Chapter 41: A Morning on DingTalk

Business still had to go on.

After wrapping up, Shen Chao would rest for a day or two, then the entire “Nine Outcasts” crew would dive into a barrage of interviews, variety shows, and livestreams.

Neither Su Xuan nor Shen Chao had ever livestreamed before.

Su Xuan was simply too obscure before—no one invited him.

Shen Chao never used that method for promotion.

Their previous joint interview had already been one of the more talkative ones he’d done.

Currently, the promotion teams from both Star Culture and Leaf Media—yes, Leaf Media finally had a proper promotion team after Su Xuan got the AF endorsement fee!—were eager to maximize the drama’s buzz.

Their plan: Su Xuan and Shen Chao should do their first livestream together, on a legitimate platform.

Options included joint livestreams with major streaming apps like D-Station and Douhua, or dedicated livestreaming apps like Dou-Music and Quick Hands.

But since Shen Chao had explicitly told his team not to arrange livestreams for him, the decision of whether to do one and which platform to use rested with him.

With so many flashy options, Su Xuan was curious what Shen Chao would pick.

But when Liu Pangpang called to notify him about the livestream, Su Xuan could only respond with a “…”

Liu Pangpang’s voice was surreal and weary. “Su Xuan, Shen Chao says we’re livestreaming on DingTalk.”

Su Xuan: “…???? What?!”

Liu Pangpang, in an even more surreal tone: “And it’s at 7:30 in the morning…”

Su Xuan: “…”

DingTalk was a learning and work livestream software universally loathed by netizens. Every time people heard that dreaded [Ding~] notification sound in the morning, they felt as if a nail had been driven into their foreheads in terror.

The “Nine Outcasts” official account announced the news of Shen Chao and Su Xuan’s joint livestream with the title: [Tomorrow at 7:30 AM, Shen Chao and Su Xuan Discuss the Way of the Sword with Fans on DingTalk!]

Most comments below were [???] and […], followed by bewildered fans saying:

[…What?!? I thought I misread it! 7:30 AM?!? DingTalk?!]

[…Are Teacher Shen and Teacher Su trying to teach us young folks who never wake up early a lesson?]

[…I glanced at it and thought my teacher was calling me to class…]

[…Which little genius came up with using DingTalk at 7:30 AM for a livestream? Step forward, I’ll give you a lesson.]

The official account replied to this: [It was Shen Chao…]

Then that person replied to the official account: […Shen Chao? Oh, never mind. Teacher Shen, I’ll set my alarm right now and won’t be a minute late for class!]

[Teacher Shen’s morning class] even trended on the hot search.

Netizens were laughing and crying as they discussed it. Many said they might have to wake up early for the first time since summer break just to catch the livestream.

Despite Shen Chao’s bizarre choice of software and time, netizens were surprisingly on board, declaring they’d never been so excited to open DingTalk and wake up early. If online teachers looked like Shen Chao, they’d be willing to stay on DingTalk forever.

Su Xuan arrived at Shen Chao’s place at five in the morning. They had a flight at eleven-plus, which was why the livestream was scheduled for 7:30.

Tonight they had to fly out for a popular televised game show called “Online and Offline.”

Originally planned for next week, but one of the guests had to adjust their schedule. Since Shen Chao had just wrapped up and “Nine Outcasts” was hot, “Online and Offline” moved them to this week.

So much for Shen Chao’s rare time off.

The livestream was held in a Star Culture studio. Su Xuan arrived before Shen Chao, coming early to prepare and let Shen Chao rest a bit longer.

Wang Shou was already in the livestream room. Seeing Su Xuan, he nodded and said, “Shen Chao should be about ten minutes. Sorry for the wait, Teacher Su.”

Su Xuan quickly waved his hand. “No problem. Shen Chao is much busier than me. He can take his time; I can wait.”

Wang Shou looked at Su Xuan and said sincerely, “Thanks for understanding.”

Shen Chao’s workload was intense. During “Nine Outcasts,” he worked day and night. Later, with interviews, ads, and endorsements, Su Xuan had followed him for a while and couldn’t keep up—it was terrifying!

Shen Chao’s schedule gave Su Xuan trypophobia.

