The Chinese-style chandeliers in the banquet hall cast a warm golden glow, illuminating the vermilion and gilded decorations in the hall. The main table was covered with a dark red brocade tablecloth with round flowers, and a Qilin incense burner was placed in the center, symbolizing the Qilin's birth of a son.

Director Luo Jian stood beside a landscape surrounded by verdant bamboo, his usually stern face now surprisingly soft. His eldest son, Luo Ming, and his daughter-in-law were by his side, the daughter-in-law holding a rosy-cheeked baby in her arms.

Luo Ming, the face of the Luo family, is 1.9 meters tall and stands out from the crowd. His face is even more handsome. His eyes and brows have both his father's heroic spirit and a bit of bookish air.

This former "No. 1 Prince of the domestic entertainment industry" was born with extraordinary looks since childhood, and was inevitably brought into the entertainment industry by his father to be influenced by it. However, he had too many resources and was as quiet as a chrysanthemum, so he didn't make any waves. He quietly faded out in his early years, and the next news he heard was that he got married at a young age.

The person she is marrying is the little-known young actress Su Mei. At this moment, she is wearing a bright red dress and leaning against her husband, gently tracing the baby's face with her fingertips.

Feng Man stepped forward gracefully to congratulate him, "Oh, congratulations, Director Luo! This young master's features are just like yours. He's definitely going to be a big director in the future!"

Luo Jian smiled and replied, "Congratulations, congratulations!", but his eyes passed Feng Man and fell on Xia Chi - the young man held on to a standard eight-tooth smile, and even his hair revealed the air of social anxiety.

"Xiao Xia is here?" Luo Jian didn't make things difficult for him and greeted him warmly, "Come on, come on, come in and sit down, everyone..."

Feng Man smiled and pulled Xia Chi towards the banquet, but as soon as she turned around, her expression changed to one of sympathy.

“Tsk tsk tsk…” She shook her head and sighed, “Those people who were as strong as steel back then, now even have wolfberries soaked in their thermos.”

"Really?" Xia Chi turned around and saw Director Luo Jian taking a sip from his thermos cup, smacking his lips as he did so, feeling very comfortable.

Xia Chi did not agree with Feng Man's words.

"Hasn't he always been very fond of health preservation?"

From the first day, no, the second day after he met Director Luo Jian, he never left his thermos cup.

But loving health is a good thing. The wrinkles between the director's eyebrows are becoming smoother, and he has never cursed on the set again. Maybe this hurdle in his life can be easily overcome.

The hall was filled with well-dressed people, and every look was familiar. The one raising his glass over there was a producer who had just won the Golden Horse Award, the one chatting and laughing over here was the editor-in-chief of a top fashion magazine, and even the one holding champagne in the corner was a top-tier celebrity who often appeared on the hot searches.

Xia Chi stood next to the bonsai, feeling like a husky that had strayed into a wolf pack. The whole place was full of his colleagues, but he couldn't even find an excuse to say hello.

Looking at Feng Man again, he was like a drop of water melting into the ocean. He was surrounded by three or four producers, chatting and laughing, and occasionally they would give him a look that said "come here quickly".

"Do you need a refill?" The waiter's voice startled him and he realized that the orange juice in his hand was almost empty.

Xia Chi shook his head awkwardly, wishing he could just disappear on the spot.

【Help!】

[Tonics are abusing people with social anxiety! I even walk through the sewers when I go out.]

Is socialization a compulsory course for everyone? If I have to be forced to do it, I will do it for everyone. Be careful, I will stand in the crowd like a freshwater fish.

[Someone come and save me...]

【Ugh…I’m suffocating! 】

[…? ]

It felt like a tingling electric current passed through the tip of his heart, and Xia Chi turned around as if he had sensed something.

A slender figure stood quietly beside the Shu brocade screen, the dark gold patterns cut the light into pieces, casting mottled light and shadows on him.

He was wearing a dark green velvet suit today. The embroidery on the lapel was noble and elegant. The shadow cast by his brow bones made his eyes look deeper. His lips were extremely pale, like an ink painting soaked in water.

[Jiang Nan?]

Xia Chi's heart skipped a beat.

We had just met on the set three days ago, but at that time the scandal of "Ms. H" had not yet broken out, there were no overwhelming malicious press releases, and no private photos that were circulated all over the Internet.

The storm passes by and the world changes dramatically.

He unconsciously took a half step forward, eager to see Jiang Nan's expression in the shadows. Was he being maliciously slandered, or had he long since grown accustomed to these bloody storms? Was he feeling happy to have his injustice redressed, or was he feeling desolate like the ashes scattered on the ground after a storm?

