Young rookie photographer Xiao Liu propped his head on his hand, sitting drowsily on the living room sofa.

The camera on the tripod beside him was continuously running, aimed diagonally at the study adjacent to the living room. The study was a two-story high space, with bookshelves on both sides filled with books from various fields, resembling an ocean of knowledge. In the middle was a massive floor-to-ceiling window.

Below the window sat a young man reading a newspaper.

The young man wore simple cotton and linen loungewear, reclining comfortably in his chair. His right hand held a newspaper, while his left hand rested casually on the armrest, with long, slender fingers adorned with a silver wedding ring on the ring finger.

Outside the window, tall, verdant pine trees stood majestically, and wild white cranes perched on the branches, undisturbed. The spring breeze carried the sound of pine waves, and dappled shadows and bright rays of spring sunlight filtered through the trees, landing on the young man below the window.

His skin was fair, his side profile distinct, and his long eyelashes cast clear shadows in the light. Enveloped in such a beautiful, misty interplay of light and shadow, he seemed to glow.

Drowsy photographer Xiao Liu lifted his heavy eyelids and, upon seeing this picturesque scene of pines and cranes, couldn’t help but think: No wonder this place is named Songhe Villa. The owner’s leisurely and elegant demeanor truly befits the name Songhe.

But this was already his third day of shooting here, and the life of the subject—Mr. Gu Chen, who lived in this mountain villa—was, in truth, exceptionally… boring!

“Ah, no, healthy.”

At 6 a.m., he got up to follow Mr. Gu up the mountain to start filming. But after three days, what had he filmed? He had filmed Mr. Gu exercising, day after day, rain or shine.

After coming back and having breakfast, Mr. Gu would sit down and start reading the newspaper. This was another daily routine that never changed.

Getting up so early every day was exhausting for him, so he could only sit beside Mr. Gu and doze off.

The only sounds were the clear chirping of mountain birds and the rustling of Mr. Gu flipping through the newspaper.

Xiao Liu yawned again.

He had been filming for almost three days but still hadn’t figured out the mysterious Mr. Gu.Mr. Gu, although gentle and polite to others, had a lazy and calm demeanor, yet his aura was undeniably powerful. Like now, it always felt like Mr. Gu should be flipping through corporate reports rather than a newspaper.

Just as Xiao Liu was about to fall asleep, Mr. Gu finally stood up. Xiao Liu jerked awake, immediately greeted by the sight of Mr. Gu’s long legs.

He casually placed the newspaper back on the rack and asked, “Xiao Liu, would you like some tea today?”

The young man’s voice was clear and pure, reminiscent of a fresh spring rain in a secluded mountain, cool but not cold. However, his tone was lazy and relaxed, transforming into the lively atmosphere of a sunny day after the rain.

Xiao Liu scratched his head and said, “Eh, coffee or tea, it’s all the same to me; it’s just drinking water.”

Although Mr. Gu had a powerful presence, he wasn’t that old. When he spoke in such a lazy tone, it dispelled the intimidating aura he had while reading the newspaper and made him seem more approachable.

Gu Chen nodded and said, “Alright, then let’s just have a cup of tea.”

Xiao Liu followed him, moving the camera to the tea room, thinking to himself: Absurd, here we go again! Every day, he spends more than half an hour drinking tea!

The tea room was on the other side of the living room, with orchids growing under the window, a blackwood tea table, and shelves behind it holding various types of tea and utensils of different materials.

Gu Chen set the water to boil, casually took two white porcelain gaiwans from the shelf, and retrieved a sealed tin of tea leaves from the fridge.

Watching Gu Chen methodically make tea was indeed a pleasure, but when Xiao Liu checked the time and saw it wasn’t even 9 AM yet, he nearly blacked out.

Starting at 6 AM, they exercised, came back for breakfast, and since tea wasn’t suitable right after breakfast, Gu Chen read the freshly delivered newspaper. After reading, he started making tea… So much had happened in the morning, and it wasn’t even 9 AM yet… Days without a phone felt incredibly slow.

He was so bored he felt like he might go crazy, and he wondered if such uneventful, daily routine content could even be used.

Gu Chen leisurely made tea, feeling quite happy. Choosing this world for retirement was the right decision. The original owner’s identity and storyline were indeed transparent enough.

His father was a renowned businessman in the South, and he was the son of his father’s second wife. After his parents divorced, he initially lived with his mother. Both parents remarried and had new children. His mother sent him to boarding school and barely cared for him, while his father, besides paying child support, didn’t even make a phone call.

