Jia Zhi Qing was in the hospital again, although this time his stay was extremely comfortable.
Lian Jue Xiu had specially arranged a VIP room for him. Not only was it furnished to the standards of a five-star hotel, it also came with dedicated nurses and doctors on call twenty-four hours a day. Aside from Mother Lian gracing him with her presence every so often and forcing him to put on displays of affection with Lian Jue Xiu, his life could be described as quite blissful.
Xiao Bai’s schedule had grown even tighter. Not only had the television station proposed adding another variety show for him to host, an instant-noodle manufacturer had also come sniffing around and asked him to be their spokesperson.
Although Xiao Bai’s career was flourishing, he was still a newcomer, after all, and there were plenty of things that required his manager to run around handling them.
After Gao Qin had been worked half to death and finally reached the end of his patience, he stormed into the hospital, prepared to drag out the fellow who was eating, drinking, and lodging for free while skipping work and disappearing for days on end.
Mother Lian happened to be there when he arrived.
The look Jia Zhi Qing gave him when he walked in was so affectionate that all he lacked was a fly whisk stuck behind him to wag like a tail.
“Bro,” he called in an unbearably sweet voice.
Gao Qin casually shook off the goosebumps covering his entire body.
Mother Lian stood up with a smile. “You came to see Zhi Qing? Sit for a while. I’ll go wash some apples.”
“……”
Zhi Qing?
Gao Qin watched Mother Lian leave in considerable surprise. He had not expected Jia Zhi Qing to successfully conquer her in only a few days.
Gao Qin said to Jia Zhi Qing, “Auntie treats you pretty well.”
Jia Zhi Qing pounded the bed and wailed, “I’m suffering!”
“What do you mean?” Someone who spent every day lounging around with his legs crossed and waiting for other people to serve him actually had the nerve to say he was suffering. Then what was Gao Qin, who worked himself half to death every day, supposed to say? That his life was suffering?
Jia Zhi Qing’s grievances immediately poured out like a three-thousand-foot waterfall. “Don’t be fooled by that charitable expression she’s wearing now. The moment everyone else leaves, that philanthropist immediately reveals her true identity as a mob boss.”
Gao Qin could not imagine it.
Seeing that Gao Qin did not believe him, Jia Zhi Qing hurriedly emphasized, “Really, really. For the past few days, she’s been drilling it into my head every day that Lian Jue Xiu is a cloud and I’m mud. He’s a swan flying through the heavens, while I’m a toad sitting at the bottom of a well. Sigh. If this keeps up, sooner or later my inferiority complex is going to give me depression.”
Gao Qin said, “You seem to be adapting pretty well.”
“Of course. Every day after she leaves, I run to the psychiatry department and get a doctor to talk me through it.” Jia Zhi Qing leaned his head back against the wall and wiped at his dry eyes. “The only thing keeping me going now is the hope that one morning I’ll open my eyes and hear that she’s already gone home.”
Gao Qin said, “Maybe she’ll take you home with her.”
“……” Jia Zhi Qing jolted violently and glared at him. “What exactly do you gain from driving me mentally ill?”
“It frees up the assistant position so I can hire someone new.”
At the mention of work, Jia Zhi Qing’s eyes immediately lit up. “Then why don’t you let me leave the hospital?” He refused to believe Mother Lian could follow him around for more than ten hours while he was working.
Gao Qin raised an eyebrow. “Do I need to approve that?”
“I don’t need your approval. I need Lian Jue Xiu’s.” His brows and eyes drooped again. “I’ve brought it up several times, but he always brushes me off. As for the hospital, one minute they say I have food poisoning, the next they say I have a gastric ulcer. Basically, even if I’m perfectly healthy, they’ll find a few illnesses to torment me with.”
Gao Qin immediately understood Lian Jue Xiu’s intentions.
As long as Jia Zhi Qing stayed in the hospital and kept Mother Lian occupied, Lian Jue Xiu’s personal freedom was guaranteed.
Just then, Mother Lian returned carrying the washed apples.
Jia Zhi Qing hurriedly said, “My cousin was just saying the company is really busy and that I should leave the hospital soon to help out.”
Before Mother Lian could answer, Gao Qin said, “There’s no hurry. A gastric perforation is pretty serious. You should rest more.”
“……”
Mother Lian looked at Jia Zhi Qing in surprise. “Wasn’t it a gastric ulcer?”
Jia Zhi Qing licked his lips and calmly said, “Just now, it accidentally developed a hole.”
Gao Qin left the hospital feeling refreshed in both body and mind.
It was a little tiring not having anyone around to order about, but coming to the hospital every so often to admire Jia Zhi Qing’s miserable condition was tremendously uplifting. Given the choice between physical enjoyment and psychological enjoyment, Gao Qin decided to choose the latter.
Xiao Bai’s new variety show was finally confirmed. It would be called Xiao Bai’s Guest Room.
For a newcomer who had been in the industry for less than a year, having a program named after himself was extraordinarily, extraordinarily difficult. At NCC Television—and even throughout the entertainment industry—Xiao Bai had set an entirely new record. One could easily imagine that even far into the future, this record would be difficult to break, because the decision was genuinely astonishing.
For example, Xiao Fu Ping had not received a program bearing his own name, Fu Ping Watches Gossip, until his seventeenth year after debuting. Zhong Yao and Li Mo still did not have one at all.
