Chapter 52

Chapter 52

"What kind of coffee with something added?"

As the supervisor was about to ask further, the acting class ended and Wan Leyi came out. After greeting Lin Yuhuan, he walked up to the supervisor and said, "Boss Yuan, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Bian Yuan replied, "Go ahead."

Wan Leyi hesitated. "Here?"

Lin Tingyue, who had been playing with her phone, chimed in unprompted.

"A hotel is much more private than here."

A hotel?

Bian Yuan caught the hint and looked at Wan Leyi. "Follow me to the office."

Wan Leyi's eyes lit up, and he gazed at Bian Yuan even more admiringly. "Sure, Boss Yuan."

Watching the two figures fade into the distance, Lin Tingyue wondered—

"Should I warn Boss Yuan?"

Lin Yuhuan said, "Relax. Bian Yuan has been in the entertainment industry for so long—he knows how things work."

Lin Tingyue: "Wait—"

"How did you know what I was thinking? Are you worried too?"

Lin Yuhuan: "!"

He quickly corrected himself. "I've just been reading a lot of entertainment news lately. With all the scandals going around, better safe than sorry."

Lin Tingyue nodded. "Agreed."

"The entertainment industry is like a 'melon field.' If a weasel ran in, it wouldn’t even know where to start eating—it’d be a weasel’s dream come true!"

Lin Yuhuan let out a quiet laugh. Lin Tingyue looked at him, and he reached out and gently patted her head. "Hungry? What do you want to eat? It's on me."

"Really, big bro?"

"Yep."

Lin Tingyue rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Then I'm going all out."

But after taking a few steps forward, she turned back. Lin Yuhuan asked, "What's wrong?"

"Isn't this during work hours? Is it really okay for you to just take me out like this?"

"Doesn't this count as skipping work? And if I recall—you're a notorious workaholic."

Lin Yuhuan nearly facepalmed. What exactly was his reputation in Lin Tingyue’s mind? Skipping meals, almost having secrets stolen by his secretary, and being a workaholic?

Lin Tingyue just kept staring, unmoving. Lin Yuhuan sighed and explained, "Executive privilege."

"Ah."

"No wonder everyone wants the corner office."

Lin Yuhuan smiled, but as they went looking for a restaurant, they ran into some trouble.

"Closed for a day after a fight?"

Lin Yuhuan frowned. He comforted Lin Tingyue, "No worries, we'll go somewhere else."

"Okay."

But when Lin Yuhuan and Lin Tingyue went next door, they found that place was also shut tight.

"I was the one fighting with the neighbor. I'm in the hospital now—taking a day off."

Lin Yuhuan adjusted his glasses. "Well that's ironic."

Lin Tingyue was barely keeping it together. She nodded, "Yeah, what a coincidence."

Not one to give up, Lin Yuhuan led Lin Tingyue toward the next place down.

"Two morons next door got into it. I went to watch and caught a stray hit too—day off."

Lin Yuhuan was still trying to make sense of it all when Lin Tingyue suddenly burst out laughing beside him.

"I bet all these owners went fishing instead. They couldn't even be bothered to make convincing excuses."

Fishing?

Lin Yuhuan remembered—there had been a time when Lin Rusong was obsessed with fishing, come rain or shine. Neither he nor Bai Yaxin could ever understand his obsession.

If they'd gone fishing, that would definitely make more sense than those flimsy signs on the doors.

After a moment, he said, "I'll go get the car. Let me take you to another street for dinner."

"I mean, it's not like I'm starving."

"I remember a new place opened nearby—their oil-braised prawns are to die for."

"Oil-braised prawns!!!"

Lin Tingyue immediately perked up. "Go get the car already! I'll wait here."

"Alright. Call me if anything happens."

Lin Tingyue waved him off. "Like anything could happen in two minutes? Go on, go on."

"Mhm."

As Lin Yuhuan headed back into the building, Lin Tingyue stood there absentmindedly kicking pebbles.

Warm sunlight, a leisurely autumn afternoon—and best of all, no work.

"Now this is the life!" she muttered.

Suddenly, an argument broke out ahead. Lin Tingyue looked up and saw a man manhandling a woman.

"Let go of me! How many times?"

"Baby, I know I messed up. Just come home with me. I know you're pissed at me, but the kid didn’t do anything!"

"What are you talking about, you psycho? Let go of me! Are you trying to snatch a woman off the street?"

The woman began shouting frantically, "Someone help! This guy's a kidnapper!"

The man, flustered, said, "Come on, sweetheart, if you don't wanna go home, fine... But how can you call me a trafficker?"

The onlookers, unaware of the truth, seemed to understand now.

"Oh, just a couple fighting."

"No one can meddle in a married couple's fight."

"Couples should work things out, not split up. Marriage isn't easy these days. Girl, just go home with your husband."

"That's a damn lie! I've never seen him before! Why would I go with him?" the woman snapped.

