SABA Chapter 47

“Aren’t you waiting for me?”

“Aren’t you waiting for me?”

If you were to ask Jiang Tiao how he felt about being at the center of public opinion, he would say, “It’s actually okay.”

After all, Jiang Tiao thought, getting on the trending searches every day without spending money, besides actually being popular, what other feelings could there be?

Moreover, he had been thinking about the character Zhao Heng every day recently and didn’t have time to pay attention to the unfounded public opinion that changed faster than the weather in June.

However, this was Jiang Tiao’s own thought; he felt that everyone around him seemed a little strange recently.

First, there was his older brother. For the first time in a long time, his older brother came home to stay.

Jiang Tiao was quite happy when he saw his older brother at home. He excitedly went up to greet him, only to be mocked by Jiang Mingyan. He sarcastically criticized everything from his hairstyle and hair color to his clothing patterns, finally suggesting that he might as well embed an LED running light to achieve a dynamic peacock display, perfectly replicating the flashy entrance style of QQ Show in 2008.

Ridiculous! Jiang Mingyan must be in a bad mood!

Just as Jiang Tiao was about to shut Jiang Mingyan out of his bedroom door, Jiang Mingyan grabbed his collar from behind. He saw the brand label inside Jiang Tiao’s clothes, his eyebrows arching as if they were about to fly off. “What are you wearing? It’s so ugly, go change.”

? Wasn’t this clothes from Chu Qingchao’s company? And weren’t they bought by Jiang Mingyan? He would buy a batch of new arrivals every season and leave them at home for whoever liked them.

Jiang Tiao found the fabric comfortable and would often pick out T-shirts with nice patterns as loungewear.

Jiang Tiao didn’t know why he was throwing another tantrum and was too lazy to bother with him. But Jiang Mingyan acted as if he had eaten the wrong medicine and forced him to change his clothes. Finally, he even took away the little lion that Chu Qingchao had given him from his display cabinet.

Jiang Tiao, who had never hit his older brother, was furious.

And Huo Shen was also strange. He was at home, sitting in the open study, watching him being lectured by his brother, and for the first time, he didn’t speak up for him.

……

Huo Shen looked at the entertainment information that popped up on his computer screen. Since Jiang Tiao’s return, he no longer blocked the internal entertainment information he didn’t want to see for the past four years. He had paid special attention to Jiang Tiao on multiple platforms, so big data, based on his only preference, would only recommend news about Jiang Tiao to him.

And now, all news related to Jiang Tiao was inseparable from the three words “Chu Qingchao.”

They even said that Jiang Tiao’s existence would be included in his public biography.

Whether he would exist in his biography was hard to say, but it was certain that when people online counted Chu Qingchao’s alleged romantic experiences in the future, Jiang Tiao would be mentioned.

Huo Shen, with a dark expression, closed the gossip article “Shocking! Maldives Private Photos Exposed, Stayed in a Top Suite for Three Days Without Coming Out! The Accompanying Man Confirmed as Jiang Tiao, ELEGANT Group President Secret Love Revealed!” and incidentally noted down the media company of this unscrupulous gossip account to give to Lin Shun. He planned to settle the score with them after this matter was over.

He was so angry. Chu Qingchao’s handling of matters was indeed unreliable!

……

Chu Qingchao was also extremely annoyed.

The entertainment industry was like this; traffic is king. To achieve success in this circle, a sudden surge of traffic was a great opportunity. If managed properly, it was a fast track to success. Huo Shen also knew this, which was why he let it be. Otherwise, with Huo Shen’s capabilities, he really wouldn’t want to see this news appear, and he would have dealt with it cleanly the moment it started to show any signs. How could he have let this news ferment until now?

While he understood the agent’s approach of letting the situation escalate, he still felt choked by the overwhelming news……

He was the truly innocent one! As the party being hyped, what could he gain from Jiang Tiao gaining traffic?

If anyone else dared to use him for hype like this, he would have already kicked them out of the entertainment industry!

If you’re unwilling to trouble Jiang Tiao, then trouble me instead!

Chu Qingchao looked at the trembling message sent by the editorial department – Sheng Yao had rejected the third interview draft due to inappropriate questions. It was common knowledge in the media industry that Huo Shen did not accept interviews. If it weren’t for Chu Qingchao asking the editorial department to prepare interview drafts, they wouldn’t have dared to even consider Huo Shen as an interview candidate.

The editorial department thought that matters approved by the boss level were usually foolproof, and the subordinates just needed to follow instructions. The result was that their meticulously prepared speeches were returned again and again. The reason given was always that the interview questions were inappropriate, but they never specified which parts were inappropriate. They were truly helpless, so they indirectly reported the issue to Chu Qingchao.

