Late at night, a full moon hung high in the sky.
The ceiling light in the study cast a warm orange glow. Pencils scratched softly against the paper on the desk as Su Weisheng worked on a design draft. His strokes, initially hesitant, gradually became more fluid. Soon, a delicate little accessory took shape before his eyes.
He pondered for a long while. This accessory needed to be both elegant and portable while also serving a functional purpose when necessary. He had spent considerable effort refining the design, but now, at last, it had taken its final form.
His phone suddenly chimed incessantly, interrupting his thoughts. Su Weisheng glanced at the screen—it was Song Qing, who, instead of sleeping at this late hour, had come to report some dramatic news.
My Husband Can Screw a Cactus: Idol-dad! Idol-dad! My husband’s stock just hit the limit! He’s so miserable. Even if he doesn’t go bankrupt, he’s at least losing a few million! (covers face and cries) (lowers hand) (corners of mouth twitching upwards uncontrollably) (husband looks over, quickly covers face again and resumes crying)
My Husband Can Screw a Cactus: I’ve told him so many times to sell those stocks, but he wouldn’t listen! Kept mocking me for believing in superstition just because I went to get a mole. And now? Idol-dad, you should’ve seen his face—he looked even more devastated than if he had caught me kissing someone else!
Su Weisheng: You kissed someone else in front of him?
My Husband Can Screw a Cactus: Of course not! That was just a metaphor! But even if I did now, there’s nothing he could do about it—because he can’t even afford to pay wages anymore! Hahaha! He’ll never be able to use salary deductions to bully and coerce me again! Hehehe!
Now that was a true spouse—only a real one could be this gleeful at their partner’s misfortune.
Su Weisheng sighed with emotion as he put down his phone, preparing to check on Su Ran. After all, his great-grandson had suffered quite a shock earlier and had even taken the initiative to practice swordsmanship for an entire day. During the evening live stream, Su Weisheng noticed that his great-grandson’s wrists were covered in bruises—clear evidence of the hardships he had endured.
In this regard, Su Weisheng was quite satisfied. Although Su Ran usually seemed unreliable, in critical moments, the resilience inherited from the Su family’s bloodline still ran deep. When it came to the path he had chosen and the things he wanted to prove, he would press forward without hesitation, even if it meant shedding blood.
Swordsmanship wasn’t difficult, but for someone without a foundation in swordsmanship, the beginning would be grueling. However, with this level of diligence—training during the day and making up lessons at night—it wouldn’t take long before he started to see results.
He should check on his progress today.
Feeling quite pleased, Su Weisheng fiddled with the charm in his hand and opened the gateway to the dream realm.
…Hilarious. He couldn’t enter at all.
Su Weisheng glanced out the window. It was indeed nighttime. What was going on? How could his great-grandson not be in the dream realm? This was supposed to be a forced entry.
With suspicion, he pushed open the door to Su Ran’s bedroom—only to see Su Ran sprawled across the double bed, sound asleep in his robe, completely unconscious. The warding charm above his head had long since been torn down and shredded to bits. On the nightstand, his phone screen flickered on and off.
When Su Weisheng picked it up, the first thing displayed was a chat log with Jiang Yimian.
Jiang Jinbao: Zhaocai’er, I heard you’re honing your acting skills. Still practicing Swordsmanship? Damn, impressive! Won’t be long before our “Zhaocai Jinbao” duo can film together again!
Your dad: Talk tomorrow if it’s important. I have to attend my crash course now.
Ten minutes later.
Your dad [Su Ran]: I’m back. To hell with this training! Is this even humanly possible?! I’m officially informing you—the future Best Actor of the film industry is now announcing his retirement. I’m done. I’m sleeping. Goodbye.
Su Weisheng: …
For six years, both the agency and his fans, the “Little Sparks,” had tried to dissuade the top star from his passion for acting, all to no avail. Yet, after just one day of Swordsmanship training, his great-grandson had declared immediate retirement.
Su Weisheng had no idea how Su Ran had managed to escape from the dream realm, but for once, the kid had shown some intelligence—he had correctly guessed that the warding charm above his head had been pulling him into the dream. So, he had deliberately torn it to shreds before going to sleep, finally resting in peace.
