In the end, Fan Qing’s little dream wasn’t realized.
Because someone had leaked what happened with Jing Yuan.
By the time they got out of the car, Jin Yi was already calling in a panic.
“Whoa? What’s going on? Weren’t you going to celebrate the holiday? Why are you trending already?”
“Trending?”
Fan Qing wasn’t too surprised.
But… he thought for a moment.
“Jing Yuan? Any updates on him?”
“No news, that’s weird!”
Jin Yi stared at the screen in shock, almost speechless.
“Jing Yuan’s about to get roasted alive online. What was he thinking? Why did he even approach Old Nie? I don’t get it!”
Not his fault they thought this way—everyone did.
Someone had secretly filmed a short clip: Jing Yuan lunging toward Nie Luo, the lights going out, Jing Yuan screaming, then Fan Qing appearing, and the footage abruptly cut.
The clip was short, only a few dozen seconds.
But the content was explosive.
Netizens immediately recognized it was from the set of Shining.
Once discovered, the online reaction exploded:
“Wait… Jing Yuan? Why is he at the set of Shining? I thought the mysterious mentor was Nie Luo? How did Jing Yuan even get here? Didn’t he have a feud with Nie Luo?”
“OMG my mom, what is happening? Is this video real? What did Jing Yuan say? I don’t understand, need an explanation!”
“Is Jing Yuan crazy? Is the production crazy? When did Jing Yuan even agree to this? Didn’t they not announce this beforehand? And wasn’t he exposed before for sneaking Nie Luo’s resources? They’re not just at odds—they’re basically enemies now. And the production still let him on the show? Seriously?”
“Honestly, the world has gotten so absurd. How does Jing Yuan even have the nerve to show his face in front of Nie Ge? And he even made Nie Luo come over personally to greet him? I’m actually laughing. And after the power outage, what were those things Jing Yuan was saying supposed to mean? That Nie Ge harassed him? I’m so mad I’m laughing. With Nie Ge’s face, if he really wanted to, you wouldn’t even be in line for the gossip headlines, okay?”
“Ugh, I’m gagging. How is Jing Yuan not blacklisted yet? Why is someone like this still allowed to jump around the industry? I seriously don’t get it.”
“Can Jing Yuan please get out of the entertainment industry? And also, Shining, can you give an explanation? Why did Jing Yuan appear at all? What does ‘supporting mentor’ even mean? Why was there zero prior notice? As an audience member, I deserve an explanation, thank you. Also, please explain why—if Nie Ge was already there—you still agreed to let Jing Yuan join the program. I don’t understand. I’m just waiting for an explanation.”
Young Master Jin scrolled through the posts, reading them out loud for Fan Qing as he went.
When he finished, he scratched his head again.
“Wait—weren’t you supposed to be meeting Old Nie to celebrate today? How did you end up running into this kind of mess?”
If that was the case, then wasn’t his stint as a stand-in completely pointless?
Then his sacrifice would mean nothing—and he wasn’t about that!
Listening to the recap, Fan Qing gradually pieced things together.
He squeezed Nie Luo’s fingers.
“Ge, should the studio contact them and put out a statement?”
Nie Luo raised his other hand. He had already taken off his glove, and the phone in his palm was showing a conversation screen.
“Mm. I’m already talking to them.”
Fan Qing nodded.
After a moment of thought, he let out a quiet sigh.
He slipped the small box back into his pocket, leaned over, and kissed the corner of Nie Luo’s mouth.
“Ge, if you can free up some time tonight, can we celebrate together?”
With things like this happening, it looked like their earlier plans would just have to be scrapped.
As he spoke, he instructed the driver to head to the subway station ahead.
After all, this car belonged to Nie Luo. Given the current storm, it was better to avoid trouble if possible.
But under these circumstances, he had to go back to the company and take charge.
Thinking that, Fan Qing pulled out his phone and contacted the PR team.
At the end, he also sent out a round of red packets in the group chat.
Even if they had to work, at least it was a holiday—no need to make everyone feel too miserable about it.
After finishing all that, Fan Qing was just about to say a few more words to Nie Luo.
When he looked up, he saw Nie Luo frowning at him.
“Ge?”
Fan Qing was a little confused.
What was going on?
Nie Luo watched everything he’d done, pressed his lips together, and hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice.
“…You’re going back to the company?”
Fan Qing froze.
“Yeah. Given the situation, I still need to go back and deal with it.”
He thought Nie Luo would understand.
But why did Nie Luo seem… a bit upset?
What was wrong?
Fan Qing frowned slightly and started thinking.
Had he overlooked something again?
But…
After a moment, Fan Qing suddenly raised his brows, smiled, and leaned in to kiss him.
His fingers naturally slid onto the back of Nie Luo’s hand, rubbing against it affectionately.
“Ge, are you upset? If something’s bothering you, tell me.”
He paused, smiling a little helplessly.
“If you don’t tell me, how am I supposed to know?”
He was clearly hinting at something.
“Just like what we talked about in the restroom earlier.”
Before he could finish, Nie Luo had already pressed in and kissed him.
The kiss carried a faint sense of resignation.
When it ended, confusion still lingered in Nie Luo’s eyes, but he spoke honestly.
“I’m not angry. It’s just…”
He lowered his voice, sounding a little dejected.
“I just really miss you.”
Fan Qing was completely stunned.
Nie Luo… missed him?
After saying that, Nie Luo fell silent for a long time.
After quite a while, he suddenly took something out of his pocket and handed it over.
Fan Qing said, “What is this…”
It was a set of keys.
Fan Qing snapped his gaze up at Nie Luo.
Nie Luo slipped the keys into his pocket.
There was a trace of barely perceptible nervousness on his cool, handsome face.
“It’s the keys to my place—the one you took me back to before.”
