SY - 48

Grandma smiled: “I really like this girl.”

He Hanyang nodded: “I like her too.”

The camera crew was divided into Group A and Group B. Group A, which had been filming with Song Zhi, left with her car, while Group B was doing the final wrap-up work, such as filming the flowers and plants in the yard and conducting post-production individual interviews.

The wind outside picked up a bit. Grandma, with a kind smile, looked at the cameraman: “Come inside, it’s cold out.”

The cameraman was about to nod when his gaze fell on a familiar face—it was Mr. Jiang, who had appeared on the show not long ago.

This area was about to be demolished. Jiang Yanzhou had just finished a business dinner nearby and came over to check on the progress.

The project manager was giving him a detailed explanation when a group of people carrying cameras came over.

They almost shoved a camera directly into his face.

Jiang Yanzhou looked at the camera expressionlessly, his tone cold: “Move.”

...

During post-production, the show intentionally edited Grandma’s smiling words: “I am a little reluctant, but the compensation for the demolition is generous, and they’ve even allotted us two apartments.”

Coupled with Jiang Yanzhou’s subsequent appearance and his rude and ungracious attitude, netizens who had been frantically calling him “husband” a few days ago now clamored for a divorce.

[It must be so sad for Grandma when her home, where she’s lived for so long, is suddenly announced for demolition. Damn capitalists.] [This dramatic connection makes me wonder if the production team had a script prepared beforehand.] [?????? The demolition in this area seems to be by Shenhuan, and his surname is Jiang?????? I think I’ve spotted the crucial point.] [It can’t be that coincidental, right? I heard Shenhuan’s CEO is quite ordinary-looking, bald, short, and has a beer belly.] [Mr. Jiang, you have no heart!!!!!!]

Song Zhi scrolled through the comments, mostly indignant accusations, and chuckled to herself for a long time.

Looking at it this way, Jiang Yanzhou actually photographed quite well.

His good behavior a few days ago was indeed an act.

She knew it; how could Jiang Yanzhou’s impatient, dog-like temper change just like that?

Xiao Xu’s focus was clearly a bit skewed. He repeatedly replayed the segment where Jiang Yanzhou appeared, sighing in admiration: “He’s too handsome.”

Seeing his infatuated face, Song Zhi even started to doubt his sexual orientation.

When signing the contract, she only gave the production team one month because she had other engagements later.

The last few days of filming were rushed to finish.

Perhaps she had gradually gotten used to it, and Song Zhi no longer felt the same restraint as before, becoming more and more natural.

After the broadcast, the direction of the comments slowly began to shift.

Those who used to criticize her now praised her for being adorably “actress-y” and for charming both men and women when she acted spoiled.

Most of those netizens were fair-weather fans, the kind who would switch allegiances with a mere gust of wind.

Jiang Yanzhou was a perfect example; he became the “ex-husband” of those female netizens overnight.

It was said that the reality show director even personally visited him to apologize for this matter, but because there was no prior appointment, he couldn’t even get past the office door.

This was indeed something Jiang Yanzhou would do; he handled everything professionally.

Jiang Yanzhou didn’t usually browse the internet, let alone do something as entertaining as scrolling through Weibo.

Song Luo was worried that he wouldn’t see how netizens were insulting him, so he even specifically selected some of the most venomous comments, screenshotted them, and sent them to him.

When he sent the fifth screenshot, it showed that the recipient was no longer his friend.

Song Luo wasn’t satisfied, so he took Song Zhi’s phone and continued to send him messages.

After sending more than ten screenshots in a row, Jiang Yanzhou still hadn’t unfriended Song Zhi, which made Song Luo quite puzzled.

All the screenshots were sent, and he waited quietly for a while. With his years of understanding Jiang Yanzhou, being generous and tolerant simply didn’t align with him.

As expected, two minutes later, his phone vibrated.

[Jiang Yanzhou: I miss you so much.]

Song Luo instantly exploded, picking up Song Zhi’s phone and cursing him.

[Song Zhi: Don’t you have any shame, damn it.]

[Jiang Yanzhou: No shame.] [Jiang Yanzhou: I want you.]

Song Luo completely lost it and immediately called him.

It rang once, and then the call was answered. There was the sound of book pages turning, and an assistant was reporting on work nearby.

Song Luo: “Are you using these disgusting words to trick Song Zhi into being with you, you bastard?”

Jiang Yanzhou didn’t seem surprised at all that Song Zhi’s phone was in his hand; he seemed to have known all along that Song Luo was the one messaging him earlier.

“She taught me those words.”

Song Luo was silent for a moment; it wasn’t false.

With Jiang Yanzhou’s taciturn personality, making him say a single romantic line was harder than climbing to the heavens.

Not wanting to communicate with this silent person who didn’t even respond to insults, Song Luo impatiently said: “I’m hanging up.”

After the assistant finished reporting on work, Jiang Yanzhou circled the problematic points in the collaboration and told him to give them to planning for revision.

Hearing Song Luo’s words, he said indifferently: “Is Song Zhi there?”

“Yes.”

“Hand the phone to her.”

Song Luo frowned. Although reluctant, he handed the phone to Song Zhi, who was in the bathroom applying a face mask.

The latter had just torn open the mask packaging. Seeing the phone Song Luo handed over, the caller ID displayed “Money-Scattering Kid.”

This was her contact name for Jiang Yanzhou. It had been the same for three years and had never changed.

