NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 13
After dinner, Song Linchuan and Song Anan were bored and decided to watch TV in the living room.
The TV was playing a medical documentary, which Song Anan found very interesting, but Song Linchuan started feeling a little sleepy.
The two of them didn't know how long they had been watching. Suddenly, Song Anan felt a little uncomfortable in her stomach and hurried to the bathroom.
As soon as she left, Song Linchuan immediately pressed pause on the TV remote.
He stretched and finally felt more awake.
No wonder, this stuff was just so soporific.
Song Linchuan picked up his phone from the coffee table and glanced at the screen. He didn't see any new messages from Pei Kuang, which made him feel a little puzzled.
He didn't know what wind had gotten into that guy. Pei Kuang had just messaged asking if he was home, and then there was no sound from him.
Just as Song Linchuan was thinking about whether he should send another message to ask what was up, the doorbell suddenly rang.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, he saw it was already eight o'clock. Song Linchuan was taken aback.
Who would come knocking at this time?
They hadn't ordered any takeout either.
Besides, the security guards in this residential compound were usually very strict. Even food delivery people had to get in contact with the resident first before they could enter.
Song Linchuan went to the door feeling puzzled. He turned on the video intercom and saw who it was. He couldn't help looking surprised, a rare bewildered expression on his face.
He opened the door and saw Pei Kuang standing outside. He blurted out, "What are you doing here?"
Pei Kuang quirked an eyebrow, just about to say something, when he happened to meet eyes with the cameraman who had rushed over.
The livestream bullet screen exploded: "Oh my god!!!"
Pei Kuang just froze for a second before turning to look at Song Linchuan again. "Is this not convenient?"
By now Song Linchuan had regained his senses, and remembered that Pei Kuang had said he was coming to visit his aunt.
"No, I..." he said, glancing at the cameraman who had followed Pei Kuang inside. "Oh, we're filming a variety show. No inconvenience."
After saying this, Song Linchuan seemed to remember something. He quickly asked, "Are you okay with this?"
Entertainment companies usually had some restrictions on their artists. Song Linchuan wasn't very clear about Pei Kuang's circumstances.
"If it's inconvenient for you, we'll be finishing up soon. I can come find you after," Song Linchuan said.
Pei Kuang smiled and shook his head. "It's fine with me, either way is okay."
He looked at the cameraman and said, "Is it convenient for your crew? If not, I can leave first and come back after you guys wrap up."
The cameraman quickly waved his hands upon hearing this. "No need, no need! It's convenient for us!!"
How could they dare to claim any inconvenience?
Come on, this was Pei Kuang they were talking about!
This was someone they might not even be able to invite over normally. And now he was appearing on their show for free. Only a fool would reject that!
Not to mention... the cameraman looked at Song Linchuan, then looked at Pei Kuang again. Having these two top and currently most popular male celebrities privately gathering together, the popularity and topic value was simply unimaginable.
There were already some Song Linchuan and Pei Kuang cp fans watching the livestream. The moment they saw Pei Kuang appear, they immediately went nuts.
[Ahhhhhhh, omfg omfg! I can't believe this is really Pei Kuang, my 'never imagined this could happen' series]
[Wahhhh, what kind of magical variety show is this, seeing my otp appear together on screen, mama mia, I'm about to cry]
[Song Pei cp forever!]
Aside from the cp fans, the other viewers were also very surprised.
After all, there were only so many top A-list celebrities in the domestic entertainment industry, and Song Linchuan and Pei Kuang happened to be two of them sharing the spotlight.
So even if they weren't very familiar with Pei Kuang, most people had at least heard of his name before.
[Earlier I saw some online gossip that Song Linchuan and Pei Kuang were just a marketing gimmick. But they don't look fake, after all they seem to have the kind of relationship where they visit each other privately]
[Well I'm the kind of person who's too lazy to even reply to messages if I'm not on good terms, let alone meet up in private]
[Haha, ignore that arrogant cp fan up there self-promoting their ship again. Both of them have clearly stated they're just friends, and you guys can still ship them? Ridiculous]
[I'm not a Song Pei shipper, but as a longtime veteran of the cp fandom, I can say from experience that the more nonchalant and open the real people are about it, the more likely it is they really are just friends]
[As a cp fan, I'm saying who cares! No matter if it's romantic love, friendship, family love, brotherly love, as long as there's something real there, I can ship it!]
