Chapter 42
Mu Jingshan: “Hah! You don’t understand!”
“Don’t understand, fine. Jiang Yucheng will be back soon,” Chi Jing noted the time on his phone.
Jiang Yucheng had no night scenes today. He had informed him about his end-of-work time two hours earlier and had specifically asked what he wanted to eat.
Mu Jingshan suddenly felt like a dog, surrounded by dog food everywhere.
He was about to say that he would leave soon when the sound of a room key card being swiped came from outside the suite door.
He was startled: “Did you give him the room key card?”
“Yes,” Chi Jing replied nonchalantly. “Can’t I?”
Mu Jingshan was puzzled: “You guys are moving this fast?”
Chi Jing: “We’re adults. Are you just holding hands in a relationship?”
“…” Mu Jingshan, who had been in two relationships and only ever held hands, felt reluctant to speak.
Footsteps approached in the suite’s living room, and the next second, Jiang Yucheng’s voice was heard.
“Is something up?”
The tone was flat, and it didn’t sound like he was talking to Chi Jing.
The only other person present, Mu Jingshan, instantly realized the question was directed at him.
“I came to talk to Chi Jing about the trending topic.”
Upon hearing that it was about the trending topic, Jiang Yucheng didn’t even raise an eyebrow. He simply said, “The PR department will handle it. I’ll divert all the public opinion.”
Chi Jing curiously asked, “Where will you divert it?”
“Just onto me,” Jiang Yucheng said, walking to the bedside and gently pressing his fingers against the back of Chi Jing’s neck. “Just woke up?”
“No, I’m waiting for you to eat.” he sniffed. “What did you bring back?”
“Nothing. We’ll go out to eat,” Jiang Yucheng said, walking to the wardrobe and taking out a hat and sunglasses. “Shall we go?”
Chi Jing thought for a second and then nodded decisively, “Let’s go!”
Mu Jingshan, left feeling like he was completely ignored:…
Having been in the entertainment industry for years, Jiang Yucheng’s skills at avoiding paparazzi were hundreds of times better than Chi Jing’s.
The night replaced the dusk, shrouding the bustling film town.
Chi Jing was wearing sunglasses and a hat, which were common disguises in the film city and didn’t attract much attention.
Jiang Yucheng didn’t drive but walked with him along the sidewalk.
Summer nights lost much of their daytime heat, but the evening breeze still carried a bit of warmth, making people’s moods naturally relax.
The air was filled with the scents from various food stalls, a sight not seen in the central Haishi City.
Chi Jing originally walked beside him, but gradually his pace slowed, and his attention was completely glued to the street food stalls.
Jiang Yucheng sighed inwardly but still said, “You can only have a little.”
Chi Jing immediately turned and went to his favorite snack stall: “Boss, three different flavors!”
Jiang Yucheng: …
By the time they reached the restaurant Jiang Yucheng wanted to take him to, Chi Jing had already eaten quite a bit.
He took the menu, chose two dishes he was interested in, and then returned the menu to Jiang Yucheng. “You order. I can’t eat too much.”
The restaurant still had handwritten menus, and the owner’s wife stood by with a pen. Jiang Yucheng glanced at the menu and said, “Ginger stir-fried chicken, garlic clams, and a serving of pigeon soup.”
The names were simple, unlike the flowery names in Haishi City.
Seeing his familiar ordering, Chi Jing asked, “You come here often?”
Jiang Yucheng: “Yes. The film crew liked to dine here during shoots.”
It seemed this place was really good, as even Jiang Yucheng remembered it.
As it turned out, Chi Jing’s guess was correct. By the time the dishes arrived, Chi Jing, who had already eaten quite a bit, ended up feeling completely stuffed.
On the way back, he was half-draped over Jiang Yucheng, too full to want to walk.
Jiang Yucheng held him with one arm to keep him from falling and used the other hand to open a food delivery app on his phone.
“So full,” Chi Jing said with a frown. Noticing Jiang Yucheng opening the app, he wondered if he was ordering more food.
“What are you buying?”
“Digestive tablets,” Jiang Yucheng put away his phone.
Suddenly, his expression tightened, and he turned to look across the street.
Chi Jing followed his gaze, seeing a man in black clothes with a mask and hat, almost blending into the night, holding a black camera.
“Who’s that?”
“A paparazzi.”
“Oh.” Chi Jing lowered his sunglasses. “Really dedicated, working late at night.”
Jiang Yucheng tilted his head, looking at him with a softened gaze, completely different from his earlier stern expression.
“Do you want to handle it?”
“Up to you,” Chi Jing yawned.
After eating some carbs, he started feeling drowsy.
Jiang Yucheng thought for a few seconds and then asked him in a low voice, “Are you worried about our relationship being exposed?”
Chi Jing looked at him as if he were an idiot: “Do you think I care?”
A succubus afraid of this? What a joke!
He couldn’t care less about public opinion, and Jiang Yucheng underestimated the succubus’s irresistible charm.
Even with all the negative press about him, when he appeared on camera, the first episode of the variety show hadn’t even aired yet, and thanks to a short live stream, his Weibo followers had rapidly increased.
