The Male Lead's Sister Reborn (GL) - Chapter 28

The sea bass had almost no bones; the garlic-clove-like fish meat was infused with soy sauce, refreshing upon entry and rich in flavor, carrying the tenderness of meat and the fresh sweetness of the sea.

Lunch was so delicious that Jiang Qian accidentally ate a bit too much. After cleaning up, she lay halfway on the sofa, clutching her stomach and lamenting, “Oh dear, if I keep eating like this, I’m bound to get fat one day.”

Shen Xiruo walked out, applying hand cream to her hands as she spoke: “Eating a meal like this once in a while is fine.”

Jiang Qian glanced at her resentfully: “Now that I live in the same complex, how can I possibly resist coming over to your place to scrounge for food in the future?”

Shen Xiruo lowered her eyes and looked at her with a smile: “You are welcome anytime.”

After saying this, Shen Xiruo sat down on the sofa and asked Jiang Qian, “What do you plan to do in a bit?”

Jiang Qian glanced at her suitcases. She was supposed to pack, but she was so tired and sleepy that she just wanted to sprawl there and not move.

“Need to pack? I’ll help you.” Shen Xiruo moved toward the suitcases as she spoke.

“Don’t move, sit down!” Jiang Qian reached out to grab Shen Xiruo, terrified that the other woman would unceremoniously open her suitcase and see the mess she had shoved inside.

How could she let Shen Xiruo do such a thing! President Shen’s noble fingers were meant for typing on keyboards and managing billion-dollar deals, not touching her messy luggage.

Jiang Qian gave a fawning smile: “I’ll do it myself, I’ll do it myself.”

Shen Xiruo saw her distressed expression and guessed what she was thinking. She simply smiled and said, “How about this: stay with me and watch some TV. I have to go back to the company soon; you can pack after I leave.”

This was exactly what Jiang Qian wanted.

The two sat on the sofa. Shen Xiruo took the remote, turned on the TV, and selected a variety show that was currently popular.

Jiang Qian asked curiously, “Do you like watching these kinds of variety shows too?”

Shen Xiruo pursed her lips: “Not really.”

Jiang Qian: “Then why watch this?”

Shen Xiruo: “I happen to have a key project related to it.”

Jiang Qian nodded: “Variety shows are indeed quite profitable now… Oh right, let me recommend a show to you called Let’s Go to the Fields. You should contact their production team and invest a little; you’ll definitely get back ten or a hundred times your money. I guarantee on my character that this show will definitely, absolutely be a hit!”

Shen Xiruo turned her head, her gaze lingering on Jiang Qian as she said softly, “That one… I’ve noted it down.”

They sat together on the sofa. The newly turned-on floor heating was very warm, and the whole room was filled with fragrance. Jiang Qian thought to herself that this house was incredible; on the very first day, it was filled with Shen Xiruo’s scent. It was as if it had been branded with Shen Xiruo’s mark from the start.

Thinking about living in a house with Shen Xiruo’s mark… it was quite stimulating.

The more her mind wandered, the more she could smell that faint, delicate fragrance constantly wafting from the person beside her.

“Hmm? What’s that smell? It’s so nice… like oranges.”

She sniffed around and eventually ended up at Shen Xiruo’s hand.

“Ah? It might be my hand cream. Do you want to try some?” Shen Xiruo took out a slender tube of hand cream covered in French text.

She unscrewed the cap, naturally pulled Jiang Qian’s hand toward her, and squeezed a bit into her palm.

Jiang Qian was about to rub it in herself, but she found that Shen Xiruo hadn’t let go. She tried to move her hand but couldn’t quite break free.

“You can’t apply it like that…” Shen Xiruo said, taking over herself. She used her fingertips to first tap the lotion open in Jiang Qian’s palm, then slowly patted it outward.

Then, she flipped Jiang Qian’s hand over, squeezed a small amount onto the back of her hand, and slowly patted it in. From the back of the hand to the fingertips, then switching to the other hand, she repeated the process.

Jiang Qian felt strange. It was just applying hand cream; why did it have to be so… ritualistic? Moreover, this involved her entire hand being turned over and touched more than once.

Jiang Qian’s hand began to feel tingly and itchy. She was certain this wasn’t the effect of the hand cream, but rather a bit of nervousness and excitement from her own psyche.

Shen Xiruo solemnly finished applying the cream, not missing a single gap between Jiang Qian’s fingers, checking every spot very seriously.

“Done.” She placed Jiang Qian’s hand back on the sofa and turned back to the variety show.

Jiang Qian: “…” She felt like something was slightly off.

She lowered her head to sniff; the cream really was fragrant, with a faint orange scent and a hint of coconut oil. It was very moisturizing but not heavy. It was so good she wanted to ask Shen Xiruo to buy it for her.

If she got it, it would be even better if she could book Shen Xiruo’s “application service,” hehe.

After finishing the show, Shen Xiruo left for the company. Jiang Qian finished organizing her things and then received a call from Li Hong.

“Jiang Qian, you’re entering the variety show tomorrow. I’ve assigned an assistant to you. She’ll pick you up from the company at 9:00 AM. There’s nothing else to explain; just pack your bags.”

Jiang Qian: “…Aah! I just put all my packed bags into the wardrobe! Now I have to pack again!”

Li Hong: “Sigh, this is the rhythm of a popular artist. You have to get used to it. In the future, just keep your frequently used clothes in your suitcase instead of the wardrobe.”

Jiang Qian: “What? Am I already a popular artist?”

