Chapter 39

Just as Ji Wei was about to summon the courage to politely refuse, the man lowered his eyes, his thick lashes casting a shadow, and said to him, “My leg hurts.”

He had never heard his idol say something so vulnerable. The rational string in his mind snapped at once.

He said with a flushed face, hesitating, “Then… just one page, okay?”

The man “mhm-ed.”

“Lu Shenxing kissed his lips, a storm of kisses raining down. The entire space was filled with only suppressed gasps and moans…”

Ji Wei read haltingly, taking several minutes to get through a single sentence. It wasn’t just because the words in the book made his face flush and his heart pound, but also because Lu Shenxing was very naturally kissing his neck. As he read, Lu Shenxing kissed. At several points, his voice wavered, but Lu Shenxing’s movements remained slow and deliberate, his kisses intense and lingering.

When he paused, he would be punished with a bite, not too hard, not too light, but the sensation made his scalp tingle, and he had no choice but to continue reading. Ji Wei didn’t remember how he managed to finish reading page 276. He only knew that when he was done, his clothes were in disarray. The night breeze made the feeling even clearer, bringing back the rough touch from before.

He closed the book with stiff movements and couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you reading this kind of book?”

After a moment of silence, Lu Shenxing spoke in a serious tone, “To understand the preferences of young people.”

Ji Wei subconsciously asked, “And did you understand?”

Thinking about the contents of the book, he regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. Unexpectedly, his idol looked into his eyes and replied, “I did.”

“I also learned that you like white.”

“That you can’t drink.”

“That you like barbecue.”

“That you can’t sleep in unfamiliar beds.”

…The man spoke very slowly. A strange feeling suddenly welled up in Ji Wei’s heart. His idol was seriously managing their marriage. The distance from the moon to the earth is 384,000 kilometers. He was straining on his tiptoes to look up, while his idol seemed to be slowly approaching him, reaching out his hand. He lowered his head slightly and happened to meet the man’s gaze—

The man’s gaze was exceptionally focused, his long, narrow eyes staring at him without moving. He heard his heart thumping, unable to stop.

***

On Friday, Gu Huaiyi’s Hanfu video went viral online.

Ji Wei had seen it when he was checking in and posting on the Super Topic. It was indeed beautiful. Gu Huaiyi had a slender figure and looked stunning in the wide robes and large sleeves of the Wei and Jin dynasties. Thanks to the popularity of Great Nation’s Artifacts and retweets from multiple marketing accounts, “Gu Huaiyi’s Unrivaled Beauty” quickly became a trending topic.

[Mountain Ghost]I wanted to say this when Great Nation’s Artifacts was airing. You all were talking about how good Gu Huaiyi’s guzheng playing was, but did no one notice how absolutely stunning his aura is? He’s much better looking than many young idols.

[Gu Huaiyi’s Wife]Let me recommend our Huaiyi. He’s currently a Content Creator in the Music Section on Bilibili and also one of the guests on Great Nation’s Artifacts. His guzheng playing is fantastic.

[HuaiShuiYiyi]Huaiyi can also do crosstalk. Even if you don’t like his zither playing, you can still like him as a person. Sisters, you won’t regret following him!

Ji Wei smiled when he saw this comment. Gu Huaiyi’s fans were quite interesting. Remembering that they had met in person, he clicked on Gu Huaiyi’s Weibo page and followed him. Gu Huaiyi’s follower count was growing at a terrifying rate. He remembered it being just over three million not long ago, and now it was over five million.

He turned off his phone and went to class. After class, he opened his phone to find his private messages had exploded. He thought something had happened, but when he opened them, he saw that Fanzhou’s official Weibo had posted the posters from his shoot two days ago. There were nine pictures in total: seven of him in the attire of the seven different states, one poster for The Age of Great Contention in the middle, and one of him in modern clothes, playing games on a computer.

Ji Wei felt a bit embarrassed seeing the posters. The photographer had kept encouraging him to make more expressions, but he was particularly stiff in front of the camera. He either didn’t smile or just twitched the corners of his mouth, looking slightly cold. He hesitated for a moment before clicking on the comments, but unexpectedly, they were all positive.

[LittleCabbage]His aura is different from usual, but he’s even more charming. He’s so perfect for historical costumes. I’m begging on my knees for this little brother to go into acting!!

