TCFGBH Chapter 20

The sound of rain outside suddenly intensified, with large raindrops pattering against the glass. The wind howled, sweeping away the heat that had lingered for half a month.

Xia Yan took out a new phone from the drawer, grabbed an umbrella and car keys, and drove out of the residential complex.

It was close to midnight, and the roads were empty, with hardly any people around. The small shops along the roadside were dark, with all the lights off, no longer in business.

Following the navigation, Xia Yan visited several mobile service stores, but they were all closed.

He was a bit frustrated.

Should he give up?

The director of Heartbeat had sent a message asking him to return to “Love Island” in three days, so there seemed to be plenty of time. But Beaufort was also busy shooting the official advertisement.

It was his first major endorsement, and Wang Dazhuang would be constantly shuttling him around afterward.

Xia Yan was worried that something might go wrong if he delayed too much.

And then there was the gift that Tu Xi mentioned… Xia Yan blinked, his dark eyes showing a hint of concern in the dimly lit car. He had a… bad feeling.

Unable to resist, he opened the system panel.

Ignoring the third task for now, he saw that Task Six had a small progress bar. Its crimson color showed about eighty percent completion, but it was currently progressing at a snail’s pace.

Clearly, although many people were criticizing him online, it hadn’t yet reached the level of a full-scale boycott required by the task.

Besides the main task, there was also a side task involving cheesy pickup lines.

Due to the short time, the progress was 6/10, meaning he still needed four more lines. According to 999, the side task had rich rewards, so once Heartbeat resumed filming, Xia Yan would need to catch up on the progress.

Thinking it over carefully, Xia Yan realized how busy he was.

He drove very slowly, searching for an open mobile service store.

The rain began to lighten, with a gentle drizzle falling on the car windows. The rearview mirror reflected the distorted image of a vehicle behind him—a nondescript Volkswagen quietly following.

The road was wide, with no traffic lights, and it was easy to overtake.

Yet the car stayed behind. Was it just a coincidence?

Xia Yan frowned slightly and instinctively pressed the gas pedal, accelerating forward like an arrow shot from a bow, his black Audi speeding ahead.

He glanced at the rearview mirror.

The rain blurred the mirror, showing only vague shadows. The road behind him was empty, quiet, and still.

The Volkswagen didn’t follow, crawling along slowly like an ant. Xia Yan breathed a sigh of relief, laughing at himself for being too sensitive.

It was nearly 1 a.m., and it was getting very late.

After thinking momentarily, he changed direction and headed toward Liu Jinhao’s bar. That area had a vibrant nightlife, with people out until three or four in the morning. Some shops nearby stayed open late.

So, he didn’t notice.

The black Volkswagen quickly turned a corner, screeching to a halt out of sight of the young man. The driver wiped off some cold sweat and cursed, “Damn! Almost got spotted.”

“I thought he wouldn’t notice because of the rain, but we got a bit too close,” said the man in the passenger seat, equally frustrated. We have no choice; we can’t follow him anymore. The rest of the route is up to Team B.”

“Rich people are so strange—one is out in the middle of the night instead of sleeping, and the other has us tailing him—”

“Alright, don’t say things you shouldn’t. We’re paid to do a job, so we keep our mouths shut.”

“Team B just messaged—they’re on him now, so we’re done for the night.”

“Let’s go grab something to eat.”

–

Xia Yan wandered around the bar area for several laps before finally finding a mobile service store with lights still on late at night. After some effort, he successfully activated his phone number.

“Uh… can I get an autograph?”

“…”

“I’m your fan.”

“…” Xia Yan thought for a moment, then picked up a pen and paper, carefully writing down his name in a powerful, vigorous script full of character. “Consider this a bribe.”

The part-time college student was stunned. “Huh?”

“Please don’t tell anyone that I was here, alright?”

“Of course, no problem.” The boy’s face turned a little red. “Protecting a client’s privacy is part of our professional ethics.”

“Thank you.”

Xia Yan smiled at him.

The boy’s face grew redder, practically steaming as he watched the young man leave, still lost in thought.

After some time, a short middle-aged man entered the store, glancing around as he spoke in a friendly manner, and the two began chatting.

–

With its deep pockets, Beaufort quickly secured a shooting location and background actors in just one night. Xia Yan followed the director’s instructions, changing outfits one after another.

Since time was on their side, today’s styling was even more detailed than yesterday’s, carefully considering every small accessory.

The Fun Play line targeted the youth market, emphasizing energy, vibrancy, and rebellion. For the commercial, Xia Yan needed to engage in various sports activities—basketball, tennis, skateboarding, mountain biking… everything.

Before his family’s bankruptcy in his past life, Xia Yan attended many extracurricular classes and played many different sports. He dabbled in many things but mastered none.

