Chapter 7: Both Sides Are Thorny

【Jì Jīngchuān looks like he’s cursing really badly. My dog heard the sound, ran over, and started barking at the screen for a full minute.】

【Not just a casual fan here—Jì Jīngchuān truly is a genius. He actually speaks dog language!】

【? You Ji fans are unexpectedly honest.】

【I’m dying! Lín Jīnyí, who was sitting next to them, got so scared she practically rolled out of the camera frame.】

【No joke, if I were on set, I’d be afraid Jì Jīngchuān would suddenly bite me in the middle of barking.】

【Kinda want to interview the fans of Shāng Què and Jì Jīngchuān—does this not make you want to stop supporting them?】

【Not at all. I like Shāng Què precisely because she’s so full of life.】

【Not at all. I like Jì Jīngchuān precisely because he brings life to any situation.】

【Whoever decided to put these two on the same variety show had serious foresight. The risk was high, but the payoff is even higher. Just look at the buzz!】

【There’s no helping it. When you put Shāng Què and Jì Jīngchuān together, it’s instant entertainment.】

As discussions continued to heat up online, their respective agents, upon seeing the trending topic, felt as if the sky was falling.

When the variety show recording wrapped up, Fù Xíngzhī, Shāng Què’s manager, deliberately lied that there was no parking space in the front and parked near the villa’s back entrance instead.

The entertainment industry wasn’t that big—anyone who reached his level had at least some familiarity with each other. Especially Níng Sēng’s agent, whom he had been competing against for years. Fù Xíngzhī didn’t even need to guess—if they ran into each other, the other party would definitely point at the trending topic and say, “Your artist, your artist.”

After sending Shāng Què his location, Fù Xíngzhī got out of the car. The area ahead was clear, and everything was quiet on either side. Just as he let out a sigh of relief and turned his head, he spotted someone walking toward him.

Wearing sunglasses and a floral shirt, looking just as cautious as he was—Jì Jīngchuān’s agent, Wáng Yǔ.

Wáng Yǔ noticed him at the same time. After a brief moment of surprise, he immediately put on a broad smile, stepped forward to shake hands, and said with a deliberately cheeky tone, “Ah, Fù Gē, long time no see! That trending topic… it’s your artist, right?”

“…”

Fantastic. Jì Jīngchuān’s agent was just as much of a troublemaker as he was.

Fù Xíngzhī forced a polite smile. “Your artist is on the trending list too. Besides, Shāng Què doesn’t normally act like this—she must have been influenced by Jì Jīngchuān.”

Wáng Yǔ immediately shot back, “Jì Jīngchuān doesn’t normally bark like a dog either—he must’ve been forced into it by Shāng Què!”

“Shāng Què is always polite and never starts trouble.”

“Jì Jīngchuān is well-behaved and obedient. He wouldn’t pick a fight for no reason!”

“Do you even believe what you’re saying?”

Their gazes clashed like swords. Unable to reach an agreement, they dropped the pretenses, scoffed, and yanked their hands back from the handshake.

Meanwhile, Shāng Què was being blocked at the entrance by Lín Jīnyí. She waved her hand dismissively while trying to step around her. “No autographs, no selfies, excuse me, let me through.”

“Shāng Què!” Lín Jīnyí’s eyes widened like a startled cat. She stomped after her in high heels, then blocked her path with a sulky expression. “Do you not check Weibo?”

Shāng Què: ?

She thought it was something serious.

“I do. I check it every day.”

She was about to explain how she learned all sorts of internet slang and jokes from interesting netizens when Lín Jīnyí’s expression suddenly changed.

“Then why don’t you follow me?” she asked, then quickly added, “I only asked because I saw netizens questioning it. We’re all on the same show, yet you followed everyone else except me. Are you deliberately excluding me?”

Shāng Què frowned in confusion. “No, the netizens are just making things up.”

Lín Jīnyí’s expression softened a bit. “Then you—”

“I didn’t follow Jì Jīngchuān either.”

“You’re comparing me to Jì Jīngchuān?!” Lín Jīnyí was stunned, then furiously demanded, “How can you even put me on the same level as him?!”

