Chapter 10

When Su Xingyao woke up again, it was already the evening of the following day.

The soft glow of the setting sun filtered gently through the window, and the freshest sunset coral in the vase beside him emitted a faint, pleasant fragrance.

Without the harsh smells of disinfectant and the blinding lights, and around him was the familiar environment Su Xingyao knew so well.

He had returned to Lu Jiuxu’s villa.

Last night, he had thought that Lu Jiuxu’s appearance was just a hallucination.

But now, he was lying in a room in the Lu family’s villa, the very same room he had once stayed in.

Everything confirmed that what had happened last night was not a dream.

Lu Jiuxu had truly taken him “home.”

Even though he understood that, in that situation, Lu Jiuxu’s words were meant to protect him, hearing those words had still subconsciously made him respond with a “yes” in his heart, despite knowing he had no true home.

Su Xingyao glanced at his right hand.

An intravenous needle was still attached to the back of his hand, but the drip had stopped.

Seeing that he could walk freely, he immediately pulled the blanket aside, got up, and walked to the window. He leaned against the windowsill, quietly watching the peony flowers tinged red by the sunset.

Time seemed to stand still, but Su Xingyao’s thoughts refused to calm down.

Twice.

This was the second time Lu Jiuxu had reached out to him.

The first time, he was on the brink of death, preparing to leave this world in despair.

The second time, he was dizzy and weak, unable to cope with Qin Mingchuan and Shen Huaixi’s presence.

But each time, Lu Jiuxu had appeared by his side at the right moment, firmly reaching out to him and pulling him away from that mire of despair.

He and Lu Jiuxu were clearly strangers, yet in some inexplicable way, they had developed a connection that set them apart from mere strangers.

Su Xingyao was lost in thought when he suddenly heard a cat meow.

Then another meow followed.

His thoughts were interrupted, and he looked in the direction of the sound, only to discover that an orange cat had somehow fallen asleep next to the flower pot on the windowsill.

The cat seemed to notice Su Xingyao’s gaze, squinting its eyes at him for a moment, then softly meowed as a greeting.

Su Xingyao felt it was a little dangerous here and wanted the cat to come down.

He was just about to communicate with the cat when a young voice called from downstairs.

“Coral, what are you doing up there?”

Su Xingyao turned his head and saw a mixed-race young man of about seventeen or eighteen standing downstairs.

He was dressed in athletic wear, with big eyes, a handsome and cute appearance.

As Su Xingyao watched him, the boy also saw him clearly.

He immediately waved his hand at Su Xingyao and called his name correctly.

“Hey! Su Xingyao!”

After saying that, the boy didn’t say anything more and swiftly disappeared from Su Xingyao’s sight, as if his feet had been equipped with roller skates.

A few seconds later, Su Xingyao heard the boy’s clear and cheerful voice drifting back through the air.

“Damn!! Bro!! How is Su Xingyao here with you!!”

The boy was in a hurry.

At first, Su Xingyao was curious how the boy knew him, but then he suddenly heard the boy shout “Bro…”

Lu Jiuxu actually had a younger brother?

Su Xingyao was surprised.

He realized that although he had learned a bit about this novel world while unconscious, he still knew very little.

At least, when it came to Lu Jiuxu, apart from knowing he was set up as the main antagonist, Su Xingyao knew nothing else.

Just as he was thinking, the boy who had disappeared like the wind suddenly arrived outside his room.

Su Xingyao opened the door for him and saw the boy’s face light up with a look of surprise.

“It’s really you!!”

Su Xingyao wasn’t used to being looked at with such enthusiastic eyes, so he smiled awkwardly at him.

“Hello, yes, it’s me.”

The boy grinned and then remembered to introduce himself. “My name is Lu Zhiyun. I’ve watched your drama before.”

Su Xingyao had only appeared in one drama since his debut, but that drama had earned him the reputation of being the third party in a love triangle.

Not only had he been heavily criticized by the audience, but it had also caused Chu Zian to hold a grudge against him, eventually pushing him off a cliff in the end…

It wasn’t exactly a memorable or admirable role, so Su Xingyao was very aware of this.

Most of the viewers who had watched that drama were the ones who had criticized him the most.

