#JiangSheliFollowsZhuHuai# [Boiling]

#JiangSheliLikesZhuHuai’sWeiboPost# [Boiling]

#JiangSheliZhuHuai# [New]

When Zhu Huai logged back into Weibo, three hot searches bearing his and Jiang Sheli’s tag had already appeared. The first and second spots were firmly occupied by them, while the hot search about Liu Qi and Jiang Sheli had already dropped to seventh place.

Sure enough, the gossip about Zhu Huai and Jiang Sheli was much more entertaining.

Zhu Huai’s latest Weibo post was still the one he had published several days earlier. Its comments had risen from just over two hundred to more than eight thousand and were still climbing rapidly.

Zhu Huai V: I met a particularly kind senior on set. Thank you to this senior for the ginger soup. [Thermal Flask.jpg]

Jiang Sheli V liked this post.

Jiang Sheli V: You’re welcome.

【Wow, are fake accounts this sophisticated now? They can even get the V verification.】

【*Ge? Gege?! If you’ve been kidnapped, blink!】

【I’m back after opening the blogger’s profile N times. Confirmed: it’s not a fake account. It’s really him!】

【[Stunned Dog.jpg]】

【…A true “I’ve lived long enough to see everything.” 】

【This world has gone completely crazy. The Film Emperor and Zhu Huai are actually appearing together?!】

【??? Is this the beginning of the year’s most bizarre news story?】

【He sent ginger soup, and the Film Emperor clearly treats Zhu Huai differently! Something’s going on~】

【I remember that several actors from The Unfaithful Minister posted pictures of things the Film Emperor had given them that day. Don’t be so KY , okay?】

(NT: KY is a Chinese internet slang derived from the Japanese phrase 空気読めない (kūki yomenai), literally “unable to read the atmosphere.” )

【No problem. Liu Qi and Lou Lixiao both got hand warmers from Jiang Sheli that day!】

【Hand warmers for the lead actors, ginger soup for Zhu Huai? …Why do I feel like there’s even more going on?】

【Liu Qi’s fans are so pitiful. Just ten minutes ago they were banging gongs and beating drums everywhere to celebrate their gege getting followed by the Film Emperor, and now they’re getting slapped in the face so quickly. [Suddenly excited.jpg]】

【If fireworks weren’t banned, I’d be worried they’d buy ten cases of them and set them off on the spot. Liu Qi’s fans are killing me!】

【Even funnier is that the person Jiang Sheli followed immediately afterward turned out to be Zhu Huai, hahahahahahahahaha!】

【I want to interview Liu Qi’s fans. How are you feeling?】

【Hello? Why are you dragging Liu Qi into this? Leave Liu Qi out of it, and leave Liu Qi’s fans out of it too!】

【Heh, I really underestimated this nobody. The moment he gets a chance, he tries to piggyback on JSL’s fame.】

【Embrace You: I believe in love again!】

Inside the hotel lobby, Xiao Nan sat on one of the lounge sofas scrolling through Weibo, laughing as she said, «Ge, you’ve become popular again?»

Zhu Huai’s phone screen was still displaying Jiang Sheli’s main Weibo page. The words that had said “Following” just over ten minutes earlier had now changed to “Followed each other,” along with that comment.

There was nothing strange about Jiang Sheli commenting on a Weibo post. But commenting on his post was extremely strange. Everyone knew that their relationship was “like fire and water, utterly incompatible”. Moreover, his Weibo post had not mentioned anyone by name. Jiang Sheli had openly acknowledged it himself. There was no way he did not know what effect this move would have.

Xiao Nan said, «Film Emperor Jiang’s move was pretty smooth. I’m starting to wonder whether he’s actually one of your haters.»

Zhu Huai looked at her in confusion. «What do you mean?»

Xiao Nan analyzed it for him. «First he followed Liu Qi, then immediately followed you, liked your post, and commented on it. He’s blatantly slapping Liu Qi in the face. Besides, who doesn’t know that you and Liu Qi haven’t gotten along since SYA disbanded? Isn’t he basically making Liu Qi’s fans hate you even more?»

It sounded so logical that Zhu Huai almost believed her.

Zhu Huai opened WeChat and entered his chat with Jiang Sheli. He typed something, deleted it, typed again, then deleted it again. He genuinely had no idea what he should say.

Thank you?

Thank him for what? He had already thanked him for the ginger soup on Weibo, and Jiang Sheli himself had replied. Saying it again on WeChat would be completely superfluous.

After thinking it over again and again, Zhu Huai finally opened Weibo.

Zhu Huai V: [Heart] // Jiang Sheli V: You’re welcome.

*

The next day, on set.

Zhu Huai felt that everyone’s eyes on him were particularly different, as though they now contained something else. He paid no attention to it and continued toward the dressing room to wait for his scene. As he passed a makeup room, its door happened to open outward, and he ran into Liu Qi, who had just finished having his makeup done.

