Chapter 20: The Rouge Young Master and a Director’s Dilemma

The Fiance sighed deeply, pulling Song Xiao into a comforting embrace and patting her shoulder. “So you went to help Shen Chao,” he murmured, soothing her. “You really are amazing, Song Xiao.”

“I didn’t really do much,” Song Xiao’s voice was muffled against his shoulder. “I just cleared up some rumors and suppressed some negative comments. Many of the discussions, Shen Chao handled himself. I just couldn’t help but want to lend them a hand.”

“Them?” her Fiance inquired softly.

“Su Xuan and Shen Chao, of course.”

Song Xiao lifted her head from his shoulder, a reminiscent smile gracing her lips. “I think Su Xuan and Shen Chao are quite similar.”

“They’re both incredibly stubborn, yet incredibly persistent,” she said quietly. “I’m certain they’ll eventually become close friends.”

The Fiance’s expression was utterly unreadable. “…Isn’t Shen Chao gay? Would he really get together with Su Xuan?”

Song Xiao gave him an exasperated glare. “I meant as friends! What on earth are you thinking?”

The Fiance fell silent.

He glanced at Song Xiao’s phone, which was still open to a compilation of ‘divine CP’ intimate scene clips. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.

‘Was this my fault?’ he wondered. After watching countless ‘divine CP’ edits, Song Xiao had thoroughly brainwashed him. Now, he couldn’t help but contemplate Shen Chao and Su Xuan’s relationship in the most peculiar ways.

‘Alas, he was no longer a pure, straight man.’

Yet, the Fiance couldn’t entirely be blamed for his overactive imagination. He had interacted with Shen Chao through Song Xiao for so long and had never witnessed Shen Chao treat anyone with such a distinct attitude before.

It truly seemed rather ‘gay’.

The Fiance clicked his tongue thoughtfully before asking, “Darling, you told me Shen Chao has never had a girlfriend since joining the industry. And this time, his behavior towards Su Xuan is so strange. Could they really be…”

Song Xiao let out a shriek, quickly grabbing a pillow and smothering her Fiance’s head with it. “How can you be even more of a ‘CP brain’ than me?! I’m already deep enough into this ship! Don’t you dare analyze it any further!”

Her Fiance gasped for air, quickly raising his hands in surrender. “…Alright, alright! I concede that Shen Chao and Su Xuan’s relationship seems quite ordinary, not at all like they’re dating…”

Song Xiao slowly removed the pillow. The moment her Fiance’s gaze met hers, a shiver ran down his spine.

Song Xiao stared intently at her Fiance. “…Are you implying my CP is fake?”

The Fiance was speechless.

With the tide of negative publicity against Su Xuan finally brought under control, the web drama crew for *Nine Streams*, a third-rate production, released its official announcement: [The Rouge Young Master, of unmatched elegance and charm, a single fan cleaving through clouds. Hello, Su Xuan!]

The Nine Streams web drama was set to be distributed and broadcast on the Douhua app.

This app was a major platform for web drama production and streaming, where Shen Chao’s previous drama, Aged, had achieved high viewership. Consequently, after the Nine Streams crew’s announcement, Douhua App’s official Weibo account also reposted it.

[Douhua: Our dearest Flower’s favorite charming young master has arrived!]

This was no slip of the tongue; the character Su Xuan portrayed, the Rouge Young Master, was famously handsome in the original novel. There was even an ancient and modern list of romantic figures in the book, and the Rouge Young Master ranked third.

The author of Nine Streams once stated in an interview that if the male lead possessed a handsomeness beloved by both men and women, then the Rouge Young Master, the second male lead, possessed a beauty understood only by women, a sight that filled men with hatred and disgust.

The Rouge Young Master’s true name was Rong Yan Zhi, with the courtesy name Chun Tao, both derived from the poem Ode to Peach Blossoms.

Born to a courtesan, this Rouge Young Master came from the absolute lowest tier of society’s lower nine streams. He grew up in a brothel district, and his mannerisms and conduct carried an indescribable effeminacy and charm. Even after developing exceptional innate talent and being inducted into a first-rate immortal sect, he remained scorned by others.

Two aspects of Rong Yan Zhi’s character were particularly highly discussed.

The first was killing his mother to attain the Dao.

As his cultivation progressed, he suffered cultivation deviation and failed to achieve a breakthrough. Under the allure of evil influences, he entertained the thought of severing ties with his origins. Rong Yan Zhi arrived at his mother’s brothel, but watching her solicit customers, he found himself utterly incapable of acting.

