ASFSODS 43

Hiss… how to put it. Wen Chi replayed the moment in his head. Jiang Siheng’s subtle expression and tone just now were kind of… addictive.

And sure enough, just as Jiang Siheng had hoped, Wen Chi comforted him, “It’s okay. When the ghost shows up, just shut your eyes right away,” Then, thinking it over, he added, “Or maybe you shouldn’t watch at all?”

Jiang Siheng gave a faint smile. “No need.”

Wen Chi was the type who had no problem admitting he was scared because he never felt embarrassed about it. But that was just him. Everyone had different personalities, and he wasn’t the type to interfere. So he nodded and said, “Okay. Do you want half my blanket? Or maybe hold a pillow—it might make you feel safer.”

Jiang Siheng looked at the pillow Wen Chi offered, then looked at Wen Chi. He pretended to consider for a few seconds before saying, “Can I have the blanket instead?”

“Of course.” Wen Chi cheerfully draped half the blanket over Jiang Siheng. “We’re good frie—uh… ahem.”

Wen Chi suddenly remembered they were all wearing mics, and he quickly swallowed the rest of his sentence.

Jiang Siheng let out a quiet laugh through his nose. He didn’t even need to ask—he could already guess what Wen Chi was about to say.

‘We’re good friends. It’s what friends do.’

Wen Chi patted Jiang Siheng on the shoulder, then turned back to the movie.

They kept their voices low and didn’t disturb the others. As soon as Wen Chi turned his head back, he locked eyes with Tong Xian’en.

Tong Xian’en was watching him and Jiang Siheng.

Even when caught, he didn’t flinch. He just calmly looked away.

Wen Chi blinked, but didn’t think much of it, brushing it off as a random moment.

Inside the blanket, it was warm, still carrying the boy’s body heat. Jiang Siheng didn’t wrap it around his shoulders and back like Wen Chi did—he only had it over his legs.

The movie wasn’t very long, just a little over an hour. When the ending music played, dawn had already broken outside.

Luckily, they caught a break. The repair crew managed to fix the power around 8 a.m., and the skies had cleared up.

Zhou Yunbai asked the group, “So, are we still going to the nearby town today?”

“I’m good either way. It’s up to you guys, really—no one slept that well last night anyway,” Xu Yuqing said with a smile.

As soon as the power came back, the production team got the livestream running again without missing a beat. Because today’s broadcast was starting later than usual, the team had already posted a notice on Weibo explaining the delay and the power outage.

Main livestream chat:

[Ahhhhhh finally it’s back on]

[I saw the official account say the power went out—I was so worried ]

[Is the weather still freezing over there? No heat must’ve been awful]

[OMG, Sheep wrapped in the blanket next to Wen Chi is too cute LOL]

[You can really tell how cold it was without heating]

[Baibai baby, wear more layers please]

[Are they still going to the town today?]

[I knew A-Yu couldn’t be the snobby type. If he really was, he wouldn’t have left the decision up to everyone else just now]

[Agreed]

[Are Wen Chi fans seriously not going to apologize?]

[Go apologize to your mom. Annoying. When did we ever bully your idol?]

Wen Chi’s fans and Xu Yuqing’s fans had been arguing for nearly a whole day, from noon into the afternoon, and still going into the evening.

To be fair, it was mostly Xu Yuqing’s fans who kept holding on and refusing to let go of the “Chi Tang” fandom. On top of that, Wen Chi’s fanbase wasn’t as large as Xu Yuqing’s. About two-thirds were new fans who had just gotten to know him through the variety show. These new fans generally weren’t that sensitive to this kind of thing, since they’d only recently started liking Wen Chi and weren’t at the point where they’d get into flame wars on his behalf.

Anyway, since no one was feeling sleepy anymore, they figured they might as well wash up, change clothes, head out for breakfast, and then go have some fun.

Wen Chi huffed and puffed upstairs with his blanket. Just as he was about to enter his room, Jiang Siheng called out to him from the room next door.

Wen Chi poked his head out from behind the blanket like a little kitten. “What is it, Teacher Jiang ?”

Jiang Siheng asked, “What color of jacket are you wearing?”

“Jacket?” Wen Chi had originally planned to wear the one with the little ears, but since they were going out to play and white was easy to get dirty, he said, “Black.”

Jiang Siheng glanced at the ears on Wen Chi’s current hoodie and asked, “Does it have ears?”

Wen Chi: “……”

He felt so annoyed. “No, no ears!”

