Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Mu Xin’s face went pale, but her voice was sharp as a blade: “Try me.”

The words left the entire studio in stunned silence.

Mu Xin was a top-tier agent—every artist she managed blew up. Some just bigger than others.

At first, many in the industry resented her, convinced it was all luck. But once they met her, those thoughts vanished completely.

Nope—it was just that Mu Xin had charm for days. No one could hate her, even if they tried.

So when someone like her dropped such a cold, ruthless line, it left everyone shook.

The woman was still kowtowing (bowing desperately), but Mu Xin was already trembling with rage. The words tumbled out before she could think, driven purely by disgust.

She stared the woman down, racking her brain—how dare this woman show her face here?

When she saw that even this hadn’t moved Mu Xin, the woman gritted her teeth. “Fine! If you’re gonna play hardball, don’t cry when I drag this online. You worked hard for this—watch it burn.”

A threat? Mu Xin clenched her fists. “Do it.”

Ying An stepped closer, concern in his eyes. “Mu Xin…”

“This is my fight. Stay out of it.”

If Ying An got involved, he’d be dragged into the mess too.

She wanted to see exactly what this woman was capable of.

“Look at her, everyone! She won’t even help her own father! How can the company keep someone so cold-blooded???”

The woman rose from the floor and lifted her phone, aiming the camera straight at Mu Xin. The chat exploded with comments:

[What??? Is she really like this?!]

[Not my idol! Anyone but her!]

[An agent scandal? Now I’ve seen it all. Can’t believe I’m mad about this.]

[Should’ve raised a ham sandwich instead.]

[Only the streamer’s side so far—don’t jump yet.]

[She literally kowtowed and people are still white-knighting her???]

Ying An’s assistant rolled her eyes. So what if she kowtowed? Coming in with guilt-tripping and people were defending her? Unbelievable.

Backing out of the livestream, she realized the nobody broadcast was suddenly going viral—the platform had pushed it because of Ying An’s name. It was blowing up on the front page now.

More viewers flooded in every second.

She showed the screen to Ying An, who said grimly, “Get the platform on the line—now.”

They knew Mu Xin—no doubt in their minds.

“Got it.”

Still too pissed to stay quiet, she jumped back into the fray without hesitation.

[Mu Xin is definitely not that kind of person! Stop parroting what others say.]

Unfortunately, her comment was quickly buried under a flood of comments after receiving a few insults.

The assistant fired back: [This woman is just Mu Xin’s stepmother.]

[What’s wrong with being a stepmother? Isn’t a stepmother still a mother?]

[Then the dad isn’t a stepdad, right? She still won’t help him?]

The assistant was fuming but powerless to intervene. Meanwhile, many people in the studio were tuned into the drama, and soon, side-eyes, smirks, and cold shoulders fell on Mu Xin, intentionally or not.

"Not just a stepmother—she was the mistress who stole her place."

Wait, what? A twist?

Everyone checked the livestream but found nothing. How had this revelation somehow materialized out of thin air?

"Back when Mu Xin’s mother was still pregnant with her, her father cheated. The mistress even rubbed her baby bump in her face, causing her so much distress that she went into early labor from the stress."

"After giving birth to Mu Xin, her mother was already weak, and the mistress kept messing with her, intentionally or not. Eventually, Mu Xin’s mother developed severe depression and took her own life when Mu Xin was ten."

"Just a month after her mother’s death, her father married that mistress. The stepmother treated Mu Xin horribly, often shorting her on school money and meal funds. As soon as Mu Xin became independent, she cut all ties with that family and her deadbeat dad."

"I bet if he weren’t sick, that scumbag wouldn’t even remember he had a daughter."

Even after hearing all this, some still felt sorry for the father, who had never once appeared.

"Even so, it’s all that mistress’s fault."

"Little sister, sounds like you've never been through this. Without the father’s silent approval, how could the mistress have been so brazen?"

"Honestly, her father deserves what’s happening to him now."

"He always let the mistress bully Mu Xin, treating her like dirt while spoiling the son she bore him. And now? That son gambled away all his treatment money."

Ying An had his assistant investigate the son. Once they obtained the information, they swiftly collaborated with the platform to release all the details—posting them on the livestream platform and Ying An’s Weibo, decisively resolving the matter. The woman was then dragged out by security.

Mu Xin looked completely drained. Her legs gave out, and the assistant quickly steadied her. Lin Tingyue jumped in to help too.

The two helped her out of the spotlight, letting Mu Xin sit and rest.

