The person beside him said nothing and silently moved his stool farther away from Jiang Nan.
By the time the meal ended, it was already nine in the evening.
Jiang Nan left the Mountain and Sea Pavilion and got a call from Zhu Xia.
"How did it go?"
Jiang Nan thought for a moment. "I ate my money's worth. It was pretty good, too."
Zhu Xia: "..."
"I meant, did you get the others' contact information?"
Zhu Xia's temple throbbed. She gritted her teeth, every word sounding as though it had been ground out of her throat.
Jiang Nan was very honest. "No."
Zhu Xia took a deep breath. "Right. I never should have had any hopes for you."
Jiang Nan huffed. "What kind of way is that to talk to me?"
Without another word, Zhu Xia hung up.
Five the next afternoon.
A long line of audience members had already formed outside the studio.
In the backstage guest dressing room.
The production team had a new makeup artist, who was assigned to do a certain notorious eighteenth-tier flop idol's makeup.
The new makeup artist was a girl with her hair in a bun. She looked very young.
Jiang Nan put away his phone and was about to greet her.
But the girl was terrified, her hands trembling. "M-Mr. Jiang, hello."
With that, she abruptly bent at the waist and bowed.
Jiang Nan: "..."
This was ridiculous.
He promptly stood up. "Quick, look."
The makeup artist looked over blankly. "What is it?"
Jiang Nan stamped his feet. "There's a shadow behind me."
The makeup artist said, "And?"
Jiang Nan looked solemn. "So I'm a living, breathing person. You don't need to be scared."
The makeup artist: "..."
All her earlier fear and trepidation vanished.
She was left with just one realization.
-Speechless was her native language.
Help!
The makeup artist collected herself and started applying Jiang Nan's makeup.
As she worked, she was a little surprised.
Although the entertainment industry had plenty of beautiful women and handsome men, their skin was in terrible condition from constantly staying up late and keeping irregular hours, or from indulging too much in food, drink, fun, and sex.
Several male celebrities whose fans praised their god-tier looks had pitted, uneven skin, relying entirely on filters and their makeup artists' foundation.
But Jiang Nan had very good skin.
Like a child who had yet to hit puberty, he had soft, fair cheeks and rosy lips.
If he had been a girl, one look would tell you his periods were very regular.
Once his makeup was done, filming soon began.
"I'll Give You Your Happiness" aired live and was one of the most popular talk shows.
Because everyone on the show, from the host to the editors to the director, was an absolute bastard.
They would rather offend people than miss out on traffic.
There had been a celebrity couple famous for their loving marriage, only for both of them to be exposed for cheating. From then on, they were at daggers drawn, yet the production team of "I'll Give You Your Happiness" invited them both without telling either one about the other.
That scene remained one of the entertainment industry's most mortifying moments to this day.
Long before filming began, Jiang Nan had thoroughly prepared himself mentally.
At the opening, after host Xie Quan rapidly ran through all the sponsors, he began introducing every guest present.
This introduction was extremely unpleasant: he lavished praise on the big names and relentlessly mocked the lesser ones.
When it was Jiang Nan's turn, the corners of Xie Quan's mouth lifted. "For this episode, we've invited a certain eighteenth-tier male celebrity who was shelved by his company for six months and climbed his way up by selling bromance and tying himself to a ship with his teammate."
At those words, the entire audience erupted, laughter surging like a tide.
The bullet comments were instantly flooded with layer upon layer of hahahahas.
[Help, help! Are you allowed to say that?]
[Holy shit, holy shit, Mr. Xie Quan is as reliably unhinged as ever (jk).]
[Ahhhhhhh, so well said! I've been sick of this flop idol for ages.]
[Luo Hang's fans are crying rivers. Thank you to the production team for personally mocking this fucking flop.]
[Jiang Nan's sleaziness made me physically sick for two days. Thank you, production team.]
Chen Ting had just been mocked by the host for being an old has-been, and his expression was dark. After hearing Xie Quan's introduction, his mood improved remarkably.
His gaze also turned toward Jiang Nan, diagonally behind him.
He had thought that even if Jiang Nan did not cry, he would at least look upset.
Instead, he was calm, so calm it was as though they were talking about someone else.
771 could barely stand listening anymore. [Did you absolutely have to come on this show?]
Jiang Nan tapped one hand against his knee and said unhurriedly, [I could have refused, but then the original owner really wouldn't be able to survive in the entertainment industry anymore.]
771 froze.
Jiang Nan continued, [This controversy is too big. If I explain on Weibo, no one will believe me.]
When condemning someone became a collective carnival, people's consciences disappeared.
They would only believe what they wanted to hear and see.
The only way out of this predicament was to take an unconventional approach.
The next second, the camera swung toward the guest seats.
While viewers in the livestream were still heatedly discussing it, Jiang Nan suddenly appeared on-screen.
He sat quietly on the sofa, wearing a white sleeveless T-shirt. A silver chain hung against his chest, and the makeup artist had carefully styled his pink hair into a center-parted textured fringe, leaving him looking handsome and brimming with youthful energy.
Since the host was introducing him, Jiang Nan was not surprised when the cameraman pointed the camera at him.
Seeing the camera, the young man curled his lips into a smile.
At the same time, 771 heard him say, [Me? I just love going against people.]
The livestream's bullet comments went quiet for a few seconds.
Then a few comments with a distinctly different tone slowly drifted across.
[Who is this? He's so handsome I'm like a northeasterner eating noodles-all out of garlic, all out of chances.]
[Halt! How have I never seen such a handsome man? Make him my consort! Make him my consort!]
[Huff, huff... There's so much drool on my phone screen.]
[I don't think he's that handsome. Honestly, I think he's just okay (turns into a monkey) (snatches a passerby's banana) (flies into the jungle and swings between vines) (howls loudly) (my wife) my wife!!!!!!]
The show used a one-on-one PK format.
Six guests had been invited for this episode.
Before going onstage, the six guests had drawn lots in advance. Three guests had the initiative and could choose their opponents.
Jiang Nan's luck had always been abysmal.
Naturally, he had to wait to be picked.
When the show reached the selection stage, Chen Ting, as contestant number one, held his microphone and rattled off a long string of insincere reasons before finally choosing Jiang Nan.
Jiang Nan glanced at him, not at all surprised.
771 sucked in a breath. [Why did he pick you?]
Jiang Nan replied shamelessly, [Because I'm too handsome.]
771: [...]
With his legs crossed, Jiang Nan explained, [What else could it be? Obviously, it's because I've been infamous lately. I bring traffic and discussion. Of course, he probably also thinks I'm easy to bully.]
Chen Ting and Jiang Nan were the final pair to go on.
The first two pairs took forty minutes, with few highlights or laughs, and by now the livestream's viewers were tired of watching.
Zhu Xia sat backstage without watching the live feed from the stage.
Instead, she opened her phone and kept a constant eye on the bullet comments.
The tone of the comments was a little strange.
Jiang Nan was about to go onstage, and plenty of viewers were urging him to hurry up and embarrass himself.
Yet a small portion of the viewers had an incredibly strange tone.