Chapter 4: Socially Anxious Star 04
As a Film King, Pei Wusi possessed over a hundred million fans. Beyond his exquisite acting skills, he boasted a remarkably flawless figure and a strikingly handsome face.
He wore a loose black short-sleeved jacket over a white inner shirt, its relaxed collar exposing a portion of his collarbones. His hair was dyed entirely white, the long strands styled into a classic wolf cut. A pair of peach-blossom eyes glistened softly. The instant his eyes met Jiang Yi’s, his thin lips curved into a subtle, light smile.
!!!
Her heartbeat spiked in an instant, and her ears turned scalding hot and crimson. Feeling a bit flustered, Jiang Yi instinctively curved her lips to return the smile.
Her almond eyes creased into two small crescent moons, shining brightly and flickering with a sweet, radiant smile.
Pei Wusi froze for a fraction of a second before quickly recovering. When his gaze shifted back over, Jiang Yi had already turned her head back and sat down obediently.
At the same time, a staff member on the other side flashed an “OK” gesture at him, and the livestream for The Strikingly Different Us unexpectedly launched without warning.
【?????? Why did the livestream open so suddenly?】
【I didn’t even react in time—didn’t they say the official livestream starts tomorrow?】
【HAHAHAHAHA I have a premonition that this is an unconventional, trend-setting, rebellious production crew】
【Charge, charge, charge, charge!!!】
【Front row!!! Hubby, I’m here!】
【AAAAAH, Kongkong!!! Sister is here】 ……
The camera initially opened on an exterior shot of the villa before switching indoors a few seconds later. Then, the lens panned upward, slowly tracking from slender legs to the upper body, until a strikingly handsome face appeared on screen.
【AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA】
【Hubby!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s Hubby!!!!!】
【AAAAAH my bias AAAAAH white hair!! It’s white hair!!!】
【Damn it!! This man is so handsome!】
【Seven-year veteran fan here, and I still get blown away by Old Pei’s visuals】
【Old Pei looks so handsome with white hair too, this wolf cut is genuinely out of this world!!】
【I declare that a white wolf cut is the absolute handsomest, no arguments accepted!】
【(going crazy) (running around in circles) (grabbing a bystander and shaking them) It’s my hubby AAAAAH and white-haired hubby at that】
【HAHAHAHAHAHAHA why does white-haired Old Pei give off such a playboy vibe】
……
As the bullet comments swept past at lightning speed, Pei Wusi had already walked past the camera into the vicinity of the sofa, drawing everyone’s attention.
The camera followed his perspective, first capturing a panoramic view of everyone seated on the sofa.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Pei Wusi.”
Pei Wusi curved his lips into a smile and greeted everyone.
Shen Ping set down the magazine in his hand and chuckled. “Arriving so late? Rushed straight over from Haishi?”
Pei Wusi nodded. “Yes, I came straight here after getting off the plane.”
Shen Ping nodded repeatedly, nudging the young man beside him.
“This is my son, Shen Xiangcheng.”
Shen Xiangcheng gave a timid smile, stood up, and took the initiative to shake Pei Wusi’s hand. “Hello.”
“Hello.”
The two released their grip after a brief touch.
Afterward, Luo Jiajin and Luo Xia began their self-introductions.
With Shen Xiangcheng having shaken hands first, Luo Xia stood up as well to shake hands with Pei Wusi.
Luo Jiajin slightly closed her book without offering a handshake, repeating almost the same words as before.
“I’m Luo Jiajin. Welcome.”
Finally, it was Jiang Kong and Jiang Yi.
“Hello, Senior Pei! I’m Jiang Kong, and I’m a fan of yours!”
“This is my older sister, Jiang Yi.”
“Hello!”
Jiang Yi reached out at the right moment to shake Pei Wusi’s hand, releasing it after a brief touch as well.
“Hello.”
Pei Wusi looked at Jiang Yi, his smile polite, though his surrounding aura subtly carried an extra touch of intensity.
Jiang Yi didn’t quite dare raise her head to look at him. Sweeping a fleeting glance across him, she quickly lowered her head.
Pei Wusi’s attention was soon drawn away by Shen Ping’s question.
“Where’s the guest you invited? Didn’t they come with you?”
Pei Wusi had arrived alone.
He looked at Shen Ping, took a seat in an empty spot nearby, and explained, “My guest is Teacher Chang Ximing. He’s in another city, so he won’t be able to rush over until an hour later.”
