CH 20

The online broadcast was finally warming up. Although there were no stars on screen, everyone was already full of enthusiasm and the barrage[1] was already coming one after another.

[It’s so cold in Beijing now, do you feel sorry for your wife who has to wear a strapless dress? Alas, this is the problem with high-end luxury endorsements~]

[Good grief (soybean sweating.jpg) By virtue of how awesome the high definition is, seeing Xia Yu’s screen marketing is enough to make me feel sick.]

[Your sourness is overflowing the screen, and your impotent rage is useless. Dying laughing] 

[Stop making noise, you’re all banned for a while. By the way, this year’s venue is extraordinarily luxurious, huh?]

[Of course, this year not only will there be bosses from every circle……according to inside information, there will be a super mysterious big-shot!]

[No, I only want to see handsome guys. Even if the world’s richest man comes, I’m not interested.]

[He is indeed a handsome guy, a young financial tycoon! A business legend, oh!]

[Wtf? This description sounds familiar, you don’t mean that Li Chengyuan is going to be there?!]

[Ahhhhhh I heard that too! Will it be possible to finally see what my male god looks like?]

One stone stirred up a thousand waves. This was a big topic, and everyone pondered the credibility of the news and discussed his reasons for coming to the soiree.

Someone else said boldly, “I remember all nine photos on a grid. As long as Mr. Li appears in front of the camera, I will definitely recognize him!”

It was a pity that Li Chengyuan only attended the soiree to put in an appearance, and this had already made the person in charge of entertaining continue to repeat: “Your presence is an honor! An honor!”

As for wanting him to walk the red carpet, that was simply a pipe dream.

Entering the venue through the hidden VIP entrance, Zhao Yinhe immediately got to flirting. After all, there were countless beauties in the entertainment circle, and many flowers who wanted to be plucked by Mr. Zhao.

If even iron trees like Li Chengyuan were blooming, maybe a single dog like him would suddenly encounter springtime?

Zhao Yinhe was infamous for picking flowers everywhere. The person in charge wasn’t surprised and didn’t ask too many questions, continuing on to take Li Chengyuan to his exclusive lounge on the second floor.

Unexpectedly, Li Chengyuan also stopped and indicated that the other party’s work could end here.

“Mr. Li, do you want to……?” Shocking, was it possible that this unsentimental boss was also going to flirt with women?

Li Chengyuan could see what the other party was thinking. Usually he would never pay attention to such trivial matters, but when he thought about his plan to “officially announce” his relationship with Xia Xingchi, he felt that his reputation might still be important.

He said lightly: “I’m going to find someone.”

To catch his little domesticated hedgehog who was always running around and slipping away, and then give him a hard lesson.

At this time, Xia Xingchi was looking around like a thief. Based on the time, he guessed that the big villain had already arrived.

This person didn’t reply after many messages were sent, so he must still be angry about him sneaking out without authorization. Meeting him now would be just tragic.

In order to avoid the fate of misfortune falling upon him once more, Xia Xingchi didn’t dare wander around in crowded places, but just shrank into a corner where no one was watching, quietly searching for the feeling of walking the red carpet.

Lin Meng previously took him on a special trip to learn skills that he could sell now. It was not difficult to walk the red carpet, but she was still worried that he would get stage fright.

Even if “Xia Xingchi” was just recording a video, he would be too nervous to speak in front of the camera, not to mention having fans on both sides of the red carpet, countless cameras, and a live broadcast of the whole process.

Fortunately, the current Xia Xingchi had always been thick-skinned. This insignificant thing didn’t compare to the nerves and fright of hiding from his furious fiance.

Li Chengyuan usually placed no restrictions on him, and didn’t even stipulate how he should dress, like a financial backer or a person looking for a substitute might do.

But once Xia Xingchi’s actions were out of his acceptable range of control, and there was a risk of him running away, he would puff up in anger on the spot like a big cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Xia Xingchi shook his head, thinking to himself that this would not work. Treating a marriage partner like himself with such a strong desire for control, no matter how hard he tried, something would go haywire.

And losing one’s temper all the time was not good for one’s health, and could easily shorten a lifespan.

Just as he was thinking about how to customize a desensitization plan for the short-lived boss in order to prolong his life, he heard footsteps behind him, followed by a hand clapping down on Xia Xingchi’s shoulder.

He jumped in fright, thinking, could it be that the main villain is here? He wanted to run away, but heard Lin Meng’s voice: “Xingchi? Why are you hiding here, don’t you want to go and see the celebrities?”