[Wait wait! Are we missing something here? From Song Linchuan's reaction earlier, it seems like he didn't know Pei Kuang was coming over. So the question is, how did Pei Kuang get in?]
[Oh right! It was mentioned earlier that Song Linchuan's residential compound had very strict security measures. Visitors who don't have access cards or aren't brought in by residents aren't allowed in, right?]
After coming in, Pei Kuang went with Song Linchuan to the living room.
Song Linchuan took a bottle of water out of the fridge and lobbed it over to Pei Kuang from afar. "When did you get back?"
Pei Kuang twisted the cap open and took a sip. "Just now."
Song Linchuan was surprised. "Just now?"
Pei Kuang nodded lightly. "Mm. I had just gotten back when I messaged you. The car was passing by your building, so I had the driver drop me off."
[Oh... so it sounds like Pei Kuang lives in the same residential compound as Song Linchuan. No wonder he could just come in]
[I knew it! There was paparazzi news before saying the two lived in the same compound. This confirms it]
[It seems like Pei Kuang must have something urgent, since he came straight to Song Linchuan's place without even going home first]
Glancing around, Pei Kuang cut straight to the chase. "I said I was coming to visit your aunt. Did I come at a bad time? Is she not home?"
Song Linchuan plopped down unceremoniously on the sofa and gestured for Pei Kuang to sit.
"No, my aunt is at home but busy with something. Just wait a bit, she'll be out soon."
Pei Kuang nodded lightly and put the gift bag he was holding down on the coffee table before sitting down.
Song Linchuan cocked his chin at the gift bag direction and said cheekily, "What did you bring...for me?"
Pei Kuang didn't get annoyed. He casually draped his arm over the sofa armrest and chuckled. "Don't want you cursing me to an early grave."
The two were used to poking fun at each other in private. Song Linchuan scoffed reflexively, about to retort, but noticing the cameraman out of the corner of his eye, he shut his mouth in the end.
[Hahaha, you can tell from the way they banter that their relationship is definitely close]
[Yeah, they seem pretty relaxed around each other]
[Lol I bet I'm not the only one who noticed Song Linchuan was about to say "for daddy" right?]
[Normal normal, male bonding always comes with trying to one up the other by calling them dad, big bro, etc]
Pei Kuang didn't keep selling it and explained directly. "It's my first time visiting an elder, so I prepared some gifts."
Song Linchuan had guessed it was probably presents for his aunt. After all, when had this dog ever brought anything over for him?
[Yo, so Pei Kuang actually came specially to visit the aunt?]
[Visit the aunt? Elder? Is it just me or does Pei Kuang's wording sound a little strange?]
[Uh, Pei Kuang still doesn't know the aunt is actually a young auntie right? He did say it was his first time meeting her]
[No way, this show has been airing for two days already. Song Linchuan and Song Anan have been trending searches for two whole days. Unless Pei Kuang was in some remote mountain village with no internet, even if he just had village-wide access he'd know]
[Uh...hard to say for sure]
The sofa directly faced the TV screen. As Pei Kuang sat down, the first thing his eyes landed on was the paused documentary image. A flash of surprise went through his eyes.
"You like watching this documentary too?"
In real life, Pei Kuang had rarely seen people who enjoyed this kind of medical documentary, especially the one Song Linchuan was watching, which covered the history of medical diseases.
At this time, the bullet screen audience didn't bother leaving Song Linchuan any face at all, and immediately started exposing all his weaknesses.
[Hahahaha, Pei Kuang you're thinking too highly of Song Linchuan. Whether he understood it or not I don't know, but I do know he was bored to sleep]
[Lol the way Song Linchuan looked like he really wanted to sleep but was forcing himself to stay awake, isn't that just me in class?]