But Shen Chao pushed through—wrapping up late, then flying out for variety shows. An ordinary person couldn’t handle it, especially since Shen Chao had just recovered from an injury. Though mostly healed, he quickly got back into shape, working efficiently with high quality.

Watching him, Su Xuan realized the scariest thing was someone better-looking and more talented than you working a hundred times harder, and you still couldn’t catch up.

Su Xuan had always been curious. Okay, Shen Chao treated the entertainment industry as a serious business—no need to push himself so hard. Su Xuan wondered how Shen Chao kept going. When things got tough, Su Xuan would slack off and comfort himself with his savings.

But Shen Chao always calmly pushed forward, never seeming to slack or tire.

After entering the preparation room, Su Xuan started helping organize the script. As Wang Shou passed by, Su Xuan tried to sound casual. “How’s his injury recovery going?”

Wang Shou said, “Decent. The doctor said even though Shen Chao’s reckless, his recovery is okay.”

Su Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, he heard commotion in the livestream room. He looked up toward the entrance.

Shen Chao walked in, wearing a mask, a black hoodie, and a beanie. He was greeting the staff at the door. There were dark circles under his eyes, but his eyes were bright. His expression was light.

As Su Xuan watched, Shen Chao seemed to sense something and looked up, meeting Su Xuan’s gaze directly.

Su Xuan panicked slightly and turned away, clutching his chest—Why did he feel that after not seeing Shen Chao for a while, the way Shen Chao looked at him made his hair stand on end? One glance and he felt like Shen Chao would carry him off…

Su Xuan blushed for no reason. He patted his face to sober up and sternly told himself—Okay, Su Xuan, stop reading so much fanfiction! Stop daydreaming! Even if you keep thinking, it’s just wishful thinking!

Shen Chao stared intently at Su Xuan for a moment, then lowered his eyes and took off his mask to talk to the staff about logistics. “The theme of this livestream is Q&A about ‘Nine Outcasts’ with me and Su Xuan, right?”

The staff member looked troubled. “Yes, but Boss Shen, there’s a bit of a problem with the software you chose. Participants need to be verified with real names to join, which is a bit…”

DingTalk was an online course software. Users had to register with real names, then join a group after the group number was released, and the livestream would start through the group. It was very troublesome.

Although Star Culture had already contacted DingTalk to temporarily expand the group capacity to tens of millions, such a complicated viewing method would probably deter a large number of users.

The real-name requirement would limit many netizens’ desire to comment—they couldn’t just curse freely—and DingTalk’s real-name system was quite strict.

Shen Chao asked flatly, “What about real names?”

The staff hesitated. “We’ve already announced it, but we can’t guarantee how many will come. Real names might make netizens uncomfortable expressing themselves… they might be a bit scared…”

Shen Chao looked at him. “If they’re scared to speak under their real names, then don’t speak.”

The staff was taken aback. Shen Chao tilted his head slightly toward Su Xuan, his eyes holding a quiet intensity. “Su Xuan and I are showing up as ourselves. I hope the audience will communicate with us face-to-face as themselves as well.”

The staff wanted to argue. “But… many people are just here to watch the drama—to start fights and spew sarcasm. With real names, those people won’t dare come, and we lose that promotional traffic.”

Many livestream platforms didn’t require real names, leading to severe trolling. Especially when celebrities livestreamed, moderators couldn’t block them all, and the insults were harsh. But in return, fans fought back fiercely, and such drama generated heat and traffic—what promotions needed.

But Shen Chao never needed that kind of promotion. He never livestreamed.

Shen Chao glanced at the staff. “Do you think Su Xuan and I need that kind of traffic?”

The staff smiled awkwardly. “…Maybe not, but Boss Shen, you’ve never cared about these things before in your previous promotions…”

From his debut until now, Shen Chao had been criticized endlessly.

Every controversy involving Shen Chao turned into a massive war of words. And Shen Chao himself disliked fans overreacting to defend him. He would directly post on Weibo, [I’ll handle my own matters. No one else needs to speak for me.], and ask his company to restrain fans from getting involved.

