Chapter 92

Chapter 92

This was the first time Tang Yue had such a vivid and distinct sense of power.

Even if it was through an unglorious threat.

But seeing Ye Zhixia's hand raised high in the air, unable to come down, and his cheeks flushed with anger and humiliation, he still felt an intense sense of satisfaction and relief.

"Really underestimated you?" Ye Zhixia gritted his teeth, looking at him with extreme ferocity and disgust.

But Tang Yue didn't care.

"I'm just protecting myself," he said. "What if after Xiao Qiu is completely kicked out, you deny everything? What could I, a poor student, do then?"

The more Tang Yue interacted with Ye Zhixia and his mother, the more he believed this possibility was very high.

Dealing with a tiger, how could one not be cautious?

He smiled and continued.

"In fact, I not only have Mrs. Ye's recording but also the Emperor Gao's. Imagine if everyone knew that Emperor Gao truly likes Xiao Qiu. Wouldn't your current variety show be considered deceiving the audience?"

Seeing Ye Zhixia's face turn increasingly grim, Tang Yue spoke with increasing pleasure. "Think about how those fans who ship you would react. The production team should have breach fees too, right?"

Ye Zhixia: "..."

He didn't say anything more, but the muscles on his face twitched uncontrollably, and his fists clenched tightly by his sides.

After all, he had been drinking, and his mental state seemed off. Tang Yue decided to stop pushing.

"Xiao Qiu and Qi Xin get along well; Qi Xin occasionally stays over at Xiao Qiu's place." He said, "I've already told Mrs. Ye all this before. If you want to know anything else, ask her instead of making me come over."

"You f*cking..." Ye Zhixia cursed through gritted teeth. "..."

But thinking about it, he had gotten the answers he wanted.

So he swallowed the words that were about to come out.

The fact that Ye Zhiqiu and Qi Xin were close and living together improved his mood slightly.

"Get lost," he said, frowning.

Tang Yue stood up.

"I hope you don't tell Mrs. Ye about this," Tang Yue said. "If you and Mrs. Ye keep your promise, I'll destroy those recordings, and no one will ever know."

"Who knows if you'll extort more," Ye Zhixia sneered.

"But," he added, "don't think I'm afraid of you. We can all go down together if it comes to that."

Ye Zhixia had a bit of madness in him, especially recently, where his hidden madness had surfaced.

Even if he didn't believe Ye Zhixia would really go through with it, Tang Yue's confidence wavered, and he lost the upper hand again.

He didn't say anything more and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Something heavy hit the ground, and Tang Yue quickened his pace toward the stairs.

But standing at the staircase, he paused, pondered for a moment, and then dialed Tao Ruoqing's number.

His cheek was sore and swollen.

If the ladies downstairs saw him like this, either Ye Zhixia's reputation would be ruined, or they would blame him.

It wasn't time to break ties yet. With benefits ahead, Tang Yue could still bear it for now.

The call connected quickly, and Tang Yue simply mentioned that he had some injuries on his face.

Tao Ruoqing understood immediately.

Fortunately, the tea session was almost over, and Tao Ruoqing discreetly escorted the ladies out before heading upstairs.

"Why did you suddenly come over today?" she asked coldly, without asking about his injuries.

"Ye Zhixia asked me to come," Tang Yue said. "He wanted to know about Xiao Qiu's situation."

"What?" Tao Ruoqing's expression turned serious. "Has something new happened?"

Last time, after Tang Yue left Ye Zhiqiu's place, he had informed Tao Ruoqing about Qi Xin's presence there.

Since it was confirmed that Ye Zhiqiu was under control, Tao Ruoqing felt reassured.

With her recent focus on making money, she hadn't been as attentive to Ye Zhiqiu lately.

"No," Tang Yue said. "He's the same as always."

Hearing this, Tao Ruoqing sighed in relief but also felt a headache coming on.

"Why did he inquire about Xiao Qiu?" she frowned.

"I'm not sure," Tang Yue said.

Tao Ruoqing pondered for a moment, then looked at the marks on Tang Yue's face.

"Go back, and don't let anyone know you came here," she said. "Later, I'll send you a red envelope. Buy some ointment from the pharmacy and apply it. It's almost time for the wedding, and Xiao Xia has been a bit nervous lately, so his temper has been a bit erratic. You're a sensible child, don't take it personally."

"I wouldn't dare," Tang Yue said, lowering his head respectfully.

Tao Ruoqing was pleased with his response. She looked at him for a moment, unlocked her phone, and sent the red envelope.

