The next morning, Liu Rulan and Xiao Chen came to wake Xiao He, bringing breakfast with them.
When she saw Xiao He's huge dark circles and his lifeless, dazed gaze, Liu Rulan was genuinely startled: "What happened to you?"
Xiao He collapsed onto the sofa looking utterly exhausted, his eyes fixed blankly on the ceiling as he spoke in a weak voice: "I feel terrible right now, my whole body is itching, and it feels like ants are crawling all over my chest."
"Huh?" Liu Rulan immediately reached out to feel Xiao He's forehead, "No fever either... That's strange. Xiao Chen, call a taxi, let's take him to the hospital."
Xiao Chen immediately pulled out his phone: "Right away, sis."
"Ahem, that won't be necessary." Xiao He immediately sat up from the sofa again, coughing lightly in an exaggerated manner, "Eh? I think I'm feeling a bit better now..."
Liu Rulan wore an expression that said she'd expected this all along, casually sitting on the adjacent sofa and crossing her legs: "So what's actually going on?"
What nonsense is this brat up to now...
Xiao He clutched his chest, looking utterly heartbroken: "Why hasn't 'Yu Ye' reached its conclusion yet? If there's no conclusion, why are they rushing to adapt it? Why isn't the author updating? My heart hurts so much right now, not just my heart—even my stomach is starting to ache now—"
"You're just hungry." Liu Rulan hit the nail on the head and gestured for Xiao Chen to set out the breakfast first, "Here, eat breakfast first."
"Alright then."
Xiao He knew when to quit and started preparing to eat breakfast.
"By the way, you were on Hot Search again last night. Not at the top spots, but you made an appearance and generated some discussion. You probably didn't know about that, did you?"
Xiao He made a surprised sound while stuffing a Beijing-style soup dumpling into his mouth: "Why?"
"Yesterday when you temporarily dyed your hair white for filming, some fans mistook you for an idol from some group when you returned to the hotel. After photos surfaced, many people were asking about you." Liu Rulan explained, "Then they thought you were some resource-backed newcomer being inserted into the ECL Boy Group, so they went to cause trouble under the ECL Boy Group's official account."
Xiao He: "These people are really full of energy..."
Don't they have their own lives to live? So much free time.
"So what's the situation now?" Xiao He asked again.
Since Liu Rulan was only telling him about last night's events now in such an unhurried manner, Xiao He believed she had already handled everything for him.
Sure enough, Liu Rulan continued: "Liao Ronghui contacted me last night. Coincidentally, I had some photos saved on my phone, so after confirming there were no issues with Director Zhuang's side, our studio took the opportunity to release some of your latest styling updates."
Although they hadn't officially announced his involvement in Director Zhuang's new project yet, they managed to ride this small wave of popularity. After many fans learned it was for a acting role, the comments section buzzed with discussion, showing great anticipation for Xiao He's new project.
Of course, another reason was the popularity brought by the airing of "Starry Radiance"—
[Came here ready to roast Meng Zetian, but ended up asking—who are you, handsome guy?]
[Meng Zetian, I (bird language and flower fragrance), (bird language and flower fragrance), (bird language and flower fragrance)... Huh? Who are you? Sorry, wrong person.]
[Eh? Something's off, how did I end up back with you after going in circles?]
[To the comment above: you didn't get the wrong person, this bastard really is Xiao He.]
[???]
[Seriously, bro, when did you transition into being an idol? Looking this handsome? If you kill someone like this, I'd be really uncomfortable.]
[No—what are you doing? You're forgetting your roots! Have you forgotten that plaid shirt and jeans from back in the day? Xiao He, you've changed! I hereby declare you forever disgraced among us programmers—]
[What new drama is this for Brother Xiao? When will it air? Meng Zetian is really too evil, I want to watch something else to recover.]
[To be honest, Brother Xiao really seems to have gotten handsomer. Is this what they call success enhancing one's appearance?]
[Hmph, with this idol makeup, who wouldn't look good? I think Xiao He is just like this now—can't get male lead roles, will have to rely on selling his looks to attract fans from now on.]
[? Oh no, I'm really starting to feel that Brother Xiao is getting famous—even the anti-fan rhetoric has become dumbed down. I guess this counts as successful character development.]
[Certain fans are so pressed lol, getting outacted in "Starry Radiance," we were too embarrassed to laugh at you, but you're the ones mocking now? Six six six, looks like I'll have to help promote your roasting videos again, no need to thank me.]
Xiao He read these comments while eating, thoroughly amused by these netizens.
After eating a few bites, Liu Rulan pushed the " milk" with a straw already inserted beside him: "Don't just eat, drink this too."
"Okay, thanks."
Xiao He took it without any suspicion and casually took a sip.
"Pfft—"
He immediately spat out everything in his mouth.
"Ugh—"
He couldn't even care about the sprayed " milk" anymore. That disgusting taste, like decades-old foot wash water complete with old man's foot skin and fermented mutant stench, directly blew off the top of Xiao He's head, then used prepared slop to swirl around in his mouth, brutally assaulting his tongue.
"Water, water—"
Xiao He desperately grabbed the water cup nearby while both Liu Rulan and Xiao Chen were holding their stomachs laughing: "Hahaha—"
Xiao He: "..."
Xiao He didn't even have the energy to curse. He first gulped down several mouthfuls of water to wash away the taste in his mouth, then stuffed another soup dumpling to suppress the nausea in his throat. Finally, with trembling hands, he pointed at the two culprits—
"You, you guys—"
Liu Rulan wiped tears from the corner of her eyes, laughing joyfully: "Surprise! Didn't you say you'd never been to Beijing before and wanted to try local specialties? Well, I had Xiao Chen go buy this for you first thing in the morning. I specifically sent him to get it from an old alleyway—absolutely authentic, the real deal fermented mung bean juice. So? Isn't it something special?"
Xiao He gritted his teeth: "You bastards!"
He was absolutely fed up!
Xiao Chen was also laughing uncontrollably while trying to take credit: "Brother Xiao, I even did research—this shop's version is the most authentic!"
Indeed, people never get tired when it comes to mischief.
Xiao He: "...Hey, the world's turned upside down, and you have the nerve to feel proud? Come here, come here!"
Then Xiao He directly grabbed Xiao Chen who was trying to escape, forcibly pressed him down onto the sofa, and smiled with "benevolence": "Dear Xiao Chen, since you went through all that trouble to get this fermented mung bean juice, such a hard-won treasure, you should definitely have a few sips too, right? Otherwise, what a waste~"
Xiao Chen's face immediately changed dramatically: "Ah, ah, I'll pass—"
He looked toward Liu Rulan: "Sister Liu, save me!"
Liu Rulan innocently spread her hands.
"Don't worry, she'll get her share after you finish!"
Xiao He sneered coldly as he poured the fermented mung bean juice into separate paper cups, then forcefully handed one to Xiao Chen: "Drink!"
Xiao Chen "trembled with fear," looking at Liu Rulan, trying to form a united front, but unexpectedly Liu Rulan very calmly picked up a cup, leisurely blew on it, and then drank a mouthful without changing her expression.
Xiao Chen: ?
Xiao He: ?
"Just so-so." Liu Rulan shrugged, looking at the two with disdain, "You can't even handle this?"
Xiao He: ...Indeed, Sister Liu is the strongest, no room for argument.