Seeing that it wasn’t Li Chengyuan, Xia Xingchi released a long sigh of relief. He thought the boss already had him, but it was just that his own life was often in a state of precarious worry.

He said in a furtive whisper: “I’m afraid of meeting the benefactor……I just made him angry, and I’m afraid he will kill me in public.”

Lin Meng was surprised to hear this. Apart from celebrities, all the people who could attend the soiree were rather powerful business tycoons, and all of them had reputations.

It seemed that even though that vile old man bought counterfeit clothes and didn’t provide resources, he seemed to be quite powerful?

Speaking of clothes, she had just taken a look around, and perhaps fortune favored the fools, because no one had rented out the genuine counterpart to his knockoff product.

It seemed that the latest autumn and winter styles of that big brand were indeed too difficult to obtain. Today, only Xia Yu wore this brand, but it was the summer style rather than the current model.

“So your patron is actually here?”

Xia Xingchi was helpless upon hearing these words, thinking that not only was he here, but he was already on the top searches. The organizer should have already obtained Li Chengyuan’s permission, because they even officially liked a gossip Weibo comment:

[Inside information: I heard that Mr. Li will also be there tonight! I just don’t know if we’ll be able to see him.]

As soon as the official hammer of Thor struck down, the already huge fashion soiree heated up in an instant!

The mysterious rich man of legend suddenly appeared, and searches related to Li Chengyuan rushed to the top of the hot search list. Everyone speculated on what made a person who was so low-key that he didn’t even show up in photos attend such an occasion.

Although there were some people who suspected that Li Chengyuan was deliberately being mysterious to set himself up as a male god, fans would ask, “What use would this person have for such a thing?” Even if others wanted to drum up hype to make money, they were reduced to silence for a moment.

Seeing that Xia Xingchi was brooding, Lin Meng thought that his must have been caused by that cruel old man, so she actively suggested: “Xingchi, why don’t we go and see some handsome guys!”

As she said this, she took out her cellphone and pointed to the hot search list, picking exactly the wrong subject: “Look! Li Chengyuan is really here! Let’s go around a few times and see if we can run into him!”

Xia Xingchi was dismayed. If he ran into him by chance, he would really be a sheep in the tiger’s mouth, so he shook his head like a rattle drum.

But seeing Lin Meng eager to try, it was only then that he discovered that she was also half a fan of Li Chengyuan, and now nine heads of cattle couldn’t stop her enthusiasm for finding the male god.

However, even if she did, she probably wouldn’t recognize him. After all, she had seen Li Chengyuan as early as that night.

The truth would come out sooner or later, and Xia Xingchi had to suspect that when it was revealed, he would be ground up between agent Lin’s teeth. Thinking about it in this way, it was best to find a time to confess and beg for leniency.

But now was definitely not the right time, so he had to quickly find an excuse: “I’m going to the bathroom! Sister Mengmeng, you go first!”

– – –

The minute hand moved forward leisurely until seven o’clock in the evening, and the soiree that had been preheated to boiling finally began.

[It’s started! Grandma, the live broadcast you have been waiting for is finally here!]

[Awesome! Is it true that Mr. Li wants to participate? (sexy.jpg) Can we see the male god?]

[Really, really! Sisters, go watch the Weibo hot search, the official channel liked “Inside News!” Amazing!]

[Looking at it again, I remember that Li Chengyuan was at the top of the hot search list (eating melons). How could it disappear?]

[As a die-hard fan, I can only say, get used to it. Our husband’s ability to make money can really remove trending searches at will.]

Sitting in the waiting room, Xia Xingchi watched the live broadcast and the barrage, thinking that he was indeed the great villain boss, but there were so many fans inside and outside of the book.

He was browsing with relish at first, until his eyes fell on the word “husband,” and he paused unconsciously.

He stared at this word several times, and after a while, he seemed to experience a flash of subtle discomfort.

— He belongs to my family, how can you call him indiscriminately?

After some consideration, he finally attributed this indescribable sourness to just being too stingy. He also comforted himself that no matter what everyone called him, Li Chengyuan would only eat his desserts and only pay him a huge salary.

However, seeing more and more people addressing him that way and referring to him quite affectionately, this person suddenly had the illusion that his own money tree had been robbed by others, and he felt even more uncomfortable.

Xia Xingchi tilted his head and pondered for a while. A few minutes later, a Weibo account named “Chi Xiaoxia”[2] was registered.

