Chapter 28

In the end, Ji Wei signed the agreement.

“I’m heading back to school now.” He kept his head down, the heat on his face refusing to fade. In fact, it grew hotter with each passing moment, so hot that he didn’t dare to look up and meet the man’s eyes.

He could only feel the man’s gaze lingering on him, carrying a certain unsettling scrutiny, as if it could see right through his thin clothes.

“The agreement is effective starting today.”

Lu Shenxing suddenly spoke.

Ji Wei nodded, indicating he understood.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, he heard the man behind him say very politely, “You should fulfill your obligation.”

Ji Wei’s steps came to an abrupt halt.

His face flushed red from his ear tips all the way to the base of his neck. It felt as if he were delirious with a high fever, a single sentence repeating over and over in his mind.

He! Was going to! Kiss! His idol!

Although it was just to fulfill an obligation in the agreement, to make them seem more like a normal couple, and it couldn’t be taken seriously, he was still very, very nervous.

He took a deep, steadying breath and gave himself a long mental pep talk before finally, with great difficulty, turning around. By the time he reached Lu Shenxing’s bedside, his palms were slick with sweat.

Ji Wei took another deep breath, then leaned over and gently planted a kiss on Lu Shenxing’s cool forehead. The action was over in the blink of an eye.

Even so, his heart was pounding violently.

As he was about to straighten up, the man let out a sigh, suddenly pressed him down, and leaned over him, his voice husky. “Little one, that’s not how you kiss.”

“Remember this.”

His tone was so matter-of-fact.

Ji Wei’s mind short-circuited for a few seconds. By the time he came to his senses, the man’s warm lips had already completely covered his, along with an overwhelming, sharp, grassy scent.

Then, his teeth were parted, and a tongue entwined with his, driving deep inside.

He subconsciously tried to shy away, but worried about touching the man’s wound, he could only close his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly, restraining his impulse to flee.

As if sensing his slight resistance, the man’s other hand cupped his chin, kissing him more deeply and possessively. A dense flurry of kisses rained down on him, leaving him breathless.

Half an hour later, when Ji Wei walked out of the hospital room, the cool night wind blew against him. The sensation of Lu Shenxing’s fierce kisses on his lips, neck, and even his collarbone seemed to resurface.

The man’s grassy scent still lingered on him.

The young man was a little troubled.

The agreement said to kiss once a day.

But it didn’t say one kiss would last this long.

***

It was already ten o’clock when Ji Wei returned to his dorm. He deliberately opened the door quietly, but before he could even push it open, his three roommates yanked it open with a loud bang.

“Weiwei, were you forced into marriage by your family? What era is this? How can they still be so feudal?”

“Who the hell is that scumbag! I’ll find someone to beat him up.”

“You’re a top student at Yan University. You should know that divorce is not something to be ashamed of. You can’t refuse to leave him just to save face. Give me your partner’s birth date and time, and I’ll do a reading.”

The scene startled Ji Wei. He paused for a moment, closed the door, and tried to calm his restless roommates, especially Chen Yan, who looked ready to go out and fight. “I am married, but I quite like my partner.”

His roommates looked at him with indescribable expressions, as if they were looking at a fallen man who had lost his way, ready to drag him onto an emotional talk show at any moment.

“He’s not as bad as I made him out to be.”

His roommates’ gazes grew even more sympathetic.

Ji Wei was speechless.

“I’ll get a divorce soon.”

Only after he said this did the atmosphere in the dorm return to normal. The one who was flirting with girls went back to flirting, the one doing fortune-telling went back to his calculations, and the one heading to the library left.

Once again, he was the only one left in the dorm.

He hadn’t streamed for two or three days.

Ji Wei turned on his computer. Before he started streaming, he suddenly remembered the matter with Wen Zimu. His hand, which was about to launch a game, paused, and he logged into Weibo first.

He discovered that he seemed to be… trending again.

The cause was a promotional video for the Yancheng and Moscow Calligraphy and Painting Friendship Exchange Competition that CCTV had posted in the afternoon, which happened to be the segment where he was interviewed.

The comments had surpassed one hundred thousand.

[Spicy and Sour Noodles]: Wait! The winner of the special prize looks a lot like the little brother from National Style. Am I seeing things?

[Mashed Potatoes]: You’re not seeing things, person above. It’s the same person! Just this afternoon, some people were sourly claiming he faked his academic credentials. He’s from Yan University, okay! He just disdains marketing himself, thank you very much.

[Money Tree]: Ahhhhhhh, I’m so envious. He’s actually a student at Yan University. A school I could never get into in two lifetimes.

[Lu-Wei Marry on the Spot]: Weiwei is actually married? This CP fan’s heart is broken. Sure enough, all the sweet moments turn into daggers.

He clicked on Wen Zimu’s Weibo. Wen Zimu had already deleted his post and issued a condescending apology.

[Bilibili’s Wen Zimu]: I apologize to the innocent party harmed in this incident. I am willing to offer a certain amount of financial compensation. Please contact me via private message.

He had only met Wen Zimu once, and his impression was of a very proud person, so it wasn’t strange for him to speak this way.

But the comments section was a disaster.

[Orange Soda]: I’ve been a fan of this streamer for a long time, since he first started. I’m really disappointed this time. You doxxed the wrong netizen and just get away with a casual apology. Do you have any idea how many people went to curse Ji Wei out, calling him a plastic surgery monster and a marketing gimmick? Unfollowed.

[So Many Fish]: Please apologize to @Ji Wei Who Plays Games as well!

[Bamboo Rat Three Yuan Each]: He’s just jealous, isn’t he? Jealous that Ji Wei’s stream is more popular, that he’s better looking, and that his school is better than his. And he even resorts to doxxing. Why doesn’t he just die of jealousy?