Now, this made shooting the commercial easy for him.

The director was also excited, thinking that several of the shots looked great and could be edited into a 10-second teaser for the first cut of the ad. He planned to submit the ad for review tonight and push to get it approved by the day after tomorrow.

“Change into the next outfit.”

“Alright.”

Xia Yan went to the makeshift dressing room to change clothes, and the stylist adjusted his makeup. The director scrutinized him for a moment and then called the costume team over. “The black shoes are too dull; switch them out for a white pair.”

“Got it.”

The wardrobe assistant nodded and quickly found a pair of white shoes.

Seeing that Xia Yan was getting his makeup touched up and couldn’t bend down, the assistant didn’t think much of it. He crouched down and started removing Xia Yan’s shoes, saying, “Mr. Xia, I’ll help you change into these shoes.”

In the industry, it’s common for staff to help with tasks like changing shoes, tying laces, or holding up dresses, especially when the artist is busy.

The Beaufort staff had developed a high opinion of Xia Yan. Even after spending just one day with him, they still get lost in his stunning looks. If it weren’t for the fact that they knew he had a boyfriend—a top celebrity like Tu Xi—someone would probably have tried to flirt with him by now.

But now… anyone who thinking of flirting would first ask themselves if they were worthy.

The assistant, who admired Xia Yan, knew he wasn’t in a position to pursue him. He simply wanted to make things as comfortable as possible for him on the job.

“No need, I can do it myself,” Xia Yan refused.

“It’s no trouble at all, Mr. Xia.”

The shoes were loose sneakers; a gentle tug was all it took to remove them. The assistant then grabbed the new shoes and loosened the laces, ready to slip them on. While doing so, his fingers inevitably brushed against Xia Yan’s ankle.

The left shoe went on smoothly, but something felt off when he tried the right.

It was too swollen.

Everyone knew that Xia Yan had sprained his ankle during Heartbeat. They were aware he had been using medicated patches, so they had designed his outfits to include socks to cover the injury.

Xia Yan had been running and jumping around all day as if nothing were wrong, so everyone assumed the injury wasn’t serious.

But now…

“Mr. Xia, I’m sorry, please forgive me,” the assistant said with a frown as he quickly and carefully removed the sock from his right foot.

The medicated patch was about the size of a palm, and beneath it was a visibly swollen area. Even the skin around the patch’s edges was slightly red, indicating a severe injury.

Xia Yan hadn’t noticed, still somewhat puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

“Mr. Xia,” the assistant suddenly adopted a serious tone.

“Hmm?”

“Even though we have a heavy shooting schedule, you still need to take care of your body!”

“?”

“Director, could you take a look, please? I don’t think Mr. Xia should continue shooting today.” The assistant added, “We’ve already shot a lot of material today. Tomorrow, I think…”

Xia Yan: “???” What’s happening?

A group of people gathered around, examining his foot. Instinctively, Xia Yan wiggled his toes, then looked down at his ankle. Seeing the swollen area, he couldn’t help but gasp.

Why was it so swollen?

Actually, the night before, when he had taken a bath and changed the patch, Xia Yan noticed that his ankle seemed a bit redder than during the day. But since it didn’t seem too serious, he hadn’t paid much attention, just applying a new patch before going to bed.

In the rush to shoot that morning, he only changed clothes and didn’t replace the patch, so he hadn’t seen what was happening underneath.

All the running and jumping today had only aggravated the injury.

Without pain, he hadn’t been aware of the danger signals his body was sending.

–

Twenty-five minutes later.

Xia Yan sat in a van, his foot wrapped in layers of bandages.

The director reassured him, “We’ve got enough material for today. Take a few days off. Once your leg is healed, we’ll continue filming the rest.”

“Sorry for the trouble, Director.”

“No problem.” The director said a few more words before waving goodbye.

Xia Yan carefully touched his foot, stealing a glance at the driver’s seat where his manager, Wang Dazhuang, was silently fuming. In a low voice, he said to the system, [Turn off the pain filter for one minute… No, just twenty seconds.]

999: [It’s going to hurt a lot.]

[Pain helps me understand my body better.] Xia Yan felt disconnected. Logically, he knew his foot was in bad shape and needed special care.

But since his brain hadn’t registered any intense pain, he wasn’t feeling the urgency.

[Alright, I’ll disable it.]

[Okay.]

The next second, an intense pain, like a burning sensation, surged through Xia Yan’s body. Fine beads of sweat instantly appeared on his pale forehead.

Those short twenty seconds felt like an eternity in hell.

Xia Yan: “…”

Wang Dazhuang was startled. “Xia Yan, are you alright? Is it hurting a lot? Should we go to the hospital?”

