At this, Jiang Nan asked 771 curiously, "This gossip account's got some serious balls. Isn't he afraid that guy will send him a cease-and-desist?"
771 huffed and said nothing.
Jiang Nan couldn't help laughing again. "But this social climber really is something, riding his teammates' coattails all the way up..."
The gossip account continued, "Just who is he?"
The gossip account said, "He's the flop idol who fell off the moment he debuted, who nobody even knows exists unless he's tying himself to others or putting them down to boost himself-Jiang Nan!"
The smile froze on Jiang Nan's face.
On his phone, the gossip account displayed a photo.
Inside a dance practice room, a pink-haired boy clung to a taller boy's arm, his lips parted in a somewhat suggestive smile.
"Gege..."
The camera zoomed in. The pink-haired boy wore heavy makeup, both cheeks thickly coated in blush, biting his lip as though he were unbearably shy.
Slowly, ever so slowly, 771 turned its head and asked, "Why aren't you laughing anymore?"
Jiang Nan: "."
771 said venomously, "Not much of a smiler by nature?"
Jiang Nan said expressionlessly, "I'm sending that gossip account a cease-and-desist."
He opened the comments. The top comment read: Help, he's scaring our gege to death.
The second top comment: Luo Hang looks so helpless.
The third top comment: Thank goodness Jiang Nan got blacklisted.
At this, Jiang Nan turned to 771. "I want to go back. Or you can send me to Mars."
771 refused coldly and mercilessly. "Neither is happening."
Jiang Nan said, "There are two things I can't accept."
771 pricked up its ears.
Jiang Nan continued, "One, eating shit. Two, social death."
771 said, "Oh."
It said viciously, "That's not up to you anymore."
Jiang Nan sighed.
He spent half an hour searching various major platforms for information about the original owner.
In the end, he let out a huge sigh of relief.
The original owner had entered a hugely popular boy band survival show at nineteen, dreaming of becoming a superstar. Unfortunately, his singing was so off-key it reached Pluto, and he couldn't tell left from right when he danced. Despite having the kind of clean-cut, handsome face that drew female fans like crazy, he loved heavy makeup, applying blush and eyeshadow to a degree that made people physically uncomfortable.
So he had been practically nonexistent in the first few episodes.
Only after a batch of contestants had been eliminated had the original owner managed to stay by sheer luck. But he ranked dead last. After much thought, he had finally caught the audience's attention by sucking up to Luo Hang, who ranked first in popularity.
Luo Hang was an Alpha who excelled at both singing and dancing, with roguishly handsome, sexy looks and female fans with tremendous fighting power.
On the show, however, he was innocent, lively, and cute.
The fans all said Luo Hang treated Jiang Nan like a brother, while Jiang Nan treated him like a sucker.
On debut night, there had only been eight spots available. The production team had originally placed Jiang Nan ninth in the vote count, keeping him from debuting while putting his fans through the wringer. Then a group-sex scandal had suddenly broken about the eighth-place contestant.
Jiang Nan had lucked into the opening and somehow stumbled his way into the boy band.
The boy band's full name was Shining Boys 808.
The group had vanished into obscurity the moment it debuted.
The original owner had been a flop for almost half a year. He was twenty this year and hadn't left much of a trace in the entertainment industry.
Jiang Nan held his head and silently thought, Thank goodness. Thank goodness.
-
Jiang Nan left Douyin, that place of heartbreak, and opened Honor of Kings to play for the afternoon.
After sailing smoothly from Bronze all the way to Platinum, he stopped.
771 sat beside him, engrossed in watching. "Why'd you stop?"
Jiang Nan stuffed his phone into his pocket. "Because my baby is home."
"Baby?" 771 looked at him blankly.
Jiang Nan hurried downstairs.
Fu Jingzhou had only just entered when he saw Jiang Nan looking at him bashfully.
Jiang Nan took a deep breath and raised his voice. "A day apart feels like three autumns. We haven't seen each other all afternoon, but it's felt longer than a year."