In the staff’s memory, Shen Chao didn’t care about such things. So now, the staff was a bit confused and asked, “Boss Shen, are you not used to the online battles in livestream promotions?”

“No. I’m used to being insulted face-to-face. But I don’t want Su Xuan to get used to it. He doesn’t need to get used to it.” Shen Chao’s eyes lowered as he looked at the staff, giving a penetrating feeling. “If someone really comes to insult him, at least that person should leave their name.”

Then he walked toward Su Xuan, leaving the staff with goosebumps. Only after Wang Shou urged him a couple of times did he move. Somewhat dazed, he watched Shen Chao standing side by side with Su Xuan.

Su Xuan was looking up at Shen Chao, smiling and chatting nonstop. Shen Chao listened quietly, focused, occasionally humming in acknowledgment.

Shen Chao stood at a moderate distance from Su Xuan, hands in his pockets. The studio lights fell on him from above, casting a shadow that completely enveloped Su Xuan. Though not close, there was an inexplicable intimacy that others couldn’t breach. From the staff’s angle, Shen Chao’s eyes seemed to shine, but that light was merely Su Xuan’s reflection in his gaze.

This posture—years of gossip intuition in the industry told him something was off!

On a whim, the staffer took out his phone and snapped a picture, then showed it to a colleague, gossiping, “…Look, don’t you think Boss Shen’s gaze towards Su Xuan means something?”

The colleague laughed and cut him off. “Hey, you’re in the industry, and you’re shipping them? You work for our company, don’t you know they’re just promoting? They’ve always had a good relationship. You’re overthinking.”

The staffer scratched his head, feeling he might be overthinking. “Right. Today they’re just here for a joint livestream promotion. I was overthinking.”

To enter the livestream, one had to first join the group created by the “Nine Outcasts” official account on DingTalk. Many early-rising netizens were complaining:

[This feels like signing up for a university course. Damn, I even need to verify which school I’m from! Look down on office workers? Office workers don’t deserve to be fans?!]

[…And there’s a participant cap! Thank God I got up early to pee, or I wouldn’t have a seat!]

[When I got up and faced DingTalk, my mom excitedly heated me a glass of milk, saying I’d finally woken up early to study after a month…]

[…I entered the wrong class and listened to half a calculus lecture. They even called on me to answer a question…]

[I also entered the wrong class… As soon as I entered, I excitedly said, ‘The Emperor’s beloved has arrived!’ Then I was called on to hand in homework. I said I was in the wrong class, and he asked if I wanted to attend the history class instead…]

[I got lost too! They wouldn’t let me leave until class ended. I listened to a whole lecture on Mendel’s laws, and now my head is full of ‘mating’…]

[It’s way too easy to wander into the wrong class…]

[I see now—this is the Emperor’s scheme! He’s tricking us idle fans into studying under the guise of a livestream!!]

Su Xuan looked down at the fans’ discussions in the group chat and found them hilarious. At first, he couldn’t figure out how to use the software either. He accidentally created his own group and started a livestream, wondering if he should do a test broadcast.

Then a bunch of people stared at him blankly for ages before a confused voice asked, [Teacher, no class today?]

Su Xuan thought kids nowadays were really something—they didn’t even check who was streaming before joining. Clearly, they’d been attending online classes completely mindlessly during summer break.

It was totally different from how Shen Chao studied.

When Shen Chao was filming “The Courtyard,” he would seize every moment to study. Su Xuan thought Shen Chao must be the kind of student teachers love.

For newbie livestreamers like Su Xuan and Shen Chao, the company provided a relatively safe script. Su Xuan’s script included simple fan interactions and answering questions about fun behind-the-scenes stories from the set.

The interactive and promotional part between him and Shen Chao focused on those behind-the-scenes anecdotes.

This was their first time livestreaming—it wasn’t an exaggeration to say all eyes were on them. When Su Xuan checked the Xuan Chao couple super topic yesterday, it was like a national celebration. Every post said something like [It’s New Year! Tomorrow at 7:30 AM, my dad and mom are getting married!]

Then when he checked at five in the morning, he found many CP fans had stayed up all night waiting. A meme of a brain talking to its owner was flooding the feed.

Like this:

[12:30 AM

Me: I need to sleep.

