“Then Mr. Chi is still better…”
As soon as Jing Shun was discharged and returned home, he received an enthusiastic welcome from Doggy.
“Awoo~ Woof!”
In just half a month, Doggy had grown quite a bit. It pawed at Jing Shun’s knees, begging to be held.
“Whimper, whimper, whimper~”
Jing Shun stroked Doggy’s head. “Baby, did you miss Daddy Jing? Hmm?”
Hearing his gentle tone, Doggy’s tail spun like a propeller, yet it deliberately acted pitiful, whining softly.
Yes!
Baby missed him!
Baby missed him the most!
“Oh, look at this dog. Acting all obedient now?”
Uncle Lin laughed as he exposed Doggy’s true nature. “Young Mr. Jing, while you were away, he was running wild all over the house. On the very first day, he even argued with Sir. Quite a bold little thing.”
Doggy drooped its ears.
That was a bad review. Baby wasn’t listening.
“He’s acting spoiled with me now.”
Jing Shun let Doggy burrow into his arms as he maneuvered his electric wheelchair toward the inner rooms. “Uncle Lin, is Chi… Is Mr. Chi still busy overseas?”
“What a coincidence.”
Uncle Lin pressed the elevator button for him. “Sir will be landing in Hai City tonight. He’ll be coming home as well.”
Jing Shun’s eyes brightened involuntarily at those words.
Noticing the change in his expression, Uncle Lin seemed to understand something. “Young Mr. Jing, why don’t you go upstairs and rest first? When Sir comes back later, you can have dinner together.”
Jing Shun pinched Doggy’s soft ears. “Mm.”
Doggy had only been taken out for a bath by Uncle Lin yesterday, so its fur was clean and smelled wonderful.
After Jing Shun struggled to lie down on the bed by himself, he didn’t bother with any restrictions. He simply let Doggy drag a toy slipper around, rolling and wriggling noisily at the foot of the bed.
He picked up his phone and opened Weibo for the first time in a long while.
Jing Shun had created his own Weibo account many years ago. When he was a child star, most of his publicity and promotional work had been handled by his mother, Xu Jia.
After turning eighteen, he had taken the account back from her and changed the linked phone number.
His follower count had remained just over one million. It hadn’t changed much in several years. His last Weibo post had been half a year ago, yet its reposts and comments had unexpectedly exceeded ten thousand.
It wasn’t for any other reason than the small wave of trending searches that had followed the accident on set.
As one of the people involved in the accident, Jing Shun had received plenty of sympathy from curious netizens. Of course, such attention couldn’t last more than a few days.
Jing Shun searched for and followed the official Weibo account of This! Is the Real Workplace!, then happened to scroll down to the official announcement introducing the full guest lineup.
All five observation-room guests, including Fu Changting, had already reposted the promotional post. Their respective fanbases were working hard to boost their idols’ statistics. By then, the total number of reposts had already exceeded one million.
“…”
Remembering the promotional copy Yu Xiuzhu had given him on WeChat that morning, Jing Shun casually reposted the post:
#This! Is the Real Workplace!# Hello, everyone. I’m actor Jing Shun. From today onward, come with me and witness the power of the real workplace!
Not long after the post was published, fans began flooding into the comments section.
— Aaaaaah, Baby! Long time no see!
— Jing Baby! I’ve already watched the preview! You look like you’ve lost so much weight! But you’re still so handsome! [Photo]
— Oh my, it’s been almost half a year. You finally showed up! [Crying] Baby, are you feeling better? Mommy missed you so much!
Because he had entered the entertainment industry as a child star, most of Jing Shun’s fans referred to themselves as “mom fans.” They usually called him things like “Baby” or “Jing Baby.”
Jing Shun was already used to it. He seriously replied to several concerned comments, though he didn’t reveal too much about his physical condition in case his fans worried.
However, some other voices soon appeared in the comments.
— Who is this guest? He looks a little familiar.
— Doesn’t seem very famous. Did the production team force him into the lineup?
— Didn’t there used to be news about an accident? Has he recovered and come back to work?
Jing Shun had been mentally prepared for this. Seeing the comments from unfamiliar netizens, he didn’t feel much of a reaction.
After all, he hadn’t had any major hit film or television projects since becoming an adult. Combined with the filming accident during his previous movie, he had been forced to disappear for eight or nine months. In the rapidly changing entertainment industry, being forgotten was only natural.
For Jing Shun, simply having the chance to appear in public again and earn appearance fees through this show, giving him money to prepare for whatever he might need in the future, was already enough.
He wasn’t anxious about his popularity or Weibo statistics. After turning off his phone, he lay down to rest.
Doggy carried its little toy over and quietly curled up beside his hand, snuggling against him as they slept together.
…
When Jing Shun woke up again, the sky was already beginning to darken. Unwilling to stay cooped up in his room, he took Doggy downstairs.