The man looked embarrassed and muttered, "Whatever. My bad."

He quickly apologized to the crowd, "Sorry, sorry. She's had postpartum depression—must be flaring up again."

"No worries, no worries."

No matter how fiercely she fought, the man held onto her tightly. Seeing this, the crowd started to disperse. Just as the woman was nearing despair, a voice cut through.

"Since when does saying 'she's my wife' make kidnapping okay?"

Many in the crowd stopped in their tracks.

"What husband? This guy is clearly a trafficker! He's gonna force her into a car any second!"

Lin Tingyue swiftly called the police, then moved toward the woman. But before she could get close, the crowd exploded in outrage.

"You think you can just grab someone in broad daylight?!"

A passing middle-aged woman rolled up her sleeves and lunged at the man. "Let her go! Let her go NOW!"

A street sweeper nearby charged at him, swinging a broom.

Seeing the situation turn against them, the man's accomplice tried to flee but was blocked.

In the end, both the man and his accomplice were caught. The police arrived, commended the vigilant citizens, and took the woman and the suspected traffickers to the station.

"There are still good people out there," Lin Tingyue mused, stretching contentedly in the sunlight.

"Tingyue, get in the car." Lin Chengyan leaned out of the car and waved at her.

"Coming, bro!" Lin Tingyue ran over cheerfully.

"Prawn time!"

After the meal, Lin Tingyue followed Lin Chengyan to his office, waiting for him to finish work so they could go home together.

Originally set to leave at six, Lin Chengyan got stuck in a last-minute meeting till seven. To apologize, he took her out for barbecue.

They made it home close to nine. When they walked in, everyone was in the living room having dessert soup while Lin Yuhuan was dishing out the juiciest celebrity gossip.

Spotting Lin Chengyan and Lin Tingyue, he waved them over. "You gotta hear this!"

Lin Tingyue plopped down next to Lin Xiawan, while Lin Yuhuan took the single sofa.

Lin Chengyan said, "Here we go."

Lin Rusong shot back, "Just spit it out already."

Chengyan had been dragging out the intro with all the suspense of a B-movie trailer—no match for Tingyue’s gossip-devouring speed.

Feeling his dad’s disapproving stare, Chengyan cleared his throat. "So here’s the tea—"

Turns out Wan Leyi lured Bian Yuan to a hotel and slipped him some drugged coffee beforehand.

But just as Wan started undressing him, Bian suddenly snapped out of it and demanded to know what the hell he was doing.

Wan dropped to his knees by the bed, claiming he’d lost his damn mind, but behind the scenes, he was playing dirty—hinting to fans that Bian Yuan had been forcing him into shady shit.

The fallout? Spark Entertainment’s official account got bombarded by Wan Leyi’s stans.

Bian Yuan stepped in, explained everything, and even released audio evidence—finally, things died down.

Then, out of nowhere, Wan Leyi pulled this sob story for his fans, pretending they were real couple for years and that this whole mess was just a dumb meltdown after a fight.

After that performance, he tried to blackmail Bian Yuan with some intimate photos he'd secretly taken, demanding not only the deletion of the recordings but also the best resources in return.

What he didn’t expect? Bian Yuan went live on stream, putting his bullshit on blast for everyone to see.

Tingyue listened in stunned silence, muttering, “Is he, like, a drama queen or something?”

Chengyan chugged half a bottle of water before answering, “Sounds about right.”

“But, Second Brother, why you gloating over his dumpster fire? Is he your rival or something?”

“He once cursed me and Cheng Jinshuang would never end up together. I remember every word.”

Tingyue: “…”

“Second Brother, you really are…”

Chengyan offered hopefully, “Ride-or-die?”

“Certifiably insane.”

Chengyan: “…”

…

Xiawan was about to leave with her team for an overseas trip, so Bai Yaxin decided to take her out to eat—rounding up the family for one big farewell dinner to pump her up.

Xiawan said, “Mom, you don’t gotta do all this.”

Yaxin held her hand and said, “This isn’t just for show, Xiawan. This is love. Got it? My sweet Xiawan.”

She gently brushed away some messy bangs from Xiawan’s forehead. Xiawan went still for a sec, then nodded. “I’ll remember.”

They’d booked the restaurant ahead of time.

As the Lins walked in, they bumped into someone they knew.

“Wait—is that Bai Yaxin?”

Bai Yaxin glanced over as Lin Chengyan asked, “Mom, who is that?”

Lin Rusong replied, “Someone who used to pursue your mother.”

Lin Chengyan suddenly understood. “Dad, go ahead and knock him down a peg.”

Lin Rusong: “…”

He couldn’t shake the feeling his second son was a little dense.

Bai Yaxin made small talk with the man for a moment before turning to leave, only to hear him say smugly, “You turned me down back then, but now I’ve made something of myself—and I’m about to get married.”

“Oh please… seriously? Is being someone’s backup in some tired romance really something to brag about?”