Inside the private room, Xiang Ming and the others were also talking about the two of them.
Xiang Ming: "Tell me, what's going on in Lao Xie's mind right now? He likes her so much, he wants to hold her in his palm, keep her in his mouth, and stick to her every day. Is that what you call being a friend?"
Chen Siqi had a good understanding of Xie Wang's mental journey.
He analyzed, "He was straight for 30 years, and he just couldn't accept the sudden change."
Xiang Ming said worriedly, "They're not even together yet, and Lao Xie is already so attentive to her. If they get together in the future, I'm worried that they'll break up or something, and Lao Xie will try to kill himself, completely under her control. Look at how badly my second brother was hurt by those scumbags!"
“But I think Ling Shuangjiang seems pretty good. He’s quite steady and neither arrogant nor humble.” Lü Xin had been observing Ling Shuangjiang ever since he came in.
Qi Hang then said, "Have you guys watched 'Love Signal'? My girlfriend has been following it, and I've only glanced at it a couple of times. I feel that Ling Shuangjiang isn't as innocent as he seems on the surface, but he doesn't have any bad intentions either. My impression of him is that he likes Xie Ge, and then he sets traps step by step, using retreat as a form of attack, to lure Xie Ge into falling into them himself."
"As long as he genuinely likes him, that's fine. After all, given Lao Xie's naive and immature romantic experience, it's rare for him to find someone who likes him for who he is without being after his money," Xiang Ming said.
Chen Siqi: Let's see. Our opinions don't matter. Let's see what Lao Xie says.
Just as they finished speaking, Xie Wang and Ling Shuangjiang entered together.
Seeing Xie Wang's still displeased expression, Xiang Ming decided not to provoke him anymore, otherwise pushing him too far would damage their brotherly relationship.
The atmosphere eased slightly during dinner.
Xiang Ming and Ling Shuangjiang talked for a long time. After learning that his family had been engaged in the kesi (silk tapestry) craft for generations, Xiang Ming finally understood where his profound knowledge and temperament came from.
Every time Xiang Ming spoke to Ling Shuangjiang, Xie Wang would shut up and sometimes glare at Xiang Ming resentfully, his face stern as if he had been bullied.
If they hadn't known Xie Wang and witnessed his formidable nature, they would have almost thought they were the perpetrators, as Xie Wang was weak, innocent, and pitiful.
After finishing the meal, Xie Wang went to the parking lot to get his car. Although his gaze was cold, he still reminded Ling Shuangjiang to wait for him obediently before leaving, lest she be kidnapped by bad guys.
Xiang Ming said to Ling Shuangjiang, "Give me your WeChat. I heard from Lao Xie that the WeChat contact I gave him last time wasn't your personal account."
Ling Shuangjiang nodded and added him as a friend.
Just then, Xie Wang's car pulled up. He rolled down the window and looked at Xiang Ming as if he were some kind of criminal: "What are you doing?"
Xiang Ming shook his phone: "Add Shuangjiang as a friend and introduce her to someone."
Xie Wang sneered and reminded Ling Shuangjiang to get into the car.
Seeing that the two were about to leave, Xiang Ming deliberately asked, "Shuangjiang, I'll send you that kid's WeChat ID. Remember to add him."
Xie Wangming fired two notes on his flute, nearly hitting Xiang Ming.
Xiang Ming laughed and cursed, "You stupid dog."
—
Back home, Xie Wang briefly said goodnight to Ling Shuangjiang before going to his room to rest.
Ling Shuangjiang calmly packed her luggage and room, and after taking a shower, she saw that Xiang Ming had sent her many WeChat messages.
Xiang Ming: Shuangjiang, can I give him your WeChat?
Ling Shuangjiang: I'm sorry, but you can tell I have someone I like, so let's not meet anymore. It's not very responsible to the other person.
Xiang Ming: Let's meet up, just like making a new friend. I've already told him about your situation, and he wants to meet you. If you don't go on blind dates, he's not in a hurry!
Upon seeing this sentence, Ling Shuangjiang paused, somewhat hesitant. He didn't understand why Xiang Ming would help him if he knew Xiang Ming liked Xie Wang.