This “fan” quickly joined Li Chengyuan’s super chat, and the first Weibo post was a sentence in a positive tone:

[Chi Xiaoxia: Let me introduce you, this is my fiance! Mine! @Li Chengyuan]

The post attracted a few fans to laugh and like it, and seeing that he was a new fan, they joked around with him.

But after a few likes, they realized that something was wrong —

The @ account actually existed and bore an official certification mark. Was this the genuine Li Chengyuan?

Oh my god, President Li actually opened a Weibo account? When did this happen?

What caused an out-of-reach guy to make such a change?!

Xia Xingchi didn’t notice the turbulent waves. He felt happy after secretly declaring his sovereignty, and continued to watch other artists walk the red carpet on the live broadcast with his cellphone in his hand.

He was near the end of the lineup. Seeing that there were fewer and fewer people in the waiting room, because he didn’t understand the relationship between the order and the coffee position, he could only suspect that it was very muddled near the back.

After all, if you entered the venue early, you could go to the free buffet early, and you didn’t have to freeze in the waiting room with ventilation on all sides and a broken heater.

But when he turned his head, he saw a popular “acquaintance” waiting for him —

Xia Yu was surrounded by stylists and make-up artists who repeatedly arranged his looks, trying to make his entire appearance perfect on the spot.

The last time the two met was at the engagement banquet, where he had kicked Xia Yu over in public and forcibly interrupted his tea ceremony performance. During this time, he had also blacklisted the cheap father and son of the Xia family, so as not to be harassed all day long.

With the villain protagonist’s vengeful nature, he couldn’t even pretend to be friendly now.

The two looked at each other for a second, and Xia Yu glanced away with a hint of arrogance and disgust, trying to seem as if he hadn’t noticed him so that Xia Xingchi couldn’t leech off his popularity.

Xia Xingchi’s lips curled. Such an unlucky green tea spirit would make a dog shake its head after seeing him. As if anyone cared.

If he had spare time, it was better to smooth the fur of his own big cat. He wouldn’t be able to avoid him when he entered the venue, so he needed to coax him now.

When the message sounded, Li Chengyuan was sitting in the lounge, and the big screen in front of him showed the footage of the waiting area.

He watched Xia Xingchi pick up his phone on-screen and send him a message with a sly smile on his face: 

[Honey~ Are you happy now? Being angry causes stomach aches, and I’ll feel bad. Everyone is responsible for their health!]

[Gege, you have a lot of fans, unlike me, who can only be thrown onto the red carpet at the end _(:з”∠)_]

[I’m hungry, I’m hungry! I could absolutely eat a cow right now! Do you see any delicious food inside?]

[Why isn’t it my turn yet……?]

In fact, the organizer deliberately arranged for him to be at the end. After all, it had always been a convention at this soiree that by default, the bigger the coffee position, the later they went in the sequence.

In order to treat Mr. Li’s little fiance sincerely, they even arranged for Xia Xingchi to be further back than the popular idol Xia Yu.

Ordinary celebrities were either paying attention to their weight or afraid to dirty their luxury clothing, so they would not salivate over the free buffet or look forward to rushing in to eat.

Xia Xingchi was a newbie who didn’t understand these things, but Xia Yu knew very well, and when he saw the sequence, he gritted his teeth angrily. 

In addition, the two were wearing clothing of the same brand, but his was from last season, while Xia Xingchi was in the latest winter style – the bastard must have done this on purpose to disgust and provoke him!

He didn’t know what method was used to get Li Chengyuan to spend the money to buy this suit, but if there was no Xia Xingchi, he would be the only son of the Xia family and the marriage should naturally belong to him.

It seemed as if only by taking every penny he had now as his own, could Xia Yu feel a little more at ease.

The waiting area was too cold, and it was too late to repair the heater on site.

Xia Xinghi didn’t wear a jacket, so he could only sit there shivering. His fingers were almost numb from the cold, and he put down his phone to breathe onto his hands.

After warming them for a long time, his fingers became flexible again. He was about to persevere in his harassment of Li Chengyuan, but then he saw a message from the big villain who had ignored him all day:

“Cold?”

Xia Xingchi immediately typed “Cold, cold, cold!”

Before he had time to post it, he suddenly felt that something was off, and looked through the chat history suspiciously —

He didn’t seem to have told Li Chengyuan that it was cold in here, so how did he know?

[1] Barrage =  Real-time comment section. ⮐

[2] 迟小夏, or “Late/Delayed Little Summer” ⮐