Jin Yi’s dream was grand.
Reality, however, was cruel.
Forget finding out how many bases they’d reached—in the end, he couldn’t pry a single word out of Nie Luo.
He slumped in defeat.
“You won’t say this, you won’t say that,” he made one last struggle. “At least tell your brother this much—does that Fan Qing actually look decent? Is he very different from those photos?”
“Photos?”
Nie Luo snapped himself out of memories that shouldn’t be revisited, his sharp brows lifting slightly.
“Where are the photos? Let me see.”
Seeing that he was finally willing to satisfy even this tiny bit of curiosity, Jin Yi was so moved he almost cried.
He hurriedly held up his phone for His Majesty’s inspection.
“Please enjoy.”
Nie Luo flipped through the photos quickly, then snorted.
“I don’t know why he dressed like that, but these photos were obviously taken from the ugliest angles on purpose.”
He stood up. His tall, perfectly proportioned body—like something sculpted to golden ratio precision—shifted into a few poses with ease.
“These are all movements people make all the time. But shot from those angles, even I would look ugly.”
…Well, not completely ugly.
Jin Yi choked slightly, but he’d rather die than say that out loud.
Still…
Jin Yi’s eyes lit up.
Wasn’t Nie Luo… explaining things for that Fan Qing?
Well damn. If this wasn’t something, he absolutely didn’t believe it.
And—
Jin Yi leaned in closer, his face full of gossip.
“So you’re saying Fan Qing doesn’t actually look like this?”
And if he could get involved with Nie Luo, didn’t that mean he had to be pretty striking?
Nie Luo’s standards couldn’t possibly be low, right?
Otherwise, how could this guy have gone his whole career without a single scandal?
Nie Luo knew exactly what he meant.
He hadn’t wanted to answer—but he couldn’t help recalling the person’s true appearance.
Compared to the photos?
Nie Luo gave a quiet scoff.
“If Fan Qing were willing to enter the industry, his presence alone would put him at the very top.”
Much as he didn’t want to admit it, when he later thought back on why he’d so easily listened to Fan Qing that day, it was because he’d followed pure instinct.
And what he’d sensed was an aura.
An aura that didn’t lose to his own—one belonging to a dominant hunter at the top of the food chain.
Fan Qing was absolutely not a simple person.
“Hiss—.”
That only made Jin Yi more frustrated.
Now he wanted to know even more!
So what did this Fan Qing actually look like?
As he thought that, Jin Yi’s eyes rolled, and an idea formed.
“By the way, this is your first time getting hit with a scandal, right? You should clear it up. Want your brother to help you out?”
An unsolicited favor usually meant ulterior motives.
Nie Luo shot him a look that said exactly that.
Jin Yi chuckled.
“Well, I mean, since it’s all a misunderstanding anyway, how about you call him out and talk about PR together? Just have a meal—what do you think?”
“Idiot.”
Nie Luo sneered.
“Dinner with him at a time like this? Do you have too much money and want to throw it away just to hear a splash?”
Things were already blowing up—meeting again now?
Was Jin Yi planning to pay off the entire internet?
Jin Yi refused to accept that.
“That’s not how it works! Haven’t you heard—the most dangerous place is the safest place? I think the rumors started because you were sneaking around. If the three of us eat openly and aboveboard, are they really going to spin it into a threesome? The more open you are, the more people think there’s nothing going on!”
Nie Luo understood what Jin Yi was getting at.
The more you avoided something, the more the media would embellish it beyond recognition.
The reason he’d never had scandals before was precisely because he’d always acted openly and without guilt.
But having dinner with Fan Qing?
The thought had barely formed when Nie Luo’s phone rang.
Setting those stray thoughts aside, he picked it up and glanced at the screen.
He froze.
“Who is it?”
Jin Yi craned his head over sneakily.
Seeing the bold words Manager on the screen, he curled his lips and leaned away, bored.
Nie Luo answered the call.
Before he could say a word, the other end exploded into a stream of scolding.
“Nie Luo, what the hell is going on with you?! Do you even know what that Fan Qing is? And you actually got involved with him? Do you think you don’t have enough scandals already? Are you trying to piss me to death—?!”
“You called me for something?”
Nie Luo’s voice was icy, cutting through the torrent of scolding on the other end.
The coldness in his tone was like a bucket of ice water dousing flames—finally, the manager calmed down slightly.
“…Fan Qing said he wants to take you out to dinner. Don’t tell me you didn’t know about this.”
He had just learned about the scandal online when Fan Qing’s call came, saying he wanted to invite Nie Luo to dinner.
Wasn’t this basically confirming a rumored affair between Nie Luo and Fan Qing?
What infuriated him most was that he had absolutely no idea!
Nie Luo was his client!
Wasn’t he supposed to be the first to know about these things?
And the company contract explicitly stated that Nie Luo was forbidden from dating anyone during the contract period!
Nie Luo wouldn’t think that just because he was independent now, he could break those rules, right?
The thought darkened the manager’s face further.
Not to mention the last time, when Nie Luo had casually handed the Tomorrow opportunity to someone else—he clearly knew Nie Luo intended to give it to Jing Yuan, yet Nie Luo had acted without consulting him.
