Pei Huaishe rubbed his eyes, somewhat surprised. “I haven’t even signed up yet. How am I already being invited?”
029 replied proudly:
【Host, fearing you might forget, this system has already sent your profile ahead to the production team.】
Pei Huaishe: …
Well, thanks a lot.
Pei Huaishe was currently riding a wave of massive popularity. Coupled with the fact that the production team had already confirmed Su Jin and Gu Yanchen would participate, adding Pei Huaishe to the mix would guarantee exploding ratings. There was no way the production team would let slip such a golden opportunity to go viral.
Therefore, the moment they saw the application submitted by Pei Huaishe, they wasted no time in contacting him.
Pei Huaishe called the staff member to confirm his participation, and the staff member eagerly urged him to come over the next day to sign the contract.
After hanging up the phone, Pei Huaishe felt dizzy and feverish. The fever-reducing pill had helped a little, but not much; checking his temperature, he was still running a low-grade fever. Feeling a bit hungry, Pei Huaishe got up to cook something simple for himself.
His culinary skills were abysmal. Even when completely healthy, the meals he made were barely edible.
In the past, either Gu Minghe cooked for him, or the household housekeeper arrived right on schedule to prepare meals; now, he had to manage everything entirely on his own.
With little appetite while sick, Pei Huaishe decided to just boil a pot of plain white porridge.
Clumsily taking out an earthenware pot, he turned on the stove to simmer the porridge. About half an hour later, the boiling hot porridge was ready, but as he poured it out, he accidentally scalded his fingers.
His five fair, delicate fingers instantly turned bright red from the heat. Rushing to rinse them under cold water, he clumsily bumped into a chair, scraping a large patch of his knee raw.
Crouching on the floor and hugging his legs, he pitifully blew on his fingers, unsure whether he should feel worse for his leg or his hand.
With heat welling up in his eyes, he blinked rapidly, his long, curled eyelashes trembling slightly as he wore a look on the verge of tears.
Wuwu, I miss my husband.
Pei Huaishe felt that once he left Gu Minghe, he was like a fish out of water or a cat without its owner, he would sooner or later starve or neglect himself to death.
The next day, keeping to the agreed time, Pei Huaishe arrived at Greenery Restaurant to sign the contract.
He was dressed in a pink-and-white cashmere sweater and light blue jeans. Fearing the cold, he had brought along an extra jacket. Because his illness hadn’t fully cleared, he conscientiously put on a face mask, leaving only a pair of alluring peach-blossom eyes exposed, his thick eyelashes fluttering up and down.
Even with only half his face visible, anyone could tell this was an exceptionally striking visage, making people yearn to pull down the mask and see just how breathtakingly stunning the face beneath truly was.
Seeing Pei Huaishe arrive, the staff member responsible for the contracts hurried up to greet him.
Having read many online reviews dismissing him as a vain, plastic-surgery-face internet celebrity full of drama who would look terrible offline, the staff member realized just how one-sided online judgments could be the moment she saw him in the flesh.
Pei Huaishe was tall, easily standing at one meter eighty-five. His build was exceptionally slender and lean, thin enough to look almost fragile, yet without giving an unappealing, sickly impression; instead, it struck a remarkably well-balanced proportion.
His skin was crystal-clear and snowy white, flushed with a natural pink hue underneath, resembling an exquisite porcelain doll.
His eyes were clear and bright, entirely devoid of any obsequious or fawning quality. Yet the subtle flush at the corners of his eyes hooked at people’s heartstrings. Being gazed at by such eyes for long would surely make anyone’s heart flutter wildly out of control.
My goodness, what an absolute beauty, Xiaoshu exclaimed inwardly. Who on earth called Pei Huaishe a plastic-surgery face? This is clearly 100% natural!
Furthermore, his voice on the short-video app didn’t use filters at all, did it? He looked exactly like his voice recordings and even more stunning than online!
