Bored at home, cold outside

While Jiang Songhe and the others were having lunch, he cleaned up the kitchen waste and started scrubbing the pots and pans and wiping the island counter. These actions didn't require much thought, so he began to consider the feasibility of going to Bincheng in the near future.

Lin Duole sent a WeChat message about half an hour ago, saying that the stamped contract had been successfully uploaded and that he had also confirmed with the official contact person that Jonah had no other work arrangements during his trip back to China and that he could communicate directly with Wasin regarding his work at the porcelain company.

This means that the collaboration between Yunhe and TANG has been officially finalized. According to the contract terms, Jonathan is obligated to follow Yunhe's arrangements and make time to cooperate with the relevant work of "Yan Ge Xing" after prior communication between the two parties.

Prioritize recording the theme song and shooting some pre-production promotional materials. Once Yunhe has held a screening with the platform and secured a spot on the show's list, I'll have more energy to plan and prepare. Then, I can take two days to take Jonathan to Bincheng, which will be more legitimate both professionally and personally.

The Star Show Finals are expected to be held in early March. Jonathan's arm injury has healed, and he will definitely return to Mann to attend the finals.

Therefore, it needs to be done as soon as possible.

Jiang Songhe was rubbing the scouring pad in his hands while lost in thought when a white shadow suddenly flashed past his eyes. He looked up suspiciously and saw Jonathan standing opposite the island counter, rolling up his pajama sleeves with alternating hands: "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No need for you, it's all done." Jiang Songhe clenched her fist, put the scouring pad into the drainer, and nodded her chin toward the game room outside the restaurant. "Go play."

Jonathan squinted, tilted his head slightly, and looked at Jiang Songhe with one eye. He pouted and said unhappily, "Is 'no need' your catchphrase? I'm twenty-five years old. I'm not some child who can't reach the top or stand on the stage."

He kept saying he wasn't a child, but he was completely unaware that there was salted egg yolk residue stuck to the corner of his mouth.

Jiang Songhe lowered his head, bit his lip, and laughed quickly for two seconds. After rinsing his latex gloves, he was back to normal. He looked up and called Jonathan in a serious tone, "Then come here."

"That's more like it." Jonathan expressed his approval with a smile, walked over the island platform to Jiang Songhe's side, and seeing that Jiang Songhe had taken off her gloves, he naturally reached out to take them, "Where else do you need to wipe?"

Jiang Songhe swiftly switched the wet glove to the other side, pinched the back of Jonathan's hand and pinched it into a vertical chicken claw shape, then brought it up to his lips and wiped it: "Here."

Jonathan saw it clearly and quickly stuck out his tongue to wipe the other corner of his mouth.

Jiang Songhe couldn't help but burst out laughing. Jonathan's ears turned bright red, and she glared at Jiang Songhe, angrily reaching out with her other hand to dig out her unprecedentedly deep dimples: "Laugh at your sister?!"

“Yeah, right, laugh at my sister.” Jiang Songhe laughed even wider, revealing a row of white teeth, and leisurely echoed, grabbing Jonathan’s wrists with his fingers and pulling them under the tap to rinse off the salted egg yolk particles from his fingertips.

Seeing the scar left on Jonathan's left forearm after the wound had healed, his smile gradually faded.

With her large hand gripping his wrist, Jiang Songhe pulled him forward, stretching Jonah's left arm out. She couldn't help but use her gloved hand to reach out two fingers to touch the new, pink, firework-like scar: "Does it still hurt?"

Jonathan's hands were still wet. He shivered from the cold, pulled his forearm back, and rolled down his sleeve: "No, it's just a little itchy sometimes."

Jiang Songhe turned off the tap, tore off a piece of kitchen paper to dry her wet hands, turned around, raised it and then put it down, using her gaze to check if Jonathan's mouth was clean. After checking for a moment, she looked up to meet Jonathan's eyes.

"I'm going to the company tomorrow, so you can use the gym, recreation room, and game room at home. I'll leave the Volvo key with Wasing. If you're really bored, there's a wetland park nearby. It's not too crowded on weekdays, so you can have him drive you there for a walk."

Jiang Songhe paused, then added, "The disposable mask is in the dresser drawer in the entryway. Remember to wear it if you go out. Also, it's cold outside, and I noticed you didn't bring a thick coat. The one you were wearing this morning..."

"It's boring at home, and it's cold outside," Jonathan interrupted Jiang Songhe's nagging, "Then why don't I come to the company with you? Surely Mr. Jiang's company doesn't lack air conditioning, right?"

"..." Jiang Songhe weighed the flow of people in the park and the company, and estimated the scene of top celebrities appearing in the film, entertainment and MCN company cluster, and rejected Jonathan's suggestion, "Don't go, it's not appropriate."

"What's wrong with it? Are you afraid others will find out about our relationship?" Jonathan's expression changed from sunny to cloudy.

