Chapter 69

Chapter 69

#Nan Shuyi and Wang Yujian Spotted at Movie Theater#

#Nan Shuyi Intimately Protects Someone#

#Nan Shuyi Holds Hands with Mysterious Man#

Unsurprisingly, with Nan Shuyi, the young master of Nanyuan family, and popular star Wang Yujian involved, the topics quickly shot up the trending list.

Jiang Yicen wasn't used to being caught on camera these days, but Nan Shuyi reacted swiftly, immediately taking him via the basement level and driving away from the mall.

As they left, Jiang Yicen suddenly remembered something: "Isn't it kind of rude to leave Wang Yujian alone up there?"

Nan Shuyi: "It doesn't matter. He's a big star—if he's trapped there, someone will come to rescue him soon. If a big star can't even handle a few bystanders, then he's pretty pathetic."

He explained first, then proceeded to badmouth the guy, just in case Jiang Yicen got any ideas about those so-called popular idols.

Most importantly, he had to leave first. He always avoided letting netizens see Jiang Yicen's face when filming blind box unboxing videos, and today was no different.

Jiang Yicen nodded: "True. Besides, this is his private schedule. Being with us might only cause him trouble."

Nan Shuyi: "Don't worry, I'll handle it."

Before driving off, he sent a message instructing people to redirect the buzz toward Wang Yujian and keep the spotlight away from him and Jiang Yicen.

And indeed, that's what happened. Internet celebrities thrive on attention. When the new drama's director saw Wang Yujian trending, he quickly released behind-the-scenes clips from the set. The leading actress's team also rode the wave of buzz, subtly hyping up their on-screen couple, gradually diverting netizens' attention.

Wang Yujian was popular enough that he managed to leave the mall without further incident. However, once home, he got chewed out by his agent.

Agent: "Look, you wanted to see a movie, fine, but why go at the busiest time? You could have gone late at night."

"How did you end up bumping into Nan Shuyi?"

"Nan Shuyi is married. You’re supposed to be single—you need to watch your image. Thank goodness there was a third person; otherwise, you'd never be able to explain yourself."

Wang Yujian depended on his fame and knew how important his image was, but he also felt constrained by labels like "internet celebrity" and "single persona."

Wang Yujian scoffed: "What spouse? That’s not his spouse. That’s Consultant Jiang."

Agent: "Wait, you mean he and Consultant Jiang are friends too?"

Wang Yujian muttered: "Yes, isn't Consultant Jiang in the same department as Nan Shuyi?" He thought about their relationship and didn't want to reveal Consultant Jiang's privacy.

The agent was silent for three seconds, her mind racing: "Oh my god, Wang, your career is about to get a huge boost!"

Wang Yujian: "Isn't my career already going well enough?"

The agent knew Wang Yujian was going to endorse Nanyuan products, and that the young master had recently joined the company—everyone knew that. So she did some digging.

Agent: "You and Nan Shuyi are trending. I can hint to the media that you two are close. Why not ride this wave to boost your image?"

Wang Yujian: "Don't do that. My relationship with him isn't that close."

Agent: "You might not be close to Nan Shuyi, but you can get close to Consultant Jiang. If he's close to Nan Shuyi, doesn't that make him a friend by association?"

Wang Yujian felt a twinge of jealousy, wondering where Consultant Jiang and Nan Shuyi were now. Tsk.

"By the way, do you know about Nan Shuyi's marriage? Are they on bad terms?"

Agent: "I haven't really looked into it, but his wedding day was trending. His spouse is the fourth son of Jiang Da—someone I've never heard of before."

Wang Yujian: "So, does that mean their relationship is bad?"

Wang Yujian's heart had sunk earlier when he saw Consultant Jiang holding a bouquet, and now he was even more frustrated.

With Consultant Jiang being such a good person, why would he agree to a secret relationship with Nan Shuyi?

·

Nan Shuyi didn’t care that he was trending. As long as Jiang Yicen wasn't exposed, it didn't matter—he didn’t want outside noise to mess with their relationship.

Jiang Yicen had little interest in social media. Unless required for work, he rarely opened social media apps, so trending topics had no effect on him.

Once home, Jiang Yicen took the bouquet they had just bought and arranged it in a vase.

Nan Shuyi went through the small pendants and plush toys they had purchased, finding places to display them. The display cabinet that once held only art pieces now contained blind box figurines from their shopping trips and toys from stores.

His spacious room, which used to echo with emptiness, gradually became livelier and felt more like a home.

Nan Shuyi took a step back to see if he had arranged things nicely.

