When the little cousin and Song Yun returned home to pick up Aunt Li, their expressions were still bewildered.

The two handsome men accompanying them, the bodyguards, remained extremely quiet and reserved, and they didn’t flirt with them, leaving them unable to refuse their service.

Yet it was precisely this silent but meticulous service that made them feel simultaneously indulged and, perhaps, morally compromised.

Song Yun managed better, bound by the marriage certificate, he politely declined further assistance from the handsome bodyguard after being escorted back to the presidential suite.

This referred to proper help with carrying luggage.

The little cousin, however, found it harder to resist. During the hour-long ride home with the handsome bodyguard, she sent 800 photos to her group chat, and her friends there were similarly overwhelmed, joking that she might as well accept this brother-in-law.

Of course, everyone was joking, but for the friends in the chat, the blond-haired, blue-eyed suitor had already earned their favor. At least in front of the little cousin, they described him using positive terms.

Of course, this was on the condition that his subsequent actions did not spoil the impression.

After discussing the handsome bodyguard and the blond-haired, blue-eyed suitor of Ye Wangxing, their conversation shifted back to Song Yun’s father and Ye’s mother.

“I still can’t believe these are things biological parents would say to their child.”

“More absurd parents exist, but at least these two actually spent money to provide for them.”

“Sigh… I don’t even know how your big cousin and second cousin survived, but now I suddenly understand why your second cousin ran away from home back then.”

Seeing this, the little cousin also sighed in the group chat: “There’s no helping it, my aunt and uncle are just like that. I guess you can’t hold parents accountable, they’re really bad to their kids. Luckily, my second cousin finally found a way to deal with them.”

With that, the group chat’s atmosphere lightened considerably.

“That’s true. Now that the company needs to be managed by your uncle, even if your second cousin yells at him, he probably won’t respond at all.”

“But I’m still a bit angry. Even though I know that company barely matters to your second cousin, I’m still angry that your uncle can manage a company. I can’t imagine how miserable the employees must be.”

Feng Chuan sent this message, genuinely upset. After all, the plot where a villain is rewarded was infuriating. Luckily, the next second, her anger subsided.

“Don’t worry, I just asked my second cousin. He said all he needs is a tree farm, with the trees planted in advance. He can just water and fertilize them daily, with no human employees to cause trouble.”

The little cousin said this while sending a sneaky laughing emoji, and the friends in the group chat were ecstatic.

After chatting for a while, their topic gradually shifted to the variety show and Song Yun’s attitude.

“By the way, I wonder if your big cousin will actually agree to join that variety show. It looks like his husband really wants this opportunity.”

The little cousin frowned and said: “I don’t think so. My cousin seems really opposed to joining variety shows.”

Feng Chuan replied: “That’s not necessarily true. From your earlier messages, your cousin and brother-in-law’s relationship seems okay. Even if your brother-in-law made a mistake this time, as long as he sincerely apologizes, your big cousin might actually agree to join the show.”

Wang Qi hesitated, wondering if her big cousin would really do that.

A few days later, after taking Fa Cai to experience the extravagant lifestyle with her second cousin, Wang Qi returned to the presidential suite and saw her brother-in-law talking to her big cousin.

Her heart immediately tightened.

The voices from the hallway gradually put her at ease.

Her brother-in-law didn’t kneel or slap himself, trying to coerce Song Yun’s forgiveness. He simply explained his entire thought process.

“I’m really sorry. I made such a huge mistake and hurt you. Song Yun, I was just really anxious. I’m already 32, and soon actors in this age range can only play fathers to other male actors.”

Shi Xianzhu said with a bitter smile: “The age curse in the entertainment industry has been pressing me, especially with recent contracts. Either I play a villain or act as a father to someone else’s role. I’m really scared, so I started trying to raise my fame.”

He used those sincere eyes to look at Song Yun, who pursed his lips in silence.

“I know you said honing acting skills is the most important, but I really am afraid. I fear that by my forties, I’ll have no roles left. You know I don’t like off-the-books contracts, and I haven’t participated in illegal activities, but because of that, my income has never been as high as other actors.”

