Chapter Eighty-Eight: Traces

"No way! This is my life, my roots, the nourishment of my soul. If I am ever unhappy in the future, all I have to do is look at this!" Xiao Hua clutched the photo as if her life depended on it.

"What are you two doing?" Jiang Hu appeared silently behind them.

Mo Niannian and Xiao Hua both froze. With two fingers, Jiang Hu calmly took the phone away.

The photo came into view, and he gave a faint smile. "Not bad."

"Right? Right? The two of you are amazing in that kiss scene. It has this thrilling, scorching kind of purity to it. Ahh, my maiden heart is dying. Will you have more kiss scenes later? Um—"

Mo Niannian clapped a hand over her mouth. "Enough. You can stop talking now."

Jiang Hu glanced at Mo Niannian. "That depends on the director's arrangements."

Mo Niannian was mortified. She sprang to her feet. "Let's go."

Jiang Hu set the phone down on the small table beside him. "I quite like that photo."

"Ahhh! Don't worry, I'll have it printed for you today."

"All right. Thank you."

Mo Niannian was afraid the two of them would keep talking about this topic until she felt like crawling into a crack in the floor, so she hurried off first. Jiang Hu followed behind her.

"Niannian, you're a little strange today. Are you angry?"

Mo Niannian drew a deep breath. Victory was right in front of her; she absolutely could not give herself away now. She forced out a smile. "How could I be? Brother, you must be seeing things~"

"Then I'm glad you're not angry. I was indeed too much today." Jiang Hu's gaze fell on Mo Niannian's neck.

Even after three layers of foundation, she still could not conceal the bite mark.

"Sorry. I bit you too hard. I was indeed too immersed in the role."

What could Mo Niannian say? She could only smile and forgive him. She gave a stiff little laugh.

"Wait here." Jiang Hu took a bandage from his bag. "Niannian, come here."

Mo Niannian was resistant from head to toe. "There's no need, is there? The skin isn't even broken."

"When I see the mark on your neck, I feel uneasy."

Jiang Hu simply stepped closer and reached out to help her apply it.

If Mo Niannian refused again, it would truly be over the line.

In the end, it all came back to that damned character setting. How much water had her brain been filled with for her to have done something like this?

She stood rigidly in place, lifting her chin slightly. Jiang Hu bent down, and the distance between them suddenly shrank.

His warm breath brushed her neck, making Mo Niannian even more uncomfortable.

If she were not certain Jiang Hu disliked her, she would have flipped him over her shoulder already.

But why was Jiang Hu becoming more and more wrong?

Time seemed to stretch endlessly. Just as Mo Niannian's patience was about to run out, Jiang Hu finally finished applying the bandage.

"All done."

Mo Niannian let out a breath. "Then let's go."

Mo Niannian's driver was waiting at the entrance. She dropped Jiang Hu off first, then returned home.

The more she looked at the bandage, the more irritating it became, and she reached out and tore it off.

Without the bandage, it might not have been very noticeable. Once she put it on, it looked as though she had suffered a grave injury.

When this drama was over, that damned male lead could fend for himself. She was going to become a salted fish and never again run around after him for any publicity or appearances.

She also had scenes the next day. Mo Niannian struggled for more than half an hour before finally escaping the warm embrace of her blanket.

Not long after she got up, Jiang Hu called. Still half asleep, Mo Niannian answered the phone groggily.

"Niannian, I've arrived at your front door. Come down quickly. We'll go to the set together."

Her head still full of cotton, Mo Niannian agreed without thinking.

Only after a long while did her mind finally clear.

Go to the set with Jiang Hu? Had he gone mad? He was a huge star now. Who knew how many paparazzi were waiting for him?

Besides, wasn't the company already providing him with a car?

Sometimes, though, she would have the driver give him a lift if it happened to be convenient.

After washing up, Mo Niannian went downstairs, and Jiang Hu was indeed waiting below.

She yawned. "Good morning, Brother~"

The light in Jiang Hu's eyes immediately came alive, dazzling and brilliant. "Good morning, Niannian."

His gaze swept over her, and his throat moved slightly.

He thought of the feeling from yesterday again.

Even Mo Niannian's deliberately coy voice made heat surge through him.

"Brother, are you really going to go to the set with me like this? We'll be photographed. Although I do want to appear in the news together with Brother, but—"

Before Mo Niannian could finish her sugary, affected little speech, Jiang Hu cut her off. "It's fine. Niannian doesn't need to worry."

Mo Niannian was stunned. This damned male lead was off script again. How was she supposed to respond now?

Before she could figure out the first, second, third, or fourth possibility, Jiang Hu had already led her out the door.

"Why did Niannian throw away the bandage?" Jiang Hu asked in a casual tone.

Mo Niannian brushed it off carelessly. "It got wet in the shower, so I threw it away."

Jiang Hu's eyes reddened at the corners. Sitting with his legs crossed, he swallowed lightly, his voice turning a little hoarse. "Mm."

After quite a while, once Jiang Hu had finally calmed down, he took another bandage from his bag. "Shall I help Niannian put on a new one?"

Without waiting for Mo Niannian to speak, he moved closer to her.

Mo Niannian, half asleep and half awake, suddenly opened her eyes. Darkness and killing intent surged in them. But once she saw Jiang Hu clearly, the light in her eyes slowly faded. She muttered something under her breath and drifted back to sleep.

Jiang Hu reached out and gently replaced the bandage, his gaze soft enough to drip with water.

"Niannian, we're here." Jiang Hu woke her in a low voice.

"We're here?" Whenever Mo Niannian had not slept enough, it was as though she had been hit with a stupidity debuff. She dazedly opened the car door. "Then let's go."

"Jiang Hu!!! Jiang Hu is here!"

The shriek outside the car door instantly jolted the last traces of sleep from Mo Niannian's mind.

Flashes and shutter clicks burst into a relentless storm, nearly blinding her.

Jiang Hu shielded Mo Niannian in his arms, his face cold as ice. "Sorry, but during filming, the set does not accept any interviews without an appointment."

With that, he protected her as he led her away.

Once this spread online, the internet exploded.

Jiang Hu had millions upon millions of fans, and the trending charts were almost crushed by them.

"Brother, look at me, look at me!! Another day of being stunned by my brother's handsomeness."

"Is it my imagination, or is Brother even more handsome today than before? He has this kind of seductive yet cool aura."

"Is that the point, sisters?! There's someone in Brother's arms!"

"And unlike usual, no matter what happens, Brother is always gentle and warm. Today he was angry!"

"I don't care, Brother is mine! I don't care!"

"Is that person from the crew? Brother spends day and night with her? I'm going to cry, seriously."

"Girls, zoom in on this picture. Look at the neck of the woman in Brother's arms!"

"It's so blurry. What can you even see?"

"An ointment patch? Foundation? A kiss mark? A bandage?"

"Whatever it is, that spot is way too suggestive, okay?! I don't care, I don't care. Brother just happened to run into her. They're definitely not living together."

The internet was in an uproar. Fortunately, a reporter learned of Mo Niannian's identity and deleted all the photos and videos. Mo Niannian and Jiang Hu also gave no response, and only then did the matter gradually settle down.