The news about Fan Qing traveling a thousand miles to visit Nie Luo still surfaced.
“Nie Luo’s Good Friend Fan Qing Travels a Thousand Miles to Deliver Warmth; Endless Yellow Sands Cannot Block Their Enduring Friendship!”
Several staff members were deeply satisfied when they saw it.
However…
When they met up privately, they began accusing one another.
“What is wrong with you all? I went back and saw it was already posted! Was it you two who secretly uploaded it?”
“You are the ones! I was just about to say that!”
“It was not me! I only brought it up with you yesterday!”
“You people are not honest. If you posted it, just admit it!”
The few of them looked at one another, suspicion mixed with scrutiny in their eyes.
“Really not you?”
“Definitely not me.”
“And it is absolutely not me either. We have all been working together—who has time to post anything is obvious to everyone, right?”
After that, they all fell into silence.
True enough.
They had been working side by side the entire time. Even though yellow sand filled the sky out here, there was practically no one around except them.
If someone did anything, it would be impossible not to notice.
So the question became—who exactly had leaked the news?
Of course it was Fan Qing himself.
Traveling thousands of miles to visit the set—wanting to see Nie Luo during his rare break was certainly the main reason.
But the news coverage had been part of the plan as well.
As soon as word spread that he had gone to visit, fans flooded the comments with emotion.
“Manager Fan is such a worthwhile friend! Traveling that far to visit—he is genuinely such a good person!”
“Oh my God, if I remember correctly, Brother Nie is filming out in the desert, right? Manager Fan went all the way there too? I am seriously moved.”
“Exactly! I wonder how Brother Nie is doing over there. I know it is only a few days, and he has filmed deep in the mountains before, but I still cannot help worrying.”
“Same here, but knowing Manager Fan visited, I feel a lot less worried! He must have brought Brother Nie something good to eat, right OvO?”
Just as the fans were saying that, Nie Luo posted on Weibo.
The post showed the cheerful meal sets Fan Qing had distributed to the staff.
The fans were instantly satisfied.
Afraid of being misunderstood, they hurried to clarify that they were more than content.
“Nice! I am already super satisfied. Bringing all that after more than ten hours of travel—I am grateful!”
“Thank you for your hard work, Manager Fan! Sending love~ Brother Nie must have enjoyed it!”
“Honestly, being able to bring so much that far is already amazing!”
“Exactly! If I were somewhere like that, I would not be picky at all. I would be happy with that food any day. Manager Fan is awesome!”
Nie Luo’s fans showered praise nonstop.
The haters who had originally intended to stir up trouble: …Damn it. You have already said everything. What are we supposed to say now?
Can we get a little room to survive?
Fan Qing was quite pleased with this outcome.
However, he had another matter to deal with.
“You are saying the file was submitted, but it was not approved?”
Fan Qing picked up a document from the desk and slowly looked toward Jin Yi, who was shrinking into himself beside it.
If he remembered correctly, the Second Young Master had been responsible for handling these files last night.
So?
Jin Yi looked extremely guilty.
“…Well, I went out to eat dinner last night.”
The bodyguard beside him paused.
He instinctively glanced at Jin Yi.
Second Young Master, are you not going to report yourself properly?
This could not be entirely blamed on the Second Young Master. Failing to stop him should count as his responsibility too.
But Jin Yi had not thought that far.
He had just been hungry! So he went to eat. And after eating, he got tired and went home to rest. So…
Damn it!
The blame still landed squarely on him.
Firmly.
Jin Yi glanced at Fan Qing.
Then at the furious yet restrained Jiang Mian.
Finally, he sneaked a look at Hual, whose expression revealed nothing.
So… um?
Had he caused trouble?
Would calling his brother help?
Jiang Mian was furious but did not dare speak openly.
The resource had been meant for Hual.
Recently, although Yuan Jing had been more popular and Jian Feiyang often received direct support from President Jian, she had been constantly worrying about Hual’s development.
After finally waiting for days, a suitable opportunity had appeared.
She had waited and waited yesterday for the higher-ups to sign off.
Nothing.
And this morning, when she called to follow up, the opportunity had already been given to someone else.
Jiang Mian could not help glancing at Second Young Master Jin.
Even if it sounded treasonous—
Second Young Master Jin really was not cut out for this.
Nope.
Manager Fan was better.
She missed the days when Fan Qing held authority.
Now she understood why the Second Young Master always roamed freely outside while Manager Fan ran things.
Honestly, Second Young Master should just keep fooling around outside and not come back!
A beautiful thought. A harsh reality.
Fan Qing quickly decided to personally clean up the Second Young Master’s mess. The price: the Second Young Master would continue working overtime.
Jiang Mian nearly choked up.
Jin Yi felt even worse.
He almost wanted to howl.
His voice trembled as he sniffled, “C-can we not switch it to something else?”
