Chapter 2: Whose Temper is Bad?
But the person who came to pick him up at the airport was not Gu Jingxiu himself.
Rather, it was his female manager, Caroline.
This allowed Lin Zhile to breathe a massive sigh of relief.
“I’m sorry. Traffic is jammed everywhere in Jinghua at this hour. Have you been waiting long?”
Caroline was nearing thirty, dressed in a professional business suit with her long hair draped over her shoulders, looking mature and reliable.
Lin Zhile buckled his seatbelt. “No, I just got off the plane too.”
Caroline had found him right on the heels of the pink-haired girl and her group leaving.
“That’s good,” Caroline said.
She had arranged for him to sit in the back seat. A faint fruity fragrance wafted through the car.
The car’s engine started. Caroline tapped open a chat box and sent a message confirming she had picked up the person.
Then, she turned the steering wheel, and the red CLS300 smoothly glided around the corner, merging into the flow of traffic on the asphalt road.
Lin Zhile rarely spoke around people he wasn’t familiar with, and Caroline didn’t like making small talk either, so the atmosphere in the car remained silent.
The scenery outside the windows sped by in a blur. Lin Zhile’s favorite thing to do was look at restaurant signboards; different dietary habits best reflected regional differences.
Although many of them were chain restaurants now, there were still subtle variations.
The pretty boy in the backseat was wholly focused on the scenery. Caroline withdrew her gaze from the rearview mirror and tapped her index finger against the steering wheel.
Before coming, Gu Jingxiu had merely described him as a “distant relative from my hometown.” Judging by this description, they weren’t close at all.
But after picking him up, she felt very surprised.
Having worked as a manager for over a decade, it was inevitable for her to view people through a professional lens. Undoubtedly, this “hometown relative” Gu Jingxiu spoke of possessed outstanding physical conditions.
Even if he did nothing at all, he could still outshine many others.
And from their brief interaction so far, this person was clearly still a well-behaved boy who hadn’t experienced much of the world.
Caroline sighed in her heart. Managers loved this type the most.
How on earth did she end up with a thorny problem like Gu Jingxiu back then?
After a rather long drive, as the sun’s final rays sank below the horizon and neon lights claimed dominion over the city, they finally arrived at their destination.
Gu Jingxiu’s house was in a villa complex in the city suburbs.
It was evident that the owner didn’t come home often. Although regular cleaning staff was hired to maintain it, it was spotless but lacked a sense of human life.
Before going inside, Caroline took Lin Zhile to buy some daily necessities. “Gu Jingxiu is currently out of town and won’t be back for the next few days. I’ll leave my contact information with you. If you need anything, you can tell me.”
Lin Zhile nodded obediently. “Okay, thank you, sister.”
Caroline suppressed the smile at the corners of her mouth and hummed in acknowledgment.
Gu Jingxiu’s house was huge, but there was only one guest room. The other rooms were all sealed off.
After he settled in, he was taken to the living room.
Caroline pulled a folder from her bag and opened it. “The acting profession is a bit unique; I think you should know that. I’m not particularly clear on the familial relationship between you two, but as his manager, I have a duty to protect him. Therefore, I need you to sign an agreement.”
Lin Zhile picked up the document and saw clearly that it was a privacy agreement.
It listed many requirements, the general gist being that during his stay here, he was not allowed to disclose any of Gu Jingxiu’s private information to the outside world.
This included living habits, down to the clothes and shoes he liked to wear.
He was even more strictly forbidden from using Gu Jingxiu’s name to do anything.
The agreement also listed a few case studies where people had leaked or fabricated Gu Jingxiu’s privacy, caused severe consequences, and were taken to court.
The final section served as a warning for Lin Zhile to maintain an appropriate distance from Gu Jingxiu and to leave as soon as his work was finished.
The living room was brightly lit. Lin Zhile had been traveling since the moment he opened his eyes today. Staring at rows of dense, tiny text made his eyes ache, and right now, his temples were throbbing faintly.
“Perhaps these words seem a bit unaccommodating, but working in the entertainment industry involves certain rules you might not understand. If a problem occurs unintentionally… This agreement can also serve to protect you,” Caroline explained.
Lin Zhile blinked, still reading the agreement. His long eyelashes veiled his gaze, and his beautiful face looked incredibly quiet under the warm lights of the living room.
Caroline rubbed the space between her eyebrows. For the first time, she felt that playing the bad guy was difficult.
But there were some things that had to be done.
The living room fell completely silent, save for the sound of turning pages. Caroline didn’t rush him, so Lin Zhile carefully read the document through to the end.
Though he didn’t show it on his face, a tempest was already raging in his heart.
It was glaringly obvious that Gu Jingxiu did not welcome him.
No matter whose home it was, having a stranger suddenly move in would likely cause discomfort.
Lin Zhile unconsciously bit his lip, feeling as though his future was bleak.
He knew his health was poor and he got sick often. The other party would definitely hate a troublesome person like him even more.
But if he refused to sign this agreement right now and just left, it would place an immense burden on his parents.
They had pulled strings everywhere for his sake and had already sacrificed so much.
Then there was his mentor, who had similarly placed great hopes in him.
The tickle that had started brewing in his throat since he got off the plane became increasingly pronounced. Lin Zhile’s chest hitched, and he finally couldn’t hold back his coughing.
Caroline hurriedly stood up, poured a glass of water, and handed it to him.
Lin Zhile thanked her and drank a small half-glass.
Caroline had been waiting for him to make a stance. Not wanting to delay her any longer, Lin Zhile picked up a pen and signed his full name on the paper.
He hoped this show wouldn’t take too long to film. They had previously mentioned a timeframe of about three months.
