As he looked at the words, Mu Ye’s eyes filled with even more amusement.
“Is there any schedule tomorrow?” He asked, looking up.
“Not really,” Gu Jiaming turned back, his expression hesitant for some reason. “Do you know about Director Cui? He’s the ace director of that variety show. He’s been calling me over a dozen times and wants to meet us tomorrow to discuss a new variety show project.”
Mu Ye smiled, “Aren’t I not allowed to go on variety shows?”
“I wouldn’t trust other variety shows, but I’m actually considering Director Cui’s show. Maybe it’s worth taking a risk,” Gu Jiaming said. “Director Cui’s shows are easy to handle and have good audience ratings. Plus, he only invites heavyweight guests. Even A-listers are willing to fight for a chance to be on his show.”
After a pause, Gu Jiaming looked at the person in the back seat with concern, “You haven’t had any inspiration for your songs lately, and you’re not even willing to go on vacation. You’re just locking yourself up in the studio every day. Maybe you can take this opportunity to relax a bit?”
Gu Jiaming was the agent who brought Mu Ye into the entertainment industry. In this heavily regulated industry, an agent’s ability is also an important asset. Over the years, Gu Jiaming’s decisions have never been wrong. He is a top-tier agent who matches his abilities with his salary. It is also because of having a trustworthy partner like him that Mu Ye can focus more on music.
“You decide,” Mu Ye said. “If something comes up tomorrow, let’s reschedule for the day after.”
“Okay, then I’ll reply to Director Cui and arrange to meet him the day after tomorrow,” Gu Jiaming said with a smile. “Director Cui is a big shot after all, and he’s not saving face this time to get your debut on his show.”
Gu Jiaming was still a little excited about arranging Mu Ye’s first variety show. He turned back to reply to the director’s message.
While Gu Jiaming was busy, Mu Ye picked up his phone and sent a message to someone named Song Jianchu, along with a photo. Song Jianchu leaned against the fish tank and waited for a while.
Upon seeing the reply, his gaze lingered on the words for a moment before calling the hospital to schedule an evening checkup and then went back to bed to catch some sleep.
In the evening, he returned from the hospital with his medication and sat down at his desk to turn on the desk lamp and open his notebook.
Both of Song Jianchu’s father and grandfather passed away from leukemia, with his father passing away when he was only seven years old and his grandfather just a year ago.
If there is a history of leukemia in the family, the probability of other family members getting the disease also increases. For this result, Song Jianchu had long been mentally prepared and would go to the hospital for a checkup if he ever felt unwell.
Having witnessed the disease progression of his father and grandfather, Song Jianchu did not have much hope for a cure.
However, he did not want to die either.
Thanks to his growth experiences, Song Jianchu’s mentality has always been stable.
He considered himself lucky, not to have acquired acute leukemia, which progresses rapidly, like his two elders. His disease was discovered in time and diagnosed as chronic myeloid leukemia. If lucky, there might be a tiny chance of surviving until the successful matching, and the doctor advised him to continue taking tyrosine kinase inhibitors while waiting for stem cell transplantation.
With headphones on, Song Jianchu wrote on and off, making a list of dozens of wishes.
After all, he had only lived for eighteen years, and there were still many things he had not experienced.
He didn’t know how long it had been.
He stopped writing, picked up his phone from the table, and checked the time.
It was already past midnight.
It was already “tomorrow.”
He looked down at the list of his wishes.
And then made a light stroke with the pen.
I put a check mark on the first article [talking about a relationship].
The next day, Song Jianchu woke up early at 8 a.m., which was unusual for him. Mu Ye didn’t say when he would come.
He turned over and picked up his phone, hesitated for a moment before opening the chat box, and his fingers hovered over the keyboard for a while.
In the end, he didn’t ask.
A star’s work must be very busy.
Yin Chi, on the other hand, sent him a few voice messages.
Song Jianchu rested his chin on his arm and opened the voice message.
“Brother, there’s something I want to tell you. Do you know Cui Yun? He’s a famous variety show director who has produced many hit variety shows in recent years.”
“He contacted me before and wanted me to help set up a meeting with you. He called you a few times, but you didn’t answer, and he also sent several private messages on Weibo. You probably didn’t see them because you receive too many private messages.”
“He’s interested in your persona and influence and wants you to appear on his new variety show. I think this is a great opportunity. Cui Yun’s variety shows have great reviews, and they’re not exhausting to participate in. If you go on the show, you’ll probably gain a lot of fans and avoid dealing with haters every time you log on to Weibo.”
“I didn’t agree to set up the meeting with him. You should think about it.”
After listening to Yin Chi, Song Jianchu lazily replied with a one-second voice message: “I’m not going.”
