Jiang Qingzhou knew nothing of any of this.
Humming some cheerful, nameless tune, he wandered leisurely down from upstairs.
Then he sat down on the sofa, pulled his phone out of his back pocket, and opened the novel he hadn’t finished the night before. Leaning comfortably back against the sofa, he read while he waited for the others.
Another half hour passed before footsteps and the sound of suitcase wheels rolling over the ground finally came from outside the door. Jiang Qingzhou immediately put his phone away and stood up to head toward the door.
This time, his goal wasn’t just to curry favor with Liang Tingyun, he needed to win over the other four guests as well.
After all, the more friends you have, the more paths open to you.
Before coming, he’d looked into the other guests’ profiles, and every single one of them was, at his current standing, a top-tier celebrity he had no business being anywhere near.
You could say he was the only nobody in a group of big shots.
He was only here because Xiao Wenyao had thrown money at it to get him in.
Besides him and Liang Tingyun, the other male guest was named Pei Songming, who had once won the Golden Bird Award for Best Supporting Actor.
His gentle personality, refined and elegant looks, plus his outstanding acting, had won over a huge number of fans.
Even people who weren’t his fans still liked him a great deal.
His public goodwill was through the roof.
As for the remaining three female guests, one held the same standing as Liang Tingyun, the entertainment industry’s top actress, Zhong Yu.
Another was also a currently popular actress who’d won a Best Actress award, Du Xinnuo.
And the last was a female singer who consistently topped every chart, Chao Shu.
He really was the only nobody among big shots, when he’d first seen the guest list, he’d been stunned. Who would want to hang around a nobody like him?
As the footsteps drew closer, Zhong Yu appeared at the door in black ankle boots paired with a black leather skirt.
Recognizing her, Jiang Qingzhou hurried forward to greet her. “Hello, Ms. Zhong.” As he spoke, he reached out to take the suitcase from her hand. “Let me carry that for you.”
Zhong Yu pulled the suitcase back, dodging Jiang Qingzhou’s hand, and said flatly, “Hello. Thanks, but there’s no need.”
Zhong Yu’s refusal was clean and immediate, and Jiang Qingzhou didn’t dare try anything else. He silently withdrew his hand, which had been hanging in midair, and stood quietly by the door, waiting for Zhong Yu to change her shoes.
He’d already expected something like this.
From what he knew, Zhong Yu’s personality was just as hard to approach as Liang Tingyun’s, Zhong Yu was, if anything, even sharper.
Rumors of her acting like a diva came out again and again.
But there was no denying it, Zhong Yu genuinely had the standing to back it up.
Zhong Yu changed into slippers, pulled her suitcase over next to Jiang Qingzhou’s, and without a word turned and walked toward the sofa.
Jiang Qingzhou followed, sneaking a glance at Zhong Yu, who still had her mask and sunglasses on, then consciously sat down on the small sofa two meters away from her.
The atmosphere between the two of them now was even more tense than when he’d been sitting alone.
He wanted to pull out his phone and keep reading his novel, but was afraid Zhong Yu would think he was being rude, so he could only sit stiffly on the sofa, staring at the door, waiting for the other guests.
Ten minutes later, the other male guest, Pei Songming, arrived at the villa.
Jiang Qingzhou stood up again to greet him.
Zhong Yu still hadn’t moved from her spot, and only took off her sunglasses to give Pei Songming an expressionless nod once he walked up to her.
Pei Songming treated people warmly, and unbothered by Jiang Qingzhou’s status as a nobody or his history of being mocked across the entire internet, he took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Jiang Qingzhou.
With Pei Songming’s arrival, the ice-cold atmosphere finally began to thaw.
Around four in the afternoon was the gathering time set by the production team, and a few minutes later, the remaining two female guests arrived one after another.
With the other guests arriving, the livestream’s viewer count began climbing straight up, breaking past the original 13 million and shooting toward 15 million.
The comment most repeated in the live chat was people asking where Liang Tingyun had gone.
Some fans even worried that Jiang Qingzhou’s presence had disgusted Liang Tingyun so much that he wasn’t coming at all.
Jiang Qingzhou was dragged out and dug up again by Liang Tingyun’s fans.
Little did they know, Jiang Qingzhou was thinking exactly the same thing they were.
He’d even already planned out how he’d get close to Liang Tingyun, if Liang Tingyun didn’t show up, how was he supposed to latch onto him?
Just as the live chat was in the middle of tearing into Jiang Qingzhou, the tightly shut front door suddenly swung open from the inside.
At the villa’s entrance stood Liang Tingyun, wearing a white polo shirt on top, paired with gray casual suit trousers and a pair of small white sneakers, his build tall and straight, sturdy and well-proportioned.
One hand rested on the door handle while the other pulled his suitcase inside.
His handsome, sharp features were completely covered by sunglasses and a mask, and his whole presence looked far gentler than in the videos.
Before this, Jiang Qingzhou had specifically dug up every one of Liang Tingyun’s past videos and interviews.
The one that had stuck with him most was Liang Tingyun’s most recent red carpet appearance.
In the video, Liang Tingyun, wearing a perfectly tailored black suit without a single wrinkle anywhere on it, strode quickly toward the center of the runway.
His long, straight legs wrapped in the suit and his strong, upright back had left Jiang Qingzhou’s heart racing.
And yet, from the start of the video to the end, he’d only waved once toward the camera and never once smiled the whole time. Even when the host asked him questions, the corners of his mouth stayed pressed flat.
His presence had looked incredibly commanding.
Seeing Liang Tingyun’s face in person, aside from marveling at just how handsome he was, Jiang Qingzhou had one other thought, the two of them didn’t actually look that alike.
If anything, the resemblance was maybe thirty percent at best.
Liang Tingyun’s features were sharply defined, edged and severe, thick dark sword-shaped brows, long narrow phoenix eyes, a high straight nose bridge, and thin, pressed lips, all too sharp, too striking.
The kind of face that would make timid people instinctively want to flee.
The only real point of resemblance was maybe those same thin, pressed lips, and even that was only an illusion when Liang Tingyun kept his expression flat and unsmiling.
He had no idea what part of him had made that lunatic Xiao Wenyao think he was fit to be Liang Tingyun’s substitute.
The live chat froze for a few seconds, then filled with 【Ahhhh, Daddy Tingyun has such presence!】 【Daddy Tingyun is finally here!】
But only a few seconds later, the tone of the chat suddenly shifted again.
【Jiang Qingzhou, why are you running over there so fast?!!!!】
【Ahhhh, Jiang Qingzhou, stay away from our Daddy Tingyun!!!】
【Jiang Qingzhou, back off! Back off! Back off!】
Seeing the Liang Tingyun he’d been anticipating for so long, Jiang Qingzhou couldn’t hide his excitement.
Before the other guests could react, he’d already stood up and rushed straight toward Liang Tingyun, eyes practically sparkling, and said excitedly, “Actor Liang, hello, I’m your fan. I’m so happy to finally meet you.”
【?】
【??】
【???】
【Who the hell calls someone “Actor” to their face like that?!】
【Jiang Qingzhou, say that again if you dare, whose fan are you?】
【Jiang Qingzhou, what are you trying to pull? Who exactly are you trying to disgust?! Do you really think Daddy Tingyun doesn’t know you’re just here for the exposure?】
【All I’ll say is, that was some great fan behavior, maybe don’t be his fan next time.】