Shi Xianzhu admitted openly his love for a luxurious lifestyle.

“…I really enjoy my current life, living in a big villa with a housekeeper. But if I lose my income, I couldn’t even pay the annual property fees.”

“I won’t say it’s all just for giving you a good life. I genuinely enjoy this lifestyle, but I also wanted to earn through legitimate channels. I was just too hasty.”

He spoke, a bitter expression appearing on his face once again, and Song Yun’s Adam’s apple moved several times before he let out a resigned sigh.

He turned to look at Shi Xianzhu, the square-faced man who usually radiated uprightness, now showing a hint of insecurity, which softened Song Yun’s heart.

“…I’m not over it. You brought my parents in front of me, trying to pressure me. That really crossed my bottom line.”

Shi Xianzhu lowered his head again when he heard Song Yun, a trace of dissatisfaction flashing in his eyes, but he still said: “I’m truly sorry. I didn’t expect the conflict between you two to be so serious.”

“But I can accompany you on this variety show.”

When Shi Xianzhu heard this, he suddenly lifted his head to look at Song Yun, disbelief in his eyes, quickly followed by sheer joy.

“You really are willing to go with me?!”

Song Yun smiled faintly and said: “If you talk to me properly, why would I refuse? After all, your career is a direction we’re both pursuing together.”

Shi Xianzhu happily picked Song Yun up, spun him around once, then put him down. His expression of joy was like that of a carefree young boy, infectious to anyone watching.

Even the little cousin felt a bit caught up in the excitement. Although she knew what Shi Xianzhu had done previously, he had made amends, and the rest could be left to her big cousin to handle.

However, just as the little cousin decided not to cast a disdainful look at her brother-in-law today, she turned and saw her second cousin walking quickly toward them.

The fierce pace of his steps made her think he was going to scold someone.

Fortunately, the second cousin didn’t scold anyone, and her big cousin didn’t make any protective move toward his brother-in-law either. Instead, he made space, allowing the second cousin to stand directly in front of Shi Xianzhu.

The little cousin breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, her big cousin wasn’t the type to have friends attack his husband after an argument, only to scold the friends afterward.

Shi Xianzhu, seeing his difficult little brother-in-law, immediately prepared himself to take a scolding. His “ready-to-be-reprimanded” posture made Song Yun slightly amused.

However, Song Yun didn’t intervene. If someone had acted, they had to accept the consequences.

What surprised him, though, was that Ye Wangxing didn’t scold Shi Xianzhu. Instead, he carefully scrutinized him several times before speaking.

“Since you’ve decided to participate in the variety show, when will you have the other party come to sign the contract?”

Song Yun looked at Ye Wangxing, surprised but mostly touched. He knew Ye Wangxing’s agreement was surely because he had agreed himself.

Shi Xianzhu, on the other hand, looked as if he had won a jackpot—first astonished, then repeatedly thanking his little brother-in-law.

However, three days later, when they signed the contract, Shi Xianzhu quietly swallowed his earlier “thank you.”

—Why bring such a professional lawyer for a simple contract signing?

Watching the obviously expensive lawyer beside Ye Wangxing revise seven or eight terms and distribution clauses in under ten minutes, scaring the director and legal staff, Shi Xianzhu silently screamed in his heart.

After a heated debate, they finally finalized a contract satisfactory to both parties. Song Yun’s terms had significantly improved, prompting him to look at Ye Wangxing with gratitude.

Just as they thought everything was settled, the previously dazed director seemed to remember something. He glanced at Song Yun, then at Ye Wangxing, and finally issued a sincere invitation.

“Sir, we’re still short two guest participants for our show. Would you like to join?”

The first day of the variety show arrived quickly, and Song Yun and Shi Xianzhu sat in their respective seats.

Shi Xianzhu remained composed, but Song Yun felt nervous. It was his first live broadcast, and he worried about making mistakes that might provoke online harassment.