“Sorry, I caught a cold. You don’t mind if I wear a mask, do you?” Pei Huaishe sat across from her, looking thoroughly apologetic.
Xiaoshu quickly waved her hands, grinning foolishly. “Not at all, not at all.”
Even his voice sounded so pleasant.
So gentle, so magnetic.
His personality seemed really nice, too.
Xiaoshu instantly developed a strong favorable impression of Pei Huaishe.
In her career as a casting director, she had encountered all sorts of people—signed artists and amateurs alike, some arrogant, some cold, others introverted or insecure. None of them had made her feel as comfortable in conversation as Pei Huaishe did.
Recalling the malicious online slander, Xiaoshu began to think that Pei Huaishe might not be like what the internet portrayed him at all.
After finishing the contract signing and sharing a casual meal together, seeing that the time was right, Pei Huaishe stood up to leave with Xiaoshu.
As they walked toward the parking area outside the restaurant, just as Pei Huaishe was about to get into a car, he spotted a familiar figure stepping out from the restaurant not far away.
Gu Minghe was dressed all in black with a low-key aesthetic, wearing a black face mask and a fisherman’s hat, wrapped up quite snugly.
Walking beside him was his manager, Cheng Chen, who was turning his head to speak to him about something.
Gu Minghe’s expression was stern and cold; when not smiling, his lowered brows gave him a fierce, intimidating aura.
Having not seen Gu Minghe for an entire month, seeing him abruptly right here caused Pei Huaishe’s heart to skip a beat.
His footsteps nailed him to the spot, completely immobilized.
Xiaoshu looked at him strangely. “What’s wrong?”
Just as she was about to trace his line of sight, Pei Huaishe quickly pulled back his gaze and subtly blocked Xiaoshu’s view. “Nothing, just suddenly caught sight of an acquaintance.”
“Well, do you want to go over and say hello?”
Say hello?
Pei Huaishe’s expression froze.
Could he do that?
In the capacity of an ex-partner?
Gu Minghe must utterly loathe him by now after being abandoned so abruptly without warning.
Yet Gu Minghe was also the one who doted on him the most. A whole month had passed; surely it was time to forgive him.
Hesitating and wavering, Pei Huaishe wondered whether he should go over and say hello.
His feet subconsciously drifted a step closer toward Gu Minghe’s direction.
Right at that moment, an exclamation rang out from nearby, followed immediately by the sound of a heavy object crashing onto the ground.
Yanked backward by Cheng Chen, Gu Minghe staggered. Right in front of him, a large flower vase that had plummeted from a high altitude smashed to pieces, sending dirt scattering across the pavement.
Cheng Chen’s face turned ashen with shock.
If they had been a step slower and that vase had struck Gu Minghe on the head, the consequences would have been completely unthinkable.
Still shaken with lingering fear, he said, “Minghe, maybe you should go visit a temple and pray for luck. I have a feeling your luck has taken a serious hit lately.”
First, a car accident occurred during a film shoot, forcing him to step down from the role to avoid delaying production. That was a massive blockbuster opportunity under a top-tier director, anticipated by countless people before filming even began, yet he couldn’t continue acting due to the accident, handing the benefit over to someone else.
Now, having finally recovered from his leg injury and returned to Lanshi, on his very first day back, he goes out for a meal with industry contacts and nearly gets crushed by a falling flower vase.
His luck was abysmal.
The entertainment industry placed great emphasis on fortune and metaphysics; Cheng Chen was already pondering when he might have time to visit a temple.
Glancing coldly at his manager, Gu Minghe pulled his face mask higher up and said in a muffled voice, “Let’s go. People are looking over.”
Attracted by the sudden commotion, nearby pedestrians began turning their gazes toward Gu Minghe. Fortunately, the evening light was dim, making details unclear, and Gu Minghe quickly slipped back into his car, avoiding recognition.
As the car slowly drove away, Pei Huaishe stood frozen in place, Cheng Chen’s words echoing repeatedly in his mind.
