ADTCP Ch33

Tao Zhen froze in place for two seconds. The surge of anger and fear receded like the tide, replaced instead by a flood of guilt, and shock.

So the Crown Prince hadn’t intended to do anything inappropriate. He had only wanted to drape a coat over him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Flustered and regretful, Tao Zhen hurriedly stepped forward, wanting to check the spot where he had just slapped by accident. “I heard a loud smack just now, did I hit you? Where did I hit you?”

But the Crown Prince said nothing. He only pulled Tao Zhen’s slender pale fingers away quickly, stepped back, and spoke in a low, muffled voice:
“It’s nothing. Go.”

For the brief moment their hands touched, a faint, electric tingling sensation lingered. Tao Zhen stiffened. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he thought the Crown Prince’s palm felt unusually rough, thick calluses covering it.

“Really nothing? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it… I thought…”

The ball had already begun. The graceful music reverberated through the darkened ballroom and corridors, with only scattered, hazy lights shining in the distance.

Awkward, Tao Zhen hesitated for a while, unable to say what he had wanted to. Instead, he only lifted his wet, puppy-like eyes.

By now his vision had adjusted to the dim light, and he could faintly make out the blurred outlines around him,

The next moment, the Crown Prince suddenly turned around and shoved him out of the side hall, slamming the heavy carved wooden doors shut with a loud boom.

Tao Zhen nearly ate a mouthful of dust, stumbling back a few steps before steadying himself against the door. He looked around blankly, unable to understand what on earth the Crown Prince was doing.

He was the one who had wanted to discuss a contract. He was the one who had offered a jacket. And now he was the one who had shoved him out…

What should this be called? Keeping company with a tiger? Or the unfathomable heart of a ruler?

Tao Zhen grumbled to himself, scratching his cheek, but didn’t dwell too much on it. Soon he returned to the banquet hall.

The ball was still underway. The music went on for another ten minutes before stopping, and the lights blazed bright again. Qi Qi, who had just finished dancing with Sihan, complained to Tao Zhen that after all the effort they put into dancing, they realized the higher-ups hadn’t even shown up. All the executives had disappeared, apparently called away coldly by the Crown Prince.

Everyone let their imagination run wild. The most popular rumor was that the Crown Prince was angry.

Feeling guilty, Tao Zhen clutched the coat draped over his shoulders.

During the rest of the event, people kept discussing the incident with excitement. Tao Zhen, however, was distracted. After a bit of small talk, he said goodbye to Qi Qi and Sihan, then went to the hotel entrance alone to wait for his car.

Head down, he kicked at the gravel by the roadside over and over, unable to shake the restlessness in his chest.

With a long sigh, he was just about to check where the driver was when his vision suddenly darkened at the edge.

Looking up, he met Zhu Wensheng’s gaze.

The tall youth was wearing a simple black hoodie, the hood pulled low so that most of his handsome face was hidden in shadow. At this moment, he was watching Tao Zhen gently.

“…”

Tao Zhen opened his mouth, needing several seconds to react.

But the moment he saw Zhu Wensheng, the nameless frustration in his chest instantly melted away. He darted forward like a little bird returning to its nest, pouncing into Zhu Wensheng’s arms, wrapping his arms and legs around him: “Why are you here?!”

Zhu Wensheng caught him easily, supporting his hips and knees, holding him tighter before lowering his head, voice a little hoarse:
“My part-time job just ended. I happened to pass by, so I came to take you home. Didn’t you say… you saw someone who looked like me?”

At first, Tao Zhen had jumped up in excitement, but now he found himself securely trapped in the other’s arms, unable to get down even if he wanted to.

“Mm, I did see someone. But I only saw his build, I didn’t really see his face clearly.” He shifted restlessly in Zhu Wensheng’s arms, accidentally tugging at the hoodie collar, pulling the wide hood down. “It was too dark, too noisy… Wait, what’s wrong with your chin?!”