[Lu-Wei Marry on the Spot]Ahhhhh! I’m dead. How can Weiwei be so handsome? This is what you call unrivaled beauty.

[StrandedFish]Hmm… I’ve been wanting to say this for a while. A certain someone has been putting down a lot of idols today. It’s only because he’s not famous. If he were a top celebrity, he would have been flamed long ago.

[OrangeIsleHead]The male protagonist from a novel suddenly has a face.

Ji Wei breathed a sigh of relief. He had no class in the afternoon, so he went home and started working on his meticulous painting assignment. Meticulous painting was very time-consuming and required a lot of energy; every strand of a character’s hair had to be carefully depicted. He put his phone on silent and spent the entire afternoon completing only half of it.

Unexpectedly, when he opened his phone again, the comment section, which had been fine in the morning, was now flooded with passionate and abusive comments.

[LiSao]Why is there such a disgusting streamer like you on this little shabby site? Please get the hell out of Bilibili, you make me sick.

[TomatoScrambledEgg]Is it fun to play dead?

[FangFengCao]I became your fan because of National Style. I’ve been waiting for your explanation, but you haven’t said a word all afternoon. I’m really disappointed. Unfollowed.

Ji Wei was a bit dumbfounded. What had he done to incur such public wrath? He had just been painting all afternoon. It seemed to be related to Bilibili. He logged into Bilibili. World Destroyer did not disappoint, always on the front lines of gossip. He had sent him more than a dozen messages, his tone particularly anxious.

[World Destroyer]Someone is saying you’re condoning your fans for sending abusive private messages to Gu Huaiyi. I know you’re not that kind of person, but you should probably post on Weibo to restrain your fans.

[World Destroyer]Where are you?

[World Destroyer]Where are you?

[World Destroyer]Are you… okay? Maybe you shouldn’t look at Weibo. They don’t know anything.

…[Ji Wei Who Plays Games]I was painting and just opened my phone.

[World Destroyer]Now it’s impossible to explain clearly. Those people on Weibo will definitely think you intentionally condoned your fans.

[Ji Wei Who Plays Games]Thanks for your concern. I’m fine.

He switched to Weibo. The person sending abusive private messages to Gu Huaiyi had the username “Ji Wei’s Fan Girl” and only followed him on Weibo. Her daily posts were also related to the ACG world. The reason for everyone’s anger was that this person’s insults were extremely vulgar. Even the most civilized private message was far from civil.

[Ji Wei’s Fan Girl]What kind of ugly mug do you have to dare to claim unrivaled beauty? Why don’t you look in the mirror and see if you’re worthy?

After Gu Huaiyi blocked her, she even photoshopped a funeral portrait of Gu Huaiyi and posted it on his Super Topic square.

[ZhaoYue’sLittleQuilt]Wait… are the fights between internet celebrities this intense now? This celebrity follower is dumbfounded. What’s the point?

[DaLuMian]Good-looking people will always have simps. Ji Wei is still playing dead and not saying anything. I bet his next Weibo post will be ‘Sorry, I didn’t see my phone’.

[BurningVegetable]Hahahaha, don’t give him any ideas. I think the reason he’s not stopping his fans is that he can’t stand Gu Huaiyi either. One is on a major TV variety show, the other is on a web variety show. The popularity gap will only get wider.

Ji Wei couldn’t understand. He wasn’t a talkative person and rarely posted on Weibo. Most streamers would create fan groups for management, but he had never created one. When he first started on National Style, a large group of fans flooded his Super Topic, and it was lively for a while. But over time, it became quiet. Apart from when he was streaming, there were usually very few people posting on the Super Topic.

Did he really have such passionate fans? He sent a private message to that fan.

[Ji Wei Who Plays Games] If you are my fan, you should apologize to Gu Huaiyi.

[Ji Wei’s Fan Girl] I’ve been your fan since you first started streaming. I love watching your game streams and haven’t missed a single one. I thought you didn’t like Gu Huaiyi, so I sent him private messages.

[Ji Wei Who Plays Games] Then you must have seen my ‘Crusader Kings’ stream. Although it was a long time ago, my words still stand: I don’t want others to interfere in my life.

[Ji Wei’s Fan Girl] I’ve seen it, but I was doing it for you.

