Xi Yixiu stood silently in place, looking at Yu Qinchou with disbelief and a complicated expression.
Was he showing off?
Not only had he somehow gotten married, he was also deliberately flaunting that his partner had given him cufflinks?
Xi Yixiu had seen plenty of fine things before. These sapphire cufflinks were indeed delicate and well-crafted, clearly chosen with care, but they probably weren’t even more expensive than Yu Qinchou’s shirt. And yet he was showing them off like this?
He really shouldn’t have said “not bad” just now.
Although he inwardly despised Yu Qinchou’s behavior, his curiosity about the mysterious “spouse” only grew stronger.
He clicked his tongue and turned around, saying, “I don’t mind meeting your marriage partner—”
Where is he?
The sofa that should have had someone leaning on it was suddenly empty. The figure that had drawn so much curiosity had vanished without a trace, along with the coffee and desserts on the table.
Xi Yixiu, facing away from the glass door, had not noticed anything. But Yu Qinchou saw everything clearly.
When the young man heard faint movement and looked up, he seemed startled to realize someone had come looking. Seeing the stack of documents Xi Yixiu had placed on the table, he probably assumed there was urgent business to discuss, so he quickly tucked the book under his arm, grabbed the coffee and dessert, and slipped into the adjacent room, gently closing the door behind him to avoid causing any disturbance.
Although the office area and rest area were already somewhat soundproof, they still weren’t as insulated as a full soundproof wall. So once he entered the next room, Yu Qinchou’s expression and tone relaxed.
“Not allowed.”
Xi Yixiu was still stunned by the fact that the person had disappeared when he heard that single sentence and immediately scoffed. “Not allowed? What, I’m going to steal your partner or something?”
Yu Qinchou glanced at him indifferently. “Sounds like you could even if you tried.”
Xi Yixiu: “……”
Fair enough.
Back in school, almost everyone who showed interest in him would eventually shift their attention to Yu Qinchou once they noticed him. At first Xi Yixiu had been resentful, but later he got used to it. After all, most of those people only liked his looks anyway. Those who were truly captivated by him wouldn’t be so easily swayed.
“Then why won’t you let me see him? He shy?”
“He wouldn’t be shy around you,” Yu Qinchou replied calmly. Although Ming Qin did tend to be thin-skinned and would blush easily when teased, he wouldn’t run away just because a stranger wanted to meet him.
Yu Qinchou glanced at the closed door and said slowly, “We’re secretly married.”
Xi Yixiu: “……”
After a few seconds of silence, Xi Yixiu burst into loud laughter.
Ignoring Yu Qinchou’s expression, Xi Yixiu bent over the desk laughing until he could barely breathe. “So it turns out it’s you, Yu Qinchou, who’s the one hiding things? Tsk tsk tsk, this is really something new. Chairman Yu, you’ve probably never been treated like this before, right?”
“Quite the opposite,” Yu Qinchou said, tossing the file back into his arms. “It’s precisely because he thinks so highly of me that we’re keeping it hidden.”
He was afraid others would exploit Yu Qinchou’s position as the head of the Yu Corporation to gain convenience.
“Just take a look at the back of his head. I’ll bring you to meet him properly another time. Not today—don’t scare him.” Yu Qinchou stood up, pushed in his chair, and walked toward the door, signaling Xi Yixiu to follow.
As he reached the office door, he asked casually, “How’s the situation with the Wen family?”
“Then what else could it be? Wen Hejun and his stepmother are going at each other full force,” Xi Yixiu said, pressing the elevator button for the next floor with visible disgust as he curled his lips. “Once the Song family got involved, Wen Hejun’s definitely going to suffer a bit of a loss, but it’s not a big deal.”
As he spoke, his curiosity only deepened.
“Why exactly are you messing with the Wen family? What did Zhou Jing and her son do to you?”
“I just can’t stand people who wear a hypocritical face while enjoying everything they shouldn’t have.”
Xi Yixiu still didn’t fully understand the real reason behind Yu Qinchou’s actions. He only said, “I thought you and Wen Hejun had some kind of connection. Like you suddenly developed a conscience and were helping him fight for the inheritance his biological mother left behind.”
Yu Qinchou let out a faint, dismissive laugh.
Did he look like a good person?
…
The lounge, like Yu Qinchou’s office, was spacious. A large bed sat neatly in the room, looking brand new and spotless, so Ming Qin didn’t touch it. He paced around twice but couldn’t find anywhere to sit, so he simply leaned against the wall in a daze.
A few minutes later, he received a message from Yu Qinchou: I’m going downstairs for a bit.
Going downstairs?
Ming Qin quietly opened a crack in the door. Through the glass, he indeed didn’t see anyone, so he brought the coffee and desserts over again and curled back up on the sofa.
The afternoon passed quickly, and before long it was already time to get off work.
Back at Xijing Bay, Ming Qin bent down and picked up Little Eight, who was meowing at him. Seeing this, Yu Qinchou followed behind and chuckled softly. He brushed the cat’s head with his fingers and teased, “Your Daddy finally has time to pay attention to you today.”
