Chapter 32: Male Third, Male Fifth
“Didn’t you see that President Han and Ji Xu have officially announced their relationship? Have you ever seen President Han acknowledge anyone before? He never even acknowledged you publicly, did he?
It’s obvious President Han is serious about Ji Xu this time. How long do you think you can still stay with him? President Han suddenly giving you so many top-tier resources—can’t you tell this is compensation? He’s about to dump you. This is your breakup fee.
While President Han is still willing to promote you, hurry up and make yourself famous. That way, when you leave him, you won’t have to worry about quitting the industry. Your waist acts up every few days—without money, you won’t even be able to treat it.”
Sister Bai pointed at Jiang Yu and scolded him relentlessly. Jiang Yu didn’t get angry at all; instead, he looked a bit excited and asked, “You think Han Cheng is going to dump me?”
“Now you’re finally anxious? If you’re anxious, then sign all these top-tier resources right now. Once they’re released, you’ll be first-tier famous for sure. Even if you leave President Han, you won’t have to worry about money to treat your waist.” Sister Bai shoved all the contracts in front of Jiang Yu.
“I have money to treat my waist. I’ve saved a lot over the past few years—enough for me to live comfortably on my own. Sister Bai, you also think Han Cheng is going to dump me?”
“You’ve saved money? How much? You’re only twenty-six. Assuming you live to eighty without illness or disaster, that’s fifty-four more years. Is what you’ve saved enough to last you a lifetime?” Sister Bai completely ignored what Jiang Yu actually cared about; she was far more concerned about his later years.
“It’s enough. Ten million. Just the annual interest is over two hundred thousand—it’s more than enough for me. I’m not a big spender.”
“Heh. Ten million—wow, such a huge sum.” Sister Bai said sarcastically, rolling her eyes before speaking earnestly. “Do you know that Meng Yi was discharged the same day as you? Well, not really discharged—he was forcibly taken away by President Han. Do you know where he was taken?”
“No idea.” Jiang Yu couldn’t be bothered to think about it. Meng Yi had nothing to do with him anymore.
“No idea? You just eat, drink, and drift through life every day. No wonder you didn’t even notice President Han was about to dump you—and you still dare to be picky and refuse work.
I’ll tell you. President Han is currently working with Zhuang Da on a project. Somehow they fell out. Zhuang Da demanded that Ji Xu spend one night with him in exchange for reconciliation. President Han refused, so he handed Meng Yi over to Zhuang Da instead.
“He was sent over yesterday. Today he was carried back to the hospital. He was so messed up he barely looked human.
Meng Yi deserved it—for scheming against me. President Han is genuinely invested in Ji Xu now and won’t let anyone touch him. If it were one of those other little lovers, President Han would’ve sent ten or eight of them to Zhuang Da already.
I’m not telling you this for any other reason—just to give you a sense of crisis. President Han and Ji Xu are the real deal this time. He might even cut off all his flings for Ji Xu.
You can’t keep being as willful as before, and President Han won’t let you mess around anymore. From now on, all these good resources will belong to Ji Xu.
You need to seize this last chance. Otherwise, if you come borrowing money from me in the future, I won’t lend you a single cent.”
Jiang Yu took all of Sister Bai’s analysis to heart, but his mood was complicated.
He was happy to be free from Han Cheng’s control, yet seeing Han Cheng flying off as a pair with someone else still made him uncomfortable. He didn’t deny that he still loved Han Cheng—after all, feelings were something he couldn’t control.
But he could control his reason. He knew very clearly that a scumbag wasn’t worth clinging to like a beggar. Being able to leave Han Cheng made him about eighty percent happy, with only twenty percent reluctance.
“At least pick one. Hurry up. You won’t lose no matter which you choose.” Sister Bai slapped the coffee table and glared at Jiang Yu, issuing her final ultimatum.
“Then the top one,” Jiang Yu sighed helplessly. At a moment like this, it was better not to attract too much of Han Cheng’s attention. A breakup was best handled smoothly and naturally.
Sister Bai picked up the top file—it was Qi Sheng’s Republican-era film.
“Fine, we’ll do this movie. Here’s the script—read it yourself. I’ll notify you when filming starts, but it shouldn’t be long. Take good care of your waist and don’t get injured again.” Sister Bai stuffed the rest of the documents back into her bag and left in a hurry.
