“Alright, I’m out. This isn’t fun anymore. I’m done.”
Jiang Nian just threw in the towel.
What did they mean by “any normal man would feel intimidated just by looking at him”?
“This is career discrimination! Pure career discrimination!”
Jiang Nian was indignant!
So what if he played a eunuch?
So what if he brought some of that eunuch flair into his daily life?
“This version of me is just too bone-chilling.”
Just then,
the others also noticed what was happening over here.
When they saw that Jiang Nian had actually arrived, they all set down what they were doing and came over to greet him.
Director Hu Yijuan was incredibly warm and enthusiastic. “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? We’re about to start shooting—how could this humble eunuch be late? Even if I had to run, I’d still make it here!”
Jiang Nian grinned at the rather androgynous little old lady before him.
Upon hearing that, 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’d accompanied Jiang Nian here today and hadn’t done a thing besides being a total spectacle right alongside him.
And the worst part? 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 give him a ride.
Yang Mi looked at Hu Yijuan. “Director Hu, don’t mind him. He’s just been playing eunuchs for too long—he’s too deep in character! Just leave him alone for a while, and he’ll snap out of it.”
Hearing this, 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—how could we possibly leave him out?”
Seeing her reaction, Yang Mi’s mouth twitched. She thought about it, but in the end, she said nothing.
Because she could tell—Hu Yijuan probably thought she was saying this as a subtle warning, a way to back Jiang Nian up. If she denied it, it would only make the director more certain of that assumption.
“Forget it. I’m tired. Let it all burn. Just get it over with.”
Yang Mi sighed and stopped trying to explain. A wave of helplessness washed over her—the same feeling a widow might have when false rumors about her chastity start spreading.
Seeing her like this, Jiang Nian—who had been a bit annoyed by Yang Mi’s earlier jab—now wore a smug, gleeful grin.
Serves you right.
You had to go and say all those sharp things.
Now the boomerang’s come back and hit you. Feels great to be misunderstood, doesn’t it?
Jiang Nian loved watching the drama unfold. If the situation allowed, he’d even add more fuel to the fire and make this misunderstanding even bigger.
Yang Mi caught the shift in his expression.
She shot him a vicious glare, as if to say, Just you wait—I’ll settle this with you later.
But Jiang Nian was like a dead pig that didn’t fear scalding water.
He had a full-on “Oh, you’re mad? And? Gonna kill me?” attitude.
It made Yang Mi grind her teeth in frustration, cursing him as a total jerk in her head.
And here was the most infuriating part: even though guys couldn’t stand him, for some reason, women absolutely loved this side of him!
“Teacher Jiang, you’re so dedicated! Even after stepping out of the role, you’re still keeping up the character!”
“No wonder the roles Teacher Jiang plays are so captivating and vivid! What’s that acting method called again? Immersive?”
“Yeah, immersive! But what Teacher Jiang is doing right now is even more impressive than what’s written in the books—it feels like he’s completely woven the character into his daily life!”
“Exactly! Teacher Jiang, you’re amazing! Could you share how you do it?”
“Same question! This is so impressive!”
The actresses crowded around Jiang Nian, chattering away with curiosity.
Seeing this, Jiang Nian was over the moon inside, but on the surface, he kept up his aloof, uninterested demeanor. “It’s nothing special. This humble eunuch just put in a little extra care and did some extra research during rehearsals. If you want to, I’m sure you could do it too.”
“Really, Eunuch? But I’m not very confident… Could you teach me?”
“Wow, girl, you’ve got some nerve saying that! You’re not actually crushing on the eunuch, are you?”
“Ah, what are you talking about?! You just called him a eunuch—even if we had something, it’d be purely platonic.”
“Sure, I totally believe that.”
“You guys are so annoying! Eunuch, look, they’re picking on me—you have to stand up for me!”
Hearing those sweet, delicate voices,
any other guy would’ve 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 his system, bars were basically his second home.
If he didn’t walk away with a top-tier beauty or at least a decent catch, he’d consider the night a waste.
What kind of scene hadn’t he seen?
