The airport in this small city was tiny as well. As soon as Zhu Huai stepped out of the terminal, he spotted Qi Baojia’s slightly plump figure waiting outside.

Zhu Huai was wearing a mask. He was slender and tall, dressed in a white hoodie under a casual plaid jacket. His black jeans perfectly accentuated his long legs, making him particularly eye-catching amid the crowd.

Qi Baojia spotted him immediately and waved both hands enthusiastically, shouting, “Xiao Huai, over here!”

Zhu Huai had brought only a small suitcase for this trip home. Qi Baojia naturally took it from his hands and asked, “Is work too exhausting? Are you very busy? Your mother went out to buy groceries first thing this morning. Stay a few extra days this time, all right?”

They followed the stream of travelers toward the parking lot. Hearing this, Zhu Huai shook his head and replied, “I can’t. I have to leave again after celebrating your birthday with you. I have a new job waiting for me.”

A hint of disappointment crossed Qi Baojia’s eyes. But when he thought about how difficult it had been for Zhu Huai to find work again, he gave up on trying to persuade him to stay.

The two men got into the car. Qi Baojia worked as a taxi driver. Zhu Huai settled into the back seat and turned his phone back on. He had switched it off three hours earlier. About thirty seconds later, notifications began pouring in nonstop, accompanied by a succession of ding-ding-ding sounds. Zhu Huai skimmed through them absentmindedly. None of the messages seemed important. He was about to turn off the screen and doze for a while when a Weibo notification suddenly appeared. It was from an account he followed with notifications enabled.

Sword Shadow Jianghu Mobile V:

“ “The strong aspire to reach the summit, the brave dare to scale the heights, and in the Jianghu, one revels in the joys of revenge and loyalty!”

The selection trials for the second Heroes’ Cup have already been underway for half a month. So, dear heroes, how were your results coming along? Have you achieved the goals you had set for yourselves?

Teams that have already qualified for the selection stage, keep giving it your all! As for heroes who have yet to make the rankings, don’t be discouraged. As long as the final deadline hasn’t arrived, nothing is decided yet!

There are fifteen days left before the selection trials close. Heroes, give it everything you’ve got!

By the way!! Next Thursday, Meng Xingyu, the ambassador for Sword Shadow Jianghu Mobile (@Meng Xingyu), will have a surprise to announce. Stay tuned! “

It was an utterly ordinary, unremarkable Weibo post.

And yet, it was anything but ordinary.

Because the account that had just clicked “Like” was displayed very clearly: Jiang Sheli V.

Zhu Huai’s eyes widened little by little. Only one thought filled his mind.

Jiang Sheli plays Sword Shadow Mobile???

After browsing the comments for a while, he discovered that netizens had noticed the “Like” too. They began clamoring for the server and in-game ID.

However, after liking the post, Jiang Sheli made no further appearance, as though he had simply tapped the button by accident while swiping his finger across the screen.

Unable to find any useful information, Zhu Huai opened his WeChat conversation with Jiang Sheli directly. Suppressing his excitement and nervousness, he sent him a message.

-Jiang-ge, you play Sword Shadow Mobile too?

The message went unanswered for quite some time. Zhu Huai assumed Jiang Sheli was probably busy filming on set and didn’t have time to check his phone.

He waited patiently, but even by the time he got home, he still hadn’t received a reply.

Having not seen her son for so long, Zhu’s mother hugged Zhu Huai and nagged him for a whilef, grinding him until he felt as though he had grown another layer of calluses on his ears. She finally stopped only when he said he was hungry.

He hadn’t eaten much on the plane at noon, so Zhu Huai was genuinely hungry. Since it was not far from dinnertime anyway, Zhu’s mother simply decided to make dinner early and cooked some noodles. The family had made beef sauce the last time, and it was fragrant and spicy, so Zhu Huai scooped up a huge spoonful. A fried egg had also been placed on top of the noodles, its egg white tender and white, its yolk a golden yellow. It looked so appetizing that Zhu Huai took a photo and, as usual, let his Moments friends eat with their eyes first.

After finishing the bowl of noodles, Zhu Huai was so full that his belly was round and his waist seemed to have widened. He eagerly snatched up the task of washing the dishes, then stretched out on the sofa to enjoy some rare, carefree leisure time while watching television with Zhu’s mother and stepfather.

The television was showing a crime investigation drama Jiang Sheli had filmed several years earlier. He played a lawyer, dressed impeccably in a white shirt and black suit, with his tie knotted to perfection. He looked ready to sit down at the negotiating table at any moment.

