This was the exact kind of gossip Meng She had been bracing for the entire time—but somehow never expected it to appear here.
And the person posting it, with the ID “CloutChaserGoDie,” was clearly not stupid.
With the official announcement of Winter Has Arrived, many people were already questioning why someone like Huo Chengtang—a box office star with over ten billion in earnings—would be playing a supporting role to Ming Qi.
This post poured fuel directly onto that fire.
Meng She’s face darkened.
He quickly checked the account’s history. It was obviously a burner account.
“Which company is too busy not acting properly and instead pulling this kind of crap?”
Ming Qi picked up his phone and searched the topic. Within a short time, the post already had thousands of likes and had been reposted by marketing accounts, spawning a new trending hashtag.
[Even with a mask, the eyes really do look like Ming Qi.]
[A brave soul!]
[If the role really was obtained like this… it’s not impossible to understand.]
[The entertainment industry really has all kinds of tricks.]
[@Ji Zhao your boyfriend got clout-chased, say something.]
[Above comment, are you serious? Didn’t you know that person is also a clout-chaser?]
The comment section was chaotic.
Yu Qinzhou took Ming Qi’s phone away, his voice slightly cold.
“I’ll have Xi Yixiu handle it. Go wash up. Don’t take it to heart.”
It was rare for Ming Qi to see him like this. He blinked at him, then obediently stood up, but still leaned in and whispered,
“You don’t take it to heart either.”
Yu Qinzhou gave a soft “mm,” pinched his cheek, and placed Xiao Ba into his arms.
After watching Ming Qi disappear upstairs, he turned to Meng She.
“I’ll have someone look into it, and also contact the airport authorities.”
This couldn’t just be handled by suppressing the news.
As Meng She had said before, forcibly suppressing it would only make netizens more suspicious and reinforce the idea that Ming Qi was clout-chasing.
Yu Qinzhou would not allow that kind of stain to stick to him—even if a single official clarification could erase all rumors instantly.
There was still a long road ahead before Ming Qi achieved his dream. He wanted him to remain spotless throughout it.
Besides, this incident started with him anyway. If he hadn’t planned the surprise, they wouldn’t have met at the airport.
Meng She glanced at Yu Qinzhou’s furrowed brows and didn’t say much.
“Then I’ll leave it to you, Mr. Yu.”
…
Bo Hongfang had just declared he was cutting ties with Ming Qi, and the next moment his agent Zheng Liang sent him the “clout-chasing Yu Qinzhou” airport photos along with online comments.
Bo Hongfang immediately let out a laugh and opened Weibo on his main account, typing furiously:
“Ming Qi playing second lead for Huo Chengtang? That’s Huo Chengtang’s honor.”
His sudden post caught his agent completely off guard.
Zheng Liang called immediately.
“You defend Ming Qi, fine—but why are you dragging Huo Chengtang into it?!”
Bo Hongfang answered bluntly.
“What do you mean dragging? Isn’t it the truth?”
Zheng Liang rolled his eyes internally.
But he also knew what kind of personality his artist had. Since it was already posted, there was no saving it.
Instead, his attention shifted to the airport photos.
“I’ve been looking at these for a while… why does Yu Qinzhou look so familiar?”
Bo Hongfang snorted.
“Let me guess—you’re about to say the mysterious boyfriend is actually a fan stalking Ming Qi?”
Zheng Liang: “?”
He slammed the desk.
“What do you mean, you already know?!”
The sound nearly made Bo Hongfang drop his phone.
“You think I wouldn’t? During Undercover script readings, I already saw Yu Qinzhou picking Ming Qi up.”
Zheng Liang was about to swear in shock when his eyes suddenly landed on a new reply under Bo Hongfang’s post.
Huo Chengtang: It is indeed my honor.
Zheng Liang: “……”
Darkness flashed before his eyes.
Truly, birds of a feather.
He closed the webpage entirely and gave up on reality.
Meanwhile, with Bo Hongfang and Huo Chengtang stirring the pot, the entire situation spiraled wildly out of control.