So, faced with all this teasing, he stayed perfectly composed. He simply took the hand of Deng Sha, the one who’d just asked him to defend her.
Feeling the softness of her skin, a faint smile curled at the corner of Jiang Nian’s mouth. He looked at her hand, then at her, and said, “You want this humble eunuch to stand up for you? That’s not impossible… but what can you offer me in return?”
Deng Sha froze for a second, then quickly recovered. She gave him a flirtatious look. “Whatever this humble maiden can do for you, Eunuch, I will do—as long as you don’t disappoint me.”
Seeing her so pitiful and endearing, Jiang Nian couldn’t help but think to himself, High-level player right here.
With just one sentence, she not only defused the awkwardness but also turned the tables, putting 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?”
“Anything.”
“Alright. Then give me your new manicure. This humble eunuch has taken a liking to it. Where did you get it done, sis? It’s so exquisite!”
Jiang Nian suddenly changed his tune, his face now full of curiosity.
The women all froze, then burst into helpless laughter once they realized what had happened.
Deng Sha, the one involved, stiffened for a moment, then gave Jiang Nian a resigned look. “Eunuch… you went through all that buildup just for this?”
“Of course.” Jiang Nian nodded matter-of-factly, then looked at her with a puzzled expression. “What else did you think it was for?”
“I thought—ah, Eunuch, you’re bullying me too! Everyone’s bullying me! I’m not playing anymore!”
Deng Sha stomped her foot, then covered her face and ran off.
Jiang Nian knew exactly what was going on, but he played dumb. “What’s wrong with her?”
The other women stifled their laughter. “Nothing, nothing. Eunuch, you actually do manicures too?”
“Of course! Can’t you tell? This humble eunuch has even taught himself a thing or two about it. Let me tell you…”
Jiang Nian led the women aside and started chatting about manicure styles.
Watching this, Yang Mi felt her blood pressure rising.
What the hell are you doing, Jiang Nian?!
She wanted nothing more than to march over and kick him, but Hu Yijuan was keeping her tied up in small talk, so she couldn’t break away.
All she could do was watch as Jiang Nian, with just a few words, had the women giggling nonstop.
She silently clenched her fists.
And beside her, Zhang Linyu, who had come along, was watching Jiang Nian’s performance in utter amazement.
After all, in this era, while the whole “soft guy” trend was starting to show its first signs, it hadn’t yet become as prevalent as it would be in later years.
So playing gay, playing fragile—those things still worked really well right now.
What Jiang Nian was doing was giving Zhang Linyu a little taste of the “future shock,” so to speak.
It made him think, Holy crap, you can play it like this?
This is…
“Damn, that’s awesome!”
“Should I try setting up a similar persona for myself?”
“I’m not asking to score a celebrity—just landing a top-tier beauty would be enough!”
Zhang Linyu’s eyes sparkled with a thirst for knowledge.
He decided he’d go find Jiang Nian later to get some tips. He really wanted to improve.
But before he could do that,
after finishing up with Director Hu Yijuan and the producer of Smiling, Proud Wanderer, Yang Mi excused herself with a sweet smile, walked over to Jiang Nian, and called him away.
Jiang Nian wasn’t stupid.
He noticed her strange expression and immediately sensed something was off.
But by then, it was clearly too late.
He tried to make a run for it,
but Yang Mi was quicker. Without a word, she grabbed his hand and, with a forced smile, said to the women, “Ladies, if you’ll excuse us—I need to have a word with Jiang Nian.”
Jiang Nian knew exactly what she was planning—payback time. He tried to deflect, hoisting her up slightly. “No need, we can talk here. It’s not like it’s anything secret.”
“Sorry, but it actually is a little private. I need to discuss your work with you. Surely you don’t think that’s something we can talk about openly?”
But the devil is one foot taller. Yang Mi was just as much of a veteran, and with one sentence, she neutralized his counterattack.
The others sensed the tension and tactfully backed off. “You two talk—we’ll leave you to it.” And they dispersed.
Jiang Nian’s heart sank.
One thought echoed in his mind: Oh no.