Chu Qingchao sneered at the standard interview draft from the editorial department. Where were the inappropriate parts? There were no inappropriate parts at all! He revised the interview draft, deliberately adding many emotionally probing questions, and sent it directly to Huo Shen’s private email with a message – all four versions were unsuitable? Believe it or not, I’ll release my own interview?

At that time, his interview paired with Jiang Tiao’s cover would make the public believe it was real, even if it was fake.

Huo Shen, after reading questions like “I heard you are still single, can you tell us the reason?” nearly laughed in anger and directly forwarded a few photos.

These were photos taken by foreign opportunistic reporters when Jiang Mingyan personally went to France to try and get a Michelin three-star rating for a restaurant to resolve Chu Qingchao’s urgent need. Was it important for Jiang Mingyan to get a Michelin three-star rating for a restaurant? Jiang Mingyan, having been a spoiled young master since childhood, had never endured such humiliation, nor did he need to endure such humiliation……

Chu Qingchao’s expression changed several times, his emotions hard to read. Just as he was about to type “What do you mean?”, he saw Huo Shen forward another contract screenshot, which was Sheng Yao’s previous capital injection contract for ELEGANT. As if worried he wouldn’t see it, Huo Shen had drawn a bright red and conspicuous box around the capital injection amount.

Chu Qingchao: “……”

Damn it, whoever has money is the boss.

Chu Qingchao silently deleted the typed text and, gritting his teeth, typed, “Then what do you want?”

“How about I photoshop a foreign nationality for you and also photoshop a marriage certificate to put at the end of the text interview?”

Huo Shen raised an eyebrow and replied with a hint of reserve: “That works too.”

Chu Qingchao almost vomited blood. He had lamented to Jiang Mingyan not long ago that Huo Shen seemed to have come back to life after Jiang Tiao returned.

Now, it seemed that coming back to life was not as good as being half-dead!

……

Jiang Mingyan had once teased Chu Qingchao, saying that perhaps it was because Chu Qingchao’s mouth was too poisonous or that he was truly a crow in his past life; the more casual his complaints, the more likely they were to come true.

One morning, Jiang Mingyan came downstairs yawning. He sat at the dining table and casually browsed his phone, happening to see that viral article about “Maldives Top Suite for Three Days Without Coming Out.” Jiang Mingyan’s eyes twitched slightly, and he forwarded it to Chu Qingchao with a fake smile.

“Who did you go to the Maldives with? Three days without coming out? Heh, what a way to amuse yourself.”

Chu Qingchao, who had just opened his eyes after waking up early in the morning, saw Jiang Mingyan’s mocking message. He frowned slightly, clicked on the nonsensical Weibo post, and after reading it, he remembered. That was the end of last year. He had been working non-stop for months, feeling like he was about to die, and wanted to take a vacation to relax. However, as soon as he arrived at the hotel, he fell into a deep sleep and slept for three days and three nights, finally waking up from hunger.

Heh, speaking of why he went on vacation to the Maldives alone, it seemed to be partly Jiang Mingyan’s fault. Chu Qingchao’s expression was not good, and he replied unceremoniously, “None of your business,” and then threw away his phone, covered himself with the blanket again, and went back to sleep.

Seeing Chu Qingchao’s reply, Jiang Mingyan’s face turned ashen. He heavily threw his phone onto the dining table, losing his appetite for breakfast.

Jiang Tiao came down drowsily and was startled by Jiang Mingyan’s commotion. He glanced at the phone interface left on the table and felt that his brother was being too controlling. This was not like a brother; it felt more like he was treating himself like a father.

Friends needed some distance to make their friendship last. Moreover, boys were naturally rebellious. One father was already too much; who would want to find another father for themselves?

Jiang Tiao tried to comfort him: “Is it that serious? People around Brother Qingchao have come and gone over the years, and it’s not like he’s missing anyone. There’s no need for him to report everything to you.”

?

Jiang Mingyan was almost infuriated. He looked at Jiang Tiao and felt that his younger brother was not pleasing to his eye in any way from head to toe, especially the new dark emerald green highlights in his hair!

“What is that color you dyed your hair? Did your hairdresser dye it with Coke and disinfectant? Why don’t you just dye it bright green? That way, you wouldn’t need to wait for traffic lights when you go out!”

“???”

Forget it, those aunts who were jealous of their son being too good to other women probably felt the same way. Jiang Tiao couldn’t be bothered with his brother and sat next to Huo Shen, intending to eat breakfast.

Seeing Jiang Tiao’s inexplicably confused expression, Jiang Mingyan became even more agitated. If it weren’t for Jiang Tiao insisting on staying in the entertainment industry, would these troubles have arisen? With news flying everywhere these days, he actually didn’t know that Chu Qingchao’s life outside of work was so rich. He had always worried that he was under too much stress!

