Chapter 2: The Small-Time Star and His Short-Tempered Sugar Daddy (Part II)
(Author’s Note: I write whatever comes to mind. Nothing represents anything. If the plot is explosive, my brain might be cramping. As long as it doesn’t get banned, I’m generally too lazy to edit. Read if you like, don’t if you don’t. The author will live if they can live, and die if they can’t. Don’t attack the author, don’t fight in the comments. Love to all my friendly readers, and to the unfriendly ones, I wish you a happy life too.)
The Fang family had deep pockets. In the last century, they made their fortune abroad through gray industries. Catching the wave of domestic prosperity, they were among the first to break into the entertainment industry, creating batch after batch of household-name superstars.
Old Master Fang was in poor health. Fang Yinnian had an older sister who took over the family’s overseas assets, leaving only the clean, domestic entertainment company to the Fang family’s only son, Fang Yinnian, to manage.
Fang Yinnian was tall, with long legs and striking looks. He was meticulous about his physique and handsomely flashy. When he took over the company at twenty-four, countless female artists threw themselves at him, but all efforts ended in failure.
Since then, rumors secretly circulated in the industry that there was something “wrong” with Fang Yinnian’s orientation.
Yet, whether in appearance, style of action, or speech, Fang Yinnian was obviously not the submissive type.
Consequently, quite a few “zero” (bottom) male artists began to tentatively approach him. Unfortunately, the outcome was either being blacklisted or put into “cold storage” (indefinite hiatus).
In the established trajectory of fate, the original host, Xiao Ji, was straight.
Relying on a single candid street photo that went viral, he debuted at his peak. He took on a TV drama adapted from a BL (Boys’ Love) novel and became famous across the country in a short time. Hailed as the top god of the “aloof/cold” archetype in the industry, he successfully narrowed his future career path down to nothing.
What was worse was his bad luck. Due to censorship policies, the drama was taken down shortly after.
After a brief period of silence, he took on a few dramas with standard themes. Unfortunately, fans and audiences didn’t buy it. Some just felt awkward watching the original host romance a female lead; the more extreme ones cursed him for queer-baiting, calling his desperate grasp for fame ugly and nauseating.
Under these circumstances, the original host was forced to consider taking a risk—walking the edge of the sword.
As it happened, the opportunity arrived quickly.
The popular Film Emperor Cheng Nuo was ostensibly Fang Yinnian’s good brother, but in reality, he was the descendant of the Fang family’s sworn enemy.
He changed his name and identity to approach Fang Yinnian purely for revenge.
However, Fang Yinnian, having grown up in the Fang family environment, was naturally suspicious and cautious. Even if he genuinely treated Cheng Nuo as a brother, he never divulged past family matters, nor did he let Cheng Nuo access the company’s core operations.
By chance, Cheng Nuo selected Xiao Ji. He claimed he could help Xiao Ji get close to Fang Yinnian and pave the way for him. Afterward, he would provide a large sum of money sufficient for Xiao Ji to fly far away. The condition was to obtain evidence of Fang Yinnian’s economic crimes.
For an entertainment company of this size to reach this level, it couldn’t possibly be completely clean.
Cheng Nuo and the original host hit it off immediately.
After a large company event, Cheng Nuo grabbed the original host, who had been dangling in front of them all night, and told him to take the drunken Fang Yinnian home.
Fang Yinnian didn’t refuse. And once they arrived, the original host didn’t leave immediately.
Suppressing his revulsion, he seduced Fang Yinnian.
He had prepared himself to sacrifice his body, but Fang Yinnian called a stop at a certain moment and told the original host to get the hell out.
Failing before he could even start, the original host couldn’t compliment Fang Yinnian’s temper and was about to give up. Unexpectedly, Fang Yinnian suddenly decided to keep him as a sugar baby.
What the original host hadn’t expected was that the reason Fang Yinnian had kept his chastity for so long was that, while he was indeed gay, he was fundamentally not a top.
The original host was trapped. He didn’t like men, and every intimate encounter with Fang Yinnian was torture.