He had said Gu Minghe’s luck had taken a hit lately.
“029, was Gu Minghe’s accident because of me?” he mentally woke up the system.
029 confirmed his suspicion.
【It is best for the host not to get too close to Gu Minghe right now. If you stay too close to him, the world consciousness will detect Gu Minghe’s existence and bring disaster upon him. Maintain a certain distance from him; it’s better for both of you.】
Pei Huaishe fell silent, his expression instantly dropping.
Startled by the sound of the shattering vase earlier, Xiaoshu had been clutching her chest. Coming back to her senses and noticing Pei Huaishe still standing in a daze, she asked, “Mr. Pei, are you alright? That was so dangerous just now, it scared the wits out of me.”
Pei Huaishe offered a forced smile. “I’m fine, Ms. Xiaoshu. I’ll be heading off now.”
With that, he opened the car door and climbed in.
Yet the instant he turned around, his eyes turned red, and his aura radiated such profound fragility that it looked as though he had been bullied, wrenching at anyone’s heartstrings.
Watching him leave, Xiaoshu felt a lingering ache in her chest for reasons unknown.
The moment Pei Huaishe returned home, he locked himself in his bedroom. Still running a fever, his face flushed hot again. When 029 reminded him to take his medicine, Pei Huaishe stubbornly buried himself under the covers, refusing to take any pills out of sheer petulance.
Ever since returning from the restaurant, his mood had remained foul.
Refusing medicine and declining a doctor, he chose to lie in bed and tough it out, letting his fever run wild in a hazy, delirious state. For three straight days, he survived merely on sips of white porridge or snacks to fill his stomach, completely disregarding his health out of self-destructive spite and a desire to punish himself.
【Host, you cannot give up on yourself like this.】
Even 029 couldn’t stand watching any longer and tried to intervene.
Stubbornly blocking his ears, Pei Huaishe refused to listen.
Running a low-grade fever for three consecutive days hadn’t burned his brain, but it had thoroughly sapped his energy. Pale-faced and listless, the healthy flesh he had previously gained under Gu Minghe’s care had completely melted away, leaving him looking gaunt and hollow.
Staring blankly at the ceiling, he felt an unprecedented weight of depression pressing down on him.
At that moment, his phone by the bedside began to ring.
Someone was calling him.
Reaching out to press the answer button without even checking who was calling, Pei Huaishe rasped in a hoarse voice: “I don’t want insurance, I don’t need to upgrade my mobile plan, I won’t leave five-star reviews, and I don’t need lottery rewards.”
“Pei Huaishe.”
The moment that voice sounded from the other end of the line, Pei Huaishe clamped his mouth shut.
Gu Minghe, why on earth did he decide to contact him?
Feeling like a child caught doing something wrong, Pei Huaishe’s first instinct was to hang up the phone. Anticipating his move, however, Gu Minghe said in a deep, commanding tone: “Don’t hang up.”
Obediently pulling his hand back, Pei Huaishe kept his lips sealed, breathing softly into the receiver without a word.
Because of his illness, his breathing sounded heavy.
Gu Minghe asked him: “Are you sick?”
“No.” Pei Huaishe lied.
Gu Minghe wasn’t fooled in the slightest.
“Your voice is hoarse, your breathing sounds abnormal, and you say you’re not.” Gu Minghe paused for a moment. “Where are you staying? I’m coming over to see you.”
“No need, don’t come see me! I really am fine!” Terrified upon hearing that Gu Minghe wanted to visit, Pei Huaishe blurted out a refusal and slammed the phone down.
He had no intention of letting Gu Minghe run any risk of misfortune because of him.
After hanging up, fearing that Gu Minghe might call back, he simply turned his phone off.
There, Pei Huaishe thought, now Gu Minghe won’t be able to find me.
Lying back down in bed, his consciousness drifted into a heavy, feverish sleep once more. When he next woke up, he was jolted awake by a series of violent bangs on his front door.
“Pei Huaishe, open the door!”