Jiang Tiao thought his brother was being unreasonable and didn’t understand why he was so angry. Just as Jiang Tiao was about to speak again, Huo Shen interrupted him, “Hurry up and eat. Aren’t you going to the company today?”

Once these two brothers started arguing, there was no end. If they weren’t interrupted, who knew how Jiang Tiao would continue to step on landmines.

Jiang Tiao didn’t want to argue in the first place. Seeing Huo Shen speak up, he became even lazier to pay attention to Jiang Mingyan.

Jiang Mingyan knew that Huo Shen’s interruption was to prevent him from bringing up the past again and asking Jiang Tiao to leave the entertainment industry. He sarcastically remarked, “Go ahead and spoil him like this. In the end, you’ll be the one suffering.”

Everyone has their limits. The area on Jiang Tiao might have “Huo Shen” written on it. He was always good-tempered and didn’t take many things to heart—as long as Huo Shen wasn’t involved. Jiang Mingyan’s words were truly harsh, and Jiang Tiao’s temper flared up upon hearing them.

“Are you sick? Did you eat firecrackers? Whether I enter the entertainment industry or not is my own business. You can’t control it, and neither can Huo Shen. Don’t take my decisions out on him.”

“Besides, the news online is never true. The agent letting it happen is nothing more than using the momentum to their advantage. If you cared about what gossip accounts say, you have several children, and your parents have divorced countless times. I don’t even know what you’re so angry about.”

“What am I angry about?” Jiang Mingyan’s temper was also ignited. “My parents and I are being misrepresented because we have no choice due to our position. What about you? Is it because you have no choice that you entered the entertainment industry? Is it because you like the entertainment industry? Have you ever calculated how much trouble you’ve caused the family by being in the entertainment industry?”

Jiang Tiao’s brow furrowed deeply. “What trouble have I caused the family?”

Jiang Mingyan suddenly went quiet.

Seeing Jiang Mingyan’s obvious irritation but inability to vent, Jiang Tiao’s anger subsided by half. He took the initiative to back down and said kindly, “Are you worried that even after the storm subsides, the discussions about my sexual orientation will not disappear?”

“There’s no need at all. I don’t like men. Later, well, when I find someone or get married, those rumors will naturally dissipate.”

Jiang Mingyan subconsciously looked at Huo Shen and, for the first time, felt a bit flustered and nervous.

Huo Shen calmly put down his chopsticks, gently wiped his mouth, and said, “I’m done eating. I’m going to the company.”

Jiang Tiao was stunned for a moment, looked at the breakfast in front of him that hadn’t been touched much, and said, “Aren’t you waiting for me?”

Huo Shen: “I have a meeting later, I’ll be late.”

Jiang Tiao said, “Oh,” and all interest in arguing or explaining to Jiang Mingyan vanished. He sat silently at the dining table and, only after hearing the car engine gradually fade away, glumly put down his chopsticks.

The three breakfast settings on the table remained largely untouched.

Jiang Mingyan saw Jiang Tiao slumping his head, looking dejected, as if he were a little puppy that had been abandoned.

Someone once told him that he didn’t understand feelings at all. He had scoffed at the remark at the time, but now he realized that he might indeed not understand.

He really couldn’t understand why Jiang Tiao cared so much about Huo Shen, and why anything related to Huo Shen could affect Jiang Tiao’s mood, yet Jiang Tiao’s feelings for Huo Shen were truly just friendship or family affection? He also didn’t understand Huo Shen; he couldn’t figure out why, when facing such feelings, he could persist for ten years without considering accepting anyone else.

Alas, if this was what love was, then he didn’t understand it, and he didn’t need to.

Life is short; why add more pain to oneself?

Jiang Mingyan put down his knife and fork. “Aren’t you very busy recently?”

Jiang Tiao responded with a dejected “Mm.”

Jiang Mingyan: “I’ll introduce you to some suitable girls. You can try them out. What if you discover you really like girls?”

“You’re not young anymore; you should start dating.”

No parents or elder brothers would not want to see their son or younger brother walk on a wide and clear path. Since Jiang Tiao and Huo Shen didn’t seem to be making any progress anytime soon, why not try others? What if they found someone who wasn’t their only option? Life is only a hundred years; why insist on hanging yourself on one tree?

Jiang Tiao glared fiercely at Jiang Mingyan, feeling that there was no one more mischievous in this world than his brother.

It was all because of Jiang Mingyan; otherwise, so many things wouldn’t have happened this early in the morning!

Jiang Tiao: “Are you staying at home recently?”

Jiang Mingyan thought about it and felt that it wasn’t impossible.

Jiang Tiao went upstairs in his slippers. “Aunt Chen, help me pack my things. I’m not coming home recently!”

……