He recalled that night in the hotel—how he had accidentally torn Han Cheng’s Necktie, and the things he had done to Han Cheng… Not only did the other party not blame him, but he was even willing to lend him a hand. Ji Nuo’s nose stung with emotion. The greatest luck in his life was probably becoming a fan of such an outstanding idol.
Unfortunately, his fate was poor. He had no way to accept the kindness, nor could he repay it. Ji Nuo opened the Orange App, planning to search for the same model and find a sourcing agent to buy a replacement. It was probably the only thing he could do before he left.
But the previous night, he had searched far too much information on malignant tumors and various terminal illnesses. Opening the Orange App, a string of medical-related listings popped up first.
Everything from custom Cremation Urns to comprehensive End-of-Life Supplies was readily available. The topmost, gilded promotional slot was for a burgeoning new industry—a recommendation for Hospice Care Workers.
With birth rates and marriage rates consistently declining year after year, the number of individuals living alone was growing ever larger. Professional Hospice Care Workers had emerged in response to this demand.
Ji Nuo had heard about it back when he was signing up for the college entrance exams. It was a hugely popular major with very high admission scores, specifically cultivating high-quality nursing talent.
The income was generous, and the professional standards were high. The job was to ensure the quality and quantity of care for a patient’s final journey. It required not only offering the most professional bodily care but also proficiency in psychology to promptly soothe the patient’s emotional state.
Ji Nuo certainly couldn’t afford a service costing hundreds of thousands per year. But he saw a picture with bold text indicating that during a promotional period, one could enjoy a free one-month trial for online consultations…
Half an hour later, Ji Nuo passed the customer service review. Once his trial eligibility was activated, he entered the interface to select a Gold Medal Nurse.
Ji Nuo selected a male Gold Medal Hospice Nurse named “Orange.” Proficient in psychology, nutrition, and basic medicine, with over five years of experience in malignant tumor care… nearly a thousand words of introduction. The resume was very impressive.
Though Ji Nuo felt all these Gold Medal Nurses were likely highly skilled, he chose this one simply because Han Cheng’s fans were called Oranges. He was one of them, so this name gave him a special sense of familiarity.
Customer Service: [Dear, your personal account has been submitted. Nurse Orange will add you within seven days. Please wait patiently~]
Ji Nuo thought the promotion was so popular he’d have a long wait. Unexpectedly, right after showering, he received a friend request.
[e has requested to add you as a friend]
Ji Nuo wiped the water mist off the screen with his towel, muttering an “e” under his breath before tapping accept.
Immediately, he received the system’s default verification message from e: [I am e]
Ji Nuo: [Hello, just call me Xiao Nuo.]
Ji Nuo: [Looking at your intro, you have a Psychological Counselor certificate. Can I first consult on some psychology-related questions?]
e: [?]
Best Actor Han, who had learned numerous skills for his roles, happened to possess just such a certificate.
Looking at the “Typing…” notification on the screen, Han Cheng felt something was a bit odd, but after thinking for a moment, he still replied: [Sure.]
~
Ji Nuo had survived until now mostly by his own strength. He was used to being resilient. Because he was busy struggling to make a living, he couldn’t even afford the most basic time commitment needed for making friends. Thus, he had no friends and was also very unskilled at communicating and reading other people’s intentions.
Over the years, besides working and studying, the thing he likely invested the most extra energy in was probably idol-chasing.
However, his way of being a fan was quite different from most. Although he had become a Die-hard Fan from Han Cheng’s very first movie, he had only ever spent money on a few movie tickets and written some film reviews that weren’t particularly deep.
Han Cheng was very skilled at filming difficult, hard-hitting subject matters. And Ji Nuo, who had always lived amidst hardship, had countless times drawn the strength to keep moving forward from the outlook conveyed in Han Cheng’s movies. Thus, he regarded Han Cheng as a precious guiding star.
He had always believed his reverence for Han Cheng surpassed his affection. Until that time at Director Wang’s birthday banquet, where he accidentally drank some spiked drink, and the beast in his heart was unleashed…
Ji Nuo took a deep breath and, with the mindset of confessing to the heavens, typed out a line: [I lost control after drinking and molested my senior…]
Han Cheng: ?