He did not want to work!
He especially did not want overtime!
“Then shall we let the Second Young Master handle this matter personally?”
Fan Qing remained calm.
He felt he was being very considerate.
He had even provided a multiple-choice option.
Jin Yi wilted immediately.
Having someone clean up after him was great. Cleaning up after himself? Absolutely not.
He surrendered at once.
“Then… never mind.”
The correct choice.
Fan Qing’s mood improved somewhat.
If the Second Young Master was willing to work overtime, that meant he would have time to visit the set again later.
Even if he had to clean up after him this time.
Fortunately, this matter did not seem too difficult to resolve.
Jiang Mian, however, probably did not see it that way.
Fan Qing’s gaze swept over her expression—furious, yet holding it in.
He rubbed his chin and glanced at Hual, who stood quietly at the side, his face composed and unreadable.
That kid really was promising.
A solid mindset.
As Fan Qing studied him, another thought suddenly surfaced.
…Hmm?
He looked at Hual again.
And again.
Hual remained calm, but he still spoke politely.
“Manager Fan, did you want to ask me something?”
There was an idea forming.
But not entirely.
After a moment’s thought, Fan Qing beckoned.
“Come with me for a minute.”
Jiang Mian, who had been glaring at the Second Young Master, immediately looked over.
Fan Qing waved at her.
“I just need to ask him a few questions.”
Jiang Mian hesitated. “…All right.”
Fan Qing led Hual a few steps outside the office.
Hual followed quietly behind him.
March had rolled into April. After the Qingming Festival, the temperature had suddenly surged, warming up fast.
Fan Qing still wore a light jacket, while Hual had already changed into a loose short-sleeved T-shirt.
Only then did Fan Qing notice something.
Hual seemed taller.
He gestured roughly to compare.
“You grew?”
Hual looked surprised.
“You can tell, Manager Fan?”
It was only one centimeter. Even Yuan Jing had not noticed. How had Manager Fan seen it?
“You are almost catching up to me.”
There were certain measurements men naturally cared about.
Fan Qing was no exception.
But that was not the main point.
He met Hual’s eyes.
“About this matter—do you have anything you want to say?”
Although the company belonged to the Second Young Master Jin, this incident had indeed resulted from both the Second Young Master’s and his own oversight, costing Hual a decent opportunity.
Fan Qing wanted to know what Hual truly thought.
Was he genuinely unbothered, or simply suppressing it?
At the mention of it, Hual’s expression shifted slightly.
What did Manager Fan want to hear?
The truth, or something more diplomatic?
And what was the purpose behind asking?
Hual exhaled slowly.
“…I do not really have anything to say. I just want to know how Manager Fan plans to handle this afterward.”
The matter had already happened. Whatever he said would not change it.
It would be better to focus on what came next.
And how he should cooperate.
Interesting.
Fan Qing studied him.
“You should know that no matter how I handle it, that opportunity will not come back. At best, I can look through our current resources and find something suitable as compensation.”
He paused meaningfully.
“And it is even possible that if nothing appropriate turns up, I will have no choice but to let it go—and eventually forget about it.”
Very immersive.
So immersive that fists were already clenching.
Hual drew in a deep breath.
Stay calm.
Think about Manager Fan’s real intention behind saying this.
After a moment, he looked up sharply.
“Manager Fan, are you… testing my attitude?”
But why?
Fan Qing smiled slowly.
“That is right. I am testing you.”
He stepped closer and patted Hual’s shoulder.
“All right. I will handle this matter. Let us go say something to Sister Jiang first.”
He had an idea.
But Hual might not agree to it.
Fan Qing understood that clearly and temporarily pushed the budding thought aside.
Hual’s situation was neither particularly big nor truly small.
In essence, it was just an advertising collaboration.
The party that had approached Hual was a wireless Bluetooth earphone brand. After hearing that Hual was about to release a new song, they had proactively sought cooperation.
However, after investigating, Fan Qing quickly discovered that the company had not approached Hual alone—they had extended offers to several singers at the same time.
More interestingly, they had not put much thought into it at all. Whoever responded first would get the deal.
In that sense, it was not entirely Hual’s fault that he lost the collaboration.
Unless Fan Qing himself had happened to be handling the paperwork that time, Hual likely would have lost it anyway.
Still, that made things odd.
This advertiser seemed far too indiscriminate.
If so, what was the point of approaching Hual at all?
Fan Qing did not have to wonder for long.
Two days later, the advertisement was released.
At the same time, another piece of news surfaced—one involving both Hual and him.
“Tenghuang Snubs Major Brand? Or Is Fan Qing Arrogant Beyond Measure? Advertiser Reaches Out, but New Artist Under Fan Qing Reportedly Claims the Brand Is Not Worthy.”
The headline dropped—
—and immediately exploded.