[Well I don't have much right to mock Song Linchuan, since I straight up fell asleep watching earlier myself]
[Right? This kind of professional material documentary, probably only the auntie as a medical student would find it super interesting]
[I'm ashamed to admit it as a med student myself, but I can't really watch this stuff either *sigh* I guess this is the difference between academically mediocre and academically stellar]
[Uh...did anyone else notice Pei Kuang used the word "also"? So he meant he likes watching it too?]
[I think Pei Kuang has played a doctor role several times?]
[Pei Kuang fan here to explain! My bro has portrayed doctor roles three times - respiratory, cardiothoracic surgery, and oncology!]
[Dang, what's with Pei Kuang's special interest here, he seems to have a thing for doctors lol]
Song Linchuan glanced at the paused documentary on the TV and waved his hand. "No, my aunt likes it."
His aunt likes it?
Pei Kuang quirked an eyebrow, rather surprised.
Just then, sounds suddenly came from the bedroom direction.
Pei Kuang turned to look and was taken aback when he saw Song Anan. His first reaction was confusion.
"You have other guests over too?" Pei Kuang asked Song Linchuan.
Song Linchuan waved Song Anan over and introduced her. "My aunt."
Pei Kuang's smile froze and he said in astonishment, "Your aunt?"
Then he looked at Song Anan again - white T-shirt, light blue sweatpants, high ponytail...
And a face full of youthful innocence without any makeup. She looked fifteen or sixteen at oldest, much younger than he had imagined.
Song Linchuan cocked his chin. "Yeah, what, you have a problem with that?"
Pei Kuang: "..."
[Hahahahaha, just look at Pei Kuang's reaction, he clearly had no idea the aunt was a young auntie! His reaction is just too pricelessly authentic]
[Pei Kuang: I suddenly don't want this brother anymore]
Seeing Pei Kuang suddenly in her home, Song Anan also felt a little lost.
Luckily Song Linchuan timely stood up and waved Song Anan over. "Auntie, this is my friend Pei Kuang. I mentioned to him earlier that you were coming to stay with me, so he said he wanted to come visit you specially."
Upon hearing Song Linchuan's words, Pei Kuang, who had also stood up, couldn't help halting in his steps.
He discreetly glanced at Song Linchuan.
Very good, this guy did that on purpose.
Song Anan was also surprised. Came to visit her specially?
She really hadn't expected that.
Also, Song Anan took a look at Pei Kuang. If she hadn't misunderstood, wasn't using the term "visit" a gesture of respect, used by juniors to show esteem to elders?
Although it sounded a little strange at first, Song Anan quickly realized - she was Linchuan's aunt, and Pei Kuang was Linchuan's friend, so it made sense for Pei Kuang to treat her as an elder.
After thinking for a few seconds, Song Anan tugged at the corner of her mouth and smiled at Pei Kuang in a way she thought was kind and amiable, "Hello, I'm Song Anan, Song Linchuan's auntie."
Pei Kuang felt the little auntie's expression was a bit strange, but he didn't have time to think much of it, "I'm Pei Kuang, nice to meet you, little..."
Seeing Song Anan's smile again, Pei Kuang paused. Even if he was slow on the uptake, he realized where the problem was.
Song Linchuan was trying hard not to laugh at the side. He knew his little auntie very well. She had always had a strong sense of being an elder since she was young.
Although she doesn't usually deliberately put on airs as an elder, once she confirms that the other party really sees her as an elder, she will definitely maintain the demeanor of one.
In her words, this is called cannot be disrespectful!
So under the expectant gaze of the little auntie and the mocking look of his friend, Pei Kuang opened his mouth, "Little...friend."
【OMG! What kind of address is that from Pei Kuang, little friend?】
【Hahaha, the little auntie cracks me up. Was she being serious just now with that benevolent smile? I've only seen that kind of smile on my grandma's face.】
【But come to think of it, you can't really blame the little auntie. It was Pei Kuang who used honorifics first, so Song Anan was just going along with him.】
【The biggest troll is Song Linchuan! He clearly knew Pei Kuang misunderstood but still deliberately misled the little auntie. He was just waiting to see Pei Kuang make a fool of himself!】
Little friend?