He led his team around, searching everywhere for evidence, but things did not go smoothly. Even when he was utterly exhausted, his clothes remained perfectly neat. Only his sharply defined brow ridge stood out more prominently, making his eye sockets appear deeper. His thin lips, tightly pressed together, drooped slightly at the corners. An aura of restrained irritability seemed to swirl around him, yet none of it showed on his face. This was the level of composure that only a seasoned veteran, someone who had weathered countless battles, could attain.

Zhu Huai had absolutely no idea what the television drama was about. His eyes and mind followed Jiang Sheli’s character from beginning to end. He watched him calmly outmaneuver his opponents in a battle of wits, remain unruffled when confronted with a crisis, as though Mount Tai itself could collapse before him without changing his expression, and let the corners of his mouth curl into a bold, triumphant smile when he won. No matter how Zhu Huai looked at him, he was just…

Handsome.

Whenever Jiang Sheli wasn’t on screen, Zhu Huai, the hopeless face-con, wanted nothing more than to fast-forward.

Before he knew it, the two episodes had finished, and the ending theme was playing on the screen.

Zhu Huai searched online and discovered that Jiang Sheli had been only twenty-two when he filmed this drama, the same age Zhu Huai was now.

He couldn’t help covering his face. Why was the difference between people so enormous?

Wearing her reading glasses, Zhu’s mother gazed intently at the handsome man on the television and remarked, “That’s Jiang Sheli, isn’t it? When I watched his dramas back when he was young, he was still just a child. Look how grown-up he is now. He’s become more and more handsome, too.”

Qi Baojia asked, “He must be married by now, right?”

Zhu Huai hurriedly replied, “No, he’s single.”

Zhu’s mother exclaimed in surprise, “He is not that young anymore, isn’t he?”

“He hasn’t even turned thirty yet.”

“Even so, he ought to have a girlfriend by now.”

Zhu Huai said, “He doesn’t have one.”

Qi Baojia remarked, “You can’t be sure about that. These days, celebrities like to date in secret. That one celebrity, for instance, had already been married for ten years before the news finally came out.”

Zhu Huai was immediately left speechless, unable to come up with a response.

It was true that Jiang Sheli had never discussed his love life in public and had very few rumors about romantic relationships circulating around him. He seemed rather indifferent to matters of the heart. But as for whether he actually had a significant other, nobody could say for sure.

Zhu Huai’s mind wandered in all sorts of directions for a long time. By the time he had finished showering and drying his hair, he picked up his phone and opened WeChat, only to find that Jiang Sheli still hadn’t replied.

Ever since filming had wrapped and he had left the set, the common topics between him and Jiang Sheli had dried up, and they had been in touch less and less. Zhu Huai was too embarrassed to bother him with trivial details of his everyday life. Apart from the message he had sent him in the car, the most recent one was from three days ago: Zhu Huai had shared a little joke, and Jiang Sheli had replied with a single full stop to indicate that he had read it.

The exchange was exceedingly distant.

*

After finishing his scenes for the day, Jiang Sheli turned down Shen Peiping’s invitation to have a couple of drinks and asked Li Yun to take him back to the hotel.

Li Yun returned the phone Jiang Sheli had left with him. “You’re still in touch with Zhu Huai?”

Jiang Sheli hummed in acknowledgment, took the phone, and said nothing more.

Li Yun looked at him. His mouth opened and closed several times, his brows furrowing tightly as he hesitated, unable to bring himself to speak. Each time the words were about to spill out, he swallowed them back down. He was practically bursting with frustration.

Jiang Sheli asked, “Are you constipated?”

Li Yun felt a lump of breath lodge in his throat. He kept reminding himself, Don’t strangle him. Don’t strangle him. If he dies, no one will pay my salary.

Jiang Sheli said earnestly, “I’ve been telling you for ages to do something about that temper of yours that makes you prone to internal heat. Too much internal heat can cause acne, constipation, and even hair loss. Treasure what’s left of your hair around that bald spot. You’re so young, so how did you already go bald?”

I’ll fucking kill you, master!

Li Yun silently recited the Great Compassion Mantra several times, squeezing the mineral water bottle in his hand until it crackled loudly. He barely managed to maintain the dignity expected of a manager and said, “Strictly speaking, it’s your freedom to be friends with whoever you want. But this time, I’m advising you as a friend. You’re putting your whole heart into treating someone well, and the result might be that you’re being used.”