My brain: Are you really going to sleep?

Me: I’m already asleep.

My brain: Tomorrow at 7:30 AM, Shen Chao and Su Xuan Discuss the Way of the Sword with Fans on DingTalk!

Me: (Eyes wide open) Discuss the Way of the Sword (♂)!!!]

And this:

[1:00 AM

Me: Sleep, sleep. It’s just two men standing together livestreaming. Nothing to get excited about.

3:00 AM

Me: (Blushing, breathing oxygen.JPG) They’re standing together! They’re standing together!!!]

And this:

[Me before, opening DingTalk: Please crash today!!

Me this morning, opening DingTalk: If you crash today, I’ll kill you with ‘Reeds’!!!]

And this comment:

[This morning, our Chinese teacher asked in confusion, ‘No online class today. Why did the whole class check in before 7:30?’]

[Right now I’m frantically praying DingTalk doesn’t crash, doesn’t end up like Huaniang (Douhua APP) which got taken down due to excessive downloads. So I’m giving DingTalk five-star reviews like crazy…]

Su Xuan was laughing so hard he was in tears.

At exactly 7:30, Su Xuan and Shen Chao faced the camera and started the livestream. The barrage flooded in so fast Su Xuan couldn’t keep up.

Following the script, he waved first. “Hello everyone, I’m Su Xuan, the actor playing Rouge Young Master in ‘Nine Outcasts.’ Nice to meet you all.”

Shen Chao simply nodded. “Shen Chao.”

Su Xuan continued with a smile. “You can ask us anything today. Whoa, you’re scrolling too fast—my eyes can’t keep up. Okay, let me see. This question from viewer [Liu Yan]—I’m picking randomly—she asks, ‘What’s it like acting with Shen Chao?'”

Su Xuan thought for a moment, grinning. “What’s it like? Let’s just say it’s a joy you can’t imagine, haha.”

Barrage:

[Teacher Su, I don’t lack data. Elaborate on exactly how Shen Chao makes you happy!]

[But still (lemon.jpg)]

[Is it trendy now to lure dogs in with real names and then slaughter them?]

[Teacher Su, if I die one day, it’ll be from you and Shen Chao flaunting your love!]

[Show some love for single animals, reduce ‘chosen couple’ screen time.]

Su Xuan turned his phone toward Shen Chao. “Your turn to pick a question.”

Shen Chao said directly, “You pick for me.”

The barrage all went: Eww—!

[Alright, alright. We get it. Shen Chao doesn’t have hands; Su Xuan has to pick questions for him.]

[Isn’t this dog-killing frequency a bit high?]

[Did I wake up early just to watch you two show off love?! Yes! Please, go hard!]

[I’m watching the ‘chosen couple’ interaction, twisting in bed like a maggot, smiling at my phone.]

[Same here! Sister, do you have a camera in my house?]

[Me too.]

[Same—Damn, all four of us are! Are we the legendary Four Maggot Brothers?!]

[Four Maggot Brothers kills me!]

Su Xuan had spent months with Shen Chao. Except for the later period when Shen Chao inexplicably grew distant, they’d been quite harmonious earlier. With Shen Chao’s suggestion, Su Xuan really started picking questions. Pretending to be calm, he leaned in. “Random pick. I’ll screenshot and Shen Chao can choose one.”

A staff member helped take a screenshot on a tablet and handed it over. Shen Chao glanced at it and said, “The most unforgettable moment during filming?”

His breathing softened, and he lowered his eyelids slowly. “When Su Xuan wrapped up.”

Su Xuan was stunned. He turned to Shen Chao, pointing at himself excitedly. “When I wrapped up?!”

Afraid his tone and expression were too obvious, he quickly added a teasing remark. “When we took the group photo, you didn’t react at all. I thought you were sick of me and couldn’t wait for me to leave.”

Shen Chao said, “No. I really didn’t want you to go.”

His look and expression were as plain as a glass of water—hard to read. There might have been a hint of unspoken emotion, but when Su Xuan drank it in, he felt like his crown chakra had been blown wide open!