[I am Siri]: You’d better hold on to your financial compensation and get ready to receive a lawyer’s letter. The family of the non-celebrity who was wrongly doxxed is rich and not afraid of trouble. They’ve already hired the best legal team in the country to file a lawsuit.

[Curtain Cloth]: Holy crap, his Bilibili account has been banned too.

…

Ji Wei scrolled through the comments. Wen Zimu was probably finished.

Streaming was strictly regulated due to the uncontrollable nature of its content. Websites were also cautious. Once a streamer was banned for suspected illegal activities, it was very difficult to get unbanned, and other platforms wouldn’t dare to take them on.

Was it really necessary?

He shook his head. He really couldn’t understand where Wen Zimu’s malice towards him came from. This outcome was just him reaping what he sowed.

Ji Wei closed Weibo and started his game stream.

He had originally thought that as the hype from National Style faded, the number of viewers in his stream would drop significantly. To his surprise, as soon as he went live, eighty thousand people flooded in.

[I have an exam tomorrow, just rubbing off some of the academic god’s luck.]

[Wuwuwuwu, Weiwei, Mommy missed you so much! Are you okay after the accident on the show last time? I saw so much blood.]

[Trash Yancheng Television Station. After such a major incident, they actually want to re-record National Style. Weiwei, you must not go, in case something else happens.]

Rerunning National Style?

Ji Wei’s first reaction was that it was impossible.

How could they rerun National Style after it had been so heavily criticized? But then he thought, if there were criticisms, there would be hype. It seemed it wasn’t so impossible after all.

He had been wondering why, after so long, the production team hadn’t contacted him to terminate the contract. So they were planning to rerun it after the public opinion died down.

He remembered the pale face of Lu Shenxing that day, the sensation of blood still lingering on his fingertips. He said with unwavering resolve, “Everyone, rest assured, I will not be on National Style again.”

After receiving his definitive answer, the bullet comments started to flood with another question.

[Weiwei, are you really married? Wuwuwuwu, I ship Lu-Wei!]

[I feel like the streamer’s partner is a total scumbag. I have a reasonable suspicion he’s being emotionally manipulated. I suggest the streamer go to the school’s psychological counseling center. The psychology department at Yan University is pretty good.]

[…Is there anything bad at Yan University? I support a lawsuit for divorce. Weiwei, you should look for a senior from your school. I remember the lawyer Chen Weimin is from Yan University, right? He’s very good at handling divorce cases.]

[Divorce! Support Film Emperor Lu’s rise to the top!]

Ji Wei was instantly reminded of the terror of being interrogated by his roommates. He had no choice but to turn off the bullet comments and pretend he couldn’t see them, starting today’s stream.

The game he was streaming today was Minecraft. When playing alone, it was a rather quiet game.

Chopping trees alone…

Mining alone…

Fighting monsters alone…

Even the music was tranquil, making it easy to forget the complexities of the real world. He played while providing commentary.

He wasn’t someone who was good at making jokes, so streaming a game like this would inevitably be a bit dull. Thus, he was prepared for a drop in his stream’s popularity.

Unexpectedly, the number of viewers in his stream continued to grow, quickly rising from eighty thousand to two hundred thousand, landing him on the front page of the standalone games section.

And it was still climbing…

Ji Wei suddenly felt that he had indeed become quite popular. Although he was still some distance from being a top streamer, his stream was no longer deserted.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated.

—Yancheng Television Station.

He pursed his lips and paused the stream to answer the call.

“Hello, Student Ji Wei. I’m Station Director Zhou from Yancheng Television Station. The accident on the show last time happened too suddenly, and I haven’t had a chance to apologize to you. I hope you can understand. The station has been really busy.”

Ji Wei replied calmly, “I can’t understand.”

He had been a well-behaved child his whole life, never arguing or fighting with people. He rarely spoke so bluntly.

But he truly couldn’t forgive the production team’s negligence that led to Lu Shenxing’s injury, especially since he was injured for his sake. He couldn’t bring himself to say the word “forgive,” not even as a pretense.

Station Director Zhou seemed not to have expected him to say that. The other end of the line was quiet for a few seconds.

“You’re only a sophomore, right? The benefits National Style can bring you are beyond your imagination. You should have felt the increase in your stream’s popularity, right? That’s just the beginning. But if you breach the contract, not only will you get nothing, but you’ll also have to pay a one-million-yuan penalty.”

Station Director Zhou’s tone carried a faint confidence, because this amount was no small sum for an ordinary person. It was enough to buy a house in Yancheng.

He could understand Ji Wei feeling indignant for Film Emperor Lu, but that indignation probably wasn’t worth a million yuan.

Unexpectedly, the young man on the phone replied without hesitation, “I can afford it.”

Then the line went dead.

Station Director Zhou was stunned. He had clearly read Ji Wei’s file; his parents were both ordinary middle school teachers. Could it be that their house had been demolished and they received compensation?

That shouldn’t be it.

He fell into deep thought.

In fact, Ji Wei was a little worried after hanging up. He calculated in his head, if he borrowed money from his idol, his idol was so rich, he would… probably agree, right?

At this thought, Ji Wei felt much more at ease and continued his stream. Looking at the number of viewers, although there was still a considerable gap compared to top streamers.

But he also had many fans who supported him.

He was no longer playing games alone.

It was enough.

Unexpectedly, just a few minutes into the stream, another call came in. Ji Wei answered with a hint of annoyance, “I already said—”

“What have you said, you little brat? Have you told your old man about getting married?”

Ji’s Father’s furious voice came through the phone, accompanied by the persuasive voices of his aunts and uncles. Ji Wei had only one thought in his mind.

It was over.