The plane landed, and Fan Qing finally caught his breath.
He rubbed his lower back a couple of times and calmly pulled on his mask.
Yes, there was a bit of soreness in his waist.
But what was a little back pain compared to not knowing when he’d next get a proper meal? That was nothing.
And honestly… back pain was a good thing.
Back pain was wonderful!
It meant Nie Luo had really gone all out this time.
That part in the middle, when Nie Luo had hoisted him up and pressed him against the wall—Fan Qing had enjoyed that immensely.
Still… how much did Nie Luo like seeing him in his shirt?
It seemed like a big part of that scene had been Nie Luo wanting to see him in the shirt.
Fan Qing’s mind ran a little wild as he led Yao Ge and Nie Luo toward separate exits.
Before leaving, he even caught Nie Luo’s lingering, reluctant gaze.
“Manager Fan, aren’t you coming with us?”
Yao Ge hurriedly followed in small, quick steps, whispering.
But Fan Qing could never just walk so fast!
Hadn’t he just leaned on his back a moment ago?
Why were his strides so long now?
Didn’t it hurt at all?
Fan Qing glanced back and slowed his pace slightly.
“You’ll see the chaos on Weibo tomorrow… or maybe even tonight at midnight.”
Yao Ge hurried to keep up.
He thought for a moment and realized:
“Oh, right—you two didn’t make it public, right?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Fan Qing replied casually.
Yao Ge quietly watched him.
Hold it in…
…couldn’t hold it in!
He whispered: “Are you planning to make it public?”
The question drew a faint smile from Fan Qing.
“If it wasn’t public, why would I even bring you there?”
Oh… true.
Yao Ge nodded slowly.
Right, if it wasn’t public, how could he even see it?
“Alright, I’ve called a car for you. Head back on your own.”
After finishing a quick chat with the taxi driver, Fan Qing opened the door and ushered him in.
Before closing the door, he tugged at his collar meaningfully.
“Remember—get those clothes done quickly. I’m still waiting.”
Yao Ge’s face flushed, but he summoned his courage.
“Uh… should I start with today’s order, or the previous ones?”
Fan Qing turned and waved his hand decisively.
“All of it!”
Yao Ge: ???
The car started, leaving behind a trail of question marks as he drifted away.
Even though Nie Luo had returned from the remote mountains, his scenes carried more weight.
After waiting two nights, he still hadn’t come back early to sleep…
…tsk.
At least he had managed to eat properly once before.
Fan Qing thought to himself as he casually flipped through the files on that “Zhang Fu.”
He hadn’t been idle these past few days either.
Since he intended to help Yao Ge develop into a brand, of course he was keeping track of the follow-up.
He even had a proper talk with the old man about Yao Ge’s development path.
The old man’s position was simple: if he had the ability, he could go straight into real business.
Fan Qing found it a bit surprising.
“Wasn’t it said that designers cared a lot about awards and recognition?”
He got an eye-roll in response.
“You think I’ve let him do nothing all these years?”
The old man scowled over the phone, stroking his beard.
“He’s won every award he should. With me backing you, what’s there to fear? All that’s left is for you to handle the real business. If I weren’t old, would I let such a talented one slip to you for free?”
Fan Qing chuckled.
“Well, you still have to convince Yao Ge first.”
The old man was silent for two seconds, then decisively hung up.
Out of earshot, clear as day!
Hmph.
Every day a small victory.
Fan Qing hummed a new song by Nie Luo while continuing to go through Zhang Fu’s files.
After flipping through once, he roughly had a plan in mind.
Then, he started calling Yao Ge every day.
The normally non-social Yao Ge had slowly become socially anxious because of these calls.
Every time the phone rang, Yao Ge panicked.
Hell is empty, and Fan Qing walks among us!
Wuwu, making clothes was fun, but being chased for orders was terrifying!
Recently, Jin Yi noticed something off.
Mainly… Fan Qing seemed different.
Several times, Jin Yi had gone over to find Fan Qing, and each time, Fan Qing was on the phone!
And every time he saw him, Fan Qing’s expression was bright and happy.
The problem was… Old Nie was still filming!
A call every few days would be understandable, but how could Nie Luo possibly have the time to talk every day?
So the person Fan Qing was calling couldn’t be Nie Luo.
But then the question arose—who was Fan Qing calling?
The more Jin Yi thought, the more suspicious it seemed.
Yet, in that suspicion, he felt he might be missing something.
After thinking it through, he decided not to worry… for now.
He would eavesdrop first.
Decision made, Jin Yi started figuring out how to listen without being noticed.
Fan Qing wasn’t blind.
As he thought, his gaze fell on the bodyguards in the corner.
Ah-ha! Got it!
He whispered a few instructions to the bodyguards.
After a brief, baffled pause, they nodded in agreement.
Fan Qing suddenly became busier these past days.
Not that it was anything else—year-end events were picking up again.
The invitations flooding in the most? One was Jian Fei Yang, whose popularity had skyrocketed thanks to General Jian throwing a ton of resources at him; the other was Hua Zi, whose face had become increasingly famous, almost everyone on the internet knew him.
Almost immediately after the first brand reached out to Hua Zi, various brands and shows started vying for his attention.
For a while, Hua Zi was overwhelmed by all the options and eventually decided to leave the choice to Fan Qing.
Aside from Hua Zi, the other hot name in the variety show circuit was Jian Fei Yang.
Over the past year, Jian Fei Yang had been incredibly active on variety shows, boosted by better resources and rising popularity. Plus, Jian Fei Shuo’s occasional playful posts on Weibo about his younger brother kept the public talking, steadily driving Jian Fei Yang’s popularity even higher.
