After the secret marriage to my top star partner

Chapter 46

Editor: Princess

After the bell-ringing ceremony came the tedious interviews, one after another, from day until night.

Fortunately, Mu Nan had prepared in advance and slipped away directly during the chaos. But as the main character, Cheng Han couldn’t escape and could only smile while answering the same questions with reporter after reporter.

Mu Nan was catching up on sleep at the hotel while Cheng Han was in the thick of battle on stage.

Just minutes after the bell-ringing ended, related topics had already shot up the trending searches.

With nothing else to do, Mu Nan started reading the comments. Part of the netizens were congratulating Cheng Han, blowing rainbow farts like crazy, using words so exaggerated that Mu Nan felt embarrassed. To the point where he could only cover his eyes and peek at the screen through his fingers.

But the more he read, the more he felt that Cheng Han might actually deserve these comments. Things like “heaven’s favored son”, “God’s beloved”, “heaven chasing after him to feed him, even coaxing him to eat two more bites.”

Mu Nan’s mind kept replaying that scene from the bell-ringing ceremony. Cheng Han smiling as he looked at the media and cameras ahead, but his gaze extended beyond them to somewhere farther away.

He knew that for Cheng Han, this wasn’t the end point but the starting point. With his abilities and vision, he could completely reach even higher realms. Maybe in ten or twenty years, half the entertainment industry would be his.

But Mu Nan felt no jealousy. Instead, he was genuinely happy for him. In his view, people each had their own aspirations. He only wanted to be an entertainer in peace. Making him do business was beyond his capabilities, but since Cheng Han excelled in this area, he should naturally walk toward higher ground.

However, besides praise, some discordant voices still emerged.

[I don’t understand why you’re all praising him for going from entertainer to boss. Haven’t you seen what entertainment industry bosses are like?]

[Exactly, maybe it’s just to make hooking up with female celebrities more convenient. Still pushing this business genius persona. You’re just deceiving yourselves.]

[Business genius? People actually believe that? Are you all pretending not to know what kind of background Cheng Han’s family has? Don’t tell me some people really think he started from nothing?]

There were also some fans who didn’t care whether Cheng Han went public or not, or they simply didn’t understand what going public meant.

[Sorry, I only see that the top-tier CP is real. Mu Nan clearly has nothing to do with the company, yet they still rang the bell together?]

[I suspect Cheng Han has been bewitched by Mu Nan. His company has so many A-listers, yet he insisted on holding Mu Nan’s hand to ring the bell.]

[Sigh, don’t ask. The answer is they both have magnets in their hands.]

Along this journey, Mu Nan had witnessed the great ups and downs of the top-tier CP fans. Starting from that earth-shattering kiss on the show, the top-tier CP rose powerfully, then experienced a period of silence when the two had little interaction.

Just when everyone thought this CP would become a one-day special, the horror variety show emerged as a dark horse, directly sending them to the top of the CP rankings. Since then, the top-tier CP had prospered continuously.

Perhaps this was fate, Mu Nan mused. Originally two people who were mortal enemies seemed like they would never have any connection in their lifetimes, but suddenly, fate magically intertwined them together, never to be separated again.

It wasn’t until the evening banquet that Mu Nan saw Cheng Han again.

The hair on Cheng Han’s forehead was somewhat disheveled, with several strands dampened by sweat and sticking to his forehead.

Seeing Mu Nan walk in, he waved from afar, gesturing for him to look this way.

Mu Nan walked toward him, and Cheng Han handed him a glass of fruit juice.

“You haven’t rested all day, have you?” Mu Nan took a sip of juice. Seeing that his outer formal wear hadn’t changed but his inner shirt had been replaced, he knew he must have been exhausted enough to sweat through several changes of clothes.

“Just this one day. Grit through it and it’ll pass.” Cheng Han lowered his head, letting Ai Jia wipe the light sweat from his temples.

“Then don’t drink tonight.” Mu Nan took the wine glass from Cheng Han’s hand and casually placed it on a waiter’s tray.

But he saw Cheng Han reveal a subtle smile, and only then did Mu Nan realize what he had done.

He was clearly still angry at Cheng Han, clearly still being sulky, yet he was still looking after Cheng Han by not letting him drink, and the reason was out of concern for him.

Cheng Han showed a smile. However although warm, it looked full of scheming to Mu Nan.

He said, “Alright, if you don’t want me to drink, then I won’t drink.”

Mu Nan, feeling petulant, grabbed the wine back from the tray and shoved it into Cheng Han’s hands: “Drink, drink, drink! Drink more, don’t be polite.”

After saying this, he huffed off, but Cheng Han’s smile grew even broader.

He could feel that Mu Nan was already in chaos. He was beginning to contradict himself, unable to understand his own emotions.

This meant he was already beginning to waver, struggling with his inner self, possibly testing at the edge of transformation.

Watching his flustered retreating figure, Cheng Han’s smile grew even brighter.

Throughout the entire banquet, Mu Nan seemed somewhat distracted. From time to time, people came to chat with him, but he deflected them all with lukewarm responses.

He could feel himself losing control. This was an unprecedented feeling.

But after a brief moment of panic, Mu Nan steadied his mind remarkably well.

Because during this period, especially after the struggles of the past two days, he had activated his miraculous mental circuit, forcefully carving out a path from the dead end.

—Since he couldn’t figure out what he was thinking, he should first figure out what Cheng Han was thinking.