To make his Psychological Counselor understand just how abhorrent his actions were, Ji Nuo blushed as he recalled the events of that night: [My physical strength has always been slightly greater than a normal person’s since I was young. That day, I barged into his room and tore off his necktie in one yank. Then, on his neck, cheeks, and the back of his neck… I left many large kiss marks…]
Han Cheng: …
Although he realized the other party seemed to have mistaken his identity, the situation was, uncommonly, giving him a headache.
Ji Nuo was confessing very earnestly: […When I was forcefully kissing him, my momentum was too strong. I headbutted him hard, and both of us were knocked out at the same time. We ended up sleeping it off in a daze… leading many people to misunderstand our relationship the next day.]
Black-faced, Han Cheng put down his phone and pinched the bridge of his nose.
On the other end of the phone, Ji Nuo was still earnestly tapping at the screen, meticulously dissecting the sins of his own hands-on desecration of divinity.
As for the series of irreversible consequences it had triggered, Ji Nuo couldn’t think of an equivalent replacement scenario for a moment. After hesitating for quite a while, he wrote with difficulty:
[Originally, the chairman intended to marry his daughter to him. But because something like this happened between us, to avoid making things awkward for me, he intends to be my fake boyfriend for a while.]
Han Cheng took a deep breath.
Ji Nuo: [This matter has affected his career tremendously. He’s also been misunderstood and cursed because of it. The real situation is far, far more serious than what I’ve described.]
Ji Nuo: [Do you think… he might like me?]
Han Cheng forcefully refrained from replying. This had all happened by accident, and if he exposed it now, they wouldn’t be able to continue interacting. As long as he didn’t reply, even if Ji Nuo later discovered this was his account, he could just brush it off as a software bug; he hadn’t seen anything.
Ji Nuo continued: [Customer service should have submitted my specific situation. You also know that dragging this out now will only cause my senior greater losses, so I’ve already asked to withdraw.
What I wanted to consult you about is, if his actions really do mean he has feelings for me, is there anything I can do before I leave to make it up to him as much as possible?]
Ji Nuo: [He is an especially, especially good person. I don’t want him to suffer the slightest bit of harm because of me. I truly am not worthy…]
Ji Nuo waited for a while, but the other party sent no reply. He glanced at the time in the upper left corner. It was nearly two in the morning. Rubbing the drowsiness returning to his eyes, he added, very sensibly:
[It’s too late, you should sleep first. Customer service said the trial applications are super numerous and need a seven-day queue, so I totally didn’t expect you to add me so soon. I’m not in a rush on my end. We can talk when you have time. Goodnight /Moon /Folded Hands]
Han Cheng’s deep, sharp brows were tightly furrowed. He fell silent for a moment, then closed the chat window and left a message for Xu Li: [No matter what reason Ji Nuo plans to use to refuse, keep him.]
He then raised his eyes to look at his assistant sitting nearby, yawning repeatedly. “What happened with Ji Nuo today?”
Qian Lei rallied his spirits and told Han Cheng about the fake news of Ji Nuo’s “arrest,” pulling a Salted Lemon Candy from his pocket to perk himself up.
It had been nearly two years since he last accompanied Han Cheng on a film set. This time filming in a no-man’s-land, the conditions were absurdly bad, and on top of that, this movie had an excessive number of night scenes. He had only been following for a month already and felt he was about to wither into a dried husk.
Contrasting himself, Han Cheng could stay busy till the wee hours and still have the energy to care about his rumored love interest thousands of miles away. Qian Lei gave a silent thumbs up.
Han Cheng’s frown didn’t relax. “No one clarified?”
Qian Lei thought to himself, Ji Nuo’s terrible agent, aside from collecting money, was practically dead at all other times. Not only that, but he’d heard Ji Nuo’s Weibo account had long been taken over by the company. Therefore, after the two were bundled together, everything concerning Ji Nuo had to be managed by their side. It was enough to give Xu Li a headache.
He wiped his face, suppressing his drowsiness to explain. “It was clarified within the golden four hours, but not many people believed it. Xiaoshan says Sister Li has other arrangements.”