Ming Qin’s expression stiffened slightly.
So Yu Qinchou casually ruffled his soft black hair as well. “Go wash your hands and get ready for dinner.”
Ming Qin quickly nodded.
It seemed that Ming Qin had truly neglected Little Eight these past few days. The cat followed him wherever he went. Seeing this, Ming Qin felt a warmth in his chest and quickly finished dinner before taking the cat back to his room.
From behind him, standing beside Yu Qinchou, Cen Jing offered a very honest opinion: “You really can’t even compare to a cat.”
Yu Qinchou tilted his head. “If you can’t speak properly, then don’t speak.”
Cen Jing immediately shut his mouth.
Around eight o’clock, Ming Qin was drinking a beverage sent up by Cen Jing while scrolling through short videos when he unexpectedly came across Le Siyang’s livestream.
Le Siyang was dressed very exquisitely, makeup and styling complete, as if he had just come from an event. Facing over a hundred thousand viewers, he smiled and nodded. “You guys are really well-informed. Yes, I did go for an audition today. There were a lot of people, of course—it’s Zhang Cong’s new film after all.”
As soon as he said that, the screen filled with comments like: Le-ge will definitely get the role.
Le Siyang seemed pleased by the praise from his fans and continued, “Director Zhang Cong did say my performance was good.”
At that moment, a hand appeared from the side holding a cup of chrysanthemum tea. “Your throat’s uncomfortable. Drink more of this so you don’t suddenly lose your voice again and scare me to death.”
[What?! Loss of voice?!]
[What happened? @Shi Yong what’s wrong with my brother?]
Lines of concern flooded across the screen. Le Siyang quickly explained, “It’s nothing serious. Just a temporary loss of voice caused by a normal cold. I’m already almost recovered.”
[Take care of yourself, Le baby!]
[Damn Qichuang, forcing him to work while he’s sick!]
Alongside concern and complaints came countless gifts, the effects filling the entire screen like fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
Ming Qin watched and smiled softly.
From Le Siyang’s attitude this morning, it didn’t look like someone who had been sick at all.
Shi Yong really was a very calculating and manipulative agent.
That was also the main reason Ming Qin had fallen out with him.
Ming Qin had been lucky. While still in school, he was spotted by Qichuang Media—or more accurately, Shi Yong had taken a liking to his face and believed he had the potential to make it big in the entertainment industry.
At first, Ming Qin was grateful for Shi Yong’s appreciation. That was until Shi Yong demanded he accompany a producer in exchange for a good role.
Ming Qin refused.
Shi Yong assumed he was being prudish and deliberately tried to suppress him, so he turned to Le Siyang instead.
Le Siyang had also been assigned under Shi Yong at the same time as Ming Qin. But unlike Ming Qin, he had already spent several years drifting through the industry, experiencing its warmth and cruelty. He understood very clearly that he needed to seize every opportunity that came his way.
So he got the role.
Le Siyang became Shi Yong’s tool to control Ming Qin. Whenever Ming Qin disobeyed, Shi Yong would replace him with Le Siyang to remind him of what he was missing. But Shi Yong never expected that Ming Qin simply didn’t care. Even as roles, endorsements, and opportunities all went to Le Siyang—and Le Siyang quickly rose to fame as a trending new star—Ming Qin maintained the same attitude as always.
If Ming Qin hadn’t been his artist, Shi Yong might have even praised him.
But Ming Qin was supposed to make him money. This stubborn, almost self-righteous attitude made him extremely dissatisfied.
Just as he was about to break the swan’s proud neck and force him into submission, Ming Qin caught on and brought out their chat records.
“I want a change of agent,” Ming Qin said. “Otherwise, your coercion, your attempts to pimp me out—everything will be exposed online immediately. Maybe you’re just a shameless agent and it doesn’t matter to you, but Le Siyang is currently on the rise. He cares about his image.”
Having been outmaneuvered, Shi Yong almost laughed in anger.
He truly hadn’t expected Ming Qin to be so unyielding.
Nor had he expected Ming Qin to be so good at threatening people.
In the end, he could only grit his teeth and agree.
Thinking back on it, Ming Qin’s expression remained calm.
After leaving Shi Yong, although his resources had drastically declined, he had met a very good agent.
Meng She didn’t have many schemes or tricks. He couldn’t casually say a few words and immediately make fans feel heartbroken for him. But he cared about Ming Qin’s health, told him to dress warmly, traveled far just to bring him local specialties friends had given him, and would stay by his side without leaving whenever he was sick.
He really liked Meng She.
He was going to work hard and earn money to buy Meng She a Cullinan.
Ming Qi let out a slow breath. Just as he was about to close Le Siyan’s livestream, two notification sounds rang out back-to-back.
He opened the message. A floating message box appeared over the livestream. The content read: Mr. Ming, welcome to join the “Undercover” production team.
Ming Qi’s eyes suddenly lit up, and at the same time, Le Siyan’s face in the livestream… darkened.