Ling Shuangjiang thought for a long time and said: Okay.
He wasn't familiar with Xiang Ming, so it wouldn't be good to ask him directly and rashly. He could ask later if there was an opportunity.
Before going to bed, Ling Shuangjiang received a friend request on WeChat from someone named Ran Chen. The two quickly arranged a time to meet and then said goodnight to each other.
—
For several days in a row, Ling Shuangjiang found a gift on the dining table every morning when she woke up.
Xie Wang left early and returned late, so the two saw each other less and less.
Ling Shuangjiang was perceptive and could sense Xie Wang's recent bad mood. Without Xie Wang's company, his life seemed to have suddenly lost much of its vibrancy.
Perhaps it's not that Xie Wang can't live without him, but that he can't live without Xie Wang.
So opening the gifts every morning became the time he looked forward to the most.
He's had fewer public appearances lately, and his most important job is a live-streaming endorsement. Panda TV values his current popularity and has contacted his team several times, hoping he will become their spokesperson.
After careful consideration, Ling Shuangjiang signed the endorsement deal.
Panda TV has monthly live streaming tasks, requiring four live streams per month, each lasting at least two hours.
Because Ling Shuangjiang is currently very popular, I plan to do a live stream soon.
Ling Shuangjiang learned a lot about the preparations for the live stream. Fans and netizens like to get close to the private lives of celebrities, so the time was set at eight o'clock and the location was Ling Shuangjiang's home.
Ling Shuangjiang's Weibo account already has 8 million followers, ranking third in follower growth rate on Weibo this month, which is a very good start. As he sat on the sofa managing his Weibo account, the door clicked open; Xie Wang had returned.
It's only six o'clock, which is unlike Xie Wang's usual style. Ling Shuangjiang put on her slippers, walked up to him, and took his bag: "So early today?"
Xie Wang: "Yes, the work is done."
Ling Shuangjiang had no intention of leaving and continued to follow him: "Would you like some fruit? I cut up some honeydew melon and bananas."
Xie Wang remained expressionless: "The knives at home are very sharp, don't touch them next time. I'll make whatever you want to eat."
Xie Wang is like that; even when he's unhappy, he still indulges him. Even when he's upset, he still prepares birthday surprises for him every day.
Ling Shuangjiang looked up at him, holding up the men's bracelet Xie Wang had given him that morning: "It's alright, I'll be careful. Wearing something you gave me makes me feel good."
Xie Wang glanced at Ling Shuangjiang's wrist, then quickly avoided her gaze: "I'm going to work, you go ahead and do your thing."
"Xie Wang." Ling Shuangjiang called out to him, walked to the opposite side, and lowered her eyes: "You haven't been talking to me much lately, are you unhappy?"
Xie Wang immediately looked at him, his tone anxious and certain: "I didn't."
Ling Shuangjiang met his gaze quietly, then lowered her head and said softly, "I'm moving out the day after tomorrow. Thank you for taking care of me these past few days."
After saying that, he went straight back to his room.
As the door slammed shut, Xie Wang quickly followed Ling Shuangjiang to his room. He hesitated several times, raising his hand as if to knock on the door, but then slowly lowered it each time.
He has indeed had very little contact with Ling Shuangjiang in the past few days, but it's not that he's deliberately being cold; rather, his mind is in complete turmoil.
He was very jealous and didn't want Ling Shuangjiang to go to other people, but he didn't dare to say it directly because he knew that his behavior was unreasonable.
Frustration and depression plagued him for several days.
He was on the verge of exploding with emotion.
He leaned against the wall dejectedly, staring intently at the doorknob, worried that Ling Shuang was angry with him.
After all, he had only spoken 60 sentences, or 668 words, to Ling Shuangjiang in the past few days.
What if Ling Shuangjiang ignores him from now on?
Over here, Ling Shuangjiang sat in front of the live stream camera, preparing for the broadcast. Although Li Man told him that he could just chat with his fans, he still prepared more content, such as providing basic knowledge explanations for fans interested in drawing, or recommending some of his favorite books.
"The Fragility of Goodness" is one of his favorite books, and he is deeply moved every time he reads it. After marking the key points with sticky notes, he realized it was almost eight o'clock.
