Chapter 102: Film Emperor (22)

By the time Zaiye and Tong Jianxu arrived at the gates of Yunxiang Temple, Assistant Zhang had already been sitting with Qian for quite a while.

Qian was clutching a boiled corn cob in both hands, gnawing away at it. Assistant Zhang was even holding a cup of soy milk for her.

Half of the child’s face was hidden behind the corn, and the cob had been gnawed into a lumpy mess.

The three of them had come straight here early in the morning without eating breakfast. According to Tong Jianxu’s plan, they’d burn incense first, then go down the mountain to eat.

But the man, who had absolutely no experience with temple visits, had no idea that during the New Year period, temples could get as crowded as train stations during the Spring Festival travel rush.

The crowd was packed so tightly that you couldn’t get in or out. Just the short walk up the mountain had taken so long that the sun was already high in the sky.

Forget being in the first batch to offer incense—by now, even the tenth batch was already on their way out.

Luckily, on the plaza outside the temple, there were a few small vendors selling breakfast. Apparently, they weren’t the only ones who hadn’t eaten, and business was booming.

Tong Jianxu, bundled tightly in his scarf, was steaming like a dumpling, but he still didn’t dare remove the scarf or his mask.

“I’ll go grab something. What do you want to eat, Boss?” Assistant Zhang had already finished eating.

“No need, I’ll go myself,” said Zaiye. He headed toward a breakfast cart surrounded by people and came back after a long while with a bag of buns and two cups of soy milk. He and Tong Jianxu squatted down by the railing to eat.

By now, the crowd had finally thinned out a bit. Zaiye clapped his hands clean and picked up the child, who was still gnawing on the corn.

“Let’s go. Time to burn incense. And you, that corn’s gone cold—stop eating it.”

Qian clutched the corn stubbornly. “Mmmph!” It was a sulky grunt. “I still wanna eat!”

Tong Jianxu pulled out his phone. “Hold on, don’t rush. I asked someone for a guide on offering incense. Apparently, there’s a specific order to worshipping the deities—who to bow to first, who to bow to next, even which foot to step with when entering the hall.”

Zaiye, still battling his daughter for the corn, frowned. “Burning incense isn’t just walking in and lighting some sticks? There’s all that?”

Assistant Zhang also pulled out his phone. “I got a guide too. There’s a set number of incense sticks for different gods. And there’s a specific format for the silent wishes you make. Want it?”

Zaiye: “…” Where were these guides coming from, and why had he never heard of any of this?

Though he scoffed at it all, the boss ended up reading through both Tong Jianxu’s and Assistant Zhang’s guides—and when it came time to actually burn incense, he turned out to be the most reverent of them all, even shushing Qian when she tried to speak beside him.

Temples had moved with the times—open flames were no longer allowed, so only electronic incense could be used. Even the incense donation could be paid by QR code.

Tong Jianxu had prepared cash in advance, but after going around the temple and finishing the ritual, he touched the child’s head with a sigh.

“Burning incense like this… feels soulless.”

Still, their incense-offering mission was complete.

On the way down the mountain, Tong Jianxu carried Qian and asked, “Qian, are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

Qian shook her head.

“Did you feel anything strange in the temple earlier?”

Qian shook her head again.

She was still young, just a tagalong at this point. On the way through the temple, she’d been eyeing the towering Buddha statues, even wanting to crawl past the railing to touch them. One of the three adults had to hold onto her firmly the whole time.

From start to finish, she showed no unusual behavior.

Hearing Tong Jianxu’s line of questioning, Zaiye couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “You think she’s some kind of demon? That she’d revert to her original form when seeing the Buddha?”

“If it really worked like that, this little gremlin would’ve turned into a wild boar the moment we stepped through the gate.”

Qian, recognizing that she was being talked about, immediately lifted her head from Tong Jianxu’s shoulder, scrunched up her nose, and flailed her hands, letting out a loud wail in protest.

