When Jiang Liyue was a child, he had terrible sleep. Coincidentally, Zhao Chenxing also had poor sleep, but their issues didn’t quite align.
Jiang Liyue barely experienced deep sleep, only light sleep. Especially in the dead of night, any slight noise would startle him awake, and he’d curl up silently in the triangle formed by the bed and the wall. This situation only improved when Zhao Chenxing slept with him.
As for Zhao Chenxing, he was simply the kind of person with a terrible sleeping posture, so bad that even a king-size bed at home wasn’t enough for him. He could practice several sets of military exercises in bed, showcasing his flexibility to the fullest.
When they were together, Jiang Liyue didn’t mind Zhao Chenxing’s flailing limbs at all; instead, he could sleep very well and deeply. So, when they slept together as kids, it was always Zhao Chenxing who woke Jiang Liyue up, and every time he did, it felt like Jiang Liyue hadn’t had enough sleep.
After many tests, the Zhao-style suffocation method proved to be the most effective way to wake him up.
Thus, a dramatic scene unfolded: the aloof superstar was forcibly awakened by his clumsy little assistant in a seemingly murderous manner.
Jiang Liyue, feeling his life was threatened, opened his eyes. His long eyelashes trembled slightly, and his glassy pupils gradually shrank under the direct light of the streetlamp.
For a moment, Jiang Liyue couldn’t tell if it was reality or a dream. He slowly extended his slender fingers, gently covering the mischievous hand on his face.
Zhao Chenxing’s fingers were cold, probably from the cold northern wind of late autumn. But in Jiang Liyue’s memory, Zhao Chenxing was always warm, while he himself was often called a cold-blooded animal.
As a child, in winter, his hands and feet were icy, with purplish-red veins spreading across his frostbitten fingers. Jiang Liyue’s little trick was to often put his hands outside the window to freeze for a while on cold days, then surprise Zhao Chenxing when he came in. Zhao Chenxing would shiver from the cold, grumbling about Jiang Liyue wearing too little, but would still wrap his hands in his own, despite his words.
“Brother?” Jiang Liyue couldn’t help but pinch the cold fingers.
Seeing Jiang Liyue still looking half-asleep, Zhao Chenxing increased the pressure in his hand.
Red marks gradually appeared on Jiang Liyue’s fair skin.
No need for blush later, Zhao Chenxing thought. This natural flush from within looked much better than any blush.
“Hmm? Still not getting up?” Zhao Chenxing said through gritted teeth.
Zhao Chenxing quietly turned his back, shielding them from the intense gaze of the two onlookers. He leaned down and whispered in Jiang Liyue’s ear, “The two directors of the variety show are waiting for you here. Are you sure you want to face them looking like this?”
Jiang Liyue didn’t quite catch what he said. He only felt his ear was itchy and hot, like it was allergic. He subtly moved his ear to escape the irritating breath, only to brush against another warm object.
The moist sensation rushed into Jiang Liyue’s mind, like pouring hot oil into a boiling pot.
Zhao Chenxing’s senses weren’t as sensitive as Jiang Liyue’s. After speaking, he got up and propped Jiang Liyue up with his arm.
What the two directors saw was an assistant supporting a tall, thin “cerebral palsy patient,” making it hard to say who was more embarrassed at the moment.
After all, they were used to seeing the Film Emperor’s aloof and solitary demeanor, and suddenly seeing him like this, who wouldn’t be confused?
Zhao Chenxing put on a polite smile, as if saying to them, “Sorry, please excuse us. My kid is a bit brain-dead right now, just give me a moment to fix him.”
Zhao Chenxing helped Jiang Liyue up with one hand, while the other hand explored his back, confirming the position before ruthlessly grabbing, pinching, and twisting.
Jiang Liyue immediately became clear-headed, his face no longer flushed, and his mind no longer muddled. He stood up straight and stepped forward to shake hands and greet the two directors.
Yang Ming noticed that during the handshake, Jiang Liyue didn’t seem very happy, ending the handshake quickly. Upon parting, he noticed some bluish-purple bruises on Jiang Liyue’s fingers.
“Mr. Jiang, your…” Yang Ming pointed at Jiang Liyue’s fingers.
Afraid that Jiang Liyue might say something nonsensical, Zhao Chenxing quickly explained, “This is because our Mr. Jiang got a bit confused and had a loving encounter with the door frame, leaving behind marks of love.”
…
I don’t believe you at all. You young people really don’t hold back when telling tall tales.
On the way to the villa, Director Qian and Jiang Liyue went over the schedule.
“Mr. Jiang, it’s like this. There have been changes to the contract we signed, and your agent should have communicated this to you.”
“Mm.”
Someone was seriously discussing the variety show with Director Qian on the surface, but behind the scenes, his injured fingers were quite restless, poking at the wood beside him.
Of course, the wood couldn’t respond, pretending to be a woodpecker pecking a few times, as if it wouldn’t lose any flesh.
The injury to his hand happened several days ago, but Jiang Liyue’s body was “weak,” making the wound look severe and heal slowly. Just when Jiang Liyue had stopped using it to gain sympathy, Director Yang reminded him again.
