The young man hung his head, speaking on and off, his pink hair looking a little gray.
It was fluffy and soft, falling loosely, his shoulders straight and broad, his exposed neck long and pale.
Even with his head lowered, his straight, finely shaped nose and full, beautiful lips were visible in the rearview mirror.
Old Yang took just one look before withdrawing his gaze.
He usually enjoyed listening to opera and had listened to one performance after another about Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Noble Consort Yang.
Having lived more than half his life, Old Yang had never believed that a ruler could be so bewitched by beauty that he disregarded his realm.
Now, the facts were right before his eyes.
He had no choice but to believe it.
The young madam had actually asked whether the young master would blacklist someone.
It wasn't as though this was the first time.
Fu Jingzhou asked mildly, "Who?"
Jiang Nan said eagerly, "Shen Xingli."
"Who?!" Fu Jingzhou straightened up.
Jiang Nan pouted aggrievedly. "Shen Xingli, that grand slam best actor in the entertainment industry. He's so sleazy, such a pervert. He even asked if I was single and whether my husband and I got along, blah blah blah..."
Fu Jingzhou: "..."
He pinched the bridge of his nose and offered a few reassuring words. Once he had soothed Jiang Nan, he hung up.
He opened a group chat and tagged Shen Xingli directly.
F: [I hear you want to use the casting couch on Jiang Nan?]
The group was full of night owls, and that one sentence brought them all out.
Shangguan Feng: [?]
Qin Feng: [?]
Shen Xingli was even more shocked: [??????]
Shen Xingli: [Who spouted that bullshit? How dare they slander me.]
Shen Xingli: [A friend's wife is off-limits. How could I possibly want to use the casting couch on him?]
Shen Xingli: [Besides, I'm not into AA relationships. I only like sweet little Os.]
Fu Jingzhou replied: [He said it himself.]
Shangguan Feng and Qin Feng were only too happy to stir things up.
Shangguan Feng: [Ooh, look at that. Old Shen, what stupid thing did you do this time?]
Shen Xingli: [I'm innocent.]
Shen Xingli and Fu Jingzhou had been close friends for years, so naturally, he knew just how petty the man could be.
He therefore explained everything in meticulous detail, exactly as it had happened.
After his lengthy explanation, everyone else in the group fell silent.
Qin Feng: [It's hard to know what to say about this.]
Fu Jingzhou rubbed the bridge of his nose and replied: [My fault. I didn't explain things clearly beforehand.]
Shen Xingli had a handsome face, with "un" written on the left side, "reli" on the right, and "able" across his forehead.
And he had happened to run into someone with Jiang Nan's extraordinary train of thought, so it was hardly surprising that the two had made a farce of things.
Shangguan Feng asked nosily: [So, when you asked our sister-in-law how things were between him and Old Fu, what did he say?]
Shen Xingli said: [Our sister-in-law said he and Old Fu were deeply in love, all sweetness and affection, inseparable. They needed good-morning kisses and good-night kisses, kissed a hundred and eighty times a day, and went on dates all the time. He wouldn't leave Old Fu even for five million.]
Shangguan Feng was filled with respect: [@F, I never knew you had this side to you.]
Qin Feng: [Sure, but compared with the future head of the Fu Family, five million isn't worth even a single hair.]
By the time Fu Jingzhou saw that message, he was already in the car on his way to meet a business partner.
The driver was a foreigner, and his chief assistant, Lin Shen, sat in the front passenger seat.
He was carefully reviewing the contract they would discuss at today's meeting.
Suddenly, he heard the man in the back seat ask, "How has my husband been lately?"
Lin Shen paused for a second before realizing that President Fu was asking about his husband's career.
He answered steadily, "The minor celebrity who previously appeared on that show with your husband has been blacklisted and won't appear on camera again. Yesterday's show went very well for your husband, and he gained quite a few followers on Weibo."
As for the love triangle involving him, Luo Hang, and Shen Anbai, Lin Shen didn't say a word.
After all, men generally didn't like hearing about their wives being linked to other men.
Especially when it involved two other men.
After hearing him out, Fu Jingzhou said nothing, merely loosening his tie.
After returning to Jinghe Garden and showering, Jiang Nan had planned to spend a little time scrolling through his phone. Instead, an irresistible wave of sleepiness hit him, and he slept until ten the next morning.
When he opened his eyes, he had quite a few messages on WeChat.