Song Luo was quite curious about this and had asked her why she gave Jiang Yanzhou that name.

Song Zhi said: “Money-Scattering Kid, as the name implies, scatters money to me.”

She made being kept sound fresh and elegant.

She was busy applying her mask and couldn’t free her hands, so she just put it on speakerphone.

“What do you want?”

It was very quiet on his end. Hearing Song Zhi’s voice, Jiang Yanzhou’s tone clearly softened: “Zhizhi.”

Like a gentle breeze in spring, fresh and mild.

He said, “I miss you so much. Can I see you tonight?”

His cautious whining and probing were not within his area of expertise, nor was he particularly good at it.

So it always seemed a bit clumsy.

Song Zhi inexplicably found this Jiang Yanzhou quite endearing, at least much cuter than the cold, impatient block of wood he used to be.

Just as she was about to speak, Song Luo hung up the phone.

Song Zhi: “...”

________________________________________

She really didn’t have much time today either. She had to rush to press conferences and shoot photos for the products she endorsed tonight.

Riding the wave of this reality show, her popularity had indeed risen considerably, and the endorsement offers naturally increased.

However, most of the popularity came from He Hanyang. The combination of the hot-tempered e-sports champion and the “snooty, charming actress” was quite novel and hit all the right “cute” spots.

Younger male, contrasting charm.

Song Zhi usually didn’t pay much attention, but after watching a few episodes of the variety show, she finally understood why so many netizens said they were “publicly funded dating.”

He Hanyang’s certain subtle expressions were all magnified by the camera.

He would blush at her very ordinary words, would look away nervously when they occasionally made eye contact, or would intently watch her when she was speaking.

Throughout the entire episode, his gaze was almost constantly fixed on her.

While not ruling out deliberate editing in post-production, this frequency was simply... dangerous.

He Hanyang was an extremely troublesome person, as could be seen from his dislike of live streaming.

As a qualified homebody, he usually only appeared in public view during competitions.

After winning a championship and accepting interviews, as the MVP of the entire game, he was always the one with the fewest words.

But fans were used to it.

However, after being with Song Zhi, he seemed to have changed into a different person. That cool, silent boy turned into a pure, puppy-like boy.

A somewhat bad premonition was gradually forming in her heart. Song Zhi attributed this to her own thick skin and narcissism, but she was still a little worried.

The little brother was an obedient good kid. No matter how much of a “green tea” Song Zhi was, she wouldn’t do something as ambiguous as leading him on.

So she thought, while he hadn’t fallen too deep, to cut off this budding secret crush in time.

Xia Wanyue burst out laughing when she heard it, unable to straighten up: “I think you should just give up. That little brother is so popular, what kind of girl can’t he find? Why would he have a crush on you?”

Song Zhi was doing her makeup, preparing for the upcoming advertisement shoot.

She had been rushing through announcements these past few days, and with the movie about to be released, she was attending press conferences all over the world.

That dating reality show was merely to generate buzz and excitement for the movie.

After all, only when the main actors’ roles gained popularity would the movie’s attention increase accordingly.

Hearing Xia Wanyue’s words, she felt there was some truth to them.

Indeed, there were quite a few female celebrities in the entertainment industry who had expressed interest in him.

Perhaps he simply couldn’t take his eyes off a beautiful woman when he saw one.

Song Zhi was quite confident in her looks.

Just then, the shooting began, and Song Zhi temporarily forgot about this, focusing on her work.

________________________________________

The shoot didn’t wrap up until 3 AM.

Song Zhi drank three cups of coffee to stay alert, but she was still incredibly sleepy.

It wasn’t her first time pulling all-nighters for engagements, but the continuous high-pressure work lately had left her sleeping only three or four hours for several consecutive days.

She fell asleep as soon as she got in the car. Xiao Xu thoughtfully covered her with a blanket.

The nights in Beicheng were cool. Although the car had the heater on, Song Zhi was afraid of the cold.

At this hour, there were few people on the road and no traffic jams.

The car drove at a steady speed on the elevated bridge. After Dongfeng West Road, a turn would lead to her residential complex.

Song Zhi didn’t sleep soundly. No matter how smooth the ride, sleeping in a car was never as comfortable as sleeping in a bed.

After the car came to a stop, Xiao Xu woke her up: “Sister Song Zhi, we’re here.”

She opened her eyes and yawned: “Good night.”

The car stopped right at the complex entrance. Song Zhi carried her bag, feeling dizzy and muddled.

She couldn’t quite describe the feeling, like a winter morning at 6 AM, just after an all-nighter at an internet cafe.

Sleepy and cold.

She hugged her arms and rubbed them together, somewhat regretting why she hadn’t taken the blanket with her when she got out of the car.

She had to get up at 7 AM tomorrow to catch a flight. Deducting shower time, she could, at most, sleep for three hours.

Because she was so tired, her steps were a bit unsteady, like she had drunk fake alcohol.

A Cayenne was parked at the intersection ahead; it felt vaguely familiar.

Song Zhi rubbed her sleepy eyes. Before she could clearly see what the man walking towards her looked like, she fell into a warm embrace.

His body carried a familiar, clean scent that inexplicably made her feel secure.

She rubbed against him in his arms: “So sleepy.”

Jiang Yanzhou held her cold hand, warming it in his palm, his voice gentle: “If you’re sleepy, sleep for a while.”