Jiang Yu read through the script. His role wasn’t big—at most, a fifth male lead. The 200,000 yuan fee was decent enough, equivalent to a year’s worth of interest.
Though lazy, Jiang Yu was serious about his work. He spent the entire day on the script and more or less memorized his lines.
After dinner, Sister Bai messaged him, saying the film would start shooting in a week at HD Film City, telling him to go early and interact more with the director.
Jiang Yu replied casually. Sister Bai scolded him again for being more tactful and building better relationships with the director and lead actors. Jiang Yu continued replying with indifferent “mm-hmms” until Sister Bai hung up in frustration.
Before he even put the phone down, WeChat chimed. Jiang Yu glanced at it—it was a link sent by Han Cheng.
He opened the link and was taken to the trending topics. The number one trend was Han Cheng and Ji Xu, tagged with “Exploding”.
[Han Cheng brings Ji Xu to attend Han Cheng’s grandfather’s birthday banquet]
[Han Cheng brings Ji Xu to meet the family]
[Han Cheng and Ji Xu meet the parents, good news possibly coming soon]
[Ji Xu has already gained the Han family’s approval]
Good grief—the top ten trends were all taken over by those two again.
Jiang Yu opened the trending topic and understood what had happened.
Twenty minutes earlier, someone had seen Han Cheng attending his grandfather’s birthday banquet with Ji Xu, even seated at the old man’s main table.
Jiang Yu glanced at the time. So today was Han Cheng’s grandfather’s birthday—he had completely forgotten.
He used to memorize the birthdays of everyone in Han Cheng’s family for his sake. Over the past few years, without the heart for it, he’d forgotten almost all of them.
In the video, the old man chatted and laughed with Ji Xu, and the rest of the Han family treated Ji Xu warmly as well. There was no sign of disapproval.
The video was only three minutes long, yet within twenty minutes of being posted it shot to the top of the trending list, instantly accompanied by several other related tags.
Even the family had been met—this was serious. Jiang Yu pursed his lips. He wasn’t particularly happy, but the thought that this ill-fated relationship could finally end still made him feel lighter.
Now all that was left was to wait for Han Cheng to come tell him they were breaking up.
In just twenty minutes, the video had already accumulated over fifty thousand comments. The uploader seemed to have tasted the sweetness of attention and began releasing more clips one after another.
It was clear that throughout the banquet, Ji Xu and Han Cheng stayed together, like a married couple, greeting guests as members of the younger generation of the family.
The entire internet was shipping them hard, the topic’s popularity climbing nonstop.
Jiang Yu didn’t want to watch, yet couldn’t stop himself. He frowned and kept doom-scrolling gossip until ten o’clock, when the uploader posted one final video.
After the banquet ended, the uploader found Han Cheng and Ji Xu still together and interviewed them.
“President Han, is this a meeting with the family this time?”
In the video, Han Cheng held Ji Xu’s hand, smiling blissfully. “Yes. We’re both not young anymore and want to settle down.”
“I saw the old master was very happy today. Has your family accepted your relationship?”
“Ji Xu and I grew up together—we know each other inside out. My family respects my wishes.”
“Then congratulations to you both. May you grow old together in harmony.”
Ji Xu linked his arm through Han Cheng’s, smiling gently. “Thank you for your blessing.”
“Then may I ask Mr. Ji a question?”
“Of course.”
“Mr. Ji has been back in the country for two months now. We’ve all been waiting for your music. May I ask when you plan to release new songs?”
“Soon. I’ve already prepared several songs—just one or two more and I’ll have enough for an album. Good things take time; there’s no rush.
While waiting to release music, I haven’t been idle either. I’ve already finished filming my scenes in Director Wang Hao’s movie. I only played a small role there, so please remember to watch it when it’s released.
Even though it was just a small role, I found filming very interesting, so I want to challenge myself more.
Recently I’ll be shooting a movie directed by Qi Sheng, where I’ll be taking on the male third lead role. Please look forward to it.”
Jiang Yu’s brows instantly furrowed. In the industry, there was only one director named Qi Sheng. He was playing the fifth male lead in that film, yet Ji Xu was going to be the third male lead.
Was this a coincidence—or something deliberately arranged?
The trending link had been sent by Han Cheng. That bastard did it on purpose, didn’t he?
Jiang Yu viciously turned off his phone.
Damn it. A plant.