"That’s good," she said. "We just have one last step left. We can’t let ourselves fall into disarray first."

"Yes," Tang Yue said. "Don’t worry, I understand everything."

"Go back then." Tao Ruoqing turned away from him and walked forward to knock on Ye Zhixia’s door.

Tang Yue went downstairs and collected Tao Ruoqing’s red envelope along the way.

Five thousand yuan.

For Tao Ruoqing, this amount wasn’t much, but for Tang Yue, it made the slap worth it.

It felt like he hadn’t been inside for long, but when he came out, the sun was already setting, and the evening breeze caused the swing in the courtyard to sway gently.

In the past, Ye Zhiqiu loved that swing the most.

Now that he was gone, even the swing had gathered a thin layer of dust.

Tang Yue stood in front of the swing set for a moment, then looked up at Ye Zhixia’s window, lost in thought.

*

Soon, Hand in Hand 99 entered its third recording session.

The first two episodes had aired, and as usual, the show garnered extremely high ratings.

Especially the pair of Gao Wenye and Ye Zhixia.

Gao Wenye was mature and steady, while Ye Zhixia was lively and cheerful. Their height difference and age gap delighted their fans.

After just two episodes, Ye Zhixia’s usually stagnant number of followers on Weibo had increased by nearly 900,000.

Their CP fans were countless.

Although his performance in the current drama wasn’t great,

it didn’t stop people from wanting to cash in on his popularity, so he received many scripts during this period.

Even his agent, who had been quite disappointed with him, started smiling at him again.

Ye Zhixia finally tasted the "popularity" he had dreamed of.

However, no one knew that beneath all the glitz, his life was becoming increasingly desperate.

As the show continued to be recorded, Ye Zhixia gradually realized that only during filming could he live the life he had once dreamed of.

In front of the camera, Gao Wenye’s gaze would be completely focused on him, smiling at him, talking to him, being gentle and accommodating beyond belief.

He could laugh, play around, and briefly forget the disgusting scenes of Gao Wenye rolling in bed with others in reality.

But the happier and more joyful they appeared on the show, the more painful and unbearable reality became.

Netizens were obsessed with them, but only he knew that Gao Wenye was staying out more and more frequently.

And he, alone, would stay awake until dawn, unable to sleep.

Drinking to drown his sorrows during the day and lacking sleep at night, he often found himself confused about what he was acting in front of the camera.

Fortunately, he was a supporting character in this drama, and there weren’t many scenes left for him.

The director no longer criticized him but also stopped personally directing his scenes. Whenever he had a scene, it was directly handed over to the assistant director.

Clearly, he was deeply disappointed.

During this time, Li Ling also captured plenty of footage.

Once the floodgates opened, Gao Wenye indulged more and more.

Apart from the few he knew about, recently, he had been frequenting high-end private clubs.

The explicit videos with his friend Song Lin were shockingly clear.

He no longer worried about lack of material, but Ye Zhiqiu showed no signs of moving.

Li Ling had few scenes in Building No. 7.

After working overtime earlier, the costumes were ready.

So recently, only Liu Yisi and a few other makeup artists stayed on set, and Ye Zhiqiu’s visits became less frequent.

Even Li Ling found it hard to see him.

Time flew by, and by early May, Tang Yue finally completed his competition entry, submitting it almost simultaneously with Lin Xuehua.

A week later, the competition deadline arrived.

The organizers would officially announce all entries and conduct the first round of screening.

Two days after Tang Yue submitted his work, Ye Zhiqiu formally accepted an interview with China Fashion.

Before leaving, Editor Yu, who had been in constant contact with Q.L for details, saw him off at the door.

"The interview needs to be edited," Editor Yu said, "so it will be published in the issue after next."

"That’s fine," Ye Zhiqiu smiled.

"The next issue will be released in three days," Editor Yu said, "but it’s not a long wait, about ten days."

He smiled again. "Our editor-in-chief reviewed your design drafts, and we should feature them prominently this time."

"Thank you," Ye Zhiqiu smiled as he opened his car door and formally bid farewell to Editor Yu.

Leaving the magazine office, Ye Zhiqiu drove to the film set.

Although there were no major issues, his prolonged absence had left a pile of minor problems for Liu Yisi to handle, which required his personal attention!

As the car moved forward, nearing the set, his phone rang.

Seeing Qin Jianhe's name on the screen, Ye Zhiqiu involuntarily smiled.

"Are you finishing up?" he asked.