And because of that, Su Xingyao wasn’t quite comfortable being looked at by Lu Zhiyun with eyes as if he were a shining big star.

However, it seemed that Lu Zhiyun hadn’t thought about any of this at all. He immediately started praising Su Xingyao to his face.

“You were really great in that role. I was so upset when your character died, I cried.”

“Meow~”

The little cat interrupted Lu Zhiyun’s upcoming analysis of the drama.

It had jumped down from the windowsill at some point, leisurely walked around Su Xingyao and Lu Zhiyun’s legs, then suddenly picked up speed and darted down the stairs toward the garden.

Seeing the cat run off, Lu Zhiyun hurriedly chased after it. “Coral!”

After running a couple of steps, he waved at Su Xingyao, signaling him to follow.

Su Xingyao looked at Lu Zhiyun’s retreating figure, and a name suddenly flashed through his mind.

Sunset Coral.

What a coincidence?

One brother had a dog named Sunset, and the other had a cat named Coral…

Su Xingyao didn’t have time to think more about it and followed Lu Zhiyun downstairs to the garden.

He didn’t run, so by the time he arrived, he saw Lu Zhiyun already holding Coral in his arms, gently ruffling its fluffy fur.

The cat, Coral, looked utterly indifferent in his embrace.

While trying to appear fierce, Coral was still scratching at Lu Zhiyun’s clothes with its paws, its face clearly expressing “no interest in participating.”

Su Xingyao walked over and rescued the cat.

“Is this cat named Coral?”

Lu Zhiyun replied, “Yes.”

“That’s such a unique name. Combined with ‘Sunset,’ it sounds like a duo.”

Lu Zhiyun nodded. “Yeah, my brother came up with it. At first, I didn’t get the meaning and thought it was a bit strange. Later, I found out it’s a type of flower.”

He then pointed to the peonies nearby that were in full bloom. “He broke up the name of this flower, giving his dog and cat each a part of it.”

Lu Zhiyun’s words immediately overturned Su Xingyao’s earlier speculation.

“Did your brother also adopt the cat?”

Su Xingyao had been quite shocked when he first learned that Lu Jiuxu had easily adopted a stray dog.

Now, he was even more surprised to find out that Lu Jiuxu also had a cat…

Su Xingyao felt intrigued by this discovery.

So, people can’t be judged by appearances?

The aloof boss, Lu Jiuxu, was actually a hidden “cat-and-dog-winner” in life?

During these few seconds of distraction, Lu Zhiyun seemed to notice Su Xingyao’s surprise, so he continued speaking.

“You know, Sunset was adopted by my brother, right?”

Su Xingyao nodded. When he first met Lu Jiuxu, the latter had mentioned this.

Hearing this, Lu Zhiyun seemed to guess something and smiled. “Well, he probably didn’t tell you that Coral was also one he picked up.”

Su Xingyao nodded again.

Seeing that Su Xingyao was listening attentively, Lu Zhiyun immediately began to describe the situation from back then.

“This is actually quite an interesting story. When my brother found Sunset, it was so hungry that it was just skin and bones. It lay there, staring at my brother with this pitiful look.”

“My brother, being the kind-hearted person he is, didn’t know why, but he just softened and decided to take it home.”

“But guess what happened? Sunset wouldn’t budge. It actually bit my brother’s pant leg and tried to pull him toward the trash pile.”

Lu Zhiyun said this with a rhythmic tone, stopping to blink his eyes, looking mysterious, and asked Su Xingyao, “Guess what my brother saw when he went over?”

Su Xingyao had a pretty good idea, but still played along, asking, “Coral?”

“Yes!!”

Lu Zhiyun dropped to the ground in a dramatic gesture, “Coral was lying in the trash pile, almost dead.”

As he spoke, Sunset, who had finished its stroll, came over.

It first waved its tail in front of Su Xingyao to greet him, then ran up to Coral, opening its mouth to gently bite its ear.

Coral remained aloof, giving Sunset a sharp slap with its paw.

Finally, Sunset calmed down, sitting obediently next to Coral and playfully whining.

