Meanwhile, Nie Luo hid in the bathroom, drenched in sweat.
His face burned unnaturally red, yet his eyes remained astonishingly calm.
He clenched his phone, repeatedly dialing Fan Qing’s number.
Still no answer.
Could Fan Qing still be working?
No.
Even if he was working, why wouldn’t he just hang up directly?
Breathing grew rapid. Nie Luo struggled to regulate his voice, making it sound unnatural in the bathroom.
He thought for a moment and dialed Jin Yi’s number.
The call connected almost instantly.
Jin Yi’s loud voice came booming from the other end.
“Hello? Old Nie, you looking for me?”
“Where’s Fan Qing?”
Nie Luo took a deep breath.
“Ah? What?”
Jin Yi, bothered by the loud music in the background, gestured to a friend to step outside.
After walking a few dozen meters, he let out a small chuckle.
“Sorry, it was too noisy just now. What did you say?”
“I’m asking you—where’s Fan Qing?”
Nie Luo’s fingers holding the phone were turning white from tension.
“Fan Qing? Working, probably in the dorm making dinner right now. Doesn’t he always take care of himself like this?”
Jin Yi looked puzzled. “Why don’t you just call him directly?”
“No one’s picking up.”
Nie Luo ran his five fingers through his hair, pressing hard against his scalp.
“Is he working? Go find him. I need his help now.”
“Ah? He’s nearby, but why are you looking for him at this hour?”
Jin Yi didn’t understand, but after a moment’s thought—well, it wasn’t far. From his place to the company was only about ten minutes.
“Fine, I’ll come by the company to check. Where are you?”
“I’ll send you my location.”
Nie Luo’s voice dropped low. After saying that, he immediately hung up.
Outside the bathroom, footsteps approached.
Someone was coming.
His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly with the sweat running down it; his heavy breathing was suddenly subdued.
This was thanks to Nie Luo’s mastery as a powerful singer—his control over his breath far surpassed ordinary people.
Still…
“I left a ‘Cleaning in Progress’ sign outside the door. Let me guess—you’re in one of the stalls, right?”
A soft male voice suddenly sounded inside the bathroom.
Nie Luo’s fingers tensed in his hair.
As expected—it was him!
Jing Yuan.
No one responded in the stalls.
Jing Yuan’s smile remained.
He stepped closer, his gaze flickering with complex emotions.
“Although I don’t know why, I guess you already figured out it was me, right?”
His tone was gentle, yet his eyes gradually darkened with malice.
He should have guessed it by now.
Why did Nie Luo suddenly relinquish the spot for Tomorrow?
If it wasn’t because Nie Luo had discovered something, how could he have made that decision so abruptly?
So afterward, Nie Luo appeared calm and compliant, but in reality, he was quietly gathering evidence.
If he hadn’t found Zhuo Yuan as a backup, he’d already be erased from the industry by now.
Nie Luo.
I really underestimated you.
Jing Yuan’s eyes glinted with venom as he began scanning each bathroom stall.
“By the way, I’m curious.”
He approached the first door.
“This isn’t the first time, right? But the first time, only Fan Qing was by your side.”
He pushed it open.
Empty.
“Did I just arrive a step too late? Fan Qing—he helped you, right?”
Large beads of sweat slid down Nie Luo’s defined jawline. His eyes reddened, yet beneath it all was an icy calm.
He was meticulous.
So calm he even counted his heartbeats, managing his long exhalations to avoid being detected.
“Fan Qing… I’ve already noticed him. He’s not normal.”
Second door—opened.
Still empty.
“You should remember, right? How he was at first, and how he is now.”
Jing Yuan’s eyes shimmered with an unusual light.
“He was just an unremarkable little assistant, now he’s turned into a strikingly elegant man. Don’t tell me you never suspected him?”
Was he trying to sow discord?
Nie Luo exhaled slowly, sweat dripping from his forehead, but remained composed.
Why?
Why was Jing Yuan trying to interfere between him and Fan Qing?
What would he gain from this?
Third door.
Probably not in there either—but did it matter?
Today, Nie Luo had no escape.
Jing Yuan smirked as he opened it.
Empty.
“Yesterday, I heard something interesting from someone else.”
Jing Yuan slowly approached the fourth door.
His footsteps grew louder in Nie Luo’s ears.
Nie Luo controlled his breathing better than ever before.
“He said… you’re together with Fan Qing. Isn’t that interesting?”
Jing Yuan’s fingers brushed the door.
The faint sound echoed in the silent bathroom.
Nie Luo glanced at the location he had sent.
Too late.
Even if Fan Qing rushed over now, it wouldn’t be in time.
Fifth door.
“What would your fans do if they knew you were with another man?”
The voice settled outside the door.
Lan Xu raised an eyebrow. According to Fan Qing’s usual obsessive self-discipline and health regimen, he should have been preparing some kind of nutritious meal at this hour.
But… where was he?
Just as he was thinking this, the door beside him suddenly opened.
Jin Yi glanced instinctively.
“President Jin?”
The young man standing there still clutched a trash bag, looking utterly blank.
