Jiang Nan suddenly felt that today's sunshine was the best it had been in a long time. It seemed as if it had been carefully sifted by someone. The warmth like golden powder penetrated the haze that had accumulated for many days and softened the ice edges curled up in the bone marrow.

His heart, which he hadn't felt for a long time, suddenly began to beat.

Jiang Nan narrowed his eyes and looked at the tuft of hair on the little sun's head, which swayed gently with the movements of its owner, like a stubborn little grass.

Xia Chi smiled exaggeratedly, his mouth stretched wide, revealing a row of small white teeth——

It seemed like whenever he was about to cry, he would raise the corners of his mouth a little higher, and his voice would also rise, like a cat with its fur standing up, using exaggerated performance to build up mental defenses.

"Wow, Teacher Jiang's palm reading is really rare!" Xia Chi looked at his palm and raised his voice.

"Tsk tsk tsk, look at this canopy pattern, a natural canopy, amazing talent..."

[The canopy covering the head indicates mental exhaustion, damage to the spirit, and nightmares every night.]

"...Wenchang Fubi, with exceptional talent..."

【If you see Lonely Star and Robbery Star in all three directions and four directions, you will be surrounded by villains throughout your life.】

"...extraordinary artistic perception, a spiritual world independent of the mundane world...tsk tsk..."

[Excessive wisdom will inevitably lead to harm, while not being noble is like becoming an immortal. It is easy to develop a desire to escape from the world, so be careful not to destroy yourself...]

"Your fate is like God is chasing you and feeding you a feast!"

The corners of Xia Chi's mouth still maintained a perfect upward arc, but the smile in his eyes was forced. He traced the lines on Jiang Nan's palm, as if he was unlocking a code full of suffering.

[How can I save you, poor little bitter melon?]

There was a layer of fatigue in Jiang Nan's eyes, as if he had seen through the trick - every gift bestowed by fate had already been marked with chips in the dark, and he had experienced it thoroughly.

But as dawn was about to arrive and everything was moving in a good direction, he was so exhausted that he didn't want to move forward any further.

He quietly watched the dancing figure in front of him——

Xia Chi said auspicious words, and his eyes and eyebrows were filled with pleasant smiles, but his hands were frantically changing fortune-telling techniques behind his back, and the shadow on the wall secretly betrayed him.

[There is always a way out. There must be an antidote. There must be an antidote...]

Got it!

Xia Chi straightened his back, even his breathing was stagnant, and his smiling eyes were now wide open, as if he had touched some unspeakable secret.

"Huagai is originally a guest of heaven, why should he force himself to learn worldly pleasures?

If you want the lonely star to not shine alone, you can borrow a little warmth from the gods.

"God?"

Xia Chi was stunned.

"Where are the gods?"

[Could it be...a temple?]

Xia Chi's gaze drifted towards Jiang Nan. Not knowing what he was thinking about, he let out a roar like a tsunami in his heart.

【No--】

[Who can accept shaving their head and becoming a monk?! ! !]

I! Don't! Disagree!

Become a monk?

If I hadn't met you...

Jiang Nan's lips curled up unconsciously, and a gentleness spread across his eyes that he himself hadn't noticed. The person in front of him shook his head and collapsed, half-biting his lip, leaving a few tiny teeth marks on his pale pink lips, like a mad little animal.

Jiang Nan unconsciously relaxed his tense body.

The physical pain gradually faded away with the noisy chirping of cicadas, and he breathed deeply, as if he had been reborn.

The antidote, isn't it you...

[Oh my god! Are you being rude?!]

Xia Chi counted frantically on his fingers, feeling extremely distressed.

Look at that brow bone! That nose bridge! That jawline!

[Neck your head? You might as well just throw me into the alchemy furnace and refine me!]

There must be another way. There must be another way.

Xia Chi pulled his hair tragically, as if he wanted to pull out his useless brain.

Seeing that he looked almost crazy, Jiang Nan couldn't help but call him: "Xia Chi..."

“Got it!”

Xia Chi suddenly looked up, and remembered the auspicious aura he had just seen on a living creature, and a light flashed in his eyes.

"Maybe we can ask it."

Jiang Nan: "What?"