Han Cheng’s thin lips pressed tight, his expression turning cold. Qian Lei’s sleepiness immediately dissipated for the most part. “What’s wrong, Brother Cheng?”
Although Han Cheng was always generous and easygoing with his staff, his facial lines were too sharp and severe, and he carried an innate air of noble superiority. When his face was expressionless, it always made those around him feel increased pressure.
Han Cheng shook his head. “Keep an eye on the online trends tomorrow. Let me know promptly.”
Qian Lei immediately acknowledged. Watching Han Cheng close his tired eyes and begin to rest, he himself was no longer sleepy. Puzzled, he muttered internally.
It was just a couple of lines of dialogue delivered together many years ago. Han Cheng, as a senior, had encouraged Ji Nuo a few words. Why did he need to take on such a huge responsibility?
Even taking ten thousand steps back, even if Ji Nuo truly entered the industry because of Brother Cheng, that was still the personal behavior of a fan. Even if his Boss Han usually looked past everything except acting skills, there was no need to willingly take on such a messy burden.
The entertainment circle was full of shadow-chasing speculation, but Qian Lei had heard so many negative things about Ji Nuo that he was still influenced. His initial impression of Ji Nuo had been very poor.
Plus, the morning after the incident, it was him who went to the hotel garage to pick up Han Cheng. Witnessing with his own eyes his always noble and dignified Best Actor boss’s neck and behind-the-ear area covered in patches of intense red marks, it could only be described as a “tragic sight.” It led him to momentarily suspect Ji Nuo was a Vacuum Cupping Jar Spirit made manifest.
And since Han Cheng had up till now remained completely tight-lipped about that night, Qian Lei felt even more strongly that his boss had very likely been honey-trapped by a D-list celebrity. This caused him, much like the general public, to have an increasingly awful impression of Ji Nuo.
However, Qian Lei couldn’t dictate his boss’s decisions. Now he just hoped Ji Nuo would cause less trouble and obediently listen to Sister Li, go on the kid variety show, and behave well.
Since it had already come to this, it would be a real waste if Brother Cheng didn’t use this chance to smoothly pivot his image.
Once they got through the kid variety show, Xue Xiaoshan could come back to be his Life Assistant. His own old bones were more suited to staying in Cloud City handling business deals.
~
Although Ji Nuo fell asleep in the latter half of the night, it was a very restless sleep.
Dream after dream, he startled awake several times. It wasn’t until close to dawn that he settled into a sound sleep, not waking until nine-thirty.
He woke and reached for his phone, wanting to check if the male nurse Orange had replied. Instead, he saw a reply from Xu Li.
Agent Xu: [Fine.]
Agent Xu: [Not counting the tenfold penalty for breaching the Contract Lovers agreement, our side would likely lose approximately ninety million in project substitutions and pre-production promotional costs due to your contract breach. Wait until noon when the finance department’s detailed report comes out…]
Ji Nuo sucked in a sharp breath, thinking he was still dreaming.
His account balance at its peak had never exceeded ninety thousand. Having the debt suddenly multiplied a thousandfold, he almost failed to grip his phone properly.
He had completely failed to previously consider that Han Cheng joining “Where Are the Cubs Going?” also required project substitutions.
As a Die-hard Fan of Han Cheng, because he had struggled to balance work and studies in the past two years, living somewhat roughly, his attention on Han Cheng had diminished significantly. He had always assumed Han Cheng’s variety show debut was something the platforms begged him to do.
He was completely unaware that Top Streamer Cen Xi, two years older than Han Cheng, was already at the point where a career pivot was mandatory. He had long set his sights on the S-Tier variety show “Where Are the Cubs Going?” on Mangosteen Platform.
And there could only be one group of intern parents. Best Actor Han had directly used other collaborative projects to suppress Cen Xi, who had been preparing to bring investment capital to get onto the show.
Ji Nuo had previously planned to falsely claim he had pestered Han Cheng relentlessly, even using his life as a threat, and the other party merely acknowledged the relationship out of kindness. Given their vastly different public reputations, he was confident he could completely extricate Han Cheng.
But seeing the content Xu Li had sent, Ji Nuo only now realized it was no longer something he could simply gloss over with an unbinding statement regarding the previous Official Announcement between them.
