109: My patience with him has its limits.

Jiang You was taught to be "paranoid," and after half an hour, everyone looked like they had ulterior motives.

But really, Jiang Nong was paying far too much attention to Shen Lian.

"Special Assistant Sun." Jiang You reported to Sun Binghe, who had just returned from the restroom. "In the last five minutes, Jiang Nong shared snacks and cookies with Brother Shen, kept looking for topics to talk about, and finally, he couldn't unscrew his water bottle and asked Brother Shen for help."

Sun Binghe: "Is he a pig? A grown man can't even unscrew that?"

Jiang Nong's assistant walked past, feeling like he'd taken an arrow to the knee for no reason, and asked curiously, "Who are you talking about?"

Jiang You wasn't experienced enough and shut up immediately. Sun Binghe, on the other hand, turned around leisurely and, taking advantage of his height, squinted down at the little assistant before asking, "What does it have to do with you?"

The little assistant didn't understand where this sense of crisis came from, but his escape speed was on par with the higher-ups at Hengtai.

"Brother Shen, red date flavored Sachima, want some?" Jiang Nong stepped forward.

Shen Lian hissed softly.

At first, Shen Lian could treat it as a kid being playful and wanting to make friends, but when he accepted some small items, Jiang Nong clearly became more excited. It would have been one thing if he treated everyone equally, but he was singling him out.

Turning his head, he noticed Sun Binghe seemed to give a cold laugh.

"Alright." Shen Lian turned Jiang Nong around and pushed him forward. "Go discuss with the director how to handle the lines."

"I've memorized them all!" Jiang Nong turned back again. "My brother taught me at home. Brother Shen, you can watch my performance in a bit!"

His confidence overflowed, stemming from both his own strength and the pampering from his family.

That's right, Jiang Nong had taken a liking to Shen Lian, the kind of heart-fluttering attraction that started a long time ago.

Shen Lian didn't know that Jiang Nong had a side account that checked into his super topic every day.

For this filming, Su Niansheng had originally fought for Jiang Nong to have the second male lead role, and Jiang Nong hadn't planned on backing down either. Director Liu Zong was getting a massive headache, thinking that if all else failed, he'd just let them compete on the same stage. Who knew that after learning the other competitor was Shen Lian, Jiang Nong would voluntarily withdraw, saying the third male lead was also quite good.

Su Niansheng had sighed at the time: "What are you scared of? Your brother is here."

Jiang Nong rubbed his nose and whispered, "It's not being scared."

Su Niansheng hadn't understood the meaning of those words, but now he was gradually beginning to.

Not only was Sun Binghe watching closely, but so was Su Niansheng on the other side.

Jiang Nong was the son of Su Niansheng's aunt. His aunt was the only female in the third generation of the Su Family and had been the center of attention since childhood. Loving the house and its crow, Jiang Nong looked eighty percent like his aunt and had a sweet mouth, so one could imagine how much he was pampered.

But... Su Niansheng stepped forward and interrupted Jiang Nong's animated chatter. "Come with me for a moment."

Jiang Nong's smile stiffened, realizing belatedly that he had gotten carried away. His cousin must have noticed something and he didn't know what he would say. He stuck his tongue out at Shen Lian and followed Su Niansheng obediently.

Normally, Shen Lian would find these little gestures of Jiang Nong's quite cute, but once suspicion took root, it felt unsettling.

Shen Lian walked up to Sun Binghe. The two looked at each other for a moment before Shen Lian whispered, "It couldn't be, right?"

Sun Binghe: "My patience for him is limited."

Shen Lian: "..."

Sun Binghe: "Anyone who tries to steal my Boss's man is dead."

Shen Lian: "..."

Shen Lian thought to himself that for someone to steal a man, the foundation had to be loose first. His love for Chu Yilan was as solid as gold, okay!

Before long, Su Niansheng came out of the prop room with Jiang Nong. Jiang Nong's head was hanging low as he tugged at Su Niansheng's hem, only to be brushed off.

Their relationship had been clarified and made public back when the "Su-Jiang scandal" broke.

Sun Binghe had also just fished for the information he wanted from a few other staff members.

