Why Is the Male Lead Looking at Me Like That [Entertainment Circle] (BL) - Chapter 3

Netizen [Why Am I Not the Only Fish in Your Pond] only posted an anonymous expose.

The purpose of the post was very simple.

She absolutely hated promiscuous Kings of the Sea! And this King of the Sea named Xia Xu had gone as far as creating hype involving her idol.

Her brother, the popular young actor Hu Hai, only filmed a drama with Xia Xu. Her brother was the lead, and Xia Xu was just a fourth male role! And he still managed to stir up a romance scandal!

Ptooey!

How could her pure and unblemished brother be sullied by someone like that? Xia Xu, go to hell!

She initially only made a casual comparison between him and Nan Qingyan, but she didn’t expect so many people to hate Xia Xu. The thread’s heat grew higher and higher, and the discussion became more and more intense.

She realized the best way to trample on someone was to compare him with someone who was his complete opposite!

Looking across the entire entertainment circle, the one whose persona was the complete extreme of Xia Xu was clearly Nan Qingyan.

Nan Qingyan was the pure white snow on a divine mountain, while Xia Xu was cheap, gaudy makeup! Nan Qingyan was a first-tier top star, while Xia Xu was an 18th-tier hype artist! Nan Qingyan was the ideal human being, while Xia Xu was a scumbag King of the Sea.

The cleanest person in the entertainment circle might not be Nan Qingyan, but the dirtiest was definitely Xia Xu!

But as the heat of the exposé thread kept rising, she felt increasingly strange.

Wait, does this feel like I’m helping Xia Xu hype himself up in a different way?

He’s piggybacking on Nan Qingyan’s popularity, and his discussion rate is climbing higher and higher!

This was not the development she wanted!

She quickly deleted the post, but it was already too late. Waking up early in the morning, she saw the hateful name Xia Xu appear on the trending search list for the first time.

All she could do now was pray that Nan Qingyan’s side would take action quickly.

Daring to piggyback on Nan Qingyan for a scandal, especially a same-sex CP, meant Xia Xu was truly tired of living!

Sue him, blacklist him, fans hurry up and cyber-bully him!

When his assistant, Xiao Li, arrived, Nan Qingyan wasn’t up yet.

Just from a first glance, Xiao Li asked, “Brother Nan, did you have insomnia again yesterday?”

Nan Qingyan said, “Mhm,” and went to the refrigerator for a bottle of mineral water. He had just gotten up and looked listless, wearing only a coffee-colored T-shirt and loose black home shorts, revealing straight, long legs. His pure black slippers made him look even leaner and fairer.

Even though he saw it often, Xiao Li still felt that his Brother Nan was truly breathtakingly handsome.

This is the real White, Rich, and Beautiful! He has so much class.

Nan Qingyan went to shower. Xiao Li helped him clear an ashtray full of cigarette butts and then went to open the window.

Nan Qingyan suffered from chronic insomnia, which Xiao Li was used to, but the sheer number of cigarettes Nan Qingyan smoked still shocked him.

After Nan Qingyan finished his shower, his manager, Brother Cai, and the rest of the team also arrived. They were scheduled to attend a commercial event at a mall later.

Nan Qingyan went into the walk-in closet to change.

Nan Qingyan had some habits that were different from typical celebrities.

For example, he dressed himself and generally never allowed others to assist him.

He always chose his own casual clothes, and the aesthetic sense cultivated by his privileged background was exceptional.

He also never wore makeup, always opting for a completely natural look.

Xiao Li wondered if these habits were related to his severe mysophobia (fear of germs/dirt). His cleanliness was no longer just about being tidy; it extended to the style of his room… No matter how many times Xiao Li came to Nan Qingyan’s place, he felt like he was entering outer space.

It was probably a case of spending the most money to achieve the simplest effect. There were so few pieces of furniture that their group could barely find places to sit, and they had to wear shoe covers to enter. The only sign of life in the home was probably the cat named Niuniu.

And it was a male cat.

So clean, yet he keeps a cat.

And he gave a small male cat such a charming name!

He felt there was a truly contradictory quality about Nan Qingyan. For instance, just looking at his typically pure and elegant appearance, it was hard to imagine the sight of him shirtless, the one that made fans drool.

While Nan Qingyan was changing, Brother Cai held a small meeting with the rest of the team.

After discussing the work for the next couple of days, Assistant Xiao Li said, “I feel like Xia Xu’s company is trying to bind Brother Nan in a CP hype. Should we deal with it?”

Brother Cai: “Who is Xia Xu?”

The assistant showed him the trending search.

“Oh, it’s him,” Brother Cai recognized the photo immediately. “From Hongyang Entertainment. A handsome young guy.”

He scrolled through the online exposé thread. Someone had even Photoshopped pictures of them together—the two men standing side-by-side, the Red Sun lighting the Ice Mountain: “Don’t even say it, there’s a definite CP vibe.”