Jiang Sheli looked at him strangely. “You seem to have quite a strong opinion of Zhu Huai?”

“A little, but not that much.” Li Yun recalled some trivial unpleasantness from back in the day, then continued, “Mainly, I look down on his management company. Artists like Zhu Huai, who came from the idol and traffic-star world, don’t have much freedom. Everything is controlled by their company. Look at Liu Qi, who’s with the same company. Last time, he seized on that incident involving you following him and managed to ride it for all the publicity he could get. He was so afraid people wouldn’t notice that he even paid to get the topic to the number-one spot on the trending list.”

Jiang Sheli’s brows drew together slightly. “Old Shen was the one who asked me to follow him. Liu Qi has some connections with the investors, and I didn’t want to put Old Shen in a difficult position.”

Li Yun spread his hands. “Do the fans believe that?”

Jiang Sheli remained silent.

Li Yun continued, “Fortunately, you were clever enough to follow Zhu Huai right afterward and divert everyone’s attention. Otherwise, when this drama airs, the internet might be flooded with CP articles about you and Liu Qi.”

Ever since same-sex marriage had become legal, netizens who shipped male-male couples no longer had any reservations. They acted as though they had been released after serving their sentences, shipping couples with wild enthusiasm and unrestrained joy. Several celebrity pairings had become so popular that their members’ market value had risen accordingly. Many management companies had spotted the profits to be made and seized every opportunity to promote such pairings. Some even arranged contractual marriages.

“Even though we’re not afraid of being tied to someone for publicity, once that kind of association sticks, it’s hard to shake off. Be careful. Don’t give anyone an opportunity to promote a CP pairing.”

“I know.”

Li Yun let out a relieved sigh, unscrewed the cap of his mineral water bottle, and gulped down some water.

Jiang Sheli said, “Let me correct one thing. I didn’t follow Zhu Huai to divert anyone’s attention. I followed him simply because I wanted to.”

The water Li Yun had just taken into his mouth sprayed right back out. Some of it went down his trachea, choking him so badly that he nearly felt his soul leave his body. His face suddenly flushed bright red, and he stared at Jiang Sheli with wide, horrified eyes, filled with silent accusation: Have you finally lost your mind?

Once Li Yun had caught his breath, he asked incredulously, “I’ve been talking for ages. Were you even listening?”

“I was listening. How does following Zhu Huai conflict with what you said?”

Jiang Sheli wore a simple white long-sleeved T-shirt. Even his khaki casual trousers could not conceal his long, toned legs. Despite such a relaxed, at-home outfit, he still managed to exude a certain abstinent, sensual charm.

Ever since his debut, he had rarely been involved in scandals. He was far more disciplined than many idols who made their living catering to fans who fancied themselves their girlfriends. He was practically a model of virtue in the entertainment industry, and no matter how many people tried to get close to him, none had succeeded. Later, someone who thought they had a reasonably good relationship with him tried to persuade him to casually promote a pairing with one of the artists under their management. Jiang Sheli had rejected the suggestion outright, leaving the other person frustrated with his cold, uncompromising attitude. When had anyone ever seen him take such an interest in somebody?

Li Yun studied him with a peculiar expression, then asked cautiously, “Let me ask you something.”

“You haven’t taken a liking for Zhu Huai, have you?”

Jiang Sheli was standing in front of the wardrobe, looking for clothes to change into before washing up. Hearing this, he glanced at Li Yun in surprise. “You’re overthinking it. We’re just ordinary friends.”

Yeah, right! As if I’d believe a word of that!

Li Yun spoke in a drawn-out, gloomy tone. “You only made ginger soup for him, only arranged for a makeup artist for him, added only him on WeChat among all the actors in the production, taught him how to act step by step, gave him a wrap gift worth seven figures, and went out of your way to follow, like, and comment on his Weibo posts. But I understand—you’re just ordinary friends?”

He added at the end, “That’s certainly an extraordinarily ordinary friendship.”

“Believe it or not.” Holding the clothes he intended to wear in the shower, Jiang Sheli opened the bedroom door and said coldly, “I’m not seeing you out.”

Li Yun stepped outside and turned back, ready to raise his middle finger in contempt. But the door slammed shut right in front of him with a bang.

Cold and heartless.

 

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The author has something to say:

I foolishly locked my writing software at 6,000 words and struggled for ages before I could get out. Sorry for the late update!

 

Translator : DarNan