Mr. Jiang Rejects Him

City B.

As soon as he got off the plane, Chi Won was surrounded by fans.

At first, Chi Yuan patiently signed autographs and took photos with fans, and Li Weiran didn't stop him. Chi Yuan had just become popular, and it was a time when fans were most enthusiastic, and the artist himself was happy. However, halfway through signing autographs, a fan suddenly reached out and grabbed Chi Yuan's collar. If Chi Yuan hadn't reacted quickly and dodged in time, his sweater collar would have been ripped off.

Li Weiran was so frightened that she quickly separated Chi Yuan from the fans and had Xiao Zhao take Chi Yuan away. In the ensuing chaos, they finally managed to get out of the airport.

Li Weiran finally breathed a sigh of relief after the car had driven quite a distance.

"You weren't photographed just now, were you?"

Chi Yuan was still somewhat shaken: "What?"

Li Weiran: "The hickey on your neck."

Chi Yuan: "I don't know."

Although he managed to dodge it in time, the fan's move was so sudden that it still touched his collar, so Chi Yuan wasn't sure if that moment was captured on camera.

Xiao Zhao comforted him, "It shouldn't be. That kiss... the mark is rather low. As long as it's not completely torn off, it shouldn't be visible."

The hickey Jiang Haochen left on Chi Yuan's body was close to his collarbone, and it was difficult to spot because it was covered by a turtleneck sweater.

"Let me see." Li Weiran was still worried and reached out to tug at Chi Yuan's collar to confirm.

Chi Yuan was reluctant, but Li Weiran was too insistent, so he finally relented and let go. When Li Weiran yanked open Chi Yuan's collar and saw the bruises all over it, his eyes widened in shock.

"Is it a dog? Why is it always biting you here?"

Who this "he" is is self-evident.

Chi Yuan looked away guiltily. Mr. Jiang really liked his neck. Whether it was before or after the act, he would bury his face in the crook of his neck and nibble on it for a while.

Seeing that Chi Yuan wasn't worried about public opinion at this moment, and was even blushing, Li Weiran was immediately furious: "Couldn't you have stopped him a little?"

Chi Yuan wouldn't stop him; it wasn't just that Mr. Jiang liked looking at his neck, he also liked being nibbled on by Mr. Jiang.

Even if Chi Yuan was naive, he knew he couldn't say something like that at this moment: "I...I was just thinking that I have a two-week vacation, right?"

Li Weiran: "Is it fake? If it's fake, you'll just disappear? Never leave your house? You're a public figure, do you know how many people are watching you every day?"

Chi Yuan listened obediently to the scolding: "I...I understand now."

Seeing his expression, Li Weiran couldn't bring herself to scold him anymore. Chi Yuan was still a newcomer who had only recently gained some popularity, so it was normal for him to lack experience in this area.

But President Jiang is different. He's an award-winning actor himself, so he's very experienced in this kind of thing. How could he not know?

He's just a scoundrel who only cares about his own pleasure.

If he really gets photographed, he'll go directly to President Jiang for the PR fee.

Li Weiran cautioned Chi Yuan, "You need to be more careful in the future!"

Chi Yuan responded with an "oh".

Seeing his indecisive attitude, Li Weiran knew he couldn't outmaneuver Jiang Haochen, and added with exasperation, "If all else fails, tell him to find somewhere else to eat."

If they don't bite the neck, where else can they bite?

The people in the car couldn't help but imagine what was going on, and the atmosphere instantly became strange.

Xiao Zhao quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "With information spreading so fast online these days, if it hasn't been leaked yet, it probably hasn't been filmed."

Li Weiran had been following the news online and, since nothing had been leaked, her expression softened slightly: "That's for the best, so everyone can have a good New Year."

Xiao Zhao quickly changed the subject: "Speaking of Chinese New Year, Brother Chi, are you going home for the holiday this year? Do you want me to book your ticket?"

Chi Yuan paused for a moment, then shook his head: "I'm not going back."

Xiao Zhao: "Why don't you go back? You're getting more and more famous now, you probably won't have much time to go home for the New Year in the future."

Li Weiran nodded and said, "Xiao Zhao is right. Once you get busy with work in the future, you'll be either filming on set or appearing on various TV stations' galas during holidays, so it will be difficult to have the opportunity to go home for the New Year."

Chi Yuan smiled and said, "I know, but I still don't need to."

Li Weiran frowned, thinking of someone. Chi Yuan had been filming all this time, and his long-awaited vacation was over before the New Year. Could it be that President Jiang wouldn't let him go back?

Li Weiran asked directly, "Are you going to accompany President Jiang?"

Chi Yuan nodded subconsciously, but quickly realized something was wrong and explained, "Home is wherever I am, so there's no need to go back specifically."

Li Weiran had read Chi Yuan's file. Chi Yuan's father had passed away, but his mother was still alive. She subconsciously asked, "Aren't you going back to see your mother?"

Chi Yuan: "My mom remarried, so she probably wouldn't want me to go."

Li Weiran didn't expect to hear such an answer. Although Chi Yuan didn't say much, a mother who was unwilling to see her child after remarrying couldn't possibly have deep feelings for Chi Yuan.

Young Zhao couldn't hide his emotions and was glared at fiercely by Li Weiran.

Li Weiran: "That's good too. You won't need to take holidays from now on, so you can work."

Xiao Zhao joined in to liven things up: "Ran-jie, you're being too much like Huang Shiren (a notorious landlord in Chinese folklore)."

Chi Yuan chuckled and interjected, "It's alright, I quite enjoy my work."

The only person he wanted to spend time with was Mr. Jiang, but Mr. Jiang would probably be spending time with his family during the holidays. The New Year is coming soon, and he doesn't know how many days Mr. Jiang will be able to stay in City B.

I had promised to cook a meal for Mr. Jiang, but I don't know if I'll have enough time.

Chi Yuan subconsciously opened the WeChat chat interface, but remembering that Mr. Jiang should be on the plane, he closed the chat and instead asked Assistant Chen: {Assistant Chen, when is Mr. Jiang coming home for the Chinese New Year...}

Asking that seems a bit too intimate.

Chi Yuan deleted it and rewrote it: {Assistant Chen, what time is Mr. Jiang expected to return to his apartment today?}

At Tianyu headquarters, Assistant Chen, who was casually browsing for tickets, paused for a moment upon seeing the message: "Isn't President Jiang with you?"

Chi Yuan: {Mr. Jiang said he still had work to do, so I came back first.}

Assistant Chen was even more confused. Work? What work? Hadn't all the work been completed before going to H City? Even he was slacking off here, so what kind of work could President Jiang possibly have?

Assistant Chen: {It should be a temporary job in H City. I'm not clear about the specific job duties. Would you like me to inquire for you?}

During this time, Assistant Chen also noticed that his boss treated Chi Yuan differently, so he answered very politely. In the past, he would have shut down those who came to inquire with a simple "I don't know".

Temporary job in H City? But Mr. Jiang's flight was only an hour later than his.

So... Mr. Jiang doesn't have a job. Is saying he'll be back very late a subtle way of rejecting him?

Chi Yuan belatedly realized what had happened. He stared at the last WeChat message he had sent to Mr. Jiang and cursed himself for being so stupid.

Mr. Jiang clearly didn't want to come to see you, yet you said you'd wait no matter how late it was. Not only was your desperate pleading unsightly, but you also resorted to moral blackmail.

Chi Yuan really wanted to send a message to Mr. Jiang saying, "It's okay if you don't come," but saying such a thing now would make it seem like he was rejecting Mr. Jiang.

He could not make demands of Mr. Jiang, much less go back on his word.