"Tsk, it's not because..." Jiang Songhe hadn't thought of this before, but after Jonathan mentioned it, he suddenly realized that at this critical juncture, it was indeed not appropriate for people to know about their relationship. The words of denial were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back.

Jonathan noticed the change in Jiang Songhe's expression, let out a heavy chuckle, and his cloudy-turned-gloomy face seemed to say, "I, a top star, didn't find it inappropriate, but you're starting to mind?!"

Just as Jiang Songhe was about to explain, Jonathan's thin lips parted slightly, his expression froze for a moment, and then he suddenly asked, "Let me ask you another question, what is our relationship now? Underground—"

"Tang Fan!!!"

A rough voice cut in, and the two looked towards the kitchen doorway. Vasin was holding a ringing cell phone in one hand and a stack of dishes in the other, his chin reaching for the name on the caller ID: "Phone."

The phone belongs to Jonah, and it's been kept by Vasin since last night.

Jonathan raised an eyebrow, as if he had just remembered that he hadn't touched his phone in a long time. He took it and looked at the screen. As the call connected, his eyebrows relaxed and a smile appeared on his lips, accompanied by the same tone of voice.

"Fan, were you looking for me? Yes... I checked out of the hotel this morning... um... Wasin was with me..."

Jiang Songhe wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Wasin, who she remembered as having underdeveloped facial muscles, looked a little flustered for a moment just now. Although he had returned to his poker face mode, was he too focused on staring at the artist making a phone call?

However, only by staring intently at others will you realize that they are staring intently at you.

Jiang Songhe realized that the offense he had been secretly observing was no less than that of Vasin; he had offended two at once, arguably even more. So he cleared his mind, corrected his behavior, walked up to Vasin, and held out his hand: "Give it to me."

"Oh." Vasin handed over the bowl and plate, raised his equally rough thumb, and gave the air a simple, honest thump to express his approval of Jiang Songhe's cooking. "Mmm!"

Jiang Songhe carefully placed the dishes, now cleaned and only covered in a layer of grease, into the dishwasher one by one, thinking to herself, "I was definitely overthinking it."

Jonathan had already ended the call by pushing the dishwasher door shut.

Jiang Songhe was about to continue reasoning with him when Jonathan leaned on the edge of the island counter with one hand, tilted his head and put on a nonchalant "what can you do to me" expression, and even waved his phone as if to show off.

"Before officially cooperating on the work, I need to conduct an on-site inspection of the partner company's office environment."

-

At noon, the florist Jiang Songhe frequented delivered fresh orange roses to his parents' memorial hall. He signed for them at the door, then, holding the flowers, quickly went upstairs.

He went back to his bedroom to get the key to the memorial room. As soon as he stepped out of the room, he met Jonathan's eyes, who appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

Both of them paused.

Jiang Songhe felt a little embarrassed. "Not a single orange rose in this huge bouquet was meant for Jonathan." She was embarrassed. "I haven't mentally prepared myself to invite Jonathan to the memorial room to find out more." She was embarrassed. "I can't invite him, and I don't know how to explain why I can't." She was even more embarrassed.

Jonathan walked over first, and Jiang Songhe straightened her lips and made a gurgling sound in her throat.

Jiang Songhe grasped a branch of the bouquet and, forcing a smile, said, "I'm going next door..."

"Heh~~~" Jonathan interrupted with a yawn, blinked and pointed to Jiang Songhe's bedroom, asking, "I haven't had a good rest since last night, I'm going to go in and catch up on some sleep, you don't mind, do you?"

"...No." Jiang Songhe answered guiltily, watching Jonathan enter the room as if nothing had happened. Her heart clenched as she tried to find an excuse, "What...what do you want to eat tonight?"

A lazy reply came from the bedroom: "I just ate a lot, so I shouldn't be hungry tonight."

Jiang Songhe breathed a sigh of relief and took out the key to open the door to the memorial room.

After wiping the portraits, burning incense, and offering flowers, Jiang Songhe knelt on the prayer mat in front of the altar, gazing at his parents in the black and white photos for a long time, his chest gradually filled with an irresistible impulse.

He solemnly bowed and kowtowed three times, and did not get up for a long time after finishing.

"Mom and Dad, please forgive me for making this mistake one more time in my life. Please... don't blame me..." He suppressed the burning sensation in his eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "I don't want anything else, I just want him."

Even if it's wrong, it's okay.

...

Jiang Songhe came out of the memorial room, placed the slightly wilted orange roses she had taken off at the door of her room, washed her hands in the bathroom first, and then tiptoed back to her bedroom.

Jonathan was fast asleep in bed, unaware that the mattress was sinking as he sat down next to him, proving that what he said was true—he was really tired.

Jiang Songhe silently observed Jonathan with a twisted, awkward posture, turning his head away.

At first glance, it looks very well-behaved when it's asleep, but upon closer inspection, its eyelashes, which are covering its lower eyelids, are not entirely flat, and the ends of its eyelashes are stubbornly curled up, as if as a hint for playing hide-and-seek.

