Chapter 328: Not an Illusion

When Gongzi Xiao saw the three children at the doorway, a look of surprise appeared on his face; after learning Fang Mengmeng and the others' purpose for coming, he invited the three inside. It was too cold outside, and the children hadn't brought photos, posters, or anything, and seeing the two little girls' persistence, Gongzi Xiao, though impatient inside, put on a friendly, approachable demeanor.

However, when he saw a dog and two cats following into the house, Gongzi Xiao's steps halted and his brows knit.

"Um, Gongzi Xiao, do you not like cats and dogs?" Fang Mengmeng asked cautiously.

Gongzi Xiao relaxed his brows, waved his hand and said, "It's not that. A friend once brought a dog over, but the dog was too mischievous; in less than an hour it destroyed a sofa, several props, and a script. Still, it's fine."

"Well, my Da Mi is very obedient, it will never cause trouble, and I'll watch over it so it doesn't bother you," Fang Mengmeng quickly assured.

"My Mao Dou is the same!" Hou Junyi called his Mao Dou, which had been sniffing around, to his side, fearing it might cause trouble by accident.

Zheng Tan had been watching Gongzi Xiao the whole time; he had heard that a highly skilled actor's temperament is always changeable, because they must adapt to different roles and even constantly act and compete with others in daily life. Out of curiosity, Zheng Tan calmly observed this star who is quite popular with women.

Perhaps he never expected to be scrutinized by a cat; the glance that Gongzi Xiao had hidden so well from the three children was caught by Zheng Tan. From a viewpoint the children couldn't see, Gongzi Xiao's eyes flashed with a hint of malice when he saw Zheng Tan, Da Mi, and Mao Dou. Zheng Tan, being very perceptive, did not doubt his eyesight. It seemed that Gongzi Xiao's temperament was not as gentle as he appeared, merely putting on a good front in front of others. Zheng Tan curled his lip, sneered inwardly, thinking, this person clearly dislikes cats and dogs yet makes an excuse.

It doesn't matter; Zheng Tan also doesn't like this star, and any lousy personality is irrelevant to him. He just wonders how many female fans would be heartbroken if this person's true nature were ever exposed.

"Usually not many people come here, so we only have red tea and plain water. Of course, there is also alcohol, but you're still young, you can't drink that."

Gongzi Xiao brewed three cups of red tea and handed them to the three.

"This is fine, thank you," Chu Laiya said.

"I'm really sorry to disturb you so late," Fang Mengmeng said, now calming down. The two felt it might be a bit impolite.

"It's fine. It's rare to meet you three little fans. I'm very happy," Gongzi Xiao said with a smile. At the same time he took three photos from a drawer, signed them, and handed them over.

The two little girls gratefully kept them, but as for Hou Junyi, the kid pushed the photos back and said seriously, "Thank you for your generosity, but I'm sorry, I'm not your brain‑dead fan."

Fang Mengmeng, Chu Laiya, Gongzi Xiao: "……"

The kid's bluntness makes one want to hit him.

Zheng Tan noticed a twitch at the corner of Gongzi Xiao's eye.

Many rising stars know the need for endurance; this is part of a star's difficulty—grievances and anger must also be endured, striving to present their best side in public. Therefore, no hint of awkwardness or anger showed on Gongzi Xiao's face.

Even though Hou Junyi was a mood‑killer, it didn't dampen the two little girls' enthusiasm at all. Upon learning that Gongzi Xiao had been exercising in the room and thus hadn't heard the doorbell, they went out for water, heard it, and immediately went to open the door; the girls' lingering resentment from shivering outside for so long vanished completely.

"So you were exercising, huh? I heard actors have to keep their figure; do you really have an eight‑pack?"

"Do you really know how to fly a fighter jet?"

"Do you really film action scenes without a stunt double?"

…

Regarding this series of questions, Gongzi Xiao did not appear impatient; he remained gentle and answered each one.

Fans' swarming and blocking cause many troubles for stars, but without fans' pressure, a star's fame would likely be modest; so, is this the legendary "pain and pleasure"?

Hou Junyi looked at Fang Mengmeng and the other, shook his head, genuinely unable to understand; these two brain‑dead fans' IQ had plummeted into the negatives—fighter jets? Nonsense! Can you believe what's on TV?

"By the way, Gongzi Xiao, I heard your next film is about urban zombies; I saw the designs, they're so cool!" Chu Laiya said, blushing.

The three over there were discussing Gongzi Xiao's upcoming new film starring him for this winter break, and Hou Junyi cleared his throat, intending to make his presence felt.

"Actually, vampires and zombies don't exist; they're stories imagined from porphyria. The whole blood‑drinking, fear of sunlight thing—wasn't that shown in a recent movie where a porphyria patient had a refrigerator full of human organs?" He said, glancing toward the nearby fridge.

Fang Mengmeng, Chu Laiya, Gongzi Xiao: "……"

Zheng Tan noticed Gongzi Xiao's eye twitch again.

Gongzi Xiao was silent for a few seconds, then smiled, got up and walked to the side fridge, opened the large double‑door refrigerator, and said, "I don't have any of those scary things here."

The fridge didn't contain much; the cold compartment held only some fruit that still looked very fresh.

As Gongzi Xiao handed the fruit to the three, closed the fridge door and turned around, Hou Junyi spoke again.

