“Sticky and Clinging”
Arriving at the entrance of the house, Mother Jiang got out of the car first to go home. Jiang Zhi looked toward Fu Yunting; Ye Yanxi was also present today, and he didn’t know if Fu Yunting had noticed the other party.
“What’s wrong?” Fu Yunting asked, seeing his brows furrowed with worry.
“It’s nothing, really, just that work is a bit unsatisfying.” Jiang Zhi leaned lazily against the passenger seat. “What about you? Are you doing well?”
“Same as old times, day in and day out.” Fu Yunting turned off the car engine, not saying much about his own affairs. “Busy with the album lately?”
Seeing him ask about this, Jiang Zhi felt a bit discouraged. “I might become unemployed right after graduation. My mom is right; I really should have studied more.”
Fu Yunting found it funny. Ever since he was a child, Jiang Zhi had disliked studying; subjects like math, physics, and chemistry were dead last every single time, whereas humanities and music were always among the best.
“Studying and creating do not conflict. Didn’t you want to cross over and do something different when you just returned? If you truly feel you’ve reached a bottleneck period, you can go out and take a look around, experience some things you haven’t done before, and change your headspace. Perhaps the matter will be resolved naturally on its own.”
“You mean the entertainment industry?” Jiang Zhi stared carefully at Fu Yunting for a glance. “For a place like that, shouldn’t you be stopping me?”
“Why stop you?” he said. “The career is your own, and no one else has the right to interfere.”
“The entertainment industry is complicated, you know. When I just returned, I was scolded several times by my parents because of it,” Jiang Zhi said absentmindedly. “They said that place devours people.”
“It is a bit more complicated than ordinary circles, but if you want to, I can help you,” Fu Yunting said.
Jiang Zhi tried to distinguish the truth from falsehood in the other party’s words, but unfortunately, he couldn’t see through anything at all.
He fell silent for a moment. Leaving everything else aside, Fu Yunting was indeed a man very suited to be a partner.
He was open-minded, tolerant, possessed strong methods, and could make money; he should be the perfect husband in most people’s hearts.
“Better not. I am an adult; if there is something I want to do, I will go strive for it myself. How can I always let you guys shield me?”
“You have backbone,” Fu Yunting said, and right after finishing his sentence, he heard Jiang Zhi’s stomach make a growling sound.
Jiang Zhi felt awkward, but he explained righteously.
“The cocktail party was entirely alcohol and desserts; I haven’t eaten a meal up until now.”
Fu Yunting glanced into the Jiang family courtyard. “Go inside. It’s late; have the family auntie cook a bowl of noodles for you.”
“What about you then? You just returned after knocking off work; did you eat dinner?”
“I’ve eaten. Go on in,” Fu Yunting chuckled softly.
“Oh…” Jiang Zhi unfastened his seatbelt. “Then, goodnight?”
“Goodnight.”
Jiang Zhi watched the car leave from the front of the gate, feeling a bit vexed. He was actually starting to care about the man’s dinner—how many days had it only been?
Jiang Yan stood behind him at some unknown point. “Sticky and clinging. How come you didn’t invite the person inside?”
“What do you mean sticky and clinging? Your nearsightedness prescription must have increased again.” He turned around to go home, starting to shout before even reaching the door, “Mom, I’m starving to death! I want to apply to eat a bowl of instant noodles.”
The corner of Jiang Yan’s mouth twitched. “Just this little bit of worth.”
Fu Yunting had made this special trip and left so decisively; while Jiang Zhi’s mind hadn’t yet wrapped around it, Zhang Ru’an on this side felt a bit apologetic first.
“Why didn’t you invite him to come up and sit for a bit?”
“He said it was too late,” Jiang Zhi sat by the kitchen island waiting for the instant noodles, his eyes staring a bit blankly.
“This Little Fu truly put his heart into it today,” Zhang Ru’an said. “You don’t know how many people wanted to watch our family’s joke recently. It’s still Little Fu who understands reason; he specially accompanied me to walk a lap in front of everyone to slap their faces.”
