After the secret marriage to my top star partner

Chapter 45

Editor: Princess

After driving Cheng Han out, Mu Nan began to regret it.

However, he didn’t regret driving Cheng Han away. Rather, he regretted that Cheng Han had been driven to the living room, and he didn’t know how he would walk out of the bedroom tomorrow.

They both understood what that kiss had represented.

He just hadn’t expected it to come so suddenly.

From the moment he discovered something was off about Cheng Han, he had vaguely sensed deep down that this day would come sooner or later.

He seemed to have fallen into a game with Cheng Han, seeing who would speak first, who would be unable to hold back first.

However, when this day really arrived, he discovered that he wasn’t ready yet. He didn’t dislike that kiss, but he didn’t feel that he had fallen in love with Cheng Han either.

The change in their relationship was too strange. Not long ago, they had still been mortal enemies. Now Cheng Han was using such a simple and direct method to tell him that he didn’t want to be mortal enemies anymore, that he wanted to be his boyfriend.

How could he agree to that?

When Lian Po asked his mortal enemy Lin Xiangru for forgiveness, at least he carried thorns on his back to apologize. Now if Cheng Han could win him over with just a kiss without doing anything else, where would his dignity go? How could he continue to face people?

Thinking of this, Mu Nan finally made up his mind. He couldn’t agree to Cheng Han so quickly. At the earliest, it would have to be when he also began to fall in love with him. Right now, at most, he could say he didn’t dislike him.

There was no helping it. The person being confessed to was just this arrogant.

On the other side of the door, Cheng Han lay on the sofa, unable to help feeling endless regret.

He wished he could travel back ten minutes to strangle his impulsive past self.

He could have done anything else, why did he have to kiss him? Was explaining not appealing enough, or was confession too heavy to handle?

He had a mouth but didn’t use it for talking. Instead, he used it to kiss people. He cursed himself with a string of insults in his mind, however the deed was already done. There was no other way. He had to think about how to make proper amends.

However, there was only silence from within the bedroom. He ricked up his ears to listen carefully but didn’t hear a single sound, as if Mu Nan had already fallen asleep.

The more it was like this, the more panicked his heart became. After all, he wasn’t afraid of Mu Nan being angry or cursing him. What he feared most was Mu Nan acting as if nothing had happened.

Because having no emotions was the most frightening emotion of all.

Cheng Han barely slept that night. While resting with his eyes closed, he carefully listened to the sounds in the room. He heard every single turn Mu Nan made clearly, and he felt like he was about to have a nervous breakdown.

While tossing and turning, dawn broke, and Ai Jia came knocking on the door.

When he entered and saw the obviously slept-in sofa and the tightly closed bedroom door, he was stunned for a moment, pointing at the bedroom door and wanting to speak for a long time.

Seeing that Cheng Han had no intention of explaining, he silently closed his mouth again.

Just then, the bedroom door was suddenly pulled open, and a figure rushed out in a whirlwind.

Mu Nan was still holding the formal wear he had tried on the night before, his legs almost leaving afterimages as he ran.

Ai Jia was unprepared and was thoroughly startled. Only after the main door slammed shut did he react belatedly: “Bro… was that Brother Mu Nan?”

Cheng Han pinched his brow, nodding with difficulty.

Ai Jia looked in the direction Mu Nan had left, then looked at Cheng Han. After a long while, he only managed to utter two words: “Wh- oa.”

• All of Sunday, Mu Nan didn’t go anywhere. He just stayed holed up in his room, eating then sleeping, sleeping then eating, trying to use extreme decadence to mask his unwillingness to face Cheng Han directly.

He managed to drag it out until Monday morning, when he had no choice but to see Cheng Han.

The makeup artist came to do his styling then praised his aesthetic taste seriously after seeing the suit Cheng Han had prepared for him.

Mu Nan let out a cold laugh. Of course it was good, Cheng Han wouldn’t give him anything that wasn’t.

Next, he took a car directly to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

However, when they were still some distance from the Stock Exchange, he noticed that something was wrong.

“Why are there so many cars?” He asked.

