Chapter Sixty-Five: When a Man Is Too Outstanding, He Attracts Unwanted Attention

“Cheng Jie?” Xi Yuanyuan frowned slightly.

Xi Yuanyuan had assumed that with Chen Fang stepping up, Cheng Jie would withdraw from the show.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Jie was still part of the program.

“I’ll have a word with the production team. You and he should try to avoid contact and steer clear of conflict,” she said, worried about Chen Fang’s image.

At present, Chen Fang’s fan base was certainly not as large as Cheng Jie’s. If anything unexpected happened during filming, with the temperament of Cheng Jie’s fans and the backing of his company, it would become quite the headache.

Chen Fang lounged carelessly on the sofa. “Conflict is inevitable. He’s obviously targeting me.”

Hearing this, Xi Yuanyuan grew even more anxious.

This was the entertainment industry, not a hula hoop. Competition between companies and artists was fierce and cruel. That’s why scandals and rumors were so common—today you expose my dirt, tomorrow I fabricate rumors about you, such things happened all the time.

People in this industry had hearts as black as night.

How black? Not just simple rumor-mongering or dragging you down a notch, but whenever the opportunity arose, they would drive you into the ground.

Cheng Jie was infamous for this.

Xi Yuanyuan worried that Chen Fang would suffer.

Seeing her concern, Chen Fang gave her a reassuring smile. “If he doesn’t provoke me, I won’t bother with him. But if he does, he’ll be the one to pay.”

That was true.

Chen Fang was not someone who would take a loss lying down.

“As long as you know what you’re doing,” Xi Yuanyuan said.

She bowed her head and began to tackle the stack of documents in front of her. She’d been stuck at home for days and couldn’t come to the office, and now her desk was piled high with paperwork and tasks to handle.

Seeing this, Chen Fang stood up. “I won’t disturb you then. I’ll head to the recording studio.”

“I’ll come over in a bit,” Xi Yuanyuan replied, not looking up.

Chen Fang nodded and left the office.

He needed to warm up his voice in the studio first; it wasn’t possible to record songs immediately. By the time Xi Yuanyuan finished her work, the timing should be just right.

The office was left with only Xi Yuanyuan.

The next moment, her pen paused slightly and she murmured, “Should I find someone to warn Cheng Jie?”

She herself lacked the connections and clout, but her father, Xi Dong, did. If she told him about this, he’d surely be willing to help, given how fond he was of Chen Fang.

“Why am I so worried about him?” she muttered. “Honestly.”

Xi Yuanyuan realized her anxiety was a bit over the top.

She resumed writing.

A few seconds later, she stopped again.

“Chen Fang is my artist, after all. It wouldn’t be right to let things slide.” She convinced herself with this reason. After persuading herself, Xi Yuanyuan picked up her phone, intending to call her dear father. But as she scrolled through her contacts, she hesitated again.

She’d never felt herself to be so indecisive.

Just then, her phone rang.

Xi Yuanyuan jumped in surprise, glanced at the screen—it was You Nianwei.

“Weiwei,” Xi Yuanyuan said, setting her phone to speaker while still scanning her documents.

“Yuanyuan, you have to save me!”

Hearing this, Xi Yuanyuan’s expression became serious.

“What happened?”

You Nianwei lowered her voice, apparently not wanting others to overhear. “My parents want me to go on a blind date with some rich heir. My friend says he has issues—always at parties, has a pair of panda eyes at just twenty-something, as if he’s drained dry. But my parents don’t believe it, they’re insisting I go.”

A blind date?

So everyone shares the same troubles.

Xi Yuanyuan’s tension melted away. “If I recall, your brother is still single, isn’t he? Let him take your place.”

“Don’t you know You Tianze? He always claims to be an actor, says dating affects his career, ignores the family’s string of restaurants, and instead runs off to Hengdian to be an extra. My dad nearly killed him! Now he’s gone missing from the family.”

You Nianwei’s frustration with her brother was palpable.

A perfectly good restaurant heir, yet he chose to be an extra.

What a lunatic!

Her parents, realizing their son was hopeless, started pressuring their daughter.

“Your brother is still an extra?”

“After all those years, not a bit of progress?”

Xi Yuanyuan was surprised.

You Nianwei replied without hesitation, “He’s only half an extra now. When the crew handed out boxed meals, he complained about the food and cooked himself. Now everyone sees him as the cook and won’t let him act.”

So after all the trouble, he returned to his true calling.

“I don’t want to go on a blind date, Yuanyuan,” You Nianwei’s pitiful voice came through.

Xi Yuanyuan flipped through her papers and said casually, “Tell your parents you’re gay. Ask them to arrange a match with a woman and see how they react.”

On the other end, You Nianwei looked conflicted.

If she said that, would she get beaten?

No!

She would definitely get beaten!

Her parents had been teachers when young, with traditional beliefs. After a major education reform, they were laid off and switched to the restaurant business, gradually building it up.

Strictly speaking, the two elders were still scholars.

Only now, they wielded spatulas instead of pens.

As traditional-minded old-schoolers, they would never accept homosexuality, which they saw as violating moral norms.

“Is there another way?” You Nianwei couldn’t accept being gay either.

After all, her philosophy was: it’s fine not to have a man in your heart, but you must have a man by your side.

She still yearned for a man—she just hadn’t found a satisfactory one.

Xi Yuanyuan thought for a moment. “Then find someone to pretend to be your boyfriend. Fool your parents for now; dating isn’t the same as getting married right away.”

That’s right!

You Nianwei’s eyes lit up.

It’s just dating—not marriage.

In that instant, You Nianwei thought of Chen Fang.

Tall, handsome, sings well, and talented.

“Yuanyuan, give me Chen Fang’s contact information,” she said excitedly.

Xi Yuanyuan was momentarily stunned, then responded coldly, “No.”

Is she kidding? Trying to snatch her man right from under her nose!

You Nianwei hadn’t expected such a strong reaction, but she protested, “I just want him to pretend, to fool my parents, that’s all. Yuanyuan, we’ve been best friends for twenty years! I know every mole on your backside. You have to help me!”

Xi Yuanyuan was annoyed.

Why had she opened her mouth?

If only she hadn’t given You Nianwei any ideas.

After a moment’s silence, Xi Yuanyuan finally said, “It doesn’t matter what I think, Chen Fang has to agree. Besides, his schedule is packed lately, probably won’t have time.”

You Nianwei was delighted. “Just give me his contact, I’ll ask him myself. My parents aren’t in a rush—next month is fine.”

Xi Yuanyuan wanted to slap herself.

One An Tinghan was headache enough.

Now there was You Nianwei as well.

Xi Yuanyuan just didn’t want other women around Chen Fang, but women kept flocking to him.