Jiang Siheng let out an “oh,” and somehow sounded a little disappointed.

Wen Chi freshened up again, and this time he was fully awake. Sitting at the edge of the bed, he pulled out his phone to check Weibo.

It was around 3 p.m. in China. The trending topic had already been up for three hours and dropped to the 20s in rank, but it was still getting a lot of attention.

Wen Chi thought for a bit and messaged Jin Ge to ask about it, but didn’t get a reply after waiting a while.

A call from an unknown number came in. Wen Chi rejected it without hesitation—had to be spam.

Then the same number texted him. [This is your boss. Pick up.]

Wen Chi frowned. Scammers these days calling themselves “boss”?

He calmly replied: [TD] (short for “unsubscribe” in Chinese text message spam responses).

Maybe the guy on the other end was pissed because he didn’t call back again.

Wen Chi stepped out of his room and ran into Zhou Ruoyao, who waved happily. “Xiao Chi Ge!”

As soon as Wen Chi got closer, Zhou Ruoyao latched onto his arm.

With a big grin, Zhou Ruoyao said, “Wow, Xiao Chi Ge in black looks super handsome.”

“For real?” Wen Chi’s face lit up in delight.

Zhou Ruoyao nodded sincerely. “Really. You look a little cooler and more elegant in black.”

Zhou Ruoyao’s livestream chat:

[Help, this is killing me hahaha]

[Baby, I know you’re here to chase your idol, but can you be a little more subtle?]

[Young Master Zhou really knows how to sweet-talk]

[I’m dying of laughter]

[Does Wen Chi know that the little young master is his fan??]

As they reached the first floor, that same “scam” number called again. Wen Chi was impressed by their persistence and decided to finally see what they wanted.

He turned off his mic and told Zhou Ruoyao he was stepping out to take a call.

In the courtyard, the sun was just right, warm on his skin. Wen Chi lazily answered, “Hello?”

“Wen Chi—” a familiar, smug voice came through. “You’ve got guts, huh? Not answering my call and even telling me to unsubscribe? Cursing out your own boss?!”

Wen Chi blinked. Shit, it really was his pain-in-the-ass boss.

The company boss didn’t hear Wen Chi respond. He was staring at the live feed from Wen Chi’s stream on his monitor but couldn’t see the boy’s face clearly.

“Forget it. Since you turned off your mic, I’ll keep this short—it’s about work,” the boss said.

Wen Chi’s tone was cool. “Go ahead. What is it?”

“You saw the trending topic, right? I’ve already had people suppress it, and hired some commenters to drown out the negativity. You don’t have to worry about it. Just focus on doing well on the show.”

Wen Chi, who had known this boss long enough, raised an eyebrow. “So what do you really want?”

The boss wasn’t surprised by Wen Chi’s sharpness and got straight to the point. “There’s a supporting male lead role in a wuxia drama we’re casting for. We were originally going to let Zeng Yan audition, but with his recent scandal, after a company meeting, everyone agreed you’d be the next best fit.”

Wen Chi let out a noncommittal “oh” and didn’t give an answer right away. “Does Jin Ge know?”

“We told him,” the boss replied. “Wen Chi, even if this is a second male lead, do you know who the director and producer are? It’s Director Chen Han from Dragon Chant, and Producer Feng Shengcheng from the film Truth or Lies. I don’t need to tell you how many stars those two have made. This is a rare opportunity. If you land it, you’re guaranteed to blow up.”

Wen Chi asked, “And if I don’t?”

“…” The boss choked for a second, then forced himself to keep his cool. “Just go to the audition. Whether you get it or not depends on you. Don’t waste the company’s resources.”

And without waiting for Wen Chi to respond, he hung up. He was probably afraid Wen Chi would say something to piss him off.

Wen Chi stared at his call screen as it returned to the recent calls page. He couldn’t help but feel skeptical. The company had never been this generous before. Even though he’d been signed with them for a while, they’d never really prioritized him. Any decent opportunities were always given to someone else.

His notification bar popped up with a new message. It was the details about the audition location and time. Coincidentally, it was scheduled for the day after filming wrapped on the second episode of the variety show.

If there were people at the company Wen Chi actually trusted, it would be Jin Ge and Sang Sang. He typed out a brief summary of what his boss said and sent it to Jin Ge—no harm in keeping his agent in the loop.

By the time Wen Chi returned indoors, everyone else was already in the living room.

Zhou Yunbai saw him and said, “Xiao Chi’s back. We can head out now.”

Main livestream chat:

[Yes!! Let’s go out and play!]