Meeting moves with countermoves, a wise man’s strategy.

Finally, close to midnight, the guests had mostly dispersed, and Cheng Han’s exhausting and momentous day finally came to an end.

As soon as they entered the backstage area, Ai Jia hurriedly brought him a chair, then helped him remove his sweat-soaked formal wear and shirt, changing into his own clothes.

“Cheng Han.” At the entrance of the dim rest room, Mu Nan suddenly appeared and called his name.

Cheng Han had just taken off his shirt and hadn’t yet had time to put on other clothes, so his physique caught Mu Nan’s eyes unexpectedly.

Recently, with both the IPO preparations and variety show running parallel, Cheng Han’s mental and physical strength had reached their limits, and he had lost a lot of weight because of it.

Previously, Cheng Han’s build had been very solid, with clear abdominal muscle definition and other muscles quite substantial. But after the dramatic weight loss, his muscles had faded, and his whole person had become much more gaunt.

Because Cheng Han had one-quarter European blood, his bone structure was on the larger side. Unlike Mu Nan’s typical Eastern physique, where weight loss would make him appear slender with a youthful quality, Cheng Han’s thinness only made people feel sorry for him.

“Then you two chat first, I’ll step out.” Ai Jia tactfully gave them space.

“Cheng Han, let’s talk.” Mu Nan closed the rest room door. Outside, Ai Jia made an OK gesture, indicating he’d stand guard.

“Talk about what?” Cheng Han asked.

Mu Nan crossed his arms, his expression rarely seen so serious: “Cheng Han, tell me the truth. The night before last, what exactly did you mean?”

“Just what you think.” Cheng Han stood up, trying to approach Mu Nan, but Mu Nan stepped back.

“What I think?” Mu Nan laughed coldly. “I was thinking you were bullying me, workplace harassment.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Cheng Han was somewhat helpless.

Mu Nan shook his head: “No, I’m not being ridiculous. I just want to ask clearly. Do you find it interesting to watch me like this?”

“What?”

Mu Nan said, “You watch me in this state, being led around by the nose by you. Because of one sentence, one action from you, I can agonize for an entire day. Are you enjoying this immensely?”

“No…” Cheng Han hurriedly said. He absolutely never had such thoughts.

“Then why do you always say ambiguous things and then refuse to answer directly? If you’re not toying with me, then what is it?”

“Let me explain.” Cheng Han felt somewhat at a loss. He had been testing, testing Mu Nan’s bottom line and his feelings toward him, but he had never once thought of playing with Mu Nan.

He was just afraid. He lacked confidence. He didn’t dare rashly reveal his cards because once Mu Nan refused, he might lose everything.

But now, facing Mu Nan’s questioning, he understood.

He had been wrong from the very beginning. Mu Nan wasn’t a sensitive, fragile person, nor did he need gradual infiltration.

On the contrary, he was a straightforward person who hoped everything would be direct, emotions included.

In this instant, countless regrets surged through Cheng Han’s heart. He seemed to have wasted too much time.

“Speak.” Mu Nan was still waiting for his response.

Cheng Han looked into his bright eyes, first turning to put on his T-shirt, then spoke: “Mu Nan, I like you.”

Mu Nan was clearly stunned for a moment but didn’t seem particularly surprised. Instead, he let out a long breath of relief.

He had long anticipated such a result. His current surprise was only because Cheng Han had actually said it outright.

“Oh, and then?” He asked with arms crossed.

Before entering the rest room, Mu Nan had already made up his mind. He wouldn’t be led around by Cheng Han anymore. He was determined to be assertive for once.

“When did it start, why didn’t you say anything before, and why couldn’t you hold back recently?”

His tone was like an interrogation, but Cheng Han seriously answered his questions.

“I don’t know when it started. You disliked me before, so I didn’t dare tell you. Recently… recently I discovered I just couldn’t hold back.”

“Finished?” Mu Nan asked.

“Mm.” Cheng Han said.

“So this counts as confessing to me?”

Cheng Han didn’t know how things had turned out this way. In his plan, when the time was right, he would formally confess to Mu Nan, laying his feelings clearly before him.

But now, because of Mu Nan’s sudden questioning, all his plans had been disrupted. And he himself was forced to stand here, utterly disheveled.

Actually, Mu Nan was no less disheveled than him. This was his first time doing such a thing, so he was extremely unpracticed. But he thought there probably wouldn’t be a second time.

“So…” Mu Nan hesitantly began, “So… now we’ve switched positions, right? You’ve confessed, but I don’t necessarily have to accept, so now I can string you along?”

Cheng Han had been waiting for the guillotine to fall, waiting to be sentenced to life imprisonment by Mu Nan. He had imagined ten thousand outcomes, but he couldn’t have imagined this direction.

Looking at Mu Nan, he suddenly noticed that Mu Nan’s hands were tightly clenched into fists, and his Adam’s apple was bobbing up and down uneasily.

He understood. Mu Nan was nervous too.

“You can.” Cheng Han suddenly felt relieved. This wasn’t life imprisonment at all, this was a marathon that had just begun.

He said, “Of course you can. You can string me along to your heart’s content, you can refuse to accept my pursuit, you can play hard to get, you can tell me to get lost, you can do whatever you want to me, as long as you’re happy.”

Since it was a marathon, even if the journey was a bit longer, there would always be a finish line in sight.

This was good enough. Cheng Han’s requirements weren’t high.