The space between Jiang Zhi’s brows twitched. “Mom, you wouldn’t be bought over by him this quickly, right? Didn’t you say it completely depends on my decision?”
“Whether you decide or not, our two families still have to associate with each other,” Zhang Ru’an said. “I am saying he is a good person; what does that have to do with you?”
Jiang Zhi: “Fine, everything you say is right.”
Jiang Yan changed his clothes and came down, sitting down in front of Jiang Zhi. “The Fu Corporation’s recent movements are not small. Did Fu Yunting not say anything to you?”
He blinked his eyes. “What should he say to me? Besides, the Fu Corporation is so massive; it would be strange if the movements from going to work every day weren’t big, right?”
Jiang Yan: “Truly a heartless and mindless dummy.”
“Jiang Yan, you are annoying to death!” This was the second time today Jiang Zhi was called stupid. Raising his claws, he was about to go scratch his brother.
Jiang Yan nimbly escaped from the bar stool.
“Addressing your older brother directly by his name—no manners at all!” After he finished speaking, he went toward the direction of the kitchen. “I am going to make a bowl of beef noodles now. Mom, do you want to eat?”
“Good son, save two chopsticks’ worth for Mom.”
Jiang Zhi looked down at the braised version of beef noodles in front of him and ground his teeth.
He couldn’t stay in this house for even a single day longer!
…
After drifting back and forth for more than half a month, the next day Jiang Zhi moved his nest back to the studio and began to work seriously.
“Jiang Zhi, there is an official notice tomorrow; it’s Tianjing’s tenth anniversary gala dinner,” the assistant reminded him. “Remember to rest well tonight and adjust your state.”
From a distance, Jiang Zhi gave Chang Ran an “OK” gesture, and then buried his head back into practicing the piano. He had already accustomed himself to the domestic rhythm now; as long as they didn’t make him do live-stream product hosting, he could basically accept it at present. To Jiang Zhi, this was just a job to pass the time.
Seeing that he didn’t take it to heart, the manager, Xiao Lei, couldn’t help but remind him.
“Tianjing’s press conference will be a gathering of stars, and almost all media outlets that have a name will be there. You must firmly grasp this opportunity, don’t slack off. Everything is to warm up for the upcoming album, understand?”
Jiang Zhi nodded. Nowadays, the domestic entertainment industry was well-developed, and no matter which line of work one did, it couldn’t be bypassed. Propping his head up, he couldn’t help but think: what exactly was the life he wanted?
At this moment, a certain person’s face surfaced in Jiang Zhi’s mind for no reason.
Not knowing what one wants, yet being able to isolate what one doesn’t want, using the method of elimination to solve the problem—although it wasn’t considered exceptionally clever, it was a useful method.
Ever since he discovered that this world had already had its trajectory set by someone else, his life began to have a direction.
…
The next day, after Jiang Zhi finished practicing the piano in the afternoon, he went toward the Tianjing gala dinner.
Tianjing was a rare luxury brand that had started domestically; in recent years, its international renown had become higher and higher, and it had gradually become a symbol for upper-class figures both domestically and abroad to flaunt their status.
Tonight, apart from the global spokesperson Qi Huai, many artists in the entertainment industry would reveal their faces through various means—such as image ambassadors for various series or certain regions, brand experience officers, appreciation officers, tasting officers, and even things like friends of the brand or brand recommendation officers.
Many artists within the circle had taken Tianjing’s commercial business as the industry benchmark in recent years; those who could catch a piece of it all had a promising future.
“Then what is my situation?” Jiang Zhi flipped through these roster introductions. “There must be some kind of title, right?”
“Those who haven’t cooperated before are all experienced officers,” the assistant said. “Of course, it’s not completely without cooperation either; appearing tonight is also part of a signed contract. You currently have a total of three Tianjin accessories on your body.”
Jiang Zhi looked down to search for his body: a pinky ring on his hand, a chain brooch on his formal suit, and a tenth-anniversary commemorative watch on his wrist.
“Oh, right, you have to partner with Ye Yanxi to walk the red carpet tonight. Pay attention, don’t let anyone catch any dirt on you,” Chang Ran said.
