Ming Qian was unwilling to pay back the money, so he used Hao Lin as a shield. He originally thought that would be the end of it, but he never expected Feng Changheng to be truly desperate, going so far as to seek out Hao Lin directly and even threaten him, proclaiming he would expose Hao Lin for embezzling money from the artists under him.
"Now guess, how did I answer him?" Hao Lin tossed another question at Ming Qian.
By now, Ming Qian was already fidgeting nervously, feeling a sense of shame as if he had been stripped naked and put on display for others to scrutinize and criticize.
He could almost imagine Feng Changheng's furious and resentful expression after Hao Lin exposed his carefully constructed facade in one fell swoop.
"Brother Hao..." Ming Qian's tone was almost pleading: "Brother Hao, you... you didn't tell him the truth, did you? Right?" After all, they had been lovers since their student days. Even though he knew the other person could no longer help his career or path to stardom, Ming Qian still felt some lingering attachment to Feng Changheng.
Of course, it was only a lingering attachment. These small traces of affection weren't even worth as much as the money spent buying online trolls to hype him up.
"Heh." Hao Lin let out a light laugh.
Ming Qian clenched his fists, his nails digging sharply into his palms, yet he seemed completely unaware of it.
"Ming Qian, you know what? The more someone is like you, the further they can go in the entertainment industry," Hao Lin said slowly.
Ming Qian's whole body stiffened.
Hao Lin: "To be honest with you, I didn't expose you. Not only that, but I also gave him the money."
The smile on Hao Lin's lips deepened. If one had to describe it, he looked exactly like a snake, a highly venomous one, lurking in the grass, flicking its tongue, waiting quietly for its prey to fall into the trap.
Ming Qian was stunned, finding it hard to believe: "Really?"
"However, there was a cost." Hao Lin took a voice recorder out of his pocket.
Ming Qian immediately saw the blinking red light on the recorder, realizing it was in recording mode. The color, which had just returned to his face, drained once again, leaving him pale.
____
While Ming Qian, safely distant from the online controversy, was wallowing in misery, Rong Yu, who was right at the epicenter of the public opinion storm, remained surprisingly untroubled.
Or rather, he simply didn't care about such trivial gossip. After persuading his fans in the fan group not to argue over right and wrong for such a small matter, to focus on their real lives, do what they need to do, and wait for his work to come out before making plans, Rong Yu went off to do his own thing.
This was the first time he had asked for leave to go out since moving into the company dormitory.
He wasn't going to a film set, nor was he attending any commercial events, and he didn't ask Yin Chengjue out for a date. Instead, he went alone, sneaking stealthily to the agreed location.
Appointment target: Eldest Brother
There was no other way. The items he had begged his eldest brother to buy for him last time had arrived, but his brother absolutely refused to mail them, insisting that Rong Yu come to the meeting point in person to collect them, otherwise it was no deal.
Despite Rong Yu's repeated pleas, his eldest brother remained unmoved, neither eating soft nor hard. Left with no choice, Rong Yu put on a baseball cap, a large face mask, and even a middle school student's uniform, and went to the meeting.
[軟硬不吃: lit. to neither eat soft nor hard [tactics]; fig. to be impervious to both persuasion and coercion]
The school uniform had proven to be a brilliantly effective disguise.
He arrived at the designated meeting place: the cafe on the 38th floor of Tianhua Tower. It offered a panoramic view of City A's skyline and a dazzling vista of the city's lights at night.
When Murong He first saw Rong Yu in this outfit, he failed to recognize him.
It wasn't until the other guy rubbed his hands together and called out flatteringly, "Big Brother, I've come as agreed. So, about that perfume I wanted, could you please..." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand.
The corner of Murong He's mouth twitched: "You've fallen to this sorry state now?"
Rong Yu: "Not bad, not bad. I can still eat my fill."
Murong He: "You threw a bomb at home and then ran away. You certainly made it easy for yourself."
Rong Yu: "Big Brother, look at what you're saying. Since I knew I was throwing a bomb, shouldn't I run? Should I have stayed and waited to get caught in the blast?"
Murong He nearly snapped the handle of his coffee cup.
Murong He struggled to maintain the composure befitting an elder brother: "As of today, the shooting range at our home has been renovated fifty times."
Rong Yu, who was adding a fifth sugar cube to his coffee, couldn't help but sigh with admiration: "The old man is really hale and hearty in his old age. Mom is blessed."
Murong He: "... The sandbag at our home has been punched to pieces for the fiftieth time."
Rong Yu picked up a spoon, stirred elegantly, and continued sighing: "Second Brother's fists are becoming more mighty and impressive by the day."
Murong He: "... Haven't you considered what would happen if one day you really brought some random man home? Would they treat him as the shooting range or the sandbag?"
Rong Yu's face finally changed color.
Murong He had been observing Rong Yu and, seeing his change in expression, thought his persuasion was working. Pressing his advantage, he added: "As long as you're willing to change your preference regarding your partner's gender, none of this would exist."
Rong Yu: "No..." Rong Yu suddenly broke into a wide smile, cracking his knuckles audibly: "Thank you for the reminder, Big Brother. I suddenly realized that I should also buy some sandbags to practice on."
Otherwise, how else would I protect my brother? ^V^
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