The items weren't expensive, but they were things he and Jiang Yicen had bought together, and just looking at them brought him joy.

He asked Jiang Yicen: "Does it look good?"

Jiang Yicen, holding the vase, replied: "You always arrange things so well."

Every time they went out, they would open a blind box. Nan Shuyi placed different series in different compartments, creating a layered effect.

"You have great taste. It’s really artistic. You’re so talented."

Who wouldn't be happy to be praised? Nan Shuyi was very pleased and took the vase from Jiang Yicen and put it in place.

He then casually wrapped his arm around Jiang Yicen's waist: "Thank you, Mr. Jiang, for the compliment."

Jiang Yicen pushed him gently: "I worked up a sweat running around the mall. I'm going to shower first."

Nan Shuyi: "Go ahead."

Jiang Yicen saw that although he said he was letting him go, his hand was still firmly locked around his waist.

He turned and repeated himself: "I want to shower, Nan Shuyi?"

Nan Shuyi pursed his lips and said, "Next time, don't stand so close to that guy Wang." That surname alone sounds like bad news.

Jiang Yicen struggled to suppress his smile: "He's a celebrity our company collaborates with. This was a chance encounter. I'm not that familiar with him."

Nan Shuyi's expression was so serious, as if he was worried Jiang Yicen might run off with someone else.

Just then, Jiang Yicen's phone buzzed with a message—he still had it in his pocket from when they came in. He opened it in front of Nan Shuyi.

"Wang Yujian: Consultant Jiang, it was too rushed tonight. I forgot to set a time with you. I want to treat you to dinner to thank you for saving my life that time. When would you be free?"

Nan Shuyi frowned: "Saving his life? You saved his life? What does that mean?"

Since the crew didn't catch Jiang Yicen's face during the earlier rescue, they hadn't revealed him as Wang Yujian's rescuer.

And Jiang Yicen had been drunk that night, so the next day, thinking it was nothing important, he hadn't mentioned it to Nan Shuyi.

Jiang Yicen explained to him, "I was just out grabbing a coffee when I came across someone from the crew trying to stab him, so I stepped in and stopped the guy. It was just a kick, no big deal."

Nan Shuyi only heard, "No big deal? The thug had a knife?" His grip around Jiang Yicen’s waist tightened. "He has bodyguards and plenty of crew members around him; why did you need to charge in? What if you’d gotten hurt? And he's just a stranger—totally unnecessary, got it?"

Jiang Yicen could tell Nan Shuyi was getting more agitated, his emotions unstable. He turned and decisively wrapped his arms around Nan Shuyi’s neck to calm him down.

"Listen, I only stepped in because I was sure I wouldn’t get hurt. You know how I can handle myself."

The more Nan Shuyi thought about it, the worse he felt. "No matter how good you are, he had a weapon."

Jiang Yicen: "I didn't get hurt; Wang Yujian did."

Nan Shuyi didn’t know who to be angry at. "I told you being around him is nothing but trouble—first a random thug attack, then getting spotted by passersby, can’t even watch a movie in peace. Stay away from him." He shifted his tone. "Can you comfort your husband?"

Jiang Yicen sensed from his eyes what Nan Shuyi was about to do next. He let out a low laugh and kissed him on his own.

"Is that enough?"

Nan Shuyi was actually pleased that his usually shy partner had taken the initiative to kiss him, but it wasn’t enough. He had to kiss back, and the kiss deepened, and he pressed Jiang Yicen against the display cabinet.

When Jiang Yicen was breathless from Nan Shuyi’s kiss, he thought he was letting go, only to feel his earlobe get nibbled. It tickled, and he flinched.

"Nan Shuyi, don’t bite my ear, it’s too ticklish."

Nan Shuyi had long known his ears were a sensitive spot, and he was doing it on purpose. The more Jiang Yicen resisted, the more he got carried away, unwilling to let go, even wanting to do something more. His hands were already wandering.

Jiang Yicen felt his waist burning where he touched, his whole body starting to heat up.

"Since we’re celebrating your promotion, why not have a little fun?"

Jiang Yicen’s body went weak; he wanted to push him away but not really. In his hesitation, Nan Shuyi seized the opportunity. He stopped nibbling his ear and bit him somewhere even more embarrassing.

"Nan Shuyi, don’t, don’t do this…"

Nan Shuyi mumbled vaguely, "Can’t do this, or shouldn’t do this?"

Jiang Yicen felt like his body wasn’t his own. He closed his eyes, unable to answer, too ashamed to look at Nan Shuyi kneeling on one knee before him.

