The sky was a deep blue, stretching cloudless for thousands of miles.
It was late September. The sunlight was bright but not hot, and the air carried a trace of autumn coolness—somewhat proud, somewhat lonely.
On the lawn of a seaside hotel, a wedding was being held. An arch made of fresh flowers stood elegant and romantic, with white balloons decorating the surroundings, symbolizing purity and flawlessness. On the ceremony stage ahead, high-end white gauze and light purple satin formed the canopy, with countless crystal star decorations of various sizes hanging down from above. Under the natural light, they reflected gorgeous and beautiful rays.
Flowers covered the stage and its surroundings, layered in clusters and arranged in perfect order, enclosing a slightly curved cobblestone path across the lawn. The design looked as if a garden had been built out of thin air. The fragrance of flowers drifted faintly through the air—light and fresh.
The wind lifted the hanging drapes around them, like the fluttering skirt of a princess, making it feel as if one had stepped into a fairy tale, and the heart could not help but turn romantic along with it.
Music began to play. Zong Xuan and Xu Tang, dressed in matching suits—one black and one white—walked hand in hand onto the path. Amid the guests’ enthusiastic applause and camera flashes, they slowly walked toward the main ceremony stage.
After stopping before the stage, the host asked in his magnetic voice, “Mr. Xu Tang, are you willing to marry Mr. Zong Xuan, and from this day forward never leave nor abandon each other, spending your lives together?”
Xu Tang heard himself reply in the gentlest voice, “Yes, I do.”
Then the host asked again, “Then Mr. Zong Xuan, are you willing to marry Mr. Xu Tang, and from this day forward never leave nor abandon each other, spending your lives together?”
With a smile on his lips, Xu Tang heard Zong Xuan, standing opposite him, say:
“No, I’m not willing.”
Xu Tang suddenly opened his eyes. His heart was pounding rapidly, and a thin layer of sweat had formed over his body. Only after seeing the familiar ceiling and familiar curtains did he slowly come back to himself—
So it was only a dream.
Turning over, he grabbed the alarm clock. It was just past six, half an hour earlier than when he usually woke up. At this time the sky was already bright, but the blackout curtains in the room worked so well that it was hard to tell what it looked like outside.
Putting the clock back, Xu Tang’s heartbeat gradually slowed. That dream had felt far too real—but fortunately, it wasn’t real…
He lay there a little longer before finally getting up to wash up and then headed downstairs to make breakfast.
After marrying Zong Xuan, they had always lived here. It was a standalone villa with its own yard, three stories in total, though the place actually wasn’t very large. The first floor held the living room and kitchen. The second floor belonged to Zong Xuan, while he lived on the third floor. Though they had a marriage certificate, they lived more like tenants sharing the same house. The only difference was that he owned the house. As his older sister liked to say: When the house is yours, you feel secure. If you want to kick someone out, at least you’ve got leverage!
While heading downstairs, Xu Tang glanced at the second floor. All three bedroom doors were closed, so Zong Xuan was obviously still asleep. Xu Tang also had no right to wake him. To be precise, aside from the staircase, nowhere on the second floor was a place he could enter freely—just as Zong Xuan never went up to the third floor either.
The wide kitchen island was spotless. After finishing a glass of honey water, Xu Tang took ingredients from the refrigerator and started making breakfast.
His cooking skills were mediocre. He could handle a few simple dishes, but anything complicated was out of the question. Besides breakfast, an auntie came to cook the other two meals, so he didn’t need to worry about them.
The eggs sizzled in the pan, occasionally spitting tiny drops of oil, full of the warmth of everyday life. German sausages cooked beside them, their skins turning lightly golden and releasing a rich aroma.
With a ding, the toast popped out of the oven. Coffee slowly dripped into the mug below, its rich fragrance waking the whole morning. Everything was busy yet orderly.
Xu Tang didn’t know whether Zong Xuan would come downstairs for breakfast, but he still plated a serving of eggs and sausages for him and placed it on the other side of the dining table. Then he began enjoying his own breakfast while casually scrolling through the news.
He had an event to attend today, so he needed to leave soon after breakfast. Even though he’d gotten up a bit earlier than usual, time still felt tight.
Xu Tang was a singer—and a singer-songwriter at that. Twenty-five years old, fresh-faced and handsome. This face alone gave him a major advantage in the market. Combined with his explosive singing ability and talent in lyrics, composition, and arrangement, he had debuted five years ago and won Best New Artist, Best Album, and Best Male Singer with his first album. His popularity skyrocketed, firmly securing him as a top-tier singer. His later album and three singles also achieved outstanding results, earning him the title of the leading figure among the new generation of pop artists, and the media had even crowned him the “Little Song King.”
But no matter how popular Xu Tang was, compared to the man upstairs—Movie Emperor Zong Xuan—he still fell short.
That man was the true superstar of the entertainment industry, unmatched in status and influence. Zong Xuan came from a professional acting background. He began acting at sixteen, landed his first leading role at eighteen, and won a prestigious international Best Actor award with that film. His acting was widely recognized as textbook-level excellence. Any movie starring him was guaranteed to be a box-office success, and awards came to him effortlessly. He was practically every director’s favorite. Of course, getting him to agree to a collaboration was anything but easy.
Xu Tang liked him.
He had liked him since he was seventeen.
