“I’m out. This isn’t fun anymore. I quit.”
Jiang Nian threw his hands up and called it quits.
What did they mean by any normal man would be intimidated just by looking at him?
“This is occupational discrimination, pure and simple!”
Jiang Nian protested indignantly!
So what if he played eunuchs?
So what if he carried those eunuch mannerisms over into real life?
“This version of me is just way too chilling.”
Right about then,
the others also noticed the commotion over here.
When they saw that Jiang Nian had arrived, they all set aside what they were doing and came over to greet him.
Director Hu Yijuan was exceptionally warm. “Welcome, welcome! Teacher Jiang, you’re finally here. If you’d been any later, I would’ve had to send someone to the airport to check if your flight was delayed.”
“Haha, Director, what are you saying? Since we’re about to start filming, how could this eunuch possibly be late? Even if I had to run, I’d still get here!”
Jiang Nian said with a laugh, looking at the petite, androgynous old woman before him.
At his words, just like Huo Jianhua,
Hu Yijuan was also stunned.
She looked over at Yang Mi, a bit at a loss.
Yang Mi let out a helpless sigh, thinking, This is just too much.
She had driven Jiang Nian here today, and instead of doing anything productive, all she’d done was play the fool right alongside him.
And the worst part was, she couldn’t even get mad at him for it.
After all, she was his boss.
And she’d been the one who, in a moment of poor judgment, decided to drive him over in the first place.
Yang Mi looked at Hu Yijuan. “Director Hu, don’t mind him. He’s just been playing eunuchs for too long and gotten way too deep into character! Just leave him alone for a while and he’ll snap out of it.”
Hearing that, Hu Yijuan shook her head repeatedly. “Oh no, I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. Teacher Jiang is one of the main characters in our production—we can’t just leave him out in the cold.”
Seeing her reaction, Yang Mi’s mouth twitched. She thought about saying more, but in the end, she kept quiet.
Because she could tell that Hu Yijuan probably thought her words were a subtle way of threatening her and backing Jiang Nian up.
If she denied it, it would only make the director more certain of that assumption.
“Forget it. I’m tired. Just let it all burn. Hurry it up.”
Yang Mi sighed and gave up on explaining, a feeling of helplessness washing over her—like a widow being slandered with false rumors.
Seeing her like this, Jiang Nian—who had been a bit miffed by her earlier jab—couldn’t help but flash a gloating smile.
Serves you right.
You wanted to talk big earlier, didn’t you?
Now the boomerang’s come back and hit you. Now you know how it feels to be misunderstood, huh?
Jiang Nian loved watching the drama unfold, and if the situation allowed for it, he would’ve loved to throw more fuel on the fire and make the misunderstanding even bigger.
Noticing his smug expression,
Yang Mi shot him a vicious glare, as if to say, Just you wait—I’ll deal with you later.
But Jiang Nian was like a dead pig that wasn’t afraid of scalding water.
His attitude screamed, Oh, you’re so scary. And? Gonna kill me?
It made Yang Mi grind her teeth in frustration, cursing him as a total jerk in her head.
And the most infuriating part wasn’t even that—it was that she realized Jiang Nian, despite being absolutely off-putting to men, was somehow incredibly popular with women!
“Teacher Jiang, you’re so dedicated! Even after stepping out of character, you’re still staying in that performance mode?”
“No wonder Teacher Jiang’s characters always look so good and leave such a deep impression. What do they call that acting school again? Immersive?”
“Yeah, immersive! But Teacher Jiang’s current performance is even more impressive than what they write about in the books. It feels like he’s completely integrated the character into his daily life.”
“Exactly, exactly! Teacher Jiang, you’re amazing! Could you share how you do it?”
“Same question! This is so cool!”
The actresses crowded around Jiang Nian, chattering away with curiosity.
Seeing this, Jiang Nian was already laughing on the inside, but he maintained a cold, indifferent expression on the outside. “It’s nothing, really. This eunuch just put a bit more care into his acting and did a little extra research during his usual performances. If you all want to, I’m sure you can do it too.”
“Really, Eunuch? But I’m not very confident… Could you please teach me?”
“Wow, girl, you’re so bold—you’re not afraid to die, are you? You’re not developing feelings for the eunuch, are you?”
“Oh, stop it! What are you even saying? You already said he’s a eunuch. Even if we have a relationship, it’d be purely platonic, okay?”
“Sure, sure. I totally believe you.”
“You guys are so mean! Eunuch, look—they’re bullying me! You have to stand up for me!”
Hearing those sweet, coquettish voices,
any other man would have lost his composure and shown his true colors by now.
But who was Jiang Nian?
