CHAPTER 35 (PART 2)

Xu Dazhi racked his brain and blurted out, “That guy—the one who came to the set looking for you last time, the one with glasses—who was he? A friend?”

No. That was Cheng Yue’s secretary.

Jiang Su tilted her head slightly.

Wrapped in a bathrobe, she sat on a plush carpet, her black hair cascading over her shoulders. A few droplets of water clung to the tips of her hair before sliding down her back.

She instinctively curled up a little.

Cheng Yue listens to me now.

That means Cheng Yue is mine to command.

Jiang Su said, “I know what to do.”

She hung up and removed Cheng Yue from her blocklist.

She had always hated Cheng Yue.

First, because she had inherited parts of the original owner’s memories—the original owner had once loved Cheng Yue but ended up feeling bitter and hopeless about him.

Second, because Cheng Yue was the most eerily dangerous person she had ever encountered—someone who needed to be guarded against with full force.

But now, things were different.

Cheng Yue belonged to her.

Jiang Su scrolled through her contacts, found Cheng Yue’s number, and called him.

The call didn’t go through.

She scrunched up her nose, only for her phone to ring the next second. It was Zhao Qiuying.

“Hello?”

Zhao Qiuying’s voice was low on the other end. “Did the first episode go smoothly? I couldn’t make it as a guest.”

Jiang Su: “It went well.”

Zhao Qiuying took a quiet breath, then casually asked, “I heard that for the next episode, you all need to invite friends to join. What do you think about having me as your guest?”

Jiang Su declined. “No, thanks.”

Zhao Qiuying hadn’t taken her pills.

Debts of gratitude had to be repaid.

Zhao Qiuying had already expected this answer.

He had no idea what she had gone through to make her so strong yet so cautious.

Just then, a scolding voice came from behind him—Madam Zhao’s irritated complaints.

“What’s wrong with you? No wonder you haven’t been going on walks these days. Did someone step on your foot? A grown man, sneaking off to a concert like a teenager?”

Grandpa Zhao shot back, “You wouldn’t understand.”

Zhao Qiuying turned around in surprise, only to see his mother storming out—holding a light-up fan sign.

On it were two words: Jiang Su.

Zhao Qiuying was stunned.

But he quickly pressed his lips together and changed his tone over the phone. “Actually, my family members are your fans. I don’t have any ulterior motives—I just wanted to fulfill their dream… They’d love a photo and an autograph.”

So, they were fans?

The company had never given Jiang Su any guidelines on how to interact with fans.

She had no prior experience with this, but… when people liked her, she should give something in return.

Jiang Su said, “Oh. Then let her come on the show with me. I can give her a photo and an autograph.”

Zhao Qiuying was completely dumbfounded.

It wasn’t him who was supposed to go on the show.

They wanted his grandfather to go on the show?

Zhao Qiuying rubbed his face. After a while, he said, “I’ll ask.”

He turned around and brought it up to his grandfather.

As expected, his grandfather was instantly thrilled, while Mrs. Zhao scolded in frustration, “I never approved of you working in this industry. Always out there in the public eye—back in the day, this would’ve been considered a job for the lower class. And now you’re dragging your grandfather into this mess too!”

But Grandpa Zhao didn’t care at all. He snatched one of Zhao Qiuying’s old toy cars from when he was little, made a vroom vroom sound, and dashed out.

“Xiao Qiu! Let’s go, let’s go!” he urged.

When Cheng Yue called back, it was already 1 a.m.

Jiang Su instinctively reached for her phone and answered, lazily rolling over. “Hello?”

Hearing her voice, which was noticeably softer than usual, Cheng Yue froze for a second. He had forgotten about the time difference.

He pressed his lips together but ultimately didn’t hang up.

In a cold tone, he asked, “Why did you call me?”

He didn’t even know how to describe it—was Jiang Su getting harder to deal with, or easier to coax? She removed him from her block list just because the secretary sent her some pizza?

Still half-asleep, Jiang Su simply said, “Bye-bye.”

Then, she hung up.

Bye-bye?

Did she know I was leaving the country and called just to say goodbye?

As soon as the thought popped into Cheng Yue’s head, he immediately dismissed it.

That ungrateful brat wouldn’t remember something like that.

Sitting in the car, Cheng Yue closed his eyes for a moment, but they quickly snapped open again. Almost compulsively, he couldn’t help but wonder…

Why didn’t she mention what she wanted to eat today?

Or could it be that she was struggling on set while playing the villain and wanted to say something about it but couldn’t bring herself to? No, that wasn’t her personality now…

But the more he thought about it, the more unsettled he felt—like an itch that couldn’t be scratched.

Cheng Yue ordered his secretary, “Call and find out what Jiang Su is doing right now.”

Not long after, the secretary came back with an answer. “She’s filming a group reality show called Me and My Friends…”

Cheng Yue instinctively let out a scoff. “She has friends?” He himself didn’t even have any.

But the moment he said that, an odd sense of irritation crept up.

She does.

Jiang Su has Zhao Qiuying.

A shadow flickered across Cheng Yue’s expression.

Meanwhile, online discussions were heating up.

[I heard they’re bringing in new guests for the second episode?]

[Honestly, Episode 1 didn’t have the best effect. Everyone looked great on stage, but the show lacked that variety show vibe.]

[Does Jiang Su even have friends to invite? She went from the first episode of the survival show all the way to the finale without a single friend being exposed.]

[Maybe the production team will arrange someone for her?]

[But if it’s a random celebrity, wouldn’t that be super awkward? She’s already not very talkative… Honestly, variety shows aren’t really her thing. I’m worried.]

As netizens debated, a week quickly passed.

Cheng Yue had just gotten off the plane.

During this entire time, Jiang Su hadn’t called him even once. It was as if she had completely forgotten about him again.

The secretary, ever considerate, reminded him, “Miss Jiang’s variety show’s second episode is airing live today, isn’t it?”

Cheng Yue paused for a few seconds, eyes closed, before finally opening them again. “Put it on.”

The secretary opened his laptop and navigated to the streaming platform.

Yu Xinyan invited her high school friend.
Wu Qingqing brought a fellow trainee she used to practice with.
Li Mo’er invited her older brother.

[Wait, hold up—Li Mo’er’s brother is the largest shareholder of YIYI?! Turns out, she’s basically the princess of the company!]

[Damn, 666!]

With this revelation, Li Mo’er’s guest immediately stood out among the rest.

[I’m just curious—who did the production team arrange for Jiang Su? A big-name celebrity? No way they’d come. Don’t tell me they brought in another male trainee… Imagine if Jiang Su ends up making him play the drums again, LOL.]

Cheng Yue stared at the bullet comments for a long time, realizing he couldn’t understand most of them.

What male trainee? What playing the drums…? And what the hell is U1S1, SRDS…? What do these even mean?

Then, the camera finally panned to Jiang Su’s side.

The entire screen exploded with question marks.

Cheng Yue frowned instinctively.

“What kind of guest did they invite? This bad? They couldn’t even get Mo Fangxian or Qian Wen?”

The secretary: …?

Sir, you really don’t know anything about the entertainment industry.

The names you just mentioned? They’re award-winning veteran actors from ten years ago. Even if the production team begged on their knees, they wouldn’t be able to get them.