Chapter 60

Chapter 60

"Tingyue, last time for your birthday, the An family actually sent someone over. This time around, it's only right we return the favor."

Bai Yaxin, usually so elegant and composed, was oddly eager.

Lin Rusong gave a light cough. "That's right."

Lin Tingyue: "?"

Fan Qing: "."

Auntie, Uncle, your thirst for drama is showing—pretty obvious, honestly.

Evening.

Lin Chengyan, who worked his butt off on set every day and barely made it home, initially declared, "No way I’m going."

But upon hearing there might be some tea? Lin Chengyan: "Hahaha, finally! I get to see the tea!"

Lin Chengyan knocked on Lin Tingyue’s door. She opened it and asked, "Second Brother, what’s up?"

He pulled out a box and dangled it in front of her like a peacock showing off. When she didn’t react the way he hoped, he grumbled, "Lin Tingyue, could you at least—"

She caught on immediately. Flashing a quick thumbs-up, she did a lightning-fast face switch—her eyes practically sparkling with excitement. "Second Brother, what’s inside?"

Satisfied, Lin Chengyan struck a dramatic pose and announced, "It’s a gift for you. Open it yourself."

"Aww, Second Brother, you're the best! Thanks!"

"You're welcome."

Clutching the box, Lin Tingyue mentally grumbled.

"Let’s be real, Second Brother—if you acted this cheesy in your movies, your career would be toast."

Lin Chengyan: "..."

Was it too late to take the box back?

Too late. Lin Tingyue had already popped it open.

A bunch of balloons burst out, with a string of... bank cards dangling below.

"Is this the deluxe edition?"

Seeing that dollar-signs-in-her-eyes look on Lin Tingyue’s face, Lin Chengyan knew he’d nailed the gift.

His little sister was truly a money gremlin.

She swiftly yanked all the cards out and shoved them into her pocket. Lin Chengyan suspected every piece of clothing she owned—even her pajamas—had pockets. All for this one purpose: instant money-hoarding.

"Says who?"

"I also use these pockets for snacks like melon seeds. Otherwise, what’s gossip without snacks? So bland."

Dry...

Lin Tingyue, you're amazing, Lin Chengyan sneakily gave a thumbs-up.

"But thanks anyway, second brother. Hey, are you going to the An family’s wedding tomorrow?"

Lin Chengyan leaned against the railing with his hands in his pockets and said, "Of course."

"Weird, second brother actually wants to go."

Lin Chengyan: "?"

Why wouldn’t I? I’ve got no beef with the An family. Wait, isn’t An Xingyuan an An too?

Are these two An families the same?

"Back then, An Xingyuan debuted around the same time as you and Mr. Ying. To take you two down, he pulled every dirty trick—slinging mud and spreading lies all over you two. I thought you’d hate his guts."

Hate his guts?

Yeah.

But that was years ago. Over the years, Lin Chengyan drilled his lines relentlessly, perfected his craft, and in the end, it all paid off—he took home Best Actor.

Looking back, Lin Chengyan realized his mindset had changed a lot.

He’d stopped giving a damn about haters and backstabbers.

But...

No way he’d miss a chance to rub it in An Xingyuan’s face.

He was definitely going!

Lin Chengyan bumped into An Xingyuan right at the entrance of the banquet hall.

"An Xingyuan? Is that really you?" In just a few seconds, Lin Chengyan’s expression went from recognition, to racking his brain, to a lightbulb moment.

An Xingyuan gritted his teeth. "Lin Chengyan, are you doing this on purpose?"

Lin Chengyan adjusted his tie and looked at An Xingyuan with cool detachment. "No clue what you mean."

"You—"

"Speaking of which, maybe it’s because I’ve been busy filming lately, but I haven’t heard much about you," Lin Chengyan patted An Xingyuan’s shoulder. "Xingyuan, you gotta up your game."

"Hahaha, what a slick little sarcasm combo."

Lin Chengyan glanced in Lin Tingyue’s direction and winked at her.

"Ahhhh, so gross! Peak cringe, stay away!"

Lin Chengyan: "..."

This is charisma, hello? Does she even know?

"Lin Chengyan, don’t get ahead of yourself. No one stays on top forever. One day, you’ll fade out just like me—gone from the industry."

"Gone? Did you quit, or did they cancel you?"

"Got blacklisted, huh? He just had to go up against a big shot for some fresh-faced idol, and then…"

Never saw that coming—An Xingyuan’s actually openly gay?

Lin Chengyan gave An Xingyuan a solemn pat on the shoulder.

An Xingyuan: "?"

Screw off!

Maybe because he was stalling too long, An Xingyuan's older brother, An Haotian, came over to check what was going on. He said, "Xingyuan, why haven't you invited them in yet?"

An Haotian recognized the Lins and politely apologized, "My brother was being rude. Please, follow me."

Yikes, hard to imagine how devastated An Haotian will be later.

So is it time for the drama to drop?

Arm in arm with Lin Tingyue, Fan Qing looked excited as they followed An Haotian into the banquet hall.

