The airing of ‘Weekly Entertainment’ was scheduled for two weeks from today. Grant had also received word that some of the photos of Qi Chen featured in ‘People’ could be released after the show to support Qi Chen’s promotion. Among the various levels of celebrities in Jingnian, many envied the young boy who had gained Shen Zhe’s favor. Some extended olive branches to him, while others looked down on him, dismissing him as someone who had risen through connections.
Fans and viewers eagerly sat in front of their TVs, waiting for Emperor Shen to make his appearance. Wei Xicheng, for once, was granted permission by Nina to take a break today. He curled up in his dressing room, waiting for ‘Weekly Entertainment’ to air.
Since Nina still hadn’t given him his phone, he could only connect to the internet through his system, keeping an eye on people’s reactions. After all, no one likes seeing an endless stream of malicious comments about themselves online.
The host of ‘Weekly Entertainment’ was both witty and professional, quickly amusing the audience with a few lighthearted jokes, creating a lively atmosphere on set.
When Shen Zhe pushed open the door, he saw his little star wiping away tears from the corner of his eyes, tears from laughing too hard. He had never seen him so emotionally expressive before.
Sure enough, when the little quail, curled up on the sofa noticed someone had intruded into his space, he immediately wiped his face and tucked his smile away, reverting to his shy and reserved demeanor.
If not for the blush on his face, Shen Zhe might have thought he was imagining things.
“Here,” Shen Zhe handed him a bottle of drink. “I won’t disturb you. Just pretend I’m not here.”
Peach-flavored fruit milk.
Wei Xicheng slowly inserted the straw. If you were as much of a gentleman as you claim, you should immediately turn around and take a left out of the door—that’s your actual dressing room.
“I’m sure everyone’s tired of hearing me chatter on! Because next up, we have our Film Emperor—Shen Zhe!”
The host’s voice echoed from the TV, accompanied by the excited cheers of the live audience. You could clearly hear everyone chanting “Shen Zhe” in unison.
Wei Xicheng fixed his gaze on the screen. The man beside him had a unique charm in front of the camera, effortlessly drawing everyone’s attention.
Every move was elegant, every gesture polite yet distant, warming the hearts of his fans while never alienating the casual viewers.
While Wei Xicheng focused on the TV, Shen Zhe’s gaze never left him. Shen Zhe knew better than anyone how well the boy performed on stage, having seen the edited clips afterward. He had to admit, the boy was like a precious unpolished gem. Once the dust was wiped away and the rough edges smoothed out, he would shine just as brilliantly—if not more so—than himself.
Shen Zhe sighed softly. Soon, the boy’s brilliance would be recognized by everyone, and he would no longer be just his private treasure.
“What’s wrong?” Wei Xicheng asked, hearing Shen Zhe’s sigh and turning to face him.
“Nothing. Just keep watching. You’re about to come on,” Shen Zhe replied with a warm smile.
Wei Xicheng took a sip from his straw, the fruit milk, sweet and fragrant.
On screen, as the boy appeared, a small swirl of starlight and glittery effects followed. Wei Xicheng’s throat tightened—what ridiculous special effects, weren’t they a bit too much?
“What do you think?” Shen Zhe asked, noticing Wei Xicheng let go of the now flattened straw. “I think the effect suits you perfectly.”
“Really?” Wei Xicheng squeezed the bottle.
He glanced at his system, and sure enough, the online conversation was shifting. There was definitely some PR management from Jingnian, but a lot of genuine passersby were becoming fans purely based on his looks.
“Qi Chen, I think your name is particularly well chosen.”
Wei Xicheng nodded absentmindedly, still monitoring the online trends, not really processing Shen Zhe’s strange comment.
Shen Zhe glanced at the boy, clearly distracted, and chuckled quietly.
On TV, the tall man had already begun his scene with his little star.
Shen Zhe’s performance, as always, was impeccable, but the boy’s acting in this improvised scene was a revelation. His grasp of timing and the tension in his performance were worlds apart from his earlier shy introduction.
On screen, Wei Xicheng’s character was pinned by Shen Zhe, half-kneeling on the ground. He stubbornly glared at Shen Zhe, eyes blazing with fury, as if his anger could lock the man behind him in place.
“I didn’t steal!”
Shen Zhe smirked with a touch of rogue charm, leaning down and lightly patting the boy’s face. “Whether you stole or not isn’t for you to decide.”
Wei Xicheng jerked his head up, aiming to headbutt the man holding him, but Shen Zhe quickly dodged, causing Wei Xicheng to lunge forward and crash into Shen Zhe’s chest.