The incident was entirely self-inflicted, and he wasn’t wrong. That night, after attending the Lin family’s return banquet, he drank too much and was brought home by Jiang Liyue.
Then, someone took advantage of his illness, shamelessly making a move on a drunk person, insisting on making him an assistant and refusing to leave his room.
When Zhao Chenxing pushed him out and closed the door, someone clung to the door frame, refusing to let go. It’s understandable for a drunk person to be brainless, but for someone sober to be brainless is truly brain-dead.
Director Qian, feeling that the person who needed to listen wasn’t paying much attention, took out a copy of the signed contract and circled the key parts again.
“Mr. Jiang, it’s like this. Our contract didn’t specify the format of the variety show. When we discussed it, we mentioned that the format could change at any time. In a recent internal meeting, we decided that this time it will be a live broadcast in a semi-virtual format.”
Jiang Liyue raised an eyebrow at this. Previously, they had confirmed a mixed variety show, and he had briefly looked at it, initially deciding on travel, lifestyle, and adventure types.
“Semi-virtual? Not a real broadcast?”
Yang Ming, seeing Director Qian struggling to get to the point, helped him reply, “It’s like the new type of holographic game that’s popular abroad. Our live broadcast will use a multi-angle mode in a holographic pod.”
When Zhao Chenxing heard about the holographic game, he had a bad feeling. Could it be the company he was with abroad?
“NEURON?” Zhao Chenxing tentatively asked.
Director Qian was also surprised to hear this. After all, few people in the industry paid attention to foreign game-related content, especially since this game company had no background, and the news had only recently been revealed. They had only learned about it a while ago.
“Little Zhao, you seem to know a lot. Looks like you play games often.”
NEURON is a new company in the gaming industry, with only one game under its name, not well-known. Even gaming big shots don’t know the name of this game. It became popular entirely because its virtual system was so outstanding.
The first batch of beta players praised it to the skies.
The variety show’s production team had a relative who was a hardcore gamer and was lucky enough to be selected for the first beta. After experiencing it, he quickly flaunted it in his social circle. The production team, already struggling with budget issues, couldn’t sustain so many episodes of on-location recording and editing.
To broadcast quickly and recoup costs, the production team reviewed and confirmed with the game company before changing the variety show’s format.
Zhao Chenxing could only smile awkwardly. He wasn’t a gaming big shot; he was just an ordinary game developer.
Little Zhao said, just a side job.
The group arrived at a villa styled like a small mansion. Director Qian looked at the expensive villa and sighed, “I guess the main expense of our variety show went into this villa. We’ll explain the remaining details once all the members are gathered.”
Director Qian checked his watch, “It’s almost 9 o’clock. There should be two more people arriving soon. Let’s go in first.”
Director Qian spoke to a young man, said a few words, and then led them into the villa. Director Yang introduced the structure of the villa to them. Until the end of the program, unless there were emergencies, they would be staying in the villa.
The villa had four floors. The first floor was the public activity area, with the kitchen, living room, and the program’s main control room.
This time, the main control room wasn’t like previous program recordings, with various audio, tuning, and camera equipment. Instead, there were large displays and ten split screens surrounding the control room. In the center was a large computer for programmers to release tasks and set challenges in the virtual scene in real-time according to the director’s needs.
It could be said that this time, the unsung heroes of the program weren’t the cameramen but the programmers sacrificing their hair for the clients.
The second and third floors were their personal rest areas, each equipped with a virtual holographic pod they needed to enter. Since it was confirmed that they would be in pairs, each room was for two people.
“Mr. Jiang, as per your request, you and Little Zhao will share a room. The specific room choice will be determined by drawing lots once everyone arrives. Each room has different buffs in the virtual environment.”
Jiang Liyue was very satisfied to hear his request was met and nodded approvingly. Everyone except Zhao Chenxing exchanged knowing smiles, showcasing the spirit of a loving family helping each other.
“Hmm? One room? Isn’t it supposed to be a live broadcast? I don’t need to, right?”
Previously, Jiang Yun only said to take care of Jiang Liyue’s needs during the variety show and mentioned that Jiang Liyue was easy to manage, basically just letting him be.
Does this mean he needs to be taken care of in the room too?
Director Qian looked at the calm Jiang Liyue and then at the bewildered Zhao Chenxing, thinking maybe the family meeting didn’t go as planned?
“Our program is short on people for various reasons. After discussion, we also require artists to choose a companion to participate with them. It can be a close friend or relative, either from within or outside the industry. Mr. Jiang had already informed us in advance about bringing his assistant.”
Director Qian said this to avoid making it seem unusual for Jiang Liyue to bring an assistant during the live broadcast. Normally, it would be best if they were close friends or in a relationship, showcasing love and chemistry in various scenarios.
As they stepped onto the porch, the villa door opened from the inside, and a young man with chestnut-colored hair and a mask appeared. “Chestnut Hair” was startled to see the group of four, but upon recognizing them, he exaggeratedly exclaimed with delight, “Yo! Isn’t this our big star Jiang Liyue?”