Chapter 35: The Small-Time Star and His Short-Tempered Sugar Daddy (Part XXXV)
Fang Yinnian sat in the chair facing the balcony, his back to the door.
Hearing the door sound, he remained motionless, leaning there without even lifting his eyelids.
Xiao Ji walked behind Fang Yinnian and called out to him:
“Brother Nian.”
Fang Yinnian had long known that Xiao Ji approached him for resources, but he never imagined Xiao Ji had also made a deal with Cheng Nuo.
Although the relationship between him and Xiao Ji was one of “keeping a lover” in name, Fang Yinnian believed he treated Xiao Ji well. Not only did he never mistreat Xiao Ji, but he also went along with Xiao Ji in everything.
When Xiao Ji was unhappy and pulled a long face at him, he never took it to heart.
To put it bluntly, he considered Xiao Ji his person and was willing to spoil and indulge him. He couldn’t say cheesy words, but the concessions he made time and again when facing Xiao Ji were all of his own volition.
Saying “love” might be too profound and complex, but there was definitely a genuine liking involved.
Now, having a basin of cold water poured over his head, one could imagine his anger.
His Adam’s apple moved. He wanted to tell Xiao Ji to roll out, but before hearing Xiao Ji argue with his own ears, he felt unwilling.
“Cheng Nuo showed his hand. You are his person.”
Xiao Ji denied it. “I am not.”
Fang Yinnian wouldn’t shoot without a target, nor would he convict Xiao Ji based solely on Cheng Nuo’s one-sided words. So after Cheng Nuo left, he made two phone calls.
One was to Old Master Fang to ask about Cui Fan.
The other was to the company’s security department to check the interactions between Cheng Nuo and Xiao Ji.
Cheng Nuo remembered the time he met Xiao Ji alone very clearly, and sure enough, the surveillance outside the company gate also captured Xiao Ji getting into Cheng Nuo’s car after leaving the company.
Listening to Xiao Ji’s denial, he felt his fist starting to harden.
“July 4th, 5:17 PM. You got into Cheng Nuo’s car. Where did you go?”
Xiao Ji was honest. “Cheng Nuo’s house.”
Fang Yinnian gritted his teeth. “Has your relationship reached the level where you can casually visit each other’s homes?”
Xiao Ji knew Fang Yinnian was angry. He walked up to him, trying to explain.
“Not visiting. He came to find me…”
Before he could finish, Fang Yinnian grabbed him by the collar. “Xiao Ji, how dare you? Am I not good enough to you? Is this how you repay me, by eating inside and looking outside? Hmm?”
Xiao Ji didn’t resist. He looked straight into Fang Yinnian’s eyes, his pitch-black pupils calm and rippleless.
Fang Yinnian looked at Xiao Ji. Suddenly, he felt that all the obedience and meticulous care Xiao Ji had shown him seemed fake.
He felt that the love and care he had previously perceived were all deception.
Even the things he said to Xiao Ji before—”Don’t like me so much, just say it if you miss me”—all seemed like a joke of his own self-righteousness.
He knew clearly that love shouldn’t be mentioned in a sugar daddy relationship.
He knew clearly that one shouldn’t demand sincerity from a relationship that started with benefits.
But he couldn’t help asking:
“Xiao Ji, have you ever treated me sincerely?”
Xiao Ji felt that at this time, he should coax Fang Yinnian a bit; say whatever he wanted to hear.
But Fang Yinnian seemed to see through his thoughts and warned him:
“If it’s false affection, better not say it.”
So Xiao Ji only said, “I didn’t cooperate with Cheng Nuo, and I never betrayed you.”
Hearing this, Fang Yinnian understood Xiao Ji’s meaning. No cooperation, no betrayal, and likewise, no sincerity.
His stomach full of anger, along with the blood in his entire body, solidified in this instant.
His hands and feet were cold, and even his fingertips couldn’t help trembling.
Fang Yinnian looked at Xiao Ji’s still calm appearance, feeling that his passion had been given to the wrong person. Forcibly suppressing the urge to beat Xiao Ji to death right there, he said to him:
“Get out, Xiao Ji. I’m done with you.”
