Page 29

"It's getting late, ma'am. Get some rest." A little at a loss, Jiang Xun adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.

He had never met a girl who confessed to him so directly before.

Song Shiwei gave Jiang Xun a regretful look. "You should get to bed early too."

[Sigh, I can't sleep without touching some abs.]

Jiang Xun politely adjusted his glasses again. "Thank you, ma'am. I'll go to bed after I take this quilt to Jiang Ye."

Song Shiwei nodded. [Aaaaaah, such a good big brother. Why can't he be a good husband too? I need someone to warm my bed too. I'm empty, lonely, and cold too.]

For a moment, Jiang Xun had no idea how to respond. He could only stand there blankly, watching Song Shiwei inch up the stairs at a tortoise's pace before slowly turning his gaze toward Jiang Ye.

"Bro." Jiang Ye looked overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.

Jiang Xun handed him the quilt. "Cover yourself. Don't catch a cold, or Mom will be crying over you again."

Jiang Ye froze too, warmth welling up in his heart. "Thanks, bro."

"Mm. Take care of yourself from now on. Don't make Mom and Dad worry, understand?" Jiang Xun said somewhat stiffly.

Jiang Ye nodded, clutching the quilt tightly. "I will, bro. Thanks."

Jiang Xun turned and went upstairs. When he passed Song Shiwei's room, he paused. After a moment's thought, he took a hand warmer and quietly opened her door.

As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Song Shiwei rolling around on the bed. "Aaaaaaaaaah."

Jiang Xun quickened his pace, lost his footing, and pitched forward, catching himself with his hands planted directly above Song Shiwei. Their eyes met.

It was a classic scene from an idol drama, the point where something indescribable should happen, but Song Shiwei was simply dumbstruck. She blinked, while inside, her thoughts were already chattering away on every front.

[Ah! Nüwa's outstanding graduation project, made to show off her skills. So handsome.]

[His looks hit me right in the heart. Should I sneak a kiss in the confusion?]

[Two kisses! Otherwise, I'd really be losing out.]

Song Shiwei was just about to close her eyes and shamelessly press herself against him, only to meet empty air.

In an instant, Jiang Xun straightened and coughed hard a few times. "Well, I brought you a hot-water bottle. Get to sleep. I'm going to bed too."

With that, he shoved the pink hot-water bottle into Song Shiwei's hands and fled, closing the door behind him.

Song Shiwei: ?

She kept rolling around on the bed. How infuriating! A gorgeous man had been right in front of her, and she had actually let him get away.

What she hadn't expected was that Jiang Xun actually had a bit of human warmth in him, bringing Jiang Ye a quilt and her a hot-water bottle. It wasn't much, but it already counted as one of the few tender gestures from a swaggering, flashy, cool, domineering, cocky major villain like him.

Just look at how touched that dumb puppy Jiang Ye had been. He had probably lacked love growing up, so the slightest concern from the female lead had made him utterly devoted to her.

The major villain could still change, huh. Hugging the hot-water bottle Jiang Xun had given her, Song Shiwei drifted back into dreamland. When she woke the next morning, she caught the Jiang Family's breakfast time just right.

By the time she finished getting ready and went downstairs, Jiang Ye was packing his bags, preparing to head to the production his manager wanted him to audition for. Jiang Xun was sitting at the dining table, having breakfast with Father Jiang and Mother Jiang.

Song Shiwei paused briefly. [Jiang Ye, what's he off to do?]

Jiang Ye: ?

Hadn't he said yesterday that he was joining a production? Did Song Shiwei have the memory of a fish?

Song Shiwei vaguely remembered that Jiang Ye seemed to have told her something last night, but she had forgotten every last bit of it.

Jiang Ye gave a little huff. "I've decided to turn grief into motivation. I'm joining the production, and no matter what, I'm winning a Best Actor award this year."

Song Shiwei was eating a sunny-side-up egg when she suddenly choked and began coughing violently. Jiang Xun hurriedly picked up the water beside them and handed it to her.

Song Shiwei quickly took it. It took her quite a while to recover. "Thank you, sir."

She really couldn't bring herself to call him "hubby," so "sir" would have to do. It was polite, sounded nice, and even had a touch of class. She was so clever.

Father Jiang and Mother Jiang beamed at the sight. They had been afraid that a block of ice like Jiang Xun would drive Song Shiwei away in anger, but unexpectedly, he actually knew how to handle things.

Jiang Ye was brimming with fighting spirit, but Song Shiwei was frantically shaking her head inwardly.

[You want to win Best Actor? Just don't get yourself dragged into trouble later. Apart from you and that lawbreaking second male lead, this production is basically the director's family gathering.]

Jiang Ye frowned. How was that possible? Although he didn't know every director, producer, or lead actor with a larger role, like the second male and female leads, he knew most of them. They didn't seem to have any connection to the director, did they?

Song Shiwei was talking a little nonsense here.

He pondered for a while and was just about to grab his luggage and make a swift, decisive exit when Song Shiwei began eagerly munching on gossip.

[Hmm... they don't pay the taxes they should, and they sleep with everyone they shouldn't. A whole cast of lawbreakers. Before this drama is even halfway through filming, they all land in jail. Jiang Ye, the poor sucker playing the male lead, even eats state-provided meals for a few days. In the end, Jiang Xun has to fish him out.]

[This director really is something, throwing his third, fourth, fifth, and sixth women all into one big hodgepodge. That lawbreaking second male lead is no exception. Not a cent paid in taxes, and one "sister-in-law" after another.]

[It was this drama that turned Jiang Ye into the entertainment industry's black hole. Wherever he went, scandals blew up. Who'd have thought the female lead would even trick him into feeding her resources? Who'd have thought it would all end up benefiting the male and female leads?]

[Who knows which poor sucker invested in this drama? What a waste of a good script. They won't even finish filming, and that big idiot will probably lose his pants paying for it.]

[Who'd have thought another low-budget web drama in the same genre, one the male lead invested in, would catch the wind and take off, earning him his first pot of gold in the entertainment industry?]

[Actually, the male lead wanted to invest in this drama at first too. Who'd have thought that big idiot would be so filthy rich and throw his money around so freely, only to dig himself into a pit?]

Jiang Xun, the poor sucker who was just about to invest in Jiang Ye's drama: ?