"Mm." Qin Jianhe's voice carried a faint hint of amusement, "Is the interview over?"

"Mm," Ye Zhiqiu said, "But I need to go to the set. It's been a while, and there are a few minor issues that Liu Yisi hasn't handled well."

"Will it be late?" Qin Jianhe asked.

"Probably around seven or eight," Ye Zhiqiu said.

There was a moment of silence on the phone, then Qin Jianhe's deep, pleasant voice came through.

"The suburbs can get quite dark," he said.

Does he not want me to go there this late? Ye Zhiqiu thought.

He couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm almost there," he said, "I'll hang up now."

"Mm," Qin Jianhe murmured softly.

The car pulled into the parking lot in front of the set. As soon as it stopped, Liu Yisi, who was having her boxed meal outside, approached him.

"Just in time for dinner," she smiled, then called out to an assistant nearby, "Go get a meal for Teacher Xiao Ye."

"Thanks," Ye Zhiqiu smiled, walking alongside her.

With the weather warming up, many people were enjoying their meals in the courtyard, basking in the fragrance of flowers.

Li Ling was among them.

He, with his lesser status, sat in a corner with his boxed meal.

Seeing Ye Zhiqiu, he signaled frantically until his eyes nearly twitched.

"You go eat first," Ye Zhiqiu said to Liu Yisi with a smile upon seeing this.

"All right," Liu Yisi smiled, returning to her seat.

Once Liu Yisi was out of earshot, Ye Zhiqiu sat down next to Li Ling.

"I thought I wouldn't see you until wrap-up," Li Ling said coldly.

"Here I am," Ye Zhiqiu replied with a good-natured smile.

"What were you thinking?" Li Ling asked while eating, "Every day, I'm bursting with this explosive news. I can barely contain myself."

"Just wait a bit longer," Ye Zhiqiu said.

"Damn it," Li Ling muttered.

"There's only half a month left before Ye Zhixia's wedding," Ye Zhiqiu glanced at Li Ling, his eyes filled with a chilling smile, "Let's wait until after they're married."

"If you really can't hold it in, you could start spreading some rumors to build anticipation for their wedding," Ye Zhiqiu suggested.

"When it comes to being ruthless, you're the one," Li Ling clicked his tongue.

"Do you have a scene tonight?" Ye Zhiqiu asked.

"Just two shots," Li Ling said, "The director has been working on me for two days."

Seeing Liu Yisi's assistant rushing over with a boxed meal, Ye Zhiqiu just smiled without saying anything.

After finishing their meal, he and Liu Yisi entered the fitting room together.

There weren't as many issues as he had anticipated; most had already been handled by Liu Yisi. Only a few highly technical tasks remained.

Ye Zhiqiu sat down, picked up scissors and pins, and got busy immediately.

By the time he finished, it was only six-thirty, an hour and a half earlier than expected.

Outside, they were filming a rain scene with the two male leads, and the director had called Liu Yisi away. Ye Zhiqiu was left alone in the room.

He was tidying up the recently modified costumes and accessories Liu Yisi had taken out for testing, preparing to leave.

The door opened, and Li Ling walked in.

"Did you pass this time?" Ye Zhiqiu asked with a smile.

"No," Li Ling ran a hand through his hair, "The director said to shoot the main characters' scenes first."

Then he added, "I didn't even watch the exciting parts; I came here to see you instead."

Ye Zhiqiu smiled but didn't say anything, focusing on his work.

Li Ling leaned closer to examine him. "Why do you look younger and fresher?"

"Being young, who isn't fresh?" Ye Zhiqiu said.

"It's different, more vibrant..." He paused mid-sentence as a low murmur suddenly arose from outside.

Li Ling loved the excitement and immediately leaned out of the window to look outside.

"Holy shit," he said, "Ye Zhiqiu, quick, take a look. Your big boss is here."

Ye Zhiqiu raised his eyes and looked out the window, spotting Qin Jianhe's tall and straight figure at once.

He was taken aback for a moment, then heard Li Ling exclaim excitedly.

"Is he here to oversee the shoot?" he exclaimed, "He hasn't come around in so long. Why did he suddenly show up today? Let me tell you, Ye Zhiqiu, when you were exhibiting in Paris, I was already captivated by the photos. Damn, he's absolutely top-tier eye candy."

As he spoke, he undid a button on his shirt, revealing his sexy collarbone, and rushed outside. "Damn it, those little vixens out there, no one is going to snatch him from me."