Wilder told him: “Pretty much all the media from the mainland and Hong Kong have arrived. There are many platforms doing live broadcasts simultaneously, so it’s no wonder there are so many people.”

“Ah?” Mu Nan was somewhat dumbfounded. He had expected that there would be media, but he hadn’t expected that there would be so many. It felt like even a top-tier actress marrying a construction worker would only have this kind of spectacle at their wedding.

Mu Nan knew nothing about the process, so Wilder quickly took this opportunity to give him a crash course.

“There’s a short red carpet segment coming up, and the live broadcast starts from there. Cheng Han comes out last, and you’re second to last. Remember to follow the host’s and protocol officer’s guidance. During the bell-ringing, Cheng Han stands in the center position, and you stand next to him, or you can move over two positions to either side.”

“So what exactly do I need to do?” Mu Nan asked.

Wilder gave a simple and crude answer: “Smile. You’re basically a mascot.”

“Got it.” Mu Nan tugged at his bow tie but was slapped on the back of his hand by Wilder. “Don’t fiddle with it, you’ve made it crooked.”

Mu Nan sat in the car, not entering the venue directly but staying in the outer area for a while. About ten minutes later, the driver received instructions, and they slowly drove into the red carpet area.

From far away, Mu Nan could see a mass of heads, a scene comparable to major domestic film festivals.

Only at this moment did he realize clearly that Chang Nian Media’s listing was a milestone, an unprecedented event in the entertainment industry, and the biggest news of recent times.

For some reason, even though he had walked countless red carpets before, this time as he was about to step onto the red carpet, he actually felt somewhat nervous.

“What are you shaking for?” Wilder saw through his nervousness at a glance.

Mu Nan smiled: “Sorry, this D-lister has never seen this kind of spectacle.”

“Get lost.” As the car door opened, Wilder pushed Mu Nan out. However, Mu Nan was prepared and stood firmly on the ground. The joking appearance he had in the car instantly vanished, replaced by a flawless business smile.

He smiled and waved to the cameras on both sides, then walked onto the red carpet with steps he had practiced millions of times and that had become muscle memory.

However, as soon as he took a step, his foot stopped mid-air, and his smile froze on his face.

Cheng… Cheng Han?

Cheng Han was standing to one side of the red carpet’s starting point, smiling as he looked toward him.

A hundred questions flashed through Mu Nan’s mind. Such a major mistake shouldn’t happen at this kind of event. How could they throw the artist who was supposed to appear later onto the red carpet and then just ignore him? Even if he were truly a D-lister, this treatment would be excessive.

Before his confusion could fully form, however, Cheng Han had already stridden toward him with his long legs.

Then he stood beside him.

He made an extremely gentlemanly “please” gesture to him.

Following his face downward, Mu Nan saw that Cheng Han was wearing formal wear from the same series as his—black.

Mu Nan was completely dumbfounded. Was Cheng Han really this bold?

No wonder he had prepared clothes for him in advance. And here he had thought Cheng Han’s conscience had awakened.

He never expected that this was Cheng Han’s plan!

He really wanted to turn around and leave right now, but he couldn’t. He could only squeeze out a kind smile for the thousands of cameras and respond with an even more polite “please”, the slightly bowing kind.

Of course, if he had known that this scene of mutual politeness would later be set to the background music of “First Bow to Heaven and Earth” by CP fans, he would never have done it even if it killed him.

What Mu Nan didn’t know was that the netizens in front of the live broadcast had already died and come back to life.

[Mom, I’m getting the real deal! Waiting for you on the red carpet, couple’s outfits! If this isn’t real, I’ll stay single forever.]

[Holy crap, no way, no way, what does this mean? Don’t mess with me!]

[Are these really couple’s outfits? I don’t think they look that similar, and besides, Mu Nan is a real guest. As the host, it’s normal for Cheng Han to wait for him.]

[I don’t care, I won’t accept it. Why is Cheng Han taking such good care of Mu Nan? He even invited him to his company’s listing. Has he forgotten how Mu Nan usually treated him?]

