After a Top Idol Married the Sickly Young Master of a Wealthy Family to Bring Him Good Luck - Chapter 22

B City, Qingti TV Headquarters, backstage dressing room.

Xiao He and another young man had their ears pressed against the door, their expressions contorted as they covered their mouths, struggling to suppress their snickers.

Yang Xing came looking for Pei Xinglu, only to find these two acting sneaky and suspicious.

“What are you two doing?”

Xiao He quickly raised a finger to her lips, silently mouthing the word “Shh!” while pointing at the door. “Sister Yang, come listen!”

“?”

As a top-tier gold-medal manager in the industry, would she really stoop to such eavesdropping?

Maintaining a serious expression, Yang Xing rolled up her script materials, swept a glance over the two of them, and uttered clearly: “Move aside.”

Inside the dressing room.

“Big boss, I beg of you! I’m begging you! Just go easy on me this once, let me show off a bit! My fans call me a ‘noob’ every single day, and they even take screenshots of my match records and spread them all over the world! This brother’s fragile heart can’t take it anymore, it’s cold…”

Chen Er was frantically shaking Pei Xinglu’s shoulders.

Pei Xinglu pushed him away with disgust and said contemptuously, “Didn’t you say you were going to crush me?”

Chen Er spread his left hand and bent his right, making a kneeling gesture, smiling flatteringly: “Wasn’t that just to have some fun with our God Pei? God Pei, what do you think? Whether this brother can avenge his past humiliations in the gaming world depends entirely on tonight!

“You’re too much of a noob. There’s no avenging that.”

Pei Xinglu was acting very arrogantly.

Chen Er sensed that Pei Xinglu was in an unusually good mood today, so he hurried to add, “My teammates are all big shots from the esports circle. We’ve already established a deep ‘gaming bond.’ Under professional guidance, my skill level has improved by leaps and bounds. As long as you go easy on me and let me kill you a few times, my trip tonight won’t be in vain.”

Chen Er prattled on and on.

Pei Xinglu had nowhere to hide; his ears were growing calluses from the annoyance. “Fine, fine.”

“As expected of a top star, God Pei! Such grace, such style! I’m treating you to dinner!” Chen Er laughed wildly with excitement. “Is your next drama set yet? Have you picked a theme song? Look for me! I’ll do it for free!”

“Dinner isn’t necessary, but I’ll consider the theme song.”

“Nice! Deal!” Chen Er looked as if he could already see his moment of glory. Grinning from ear to ear, he pulled out his phone. “It starts at seven. There’s still half an hour left. I’m going to the live stream room to get into the zone.”

Being at the Qingti headquarters, he was naturally using the Qingti TV app.

Chen Er curled up on the sofa, the sound of game kills frequently emanating from his phone.

Pei Xinglu sipped his milk tea, calmly scrolling through Weibo.

Specifically, he was looking at “Suisui’s Little Rice Cake’s” space.

—Tsk, no wonder he was so happy the night we first met. Turns out the one “blessing” he had wasn’t just a top entertainment star, but his new “husband.” A literal windfall from the sky.

—Who would have thought this Ling Suiyao is quite the philanderer? Countless favorites. Others are one thing, but his taste is clearly lacking—he actually followed Yu Zhihan for three years.

—Wait, he even made Ling Suiyao choose between him and Yu Zhihan!

I’m a f—… Pei Xinglu covered his face in regret, desperately wanting to slap himself. It was so embarrassing that his toes were curling. Detestable, truly detestable! But the most villainous one was the person involved who pretended to know nothing—Ling Suiyao!

Pei Xinglu had a second thought; he couldn’t exactly put it that way. After all, Ling Suiyao had spoken up for him quite earnestly, posting film reviews to help him out.

He tapped on a screenshot in his phone; it was from a few months ago.