Having witnessed numerous cases of cyberbullying, Song Yun was extremely wary of ending up in the same situation, unable to explain himself. Coupled with recent events and the occasional harassment from his parents, he had been unable to fully relax.

Fortunately, he was only a guest participant, and the camera would focus more on Shi Xianzhu and several celebrity couples seated nearby.

One couple was a manager paired with a music king—a classic friends-turned-couple pairing, both free of scandal, even within the industry.

The other couple consisted of an actor and a top idol. When they married, the entire Weibo platform almost crashed, and they continued to showcase their love publicly after marriage. Song Yun couldn’t tell how much was genuine, but at the observation room, their seats were quite close.

They were also the most popular couple among the invited observation-room guests—though Song Yun couldn’t confirm how much of the attention was real and how much was fan-generated—but the live comments were flooding nonstop.

The last pair was a veteran actor couple who had been in the industry for over 20 years. Both were over 50, and recently the wife had gained renewed popularity for a role in a female-centered film. They were invited to the show this time, but according to rumors, the veteran husband didn’t particularly like his wife’s role in the film.

Song Yun learned all of this from the assistant Ye Wangxing had assigned to him.

Ye Wangxing seemed worried that Song Yun might be mocked or cyberbullied while observing, so he directly arranged for an assistant from a recently dismissed scandalous celebrity to brief Song Yun on all the major industry happenings, especially about the guests attending this program.

Ye Wangxing himself didn’t learn much.

“I don’t need it. Although I agreed to participate in this show, the director invited me. Those celebrities won’t step over me to climb higher, and even if they tried, there are people handling it. But you, brother, could be stepped on to climb up,” the handsome young man said, furrowing his brows and looking at Song Yun with concern.

Song Yun felt very touched but still had a question.

“Still, I don’t understand why you agreed to join the show. You could have just monitored me live.”

Ye Wangxing shrugged. “A little over a month is enough to review the assets in the capital. The rest requires flying nationwide, which would be exhausting. Let me take a short break first.”

“Besides, I can also promote my own company.”

He said this calmly.

Song Yun still worried. What if the celebrities targeted Ye Wangxing to climb higher? Even if there were specialists handling it, Ye Wangxing’s status put him at a disadvantage in such media wars.

“—I’m just a poor widower who lost my husband last year and joined a show to relax. If not for the director’s invitation and your warm invitation, I wouldn’t have joined this program at all.”

He shrugged. “If a persona like this attracts marketing from fans or celebrities, it’s time to show them that anti-cyberbullying laws actually work.”

At this point, the handsome young man raised his eyebrows and looked at Song Yun. “Of course, brother, I assigned that assistant to you only to prevent you from touching other people’s sensitive issues. But…”

“If they want to step on you to climb up, my company’s legal department will serve you at any time.”

Thinking of his brother’s domineering words and protective behavior, Song Yun felt his heart melt. Even when looking at Shi Xuanzhu beside him, his guilt eased slightly, and he even felt a little disdain for the man’s foolishness.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Shi Xuanzhu whispered to Song Yun.

Song Yun realized what he had been thinking, coughed, and shook his head quickly.

He felt their relationship was okay for now. At least he hadn’t considered divorcing Shi Xuanzhu—even a handsome bodyguard couldn’t tempt him.

Unless Shi Xuanzhu cheated.

Thinking this, Song Yun whispered: “Nothing, just a bit nervous. By the way, is it okay for us to talk like this now?”

“No problem. The host is still speaking the lines and interacting with sponsors. Our microphones are off, so just speak quietly. Look at the others around, they’re basically doing the same,” Shi Xuanzhu said with a perfectly gentle smile, making Song Yun nod thoughtfully.

Seeing Song Yun finally relax, Shi Xuanzhu also exhaled.

He didn’t want Song Yun to stay tense. He needed to create a perfect, natural interaction to prove their love, building a positive married-couple image with fans.

Although they had fought over this show before, involving Song Yun’s parents, Shi Xuanzhu thought it didn’t matter. After all, those were just Song Yun’s parents, Shi Xuanzhu’s own parents were the ones he needed to respect in the future.