“No need, just take me home. I need rest.”

“Okay, okay.” Wang Dazhuang quickly nodded. Halfway through the drive, seeing Xia Yan’s calm expression and no further signs of pain, he relaxed but was still annoyed. He grumbled, “With such a serious injury, you still went to shoot the commercial. You’re not taking care of yourself.”

“Who was the one pushing me to shoot the Beaufort ad?” Xia Yan teased.

“I didn’t know your injury was this bad! If I had known…” Wang Dazhuang muttered quietly, “If I had known, we could have signed the contract first and then let you recover.”

Beaufort was a big opportunity; he didn’t want to miss it.

“Oh, and by the way, Beaufort will release the promotional photos tonight at 7 p.m. Don’t forget to repost on Weibo… Actually, no! Forget it, you should rest. I’ll handle it for you.”

“Alright.”

Wang Dazhuang then remembered something. “By the way, with your busy schedule, do you want to hire a new assistant?”

Wang Dazhuang had driven away a troublesome person earlier.

There wasn’t much work at that time, so the two weren’t in a hurry to find a replacement, leaving the position vacant.

“No need,” Xia Yan replied.

He preferred to be alone rather than have an assistant follow him around, finding peace and freedom in solitude without needing to maintain a public persona.

Wang Dazhuang hesitated for a moment. “Yan Yan, we can’t just avoid the issue because of one bad experience. Next time, let’s hire a female assistant to ensure—” The word “safety” got stuck in his throat when he looked at Xia Yan’s exquisite, stunning face.

Damn! Why is he so attractive?

“Never mind, if you don’t want one, we won’t get one for now.” Wang Dazhuang dropped him off at home, reminding him, “Tonight, I’ll meet with the PR department to make sure they closely monitor the internet. Now that we’ve landed such a big opportunity with Beaufort, we need to allocate resources to promote you.”

Xia Yan… Xia Yan didn’t want to shatter Wang Dazhuang’s fantasy.

The agency he had signed with was a small, third-rate family-run operation. In the year since Xia Yan entered this world, he had only seen the higher-ups once during his first month. Back then, he was harshly scolded for refusing to endorse a sketchy, unregulated brand.

After that, his acting career was essentially left to fend for itself. He relied solely on his looks to secure minor roles in small web dramas, like playing the fifth or sixth male lead. Occasionally, he landed a couple of minor but legitimate endorsement deals.

Due to the relatively high salaries in the industry and the original owner of the body having had a brief period of fame that allowed him to save a decent amount, Xia Yan wasn’t worried about food or clothing and could focus on completing his tasks.

The agency had long since given up on him, so how could they be willing to invest resources into him now? Unless he was willing to humble himself and apologize…

But… ahem! If the higher-ups don’t invest in him, that actually works in his favor!

–

By nightfall, after an eventful day, even with the help of Tu Xi’s studio, Xia Yan still found himself under heavy criticism online. People said he was just a pretty face with no real presence, too tacky to land a serious endorsement.

Someone timidly commented, 【I think Xia Yan’s photos are quite beautiful, not tacky at all】

As soon as the comment was posted, it was met with a barrage of attacks.

【Are you blind?”】

【Need me to book you an ophthalmology appointment?”】

【You don’t understand fashion. Wearing all black, white, and gray only looks good if you’re heading to a funeral.】

..

After being bombarded with replies like this, the young girl who had posted the comment started to doubt herself and quietly deleted her comment. Whether these critics were real people or bots was anyone’s guess.

Xia Yan’s most recent Weibo post was still a photo he had taken before participating in Heartbeat. Underneath that photo, there were already hundreds of thousands of comments.

At 7 p.m., Beaufort’s official Weibo posted, 【Play with colors, embark on a journey of youth. Discover a different you, a different spark. Our Greater China region ambassador: @Xia Yan.】 A nine-photo grid accompanied the post.

Wang Dazhuang logged into Xia Yan’s Weibo and retweeted it immediately, using formal and polite language that left no room for criticism.

The reaction was swift: “??? Wait a minute, this must be a fan account. Let me check.”

Ten seconds later, no, it wasn’t a fan account. It was indeed Beaufort.

Beaufort, a luxury brand known for its class and status, was constantly watched by various fan bases. No one expected them to drop such a bombshell, announcing Xia Yan as their Greater China ambassador without warning. It was a meteoric rise!

They were curious: what exactly made Xia Yan so special?

They clicked on the images, and… there was no turning back.

In the photos, the young man was either sitting or standing, still or in motion, his vibrant and bold presence like a burning flame searing into people’s hearts.