Suisui’s Little Rice Cake V: I’ve finished watching all of Brother Pei’s shows since his debut. He’s a person who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

Suisui’s Little Rice Cake V: [Screenshot * 9] This one is the most touching. Brother Pei was so gentle and patient with this old grandmother. He kept weaving bamboo baskets for her, cooked, washed dishes, and gave her so much food. He even cried when he finally left.

Pei Xinglu stared at it for a long while, a surge of warmth flowing through his heart.

So, it really was Ling Suiyao.

“God Pei, that little young master fan of yours who scatters jewelry is live-streaming on Qingti TV.”

Chen Er finished a round of his game, exited, and happened to see that “Suisui Niannian” was online. He was instantly amused and started chatting with Pei Xinglu. “Qingti TV really made a fortune off Strawberry Stream’s misfortune. They’ve completely suppressed them, and their stock price has even gone up. I heard their boss wants to sign this young master for a huge price to make him a top-tier streamer, but he didn’t agree. Apparently, he said a streaming contract has too many restrictions or something.”

Chen Er entered the stream room, and Pei Xinglu looked at his screen.

Ling Suiyao wasn’t writing; he was playing a large-scale martial arts MMO. Ling Suiyao was controlling his character, wandering through a bustling main city, buying a few sticks of candied haws to give to a little girl in an alley.

The atmosphere in the live stream was great. Ling Suiyao chatted idly with comments about daily topics—weather, studies, diet, and the like.

“Why doesn’t he show his face?” Chen Er asked with great interest. “Those hands, that voice, and his skin are very fair. I feel like he must be very handsome. If he showed his face, he’d definitely attract another wave of fans. But the young master probably doesn’t care, since he’s already rich enough to give away Luming jewelry in his stream, hahaha.”

Pei Xinglu glanced at him, frowning in thought.

Receiving no response, Chen Er remained jovial. After a while, he exited the stream, muttering “Why did he go offline so early?” only to turn around and run straight into the deep, cold gaze of Pei Xinglu.

Chen Er: “?”

Pei Xinglu looked at him, then back at his phone screen.

Suisui’s Little Rice Cake: Found a hidden gem of a song! Xiao Chen’s “Snow Mud” is so good. I looked it up, and it seems to be his first released song—he wrote the lyrics and music himself. Truly talented! It’s on loop now and set as my ringtone.

So, Chen Er = Ling Suiyao’s former favorite/former “husband.”

Suddenly, nothing about Chen Er looked right. Pei Xinglu said coldly: “Go back to your own dressing room.”

Chen Er: “? So heartless! I wanted to coordinate tactics with you. Your ‘throwing’ can’t be too obvious later, or the netizens will mock us to death. People online nowadays are vicious…”

Pei Xinglu pushed him straight out the door.

At the door, Xiao He, Chen Er’s assistant, and Yang Xing all backed away three steps, acting as if nothing had happened.

Chen Er’s assistant followed Chen Er, who was humming a tune in a good mood, back to their room.

Xiao He and Yang Xing naturally entered. Yang Xing became serious in a second, reminding Pei Xinglu of several points and telling him absolutely not to speak arrogantly.

“Oh, my ancestor! You know that competitive games always trigger flame wars. If you accidentally steal a kill or a jungle creep, or sell out a teammate, the haters will flame you to death! Even though Yu Zhihan has fallen and your reputation is improving—with some people turning into fans—you still have a lot of anti-fans and hired trolls…”

Pei Xinglu had a deep frown, looking like he was in profound thought, though it was unclear if he was actually listening.

Yang Xing and Xiao He felt that something was very wrong with Pei Xinglu. Since coming out of Pingye Residence, he had been weird in an indescribable way. Moreover, he had actually accepted the food brought by Ling Suiyao—bizarre, truly bizarre!

“Xiao Pei, you and that Ling—”

Pei Xinglu kept refreshing “Suisui’s Little Rice Cake’s” homepage and finally saw a new update.

Suisui’s Little Rice Cake: Small stool ready, snacks and refreshments all prepared. Tonight is Esports Brother Pei! [Image]

The image was a character portrait he had drawn for the official Weibo announcement.

