Chapter 30: A Week’s Worth of Work

Liu Pangpang’s lips moved at lightning speed as he spoke. “First, endorsement negotiations—two cosmetic products, one instant noodle brand. Then magazines and interviews—a monthly cover and a special feature for one publication, an interview with the Douhua App. Then variety shows…”

Su Xuan’s head was spinning. He cut Liu Pangpang off. “Are you telling me this is a year’s workload?”

“No,” Liu Pangpang said, his expression ruthless. “It’s your week’s.”

“Before you start filming ‘Nine Streams,’ you have about six to seven days free. All your scheduled appearances during those days are with Shen Chao…”

Su Xuan’s eyes glazed over as he fell back onto the sofa. “…I’m already a dead man. I’d rather die than take any more…”

Liu Pangpang dropped the next sentence. “…the total pay is…” He named a figure.

Su Xuan shot upright. “What?!”

Shamelessly, Su Xuan said, “I’m not dead yet, am I? I’ll take it all! Why is it all with Shen Chao?”

“Did you forget?!” Liu Pangpang was utterly speechless. “The trailer for the ‘Nine Streams’ web series is about to air. For at least the next six months, you two will be in the promotional period.”

Su Xuan slapped his forehead, dazed. “I really did forget. I’ve been too busy lately…”

Liu Pangpang was at a loss for words. Does this guy even like Shen Chao? He’s so busy he forgot about his own crush.

Liu Pangpang checked his watch. “Two in the afternoon, the Douhua App has an exclusive interview with you two. Before that…” He looked down at Su Xuan’s shoes. Controlling his expression, he said, “Su Xuan, change your rainbow socks!”

Su Xuan was dressed in a denim jacket and casual pants, making him look youthful, like a student who hadn’t graduated yet. He sat nervously in the car while Liu Pangpang went over the interview process with him. That evening, Su Xuan also had to go shoot a magazine with Shen Chao, so time was tight.

After Liu Pangpang reviewed everything with Su Xuan, he collapsed into the passenger seat. “Su Xuan, you absolutely need an assistant. Otherwise, we’ll both be exhausted. You’re almost more famous than Fu Mu now, and he has seven or eight assistants. You have none. Do you want to hire privately or should I apply to the company?”

“If it’s through the company, it doesn’t cost you. If you hire privately, you pay yourself, but you can hire whoever you want.”

Su Xuan heard the phrase ‘privately hired assistant’ for the first time—such a luxurious term. He couldn’t help but let his mind wander. He said offhandedly, “Hey, can I hire Shen Chao?”

Liu Pangpang glanced warily at the driver, whose expression was one of shock. The driver was from Leaf Media.

Liu Pangpang forced a smile and explained quietly to the driver, “He’s just joking. He didn’t mean to insult Shen Chao. They’re actually really close.”

The driver hesitantly nodded.

Liu Pangpang turned his head and hissed in Su Xuan’s ear, “Are you dreaming? You’d have to afford him. If you want a big star like Shen Chao to take care of you personally, maybe in your next life.”

Su Xuan sighed regretfully. “Ah, I’ve seen so many people, but he’s still the most handsome. Having him as my assistant would lift my spirits so much…”

Liu Pangpang interrupted Su Xuan as the driver’s expression grew even more bizarre. “Su Xuan! A private assistant sometimes needs to live in your home! You need to be careful!”

After getting out of the car, Su Xuan got a thorough scolding from Liu Pangpang. Once Su Xuan was on his own turf, he relaxed completely, and all sorts of nonsense would spill out. At the Leaf Media offices, he would even wander around in a white T-shirt with “I AM A GAY” printed on it, smiling and greeting people.

Most people thought Su Xuan was joking, because he was quite popular with the opposite s*x.

And this habit couldn’t be changed overnight. Liu Pangpang seriously put hiring an assistant to guard Su Xuan’s mouth—both upper and lower—on the agenda. First, keep Su Xuan from saying random things. Second, keep Su Xuan from doing weird things with Shen Chao.

Before Su Xuan went in for the interview, Liu Pangpang hesitated but still told him about Fu Mu coming to find him.

Su Xuan fell silent for a moment. “Pangpang, I really hate him too.”

“But he does have talent. It would be a shame to bury it.” Su Xuan’s face showed no emotion. After all, he had once made a proper promise to Fu Mu and his family, guaranteeing that he would look out for Fu Mu.

Liu Pangpang sighed inwardly. “I really don’t understand why you want to help him. I can’t stand Fu Mu.”

Su Xuan looked at Liu Pangpang, who shrugged. “But I promise I’ll take whatever resources you don’t want and throw them in his fake face to humiliate him.”

Su Xuan couldn’t help but laugh. He punched Liu Pangpang’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

Liu Pangpang watched Su Xuan’s back with a sense of loss. Three years ago, when Shen Chao left, something had happened between Su Xuan and Fu Mu. Since then, Fu Mu had been relentless, tormenting Su Xuan for three years.