However, Jiang Nan was restrained. He stood in the festive atmosphere, expressionless. You couldn't tell what was hidden under his perfect expression, whether it was the numbness that had long been callused by wind, frost and swords, or the wound that was festering secretly and he didn't want to show it to others.

[Jiang Nan, Jiang Nan...]

Xia Chi silently repeated the name in his heart.

[Did you see that? The pumpkins won the battle for you.]

[Don't be afraid, Jiang Nan, Pumpkin can protect you too.]

【I will protect you too! 】

Jiang Nan's knuckles gripping the wine glass suddenly tightened, and the thin bone slipping out of his sleeve stood out like a thin blade.

Cheng Xilai.

Chu Nan, however.

I have learned to coexist with darkness in the long night, so why does someone have to knock on the skylight and hand me a vain torch?

He took a deep breath, his Adam's apple rolling slowly. The things deposited in his eyes were too heavy, and with a slight tremor, he shook off the unspeakable undercurrents.

"What's wrong?"

A gentle voice came from the side. Tang Bo pushed the gold-wire frame, and the mirror chain emitted a fine silver light as he moved. He followed Jiang Nan's gaze and looked -

In the corner of the hall stood a young man, standing as straight as a bamboo pole, his eyes surprisingly bright. Although separated by a crowd of people drinking and chatting, his eyes seemed to carry a scorching warmth, condensing thousands of unspoken words into a persistent gaze.

"Who is that?" Tang Bo asked.

Jiang Nan's back lines tensed up almost imperceptibly, as if a cheetah sensed the approach of its natural enemy.

The glorious Tang Lao Hu, the most ruthless person in the entertainment industry, has a kind smile on his face, but his snake-like tongue has already found your weak spot.

When Jiang Nan debuted with a huge advantage and was at the peak of his career, it was Tang Bo who stuffed Gao Sheng, the vicious dog, next to him. This gangster with a sense of gangsterism tortured Jiang Nan day after day, from arranging high-intensity announcements to condoning harassment from private fans, to influencing his career plans, and getting him to take on one shoddy script after another, and then delaying the plan to set up a music studio indefinitely.

The minions used him as chess pieces, eroding his energy bit by bit, in an attempt to tame him into the most docile puppet, a perfect money printing machine that only needed to input commands to spit out money continuously.

Now that the truth has been revealed, Gao Sheng, this vicious dog with bared fangs, can be thrown away like a dirty rag.

Jiang Nan knew Tang Bo's tactics well, and didn't dare expose any weaknesses in front of him. He gently shook his glass and spoke in a tone as indifferent as if discussing the weather. "He's just an extra we met on set."

"Very familiar?"

"A few words."

A subtle reflection flashed across Tang Bo's lenses, and he said "Oh~" in a drawn-out tone.

"If you think it's a good fit, you can sign with Guanghui. There will be many opportunities for cooperation in the future."

Jiang Nan's mind was filled with alarm bells, and he immediately raised his voice perfectly: "Mr. Tang, you're joking... Why don't we go to a private room to discuss what you just mentioned..."

Tang Bo suddenly chuckled, tapping his jade ring on the rim of the cup. "But your... little friend seems to be anxious to find you."

He looked meaningfully at Xia Chi who was walking through the crowd.

Jiang Nan ignored him, turned around abruptly, and put his arm around Tang Bo. "Mr. Tang is here to discuss business today, not to deal with illegitimate children. I'll accompany you today. Nothing is more important than this..."

His voice was just the right amount of flattery, but he walked without hesitation, pulling Tang Bo towards the side hall.

When Xia Chi dodged the crowd, he saw Jiang Nan's back, which was almost panicked - as if he was fleeing from some disaster.

But Xia Chi's ears were sharper than those of ordinary people, and he could still hear the word "illegitimate" through the noisy voices.

Xia Chi froze in place, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on him in public. The feeling of shame and rejection rushed straight into his heart, and finally condensed into a sour feeling in his eyes.

He...hates me...

When Feng Man came over, she saw this little animal with its head drooping, tears in its eyes and a slightly wrinkled nose, just like a stray dog drenched by the rain.

Feng Man quickly pushed him to the table, fearing that Luo Jian would see it and bring bad luck. While handing him a tissue, she couldn't help but squeeze him.

"Hey, the toad didn't get to eat the swan meat. Didn't you say you wanted to stay away from the idol life? That's Jiang Nan."