"Have you heard of fridge philosophy? A trash can and a fridge can reflect a person's lifestyle; what they store and how they arrange things reveals their character. So, based on my deduction, Gongzi Xiao doesn't cook for himself."

Chu Laiya immediately defended, "Gongzi Xiao is so busy; it's understandable he has no time to cook, and as the saying goes, 'Gongzi is far from the kitchen!'"

"It's 'Junzi yuan paochu', and it doesn't mean one doesn't cook; the phrase mainly expresses that a gentleman avoids the kitchen to not witness killing. So my dad says people who say that are hypocritical, irresponsible pretenders, eating meat from their bowl while accusing others of cruelty."

Fang Mengmeng, Chu Laiya, Gongzi Xiao: "……"

Anyone hearing that would think it's an accusation that Gongzi Xiao is hypocritical and irresponsible.

Fang Mengmeng and Chu Laiya felt like kicking Hou Junyi in both feet; they truly regretted bringing him along. He made them look bad in front of their idol, leaving a poor first‑visit impression.

Zheng Tan seemed to picture the troublesome kids in Dongqu Dayuan; if Hou Junyi lived in Dongqu Dayuan, he would probably get along well with Jiao Yuan, Su An, and the others.

"Stupid science‑track boy!" Chu Laiya muttered.

"You're wrong; I'm more inclined toward engineering. Science and engineering are different," Hou Junyi corrected.

Zheng Tan saw Gongzi Xiao looking down, his right thumb and forefinger rubbing together, unsure what he was thinking; perhaps Gongzi Xiao was displeased by Hou Junyi's remark.

"Seems I need to learn cooking more in the future," Gongzi Xiao looked up and smiled at the three, "Hou little friend knows a lot. His observation skills are strong, too."

He wondered if he was overthinking. Zheng Tan felt Gongzi Xiao's last remark carried some hidden meaning. The room had heating, yet Zheng Tan suddenly felt a bit cold.

Hou Junyi, feeling proud, glanced around and pointed at the nearby floor‑to‑ceiling window, saying, "Is that dimmable glass?"

"Yes. Little Hou knows that too. Truly surprising," Gongzi Xiao said in an easygoing tone.

Zheng Tan felt even colder, a vague unease. The atmosphere seemed off, but seeing the three kids unchanged, he wondered if he was just overthinking—paranoid.

Looking around, a display shelf not far away held various items of differing sizes, reportedly all gifts from fans—figurines, crystal pieces, commemorative shirts, and so on. Zheng Tan hopped onto the shelf and saw a cat toy that resembled A Huang; up close, it bore a small note with a fan's message.

A photo of this display shelf had once been posted online, boosting fans' loyalty to Gongzi Xiao, as it showed the idol's appreciation for them.

While watching, Zheng Tan heard Gongzi Xiao talking with Fang Mengmeng and the others about cats, speaking quite professionally.

"Because I spend little time at home throughout the year, I don't keep cats, dogs, or other pets. By the way, yesterday I saw a tabby cat on my courtyard wall; I offered food but it didn't eat. Oh, also another one I saw last week when I returned home—a cat with a white body, black tail; it ran away as soon as I approached," Gongzi Xiao said.

Fang Mengmeng frowned, "I've never seen such a cat around my house; I don't know whose it is. Maybe we could find it later and make Da Mi a friend…"

"Snap!"

Before Fang Mengmeng could finish speaking, a crashing sound came from the display shelf; startled, she looked and saw a crystal cup had shattered on the floor, and the only thing perched on the shelf now was a black cat.

"Um, I'm truly sorry, I apologize on behalf of Hei Tan, and I'm willing to compensate!" Fang Mengmeng said nervously to Gongzi Xiao, fearing he might get angry at Zheng Tan over this. At the same time, she urged Zheng Tan to quickly get down from the shelf.

Ignoring Fang Mengmeng's words, Zheng Tan now felt a chill down his spine; if the tabby cat and the white‑body black‑tail cat that Gongzi Xiao mentioned earlier were actually Lianzi and Guiyuan, then this Gongzi Xiao might have a problem!

It wasn't an illusion just now!

Zheng Tan glanced again toward Young Master Xiao's side; before Zheng Tan could think much, he heard Hairy Bean's cry. Just then, the four people over there were chatting too intently and didn't notice Hairy Bean slipping away from beside Hou Junyi's feet and wandering around.

Hearing Hairy Bean's cry, Zheng Tan keenly sensed the sudden emergence of killing intent on Young Master Xiao's body, while the originally obedient Rice, which had been snuggled up beside Fang Mengmeng, had its fur stand on end all over, staring fixedly at Young Master Xiao.

However, the three children noticed nothing; when Hairy Bean began to cry, Hou Junyi sprang up from the sofa and ran toward the source of the sound, worried that Hairy Bean would cause trouble in someone else's house.

This time, Rice unusually did not go over to join the commotion because of Hairy Bean's cry; instead, it stayed close by Fang Mengmeng's feet, being very vigilant.

Zheng Tan kept his eyes on Young Master Xiao; when Hairy Bean cried out, this person, aside from a fleeting burst of killing intent, immediately returned to his normal appearance, but his right thumb and forefinger began to rub together again, his steps were not particularly flustered, and his gaze was very steady—so steady that Zheng Tan felt a chill run through his body. (To be continued...)