Unfortunately… Ye Wangxing had unexpectedly appeared.

Shi Xuanzhu thought of Ye Wangxing bursting into the private room and renegotiating contracts with lawyers a few days ago, his expression darkening.

‘…Why couldn’t he have gone with that dead husband of mine? My good brother-in-law has already crawled out of the grave to look for him. He’s close with my brother-in-law. They could have gone to the underworld together as a pair of ghost lovers.’

The more Shi Xuanzhu thought about it, the better the idea seemed, darkening his expression.

Fortunately, the cameras were on him, and he quickly restored a sunny smile.

He didn’t let anyone notice his inner thoughts, not even Song Yun beside him.

Shi Xuanzhu only dared to vent internally.

While he was thinking, the other three couples finished their whispers, as the live broadcast finally switched from the host to all the guests.

They introduced themselves one by one.

The singer and his manager couple greeted steadily, exchanging respectful and warm glances.

The actor and top idol had a very good atmosphere, their chemistry filling the area with pink bubbles.

The veteran actors had a small mishap—the husband interrupted the wife’s self-introduction—but she quickly reintroduced herself, though the atmosphere remained slightly tense.

Luckily, the host, experienced with large events, quickly shifted the topic to Shi Xuanzhu and Song Yun.

They naturally focused on their own introduction, and the host lightly moved past the veteran couple’s incident.

“…The Emperor actor couple is our only male-male pair. We hope their observations provide more insights. Now, let’s shift to the guests’ live broadcast,” the host said, pointing to the screen.

Song Yun started getting nervous.

This was Ye Wangxing’s first variety show, a risky live broadcast. What if someone misinterpreted events and online harassment occurred?

Even though Song Yun knew most online anger didn’t target ordinary people, he feared the small chance might hit Ye Wangxing.

Even if Ye Wangxing could fight back legally, the damage would already be done. Song Yun’s palms sweated. He instinctively grabbed Shi Xuanzhu’s hand.

Shi Xuanzhu frowned, realized something, and intertwined their fingers.

‘During guest introductions, they’ll probably want our opinions. When the camera returns and sees our hands intertwined, some fans will squeal in delight.’

Shi Xuanzhu had researched online CP-fan behavior. Though usually cold and composed, subtle physical contact excited fans.

Conversely, top idol and actor couples, though popular online, had low fanfiction output and fewer “sugar-eating” CP fans. Most online engagement was just respect or fights between their few dedicated fans.

Thinking this, Shi Xuanzhu softened his gaze at Song Yun, then composed his expression and focused on the screen.

Most amateur guests finished introductions, including Ye Wangxing.

He only introduced his name and why he joined the show.

“…My husband passed away last year. My family worried about my mental state and hoped this show would help me move on,” the handsome young man said, showing rare vulnerability. His thick eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings—beautiful and fragile.

Song Yun anticipated a flood of comments but felt relieved. It was a good start.

Then the host ceremoniously introduced the final guest.

Seeing the red hair, Song Yun felt a bad premonition.

When the red-haired guest lifted his head, revealing a familiar yet unknown handsome face and a dog tag on his neck, Song Yun almost jumped off the sofa.

—Shi Xuanzhu nearly fell to the ground.

Before he could ask what happened, Song Yun exclaimed in disbelief: “Why is he here!”

Everyone in the observation room and the host were startled. As they turned to Song Yun, the TV showed chaos.

The foreign guest, introduced last, quickly walked to the handsome young man and hugged him tightly, giving him a deep kiss.

Everyone in the observation room: “…” !!!

Those observing closely realized it was not a polite kiss.

The live director scrambled to censor, fearing the broadcast would be blocked.

Fortunately, the kiss lasted only about 10 seconds.

The red-haired man didn’t release the widower, instead, the handsome widower bit the red-haired man hard.

Blood appeared instantly.

Directors who had just removed the blur scrambled to censor again.

Then, escalating the live broadcast’s potential for a ban, the handsome young widower slapped the red-haired man across the face without hesitation.

“Smack—!”

 

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