After Transmigrated as a Black-Hearted Entertainment Boss [Transmigration] - Chapter 14

One can’t blame Tao Zui for being sensitive; the truth was, he had seen this kind of thing far too often.

A big reason Tao Zui was able to accept his new identity so quickly after transmigrating was that the original owner looked exactly like him.

They both had phoenix eyes with slightly upturned corners and well-defined yet smooth facial contours—beautiful without being feminine, handsome without being aggressive, and radiating an immense amount of approachability.

This highly similar face brought a sense of identification, preventing Tao Zui from suffering a cognitive crisis or doubting the reality of the world every time he looked in the mirror. And he knew better than anyone just how much destructive power this face held.

In his past life, Tao Zui’s smooth sailing in the advertising industry was due to his excellent abilities, but he had to admit his looks played a supporting role. People are naturally more patient when facing beautiful things; they communicate better, listen more, and are more willing to stay in touch.

Of course, there were downsides: the “bees and butterflies” had been relentless since his student days.

While in school, his parents’ strict discipline meant he had no chance for puppy love. Right as he started university, he lost both parents in an accident and had to shoulder the heavy burden of raising his younger brother. Tao Zui had remained single until the age of thirty—a certified “wizard” (perpetual virgin).

However, never having been in a relationship didn’t mean he was dense.

Precisely because he had experienced so many people’s overt and covert affections, Tao Zui was quite sensitive to such matters. If Gu Nan were to replay what happened last night right now, he could be 100% certain the other boy liked him. But now…

After all, he had been drinking last night. Even if he wasn’t drunk, his brain was in a tipsy state. Plus, he’d slept on it—who knows if his sleeping brain had processed and “beautified” the memory?

Gu Nan, in both personality and looks, hit every one of his aesthetic preferences. He had liked Gu Nan immensely even when the boy was just a 2D character on a page. Facing a “dream lover” level figure, it wasn’t impossible for his mind to have polished the memory in a dream.

No rush, let’s observe a bit more. Tao Zui spat out the toothpaste foam and rinsed his mouth.

Half a month ago, Gu Nan was still wary of him, observing him secretly like a sneaky cat. It was unlikely he’d dropped his guard and jumped straight into the “crush” phase in just two weeks…

Doing his best to suppress the disappointment in his heart, Tao Zui wiped his mouth, checked his chin for stubble, and left the bathroom.

By this time, Su Jiqiu and the three younger ones had already left for school, and Gu Nan had gone to the company for his lessons early. Only Tao Zui, the boss with the divine right to arrive late and leave early, wandered into the other dorm unit and pulled a box of frozen dumplings from the fridge.

He had been so busy lately that even making dinner felt like a battle; he naturally had no time to prepare breakfast. So, he had stocked the fridge with frozen convenience foods for Gu Nan and the others to handle themselves.

As he placed the dumplings in the pan and listened to them sizzle, Tao Zui’s thoughts began to drift again.

If… if Gu Nan really… No, that won’t work. He has an official love interest!

Tao Zui bit his lip, noisily mixed a bowl of starch water, and poured it into the pan with a splash. As he covered the lid, his eyes had regained their clarity.

In the original novel, one year later at the celebration banquet for Day and Night, Gu Nan would meet the Protagonist Shou (the singer of the movie’s theme song). That’s how they would meet, get to know each other, and eventually fall in love.

Even though the role of “Bone” was snatched by Qin Shuang, it hadn’t affected their relationship with Jiang Qisheng. When the time comes, he could use the excuse of offering congratulations to take Gu Nan to the banquet…

Ignoring a sudden sharp pang in his chest, Tao Zui plated the fried dumplings, drizzled them with yuzu vinegar, and sat at the table eating his late breakfast with an expressionless face.

He wasn’t a saint, nor was he particularly generous; he just didn’t want to be the villain.

“Gu Nan? Gu Nan! Were you listening to what I just said?” The acting professor frowned, a trace of disappointment in his eyes.

If it were anyone else, he likely wouldn’t care if they were paying attention. He was paid by the hour; as long as he lectured for the full time, whether the student learned anything was none of his business.

But these two boys from Taoli Entertainment were exceptions, especially Gu Nan.

He often found himself involuntarily comparing Gu Nan to his own students, sighing inwardly: Why didn’t such a good prospect take the art academy entrance exams? The boy was talented, good-looking, had an excellent build, a cool aura, and worked incredibly hard. At the end of every class, his notes were the most beautiful and organized.

And yet, even such an excellent student had a moment where his mind wandered!

Gu Nan snapped back to reality and pursed his lips. “I’m sorry, Teacher. I got distracted.”

Such a blunt and straightforward apology softened the professor’s anger. He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and asked gently, “Is it because you didn’t get the part in the audition? I asked Xiao Zhang; she said the performance was great. The director not choosing you was due to other considerations. This industry is like that—it’s mixed with too many non-artistic factors. You either bow your head or you learn to endure the loneliness.”