Seeing the peaceful interaction between Sunset and Coral, Su Xingyao smiled, “Are they good friends?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Lu Zhiyun nodded furiously, grinning widely as he teased Sunset.

“Who would’ve thought? Sunset’s actually quite sentimental. Back then, in front of my brother, it looked like it was saying, ‘If you’re going to take me, you’ve got to take my buddy too. Otherwise, I won’t go, even if I die.’ It was starving, but still insisted that its rescuer save its little friend too.”

Lu Zhiyun said this with his mouth, but there was an undeniable pride in his eyes as he spoke about Sunset’s behavior.

Sunset, with its ears perked up, listened intently. Once Lu Zhiyun finished, it quickly squeezed in front of Su Xingyao, tilting its head and begging for a pet.

Seeing the look on Sunset’s face, Su Xingyao immediately squatted down and petted it.

“Being sentimental is a good thing. You did a great job.”

Sunset’s eyes immediately brightened with joy. Satisfied, it happily jumped around for a bit before lying down in front of the aloof Coral, letting Coral climb onto its back.

Then, Sunset dashed off with Coral, running at full speed.

“Off for another joyride with Coral.”

Lu Zhiyun clearly understood the habits of both the cat and the dog, and couldn’t help but casually comment.

Su Xingyao chuckled at his words and asked, “But I haven’t seen Coral before.”

“It was taken away by Lu Zhiyun,” came the sudden response from Lu Jiuxu.

He was still wearing his impeccably tailored suit, his hair neatly styled, exuding a perfect elite vibe.

Lu Zhiyun was startled by his brother’s sudden appearance. He took a deep breath and patted his chest, then defended himself.

“It wasn’t that forceful… just a little bit of persuasion.”

Lu Jiuxu ignored him and turned his attention to Su Xingyao.

After a couple of seconds, he asked, “Fever’s gone down?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Make sure to rest.”

Lu Jiuxu’s concern remained as calm and indifferent as ever.

After asking about Su Xingyao’s condition, he didn’t say anything more.

Su Xingyao was used to his personality. Seeing that he wasn’t bringing up anything else, he took the initiative to speak.

“Thank you for last night, Mr. Lu.”

It had truly been troublesome for Lu Jiuxu last night.

Although he had been groggy and weak, he still remembered that when Lu Jiuxu had picked him up to leave, Qin Mingchuan had tried to stop him.

He had fallen asleep afterward, so he didn’t know what had happened between the two of them.

But even without thinking, he could guess it probably wasn’t something pleasant.

Knowing all of this, Su Xingyao still felt incredibly grateful for Lu Jiuxu’s timely appearance.

Someone with his status could have easily sent an assistant to deal with things, there was no need for him to get personally involved in such a messy situation…

Lu Jiuxu didn’t seem to want to discuss last night. He merely nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

“Take care of your health, don’t catch a chill.”

Lu Jiuxu’s voice remained deep, but it was exceptionally pleasant to the ear.

“Lin Chengyi will come tomorrow to check your wound.”

Su Xingyao nodded in response, “Okay.”

When Su Xingyao and Lu Jiuxu spoke, the atmosphere wasn’t particularly warm.

But Lu Zhiyun, for some reason, felt as though he had been suddenly excluded, unable to find a way to insert himself into their conversation no matter how hard he tried.

In an attempt to regain his presence, he quickly spoke up, “Hey, bro, you still haven’t told me how Xingyao ended up here.”

As for why he was here…

That was actually quite a complicated matter, and couldn’t be explained in just a couple of sentences.

Su Xingyao was thinking that, since Lu Jiuxu didn’t want to explain, he could slowly tell Lu Zhiyun about it.

But instead, Lu Jiuxu simply responded with two words to dismiss him.

“Visiting.”

“Huh?” Lu Zhiyun looked confused, clearly not believing it.

However, his doubt went unanswered, as Lu Jiuxu had no intention of engaging further.

Fortunately, Lu Zhiyun was used to his brother’s attitude by now.

Realizing that asking more questions would get him nowhere, he decided to stop, and his expression suddenly brightened as he tugged at Su Xingyao’s sleeve.

“Since you’re here as a guest, it’s a rare opportunity. Xingyao, how about signing your name for me?”

