Chapter 19: Where Did He Go?
"So you're saying Wanwan asked you to negotiate with Xu Lei on that kid's behalf?"
Sitting on the sofa was a somewhat lean middle-aged man dressed in a crisp white shirt and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking every bit the refined gentleman.
"That's right..." Jiang Yun couldn't help laughing on the other end of the phone.
"Your daughter sure cares a lot about that boy. Ah, daughters really do grow up and leave their fathers behind."
"Zip it!"
The man slammed the table, his expression instantly turning ugly. The refined aura he'd maintained completely disappeared.
Yu Zhongheng hung up the phone and collapsed helplessly onto the sofa.
Wanwan seemed to treat this boy named Pu Tong differently.
That irritated him greatly.
If President Liu from the entertainment company hadn't specifically asked him about Pu Tong today, he wouldn't even have known what had happened.
He was extremely annoyed.
Where did this brat even come from?
His daughter had merely gone to film an ordinary variety show, yet somehow a dating scandal had appeared.
And this kid actually dared set his sights on Wanwan?
He couldn't stop people from liking his daughter.
But making such a huge commotion over it? That was crossing the line.
Fortunately, the misunderstanding had already been cleared up.
After all, the boy was just an ordinary teenager. He couldn't exactly bully someone with his status.
Still...
He needed someone to vent his anger on.
After sitting silently for a moment, the middle-aged man decisively called Xu Lei himself.
No matter how you looked at it, all of this was the director's fault.
Xu Lei was in an exceptionally bad mood today.
He'd been warned.
Twice.
First Wanwan's manager had called him.
Then even Yu Zhongheng himself had personally phoned.
That was someone he absolutely could not afford to offend.
So naturally...
He also needed someone to vent on.
"Hello, Old Yang. You don't need to specifically follow Pu Tong anymore. Go back to working with the main camera crew."
"What happened? That's none of your business! Just do your job. If you don't want to work, then get lost!"
"What? You already deleted his footage? No need. Just film normally. If he happens to appear in the same frame as the celebrity students, keep filming as usual. We can't ruin the whole show because of one person. Just don't deliberately focus on him anymore."
After hanging up, Xu Lei still felt miserable.
Who exactly did I offend?
Old Yang, on the other hand, wasn't miserable at all.
In fact, he had nearly burst out laughing during the call.
Xu Lei's furious tone told him one thing—
Director Xu had gotten himself into serious trouble.
It wasn't that Old Yang enjoyed seeing him suffer.
It was simply rare to see Xu Lei getting shut down like this.
Looks like this time, the director had truly kicked an iron plate.
"Looks like I definitely can't afford to offend that kid Pu Tong."
Old Yang muttered to himself.
Pu Tong was also feeling depressed.
He had only posted three short replies.
And somehow...
He had gone viral again.
Now all the gossip-loving netizens were calling him "Teacher Pu."
His "Three-Grass Principles of Romance" had become an overnight dating guide for young people and was appearing everywhere in people's social media bios.
"...Why does being called 'Teacher' feel so weird?"
After both parties publicly clarified the misunderstanding, Pu Tong finally made it to school the next morning without being stopped.
Although passersby occasionally pointed at him and whispered among themselves, at least it no longer affected his daily life.
That alone made him very satisfied.
Fans of the other celebrity students were still gathered outside the school gate, desperately hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite idols.
"Is that Pu Tong? He's really handsome in person."
"He is... but I still think my Xie Mu is a little better."
"Girl, are you blind? If you said he's slightly worse than Chen Siqing, I'd accept that. But saying he's worse than Xie Mu? That's too much."
"What do you mean? Are you saying our Xie Mu isn't as handsome as your Chen Siqing?"
The fans of the two celebrities nearly started fighting at the school entrance.
Pu Tong felt a chill run down his spine and hurried inside without looking back.
With that much free time, you might as well solve a few more practice problems.
By the end of the morning, Pu Tong noticed something strange.
The cameras had practically disappeared from his world.
Looks like Xu Lei had really backed down this time.
Thinking about how something that had troubled him for so long had been solved with just a few words from Yu Wanwan...
It felt almost unreal.
Maybe... I don't need to work so hard anymore.
A rich girlfriend wouldn't be so bad...
Pu Tong smacked himself on the forehead, stopping those ridiculous thoughts.
What am I thinking?
There are plenty of good men in the world.
Why would a rich heiress ever choose me? Wake up and get back to work.
Better to keep studying.
Next period was PE, which made it the perfect opportunity to read a programming book.
In this world, physical education wasn't part of the college entrance examination, so PE classes had basically become free time for students.
Pu Tong actually wanted to exercise a little.
But remembering that the second episode of the variety show centered around PE class, he decided to slack off instead.
Although Xu Lei had promised not to deliberately film him, if he voluntarily walked into the camera frame, they couldn't exactly delete perfectly good footage just because of him.
He wasn't that important.
If his personal choices ended up disrupting the filming schedule of the entire production crew...
That would make him a real jerk.
"I need to find somewhere quiet to read."
PE class was the centerpiece of Episode Two.
Just imagine—
A group of handsome male celebrities running across the basketball court, sweating under the sun.
How many fans would absolutely love that?
To make it happen, Xu Lei specifically coordinated with the PE teacher to organize an in-class basketball game.
He even hired several professional sports cameramen.
Filming basketball required real skill.
The cameramen had to capture exciting moments without interfering with the game itself.
Ordinary cameramen simply weren't qualified.
"So, Director Xu, what should we film?" Yang Huai asked.
"You guys film the spectators, the female celebrities too. Them cheering from the stands is a selling point. Maybe we can even stir up another CP while we're at it."