He was a seasoned veteran of the bar scene!
Before he got the system, bars were basically his second home.
If he didn’t bag a top-tier beauty or at least a cute one in a day, he might as well have not shown up at all.
There wasn’t a situation he hadn’t seen before!
So, facing all this teasing, he remained perfectly calm. He simply reached out and took the hand of Deng Sha—the very one who had just asked him to stand up for her.
Feeling the soft, delicate skin under his fingers, Jiang Nian curled his lips into a faint smile. He looked at her and said, “You want this eunuch to speak up for you? That’s not out of the question. But… what can you offer this eunuch in return?”
Seeing this, Deng Sha was momentarily taken aback, but quickly recovered. She looked at Jiang Nian with a flirtatious gaze and said, “Whatever this eunuch wants this humble maiden to do, she will do—so long as the eunuch doesn’t disappoint her.”
Seeing her look so pitiful and endearing, Jiang Nian couldn’t help but silently acknowledge her as a top-tier player.
With just one line, she had not only defused the awkwardness but had also turned the tables and put him on the defensive.
But if she thought that was enough to get the better of him, she was still way too green.
Jiang Nian’s tone turned playful. “Anything at all?”
“Anything at all.”
“Alright then. How about you give this eunuch your newly done nail art? This eunuch has taken a liking to it. Where did you get them done, sis? They’re so exquisite!”
Jiang Nian suddenly shifted gears, his face now full of genuine curiosity.
At this, all the women were taken aback for a second, then burst out laughing, half amused and half exasperated.
Deng Sha herself froze for a moment, then looked at Jiang Nian with a helpless expression. “Eunuch, so after all that buildup… this is what you were after?”
“Otherwise?” Jiang Nian nodded matter-of-factly, then looked at her with a puzzled expression. “What else did you think I meant?”
“I thought—oh, come on! Eunuch, you’re bullying me too! You’re all bullying me! I’m done playing with you!”
Deng Sha stomped her foot, then covered her face and ran off.
Seeing this, Jiang Nian knew exactly what was going on, but he still played dumb. “What’s wrong with her?”
The other women stifled their laughter. “Oh, nothing, nothing. Eunuch, you actually do nail art too?”
“Of course! Can’t you tell? This eunuch has even taught himself a thing or two. Let me tell you—”
Jiang Nian led the women aside and started chatting with them about nail art styles.
Watching this, Yang Mi felt herself turning red with anger.
What the hell are you doing, Jiang Nian?!
Yang Mi wanted nothing more than to march over and kick him right then and there, but Hu Yijuan was keeping her busy with small talk, and she couldn’t break away.
All she could do was watch from afar as Jiang Nian, with just a few casual words, had the women giggling uncontrollably.
She clenched her fists silently.
Meanwhile, standing nearby, Zhang Linyu—who had come along with them—was absolutely blown away by Jiang Nian’s moves!
After all, in this era, the metrosexual trend was only just starting to show its first signs; it hadn’t yet become as widespread as it would be in later years.
That meant that acting gay or playing up a delicate persona was still a pretty effective strategy right now.
What Jiang Nian was doing right now was, without a doubt, giving Zhang Linyu a little taste of the future.
He couldn’t help but think to himself, You can actually play it like this?
Holy shit…
“Damn, that’s impressive!”
“Should I try pulling off a similar persona too?”
“I don’t even need to land a famous actress—just getting with a top-tier beauty would be enough!”
Zhang Linyu’s eyes sparkled with a thirst for knowledge.
He decided he’d go ask Jiang Nian for pointers later—he was way too eager to improve.
But before he could make his move,
Yang Mi, having finally finished with Director Hu Yijuan and the Smiling, Proud Wanderer producers, excused herself with a smile, walked over to Jiang Nian, and called him away.
Now, Jiang Nian wasn’t an idiot.
He noticed the strange look on Yang Mi’s face and immediately sensed something was wrong.
But by then, it was clearly already too late.
He tried to make a run for it,
but Yang Mi was quick on the draw. Without giving him any room to argue, she grabbed his hand and, with a forced smile, said to the women, “Ladies, if you’ll excuse me, I need to borrow Jiang Nian for a moment. I have something to discuss with him.”
Jiang Nian knew exactly what she was planning—payback time. He tried to resist by lifting her up, saying, “No need, we can talk right here. It’s not like it’s anything shameful.”
“Sorry to say, but it actually is a little shameful. I need to talk to you about your work. Surely you don’t think that’s something we can just discuss out in the open?”
When the devil’s one step ahead, the sage’s a step behind. Yang Mi was a veteran too, and with a single sentence, she shut down Jiang Nian’s resistance.