Shāng Què thought for a moment. “Both sides of a hand have thorns—more or less the same, right?”

“That’s not even a real saying!!! Where the hell did you learn your Chinese?!”

Hearing that, Lín Jīnyí was reminded of Shāng Què’s earlier interaction with Níng Sēng. “Then why did you follow Níng Sēng?”

“Because she’s cute. I really like her.”

So, in other words, Shāng Què disliked her, which was why she refused to follow her?

For the first time in her life, Lín Jīnyí felt like she was asking to be humiliated. Lips pressed together, she turned around, dragging her suitcase away in anger.

Shāng Què watched her storm off, puzzled. “Why does she get mad so easily?”

Unlike her—emotionally stable.

“Shāng Què!”

A voice suddenly called out behind her. The moment she heard it, her temple veins throbbed. Was she stuck in some kind of endless loop? One second ago, it was Lín Jīnyí, and now here came another nuisance.

Jì Jīngchuān strode over, getting straight to the point. “Hurry up and add me on WeChat.”

“No.” Shāng Què refused immediately. “We won’t necessarily be in the same group next time.”

Jì Jīngchuān smirked, looking triumphant. “I just asked the director. He said the groups won’t change.”

Shāng Què’s brows furrowed. “So I have to put up with you for nine more episodes?”

“What kind of attitude is that?!” Jì Jīngchuān was instantly offended. “Being partnered with me is some huge injustice to you?”

Shāng Què shot back, “You really don’t know?”

Jì Jīngchuān sneered. “I don’t want to be paired with someone who has terrible taste either.”

“Then go tell the director to switch.”

“Why should I? You do it!”

Just as Fù Xíngzhī and Wáng Yǔ arrived, this was the scene they walked into—the supposedly “polite” Shāng Què and “well-behaved” Jì Jīngchuān were standing outside the venue, yelling at each other.

“Shāng Què, let’s go.”

“Ji, time to head home.”

As soon as the words left their mouths, both of them turned their heads in unison from a distance.

“Don’t rush me! Let me finish arguing with him/her first!”

“…”

“I refuse to ask! Even if you don’t want to be on the same team as me, you still have to be.” Just like how, no matter how much you dislike me, by blood, I am still your little brother.

After throwing out that statement, Ji Jingchuan turned around aggressively and walked away, not giving Shang Que any chance to refute.

Wang Yu quickly caught up, took Ji Jingchuan’s suitcase, and gave him a thumbs-up. “Not bad, you won the argument.”

It wasn’t a win at all. Shang Que didn’t care about him in the slightest, so no matter how much he argued, he would never truly win. Ji Jingchuan remained silent.

Wang Yu leaned in for a closer look and gasped, “Why are your eyes red? You didn’t perform well, huh? Want to go back and argue with her again? I’m in no rush.”

---

“What’s wrong? Are you upset that you didn’t curse enough? Should I drive after them so you two can argue some more?” Fu Xingzhi asked, glancing in the rearview mirror.

“That won’t be necessary.” Without Ji Jingchuan in front of her, Shang Que’s emotions were much more stable. She opened Weibo, and at first glance, saw both of their names trending. She furrowed her brows and scrolled further down, spotting a topic buried in the list: #Shang Que didn’t follow Lin Jinyi back#

…?

Did Lin Jinyi even follow her?

Shang Que clicked on Lin Jinyi’s profile through Weibo’s recommendations, and sure enough, there was a “Follow Back” button displayed at the bottom.

No wonder she was so mad earlier.

Without overthinking, Shang Que clicked “Follow Back.” But just as she was about to exit the app, she suddenly noticed—Lin Jinyi had unfollowed her.

Seeing that, Shang Que immediately unfollowed her back. But the next second, Lin Jinyi followed her again.

Shang Que sent her a private message: “?”

[Lin JinyiYiyiyiV]: Weibo is glitching.

A few seconds later—

**[Lin JinyiYiyiyiV]: Retweeted [ShippingEverything]: *Gorgeous actress x Tsundere drama queen* **

[Lin JinyiYiyiyiV]: Accidental like.

[Shang QueV]: I saw.