Zhu Wensheng’s body stiffened. With both arms full, he couldn’t pull the hood back up in time. Tao Zhen cupped his face with both hands, carefully examining the scratch mark on his chin that looked suspiciously like it came from fingernails.

In that instant, Zhu Wensheng’s heartbeat accelerated violently, as if something was about to burst free from his chest.

After a long pause, Tao Zhen finally let go.

He frowned, puffing up like an angry little pufferfish:
“Was someone bullying you at your part-time job today?”

“Too much! Who did this?!”

Zhu Wensheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he replied, “No one. I just accidentally bumped into something.”

Tao Zhen clearly didn’t believe that answer, but he knew Zhu Wensheng wouldn’t complain further. He puffed out his cheeks in frustration. After a moment though, he seemed to think of something, sighed long and hard:

“Alright. Actually… I also accidentally hit someone today.”

“It was the person I told you about, the one who looks like you. My friend said he’s actually a big boss parachuted into Z Era, really powerful. When I first saw him take off his coat in front of me, I thought he was going to… so I panicked and shoved him. But later, it turned out he only wanted to put the coat on me to keep me warm.

“Afterwards, everyone said he called the executives away and seemed angry… Do you think I was like a dog biting Lu Dongbin, failing to recognize kindness?”

Zhu Wensheng lowered his head and saw Tao Zhen nestled against his chest, brows furrowed pitifully, even the tip of his nose red, maybe from guilt at having wronged someone.

“No,” Zhu Wensheng lowered his gaze, his tone soft. “He knows you didn’t mean it. He won’t be angry with you. He just dislikes those arrogant executives.”

“Maybe he was even happy, because you showed you can protect yourself.”

Tao Zhen paused, then lifted his head. Their eyes met in midair, their noses nearly touching, warm breaths mingling.

“But I don’t even know him. And he’s the boss of Z Era, the Crown Prince everyone talks about…”

His voice trailed off as Zhu Wensheng leaned in and gently brushed his lips against Tao Zhen’s. It was as light as a dragonfly touching water, soft as a feather falling.

Tao Zhen licked his lips, unsatisfied, and whispered the rest of his thought:
“If he really was angry and decided to ‘freeze’ me out, what should I do?”

Zhu Wensheng’s lashes trembled. Slowly, he opened his eyes, his ink-black pupils swirling with unreadable emotion.

“Then what if he liked you? Wanted to support you?”

Tao Zhen blinked, instinctively refuting: “Impossible! He and I aren’t even- ”

“How is it impossible?” Zhu Wensheng’s tone remained calm and cold, though his gaze deepened. “If he didn’t like you, if it wasn’t love at first sight, why would he take off his own coat just to put it on you?”

“…”

A sports car roared past, horn blaring, headlights dazzlingly bright. Tao Zhen fell silent, clung tightly to Zhu Wensheng’s neck, and whispered into his ear with a blink:

“Then I don’t like him either.”

“I only like you, Ah-Sheng.”

Zhu Wensheng’s whole body went rigid.

The golden-haired youth in his arms was beautiful like a doll, lips red and warm as they pressed against his cheek, soft breaths scattering at his ear. He tightened his hold on Tao Zhen’s waist and hands.

“Believe me, Ah-Sheng.” Tao Zhen curved his eyes and called softly again, “Honestly, I hate dealing with those moody types the most. I don’t like that so-called Crown Prince one bit.”

“…Alright.” Zhu Wensheng closed his eyes briefly. “I don’t like him either.”

***
Normally, MCN companies offer several kinds of contracts with creators: full contracts, platform contracts, business contracts, or incubation contracts.

Each type has pros and cons, some require giving up high percentages of income, some require handing over your entire account, and if you ever want to “back out,” the penalties are sky-high.

But Tao Zhen realized his wasn’t like any of those.

His contract with Z Era stated that not only would his account, Zhen Zhibang, remain entirely his, but the company would also only take 5% of his ad and sponsorship earnings. On top of that, they’d provide him with a full package of benefits.