Song Anan was stunned. What kind of address was that?!
As far as she could remember, no one had addressed her that way after she turned 10.
Song Anan wasn't dumb either. After being stunned for a few seconds, she also saw some clues.
In fact, whenever Song Linchuan's classmates and friends met her when she was little, they generally didn't know how to address her either.
She could understand this. After all, she was obviously younger than them in age.
But being called little friend gave her the feeling that she was still a child, which made Song Anan feel a little unhappy for some reason.
"I'm already seventeen," Song Anan said seriously, looking at Pei Kuang, "I'm not a little friend anymore."
Pei Kuang met Song Anan's gaze. The little auntie's clear eyes looked straight into his, honest and purely beautiful.
At this moment, he suddenly understood Song Linchuan's thoughts a bit. No wonder he had hidden the little auntie so carefully before.
However, to say it again, Song Anan's features belonged to the exquisite and cute type. This kind of appearance made her look naturally young in the first place.
Add to that the artless innocence she exuded, she did seem younger than her actual age.
"Oh?" Pei Kuang asked in pretend puzzlement, "You're not an adult yet, aren't you still a little friend?"
He had obviously noticed the little auntie's displeasure, but for some reason, seeing her reaction made him want to tease her a bit.
Song Anan was rendered speechless, "...I'll be an adult next year."
Pei Kuang's eyes were full of laughter as he nodded heavily as if thinking hard, "Okay, I'll remember that."
Song Anan: "???"
Remember what?
"Next year, I definitely won't call you little friend." Pei Kuang said solemnly.
The subtext was that he would still call her that for now.
Song Anan: "..."
【Hahaha, I bet 50 cents worth of spicy sticks that Pei Kuang is deliberately messing with her.】
【I can't, my face hurts from laughing. Pei Kuang is too naughty, he's clearly bullying the little friend.】
【The little auntie wants to refute him but can't, isn't she just too adorable! I'd want to tease her too if I were him.】
Song Linchuan’s original intention was to see Pei Kuang make a fool of himself, but who knew this guy would turn the tables and start teasing Song Anan instead. Of course he wouldn't stand for it.
"Pei Kuang, stop changing the subject. I told you to address my little auntie properly, what are you rambling to her about random irrelevant things for?"
Pei Kuang shrugged, replying very candidly, "I can't help it. I wanted to pretend to be young too, but she's too young to call little friend, I really can't say it."
Song Anan blinked and said in a very understanding tone, "Then call me by my name, it's okay."
As long as he didn't call her little friend.
But Song Linchuan was unhappy. "Hey, what are you talking about? Even if she's young, she's still an elder..."
He suddenly realized a problem mid-sentence, and his voice rose several degrees, "Pei Kuang, you punk, who's pretending to be young?!"
Everyone: "..."
Gotta admire his priorities!
After all that, the awkwardness between Pei Kuang and Song Anan had dissipated somewhat.
The three sat back down on the sofa, with Song Anan next to Song Linchuan and Pei Kuang diagonally across from them on the side.
The coffee table between them made the gift bag on it especially conspicuous.
Pei Kuang also glanced at the gift bag, then looked at Song Anan, seeming to remember something. His heart skipped a beat.
Crap!
The gift he chose didn't seem appropriate.
Just as he was wondering how to subtly gloss over this, Song Linchuan suddenly pointed at the gift and said, "Didn't you say you prepared a gift for my little auntie? Come on, give it to her."
Song Anan was startled and looked at Pei Kuang, "A gift?"
Pei Kuang nodded stiffly, "Yeah, just a little something, a greeting gift."
Song Anan let out an obedient "Oh" and accepted the gift with thanks. Then the little auntie had a thoughtful look on her face.
He had specially prepared a greeting gift, he was really too polite.
Then shouldn't she give a return gift as propriety, Song Anan thought.
But this happened so suddenly, what should she do? She didn't prepare anything.
Thinking of something, Song Anan's eyes lit up. She suddenly looked up at Pei Kuang and said, "Wait here for me."
Without even giving him a chance to react, she stood up abruptly and ran back towards her room.
