Early in the morning on September 1st, the production team arrived at the house.
“My, President Han’s house is so big and beautiful! A courtyard, cats, a glasshouse in the garden… so many fragrance collections in the study!”
“Mm.”
If no one praised it, Pei Zhen would almost forget how luxurious and dreamlike his current life was.
Indeed.
In the courtyard were flowers and plants, a perfume display cabinet, a glass perfumer’s workstation, a cat, and an obedient doggo. The epitome of a life winner’s checklist.
But who could have imagined that just half a year ago, this small suburban villa was a lonely, frosty, cold place that couldn’t be called a home at all?
It hadn’t really changed. The orange cat was the same orange cat, the decor was still the original decor, the garden was still the old garden.
If one had to point out a difference—a dazzling little wolfdog to call his own?
He remembered meeting him just as winter ended, and bringing him home when spring flowers were blooming. Now it was September. The lingering heat of the scorching summer was still there, sunlight striking the glass tiles, scattering brilliance everywhere.
He shook his head. He lowered his gaze and chuckled to himself, then turned and went to the kitchen to brew some coffee.
The producer was seated on the sofa, explaining the schedule and precautions for the upcoming competition in detail to Han Fu and Fatty.
……
The PA Competition’s Elimination Round would officially air on September 15th, the Saturday after next.
Twelve outstanding contestants who had fought their way out of the pack would make a dazzling appearance, competing on the same stage for the national championship. Ten renowned professional perfumers from both domestic and international circles were also invited to serve as judges for each round, ensuring fairness and impartiality in the competition.
Among these ten elite professionals, three young and accomplished perfumers stood out, concurrently serving as “Mentors.”
They were: Redberry China’s “Brother Poison Grass” Zhu Su, the Female Head of the well-known domestic independent brand “Fragrance Noble House” Ye Zhenyi, and Belle’s “Gold-Medal Perfumer” Yi Changqing, who had specifically taken a long leave of absence to return to China and support PA.
The twelve contestants would be evenly divided among these three mentors.
Each mentor would be responsible for guiding four apprentices, striving to provide the most professional industry advice to their assigned contestants and helping them gain more from the competition and go further.
Pei Zhen was returning to the living room carrying a tray of steaming coffee when he heard Fatty lamenting dramatically:
“So many people made it through the open auditions, and it all gets chopped down to a tenth in just one episode? That’s too brutal! Is this Gu poison cultivation or something?”
Gu cultivation, a rumored secret art from Yunnan—the method involves placing a multitude of venomous snakes and insects into a single vessel and letting them bite and devour each other. The last one to survive becomes the ultimate poison, the “Gu.”
Fatty was referring to the “Pilot Episode” preceding the PA Elimination Round next Saturday. In the “Pilot Episode,” the ninety-plus contestants who had passed the open auditions would be ruthlessly slashed down to a mere ten in a single, very short episode.
Only ten people would enter the Elimination Round.
Because there were only twelve spots in total, and two of them were already pre-occupied by Redberry and Belle’s “recommendation qualifications.” What the remaining contestants faced was truly a bloody, brutal fight for survival, just like cultivating Gu.
“Mr. Gu, please don’t get so worked up,” the producer smiled, soothing Fatty. “The ‘Pilot Episode’ only eliminates the open audition contestants; it won’t affect you or President Han. Asking you two to come on the 8th is mainly to get familiar with the environment, meet the mentors, shoot more promotional footage, and get to know the venue… it’ll be very relaxed!”
As Pei Zhen handed the coffee to the producer, Han Fu happened to be asking, “On the day of the Pilot Episode, will Yi Changqing be there too?”
Indeed, the doggo’s hostility towards Yi Changqing remained deep as ever.
……
Yi Changqing, as a “Mentor,” would naturally be present for the entire competition.
Sometimes, Pei Zhen looked back and thought—some matters, though the process was tortuous, the final result seemed fated by heaven.
Now, Han Fu, carrying Redberry’s recommendation quota, had been automatically assigned to the guidance of Redberry China’s “Brother Poison Grass” Zhu Su.
If it weren’t for that anonymous whistleblower behind the scenes canceling his Grasse recommendation qualification, leading him to end up with Redberry… if he had emerged victorious from Grasse Academy, wouldn’t he now be assigned to Yi Changqing’s tutelage under the Belle brand?
