[ABO] The Despised One Becomes an Internet Sensation After Marriage - Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Zhou Yan conducted the livestream alone.

The activity in the comment section was no less intense than when Xu Zhimian and Fu Shiyan first appeared on the show together.

“Liar! You’ve lost all shame for money. Get out of the entertainment industry!” “Brother Yan, ahhh! Now that things have come to this, just say whatever you have to say! Give us the truth.” “Waaaa, Brother Yan, please say none of this is true! Say it now!” “I didn’t expect a liar to still have so many little fangirls.” “What’s wrong with the chat? Is your morality following your eyes just because he’s handsome?”

Zhou Yan remained composed. He glanced at the comments twice and then spoke: “Everyone came to my room just for a result, so I won’t waste time on small talk. First of all, Dr. Ji and I have indeed divorced.”

“666, joining this variety show after a divorce. You’re f***ing harvesting us like sheep.” “How do you have the face to say that so righteously???”

Zhou Yan wasn’t affected by the comments at all. He continued: “The purpose of my joining this show is to win Dr. Ji back.”

“66666, deceiving the fans to gain both fame and fortune. Two people partnering up to scam the public, and a bunch of fangirls are still happy to be fooled.” “Took the money and gained popularity. What ‘winning him back’? I bet they’re just acting for the sake of fame and profit.”

Watching the direction of the chat, Xu Zhimian found it increasingly familiar… Wasn’t this exactly what the general public said when he first married Fu Shiyan? Familiar words, just the muzzle was pointed at a different person. The entertainment world is truly unpredictable.

“Profit?” Zhou Yan looked at the chat, arching a brow. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t take a single cent for this show.”

This was the truth. At the time, Zhou Yan genuinely wanted to use the interactions on the show to facilitate a reconciliation with Ji Yan, so he refused any remuneration at the start.

“Who knows if he’s just saying that after being exposed to save face? Pretending not to take the money.” “I actually believe Brother Yan on this one. When he first started in the industry, whether he took money depended entirely on his mood. After all, he’s not lacking those few cents.” “666, who would turn down money? Those words only fool little girls.” “If you actually research Zhou Yan, you’d know he doesn’t care about this kind of money at all.” “Oh, you know so much? Are you the tapeworm in his stomach? For a top-tier show like 21 Days, based on his status, it would be at least 30 million, right?” “Please, that’s 30 million!”

Xu Zhimian rarely agreed with a comment, but—Please, that’s 30 million! To just refuse it like that.

Ye Ming curled his lip. “30 million really isn’t much to Zhou Yan.” “Huh?” Xu Zhimian was confused. Someone actually turns down that much money? “Do you know Zhou Chenghui, who’s in the top 30 of the Forbes rich list? The one in new energy? That’s his old man.” “HUH?!” Xu Zhimian was stunned. He knew Zhou Yan had a background, but he didn’t know it was that solid. “The few million or tens of million from a show are just appetizers to him,” Ye Ming shrugged. “He simply doesn’t care.” “…” Xu Zhimian couldn’t hide his shock. He could only say he didn’t understand the world of the ultra-rich.

As the chat argued fiercely, Zhou Yan developed a bit of a headache and said: “To those who support and like me, stop fighting. I’m not lacking those few tens of millions.”

“Listen to that—’not lacking those few tens of millions.’ What kind of talk is that?” “God, I hate people who show off the most.” “God, I equally discriminate against every person who tries to act cool.”

“This matter was poorly considered on my part. I shouldn’t have tried to win Dr. Ji back through a variety show after the divorce. For that, I apologize to the fans who support and love me. Next time I chase someone, I won’t use this method. Many are curious about why we divorced, so I’ll just say it here—it was my fault. Because I was too busy in the noisy entertainment industry, I neglected Dr. Ji, and that’s why he wanted to divorce me.”

Having said this, Zhou Yan carelessly stroked the wedding ring on his ring finger, a faint smile playing on his lips: “Once I win Dr. Ji back, I will officially retire from the industry.”

This one sentence set off a thousand waves. Xu Zhimian and Ye Ming, in front of their screens, both widened their eyes.

Retire??? This sudden retirement announcement shocked everyone inside and outside the industry. Cheng Lan almost fainted in front of her screen.

The chat went wild. “Ahhh! You crazy son! Giving up such a great future! Ahhh! What are you thinking?!” “No, no, don’t retire!!!!!!” “Brother Yan! You’re joking, right? Don’t listen to those anti-fans! Please, don’t retire!!!”

After saying this, Zhou Yan ignored the wailing in the chat and decisively ended the broadcast.

Lu Ze, with a cigarette in his mouth, heard the news and exchanged a look with Fu Shiyan, laughing: “This kid…” Still as arrogant as ever.

Ye Ming couldn’t watch and snatched the cigarette out of his mouth. “Lu Ze!! Smoking again, are you?” Lu Ze raised his hands in surrender: “Wife, there are guests here, give me some face.” “Fine, then you can go sleep with your ‘face’ tonight.” Ye Ming threw the cigarette away. “Tsk.” Lu Ze pulled him close. “Little ancestor, I was wrong, okay?”

