Not long after Xu Tang left, Wen Hui arrived.
Wen Hui was Zong Xuan’s manager. Three years older than him, she looked gentle as water, but in reality she was a swift and decisive woman. Her status in the industry was much higher than Kang Duo’s, and her connections were wider as well. She only began managing Zong Xuan after he established his own studio. Zong Xuan’s previous manager had stayed with his former company. Since the two had some conflicting ideas, they didn’t keep much contact after parting ways.
With Zong Xuan’s fame backing it, the studio never lacked good resources and had always developed well. Later, after Zong Xuan married Xu Tang, whether intentionally or not, just because of that relationship and the Xu family’s status in the industry, the resources the studio obtained became so good they could barely choose among them.
So everyone at the studio was quite grateful to Xu Tang. If Zong Xuan was the studio’s financial backer, then Xu Tang was their support pillar. No matter how much benefit they actually gained, at least in outsiders’ eyes, they and the Xu family were one entity.
She had already called Zong Xuan before coming in. After placing the buns Zong Xuan wanted on the dining table, Zong Xuan happened to come downstairs.
Zong Xuan looked around but couldn’t find Xu Tang. Only when he saw the slippers by the entrance did he realize Xu Tang had already gone out.
“Make me a cup of coffee,” Zong Xuan said as he sat at the table.
Wen Hui knew exactly where everything was in this house. After washing her hands, she began brewing coffee for him. “You’ve been back in the country for several days now. Still haven’t adjusted your jet lag?”
Zong Xuan picked up a bun, his eyes glancing at the two plates of breakfast Xu Tang had left behind. He replied casually, “More or less.”
Zong Xuan had a pair of exceptionally beautiful almond-shaped eyes—sharp but not seductive. His double eyelids were narrow, and every glance and blink carried a sense of presence.
Probably because it had gone cold, the eggs and sausages looked greasy and unappetizing.
Wen Hui had noticed the breakfast on the table when she put down the buns. She said, “Isn’t there breakfast already? Looks pretty good. Nutritious too.”
The corners of Zong Xuan’s lips curled upward as he chuckled. “That little thing made this to flirt with me. Small guy, but pretty bold.”
“Oh? There’s actually someone in this world capable of flirting with you, Movie Emperor Zong?” Wen Hui’s tone carried a hint of sarcasm.
If it were anyone else, they definitely wouldn’t dare speak to Zong Xuan like this. But with their relationship, this was normal. Zong Xuan had excellent acting skills and a serious work ethic. Outside, he could put on the act of a polished gentleman. But as someone close to him, there were plenty of things she disliked about him.
Bad temper. Impossible to predict when he’d explode. Loved flirting. Rascal-like and shameless. He flirted freely but never cleaned up the mess afterward, leaving the studio staff to deal with the fallout. As the one in charge, she was the one ending up overwhelmed every time, and the one getting stress-induced mouth ulcers every time too.
“Looks like the flirting failed, so he resorted to murder,” Zong Xuan said.
Using his thumb and forefinger, he picked up half a sausage and took a bite.
The taste wasn’t bad.
Wen Hui looked at the plate of eggs and sausages but couldn’t see anything flirtatious about it at all. “I think you’re sexually frustrated lately.”
“When have I ever not been?” Zong Xuan finished the half sausage and started eating his buns.
Wen Hui rolled her eyes. “There’s a dinner tonight with investors. Everyone invited is from the industry, nothing messy. Want to go and release some energy while you’re at it?”
She knew Zong Xuan well. He talked far more than he acted. Though he’d been dragged into scandal rumors over the years, his private life was actually very clean. So she was strict about these kinds of social gatherings. She knew exactly which ones he should attend and which ones he shouldn’t.
“Sure.” He’d been bored staying home these past few days anyway. Going out sounded fine.
As a popular singer, Xu Tang had his own lounge, dressing room, and recording studio at the company.
He had also signed with his own family’s entertainment company. Whether in soft power or hard power, the company’s strength spoke for itself. Naturally, his treatment was better than average, and no one dared say much about it.
After spending over two hours in the dressing room, Xu Tang, now fully styled by the makeup artist and stylist, got back into the car and headed to the event venue.
Because the occasion was relatively formal, his styling was slightly more mature than usual.
His bangs had been swept back, revealing his forehead. On top, he wore a gray-toned white shirt with a silver-gray suit jacket patterned with dark purplish-red lines. Below, he wore cropped dark gray-brown trousers, paired with casual brown soft-leather shoes. The top three buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing a hint of his attractive collarbones. He looked fashionable and refined. His charming peach blossom eyes added a touch of casual ease to the overall mature look and subtle sexiness, making him especially pleasant to look at.
Yuan Shang took out his phone and snapped several photos of Xu Tang. This was something he did every day, saving them for Weibo posts.
Besides appearing at the event, the main focus today was the post-event interview.
No matter how popular Xu Tang was, if he stayed out of the public eye for too long, his popularity would decline, and his fans wouldn’t be happy either. So when there weren’t any major events, Kang Duo would arrange interviews and talk shows to keep him firmly in first-tier popularity.
After picking a few good shots, Yuan Shang sent them to Xu Tang.
“Brother Xu, post on Weibo. Look—these two shots I took are really good.”
Xu Tang opened his phone and looked at them. They were decent, in line with his usual style.
“Pretty good.”
Seeing him put his phone back into his pocket, Kang Duo said unhappily, “If they’re good, then post them. Why put it away?”
Xu Tang had always managed his own Weibo and never had any problems. But before marriage, he posted at least once a day. Since getting married, sometimes three days passed without a single post.
“Forget it. I don’t really have anything to say.” Xu Tang smiled and turned to look out the window.