Yin Chi replied immediately, “Hahaha, I knew it. Okay, I’ll tell him not to bother. But I heard that he’s inviting some big names for their variety show debut this time. Do you know Pei Shinian? He’s the top male star who’s recently become popular. He’s already confirmed for the show. Cui Yun even invited two international film stars, Lu Shen and Bai Xingyu, who have never appeared on variety shows. I think he’s planning to go all out next year.”
After listening to several seconds of audio absentmindedly, Song Jian replied with a perfunctory “Oh” for a second.
Yin Chi sent a voice message at last, “Damn it, can’t you say a few more words? The brotherly love between us turns cold overnight. I see that some of your fans are urging you to update. Some of the kids’ rice bowls are almost broken from shouting so much. It’s pitiful. You can post on Weibo to satisfy their hunger. Good night, brother.”
Song Jian chuckled and exited WeChat.
He tried to lie down for a while but still couldn’t sleep. He got up and went to the kitchen to get something to eat.
Song Jian rarely ordered takeout; he either went out to eat or cooked for himself.
He hadn’t left the house since he brought Mu Ye back the night before yesterday, and since he had agreed to meet Mu Ye here, he had been staying in this house for another day. The house hadn’t been lived in for a long time, and there wasn’t much to eat in the fridge. He took out a half-finished frozen pizza and placed his phone on the kitchen counter, then started live-streaming.
Without any prior notice, as soon as the live-stream started, a massive barrage of comments poured in.
[“Do you still remember that you have a Weibo account???”]
[“We thought you successful fanboy retired from the internet and gave up your dreams and career?”]
[“Don’t think that you can get away with owing me a vlog by live-streaming for only two minutes.”]
[“Unfilial child! Why did you block your mother! Did you use the dream material she sent you?”]
[“Waaah, the demon king little brother at home is so handsome.”]
Song Jian’s hair was tousled and messy from sleep, and he wore comfortable casual clothes, with the sleeves of his T-shirt rolled up to his arms. Ignoring the low-key and high-end modern kitchen background around him, he looked like a younger brother next door.
Song Jianchu preheated the oven and lazily lifted his eyelids to look at his phone: “I heard you guys have some free time, and I happen to have nothing to do, so I’ll chat with you for five minutes.”
Scanning a barrage, he said in a low voice, “Let me say something first. I usually don’t care about the private messages you send me, and I generally don’t look at them. But don’t send me some messy pictures. If I see them, I will block you all.”
[“Who sent him the dirty pictures? Shameless! He’s just a kid!”]
[“Okay, okay, I won’t send any. What are you doing?”]
[“The Weibo richest man can cook? Haha, don’t make things too hard on yourself. Why don’t you just hire ten Michelin chefs to come home?”]
Song Jianchu put the pizza on the baking sheet. “Bacon pizza, very simple. Why should I find a chef when I have my own hands?”
[“To be honest, the Demon King’s little brother is really good at a lot of things. The guitar in his previous vlog was also very expensive, no, he played it very well!”]
[“Why don’t you go on a variety show?”]
[“The little brat has some skills. What else can he do? Show us your talents, little brother and sister!”]
“I can also spend money,” Song Jianchu’s tone was casual and arrogant. “Why should I go on a variety show? I’m not an artist.”
After sprinkling some cheese on the pizza, Song Jianchu looked at the camera and said, “Have we talked enough? There’s not much material for the vlog, so we’ll see you next year when we have enough. Signing off.”
The live broadcast had not even been on for ten minutes when the children just picked up their rice bowls, and it was over.
A lot of question marks and curses floated in the barrage.
Song Jianchu took his phone off the stand and was about to go to the couch to watch a movie while waiting for the pizza to bake when the doorbell suddenly rang twice.
He sprinkled cheese on the pizza and put it in the oven. Song Jianchu looked at the camera and said, “Have we talked enough? There’s not much material for the vlog, so let’s see each other next year. Bye.”
The live stream hadn’t even lasted ten minutes, and the kids had just picked up their bowls when it ended.
A lot of question marks and curses filled the comments section.
Song Jianchu took his phone off the stand and was about to go to the couch to watch a movie and wait for the pizza to bake when the doorbell rang twice.
He paused his actions and turned off the live stream to go to the door.
On the monitor, the person was wearing a hat and a mask, hands in the pockets of a black down jacket. The deep gray eyes looked at the camera with a faint smile.
Song Jianchu immediately opened the door and grabbed a pair of slippers. “Come in.”
Mu Ye took off his mask after entering and looked towards the kitchen. “What delicious food are you making? I smelled it outside.”
Song Jianchu was surprised. “Did you not have breakfast?”