He logged into the live stream and found that many people had already joined. He glanced at the data: 400,000 real-time likes and 150,000 viewers online.
"Hello, I'm Shuangjiang." Ling Shuangjiang was wearing a high-necked, loose-fitting casual top today. The light shone on her, making her look like she had a gentle filter applied to her, giving her a healing and warm appearance.
[Ahhh, my wife is so cute!]
[Aww, I've come to see my wife! Is she home?]
[Judging from the background, it looks like a home, not a hotel.]
[Little Frost, I've come to see you! It's been 40 days since the reality show ended! I missed you so much!]
[Fans of romance reality shows, report for duty!]
Ling Shuangjiang carefully read everyone's comments and smiled, "Thank you for your support. I'm currently working in Bintan and filming some commercials."
[Bintan City? Isn't that Mr. Xie's territory?]
[Have you met with President Xie? You two have each other's contact information, don't think we don't know!]
[Uh, isn't this considered private life? There's no need to tell everyone. Besides, the two of them being a couple has already ended.]
[Yeah, it's all over now, so stop using Mr. Xie to generate buzz. You've already reaped almost all the benefits from this dating reality show; aren't you leeching off others enough?]
[Vampire? Is the person above crazy? Whose blood did Frostfall suck? Why don't you spend your time watching your own idol?]
Seeing that the comments section was about to erupt into a heated argument, Ling Shuangjiang changed the subject: "What did everyone have for dinner? I've discovered that there's a lot of delicious food in Bintan, and I'm starting to gain weight lately."
[We ate donkey rolls!! And plum blossom cakes.]
[That's right, Xie Wang rejected Ling Shuangjiang in the finale, and fans are covering their mouths to prevent this from being mentioned?]
[All the guests are relatively popular celebrities, except for Ling Shuangjiang, who's not even a big name anymore. She rose to fame through a dating reality show and now she's not allowed to criticize?]
[The haters are really dedicated; they came to troll on the very first day.]
[Little Frost's Descent has haters? Looks like my Little Frost's Descent is getting popular.]
Before the live stream, Li Man told Ling Shuangjiang that he was currently very popular. Two days ago, an edited version of the dating reality show aired on five major video platforms, and he received the most attention. Coupled with the viral impact of He Chun and his brother's CP incident, he is undoubtedly one of the most talked-about male celebrities this month.
His appearance is bound to become a thorn in the side of rival actors, especially those with similar career paths.
Resources are limited, and everyone is in competition, so it's perfectly normal for someone to resort to underhanded tactics.
If he encounters trolls during his live stream, he should just relax and leave the rest to the moderators.
“I was shooting an ad a few days ago and I found it very interesting. The studio even simulated the first snow season.” Ling Shuangjiang rested her chin on her hands and arms on the table. “I really want to share it with you, but it needs to be officially announced by the advertisers.”
[They've even filmed an ad for this? Its commercial value is off the charts!]
[Are you kidding me? Almost everyone knows that Shuangjiang got Hechun's endorsement while she was on a dating reality show.]
[A guide to reviving a washed-up celebrity's career: CP (couple pairing) marketing + sales tactics; Ling Shuangjiang's team is incredibly skilled.]
[Who is Yin Yang? Who did Shuangjiang (霜降) pair up with? From the first day of filming, others have been choosing him; he hasn't even written a single "love letter" to anyone. Who did he actively provoke?]
[This is where this young man's brilliance lies: relying on his good looks to seduce people.]
The comments in the live stream were getting increasingly offensive. Li Man, who was watching the stream, asked the moderators to clean it up and started checking IDs to see if anyone was a professional troll.
Ling Shuangjiang was fine; her expression didn't falter, and she remained as gentle and composed as ever, chatting with fans about her hobbies. When she saw a fan mentioning that they were feeling down because of the civil service exam, she gently comforted them and taught everyone how to take notes efficiently.
[Was Ling Shuangjiang's undergraduate university very good? She sounds like a top student.]
[Hilarious! Celebrities should avoid trying to cultivate a "genius" image; it's easy to backfire.]