He immediately reached for his jacket pocket but quickly realized he had no pen…

After awkwardly scratching his head, Lu Zhiyun pulled out his phone from the other pocket.

“Forget the signature, let’s just take a photo together! Simple and direct!”

Su Xingyao hesitated, looking at the phone in his hand, and didn’t make a move…

“Or… never mind?” he asked, testing the waters.

Lu Zhiyun looked at him, puzzled.

“What’s this? Do you prefer signing instead?”

Su Xingyao didn’t understand why the conversation had shifted to signatures, so he immediately denied it.

“No.”

Seeing this, Lu Zhiyun immediately adopted a knowing expression. “Ah, so you’re worried my friends will be jealous when they see it, right?”

Su Xingyao didn’t know how to respond to that.

Lu Zhiyun, however, was thoroughly immersed in his own guess and couldn’t pull himself out of it.

“It’s fine. I’m used to this kind of thing already, so don’t worry.”

Su Xingyao: …

Su Xingyao really wanted to understand how this young master’s thought process worked—it was so random.

Noticing that Su Xingyao remained silent, Lu Zhiyun started another round of guesses.

“Why do you look so troubled? Could it be that your company doesn’t let you take photos with others freely?”

If this continued, Su Xingyao was unsure what other strange reasons Lu Zhiyun would come up with.

Suppressing a smile, Su Xingyao finally told him the truth.

“No, it’s just that I’m worried you might get scolded…”

He found Lu Zhiyun rather cute.

While speaking with him, the corners of his eyes involuntarily curved up, and his voice carried a hint of laughter.

“Little young master, do you think my reputation is that great?”

Lu Zhiyun suddenly understood.

But soon, he waved his hand carelessly.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t care about that kind of thing.”

He then winked at Su Xingyao, his confidence evident.

“And besides, no one dares to scold me.”

His tone was full of pride.

“They can criticize me, and I’ll just fight back, no worries.”

After saying that, Lu Zhiyun seemed as if he feared that if he delayed even for a second, Su Xingyao would run away and refuse to take a photo with him.

He immediately threw his phone to his brother Lu Jiuxu, then lifted his arm around Su Xingyao’s shoulder, instantly striking a pose as if they were close brothers taking a photo together.

Of course, Lu Jiuxu wasn’t going to help his brother with such a trivial thing.

But just as he was about to throw the phone back to Lu Zhiyun, he caught sight of the smile in Su Xingyao’s eyes.

The light brown eyes were crescent-shaped, and the soft smile at the corners of his lips was like the clearest moonlight.

The hand that had been halfway to throw the phone back finally raised it a little higher.

The next second…

Lu Jiuxu pursed his lips tightly, and with a serious face, he experienced what it was like to be a photographer for the first time in his life.

“Here.”

Not wanting to continue being his brother’s photographer, Lu Jiuxu threw the phone back to him and turned away to answer a call.

Lu Zhiyun ignored his brother’s cold expression and eagerly grabbed the phone, quickly opening the album to check the photos inside.

The setting sun’s glow illuminated the faces of the two young men—one looked youthful and handsome, and the other, smiling, looked delicate and beautiful.

The picture was indeed quite pleasing to the eye.

Lu Zhiyun, satisfied, stroked his chin.

“Bro, your photography skills are really good.”

While saying this, he posted the photo of himself and Su Xingyao on social media.

Then he asked Su Xingyao, “Why don’t you follow my Weibo? Let’s follow each other! I’ve never followed a celebrity before.”

Seeing the expectant look on his face, Su Xingyao shook his head regretfully.

“I can’t follow you.”

Thinking that Su Xingyao was still worried about him being scolded, Lu Zhiyun emphasized once again, “It’s fine, I don’t care about that.”

“No, my account isn’t in use anymore.”

Su Xingyao explained.

“I haven’t logged into that account in a long time, I forgot the password.”

Lu Zhiyun let out an “ah” sound, looking a bit disappointed.

Su Xingyao noticed his expression and finally pulled out his phone.

“But I have another account.”

With that, he opened Weibo and logged into another account, one that he also hadn’t used in a long time.