【Huh? What's the little auntie going to do? Why did she suddenly run back to her room?】
【Right, isn't the next step normally to unwrap the gift? I really want to know what Pei Kuang got her.】
【To be honest, I've had my eye on the gift bag in his hand since he came in.】
【Cameraman, what are you waiting for, go follow her and see what she's up to!】
...
The cameraman really wanted to follow her, but he couldn't.
According to the filming requirements, their filming crew's area of activity didn't include Song Anan's room.
This was specially requested by Song Linchuan to protect Song Anan's privacy.
Pei Kuang turned to look at Song Linchuan.
Song Linchuan vaguely guessed what Song Anan was going to do, but he didn't say it outright.
On Song Anan's side, after jogging back to her room, she pulled out a suitcase from the corner.
She remembered that during Chinese New Year, an elder from her hometown had given her a red envelope that she hadn't opened yet. It was in the hidden compartment of the suitcase, and it could come in handy now.
Anyway, Pei Kuang was Song Linchuan's friend, so he could be considered a junior. Giving him a red envelope as a greeting gift wouldn't be too inappropriate, Song Anan thought.
Sure enough, the red envelope was in the hidden compartment of the suitcase. Song Anan opened it and counted the money inside.
A total of six hundred and sixty six yuan, a mix of small denominations and larger bills!
Very auspicious numbers, perfect for a greeting gift.
Song Anan resealed the red envelope and went back to the living room in a good mood.
She walked up to Pei Kuang and handed the red envelope over directly.
Pei Kuang was startled, not reacting for a moment, "This is for me?"
Song Anan smiled, her voice light, "Yup, for you, a red envelope!"
Pei Kuang: "..."
【Hahaha, the little auntie is so sincere! What's a better way to win someone's heart than giving them a red envelope?】
【Wow, our little auntie is so thoughtful! Her first reaction after receiving a gift is to think about giving a return gift, her upbringing is just too good! I love her!】
【Wait! If I'm not mistaken, isn't it elders who give red envelopes to their juniors? The little auntie's move is savage!】
【Nice, with the red envelope, Pei Kuang's status as nephew is confirmed, heh.】
After hesitating for a moment, Pei Kuang still accepted Song Anan's red envelope.
Mainly because facing the little auntie's expectant gaze, he really couldn't bear to reject her, otherwise it would seem like he did something terribly wrong.
Sure enough, once Pei Kuang accepted the red envelope, Song Anan was visibly relieved.
As long as he accepted it, otherwise she really wouldn't know what else to give as a return gift.
Song Linchuan glanced at the red envelope in Pei Kuang's hand and couldn't help but snort.
He knew about this red envelope. During Chinese New Year when his little auntie went back to their hometown with his parents to pay respects to their ancestors, a grandma who was their neighbor had given it to the little auntie. It was said she had offered prayers for blessings with it at the temple, and his little auntie had treasured it at that time. Who knew she would actually give it to this Pei Kuang guy.
Song Linchuan let out a cold humph, saying, "Shameless, you're a grown man, how can you brazenly accept my little auntie's red envelope?"
When he didn't even get one!
【Oh! If I'm not seeing wrongly, Song Linchuan is definitely jealous!】
【Song Linchuan: How come she gave him a red envelope and not me!】
【Hahahahaha, I'm dying, Song Linchuan seems to have forgotten that he's a grown man too, yet he still shamelessly asks the little auntie for pocket money!】
Pei Kuang looked provocatively at his friend and said with a smile, "You know, apart from the red envelope given at the start of filming, I can't remember how many years it has been since I've gotten a red envelope. I'd better keep this well."
After saying that, he put the red envelope into his pocket right in front of Song Linchuan.
And patted it twice.
Song Linchuan: "..."
Seeing that Pei Kuang didn't reject it, the corners of Song Anan's mouth turned up slightly, and two shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks.
The livestream audience laughed for a while, then began eagerly wondering what was inside Pei Kuang's gift.
So the bullet screen was flooded with requests for Song Anan to hurry and unwrap the present.