Shen Ping nodded to show he understood, then began striking up a conversation with Pei Wusi on other topics.
The living room was finally no longer quiet. Having moved seats to make it easier for his father to chat with Pei Wusi, Shen Xiangcheng began striking up a light conversation with Luo Xia as well.
However, Jiang Yi felt like she was sitting on pins and needles—
Because the spot Pei Wusi chose to sit in happened to be right next to her.
Keeping her head lowered, she pretended to be completely absorbed by her phone, looking intensely busy. In reality, she had opened every single system app repeatedly twice over. Even in her notes app, she had typed out over two hundred “AAAAAHs” and random gibberish characters.
Jiang Kong was listening intently to Pei Wusi and Shen Ping’s conversation. Between the two of them—one a Film King and the other a renowned director—if he could gain even a tiny bit of guidance, he would be one step closer to a Film King trophy.
Sandwiched in the middle, Jiang Yi played dead like a quiet quail for a while before finally being unable to hold back any longer. She leaned closer to Jiang Kong and lowered her voice. “I’m going to the restroom.”
“Can you find your way?”
Jiang Yi nodded. “I can.”
Jiang Kong shifted his leg slightly. Taking a deep breath, Jiang Yi stood up quickly and fled the living room without turning back, ducking straight into the restroom.
The moment she left, Jiang Kong naturally slipped into her seat to listen to Pei Wusi talk.
A few minutes later, Jiang Kong successfully found a topic to start chatting with Pei Wusi.
Although the livestream had launched unexpectedly, in just ten minutes, it had accumulated a massive amount of popularity.
【White-haired hubby!!!! Hubby actually dyed his hair white!!】
【Sobbing sobbing sobbing, so handsome I could die】
【AAAAAH, Kongkong looks so good! So pretty~】
【Even standing next to a Film King, Kongkong’s visuals hold up completely】
【Absolute masterpiece!!!! Both of them are visual powerhouses!!!!!】
【What should I do if I want both the hubby and the younger brother??】
【Someone slap the sister above awake, they’re both in my bed】
【By the way, Jiang Kong’s sister seems pretty good-looking, though she hasn’t shown her face much】
【HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I noticed too, she’s so funny! Sandwiched in the middle just now, completely lost, trembling in fear】
【Uh… isn’t she just normally looking down playing on her phone? No need to overthink it that much, right?】
……
After leaving the living room and stepping into the restroom, Jiang Yi locked the door from the inside, instantly feeling relaxed from the inside out.
Glancing around, she pulled a small stool out from the corner of a cabinet and sat down.
Phew~
Bliss.
Jiang Yi let out a long sigh of relief, sitting motionless on the stool as she soaked in the quiet alone time. She even wished she could stay in here until the end of time.
However, reality was the exact opposite of her ideals.
Before long, a staff member knocked softly on the door to remind her.
“Ms. Jiang Yi, the production crew is preparing to announce the task in five minutes. If it’s inconvenient for you, I can inform them to delay it for a bit.”
“It’s convenient.”
Jiang Yi stood up in a panic to answer.
Once the staff member outside left, she stuffed the small stool back into its original spot, dawdled for two minutes washing her hands, and only then left the restroom.
In the living room, Jiang Kong was chatting with Pei Wusi. Jiang Yi walked over and sat down beside him, and soon heard the voice of a staff member coming through the speaker.
“Now, would all guests please select the room you wish to stay in.”
With that, the staff member handed over two simple floor plans of the villa—
Shen Ping and Luo Jiajin each took one.
Jiang Kong and Pei Wusi were originally standing closer to Shen Ping, so they naturally stood by his side to look.
Jiang Yi didn’t crowd too close. Just as she was hesitating over where to stand to get a clear view, she saw Shen Xiangcheng—who was originally standing closer to Shen Ping—take a step back toward Luo Xia to look at the same floor plan with them.
Immediately after, Pei Wusi shifted a few steps sideways, and Jiang Kong moved along with him, leaving a large open space on the left for Jiang Yi so she could see the floor plan clearly without having to squeeze in.
Jiang Yi looked up and saw Shen Xiangcheng give her a slight nod, the smile on his face remaining gentle.
She hurriedly returned a smile.
That lingering sense of detachment she felt ever since meeting strangers actually dissipated quite a bit under this small gesture of kindness.
Jiang Yi stepped forward a bit, watching everyone start discussing where to live.