Ji Nuo stared at the astronomical figure on the screen, his brain entering a state of total crash…
~
Just as expected, before Xu Li could even send him the detailed data, Ji Nuo had already agreed to obediently cooperate with the agreement.
Xu Li put away her phone, pushed up her sunglasses, and had Xue Xiaoshan drive straight to the orphanage on the outskirts.
She instructed Xue Xiaoshan to carry a huge bag of snacks and toys to first go and charm the child, while she headed directly to the Dean’s office.
Although Xue Xiaoshan looked burly and bear-like, like a rough fellow, he actually had a meticulous and patient nature, making him very good with children. The reason he hadn’t followed Best Actor Han to the northwest deserts for filming this time was precisely so he could stay behind to assist Ji Nuo with the child on the kid variety show.
As a Gold Medal Agent, Xu Li had always been skilled in negotiating collaborations. Moreover, she had contacted an intermediary beforehand to pave the way. Upon arrival, she used both reason and emotion, and in less than half an hour, she persuaded the Orphanage Dean to agree to a mutually beneficial arrangement.
The Dean could agree so readily partly because Xu Li made a generous donation in the Movie Emperor’s name. The program could also bring exposure to the orphanage, attract more compassionate individuals, create better living conditions for the children there, and the person bringing the child on the show was conveniently the child’s lifesaver—his character was even more guaranteed.
On the other hand, the newly accepted child’s blood sample hadn’t found a match in the provincial database.
He had been in this line of work for nearly twenty years. Based on Lu Ao’ao’s situation, the probability of finding the parents even after sending it to the national database was also slim.
But this child possessed a very distinctive pair of grayish-blue eyes. Being on the show with more exposure might just allow his biological parents or relatives to see him. As long as they could guarantee the child wouldn’t face discrimination, mistreatment, or come to any physical harm, going on the show would bring him far more benefits than drawbacks.
The Dean took a light sip of tea and then put forward one last demand. “If the child’s parents come forward midway, I hope you will place the right to decide the subsequent filming in their hands.”
Xu Li readily agreed with a smile. “Naturally, of course. The child’s well-being comes first. Rest assured, with the livestream cameras running twenty-four hours a day, Teacher Han and Little Ji will certainly take good care of him…”
Xu Li had everything arranged perfectly on her end, assuming Xue Xiaoshan could easily win the child over.
After all, a four-year-old child who had been abducted, then wandered for days before nearly being abducted again, must surely be at a sensitive, affection-starved stage.
Whether it was a gentle, lovable big brother like Xue Xiaoshan, or that huge bag of snacks and toys, normal young children would find it very hard to resist.
But when she, accompanied by the Dean, arrived at the room where Little Friend Lu Ao’ao was located, what she saw was the child sitting grandly in a small child’s chair, bold and confident, playing with Xue Xiaoshan’s phone. The Burly Assistant stood to the side like a meek little wife.
Seeing Xu Li finally arrive, Xue Xiaoshan was about to whimper. He immediately reported to her in a voice only the two of them could hear, “He says he’s not going.”
Xu Li raised an eyebrow. Seeing Xue Xiaoshan’s complicated expression, she turned back, smiled, and told the Dean she’d like to speak with the child alone.
Lu Aotian recognized Xue Xiaoshan at first glance as that useless big guy from before. He had zero interest in Xue Xiaoshan’s suggestion of finding parents on a show. However, he rather found the other’s phone, with its privacy screen protector, extremely handy.
He switched to incognito browsing and swiftly flipped through every piece of online news related to the Lu Corporation he could find.
He could basically confirm that the timeline hadn’t been moved earlier; rather, he had mistakenly transmigrated to before his own birth. Because the Lu Corporation was just like in his previous life—at this point in time, it hadn’t yet gradually shifted back to the domestic market.
As an unborn child, quite apart from whether the police would believe a three- or four-year-old child claiming to be the Lu’s future heir was contacting them on their behalf, Lu Family—so long as they hadn’t gone insane—wouldn’t rush back from thousands of miles away to cooperate with him on a Paternity Test…
Lu Aotian smirked crookedly. Difficulties? Nonexistent. There was nothing he, the magnificent Long Aotian, couldn’t accomplish.