“Keys?”
Fan Qing repeated.
Nie Luo hummed in acknowledgment.
“Keys.”
Fan Qing touched the cold, solid weight in his pocket and suddenly laughed.
He pulled out a small box from his own pocket and handed it over.
“Open it?”
“What is it?”
Nie Luo took it.
The box wasn’t big—just enough to rest in his palm.
But as he looked at it, he suddenly felt nervous.
A box like this?
Inside it was…
His hand shifted slightly, and a familiar sound came from within.
…Keys?
A trace of confusion appeared on Nie Luo’s normally impassive face.
He instinctively looked at Fan Qing.
Fan Qing was giving him keys?
Fan Qing smiled, pulled out the set of keys Nie Luo had just given him, and shook them lightly.
The metal clinked together with a crisp, pleasant jingle.
The sound drifted into Nie Luo’s ears. Holding the box in his palm, understanding suddenly dawned on him.
“…Inside… are the keys I gave you before?”
“Ge is really smart.”
Or maybe it was that the two of them shared an unexpected kind of tacit understanding.
Fan Qing reached out and opened the small box.
Inside were indeed the keys Nie Luo had given him earlier.
Nie Luo glanced at him.
“You’re giving them back to me?”
Fan Qing raised an eyebrow.
“Not giving them back. Exchanging.”
He shook the keys in his hand, smiling brightly.
“Giving me this set of keys—does it mean what I think it means?”
He had thought his boyfriend would be shy, maybe even bashful.
He had thought this Christmas gift might end up never being given—but who would have expected that Nie Luo had already thought of this himself?
The more he thought about it, the deeper Fan Qing’s smile grew.
Though it was a bit of a pity that they had clearly missed out on many things before, Fan Qing had to admit that he actually enjoyed this kind of misunderstanding.
And besides—
Having this kind of tacit understanding with Nie Luo was genuinely delightful.
Seeing Fan Qing’s radiant smile, Nie Luo nodded.
“Mm.”
He hadn’t expected that A-Qing would have thought of the same thing either.
Lowering his head slightly, he quietly let out a breath of relief.
So tonight, would his place be welcoming another male owner?
As Nie Luo thought this, the sharpness in his stern brows gradually softened.
“Boyfriend, we really do have great chemistry.”
Fan Qing lifted his chin slightly, and Nie Luo followed the motion, lowering his head. They exchanged a sweet, lingering kiss.
After sticking close for a while, Fan Qing still separated from Nie Luo for the time being.
Not for any other reason—Young Master Jin’s call had barely ended when President Jin’s call came through.
“You two aren’t planning to dump everything on me, are you?”
Jin Si’s tone was noticeably better than before.
Fan Qing could even detect a trace of teasing?
He raised an eyebrow slightly.
That single “big brother”—who would have thought it would come with such an unexpected bonus?
“Not quite. We’re starting to deal with this right away.”
Fan Qing paused, deliberately stressing a few words in front of Nie Luo.
“Big Brother Jin.”
A flicker of confusion clearly passed through Nie Luo’s eyes.
After a moment, he slowly leaned closer to the phone.
“Big Brother Jin.”
“Hmm?”
On the other end of the line, Jin Si’s expression turned strange.
He looked at his assistant and mouthed silently,
“Did you hear that?”
The assistant shrugged.
It would’ve been hard not to hear.
But Nie Luo calling Jin Si “big brother”?
Fan Qing was also momentarily stunned.
He looked at Nie Luo, his gaze a little odd.
Covering the phone, he laughed softly.
“Why are you calling him Big Brother Jin too?”
Nie Luo’s face remained calm, as if the person who had just said “Big Brother Jin” wasn’t him at all.
He glanced at Fan Qing and said, matter-of-factly,
“You’re my boyfriend. I follow your lead.”
Fan Qing couldn’t help laughing.
“Ge, you’re really good at sweet talk.”
“I say, don’t treat me like I don’t exist.”
Jin Si spoke up from the other end of the call.
He gave a light snort.
“Didn’t you say before that between you and Nie Luo, Nie Luo has the final say? Hmm?”
From how this sounded now, that didn’t seem to be the case at all.
Still—being able to hear Nie Luo call him Big Brother Jin?
Jin Si rubbed his chin, feeling like he’d somehow come out ahead.
Nie Luo had known that brat for so many years and had never called him that.
Come to think of it, did this mean he’d gained two younger brothers in a single day?
As that thought crossed his mind, Jin Si remembered the trouble those two brothers had just stirred up.
The smile on his face faded slightly.
Sure enough, younger brothers were nothing but debts.
“There’s one more thing. Zhuo Yuan’s side will probably come asking you for someone very soon.”
As Jin Si mentioned Zhuo Yuan, his fingers tapped slowly against the desktop.
“But there’s a pleasant surprise. Jing Yuan seems to have something useful in his hands.”
That part had surprised him somewhat.
He’d guessed before that Jing Yuan would be of some use, but judging from what he’d managed to probe from Jing Yuan’s tone, Jing Yuan was holding onto some dirt on Zhuo Yuan.
“If we can get that information out, I can deal with Zhuo Yuan completely.”
Jin Si said it lightly.
Fan Qing slowly let out a breath.
“Then we’ll be troubling you, Big Brother Jin.”
“…Who told certain people to be so worry-inducing.”
That line was something Jin Si only muttered after hanging up the phone.
Standing beside him, the assistant found it a little amusing.
“What’s this? Didn’t you used to complain that younger brothers were nothing but trouble?”
So why were you taking everything onto yourself now?
Jin Si leaned back lazily.
“They’re definitely troublesome. These two are especially good at causing problems.”
But raising younger brothers always brought a bit of amusement too—it wasn’t entirely uninteresting.