His father had four wives over time and raised many outstanding children, leaving no shortage of heirs. His mother, pragmatic, married into another powerful family and supported her new husband and youngest son in controlling part of the family’s business.

Such experiences shaped him into an introverted, timid, and socially awkward person. In both his mother’s and father’s families, he was an invisible, unaccomplished “waste” of a person.

However, despite his inferiority complex and mediocrity, he had some advantages in terms of appearance.

Coincidentally, the powerful Li family from the North was actively expanding into the Southern market after their young heir took control, establishing deep cooperation with the prominent Gu family in the South.

Therefore, his irresponsible father, who only paid child support, brought him back to make the most of him by arranging a marriage with the Li family.

Neither the Gu family nor the Li family cared about his feelings; they sought only cooperation. Thus, after the marriage, his father and husband continued to expand their businesses, while he remained a transparent person, still without any presence.

However, an old roommate from his boarding school days had become a rising star. Seeing that the once bullied, mediocre Gu Chen had married into a wealthy family made the star extremely jealous. Driven by envy, the star “invited” Gu Chen to participate in a once-popular marriage reality show.

In the show, his life, marked by neglect from his husband, silence, loneliness, and utter lack of excitement, served as a stark contrast to the sweet and happy lives of the main couples.

In the program, he was marginalized, a transparent figure. Despite it being a marriage reality show, his husband didn’t cooperate at all, not even showing his face, let alone participating in the filming.

In the end, due to his friends’ suppression, all his cameo scenes were cut from the show. After the variety show aired, no audience noticed him, not knowing his name or what he looked like. He was just a minor character who slightly nudged the storyline between the main characters.

Finding such a worry-free, affluent, invisible-from-start-to-finish minor role through the Transmigration Bureau wasn’t easy either.

Gu Chen made simple tea this time. He handed the lidded bowl to Xiao Liu and said, “Just drink it as ordinary tea. It’s fine without adding water yourself.”

Xiao Liu quickly took the bowl with both hands, afraid of dropping it. He observed it: the tea bowl was white as jade, clear as a mirror, resonant when tapped, and thin as paper—obviously not an ordinary item.

He blew on it carefully, feeling the heat, added a bit of cool water, then took a hasty sip to freshen up. He gingerly placed the tea bowl back on the table, hesitated for a while, and finally asked, “Is this an antique?”

But after asking, he felt foolish. These kinds of things were probably all antiques in the homes of big shots, right?

Gu Chen naturally replied, “No, it’s a modern craft piece.”

A modern craft piece? Wasn’t he worried about it breaking? Xiao Liu finally breathed a sigh of relief and casually lifted the tea bowl again to take another big sip.

He remembered Gu Chen’s wristwatch, a simple sports watch he had seen when Gu Chen was making tea. Why would Mr. Gu wear such an ordinary sports watch? Someone with Mr. Gu’s demeanor should at least wear a million-dollar luxury watch while making tea, right? However, a sports watch and a modern craft piece indicated that Mr. Gu was indeed young.

Xiao Liu looked for another topic and asked, “Mr. Gu, what kind of tea are we drinking today? It’s quite tasty.”

Gu Chen replied, “It’s Da Hong Pao from Wuyi Mountain.”

“Oh…” Xiao Liu actually didn’t know what was going on, so he just nodded in vague understanding.

Gu Chen took a sip of tea, set the covered bowl aside, and spread out the paper with a paperweight.

Xiao Liu hesitated to interrupt. Now that he saw Gu Chen starting to grind ink, preparing to practice calligraphy again, he felt numb. Was this going to last until lunch?

Bored and sleepy, Xiao Liu began to doubt himself. Was he shooting a reality show about marriage and relationships, or some documentary?

“Oh, right! A reality show about marriage!” he suddenly remembered.

Actually, on their first day of meeting, he had asked Mr. Gu, “For these three days of shooting, we mainly need footage of daily life between husband and wife. Where is your husband?”

Mr. Gu had casually replied, “Oh, he’s away on a business trip,” in such a natural manner…

It seemed like it wasn’t strange at all for the spouse to be absent when filming a marriage reality show. Mr. Gu showed no inclination to explain further.

So, Xiao Liu assumed Mr. Gu’s spouse would return from the trip soon and felt awkward about asking. But now it was already the third day, nearing the end of the initial shooting period, and Mr. Gu’s spouse still hadn’t returned?

Xiao Liu hesitated again, carefully choosing his words, and asked, “Mr. Gu, when is your husband coming back from his business trip?”

“My husband…”

Gu Chen suddenly burst into laughter at the question. His laughter was so charming that it left Xiao Liu momentarily stunned.

