Because the person in the photo was none other than Jiang Shunnian.
His age, height, and weight all matched perfectly. Even the incident four years ago, where he’d been forced out of the industry due to attempted hidden rules, lined up flawlessly. His appearance bore a striking seventy percent resemblance to the sketch.
Viewed in isolation, there might have seemed to be differences, but once the photo was compared side-by-side with the sketch, it was clear: this was absolutely the same person.
The assistant couldn’t help but think, No wonder the boss is interested in Jiang Shunnian. It’s all come full circle—it’s him.
What kind of fated plot is this?
But here’s the problem: Jiang Shunnian already has a child. Does our boss still have a chance?
The assistant held up the photo and dialed Fu Yanli’s video call.
By now, Fu Yanli had returned home and changed into a set of black silk loungewear. The soft fabric perfectly outlined his toned physique. His features were strikingly handsome—high brow bones, deep-set eyes—but what drew people in most were those eyes of his: dark as ink yet shimmering with golden flecks, both mysterious and noble.
In the company employee group chats, discussions about President Fu’s eyes never died down.
The assistant, however, had seen them so often that he remained unfazed. He reported the investigation results to Fu Yanli, making sure to emphasize that the lead on Jiang Shunnian came from his appearance on a parent-child variety show—the words “parent-child” deliberately stressed, in hopes the boss would grasp that the man he fancied was a family man.
Fu Yanli naturally understood his assistant’s implication. He lowered his gaze to the image of Jiang Shunnian on the screen. The young man’s features were gentle, his eyes clear and bright—the very first person he’d wanted to reach out to upon seeing him.
At this moment, he was certain: Jiang Shunnian was the one who’d shared that midnight with him four years ago. Yet fate had played a cruel trick—Jiang Shunnian already had a child.
That night, though Jiang Shunnian had resisted at first, he’d eventually responded to him. Perhaps it was the drug’s effect.
That chaotic evening couldn’t be pinned as anyone’s fault. And since Jiang Shunnian had chosen to slip away injured in secret, it meant he wanted no entanglements with him. Therefore, Fu Yanli shouldn’t appear before him now and cause him any trouble.
Fu Yanli fell silent for a moment before replying, “I understand. Let’s end the matter here.”
The assistant had been with Fu Corporation for three years and knew his boss had always carried a torch for someone, searching tirelessly in every way possible. He believed Fu Yanli would make an ideal partner—handsome, fit, wealthy in every regard, and most impressively, scandal-free and devoted in matters of the heart. In his mind, he sighed: Maybe Heaven thinks Fu Yanli is too perfect and wants to throw him a setback.
—Of course, that notion would soon be dispelled. President Fu was still destiny’s favorite, after all.
After hanging up, Fu Yanli walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the dazzling city lights and endless traffic flow. His expression was one of quiet melancholy.
He’d originally wanted to pull up the variety show video to see how Jiang Shunnian was doing—he must be faring well to land a spot on such a hot program. But he couldn’t bear to see that child, so in the end, he did nothing.
The next day, Fu Yanli had fully composed himself. He instructed his assistant to liaise with Jiang Shunnian’s current agency and offer him some resources—but without revealing anything.
The assistant sighed inwardly once more at what a stand-up guy President Fu was, then promptly contacted Shixu Media to make it happen.
Pei Qingyi soon got wind of it. Hearing that Shixu Media was the one extending the offers, he slid over several scripts—movies and TV dramas alike, all collaborations with top directors, the kind that insiders would claw each other’s faces off to snag.
And the stance was that Jiang Shunnian could pick whatever he wanted—even lead roles.
Pei Qingyi’s refined features creased with a frown. It was baffling—why feed so many resources to Jiang Shunnian?
He certainly wouldn’t naively assume Shixu admired Jiang Shunnian’s acting skills. If that were the case, why had they rejected collaborating before?
So, only one possibility: someone high up at the Fu Corporation behind Shixu had taken a shine to Jiang Shunnian.
It wasn’t an unreasonable suspicion; such things were commonplace in the industry.
Pei Qingyi had already dug into most of Jiang Shunnian’s past experiences. The only loose end was the identity of the big shot who’d targeted him back then—too much time had passed, and the perpetrator was undoubtedly someone powerful, or they couldn’t have driven him out of the circle.
Someone from the Fu Family? Seeing Jiang Shunnian make a comeback, they want to pull the hidden rules stunt again?
Pei Qingyi went on high alert in an instant.
He himself hailed from the prestigious Pei Family—not the main branch, but the Pei Family was tight-knit. When he’d started his agency, they’d backed him substantially, just like with Baby Travel Plan, where Pei Corporation was an investor, earning him a guest spot.
Thus, his artists absolutely didn’t need to sell themselves for resources.
Pei Qingyi immediately called Shixu’s general manager and cut straight to it: “If this requires Jiang Shunnian to do anything excessive, I’m afraid I can’t agree.”