After all, the longer the time, the more money the production team would have to spend.
So, within these three months, Lin Zhile decided to act according to the agreement: keep his distance from Gu Jingxiu, try his best not to get sick, and not trouble him.
And once the time was up, he would leave immediately.
A bright moon hung in the night sky. The film set hadn’t completely wrapped up for the day. Today, the lead actor, Gu Jingxiu, had officially wrapped up his scenes. The entire crew celebrated universally, shouting about their liberation.
The screenwriter and director had finally escaped Gu Jingxiu, this Virgo demon king. They were holding hands and looking at each other with teary eyes, ecstatic with joy on the inside.
And the Demon King Gu—was currently being cornered by the behind-the-scenes photographer for group photos not far away.
His character’s makeup and styling hadn’t been removed yet. He wore his hair slicked back as required for the role, leaving his handsome features completely unobstructed. Looking through the lens, his eyes were deep, his facial contours distinct. A face so handsome it looked like Goddess Nüwa’s perfect graduation project—perhaps even a bit excessively sharp.
In the film, he played a spy in his thirties. Now that he was off-camera, his entire aura was completely different.
With two buttons of his suit undone, his expression was lazy and relaxed, reverting to the reality of being a wealthy young master in his twenties.
It was rare for Best Actor Gu to look so approachable today, so the other actors in the crew hurried to seize the opportunity to snag a group photo.
The third male lead’s heart pounded. Believing he had a face that elicited pity, he tried to squeeze his way in front of Gu Jingxiu. However, his status wasn’t high enough, so he wasn’t very successful.
Halfway through the photos, the assistant who had been waiting in the distance hurried over, holding up a phone and waving it at the star-surrounded Best Actor Gu.
The group photos were paused.
Gu Jingxiu smiled apologetically at the crowd and took the phone. Seven large characters were displayed on the screen: “Peerless Elegance Lin Xiaofang.”
The third male lead, not knowing to give people privacy, caught a glimpse and actually laughed out loud at the ridiculous name.
Looking up, he found Gu Jingxiu glancing at him.
That look was as if he were staring at a dead object.
Cold, disdainful.
Best Actor Gu took a step with his long legs and walked to a secluded spot to answer the phone. He was vaguely heard calling out to the person on the other end, “Mom.”
…
The third male lead instantly felt his entire body plunge into an icehouse, freezing in place.
The assistant standing nearby took in all of this and shook their head slightly.
Another one with zero self-awareness.
The assistant waited for a while until the phone call finished. Who knows what was said.
Upon returning, Best Actor Gu sped up the wrapping-up process, canceled his originally planned trip to visit a teacher in a neighboring city, and rushed back to his home in Jinghua City overnight.
The moon reached the middle of the sky. Caroline had already left. Before leaving, she had given Lin Zhile a rough rundown of where all the facilities in the house were and how to use them.
And Lin Zhile was still sitting on the sofa in the living room. He felt a bit unwell and stayed curled up on the sofa without moving.
His phone suddenly vibrated.
It was an international call from his childhood best friend, Lin Xing.
Lin Xing was studying abroad in a country in the Eastern Hemisphere. Knowing that he had gone to Jinghua to participate in a show, he was very concerned and called as soon as he had a free moment, asking if his journey was smooth and if the host family had given him a hard time.
Lin Zhile replied sluggishly, “No hard time, but I did get a cohabitation agreement. They didn’t kick me out on the spot, so overall, it’s pretty good.”
“There was also something funny.” Lin Zhile changed the subject. “On the way, I met some students from the Jinghua Drama Academy and exchanged contact information with them. They even invited me to visit their school when I have time, saying they’d take me to eat at the universally praised Canteen Two.”
Lin Zhile diverted the topic because he didn’t want his friend to worry.
Lin Xing knew this well and half-joked, “I knew it. Wherever you go, there are plenty of people wanting to hit on you.”
Lin Zhile said, “Is that really a compliment?”
Lin Xing: “How is it not? Speaking of which, I have a cousin working in Jinghua who has an empty guest room for rent free of charge. Do you want to consider it?”
“There’s such a good thing?” Lin Zhile was surprised. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
Lin Xing: “It’s still not too late now.”
Lin Zhile said, “No, it’s already too late. I’ve signed the contract of indenture.”
Lin Xing sighed on the other end of the phone.
He asked again, “How is that relative as a person? He won’t be like those uncles of yours, right?”
Lin Zhile was an abandoned baby adopted by the Lin family. Sometimes, when the Lin parents were too busy to take care of him, they would send him to a relative’s house to be looked after.
But those people felt Lin Zhile’s origins were unclear. Even though Mother Lin sent a lot of money and gifts every time, they would act kindly to his face but secretly call Lin Zhile a “little bastard” behind his back.
This question was hard to answer.
Lin Zhile thought to himself that he hadn’t even met Gu Jingxiu in person yet.
“I haven’t met him yet. I heard his temper is very bad, so I’m a little scared,” Lin Zhile said. “But it’s just hearsay; maybe it’s just a rumor.”
“Whose temper is very bad?”
A strange, magnetic voice suddenly rang out next to his ear. Lin Zhile was startled and nearly jumped off the sofa.
The living room wasn’t an isolated room; it was separated into zones by a small bar counter that housed a very expensive coffee machine.
At this moment, a tall man was standing by the bar. The warm indoor light clearly illuminated the contours of his face.
Lin Zhile’s eyes widened instantly.
He had just seen this face earlier today, but it looked much better in person than on the poster.
Gu, Gu Jingxiu!
…
I’m doomed, Lin Zhile thought to himself.
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