After he finished eating, Yu Shiqing secured his sling, and the three left together.
“Auntie, we’re heading out!” Ren Bai shouted toward Lin Shuang’s room.
Lin Shuang raised her voice in response, “Be careful on the road!”
“Got it!”
After that, he shut the door.
Since New Era (the company) and the airport were in different directions, Yu Shiqing and Jiang Yu split up downstairs to take separate cars.
At the New Era building, Ren Bai led Yu Shiqing straight to Luo Shaoyuan’s office.
“Teacher Yu,” Luo Shaoyuan greeted with a smile. “What a rare visit. Please, come in.”
Ren Bai, however, cut straight to the point. “I have something to ask you.”
“What is it?” Luo asked.
“Did anyone else at the company find out about Auntie’s divorce?”
Otherwise, how would Huaze have gotten wind of it and approached Gao Fan?
Luo Shaoyuan answered honestly, “One person did. But don’t worry, it was a small accident. I already warned him not to spread it.”
Ren Bai shrugged. “Seems your warning didn’t work.”
Luo Shaoyuan frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing.” Since there was no solid proof, Ren Bai didn’t push. “Just a suggestion—keep an eye on him.”
Luo Shaoyuan said, “You’re misunderstanding, he—”
Ren Bai cut him off, “If it wasn’t him who leaked the info, why would I be asking you if someone else knows?”
Luo Shaoyuan froze.
Not dwelling on it, Ren Bai changed the subject. “Did you find anything else?”
Luo refocused. “We’ve indeed found some baseless posts smearing Yu Shiqing. There are a lot of paid trolls online too, but we expected this. Yu Shiqing has been on fire this year his popularity has only soared since New Year. Jealousy is normal.”
He led them to the lounge area. “But there’s one thing that seems odd.”
“What is it?” Ren Bai asked.
“These are the reports we compiled.” Luo handed them a tablet. “Recently, there’s been a spike in posts attacking Yu Shiqing’s character across various platforms even during the travel livestream.”
Ren Bai opened a link.
The top post read:
“Just learned a big piece of gossip shocking! This guy’s totally different on- and off-camera! He’s this year’s comeback king, loads of fans, and great resources since switching to his new agency. He looks charming and kind in livestreams, totally swooning the public. I used to be a casual fan myself he’s hot and heroic. But after this, I feel like I swallowed a fishbone. Turns out the image was all a lie. No wonder his old agency let him rot for four years his real personality was bound to show eventually!”
Comments followed:
1st: “OP might as well just spell out ‘Yu Shiqing’ LOL.”
2nd: “Wait, Yu Shiqing? What scandal?!”
Most replies were similar, forming a huge thread.
Ren Bai didn’t even finish reading before fuming. “Huaze is disgusting!”
Luo Shaoyuan finally picked up on something. “You think Huaze is behind this?”
Ren Bai looked at Yu Shiqing to ask if he should spill everything.
Yu Shiqing nodded.
At this point, there was no reason to hide anything.
Ren Bai took out his phone and showed Luo the photos. He didn’t think secrecy was necessary. Luo represented New Era in their collaborations. If he couldn’t be trusted, no one at the company could.
Luo asked, “Who are these two?”
Ren Bai explained, “The one on the left is Auntie’s ex-husband, Gao Fan. The other is Le Yang, a Huaze employee.”
Luo was shocked.
A Huaze employee meeting with Gao Fan, while slander about Yu Shiqing flooded the internet, it clearly wasn’t a coincidence.
But he didn’t understand, “Why would Huaze do this?”
That part was harder to explain. It wouldn’t help to go into detail.
Ren Bai just said, “Their goal is to exploit the divorce case. They’ve been warming up for days. When they make their move, it’ll be massive.”
At this point, he was actually thankful for Gao Fan’s warning call to Lin Shuang. Without it, they’d still be in the dark.
Huaze’s “warm-up” had been seeding public doubt over time but now, they could prepare.
“I understand,” Luo said, now fully aware of the stakes. “I’ll call a meeting immediately.”
The rest of the morning was spent adjusting plans. After lunch, they returned to the meeting room.
Yu Shiqing didn’t know much about these matters and had little interest. After listening for an hour in the morning, he spent the rest of the time flipping through scripts Luo had prepared for him but hadn’t delivered yet.
Just before the meeting ended, he got a call from Jiang Yu.
Upon learning he was still at New Era, Jiang Yu had his driver take a detour and wait downstairs to pick him up.
On the way back, Jiang Yu asked, “Is it serious? I can help if you need me.”
Yu Shiqing replied, “No need. Ren Bai has it under control.”
Jiang Yu didn’t press the issue. “I bought pork ribs and asked housekeeping to prep them. I’ll make soup when we get home.”
Yu Shiqing looked over and smiled. “You’re cooking?”
Jiang Yu also smiled. “Yep. Get ready for something delicious.”
When they got home, they went to their room first.
Lin Shuang, hearing the commotion, peeked out. She saw Jiang Yu’s door ajar and a sliver of evening light shining through.
She was about to turn back, then remembered that Yu Shiqing was staying in that room.
And he’d said Jiang Yu was only home at night.
That meant Shiqing had just returned from the company?
Thinking this, she walked over.
When she got to the door, she pushed it open slightly. “Shiqing, you—”
What do you want for dinner?
But she never finished the sentence.
Her eyes widened.
She hadn’t expected the scene before her.
Yu Shiqing and Jiang Yu were standing face-to-face in front of the bed, turned sideways from the door.
Just as she walked in, Jiang Yu had reached out and flipped down the back of Yu Shiqing’s collar.
His shirt hung loosely off his shoulders, half on and half off. The buttons were already undone. Even from her angle, Lin Shuang could see a lot of bare skin let alone Jiang Yu.
When they heard her voice, both men turned to look at her.
Jiang Yu quickly pulled up Yu Shiqing’s collar.
Then he looked at Yu Shiqing.
Yu Shiqing looked at Lin Shuang. “What is it?”
His calm tone brought her back to her senses.
So nonchalant. Was she just overreacting?
Even so, Lin Shuang couldn’t stop her face from turning red. She hurriedly backed out, voice barely a whisper. “Next time remember to close the door.”
Then she shut it.
Yu Shiqing frowned slightly, confused.
Jiang Yu cleared his throat and, without a hint of guilt, said, “Maybe Auntie was embarrassed seeing you change.”
Yu Shiqing turned away. Maybe.