[Ji Wei Who Plays Games] Really? But I’ve never streamed ‘Crusader Kings’.

[Ji Wei’s Fan Girl] I forgot…

Ji Wei closed the private message page. He was certain this person was not his fan at all. Just then, his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID with some confusion.

—It was a call from Zhao Yue.

He answered the phone. “Is something wrong?”

“I saw people on Weibo cursing you. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Zhao Yue’s tone was disbelieving. “Don’t lie to me. The first time I was told to get out of the entertainment industry, I almost cried. I just curled up in a corner, completely stunned.”

Ji Wei imagined the scene and suddenly felt some sympathy for Zhao Yue. “What was it about?”

Zhao Yue said nonchalantly, “My agent just helped me rig an award. It was some top industry award, I think. They were making such a big deal out of it.”

Ji Wei was speechless. Few people commented on Zhao Yue’s acting because you can’t comment on something that doesn’t exist. And he even rigged a top award? It wasn’t strange that he was cursed out; it would have been strange if he wasn’t.

Zhao Yue felt he had strayed from the topic and pulled it back. “What’s with that fan of yours? She has a bit of a temper.”

“That person isn’t my fan at all,” Ji Wei sighed. “She just happens to follow me on Weibo.”

Zhao Yue’s mind raced. “Maybe it’s that Gu person trying to step on you to get ahead. I’m familiar with this kind of thing. I’ll handle it. You just stay in school and don’t worry.”

Ji Wei was stunned by Zhao Yue’s line of thinking. Gu Huaiyi was the victim here. Were people in the entertainment industry all so… hmm? Realizing that he had just lumped his idol in with them, he immediately dismissed the thought.

“Thank you.”

But he still said it sincerely. The other end of the line was suddenly quiet for a few minutes. Ji Wei almost thought Zhao Yue had hung up when he finally spoke unnaturally, “Do you think I’m helping you? I’m helping myself. I’m afraid you’ll tarnish the reputation of The Forbidden City’s Little Shop.”

“Thank you.”

Ji Wei said again.

Zhao Yue seemed to have lost his temper with him and said in a low voice, “See you the day after tomorrow then.”

After Ji Wei hung up the phone, he heard the sound of conversation. He walked out of the study to see Ying Guanxiao pushing Lu Shenxing, who had just returned from rehabilitation at the hospital. Ying Guanxiao put away his phone while pushing the wheelchair. “I just saw that thing on Weibo. I was about to call you. Are you okay?”

Lu Shenxing also looked over at Ji Wei.

Ji Wei shook his head. “I’m fine. Zhao Yue said he’s familiar with this kind of thing and will help me handle it.”

Zhao Yue? Ying Guanxiao’s heart immediately skipped a beat. Sure enough, the air was silent for a few minutes. Lu Shenxing, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly smiled. “Of course he’s familiar with it. When you first joined National Style, he was the one who hired a marketing account to smear you.”

That happened? Ji Wei vaguely remembered that the marketing account was called Sharp Comment Lord, and he had apologized to him in the end.

Lu Shenxing coughed lightly. Ying Guanxiao received the hint and twitched the corner of his eye. Look at this tattletale. He had no choice but to chime in, “Yeah, I still have the chat history with that marketing account on my phone. Weiwei, do you want to see it? You really shouldn’t get too close to people like him. Who knows what his intentions are.”

“No need.”

Ji Wei shook his head. That was in the past. He could tell that Zhao Yue wasn’t a bad person. He had taken good care of him during the recording of The Forbidden City’s Little Shop, and this time he even called to help.

Lu Shenxing seemed dissatisfied with the answer. He lowered his eyes and said to Ying Guanxiao, “Arrange an interview for tomorrow.”

An interview? Ying Guanxiao was shocked. Usually, he had to beg and plead to get this guy to accept an interview. Today, he had actually changed his ways and was actively asking for one. Who would believe it if he told them? But then he was puzzled. Sun Eater probably wouldn’t be released successfully, and there were no new projects to promote recently. What was the point of an interview? To talk about which hospital had the best orthopedics? Or his insights during rehabilitation?

But when his gaze fell on Ji Wei’s face, he instantly understood. Someone’s jealousy was about to become impossible to hide.