However, this account clearly held a different meaning for Su Xingyao. Even though he hadn’t logged in for over a year, he was still able to type the password with ease.

Soon, they followed each other.

Delighted, Lu Zhiyun clicked into his profile and carefully looked at Su Xingyao’s account, which was named LostTide.

At first glance, he thought the name seemed a little familiar.

On his second look, he noticed the number of followers.

“80,000 followers… Does your fanbase know about this account?”

Su Xingyao shook his head. “They don’t know.”

Hearing this, Lu Zhiyun suddenly seemed to realize something and excitedly said, “You post songs on here…”

Su Xingyao gave a light “mm-hmm.”

“It’s from when I was in university.”

After hearing this explanation, Lu Zhiyun finally understood why the account seemed familiar.

It was because he had seen a song titled Limited Summer on Su Xingyao’s profile.

“Limited Summer is your song?”

Su Xingyao gave a more precise answer. “It’s a song I wrote for a friend.”

The song was written five years ago and was sung by his friend Ah Luo, who was in the same circle.

Originally, the song was quite niche, but the year before, it suddenly became popular when short video users started using it as background music.

Later, a youth drama crew contacted him to buy the song’s copyright to use it as the ending theme for their show.

The drama later became a huge hit, and the ending theme song became even more widely known.

However, most casual listeners of hit songs only pay attention to the song itself, and maybe the performer. Unless they are professionals, very few people would pay attention to the lyrics and composition.

So when Lu Zhiyun found out that the song was written by Su Xingyao, his eyes immediately filled with admiration.

“Susu, you’re amazing!!”

Lu Zhiyun’s personality was the complete opposite of Lu Jiuxu’s.

He was very easy to excite, and when he did, his reactions were often exaggerated.

His loud compliment immediately reached Lu Jiuxu, who was on the phone not far away.

Lu Jiuxu turned around and looked at the two of them.

The sky had unknowingly darkened.

A breeze suddenly blew through the garden.

Su Xingyao accidentally coughed lightly after facing the wind.

Lu Jiuxu hung up the phone and said to Lu Zhiyun, “Lu Zhiyun, go inside. Don’t disturb me while I’m discussing business.”

Lu Zhiyun, scolded, stuck out his tongue at Lu Jiuxu and hurriedly pulled Su Xingyao into the house with him.

That evening, after Lu Zhiyun learned that Su Xingyao was staying here, he decided not to leave. He deliberately stayed and played games with him for a long time.

In the end, it was Lin Chengyi who came and firmly told him that Su Xingyao needed more rest to recover, so Lu Zhiyun reluctantly went back to his room to sleep.

Lu Zhiyun was asleep, but Su Xingyao couldn’t quite fall asleep.

He had been sleeping so much these past few days that he wasn’t feeling tired yet.

So, to kill time, he took out his phone and checked the Weibo account he had logged into in the evening.

He didn’t follow many people, so the most recent post on his homepage was still the photo Lu Zhiyun had posted with him.

As he had expected, the post wasn’t met with criticism. On the contrary, it got several likes, and the comments were very positive. His friends were all complimenting how handsome they both looked.

Su Xingyao lay down.

Actually, playing games with Lu Zhiyun today was a bit tiring.

But his heart felt particularly at ease.

This place was not his home.

Yet everyone here had been nothing but kind to him from the start, never looking at him through biased lenses.

After giving Lu Zhiyun a like, Su Xingyao opened his direct messages.

The big account in the entertainment industry had stopped checking messages since everyone started criticizing him.

It was easy to guess the content inside—thousands of messages, almost all of them cursing him.

Some people even harassed him every day, checking in at fixed times 24/7.

In stark contrast to that account was this one, his old account from his time in the creative world.

Although it had fewer followers, the people who messaged him were all true fans.

Over the years, Su Xingyao didn’t always reply, but he always took the time to carefully read the messages sent to him.

After replying to two music enthusiasts who had reached out for advice on overcoming creative blocks, Su Xingyao suddenly noticed that the next message was quite different from the others.

It was from someone claiming to be a director from The Voice of Heaven, and the content was… a bit odd.

Director Xiao Li:

Dear LostTide,

Would you like to experience the most original and pure singing stage?