The “Red Sugar CP” crowd screamed “he loves him,” “he loves him even more” when Director Zhou Xingxiu finally snapped.
He posted on Weibo and @ed CloutChaserGoDie:
“Try clout-chasing Yu Qinzhou yourself, then come claim a role from me.”
The internet exploded.
[I’m dying laughing]
[Director Zhou came back from abroad and still has the sharpest mouth]
[Zhou: yes yes, I went abroad for years just to accept actors being brought in by connections]
[Bo Hongfang and Huo Chengtang didn’t make me laugh, but Director Zhou absolutely could become a comedian]
[@CloutChaserGoDie hurry up, tackle Yu Qinzhou at the airport, tomorrow you’ll be cast in Winter Has Arrived, kick Ming Qi out, and I’ll become the male lead LMAO]
The comments on both sides continued to spiral, and a few ordinary accounts also appeared in the mix:
[Which few dishes got you drunk enough to say this?]
[In this situation with both sides interfering, a couple of normal accounts finally surfaced:]
[I was on a flight from F Country to Beijing today and saw that whole group of Yu Corporation “model-level” executives. This photo was definitely taken today, right? If it was really just a “clout-chase collision” and they already confirmed roles immediately, isn’t that a bit exaggerated?]
[I saw it myself. Ming Qi was accidentally bumped into Yu Qinzhou’s arms. If I’m lying, I’ll never make money in my life.]
…
Ming Qi came out of the bathroom and played with Xiao Ba for a while. Only when the little cat was exhausted and curled up asleep on the bed did he finally walk into the living room.
Yu Qinzhou saw him and waved him over.
“Done washing?”
Ming Qi nodded obediently and sat down beside him, leaning lightly against his shoulder.
“So how’s the situation?”
Meng She tapped the drinks on the table.
“See? I even have the mood to drink. That means it’s basically fine.”
In truth, it had never been a big issue. It only escalated because Yu Qinzhou’s identity as a powerful businessman made things sensitive—entangling capital with entertainment circles, plus someone deliberately stirring the narrative.
“The account ‘CloutChaserGoDie’ is a brainless fan of Le Siyan. The photos were taken by her,” Meng She said. “We’ve also obtained the surveillance footage from the airport. Post it from your account.”
“No problem.”
Ming Qi held out his hand toward Yu Qinzhou.
His phone had already been confiscated.
After getting it back, Ming Qi uploaded the video Meng She sent him. Before posting, he turned to ask,
“Do you have a Weibo account?”
“No.”
“Then forget it. I won’t @ you.”
A few seconds later, he posted the video with the caption:
“A small incident at the airport. Thank you, Mr. Yu.” /cute
The surveillance video was very clear—showing the young man rushing forward, bumping into Ming Qi, and causing him to stumble, while Meng She frantically reached out but failed to catch him.
From the moment the incident happened, Ming Qi’s fans had been waiting for clarification. Now that the video was released, many of them were almost moved to tears.
Soon after, the young man who claimed responsibility also posted an apology:
“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect my collision to cause such a huge misunderstanding and wave of public opinion. After I got off the plane, I received news that my mother had been in a car accident on her way to pick me up, so I was in a rush and wasn’t watching where I was going when I bumped into Mr. Ming Qi. I sincerely apologize again.”
[The video really doesn’t look like intentional clout-chasing. I don’t deny Ming Qi’s acting skills, but Meng She’s expression—if that’s acting, I’ll eat my words.]
[Good thing Meng She is a manager. If he were an actor, people would be overanalyzing everything.]
[I thought my favorite was going to collapse like this, thank goodness /crying]
[Sorry but I have to say—they look really good together when they’re hugging!]
[Above comment, come ship Zhouqi CP! Guaranteed profit, no loss!]
[What? There’s already a CP?!]
[I swear I just checked the Zhouqi CP fan forum out of curiosity—are you guys living this well? The edits look completely seamless.]