And sure enough, the moment they were gone, Yang Mi dropped the act. She glared at him fiercely. “Well, well, well. Jiang Nian, you’re something else! You’ve even learned how to do manicures? Come on, let’s go somewhere private and have a nice little chat about exactly how you picked that up!”
“Uh, sister Mi, I was just joking! Don’t take it seriously!”
“Save the excuses. Don’t make me flip out on you when you’re having the time of your life.”
Jiang Nian: “…Why the hell did I even bring that up?”
An hour later.
“Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—”
“Ptooey!”
He took a big swig of mouthwash, spat it out, and washed his hands.
His fingers felt a little stiff.
But it wasn’t all for nothing.
At the very least,
looking at Yang Mi, who was passed out in a daze,
the earlier incident was now water under the bridge.
And Jiang Nian hadn’t lost any proficiency from breaking his vow.
“But… is this inner energy really that versatile?”
He took a sip of water, a little surprised.
He’d always assumed inner energy was only useful in combat—something you could use to break bones and catch people off guard.
But now, he realized how shallow his thinking had been.
This stuff was omnipotent! Not only could it be used in fights and on bones, but also on the body itself.
With the right technique, you could stretch and reshape flesh and blood.
“No wonder in those martial arts novels, the rich young ladies who lose their virtue to a lecher don’t hate him—they end up completely obsessed.”
“This is way too insane!”
Jiang Nian sighed in genuine awe, then sat down on the side and started scrolling through his phone.
He noticed that while he was “calming” Yang Mi, Zhang Linyu had sent him a group chat link.
It was the work group for Smiling, Proud Wanderer.
He’d joined a similar one when he was filming Flying Swords of Dragon Gate.
So he clicked right in.
The group was buzzing with activity.
That was normal, of course—it was the first day, and everyone was excited.
When they saw Jiang Nian join, it inevitably sparked a wave of welcomes.
He thanked everyone politely one by one, then scrolled through the chat for a bit.
Finding nothing particularly interesting, he closed the group.
At the same time, the group chat reminded him of something.
It had been quite a while now—why hadn’t there been any news about Flying Swords of Dragon Gate?
Logically, the online controversy had already died down.
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate should be moving forward with its normal release schedule now.
But it had been almost half a month, and there was still no word.
“What’s going on?”
Jiang Nian muttered in confusion.
So he clicked on the group chat he’d muted right after filming wrapped and started reading.
He found that he wasn’t the only one with this question.
Jet Li and Zhou Xun had asked over a week ago.
Even Zhang Yuxin, who’d only appeared in two scenes, had sent a message in the group a couple of days ago.
Only Jiang Nian was just now catching on.
But that didn’t really matter,
because the group had already cleared everything up.
Even if he hadn’t asked, he could still figure out what was going on.
According to the original plan, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate was supposed to have premiered a week ago.
But the incident Jiang Nian had caused in Spring City was just too big.
The aftershocks were still rippling outward,
and as a result, the film’s release had been put on hold.
After all, the movie itself wasn’t the issue.
The problem was that Jiang Nian was in it.
If the whole Spring City matter wasn’t wrapped up cleanly, releasing the film would just stir up old memories. People would start digging again, find new problems, and whip up another wave of public opinion.
So for Flying Swords of Dragon Gate to be released, they had to wait.
Wait until the Spring City situation was completely resolved, flawless, and incapable of stirring up any more social controversy.
Tsui Hark was equally helpless about it—he couldn’t do a thing.
Jiang Nian chuckled dryly.
Wow. He’d acted in a movie, and now the movie itself had vanished into thin air. How about that.
“Looks like we’re heading straight for the Lunar New Year slot.”
Given the current timeline, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate would either premiere during the New Year or after it.
He just didn’t know what Tsui Hark was thinking.
Jiang Nian didn’t really care, though. Either way, once it was released, his popularity would spike. But it did make him suddenly realize that winter was fading, and the New Year was just around the corner.
“Time flies… it’s almost New Year’s already. I definitely have to go home and visit this year.”