Su Xuan couldn’t suppress his smile. He lowered his head to hide it, clearing his throat theatrically. “Hey, straight guys, see this? Even when a handsome guy like Shen Chao says he doesn’t want you to leave with a poker face, it still makes my heart race. Straight guys, did you pick up any tips?”

The barrage all shouted [This move takes nerve][Can’t learn], plus one that said [Is this really for straight guys?? Isn’t Shen Chao using it to flirt with you!!]

Su Xuan pretended not to see it. “Let’s go again. Come on, what else do you want to know? Don’t miss this chance. It’s rare for your Shen Chao to stream—next time might not be with me. Without me, he wouldn’t open up so easily!”

Shen Chao frowned at Su Xuan. “Why not next time with you?”

Taken aback, Su Xuan answered honestly, “Our work schedules haven’t arranged for a next time yet.”

Shen Chao’s brow relaxed. “Next time I stream, I want it to be with you. Is that okay?”

Su Xuan: “…”

Su Xuan: “!!!!!”

His face flushed. “I’m okay with that!!!”

The barrage went wild:

[How dare you say ‘I’m okay’ to my man right in front of me?! Who gave you the guts?! Liang Jingru?!]

[Su Xuan!! Here’s five cents!! Say that ‘I’m okay’ again!!]

[Domineering Boss Shen!—Man, who dared let you stream with someone else? Am I invisible?!]

[As expected, with you and Su Xuan, there’s always a first time and then countless times! I see through you, Shen Chao!]

Su Xuan and Shen Chao were clearly in the middle of their promotional phase. Everyone enjoyed this kind of interaction, and Shen Chao’s attitude toward Su Xuan showed they got along privately. No one was nitpicking their interactions.

Maybe there were some, but others scrolled too fast for Su Xuan to see.

Su Xuan looked at the barrage on his phone. “Let me take a screenshot.”

A question took up half the screen, making Su Xuan pause.

[I hope both Teacher Shen and Teacher Su can answer!! Four years ago, you were both at Leaf Media and had a great relationship. Then Teacher Shen left Leaf. What was Teacher Su’s mood at that time? Did he miss him?]

Su Xuan’s expression dimmed slightly. “Mood?”

Wang Shou’s heart skipped when he saw the question on the big screen. He was about to rush in and cut the feed, but Su Xuan answered quickly. “At that time, Shen Chao and I weren’t on good terms. We were in a cold war.”

The room fell silent.

Wang Shou couldn’t help but curse and signaled to cut the feed, but Su Xuan’s next words were already out. “We were arguing back then, so we didn’t contact each other afterward. We only reconnected recently when ‘The Courtyard’ was released.”

All the staff stared dumbfounded as Su Xuan calmly dropped a nuclear bomb.

The barrage immediately turned hostile. Wang Shou gestured for Shen Chao to take the lead and stop the livestream. But Shen Chao glanced at him and made a ‘no need’ gesture, then said flatly into the camera, “That’s right.”

His fingers on his knee tightened. Shen Chao lowered his eyes. “It was my fault. I upset Su Xuan, and he was angry with me.”

Su Xuan kept his head down, saying nothing—Yes, he had been angry at Shen Chao back then.

Angry that Shen Chao left without saying goodbye. Angry that Shen Chao left without ever discussing it with him. Angry at himself for being so unreasonable. Angry that Shen Chao wanted to take him away but didn’t actually like him.

These pent-up frustrations weighed on Su Xuan’s chest, choking him. They made him hate Shen Chao for a while and despise himself for a long time. He didn’t want to think about Shen Chao at all. After that separation four years ago, Su Xuan never tried to reach out to Shen Chao.

If not for the re-release of “The Courtyard,” he might never have had any contact with Shen Chao again.

Unable to bear it any longer, Wang Shou had the staff promote “Nine Outcasts” for a moment, then cut the livestream. He turned to Shen Chao and Su Xuan, hissing in a low voice, “What the hell were you two doing?! Is this something you can say publicly?!”

Shen Chao’s expression was cold. “Why not?”

Wang Shou was so furious he nearly choked.

Su Xuan was a bit dazed. He sighed with mixed feelings and said, “Manager Wang, I think it’s better to lay it out openly than let them keep guessing. I don’t think we need to fabricate a consistently good relationship. There are too many holes.”