“Huh?”
Jin Yi stared at him for a few moments. This kid seemed familiar…
The boy looked at him, then at Fan Qing’s door, and then back at him again.
…Damn it.
Jin Yi couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation.
He strode over and gave the kid a sharp poke.
“What are you daydreaming about? I’m looking for him!”
“Oh-oh-oh-oh,” Hua Er quickly admitted his mistake, still clutching the trash bag. “But I don’t think Fan Qing’s back yet today—I didn’t hear the door open or anything.”
Not back yet?
Jin Yi frowned. “Not back at this hour… wait a minute.”
He suddenly noticed the blind spot.
He arched an eyebrow.
“So you’ve been paying attention to the door?”
Otherwise, how else would the kid know Fan Qing hadn’t returned?
Something was off.
Hua Er froze.
???
Then he realized what Jin Yi meant.
“No, no, no!” He hurried to explain. “It’s not that I wasn’t…”
“Weren’t what?”
Jin Yi’s eyebrows rose higher and higher.
“Then how do you know Fan Qing hasn’t returned?”
Hua Er blushed deeply.
He hesitated, words caught in his throat. After a long moment, he finally waved the trash bag.
“Well… yesterday Fan Qing knocked on our door and said we were being a bit noisy…”
So today, they hadn’t dared to breathe too loudly. They had even spent extra effort tidying up, and by luck, he had been assigned the trash duty.
“Oh~”
No wonder Fan Qing had suddenly paid so much attention to the newcomers.
Jin Yi finally understood.
Just then, his assistant’s call came through.
“President Jin, I just heard from the logistics department—Fan Qing ran into an elevator malfunction earlier, and he’s just come out now.”
An elevator malfunction?
Jin Yi couldn’t help but laugh.
“So they really do have a bit of fate—both running into something…”
Damn!
He almost forgot this!
Jin Yi hurriedly asked, “Are you with Fan Qing now? Why couldn’t I reach him?”
The assistant was walking toward Fan Qing. He explained, “It seems his phone got damaged when the elevator malfunctioned.”
Arriving at Fan Qing’s side, he handed over the phone.
“Fan Qing, President Jin is calling.”
“Er-shao?”
Fan Qing, looking at his ruined phone, was a little puzzled.
“You’re calling me at this hour?”
“Of course I’m not the one looking for you,” Jin Yi quickly explained. “I sent you a location—Old Nie said he needed you but couldn’t reach you, so I came to get you…”
“What?”
Fan Qing’s eyes narrowed. Without another word, he bolted toward the exit.
He gestured for the assistant to follow.
The assistant hesitated for a moment, then quickly sprinted after him.
“When did this happen? How long ago? What’s wrong with him? Where is he?”
Fan Qing sped downstairs, tossing the car keys to his assistant—the vehicle originally assigned to Vice President Chen, now his ride.
“Ah?”
With this rapid-fire questioning, Jin Yi was starting to get flustered.
“He sent me a location, you see?”
He quickly sent the location over.
Fan Qing glanced at it. Not too far, but it would still take at least twenty minutes to get there.
“I’m heading over now. Did he tell you what’s going on? Anything unusual?”
“…It was really noisy over there at the time, so I didn’t hear clearly. Wait—”
Jin Yi suddenly remembered something.
“It was pretty quiet on his end, but I could hear an echo in his voice!”
An echo?
Fan Qing immediately guessed the place—the bathroom.
Could it be…?
He got in the car and gestured for the assistant to drive.
“I’m going over right now. Er-shao, are you familiar with that place?”
Fan Qing reported the location—a hotel of decent class, fairly well-known.
“Then?”
Jin Yi hesitated. “That’s a… proper place. A straight-laced place.”
He, a wealthy playboy, hardly ever went to such proper venues at mealtimes.
“Then please help me ask the eldest young master. I’ll check immediately what’s going on.”
Fan Qing hung up swiftly.
He turned to his assistant. “I’m borrowing your phone for now. Tomorrow, get a replacement and claim it on my account.”
The assistant adjusted his glasses.
“Yes, sir.”
Fan Qing quickly swapped in his own SIM card, then immediately sent a text to Nie Luo.
No response.
Thinking fast, he switched to the assistant’s SIM card and called Jing Yuan—grateful that Jian Feiyang had once been the same agent as Jing Yuan, so he had his number.
The call rang several times before the recipient hung up.
Now… what could be happening?
A cold light began to glint in Fan Qing’s eyes.
Hopefully, Jing Yuan wasn’t doing anything to Nie Luo.
Otherwise…
The twenty-minute drive suddenly felt unbearably long. Fan Qing switched SIM cards and made several more calls, but they were all out of reach.
Just as he was approaching the hotel, an unfamiliar number finally rang through.
Fan Qing quickly answered the call.
“It’s me.”
Jin Si’s voice carried the same emotionless tone as always.
But to Fan Qing, it was like grasping a lifeline.
“Second Young Master is looking for you?”
“Finally using ‘you’ at this hour, huh?”
Jin Si’s words carried a pointed implication.