Hint! Rebelliousness is often hidden in these subtle details~~~

Jiang Songhe was amused by the voice she imagined, but then immediately felt that the pervert's appearance was a bit lewd, so she looked away.

Jonathan's hair is fine and soft, shimmering with a soft luster similar to pearls under the light.

What was his original hair color? I dreamt of him once when he was a child, about seven or eight years old, with light ochre hair. I wonder if it's the same in reality?

He's been back in China for almost ten days now, right? If he didn't bleach or dye his hair during that time, some new, natural hair should have grown out by now.

As if guided by some unseen force, Jiang Songhe bent down to look at the whorl on the top of Jonathan's head.

Tsk, it must have floated past.

Won't the chemicals used for bleaching and dyeing burn my scalp?

Jiang Songhe suddenly disliked Jonathan's hair color, even though, from the perspective of an agent, she knew that it was an idol's iconic personal symbol.

"Hmm? Jiang Songhe... what are you doing?" A soft, puzzled voice came from in front of her.

Caught red-handed in his groping behavior, Jiang Songhe was startled. His brain raced, shifting to a bizarre angle, and he imagined himself as a domineering CEO in a short drama, a currently highly competitive market.

"Domineering CEO" is always better than "creepy old man".

Without hesitation, he grabbed Jonathan's chin and gave him a random bite on the mouth. Jonathan was stunned by the bite, his eyes wide open and closed, but he didn't care. He immediately got up, grabbed his phone and cigarette case from the bedside table, and ran away.

Upon reaching the bedroom door, he intended to turn around and, mimicking the classic, formulaic line, to give a uniform ending to the story of being possessed by the domineering CEO, and incidentally, to create the illusion that Jonathan was being haunted by a nightmare.

As a result, the phrase "You played with fire first" was too cheesy, and he ultimately couldn't bring himself to say it. He just coughed and left.

-

After taking the wilted flowers downstairs, Jiang Songhe retrieved her jacket and shoes from the shoe and hat closet in the entryway, put them on, and stepped out of the villa, placing the flowers at the public garbage collection point on the street corner.

Then he lit a cigarette, took out his phone, launched WeChat, opened the Yunhe project group, switched to another group, opened the Yunhe company group, typed in text, and issued temporary work orders.

"Janus will be visiting the company tomorrow. Thank you for your cooperation in the relevant work."

One minute later, the group chat exploded.

Jiang Songhe's hands were numb from the vibrations, and his ears were ringing with constant wer-wer sounds. Helpless, he temporarily turned on the "Do Not Disturb" function in the company group chat.

Once he was sure the group chat had quieted down and that his next post wouldn't be buried by the flood of comments, Jiang Songhe took a deep drag on his cigarette in the cold wind, extinguished the cigarette butt at the sink next to the row of trash cans, and then threw it into the trash chute.

Jiang Songhe tapped the keyboard area on the screen with two thumbs: "@Yunhe Producer Lin Duole @Yunhe Publicity Feng, the artists' stay at the event is limited. What arrangements have been made for the drama's publicity?"

The two reported on their promotional plans, which focused on different aspects and varied in completeness. Most of them revolved around the timing of the project's marketing rhythm after the recording of Jonathan's theme song was completed.

It's understandable and justifiable, but there's nothing that can be implemented directly tomorrow.

According to Jonathan, "going to the company together" means that he will be at the same time as Jiang Songhe and spend the whole day at the company.

A top celebrity suddenly appears and stays at the company for a day in full view of everyone. If they don't participate in any work arrangements, it's bound to arouse suspicion.

Considering the existing conditions and from the perspective of sustainable development, Jiang Songhe pondered for a moment and came up with a reasonable solution that would allow Jonathan to go to the company for two days in a row.

"The main conference room will be fully open tomorrow. You should prepare your side camera equipment in advance to film the Janus 'Yan Ge Xing' reaction."

The two were so excited that they continued to ask questions such as "When will Janus arrive?", "How long will the footage be?", "How many people can stay in the large conference room to accompany him?", and "Can we get his autograph and take a photo together after the work is finished?"

As the questions began to veil personal opinions, other employees in the group couldn't resist volunteering and chiming in, further escalating the discussion.

The group chat exploded again.

Jiang Songhe rubbed her frozen fingertips on her Jingming acupoint for a while, glanced at the screen that was flashing by quickly, and didn't notice who sent the message "Should I wear a suit tomorrow?" Speechless, she pressed the talk button and sent a voice message to control the increasingly absurd situation.

"The artists are expected to arrive at the company at 11 a.m. tomorrow. Everyone should work as usual and dress as usual. Only three video cameras will be set up in the main conference room for filming from the side. The whole company will have lunch at Hejia Restaurant across from Yongtong. Lin Duole, remember to ask me for the prepaid card in advance."

Someone immediately asked, "Will Janus be going to the dinner party too?"

Jiang Songhe exhaled a puff of white mist and turned to walk home.

"Please keep Janus's itinerary confidential to avoid causing inconvenience to the artist. Thank you for your hard work."