The servants were still busy in the kitchen. Hearing the noise, Uncle Lin leaned out. “Young Mr. Jing, you’re awake. Would you like something to drink?”
Jing Shun glanced toward the third floor. “Haven’t they come back yet?”
Uncle Lin replied, “I just received a call from Yi Ming. They’re almost home. Young Mr. Jing, why don’t you eat something first?”
“No need.” Jing Shun casually came up with an excuse. “I’ll take the little dog outside to use the bathroom.”
“All right.”
There was a large stretch of lawn beside the North Wing, covering quite a wide area.
As soon as Doggy went outside, it ran off happily, impossible to stop. Fortunately, this was their own property, so it didn’t matter whether he put a leash on it.
Jing Shun sat in his wheelchair at the edge of the lawn, but his gaze kept drifting toward the main road on the other side. It was empty, with no sign of any cars entering yet.
“Whimper~”
Doggy had somehow found a small toy ball and deliberately placed it on Jing Shun’s lap.
“Woof!”
Jing Shun came back to himself and realized what it wanted. He picked up the ball. “Baby, get ready!”
Doggy became excited. “Woof!”
Jing Shun threw the ball as hard as he could. At the same time, Doggy shot off in the direction it had gone. Within seconds, it had retrieved the ball and came running back, wagging its tail proudly as it sought praise.
“Again!”
“Woof!”
One person and one dog played happily together.
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of a car finally came from behind them.
Doggy, which had been playing just moments before, sprinted back and immediately positioned itself beside Jing Shun. It wagged its tail and barked at the black car in the distance.
Jing Shun caught sight of the familiar license plate and quickly soothed Doggy. “Good boy. Don’t make a fuss.”
Unlike usual, the black car didn’t drive into the garage. Instead, it stopped directly in front of Jing Shun.
The car door opened, and someone stepped out.
The sky had already darkened. Jing Shun could only make out the familiar outline of the figure by the headlights as the person walked toward him step by step.
It was Chi Gui.
For some reason, Jing Shun’s breathing tightened. For a moment, he didn’t know how to greet him.
The night was hazy, but Chi Gui noticed the brief awkwardness that flashed across his face.
“Who are you waiting for outside the house so late at night?”
“…”
Jing Shun tightened his grip on the toy ball and denied it. “I’m not waiting for anyone. I just brought Doggy out to play.”
Chi Gui looked at him.
“Is that so?”
Jing Shun avoided his gaze and was about to maneuver his wheelchair.
“We’ve played enough. I was just about to go inside.”
“Wait a moment.”
Chi Gui turned back, took a black paper bag with gold lettering from the car, and then approached him again.
“This is for you.”
Jing Shun looked at the paper bag held out in front of him. “For me?”
With Chi Gui’s silent permission, he opened the bag. Inside were not any expensive items, but three tins of jasmine tea bags from the same collection.
Chi Gui asked, “I remember you said at your place last time that you liked jasmine tea?”
“…”
Jing Shun tightened his grip on the paper bag, his heart filling with indescribable emotion and delight.
Even he himself had almost forgotten that casual remark. How had Chi Gui remembered it instead?
Chi Gui’s gaze remained fixed on Jing Shun as he added, “I happened to come across this tea while I was away. I brought it back for you to try. If you like the flavor, I’ll have Yi Ming buy some more later.”
Doggy poked out its curious little head from the side, sniffing repeatedly toward the inside of the bag. It even whined, as though complaining about why it hadn’t received a gift.
Jing Shun laughed and pushed its head away, feeling quite happy.
It had been a long time since he had received a gift from someone outside his family. It wasn’t about the price of the gift, but the thought behind it that made it precious.
“Thank you. I really like it.”
“You’re welcome.”
Chi Gui responded, then unexpectedly brought the conversation back to the earlier subject.
“Are you really not waiting for anyone?”
Jing Shun was instantly at a loss for words, his face growing slightly warm.
“…I’m really not.”
Chi Gui didn’t press him to say what he wanted to hear.
“All right. Then let’s go inside.”
“Okay.”
…
Dinner was exceptionally sumptuous.
Chi Gui sat at the head of the table, but he didn’t hurry to eat. Instead, he discreetly gave Chen Yiming a look.
Relying on his sharp eye for such things after years of experience, Chen Yiming successfully deciphered the signal.
“Young Mr. Jing, has that variety show you’re on started airing?”
Jing Shun answered, “It just premiered today. I haven’t had the chance to watch it yet.”
Chi Gui naturally spoke up. “Do you want to watch it now?”
Jing Shun hesitated. “Now? Is that okay?”
Chi Gui gave his silent approval and looked toward the projection television in the dining room, which had always been nothing more than decoration.
Wei Di stood up to turn it on. “Young Mr. Jing, what’s the name? I’ll search for it.”
Jing Shun gave him the title of the show.