No matter what he posted, there were always comments asking about Zong Xuan.
They were married, so those questions were understandable. But Xu Tang couldn’t answer them. He didn’t even know what Zong Xuan was doing lately.
In truth, he wasn’t much different from an ordinary fan.
Only when promotional needs arose would he learn about Zong Xuan’s current situation from Wen Hui—and even then, he only knew a few days earlier than the fans.
Zong Xuan’s Weibo had almost no interaction with his. The only few interactions had been managed by Wen Hui, all involving visit-on-set promotions, with nothing interesting about them. Xu Tang didn’t dare act too high-profile either, afraid fans might notice something unusual. So he tried not to post unless necessary.
In truth, theirs was only a business marriage.
And it had been proposed by the Xu family.
Unexpectedly, Zong Xuan had agreed without much difficulty.
This was already the third year of their marriage.
Yet the amount of time they had actually spent together could be counted on one hand.
For the first two years, Zong Xuan had been busy filming nonstop, one movie after another, barely coming home. This year his schedule slowed somewhat, but Xu Tang also had his own work. So the two rarely crossed paths.
Only this time had they spent a longer stretch under the same roof. Xu Tang had no out-of-town events, and Zong Xuan had just returned from overseas. They had finally spent nearly a week living under the same roof.
However… it had been completely useless.
A lot of Xu Tang’s fans had also come to today’s event.
After getting out of the car, Xu Tang waved to them first. Their screams were so loud he could barely hear what the event staff were saying.
After enduring a storm of fan photos, Xu Tang entered the venue.
Meanwhile, photos of Xu Tang attending the event started circulating on Weibo.
“My Tang Tang is so handsome!”
“My Tang Tang is so gentle! He even stopped specially so we could take photos!”
“Tang Tang looks a bit mature today. I want to tackle him and strip him!”
“Couldn’t make it to the event. Crying QAQ.”
“Movie Emperor Zong, hurry and take your wife home. Him going out like this is practically inciting crime. I want to rip open his shirt!”
…
After Wen Hui finished discussing recent schedules with Zong Xuan, she left first, saying she’d come pick him up later for the dinner.
Zong Xuan flipped through the new scripts Wen Hui had brought.
None interested him.
So he took out his phone and started scrolling through Weibo.
Most of the time, he managed his own Weibo. Only when work required it would Wen Hui log in. Compared to stars who needed manager approval for every post, he had a lot of freedom.
Things in the entertainment industry had been pretty quiet lately. Some gossip popped up, but none of it made much of a splash.
Finding nothing interesting, Zong Xuan casually clicked on his @ notifications.
Normally, he rarely checked them.
Only when he was bored like today.
The first post that popped up was the one about wanting to rip Xu Tang’s clothes off.
It even included two photos and had already gained countless reposts and likes.
The photos weren’t carefully angled or skillfully shot. The camera wasn’t professional either. At most, a filter had been added.
Not professional at all.
But they felt very real.
Leaning against the sofa, Zong Xuan raised the corner of his lips.
That little thing really was good-looking.
At home, he hadn’t noticed much. But once cleaned up and styled outside, Xu Tang was actually very attractive.
Though, to be fair, he spent too little time at home and had never really looked at Xu Tang properly.
Their marriage had always been arranged.
There were no feelings involved.
Even their living arrangements were separate.
And since he had no intention of sleeping with Xu Tang, staring at him all day would just seem weird.
Tsk.
But speaking of it, those long legs, narrow waist, and firm ass…
It really did make one want to tear open his clothes and admire him properly.
Chuckling softly, Zong Xuan exited Weibo, tossed his phone aside, and lay back lazily on the sofa.
They had been married for quite some time.
Yet it felt like the wedding had happened only yesterday.
That was probably because they barely interacted, so his memories remained frozen on the day they got married.
After the launch event ended, Xu Tang accepted media interviews.
Aside from one or two product-related questions, most questions revolved around Xu Tang’s work schedule and private life—
Or more specifically, about Movie Emperor Zong.
Some questions genuinely left Xu Tang not knowing how to answer.
For example:
“Have you and Movie Emperor Zong traveled together recently?”
“What plans do the two of you have for the future?”
“How has Movie Emperor Zong been lately? What does he do at home?”
Xu Tang wanted to answer:
“No.”
“No.”
“I don’t know.”
But he couldn’t say that.
He had to make things sound clear, intimate, as though that was simply their normal daily life.
For one brief moment, he suddenly felt very tired.
Kang Duo noticed his poor state immediately and stepped in, ending the interview.
Yuan Shang also reacted quickly, escorting Xu Tang back to the car first while Kang Duo stayed behind to chat with reporters a little longer before leaving.
By the time Xu Tang returned home, the housekeeper had already finished making dinner and was preparing to leave.
Seeing the bag in Xu Tang’s hand, the housekeeper smiled.
“Didn’t you already have buns this morning? There were still quite a few left. Why buy more?”
This bun shop was very famous nearby, and its packaging had a distinctive design and logo, making it easy to recognize.
Xu Tang quickly reacted.
“Oh, just bought a few more for a late-night snack.”
He knew Zong Xuan liked this shop’s buns. Since he happened to pass by today, he bought some to bring home.
He hadn’t expected Zong Xuan to have already eaten them.
Either Wen Hui or Zong Xuan’s assistant must have bought them.
Looks like once again, his effort had been unnecessary.
After the housekeeper left, Xu Tang put the buns into the refrigerator.
Before heading upstairs, he glanced at the kitchen trash can.
There was nothing inside.
The housekeeper must have already taken out the trash.
He wondered whether Zong Xuan had eaten that breakfast after all.
But with the buns there, that breakfast had probably just been thrown away…