When has this person ever shown such…
After the training phase ended, the remaining twenty-five contestants had a much more relaxed lifestyle than before. They no longer had to undergo semi-military management or participate in class training, as they were no longer trainees who had just entered the camp, but true starting members of their teams.
Therefore, from now on, “Burning Eternity” no longer divided by classes but by teams, with training times and extracurricular activities arranged by each team’s coach and captain. After each team decided on their team names, the team uniforms and logos for the five teams were being expedited in production.
Yan Jie’s team name was decided by a vote among the six team members, quite casually called “Makeshift Troupe,” with uniforms in silver and white accented with bright Barbie pink.
The morning they received their uniforms, Jiang Nan’an looked at the fluorescent pink in his hands, then thought about the game account he received yesterday called “Makeshift Troupe·Jiang Nan’an,” feeling that his life was about to be ruined.
Sheng Yujia, dressed in cool black and blue, passed by and noticed the fluorescent pink in Jiang Nan’an’s hands, raising his eyebrows:
“Is that your team uniform?”
Jiang Nan’an looked at him and nodded gravely.
“Quite distinctive,” Sheng Yujia commented.
“Thank you.”
“Like Barbie Princess.”
“I take back my thanks.”
“.”
“Knock knock-” A knock at the door interrupted their friendly exchange. Sheng Yujia called out: “Who is it?”
“I’m Teacher Jiang’s FPD. Is Teacher Jiang available now?” FPD Xiao Li’s voice came from outside the door.
Jiang Nan’an stopped his futile struggle and quickly made peace with the fluorescent color that could direct traffic in the middle of the night, putting on the Barbie pink uniform.
“I’m available. Please come in.”
With a “click,” the door unlocked, and Xiao Li entered, taking a phone from his pocket and handing it to Jiang Nan’an:
“The phone is fully charged. It should have been given to you with the uniform, but I forgot. Sorry, teacher.”
After entering the elimination round stage, the production team no longer managed their personal phones, but Jiang Nan’an had never cared about this. If Xiao Li hadn’t brought it today, he would probably have forgotten about it completely.
“Thank you.”
Jiang Nan’an took the phone and casually put it in his jacket pocket.
He had woken up early today, so he had enough time for breakfast.
On his way to the cafeteria, he met Jiang Shanshan, who was just coming down from the fourth-floor women’s dormitory.
“Teacher Jiang!” Jiang Shanshan jogged over to him and greeted him: “Going for breakfast?”
“Mm.”
“Let’s go together. I’m also heading to the cafeteria. Blue saved us seats.”
“Okay.”
“By the way, Teacher Jiang, may I ask if your next drama is Director Zhang’s ‘Imperial Tutor’?”
Hearing a topic of interest, Jiang Nan’an’s early morning drowsiness dissipated a bit.
There was nothing he couldn’t say about this, so he answered honestly:
“I’ve read the script and I’m in talks, but nothing is finalized yet.”
“Oh…” Jiang Shanshan nodded and smiled mysteriously at him:
“Rumors say the male lead they’re considering is incredibly impressive and surprising, but they won’t reveal the name, which has been driving me crazy. After guessing back and forth, it turns out to be you. It’s amazing how the world works-just two years ago I was screaming at the TV, and now I might actually have the chance to work with Teacher Jiang.”
Hearing this, Jiang Nan’an was somewhat surprised:
“You’ve been cast as Princess Shen Yue?”
“Imperial Tutor” was a male-led political drama. Director Zhang had told Jiang Nan’an that while the romantic elements weren’t heavy, they weren’t non-existent either, mainly revolving around Imperial Tutor Zhuge Wenyun and Princess Shen Yue.
Jiang Nan’an hadn’t read the complete script yet, but historically, Princess Ying Shen Yue was not only a famous beauty but also quite talented. Although she died young after being caught in royal power struggles, she left behind many poems and writings. Between the lines, one could occasionally glimpse a young lady’s admiration for Zhuge Wenyun. Combined with the fact that Zhuge Wenyun never married, this left plenty of room for speculation by later generations. Passed down through generations, unofficial histories and legends fabricated many love stories between the two, though it remained to be seen how “Imperial Tutor” would portray this.
“Yes, Ying Shen Yue. Hehe, I never thought I’d get such a role. Please take care of me, Teacher Jiang. I wonder how those marketing accounts that kept teasing about us feel now. After using us as sacrificial lambs so many times, it’s finally coming true?”
As they chatted, the two arrived at the cafeteria, where the other three team members were already seated at a table by the window, smiling and waving at them.
“Well, well, well-” Yan Jie, tearing at the bread in his hand, watched the two approaching with their selected breakfast, drawing out his tone:
“How did you two end up together? Teacher Hang chatting so happily with someone, is the sun rising from the west?”
“We met on the way and were talking about work,” Jiang Shanshan said.
“Work?” inBlue casually asked. “Are you two going to act together?”
“Bingo!” Jiang Shanshan gave him a thumbs up:
“But nothing’s set in stone yet. It only counts when the contract is signed.”
Since it wasn’t officially confirmed or announced yet, they didn’t discuss the topic much further and quickly moved on to North Star’s concert.
While the other three chatted enthusiastically, Jiang Nan’an didn’t participate, just lowering his head and eating slowly. Yan Jie also remained silent, just watching him from across the table.
Soon, he noticed Jiang Nan’an glancing at Jiang Shanshan, then looking away, only to look back again a few seconds later.
“?” What was he doing? Why was he looking at her?