In fact, as soon as the smart TV’s homepage opened, This! Is the Real Workplace! appeared in the recommendations. It was clear that Hai City TV Station had put considerable effort into promoting the show.
After opening it, they found one thirty-minute preview episode and one newly updated full episode.
The preview was only half an hour long. It introduced the workplace newcomers and the four major companies where each of them would be working.
Jing Shun thought for a moment and said, “Let’s watch the preview? There should be some footage about Chi Financial’s branch office.”
But Chi Gui requested, “The full episode. Aren’t you an observation-room guest? Let’s see your part.”
“…”
Jing Shun quietly drew in a breath and said nothing.
Although he had already filmed so many movies and television dramas, at that moment, he actually felt a kind of nervousness that resembled being publicly put on trial.
The full episode began with the observation-room guests. Led by the guest host, Brother Yong, they introduced themselves one after another from left to right according to their seating positions.
“Hello, everyone. I’m actor Fu Changting. I’m very happy to…”
When Chi Gui heard that name, he cast a faint glance at the screen.
He looked all right.
Having reached that conclusion, he lowered his head and calmly drank his soup.
Jing Shun assumed that he simply wasn’t interested in the show, and his tense nerves relaxed slightly.
Before long, the program reached Jing Shun’s self-introduction.
“Hello, everyone. I’m actor Jing Shun…”
Uncle Lin looked delighted, as though he were admiring a member of his own family.
“Oh my, Young Mr. Jing looks so fresh and radiant dressed like that. He’s really handsome.”
This was the first time Chen Yiming had truly felt that Jing Shun was an actor. He followed up with a compliment.
“That’s right. Young Mr. Jing is very photogenic.”
Hearing their praise, Jing Shun secretly glanced at Chi Gui, only to discover—
The man who had been eating with his head lowered had, at some point, raised his head again and was now staring intently at the television screen.
Jing Shun’s chopsticks circled once inside his bowl. Suddenly, he found something to say.
“Programs these days always use skin-smoothing, beautifying effects, and filters on their guests. Everyone looks good on camera.”
Chi Gui didn’t agree.
He actually thought Jing Shun wasn’t particularly photogenic. Although the footage looked good, it was still nowhere near as attractive as Jing Shun himself.
The program switched to another guest.
“Hello, everyone. I’m this episode’s flying guest, Fang Lun from Xiaomai Technology.”
“Do you know this Mr. Fang?”
Jing Shun took a sip of soup, sounding somewhat curious.
“I heard that all four companies are sending executives as flying guests. Who is Chi Financial planning to send?”
Wei Di said, “It should be something concerning the branch office. It probably hasn’t been reported to the group headquarters yet.”
Chen Yiming stared at the television screen.
“This young Mr. Fang is a rising star in the technology industry. He’s not even thirty, looks pretty good, and has quite a few followers on social media. Isn’t he coming on the show this time to gain more fans?”
“If you ask me, this young Mr. Fang’s features are only average. He’s not particularly attractive when you look at him for long.” Uncle Lin offered his opinion with the discerning eye of someone who had seen plenty. “I think he’s not as good-looking as Sir. Young Mr. Jing, what do you think?”
“…”
Jing Shun hadn’t expected the topic to land on him. He instinctively turned his gaze toward the head of the table.
“Huh? What do I think?”
Chi Gui’s hand paused while holding his chopsticks. He didn’t look at Jing Shun, but reminded the butler, “Uncle Lin, there’s no need to make comparisons.”
Uncle Lin understood his temperament well enough. He smiled as he explained, “Sir, Young Mr. Jing is the only one at this table who has seen him in person. I was just asking casually. Don’t take it to heart.”
After spending so much time together, Jing Shun had long since lost the sense of distance he’d initially felt toward Chi Gui. For once, he felt like teasing him, so he began seriously studying Chi Gui’s appearance.
“Wait, let me take a look…”
“…”
Chi Gui’s chopsticks hovered over his bowl, but he suddenly lost interest in eating.
Then he heard Jing Shun say with a smile, “Mm, Chi Gui is still better-looking.”
The straightforward compliment landed without warning.
The two assistants immediately stopped eating. They exchanged a glance and silently waited for their boss’s reaction.
Chi Gui forced himself to remain calm as he put down his chopsticks, using a drink of water to conceal the real curve of his lips.
Several seconds later, he reluctantly changed the subject.
“I’m not appearing on the show anyway. There’s nothing to compare. Uncle Lin, please get some more soup.”
Uncle Lin saw through him but wisely said nothing. He smiled and agreed.
“All right. I’ll go right away.”
Seeing that Chi Gui hadn’t shown the reaction he wanted, Jing Shun assumed he didn’t believe him.
“I’m serious.”
Chi Gui met his eyes.
“Jing Shun.”
“Hmm?”
“Eat your dinner properly.”