Chapter 280: 280: Lu Mingchen’s Worries
"Am I really not a good man?"
Jiang Nuo was completely confused. Why would Lu Mingchen, a workaholic, suddenly ask him such a question?
"Brother Lu, are you in love?"
"No!"
"Then why are you asking me this kind of question? Could it be you have a girl you like, but she doesn’t like you back?"
"..."
On the other end of the phone, there was only silence.
"No way?! Brother Lu, as excellent as you are, there’s actually a woman who doesn’t like you?!" Jiang Nuo expressed his surprise.
"Didn’t you just say that men like me aren’t good men?"
"Brother Lu, I was joking!" Jiang Nuo hurriedly explained, "A man like you, with a career, and a top-notch agent in the entertainment industry; plus, you’re handsome, not as handsome as me of course, but with your height of 180cm, you could definitely be a model. You don’t mess around, and with so many beauties in the entertainment industry, I’ve never seen you having a girlfriend, which shows your strong willpower..."
As he counted, Jiang Nuo listed out a bunch of Lu Mingchen’s strengths.
"A man like you, with a house, a car, and money, who is handsome and has character, is simply a good man of the New Era. You’re a diamond bachelor, how could there be no women who like you? Brother Lu, don’t worry, as long as it’s someone with eyes, she’ll definitely be interested in you!"
"Though I can’t vouch for that man’s character, he’s handsomer than me, has a house, a car, and money too, and he’s shamelessly persistent. Doesn’t that make him more appealing to women than me?"
"Brother Lu, are you talking about me? I assure you my character is rock-solid. You can ask my wife, I am absolutely loyal to her."
"I’m not talking about you!"
"So, Brother Lu, are you talking about your love rival? You’re in trouble then. If your rival is really like what you said and is the same type as me, you’re in for a tough time... Think about it, your advantages are his too, and he’s willing to go all out and be persistent. Even an iceberg would melt. Brother Lu, you have to know that even the toughest women can be won over by persistence. My wife was an iceberg and I conquered her. Do you think there’s any woman in the world who wouldn’t be moved by that?"
Lu Mingchen remained silent.
"Brother Lu, who is it that you like? Why have I never heard you mention it? Tell me the name, and if I know them, maybe I can help you analyze the situation."
"Forget it, I’ll tell you next time. I’m hanging up now."
"Hey, don’t..." The eager-to-hear gossip Jiang Nuo called out, but the other party had already hung up the phone. He felt a bit disgruntled. Was he used and then discarded?
Damn it! He had always been the one to hang up on Brother Lu’s calls. He never expected the day would come when it happened to him.
-
-
In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of a certain hotel, Lu Mingchen, who had just hung up Jiang Nuo’s call, lit a cigarette and took a puff. The lights in the room weren’t turned on, and the glow of the cigarette alternated bright and dim at the window.
Actually, he wasn’t quite sure himself if he really liked that woman. He probably had some feelings, but it hadn’t reached that stage yet.
After all, that woman was much younger than him and still young, curious about everything and eager to try everything. And as for him, in Jiang Nuo’s words, he had "entered middle age," with a heart as settled and mature as an old man’s.
He’s a few years older than Jiang Nuo, already in his thirties, and naturally knows what he wants. He wouldn’t say his career ambition is heavy, but he does have ambitions. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have put so much effort into Jiang Nuo back then, just to bring out a superstar.
And obviously, Jiang Nuo did not disappoint him, taking his career to its peak.
He always thought that the woman he likes should be mature, stable, intellectual, elegant, and a career-oriented strong woman, so they could fight shoulder to shoulder, forge ahead, and weather storms together.
Until she entered his life.
Because he was asked to take care of her, Lu Mingchen naturally treated her as his own little sister at first, caring for her, arranging what needed to be arranged, caring where care was due, and strictly adhering to the boundaries between men and women, not overstepping at all.
She herself also said that now was the time when she was young and hard-earned opportunities for development needed to be seized tightly, and she had no time for romantic affairs.
Lu Mingchen fully supported this, telling her that she was still young, and that it wasn’t too late to talk about feelings after her career had stabilized in a few more years.
But he didn’t expect that not long ago, she suddenly called him and said, "Brother Lu, someone is chasing me!"
At first, she refused, and he didn’t take it to heart. But with that man’s intense pursuit, she seemed a bit overwhelmed, letting out a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, Lu Mingchen felt something was off.
Without another word, he left Jiang Nuo and went straight to her side. It wasn’t until he was next to her that he realized how passionate this handsome young man was; it seemed any small hint from her and he could guess her mood and was thick-skinned enough to get closer.
Seeing Qiao Zhichuan made him feel like he was seeing a younger "Jiang Nuo" again.
His first reaction was — Jiang Nuo’s strongest competitor has appeared; should he suppress him before he grows?
This idea had just popped up, and Lu Mingchen was startled himself. He’d been in the entertainment industry for so many years and naturally had his principles, one of which was not to arbitrarily suppress young people. In fact, he had been trying to give more young people opportunities so they could shine on the right platform.
But Qiao Zhichuan’s appearance made him feel threatened.
"Brother Lu, why did you come?"
Seeing him suddenly on the set, Mu Bai was very surprised.
"You’re my artist. Shouldn’t I come to see you?" Lu Mingchen’s face showed no expression, his mood brooding.
Although Mu Bai’s smile was very cute in his eyes, the problem was that there was an extremely annoying young man beside her, the one notoriously persistent in chasing her — Qiao Zhichuan.
Qiao Zhichuan was slightly taller than him, probably almost 1.9 meters tall, and very handsome. He was a different style from the gentlemanly elegance previously molded for Jiang Nuo. He was more sunny, handsome, the trendy young beau with an air of sophistication.
"Hehehe... Brother Lu, weren’t you recently busy with some big announcements with Gu Tai and Gu Fu?" Mu Bai knew that lately, Jiang Nuo had some heavyweight announcements and thus Lu Mingchen had been closely following him.
"He’s a grown man, knows perfectly well what to do and what not to do. Not like certain people always doing things that worry me." Lu Mingchen glanced at Qiao Zhichuan with a subtle implication.
Qiao Zhichuan felt like he was being hit even while lying down. He discreetly tugged Mu Bai’s collar and whispered, "I feel like your agent seems to have an issue with me!"
Mu Bai wasn’t afraid of Lu Mingchen hearing, she smiled openly, "Of course he has an issue with you. You’re chasing one of his artists, why would he be wary of anyone else?"
Qiao Zhichuan rubbed his nose with a chuckle, "That’s divine arrangement, nothing I can do, I’m just smitten with you."