"It's okay, it's okay." Xia Chi smoothed his tangled hair back into place, like a mentally ill patient who had just taken medicine and returned to normal. "I'm saying... your insomnia is caused by the "Xiao Shen Duo Shi" (the owl god) in your horoscope. There are too many evil spirits around you, sucking away your luck. You could try to find a backer."

His eyes suddenly became distracted, and he whispered to Jiang Nan, "I need you to do me a favor."

Jiang Nan: "What's the matter?"

Xia Chi: "Help catch the cat?"

Jiang Nan was startled: "Cat?"

******

There was a lot of noise on the other side of the studio, and the noise of visiting the set could be heard from a long distance away.

Jiang Nan and Xia Chi stood in the corridor, and the yard was crowded with people - cheering banners and flowers were piled everywhere, and several staff members were busy maintaining order.

Xia Chi looked around but could not find any trace of the civet cat. He only found Zhao Ming who had been beaten by the cat.

Zhao Ming stood at the bottom of the corridor like a wooden chicken, with fresh claw marks on his face, his eyes staring straight at a certain place, as if his soul had been taken away.

Following his gaze, I saw the heavy door curtain of the studio being lifted by a bare hand, and a lively girl walking out slowly in old-fashioned leather shoes.

The assistant director rarely gave the green light and ended today's scenes early because all the girl group members were gathered. Shi Lu had just finished her close-up and was still wearing a moon-white cheongsam from the Republic of China period. The silk fabric was slightly worn, and the buttons on the collar were classic and elegant.

Her face was covered with the heavy layers of theatrical costume, her eyebrows were drawn very thinly, and the faded rouge on her lips looked like a wilted rose.

Ling Fei, the captain of the Venus women's team, rushed forward in high heels and suddenly hugged Shi Lu into her arms.

"Lulu, I really miss you so much~"

Shi Lu's throat tightened from the strong perfume she wore. She instinctively tried to step back, but Ling Fei grabbed her shoulders. The other members immediately swarmed over her like bees sniffing nectar. The flashbulbs of the entertainment reporters who had come to visit the set clicked on, blinding her with a white light.

"Baby, look here~" Ling Fei held up the rhinestone-studded selfie stick. The live video scrolling on her phone screen was reflected on her delicately made-up face. She suddenly pinched her throat and uttered a sweet voice: "Little dewdrops in the live broadcast room, your baby is back!"

Shi Lu looked up. The livestream room was ablaze with flowers. Five delicately made-up faces huddled before the camera, while the group song "Venus" played cheerfully in the background. Comments scrolled wildly, and the fans' praise was nearly overflowing the screen.

[Lulu's beauty is a critical hit! Today is also a day where I am smitten by my sister's beauty. (Love) (Love) (Love)]

[Sisterhood is so sweet.]

[Wow, finally saw Venus merge, I thought it would never happen again, my youth is back.]

[Wife, I will marry you when I make money!!!]

…

However, amid the cheers, a few discordant comments were particularly eye-catching.

[Ling Fei, could you please stay away from Lulu? Your attempts to get in front of the camera are overflowing from the screen (rolling eyes).]

[Ling Fei is the soul of the team, okay? If the captain didn't have a good sense of the overall situation, Venus would have disbanded long ago.]

[Big picture? Don't make it sound so good. Venus is completely lost, and he's just trying to get traffic. Lulu is doing charity work today.]

[Please stop arguing. It's because of you guys arguing every day that Venus is falling apart.]

[……]

Shi Lu looked at the rapidly scrolling barrage of comments, a hint of complex emotions flashed in her eyes, but it disappeared in an instant. She raised her standard sweet smile and took the bouquet handed to her by Ling Fei.

"Thank you all for coming to see me~" Her voice was sweet, with a slight rise at the end, just like when she was still in the girl group. "I'm so happy to meet you sisters today."

Ling Fei held her arm affectionately, her eyes suddenly paused, and then she let out an exaggerated "Ouch!" and pulled Shi Lu's costume up without saying anything.

There was a bruise on the white arm, which was particularly glaring under the light.

"What's going on?" Ling Fei's eyes widened, her tone filled with deliberate concern. "Could it be that someone on the set was bullying you?"

Shi Lu subconsciously tried to hide, but Ling Fei just happened to grab her arm. The flash lights suddenly lit up, and those who came to visit the set remembered that they would never miss such news, so they aimed at her arm and clicked the shutter button continuously.

