Sometimes, getting along with people is just that simple.
As long as your personalities click, you can have a great conversation even if you’ve only known each other for less than half an hour.
“Let’s leave it at that for today.”
“I’ll go home and think it over for a couple of days. Once I’ve made up my mind, I’ll give you a call.”
Seeing that it was getting late, Jiang Nian wrapped up the conversation and made a phone-call gesture to Zhang Linyu.
Zhang Linyu didn’t push it any further. He just smiled and said, “Then you better hurry up. Otherwise, who knows, I might get snapped up by someone else in a few days to become their agent.”
Hearing this, Jiang Nian chuckled. “Are you sure that with your attitude, anyone would want you?”
Zhang Linyu shrugged. “Who can say for sure? There are all kinds of people in this world. That old guy Tan Hua got a ton of viewers just for checking out some lady from Dongbei. I’m a pretty decent guy, so why wouldn’t anyone want me?”
“Damn it, there you go bringing up Dongbei again. Are you regionally biased or what?”
“I don’t like what you’re saying. Can’t I just be plain old uncultured?”
“I can see that. So what? You want me to give you an award?”
“Not a bad idea.”
“Get the hell out of here.”
Jiang Nian cursed playfully, couldn’t be bothered to argue with Zhang Linyu any longer, and left the place directly.
He took out his key and opened the door.
The room was completely quiet.
“Zhang Yuxin? Zhang Yuxin?”
Jiang Nian called out twice but got no response at all.
“Did she leave?” Jiang Nian muttered to himself.
He figured it made sense. After all, there wasn’t any real relationship between him and Zhang Yuxin.
And he hadn’t treated her very well either.
If she hadn’t left, that would have been strange.
“Ah well, it doesn’t matter.” Jiang Nian quickly put the matter out of his mind.
His goal was to see the highest mountains in the world and hear the highest notes in the world.
How could he let a woman hold him back and make him miss her?
“Time to eat.”
“I’m going out to have some fun tonight!”
Jiang Nian made up his mind, then put the food on the table, took off his clothes, and went into the bathroom to take a shower.
He had been practicing all morning and then went to act in the afternoon.
His sweat had been trapped against his skin all that time, sticky and uncomfortable as hell.
He really needed a shower to cool down.
The sound of rushing water fell, washing away his exhaustion.
And just then—
Creak—
With a soft sound, the bathroom door was pushed open.
Hearing the noise, Jiang Nian turned his head and saw Zhang Yuxin, who had just woken up, rubbing her eyes and yawning as she walked in.
Under his dumbfounded gaze, she sat right down on the toilet to take care of business.
“???”
Jiang Nian was stunned.
His hand, which had been lathering up shampoo, froze right on top of his head. He had no idea what to do!
And Zhang Yuxin, at that moment, also realized something was wrong.
Why hadn’t the water in the bathroom been turned off?
So she turned her head, and their eyes met.
In an instant, the air itself seemed to freeze.
Zhang Yuxin, who had been half-asleep, woke up completely and her eyes went wide.
She looked at Jiang Nian in disbelief. “You… why are you here?!”
The corner of Jiang Nian’s mouth twitched. That was a really good question.
So good, in fact, that—
“This is my home, my home!” Jiang Nian said. “Why haven’t you left yet?”
Zhang Yuxin said matter-of-factly, “I just woke up. Why are you back so early?!”
After they spoke, both fell into silence.
Because this situation was really quite awkward.
One thought the other had already left.
One thought the other hadn’t come back yet.
What the hell…
“Have you looked enough?”
Noticing that Zhang Yuxin’s gaze had been fixed on him the whole time without moving away, Jiang Nian twitched his mouth and asked.
Even though the bathroom had a wet-dry separation, and the glass had fogged up from the heat, so he couldn’t see outside clearly and she couldn’t see inside clearly either,
still, you keep staring over here? That’s not right either!
Jiang Nian could only make out a side profile himself.
What gives you the right to see his front profile?
Jiang Nian felt like he was getting the short end of the stick.
This was the first time… no, the second time someone had taken advantage of him like this.
Because last time when he was changing in the locker room, Zhang Yuxin had pulled the same kind of stunt.
Hearing this, Zhang Yuxin outside curled her lip.
“What are you getting so worked up about? You can’t see anything anyway. I don’t know what you’re yelling about.”
With that, she pulled out some toilet paper, stood up, and left the bathroom, but her face, lowered, was bright red.
Jiang Nian, meanwhile, finished his shower while grumbling to himself, then wrapped himself in a bathrobe and came out.
As soon as he came out, he saw Zhang Yuxin sitting on the sofa, unpacking the food he had brought back.
But that wasn’t the main point.
The main point was that only now did Jiang Nian realize that Zhang Yuxin was only wearing a camisole tank top and a pair of short shorts!
It looked like everything was normal, but that was actually the most dangerous thing, because the most powerful ability humans have is imagination!
Especially for Chinese people.
It’s well known that Chinese people tend to be more reserved.
If there’s no privacy at all and everything is laid bare, the other person might take a couple of looks and then get bored.
But if you cover up just a little…
Then it becomes:
‘Flower not flower, mist not mist, come at midnight, go with dawn.’
‘Come like a spring dream for how long? Go like morning clouds with no trace.’
Or:
‘Flowers bright, moon dim, veiled in light mist, tonight is perfect to go to my lover’s side!’
‘In slippered feet on fragrant steps, carrying gold-threaded shoes.’
‘Meeting by the south side of the painted hall, once in his arms, trembling all along.’