Among all the invitations, the one that truly caught Fan Qing’s attention was the Spring Festival Gala on Weibo.
It wasn’t too surprising—though Jian Fei Yang’s status wasn’t the strongest, his resources and popularity had grown significantly.
But Fan Qing’s real problem wasn’t whether Jian Fei Yang would attend—it was finding the right clothes for him.
Even Fan Qing found it slightly tricky.
He even called Jian Fei Shuo directly.
From the very start, he was blunt.
“General Jian, Jian Fei Yang needs a suit for the Spring Festival Gala red carpet. Can we—”
“No.”
Jian Fei Shuo was decisive.
Fan Qing: ?
Was that a little too quick?
Jian Fei Shuo hummed on the other end.
“Aren’t you Ayang’s manager? Can’t you figure something out for him? I’ve lined up so many opportunities for him recently, and you’ve been slacking. Time to actually do some work, right?”
Fan Qing was momentarily speechless.
Then he thought about it—sheesh, he really did have a point.
“Alright, I’ll see what I can do for Ayang.”
He was just about to hang up when Jian Fei Shuo added casually:
“Make sure it’s something good. It needs to suit his status.”
Fan Qing smiled as he ended the call.
“Don’t worry.”
Did Jian Fei Shuo really need to remind him?
If he wasn’t planning to pick out something top-notch, why would he even call?
That said… Fan Qing fell into thought.
His pen hovered above the page, darting through the air before landing again between his long fingers, dancing back and forth.
Maybe?
Huh?
Why hasn’t Fan Qing called yet?
Standing behind the bodyguards, Jin Yi shifted his weight nervously.
Not that anything else was wrong—his legs were going numb from standing too long!
Fan Qing, just call already!
Weren’t you always on the phone whenever I came in before?
After a while, Jin Yi almost wanted to bolt out of there.
Just as he moved, he saw Fan Qing pick up his phone.
Finally!
Jin Yi quickly hid behind the bodyguards.
“Busy?”
Fan Qing’s smile appeared as soon as the call connected—a familiar expression to Jin Yi.
Yes, exactly that expression!
Jin Yi immediately went on high alert.
That’s it! Every time I come in, Fan Qing has this same look.
See? He always calls that person!
Excitement and a strange, hard-to-place feeling surged in Jin Yi.
But his curiosity won, and he continued spying discreetly.
“Don’t worry, it’s not what you think. I just wanted to see if you have time,” Fan Qing said, smiling warmly.
Tsk tsk—look at this kid, flustered and stammering that he’s already working on the clothes.
Yao Ge relaxed slightly, then realized the next second:
“More new ones? But I haven’t finished this batch yet! QAQ”
Too many, really too many.
The kid couldn’t possibly finish them all!
Yao Ge realized for the first time that making clothes could be this stressful.
Rush orders—why do they even exist? They’re terrifying!
Just as he thought of whining, he paused.
Wait a second!
Fan Qing’s bringing someone over!
Does that mean… he could get a day off?
Thinking this, Yao Ge’s mood brightened instantly.
Fan Qing’s voice no longer sounded like a devil whispering in his ear.
“When will you bring them? Today or tomorrow?”
The sooner, the better!
He seemed so happy.
Wasn’t he just crying before, saying he couldn’t finish everything?
Fan Qing raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment, then understood how this kid was thinking.
He couldn’t help but smile.
Such a single-minded little thing.
Did Yao Ge really think just bringing someone over would earn him a day off?
Of course not.
But Fan Qing decided not to crush the kid’s hopes yet.
He smiled. “Then tomorrow. I’ll come over tomorrow.”
Once Yao Ge saw him, he would understand everything.
“Great! Then come quickly!”
Yao Ge looked forward to it with joy.
A day off—he wanted a day off! Wuwu, the kid wanted a day off!
“Mm, sure,” Fan Qing said as he hung up, unable to stop himself from laughing.
He really wanted to see Yao Ge’s expression when the truth was revealed tomorrow.
It would be so interesting.
Look at that smile!
Fan Qing laughed so joyfully, with just a hint of… something else.
Jin Yi thought to himself quietly:
“A little… mischievous!”
After thinking, he realized there was only one way to find out the truth:
“Follow their car.”
The next day, Jin Yi, dressed entirely in black—black shirt, black pants, black mask, black sunglasses—slipped into a car.
The bodyguard in the front seat fell silent for a moment.
“Wait… you cleared this with your team, right? They won’t blow my cover, will they?”
Jin Yi double-checked.
The bodyguard nodded silently.
Jin Yi frowned.
“Say something,” he demanded.
The bodyguard gave a helpless “Mm.”
“Good. Let’s go, let’s go, catch up.”
Jin Yi’s excitement mingled with a hint of fear.
Damn it—what if they actually notice something?
The car ahead started moving.
After a while, Jin Yi felt something was off.
Why did this road look so familiar?
A little farther on, realization struck.
Jin Yi: ??? This looks like the way to the Jian residence?
So… Fan Qing is heading there to meet Jian Fei Yang?
He was thinking just that when Fan Qing’s car stopped outside the Jian residence.
Then Jian Fei Yang got in.
Boring.
Tsk.
Jin Yi slumped back in the rear seat, utterly unamused.
Soon after, the car started moving again.
Surely they’re heading back to the office—how dull.
Jin Yi pulled out his phone, contemplating starting a new little mission.
But the more they drove, the stranger it felt.
Why had it taken so long?
The car finally came to a stop.
Jin Yi instinctively scanned his surroundings.
Holy crap!
This place was completely unfamiliar. He’d never been here before, so… what exactly were Fan Qing and Jian Fei Yang doing here?
“Doing what here, Jin Er-shao?”
Fan Qing’s face suddenly appeared at the car window.