Chapter 42 – Confirmed Tool
Yan Shengping’s posture was relaxed and casual. He had grown accustomed to Lin Ganzhi’s intermittent antics. His long lashes swept away the shadows beneath his eyes, and his fair fingertips gently brushed the top-left corner of the page. His gaze, as he looked at Lin Ganzhi, held an extra touch of languor.
From Lin Ganzhi’s perspective, he could even see the movement of his Adam’s apple.
Slurp, what a great beauty.
After being lost in the man’s beauty for half a second, Lin Ganzhi held up his phone. “Want to play a game?”
In three seconds, Lin Ganzhi went from a soft, reclined position to half-sprawled on the sofa, desperately grabbing at Yan Shengping’s hand as he was about to turn off the light. “This is the first time I’ve asked you to help me with a gacha pull since I got back! Please!”
Lin Ganzhi looked at Yan Shengping pitifully, a pool of tears welling up in his eyes. When that wasn’t enough, he gave a sharp sniffle, which made his nose turn red.
How can he cry so easily?
Or rather, fake-cry.
Yan Shengping freed a hand and easily pinched Lin Ganzhi’s cheek. Lin Ganzhi’s mouth instantly puckered into a goldfish pout, his moist lips trembling slightly. Seeing this, Yan Shengping was so exasperated he laughed. “If you stop fake-crying, we can talk.”
Okay, boss! No problem, boss!
Lin Ganzhi’s expression snapped back to normal, and the tears vanished without a trace, leaving only a hint of mist on his eyelashes.
Yan Shengping’s expression was now exceptionally complicated. He took Lin Ganzhi’s phone and expertly navigated to the gacha interface.
“Which one do you want?” Yan Shengping swiped through the banners with a proficiency that was almost heartbreaking.
Lin Ganzhi perked up and scrambled over, pressing his head tightly against Yan Shengping’s arm, not finding it the least bit inappropriate. He pointed a finger, a size smaller than Yan Shengping’s, at the second Card Pool and said expectantly, “Him! I’m counting on you, King of Luck!”
Yan Shengping, the gacha-pulling tool, felt incredibly conflicted. His life had been quite unlucky, so it was ironic that he was so fortunate in games, letting a certain little fool take full advantage of it.
With a sense of resignation, Yan Shengping tapped the screen. Two seconds later, a golden beam of light flashed across the screen. He tapped “skip,” and three golden-bordered characters appeared on the main interface.
Lin Ganzhi clutched his chest, feeling like he was about to die of happiness. Could Yan Shengping be released as a standalone feature? After the divorce, he had to take one with him! The joy of being a King of Luck was something he could never have imagined before!
“I-I-I-I want to take a picture!” Lin Ganzhi was so excited he could barely contain himself. His phone was in Yan Shengping’s hands, so the solution was obvious: he wanted to use Yan Shengping’s.
Lin Ganzhi continued to look at Yan Shengping with sparkling eyes.
“A screenshot will do,” Yan Shengping offered a reasonable suggestion.
His scheme thwarted, Lin Ganzhi picked up his Book of the Love-Brain again. “I just want to show off how amazing my partner is. Can’t I?” Lin Ganzhi was one step away from throwing a tantrum on the spot.
Yan Shengping’s brow twitched, flustered by Lin Ganzhi’s lie. “I’ll give you one more chance to speak normally.”
Lin Ganzhi, whose Book of the Love-Brain was being mercilessly trampled by the big shot, was speechless.
“I want to show off my luck, and while I’m at it, show off what an awesome partner I have,” Lin Ganzhi said, utterly defeated.
But Yan Shengping sensed Lin Ganzhi’s true motive. The Silly Fox wanted to help clear his name. Since he was young, the one thing he never needed was someone’s occasional charity. Because if he wanted something, and he put all his effort into it, there was nothing he couldn’t obtain, including everything he had now. He could also turn the tide with his strong will and experience.
But…
Yan Shengping looked down at Lin Ganzhi, who was staring intently at the screen. He was clumsy, but he was also the purest little fool.
“The tablet isn’t locked.” Yan Shengping leaned back against the soft headboard, gesturing with his eyes toward the tablet on the nightstand.
Lin Ganzhi’s spirits soared. He had already given up hope, yet Yan Shengping had actually agreed. Beyond the surprise, a wave of delight washed over him. These days, a good boss like this was a rare find, even if you searched with a lantern!
Lin Ganzhi took a picture, quickly sent it to himself, and after three minutes of careful editing, he cautiously posted it on Weibo.
@LinGanzhi: [(Image) Thanks to the King of Luck~]
The photo Lin Ganzhi chose was of Yan Shengping’s hand on the screen. He hadn’t photographed anything else. Yan Shengping was an outsider to the industry and, like him, was a notoriously Universally Loathed Person. If his face was shown, getting photoshopped into all sorts of ridiculous pictures would be the least of his worries.
Knowing full well the darkness of the industry, even if Lin Ganzhi wanted to build a good image for Yan Shengping, he would fundamentally prevent anything that could harm him.
However, Yan Shengping’s hand was quite a sight. The knuckles were well-defined, the fingertips smooth and clean without a single hangnail. A faint callus could be seen on the left side of his right middle finger, a mark left by years of using a fountain pen, which added a scholarly air to its owner.
Lin Ganzhi had gained over two hundred thousand new fans from the variety show, bringing his total to just under half a million. Yet, less than a minute after he posted this time, the comments had already broken a hundred. He hadn’t gotten this much traffic even when he had a particularly popular supporting role in his past life.
His attention captured by Weibo, Lin Ganzhi temporarily failed to notice that Yan Shengping’s expression was off. For once, the two of them were in perfect sync, staring at their phones.