That would have been a huge, bold-font disaster.
……
“Zhenzhen, look at this. How does it compare to the last one?”
After the producer left, the little wolfdog stood before Pei Zhen for the seventeenth time that day, having changed into yet another new outfit.
Honestly… a handsome man simply looks good in anything.
Even this bizarre watermelon-red shirt, which had mysteriously appeared in his wardrobe at some unknown point, looked so good on the little wolfdog’s straight-backed frame that one instantly felt the urge to reach out with a spoon for a sweet, succulent scoop.
Pei Zhen, sitting on the sofa, nodded: “Looks good.”
Han Fu’s face turned “=_=#”: “You say ‘looks good’ to every single one! Every single time, it’s just a distracted, automatic reply!”
Pei Zhen was also helpless. Distracted? He was telling the truth; was that not allowed?
The truth was, whether it was a suit, a casual jacket, hip-hop style, or shiny studs, the little wolfdog could carry it all off like a model. It was hard to choose.
“It really does look good, I’m not lying to you,” he said. “Might look even better without anything on.”
Han Fu froze, then his eyes lit up.
Though he clearly had no tail, an invisible tail seemed to wag a few times. It was just hard to tell whether it was a wolf’s tail or a dog’s tail.
Pei Zhen: “……”
Preventing premature senility starts with me. He genuinely had no intention of teasing the little wolfdog just now. What happened? How did what he was thinking just slip out?
A shadow fell before his eyes. The little wolfdog’s body suddenly blocked the light from the floor-to-ceiling window behind him. As he closed in, he silently began pulling down his jacket zipper.
Pei Zhen, still seated on the sofa: “What do you think you’re doing?”
“You said it looks better without anything on.” In a couple of movements, the young man’s abdominal muscles and smooth, tempting abs were fully visible. Then he actually started undoing his pants zipper.
Pei Zhen pulled it back up for him. “Broad daylight! No hooliganism in the living room!”
Han Fu’s face was a picture of youthful innocence, but the words he whispered close to Pei Zhen’s ear were anything but: “Then, how about we go cause some trouble in the bedroom?”
Pei Zhen: “Fine, fine! I’ll seriously, really seriously give you my opinion on your clothes, alright! Go change, go put on the next one!”
Han Fu got the order, went shirtless to the changing room, did a quick fake loop around, and came right back.
“Look, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes.'”
This guy hadn’t even finished with that joke yet. Pei Zhen sighed.
He extended his hand palm-up. The little wolfdog let out a “Woof!” and dashed over, obediently placing his paw in Pei Zhen’s hand. Pei Zhen pulled him down to sit. “Be serious for a moment. I need to tell you something.”
“I’m listening.”
“Then listen properly. Don’t sit without any semblance of posture!”
Sit without any semblance of posture? He’d climbed right onto the sofa! Climbing was one thing, but rubbing against his arm was another. And rubbing his chest muscles deliberately against him—what the hell was that?! Stop messing around. What I have to say is actually quite serious… serious, serio—ugh, when did Han Fu recently learn to climb all over people?
You’re a doggo, not a koala!
“Sleepy,” the little wolfdog announced, mounting a Mount Tai-like crushing press, wrapping his arms around Pei Zhen’s waist and refusing to let go, acting shamelessly. “It feels so comfortable holding you like this, perfect for sleeping. Hmm, you talk, I’ll listen, and I’ll sleep a little on the side.”
Pei Zhen: “……”
Pei Zhen: “Your future matches are every Saturday. I’ll have time to come watch all of them.”
Han Fu took a deep breath against his chest, assuming a heroic, fearless expression: “Bring it on!” Then immediately melted into coquettishness. “Then if I accidentally get eliminated early, you can’t laugh at me, and even more, you can’t be mean to me.”
Pei Zhen gave an “Mm” and raised his hand, stroking the back of the little wolfdog’s neck.
“When I go to the venue to watch you, I’ll inevitably run into some old acquaintances. In China… many people in the industry should still recognize me. Even those who don’t will likely be quickly informed by others. You know my reputation isn’t very good.”
On the matter of reputation, Pei Zhen had unilaterally given up.
It was beyond repair. Apart from the major incident with the gas opium, there was also that rural soap opera rumor about the overbearing president and the ungrateful wretch, Yi Changqing. Any single one of those was enough fodder for others to feast on, gossip about, and point fingers at all afternoon.