Ever since their CP blew up, media outlets, fans, and gossipers had been digging into Shen Chao and Su Xuan’s private relationship.

But the fact was that Shen Chao and Su Xuan hadn’t been in contact for four years—they couldn’t just warm up that frozen relationship overnight because they had to promote together. So no one found any private interactions, and the CP was constantly mocked as fake, just pure fanservice.

Now that Su Xuan had said this, it actually confirmed that they were just a promotional CP.

Wang Shou took a deep breath and explained logically to Su Xuan. “But you two are promoting right now, understand? Promoting requires you to look like you have a good relationship, ideally like it’s genuine!”

Su Xuan looked up seriously and answered, “It is genuine, Manager Wang. From four years ago until now, my feelings for Shen Chao have been genuine.”

“But,” Su Xuan paused, “Even with someone you truly care about, you can argue over differing views and all sorts of things. I truly cared about Shen Chao back then too, but I was also truly angry.”

Shen Chao nodded calmly. “Mm. I was very angry too.”

Su Xuan: “…” Right, Shen Chao was very angry then too—he even fought with Fu Mu.

Su Xuan guiltily averted his eyes and continued. “Here’s my thinking, Manager Wang. I don’t think people with a mediocre relationship would fight and sulk for three years without contact…”

Su Xuan stopped there.

The more you care, the harder it is to reconcile. The fiercer the fight, the more it proves you can’t let go. The longer you stay apart, the more it shows you love too humbly to speak.

If he hadn’t loved him that much, why would Su Xuan have fought to the point of hating himself? Why would Shen Chao have been in so much pain that he couldn’t even look at a poster of Su Xuan for four years? The more intense the feelings, the more they hurt. When you meet the love of your life too early, you fumble and don’t know what to do.

It was like a teenager sneaking a sip of strong, bitter liquor. The burning pain of hurting the one you love and hurting yourself came too early, leaving you at a loss, until finally you could only let go.

“If it were just a casual relationship…” Su Xuan chuckled softly, head down, eyes seeming a little moist. “Someone with Shen Chao’s personality would never have fought with me. He wouldn’t even spare me a glance if we passed by.”

Wang Shou was startled. His eyes flickered between the silent Shen Chao and Su Xuan. He let out a long breath, crossed his arms, paced a few times, and finally said, “I get what you mean. I’ll arrange the follow-up work and marketing direction. You two get on the plane first. This ‘your relationship isn’t good’ topic must have blown up by now. ‘Online and Offline’ might change their script because of it. Both of you need to prepare mentally.”

“But after this, you two are likely to be tied together.” Wang Shou rubbed his temples. “The RIO level of your CP is about to rise again. Probably no one will call you a fake promotional CP from now on.”

After Wang Shou left, Su Xuan sneaked a glance at Shen Chao. His two hands were twisting together. He said very quietly, “Were you really that angry about that back then?”

Shen Chao glanced at him. “Still am.”

Su Xuan: “…”

This Shen Chao guy, your temper is way too big. It’s been three years! I’m not even angry anymore!

Su Xuan racked his brains, trying to soothe Shen Chao’s anger. “…Don’t be mad. Nothing to be mad about. Arguing with you over Fu Mu was my fault. It was all my fault…”

Shen Chao looked at Su Xuan coldly, his tone sharper than ever. “Was Fu Mu not at fault?”

Su Xuan faltered but quickly adapted. “…He was at fault too. I was at fault too…”

Shen Chao said lightly, “What fault did you have?”

Su Xuan was dumbfounded. He probed cautiously, “…Then I have no fault?”

Shen Chao hummed in agreement. Su Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, eyes sparkling. “Then you’re not mad at me anymore?”

Shen Chao said curtly, “I am mad.”

Su Xuan: “…”

After that, Shen Chao didn’t speak to Su Xuan again until they boarded the plane.

Su Xuan sat confused and lost in first class, in the row ahead of Shen Chao. He kept turning his head to look back at Shen Chao, who had his eyes closed, resting.