Zaiye: “My bad, not a wild boar—a little dog demon. One that bites.”

Tong Jianxu hugged her tighter. “Don’t listen to him. Our Qian is so cute—she’s obviously a little bunny demon!”

Qian whimpered, “I don’t wanna be a demon, waaaah!”

Zaiye: “Judging by how much you like feeding ducks, maybe you’re a duck demon.”

The child wailed louder, but it was all just dry sobs.

Tong Jianxu quickly said, “Okay, okay, no more demon talk. Our Qian is a little fairy. Don’t the Buddhas always have golden boys and jade maidens by their sides? Qian looks exactly like the jade maiden!”

Just as Qian’s sobs were finally dying down, Zaiye casually added, “Doesn’t really look the same. But the chubby part matches.”

Qian: “…”

Tong Jianxu: “Tch.”

Behind them, Assistant Zhang couldn’t help but wonder: Does the boss even want a daughter?

When the four of them reached the foot of the mountain, they ran into another wave of incense-goers. Many were young people dragged along by their elders, dark circles under their eyes from holiday sleep deprivation.

One young woman yawned and accidentally made eye contact with Tong Jianxu.

He calmly looked away, but the girl froze, staring at him suspiciously.

After the hike up and down the mountain, his scarf had come loose without him noticing, revealing the mask underneath. But to fans, a mask might as well be invisible.

And—he was carrying Qian.

Every fan of Tong Jianxu knew how much he doted on his daughter. In all the behind-the-scenes photos released by the Southern Dynasty, Bright Moon production team, nine out of ten featured him playing with his child.

Sensing the danger, Tong Jianxu quickened his pace.

A shriek came from behind.

“Tong Jianxu! Aaaah! It’s the Film Emperor!”

“And that’s his daughter! Holy shit—is that his wife behind him?!”

Tong Jianxu couldn’t understand—why were there so many of his fans here?

Or maybe they weren’t even fans. Maybe they’d just heard his name before and, seeing people rush over to watch, came along for the ride.

Sensing the situation spiraling, Zaiye rushed to his side, scooped Qian out of his arms, and said in a low voice, “I’ll take Qian and go.”

Assistant Zhang, ever the loyal employee, naturally followed his boss.

Without the child in his arms, Tong Jianxu’s evasive maneuvers became much smoother.

Just then, someone in the crowd shouted, “Oh my god! The Film Emperor’s wife and kid just ran off with another man!”

Tong Jianxu stumbled and nearly faceplanted on the spot.

What the hell kind of way is that to talk?

At first, it was clear that the emotions of his fans were so intense they started influencing the crowd, and with so many people at the scene—no bodyguards or staff to maintain order—it could easily have led to an accident.

Tong Jianxu knew that if he stopped for even a second, he’d probably be swallowed by the crowd, so he could only shout out apologies as he broke free from the encirclement of fans.

His hat and scarf had been tugged off by people in the chaos, and the only thing he was thankful for was that his child wasn’t in the middle of all this—otherwise, she’d likely have been scared into tears.

Meanwhile, Qian, who was being carried and sprinted away by Zaiye, looked back at the small group chasing after them and laughed gleefully.

Zaiye pressed her head down and muttered, “Your actor dad is about to get mobbed, and you’re still laughing.”

Thankfully, all his recent workouts paid off; Tong Jianxu wasn’t actually caught. Agile and swift, he dodged fans with elegance and even picked up speed as he went. When he took a shortcut by leaping over the greenery at the side of the road, a wave of shrieking followed behind.

Tong Jianxu: “…”

Zaiye’s unmarked black car slowly pulled up at the curb. Tong Jianxu swung the door open and jumped in, and the car sped off immediately. The fans who had arrived a second too late could only cry out in disappointment as they watched it disappear.

It wasn’t surprising though—Tong Jianxu had kept a low profile lately, shielding his mysterious wife and daughter completely. Fans and the public only saw his name pop up on trending searches, never his face or family. Now, suddenly seeing him in person, emotions were bound to boil over.

