Chapter 45
Mu Jingshan estimated the time when Chi Jing would see the post and called him precisely at that moment.
“Well, do you need to clarify anything?”
Chi Jing: “I checked Weibo. Since it hasn’t caused widespread discussion, there’s no need to clarify.”
Clarifying it now might even lead to accusations of self-promotion.
Chi Jing, who often followed entertainment gossip, had already grasped the tactics and trends in the entertainment industry quite well.
Mu Jingshan: “You’re right. Let’s not bother with it for now. If the issue escalates or we find a better time to address it, we can clarify then.”
Chi Jing: “Mm.”
After hanging up the phone, Chi Jing forwarded the post to Chi Yu for them to gossip over together.
It turns out, the two of them are indeed father and son, sharing a keen interest in gossip and rumors.
**[Chi Yu: They’re still talking about me!]**
**[Chi Jing: Dad, you should start thinking ahead about how to explain the situation between my brother and me.]**
In the human world, men naturally can’t have children, but Chi Yu, being an succubus, has a different physiology from ordinary people. Moreover, male childbirth is a rare talent among succubi. Chi Jing doesn’t have this talent, and he doesn’t particularly like soft, clingy children either.
**[Chi Yu: Your father specifically invested in scientific research on male pregnancy.]**
Chi Jing realized that his father had long considered everything and had quietly made many preparations for him to integrate into human society.
**[Chi Yu: By the way, Jing, you’re going to record a variety show tomorrow, right?]**
Chi Jing snapped out of his scattered thoughts.
**[Chi Jing: Mm.]**
**[Chi Yu: Great, see you tomorrow?]**
Chi Jing didn’t take Chi Yu’s words to heart, thinking that his father just wanted to send him to the airport in the morning.
He didn’t expect that during the program’s recording the next day, Chi Yu would not be in contact. Even when he sent him a message before boarding the plane, there was no reply.
“Strange.” At the boarding gate, he poked his father’s WeChat avatar and mumbled to himself, “Where is he?”
Jiang yucheng, who had rushed back from the film city in the middle of the night, walked over, holding a milk tea he bought at the airport.
The milk tea was naturally for Chi Jing, who naturally took the iced milk tea and drank two sips. Suddenly, he remembered the first time he recorded the program; Jiang yucheng also handed him an iced milk tea at the airport.
“Time to board,” Jiang yucheng glanced at his watch. “Let’s go.”
“Oh.”
The plane flew across the blue sky and finally landed in the scenic and culturally rich country X.
This recording session was the grand finale for the program. When Chi Jing first joined the variety show, several episodes of this season had already been recorded.
Since there was a whole month between the last recording and this one, most participants took the time to attend other events. By the time they gathered to record the variety show, most couldn’t make it to Hai City for the same flight and had to take different flights to the recording location.
Chi Jing and Jiang yucheng were the last to arrive. When Chi Jing saw the three others sitting in the car, he was a bit surprised.
“Weren’t we supposed to be the last ones?”
Staff member Qin Qiaohan then picked up a loudspeaker and announced a piece of news to the guests: “I’m sorry to inform you that Mr. An couldn’t participate in this finale recording due to a scheduling conflict.”
“And Mr. Gan Heyu couldn’t join either because his youngest daughter is nearing her due date.”
This meant that only five of them would be recording this time.
When Ou’er Bai saw Chi Jing, she immediately shouted happily for him to get in the car.
“How are you feeling? Are you better now?” She looked him over like a scanner and said enviously, “You haven’t gained or lost any weight. How do you maintain your figure so well? I’m really jealous.”
She had a tendency to gain weight, and to stay camera-ready, she deliberately reduces her food intake and sticked to a workout routine, just barely maintaining her current slim figure.
She was well aware that although people online criticize her for being too thin while maintaining a glamorous, mature persona, if she were to gain any weight, few would compliment her for being voluptuous. Instead, she would be bombarded with criticism for getting fat.
Lou Yiwen, puzzled, asked, “Didn’t they say online that you’re naturally thin?”
“Did they?” Ou’er Bai replied, “Maybe my agent is trying to create a new image for me.”
Lou Yiwen: “I thought you really couldn’t gain weight. I’m also prone to gaining weight, and my agent recently asked me to go on a diet. Eating salad makes me want to die.”
“Let’s not talk about it. It just makes me want to cry.”
“Sigh.”
Chi Jing: …
He really didn’t gain or lose weight easily, thanks to his succubus physique, which was basically like cheating. It was something humans would find hard to achieve.
Faced with Ou’er Bai’s inquiry, he could only give a vague explanation: “I don’t know either.”
Ou’er Bai: “Logically, people who don’t gain weight still lose some if they’re sick. But you haven’t changed at all after being so ill. Do you work out?”
Chi Jing thought back to his life last month: “Yes, I worked out.”
Bed exercise counts as exercise, right?
Ou’er Bai: “I see.”
Jiang yucheng quickly helped him change the subject: “Let’s get in the car first. Where should we put the luggage?”
This time, they returned to having a tour guide, and the selected guides were Ou’er Bai and Lou Yiwen.