And after all these years, that had never changed…
Entertainment news was always the same things over and over. Today someone was dating, tomorrow someone broke up, the next day someone turned out to be fake sisters, and the day after that someone started a public feud…
Xu Tang only looked at these things to kill time. After reading them, he forgot them. He wasn’t a frequent trending topic. The last time he topped the charts was three years ago when the news of his marriage to Zong Xuan broke.
Zong Xuan, on the other hand, dominated trending searches. Besides his own strength, his fans were terrifyingly fierce, perfectly inheriting their idol’s traits.
As Xu Tang was scrolling, he saw Zong Xuan walking downstairs.
The man looked lazy and relaxed, still dressed in pajamas. It was impossible to tell whether he had just woken up or had simply not slept all night.
Xu Tang immediately set down his tablet and sat up straighter. “I made breakfast. Want to eat some?”
Zong Xuan looked at him, then walked over with his long legs. He glanced at the food on the plate, then lifted his gaze to Xu Tang.
He let out a soft chuckle.
Without saying anything, he took a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator and went back upstairs.
Xu Tang was baffled by that laugh, though thankfully it had only been one “heh.”
Had he accidentally dropped a hair into the food? Or maybe he hadn’t salted things evenly, and it was obvious?
Walking to where Zong Xuan had just stood, Xu Tang lowered his head to inspect the breakfast on the plate.
Nothing wrong with it. It looked fine, didn’t it?
Ah. Wait…
On the white plate, two golden sunny-side-up eggs sat with a sausage standing vertically between them.
No matter how he looked at it—
Holy shit.
Thankfully, he’d made fried eggs. If they were boiled eggs, wouldn’t it look even more obvious?
He hadn’t paid attention while plating—he’d just arranged things casually…
Grabbing his knife, Xu Tang quickly cut the sausage into two pieces.
That should make it look more innocent.
But after another glance…
If he squeezed some ketchup on it now, it would absolutely look like a crime scene from that kind of situation.
What if Zong Xuan saw this and thought he had some kind of retaliatory mindset?
So Xu Tang hurriedly grabbed another plate, moved the sausage onto it by itself, and added two slices of toast.
Mm. Perfect.
But until he finished breakfast, Zong Xuan never came downstairs again.
After tossing the dishes into the dishwasher, Kang Duo walked in right on time.
Kang Duo was his manager. She had just turned thirty this year—a classic cold and beautiful mature woman with fair skin. She was efficient and decisive in both speech and action. Xu Tang had always enjoyed working with her. There were things she liked about him, and things she didn’t. The thing she disliked most was his devotion to Zong Xuan.
“You’re up early today.” After entering, Kang Duo’s eyes—accented with orange-toned makeup—swept over the dining table, revealing a trace of displeasure.
“Mhm. Once I change clothes, we can head out. Make your own coffee if you want some.”
Having worked with her for five years, and knowing she devoted herself fully to his career, Xu Tang naturally didn’t treat her like an outsider.
“No need. I already had some.”
Kang Duo’s expression remained indifferent. It was her signature look—enough to make anyone unfamiliar with her feel instinctively unwelcome.
Xu Tang nodded and went upstairs. Kang Duo waited downstairs. As his manager, she had a key to the house, but without Xu Tang’s permission, she would never step onto the staircase. That was part of her professionalism.
Once Xu Tang changed clothes and came downstairs, he left with Kang Duo.
Today he had to attend a skincare brand’s new product launch, so he first needed to get his hair done and change into event clothes.
After getting into the car, Yuan Shang greeted him with a smile.
“Morning, Brother Xu.”
“Morning.”
Xu Tang replied and sat in his usual seat.
Yuan Shang was Xu Tang’s assistant, one year younger than him. Like Kang Duo, he had been with Xu Tang for five years.
After Yuan Shang shut the door, the driver started the car and headed toward the company.
After emotionlessly reviewing the day’s schedule, Kang Duo locked her phone and began lecturing him.
“Why are you so hardworking every single day? If you want breakfast, just make your own. Why are you making food for him too? Did he even acknowledge you? I bet once the cooking auntie gets here, all that stuff goes straight into the trash.”
Xu Tang smiled awkwardly. “I was already making it anyway.”
“There are plenty of things you could do conveniently. Why are you so obsessed with playing the perfect wife? Too bad—you treat him like a boyfriend, and he treats you like an idiot. You don’t even qualify as a hookup!”
Kang Duo was furious.
“Were you born too early? Did your brain not finish developing before you came out? Tell me, is this worth it? Worth it?!”
Xu Tang didn’t argue back. He only smiled.
He knew Kang Duo cared about him, so he didn’t take it to heart.
Yuan Shang covered his mouth with one hand and said to Kang Duo, “Sister Kang, I actually think Brother Xu is pretty smart. Besides, the one who gave birth to Brother Xu is our boss’s wife. Watch what you say.”
Kang Duo instantly choked on her words.
She didn’t even know where to continue scolding from.
She sat there glaring, looking like she might yank open the car door in the next second and throw Yuan Shang out to destroy the evidence.
Xu Tang waved his hand and said, “It’s fine, it’s fine. I know Sister Kang is scolding me. Scolding me. Maybe when God was scattering wisdom about love across the world… I happened to be holding an umbrella.”
Kang Duo looked at him and rolled her eyes fiercely, though she didn’t scold him anymore.
Instead, she switched to cursing Zong Xuan in her heart—
Damn it. Such a great fresh-faced star under my management and you still don’t want him? You’re one giant capital-letter idiot!