Zhu Xia's vision went black.
She made a call and put a stop to the war.
After she gave him a dressing-down, Jiang Nan protested, "They're still insulting me. Why can't I insult them back?"
Zhu Xia was so angry with him that her head spun and she couldn't think straight. She said, "Once you're famous, you can do whatever you want. I absolutely won't interfere."
Jiang Nan fell silent for a few seconds, then said stubbornly, "I recorded that. You said it yourself."
Zhu Xia's right eyelid twitched. "Yes, I said it."
Jiang Nan nodded in satisfaction.
After hanging up, Jiang Nan grabbed a set of yellow SpongeBob SquarePants pajamas and went to the bathroom for a bath.
While he bathed, the bathroom was utterly silent.
Jiang Nan curled up in the tub, his fair skin turning a lovely pink in the hot water.
His pink hair was soaking wet and plastered to his scalp.
Late at night, Jinghe Garden was quiet and peaceful.
Jiang Nan scratched his head, and an extraordinarily beautiful face suddenly appeared in his mind.
A red tear mole adorned the corner of his eye. His lips were thin and pale, but his lashes and eyes were deep, inky black.
Jiang Nan felt a little at a loss, unsure why he had thought of Fu Jingzhou. He climbed out of the tub, dried himself with a bath towel, put on his SpongeBob SquarePants pajamas, and returned to bed.
The housekeeper had changed his sheets that morning. Jiang Nan burrowed under the covers and sniffed the pillow. It smelled of laundry detergent.
There was none of that snowy scent he remembered from that night.
Jiang Nan's mood suddenly sank.
He opened WeChat on his phone and looked at his chat with F, propping up his chin as he thought.
He sent Fu Jingzhou a message: [When are you coming back?]
As he sent it, he caught sight of Fu Jingzhou's previous message.
Oh.
It dawned on him that Fu Jingzhou had already said he would be back in half a month.
Jiang Nan pressed his lips together and recalled the message.
About five minutes later, Fu Jingzhou sent him a question mark.
Jiang Nan slowly typed: [Nothing. I just wanted to tell you I'm going to film a show.]
Fu Jingzhou's reply was cold: [Got it.]
You don't get shit!
Jiang Nan angrily closed WeChat.
The next day, Jiang Nan went to the company with a pouch of milk between his teeth.
Song Zhusheng was heading out with a backpack on, dressed in a clean white shirt and jeans.
They ran into each other right at the entrance.
Jiang Nan took a sip of yogurt and casually asked, "Where are you going?"
Song Zhusheng gave a faint smile. "I took a tutoring job to help cover my living expenses."
"Tutoring?" Jiang Nan asked curiously. "Elementary school or middle school?"
Song Zhusheng hesitated. "A high school student, I suppose."
Jiang Nan said, "You suppose?"
"Yeah." Song Zhusheng nodded. "He already took the college entrance exam, but he didn't get into university, so he's repeating the year."
The more Jiang Nan heard, the more familiar it sounded. A head of green hair surfaced in his mind, and he said in realization, "What a coincidence. I have a younger brother who didn't get into university either. He's repeating the year now too."
Song Zhusheng smiled, glanced down at his watch, and hurriedly said, "I have to go. I'm running out of time."
Jiang Nan waved. "Bye."
Only after finishing the pouch of milk did Jiang Nan head to the office on the second floor.
Sure enough, once he went inside, Zhu Xia gave him another long lecture.
Finally, Zhu Xia looked at his pink hair and said, "Remember to get your roots touched up later, and have it cut a little shorter."
Jiang Nan nodded listlessly. "Got it."
Time flew by, and before long, it was the day before filming.
The production team had booked a dinner for that evening so the guests could get acquainted beforehand. After all, tomorrow's show would be livestreamed, and for the sake of the show, it would be better if the guests got along.
In the minivan, Luo Hang played on his phone with his head down while his manager gave him reminders.
"When we eat later, be mindful of your relationship with Jiang Nan and Shen Anbai, understand?"
Luo Hang kept looking at his phone and said without lifting his head, "I know."
His manager folded his arms and remarked, "Who knows what dumb luck Jiang Nan stumbled into? He actually managed to bounce back from the dead."
Luo Hang said nothing.
He had an exceptionally handsome face. With light makeup, he looked like a devoted second male lead from a novel, his dewy eyes seeming to say, "I love you."
In heavy stage makeup, he was handsome enough to make people weak at the knees.
His manager clicked his tongue. "Still in a bad mood?"
Those words seemed to stab Luo Hang in the heart.
He tossed his phone aside and yanked the baseball cap on his head down hard, hiding half his face.
His manager could only see his lips pressed tightly together.
He sighed and said, "We're filming tomorrow. Don't go acting petulant then."
"I won't," Luo Hang said.
His voice was very quiet. His manager said, "I told you not to date, but you insisted. Now you've had your heart broken. Look how much it's affecting your career."
Luo Hang forced the words out through gritted teeth. "It wasn't a breakup. He never liked me."
He had just been slept with for a few days, free of charge.
While that man was sleeping with him, he said every sweet thing imaginable. Once he got out of bed, he turned his back on him as if they were strangers.
With a lollipop between his teeth, Jiang Nan pushed open the door to the private dining room.
It was still fairly early, and there was only one person inside.
The man was tall and slender. Despite the summer heat, he wore a thin black hoodie with the hood up and was playing a game.
Hearing footsteps, he looked up.
He had a pair of sharp phoenix eyes.
Seeing that it was Jiang Nan, he curved his lips. "Hello."
Startled by how quickly his expression changed, Jiang Nan froze for a moment before saying, "Hello."
He recognized who this was.
Shen Xingli, who had risen to fame young, possessed outstanding charm, and completed a grand slam of Best Actor awards.
The dining table was round. Jiang Nan was about to pick a random seat when Shen Xingli pulled out the chair beside him and said, "Come sit."
He acted as though they knew each other well.
Jiang Nan paused, then walked over out of respect for the award-winning actor.
As soon as he sat down, Shen Xingli held out his phone. "Can we add each other on WeChat?"
That tone, that gesture...
Even Jiang Nan's breathing grew shallow.
[771.]
His voice trembled, a little frightened.
771 enjoyed this very much and replied reservedly: [What is it?]
Jiang Nan: [Has he fallen for me? Waaaaah.]
771: [...]
He was stunned by this little idiot's wild imagination.
771: [Probably not.]
Jiang Nan thought that if Shen Xingli hadn't fallen for him, why would such a high-status award-winning actor be so nice to an obscure little idol like him for no reason?
After some thought, Jiang Nan pulled up his WeChat QR code.
He planned to meet every change by staying unchanged.
After adding him on WeChat, Shen Xingli asked with another beaming smile, "How old are you this year?"
"Twenty," Jiang Nan answered blankly.
Shen Xingli crossed his legs and said thoughtfully, "That's all right, then. Not that young."
Old Fu was only two years older than him.
"Tsk." Shen Xingli said, "If only you were a year younger."
Jiang Nan: "?"
Are you out of your mind?
Ignoring his expression, Shen Xingli continued doing the math on his own. If Jiang Nan were a year younger, Old Fu would be three years older than him.
A woman three years older brought a brick of gold.
A man three years older could bring a brick of gold too.