At least there weren’t any haters around throwing things or dumping drinks on him.

Leaning back in the seat and catching his breath, Tong Jianxu sighed, “I’m probably going to be exposed. We should just head straight back to S City today—otherwise, once they find out what hotel we’re staying at, we’ll be stuck.”

It was Zaiye’s first time witnessing just how popular this “Film Emperor Tong” really was—and his first time experiencing the feverish intensity of celebrity fandom.

Before the four of them even made it back to S City, news had already blown up online: “Tong Jianxu spotted at Yunxiang Temple in J City with wife and daughter, swarmed by fans.” Almost immediately, Tong Jianxu’s manager called.

“Sis… Yeah, I just brought Qian out for some fun. It’s my fault for not telling you… Mhm, thanks, I’ll send you all red packets later.”

“What? You’re coming here? No need, right? Didn’t you have plans to head to your hometown with your husband?”

Tong Jianxu listened in silence for a while before finally sighing, “Alright, fine.”

By dusk, Zaiye drove the car straight into the garage of Tong Jianxu’s townhouse.

Technically, the job was done and Zaiye and Assistant Zhang should’ve left. But when they tried, Qian clung to them and refused to let go.

Seeing Qian gripping Zaiye’s pants with a pitiful face on the verge of tears, Tong Jianxu could only extend the invitation: “You’ve worked hard today. If you’re up for it, why not stay and have dinner here?”

Zaiye, who usually spent the New Year alone, naturally wanted to share the evening with his daughter, so he silently agreed.

As for Assistant Zhang—she was a workaholic with no one at home. If she left, it would’ve been to head to the office. Considering the work for the next two days had already been wrapped up, staying for dinner wasn’t a bad idea.

That said, none of them were good at cooking, and there weren’t many groceries at home, so Tong Jianxu simply called up a familiar restaurant and had a full spread delivered.

As the sky darkened, the food arrived—a hearty, steaming table of dishes. Feng Yu walked in right after, dressed for the occasion in red and balancing several gift bags in her arms.

She was still in heels, looking every bit the part in her red coat. Seeing Zaiye and Assistant Zhang at Tong Jianxu’s dinner table, she was surprised but quickly put on a smile and greeted them warmly.

Just like how mothers won’t scold their kids when there are guests over, Feng Yu didn’t mention the incident of Tong Jianxu being photographed. The group sat around the table, eating, chatting, and drinking together in harmony.

The stew bubbling on the stove let out a soft glug-glug sound, steam rising along with the aroma of food and wine.

Outside, electronic firecrackers crackled. Tong Jianxu remembered it was New Year’s Eve and felt momentarily dazed. It all felt so surreal.

This year, he suddenly had a daughter, and now he was sharing New Year’s dinner with Zaiye and Assistant Zhang—people who had been strangers a year ago.

Qian sipped her juice with a white foam mustache, looking up at him with a grin.

Tong Jianxu couldn’t help but smile back.

At first, the adults were just having a little beer to match the festive mood. But when Zaiye raised his glass and said, “Thanks for taking care of Qian this past year,” the silent fatherly showdown began.

Tong Jianxu’s eyes sharpened. After drinking the offered toast, he returned one with a smile: “And thank you for loving my daughter so much.”

The two men, separated only by the little turnip Qian between them, exchanged drink after drink—slowly, the tension rose.

Tong Jianxu said, “Beer’s no fun. I’ve got some good stuff stashed away. Since the boss is here today, why don’t we have a proper drink?”

Zaiye: “I’m down. Used to drink a lot with friends. I just wonder about Film Emperor Tong’s tolerance—if it’s low, don’t push yourself.”

Tong Jianxu: “Haha, my tolerance isn’t great. Shouldn’t the boss let me off with three cups?”

Zaiye: “I’ll let you off with five.”