“What?” Jiang Zhi looked at Chang Ran in bewilderment.
“Wh… what’s wrong?” Chang Ran’s heart beat like a drum. “Didn’t you say you two didn’t have a grievance? Don’t tell me you lied to Brother Xiao?”
Jiang Zhi rubbed the space between his eyebrows. “That’s not it.”
“Then isn’t that fine? This rumor about the two of you has existed for a long time. The Tianjing side probably also took a fancy to this point, wanting to harvest a wave of popularity,” Chang Ran said. “Ye Yanxi has been very hot recently; walking together with him also has benefits for you.”
Jiang Zhi compressed his lips without speaking. Checking the time, it was too late to make adjustments even if he wanted to now.
“Zhizhi, I heard Ye Yanxi is quite a good person, why don’t we just make do with it?” Chang Ran tried to persuade him. “Endure it a bit?”
After a long while, Jiang Zhi nodded helplessly. “Fine, I got it.”
It seemed escaping was no longer an option. Jiang Zhi cast a glance at his image today in the mirror.
“Do I look fierce?” Actually, what he wanted to ask was: Do I look like a villain?
Chang Ran was bewildered, failing to understand his meaning for a moment. “Fierce? How could you be fierce? You are so beautiful, people won’t even have enough time to love you, how could they think you’re fierce?”
Jiang Zhi waved his hand. “Then if I am placed together with Ye Yanxi? Would I be the fiercer one?”
The assistant hesitated for a long time before opening his mouth in a conflicted manner.
“Then you still can’t call it fierce; the two of you are not of the same type. Um… he goes for the boy-next-door style, his approachability is quite good. We are different—proper aristocratic prince style. It’s a bit cold, but I think you are more handsome.”
Jiang Zhi: “.” Fine, this villain role still had to be played by him.
…
Before entering the venue in the evening, Jiang Zhi tried to adjust his facial expressions. While helping him tidy his clothes, Chang Ran instructed, “I heard Ye Yanxi’s state hasn’t been good recently; if the two of you really have any conflict later, you must remember to stay calm.”
Jiang Zhi secretly complained in his heart. No matter how one looked at it, this was a scene designed to pull hatred.
But there was no way around it; when it was time to go up, he still had to go up.
Seeing Qi Huai appear on the monitor, the entire venue erupted into a huge climax. He silently marveled, “As expected of a top domestic actor.”
“Yes, after he took Tianjing’s global endorsement, these sales volumes have increased year by year.” Chang Ran rarely showed a fanboy side. “Hey? But today there isn’t only Qi Huai as a movie king; Gan Shize is also coming. It’s said the official side intends to make him the image ambassador for the wristwatch series.”
Jiang Zhi had originally been softened just a tiny bit by the handsome guy, but hearing this, his head began to ache again.
Because it was the brand’s tenth-anniversary gala dinner, the Tianjing side had also exerted a massive amount of effort.
Just the red carpet portion for the invited artists would take more than an hour to walk. He counted; there were over a hundred insiders from the circle. It was no exaggeration to say they were almost all actors and singers whose names he could call out.
Counting further those high-society socialites and heiresses who didn’t walk the red carpet, this display of prestige was flashier than a large-scale movie awards ceremony.
Jiang Zhi scratched his nose, suddenly remembered something, and took out his phone from his pocket.
The phone rang for a long time before someone answered.
“Are you busy?” Jiang Zhi asked before the other party could speak.
Subsequently, a deliberately lowered voice came from the opposite side. “Still in a meeting. What’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Jiang Zhi said. “Then go ahead with your work, I’ll hang up first.”
Fu Yunting: “…”
…
After ending the meeting, Fu Yunting had Sheng Yuan check Jiang Zhi’s itinerary.
“President Fu, Young Master Jiang is currently attending Tianjing’s brand gala dinner. Do you want to head over? The invitation that was sent over earlier is still with me.”
Fu Yunting looked over the dinner guest list handed over by Sheng Yuan; several familiar people were included within it.
He fell silent for a moment, then spoke to the assistant.
“Prepare the car.”