By the time Huo Yuzhou came out of the dressing room again, Nan Qing had already drunk half a glass of water.
As the tall, broad-built man passed him, Nan Qing caught another familiar whiff of ebony and agarwood.
He even had to put on cologne when changing clothes. It was the middle of the night, and he still wouldn't give it a rest.
There wasn't anyone else here. Why was Huo Yuzhou always strutting like a peacock?
Nan Qing grumbled inwardly, but his expression was obedient.
"Mr. Huo, it's so late. I hope I'm not disturbing you?"
Huo Yuzhou sat down on the sofa opposite him and poured himself a glass of water just as Nan Qing had, his voice calm.
"You're not."
"At lunch, we said I'd take you to work tomorrow morning, but I still don't know what Qingqing's work schedule is tomorrow, or where it is."
So he'd come to fish for information.
Nan Qing's eyes curved.
"When I went back to Huading Entertainment for a meeting today, my manager said he'd booked me a new variety show called Hello, World. Since I don't have anything else to do anyway, I might as well go..."
The young man's soft, light voice drew out the words, a certain slyness in his rounded almond eyes.
Like a little fox harboring ill intentions, baring sharp claws beneath its soft belly, he tested the waters.
"Bai Ruanruan will be there too."
Huo Yuzhou lifted his thin eyelids and looked over at him.
Nan Qing understood.
Tsk! See, that got his attention!
An actual pervert pretending to be a gentleman. Instead of pursuing the person he liked, he was fishing for information through a vicious cannon fodder like him.
Could Huo Yuzhou be keeping him not only to exact revenge, but also to keep track of Bai Ruanruan through him?
After all, he and Bai Ruanruan were both in the entertainment industry, making it easy to pick up information.
Oh no!
One signed contract, and he'd become a human surveillance camera!
"You don't want him to go?" Huo Yuzhou asked calmly.
Nan Qing hastily shook his head.
Bai Ruanruan was the white moonlight in the softest corner of the villain boss Huo Yuzhou's heart, his reverse scale that no one could touch for his entire life. How could Nan Qing possibly have the nerve to stop Bai Ruanruan from appearing on the show?
That bastard Huo Yuzhou was even testing him. He really was no good.
Nan Qing smiled obediently, his petal-like lips curving.
"Not at all. It's nice to go together. We're from the same company, so we might even be able to look out for each other."
Huo Yuzhou held his octagonal crystal glass, his face silent.
Sometimes, he really wanted to pry open the little bastard's head and see whether it had long since become empty inside.
Huading Entertainment was clearly harboring ill intentions by sending the two of them on the variety show together, letting Bai Ruanruan step on Qingqing to rise to the top.
It was such an obvious setup, yet this little fool remained completely oblivious, even going so far as to think Bai Ruanruan could look out for him.
What could that thousand-year-old green tea Bai Ruanruan possibly do to look out for him?
Sling mud at him? Insult and bully him? Lead everyone in ostracizing him?
What a ridiculous variety show. He'd have to suffer and scheme against others. He'd be better off staying quietly at home as his wife.
Huo Yuzhou's long, well-defined fingers gripped the glass, his knuckles tightening slightly as the blue veins on the back of his hand stood out more prominently.
Nan Qing sneaked a glance over and went pale with alarm.
Oh no!
Even hearing about looking out for each other made him angry?
Did Huo Yuzhou really think Bai Ruanruan would take care of him? Was he jealous?
Or did he think Nan Qing would take the opportunity to bully Bai Ruanruan again? Was he getting angry in advance?
Nan Qing truly couldn't figure it out, but he was deeply shocked.
He felt that, in a certain sense, if their current roles were transplanted into ancient times, Huo Yuzhou would be a cruel, despotic emperor, and Bai Ruanruan would be his favored consort.
And he himself would be the castrated one walking ahead of Huo Yuzhou, holding a fly whisk and speaking in a pinched voice.
In a flash, Nan Qing hurried to patch things up.
"Actually, we probably won't get the chance to look out for each other. These variety shows are all scripted. Since Bai Ruanruan and I are from the same company, they definitely won't put us on the same team."
No sooner had Nan Qing finished than he suddenly regretted it so much that he wanted to cover his own mouth.
Just listen to the nonsense he'd said. What did he mean, not on the same team? Didn't that mean they'd be on opposing teams?
He was done for.
Now that bastard Huo Yuzhou would start aching for his precious white moonlight again.
Nan Qing steeled himself to try patching things up once more, but Huo Yuzhou's deep voice sounded again.
"That's good. Just treat it as a chance to get out and unwind. Have fun."
"Don't worry about anyone else."
Those narrow eyes rested steadily on him. As his voice softened, even the ends of his words carried a tenderness he hadn't noticed.
"If you're unhappy, call me anytime."
Nan Qing hesitated, but still gave a firm nod.
Whether he meant it or not, a capitalist tycoon like Huo Yuzhou had already said it. Surely he couldn't slap himself in the face.
Besides, as long as Bai Ruanruan didn't come rushing over to pick a fight, Nan Qing couldn't be bothered to bully him. But if Bai Ruanruan deliberately stirred up trouble tomorrow, he couldn't blame Nan Qing for what happened.
Looking at Nan Qing's earnest expression, Huo Yuzhou's thin lips curved almost imperceptibly.
He might be a little fool, but at least he was obedient.
In any case, with him around, those people wouldn't be able to pull anything.
Huo Yuzhou brought the glass to his lips and took a sip.
"What's the format of tomorrow's variety show? Recorded and aired later, or livestreamed?"
Nan Qing was a little surprised that he would ask in such detail, but answered obediently.
"Barring any surprises, it should be recorded and aired later."
Most domestic variety shows were currently recorded before being broadcast, and Hello, World was no exception.
That was precisely why Bai Ruanruan was so fearless.
After all, he had the Bai Family and Huading Entertainment behind him, and had secured the male lead in the S+ project Journey through Luo. All Huading Entertainment had to do was put in a word with the variety show's production team and pull a few strings, and the final edit would definitely favor Bai Ruanruan in every way.
Weren't all domestic variety shows like that, anyway?
One sweep of the editing scissors could turn black into white, and white into black.
In any case, anyone appearing on a variety show like this had to be mentally prepared. Everything might have been perfectly normal during filming, only for them to be attacked so viciously when the edited show aired that they couldn't even open their eyes.
That went double for a flop celebrity like him, loaded with scandals and shoved into the show specifically so Bai Ruanruan could step on him to climb higher.
Huo Yuzhou nodded, his gaze settling on Nan Qing's soft, fluffy hair.
"All right. I understand."
A few minutes later, the delicately featured young man rose from the sofa, not forgetting to exchange good nights with Huo Yuzhou as he pushed the door open to leave.
Once the footsteps had faded beyond the doorway, the man sitting on the sofa picked up his phone and dialed a number.
The night breeze lifted the curtains. The tinted glass cabinet reflected the man's aloof, refined face, and even his pleasant voice carried indifference as he slowly spoke.
"Hello, this is Huo Yuzhou..."