The staff member timely acted as the mouthpiece for the audience, "Little auntie, why don't you take a look at the gift Teacher Pei got you?"
Song Anan turned to look at Pei Kuang and asked, "May I?"
Pei Kuang hesitated, then nodded with difficulty, "...you may."
【Ahhh, the little auntie has such good manners. She still asks the gift-giver for permission before unwrapping a gift in front of them!】
【Wait! I noticed Pei Kuang seems a little troubled, could it be he sent something inappropriate inside?】
【Wow! Things just got interesting. I'm even more curious what's inside now!】
Song Anan wasn't stupid. She naturally noticed Pei Kuang's hesitation too, and didn't know whether to unwrap it or not for a moment.
But before she could make up her mind, Song Linchuan had quickly taken the gift bag from the coffee table, "Let me do it."
From the gift bag he took out a packaging box from a certain luxury brand. Judging by the packaging, it looked very exquisite.
Song Linchuan unwrapped it while mumbling, "I wonder what's inside, it's wrapped so tightly."
After struggling with it for a while, he finally got it open.
Song Anan craned her neck curiously to look. A faint, pleasant fragrance wafted out.
Inside the box were seven delicate small bottles, seven different types of perfume.
【Whoa! I know this perfume gift set, it's the latest release from ** this year, I heard it's pretty hard to get.】
【Waa, so envious! This is a high-end luxury brand my brother started endorsing this year. This set is limited edition, I've been wanting to buy it but can never snap it up in time!】
【Isn't it a bit inappropriate for Pei Kuang to gift products from his own endorsements?】
【Haha, who made the rule that you can't gift endorsements to others? If it's good stuff, what's the problem?】
【Tsk tsk, Pei Kuang really knows what he's doing, perfume is a very suitable gift for girls.】
【Suitable?! Uh...I'm starting to understand what Pei Kuang was hesitating about earlier. Although this perfume is very nice, it's not really suitable for the little auntie.】
【Eh, I think I know too...】
【Ahhh, sisters, don't leave! Explain clearly, what exactly was Pei Kuang hesitating about, how is it not suitable for the little auntie?】
The program crew keenly caught the key information on the barrage and quickly went online to check the introduction of this perfume. After taking a look, the staff couldn't help but hold back a little.
"Teacher Pei, if we didn't get it wrong, the perfume you gave to little auntie is mainly marketed towards women aged 30 and above, right?"
The scene suddenly froze as Song Linchuan and Song Anan both turned to look at Pei Kuang at the same time.
The barrage first fell silent for a few seconds before being filled with "f*ck".
[F*ck! F*ck! 30+, hahaha, is Pei Kuang here to be funny?]
[I'm laughing to death! The top celebrity actor actually gave a girl who just turned seventeen a perfume set for women in their 30s, what kind of straight man steel operation is this?]
[No wonder Pei Kuang was so reluctant when he heard he had to unwrap the gift on the spot, this is too embarrassing.]
Song Linchuan pointed at Pei Kuang, at a loss for words for a moment, and could only squeeze out a sentence in the end: "Pei Kuang, you are really something."
Pei Kuang was also a little embarrassed: "It was my oversight. I really didn't expect your little auntie to be a little girl."
At the same time, he couldn't help feeling a little relieved that he didn't buy fur.
After speaking, Pei Kuang turned to look at Song Anan again, with a hint of apology on his face: "This gift doesn't count. I'll make up for it later."
Song Anan kept waving her hand and said, "No need, no need, this is great."
After thinking about it, she added, "It's okay, I'll grow to be thirty."
The subtext was that she could still use it in the future, so it wasn't wasted.
[Wuwuwu, the understanding little auntie, but I have to remind you that it will expire.]
[Hahahaha, the plastic brotherhood between Pei Kuang and Song Linchuan is going to kill me with laughter.]
[Actually it's understandable. You could tell from Pei Kuang's reaction when he first saw Song Anan that he really didn't know the little auntie's age.]
[Ahhhhh, no, I feel like I'm obsessed. Why do I feel Pei Kuang's "little girl" strangely a bit doting?]