Watching Su Ran roll back and forth in his sleep, Su Weisheng felt an itch in his hands again.
No—just as he was about to lift his hand, he lowered it instead.
After all, he realized that disciplining his great-grandson on his own was too exhausting. He had plenty of important matters to handle and couldn’t spend all his time watching over Su Ran. He needed a solution that would solve this problem once and for all.
With that thought in mind, he headed toward the study.
The stack of manuscripts on the desk was pushed to one side. Su Weisheng pulled one out and compared it with the jade embryo, confirming that after finishing the accessories, there would still be leftover material. The scraps could be used to make some practical little items.
Hmm, he had already thought of something suitable for his great-grandson.
On the other side, after chatting with Su Weisheng, Song Qing put down his phone and glanced toward the living room. Xie Wei was still on a call with his business partner. Quietly, Song Qing moved closer and happened to hear Xie Wei repeatedly asking the person on the other end, “Are you sure there’s no corporate scheme behind this? Just a pure coincidence?”
The person on the phone was getting impatient. “I already told you! It’s because Country C suddenly experienced a natural disaster and issued emergency policies. Those policies just so happened to affect the stock you bought, causing it to plummet. This entire chain reaction is just a coincidence. The source is a natural disaster, bro. How can a natural disaster be part of some conspiracy?”
“…Fine, I got it.” Xie Wei reluctantly hung up the phone.
Song Qing leaned in and drawled lazily, “A natural disaster, huh? You know what that means? It means only someone with the ‘father-dooming mole’ could have foreseen the danger. Hubby, too bad you didn’t seize the chance to cut your losses in time. Now do you finally believe in Great-Grandfather’s skills?” He couldn’t help but feel a little proud when mentioning Su Weisheng.
Despite his schadenfreude-laced words, Song Qing was still somewhat concerned about Xie Wei’s financial losses. He was about to ask about the specifics of his finances when he heard Xie Wei scoff coldly.
“It was just a coincidence!”
The best actor spoke with unwavering conviction, his voice firm and righteous. “All that nonsense about the ‘father-dooming mole’ predicting the future is just an outdated scam. Years ago, marketing accounts loved to claim they knew metaphysics, making daily predictions about celebrities getting exposed. The core of their trick was simple: if you predict enough things, sooner or later, one will accidentally come true. Then, they use that one success to hype themselves up as legitimate.”
“Stock trading is no different from celebrity scandals—they happen at about the same probability. The principle is the same.”
As he spoke, he reached out and patted his wife’s head, adopting the tone of a wise elder indulging a naïve child. “Qing Qing, you’ve just had too little exposure to these things, which is why you’re so easily fooled. Alright, this amount of money isn’t a big loss for me. The stock market always has ups and downs, so don’t worry yourself over it. Get some rest early. I have another call to make to handle some follow-up matters.”
Song Qing stared at him blankly as he walked out, calm and composed as if nothing had happened. “…”
Husband, your wallet is empty, but you’re still keeping up the act.
Forget it. Getting an atheist to accept supernatural phenomena was clearly a tall order. If Xie Wei insisted on escaping reality, there was no point in arguing further. He could only hope that his husband would stop provoking Su Weisheng in the future.
With a troubled sigh, Song Qing went back to bed.
The bedroom door closed.
Xie Wei immediately dropped his act of making a phone call—his true intention had been to dodge his wife. He warily glanced around, making sure that the little troublemaker wasn’t planning to double back for a sneak attack. Only after confirming he was in the clear did he settle onto the living room sofa with his laptop in his arms.
“This so-called Great-Grandfather… Even if it was just dumb luck, getting so many predictions right in a row is way too much,” he muttered under his breath. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. “No, something’s not right. There’s definitely something fishy about that grandfather-grandson duo!”
But could he confide his nervousness and anxiety to his little pampered wife? Of course not— that would completely ruin his imposing CEO image!
He had to take advantage of his wife’s sleeping hours to figure out what kind of shady business was going on between that grandfather and grandson duo.
No sooner said than done, Xie Wei opened his laptop and downloaded the live-streaming app for the show, preparing to carefully comb through every detail of that duo’s interactions from beginning to end. However, as soon as he clicked on the past recordings, he realized— they required a membership.