Su Xuan’s heart felt like it was being clawed. Part of him wanted to start a conversation, but he didn’t want to disturb Shen Chao’s rest. Finally, after staring for a long time, he just couldn’t bear to keep Shen Chao from sleeping.

He sighed melancholically, turned back, propped his chin on his hand, and sighed again—Men’s hearts were so complicated.

As another man, Su Xuan lamented this pensively.

But the moment Su Xuan turned back, Shen Chao, who had just had his eyes closed, opened them. He stared darkly at the back of Su Xuan’s head, his fingers on the armrest twitching involuntarily. He took a deep breath, leaned forward, and was about to reach out to touch Su Xuan’s head. He opened his mouth, just about to say something, when the staff member sitting next to Su Xuan started chatting and laughing.

The staffer’s voice was suggestive and low; he even nudged Su Xuan with his shoulder. “Brother Su, I heard AF hired seventeen male models for your commercial, including two Supers level. I saw my man Oliwen in it—handsome, right?”

Su Xuan sounded a bit shy but still honest. “Oliwen is very handsome.”

Shen Chao expressionlessly withdrew his hand.

The staffer was clearly excited. “I saw him grabbing your neck in the commercial. Was that scripted or something?”

Su Xuan shook his head. “No, Oliwen was really nervous. He kept apologizing afterward, took me out to eat at a local restaurant, and bought me tons of souvenirs to make it up. He’s a really nice guy.”

Shen Chao’s hand was on the armrest, slowly tightening until it creaked. His expression turned cold and menacing.

The staffer lowered his voice and “wowed.” “Sounds like a date. Oliwen’s orientation is male. I saw your photo on his Instagram—he called you ‘cute.’ Brother Su! Did he ask you out?!”

Shen Chao stared intently at the back of Su Xuan’s seat, his breathing slowing, his foot unconsciously stretching forward—a gesture of trying to invade the other’s territory.

Su Xuan sounded very flustered. “…Ah, he did, but I didn’t say yes.”

In fact, quite a few models had asked Su Xuan out.

These models were pretty open-minded. Something would strike them, and they’d say, ‘You have a beautiful smile,’ ‘You look so cute in that outfit,’ ‘You eat so adorably,’ and then came, ‘Hey, can we have a pleasant night?’

They all seemed to find a small Asian like Su Xuan cute in everything he did. Especially since Su Xuan had a great work attitude and looked pretty in the ads. He was also very talkative, even if his English grammar was full of mistakes—the models found that endearing.

At first, Su Xuan was really scared, but later he realized some were just joking.

Some genuinely meant it, but they were casual about it. When Su Xuan refused, they just said, “What a pity,” and let it go.

Oliwen was more serious. He said Su Xuan was a nice guy and felt like he wanted to develop a relationship.

Su Xuan said he already liked someone and politely declined.

The staffer slapped the seat in frustration. “…Ah? Are you straight, Brother Su? Even if you’re straight, you could try with Oliwen! No loss! He treats his partners well. His ex-boyfriend is now a top supermodel—Oliwen helped him a lot. Too bad the ex was a jerk, totally didn’t deserve Oliwen.”

Su Xuan joked, “If I agreed because of what you said, I’d be a jerk too. I wouldn’t deserve Oliwen either.”

The staffer was just gossiping and laughed it off. “True.”

When they got off the plane, Su Xuan noticed that Shen Chao had slept the whole way but had become even colder. Sitting in the car to the show venue, Su Xuan couldn’t help leaning closer and asking, “Are you still mad at me?”

Shen Chao: “No.”

Su Xuan pressed, “Then what is it…?”

Shen Chao said calmly, “I’m mad at Oliwen.”

Su Xuan: “??????????”

Cautiously, Su Xuan asked, “Why are you mad at Oliwen…? What did he do wrong?”

Shen Chao looked directly at Su Xuan, a suppressed chill in his voice. “What he did wrong—does it have anything to do with you?”

“Are you going to argue with me over him again?” Shen Chao’s final words carried a hint of murderous intent, his gaze piercing through Su Xuan.

Su Xuan: “…”

Under that stare, Su Xuan barely dared to breathe. With strong survival instincts, he said, “No, no. No, no. Go ahead and be mad at him. I absolutely won’t speak up for him!”

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