Once, twice… maybe he had spoiled Nie Luo too much.
Fan Qing? Inviting him to dinner?
For a moment, he even wondered if his increasingly unhinged manager was talking nonsense—but then, seeing the approving look in Jin Yi’s eyes, he quickly snapped back to reality.
Fan Qing’s approach aligned perfectly with Jin Yi’s thoughts?
Only…
“I have nothing to do with him. I still need to prepare for filming, so don’t call me unless it’s important.”
Nie Luo hung up coldly, holding up his hand to block Jin Yi’s eager face.
“Hmm… how about you take me along when you two have dinner?”
Jin Yi’s eyes practically glowed with X-ray intensity.
His curiosity about Fan Qing was only growing!
“Do you think that’s possible?”
Nie Luo nearly laughed at the absurdity.
A future heir of the Jin family, dining with these two—already at the center of scandal?
Was this guy trying to pour gasoline on the fire or kick someone while they were down?
Jin Yi shrugged.
He thought it was totally possible—it just depended on what Nie Luo said.
And…
Jin Yi silently chuckled.
If Nie Luo hadn’t outright refused, didn’t that mean his resolve wasn’t ironclad?
Nie Luo glanced at him and finally sneered.
“In that case, I hope you, Young Master Jin, can fully honor your promise.”
So… Nie Luo had agreed?
Jin Yi’s eyes lit up, nodding rapidly.
“Absolutely! Leave it to me!”
Saturday.
A guzheng played softly. Artificial rocks and flowing water created a serene courtyard. A circular walkway ran alongside a koi pond, where pale gray and soft crimson fish occasionally leapt out, splashing back in with a plop.
At the center of the pond was a round table set for a full banquet, with one person seated at each corner.
Yet, every face looked strangely tense.
Except Jin Yi.
Fan Qing never expected that meeting Nie Luo again would happen in such a setting.
Looking at Nie Luo’s expression, it was clearly not his idea.
Then it must be…
Fan Qing’s gaze fell on Jin Yi.
…So much for judging a book by its cover.
From the outside, there was no hint that this person could pull something like this off.
Nie Luo’s attention flickered involuntarily to the veins on his forehead starting to throb.
Had he been wrong to trust Jin Yi?
“Hmm? Why so quiet, everyone? Don’t tell me you’re all nervous or shy? Come on, we’re all in this industry together—there’s nothing to be shy about.”
Jin Yi, slightly puzzled, tried to lighten the tense atmosphere.
Nie Luo’s forehead vein twitched like it could play Flight of the Bumblebee.
He lowered his voice, grinding his teeth.
“This is what you call a ‘completely safe arrangement’?”
Inviting people to dinner in the old master’s garden?
Was it his inexperience—or was Young Master Jin truly extraordinary?
“What do you mean?”
Jin Yi spread his hands.
“Doesn’t this arrangement scream ‘safe’? The garden—my dad’s. The people—I invited them. The two of them. The location—dining at the lakeside pavilion. What, is there a problem now?”
Even the juiciest gossip couldn’t spin this dinner into something scandalous, he swore on every strand of his billion-dollar hair.
If anyone could, that person would already have been declared a genius.
Nie Luo felt a headache coming on.
Yet he couldn’t exactly say what was wrong with the arrangement.
Still…
He instinctively glanced at Fan Qing and Jian Feiyang beside him.
As if reading his mind, Fan Qing spoke up at the right moment.
“I’m just bringing him out to see the world, and to silence some… unclean rumors. Hope you don’t mind.”
Nie Luo understood him.
Fan Qing’s function here was the same as Jin Yi’s.
Yet… how did Fan Qing know exactly what he was about to ask?
Nie Luo’s questioning gaze fell on Fan Qing—and saw those eyes fixed directly on him.
He paused slightly.
The eyes, usually hidden behind thick lenses, were unshielded today.
Bright, clear, pure.
So clean that he even doubted whether the dangerous aura he’d sensed on that day came from the same person.
Before he could think further, a sudden movement beside him caught his attention.
Jin Yi slapped his thigh, pointing at Jian Feiyang in shock.
“You… you’re not Jian Feishuo’s brother, are you? From the Jian family?”
“Huh?”
Jian—tool man extraordinaire, definitely not just here to freeload a meal—Feiyang finally looked up.
He froze for a second.
Wasn’t he just here to eat with A-Qing? Why was he suddenly being called out?
The next second, he was shocked too.
“Jin Yi—Second Brother Jin?!”
“Holy shit! It really is you, kid!”
Jin Yi was stunned.
He looked at Jian Feiyang, then at Fan Qing, then at Nie Luo.
Wait a second.
So what exactly is going on between Nie Luo and Fan Qing?
And why is Jian Feiyang—of all people—not following his brother to inherit the family’s real estate empire, but instead messing around in the entertainment industry?
Come to think of it, hadn’t Jian Feiyang been kind of famous before?
Does Jian Feishuo seriously just let this slide?
And—hold on—
So Fan Qing is actually Jian Feiyang’s agent?
Then who exactly is Fan Qing?
And most importantly—
Which piece of gossip is he supposed to start with first?!
For the first time in his life, Jin Yi felt that gossiping was hard.