both hands, thanking her again. Then he used his phone to transfer her some money rather than using her things for free.
"This concealer looks like a name brand, so it probably wasn't cheap. I sent you a little money. Remember to accept it."
"Huh? No, no, there's no need. You barely used any..."
Before Chen Jiarui could finish speaking, the transfer had already arrived. The notification sound announcing the incoming money rang out so loudly at that moment that she felt both excited and touched.
Shang Shujue did not concern himself with all that. He curled his lips into a smile and handed her his phone. "I'm leaving my phone in your care. If you feel bad about it, just think of it as a fee for looking after this phone. Take it."
"Okay, then I won't stand on ceremony. Thank you, Brother Jue."
"You're welcome."
Overjoyed, Chen Jiarui entered the studio with Shang Shujue. She could sit in the rest area that Jinyuan Media Entertainment Company had provided specifically for its own agents and artists' assistants.
Getting to watch the performances live was fantastic. Other people did not get perks like this! Money to earn, dancing to watch-Shang Shujue after gaining enlightenment was a heavenly boss!
Looking at the three-thousand-yuan transfer in their chat, specifically labeled "work bonus," Chen Jiarui nearly fainted from excitement. This transfer counted as part of her pay, right?
Chen Jiarui made up her mind. From this day on, she would be Shang Shujue's death warrior. Apart from her family and her idol Zhang Zhichen, no one was allowed to defy him!
Zhang Zhichen & Chen Jiarui's family: No, no, no, we wouldn't dare defy him either! Don't do this! ᗴꩰ(՞⸝⸝o̴̶̷̥᷅ ̫ o̴̶̷᷄⸝⸝՞) ꩰᗱ
Shang Shujue was still angry, but his anger was directed at Song Yanqing. He was quite friendly to everyone else. Whenever someone greeted him along the way, he would still smile and nod, though his smile was faint and polite.
After reaching his seat and sitting down, he suddenly smelled the familiar scent of pineapple buns. Looking up, he saw Xu Jiaqiao munching on a pineapple bun he had made, thoroughly enjoying it.
"Xu Jiaqiao, where did you get that pineapple bun? Didn't I give it to a young guy with low blood sugar?"
Curious about where Xu Jiaqiao's pineapple bun had come from, Shang Shujue unconsciously leaned closer to ask. Xu Jiaqiao turned to look at him, his face blank with confusion, coupled with a sense of being at a loss after learning the truth.
"Huh? Jian Yichen has low blood sugar? I snatched this pineapple bun from him. I only got a quarter, but it's so good. Brother Jue, you made this pineapple bun?"
"..." Seeing Xu Jiaqiao's expression, Shang Shujue could not help raising his eyebrows. "Yes. That bastard Song Yanqing wouldn't eat them and even said they were poisoned. Do you really think they taste good? It was my first time making them."
After answering Xu Jiaqiao's question, Shang Shujue reflexively scanned his surroundings. Then he spotted Jian Yichen sitting in his seat, slowly chewing his way through a whole pineapple bun, and Qi Tianlin beside him, pitifully sharing his pineapple buns with the people around him.
"Huh? Brother Jue, does Brother Song have such poor taste? How many did you make? Those five weren't nearly enough to share. Everyone only got a bite, and Qi Tianlin's almost finished handing them out over there. Brother Jue, make them for us next time. We love them!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Xu Jiaqiao is so annoying. He's so quick to snatch food that none of us can beat him! Loads of people didn't even get a taste. Speaking of which, where are the pineapple buns Brother Song wouldn't eat? Give them to us (๑'~'๑)"
"Brother Jue~ Hungry, hungry, hungry~ Food, food, food~ Eat, eat, eat..."
As soon as Xu Jiaqiao finished, a few quick-witted fellows chimed in. They had been dazed by the delicious fragrance from their very first bite of that pineapple bun. If Qi Tianlin had not told them that Jian Yichen had skipped dinner and had low blood sugar, they would have snatched the one in his hands too.
"Are they really that good?" Shang Shujue asked dubiously.
Everyone answered without thinking, "Delicious! (๑＞＜๑)"
[Hmph, hmph, hmph ╯^╰ That tasteless fool Song Yanqing! Plenty of people will eat the pineapple buns he doesn't want. In a few days, when I'm in a better mood, I'll make several big boxes and give each of them three. I won't save him a single one! Heh heh heh...]
Everyone: We get a deal this good? Hurry up and hand them over!
Song Yanqing paused in the middle of eating his pineapple bun. Then the corners of his lips lifted slightly, and he took another big bite, tugging at the bruised, red swelling on his forehead. The pain made him grimace, completely shattering the cool, aloof image he had maintained.
"Hiss... ow, ow... I really pissed off this ironwood stump this time. I'll have to think about how to coax Shang Shujue back later. Pineapple buns this delicious aren't something I can miss out on."
Nuomi looked at the fuming Shang Shujue, who seemed oblivious but had actually awakened to his feelings without realizing it, then at the yelping Song Yanqing, who seemed enlightened but actually had eyes only for pineapple buns and had completely missed the point.
Fine! With you two like this, how does it not count as yang and yang in harmony, complementing and nourishing each other? This is pretty good...