Tsk. He actually had to spend money on those two? How unlucky.
Cursing under his breath, the best actor still pulled out his phone decisively to register an account. But just as he entered the verification code, he found himself logged in effortlessly without even needing to sign up.
For a second, Xie Wei was puzzled. Had he registered an account on this site before?
Maybe Qing Qing had used his account to watch the previous seasons’ live streams. Xie Wei didn’t dwell on it and simply clicked on the recharge button, directly purchasing the highest-tier annual membership— all for the convenience of watching the [Little Ancestor’s Personal Highlight Compilation] on the app.
The compilation was long, but it just so happened to help him recall all his past interactions with that grandfather and grandson.
From their initial hostility at the start of the live broadcast to when his little drama queen “ran into a ghost”, then the sudden shift in attitude where his little drama queen inexplicably became the other party’s devoted eldest grandson, even promoting some nonsense about a “father-dooming mole”. Then there was Suo Ran’s acting skills skyrocketing as if he had been possessed, and finally, Song Qing’s stocks soared while he himself suffered heavy losses…
The more he watched, the more wrong it felt. Was this really something science could explain?
Xie Wei stared fixedly at the “Little Ancestor” on the screen. Dark hair, snow-white skin, and a face at the height of its beauty. The paused frame happened to capture Suo Weisheng lifting his gaze with a half-smiling, half-mocking look as if he could see straight through the screen and into Xie Wei’s soul.
The bullet comments were still rolling: 【A top-tier godly face that the entire entertainment industry combined couldn’t rival】
But at this moment, Xie Wei felt an indescribable chill crawl up his spine.
Could beauty like this, combined with such terrifying methods, really be something a human was capable of? It didn’t seem like it. It was more like those fictional villains— sinister sorcerers or dark shamans from horror films…
With a sharp snap, Xie Wei slammed the laptop shut, his entire body breaking out in goosebumps.
No. Living under the same roof as someone like this was just too terrifying.
But the penalty for breaching his contract with the show was so high that even with his deep pockets, he couldn’t afford it. And the guest reshuffling process wouldn’t happen for at least another half a month.
What was he supposed to do until then?
Xie Wei thought hard before finally picking up his phone and dialing his manager to discuss a plan.
The manager had been sound asleep but was mercilessly dragged awake. Still groggy, he sluggishly processed Xie Wei’s story before offering a half-baked suggestion: “…Then how about we find a master to exorcise him? How powerful could he be? Is he stronger than the Grand Monk of Guangming Temple?” Guangming Temple was Beijing’s most renowned sanctuary for exorcisms.
Upon hearing this suggestion, Xie Wei clung to it like a drowning man grasping at a life-saving straw. He immediately lit up with excitement. “That makes sense… What you said makes perfect sense! I’ll invite a master to exorcise the evil first thing tomorrow!”
His manager, too sleepy to keep his eyes open, mumbled, “Huh? Oh… oh, okay.”
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Xie Wei mercilessly hung up the phone. He was so thrilled that he began pacing back and forth in the living room. That’s right—why should he be the one to leave the show? Since that little ancestor was some kind of dark sorcerer, wouldn’t it be enough to invite a monk to exorcise the evil?
Hah! Trying to threaten and scheme against him? Now he could finally turn the tables!
Just thinking about it made him impatient. If Guangming Temple hadn’t refused visitors at night, he would’ve rushed there immediately to fetch a master!
The next morning, Song Qing groggily got up to use the bathroom, only to be startled by the sight of Xie Wei sitting in the living room, looking like he hadn’t slept all night. “What’s going on?”
“I have to go out for a bit. You stay home and rest.” Xie Wei changed into a suit, ready to head out.
“Where are you going?”
“To Guangming Temple to invite a master for an exorcism!”
Song Qing: ?
Has my husband completely lost his mind?
He returned to his room with a bewildered expression, just as his phone started buzzing non-stop. Picking it up, he glanced at the screen—there it was, a trending topic about Xie Wei that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere:
#XieWeiStayedUpLateToGetAMembershipJustToSecretlyWatchLittleAncestor#
“…What the hell is this?” Song Qing was completely dumbfounded.