Fan Qing drew a deep breath.
“If you can help with today’s matter, from now on, you’re my senior in everything.”
“I don’t particularly care to be your senior,” Jin Si replied, his tone laced with obvious disdain.
Fan Qing’s heart sank.
“However…”
Jin Si’s tone shifted slightly.
“You’re actually nervous, huh? You didn’t really think I wouldn’t know who Jin Yi’s friends are, did you?”
Fan Qing paused for a moment, then realization dawned. “What about Nie Luo’s situation?”
“Don’t worry. He’s a smart one,” Jin Si said.
His fingers brushed across the assistant’s palm, selecting the essential oil on the left.
“He’s clever. He sent me a message earlier, and I’ve already arranged for someone to handle it. Just wait by the back entrance.”
He paused briefly, his tone lazy.
“You probably don’t need me reminding you to be careful, right?”
“…Understood. Thank you, Jin Si.”
Almost immediately, Fan Qing felt a wave of relief, no longer caring about Jin Si’s tone.
He signaled to the assistant to drive to the back entrance. Just as they arrived, he saw two large men escorting someone out.
If it wasn’t Nie Luo, who else could it be?
Fan Qing wanted to rush out, but he steadied himself in the car.
He simply waited for the two men to open the door and seat Nie Luo inside. Once the door was closed, he hurried over.
“Nie Ge, am I too late?”
“Not too late… just a little.”
Nie Luo’s lips were pale, and beads of cold sweat glistened visibly on his skin.
He pinched Fan Qing’s hand, trying to reassure him, though the pain was clear.
“What happened?”
Fan Qing immediately sensed something was wrong. This wasn’t how he had imagined it.
“Nie Ge, you were hurt?”
His gaze sharpened into a knife-like intensity.
“Jing Yuan?”
“Later… explain later. Take me to the hospital…”
Nie Luo struggled, his voice growing faint as he tugged lightly at Fan Qing’s fingers.
Fan Qing leaned close.
Nie Luo whispered softly, his words deliberate and cautious.
“Help me… with makeup… don’t let anyone… recognize me…”
His fingers held Fan Qing’s as they guided them downward.
“I didn’t… let Jing Yuan win…”
The moment Fan Qing touched him, a killing intent burned visibly in his eyes.
Using Jin Si’s influence like a protective shield, Fan Qing got Nie Luo safely to a hospital regularly used by the Jin family.
Still, to be safe, he applied an even more elaborate disguise than the one Hua Er would have suggested.
The attending doctor looked at him with a complicated expression but ultimately said nothing.
“Brother, have some water.”
Fan Qing returned to Nie Luo’s bedside with a cup of warm water. It was a VIP suite, paid for by the Jin family—winter was peak season for illness, and beds in hospitals were notoriously difficult to secure.
No matter. With all the debts owed, Fan Qing didn’t care. He acted decisively.
“Mm.”
Nie Luo reached out for the cup, but Fan Qing gently pushed his hand away.
Nie Luo froze.
Fan Qing drank a sip himself, the cool liquid brushing against his lips, then pressed them to Nie Luo’s.
His kiss was laced with the rapid heartbeat after the tension, and though the warm water didn’t calm him, Fan Qing’s presence felt like a fierce, bloodthirsty force, consuming the space of Nie Luo’s mouth. The mingling heat calmed him slightly.
When the kiss ended, Fan Qing opened his eyes, eyes brimming with uncontrollable ferocity.
“…You’re angry?”
Seeing Fan Qing like this, Nie Luo pinched his ear lightly, a flush spreading.
“Yes.”
Fan Qing’s gaze swept over Nie Luo’s lips, now restored to a slight, natural color, and he felt a measure of relief.
“I’m angry I came too late.”
Nie Luo didn’t understand.
“But I didn’t let him succeed, and you’re still angry…”
“Shh.”
Fan Qing’s finger lightly pressed against Nie Luo’s lips.
His left hand traced across the bedsheet, resting gently on Nie Luo’s injured spot.
He looked at him with unwavering seriousness.
“This… should have been my responsibility to handle for you.”
Even though Nie Luo hadn’t let Jing Yuan succeed,
every inch of him still belonged to Fan Qing.
He had been determined from the moment he first saw Nie Luo.
Nie Luo’s hair, his lips, his fingers, every part of him should be his.
And this injury—this too should have been protected by him.
Fan Qing bent slightly, pressing a gentle kiss on the bedsheet.
“Next time, I won’t let you get hurt.”
“You…”
Nie Luo hadn’t expected Fan Qing to mean that.
His heart still fluttered from the previous kiss, and now Fan Qing…
A simple sentence, yet every word ignited his blood.
Nie Luo choked slightly, clutching Fan Qing’s fingers and lowering his voice.
“You behave… the doctor said I can’t…”
Can’t what?
Fan Qing paused, glancing at Nie Luo’s expression.
Nie Luo didn’t look away; a blush spread from his ears across his cheeks, even creeping down to his chest.
Fan Qing finally understood and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to Nie Luo.
“Are you saying… once it’s ready…?”