When Liu Qi saw him, he froze for a moment, then stepped in front of him and gave him an ambiguous smile. «Not bad, Zhu Huai. I really underestimated you.»

Zhu Huai looked at him coldly. «Excuse me.»

«What’s the rush?» Liu Qi stepped closer, leaning his head toward him. The distance between them rapidly shrank until their noses were barely a finger’s width apart. He stared intently at that excessively handsome face, and a trace of jealousy flashed through his eyes. «Let’s talk.»

Zhu Huai frowned and took a step back, widening the distance between them. «There’s nothing for us to talk about.»

Liu Qi lowered his voice. «That face of yours really is something. You used to seduce investors, and now you’re seducing Jiang Sheli. You’ve got quite a few tricks. The investor didn’t sleep with you last time, but this time, after Jiang Sheli sleeps with you, he should at least be willing to take off his pants, right? Let me guess, once you’ve slept with him, you’ll get into Phantom? Or maybe into one of Jiang Sheli’s productions?»

By the end, there was a trace of resentment in Liu Qi’s voice. «Jiang Sheli only followed me. Why did he follow you too? Don’t tell me he’s already slept with you?»

The moment he finished speaking, Zhu Huai suddenly grabbed him by the front of his clothes and pushed him hard. Liu Qi was pinned against the wall, unable to move. Deep disgust erupted in Zhu Huai’s eyes, his chest rising and falling slightly as he slowly spat out each word: «Liu Qi. Don’t use your filthy mind to speculate about other people. Do you really think I don’t dare hit you?»

«You and Wei Feng know better than anyone what really happened two years ago. Was I the one seducing investors, or were you the ones who plotted to send me into someone else’s room? If you can’t remember, I don’t mind slowly helping you remember!»

Liu Qi smiled fearlessly, a trace of confusion in his eyes. «What are you talking about? You can eat whatever you want, but you can’t just say whatever you want. Everything needs evidence. Otherwise, that’s slander. For old times’ sake, I’ll let you off without sending you a lawyer’s letter.»

Zhu Huai took a deep breath. The disgust in his eyes grew even stronger, yet he forced a smile. «Go ahead and send one if you have the guts. If you don’t, you’re my grandson.»

Liu Qi’s expression turned ugly.

Zhu Huai said, «I’ll be waiting.»

Then he added, «Grandson!»

Without paying any attention to Liu Qi’s face, which had turned the color of pig liver from anger, Zhu Huai turned around and walked away.

When he returned to his dressing room, Xiao Nan was inside playing on her phone. Hearing the noise, she looked up and was startled by Zhu Huai’s expression. She hurriedly asked, «What happened? Who pissed you off?»

Zhu Huai sat down in the lounge chair and shook his head. «Nothing.»

Xiao Nan assumed he had heard some more unpleasant remarks and patted him consolingly on the shoulder. «Don’t take it to heart. You’ve been hearing nasty things for years anyway. One or two more remarks won’t make a difference.»

Please, just shut up.

Zhu Huai had given up any hope of Xiao Nan having decent emotional intelligence. He simply took out his phone, intending to play a couple of rounds to calm himself down.

He had not logged into the game for a while. He had no idea what event Sword Shadow Jianghu had released, and the game took a while to update before he could log in. The moment he came online, he received a team invitation.

It was the Beggar Sect player he had encountered in the arena last time. After that match, the two of them and the Hundred Flowers Valley girl had all added one another as friends.

Zhu Huai accepted the team invitation, and the Hundred Flowers Valley girl was also in the team.

[Team] Gaigai: Bro!! You’re finally online! Huahua and I have been waiting forever for you!

[Team] Huarouya: “Little gege QAQ, if you don’t log on soon, we’re going to die on you!”

[Team] Zhihuai: “? What happened?”

[Team] Gaigai: “Haven’t you seen the latest announcement? The second annual Sword Shadow Jianghu Mobile Heroes’ Cup is about to begin! This year’s prize pool is a whopping 500,000 yuan!”

[Team] Huarouya: “Gaigai, a friend of mine, and I are planning to register as a five-person team, but we’re still missing two strong teammates. Interested? OVO”

The mobile version of Sword Shadow Jianghu was extremely popular. In order to encourage players to interact with one another—in other words, to stir things up—the game developers had copied the idea of competitive games and come up with this rather ingenious event. They had also prepared generous rewards for players, including cash prizes and limited-edition outfits, making it highly attractive. When the event was first held the previous year, so many players registered that they crashed the official website.

However, the prize pool for the first competition had only been 100,000 yuan(NT: around 13300 euros), while the second had already increased it to 500,000. The enormous jump showed just how deep the pockets of the developer, Feiyang Games, were.

[Team] Zhihuai: “Sorry, I don’t plan to participate.”

[Team] Gaigai: “??? Are you serious? Five hundred thousand, ge! The champion gets 250,000 yuan in cash, the runner-up gets 150,000, and even third place gets 100,000!”