What was going on? Why was his husband staying up late at night just to secretly watch Little Ancestor? Had he been cheated on? And most importantly—how did this even get discovered?!
Pearl’s Pearl: #XieWeiStayedUpLateToGetAMembershipJustToSecretlyWatchLittleAncestor# Let me explain this gossip to everyone. Basically, the show assigned each guest a phone number linked to a verified “Big V” account, making it easier for future live interactions—this has been a tradition for «Another Side of Family Life». Usually, these celebrity Big V accounts barely show any activity, and Xie Laoshi has never logged in before. But last night, some particularly observant fans noticed that not only did he activate a membership, but his publicly visible browsing history was entirely filled with compilations of Little Ancestor’s personal highlight cuts…
Weren’t they supposed to dislike each other? What is this, homophobia as a cover for being deeply closeted? Xie Laoshi, are you actually secretly in love with Little Ancestor?
The entire comment section was flooded with hahaha. Any random passerby scrolling in would be laughing themselves to death.
【Correction: We can’t call it a secret crush; it should be admiration instead. Otherwise, wouldn’t that mean the little drama queen is getting cheated on?】
【I’m dying of laughter—Xie Wei, what’s wrong with you? Why are you using your main account to get a membership just to watch Little Ancestor?】
【So Film Emperor Xie’s hidden trait is actually “disdainful mouth, honest body”…?】
Of course, Xie Wei’s fans, in an effort to salvage their idol’s dignity, stubbornly tried to argue:
【It’s possible that Song Qing logged into Xie Laoshi’s account! It doesn’t necessarily mean he was the one watching!】
But they were swiftly and mercilessly slapped down:
【Song Qing has his own official account, and he logs in every single day. There’s absolutely no reason for him to use Xie Wei’s account. Sis, stop struggling, just accept it—your Xie Laoshi is probably deep in the closet for Ancestor.】
Fans: …Despair.
In the end, even the fans gave up on defending him and simply resigned themselves to the chaos:
【Maybe Xie Laoshi just deeply admires Little Ancestor as a person. He wanted to be friends with him but was too embarrassed, so—like the southern wind that understands my heart—he puts on a front of constantly bickering with Ancestor while secretly being his biggest fan behind the scenes. This is our Xie Laoshi’s new persona. We apologize for the embarrassment.】
【It’s fine, really. I just hope Xie Laoshi realizes the truth about himself soon and stops struggling.】
“Who the hell admires him, wants to be his friend, or is deep in the closet!?” Just arriving at Guangming Temple, Xie Wei felt his vision go dark as he read the comments on Weibo. He was focused on finding a master to exorcise that grandfather-grandson duo, yet the entire internet had already rebranded him as Ancestor’s pathetic little simp… What kind of sick joke was this?!
Fuming, he was just about to reply and refute everything when his manager quickly stopped him.
“Don’t respond, don’t respond! If you say anything, it’ll only make you look even more guilty and desperate—like they hit the nail on the head…”
Xie Wei took a deep breath, forcibly calming himself down, reminding himself to handle this matter maturely—such as suppressing the trending search or hiring paid posters to shift public opinion.
With that thought in mind, his hand slipped, and he refreshed his Weibo homepage again. Coincidentally, a post from “EscapeStar” popped up right in front of him.
EscapeStar V: #XieWeiStayingUpLateWithAMembershipJustToSecretlyWatchLittleGrandpa# I’ve said it before— all that supposed discord between the top-star group and the best actor group was just a publicity stunt. They’re just making money together and having a blast, while you fools actually believed Xie Wei was really dissing that grandfather-grandson duo. See? Didn’t this just backfire? All that rivalry and drama—turns out your dear Mr. Xie is nothing more than their devoted lapdog.
Xie Wei had seen this “EscapeStar” account before. He knew the person behind it was a die-hard anti-fan of the grandfather-grandson duo. Sometimes, he would even secretly like their posts using an alt account, thinking that great minds thought alike.
Who would’ve thought—an anti-fan could turn around and stab another anti-fan in the back?!
Seeing the word “lapdog” woven into the text, Mr. Xie was so furious that his vision darkened. He roared in anger, “What the hell does he know?! That brainless attack dog!”