He threw off the hand gripping Xiao Ji’s collar, closed his eyes, and made it clear he didn’t want to talk to Xiao Ji anymore.
Xiao Ji stood up. He sent the audio file on his phone—which could prove he hadn’t conspired with Cheng Nuo from the beginning—to Fang Yinnian, and then left the room.
037, who hadn’t dared to breathe loudly the whole time, appeared at the right moment: [I told you long ago, the Little Phoenix isn’t that easy to fool. Now it’s not just about whether you cooperated with Cheng Nuo or not; what he cares about more now is that you never treated him sincerely.]
Xiao Ji sighed. [Report to the higher-ups. I can’t do this mission. Please arrange another mission for me.]
037 pondered for a moment. [Are you sure?]
Xiao Ji hummed. [Sure. The Phoenix and I aren’t on the same path to begin with. No matter how I learn, no matter how I go along with him and treat him well, it’s not what he wants.]
037 knew that a twisted melon isn’t sweet, but seeing that everything was obviously developing in a good direction, only to suddenly return to pre-liberation overnight, it felt bad too.
Moreover, as an onlooker, 037 could tell that Fang Yinnian was obviously moved by Xiao Ji.
It tried to fight for Fang Yinnian. [As long as you can learn to give sincerity, given the Little Phoenix’s current feelings for you, this mission isn’t that hard to do.]
But Xiao Ji suddenly lost patience. [Can’t you see? I simply don’t know how to give sincerity.]
037 rolled its eyes. [Fine, stubborn mule. I’ll let you be stubborn. I’ll apply tomorrow. Once the mission swap is successful, I’ll let someone else hook up with the Little Phoenix in your place. Don’t regret it then.]
Xiao Ji blocked 037. For the first time in his life, he felt so irritable and uneasy.
He went to the backyard alone and squatted on the steps. He whistled at the sky, and after a while, that Brown-backed Shrike flew down from a tree branch not far away and landed in front of Xiao Ji.
Xiao Ji reached out and poked the shrike’s chest, knocking the shrike over.
The shrike stood up, flapped its wings, turned a few circles on the spot, and pecked Xiao Ji’s finger.
“I know you meant well, but stealing people’s underwear is very immoral and very perverted. Don’t do this kind of thing again,” Xiao Ji said faintly.
Unknown if the shrike understood, it tilted its head and pecked the tip of Xiao Ji’s shoe again.
That night, Xiao Ji didn’t return to the room either. He lay on the bench in the yard all night.
To prevent Cheng Nuo from annoying him again, Fang Yinnian handled the PR quite beautifully. He clarified for Cheng Nuo, saying the underwear incident was a misunderstanding, that the items were left behind by tourists who stayed in the residence before, and the part leaked at the time was just everyone joking.
Whether it was credible or not didn’t matter; money could naturally turn public opinion around.
The program had to continue filming. Fang Yinnian negotiated with the program team that he would withdraw a week later when the newly arranged artist joined the group.
During this period, everyone discovered that the relationship between Xiao Ji, Fang Yinnian, and Cheng Nuo became subtle. One was more silent than the other, and no one said a word to anyone else.
Even living under the same roof and eating at the same table, the three turned a blind eye to each other.
Occasionally passing by in the corridor, they acted as if they didn’t know each other.
Cheng Nuo cleared his name outside the lens, but inside the program, he was basically unable to defend himself. Since the incident with Gu Yao’s underwear, except for Zhao Jiatong who would still communicate politely with Cheng Nuo, the other four female guests kept a respectful distance from him.
Especially Gu Yao, who almost avoided him like the plague.
Lie felt deceived. Even in front of the camera, it was hard to conceal her dislike for Cheng Nuo.
Under Xiao Ji’s deliberate avoidance, whenever there was a situation where two people went out alone to complete a task, he also deliberately avoided Fang Yinnian.
Throughout the show, everyone lost their initial interest and treated it completely as work. Outside the camera, the awkwardness prevented them from looking at each other directly.
Only in front of the lens did they put on a facade of harmony.
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