Both messages were sent almost at the same time. Lin Jinyi quickly followed up—

[Lin JinyiYiyiyiV]: ? Then you saw the trending topic too.

[Lin JinyiYiyiyiV]: I swear it was an accident when I liked that post!

[Shang QueV]: Oh.

[Lin JinyiYiyiyiV]: I’m NOT your fan! I don’t like you at all!

---

“We’ve arrived.” The car pulled up in front of a discreet wooden door. Fu Xingzhi turned to her and said, “I booked a private dining room. You go in first; I’ll park the car and join you soon.”

This was a private restaurant, not heavily advertised, but it had built a strong reputation in certain circles due to its exceptional food. It was often hard to get a reservation.

Shang Que wasn’t particularly picky about food, but that didn’t mean she didn’t appreciate fine dining. On the contrary, she had a refined palate, and this place was one of the few that truly satisfied her tastes. However, she had been busy filming recently and hadn’t had the chance to visit.

Hearing that they had arrived, Shang Que quickly sent a random emoji in response—without even looking at what it was—before shutting off her phone and getting out of the car.

Meanwhile, on the other end, Lin Jinyi stared at the [Pouting] emoji that Shang Que had sent, momentarily stunned.

Shang Que… was pouting? Why was she pouting? What was she upset about? Was it because Lin Jinyi had said she didn’t like her?

But Shang Que didn’t seem to like her either. She hadn’t even—

Oh, she had followed her back.

Lin Jinyi bit her lip, quickly deleted the response she had typed out (“Don’t flatter yourself”), furrowed her brows, and fell into an internal struggle.

---

By now, Shang Que was happily enjoying her meal. There was a dish of sautéed king oyster mushrooms with diced beef, a plate of crispy mint-flavored pork ribs, a side of simply stir-fried greens for freshness, and a steaming pot of creamy, milky-white fish soup. The restaurant had also provided noodles—perfect for soaking up the flavorful broth and turning it into a fragrant fish soup noodle dish.

After taking a few bites, Shang Que suddenly thought of the seafood noodles Ji Jingchuan had made earlier. In comparison, this bowl didn’t seem as delicious.

She frowned slightly, stopped forcing herself to eat it, and switched to the other dishes.

Halfway through her meal, a thought struck her, and she asked, “Fu-ge, is cooking difficult to learn?”

“Depends on who’s learning. For most people, it’s not hard.”

“What about me?”

Fu Xingzhi didn’t hesitate. “I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Shang Que: “…”

“Some things require natural talent. Like your acting—your ability to deliver lines and interpret characters is naturally stronger than most.” Fu Xingzhi stated matter-of-factly. “Cooking is the same way.”

“Then I must have the talent. I just haven’t put in the effort yet.”

After all, even Ji Jingchuan had learned how to cook. That meant their family must have a genetic predisposition for it!

Fu Xingzhi didn’t argue, simply changing the subject. “Several endorsement deals have come in over the past couple of days.”

Shang Que groaned. “Do we have to talk about work while I’m enjoying my food?”

“You refuse to discuss work while eating, after eating you say you need time to digest, and on Sundays, you give yourself a full day off from answering calls or checking messages.” Fu Xingzhi remained unfazed. “So when exactly should we talk about it?”

“…Now.” Shang Que straightened her posture. “Go ahead.”

“A few brands are of decent quality, but most of them want both you and Ji Jingchuan as joint brand ambassadors. What do you think?”

The variety show Friendship’s Tiny Boat had set a precedent by pairing them up. Initially, everyone thought it would be a disaster, but their unexpected chemistry had turned out to be highly entertaining.

People soon realized that putting these two together generated even more buzz than anticipated, so before the first episode had even finished airing, several brands had already reached out for joint endorsements.

“I refuse.” Shang Que firmly crossed her arms in front of her in an X shape.

“Figured as much,” Fu Xingzhi said, completely unsurprised. “There’s also one offer for you alone. The pay is quite high, but it’s from a pet training school.”

Shang Que was puzzled. “I don’t even have a pet. What would they want me to endorse?”

“Dog training services.”

Shang Que: “?”