Since the bride, Ma Caiwei, wanted a traditional Chinese wedding, the venue was decorated in a classically Chinese style—but super lavish.

Even Fan Qing, who had never once considered getting married, got wedding fever.

"Yue Yue, it's so beautiful."

Lin Tingyue was equally amazed. "It really is gorgeous."

Bai Yaxin smiled and teased, "Tingyue and Qingqing, feeling envious?"

Fan Qing shook her head firmly. "No marriage for me. When the princess becomes empress, I can do something like this too."

Bai Yaxin: "..."

She replied playfully, "As you wish, my liege."

Then Bai Yaxin turned to look at Lin Tingyue.

Lin Tingyue: "Talk about filthy rich."

Bai Yaxin: "..."

"As you wish, Director Lin."

To keep up with Lin Tingyue’s gossip cravings, Bai Yaxin had been surfing the web more than ever lately and was getting hipper by the minute.

She was almost unrecognizable—even Lin Tingyue and Fan Qing were caught off guard.

Lin Tingyue joked, "Mom’s so with it."

Bai Yaxin cleared her throat lightly. "I’ve always been ahead of my time."

Lin Rusong, stuck in the past: "?"

Uh-oh, this one was aimed at him. Should he try to get with the times too?

"Pops," Lin Chengyan placed a hand on Lin Rusong’s shoulder, "Leave it to me—I’ll get you up to speed."

Lin Rusong: "WTF?"

Lin Rusong coldly shook off his hand—reformed? That sounded completely unreliable.

"It's showtime!"

Everyone turned toward the stage, but after a long wait, there was still no sign of the bride.

An Haotian frowned. "What’s going on?"

"I’ll go see what’s up," An Xingyuan said quickly.

Ma Caiwei wasn’t moving because her brother had gone missing.

With her parents gone and her elder brother serving as father figure, it was supposed to be Ma Kaiji who handed Ma Caiwei over to An Junmai.

Weird—I just saw Ma Kaiji a minute ago. On such an important day as his sister’s wedding, would he really just vanish?

Soon, An Junmai—who was waiting on the other side of the stage—also got wind of the problem. As he turned to step down, An Haotian blocked him, clearly annoyed. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m going to find Ma Kaiji.”

“Snap out of it! Today is your wedding with Ma Caiwei, not with Ma Kaiji!”

“Brother, Ma Kaiji must’ve run away. Even if I have to search to the ends of the earth, I’ll drag him back!”

“Drag him back? You gonna lock him up too?”

“I’ll break his legs!”

An Junmai’s venom made even An Haotian frown. “Have you completely lost it? Everyone’s watching!”

“Brother, I never wanted to marry Ma Caiwei in the first place. Our parents forced me into this. All I want is Ma Kaiji!”

An Haotian and An Junmai had no idea that every word they’d spoken onstage had been broadcast through Lin Tingyue’s inner thoughts.

What a drama—the snacks were disappearing fast.

“You’re getting married today, like it or not!”

As An Haotian clamped down on An Junmai’s arm, Ma Caiwei arrived in her wedding dress.

She stormed up to An Junmai and landed a stinging slap across his face.

“You actually like my brother?”

That bombshell sent the crowd reeling.

An Xingyuan froze, but An Haotian quickly responded, “This is all ridiculous. Don’t let it get to you…”

Ma Caiwei’s face twisted with furious hatred as she slapped An Junmai again. “How dare you like my brother? He belongs to me—only to me.”

Lin Tingyue’s jaw dropped. “I knew it’d be crazy, but this is next-level.”

“My brother abandoned me. Now you have to give me back my brother.”

“Caiwei!”

An Junmai grabbed her hand. “Let’s just go find Kaiji together. We could make it work—the three of us.”

"Huh?"

"No polygamy, no polyandry—but monogamy is okay?"

"Yes, yes, yes! First, let's find my brother."

Before An Junmai and Ma Caiwei left hand in hand, An Junmai cast a glance at An Haotian.

An Haotian was furious. "Stop them! No one leaves today!"

The security team blocked An Junmai and Ma Caiwei. An Haotian had them locked in a room—this time, the An family's reputation was in tatters.

Just when everyone thought this farce was over, Ma Kaiji appeared before the crowd dispersed.

With a loud thud, he dropped to his knees in front of An Haotian, sobbing, "I'm sorry, Haotian, I've made a terrible mistake."

Lin Tingyue: "?"

"Got the wrong gossip?"

"It turns out Ma Kaiji actually liked An Haotian. When he couldn't get An Haotian, he shifted his focus to An Junmai… just swapped targets that easily?"

"And…"

And what? Out with it! The suspense is killing me!

"An Junmai was willingly being his brother's stand-in!"

As Ma Kaiji continued crying and begging An Haotian for forgiveness, behind him stood Ma Caiwei and An Junmai, each pulling on one of Ma Kaiji's arms.

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Where's the drama soup at this banquet?"

"What a mess—might as well mix all the craziness together."

When Lin Tingyue got home, just as she was settling in, a group message popped up—

OMG I think my boyfriend's hooking up with his brother.