Clap, clap, clap-
Uncle He immediately applauded. "Beautifully said, Young Madam."
Fu Jingzhou said, "...Shut up."
Jiang Nan looked aggrieved. "Why?"
Fu Jingzhou said, "Too ugly."
Jiang Nan pressed his lips together and reluctantly said, "Oh."
Dinner was as lavish as ever.
Jiang Nan had once again stuffed himself until his belly was round when he suddenly received a call.
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Mr. Jiang?"
Jiang Nan answered, "Yes. What can I help you with?"
For some reason, Fu Jingzhou looked up at him.
Jiang Nan met his eyes and was about to say something when the person on the phone continued, "A package for you has arrived at our distribution center, but the address was entered incorrectly, so we need you to provide the correct address."
"All right," Jiang Nan answered cooperatively.
He covered the microphone and called to Fu Jingzhou, "Baby, tell me the address, please?"
Fu Jingzhou leisurely cut off a piece of steak. "No."
There's seriously something wrong with this guy.
Jiang Nan silently grumbled, then grabbed Fu Jingzhou's wrist and pouted. "Please."
The young man had just eaten a piece of watermelon, and his palm was a little cool. A faint scent of palmarosa lingered on him.
Fu Jingzhou's expression shifted. "Let go."
"No," Jiang Nan said stubbornly.
Fu Jingzhou said, "...Building Six, Jinghe Garden."
Only then did Jiang Nan release Fu Jingzhou's hand. After giving the courier the address and hanging up, he said with a beaming smile, "Baby, you're so nice."
Fu Jingzhou said nothing. After using his knife and fork to cut the steak on his plate into pieces, he asked Jiang Nan, "Did you see that?"
Jiang Nan didn't understand, but instinctively praised him anyway. "I did. That beef was nothing special before, but now that you've cut it up, a hundred million couldn't buy it."
"Heh." Fu Jingzhou sneered. "Call me that again, and you'll end up just like this."
Jiang Nan said, "I'm muting myself."
Only then was Fu Jingzhou satisfied.
"Wait, one last question." Jiang Nan leaned back in his chair and asked reservedly, "Why did you look at me like that when I answered the phone? Were you bewitched by me?"
Fu Jingzhou leaned back in his chair, his lips curving into a cold, mocking smile. "I just never imagined you could be so polite."
Jiang Nan: "..."
After dinner, Fu Jingzhou returned to his study to continue reviewing documents.
The Fu Group had gotten its start in the previous century, beginning in real estate before expanding into all kinds of industries, from entertainment to new energy.
As its current CEO, he had no small number of documents to approve every day.
After approving all the documents, Fu Jingzhou took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.
It was already nine in the evening, and all was silent around Jinghe Garden.
Fu Jingzhou could even hear his own heartbeat.
He had grown accustomed to this deathly silence from a very young age.
Fu Bai had many sons and daughters. He was somewhat sentimental and treated every one of them very well.
So the love Fu Jingzhou received was only one of several dozen shares.
On top of that, the group's affairs had kept Fu Bai busy in the past, leaving him little time to spend with his children.
Fu Jingzhou was already used to it.
He wheeled himself into the elevator. He had just reached the first floor, before the doors had even opened, when he heard Jiang Nan howling.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Jungler, go in!"
Then came Uncle He's voice. "The jungler says his connection's bad. He's lagging too much."
Jiang Nan said, "Uncle, then you hurry and go in."
Fu Jingzhou's temple twitched. He left the elevator and saw the old man and the young man sitting on the sofa, clutching their phones, utterly engrossed in their game.
Uncle He said, "I'm going in! I'm going in!"
Jiang Nan said, "Great. Uncle, tank a wave of damage up front, and watch my nationally ranked Sun Shangxiang take their heads with one combo."
"Wait..." Uncle He pushed up his glasses.
Jiang Nan asked anxiously, "Wait for what?"
Uncle He said, "I'm dead."
Jiang Nan looked at the kill announcement on the screen. It was already too late to retreat, so the four enemies took his head too.