Put simply, it was all upside, no downside. So good it felt absurd, like the kind of shady deal where you’d expect to wake up in a foreign country missing a kidney.

Even Tao Dajun’s company lawyer team was stunned when they reviewed it, asking how this miraculous “pie from heaven” had landed on Tao Zhen’s lap.

Tao Zhen couldn’t explain it himself. He just felt like he’d stumbled into outrageous luck. After confirming there were no hidden traps, he signed, half-skeptical.

Perhaps because a new boss had parachuted in at the top, Z Era went through several internal reshuffles, short on manpower. It took nearly a month before the entire process was finalized.

On the day of the official signing, both Z Era and Qi Qi posted videos to celebrate his joining.

A weight lifted from Tao Zhen’s heart. Relieved, he forwarded the videos one by one, then, as usual, opened the comments to see what people were saying.

But this time, after scrolling twice, a strange tag caught his eye. His eyes widened.

#Doctor#?

=It was shipping him with Doctor Seven, Qi Qi.

“?”
Wait, was that… even right?

Baffled, Tao Zhen clicked into the tag and browsed. Gradually, he pieced it together.

Ever since Qi Qi had followed him a while back, people began noticing “something” between them. Later, he followed Qi Qi back, then during Qi Qi’s stream, he’d dropped two gifts worth 3,000 each… The shipper camp grew by the day.

Now, with both of them signed to the same company as senior and junior, the “evidence” was ironclad.

Fans squealed kswl “this ship is killing me”, and the hashtag’s popularity even surpassed the official ship #photographer#.

Though the diehard photographer x Zhen Zhibang shippers protested loudly, the internet’s chaotic energy was far beyond human imagination.

【Hehe, sure, ZhenZhibang once replied to a comment about the photographer, but that was ages ago! They haven’t interacted at all since. No chemistry there, okay?】

【Exactly! And the photographer hasn’t even shown his face. For all we know, he’s some ugly guy who can’t go public. Doctor Seven and ZhenZhibang, now that’s a fair match in looks!】

【Don’t care. Even if Doctor Seven’s single, I can still imagine a forced-love scenario. Works just fine~】

【……】

What kind of nonsense was this?!

Tao Zhen nearly choked on air reading the comments.

Who dared call Zhu Wensheng an ugly guy?! He was devastatingly handsome, thank you very much!

Holding it in as long as he could, Tao Zhen finally reached out to Xiaoyu, the assistant Z Era assigned him, asking if she could help resolve the situation.

But Xiaoyu sounded troubled: 【Tao-Ge, it’s not that I don’t want to help. But usually, we don’t interfere with this kind of CP shipping. You know, it’s not smear campaigns, in fact, it’s fans “creating for love.” It actually generates traffic…】

Tao Zhen interrupted for once: 【But both Qiqi-Ge and I already have partners. Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?】

【To be honest, that’s exactly the issue.】 Xiaoyu sighed on the other end.

【You were generous, you didn’t hide anything, but directly went public about being in a relationship. But… Qiqi-Ge didn’t. His account still has lots of girlfriend fans and CP fans. If he suddenly announced he’s been with Sihan for a long time, it could cause significant fan loss. That’s his mistake, and the company’s working on repositioning him.】

Tao Zhen puffed his cheeks, deep in thought. The girl was right. Now that he was in this industry, how people interpreted his actions wasn’t something he could control. And he had to consider Qiqi, whether or not Qiqi revealed his relationship with Sihan, Tao Zhen couldn’t overstep.

The assistant added that if he wanted to suppress the Qiqi x ZhenZhibang ship, the best way would be to interact more with Zhu Wensheng, subtly signaling to everyone who he truly belonged with.

But… Tao Zhen hesitated. How could he prove that to the world?

Helpless, he shut off his phone, forcing himself not to think about it. Just then, the class bell rang, and Jia Jia rushed in from the doorway, looking brimming with excitement and anticipation.