[OMG, President Qin just naturally helped Xiao Bai carry her bag! I’m shipping it already]

[Jiang Ge saw the boy and instantly stood up and walked over—is this what they mean by stage-five clingy boyfriend?]

[Young Master Zhou and Sheep are “fighting” again LOL]

[A-Yu looks at En’en with such gentle eyes]

[Is En’en feeling unwell? He looks kind of pale…]

Wen Chi glanced over and noticed something different about Jiang Siheng today. His gaze was blatant, and he didn’t bother hiding it. Jiang Siheng looked over and raised an eyebrow. “Why are you staring at me?”

Wen Chi didn’t look away, just sighed, “Teacher Jiang, how do you keep getting more handsome?”

Jiang Siheng, who had simply styled his hair and picked a decent outfit, stayed calm under the compliment. “Oh. I’ve always been this handsome.”

Wen Chi: “……”

Honestly, Jiang Siheng wasn’t even dressed up—just simple, everyday clothes. But with his naturally good looks, height, and perfect build, he stood out no matter where he was.

There were eight people, and two cars, which was just enough. Qin Xiyu and Jiang Siheng were the drivers, and of course Zhou Ruoyao insisted on riding with Wen Chi.

Tian Yang assumed Wen Chi would sit in the front, and after Zhou Ruoyao got in the back seat, he waved Wen Chi in and then got in himself, looking like he had a toothache.

Zhou Ruoyao glared at him. “What’s your problem?”

Tian Yang had no fight left in him. “Have some awareness, Young Master.”

Zhou Ruoyao: “??”

He watched helplessly as Wen Chi happily climbed into the front passenger seat, buckled his seatbelt, and Jiang Siheng, who was driving, casually handed his phone over. Wen Chi took it without hesitation, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Zhou Ruoyao: “???” Why do you two act like this is completely natural?

They planned to eat breakfast at a nearby restaurant since the town they were heading to was a 30-minute drive away.

Jin Ge finally replied to Wen Chi’s message, telling him not to agree to anything just yet—he would handle it with the company.

When they arrived at the restaurant, everyone except the drivers had taken a quick nap in the car. Even with makeup on, they still looked a little worn out after getting out.

Wen Chi yawned and out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Sang Sang walking over.

Even on a variety show, assistants usually tag along when artists go out, just in case they need anything.

“Didn’t I tell you to sleep in and not come?” Wen Chi had messaged her specifically not to tag along.

“I’m your assistant. If the others have someone with them, you should too.” Sang Sang said softly, then pulled a face cream and hand cream out of her bag then handed them to Wen Chi.

Wen Chi blinked. “Why are you giving me these?”

“Jin Ge told me to. He said the weather’s cold and your skin’s probably getting dry and flaky. He told me to remind you to use them. They’re both new—use them every morning and night after washing your face.”

Wen Chi, who never really bothered with skincare, replied, “Oh. Got it.”

Wen Chi’s livestream chat:

[Sang Sang, I love you!]

[Their relationship doesn’t feel like boss and assistant at all]

[Who is this pretty girl? She’s so cute!]

[She’s Wen Chi’s assistant—super sweet]

[That line “if others have an assistant, you should too” just made me cry]

[Wen Chi and Sang Sang both look out for each other—he’s so sweet to girls]

Jiang Siheng walked over after parking the car, catching the last bit of what Sang Sang said. He stood beside Wen Chi and glanced down at the cream in his hands.

Sang Sang spotted Jiang Siheng, gave a quick, quiet “Teacher Jiang,” and immediately slipped back to the assistant area.

“She seems kinda scared of you,” Wen Chi glanced at Jiang Siheng.

Jiang Siheng gave a neutral “oh,” then asked, “Are you gonna use the cream?”

Wen Chi touched his cheek—yeah, it did feel a little dry. “Might as well.”

“I’ll do it for you. Some spots are hard to reach yourself,” Jiang Siheng offered.

Wen Chi thought about it. That was true.

“Thanks, Teacher Jiang.”

Everyone else was browsing menus in the restaurant while Wen Chi and Jiang Siheng were off doing their own thing.

Jiang Siheng scooped out a bit of cream with his fingertip and dabbed it onto Wen Chi’s upturned face. Including his forehead, both cheeks, chin, and nose.

Then—

He lifted both hands and started vigorously rubbing it into Wen Chi’s cheeks.

Caught completely off guard, Wen Chi just stared at the suddenly childish man in front of him, dazed: ovo?