“Hongyang Entertainment loves to manufacture scandals. Xia Xu must have hyped up with seventy or eighty people, if not a hundred. He’s a total leech. And he dumps them immediately for the next one, completely the behavior of a scumbag who walks away after getting what he wants.”

“It’s not just hype, is it?” another staff member said. “A lot of his relationships must be real, right? Liu Fen from Huayu, Wei Qiang from Aile, Hu Hai from CM, his own group’s maknae Wen Yu… Oh, and the recently rumored Second Master Feng from the Feng family.”

Brother Cai: “Which Feng family?”

The staff member held up his phone: “That one.”

“Feng Junhe? Oh my god, he’s super handsome!”

“Doesn’t Feng Junhe have a girlfriend?”

“You underestimate the power of King of the Sea Xia. They were even photographed having a candlelit dinner.”

Everyone became enthusiastic discussing the gossip. Brother Cai joined in the fun, then turned around to see Nan Qingyan emerge from the closet with a look of melancholy.

“You don’t look very energetic today. Didn’t sleep well?” Brother Cai asked.

Nan Qingyan said, “Mhm,” and put on a pair of thin-rimmed glasses. The dark circles under his eyes were minimized. The gold-rimmed glasses, paired with his fair skin, instantly boosted his overall spirit.

Brother Cai said, “There might be reporters asking you about a certain boy band during the interview today…”

“It’s the HOPE boy band,” the assistant reminded him.

“In any case, it’s best not to respond then, or they’ll take the opportunity to hype it up again. You hate people using you for CP hype the most, right?”

The last time someone tried to use him for a romantic scandal, when a reporter asked if he would consider filming a romance drama, Nan Qingyan said expressionlessly, “At least for the next few years, whether in real life or in a movie, love is not an area I will touch again.”

The statement, a double entendre, immediately shut down the gossip and left the other party humiliated.

This was Nan Qingyan’s usual attitude toward scandals—cold and impatient.

This King of the Sea Xia had finally hit a hard wall.

“I think they’ll back down on their own,” Brother Cai said. “The industry knows your style.”

Nan Qingyan said, “He wouldn’t dare.”

Brother Cai: “What?”

“He wouldn’t dare use me for hype,” Nan Qingyan said.

Right now, Xia Xu is probably more afraid than anyone else.

Ten minutes later, in the car, Nan Qingyan explained his relationship with Xia Xu to Brother Cai.

Brother Cai was deeply shocked.

There were two shocking points.

First, Nan Qingyan actually dated someone!

Second, Nan Qingyan was the one who was dumped!

“Why?” He looked at Nan Qingyan in disbelief. “Was your mysophobia too severe and scared him off?”

There probably aren’t many people who can tolerate Nan Qingyan’s level of cleanliness, right?

I feel like this person can only tolerate a light touch on the lips even when kissing.

Nan Qingyan shook his head, his eyelashes slightly drooping in the light: “Maybe he thought I was boring. He’s the type of person who is very lively and has many friends.”

Brother Cai looked at Nan Qingyan: “…I guess so.”

Nan Qingyan’s cool expression darkened a little more.

“You’re the kind of person where anyone who doesn’t know you is completely mesmerized by your face, but once they interact with you, they can’t handle it. Most people really can’t deal with it.”

Nan Qingyan reflected, concluding that Xia Xu was obviously blinded by his looks when he pursued him. He still remembered how Xia Xu used to drool over his abs. After successfully pursuing him, Xia Xu probably decided that he was gilded on the outside but rotten on the inside, and stopped loving him.

Perhaps Xia Xu hadn’t expected his contrast to be too great—that the goods didn’t match the description.

He truly was a severe case of goods not matching the description. He came from a scholarly family, had been conventional since childhood, was the quintessential “child of another family”—complete with both parents, a happy family, and excellent living conditions. He attended the best schools, studied music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, enjoyed sports, and excelled in morals, intelligence, and physique. In everyone’s eyes, he was well-mannered and shone with excellence.

Because of his mysophobia, he was perfectly clean from head to toe, and his image was one of absolute politeness.

But his true self was completely rebellious. Just lying on Xia Xu’s neck and smelling his scent could keep him occupied all night.

He was genuinely a pervert.

Xia Xu couldn’t articulate what he was feeling.

He found out that he and Nan Qingyan actually had a CP super-topic now.

The name of the super-topic was “Summer Ice Mountain.”

It’s quite unique.

He watched as his Weibo followers surged upward. Refresh once, gain a few; refresh again, gain a few more.

But the thought of why he was suddenly gaining followers made him nervous again.

Meanwhile, Liu Fen sent a barrage of messages:

“Do you know you’re trending?! And with Nan Qingyan!”

“Do you think Nan Qingyan checks the trending searches?”

“What do you think he’d feel if he saw you two trending together?”