Xiao Liu had intended to use more colloquial language to bridge the gap, but why did Mr. Gu’s reaction seem a bit strange?

However, Gu Chen didn’t bother to correct anything. Instead, he smiled and said, “My husband… probably won’t be back from his business trip until next year.”

In the original storyline, this marriage partner named Li Tingqin had his work focus overseas this year, personally overseeing the A-country branch, so indeed he wouldn’t be back until next year, and they had hardly seen each other at all.

Xiao Liu: “???”

So, when you said ‘on a business trip,’ you meant until next year? Xiao Liu was almost in tears. Mr. Gu, are you sure you’re not filming a reality show about love and marriage?

Xiao Liu became worried. The three days were almost over, and they hadn’t captured any useful footage. Now they hadn’t even filmed a glimpse of Mr. Gu’s other half. How would they edit the footage?

Moreover, Mr. Gu was originally a novice guest, and the production crew had limited time to give him. In the end, the precious few minutes were spent on boring tea-drinking and newspaper-reading, probably with no audience willing to watch.

It’s okay, it’s okay, Xiao Liu reassured herself. At least Mr. Gu is good-looking; even in the entertainment industry, he’s top-notch. Even if his daily life is boring, there will still be a heap of fans.

With this in mind, Xiao Liu drank her hot tea and kindly comforted Gu Chen, “It’s okay, Mr. Gu, even if your wife can’t come home, your good looks alone can attract a lot of fans.”

Gu Chen calmly dipped the tip of his pen in ink, perfectly matching the expression of being comforted, and said, “Hmm, thank you, Xiao Liu.”

It’s rare for a character to not even need to see their marriage partner’s face.

Xiao Liu: “…”

Ah, well… there really isn’t any sign of sadness. One can only say that Mr. Gu has embarked on a very new kind of marriage.

In the long, boring days, Xiao Liu finally finished the three days of shooting in the afternoon.

Because Gu Chen lived in the mountains and was an inconspicuous amateur, this difficult task of shooting in the mountains for a business trip fell on Xiao Liu, a new photographer, to the point where they didn’t even give him an assistant photographer.

To ensure he could make it to the city in time for today’s flight, Xiao Liu had to leave before lunch: “Mr. Gu, I’ve disturbed your vacation these past few days, so I’ll come bother you again next issue.”

However, he wondered if Mr. Gu’s “pair” would even have a next issue.

“No trouble at all.” Gu Chen shook his hand. “Uncle Xu, please see Teacher Liu off the mountain.”

Xiao Liu exclaimed happily, “Ah, thank you.”

It was great that the mountain lodge even had a driver. He almost suspected the production team forgot about him up there, not arranging a driver to pick him up.

Internally conflicted, Xiao Liu thought seriously to himself, “When I get back, I must talk to the editing teacher and make sure he focuses on capturing Mr. Gu’s exceptional beauty. On one hand, being around such a refined big shot like Mr. Gu is truly refreshing. On the other hand, this boring filming process is a kind of torture, and if the broadcast doesn’t turn out well, my work this time will be fruitless.”

Despite the hardships of travel, Xiao Liu returned to the production team in the evening still full of energy, finding the crew still working overtime, eager to finish editing the footage from the past three days.

He eagerly removed the storage card from his camera, imported the footage into the computer, and after waiting for a while, he finally found a moment when the assistant director was relatively free and called him over to take a look.

The assistant director casually scrolled through the footage and frowned, “What have you been filming? Where’s Gu Chen’s husband? Do you think we’re filming static landscapes here?”

Xiao Liu quickly explained, “Director Qian, Mr. Gu’s partner is away on a business trip. He’s not at home. Can you take another look? I think Mr. Gu’s looks are also remarkably outstanding, actually…”

“On a business trip?” Assistant Director Qian interrupted, “He’s on a business trip, and you didn’t think to have Gu Chen pay a penalty fee for breach of contract? Or have him call his husband? Video call him? Get him to bring his husband back? This is a romance variety show! What are you even doing?”

“I thought…” Xiao Liu hesitated to admit he was captivated by Gu Chen’s presence, so he shifted focus and said, “Director Qian, about Mr. Gu’s appearance…”

“Enough, that’s not important,” Director Qian impatiently interrupted, showing little interest. “Someone higher up has already arranged it. Just make sure Gu Chen doesn’t show his face. Anyway, he’s just an amateur…”

He waved it off casually and turned to the editor, instructing, “Just focus on cutting it to two minutes, maximum. Remember, no face shots.”

However, he couldn’t resist stealing a few more glances at the screen where the remarkably handsome young man was displayed, murmuring to himself, “He’s strangely good-looking.”