Tao Zhen couldn’t help but be infected by her excitement. He curved his lips and asked her, “What’s up, Jia Jia? What happened that’s so good?”

Jia Jia giggled “hehe” and mysteriously showed him the message on her screen, lowering her voice: “Super great news! Remember I told you before that our music club is really awesome, sometimes taking on school events and even outside gigs? Well, here it is!”

“There are two events in total. I recommend the first one, at the Olympic Center, they’ll be holding a mixed concert with lots of celebrities and influencers. They need student volunteers from our school. Not only can we earn credits and get paid, but we can also watch the concert up close… and everyone in our music club can skip the interview process and go straight in!”

Tao Zhen’s eyes lit up in surprise. “Wow!”

“Oh, and I also heard that for this one, ”

But before Jia Jia could finish, the professor happened to step down from the podium to patrol the classroom, so she immediately sat up straight.

Tao Zhen had to suppress his curiosity, straightening his back and obediently opening his book, listening to the professor’s lecture like scripture.

When the bell rang, students surged out of the classroom noisily. The room was packed, movement and chatter filling every corner.

Tao Zhen followed Jia Jia out, just about to ask more about the volunteer work when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. The caller ID showed it was Zhu Wensheng. He hurried to answer: “Hello? Ah-Sheng, ”

Leaning against the edge of the cage, Zhu Wensheng gave a low “mm.”

These past few days, he had finally finished tying up company matters and handled Tao Zhen’s contract. On a whim, he searched for Tao Zhen online.

At first, it was only to check whether the company department had done its job, removing all those strange smear posts. But in the end, he couldn’t resist clicking into Tao Zhen’s CP tag.

Unlike before, this time when he entered, he felt like he had stepped into World War III.

Fans of #Doctor# and fans of #Photographer were waging war to defend their own ship. The topic feed was full of “corpses,” rivers of blood metaphorically flooding across the screen.

Zhu Wensheng remembered that so-called “Doctor Seven”, the one standing beside Tao Zhen that night at the exhibition. Clearly, he wasn’t as good-looking as in videos and photos, yet fans praised him to the skies, as if only he was worthy of Tao Zhen.

Utter nonsense.

“What a coincidence! I was just about to call you,” Tao Zhen said cheerfully, eyes curving into crescents. “My friend just told me that in a few days, the Olympic Center will hold a big concert. We can volunteer there and earn credits!”

Zhu Wensheng lowered his eyes. His chest tightened slightly. He’d never cared for volunteer activities, they were a waste of time. And for an MMA fighter, time was precious.

“I might not- ”

“Baby!”

Tao Zhen blinked, “Hm?” But before he could hear what Zhu Wensheng wanted to say, Jia Jia, walking ahead, turned back excitedly to finish what she hadn’t said earlier:

“Did you know? The lineup for this concert is amazing! Besides those celebrities, there’s also Sunflower, Sharp Knife, and Doctor Seven, Qiqi!”

“Huh? Doctor Seven will be there too?” Tao Zhen said, a little surprised.

Jia Jia nodded. “Yeah! He’s that music blogger with more than five million followers. I’ve liked so many of his videos, he’s so handsome!! I really hope the volunteers can go backstage. I want an autograph!”

Tao Zhen smiled with curved eyes. “Alright. If you can’t get backstage, I can contact Doctor Seven for you. I should be able to get you a signature.”

“Wow! Thanks, babe! I almost forgot you and Doctor Seven follow each other. Hehe, I really hit the jackpot with you~”

Tao Zhen chuckled, about to keep chatting with her, when he suddenly remembered Zhu Wensheng, who hadn’t said a word this whole time. He quickly turned back to the phone: “Oh right, Ah-Sheng, what were you about to say?”

“…”

The surroundings were noisy, but the other end of the line was silent. Zhu Wensheng took a deep breath, his voice cold and restrained, as if suppressing something:

“I said, I’ll go with you.”