Fang Yinnian indeed liked the original host’s physical appearance, but was dissatisfied with everything else. He “trained” the original host like training a dog—everything had to go Fang Yinnian’s way. Even if he didn’t love him, he had to pretend to.
Fang Yinnian knew the original host didn’t love him and only wanted resources and benefits, but he didn’t care. He only needed the original host to be obedient and serve as a tool for his amusement.
The original host climbed into Fang Yinnian’s bed but never gained his trust.
The original host could afford to wait, but Cheng Nuo lost patience and began to hatch other plans.
He knew the original host felt humiliated, was suffering in silence, and that his psychology was becoming twisted. Fundamentally, Xiao Ji was still a straight man.
Cheng Nuo set a trap, drugging the original host. While his mind was clouded, Cheng Nuo hired an escort to climb into his bed and leaked the information to Fang Yinnian.
When Fang Yinnian caught them in the act, he was furious and immediately got into a physical altercation with the original host.
With the escort adding fuel to the fire, things got out of hand. The original host accidentally fell, striking the back of his head on the sharp edge of a coffee table.
He died on the spot. Simultaneously, media reporters barged through the hotel door. The evidence was irrefutable, and the scandal was massive. Despite his deep background, Fang Yinnian couldn’t escape imprisonment.
[Mission: Clean up the soul fragment of the fugitive Cheng Nuo. Replace the original host, Xiao Ji, and obtain Fang Yinnian’s true heart.]
Tying the wrong red string is a terrible thing.
It forces a bond between people who are unsuitable and unlikely to generate love, creating a connection that is certainly not a benevolent destiny.
Xiao Ji felt this was ridiculous.
Just because he refused a bribe and, in accordance with the law, beat the only son of a meritorious heavenly official to death, stripping his immortal bones and forcing him to reincarnate, he was demoted here to complete such a meaningless task.
And he had known Yinnian for a long time.
A famous scoundrel in the Heavens.
Stubborn, ungovernable, constantly dancing frantically on the edge of the law, yet never crossing the line. Xiao Ji had monitored him for a long time and clashed with him many times, but never found a reason to arrest him.
It was infuriating.
When Xiao Ji arrived in this world, the timeline was the night Fang Yinnian got drunk and the original host took him home for the first time.
The original host had just escorted Fang Yinnian through the door when 037 collected his soul. The handover wasn’t even complete when Xiao Ji arrived, so 037 hurriedly gave him three words:
[Take him down.]
So, when he followed Fang Yinnian into the bedroom and faced the question of why he hadn’t left yet and what he was doing there, Xiao Ji cut straight to the chase:
“Cheng Nuo told me to climb into your bed.”
Fang Yinnian knew of Xiao Ji. Not only did he know him, but for a period, he had silently monitored his career movements.
But as the boss, Fang Yinnian had never interacted with Xiao Ji.
Even from the moment Xiao Ji replaced the driver to drive him home, neither had spoken a word.
And the result? The very first sentence Xiao Ji said to Fang Yinnian in this life successfully made Fang Yinnian laugh out of anger.
He sat on the edge of the bed, scrutinizing Xiao Ji’s flawless face and looking into his deep, bottomless eyes. “So, if Cheng Nuo tells you to come, you come? Are you Cheng Nuo’s dog?”
“Get out.”
Fang Yinnian was prepared for Xiao Ji to be shameless, to pester and fight for himself.
He wanted to see Xiao Ji make a fool of himself. He wanted to see what kind of exhilarating scene it would be for someone like Xiao Ji to kneel at his feet and beg for a chance.
It wasn’t that Fang Yinnian was dramatic, but it was public knowledge that anyone who managed to climb into his—so far untouched—bed would gain immeasurable benefits.
Unexpectedly, heaven did not grant his wish.
Xiao Ji said “Okay,” turned around, and walked away.
He actually walked away. Fang Yinnian was instantly displeased, his smile vanishing.
“Roll back here.”
Xiao Ji looked back at Fang Yinnian. “Are you sure?”
Fang Yinnian leaned back on his hands, the alcohol fueling his boldness as he stared at Xiao Ji.
“Didn’t you want to climb into my bed? Come here. If you don’t serve me well, I’ll make sure you don’t even know how you died.”
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