Ch 173: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

As soon as those words left his mouth, everyone froze.

Fu Chen glanced over strangely—there was Jiang Shengyu, standing on Qin Song’s shoulders, awkwardly climbing up the tree.

What had looked normal at first, even a little inspiring, suddenly just seemed… stupid.

He almost laughed.

But he knew that wouldn’t be right.

So he forced himself to hold it in.

The two girls were the same. They stared at Mu Xing in surprise, finding his remark odd—but they couldn’t deny it… it made sense.

For a moment, the three guests fell into awkward silence.

The livestream chat wasn’t quiet, though:

【I have a head full of question marks ????】
【LOL, I didn’t think it was weird either, but once Mu Xing said it—yeah, why not just ask for a ladder?】
【Where are the CP fans from earlier? Do you still think these two are cute? Because right now they just look silly】
【LMAO, Mu Xing is such a sly one. He always manages to leave people speechless without even trying. So entertaining】
【I bet Fu Chen and the others are dying holding back their laughter】
【I’ll just say it straight—I think they look a bit dumb】

Qin Song and Jiang Shengyu, meanwhile, had no idea they’d become the punchline.

They worked together to pick fruit, and Jiang Shengyu thought: surely this afternoon, no one can steal the spotlight from us again.

Another half-hour passed before they finally finished.

But when they rejoined the group, Jiang Shengyu couldn’t shake the feeling that the others were giving him odd looks.

They didn’t say anything, and with cameras rolling he couldn’t ask either.

The group rode the van back to the villa.

It was already late. Without much time to rest, they had to start preparing dinner.

This was when Mu Xing’s new “family” advantage—a little brother, a big sister, and a daughter—really showed.

While the others were busy cooking, washing vegetables, chopping, and reading recipes, he was lounging comfortably in a hammock, a glass of freshly squeezed juice on the table beside him.

No one in the livestream chat complained about him slacking this time:

【Is it just me, or has Mu Xing’s whole vibe split off from everyone else’s today?】
【Exactly. The other guests look like they’re here to suffer through a trial, but Mu Xing looks like he’s on vacation】
【Haha, “trial” vs “vacation”—whoever said that is a genius】
【Not wrong though. What the others find so hard, Mu Xing makes look like child’s play】
【I’m really curious what kind of background he grew up in. His personality is fascinating】

…

Jiang Shengyu, chopping vegetables clumsily, found his gaze drifting toward the relaxed Mu Xing.

He couldn’t understand.

Didn’t this man feel embarrassed? Didn’t he care at all about how he looked in front of the audience?

Normally, artists would never let fans see anything less than perfect on a livestream.

But from last night until now, everything Mu Xing had done overturned Jiang Shengyu’s assumptions.

After thinking for a while, he concluded: maybe Mu Xing had simply given up.

With such a bad reputation before, maybe he knew it was impossible to rise in the industry—so he’d stopped caring, or was trying to carve out a new path.

That thought left Jiang Shengyu with a faint, condescending pity: what was there in this man worth minding?

“Ah!” A sharp pain shot through his left index finger.

Lost in thought, he hadn’t paid attention and cut himself.

His cry drew everyone’s attention.

Qin Song rushed over first, anxious.

Before Jiang Shengyu could answer, he saw the pale fingertip already beading with blood.

Heat rushed to his head—without thinking, Qin Song grabbed his hand and put the finger in his mouth.

【What the—!!】
【That’s a little too intimate…】
【OMG, my CP is real!】

The others froze at the sight.

Fortunately, Qin Song came to his senses quickly. He let go, frowning. “How could you be so careless?”

Staff hurried over with iodine, cotton swabs, and bandages, quickly dressing the wound.

With his finger injured, no one asked Jiang Shengyu to keep cooking.

He glanced around and sat down beside Mu Xing.

Mu Xing wasn’t scrolling Weibo or messaging—he was playing a match-three puzzle game.

Timeless classic for killing time.

Jiang Shengyu peeked and laughed. “You’re playing that?”

Mu Xing looked up, nodded. “Mm. Bored.”

His tone was plainly indifferent.

Instantly, Jiang Shengyu’s fans in the chat bristled:

【?? Why so cold? Do you think you’re some kind of prince?】
【My Shengyu is still your senior, isn’t he? How can you be so rude? No wonder you’ve been in the industry this long and are still irrelevant】
【No emotional intelligence, no manners, doesn’t know how to deal with people. If someone like this can get popular, I’ll eat my keyboard live!】
【Ugh, Jiang stans are really something. So now Mu Xing needs your permission to ignore someone? Weren’t you just calling him a “cheap fake” earlier? Now you’re mad he’s not fawning over your idol? What’s wrong with your brains?】

Jiang Shengyu didn’t seem to take Mu Xing’s cold attitude to heart. He even smiled tolerantly and said, “Candy Crush really does kill time. I used to play it for a while, but later I got too busy and deleted it.”

Mu Xing gave an “oh,” with no intention of continuing.