“I just got up. I forgot to send you a time for our appointment since I finished work too late yesterday.” Mu Ye put on slippers and looked down at him with a smile. “I was a little anxious, so I came straight over. I hope I’m not bothering you.”
Are you in a hurry to sign the contract?
Song Jianchu blinked and took two seconds to say, “No.”
After hesitating for a moment, he asked, “Do you want to eat together? We can talk about the contract later.”
Mu Ye had been fasting all night and was indeed a little hungry. He smiled a little embarrassedly. “Then I won’t be polite.”
The oven beeped, and the pizza was just baked. Song Jianchu went to the kitchen, put on heat-resistant gloves, took out the baking sheet, and cut the pizza with a knife that had a golden-brown and bulging layer of cheese.
Mu Ye stood behind him and whispered, “Do you like cheese?”
Song Jianchu paused for half a second, and his ear on the side closer
Song Jianchu calmly carried the sliced pizza to the dining table. “One might not be enough, you go ahead and eat, I’ll make another one, it’ll be quick.”
Mu Ye sat down at the table, smiling and propping his chin on his hands. “No rush, I’ll wait for you.”
As they ate the first slice together, the second one was covered with an extra thick layer of cheese, filling the room with a strong aroma of cheese.
After they finished eating, Song Jianchu asked Mu Ye to wait and went into his room.
Meanwhile, Mu Ye wandered around the living room and noticed a huge fish tank with algae and scenery decorations, complete with filtering and oxygenating facilities. A red koi fish swam leisurely in its luxurious new home, looking happy.
Mu Ye took a picture of the koi fish and categorized it with the cat pictures in his phone’s album. Then he sat on the sofa, casually observing the small traces of life in the apartment.
He realized that this apartment had not appeared in Song Jianchu’s vlogs. Unlike those extravagant mansions worth billions, this apartment was more ordinary, more real, filled with many unique and personal items that reflected the lifestyle of a young man living alone.
Soon, Song Jianchu came out of the study with a file bag in hand and a pair of glasses on his face.
Mu Ye looked at the glasses and hesitated for a moment.
After putting on his glasses, the boy’s flamboyant pink hair was subdued, and a more composed and studious aura emerged.
Mu Ye’s gaze slowly moved, following the calm and collected person who walked towards him.
The boy was wearing grey sports shorts and sat down on the single sofa next to him. He opened a file bag and took out a stack of printed agreements that he had finished writing the previous night.
“This is the agreement for our sugar daddy relationship. You can take a look first, and if there are any problems or areas you’re not satisfied with, feel free to let me know.”
Mu Ye looked at the thickness of the stack of A4 papers placed in front of him and raised an eyebrow. “All of these?”
Song Jianchu pushed his glasses up and nodded, “Time is a bit tight, so it may not be organized very well. We can revise it if there are any loopholes.”
Mu Ye: “…”
Mu Ye picked up the stack of papers and flipped through them casually. There were three documents that needed to be signed, and they were all very rigorous and serious.
As Mu Ye read the contents, he began to turn the pages slower and slower.
Song Jianchu leaned his elbows on his legs, intertwined his fingers, and turned his head to look at him, calmly saying, “On the premise of both of us voluntarily agreeing, during the term of the agreement, I will hire you to be my boyfriend and we will maintain an exclusive romantic relationship. I will also pay you a basic fee of one billion yuan per day. If there are no accidents, this agreement will last for one hundred days. I can pay the full amount in advance, and after the agreement ends, I will also compensate you for any losses you may have incurred due to me.”
Mu Ye is still reading the agreement.
Song Jianchu: “You can rest assured that although it is a contractual relationship, the agreement states that I will not force you to engage in any physical contact that goes against your will, such as holding hands, hugging, kissing…and other intimate behaviors between lovers. Our date times will also be scheduled according to your work schedule, and if you cannot meet due to work, the fee for that day will not be deducted.”
Mu Ye looked at the almost one-sided agreement that protected him on paper and smiled faintly. “The benefactor is so generous.”
After reading the benefactor agreement and the confidentiality agreement, Mu Ye stared at the content of the last agreement for a long time.
He hesitated and raised his gaze. “There’s also a non-compete agreement?”
Song Jianchu sat up straight and looked more serious. “Yes, that is the premise of all the agreements. If you don’t agree, all other agreement terms will be void.”
The boy’s light brown pupils looked calmly at him through the transparent lenses.
“After entering into a contractual relationship with me, you cannot engage in a similar relationship with anyone else.”
Mu Ye raised his eyebrows.
“In other words, from now on, you can only have me as your benefactor, and the last one.”
Song Jianchu handed him a pen.
“If you agree, you can sign it now.”