The others, sensing the tension, wisely backed off. “You two talk. We won’t intrude.”
And with that, they all dispersed.
Seeing this, Jiang Nian’s heart sank.
Only one thought echoed in his mind: “Oh shit.”
Sure enough, the moment they were gone, Yang Mi dropped all pretense. She glared at him fiercely. “Oh, well done, Jiang Nian. Very well done. You’ve even learned nail art now, have you? Come on, let’s head inside and have a nice little chat. You can tell me all about this nail art situation.”
“Uh, look, Mi Jie, I was just joking around! Don’t take it seriously!”
“Save it. Don’t make me fall out with you at your happiest moment.”
Jiang Nian: “…Why the hell did I have to open my big mouth and say that?!”
An hour later.
“Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—”
“Ptooey!”
After gargling a big mouthful of mouthwash and washing his hands,
his fingers felt a bit stiff.
But it wasn’t all for nothing.
At the very least, looking at Yang Mi, who had passed out in a daze,
the earlier incident was officially water under the bridge.
And Jiang Nian hadn’t lost any proficiency points for breaking any rules either.
“But damn, is internal energy really this versatile?”
Jiang Nian took a sip of water, somewhat amazed.
He’d always thought internal energy was only useful in combat—snapping bones, catching people off guard, that sort of thing.
But only now did he realize how shallow his understanding had been!
It was an all-purpose tool. Not only could it be applied to combat and bones, but it could also be applied to the flesh itself.
With the right technique, you could stretch and deform muscle and tissue however you wanted.
“No wonder, in those martial arts novels, the wealthy young ladies who get violated by a flower thief don’t end up hating him—instead, they become completely infatuated.”
“This is just insane!”
Jiang Nian couldn’t help but sigh in genuine admiration. Then he sat down to the side and pulled out his phone to mess around.
But he noticed that while he’d been soothing Yang Mi, Zhang Linyu had sent him a group chat link.
It was the work group for Smiling, Proud Wanderer.
Jiang Nian had joined one for Flying Swords of Dragon Gate too, back when he filmed that.
So he tapped right in.
And found the group was buzzing with activity.
That was normal, of course—it was the first day, after all, so everyone’s enthusiasm was running high.
And when they saw Jiang Nian enter, it was only natural that he received a warm welcome.
After politely thanking each one in turn, he watched the chat for a bit longer.
But finding that nothing being discussed was particularly interesting, he closed the group chat.
At the same time, this group chat reminded him of something else.
Namely—it had been so long now—why hadn’t there been any news about Flying Swords of Dragon Gate?
Logically speaking, the online backlash should have already died down.
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate should be set for release by now.
But it had been nearly half a month, and there was still no word.
“What’s going on?”
Jiang Nian muttered in confusion.
So he opened the group chat that he’d set to Do Not Disturb right after filming wrapped and started scrolling through.
He noticed that he wasn’t the only one with this question.
Li Lianjie, Zhou Xun, and the others had already asked over a week ago.
Even Zhang Yuxin, who’d only made two appearances in the film, had sent a message in the group a couple of days back.
Only Jiang Nian was just now catching up.
Not that it mattered much, though.
Because the group had already discussed everything thoroughly.
Even if Jiang Nian didn’t ask, he could still figure out what was going on.
Originally, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate was indeed supposed to be released a week ago.
But the incident Jiang Nian had caused in Spring City was just too huge.
The aftershocks still hadn’t settled completely.
And that had put a hold on the film’s release.
Because while the movie itself had no issues whatsoever,
it was starring Jiang Nian.
If they didn’t fully resolve the Spring City situation before releasing it, then once it hit theaters, people would inevitably be reminded of that incident. They’d start digging again, find more problems, and stir up public opinion all over again. What then?
So for Flying Swords of Dragon Gate to be released, they had to wait.
They had to wait until the Spring City matter was completely resolved—flawlessly, with no loose ends left for anyone to pick at, and no risk of sparking further social controversy.
Xu Ke was just as helpless about it. He couldn’t do a thing.
Jiang Nian couldn’t help but let out a wry laugh.
Well, well. I starred in a movie, and now the movie itself has been starred out of existence.
“Looks like it’s inevitably going to end up in the Spring Festival slot.”
Based on the current timeline, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate would either be scheduled for release around the New Year or after it.
He just didn’t know what Xu Ke had in mind.
Not that Jiang Nian cared much either way. He knew that as soon as it came out, his popularity would surge. But it did suddenly make him realize that winter was fading, and the New Year was approaching.
“Time really flies—it’s almost New Year’s already… No matter what, I’m going home this year, that’s for sure.”