‘It’s hard for me to sneak out, so let your heart’s desire have its way.’
“Hiss~” Jiang Nian sucked in a breath and exclaimed under his breath, “Oh my god!”
After being a vegetarian for a few days, the fire in Jiang Nian’s belly was blazing strong.
So much so that when he saw Zhang Yuxin dressed like this, a flame ignited directly in his lower abdomen!
“Alright, alright, alright. She really doesn’t treat me like an outsider at all!”
Jiang Nian thought to himself.
Then he walked over, sat down across from Zhang Yuxin, picked up a bowl of rice, and made small talk. “How did you sleep?”
“Pretty well. I just didn’t expect your blanket to be so pink.”
Zhang Yuxin said casually.
“You slept in my room?”
“Yeah, the other rooms haven’t been cleaned in who knows how long. They’re cold and lifeless, not a trace of human warmth. I didn’t want to stay there.”
“Got it. After dinner, you’re coming downstairs with me. That blanket needs to be thrown away.”
“???”
Zhang Yuxin was stunned for a moment, then she flared up at Jiang Nian. “Jiang Nian, what do you mean by that? Are you saying I’m dirty?”
“No, I just have a bit of a cleanliness obsession.”
Jiang Nian said flatly as he put some food in his mouth.
The corner of Zhang Yuxin’s mouth twitched. “Then why are you eating from my bowl?”
“Because I bought this food.”
“Hey, you…” Zhang Yuxin was getting a bit upset.
Seeing this, Jiang Nian backed off in time. “Alright, alright, I’m just kidding. Look at you, so unable to take a joke. Oh, by the way, let me tell you something. Something happened on set today.”
“Hmm?” Zhang Yuxin was startled, her attention immediately drawn away. She asked curiously, “What happened?”
“It’s just that Director Xu wants to make a behind-the-scenes documentary for the film. When that happens, there will be cameras not only on the set but also backstage. But it’s no big deal, just do what you normally do.”
Jiang Nian explained simply.
Hearing this, Zhang Yuxin understood and asked with some curiosity, “Why make a documentary?”
“Because this movie is the first domestic 3D IMAX film. They want to add a bit of ceremony to it.”
Jiang Nian replied absentmindedly, then asked, “You’re awake now. Will you be able to sleep tonight? Don’t tell me you won’t be able to make it to the set tomorrow?”
To this, Zhang Yuxin said it didn’t matter. “It’s fine. Anyway, I have a small role, and they’ll shoot my scenes last. Whether I go or not doesn’t really matter. And to be honest, if the company weren’t making me go to the set more often to network with Teacher Li, Teacher Zhou, and the others, I wouldn’t even want to go.”
“I see.”
Jiang Nian understood.
Then, he chatted with Zhang Yuxin about this and that.
The meal ended amidst their conversation.
“Ah~ That hit the spot!”
After finishing the last sip of wine in the bottle, Zhang Yuxin lounged back on the sofa, her face full of satisfaction.
Even though the food Jiang Nian bought came from a small street-side eatery, she still enjoyed it immensely.
Being a star is a tough job, especially for female stars.
Except for a very few comedians who are known for being chubby, almost everyone else has severe anxiety over their body shape and appearance.
This makes them extremely careful about their diet.
No oily food, no salty food, no spicy food, no sweet food.
They survive every day on just a little salad, chicken breast, and the nutrients from protein powder.
Zhang Yuxin was naturally no exception.
So, when Jiang Nian came back with a bunch of food from a small shop that was heavy on oil, salt, and spice,
even though Zhang Yuxin knew in her heart that she shouldn’t eat it, once she took a bite, she couldn’t stop.
Because this meal was, without a doubt, the best-tasting meal she had eaten in the past two months!
She enjoyed it immensely.
But the joy came quickly and left quickly too.
Zhang Yuxin looked down at her slightly bulging belly after the big meal. The smile that had just been on her face vanished, and she pouted. “Oh no, it’s all ruined. Two months of hard work down the drain.”
Then she looked at Jiang Nian reproachfully. “Teacher Jiang, why did you buy such oily, high-calorie food? It’s all your fault. You made me gain weight. How are you going to make it up to me?!”
Jiang Nian: “???”
Is she out of her mind?
You ate like you were enjoying it more than a dog would, and now, after you’ve stuffed yourself, you wipe your mouth and pull this on me?
“Watching the Three Halls is just for fun.”
“But blaming the cook after you’ve eaten your fill? That takes the cake.”
Jiang Nian said sarcastically with a forced smile.
Zhang Yuxin didn’t care at all. She just looked at Jiang Nian and said coyly, “I don’t care. I gained weight, and that’s a fact. Tell me, how are you going to make it up to me?”
“I’ll make it up to you with an egg. Stop losing your mind.”
“I don’t care, you have to make it up to me, you have to.” Zhang Yuxin stood up from the sofa and sat on Jiang Nian’s lap, pouting. “Factory Lord, can you bear to see me being disliked by the Emperor because I gained weight?”
“Hiss~”
Seeing this, Jiang Nian sucked in a breath.
The key point was that Zhang Yuxin knew this too, but instead of holding back, she started swaying.
“Alright, alright, alright. So that’s how you want to play, huh!”
Jiang Nian’s temper flared up. He grabbed Zhang Yuxin’s face. “On the set, you call me Factory Lord, and I don’t call you out on it. But here, tell me, what should you call me?”
Meeting his aggressive gaze,
Zhang Yuxin blinked. “Dad… Daddy?”