He didn’t see it, but in the moment he fell into Shen Zhe’s embrace, Shen Zhe immediately broke character. His entire demeanor froze, his eyes darkening. Where Wei Xicheng couldn’t see, Shen Zhe gently hovered his hand over the back of his head, as if to comfort him.
The audience below held their breath, waiting for the plot twist, but instead, Shen Zhe pulled the boy’s arm, lifting him out of his embrace and bowed together with him to the crowd.
The host hurriedly wrapped things up, clapping his hands and saying, “That was amazing!” The audience erupted in applause.
At this point, Wei Xicheng turned to the somewhat lax man beside him. “Why did you change the script?”
They had rehearsed this scene many times, and the ending was supposed to have Shen Zhe dodge, then deliver a staged slap to Qi Chen. However, due to Shen Zhe pulling him at the last second, Wei Xicheng had ended up crashing into his chest.
“I just thought this would be better,” Shen Zhe said, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “The audience doesn’t know our script anyway, do they?”
Wei Xicheng frowned, biting the straw and shaking his head before pouting and pointing the straw at Shen Zhe’s nose.
As expected, Shen Zhe quickly snatched the straw away and leaned in, stopping just a centimeter from Wei Xicheng’s nose.
Wei Xicheng looked at the man, now so close, and couldn’t help but laugh. Their breaths mingled, heating the space around them.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Shen Zhe didn’t move, his gaze locked on Wei Xicheng’s clear eyes, his tone dangerous yet restrained.
“Mr. Shen.” Wei Xicheng lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Despite the apology, Wei Xicheng was secretly amused. If the unexpected force on stage was an accident, Shen Zhe’s current behavior proved without a doubt that he and Sheng Huasen were the same person.
Shen Zhe stared at the boy, his fists clenched. Maybe he was overthinking it. This kid was rarely playful or emotionally open, seeing it once might have led to a misunderstanding.
Just as he was about to pull away, Wei Xicheng suddenly opened his eyes, tilted his head, and lightly pecked Shen Zhe on the lips.
It was a fleeting touch, soft and gentle.
“Thank you, Shen Zhe.”
Shen Zhe’s gaze deepened, hearing his name spoken by this boy. Although his tone was calm, to Shen Zhe, it felt laden with endless tenderness and intimacy.
“Say it again.”
——————
The show had ended, and Shen Zhe absentmindedly touched his lips, walking through the halls of Jingnian.
The employees all noticed that their boss seemed unusually relaxed today, circling the building repeatedly.
While Shen Zhe was outside dealing with his emotions, Wei Xicheng lay on the sofa in his dressing room, gently touching his slightly swollen lips, wincing slightly.
It was now undeniable. This guy was definitely Sheng Huasen.
Wei Xicheng smirked, glancing at the online buzz.
“Face lovers, bow down! Qi Chen’s face has an air of elegance! And his aura, oh my god! He’s like a whole new person! His previous packaging was such a waste! Bow down again!”
Countless netizens expressed similar sentiments.
The user “Lover of Shen” chimed in again: “It’s me again. I just want to say, don’t you think our Film Emperor and the little star have a nice chemistry?”
After posting that, “Lover of Shen” seemed to anticipate the incoming storm and quickly disappeared.
Some die-hard solo fans strongly disagreed, but more and more people joined the growing CP fandom.
This division escalated even further when Shen Zhe liked one of the CP fans’ comments, causing the discussion to explode, propelling both Shen Zhe and Qi Chen to the top of the trending topics.
Riding the wave of the show’s popularity, Jingnian Studios released some stills of Qi Chen from ‘People’, pushing the conversation even further and winning Wei Xicheng a wave of new fans.
As his fan base grew, Qi Chen’s past controversies were being dug up and then swiftly suppressed. Eventually, these past scandals became running jokes, devoid of their former malice.
After all, Qi Chen was just a kid—an exceptionally good-looking one at that. He hadn’t done anything terrible, just appeared a bit timid on stage, and the public’s tolerance for him was unusually high.
The timing was almost perfect.
Wei Xicheng picked up the internal phone in his dressing room and dialed Nina’s number.
“Sister Nina, I’d like to see the lawyer.”
“Okay. But if anything needs to be made public, it has to go through the company.”
“I understand, Sister Nina.”
“Good.”
On the other end, Nina hung up and immediately called Shen Zhe.
From the first time she met Qi Chen a month ago, she had sensed that the boy was not as fragile as he appeared. He looked delicate and distant, but inside, he had his own sense of resilience and pride. Once you got to know him, he revealed a completely different side.
After spending a month together, Qi Chen confirmed her initial thoughts—he was smart, quick-witted, and knew exactly what to do and when to do it. This was the type of person she admired the most.
“Hello, President Shen… Hmm… Leave it for him to handle himself? …Alright.”
