《The Disloyal Minister》 was an ancient-era political intrigue drama. Jiang Sheli played the Ninth Prince, the most important antagonist throughout the entire series. Although he was not the male lead, his screen time was no less than that of the male lead.

Zhu Huai played a male courtesan named Wan Gui who served at Jiang Sheli’s side. He was utterly loyal to the prince and deeply devoted to him. In the end, during an assassination attempt, the enemy took him hostage to threaten the Ninth Prince, only for him to be shot dead by an arrow from the prince he loved so dearly.

Zhu Huai had fallen from the clouds. Although he could no longer really be considered an idol and was working hard to transition into acting, his current public image was actually ill-suited to taking on such a role steeped in the world of pleasure. But the company did not care about such things. What they wanted was the gimmick of “acting opposite Jiang Sheli,” so that under this pretext they could get him a few more advertising contracts. His personal contract with the company had only six months left. Zhu Huai was sick of staying at the company, and the company knew perfectly well that he would not renew his contract. Since leaving him idle would be a waste anyway, they might as well squeeze the last bit of value out of him during these remaining six months.

Zhu Huai did not care.

He had been hugely popular for two years, only to spend the following two and a half years plummeting straight to bottom. For nearly a year of that period, he had not had a single job. Even appearing in front of a camera had become an impossible dream; his treatment was no different from being blacklisted, and after paying a huge penalty for breach of contract, he had nearly been unable even to afford food. Later, once the public attention had died down somewhat, he managed to pick up a few jobs, all minor opportunities that other people looked down upon. He had long since lost the capital to be choosy about his work; he had even worked as an extra.

Wan Gui was one of the few opportunities Zhu Huai had fought to obtain that would actually put his face on screen. Although it was a minor role and the character would not survive for many episodes, if this tragic character was played well, audiences would still find him endearing.

When Zhu Huai arrived on set, Jiang Sheli was already seated in the pavilion where they were going to shoot. His bearing was proud and aloof, his aura cool and distant.

Even people who paid no attention to the entertainment industry would not be unfamiliar with the name Jiang Sheli. From people as old as eighty to children as young as three, practically everyone had seen his film and television works. He had already won so many domestic awards that people were sick of hearing about them. The year before last, he had brought home the trophy for International Film Emperor, driving the domestic media into a frenzy. The excitement lasted an entire week, and they came up with so many words of praise that not a single one was repeated.

From the moment Jiang Sheli entered the entertainment industry at the age of fifteen, his rare beauty had swiftly imprinted itself on the minds of audiences. After the first television series in which he starred aired, his fame skyrocketed. The image of the white-clad young man lying in a pool of blood at the end of the series sank deeply into the hearts of viewers, and the name “Jiang Sheli” spread throughout every street and alley. The advertisements he endorsed could be seen everywhere. In that era, the concept of “traffic” did not yet exist, but the year he debuted was dubbed the “Jiang Sheli Year,” so it was easy to imagine just how explosively popular he had been.

The year Zhu Huai graduated from elementary school and entered middle school, twenty-year-old Jiang Sheli released the first album of his career. It swept all the major music charts and resounded throughout every street and alley. Its sales figures made his management company beam with delight. In the classroom, one could hear girls humming his familiar melodies at any time, and his presence had long since seeped into the everyday lives of ordinary people.

A favored son of Heaven.

It was no wonder that Jiang’s fans had mocked Zhu Huai back then for not knowing the immensity of Heaven and Earth. With his meager resume, he did not even have the qualifications to carry Jiang Sheli’s shoes.

Zhu Huai looked at Jiang Sheli. He was dressed in an opulent black costume, its fabric covered in intricate dark-patterned motifs, while elaborate embroidery in gold thread adorned the cuffs and hem. Every movement caused the outfit to shimmer with a distinctive radiance. It was said that this costume had taken more than a month to make.

At that moment, Jiang Sheli held the script in his left hand and a pen in his right, occasionally making a few notes. The way he held the pen, with his thumb pressed against his index finger, made his fingers look even longer, their joints sharply defined.

A man and a woman sat on either side of him. The woman wore exquisite makeup, with classic peach-blossom eyes and crimson lips lightly pursed into a perfectly measured curve. She looked neither obsequious nor overly flattering, yet naturally inspired goodwill. She was precisely the currently popular young actress and the female lead of this production, Lou Lixiao.

As for the man on the left, Zhu Huai could not have been more familiar with him. He was his former teammate, SYA’s leader, Liu Qi, who played the male lead in this production.

Liu Qi was a handsome man with monolidded eyes. Whenever he looked at someone, he always gave off an air of sharpness and disdain. At present, however, his eyes revealed a trace of cautiousness as he smiled at Jiang Sheli and said something to him.

Jiang Sheli’s expression was indifferent. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Zhu Huai stepped forward properly and greeted him: “Hello, Jiang ge. I’m here to run through the scene with you.”

The clear, bright timbre characteristic of a young man reached their ears, and the man and woman in the pavilion both turned to look at him.

Zhu Huai then smiled and greeted Lou Lixiao as well: “Lou jie.”

Lou Lixiao smiled at him. Her gaze swept over him from head to toe, then she glanced meaningfully at Liu Qi before finally looking at Jiang Sheli, remaining silent.

Zhu Huai turned toward Liu Qi. All the warmth had disappeared from his expression; his gaze was cold. He merely nodded without saying a word of greeting.

