Before leaving, Zhong Ziyan glanced at the messy table and asked, "Do you have a voice recorder? Hand me one."
Li Ye rummaged through the scattered papers for a long time before finally finding one to give her.
Zhong Ziyan pocketed it, planning to test it at home, hoping that the scientific medium might slightly diminish the magical effects inherent in an elf's song.
Both of them worked with concise efficiency, completing in half an hour what Li Ye had originally estimated would take two hours.
As he escorted Zhong Ziyan downstairs, they happened to run into Bai Ling, who was carrying a violin case.
The young heiress offered Zhong Ziyan a forced smile. "I heard your previous composition didn’t pass. Don’t be upset—maybe the next one will."
Zhong Ziyan, who had been waiting for the elevator with her hands in her pockets, raised an eyebrow at Bai Ling’s words. "Were you talking to me?"
Bai Ling choked, her face flushing with embarrassment. "Zhong Ziyan, you—"
The elevator’s ding as it arrived on the sixteenth floor cut her off.
"No need to comfort me," Zhong Ziyan nodded at Bai Ling. "I passed."
With that, she strode confidently into the elevator.
Bai Ling, biting her lip, didn’t follow.
Zhong Ziyan mused, "Does she have a grudge against me?"
Li Ye, idly tearing at the filter of a cigarette, snorted. "That’s Bai Ling, the daughter of Hou Tu Entertainment’s former CEO. She’s always seen you as a thorn in her side."
Zhong Ziyan: "……?" So she’s just inventing imaginary rivals to fight? How bored is she?
……
Baffled by the younger generation’s mindset, Zhong Ziyan left Hou Tu.
As she got into the car, she glanced once more in the direction where she had sensed something unusual earlier. The strange feeling had faded but hadn’t entirely disappeared.
Frowning, Zhong Ziyan drove off without dwelling on it.
That evening, she found her own photo on Weibo.
Under the hashtag: #YuQianshanSpottedWithMysteryWoman#
Curious, Zhong Ziyan clicked on the trending topic.
The first photo showed her and Yu Qianshan meeting at Hou Tu earlier that day—Yu Qianshan holding the door open for her as they spoke, their lowered heads creating an oddly intimate atmosphere.
The second photo captured Zhong Ziyan turning toward the camera, her face slightly blurred but still recognizable.
The third appeared to show them holding hands, though it was actually Yu Qianshan handing her a business card.
Leaning by the poolside, Zhong Ziyan scrolled through her phone, recalling a recent meme: Old man squinting at phone on subway.
Though the tabloid’s claims were speculative, the gossip mill spun wildly, and netizens eagerly jumped in for their share of the drama.
After all, in the public eye, entertainment moguls like Yu Qianshan were inseparable from the term "casting couch."
Comments flooded the hashtag:
["Starting with just one photo, huh?"]
["Yu Qianshan rarely has scandals—maybe he’s actually dating seriously this time."]
["Let’s be real, anyone who looks this ethereal in a grainy paparazzi shot must be a certified beauty. Any updates on her identity?"]
["Considering the Yu family’s strict upbringing, he probably wouldn’t mess around. This might be legit."]
["What’s with the ‘respectable family’ argument? Plenty of scandals have come from ‘proper’ backgrounds. The industry’s a mess—birds of a feather."]
["Tsk, after all this, we still don’t know the fairy’s name? These gossip accounts are slacking!"]
After skimming a few more reactions, Zhong Ziyan closed Weibo and decided to ask Wei Hanyun how to handle it.
Left to her own devices, she’d simply ignore it. But others were far less composed.
Bai Ling had been fixated on getting close to Yu Qianshan, meticulously engineering "chance encounters" at the company. Yet he remained politely distant.
With rumors of impending corporate upheaval, her father, Bai Shuangjiang, grew anxious and privately urged her to secure ties with Yu Qianshan.
Hou Tu Entertainment had been founded by Bai Shuangjiang, but after accepting Wei Hanyun’s investment to expand, the Bai family’s influence had gradually eroded. Under Yu Qianshan’s management, their control had dwindled further, and they’d even lost their majority stake.
Now, with Yu Qianshan transferring his shares and the new major shareholder remaining unseen, the Bai family was on edge.
That day, Bai Ling had hoped to bump into Yu Qianshan with her violin in tow. Instead, she’d run into Zhong Ziyan, who’d pretended not to know her—humiliating her so thoroughly that she’d stormed home and played the violin furiously all afternoon.
When she finally calmed down and checked her phone, a trending notification popped up:
#YuQianshanSpottedWithMysteryWoman#
Bai Ling’s breath hitched. She tapped instantly.
—Her father had assured her Yu Qianshan was single, even under family pressure to marry. How had a scandal erupted during his short stay in H City?
