Chapter 2: Little Aunt 02

Chapter 2

In the lounge, a man sat slouched in a chair, with his long legs casually draped over the armrest, engrossed in his phone. As he heard the door open, he nonchalantly raised his head, revealing a flawless face.

With delicate features and sharp contours, his almond-shaped eyes exuded an indescribable charm and his deep black pupils were bottomless. "Pei Kuang?" Song Linchuan was surprised.

Pei Kuang lazily lifted his chin, "I'm here."

"Why are you here?" Song Linchuan asked, puzzled. "Aren't you in a rush to get to the set?"

"It's not that urgent," Pei Kuang replied, sitting up slightly. "Just had some time to kill."

Song Linchuan walked over and kicked Pei Kuang's legs, taking the seat next to him. "What's up?"

Pei Kuang retracted his long legs and said, "Nothing much, just...missed you a bit."

Song Linchuan's brow furrowed in disgust. "Pei Kuang, are you looking for a fight? Get lost!"

With no reason to be nauseated, Song Linchuan had a bad temper and kicked Pei Kuang without hesitation. However, Pei Kuang didn't take offense and instead laughed, patting the spot where he had been kicked.

"It's nothing, just had some time to spare and thought I'd come over," Pei Kuang explained. Then he turned to Jiang Han, who had just entered the room, and casually asked, "What's wrong with you, bro? You look down."

Jiang Han glanced at Song Linchuan. "It's all because of this guy."

Pei Kuang raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Did he get into a fight with the producer again?"

Jiang Han shook his head. "No, it's just that there's a good variety show, but he doesn't want to do it."

Song Linchuan had been with Jiang Han since his debut and he knew that Song Linchuan and Pei Kuang had a good relationship outside of work. So, he didn't try to hide anything and briefly explained the situation about the variety show, hoping that Pei Kuang could persuade him to accept the offer.

Pei Kuang smiled, not commenting on Song Linchuan's work. However, he did catch an important piece of information.

He turned to Song Linchuan and asked, "Your aunt is coming to stay with you?"

Song Linchuan nodded. "Yeah, my aunt has some time off next week and she's coming to stay with me for a few days."

Time off? Pei Kuang thought it was a bit strange, but he didn't pay too much attention to it and assumed that Song Linchuan misspoke and meant "vacation" instead of "time off."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Well, my shoot for this drama will be over next week, so I'll visit your aunt when she's here. She's my elder after all, and she's helped me out a lot in the past. If I hadn't missed my chance, I would have thanked her in person a long time ago."

Song Linchuan was taken aback, remembering something. "That was years ago. It's no big deal, and my aunt doesn't care about that stuff. You're a grown man, can you stop being so melodramatic?"

"Pei Kuang raised an eyebrow. 'Why are you hiding it? Afraid I'll steal your little aunt?'

Song Linchuan clicked his tongue. 'You? Steal my little aunt?'

He looked arrogant. 'Humph! You wish! She's my dear little aunt, and no one can take her away from me.'

Jiang Han couldn't help but cover his face. He couldn't bear to watch this anymore.

Every time Song Linchuan talked about his little aunt, he acted like she was the only person in the world who had one.

Pei Kuang smiled but didn't say anything.

Seeing his reaction, Song Linchuan waved his hand carelessly. 'If you want to come, then come. What can I do to stop you from entering?'

Pei Kuang smiled. 'Alright, it's settled then. I'll contact you later.'

The two chatted for a while longer, but Pei Kuang was in a rush and his agent came to urge him to leave.

Song Linchuan was also busy, as he had an interview scheduled for later. In the middle of it, a makeup artist came in to touch up his makeup.

Jiang Han was still not giving up, but then he remembered how Pei Kuang had convinced Song Linchuan earlier. An idea came to him.

After the makeup artist left, Jiang Han approached Song Linchuan.