Liu Qi’s expression became somewhat unpleasant.

Jiang Sheli lifted his gaze from the script and raised his head—

His handsome face still carried a light layer of makeup. His long brows swept toward his temples, and his eye sockets were deep-set. His eyes seemed to contain far too much, like the vortex of a deep sea; one careless glance, and a person could become lost within them.

His face was not particularly sharp or severe, instead possessing a somewhat youthful quality. At first glance, he appeared gentle and bright. But after years of fighting and struggling in the entertainment industry, he had long since established his own studio and become its boss. He was not yet thirty, yet he had already brought several Best Newcomer winners and one Best Actor to prominence under his management. No one would truly dare to look down on him.

Jiang Sheli merely glanced over at him, yet Zhu Huai could not help straightening his back.

Jiang Sheli carefully sized up the young face before him.

The young man was exceptionally handsome, with skin so fair it seemed to glow. He was tall and long-legged, and even beneath the oversized trench coat, his narrow waist was still clearly visible. His features were gentle, especially those eyes, which seemed to sparkle whenever he looked at someone.

He was naturally born to make a living in the entertainment industry, Jiang Sheli assessed inwardly.

It was still somewhat chilly in early spring, and a light rain had begun to fall, bringing the temperature down by several degrees. When a gust of wind swept over, Zhu Huai could not help shivering.

Jiang Sheli shifted farther inward, leaving half of the short bench beside him unoccupied, and nodded toward Zhu Huai. “Come in and sit while we talk.”

Zhu Huai glanced over. The other two individual stools in the pavilion were already occupied by the male and female leads, leaving only the space Jiang Sheli had made available. He therefore sat down as instructed, but only perched on the edge of the bench, leaving a palm’s width of space between them.

He let his slightly uneasy heart settle. Jiang Sheli was much gentler than he appeared on the outside and seemed to hold no grudge against him.

Liu Qi’s expression was complicated. When he had entered earlier, he had originally intended to sit naturally beside Jiang Sheli, only to be rejected by the Film Emperor without the slightest mercy.

He looked at the distance of two people’s width between himself and Jiang Sheli, then at the palm-width gap across from him, and his expression became even more unpleasant.

“I won’t disturb you, Jiang ge.” Seeing that they were about to get busy, Lou Lixiao quickly stood up, displaying both thoughtfulness and consideration. “See you at dinner tonight.”

Jiang Sheli nodded, polite yet distant.

Liu Qi’s scene followed immediately after Zhu Huai and Jiang Sheli finished shooting their scene together, so he stayed behind to rehearse the scene with them.

Liu Qi suddenly said to Zhu Huai, “You’re still young, and this is your first time acting. There must be quite a lot you don’t understand, right?”

Zhu Huai looked at him expressionlessly but did not respond.

He truly had no fondness for Liu Qi. Two years ago, the more he had respected this captain, the more disgusted he was with him now.

Seeing that Zhu Huai ignored him, Liu Qi turned to Jiang Sheli and said, “After our group disbanded, Xiao Huai has had a very difficult time. If Xiao Huai has done anything wrong or behaved improperly, I hope, Jiang ge…”

Without even raising his eyes, Jiang Sheli coldly interrupted him, “The rain is about to get heavier. We need to hurry and shoot this scene.”

Liu Qi’s ingratiating smile froze, hanging awkwardly on his face.

Zhu Huai knew exactly what Liu Qi was thinking. With him, the villain who had supposedly caused SYA to disband, standing there, Liu Qi merely wanted to put on the persona of a broad-minded former captain in front of the Film Emperor. Unexpectedly, Jiang Sheli was not buying it.

However, Zhu Huai felt that this was not the reason behind Jiang Sheli’s reaction. This intuition was far too inexplicable. Puzzled, he looked toward Jiang Sheli, only to meet the eyes that had turned toward him.

“Zhu Huai.”

“Hello.” Zhu Huai put on a polite smile. “It’s our first time meeting. I hope you’ll guide me.”

The corners of Jiang Sheli’s lips seemed to curve upward, though it was not particularly noticeable. He suddenly said, “I remember you. Two years ago, you lost to me in a Weibo poll.”

Zhu Huai froze for a moment, never expecting Jiang Sheli to bring up the matter himself. Beside them, Liu Qi could not control the gleeful smile that appeared on his face.

Zhu Huai quickly recovered and admitted it frankly. “Yes. My fans caused you some trouble back then.”

Jiang Sheli’s smile became much more pronounced. “If we’re being precise, you were the only one who had trouble. I also bear some responsibility for what happened. Since it’s fate that we’ve ended up working together, let’s have a meal together sometime.”

Zhu Huai had not expected Jiang Sheli to invite him to dinner. Surprise appeared on his face. He opened his mouth, then swallowed the words he had originally intended to say and smiled. “All right. I’m free anytime.”

He had originally wanted to say that, in fact, the two of them had already met two years ago, when he had been at his most helpless and terrified.

But obviously, Jiang Sheli no longer remembered.

Liu Qi did not get to see the sparks fly between the two of them as he had hoped. Instead, he had witnessed Zhu Huai being invited to dinner, and the composure on his face nearly collapsed.

He swallowed down his unwillingness and reminded him, “Jiang ge, the rain is about to get heavier.”

 

Translator : DarNan