Gu Nan nodded. “I understand, Teacher. I won’t dwell on the past; I’ll only look forward.”

This was what his first nineteen years of life had taught him.

The professor nodded with satisfaction. He was about to praise him when he heard the boy say hesitantly, “I was actually thinking about… the novel segment you gave me…”

“The novel?” The professor looked down at the tablet in Gu Nan’s hand, which displayed the excerpt he had sent in advance. “What about it?”

“I…” Gu Nan gritted his teeth. “I’ve never been in a relationship. I can’t understand this part of the plot…”

Seeing the embarrassment on his usually cool and steady student’s face, the professor let out a chuckle. “Pffft! Sorry, sorry! Ahem… You… ahem… you really haven’t been in love?”

Gu Nan shook his head.

“Then have you ever liked anyone? Even a crush counts,” the professor asked.

A vision of pale, smooth skin flashed in Gu Nan’s mind, but he forcefully wiped it away in the next second. He answered with a straight face, “No.”

The professor was surprised. Logically, a boy as handsome as Gu Nan should have been very popular in school. Furthermore, men are generally more easily swayed by hormones than women; it’s hard to resist external temptations during puberty.

There are indeed boys who “awaken” late, but Gu Nan didn’t look like that type at all.

Then, he heard Gu Nan ask, “In this part of the novel, the male lead says that besides admiration for the female lead, he also feels ‘pity’ or ‘tenderness’ for her. But in many films and dramas, desire and love are always linked… Which feeling actually counts as liking someone?”

The professor was visibly stunned. He had been prepared to explain from a performance perspective—how to portray emotions one hasn’t experienced using examples from the Stanislavski system, Method acting, or the Brechtian school.

He had even thought of several classic romance movies for Gu Nan to watch and learn from. Who knew he would ask a genuine emotional question?

The professor was a bit dazed, instinctively feeling something was off but unable to pinpoint what it was. He thought for a moment before answering, “Personally, I feel… desire is a component of love, but it cannot be seen as its sole indicator. Especially for men, it’s very easy to have a sexual impulse due to external stimuli. You can’t possibly fall in love every single time you have an impulse…”

Wait, what am I saying!

The professor suddenly snapped out of it. Realizing he had just said something quite bold, he coughed awkwardly and forced a change of subject. “Ahem! In short, if you want to understand an emotion, the best way is to experience it once. Come, let’s continue—when adapting a novel into a script, you need to strip away…”

Gu Nan looked down at the text on the tablet, but his mind began to auto-replay the scene from last night.

That sight of pale, smooth skin still made his heart skip a beat. Just the memory sent a current of electricity through his body. But after hearing the teacher’s explanation, he was finally able to think about it objectively.

A sexual impulse doesn’t equal love. So, why did I have an impulse toward Tao Zui? Besides emotional factors, what else could it be…

For some reason, Gu Nan thought back to his school days.

As the professor suspected, Gu Nan had been extremely popular. Even his visible poverty couldn’t stop the admiration from both boys and girls.

At every break, the hallway outside his classroom was crowded with people; the giggles of girls were constant. Every morning, his desk was stuffed with love letters and breakfast; people were always buying him food and drinks.

Thanks to these admirers, he hadn’t gone hungry since middle school. The nutrition he lacked in elementary school due to his father’s absence and mother’s busyness was supplemented after middle school. His height had shot up from under 170cm to 180cm in six years.

But no matter how many people liked him, he remained as still as water. He had never had a sexual impulse toward anyone. Furthermore, because of his childhood experiences, he hated physical contact and found it impossible to be intimate with others. Even though he lived with his teammates and had a good relationship with them, he maintained a proper distance.

Maybe that’s the crux. Because I’ve never seen it, I was shocked? As for why I had a sexual impulse… probably because I’m gay?

Gu Nan’s sexual orientation awakening was completed just like that—no struggle, no self-doubt. He accepted his different orientation just as easily as he accepted that he preferred plain water over soda. The only thing that surprised him was that he had always assumed he would be asexual after experiencing his father’s violence and mother’s neglect. It turned out he could have desire for someone, too.

Having resolved the issue that had plagued him all night, Gu Nan reigned in his thoughts and re-immersed himself in the lesson, attributing last night’s confusion entirely to an impulse triggered by his orientation awakening.

When Tao Zui arrived at the company, he was met by a Gu Nan who believed he had cleared his thoughts and re-armed himself with cool-headed logic.

“Teacher, sorry to interrupt. Gu Nan, come to the third floor for lunch today. We’re having a lunch meeting.”

Gu Nan was surprised, but he nodded quickly in agreement, then lowered his head to continue copying the notes from the whiteboard.

Seeing this, Tao Zui didn’t linger. He nodded to the teacher and closed the door.

Entering the elevator, he let out a soft laugh.

“It really was just a dream…”