It was then that the male lead appeared. Seeing Rong Yan Zhi consumed by demonic energy, he mistook him for a demonic cultivator harming innocent civilians and critically wounded the distraught Rong Yan Zhi with a single sword strike.

Rong Yan Zhi’s mother, heartbroken, learned the full story. To fulfill her son’s aspirations, she took his treasured sword and impaled herself. Through this tragic event, Rong Yan Zhi comprehended the ultimate truth of the world:

[In this world called Nine Streams, there is no division into nine streams; all are but flesh and blood.]

Amidst the readers’ collective sighs, Rong Yan Zhi successfully attained the Dao. He took the fan his mother had left him and became the elegantly captivating Rouge Young Master.

The second aspect was his various ambiguous romantic interactions with the male lead.

Su Xuan had read the original *Nine Streams* novel, though not to the extent of Shen Chao, who could recite it verbatim. Still, he was quite familiar with it.

*Nine Streams* was an atypical xianxia novel, depicting a world divided into three realms and nine streams.

The three realms were Heaven, Earth, and Hell, each inhabited by gods, humans, and demons, thus forming the nine streams.

Within these nine streams, there existed a natural chain of discrimination: those in Heaven looked down on those in Earth, those in Earth on those in Hell; gods scorned humans, and humans scorned demons.

The core of Nine Streams was the attainment of the Dao, told with a profound, classical narrative style and a myriad of innovative, thought-provoking concepts. The opening line of Nine Streams proclaimed: [Only by seeing through the Nine Streams can one achieve the Great Dao].

Rong Yan Zhi’s path to the Dao centered around the male lead, and the male lead’s path to the Dao primarily involved Rong Yan Zhi. This created an overwhelming sense of irresistible destiny.

Thus, when Su Xuan watched Wang Muzhe play Rong Yan Zhi, the interactions between him and Shen Chao inevitably stirred that profound, unsettling sense of fatedness.

Moreover, *Nine Streams* had no fixed female lead, which made the bond between Rong Yan Zhi and the male lead even more pronounced and unforgettable.

Nine Streams had now reached its eighth installment, with a significant female character dying in each book. The main female lead herself died in the very first part, leaving all the men in tragic widowhood. Consequently, Nine Streams was colloquially known as The Compendium of Widowers.

Rong Yan Zhi also lost his most beloved woman in the fifth book, eventually comprehending the Great Dao of all beings, cleaving through clouds with his fan, and ascending.

Given that Su Xuan had played characters who lost their significant others in both Courtyard and Nine Streams, some had begun to call him a ‘widow specialist’ (Su Xuan: ???). Su Xuan felt indignant. Shen Chao had also lost his significant other, so why didn’t Shen Chao receive such a moniker?

He would not accept it!

The ‘little widow’ Su Xuan furiously studied his script.

Hua Wei anxiously reviewed the script for the Nine Streams web drama; it wasn’t the script he was slated to direct.

He was preparing to film Nine Streams 2: The Movie, and a director of Hua Wei’s caliber would never dabble in web dramas. Although Star Culture had extended an invitation, Hua Wei had politely declined.

But Star Culture lived up to its reputation. The shrewd company had invited his son to direct the Nine Streams web drama instead!

They even trotted out the slogan: [Nine Streams Legacy, Passing on the Spark!]

Hua Wei’s son was indeed an excellent rising director, having steadily produced many good works over the past few years. However, the Nine Streams IP had grown so massive it was a hot potato.

Audiences were incredibly discerning. Hua Wei himself felt nervous about messing up when directing the *Nine Streams* movie sequel; it wasn’t something a young man like his son could casually shoulder!

Yet, his son had been so thoroughly sweet-talked by those scoundrels at Star Culture that he was practically stumbling when he left their doors, only realizing what had happened after he had already signed the contract.

Still, a signed contract was a signed contract. Hua Wei understood that Star Culture’s intention was for him to help oversee his son’s work, ensuring consistency in quality and visuals.

Hua Wei sighed heavily. Star Culture simply wanted to solidify the audience’s impression of Nine Streams– the characters, the visuals, the aesthetics, the color palette. All these elements would undergo significant changes with a different director. His son had been trained by him and shared certain similarities in his directorial style, so Hua Wei could understand why Star Culture chose him.

Before, Hua Wei’s worries were always present, but seeing the team and the main cast—mostly his old partners—had given him some peace of mind.

Who would have thought that just before filming was about to commence, Star Culture would come to negotiate a cast change?

And for the crucial role of Rong Yan Zhi, no less!

Hua Wei’s brows were practically turning white from worry!

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