He furiously typed out a five-hundred-character rant, ready to clap back, but at the last second, he deleted it to maintain his dignity as the best actor. Instead, he turned to his manager, seething with rage. “Get rid of his Weibo account. I don’t want to see him jumping around anymore!”
“Okay, okay, I’ll handle it right away. Just calm down…” Seeing Xie Wei practically breathing fire, his manager hurried to soothe him while contacting the higher-ups to take down the anti-fan’s account.
Who would’ve thought? Just as he swiftly blew up the other party’s account, EscapeStar effortlessly pulled off an Edo Tensei[mfn]a term from Naruto, referring to the technique that revives the dead. Here, it humorously describes the user making a comeback with a new account.[/mfn] revival.
EscapeStar picked up a smurf account and continued cursing:【I’ve been cursing that grandfather-grandson duo for so long, and my account never got banned. But the moment I insult you, Xie Wei, just once, my account is gone? Oh, I see how it is. Feeling guilty, aren’t you? Fine! Then I’ll say it outright—you’re nothing but their bootlicker!】
As he typed, he even bought a trending recommendation, determined to push the topic’s popularity up just to disgust his target.
In a quiet corner of the garden, there was an unused house that Su Weisheng planned to turn into a dedicated tool room.
Inside, the hum of a cutting machine buzzed incessantly. A young man, dressed in a dark, form-fitting work uniform, sat casually on the stone steps nearby. His long hair was tied up carelessly, his pant legs neatly rolled to reveal a slender ankle. One hand flipped through a machine manual, while the other toyed with a shard of jade that had just been ruined in the cutting process.
The jade embryo was fine and delicate, yet it still couldn’t compare to the milky fairness of his wrist.
Unbeknownst to Su Weisheng, his number one and number two anti-fans were already engaged in an all-out civil war, drifting further down the path of mutual destruction—because he was too busy cutting jade embryos and carving jade ornaments.
A small jade hammer, round and exquisitely crafted, was gradually taking shape. About half the size of a palm, it was perfect as a decorative ornament to hang at the waist. Su Weisheng held the carving knife, skillfully tracing its contours. With the aid of spiritual power, intricate patterns quickly emerged on the surface.
Su Ran watched from the side, his eyes filled with envy. “Great grandfather, you can carve jade too?”
Su Weisheng replied calmly, “Most of the artifacts I carry were personally made.”
Recalling how all the family heirlooms had been sold off by the unfilial descendants, Su Ran guiltily rubbed his nose and changed the subject as if nothing had happened. “Great grandfather, the company has scheduled an album release for me in the second half of the year. I’ll probably be quite busy—besides recording shows, I’ll be spending most of my time in the studio.”
Su Weisheng gazed at him coolly.
Su Ran’s scalp tingled. He was terrified his great-grandfather would see through his real motive—escaping his evening tutoring sessions. With no way out, he had to meet the elder’s gaze head-on, pretending he had no ulterior motives at all.
With a straight face, Su Ran explained, “I want to record an album… to earn more money and pay off my debt to Great grandfather as soon as possible.”
To his surprise, this excuse actually worked!
Su Weisheng nodded, then asked, “Will you still be acting in the future?”
—Act his grandma’s leg[mfn]a play on the common Chinese expletive “拍他奶奶個熊” (literally: “Hit his grandma’s bear”), which is used to express frustration. Here, “leg” is humorously substituted, likely for comedic effect.[/mfn]!
The top star roared internally—he never wanted to act again in this lifetime!
But fearing that his great-grandfather might slap him into the next world, he mustered a strong smile and forced out a half-hearted lie: “Of course, I’ll keep acting. Once I’m done with the album, I’ll still have to trouble my dad and the others to continue tutoring me at night.”
“That’s good,” Su Weisheng gave him a deep look and said, “I believe you’re not the kind of child who gives up halfway.”
Su Ran replied against his will, “…Of course!”
Seeing that his great-grandfather had lowered his head again to continue carving the jade embryo, Su Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he said, “Then I’ll leave you to it—I won’t disturb you any longer…”
“Wait a moment.”
Su Weisheng suddenly spoke.