He pretended to sigh heavily and spoke with great emphasis. 'Actually, before, I didn't insist that you participate in this reality show. But you know your temper, and you've offended quite a few people in the industry. This time, Fruit TV's top management personally offered you this olive branch, and I thought it would be a good idea to sell them some face.'

This was indeed Jiang Han's consideration. Song Linchuan was currently a hot commodity, but there were also many haters and rivals in the industry.

If he could have the support of a powerful TV station, it would be beneficial for his future development.

Song Linchuan was not an ungrateful person. He naturally understood Jiang Han's words, but...

'I can't do this.'

He explained patiently, 'It's not that I don't want to, but my little aunt is different from me. She likes to keep a low profile and won't agree to participate in a show.'

Li Dong paused, realizing that Pei Kuang truly didn't know.

After a moment of thought, Li Dong analyzed, "Based on Song Linchuan's behavior, his aunt should be only a few years older than him, similar to my aunt and me. Why don't you give her perfume?"

Pei Kuang was confused, "Perfume?"

"Yes," Li Dong suggested, "the luxury brand that you endorse has just released a limited edition perfume kit for women over thirty. It's hard to buy, and it might be a good gift."

Pei Kuang hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly.

A limited edition perfume.

It sounded like a good idea.

*

Back in her dorm room, Song Anan couldn't shake off her worries. Her roommate invited her to eat at the cafeteria, but she didn't have much of an appetite. She felt like she had a huge weight pressing on her chest.

According to the plot of the novel, Song Linchuan also participated in the extreme reality show that the female protagonist was recording and died unexpectedly towards the end of the program.

She searched online and found out that the reality show was scheduled to start recording next month!

Song Anan's head was filled with thoughts of how she had to stop Song Linchuan from going to that deadly show.

But how could she stop him? They had always kept their work and studies separate, even though they were close.

If she spoke up suddenly, it could raise suspicions. It might not work.

Song Anan thought for a moment and decided to message Song Linchuan, asking him about his recent activities, to get an idea of what he was up to.

However, before she could type the message, she received a WeChat message from Song Linchuan.

"I'm participating in a show?" Song Anan muttered as she read the message.

After a moment's thought, she quickly replied, "What show?"

Song Linchuan's response came quickly, "A reality show called 'Our Dearest Us.'"

Our Dearest Us?

Song Anan was not familiar with the entertainment industry's shows, so she searched online. When she saw that the show was a lifestyle reality show, she breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn't an extreme reality show.

At that moment, Song Linchuan called her.

Her roommates had gone to the cafeteria, so she answered the call, "Hey, Linchuan."

"Auntie," Song Linchuan's voice came through the speaker, "have you had lunch yet?"

Song Anan blinked, feeling a little guilty, "...Yes, have you?"

"I have," Song Linchuan replied, "the event organizers provided boxed lunches."

The two of them chatted for a while about their daily lives before Song Linchuan finally broached the subject at hand.

"That variety show I mentioned earlier was just a casual inquiry. It's not a big deal at all, so don't worry about it, little auntie," Song Linchuan said hastily.

He had agreed to pass on the message from Jiang Han mainly because he knew Song Anan well and was certain she would reject the offer outright.

However, he never expected her to ask about the show.

Based on his understanding of Song Anan, her unusual behavior could only be explained by one thing: she was worried that rejecting the offer would cost him his job!

To dispel her concerns, Song Linchuan thought for a moment and added, "Actually, I have another variety show offer in hand. The schedules happen to overlap. It's called 'Challenge Yourself,' and it's also quite popular. You can look it up online..."

Challenge Yourself?!

Song Anan's eyes widened as she remembered the extreme variety show that would supposedly cause him to die in the novel!

"No way!" Song Anan's voice suddenly rose as she urgently exclaimed, "You can't participate in that extreme variety show!"

Song Linchuan was clearly taken aback and a little confused. "Why not?" he asked.

Song Anan was never good at lying and began to panic. "Because... I want to participate in the lifestyle variety show you mentioned!"