Mentioning that gave Xu Lei a headache.
The Chen Siqing–Tang Luocheng CP he'd carefully planned hadn't generated any buzz at all.
Meanwhile, the Pu Tong–Yu Wanwan CP had exploded in popularity.
Just when he wanted to ride the wave...
They publicly denied everything.
And he got warned because of it.
This time, he absolutely had to create a proper CP.
He already had a plan.
He would revive Xie Mu and Tang Luocheng's old rumors, then create a love triangle conflict.
That was guaranteed to attract attention.
Split Xie Mu and Chen Siqing onto opposite teams.
Capture plenty of intense confrontations between them.
Then claim they were competing over Tang Luocheng.
Wouldn't the hype generate itself?
"Director Xu, there are three male celebrity guests. How do we split them into two teams?"
"That's... a good question."
Xu Lei frowned before suddenly thinking of someone.
"Isn't Pu Tong here too? He's pretty popular lately. Count him in and it'll be two-on-two."
This was a class activity.
That wasn't deliberately filming him.
It was perfectly normal filming.
Xu Lei felt like he was a genius.
"Director... Pu Tong isn't here."
"What?"
Xu Lei froze and scanned the boys present.
Everyone was there...
Except the face he hated seeing the most.
"Isn't this PE class? Where is he?"
"I... don't know."
Thus, Director Xu's plan to recruit Pu Tong as an extra player failed before it even began.
Once again, Pu Tong's strategy of hiding somewhere to study proved superior.
"This is so hard... How much do I have to learn before I can actually make games?"
Pu Tong closed his book, his head throbbing.
He didn't have some magical system or cheat ability.
The only way to acquire knowledge was by studying.
Teaching himself computer science was understandably slow.
"Learning really is a mountain with no summit."
He couldn't concentrate anymore.
So he simply placed the book beneath him as a cushion, leaned against a large tree, and closed his eyes to rest.
The afternoon was warm and stuffy.
Sitting beneath the shade with a cool breeze blowing by was wonderfully relaxing.
What a rare, peaceful break.
I'll study again after resting.
"If only I had a pillow..."
"How about a fist instead?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Pu Tong reluctantly opened his eyes.
Who is it this time?
Can't a guy even take a nap?
The first thing he saw...
Was three pairs of long legs.
Looking up, he found Yu Wanwan, Lin Yuxi, and Yi Zhi Xuenai staring down at him with utterly disdainful expressions.
"Could you stop looking at me like I'm garbage?"
Pu Tong stretched lazily.
"You're blocking my sunlight."
"All the other boys are playing basketball. You're so lazy!"
Yu Wanwan lightly kicked him in annoyance.
"Basketball? If you haven't trained for two and a half years, what gives you the confidence to play?"
The three girls had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
Still, since they had nothing better to do, they all squatted down around him.
"What exactly are you three doing?"
Pu Tong had planned to rest for a bit before continuing his studies.
"Watching basketball is boring, so we came out for a walk."
Lin Yuxi glanced back toward the court with a strange expression.
"And besides... isn't it more interesting to leave the stage to people who love showing off?"
"Exactly!"
Yu Wanwan laughed together with her.
"I've been having so much fun watching Tang Luocheng. She's practically shouting to the whole world how much she cares."
Girls are terrifying...
The Japanese girl is definitely the purest and cutest one here.
"By the way, Pu Tong."
Yi Zhi Xuenai tilted her head.
"I've always wanted to ask... since you could write a song for Wanwan, could you write one for me too?"
...Never mind.
Turns out she wasn't innocent either.
Seeing the conversation drifting back toward the whole Yu Wanwan issue again, Pu Tong checked the time.
An idea suddenly came to him.
"You girls are bored, right?"
"Of course. If we weren't bored, why would we come looking for you?"
Judging by the situation, the three of them clearly had no intention of leaving him alone.
He needed to find them something else to do.
That way, he'd finally get some peace.
"How about..."
"We play a game?"
"What game?"
"Right now there aren't enough people. If you can bring over a few more classmates, we can start."
"You two keep an eye on him. Don't let him run away."
Still somewhat skeptical, Yu Wanwan left to gather people.
Lin Yuxi and Yi Zhi Xuenai immediately stationed themselves on either side of him, staring intently as if afraid he would escape.
"I'm not running!"
Pu Tong rolled his eyes.
"The playground isn't that big. It's not like I'm going to grow wings and fly away."
The two girls simply shook their heads and continued watching him suspiciously.
They were genuinely curious about what kind of trick Pu Tong was planning.
A few minutes later, Yu Wanwan returned with several girls.
Mixed into the group was Liu Neng.
"Why are you here?"
"I heard Sister-in-law—I mean..."
"...I heard them say Brother Tong wanted to play a game, so I figured I'd help out."
Liu Neng scratched his head awkwardly.
"Well... actually, I'm too fat to play basketball, so I got bored and followed them."
"Fine."
Pu Tong nodded before pointing at the cameraman standing behind them.
"And what about you?"
His original plan had been to teach them the game and then quietly slip away while they were busy playing.
He hadn't expected them to bring Lao Yang—and the camera—with them.
Lao Yang scratched his head sheepishly.
"Sorry about that. I have to film the celebrity students, you see..."
All three female celebrity guests were here during this PE class.
Whether he wanted to follow them or not, he really had no choice.
Pu Tong instinctively wanted to refuse.
But just as he moved, he felt the book underneath him digging into his backside.
A bold idea suddenly flashed through his mind.
"...Alright then."
"It won't affect much."
"We're just playing a small game."
This cameraman...
Might actually be useful.
Pu Tong gestured for everyone to sit down.
"I call this game..."
"Werewolf."
(End of Chapter)
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