With a swish, Pei Xinglu stood up abruptly, crossing his arms.

Yang Xing: …Okay then.

Xiao He: …Alrighty.

After a moment of silence, a staff member from the program crew knocked on the door. “Teacher Pei, are you ready? We start in five minutes.”

Pei Xinglu adjusted his state and nodded slightly. “Okay, thank you.”

He flipped his phone over, turned off the internet, handed it to Yang Xing for safekeeping, and followed the staff backstage to prepare.

“Teacher Pei is so handsome! So calm! So cool!”

“I was hit by a close-range critical strike of handsomeness in the hallway just now!”

…

Chen Er joked, “Our Brother Pei’s charm only continues to grow.”

Pei Xinglu stared at him.

Chen Er had a bad feeling: “What are you doing?”

Looking at Chen Er, a line of text drifted through Pei Xinglu’s mind:

—Chen Er = Ling Suiyao’s former favorite/former “husband.”

Ling Suiyao was going to watch the live stream. At this moment, if the “current husband” and the “former favorite” competed on the same stage and he lost…

Chen Er said in horror: “You’re not going to go back on your word, are you?!”

Pei Xinglu immediately replied: “That is exactly my intention.”

“???”

After confirming that Pei Xinglu wasn’t joking, Chen Er gritted his teeth in anger: “Pei! You dog!”

Dog it is, then.

To the current Pei Xinglu, a man’s pride was more important than anything.

Ling Suiyao carried a small basket of healthy snacks and beautifully arranged sliced fruit—carefully prepared by Auntie Zhang—and pitter-pattered his way to the third-floor media room.

He placed the small basket on the rotating coffee table in front of the sofa, drew the curtains, closed the door, and sat on the fluffy, cloud-like carpet. He hugged a cat plushie his cousin had brought from abroad and projected the official Qingti TV live stream.

Tonight was the 5th Anniversary Celebrity Exhibition Match for the large-scale MOBA competitive online game Hao Yue Zhi Zheng (Quest of the Bright Moon).

After the opening intro performance, where voice actors brought the hero characters to life, it was time for the guest introductions. After the professional esports players from the pro teams made their appearance, a water-ripple effect slid across the projection screen, setting off a wave of excitement in the venue.

As the accompaniment began, Chen Er sang a short segment of a currently trending song and appeared in the public eye.

“Hello to everyone at the venue and everyone watching the screens! I’m Chen Er, so happy to see you all!

Chen Er was currently the most popular singer of the new generation. He had the vocal skills and the looks to match. His sunny, youthful aura made fans reminisce about their youth—recalling that one high school boy in a white shirt sitting by the window.

Ling Suiyao liked Chen Er for a simple reason: he sang well, especially a niche song called “Snow Mud,” which contained a hidden vitality and hope within its dense sorrow.

In the live stream, Chen Er made a pun using game terminology, making the whole venue laugh.

Ling Suiyao, who didn’t understand the joke, laughed along anyway.

Next was the appearance of the final guest.

The VCR showed an ink-wash bamboo forest promotional clip for the movie Ding Feng Bo. As soon as the clip ended, a tall and slender silhouette appeared in the dark shadows.

To match the team, Pei Xinglu wore all black—a casual jacket and black trousers, a very simple outfit.

Pei Xinglu had a dedicated fanbase just for the way he walked.

His posture and bearing were among the best of all male celebrities in the domestic entertainment industry.

While his limbs appeared relaxed, his head and shoulders didn’t sway; his elbows moved naturally, and his stride was vigorous.

A polite, faint smile played on his face, inadvertently projecting a dominant, powerful, and cool aura that exuded masculinity.

Instantly, the screams at the venue were like thunder, and the cheers were like a violent wave of the sea.

Ling Suiyao looked up at the number of viewers in the live stream—it had actually surpassed a hundred million.