[Wuwuwu, I also feel Pei Kuang and the little auntie are so shippable.]
[Considering grouping the two into a CP.]
[Little girl? Wuwuwu, I instantly imagined eight hundred super sweet doting fics with age gap.]
[You upstairs are of evil cults, stop imagining this forbidden love!]
[Let's not randomly pair up like this, our little auntie is still underage, absolutely not!]
[How bold! Hurry and bring in underage protection laws to protect my little auntie!]
[Laughing to death, no need for underage protection laws, with her big nephew Song Linchuan here, no one else can get close to the little auntie!]
[Song Linchuan is on his way here with his giant 800 meter long sword!!]
[Song Linchuan fans: Ship my brother with Pei Kuang instead, spare the little auntie!]
[Pei Kuang fans: Ship my brother with Song Linchuan instead, at least it's legal!]
...
At 9 pm on the dot, the live broadcast ended on time amidst the audience's reluctance for it to end.
The program crew left reluctantly, and Song Anan also returned to her room, leaving only Song Linchuan and Pei Kuang in the living room.
Without the camera, the two were obviously much more relaxed. Pei Kuang casually leaned to one side of the sofa, not having to worry about any image at all.
"Drink?" Song Linchuan asked.
Pei Kuang nodded, "Red wine, drink less, just right to help sleep."
Song Linchuan lightly hmm-ed and got up to go to the wine cabinet for wine.
As if suddenly thinking of something, Pei Kuang took out his phone and opened Weibo.
Sure enough, as he had expected, search terms with him and Song Linchuan appeared in the top ten hot searches.
Pei Kuang didn't hesitate at all, and sent a message to Li Dong in WeChat: "Help control the online opinion about the hot search, and notify the publicity department not to take advantage of this to gain any popularity."
When Li Dong saw the message Pei Kuang sent, he couldn't help but sigh.
He knew this would happen.
Just after seeing the hot search terms, the publicity department had called to ask him about it, but after thinking about it, he still rejected it.
Knowing Pei Kuang as well as he did, Pei Kuang would never steal the limelight on this show, where Song Linchuan and his little auntie were the main characters.
Sure enough, as he expected, Pei Kuang sent a message right after the show ended.
But for artists, in this era where popularity is king, seizing every opportunity for promotion and maintaining continuous exposure is the most basic operation.
And "bundling" and bringing others down are the two most common and effective instant marketing tactics in the entertainment industry.
Li Dong understood this reasoning, but Pei Kuang, who entered the entertainment industry at fifteen without any backing and fought his way up to his current place in the domestic entertainment industry, would understand it even more.
Or rather, Pei Kuang was deeply aware of the cruelty of competition in the industry, and did not shy away from those tactics.
But Song Linchuan was an exception.
Logically speaking, with both of them now popular male artists, competition was inevitable, but over the years, both sides tried their best to avoid conflicts of interest.
Sometimes when Li Dong was on the side watching, he didn't really understand why the relationship between Pei Kuang and Song Linchuan was so ironclad, after all, Pei Kuang and Song Linchuan were two completely different personalities.
Song Linchuan was the kind of proud and arrogant, who usually looked displeased at everyone, while Pei Kuang was the kind who looked gentle and easy to get along with, but actually had a strong sense of boundaries.
Yet somehow two such distinctly different people had such a good relationship, which was really strange.
After Pei Kuang finished instructing Li Dong about the hot search matter, he exited WeChat and opened a web page.
This time he typed a line of words into the search box. When the search results page appeared, his hand scrolling the screen couldn't help but pause.
Pei Kuang didn't expect that searching "Song Linchuan little auntie" would bring up
Top scorer in college entrance examination?
Sophomore at B University?!
And she's...a medical student!!!
Pei Kuang subconsciously glanced at the TV not far away. No wonder she liked watching medical documentaries.
But he really didn't notice just now that the little auntie was so outstanding and a top student.
After a short surprise, he continued to scroll down and randomly clicked on a video, which was the clip of catching the human traffickers yesterday afternoon.
When he saw Song Anan actually subduing two big men barehanded and easily dislocating both men's arms, the words "Hidden depths" instantly flashed through Pei Kuang's mind.