[Stop deceiving yourselves. The fact that Cheng Han could invite Nan Nan and that Nan Nan was willing to come—doesn’t that explain the problem?]

[It doesn’t explain jack. Who knows if Mu Nan was just trying to ride the wave and insisted on coming.]

However, this time, CP fans and solo fans rarely refrained from fighting. This was because all the CP fans’ attention was focused on the live broadcast, with some even opening multiple platforms’ multi-angle live streams just to not miss any interaction between them.

If Mu Nan knew about this, he would definitely laugh at these people unrestrainedly. The sugar mountain from the horror variety show was piled right in front of you, and now you’re picking up these sugar crumbs to eat?

CP fans: It’s worth it, absolutely worth it. What kind of people are we? Even sugar crumbs can’t be wasted.

The bell-ringing ceremony couldn’t compare to a proper film festival with various performances. This time it was just a simple ceremony.

Mu Nan sat in the guest section for a while before the ceremony officially began. The first to speak was Chang Nian Media’s cornerstone investor, a famous Hong Kong investor who spoke eloquently for five minutes before passing the turn to the employee representative, Cheng Han’s manager.

Cheng Han’s manager was the complete opposite of Wilder. He had a calm and steady personality, spoke very little, said a couple of sentences, and then handed the microphone to Cheng Han.

The microphone fixed to the table seemed somewhat low compared to Cheng Han’s height. He bent down slightly, and Mu Nan heard him say:

“When I founded Chang Nian Media, I thought about having a day like this, but I never expected this day to come so quickly.”

“Along this journey, I encountered many mentors who helped me, and of course, many setbacks. But fortunately, with the joint efforts of everyone in the company, we overcame them all and are standing here today.”

Then he went through names one by one: “Chi Yue, a veteran of Chang Nian Media, was the first artist to follow me. Without her, there would be no beginning for the company. Ling Gaoge, the first amateur the company signed. Many people weren’t optimistic then, but now he’s also a big star who can handle things independently…”

“Yang Yuzhu, the youngest brother in the company, a well-known workaholic, a booster for our pre-listing performance.” He cracked a joke and then smiled somewhat relaxedly.

“And Mu Nan.” Finally, Cheng Han’s gaze suddenly looked toward him.

Mu Nan was stunned on the spot. What the hell? I’m not an artist in your company. How is this any of my business?

He heard Cheng Han say: “Since my debut, everyone has called him my mortal enemy. I want to thank him for giving me the constant motivation to move forward. I invited him here today precisely because without the motivation he gave me, Chang Nian Media wouldn’t have reached its current scale.”

[Hahaha, CP fans must be dumbfounded now. It’s not the sweet love you were talking about at all. He deliberately invited his enemy to witness his success.]

[Damn hahaha, Cheng Han is really despicable, specifically calling his mortal enemy over to witness his achievements.]

[But I still think it’s strange. With these two people’s current vibe, do they still seem like mortal enemies?]

Mu Nan looked at Cheng Han’s expression, his heart surging like stormy waves.

He clearly heard that sentence “thank him for giving me the constant motivation to move forward”, which meant that Cheng Han had developed feelings for him from even earlier?

However, the timing didn’t allow him to think more. It was time for the bell-ringing, and he stood at the front with the crowd. Below the stage were hundreds and thousands of cameras aimed at them.

Mu Nan stood in a relatively outer position, making way for several of Chang Nian Media’s A-listers.

He maintained his business smile, looking at the media below the stage.

However just at this moment, he felt a pulling force at his wrist. Then, a clear path to the center was smoothly opened up.

Cheng Han pulled him to stand in the center, then pressed a small hammer into his hand. Cheng Han’s large hand wrapped around the outside of his, somewhat domineeringly, not letting him let go.

Cheng Han bent down slightly and whispered in his ear: “Help me ring the bell, will you?”

Before Mu Nan could answer, his hand had already been pulled up, and a clear “clang” rang out.

Thunderous cheers erupted both on and off the stage. Cheng Han picked up the microphone and declared with great spirit: “From today, Chang Nian Media is officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange!”

At the same time, his other hand was still tightly holding Mu Nan’s.