But the opportunity came sooner than Jiang Nuo had imagined.
The next day, Cui Ming rushed over and dragged the still-sleeping Jiang Nuo out from under the covers.
Jiang Nuo had already woken with keen alertness when Cui Ming entered the living room, but he really did not want to get up.
He opened his eyes groggily and leaned against the headboard, watching Cui Ming bustle into the walk-in closet to put together an outfit.
"What are you doing, Brother Cui?"
"Oh, for heaven's sake! Stop sleeping! Your good fortune's here."
Cui Ming slapped his thigh, only then remembering that he had forgotten to tell Jiang Nuo about it.
"Si Yan's manager called me first thing this morning and said he wants to promote a CP with you on the variety show! She even said Si Yan specifically requested it himself!"
"They've invited us to lunch at Feather Color, so hurry up and get ready!"
Jiang Nuo yawned, his normally soft hair sticking up a little from sleep, and began analyzing things as he stared into space.
Si Yan wants to promote a CP with me = we can stay together all the time = I can absorb Si Yan's Spiritual Power = I can complete missions and redeem points.
A guaranteed profit with no risk of loss!
At that thought, Jiang Nuo even felt considerably more awake.
When he returned from washing up in the bathroom, he found three outfits laid out on the bed.
He was speechless.
He turned to look at Cui Ming, who was waiting eagerly.
"You want me to wear this?"
"I refuse."
Cui Ming planted his hands on his hips and glared like an old father forcing his son to submit.
"You have neither a good reputation nor money right now. All you've got left is your face. If Si Yan still wants to promote a CP with you, he must be lusting after your body!"
"Don't worry, Brother Cui won't make you sleep with him, but you'll still have to sell your looks a little."
Jiang Nuo: "..."
Half an hour later.
A luxury private dining room at Feather Color restaurant.
Yang Hong looked at the young man walking in with a strange expression.
His features were handsome and finely sculpted, the collar of his black shirt spread wide open to reveal his collarbones. He also wore a necklace, its chain trailing down along his neckline.
A chain also hung from the belt around his waist, and it was hard to tell whether it was a separate one or the one dangling from his neck.
If his face had not saved the look, this outfit would have fit right in at a nightclub.
But clothes had always depended on the wearer, and Jiang Nuo had enough presence to pull even this outfit off. He just looked... quite flashy.
Si Yan raised his eyes to him. Their gazes met, and Jiang Nuo lifted an eyebrow slightly and winked at him, a little slyly.
"Si Yan, we meet again."
"...Mm." Tiny points of light rose in his eyes.
Jiang Nuo naturally sat down beside him. He turned to speak again, only to have his left hand taken.
Naturally, it was Si Yan's hand.
Why is it so cold?
Jiang Nuo glanced at him in surprise.
Si Yan's hand had been cold in the old mansion yesterday too, but at the time, he had thought it was because the man was frightened.
"Are you cold?"
Si Yan tightened his grip a little, seemingly reluctant to let go of that warmth.
"Very."
It was a cold that no amount of clothing could help.
Yang Hong explained for him, "Si Yan has always had a cold constitution, and the doctors can't do anything about it. When he got back yesterday, he said he could feel the warmth coming from you."
So that's it. That's a good thing. Now I even feel less guilty about absorbing his Spiritual Power.
Jiang Nuo generously let him hold his left hand and glanced at the astonished Cui Ming.
Yang Hong was a decisive woman. She took out the contract for Jiang Nuo to review, giving him favorable terms wherever she could.
"Promoting a CP was Si Yan's idea. He's signed on as a regular, but he's really afraid of those things. If you can protect him, these three endorsement deals are yours."
Even Yang Hong found the words awkward to say.
What a flimsy excuse. Only this young nephew of mine could come up with it. It would be a miracle if the other party believed it.
To her surprise, Jiang Nuo readily accepted and signed the contract without even hesitating.
"All right, I agree!"
Yang Hong, who had been preparing to persuade him further: "..."
On second thought, it made sense. Sharing the screen with Si Yan was certainly a way for Jiang Nuo to clean up his reputation right now.
Si Yan looked at the names of Party A and Party B sitting side by side, then raised his eyes to Jiang Nuo, their gazes meeting again.
"Then I look forward to working with you." Mission target.
Jiang Nuo swung their joined hands, letting out a soft laugh.
"You're not going to refuse?"
Si Yan had also thought Jiang Nuo would not agree so easily.
"Do you want me to refuse?"
The smile at Jiang Nuo's lips held an obscure meaning. "You know my secret. That makes it hard to refuse."
He was talking about drinking blood in the cave.
Si Yan remembered it too, his eyes darkening slightly. The words were clearly laden with a threat, yet now they carried an added intimacy that belonged to the two of them alone.
"No."
"Then here's to a happy partnership."
"Jiang Nuo, eat. Hurry up and eat."
Cui Ming kept feeling that something was off about the atmosphere between them and hurriedly signaled for Jiang Nuo to eat.
Jiang Nuo withdrew his teasing gaze and leisurely picked up food. Just as he was about to pull his hand back, Si Yan held on again.
"Wait, how are you going to eat if you don't let go? Are you left-handed?" Jiang Nuo was amused.
Only then did Si Yan awkwardly withdraw his hand, rubbing his fingertips together over the lingering warmth.
The meal... could just about be called enjoyable for hosts and guests alike.
Only the two managers spent it on tenterhooks.
Yang Hong kept feeling that her young nephew had ulterior motives. In the past, never mind promoting a CP, he had barely even had any dating rumors.
Now it was as though his entire personality had changed.
Cui Ming, meanwhile, feared that Jiang Nuo's forceful personality would leave Si Yan at a disadvantage and upset him.
Whether Jiang Nuo could turn things around on the variety show depended entirely on sharing the screen with Si Yan.
After the meal, the two went their separate ways. However unwilling Si Yan was, he still had to shoot the work that had piled up.
Jiang Nuo logged onto Weibo and reposted the production team's promotional livestream announcement.
The internet had been in an uproar over the past two days.
On one hand, people were arguing over whether the ghosts in the show were real; on the other, several guests' fans were fighting.
Although Jiang Nuo had performed well in the first episode, he had no devoted fans after all, and he had offended almost all the male guests. He was being viciously lambasted in the topic feed.
As far as the production team was concerned, fan wars meant buzz. They could not wait to let the bullets fly a little longer.
So they did not respond to any of the questions in the topic feed and simply posted an announcement for a joint livestream featuring the regular guests tomorrow.
As for Jiang Nuo himself, he had not even looked at public opinion online.
"Si Yan really has a lot of secrets."
Curled up on the sofa, Jiang Nuo pondered. Without the lively expressions he wore in front of others, he looked much more detached.
"A natural Spirit Body, protective purple qi, yet exceptionally unlucky..."
Suddenly thinking of his ice-cold body temperature, Jiang Nuo seemed to realize something, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
Could this guy be an ordinary person who can't process that much Spiritual Power, leaving his purple qi suppressed inside his body and bringing harm upon himself instead?
Thinking of it that way, absorbing Si Yan's Spiritual Power is actually beneficial to both of us.
Jiang Nuo lowered his eyes, tapping his fingertips idly against the back of the sofa.
Ever since his rebirth, he seemed to keep crossing paths with Si Yan.
What a... coincidence.
A sharp glint flashed through his shimmering eyes.