Chapter 8 If You Want Something, Just Say It—How Am I Supposed to Know Otherwise?

The show was scheduled to be filmed in June, on the outskirts of a city called Seaside. June’s weather here was as fickle as a child’s mood: one moment the sky was clear and bright, the next, sudden sunshowers swept across the land in bursts. Standing in the garden, admiring rows upon rows of blooming roses, Ji Ya was caught in the fine rain—her hair dampened, clinging to her flawless face.

Her countenance, usually cool and distant, now framed by rain and roses in the camera’s lens, looked like a rose fairy descended from the heavens—aloof and elegant, a beauty that could only be admired from afar.

Meanwhile, Lin Yu had found himself a tranquil spot to relax. He sat in the garden pavilion, brewing tea. The freshly boiled water sent up plumes of steam, and as it was poured into the teapot, the fragrance of the floral tea wafted through the air.

He looked nothing like someone here to film a show; rather, he seemed to be on a serene holiday.

Feeling a sudden thirst, Ji Ya approached, intending to take a sip of tea to quench her dry throat. But to her surprise, Lin Yu picked up the teapot and gulped down all the tea himself. When he finished, he beamed at her.

“Do it yourself and you’ll never go hungry! Want tea? Boil your own water. Even if you’re the boss, I won’t spoil you. After all, there’s nothing in my contract about serving the boss.”

Seeing his air of nonchalance, as if women meant nothing to him and he was a lone swordsman with no attachments, Ji Ya was speechless.

Is this guy really a man? Does he have no sense of chivalry? Does he know how many men line up just for a chance to pursue her? And now, just wanting a sip of his tea, he finished it in one go as if protecting his food!

What’s worse, Ji Ya was still hungry, and Lin Yu, having finished the tea, took out a pork trotter he’d grabbed from the kitchen and started gnawing on it, smacking his lips in satisfaction after each bite.

Ji Ya was exasperated at the sight.

So here I am, the head of a major talent agency, lowering myself to join a dating show to help launch your career, and you’re just here enjoying tea and life? You dragged me by the hand to the villa, then left me behind to rush into the kitchen, and now you’re drooling over a freshly cooked pot of pork trotters right in front of the cameras.

Did everything you learned in that month of “artist self-cultivation” go in one ear and out the other? All that training, wasted?

If this gluttonous image airs, anyone who becomes your fan must be blind! Even if you’re talented, you can’t behave like this.

And now, as an artist, you’re ignoring body management and shamelessly gnawing on a pork trotter right in front of your boss?

Do you have any respect for me at all?

Are you trying to get fired?

No, she had to give him a good talking-to!

At this moment, Ji Ya had shed her usual ice-queen image. No longer caring about the cameras, her face darkened as she stormed over.

Meanwhile, the live comments were flooding in.

“My goodness, is this really my cool goddess Ji Ya? How did she suddenly turn into a fierce tigress? That murderous glare can’t be hidden! Even so, angry Ji Ya is still so beautiful! I could stare at her forever!”

“Wait, I just realized Lin Yu is actually signed under Ji Ya’s agency. Now I’m confused—does Ji Fei, the top agency, have such low standards for artist image management? If so, I could totally do this!”

“Guys, don’t you see? Ji Ya is about to slice this kid up!”

“Eating pork trotters, eh? Get ready for Ji Ya’s jade-foot strike!”

“What a guy! The way he downed the tea just as Ji Ya reached for it is still fresh in my mind. She probably wants to kill him right now. He’s more protective of his food than my dog.”

“Wait, jade foot? Why reward him? Let me have a turn! I’ll pay, I want the SVIP lane! Let me in!”

Ji Ya was now right in front of Lin Yu. She reached out and grabbed his wrist with a grip that could have cut through steel, her eyes sharp enough to stab right through him.

“Lin Yu!”

Lin Yu quickly pulled the pork trotter closer, took a final bite, then, smiling brightly, offered her his hand.

“Boss, you can’t eat the bone. I already promised Big Yellow I’d give it to him when I was done. But if it’s you, anything goes.”

Several veins popped on Ji Ya’s forehead. What nonsense was this? Fighting with Big Yellow over food?

The last time she’d been this speechless… was the last time.

The comments section was in hysterics.

“I’m dying of laughter!”

“Seriously, bro? Offering Ji Ya your leftovers?”

“Who would’ve thought? A billionaire CEO, reduced to fighting a dog for scraps on a variety show!”

“What’s going on? ‘If it’s the boss, anything goes?’ My goddess, you’re sullied!”

“Let go of that girl and let me in!”

“You guys are getting carried away. Ji Ya is still pure and clean, there’s no way she’d end up with a guy like that—she belongs to all of us!”

Ji Ya could never have imagined that signing an artist would so thoroughly shatter her previously untouchable and elegant image. Other artists would do anything to earn the backing of Ji Fei Agency, striving desperately for their moment in the spotlight.

But Lin Yu was an anomaly. When he’d demanded to be managed one-on-one at the time of signing, she’d assumed he’d use the opportunity to climb the ranks.

But now she finally understood why, in just one month, Lin Yu had driven off more than five managers assigned by the agency.

He simply didn’t care. After his song “Decency” had made a tidy profit for the company, he showed no intention of writing more.

At one point, Ji Ya even suspected he had plagiarized “Decency,” but after scouring every possible record in the entertainment world, she found no evidence.

“Lin Yu.”

Ji Ya was utterly exasperated. She wanted to scold him, but her upbringing made it impossible to utter a harsh word. Besides, his bright and innocent smile was just too dazzling.

She would have to wait until filming ended today to figure out how to get him to put in some effort.

But when she saw Lin Yu pull yet another pork trotter from his pocket, her composure finally cracked. No wonder she’d noticed his pocket bulging earlier but had been too embarrassed to say anything.

After all, gray pants do make things look bigger… and if she’d said anything, the producers would have probably cut the broadcast. But who could have guessed he was hiding that thing in there?

Gritting her teeth, she snatched the pork trotter from him, her words squeezed out through clenched jaws.

“Where on earth did you get this pork trotter from, huh?”

“Huh? Boss, if you wanted it, you just had to say so. How was I supposed to know?”

“You—”

“Do you want it? Just say the word and it’s yours.”

“Lin. Yu!”