*
On Song Anan's side, as soon as she returned to her room, her phone buzzed with a series of message notification sounds.
She took out her phone and saw a bombardment of voice messages from Li Sirui, no need to guess that she had just finished watching the live stream.
"Ahhhhhhh, little Anan you've made it big, appearing on screen with my idol, so envious of you!!! "
"This morning I was still wondering if Pei Kuang would appear on your show, who knew he went that very evening!"
"Hehe, but speaking of which, little Anan, isn't Pei Kuang super handsome in person?"
Recalling Pei Kuang's face, Song Anan thought about it and truthfully replied, "He is quite good-looking."
Li Sirui didn't seem to expect Song Anan to reply so quickly, "I'm going, how did you reply my message so fast?"
"What do you mean?" Song Anan was confused.
Wasn't it very normal for her to reply when she sent a message?
Li Sirui also realized the contradiction in her words and quickly explained, "What I mean is, didn't you guys just finish the livestream? How do you have time to reply my message... Wait, don't tell me you were listening to my voice message right in front of my idol! "
Thinking of this possibility, Li Sirui’s whole body went limp.
It's over, she had completely embarrassed their Pei Kuang fans in front of the man himself, such sinful deed.
Just as Li Sirui was wondering whether to "die to apologize", fortunately Song Anan's message came just in time to save her.
"No, they were talking in the living room, I went back to my room first." Song Anan replied.
Li Sirui finally breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good, you almost scared me to death just now."
After rejoicing, she cheekily added, "But come to think of it, it makes sense, when adults are talking, little girls should withdraw."
Song Anan: "..."
She suddenly felt like she understood a little better the phrase Li Sirui often had on her lips, fans follow idols!
Song Anan also recalled Pei Kuang calling her "little girl" just now, and she felt more and more disheartened.
She's already seventeen, how does she still look like a little girl.
Could it be, really because her face looks very young?
"Sirui, tell me the truth, do I really look very immature?" Song Anan asked dejectedly.
Hearing this, Li Sirui could imagine her puffed up angry look, and laughed instantly.
But from seeing Pei Kuang deliberately tease Song Anan during the livestream just now, she instantly understood her idol's mischievous taste.
She had deep experience of this, for some reason, Song Anan seemed to have some kind of magic that made people just want to tease her.
But Li Sirui also knew why Song Anan was so concerned about others calling her little. This had to start with a senior sister from their medical school's previous cohort.
That senior sister also looked young, and during her internship, even wearing a white coat she still looked like a high schooler, making patients not dare trust her, and causing doctor-patient disputes every other day.
It was said that senior sister was only halfway through her internship when she was politely rejected back by several departments, and in the end had no choice but to reluctantly take the research route.
And Song Anan's goal was to become an excellent clinical doctor, so after knowing about that senior sister's experience, she became especially concerned about this point.
Li Sirui called her, and as soon as the call connected, she comforted, "Anan, you're not the same as that senior sister, you really are young because of your age, it'll be fine in two years."
Song Anan glumly replied, "That's what you said two years ago too."
Li Sirui: "..."
Alright, the child has grown up and can't be fooled anymore.
"Don't worry, we still have a long time before our internships, and even then, you can wear those black-framed glasses our department head used to wear, looks really mature." Li Sirui said.
Song Anan was stunned, seriously considering the changes before and after the department head started wearing glasses. It did seem to make him look more mature.
She hesitated for a moment, clearly moved: "Would that work?"
Song Anan suddenly thought of something. "But I don't have poor vision."
Li Sirui said, "No problem, you can wear plano lenses, it's just a disguise anyway."
This time Song Anan was successfully convinced, and her mood instantly improved.
She chatted with Li Sirui for a good while longer, of course the whole time was Li Sirui chattering all sorts of flattery about her idol.
After hanging up the phone, Song Anan suddenly remembered something.
That's right, she still hadn't followed through on her promise to get an autographed photo of Pei Kuang for Li Sirui.
She looked towards the door. Should she go out now to ask him for an autograph?