There was even a new friend request.
Jiang Nan opened it and read the accompanying note: [Sister-in-law, open up. It's me.]
Jiang Nan immediately accepted the request and typed: [Are you trying to take liberties with me?]
The other person replied instantly: [I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare.]
Jiang Nan: [Who are you?]
Another instant reply: [Shen Xingli.]
Jiang Nan: "..."
He turned to look at 771, who lay on the pillow. "This guy just won't go away."
Shen Xingli: [Don't get the wrong idea. Old Fu and I are buddies. I wasn't trying to use the casting couch on you, and I'm not into AA relationships.]
Jiang Nan: "..."
An emotion called "embarrassment" welled up inside him. Curling his toes, he replied coldly, "Oh."
Shen Xingli sent several more messages, but Jiang Nan didn't answer any of them.
Yet when he opened Moments, he came across a post Jiang Nan had made less than two minutes ago.
Stirring Shit When It Hits-[Getting ready to go to Myanmar. I hear people there will really bare their hearts and guts to me.]
Shen Xingli: "..."
Oh no.
It seemed he was only making things worse.
That afternoon, Zhu Xia called Jiang Nan to the company for acting lessons again.
After class, Jiang Nan went to the office. Sporting two dark circles under her eyes, Zhu Xia tossed a stack of interview forms at him.
"Pick yourself an assistant, for the sake of my life."
Jiang Nan was very cautious and didn't reach for them. "So, will the money come out of my salary, or..."
Before he could finish, Zhu Xia had already guessed what bullshit he was about to spout.
Rubbing her temples, she said, "The company will cover it."
Jiang Nan happily picked up the stack of interview materials and curled up on the sofa, picking through them like an emperor selecting his consorts.
There were ten applicants in total, all male Betas.
In the end, Jiang Nan chose someone named Lu Ren.
Because his introduction contained a line.
-Cannibals caught an office worker, but let him go in the end. Know why? They said workers were too bitter.
The line had Jiang Nan chuckling away. "Hehehehehe, this one."
Zhu Xia wasn't surprised in the least.
"I've been looking for work for you these past few days. Is there anything you'd like to do?" Zhu Xia asked.
Jiang Nan froze. He had never thought about that before.
In the past, he had simply taken whatever work was available.
After all, he still had a two-hundred-thousand loan to repay.
Seeing his blank expression, Zhu Xia instantly felt her heart seize. She waved him away. "Go home for now. Once I've picked out a few, I'll send them to you, and you can choose."
Jiang Nan: "Oh."
Although "Boundless Dreamscape" was a livestreamed show, it was edited and uploaded again afterward.
On the evening the recorded episode went up, Jiang Nan also had to livestream in cooperation with the production team.
Carrying his laptop, he wandered around the villa before finally deciding to stream from his bedroom.
The internet connection at Jinghe Garden was very smooth. As soon as he started streaming, he connected directly to the production team's livestream.
When Jiang Nan joined, Li Xueying, Qiu Wen, and Shen Anbai were already ready.
"Nannan, long time no see!"
Li Xueying greeted him warmly.
After returning their greetings, Jiang Nan greeted the viewers as well.
Thanks to the trending topics over the past few days, Jiang Nan had gained quite a few fans.
Just as he finished greeting everyone with a smile, Luo Hang and Shen Xingli finally joined.
Jiang Nan and Shen Xingli exchanged a look, both feeling a little inexplicably guilty.
With everyone present, the host arranged by the production team began guiding them through the proceedings.
One segment this time involved questions from fans.
When the host saw the first question, her expression turned a little awkward.
That hint of awkwardness only piqued the viewers' curiosity, and they all urged her to hurry up and read it.
The host was a very glamorous woman with large, permed waves.
She recovered her smile and asked, "This question is for Baibai. Why do you call everyone else by nicknames, but call Jiang Nan by his full name?"
The smile on Shen Anbai's face froze too.
The viewers all began egging them on.
[Hahahahaha, what other reason could there be? Obviously, it's because they're love rivals.]
[This is so awkward, aaaaah.]
[What genius asked this question? I didn't even notice.]
[Ahem, those of us who ship CPs always dig for sugar in every corner.]
[I'll never admit I asked this question.]
Shen Anbai parted his lips, unsure how to begin.
Jiang Nan casually took over. "Let me answer that. He used to call me 'Nannan,' but I'm not close to him, so using my name is more appropriate."