A notification for a direct mention popped up on Yan Shengping’s phone.
[Big Shot, are you there? Ganzhi posted on Weibo! Come join the fun!]
It was the group owner who had pulled him into the fan group last time. Completely unaware that his cover had already been blown by Lin Ganzhi, Yan Shengping felt a pang of guilt. Fearing the group owner would keep mentioning him and expose him, he decided to make a brief appearance in the group.
Yan Shengping: [Okay, on my way. Thanks for the heads-up.]
His formal reply was met with laughter from the fans in the group. After all, such a stiff demeanor was rare in their vibrant circle. But this was the Big Shot who had spent a fortune on Lin Ganzhi, a controversial and obscure celebrity. Some fanfic writers were on the verge of writing an epic tale.
But after a quick look at Weibo…
Thanks, but I’m stuffed with Dog Food. Write a fanfic? No, thanks!
As a newcomer surfing the web, Yan Shengping comfortably browsed through some of the information in the group before logging out to check Weibo.
Number 12345 silently liked Lin Ganzhi’s Weibo post. The comment section was divided into several types. One was the complaint type.
[What the hell, three golds? Lin Ganzhi, kid, I’m giving you three minutes to clarify that you photoshopped this!]
[I’m totally stunned! I lost the 50/50 on the pity pull, and you show me this?!]
[We asked you to post on Weibo, not to feed us Dog Food (kicks over this bowl of Dog Food!)]
[You there? Showing off your luck is bad enough, but you’re showing off your husband too?]
[Your husband looks nice. Let me borrow him for a bit. Not long, just three minutes.]
[The person above is greedy. I just want his right hand.]
Another type was the “Ahhh, I Ship It” type.
[Didn’t they say Lin Ganzhi’s partner was some greedy old man? Can an old man’s hand look this good? Please share some of this good fortune with me, thank you.]
[Ahhhhh, am I the only one who noticed that Lin Ganzhi’s partner has incredibly beautiful hands? I could play with them for a year!]
[The person above is being horny on main!]
[Damn! Is that a ring on his right hand? Can anyone identify the brand of this ring? It’s so beautiful!]
[@The person above, you can check out our official Weibo page. It’s perfect for young couples or partners. It’s our designer’s main piece this year~]
Lin Ganzhi’s post showing off his luck had directly attracted a comment from the ring’s official Weibo account, and all he had shown was a hand. He suddenly felt that once Yan Shengping recovered, he could totally debut as a celebrity. It would be a waste not to earn that money!
The appearance of the official account also sparked a lot of discussion in the comments. While other obscure celebrities had to seek out brands, here the brand came directly to them. Though it was probably also because Lin Ganzhi was both obscure and infamous.
However, Lin Ganzhi’s anti-fans weren’t going to change their minds over one variety show episode and a single Weibo post. The fans hadn’t even been happy for ten minutes before the anti-fans swarmed in.
[Huh? You’re a fan now? Hilarious. Get your facts straight, this guy was shamelessly hitting on our Jingyi’s boyfriend just two months ago.]
[Anyone who likes Yan Shengping needs to get their values checked. Go read a book. How can scum who tried to harm his own brother have fans?]
[Don’t you know not to show off your gacha pulls? Who are you trying to annoy? You probably spent a fortune to get those three golds, right? Don’t you feel dirty using that black-hearted money?]
[Damn it, these two scourges are showing off their relationship and people are actually shipping it? Isn’t it disgusting? Can they just get out of the entertainment circle? So annoying!]
[Heh, I hope Lin Ganzhi and that sickly Yan Shengping plague each other for the rest of their lives.]
As the comments grew increasingly vicious, Lin Ganzhi quickly exited the comment section. He had expected to be harassed by anti-fans, but he had already achieved his goal. He posted on Weibo to let some people know just how amazing Yan Shengping was! As for Zhong Jingyi’s fans coming to attack him…
Lin Ganzhi immediately posted another Weibo: [Not a big deal. Getting ready for bed. Good night, everyone~]
In other words, there was no need to fight with the anti-fans; he didn’t care at all.
This time, his fans rushed to comment “good night,” leaving a trail of “hahahaha” before going about their business. The anti-fans were itching for a fight, but with Lin Ganzhi’s fans collectively disappearing, they could only fume amongst themselves.
Yan Shengping silently liked Lin Ganzhi’s new post, then officially logged out of Weibo. He put away the book he was halfway through and was about to turn off the light when a hand once again blocked his way.
Their eyes met again.
Yan Shengping felt more exhausted than if he had actually slept. He helplessly rubbed the space between his brows. “Spit it out.”
“Yan Shengping, how are you feeling now? Are you uncomfortable?” Lin Ganzhi’s tone was full of concern. He might have been a little sleepy, as his voice had a slight nasal quality, making it sound soft and fluffy. Although he was repeating the same words from when he first entered the room, the feeling was completely different. It was as if the person who had been playing games, posting on Weibo, and pulling from the gacha pool wasn’t him at all.
A rare look of fatigue crossed Yan Shengping’s eyes. A deep voice escaped his lips. “Yeah.”
Lin Ganzhi’s heart skipped a beat. Was the medicine taking effect? He felt nervous, but a strong sense of responsibility told him he had to take charge. He tremblingly reached out a hand to check Yan Shengping’s condition, but his claw was intercepted mid-air by Yan Shengping.
He parted his lips and said a single word: “Sleepy.” His tone was utterly languid, the final sound drawn out with a hint of weariness.
The air fell silent again for a few seconds. Lin Ganzhi felt as if he had been pushed underwater, gurgling for fifty-nine seconds, before being pulled back up, a sense of relief and weightlessness washing over him.
He had been scared for nothing!