Wasn’t it not set in stone yet? What was this, acting like a young boy experiencing his first crush? What happened to not understanding emotions? Was he so gifted that he’d already progressed to stealing glances?
When had this person ever shown such a hesitant, full of anticipation look? The last time was probably when he asked for corn sausages?
What’s going on, Teacher Jiang Nan’an? You’re really making me feel like I don’t know you anymore.
After noticing Jiang Nan’an’s gaze falling on the happily chatting Jiang Shanshan for the fifth time, Yan Jie finally couldn’t bear it anymore and decided to be a caring big brother.
So he asked in a low voice:
“What’s up, want to say something?”
Jiang Nan’an nodded.
“Then say it.”
“I haven’t figured out the appropriate form of address yet.”
“Shanshan, right?”
“Seems too intimate.”
Jiang Nan’an thought for a moment, and finally made up his mind, so during a brief pause in the other three’s conversation, he earnestly called out:
“Teacher Jiang Shanshan?”
“Huh?” Jiang Shanshan was startled by being addressed so formally.
She quickly tried to recall if she had said or done something wrong, but finding nothing, she weakly asked:
“…What is it?”
The gazes of the other four people at the table turned toward them. Jiang Nan’an, meeting their eyes, said with complete seriousness:
“I brought ‘The History of Xuan.’ This version is quite good, very detailed and true to actual history, with objective evaluations. There’s a separate chapter dedicated to Princess Shen Yue. I’ve read it and it’s well-written. If you need it, I can lend it to you.”
After these words, the table fell silent for several seconds.
Finally, Yan Jie was the first to laugh, glancing at Jiang Shanshan: “Quick, say thank you to Teacher Jiang.”
“Yes, Teacher Jiang, thank you, Teacher Jiang.” For a moment, Jiang Shanshan suddenly felt the nervousness one experiences when facing a homeroom teacher during school days.
“You’re very suitable for this role. I’m looking forward to working with you.”
Jiang Nan’an sincerely praised.
Yan Jie was done.
A heart that had inexplicably tensed up now confusedly settled back down.
Mystery solved, Jiang Nan’an was still Jiang Nan’an.
His true love was only his acting.
Yan Jie suddenly felt much more relaxed. He finished his full-sugar soy milk in two or three gulps, then suddenly remembered something:
“By the way, Mr. Hang, do you have your phone with you?”
Jiang Nan’an didn’t know why he suddenly asked this, but still nodded.
“You still owe me a friend request. I’ve been waiting for you to appear in my chat list until I’ve turned into a stone from staring at the mountain. Are you really planning to disappoint little Spring’s deep affection, teacher-”
“…”
Unable to bear the harassment, Jiang Nan’an immediately took out his phone, but he couldn’t find anyone who might be Yan Jie among the pile of unknown friend requests.
“You’re not here.”
“Impossible, I sent it several times.”
“Then you find it yourself.”
Jiang Nan’an handed his phone directly to Yan Jie.
But it wasn’t that complicated-Yan Jie sent a new request, and Jiang Nan’an immediately received a notification.
[“Ring” requests to add you as a friend]
Yan Jie’s profile picture was a selfie of him wearing a windbreaker and sunglasses, smiling at the camera showing his canine tooth, with a rare golden mountain in sunlight behind him.
Jiang Nan’an’s gaze lingered on his profile picture for a moment before looking away. He moved his finger and accepted Yan Jie’s friend request.
After breakfast at the cafeteria, they all went to the training room together. Chenghua first reviewed the last three training matches from yesterday, then arranged today’s training tasks.
Jiang Nan’an was ordered to practice mid-jungle coordination with Yan Jie, but as he was logging into his account, his phone suddenly rang. Looking at the caller, it was Qi Hong.
Why would Qi Hong be looking for him during training time?
Jiang Nan’an didn’t think much about it, signaled to Chenghua, and answered the call.
“Hello?” After connecting, Qi Hong’s voice sounded a bit serious:
“Baby, do you know what happened? Have you seen the trending topics? What’s wrong with this production team? How could they let such a problem occur? I’ve bought my ticket and will be there in two hours. Have their person in charge line up and wait for me!”
Jiang Nan’an raised an eyebrow slightly, exited the call interface and opened Weibo, indeed seeing his name in the top trending topics.
#Jiang Nan’an Jiang Shanshan#
#Jiang Nan’an Sasaeng#
#Burning Eternity Production Team#
Clicking into the topic, the main post was from a small Weibo account with his profile picture. The content was several photos. What surprised Jiang Nan’an was that the photos were taken and published just two hours ago, obviously secretly, showing him and Jiang Shanshan walking to the cafeteria this morning.
In the photos, he and Jiang Shanshan were wearing identical silver-white-pink team uniforms. They were probably discussing their collaboration at that time, as Jiang Shanshan was looking up at him with a smile.
The photos were quite blurry, with tricky angles, somehow making the scene appear somewhat intimate.
Jiang Nan’an clicked into the account’s homepage and saw that all the posts were secretly taken during the show’s recording period. Although most were just backs and blurry side profiles, it was still clear that the subject of those photos was Jiang Nan’an. However, the previous ones hadn’t caused much stir-only this one that inexplicably went viral was discovered by everyone.
It wasn’t hard to guess that this account belonged to one of Jiang Nan’an’s extreme sasaeng fans, as all the post captions referred to Jiang Nan’an as “wife,” with the latest one being particularly vicious.
[Waiting to f*ck Jiang Nan’an-Two hours ago-IP location: Mainland]
[What’s with this show having so many sluts, both men and women, all slutty and cheap. Just die, will you? Stay away from my wife.]
#
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