Li Hong: “You are. Affectionate You has surpassed a 4% rating; it’s a phenomenon. It’s also been nominated for various awards. When you get back from the variety show, there will be many red carpets to walk. I’m already looking for fashion brands to collaborate with.”

Jiang Qian was overjoyed. She knew the show would be a hit, but she hadn’t expected it to be this big. Li Hong hadn’t stopped her when she was causing trouble on Weibo to expose Shen Xizhou; she was actually quite supportive. This manager was truly reliable.

“Thank you, Sister Li. Thank you for always understanding and supporting me.”

“If you want to thank someone, thank Shen Xiruo. She really cares about you. Alright, I have to go. If anything comes up, call me directly; don’t use WeChat, I have too many messages to keep up with. Hanging up now.”

Before Jiang Qian could ask exactly how Shen Xiruo cared about her, the energetic Li Hong hung up.

The next morning, Jiang Qian rushed to Li Hong’s company and met her new assistant—a sharp young girl and recent graduate around her own age named Zhao Feifei.

Zhao Feifei helped her with her luggage into the car and said with a bright smile: “Sister Li said since we’re similar in age, we’ll have plenty to talk about. Sister Jiang, I will work very hard in the future!”

Being called “Sister” for the first time, Jiang Qian wasn’t quite used to it. She said, “Don’t call me Sister, it makes me sound old. Just call me Qianqian. Do you know anything about this variety show?”

Zhao Feifei recalled the information she had seen: “Sister Qianqian, there will be six guests. There will also be an external observation group—fans, professionals, industry representatives—who will watch your live stream and comment. Those parts will be edited into the show.”

Jiang Qian thought for a moment and asked, “The guest list isn’t out yet?”

Zhao Feifei: “The production team said they want to keep it a secret.”

The car took Jiang Qian to a very remote county under City A. They drove onto a dirt road, further and further, until the road ended. Finally, the two of them sat on a tractor with their luggage.

Jiang Qian was stunned into silence. The original book didn’t say this variety show was this perverted!

Zhao Feifei sat beside her, her voice trembling from the tractor’s jolting: “Sister Qianqian… this… the production team… is… too… inhumane… how can they make… a little fairy… ride a tractor!”

Jiang Qian laughed out loud; the sound effect was like it had been synthesized with special effects.

When they arrived at the location, Jiang Qian almost wanted to turn back immediately. A two-story rural building with bricks falling off the walls and cobwebs on the windows! It was clearly almost abandoned. Could people actually live here? Oh right, people couldn’t, but “little fairies” could, heh.

The show’s director came over to shake her hand. Jiang Qian asked weakly, “Who else is here?”

The director laughed: “You’ll find out in a bit.”

Passing through a rustic village gate, filming officially began. Jiang Qian carried her suitcase into the first room. Inside, there was already a male guest. The boy was dressed fashionably with large, charming eyes and a very alluring appearance. He came up to greet her: “Oh, hello! I’m Fang Yingxu, a singer.”

Jiang Qian smiled and shook hands as she introduced herself. She noticed Fang Yingxu pointing toward a seat with a delicate gesture: “It’s too dirty over there; I didn’t dare sit down, so I’ve been standing.”

Jiang Qian walked over and saw that while there were tables and chairs, they were indeed covered in a layer of dust. She looked at Fang Yingxu and realized he had no intention of cleaning them. She could only roll up her sleeves and use tissues to wipe them: “Alright, let’s give them a wipe for now. Once everyone arrives, we’ll get some water and wash them properly.”

Three more guests arrived: one woman and two men. The woman was Wan Yue, a second-tier veteran actress. One man was an actor named Jiang Zixi, and the other was a male model named Cheng Yue.

Everyone pitched in, and soon the room was decent. They also checked the house structure. It was a two-story building with four bedrooms upstairs and two downstairs. However, there was no air conditioning; they had to manually fire up the heating.

“The conditions are too harsh. No air conditioning? How are we supposed to live?” Fang Yingxu grumbled.

Wan Yue smiled and comforted him: “It’s only for a week. Just put up with it.”

At this moment, in a place the guests couldn’t see, an observation group of dozens was already in place. Someone in the group couldn’t help but say: “Is this Fang Yingxu too delicate?”

“I thought Jiang Qian would be the frailest one, since she’s the youngest and looks quite weak. I didn’t expect her to just keep her head down and work.”

When the last guest appeared, Jiang Qian was cleaning on the second floor. She heard a collective, noisy exclamation from downstairs: “Wow!”

She hurried downstairs to look, froze for a second, and then broke into a huge smile: “Ah! Xiruo, why are you here!”

Shen Xiruo was smiling. She put down her suitcase, spread her arms, and said to Jiang Qian on the stairs: “Long time no see.”

Jiang Qian rushed down from the second floor.

In the observation group, someone suddenly got excited: “Oh my! My RuoQian CP is actually together! Aah, they’re giving us ‘sugar’! Are they hugging the moment they meet? That’s too sweet!”

However, before anyone noticed, a figure suddenly crashed into Shen Xiruo’s arms. Tall and large, he almost knocked Shen Xiruo over.

The figure even made a “whimpering” sound: “Whimper, President Shen, don’t you remember me? I’m your little Fang-Fang from the shores of Daming Lake!”

Jiang Qian reached the bottom of the stairs and watched the tall Fang Yingxu try his best to shrink his body and stuff himself into Shen Xiruo’s arms.

CP fans in the observation group: “???”

Jiang Qian: “???”

Shen Xiruo: “…”