Jiang Nan paused, then asked earnestly, "Why do you say that?"
Zhu Xia said, "Do you know Mo Cixuan?"
Jiang Nan had watched a movie yesterday that happened to have been directed by Mo Cixuan.
"Sure. The internationally renowned director."
Zhu Xia explained, "Shen Anbai is a young actor Mo Cixuan personally mentored. He played a supporting male role in Waiting for the East Wind and gained quite a few fans. After the movie came out, he rode that wave of popularity and went on a dance show."
"He happened to perform a duet with Luo Hang. Their auras somehow meshed really well, and that dance stayed on the trending list for three days and nights. Their ship also shot straight to second place in the supertopics. Quite a few of their shippers used to ship you and Luo Hang."
Zhu Xia thought for a moment, then added, "You ended up trending a few times too."
Jiang Nan asked tentatively, "Was it people trashing me, or..."
Zhu Xia's lips curved into a cold, deeply mocking smile. "What do you think?"
Jiang Nan readily conceded. "I'll mute myself."
He scrolled to another video.
This one showed the full performance.
Luo Hang was genuinely, strikingly handsome, dressed in a casual black suit.
Beside him, Shen Anbai wore white hanfu with wide sleeves. The two were similar in height but wore different styles, one with heavy makeup and the other with light makeup.
At times, their palms met; at times, their bodies pressed together; at times, their eyes met.
A person from another era had fallen in love with a young man from the new age.
At the very end, Shen Anbai stood at the center of the stage, spinning wildly on tiptoe, the layers of his sleeves fluttering in the air with his movements.
Luo Hang simply stood to one side and watched.
They could not touch each other and could express their longing only through their gazes.
After watching the entire dance, Jiang Nan finally understood why it had stayed on the trending list for three days and nights after its release.
It was impossible not to be moved.
Love and history had always been grand themes. Once this dance wrapped itself in both, it broke through the dimensional wall and truly reached humanity at large.
After getting off the plane, Jiang Nan and Zhu Xia took a taxi to the hotel provided by the production team.
Holding his U-shaped pillow, Jiang Nan said, "Why didn't anyone come pick us up?"
Zhu Xia gave a derisive chuckle and closed her eyes. "You're not that famous yet."
Jiang Nan said, "That hurts my heart."
Zhu Xia did not answer, silently resting with her eyes closed.
After arriving at the hotel, Jiang Nan went into his room, unpacked, and happily flopped onto the bed.
He thought about calling Fu Jingzhou, scrolled through his phone, then suddenly sat up.
Since Jiang Nan was alone in the room, 771 popped out quite at ease, a little black ball sprawled on the hotel's soft pillow.
Seeing Jiang Nan's look of sudden realization, he grew interested and cocked his nonexistent feet. "What is it?"
"I just remembered I haven't added the big shot on WeChat."
771 said, "You two really do have a pretty fake relationship."
Fortunately, Jiang Nan had Shangguan Feng on WeChat.
He first politely sent: [Are you there?]
Shangguan Feng was not around. No one replied.
771 said, "Isn't he a doctor? He might be busy."
Jiang Nan ignored him and sent a red packet instead.
Shangguan Feng replied instantly: [Here.]
The next second, he claimed the red packet.
Not at all surprised, Jiang Nan chuckled. "No one can resist the temptation of a red packet."
Shangguan Feng: [Fifty cents????]
Jiang Nan replied: [Boohoo, I'm out of money.]
Shangguan Feng: [Tell your husband to send me a big one.]
Jiang Nan: [Send me his WeChat contact, and I'll tell him to send you one.]
Shangguan Feng: [Sure, sure.]
The other party quickly sent over a contact card.
The profile picture was a blank image.
Jiang Nan tapped it open. The account's display name was simple too: F.
"Tsk," Jiang Nan said. "You know, aside from his sharp tongue, the big shot really does come with all the standard male lead features."
771 disagreed. "How is a sharp tongue not one of them?"
Jiang Nan said, "Girls these days all like reading about a gong pampering his shou. The kind with unconditional doting."
771 silently shut his mouth again.
As a prominent family enterprise with a century-long legacy, the Fu Group had its headquarters in a skyscraper over thirty stories tall in the center of the imperial capital, a landmark building.
Plenty of influencers liked taking check-in photos outside the Fu Group's entrance and praising the company while they were at it.
This was the internet age, and the Fu Group would not stop something so obviously beneficial to its publicity.
In the CEO's office on the top floor.
Fu Jingzhou finished reviewing the final document and massaged his temples. Just as he closed the file, his personal phone beside him vibrated.
At this hour, it could only be a message from his childhood friends' group chat.
Fu Jingzhou opened it, only to find a friend request.
The account's display name was: Stirring Shit When It Hits.
"..."
He was speechless for a moment.
He hardly needed to think to know whose WeChat account this was.
The style was simply too unmistakable.
Fu Jingzhou rubbed his forehead and tapped accept.
The moment he accepted, the other person sent a sticker.
A little rabbit spun in circles, then pulled out a bouquet of vividly red roses.
Stirring Shit When It Hits: [Zhouzhou.]
Stirring Shit When It Hits: [Did you miss me?]
Fu Jingzhou was stunned for a moment before sending an ellipsis.
In the hotel room.
Lying on his stomach on the bed, Jiang Nan could not help smiling at the man's six dots.
Stirring Shit When It Hits: [All right, I know you missed me.]
Stirring Shit When It Hits: [Your love is far too formal. You won't even say you miss me.]
Fu Jingzhou could practically picture Jiang Nan smiling.
His eyes would narrow into crescents, like a cat that had stolen a taste of fish.
The tips of his ears reddened slightly, but the words he typed were cold and heartless.
F: [Keep talking nonsense and I'll block you.]
Jiang Nan quit while he was ahead: [Got it.]
After pestering the big shot, Jiang Nan turned on the television and selected I'll Give You Your Happiness, planning to get a feel for the show's style first.
He had no idea how sick Fu Jingzhou's expression looked as he stared at their chat history in his empty office.
The office air conditioning was set to seventeen degrees. His neatly pressed black shirt made his skin look even paler, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of his nose.
Fu Jingzhou had already realized something was not quite right with him.
He had clearly been thinking that once everything was over, once he succeeded as chairman of the Fu Group, he would divorce Jiang Nan.
Jiang Qingye was not someone to trifle with.
Fu Jingzhou never made a losing deal. He had no intention of getting into any disputes with Jiang Qingye and only wanted to send Jiang Nan back to the Jiang Family exactly as he had come.
Until the marriage ended, he ought to leave Jiang Nan to one side and pay him no attention.
But now.
He actually found himself in quite a good mood when chatting with Jiang Nan.
Fu Jingzhou fell silent for a moment.
The office blinds were open, and the last rays of the setting sun passed through the window and fell across him.
The room was deathly silent.
He sat perfectly still and quiet, unlike a living person.