Jiang Nan was halfway through watching a variety show when Zhu Xia called him out.
He opened the door. Zhu Xia had already changed into a simple black women's suit, with a watch on her wrist.
She had a long, narrow face and monolids, and always looked a little haughty when she looked at people.
She glanced at Jiang Nan and said, "You have five minutes to get ready. The production team is having a dinner gathering. Shen Anbai is here this time, too."
Jiang Nan paused. "He's taking part in this show, too?"
"No," Zhu Xia said. "There's an actor on this show named Chen Ting. He's Shen Anbai's senior. Shen Anbai is here to visit him on set."
"Got it." The young man lazily brought his index finger and thumb together in an OK sign.
Before Zhu Xia could say anything, he had already closed the door.
Jiang Nan rummaged through his suitcase. When he discovered that the clothes he had brought were all very casual T-shirts and jeans, he held his head with a slight headache.
When he looked up, 771 was standing by the bed, staring at him.
He was clearly just a pitch-black ball of fluff, yet somehow Jiang Nan could see a proud, swaggering air about him.
His hands stopped moving. "What's up with you?"
771 raised his nonexistent hand. "Remember to do your best this time."
Jiang Nan: "..."
The corner of his mouth twitched, and he poked the furball right in the middle with one hand.
"Plop."
771 lay gloriously on the bed.
Just as he flew into a humiliated rage and prepared to electrocute Jiang Nan, that unfilial son, the young man had already picked up a white shirt and strolled into the next room to change.
Before leaving, Jiang Nan stuffed 771 into his jeans pocket again. "Behave yourself."
771 reluctantly muttered, "Okay."
Outside the door, Zhu Xia was just about to knock when she saw the minute hand pass twelve.
But the door suddenly opened from the inside.
The young man wore a white shirt with the cuffs rolled up a few times, revealing slender, finely shaped wrists.
He wore black jeans, with his shirt tucked into them, his waist slim and his legs long.
It was not as formal as a suit, but it was much better than the clothes he had arrived in.
Noticing Zhu Xia's gaze, Jiang Nan explained, "I didn't bring a suit. It's mostly T-shirts, sweatpants, shorts, and things like that. This is the only shirt that's a little more formal."
Zhu Xia raised an eyebrow. "You look pretty good like this."
Jiang Nan looked at her in startled uncertainty.
Zhu Xia: "...What?"
"Nothing," Jiang Nan said. "I just didn't expect to hear something like that from you."
Zhu Xia: "..."
The production team's dinner gathering was set at the Mountain and Sea Pavilion.
The Mountain and Sea Pavilion was a restaurant under the Fu Group's food and beverage division. It was a nationwide chain with over a dozen locations, in the high-end dining category, and could only be found in first-tier cities.
The service was good, the privacy was good, and the food was good, too.
Film crews and production teams generally chose the Mountain and Sea Pavilion for dinner gatherings, as did people conducting business negotiations.
By the time Jiang Nan and Zhu Xia reached the private room, it was already lively inside.
They could hear the pleasantries through the closed door.
Jiang Nan was about to push the door open when he noticed Zhu Xia standing quietly to the side, showing no sign of going in.
Jiang Nan paused. "Aren't you coming in?"
Zhu Xia said, "It's a dinner for the artists. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to go."
After a moment's thought, she looked Jiang Nan up and down again and sighed. "Don't stir up trouble again this time. Be polite, understand?"
Jiang Nan said, "I'm twenty years old."
Zhu Xia raised an eyebrow. "And?"
Jiang Nan said, "So you can worry a little less."
With that, Jiang Nan pushed the door open and went in. Very few people noticed.
That was because everyone present had their eyes on Shen Anbai.
He wore a black horse-face skirt, its satin shimmering like rippling water.
Jiang Nan sat down in a corner and narrowed his eyes as he looked Shen Anbai over.
Without the filters on television, he was very thin in person, with exceptionally soft, beautiful features, cherry lips, and peach blossom eyes.
Ever since his debut, Shen Anbai had promoted traditional Chinese style. When appearing on various shows, he generally wore hanfu, horse-face skirts, and similar clothing.
"Any plans lately, Anbai?"
The man who spoke had a crew cut, a pointed mouth, and monkey-like cheeks.
He was one of the hosts of "I'll Give You Your Happiness," named Xie Quan. Though his looks were hard to describe, he had high emotional intelligence and was especially good at telling jokes.
The people around them fell silent for a few seconds. Shen Anbai smiled. "I've taken a movie role."
"Oh-ho!" Xie Quan promptly poured a glass of wine. "Has our great director Mo got another new film?"
Shen Anbai smiled. The movie had not been officially announced yet, so he could not reveal too much. He instinctively looked to his senior, Chen Ting, for help.
Chen Ting was 1.9 meters tall, a handsome, tough-guy type. After shooting to fame as the male lead in a Mo Cixuan film, he had vaulted into the ranks of A-list male stars.
But female fans these days were not particularly into handsome tough-guy types, and his acting range was limited. Subsequent opportunities and exposure had failed to keep up.
By now, he had long since become a fringe actor.
Catching his look, Chen Ting changed the subject. "I think someone just came in."
Jiang Nan, who was gnawing on a chicken wing: "?"
Change the subject all you want, but why drag me into it?
The other guests at the table all turned their eyes toward Jiang Nan.
The young man had no choice but to put down his chopsticks and greet them politely. "Hello, everyone."
Xie Quan looked him over. "You are?"
Jiang Nan simply took off his hat. His pink hair was a little messy, but it made him look even more delicate and fair-skinned.
The table fell silent for a few seconds.
People who made a name for themselves in the entertainment industry were generally shrewd. One glance was enough for them to recognize Jiang Nan, the lunatic who had spent days on the trending searches.
Xie Quan smiled. "Hello."
After that single word, he did not look at Jiang Nan again.
Neither did anyone else.
Compared with a celebrity who had been infamous for two days, Shen Anbai, a young star who had been popular for almost half a year, was more worth getting to know.
Shen Anbai sat right in the middle, praised and indulged by everyone around him, a faint smile on his lips, looking elegant and composed.
Jiang Nan remarked to 771: [Looking at him like this, the protagonist shou seems pretty normal.]
771 nodded in full agreement. [Compared with you, he certainly is.]
Jiang Nan held himself back. Once they returned to the hotel, he would punch that stinking black ball, 771, straight into the wall.
Just then, Jiang Nan suddenly sensed someone looking at him.
He looked up and met Shen Anbai's eyes.
Their gazes met for a few moments. With a smile on his lips, Shen Anbai nodded at him.
Jiang Nan froze for a few seconds, then smiled back.
"What are you smiling at?"
The person sitting beside Jiang Nan suddenly asked him.
Jiang Nan glanced at him.
The man wore a white suit and was dressed very formally, but since he was sitting in a corner beside Jiang Nan, he was probably another eighteenth-tier nobody.
Jiang Nan pondered for a second, looked at the chicken wing on his plate, and said, "I'm smiling at this chicken wing. It looks delicious."
"..."