Su Ran tensed up and looked over, only to see his great-grandfather still focused on polishing the jade in his hands. A moment later, Su Weisheng casually tossed a small object toward him. Su Ran instinctively caught it and looked down—only to realize it was a finely crafted jade ear cuff for men.
Holy sh*t—!
Realizing that this was meant for him, Su Ran was utterly shaken to his core. Not only did he manage to avoid getting beaten, but he even received his great-grandfather’s affection?!
“F-For me?” The top star was completely caught off guard, so much so that he started doubting himself. “I-I’m worthy of this?”
“Mhm. A small artifact to keep you safe. It also has a few extra functions—you can explore them over time,” Su Weisheng said leisurely. He pointed to the tool knife beside him as a reminder. “Drip blood to recognize its owner.”
Still dazed from the overwhelming surprise, Su Ran followed his great-grandfather’s instructions without question. The moment he completed the blood recognition ritual, the ear cuff emitted a faint glow.
He carefully tried it on. The slender, curved white jade fit his ear perfectly, as if it were an intricately designed wireless earpiece, leaving no gaps at all.
His great-grandfather was actually this kind to him!
He really was a piece of sh*t—his great-grandfather doted on him so much, yet he’d been scheming behind his back. For a brief moment, Su Ran even felt a pang of guilt. He figured he should reciprocate this kindness somehow—perhaps by dedicating a portion of his album earnings to honor his great-grandfather!
With that thought, his mood instantly improved.
His great-grandfather treated him well, so naturally, he had to be a good eldest grandson in return!
Happily, Su Ran returned to his room.
Bai Songyin was busy organizing his schedule. But when he looked up and saw the jade ornament on Su Ran’s ear, he froze on the spot.
The top star’s striking, sharp-featured face had always been a subject of debate. Some thought he was devastatingly handsome, while others mocked him for looking like an unrefined street punk. But with that touch of jade as an accent, his entire aura subtly transformed—it added just the right amount of elegance, instantly elevating his looks to a whole new level.
Bai Songyin reacted quickly. “That’s from your great-grandfather?”
“Of course. One of a kind.” Su Ran raised an eyebrow smugly, deliberately showing it off. Then, he grabbed his phone, went inside, and called his manager, announcing that he was ready to sign the album contract. Without hesitation, he sent over his bank account details.
On the other end of the line, He Heng sounded a bit surprised. “No need for your bank details. I already talked to your great-grandfather—he arranged for all future album earnings to be deposited into his account. You didn’t know?”
“What?!” Su Ran was completely dumbfounded. “Into his account? When did you agree to that?”
“This morning. Before finalizing the album deal with you, I obviously had to consult your guardian first. He approved it, so I came to you afterward.”
Su Ran no longer had the energy to argue about why a grown man like him even needed a guardian. His brain had already crashed. It took him a long moment to process everything, and when he finally did, only one thought kept looping in his mind in sheer frustration:
—No wonder Great-Grandfather agreed so quickly and didn’t even ask about revenue distribution! Turns out, he and the company had already negotiated how to sell me off, while I was the only idiot who thought I was smart enough to trick both sides!
Bai Songyin was moved.
He was the biggest sucker of them all!
Before he could even recover from his grief and indignation, Bai Songyin knocked on his door. With a dark expression, Su Ran walked out. “What is it?”
His assistant, practically buzzing with excitement, pointed outside. “Brother Ran, Brother Ran, come quick! Xie Wei hired a bunch of high-ranking monks to perform an exorcism!”
“An exorcism? What evil spirit?” Su Ran was confused.
Bai Songyin scoffed. “Do you even need to ask? He’s obviously trying to get those monks to challenge our Great-Grandfather in a battle of spiritual power!”
Su Ran was instantly stunned. He had thought he was the biggest fool around, but to his surprise, someone out there was even more of an idiot than him. In an instant, all his earlier frustration and resentment vanished, replaced by pure schadenfreude. “Let’s go, let’s go—this, I have to see! I need to witness which poor soul is unlucky enough to think they can mess with Great-Grandfather today…”
![President Huo Wants Me to Restore His Reputation [Entertainment Circle]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/03-cd6f642.jpg "President Huo Wants Me to Restore His Reputation [Entertainment Circle]")