Shixu’s general manager was the one filled with the most regret. How could he have foreseen Jiang Shunnian’s connections? He’d tried to read Fu Yanli’s mind back then and passed on signing him. Now the guy was at Huazhen, and even sending resources meant jumping through Pei Qingyi’s hoops!
If only they’d signed him initially—no amount of compensation now would draw attention.
But what was done was done. Regret was useless. He could only give a wry laugh: “President Pei, you’ve misunderstood. Shixu is sincerely interested in working with Teacher Jiang. No strings attached. We can sign a contract—if we breach it, you set the penalty clause. How’s that?”
Pei Qingyi couldn’t fathom why Shixu was groveling like this. Maybe their boss lost his mind.
These were solid resources indeed. If there were truly no conditions, with Jiang Shunnian’s talent, he could skyrocket to fame. Pei Qingyi couldn’t reject blindly; he needed to consult the man himself.
Thus, he conceded: “Alright, I’ll ask Jiang Shunnian first.”
Though their interactions had been limited, Pei Qingyi had a hunch he wouldn’t go for it.
Sure enough, upon hearing Shixu was offering resources, Jiang Shunnian’s first reaction was that history was repeating itself. It wasn’t vanity—he’d been through it before.
Back then, his agent had dangled prime resources to lure him to a dinner party, only for him to shut it down flat.
This felt exactly the same.
“President Pei, I don’t do that sort of thing,” Jiang Shunnian said. He let Nono play with the Rubik’s Cube on his own and stepped into the bedroom to take the call. “I just want to succeed through my own efforts. These resources are too good to be true for where I’m at right now.”
He did need money, wanted to build a nest egg for Nono, but he also had to lead by example, setting the right values for his son.
Pei Qingyi thought, Just as I figured, but he explained that Shixu had no strings attached.
Still, Jiang Shunnian refused. No unearned rewards.
But after turning it down, he worried Pei Qingyi might think him ungrateful. Fortunately, Pei Qingyi spoke up: “I’ll turn them down for you, then. Huazhen’s resources are no slouch. Focus on enjoying time with Nono for now.”
A wave of warmth surged in Jiang Shunnian’s heart. “Thank you, President Pei.”
If he’d landed with an agency like this back then, he probably wouldn’t have been forced out, wasting his prime four years.
But then again, he wouldn’t have Nono.
Was it curse or blessing? Who could say? Jiang Shunnian only knew to seize the present.
After Pei Qingyi’s second rejection, Shixu’s general manager reported back to the assistant with a long face, convinced his position was on the chopping block.
The assistant braced himself to update Fu Yanli, stressing that Jiang Shunnian had firmly refused personally. Fu Yanli was a bit surprised but admired his character all the more.
“Have Shixu keep an eye out. We’ll collaborate with Jiang Shunnian when a suitable opportunity arises.”
“Got it, President Fu.”
The matter didn’t impact Jiang Shunnian at all. Instead, Yu Yanchen video-called him.
“Shunnian, do you know what drama President Pei signed me for? Military theme, and the director’s making us train for two months first!” Yu Yanchen had tanned a bit, his white teeth flashing in a grin.
He showed off his training progress on camera—his already impressive muscles bulging with raw power when he flexed.
Jiang Shunnian laughed. “Looking good.”
“Yeah! And get this—I’m playing the soldier king!” Though exhausted, Yu Yanchen’s eyes sparkled. “Brother, I’m finally shooting a satellite TV drama, haha! Thanks, President Pei! May President Pei live a hundred years!”
Recalling his recent chat with Pei Qingyi, Jiang Shunnian wholeheartedly agreed: “Long live President Pei!”
Yu Yanchen burst out laughing.
They bantered for a bit until Yu Yanchen was called back to training. Jiang Shunnian then returned to the script Zhao Yuanzhou had passed him.
This one was an ancient idol drama, but an S+ platform project. Despite his skyrocketing popularity from Baby Travel Plan, Jiang Shunnian’s foundations were still shallow, so he was auditioning for the third male lead.
The third male was an orphan the female lead had once saved. He harbored a secret crush, knowing he was unworthy, so he buried his feelings. Later, when she was schemed against, he disguised himself in her clothes to draw off the pursuers, ultimately dying pierced by a hail of arrows.
If he nailed the audition, Jiang Shunnian would have to tackle a female disguise.
He had no strong opinions on it—anything for the role. The character was solid. Though he only had a brief bio without the full script, Jiang Shunnian was eager to challenge himself.
So lately, he’d been studying how other actors portrayed such roles and asked Zhao Yuanzhou for acting classes.
The almighty President Pei brought in a professor for private lessons—three hours a week.
Filming for the fourth episode of the show was about to start. Jiang Shunnian and Nono prepared with practiced ease, ready for departure.
But upon arriving at the site, the Village Chief announced: “Kids, today we have a mystery little guest! Complete his tasks to earn points. Points can be redeemed for ingredients, and the kid with the most points gets a luxury gift package from the mystery guest!”
Jiang Shunnian’s expression faded slightly, his right eyelid twitching nonstop. Something bad’s coming.
And when the mystery guest appeared, Jiang Shunnian’s face darkened instantly!