“So, as a contestant, you have to pretend not to know me well,” he said, stroking Han Fu’s head. “From now on, outside, we ‘don’t know each other.’ Can you do that?”
The person in his arms stiffened and looked up instantly: “No way!”
He had expected this reaction. Pei Zhen sighed.
“Be good. At home, you can do whatever you want. But outside, no. You’re still young, you’re talented, almost everything is perfectly in place. Your reputation is critically important at this point in time. You absolutely cannot walk the same old path I did.”
Pei Zhen thought, he’d even said “at home you can do whatever you want”—the implication… he even felt embarrassed by it himself.
He hadn’t expected Han Fu not to have heard that half of the sentence at all; instead, Han Fu got agitated directly with him.
“Zhenzhen, the matter between us is already public! The producer knows, Yi Changqing and his brother know, Fatty knows, not to mention all of Grasse knows. Soon the other contestants will know too. Why can’t we be open and aboveboard, sweet and loving, from the very beginning?”
Pei Zhen: “It doesn’t matter if they know. What matters is not letting hundreds of thousands, even tens of millions of viewers know, and form preconceived, biased misunderstandings about you.”
“After all, right now, no one really knows you yet.”
“You need to use your strength, show your charm in front of the camera to let them get to know you and like you. If public opinion gets led astray because of my matters, trying to clear your name and turn things around later will be extremely difficult.”
“So listen to me. Keep some distance outside. It will only benefit you, no harm.”
Han Fu: “No.”
Pei Zhen: “……”
He didn’t need to elaborate; he was sure Han Fu could fully analyze the pros and cons. Though his home-raised little wolfdog was young and impulsive, he had never been unreasonable. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t understand the established “rules of the game” of the adult world.
So, why wasn’t he listening?
Did he have to act on a whim, suffer losses, taste bitterness to understand? But then it would be too late.
“If you insist on arguing with me about this,” Pei Zhen lowered his gaze, “then I simply won’t go to watch the matches.”
The little wolfdog: “If you don’t go, I’ll tell everyone during the interview. I’ll say I have a super, super wonderful boyfriend, and his name is Pei…”
“Why must you be willful on this one point?!”
Han Fu retorted, unconvinced: “Why must you care so much about what others think? This is a competition! It’s a contest of skill! Who the contestant likes, who they’re with—no one has the right to interfere. It’s not like they’ll get disqualified just because the audience is unhappy. What’s there to be afraid of!”
What do you mean, I’m afraid? What do you mean, I just have to care about what others think…
Pei Zhen was so infuriated by the unreasonable little wolfdog he pushed him aside angrily.
I’m doing this for whom!
The little wolfdog wordlessly pounced back.
Pei Zhen pushed him away again, accidentally failing to control his strength.
“Bang—”
He hit the wall. A moment of silence followed.
He probably actually hurt him. The little wolfdog didn’t say anything, just silently crept back. His abdominal muscles quivered against Pei Zhen for a few moments, and then he seemed to gently, quietly, start crying.
Fuck, this…
A sharp pang struck his heart. A feeling of guilt surfaced. In a daze, Pei Zhen remembered old family matters. Not long before he left home back then, his older sister had just broken up with her almost-fiancé.
When the whole family sat down to interrogate her, the result they pried out was utterly trivial.
It was just a minor lovers’ spat, the kind where you hit me, I hit you. Someone accidentally used too much force and hurt the other. Then it escalated into retaliatory, real hitting. Eventually, it spiraled into digging up old scores and airing dirty laundry, accusing each other of domestic abuse. And just like that, this messy, absurd chain of events led to a break-up, blocking each other, and never seeing each other again until death.
“……” In comparison, his little wolfdog was truly good. Even after being hurt by him, he still allowed Pei Zhen to hold him.
Pei Zhen held him, gently rubbing, regretting pushing him, yet he still didn’t feel he was otherwise wrong.
“Woo…”
Alright, alright. It’s my fault. It’s my fault, okay?
His heart ached, yet he found it amusing. Usually such a handsome, dashing guy, how did he turn all weepy over a single bump today? Come to think of it, where’s my phone, the red envelope app? Seems like I left it in the kitchen. Sigh.
“Then, Zhenzhen, I’ll listen to you, just this once.”