Looking at it this way, Su Niansheng seemed like an ally.

They first filmed the scene between Jiang Nong and Su Niansheng. Honestly, Jiang Nong did have some skill; at least his delivery of lines was up to par. Occasionally his phrasing was off, but it wasn't a big deal. The two seemed to have rehearsed, as their expressions and movements were just right.

Everyone present thought it was quite wonderful, except for Sun Binghe.

"If this acting is okay, then I can do it too," Sun Binghe sneered.

Once Special Assistant Sun put on his biased glasses, no one could please him.

Jiang You hurriedly looked around. Fortunately, there weren't many people!

As soon as this segment ended, before Jiang Nong could even say anything to Su Niansheng, he grabbed a handful of chocolates from his bag and rushed toward Shen Lian.

Su Niansheng was a bit frustrated. This kid.

In Su Niansheng's view, everyone in the industry with good looks like Shen Lian was, without exception, a peacock. For resources and connections, they would do anything without limits. Even if Shen Lian's career was looking up now, Su Niansheng didn't think he was qualified to have close contact with his younger cousin.

"Brother Shen!" Jiang Nong called out with a smile.

The next second, a figure blocked his path.

"Sorry, Teacher Shen is busy." Sun Binghe's smile was polite. "Could you please not disturb him?"

"Ah, I'm interrupting Brother Shen's line memorization!" Jiang Nong looked annoyed with himself.

Sun Binghe: "Can you stop doing this?"

Jiang Nong: "What?"

"Showing your canine teeth, sticking out your tongue, acting cute." Sun Binghe spoke matter-of-factly. "I understand the desire to show off in front of the person you're attracted to, but aren't you doing it a bit too frequently?"

Jiang Nong blinked, nearly floored by Sun Binghe's blunt words.

Since his debut, he had been very careful with his reputation, with zero scandals or hype. Because he didn't lack resources, he was very cautious with every choice. He had no dark past, had achieved some success, was praised by fans, and cared for by his family. No one had ever told him that acting like this was bad.

He indeed wanted to leave a better and deeper impression on Shen Lian.

"Teacher Shen isn't looking for a relationship," Sun Binghe lowered his voice. "Doing this will cause him a lot of trouble."

Courtesy before force. Sun Binghe told himself that if Jiang Nong was at all smart, he would understand that Shen Lian was currently in the rising phase of his career, and dating would be no different from seeking death. Of course, his own Boss was the exception, because the Boss was on a whole other level.

Jiang Nong's expression suddenly became incredibly panicked. He hadn't expected his feelings to be seen through by a mere assistant and to be confronted about it here. His understanding of many things carried a kind of "naive cruelty."

Because Su Niansheng didn't let him see the sinister side of the entertainment industry, and his family would comfort him and settle things if anything happened, Jiang Nong's way of thinking was very simple.

"I will help Brother Shen," Jiang Nong said. "Perhaps he needs someone who understands him."

Sun Binghe was exasperated.

"No." Sun Binghe's voice turned cold. "You were just scolded by your brother like a defeated rooster and clearly didn't dare to resist. Now, with just a flick of your lips, you're capable again?"

Jiang Nong's face flushed instantly.

He had been afraid of Su Niansheng since he was a child because Su Niansheng was strict. Just now, Su Niansheng warned him not to mess around on set. Jiang Nong did as he always did—nodded in agreement first, then turned around and did the opposite. He was used to it and didn't think much of it, but coming from Sun Binghe's mouth, it made him sound like someone with no real ability who just loved making empty promises.

Jiang Nong glared at Sun Binghe: "What does this have to do with you?"

"Kid." Sun Binghe's smile deepened. "You'd better listen to what I'm saying."

Shen Lian put down the script and turned around to see Jiang Nong looking fuming, his hair practically standing on end. Sun Binghe wasn't backing down an inch, clearly having already spoken his mind.

Listen to that, Shen Lian thought. Our King of Roasting is holding a hand full of jokers and deuces, focusing on an all-out bombardment. With Jiang Nong's level, he'll probably be driven to an explosion of anger every three seconds on average.