The balcony was windy. Lu Ze waved goodbye to the others, and the two headed downstairs while bickering. One had to admit, though Zhou Yan’s tactics were flashy, he had certainly generated a massive wave of publicity.

When the livestream opened again in the afternoon, the viewer count surpassed 10 million within minutes. “I want to see how you win Dr. Ji back.” “Isn’t this the one who said he’d retire once he succeeds? I want to see if he actually does it!”

No one knew what Zhou Yan had said to Ji Yan, but when Ji Yan faced the camera, his expression was noticeably colder. Xu Zhimian glanced at them and saw that Zhou Yan still looked relaxed, though he no longer lazily draped his arm over Ji Yan’s shoulder.

…

In the afternoon, they received their respective tasks. Xu Zhimian’s task was a half-day trip on a luxury yacht with Fu Shiyan, where Fu Shiyan had to say a specific phrase to him during the journey.

The phrase: “The way you mix drinks is truly charming.” Xu Zhimian: “…” The hint was about as subtle as a brick.

Xu Zhimian boarded the luxury yacht with Fu Shiyan. Seeing that the cameraman hadn’t followed, he looked back in confusion. Fu Shiyan saw his doubt and explained: “The yacht is equipped with cameras for a full direct broadcast, so we don’t need to trouble the cameraman.”

This was better; after all, it was a date, and having a bunch of photographers following wouldn’t feel right. Aside from the captain, there were no other people on board.

Xu Zhimian found a bartender outfit in the wardrobe and knew the production crew was definitely setting him up. It was a white shirt with a vest, tailored as if just for him. It fit perfectly, narrowing at the waist to emphasize his slim frame, while the trousers were snug over his firm, rounded hips. Just looking at his silhouette from behind caused the comment section to explode.

“Ahhh, I’m okay again.” “If the lights were just a bit dimmer, this would be a massacre!”

As the yacht slowly pulled away from the beach, Fu Shiyan sat on the sofa, his dark, deep eyes staring intently at Xu Zhimian.

Xu Zhimian coughed twice. “How can there be beautiful scenery without fine wine? Wait here, I’ll mix a drink for you.”

The last time he mixed drinks was with Ye Ming at a bar abroad. Xu Zhimian ran through the movements in his mind and specifically chose his best angle. He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, revealing his delicate collarbones. He rolled his sleeves up slightly, looking relaxed and aesthetic.

As he mixed the drink, he raised the jigger high, the liquid pouring out into the glass. Fu Shiyan sat there with interest, watching him.

Just as Xu Zhimian picked up the drink to bring it over, he tripped over his own feet. In the panic, his hand knocked the glass, spilling the wine all over himself.

Fu Shiyan stood up instantly.

The red liquid splashed across Xu Zhimian’s chest and chin. The fair skin contrasted sharply with the vivid red wine, making his features look even more alluring. Xu Zhimian raised his eyes in a daze. Fu Shiyan stepped quickly toward him.

“…Sir,” Xu Zhimian called out. “The drink spilled.”

A drop of red wine lingered at the corner of Xu Zhimian’s mouth. He stuck out his bright red tongue and licked it away. The movement was like slow motion; his gaze was both innocent and dazed as he stared straight at the man. In an instant, the look in Fu Shiyan’s eyes changed.

“It doesn’t matter.”

The chat room was likewise losing its mind. “Help! Licking the wine plus a direct eye attack—I wouldn’t be able to handle this either!” “Help, are we really using ‘honey traps’ just to finish a task? I like it, give me more (I’m not a pervert).” “Holy crap, this brings back memories. I remember in the first stop, didn’t they have this kind of eye tension too!!!” “Their eyes are practically spinning silk, ahhh! If there weren’t cameras, the next step would be kissing!!”

Fu Shiyan didn’t move to the next logical step. Xu Zhimian set the tray down and grabbed Fu Shiyan’s tie. Fu Shiyan lowered his head along with the motion. Xu Zhimian tilted his head up and kissed him—not deeply, just a light touch.

Xu Zhimian reached up and wiped the corner of Fu Shiyan’s lip. “Well? Is the drink I mixed delicious?”

The comment section went feral. “Ahhhh! I just came from Zhou Yan’s side, holy crap, this pair—ahhhh! Truly the ‘Max Sexual Tension’ duo.” “It’s not delicious unless you let me taste it!!!” “Fu Shiyan, I advise you to let go of my wife!!”

As Xu Zhimian went to pull his hand away, Fu Shiyan grabbed it. His hand was still stained with a bit of wine. Fu Shiyan extended his tongue and licked it clean.

Xu Zhimian shuddered. Fu Shiyan moved lower, slowly kissing away every drop of wine on his hand. Warm breath fanned over his skin before the man finally pressed a heavy kiss onto the back of his hand.

Fu Shiyan’s face took on a hint of intoxicating blurred focus. “It’s delicious.”

The seducer had become the seducer.

Xu Zhimian didn’t pull his hand back. Instead, he teased the underside of Fu Shiyan’s chin and got to the point: “So, what do you think of the way I look when I mix drinks?”

Fu Shiyan’s other hand rested on Xu Zhimian’s waist, kneading it with ambiguous intent. With his back to the camera, he silently mouthed two words:

“Want to f**.”*

Xu Zhimian: “…”