Would you like to showcase your creative talents perfectly?

Would you like to participate in the most magnificent and dazzling competition of 20xx?

If you’re interested, please add me on WeChat: BBQ13579246

The Voice of Heaven eagerly awaits your arrival!

Su Xingyao silently read through the message. In his mind, he could already hear the background music and the enthusiastic male voice reading the advertisement, just like the opening of a variety show…

He carefully read the message again, his gaze drawn to the odd pattern of the numbers one, three, five, seven, and nine in the WeChat ID.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he couldn’t hold back.

LostTide: I have the national anti-fraud app installed.

On the other side.

The next day, the assistant director who saw her idol’s reply was both excited and sad.

Excited because her idol saw her invitation and replied.

Sad because her idol thought she was a scammer!

TAT

Assistant Director Xiao Li: I should have come up with a more formal invitation message!!

Who was the genius who came up with this message? Saying that a humorous tone could quickly bridge the gap with these big shots??

—

Because of this incident, the director asked Su Xingyao to rest at home for a week.

During those days of rest, Director Wang, Ji Linghe, Yu Sisi, and most of the key cast and crew members called or messaged to check on his health.

However, the one who started all this, Jiang Zihang, and his team didn’t even send a single message.

It was as if ignoring the situation would let them ^[1]“wash their hands” means to deliberately avoid taking responsibility for something, often by distancing oneself from a situation or action. wash their hands of it completely.

A week later, Su Xingyao returned to the set.

To celebrate his return, Ji Linghe even threw a welcome-back party.

“You have no idea how pitiful I’ve been without you these past few days. I couldn’t even find anyone to run lines with.”

Ji Linghe immediately played the victim as soon as he saw Su Xingyao.

Of course, he wasn’t actually unable to find someone to run lines with, he just wasn’t used to Su Xingyao not being around on set.

When he later heard from the crew about what Jiang Zihang had done, his annoyance with the guy turned into even more frustration.

For the rest of the week, whenever the two of them were on set, they didn’t speak to each other privately at all, aside from the necessary work-related interactions.

He could accept a partner with poor acting skills, but he couldn’t tolerate someone who was narrow-minded and liked to engage in workplace bullying.

After this incident, although no one explicitly mentioned it, Jiang Zihang’s image dropped dramatically in the minds of all the actors.

But Jiang Zihang was completely unaware of this.

From the very beginning, he thought that the amount of water that night wasn’t enough to make Su Xingyao faint in front of so many people.

Furthermore, later on, Shen Huaixi had been subtly hinting to him that Su Xingyao might have purposely tried to gain sympathy in front of the investor, Qin Mingchuan. This only made Jiang Zihang feel even less apologetic toward Su Xingyao.

At the set.

As soon as Su Xingyao, freshly made up, stepped out, he saw Xiao Yu’s eyes red from crying.

“What happened?”

Seeing Su Xingyao, Xiao Yu quickly composed herself, forced a smile, and shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Su Xingyao looked at her without speaking or walking away. Xiao Yu felt guilty under his gaze and finally spoke up.

Jiang Zihang had a big presence on set and brought a lot of assistants with him. With so many people on his side, they would often secretly bully her.

Ever since she returned to the set with Su Xingyao, Jiang Zihang’s assistants had been giving her trouble in small ways.

For example, they would talk behind her back in front of her, throw away her cup or other small items in the crew, or deliberately throw her clothes onto the floor and step on them.

There were countless such incidents. Just earlier, two male assistants had purposely blocked her path and called her Su Xingyao’s dog right to her face.

As a newcomer just out of school, Xiao Yu didn’t know how to handle such things, but she didn’t want Su Xingyao to worry about her, so she just silently cried.

After listening to her, Su Xingyao handed her a tissue.

“I’m sorry, I’ve caused you trouble.”

Xiao Yu quickly shook her head. “No, that’s not what I meant.”

After hearing Su Xingyao’s apology, Xiao Yu felt even more like crying.

It was clearly the bullies’ fault, but Su Xingyao had done nothing wrong.

Seeing Xiao Yu tear up again, Su Xingyao gently wiped her tears.