It wasn’t until “The Courtyard” was released and Su Xuan gradually became more famous than Fu Mu that the struggle between them ended.

Unilaterally ended.

Su Xuan arrived quite early. He sat in the interview room as many people came and went, stealing glances at him.

Su Xuan recognized that look well. He hadn’t been in the industry long enough to be treated like a veteran, but people were always sneaking peeks at him, their eyes full of meaning.

[What exactly is this CP thing?] Su Xuan thought.

He didn’t wait long before Shen Chao arrived. Su Xuan glanced at him and blushed, moving over slightly on the sofa. Others also shifted their stares in a daze—Shen Chao was dressed almost identically to Su Xuan today.

Denim jacket and casual pants looked extremely sharp on Shen Chao. Though the styles were different, when the two sat close together, there was a subtle harmony.

Su Xuan couldn’t stand it. He looked away—he figured Liu Pangpang must have coordinated outfits with Wang Shou. It was part of the promotion. But even so, Shen Chao wearing this…

Su Xuan touched his own earring, feeling his ears grow hot. He rubbed his ear and slowly calmed down.

The female interviewer held a microphone with a huge bean flower logo. She greeted someone offstage, and the interview began.

She smiled, starting off: “This is the second time Shen Chao and Su Xuan have appeared together, right?”

The first time was at the film festival. Su Xuan nodded obediently. She continued, “You two seem to have a great relationship in the behind-the-scenes clips. Shen Chao is a regular for us, and he hardly ever talks. Su Xuan, how did you manage to keep him talking?”

In the interview industry, Shen Chao’s reticence was common knowledge.

She seemed a bit aggrieved. “He answers our questions with just a few words. Mm, oh, okay. Su Xuan, what do you think about Shen Chao’s lack of talk?”

Su Xuan was dumbfounded. “…I think he talks enough. He’s not that quiet…”

Shen Chao glanced at Su Xuan, then at the female host. “Mm.”

Female host: “…”

Female host: “…When Shen Chao filmed ‘The Courtyard,’ it should have been his first movie, right? What was your reason for taking that role?”

Shen Chao held the microphone for a moment, then handed it to Su Xuan. “You did this. You explain.”

Su Xuan took the microphone, scratching his cheek. “Well, at the time, the director was filming this movie and couldn’t find a suitable actor to play the mute. The mute had to be really handsome—someone you’d want to snatch up the moment you saw him. So they switched a few actors. Near our filming location, there was a high school with lots of food stalls. Sometimes when I was tired from filming, I’d sneak over to buy milk tea or something.”

“And Shen Chao was attending that high school. When he came out after school, he was just too handsome. I couldn’t help but go up to ask for his WeChat.”

The female host couldn’t help but laugh. “Did he give it to you?”

Su Xuan looked dejected. “Of course not. He was so cold back then. He told me to go away. I pestered him for ages—every day I’d offer him milk tea and snacks—until finally I got his contact info.”

The female host teased, “Shen Chao must have thought you were hitting on him.”

Shen Chao softly said, “Mm.”

Su Xuan explained, “But I never added him!”

Shen Chao showed no emotion. “The director added him.”

Su Xuan couldn’t help but complain at this point. “After the director added him and explained everything, Shen Chao blocked him. I think Shen Chao thought we were a scam ring. Later, the director met Shen Chao in person and was even crazier than I was. He stalked him for ages, even went to his home to negotiate, before Shen Chao agreed to act.”

The female host unconsciously leaned towards Su Xuan, who was more talkative. “Were there any interesting incidents during filming?”

Su Xuan also couldn’t help but lean towards her. He had a habit of getting close when talking—years of gossiping had trained him to lean in and whisper. “Oh, plenty of interesting stories…”

He hadn’t finished when Shen Chao suddenly reached out, grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him back. “Sit properly.”

Pulled by Shen Chao, Su Xuan’s shoulder bumped against Shen Chao’s. He could feel Shen Chao’s leg pressed against his. His mind went blank. “Oh, right, right.”

The female host glanced at Shen Chao. Under his gaze, she instinctively backed off, putting some distance between her and Su Xuan. She said softly, “Can you tell us a few?”

Su Xuan thought for a moment. “When Shen Chao turned eighteen on set, someone was making a fuss about throwing an adult ceremony for him. They pushed us both onto a bed and pinned us together. Shen Chao was furious, and then a whole bunch of people ended up wrestling on the bed… After that, Shen Chao didn’t come back to set for a week.”

The scene at the time was chaotic like a group s*x party. It was the first time Su Xuan had seen Shen Chao’s face flush, but probably from anger.

The female host laughed. “Sounds like your crew was pretty fast.”