His special topic was also established around that time, though he didn’t pay much attention to such matters.
Even now, with rumors and photos of him and Jiang Yucheng circulating online, except for a few obsessive fans of Jiang Yucheng, hardly anyone saw it as an issue for him. In fact, many people were defending him.
These people didn’t claim to be his fans but were essentially just regular people enchanted by his succubus allure.
Even if their relationship was confirmed today, he wouldn’t face much criticism. Public opinion would quickly shift in his favor.
Jiang Yucheng nodded: “Alright, I’m not afraid either.”
Chi Jing glanced at the paparazzi who had taken several photos and was preparing to leave. From Jiang Yucheng’s intention, it seemed like he wanted to use this opportunity to publicly confirm their relationship.
But what did that have to do with him, who only cared about eating and sleeping?
He draped himself over Jiang Yucheng again: “Let’s go back to the hotel. I’m tired.”
The next day, the sun was shining brightly.
Chi Jing woke up, freshened up, and ordered breakfast from the hotel.
While waiting for the breakfast to be delivered, he lay on the sofa in the living room, playing on his phone.
He browsed Weibo first, then checked a short video app, and finally news headlines.
Hmm?
He squinted, noticing that there were no mentions of him and Jiang Yucheng’s dinner last night on any of the apps.
No wonder Mu Jingshan hadn’t contacted him; it seemed nothing noteworthy had happened last night.
Disappointed at not seeing any drama, he closed his phone just as the doorbell rang, signaling that his breakfast had arrived.
When he opened the suite door, his smile for the breakfast disappeared instantly. His succubus instincts made him step back quickly, and as the blade’s cold gleam flashed towards him, he kicked the attacker away.
With a “thud,” a girl dressed entirely in black was thrown against the door of the opposite room.
Chi Jing’s expression turned cold. He stared at the malicious girl in front of him and said frostily, “Who are you?”
His kick had been quite forceful. If he hadn’t subconsciously held back, he could have seriously injured the girl.
In the ruthless world of the West Fantasy setting, if someone shows intent to kill you, you have to retaliate or end up dead yourself.
The girl curled up on the ground. Chi Jing looked down at her for a while, then decided to use human methods for dealing with such situations, dialing 110 and 120.
After reporting to the police, he crouched down to meet the girl’s gaze and asked again, “Who are you?”
This time, the girl finally reacted.
She picked up the dropped fruit knife and struggled to get up, lunging at him.
He grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the knife and twisted it backward.
The girl’s screams and the sound of the knife hitting the floor echoed simultaneously. He kicked the knife far away, making sure she couldn’t grab it again.
The police arrived swiftly at the hotel, quickly joined by hotel security and the service manager.
Seeing him holding the girl’s hand while a shiny fruit knife lay on the floor, the police had a general idea of what had happened.
However, following proper procedure, they still restrained both him and the girl.
“What’s going on?” the older police officer asked sternly.
Chi Jing shrugged: “I don’t know. She knocked on my door, and I thought it was the breakfast. But when I opened it, she charged at me with a knife.”
This changed the nature of the situation to a more serious one.
Fortunately, the hotel in the film city had high-definition surveillance cameras with audio recording.
After reviewing the footage, the girl was detained.
Chi Jing was standing at the police station’s entrance, about to call Mu Jingshan for a pickup when his phone was suddenly grabbed, and the screen turned off.
Chi Jing:?
He looked up, squinting against the morning sun, and saw Jiang Yucheng.
As expected, only he could approach him so silently.
Or rather, he only relaxed his guard around him.
“Aren’t you supposed to be with the crew?” Chi Jing put his phone back in his pocket and lazily leaned against him.
He was tired after sitting in the police station for the whole morning.
Jiang Yucheng’s gaze scanned him thoroughly. Only after confirming that he wasn’t injured did he respond with a soft “mm.”
“There will definitely be people saying you’re showing off and leaving early,” Chi Jing murmured.
After spending some time following the gossip on Weibo, he had a good understanding of the domestic entertainment industry’s nature.
Jiang Yucheng didn’t speak up. He didn’t care about such superficial matters.
No one knew that despite understanding Chi Jing’s succubus identity and abilities, he still broke out in a cold sweat upon learning that he was attacked by an extreme fan with a knife.
He didn’t even have time to fix his makeup, rushing silently to the police station.
Noticing the worry on Jiang Yucheng’s face, Chi Jing reassured him, “I’m fine. That person is being investigated inside.”
“Don’t settle,” Jiang Yucheng took a small step to the side, shielding him from the harsh sunlight. “Let her face legal consequences.”
“I’m not planning to settle,” Chi Jing said. A succubus with a bad temper wouldn’t have spared someone with murderous intent if it weren’t for human legal constraints.
Summer weather is always changeable. Gray clouds gradually covered the sunlight, making Jiang Yucheng’s profile appear blurred.
Chi Jing took the initiative to hold his hand.
“Let’s go, Jiang. I’ll take you back to the crew.”
A plastic bag was blown up by the wind, and the news of Chi Jing being attacked by Jiang Yucheng’s fan quickly spread across Weibo.