Unlike an ordinary program, once a show carried its host’s name, it meant that the show and host lived and died together. If the ratings were poor, the program would immediately be canceled. Something like There’s Always a Higher Mountain, where the host was replaced halfway through, would no longer be possible.
For the television station, it was a risky decision, but at the same time, it demonstrated that host’s appeal and popularity.
Gao Qin had already received inside information that the station intended to make Xiao Bai one of its priority talents, but he had not expected the scale of that investment to be this large.
He and Ma Rui had both analyzed the matter. In the end, they concluded that Xiao Bai had debuted at exactly the right time.
Xiao Bai had originally debuted by taking Luo Pei Jue’s place. Setting aside the reason he had replaced him, in most people’s eyes Xiao Bai was the newcomer NCC had chosen as Luo Pei Jue’s replacement.
Now Luo Pei Jue was thriving again at BLX, which naturally irritated the NCC executive who had once been determined to drive him out. So the executive had decided to give him a taste of his own medicine: use Xiao Bai to defeat him and prove that betraying NCC had been an enormous mistake. That was why the road ahead of Xiao Bai had been paved so smoothly, so easily, and so quickly.
Of course, if Xiao Bai failed to live up to the executive’s expectations, he would be banished to the cold palace just as quickly.
Ma Rui thought for a long time before saying, “I don’t think this is the right time to accept the show.”
Gao Qin was not surprised. Most of the time, Ma Rui was the defensive one: steady and cautious, unlikely to make enormous profits, but equally unlikely to make serious mistakes.
“Xiao Bai’s foundation still isn’t stable. If he suddenly gets pushed right to the crest of the wave and then falls, I’m afraid the blow to both his popularity and his mental state will be enormous.”
Gao Qin said, “This time, I disagree.”
Ma Rui was not surprised by that either. If he was the defensive specialist, then Gao Qin was the attacker. Gao Qin had always possessed a taste for risk.
“Tears of a Man is about to be released. Xiao Bai has a very likable role this time. His acting and screen time may both fall short of Yan Su Ang’s and Chen De Zhang’s, but he’ll definitely attract attention. With that happening at the same time, the ratings for a variety show he hosts aren’t going to be terrible no matter what. Besides, ever since his debut, the ratings for every variety show he’s appeared on have never given us reason to worry.”
“That’s exactly what worries me most. An outlook that’s too optimistic always has far too many hidden dangers.”
“I think it’s worth the gamble.” Gao Qin paused before continuing, “Besides, even if we take ten thousand steps back and the show really does fail, he still has potential in film. He could switch to television dramas too. Once he builds up enough popularity, coming back to variety shows later wouldn’t be difficult.”
Ma Rui glanced at him. “You make it sound easy.”
“Wasting an opportunity is immoral.”
Ma Rui pondered. “Still, this really is an excellent opportunity.”
The corner of Gao Qin’s mouth rose.
Since the goal was to go head-to-head with Luo Pei Jue, the time slot naturally had to be arranged just right.
And so, Xiao Bai’s Guest Room was immediately scheduled for nine o’clock on Sunday nights. Xiao Bai’s co-host would be the singer-actress Lin Bi Wei.
Lin Bi Wei had debuted only two years earlier. She was not quite as brand-new as Xiao Bai, but she was still a newcomer herself. What was remarkable was that despite having been in the industry for only two years, the number of rumored boyfriends attached to her had already reached double digits.
Before the program had even premiered, the media began hyping it furiously.
In terms of quantity, Xiao Bai could not compete with Lin Bi Wei’s collection of rumored boyfriends. But in terms of quality, Xiao Bai was unquestionably ahead. Whether it was Feng Ya Lun or Yan Su Ang, either one was worth ten ordinary people.
So the media were very, very eager to see what sparks these two scandal magnets would produce together.
Xiao Bai, naturally, had never cared about that kind of news. What made him happiest was that Yan Su Ang had finally managed to free up some time this Saturday so they could visit the two sisters at the orphanage together.
He had originally wanted to invite a few more people, but Jia Zhi Qing was still lingering in the hospital and Lian Jue Xiu was busy with the movie’s post-production. Gao Qin went without saying—he was so busy handling Xiao Bai’s affairs that his feet barely touched the ground, so Xiao Bai naturally felt too embarrassed to ask.
Yan Su Ang could not have asked for anything better. Early that morning, he eagerly rushed downstairs to Xiao Bai’s building to wait for him.
Xiao Bai had even made special preparations for the visit, buying a large pile of fruit, snacks, and textbooks.
Yan Su Ang bought sports equipment, barbecue supplies, and some raw ingredients.
To avoid attracting reporters’ attention, he even switched to the Land Rover he rarely drove.
They had not been on the road long when Jia Zhi Qing’s number flashed on Xiao Bai’s phone.
Xiao Bai answered, and a deliberately lowered voice came through.
Jia Zhi Qing pleaded from the other end, “Hurry up and come see me. At least when you’re here, my life gets a little easier.”
Xiao Bai said, “But I’m going to the orphanage today. I can’t visit you.”
“Once I get out of the hospital, I’ll go with you every day. I’ll even live there if I have to.”
Xiao Bai said, “But…”
Before he could finish, Yan Su Ang intercepted the phone midway. “Hello. This is Yan Su Ang.”
“……”
The other end of the line went completely silent for a full ten seconds before Jia Zhi Qing’s voice finally returned. “Have a safe trip. Have fun.”
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