Chapter 90: Taken by Surprise

Shashi truly lived up to its reputation as a city of snacks. Even in the middle of the night, there were still many vendors setting up along the roadside, selling grilled skewers and fried bites.

Most of all, not only were there plenty of street stalls, but each one was crowded with customers. Some people were chatting over skewers, some were drinking beer and playing drinking games, and old and young alike kept the midnight streets lively.

It was nothing like the great southern metropolis or Harbor City, where the streets grew nearly empty after dark and everyone hurried home to prepare for the next day’s work.

That kind of bustling warmth and unhurried pace of life was something Su Chen, after living in Harbor City for so long, had never seen before.

“The pace of life in Shashi is really slow...” Han Jiangxue said with feeling as she watched people eating skewers by the roadside.

Su Chen nodded. “If you’re just looking to live, this is a pretty good place. It’s just too hot in summer.”

“Harbor City is a furnace too!”

“Well, that’s true...”

Su Chen smiled and went on. “Tonight’s on me. What does Boss Han want to eat?”

Han Jiangxue shot him a glance and then said, “Let’s go eat at the place you went to on your livestream last time. You’ve already taken your two older sisters there, and you didn’t even think to bring me.”

“I followed you all the way here to Shashi, and you turned around and forgot all about me. Hmph!”

Su Chen gave an awkward laugh. Somehow, in the face of her words, he felt an odd twinge of guilt, like a thief caught in the act.

“That was Sister Mei who took me there. Later, when Sister Bingning came to treat me to dinner, I just happened to go over too...”

“Ahem. I’ll take you there now. The stall isn’t far from the hotel anyway, just a short walk.”

Han Jiangxue looked full of anticipation. She raised a hand and, pretending to be an empress from a palace drama, said to Su Chen, “Little Chenzi~ Why are you not leading the way for this dowager~”

“...At your service!”

Su Chen took Han Jiangxue’s hand. The instant they touched, Han Jiangxue visibly trembled, and her face flushed scarlet all the way to the tips of her ears.

For a moment, she seemed to waver, but Su Chen’s hand remained firmly wrapped around hers.

Seeing her shy, girlish expression, Su Chen could not help but smile.

So this was how it was... She acted like such a seasoned pro, yet merely holding hands was enough to make her blush like this...

And so he held her hand and slowly walked toward the barbecue stall.

Along the way, Han Jiangxue, who had been cheerful just moments before, did not say a word. Feeling the warmth seeping from Su Chen’s palm, her heart became a tangle of confusion.

Even Han Jiangxue did not know what exactly she was thinking. She only knew that on this not-quite-cool Shashi night, the warmth Su Chen passed to her was neither cold nor hot, and she found herself unwilling to let go.

She was not even hungry anymore, though she had not eaten dinner yet. All she wanted was for this road to be longer, longer still, so she and Su Chen could keep walking a little while more.

But things did not go as she wished. Soon enough, the two of them arrived at the barbecue stall.

The owner, grilling skewers, spotted Su Chen, wiped his hands, and hurried up to greet him.

“Haha, handsome guy, you’re here again?”

“Yeah, I’ve gotten addicted to the skewers you grill these past few days. If I don’t eat them for even one day, I start feeling awful all over,” Su Chen teased.

“Hahaha! Then I’ll grill you a few extra today!”

“You’re too kind, boss!”

“What kind of kindness? I should be thanking you for taking care of my business!”

The owner chatted with Su Chen with a beaming smile, treating him as warmly as if he were family.

In just a few days, this was already Su Chen’s third visit, so the owner recognized this regular at a glance.

It was not that the owner had an especially good memory. Rather, Su Chen had left too deep an impression the first two times.

The first time, he came with the famous star Yan Mi; the second time, he brought the famous star Wang Bingling to eat skewers.

Rumor had it that the live broadcast that day was part of some variety show, and in just those two days, the stall’s popularity had soared. The number of customers passing through was more than ten times the usual amount.

It was only because it was so late now, with most people already gone, that the owner even had time to greet Su Chen when he arrived.

The owner said with a smile, “Thanks to the livestream of your show last time, my daily foot traffic is now worth ten times what it used to be!”

“No matter what, tonight’s meal has to be on me!”

Seeing the resolve in the owner’s eyes, Su Chen stopped insisting.

At worst, he could just slip the money in later and leave, simple as that.

As they spoke, Su Chen had already led Han Jiangxue to an empty seat and sat down.

Back at the grill, the owner looked at Han Jiangxue beside Su Chen and could not help but sigh inwardly.

The young man had come three times, each time with a different companion, and the first two were both big-name stars!

This one he could not recognize as any celebrity, but in terms of looks and temperament, she was in no way inferior to the first two, and might even surpass them.

What a promising young man!

The owner smiled, withdrew his gaze, and focused on grilling his skewers.

At the table, Han Jiangxue and Su Chen sat facing each other, and she had finally calmed down.

“Want a drink?” Han Jiangxue asked.

“Sure. There’s no program schedule tomorrow, so I can have a little,” Su Chen said.

Hearing that, Han Jiangxue could not help but ask, “You’ve already made it into the top sixteen. Do you know what the rest of the program will be like?”

Su Chen nodded.

“Sister Mi just told me. The process is basically the same as before.”

“That’s good. I was just worried that Zheng Huayu would go after you again.”

Su Chen looked at Han Jiangxue and said with a smile, “What, you’re worried about me?”

“W-What? No! I just figured, if you can’t become a star, then I’d be missing one celebrity friend, wouldn’t I?”

Han Jiangxue’s eyes darted away.

Su Chen smiled. “A friend? Don’t worry, Zheng Huayu won’t be able to jump around for much longer... and neither will Meng Xiaotian.”

Han Jiangxue looked up in confusion, and Su Chen went on, “Do you remember those two paparazzi from the last show? They were sent by Brilliant Star.”

Han Jiangxue covered her mouth in shock.

“Brilliant Star? The company of your ex...”

She swallowed the rest of the words on her tongue, but Su Chen said it plainly instead.

“Yes. They were sent by Xu Fangyuan, Lin Yanran’s manager, just to camp out and catch scandalous shots of me.”

Han Jiangxue’s eyes widened.

“Lin Yanran?!”

“You mean... your ex-girlfriend is Lin Yanran, the one who’s become wildly popular lately? The two of you were actually a couple!”

Seeing Han Jiangxue’s stunned expression, Su Chen suddenly understood why Xu Fangyuan had been so determined to target him.

A woman like Lin Yanran, whose public image was all purity and innocence, having a boyfriend—that alone could rocket to the top of the trending lists and draw plenty of attention.

“Still... why are you telling me this? I... I’m terrible at keeping secrets. What if I blurt it out?” Han Jiangxue said, flustered.

Su Chen shrugged helplessly. “No choice. If I’m not honest enough, I’m afraid some people will keep living in uncertainty.”

“...Huh?” Han Jiangxue froze on the spot.

She looked at Su Chen’s refined, clean-cut face, and suddenly, without warning, she was caught completely off guard by that direct strike.