Xia Xu: “…I don’t want to think about that!”

Compared to his apprehension, Wen Yu and the others were much more excited.

Even though it wasn’t them trending, they were all in the same obscure boy band. If one caught fire, they all got to drink a little soup.

“Are our fortunes finally turning?” Wen Yu cried with joy.

Their group, HOPE, started three years ago with seven members, dubbed the “Seven Sons of Hope.” Three years later, only four broke members remained. The other three rich second-generation members had long quit the circle to go home and inherit their family fortunes.

It hadn’t been easy for the four of them, eating instant noodles every day. Their boss, Mr. Lin, was rumored to be considering selling his house.

Mr. Lin of Hongyang Entertainment was indeed planning to sell his house this time.

He initially dove into the entertainment circle with several million yuan, believing he could conquer the industry. But over the years, the money was gone, and the company was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Now that his obscure boy band suddenly had some popularity, he was more excited than Xia Xu himself.

“Go for it, go for it! If you succeed, I’ll give you a huge red envelope,” he told Qi Hong.

Qi Hong: “Could you first give me my bonus from last year?”

“Look at you, so shortsighted! If Xia Xu gets famous, you won’t worry about making money. Maybe you won’t even bat an eye at that small bonus from last year!”

Mr. Lin was always good at painting a big picture, but Qi Hong bought into this one.

She thought so too!

“Don’t worry, Boss. I just thought of something. Our luck might really have arrived. Isn’t there a huge project going around the industry right now, Director Zhang’s drama? My friend is a crew member there, and he told me they’re looking for extremely handsome men. Think about it, among the handsome guys in the entertainment circle, Xia Xu definitely ranks high. Now that that guy surnamed Huang has also fallen, no one is suppressing us anymore. I plan to take Xia Xu to try his luck while he has some heat.”

Mr. Lin was very excited: “Xia Xu is good-looking, he just lacks fame. You have to risk something to gain something. Okay, I’ll take out my wife’s savings. We’re going all out this time!”

Qi Hong quickly cautioned: “Don’t just keep exploiting Nan Qingyan’s popularity. I heard the last person who tried to hype up with him has already quit the industry.”

Nan Qingyan’s background was not simple!

“Don’t worry, just watch me!” Mr. Lin was full of confidence.

The entertainment circle was full of ambitious fanatics. Mr. Lin was a man of his word. In less than a day, countless forums and online communities were discussing Xia Xu.

Mr. Lin marketed Xia Xu’s beauty.

As his popularity grew, more people were willing to dig up information on him.

After a deep dive, people discovered that the “Summer Ice Mountain” CP was barely worth mentioning in his portfolio!

Xia Xu was fully present, eating his own melon (reading his own gossip).

“I don’t know why people are shipping Nan Qingyan and Xia Xu. They didn’t even interact at all that night!”

Xia Xu’s small account: Exactly, exactly.

“The most explosive thing that night was Wei Qiang and Liu Fen almost fighting over him!”

Xia Xu’s small account: Huh?

“Oh, really? I don’t believe it.”

Xia Xu’s small account: Rumors stop with the wise!

“There’s a short video from the scene! Look!”

Xia Xu’s small account: If you have the guts, post the video!

Immediately, someone posted a short video of Liu Fen and Wei Qiang gathering in front of Xia Xu. In the video, the two men were hostile, giving each other the evil eye, while Xia Xu, in his white suit, sat in the chair. Even in that blurry video, the dazzling beauty of the mainland entertainment circle’s Number One King of the Sea was undeniable.

“Oh my god, it’s actually true.”

“Not much fame, but plenty of scandals! And covering the old, middle-aged, and young generations. Awesome!”

The scandals indirectly cemented his reputation for beauty.

“A nobody with no fame, managing to win over so many men—what else could it be but his face? It certainly can’t be his depth!”

It definitely can’t be!

For a time, the entire internet was praising his beauty.

Xia Xu was very embarrassed.

He’s a man, and he’s gaining fame because of men.

“But we’re not lying, are we?” Qi Hong said, smoking a cigarette and reading the gossip. “Isn’t Second Master Feng pursuing you? Isn’t Boss Wang of the coal company constantly chasing after you, sending flowers to the film set, and almost getting into a fight with Liu Feng out of jealousy? We can’t cover it up even if we wanted to. And Hu Hai? Don’t even get me started. His devotion almost moves me. We used to only hype up with female actors. Who wants to hype up with men? But what can you do when you just naturally attract men?”

Xia Xu felt even more ashamed.

He was only promiscuous during his school days. After entering the entertainment circle and being suppressed by a powerful figure, he had genuinely kept his tail between his legs and had been as low-key as possible.

He was a cannon fodder, yet he had this kind of physique (ability to attract people). He even suspected the novel he read wasn’t the authentic version.

This doesn’t seem like cannon fodder; it’s more like a Mister Popularity!