Jiang Shengyu asked again, “Besides Candy Crush, what do you usually do when you’re bored? Playing games too long isn’t good for your eyes or your neck.”

Mu Xing felt annoyed at the nagging in his ear.

He said, “Oh, plenty of things.”

Jiang Shengyu smiled and asked, “Like what?”

Mu Xing snapped his phone shut, leaned back with his eyes closed, and said lightly, “Like sleep.”

He didn’t even open his eyes, looking exactly like someone saying, “I’m about to nap now.”

The message that he didn’t want to talk was very clear.

Jiang Shengyu: “…”

【Wow, I can feel Jiang Shengyu’s awkwardness even through the screen】
【Honestly, Mu Xing is being a bit much here】
【Not just a bit much—this is straight up bad manners】
【Such a weird personality… is he just really antisocial?】
【But if he’s antisocial, how come he gets along fine with Fu Chen and Gu Jiani, even recognized three “relatives”? This attitude only shows up with Film Emperor Qin and Jiang Shengyu. So what’s really going on?】
【Exactly, earlier today he was perfectly warm with the villagers, stall owners, and kids in Dada Village. How can anyone say he’s rude or unsociable? I’m starting to think—what did Qin and Jiang Shengyu actually do to him, that made someone this easygoing not even bother with polite pretenses?】
【Let’s be real: Qin the Movie King and Jiang Shengyu’s rumors aren’t new. And everyone knows Mu Xing and Qin divorced less than a month ago. I thought it was just gossip, but Qin putting Jiang’s finger in his mouth to stop the bleeding? That’s way too intimate for “just friends.”】
【So maybe those CP shippers weren’t wrong? If it’s true… everyone remembers Mu Xing used to like Qin a lot, right? He even got accused of clout-chasing by Qin’s fans. Unless there was some massive betrayal, he wouldn’t have turned this cold, this fast.】
【Exactly! His spouse got doxxed and cyber-bullied for half a year by his own fans, and Qin never once defended him. Was he dead or what?】

At first, it was Jiang Shengyu’s fans steering the narrative, but soon the live comments spun out of their control.

Of course, Jiang Shengyu’s fans thought Qin was great.

But CP shipping was usually just a niche pastime—most fans never took it seriously.

What if it was real?

If it was real, then reality wasn’t nearly as pretty as the fanfics made it out to be.

Divorced for half a month, and immediately this close with a “new flame”? What a coincidence.

If this really stuck, Qin would forever carry the stain of cheating during marriage.

And Jiang Shengyu would be even worse off—labeled the homewrecker. If that hammer dropped, he’d be universally condemned.

That was unacceptable.

So Qin’s and Jiang Shengyu’s fans instantly switched tactics, flooding the chat with clarifications:

【What nonsense is this? Qin and Jiang barely ever appeared in the same frame before, and the rumors were always baseless. There’s not a shred of evidence—this is just slander!】
【Everyone knows Qin looks after juniors, he’s famous for it in the industry. That moment was just an emergency reaction. How can that mean anything?】
【Taking Jiang away. Our Shengyu already said he’s focusing on his career—solo, don’t drag him into CP nonsense.】
【Who would get involved with a divorced thirty-something man? Some people are just shameless.】
【Exactly. Our Qin deserves better than some expressionless idol-drama pretty boy.】

Soon Qin’s fans and Jiang Shengyu’s fans were tearing into each other in the comments.

On one side: a powerhouse movie king with legions of loyal fans.

On the other: a rising traffic star with a young fanbase—less individually strong, but overwhelming in numbers.

The two sides fought like wildfire, leaving no one with energy to attack Mu Xing.

That evening, back in their rooms—

Mu Lin, rarely, called Mu Xing.

“I had someone check into your ex-husband. He and that Jiang Shengyu used to date. They broke up, but never really cut ties.”

She practically stopped short of saying he’d been cheated on.

She added, “I’ve got some evidence. If you want, we could easily nail him for cheating during marriage.”

She asked because she worried her younger brother still had lingering feelings.

Mu Xing said, “Thanks, sis. Hold on to it for now—I don’t need it yet.”

Mu Lin answered, “Alright.” Then asked, “Dad said you’re planning to leave the industry? Interested in coming to work at the company? I—”

Mu Xing quickly cut in: “Huh? What? Sis? The signal’s bad, I can’t hear clearly, must be too remote here.”

Before she could continue, he hurriedly added, “Anyway, let’s leave it at that for today. I’ll hang up now. Bye, sis.”

*

Elsewhere, in the other guest rooms.

Qin Song and Jiang Shengyu confidently unlocked their phones.

They knew today would get them on the trending list.

Whether it was the loquat-picking moment, or Qin Song sucking Jiang Shengyu’s finger to stop the bleeding—both would grab attention.

Sure enough, when they opened Weibo, they saw the trending tag:

#QinSongJiangShengyuBrotherlyBond#

But right above it, almost like on purpose, sat another trending tag:

#MuXing: Why Don’t They Just Get a Ladder#

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