“There won’t be any more of this in the future.”

Upon hearing Su Xingyao’s words, Xiao Yu immediately stopped feeling wronged.

She nodded seriously, and after composing herself, she followed Su Xingyao toward the set.

Originally, she thought that Jiang Zihang would be cautious and only target her, the little assistant.

But she didn’t expect that as soon as she arrived, she overheard one of Jiang Zihang’s assistants chatting with him in a low, mocking tone.

“Bro, do you know? My little brother, they’re having a sports meet this year, and there’s a swimming event.”

While speaking, he glanced at Su Xingyao and purposely smiled. “This time the school heartthrob is coming to participate. Because he’s coming, a lot of people are going to watch. Originally, that’s no big deal, the spotlight is on the heartthrob, which is normal. But then it gets funny—there was this effeminate guy, a male, who, before the competition even started, fainted while doing warm-up exercises in the shallow water.”

“He passed out, and it became a big spectacle. Nobody cared about the heartthrob anymore, everyone went to check on him.”

“Everyone thought he had some serious illness and was dying. But then…” The assistant sneered. “He said he got a fever from soaking in cold water and ended up lying in bed for a whole week!”

Jiang Zihang also laughed. “Oh, a whole week? What a severe illness.”

After their little performance, the assistant deliberately looked at Su Xingyao again and said, “I mean, with such a weak body, what is he even doing participating in a swimming competition? He should go home and drink some herbal medicine to get himself in better shape. Doing stuff like this is really embarrassing.”

His voice wasn’t too loud but just enough to be heard by everyone nearby.

After hearing this, everyone passing by involuntarily glanced at Su Xingyao.

Anyone with a little sense could tell that they were deliberately making fun of him.

Xiao Yu heard it too.

After listening, her hands trembled with anger.

These two idiots really never stop!!

She had always heard her seniors talk about how disgusting the entertainment industry could be, especially how lesser-known actors were often bullied.

Especially on set, where bullying was a common occurrence…

She thought this sort of thing would be far from her, but she didn’t expect it to happen right in front of her.

Just because Su Xingyao wasn’t famous, just because he didn’t have many fans or a good public reputation, just because his company didn’t care about him and he didn’t have a strong background…

That’s why Jiang Zihang and his team dared to bully him so blatantly, without even pretending to maintain surface harmony.

The more they acted like this, the more Xiao Yu felt injustice for Su Xingyao.

“Ah, speak of the devil, and he shall appear…”

Jiang Zihang saw Xiao Yu’s red eyes and, not feeling it was enough, deliberately grinned at her in a mocking manner. “What devil? Just walking the dog.”

Jiang Zihang had that ‘what can you do about it?’ expression, which made Xiao Yu feel like she was about to lose it. Her mind was blank, all she wanted to do was go straight at these two idiots.

“What did you say?!”

She unbuttoned her sleeve and rolled it up.

Jiang Zihang’s assistant followed suit with a laugh. “My bro said he’s walking the dog. What are you interpreting here?”

Xiao Yu really couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Just as she was thinking about quitting her job and confronting these idiots head-on, someone covered her eyes with their hand.

It went dark, but Su Xingyao’s voice came through clearly in her ears.

“Don’t worry, I’m here.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a strangely convincing calmness.

Xiao Yu’s furious heart was instantly soothed. Realizing that she couldn’t let her impulsiveness cause more trouble for Su Xingyao, she obediently suppressed her anger and moved to stand by Su Xingyao, waiting for him to finish this take.

After Xiao Yu left, Su Xingyao didn’t look at Jiang Zihang or his assistant. He lowered his head to adjust his costume, then sat down in the wheelchair prepared by the production team.

He was about to shoot a scene with Jiang Zihang.

This was one of the few scenes where the two of them had an actual confrontation in the drama.

The scene took place when the immortal Liu Li had just taken over Duan Huaiyu’s body.

At this point, Su Xingyao’s character, Duan Huaijin, had successfully gained the title of heir after his older brother, and had finally rid himself of the humiliating title of the “Princess” given by the old emperor.

In the same way, under the indulgence of his brother, he had become known among the common people as the cold-faced, ruthless prince.