The two, having set aside their previous differences, worked together to come up with a comprehensive travel plan, including car rentals, food, and detailed leisure activities, all of which were well arranged.
Lou Yiwen: “The car behind us is specifically for luggage.”
Jiang yucheng nodded to show he understood, then placed his luggage on the ground and first carried Chi Jing’s suitcase to the car behind them.
Chi Jing, meanwhile, simply pulled his hat down and got into the car, finding a seat.
Shen Yixing: “?”
He could tell that the relationship between Chi Jing and Jiang yucheng was not simple. After a month of no recording, the two seemed even closer, though he couldn’t tell what had happened.
He swallowed his words, not wanting to meet the same fate as An Boqing.
Others might not know, but he understood that An Boqing didn’t miss the finale recording due to scheduling conflicts but because Jiang yucheng had intervened.
Not just this variety show, but all of his other engagements were cut off, and his previous couple marketing efforts were all in vain.
Realizing this, Shen Yixing quietly shrank back.
Thankfully, his agent was quick to sense something wrong and swiftly severed all ties with An Boqing.
Shen Yixing knew why An Boqing ended up like this. The airport photo that had circulated on gossip accounts was released by him.
As the car drove through the city center, he couldn’t help but ask, “Where are we staying?”
Lou Yiwen: “I don’t know. The show didn’t let us book a hotel, just gave us a general location.”
Ou’er Bai continued from where she left off: “I checked, and it’s a suburban area, but three kilometers away is a bustling commercial district.”
The juxtaposition of “suburb” and “bustling commercial district” seemed contradictory, yet here they appeared together.
Chi Jing, half-asleep, fluttered his eyelashes, and Jiang yucheng covered his ears.
To the others who were chatting,
It felt like they had just been fed a plate of dog food.
The director, who had witnessed everything from behind the camera, was stunned for a moment, then nervously glanced at the camera before inexplicably becoming excited.
In this brief moment, Chi Jing woke up.
The first thing he saw was Jiang yucheng, and he mumbled, “Why are you so close? It’s a bit hot.”
Jiang yucheng, unfazed, smoothed out his bedhead and said, “We’re almost there.”
Chi Jing nodded, then turned to see the others staring at him, slowly raising a question mark.
“Why are you all looking at me?”
Lou Yiwen: “No reason, just suddenly feel full.”
Ou’er Bai: “Indeed, watching you two makes me lose weight.”
Shen Yixing: …
He wanted to laugh but didn’t dare, so he held it in until his face turned red.
Chi Jing: ?
The car slowly stopped in front of a sophisticated and grand iron gate, but the car door didn’t open.
He thought they had arrived and turned to open the door, when the driver said, “We’re not there yet.”
Lou Yiwen, who was also gathering her things, stopped and looked confused: “We’re not there yet?”
The electric iron gate slowly opened to both sides, revealing men in suits and sunglasses, looking like bodyguards, standing behind the gate, watching as the car drove into a vast estate.
“This is…”
“Oppenheimer Castle Manor!” Ou’er Bai, who had researched the area, immediately identified the estate, “Wasn’t this manor sold long ago? I heard the buyer was someone from our country.”
“So the production team arranged for us to film here? The director has connections.” Lou Yiwen didn’t expect their recording location to be Oppenheimer Manor.
Director: “If I had such connections, would I still be making this kind of variety show?”
Shen Yixing, once a topic of discussion: …
Other former gossip generators were much more composed, especially Chi Jing, who yawned and glanced at the manor. His first reaction was to quietly ask Jiang yucheng: “Is this yours?”
Jiang yucheng shook his head.
“Then is it my dad’s?”
Jiang yucheng nodded.
Understood, no wonder Chi Yu had mentioned seeing him today; it seems he would definitely show up.
“The rooms have been assigned; the owner of the manor personally picked them out for you.” Lu Tao, who emerged from behind the camera, handed a stack of cards to Jiang yucheng, who was closest, and added, “By the way, this episode is live-streamed.”
Lou Yiwen didn’t care much: “When does the live stream start?”
“An hour ago.”
Lou Yiwen: ?
She rubbed her ears and asked again, “When did the live stream start?”
Lu Tao, shrinking his neck in guilt, said, “When you got off the plane.”
Lou Yiwen and Ou’er Bai had arrived on the same flight, making them the earliest to arrive.
She stared blankly at Lu Tao, while Chi Jing, beside her, had already taken out his phone to find the program’s live stream.
This variety show was as lively as ever. When he opened the live stream, even his new phone lagged for a moment.
Then came a flood of bullet comments.
**[If Chi Jing and Jiang yucheng aren’t a thing, I’ll do a headstand while washing my hair!]**
**[If Chi Jing and Jiang yucheng aren’t a thing, I’ll do a headstand while eating poop!]**
**[If Chi Jing and Jiang yucheng aren’t a thing, I’ll do a headstand while gnawing on my boss!]**
**[If Chi Jing and Jiang yucheng aren’t a thing, I’ll do a headstand while confessing to my crush!]**
Chi Jing: …
No need to go that far!