Su Xuan sighed. “Not really. A bunch of guys—what else is there to do besides talk dirty?” Wait till you hear about Aunt Qian’s crew—that’s fast.

The female host was about to ask more when Shen Chao suddenly spoke, cutting off their conversation. “I also had to prepare for the college entrance exams.”

Su Xuan was startled. “Oh, right!” That was another big thing—Shen Chao had to study for the exams.

The female host realized she had gotten so caught up talking with Su Xuan that she had completely forgotten about the main guest, Shen Chao!

Shen Chao looked at her, and she felt a chill down her spine. She quickly forced a smile. “Oh, yes. Shen Chao, you took the college entrance exams during the filming of ‘The Courtyard,’ right?”

Su Xuan remembered; he really admired Shen Chao for that. “Yes, and he got amazing results! One of the top two universities in the country! Do you know what that means? It means excellent—really excellent!”

The female host thought to herself, ‘He did well, but why are you so proud? Shen Chao himself never brags about it.’

Later, the female host noticed that if she kept talking to Su Xuan, Shen Chao would interrupt of his own accord, speaking much more than before—as if he couldn’t stand Su Xuan chatting with her.

The female host got the feeling that Shen Chao had a problem with her, that he would coldly cut her off. So she immediately turned to ask Shen Chao questions, and Su Xuan would jump in to answer instead.

Female host: “…”

This is too hard.

She felt like she was caught between the two of them, being kicked around like a ball all afternoon. By the last question, she let out a sigh of relief. “…If you had to describe each other as an animal, what animal would you choose?”

Su Xuan turned to Shen Chao. They looked at each other for a few seconds, and Su Xuan said involuntarily, “A black-backed dog.”

The female host was taken aback. “Black-backed dog? Why?”

Su Xuan said, “On a set I was on before, there was a really cool black-backed police dog. I think Shen Chao is like that.”

Looks aloof, a bit fierce—Su Xuan thought—like he might bite if you do something wrong… but actually, his attitude towards me is okay?

The female host turned to Shen Chao. “Then what animal do you think Su Xuan is like?”

Shen Chao didn’t hesitate. “A horse.”

Su Xuan burst out laughing. “Pfft!!!”

That evening, they shot for the same magazine, but not for the same cover. Su Xuan was for the digital edition—most stars with some name have done that, sold online.

Shen Chao, on the other hand, was shooting the month’s magazine cover—a physical edition. Usually, such covers are granted only when the star has accomplished something significant. For example, Wang Muzhe got a physical magazine cover when he won the Best Actor award, though it wasn’t this magazine. That one was more artistic and specialized.

The magazine this time was called ‘June Necklace,’ a well-known women’s fashion magazine.

This was Shen Chao’s second cover shoot. The first was when ‘Nine Streams’ entered the top three in film history. At that time, Shen Chao shot the season’s magazine cover. Before that, he had also shot digital editions—selling 810,000 copies, the highest for a single-person publication.

In the two years since, new stars had risen, but none had come close to Shen Chao’s single-person sales record.

But thinking about this, Su Xuan’s expression changed. The current second place for ‘June Necklace’s’ single digital edition was Fu Mu, who looked like Shen Chao and was nicknamed ‘Little Shen Chao.’ And ‘June’ was a magazine for women, so the industry said that ‘Shen Chao unified women’s aesthetic standards.’

As a man, Su Xuan had contributed to the sales of both big and little Shen Chao—a thousand copies each.

So when he shot for this magazine, he felt an indescribable emotion. He had never imagined he would go from being a reader to a subject. Standing in the studio, he felt a bit lost.

Shen Chao was in a different studio, but they would take a group photo together to be included as a limited-edition poster in that month’s issue.

Both the cover and the digital edition had themes. Su Xuan’s photographer told him, “Your theme for this issue is ‘When the city falls, Su Xuan pierces through the clouds.’ It’s a follow-up to ‘The Courtyard’ and ‘Nine Streams.'”

Su Xuan asked, “What’s Shen Chao’s photography theme?”

The photographer said, “Years later, revisiting an old dream. This is his second time shooting for ‘Nine Streams.'”

Su Xuan thought to himself, It’s also the second time shooting together with him. Revisiting an old dream indeed…

The photographer suddenly remembered something and asked him, “I recall Fu Mu is from your company, right? He’s quite good at shooting. His ‘Be Yourself’ digital edition is still ranked second. He even said back then that he wanted to shoot with you.”

The photographer smiled. “But I never expected you’d come shoot with Shen Chao.”

Su Xuan was a little dazed. “Is that so.”

“Yes,” the photographer said. “Fu Mu said that you must have wanted to take a group photo with him looking like he does now.”

Su Xuan froze. At that time, Fu Mu had already altered his face and broken with him. It was impossible for them to do a magazine shoot together. Fu Mu saying that to the photographer was somewhat ironic.

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