The villa had three floors. Excluding the third floor which was closed to the public, there were ten rooms available to choose from across the first and second floors.
Among them, four rooms were on the first floor and six were on the second floor.
“I can live on the second floor. Teacher Chang is older, so I’d like to reserve a room on the first floor for him first.”
Pei Wusi spoke up.
Shen Ping nodded. “Mhm, Teacher Chang is in his seventies, so living on the first floor is more convenient.”
Jiang Kong turned to look at Jiang Yi, holding up two fingers. Seeing Jiang Yi nod, he followed up, “My sister and I can live on the second floor as well.”
The two sides could hear each other chatting. Hearing this, Luo Jiajin chuckled and said:
“How about this then—all you young people live on the second floor, sound good?”
“No problem.”
“Sounds good.”
Several of them nodded in agreement one after another.
Shen Ping smiled along. “Alright, then we’ll all live on the first floor.”
“Little Pei, you go ahead and choose a room for Teacher Chang first.”
The rooms were numbered from one to ten.
Jiang Yi quietly shuffled closer to Jiang Kong, then secretly flashed him a three with her fingers.
Jiang Kong froze briefly before opening his mouth to say, “How about Teacher Pei chooses Room 3?”
Lost in thought, Pei Wusi was startled. He raised his eyes to look at Jiang Kong and burst into a smile a few seconds later.
“Alright, we’ll listen to Jiang Kong then and pick Room 3.”
Shen Ping knitted his brows slightly. He glanced at Jiang Kong, wanting to say something, but was interrupted by Luo Jiajin’s voice.
“Then I’ll pick Room 2.”
“Room 1,” Shen Ping added, swallowing back the words he wanted to say without mentioning them further.
Rooms 6 through 10 were on the second floor.
Pei Wusi picked Room 7 first, Shen Xiangcheng picked Room 6, and Luo Xia picked Room 9.
Jiang Kong turned to look at Jiang Yi once more, seeing her raise her hand subtly to trace a small number ten in front of her chest using her index finger.
Room 10.
He nodded. “I’ll pick Room 8, and my sister will pick Room 10.”
And with that, everyone’s rooms were officially settled.
Just as Jiang Yi was about to lower her hand, her eyes inadvertently collided with Pei Wusi’s gaze looking over.
Panic fluttered through her, and the rims of her ears flushed crimson once again. Yet, remembering how Pei Wusi had made room for her just now, she suppressed her embarrassment, curved her lips, and offered Pei Wusi a smile.
Pei Wusi froze for a second. Watching Jiang Yi immediately duck behind Jiang Kong right after smiling, he couldn’t help curving his lips.
Why… was she like a timid little rabbit, so shy and adorable?
Meanwhile, in the livestream chat—
【?????? I’m a bit confused】
【Wait, wait, wait, I feel like this direction is a bit strange】
【Jiang Kong’s sister is surprisingly quite something, huh】
【Uh… what is going on here?】
【Help! Is Jiang Kong starting already?】
【He’s being a bit too overbearing, isn’t he? Everyone’s meeting for the first time, why is he suddenly making decisions for others?】
【Yeah, yeah, I was wondering what felt strange, so it was this! Why give random suggestions when you don’t know a thing?】
【He even made the decision directly for his sister, and even picked Room 10…】
……
Due to the camera angles, the hand signals Jiang Yi gave Jiang Kong were not captured on the livestream lens.
Because of these incidents, the livestream chat suddenly grew bustling and lively.
【What is Jiang Kong doing? Does he think acting like this gives off a strong leader vibe?】
【Annoyed to death by Jiang Kong! And Jiang Kong’s sister too, why did she suddenly smile at Old Pei?】
【My Pei is so pitiful! Are the brother and sister duo both clinging to Old Pei alone to clout-chase?】
【”CEO Jiang,” sure (smile)】
【They’re going to check out the rooms now, right? I want to see what kind of “great room” CEO Jiang picked out】
……
Bullet comments swept past one after another at lightning speed. Just as the livestream’s popularity was climbing step by step, the screen suddenly went pitch-black.
The stream went dark, and a second later, a few white characters appeared on screen:
[Livestream test complete. Everything is ready. See you tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM, be there or be square~]
A dozen seconds later, a single bullet comment darted rapidly across the pitch-black display:
【DAMN IT!!!!!! Director, do you dare turn off the stream any later!!!!!】
Leave a Reply