[Team] Huarouya: “We’re not counting on a ranking. Once we make it through the preliminary selection, we’ll get a title, not to mention the limited-edition outfits for the top thirty-two through the semifinals. They’re super nice~ Little gege, aren’t you tempted? QAQ”

[Team] Zhihuai: “Sorry, you should find someone else.”

[Team] Huarouya: “Master!! Why?! TAT”

There was only one reason: once he reached the top sixteen, he would have to compete in an offline tournament, which would also be livestreamed throughout. Zhuhuai did not want to show his face.

[Team] Zhihuai: “I’m too busy with work.”

[Team] Gaigai: “Ah, what a pity… Just find some random team and get a title. I wonder who’ll win the championship this year. There’s money, outfits, and even an endorsement deal.”

Zhihuai paused, then typed, “An endorsement deal?”

[Team] Gaigai: “Yeah. Meng Xingyu only signed a one-year endorsement deal with the game, and it’s about to expire. This time, the official side decided to make the endorsement a joint official-and-player promotion. The champion team will participate in the endorsement together.”

[Team] Huarouya: “So jealous o(╥﹏╥)o”

Zhuhuai felt his heart speed up uncontrollably. He opened the announcement and quickly skimmed through it, then went straight to the rewards section. Sure enough, under the champion’s benefits, he saw the words “Mobile Game Endorsement.”

He then went back to the page detailing the competition format. After reading it, he turned around and asked Xiao Nan, “Do I have any engagements in June?”

Without even looking up, Xiao Nan replied, “No. Once you finish filming this drama, I’ve arranged a small variety show for you. It’s next month. If you can become popular again, you might have some work in June.”

Zhuhuai was left speechless.

To be honest, he really wanted the endorsement for Sword Shadow Jianghu Mobile. What player wouldn’t be tempted by the chance to endorse their favorite game? Moreover, he himself had been longing for this endorsement for a long time.

He sat in his seat and thought seriously for a while. Given his current situation, there was no hope of becoming the game’s official celebrity endorser, but this competition was an opportunity he could try to seize.

[Team] Zhihuai: “I want the championship.”

[Team] Huarouya: “……”

[Team] Gaigai: “……”

【Gaigai has initiated a team voice chat. Accept?】

The moment Zhuhuai pressed “Yes,” Gaigai’s rough voice came roaring through: “Ge! Don’t abandon us! Ge! You’re the only one on our team who’s on the expert rankings. Don’t leave!”

Zhuhuai said helplessly, “I never said I was going to abandon you.”

A soft female voice came through: “But we can’t win the championship. If you want to win, you can only join a strong team!”

Zhuhuai said, “I’d like to, but the preliminary rounds have already been going on for a week. The top players on our server’s rankings already formed teams and registered them on the official website. Where am I supposed to find someone left over? I can only make do with you two.”

The team fell silent for two seconds, evidently stunned by their teammate’s completely blunt dislike.

Zhuhuai continued, “As things stand, we really have no chance of winning the championship. If we want to go further, both our equipment and our skills need to be improved. Of course, we can forget about an orange weapon, but our purple gear definitely needs to be upgraded to the highest level. It’ll cost some money. I just don’t know whether you two can accept that.”

The team fell silent again. After a while, Huarouya spoke: “Well, actually, my friend is pretty good. He’s also on the expert rankings in another server. It’s just that he doesn’t have any equipment since he only recently came to this server. How about we run a dungeon one of these days and see if we can get some good equipment?”

That meant she was compromising.

Gaigai sighed. “I’m telling you two, drink less alcohol and eat more food. If there were even a single peanut in your stomachs, you wouldn’t be this drunk, would you?”

Zhuhuai could not help laughing. He really did want the championship, but they also had to take reality into account. They had formed a team at the last minute, and it was still impossible to know how far they could go.

After thinking it over, he relented and said, “The championship is our primary goal. If we really can’t beat them, then there’s nothing we can do. What matters is participating.”

Huarouya and Gaigai immediately breathed a sigh of relief. “You scared me to death. I was wondering where I was supposed to find someone for you if you really wanted to win this championship.”

Zhuhuai said, “I’m going to play a couple of arena matches. You two coming?”

Naturally, neither had any objections. It would count as some preliminary team practice. Zhuhuai therefore took over as team leader and queued them for 3v3.

There were plenty of players online at this time, so they were matched almost immediately. Zhuhuai’s loading screen froze for a moment. Before he had even entered the battlefield, he heard Huarouya let out a small gasp, followed by Gaigai saying, “Fuck.”

Once the loading screen ended, Zhuhuai entered the battlefield. The first thing he did was check the enemy information.

Enemies: Healing Hundred Flowers Valley, melee Shumen, ranged Changjian.

Zhuhuai stared at the Changjian player’s ID, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Lijiang!

 

Translator : DarNan