[Professionals at work. Don’t miss Zhouqi CP /hands on hips]
Ming Qi scrolled through the comments for a while and didn’t expect the final winner to actually be the CP fans.
Half an hour later, he even logged into a burner account and checked the CP forum—it had already grown to four-digit followers.
After signing in casually, he yawned and urged Meng She:
“Since it’s settled, bro, you should go rest early. You’re tired today.”
Meng She, finally relaxing after the chaos, felt the exhaustion hit him all at once. Seeing the time was already late, he didn’t stay any longer and left for the neighboring villa.
Now the living room was left with only Ming Qi and Yu Qinzhou.
Ming Qi pulled Yu Qinzhou’s hand and led him toward the master bedroom.
“You just got back and haven’t adjusted your jet lag. You should sleep early too.”
But Yu Qinzhou only said,
“Sorry, Qiqi, this time it was—”
Before he could finish, Ming Qi turned back.
“I still prefer what Mr. Xi Yixiu said.”
Xi Yixiu?
What did he say again?
Yu Qinzhou frowned slightly, thinking back, finally remembering the moment at the airport when Xi Yixiu jokingly said it was “fated destiny.”
“Come on, go take a shower and rest,” Ming Qi said without noticing his pause, pushing him forward by the waist. “I knew what kind of industry I was stepping into from day one. Today’s incident is nothing to me.”
He truly didn’t care.
The entertainment industry’s waters were deep; if he took everything to heart, he’d drown before ever getting famous.
Besides—
“Our Mr. Yu is very reliable. You always solve everything for me.”
To Ming Qi, Yu Qinzhou had always been someone who could handle anything.
But in that moment, Yu Qinzhou felt something different.
Even someone as ruthless as him toward his own family felt his heart soften completely from just that one sentence.
He pulled Ming Qi into his arms, bending slightly to bury his face in the side of his neck.
“Thank you, baby.”
Ming Qi’s ears turned slightly red.
Why did he suddenly become so serious?
He pushed Yu Qinzhou into the bathroom. Listening to the sound of running water, he rubbed his still-warm ears, then picked up his phone again and checked Weibo.
The trending topics involving “Ming Qi” were already fading quickly, but #Yu Qinzhou was still in the top ten.
The top post read:
He really is a hot commodity—constantly being clout-chased by all kinds of entertainment chaos.
Top comment:
Confirmed: nobody can get him /doge
“Still on Weibo?”
Yu Qinzhou came out of the bathroom with steam still on him and saw Ming Qi sitting cross-legged on the bed, staring intently at his phone.
He relied on his height while standing and, with a single glance, caught the Weibo interface on the phone screen. His brows faintly furrowed.
Ming Qi didn’t notice, and only explained with great interest: “I’m looking at what they’re saying about you being a man no one can ever get, and they’re still analyzing you…”
“Uh.”
A few lecherous old perverts were studying whether Yu Qinzhou’s nose bridge was high or not, and whether he was good in bed.
Ming Qi felt embarrassed just looking at it a second longer.
Yu Qinzhou didn’t miss the moment his expression stiffened. His look became somewhat intriguing as he deliberately asked, “Oh? What are they analyzing about me?”
Ming Qi: “……”
He held back and didn’t speak, but Yu Qinzhou had already taken the phone from his hand. The sudden movement made Ming Qi let out a startled sound, and he was just about to get up to chase after it when Yu Qinzhou had already seen the specific content.
His brow lifted slightly. “Good in bed? You don’t know, Ming Qi?”
Ming Qi thought to himself that he couldn’t possibly not know. He was simply far too clear on it.
But there was no need to say that out loud, was there?
While he was thinking this, he suddenly saw Yu Qinzhou tap twice on the screen. Then the phone was returned to Ming Qi’s hand. Immediately after, the man leaned down toward him, fingertips hooking open the loose black shirt that was oversized on Ming Qi. Looking at the jade-like smooth skin beneath, his eyes darkened slightly.
“Going to sleep?” he asked.
A kiss landed on his neck, carrying an indistinct smile: “Might as well experience whether I’m really good or not.”