The centerpiece was a GIF, likely taken outdoors. Xia Yan wore a black and red sports outfit, holding a skateboard in his right hand, facing the warm light of the setting sun, his gaze free and unrestrained, his beauty almost overwhelming. The wind tousled his dark, short hair, adding a dreamy quality to the scene.

Director Tan Jiatong and the Beaufort team had worked wonders, capturing Xia Yan’s natural beauty and presenting it to the world in all its glory.

That almost otherworldly face, previously hidden by Xia Yan’s unawareness of his own allure, was now unveiled to the public.

Everyone who saw the images couldn’t help but be captivated.

【Is this really Xia Yan?!】

【If beauty like this exists… I suddenly understand Tu Xi now. If a great beauty like this stays faithful to me, then a few flirtatious words here are forgivable.】

【If my wife cheats, I’ll happily be the side piece.】

【If this is what you call ‘tacky,’ then I’m willing to be tacky for life.】

【Although my rational mind tells me this is probably Photoshopped, it’s so gorgeous that I can’t help myself! Wife, wait for me; I’m leaving my previous fandom and joining your harem from now on.】

【Tu Xi, come out and take your punishment. Stop stealing my wife, ugh!】

–

The internet was flooded with howls of lament.

Xia Yan’s fan count skyrocketed alarmingly, pushing him to the top of trending topics faster than ever before.

#XiaYanBeaufort#

#XiaYanStunning Beauty#

#TuXiStealingMyWife#

#XiaYanPhotoshopped#

#Beaufort’sGod-tierPhotographer#

People saved Xia Yan’s pictures and shared them across social media platforms, leading more and more to flock to Weibo. The influx of traffic overwhelmed the servers, causing Weibo to crash.

Fortunately, three minutes later, emergency repairs brought it back online.

【Give those programmers some chicken legs.】

【Wife, please divorce Tu Xi and let me steal bikes to support you!】

【When I see people calling my wife ‘Photoshopped,’ I can’t understand it. You must be heartless if you can insult such a beauty. Definitely bots.】

Bots: “…”

【Which celebrity doesn’t Photoshop their pictures? The fact that he’s so stunning proves that my wife is naturally beautiful.】

【Ahhhh!!! I managed to buy the same jacket as Yan Yan! We’ll be wearing matching outfits!!! So excited!】

【Holy crap, the person above has fast hands. I just zoned out for a moment, staring at my wife’s beauty, and when I checked the Beaufort website, everything he wore was sold out. If anyone is willing to sell, I’ll pay double for it.】

【I’ll pay triple for the animated GIF look-alike outfit—jacket, shirt, shoes, anything. I want to match with Brother Yan. Thanks in advance to anyone willing to part with theirs.】

–

Beaufort was a high-end brand, meaning its clothes were far from cheap. A single jacket would cost at least 20,000 to 30,000 yuan, but their website was sold out within such a short time. This extraordinary ability to drive sales made every capitalist envious.

In contrast, people looked at “Xi Shi” and could only shake their heads at the stupidity.

They had picked up a sesame seed but lost a watermelon.

This disappointment even extended to their feelings about Fang Xi Hua.

【Here’s a joke for you: Xi Shi turned down Xia Yan as their brand ambassador.】

【They had a chance to land Tu Xi and Xia Yan at once, but ended up… well, with Fang Xi Hua. Today, Xi Shi also posted their promotional photos, and honestly, it’s just not in the same league as Xia Yan.】

“…”

Xia Yan was browsing all this gossip on his side account.

He scrolled through the compliments and the flood of comments calling him “wife” on his main account, feeling deeply confused. [I… thought I was supposed to be the dominating one?]

999 replied, [You are]

[Then why are they calling me ‘wife’?] He might have understood better if they had called him ‘husband’.

The system thought momentarily and explained, [I think it’s because when the video of Tu Xi carrying you princess-style was posted online, people started calling you ‘wife’ after that.]

Xia Yan: “…” He regrets this so much!!

No, he needed to change the minds of these netizens.

Using his alternate account, he rushed to the comment section and posted: 【Xia Yan’s photos? They’re just okay, not much different from before. Plus, he’s a guy, and he’s a gong. He should be called ‘husband,’ not ‘wife.】

And then… Xia Yan got attacked.

【Xia Yan is a gong??? Girl, wake up! Listen to his soft, coquettish tone, the shyness when he was carried princess-style, and the two competitions where Tu Xi’s boyfriend power was off the charts. Do we even need to debate who’s the gong here?】

Coquettish tone… were they talking about when he deliberately flirted with Zhao Wenhan?

Shy? That was pure embarrassment!

Tu Xi’s boyfriend power… well, that was… pretty strong. But wasn’t Tu Xi supposed to be the shou in the original novel?