Everyone in the kingdom knew that this prince was anything but gentle.

He was violent, unruly, and had a penchant for using a whip to take people’s lives.

The scene Su Xingyao was about to shoot was one where his character used the whip to punish Duan Huaiyu.

Years ago, because Duan Huaiyu had forced him to go into a lake to retrieve a jade pendant in the middle of the harsh winter, Su Xingyao’s legs had been severely frostbitten after spending the whole night submerged in the icy waters.

However, Duan Huaiyu wasn’t satisfied with just bullying him, he turned around and exaggerated the situation, telling their father, the emperor.

The old emperor was in a bad mood and used this incident as an excuse to punish Duan Huaijin, making him kneel in the heavy snow for an entire day and night.

His legs had been injured and hadn’t been treated, and now he had to kneel in the snow all night, which was truly adding insult to injury.

As a result, after this kneeling, Duan Huaijin narrowly escaped with his life, thanks to his brother’s plea for mercy.

But his leg muscles were permanently damaged by the frostbite, leaving his legs completely useless.

From then on, Duan Huaijin held a deep grudge against this incident, constantly opposing Duan Huaiyu at every turn.

And today, on a snowy day, he made Duan Huaiyu wear a single layer of clothing, using the same excuse, and punished him by making him kneel in front of his own palace.

Once the lighting was set, the director called for action.

As the clapperboard was struck, Su Xingyao lowered his head and played with the small jade qilin in his hand.

The extras dragged Jiang Zihang in front of him, forcing him to kneel on the ground.

“Your Highness, the person has been brought.”

Su Xingyao seemed not to hear, his gaze still focused on the trinket in his hands.

The camera immediately zoomed in on him.

Su Xingyao’s entire face was enlarged on the monitor.

In the shot, after a long silence, a faint smile suddenly curved at the corner of his lips.

He lazily flicked his eyelids, then slowly raised his head.

Su Xingyao hadn’t applied any dark makeup.

On the contrary, his attire was very fresh and clean, a flowing white robe that made him look ethereal, elegant, and noble.

But despite his handsome appearance, there was no trace of otherworldliness on his face. His alluring, sharp eyes gleamed with unfathomable calculation, creating a stark contrast like a femme fatale.

A few seconds later, he finally deigned to give Jiang Zihang a proper glance.

But the way he looked at him seemed as though he were staring at a pile of trash.

He lightly raised an eyebrow, smiling as he asked, “Ninth Brother, did you find the jade pendant?”

Jiang Zihang, about two or three meters away from Su Xingyao, had no choice but to meet his gaze.

But for some reason, even though he knew it was just acting, when the other person’s gaze swept over him, he couldn’t help but shudder with a sense of guilt.

During the acting process, he had never felt such intense pressure.

Even though he knew it was all part of his character’s setup, he still felt increasingly nervous.

Steady, steady.

He couldn’t lose to Su Xingyao.

Jiang Zihang, who had been working hard to improve his acting skills during this time, suppressed his discomfort and recalled the character setting of the “Falling Flowers and Glass” role. Finally, he raised his head with pride and met Su Xingyao’s eyes.

“There’s no jade pendant here, Prince He.”

It wasn’t until he looked up that he saw Su Xingyao, leisurely drinking tea, now smiling and slowly moving his wheelchair toward him, inch by inch.

Two meters…

One meter…

Fifty centimeters…

As the distance between them grew smaller, Jiang Zihang suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to escape.

Especially when he saw Su Xingyao, following the script, calmly pick up the whip, his heart tightened.

He knew very well that Su Xingyao wouldn’t dare actually strike him, and that the other person certainly didn’t have the strength for it.

But his instincts told him that he had to stop this now.

Jiang Zihang had forgotten what his next lines were or what actions he was supposed to do.

He could only stare blankly at Su Xingyao, gradually losing control of his expression…

Just as he tried to regain his composure and shout “cut,” he saw a pair of cold eyes, as chilling as a winter stream.

With a crisp “crack,” the sound of a sharp whip echoed through the set.

The whip cut through the air with a strong whoosh.

After a brief moment of silence…

Jiang Zihang’s heart-wrenching scream echoed throughout the entire set.