After a long while, Han Fu said, voice hoarse: “But in the future, I will absolutely never let you suffer this kind of grievance again.”
“……” Pei Zhen was stunned. Grievance? What grievance? What grievance, where did a grievance come from?
The little wolfdog lowered his head and wiped his face again. “Then, once I’ve firmly established myself in the competition, it’s okay to go public, right? Once the audience likes me, once I get more and more popular, once others can’t tear me down even if they try, then we can tell people, right, Zhenzhen?”
Pei Zhen: “……”
“Then I understand. I’ll definitely work hard. By the semi-finals or the finals, I’ll openly and honorably explain our relationship to everyone. And then I’ll win the competition. Then no one can have any complaints, right!”
No, not necessarily no complaints.
Pei Zhen was honestly impressed with himself—that even at this moment, he was still clinging to logic and rationality. Even if you become super popular, announcing a relationship can randomly lead to an internet-wide wave of blessings or a collective backlash and blacklisting campaign. It’s hard to predict.
He truly didn’t understand the little wolfdog. How could he not think more about protecting himself?
In the future, you’ll have your own independent brand. You need people to like you. You need public opinion to favor you. Having a boyfriend isn’t forbidden, but having a boyfriend with a heap of black history…
But, wait. What was this?
Logically, he had reasoned everything out perfectly clearly. Emotionally, however, he suddenly fell headlong into the epic pitfall of “Hehehehe, there’s actually someone willing to defy the whole world for me.”
Pei Zhen usually found that phrase a bit brainless.
Now he understood. Being in the middle of it felt just too damn good, irredeemably good.
Even with a dark history, someone didn’t care. Even at the risk of being dragged down, someone still wanted to protect him. Then, so be it… At worst, they’d be disliked together. It wouldn’t kill them.
If he couldn’t build an independent brand, could he not even open an OEM factory? If he really couldn’t, he’d just go home and farm sweet potatoes!
Pei Zhen felt he was probably truly done for. A man who had made fragrance blending his life’s faith was now seriously contemplating the feasibility of going back to his hometown with the little wolfdog to sell sweet potatoes.
……
Young people these days were too terrifying. They learned skills and principles so fast it was hard to cope.
For instance, at dinner, the little wolfdog put down his fork and stared at him. “Zhenzhen, regarding the matter we discussed this afternoon, I’ve already made my concession. Don’t you… have to show some gesture too?”
Pei Zhen: “???”
“You taught me before: when a deadlock can’t be resolved, both sides should take a step back. I took a step back. What about you?”
As he spoke, he reached out, grabbed Pei Zhen’s right hand, and with a swift move, yanked the black jade ring off his ring finger.
Uh… huh?
Pei Zhen: “What are you doing? You can’t take that!”
Han Fu raised an eyebrow, ignoring him, and directly slipped the ring onto his own ring finger. He examined it against the light. “Hmm, it suits me quite well. Speaking of which, Zhenzhen, we’re not even married, why do you wear this every day? Who gave it to you?”
Pei Zhen: “No one gave it! I bought it myself! Give it back! That’s called black jade but it’s actually agate, not worth much, just over a hundred yuan! I’ll buy you a good one later.”
“No~” Han Fu’s face was smug with success. “I want this one.”
Pei Zhen: “……”
That ring truly held no special meaning. It was just a “precept” he’d bought for himself. Now that the little wolfdog had pulled this stunt, he was going to become a man without his “precept” any minute now!
Forget it, forget it. What precept? What precept did he have left to speak of?
What he hadn’t expected was that this wasn’t even over yet.
……
Early on the morning of September 8th, the production team called urging them several times. After washing up, the two drove to the city’s broadcast hall to record the “Pilot Episode,” picking up Fatty and Yu Wenzhe on the way.
Fatty got in the car first. “Oho, couple outfits?”
Yu Wenzhe got in two blocks later. “Eh, you two are wearing matching couple outfits today?”
Pei Zhen: “……”
Where were the damn couple outfits?! It was just that Han Fu had pestered him into wearing a tie with the same color scheme and similar pattern as his shirt!
But Han Fu was super excited: “Is it that obvious?”
The two in the backseat nodded, nodded.
Han Fu: “Good that it’s obvious, good that it’s obvious.”
Pei Zhen: “……”
Not letting him go public openly, so he just went all out on these little flowery touches instead?
Young men these days, seriously…