The moment the photos loaded, Bai Ling’s fingers trembled. The woman’s outfit was unmistakable. She swiped to the next image in haste.
Anyone who knew Zhong Ziyan would recognize her from that blurry shot. Her presence was too distinct to miss.
Bai Ling stared, teeth clenched, before slamming her phone face-down on the table. Out of sight, out of mind.
No wonder Zhong Ziyan had always dismissed her—she’d already latched onto someone like Yu Qianshan! With his backing, why would she fear the Bai family?
"I saw him first…" Bai Ling whispered, gripping her phone until her knuckles whitened. After steadying herself, she flipped it over for another look.
The cracked screen fragmented Zhong Ziyan’s face, but even half-visible, her aura was undeniable.
Just like their two encounters on Hou Tu’s sixteenth floor—Zhong Ziyan had never once regarded Bai Ling as worthy of notice.
……
The other party involved, Yu Qianshan, discovered the news en route out of H City. The sight of his and Zhong Ziyan’s photos trending—alongside rampant dating speculation—nearly made him drop to his knees. "PR, now."
—Stop spreading nonsense! I only have one life to lose!
His assistant asked, "Should we have the posts deleted? Or issue a formal denial?"
Yu Qianshan hesitated, torn, before resigning himself with a deep breath. "Let me make a call."
He’d initially pulled up Fang Nan’s number but paused, then had his assistant get Zhong Ziyan’s contact from Li Ye before dialing.
Zhong Ziyan answered the phone with a calm voice: "Hello?"
Yu Qianshan didn’t dare to take it lightly: "Miss Zhong, it seems the scene of us meeting at Houtu today was secretly photographed and posted online. This was my oversight—I apologize."
"It’s fine," Zhong Ziyan replied succinctly.
"About this matter… if you and Uncle Wei don’t intervene, should I handle it?" Yu Qianshan cautiously sought instructions from his superior.
"I already asked. Wei Hanyun said it’s up to me," Zhong Ziyan said. "Issue a statement the day after tomorrow."
Yu Qianshan immediately agreed: "The day after tomorrow? Not sooner?"
Zhong Ziyan: "Mm. Tomorrow is Luo Yin’s birthday. Don’t steal his spotlight."
Yu Qianshan was baffled: "…Spotlight?"
"By the way, do you have contacts for those LED billboards used for celebrity birthday fan projects?" Zhong Ziyan asked.
"I do have a few… I’ll send them to you shortly." Yu Qianshan accepted the task and hung up, then had his assistant compile the information and forward it to Zhong Ziyan. Still, he couldn’t quite wrap his head around it.
Fan support? Zhong Ziyan? Luo Yin?
Did I just cuckold my uncle, or did Luo Yin cuckold my uncle?
……
"Wei Hanyun?" Zhong Ziyan knocked on the door to report to her boss. "I told Yu Qianshan to release the official statement the day after tomorrow."
Wei Hanyun nodded in acknowledgment.
With that, Zhong Ziyan tossed the matter—now resolved in her eyes—to the back of her mind. She skimmed through the list of contacts Yu Qianshan’s assistant had just sent her and forwarded it to the fan club’s admin.
The admin responded lightning-fast, even in the dead of night: "Big shot, we’ve already arranged birthday LED billboards! Thirty cities will have rotating screens, and Luo Yin’s hometown is getting a full takeover!"
"Rotating?"
"Each rotation lasts thirty seconds."
Suddenly, Zhong Ziyan understood how Wei Hanyun must have felt watching her spend 428 yuan. She typed solemnly: "Too short."
The admin sent a sheepish emoji: "Even if you’re willing to sponsor, it’s too late now. These things need to be booked in advance."
No. There was nothing in this world that couldn’t be solved with money.
"Add more money," Zhong Ziyan said bluntly.
The admin: "…That’s… not really the issue here."
"It is the issue," Zhong Ziyan insisted. "Enough money can move anything."
The admin’s status showed "typing" for several minutes before they timidly replied: "Then… I’ll try setting up a group chat?"
Zhong Ziyan tapped her phone screen a few times: "Go ahead."
After sending that, she placed Wei Hanyun’s black card in front of her and gave it a little bow.
Thank heaven, thank earth, thank my boss—for letting me say one of the lines I’ve always dreamed of.
The group chat was created quickly. After the fan club admin laid out the request, the representatives either politely or outright refused.
Undeterred, Zhong Ziyan typed her iconic line with gusto: "I’ll pay more."
One person replied: "It’s not about the money. Besides, everyone does rotating screens and small displays these days. Do you even know how much a full takeover with extended time costs? Can you afford it?"
Zhong Ziyan raised an eyebrow.
—Oh, if you’re going to talk like that, now I’m wide awake.