She emphasized.

Xia Chi sat with his head hung down, like a puppy being tamed by its owner. His eyes were slightly red and he sniffed from time to time. He looked like a pitiful person who had been severely bullied but dared not say a word.

Feng Man couldn't help but rub his head and couldn't help but say a few words of comfort: "Hey, it's not a big deal. It's only natural for a toad to want to eat swan meat, and it's also natural for a swan not to want to be eaten by a toad. A toad who wants to eat swan meat is a good toad, and a toad who doesn't want to eat swan meat is no different from a salted fish..."

I don’t know if this kind of comfort is effective, but Xia Chi’s mouth pouted even more and he buried his face in his palms.

"I knew... no one likes me..."

“…”

Feng Mandu felt guilty and rarely suppressed her arrogance. Her motherly love overflowed and she helped him to smooth his back.

Xia Chi leaned on her shoulder and whispered to her in a low voice.

"Sister Man, you don't know... you don't know... what I've been through... As soon as I was born, I was sent to an orphanage..."

Feng Man had known for a long time that Xia Chi was an orphan. When he was applying for employment, he couldn't even produce his household registration documents, only a certificate from the welfare home. During holidays, he had nowhere to go and could only stay in his rented room playing games.

Feng Man's heart clenched as she looked at the young man in front of her who was always joking around, now wiping his face with his sleeves. Fragments of his childhood, mixed with tears and nasal voice, fell down.

"... Ever since I was sent there, I've been paralyzed in bed, incontinent, unable to walk, and I couldn't speak for a long time. Every day, I can only crawl to get where I want to go. Even so, I insist on living..."

…

That sounds pretty miserable...

But why...I feel something is wrong...

"At my worst, I weighed only six and a half kilograms! I had to breathe every day and never dared to stop. Before I was a year old, I never even said a word of bitterness..."

Feng Man clenched her fists.

"If you put it that way, I'm actually pretty miserable too." Feng Man continued with a dull face: "To be honest, I was also given the title of grandson right after I was born. My biological parents didn't even let me go to their wedding. When my mother was pregnant, I couldn't even take care of her..."

Xia Chi held her fist, feeling the same way: "Sister Man, it turns out that it's not easy for you either. Could it be that you also lost your memory before the age of three..."①

Feng Man suddenly pulled her hand back and pushed his face away.

You're crazy, it's really unnecessary to listen to you playing tricks here...

This guy is really...

The sadder you are, the more frivolous you become.

Xia Chi suddenly covered his chest, like Lin Daiyu struck by lightning: "Even...even you dislike me?"

The sound of his last voice was so trembling that it could sift through chaff, and he deliberately squeezed out two tears that were about to fall.

"I know, I know. An orphan like me is not worthy..."

"I've long been accustomed to people drifting away, to being hot and cold. Someone as sensitive as me, to the point of having to carefully consider even the slightest breath, knows too well that departure is the product of repeated disappointments. Those persistent efforts that have crossed mountains and rivers will eventually be blown away by the wind. Letting go is a sobering awakening, a feeling of having one's heart pierced..."

Feng Man's temples were throbbing. It was indeed inappropriate to beat up an artist in such an occasion. She didn't know whether to cover her face or her ears.

The drama queen has gone completely crazy, treating the full moon banquet as an audition. Her right hand is trembling as it stretches towards the void, her eyes are blurred, like a heroine abandoned by a heartless man.

"As long as I don't take the initiative, there's only distance between us. I don't hold grudges or get angry, I just finally understand... Some roads, when you reach the end, become nothing more than strangers..."

People started looking over.

There was also a producer who handed over a business card.

Feng Man looked down at this unexpected gain, and for the first time, in the conflict between human relations and interests, she chose face.

She held Xia Chi down with her fists and gritted her teeth, reminding him, "We are here to celebrate the full moon. You have already accepted the gift. Why are you here empty-handed to eat and drink for free?"

Xia Chi slapped his forehead: "Ah! I almost forgot."

When giving gifts, one had to pass by Luo Jian's family. The baby was held by his mother and was sleeping soundly. His little face was rosy and really cute.

Xia Chi grinned and teased for a moment, but suddenly felt something was wrong and started pinching his fingers behind his back.

He glanced at the child's father in surprise.

[Don't mention it, you really shouldn't mention it, even though they're not my biological children, they look quite similar!]

Director Luo stared: "!!!"

What!!!

What did you say!!!!!

Feng Man: I really want to cover my ears. What’s going on?