The barrage instantly boiled over:

[Oh my god, I'm so heartbroken. What's going on with the crew?!]

[Feifei is so considerate. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have known Lulu was injured.]

[The bruises are too obvious. Are the directors dead?]

Shi Lu caught a glimpse of the glaring gazes from all around her, and a thin layer of sweat broke out on her back. She calmly broke free from Ling Fei's hand and smoothed down her sleeve, "It's a fight scene, so bumps and bruises are inevitable."

Her voice was soft and her expression was relaxed: "The director and the martial arts instructor were very caring towards me. This injury was caused by me not paying attention."

Ling Fei pouted slightly, tears welling in her eyes. She reached out to help Shi Lu tidy up her hair: "Our Lulu is always so stubborn. She never says anything even when she's been wronged..."

The barrage of comments has begun to flood the screen like crazy.

[She used to take the best care of Lulu. Feifei really always protected Lulu.]

[Luffy CP hit again. ]

[Venus, please bring Lulu back quickly. It's better for Lulu to stay in the group. Venus needs her.]

[Is the person above stupid? Why come back and hang out with Venus?]

Shi Lu's ears felt slightly hot. This was the scene she was most afraid of seeing. The assistant director and crew members were watching beside her. She had fought hard to get the chance to film a movie directed by a famous director this time, so she couldn't just jump into a pit dug by others.

"Haha, I'm not that squeamish." She squinted and smiled at the camera. "I'd wake up laughing even in my dreams if I could film Director Luo's scenes." She gestured exaggeratedly, the silver bracelets on her wrists jingling. "I wanted to use my Niu Jiner strength, but I accidentally used too much force and landed right on the camera. The cameraman was so scared that he almost dropped his machine!"

As he said this with an exaggerated expression, everyone at the table burst into laughter and the awkwardness was immediately resolved.

[It seems that the Venus members are really at odds with each other. 】

Xia Chi saw it clearly from the corridor.

[You've become a nobody, and you're still playing tricks. If Shilu hadn't secretly taken on roles outside without the knowledge of her agency and accidentally became famous, you wouldn't even have this little bit of traffic.]

[The planner must be having a terrible headache.]

"A... a little... a little trick that can't be shown on the stage."

A strange voice suddenly sounded above my head.

【???】

【Who is speaking?】

Xia Chi felt a sudden chill on his spine and looked around - besides Jiang Nan, the only one around was Zhao Ming, who had eyes full of inappropriate thoughts.

【Maybe not a human.】

As soon as this thought came to his mind, Xia Chi heard a scornful voice from above his head.

"Tsk~"

He raised his head stiffly. On the crape myrtle tree, a black-striped civet cat was glaring down at him. The sunlight filtered through the petals, casting mottled shadows on its fur. Its gilded vertical pupils revealed a hint of human contempt.

"Is this what you're looking for?"

Jiang Nan quietly stood beside Xia Chi, their shoulders almost touching. He was a few centimeters taller than Xia Chi, and he tilted his head slightly, his eyes tracing his profile, finally resting on those thin lips that were stained honey by the sunlight.

Sudden dryness in the throat.

"That's Shi Lu's cat," he said with a slightly hoarse voice, "I heard everyone call him Sang Biao."

Xia Chi's attention was all on the cat, and he didn't notice that Jiang Nan's eyes were too intense.

"Did you hear it speak just now?"

"It meowed twice." Jiang Nan answered absentmindedly, and for some unknown reason he took a step closer, their shoulders lightly touching.

A petal fell on Xia Chi's shoulder. Jiang Nan's fingers hanging by his side moved, but he didn't dare to reach out and brush it away.

"Is there something wrong with this cat?"

"It must have become a spirit." Xia Chi frowned slightly.

Become a spirit?

Jiang Nan looked up at the civet cat and couldn't see any difference.

Ever since I met Xia Chi, everything has become incredible.

Xia Chi called a few more times, but the black cat still looked indifferent, just licking its paws without even looking at him.

Xia Chi narrowed his eyes and suddenly gave the cat the middle finger.

"You bastard, if you keep pretending to be dead, I'll castrate you."

Sang Biao finally raised his head and glanced at him with an extremely disdainful look.

"stupid*"

Xia Chiru was hit hard again.