He grabbed Nan Shuyi’s head, tears welling at the corner of his eyes, biting his lower lip. "You’re too mean."

Nan Shuyi looked up and saw how moved he was, but it only made him want to tease him, to do more.

Under Nan Shuyi’s teasing, the heat inside Jiang Yicen felt like a volcano about to blow. His body trembled slightly, and he forcefully pushed Nan Shuyi away.

Nan Shuyi felt a wet patch on his right cheek where he’d been shoved.

He wiped his face with his finger, stood up, and smiled at Jiang Yicen. "Congrats on the promotion, Mr. Jiang. Hope everything goes smoothly from here on out."

If not for the circumstances, Jiang Yicen would have found it comforting, but how could he say that with a straight face in this situation?

Jiang Yicen pulled up his pants with one hand and shoved Nan Shuyi away with the other, his eyes slightly red, blushing as he bit his lip and glared at him.

Then, without a word, he turned and went upstairs.

Nan Shuyi grabbed a tissue, wiping his face as he called after him, "Mr. Jiang, you were a little quick this time."

Jiang Yicen turned back to glare at him, his voice soft. "I don’t want to talk to you tomorrow—no, three days."

Nan Shuyi watched him disappear around the stair corner and slapped himself on the mouth. "You and your big mouth."

But he couldn’t help it—young and passionate, been holding back for so long, wanting more intimacy with someone he liked was normal, right? It just moved a little fast.

He chuckled and followed him back to the bedroom, deciding not to provoke Mr. Jiang anymore tonight.

·

Over the next two days, Jiang Yicen really did avoid Nan Shuyi. At the office, he wouldn’t even meet his eyes; during work, he only discussed business without a single affectionate word.

Nan Shuyi saw he was determined to ignore him.

However, Nan Anru had arranged a dinner with the Cheng family, so the two of them had to go together.

The dinner with the Chengs was scheduled for Saturday evening.

Many people wanted to curry favor with the Cheng family, but few managed to catch their attention.

Yet who would have thought that the Chengs valued young people’s connections so much? It might be due to a generational gap—the younger generation of Chengs were always backed by their elders, with few of them being ambitious or promising.

Cheng Chen was waiting for them at the entrance of the compound early. Two soldiers stood at attention on either side, immaculate from their caps to their boots, looking sharp.

Jiang Yicen often saw people in uniforms—traffic police, public security officers on duty, their company’s security—but military uniforms felt the most familiar. He had once thought of joining the army after selling his restaurant, imagining that if he’d left Lin City without trouble back then, he might have been wearing one of those uniforms too.

The security guard registered their IDs before letting them in.

Cheng Chen drove ahead to guide them inside.

The compound was truly huge, not like Beijing’s winding old alleyways. Lin City had plenty of space, and this so-called compound was right next to the city’s most famous scenic lake, where retired senior officers and generals lived.

Tonight was a "family dinner" for both families. Nan Anru brought Yao Mengxun and Nan Shuqi, splitting into two cars following Cheng Chen’s vehicle.

After a few minutes of driving, they arrived at the Cheng family’s building.

These houses belonged to the government, originally given to senior officers for retirement, and weren’t available on the open market. If a resident passed away, their descendants couldn’t inherit, and the house would revert to the government.

But living here proved the family’s status was extraordinary.

After they got out, Cheng Chen led them into the house.

Nan Shuyi asked, "I thought your parents didn’t live here. Isn’t this supposed to be at your place?"

Cheng Chen cleared his throat. "This is my grandfather’s place. He found out about the Twin Stars sponsorship, so the family dinner was arranged here."

Coming here was also a show of respect for the Nan family and Jiang Yicen.

Jiang Yicen stayed quiet the whole time. Nan Shuyi thought he was nervous and squeezed his hand. "Tell me if you feel uncomfortable later."

Jiang Yicen nodded. "Mm-hmm."

The little "I'm ignoring you" spat between them had ended when Nan Shuyi shamelessly cornered him at the office stairwell and made out with him for ten minutes.

Cheng Chen happened to see it.

Was this the same Nan Shuyi who was cold to everyone?

A middle-aged woman opened the door, her face warm and kind.

Mrs. Cheng looked warm and welcoming. "You’re here? Everyone’s waiting for you. Come in, come in."

Nan Anru was familiar with the Cheng couple and introduced the people with him.

Jiang Yicen and Nan Shuyi each carried gifts, which Cheng Chen took from them.

Inside, the room was full of people. Jiang Yicen saw several people in military uniforms, both men and women.

The Chengs were truly a military family, and he was immediately filled with deep respect.