"Here," the assistant unscrewed a water bottle and handed it to her. "Drink some water. It’s over now. Everything’s okay."

Mu Xin nodded weakly, taking a sip. Her eyes were empty when she whispered, "I thought... I had already escaped that shadow. But I never expected..."

Those shadows had just been waiting in the dark. The moment those people reappeared before her, they surged back to the surface.

Mu Xin’s confidence shattered. She wasn’t as strong as she had believed.

"You're so much stronger than you think."

Mu Xin looked up—

Lin Tingyue was kneeling at her side, her beautiful eyes locked onto Mu Xin's. Under that gaze, it was as if Mu Xin was the only thing that mattered in that moment.

"Yeah, sis," the assistant jumped to agree quickly.

Lin Tingyue continued, "You actually had the solution ready all along. You just hit a temporary block, but after overcoming it, you're bound to walk an open road."

The assistant hugged Mu Xin's arm and nodded, "Exactly, sis. You're super cool."

Tears welled up in Mu Xin's eyes, but by the time she stood up, she had transformed back into the golden agent she was known to be.

The earlier vulnerability was gone. With sharp determination in her gaze, Mu Xin stepped aside to make several phone calls. She stayed to supervise Ying An's entire shoot before leaving.

While Ying An was shooting, Lin Tingyue watched from the sidelines. Once he finished, she approached him and praised, "That photo set will definitely blow up."

Ying An smiled and replied, "I'll hold you to that, Miss Lin."

Lin Tingyue grinned up at him.

"Let me change, and then we can meet up with your second brother."

"Okay."

After changing, Ying An gave his assistant a quick wave and accompanied Lin Tingyue.

Lin Tingyue was holding a gift for Lin Chengyan, and Ying An naturally took it from her.

Lin Tingyue paused—just like when she arrived earlier, Ying An had effortlessly taken her belongings without hesitation.

She said softly, "Thank you, Mr. Ying."

"I should be thanking you. You're great at cheering people up. If it were just me and Xiao Yu, we'd be running around like headless chickens, and Mu Xin wouldn't have bounced back so quickly."

"I didn't do anything. Mu Xin is just incredibly strong on her own."

Ying An looked down at Lin Tingyue's head, his eyes smiling.

As they walked through the bamboo grove, Lin Tingyue asked, "Did you like the birthday gift?"

"Very much. You really went all out, Miss Lin."

"That’s good to hear."

"Miss Lin." Ying An turned to look at her.

Unaware, Lin Tingyue lifted her head and met his eyes. She paused for a beat before responding, "Hmm?"

"Nothing. I just think...I wish we'd met earlier."

Lin Tingyue cocked her head. "It's not like we just met, though."

Ying An chuckled. "True."

Better to meet Lin Tingyue now than during his darkest days.

Lin Tingyue was radiant—anything dark could dim that light, and Ying An would never allow it, even if that shadow came from himself.

"This is it."

"Oh," Lin Tingyue looked around. "Yeah."

"Have you called Lin Chengyan yet?"

"Not yet. I thought I'd surprise him... I'll call now," she said.

The first reaction Lin Chengyan had upon receiving the call was that Lin Tingyue must be joking. When he came out, his eyes nearly popped out in shock.

"You two…" Lin Chengyan's gaze shifted back and forth between them as he said with mock disbelief, "You've got so much free time that you actually coordinated a visit?"

Ying An replied flatly, "I'm not here to see you."

Lin Tingyue was just as blunt: "I was just in the neighborhood."

Lin Chengyan: ...

He felt equally annoyed and pleased.

When he saw the pile of items they brought, his eyes lit up. Folding his arms, he teased playfully, "Still full of it, huh? 'Just passing by' and you brought all this?"

"Mom packed all this for you."

Lin Chengyan: ...

"You couldn't even throw your brother something small while you were at it..." He muttered under his breath, "...in your eyes, I get worse treatment than Da Ge and Xia Wan."

"Alright, alright, I'll bring more next time?"

Lin Chengyan pouted, "Fine, I guess."

He led Lin Tingyue and Ying An to the set and introduced them, "You all know Ying An. This is my sister—she’s visiting me on set."

As he spoke, he practically strutted like a peacock.

Everyone gave half-hearted applause, thinking, *Yeah, yeah, we get it—congrats on having a sister.*

Lin Chengyan had Lin Tingyue and Ying An sit beside him and asked his assistant Zhu Cheng, "Are they still shooting?"

Zhu Cheng mumbled, "This scene is with Director Cao. He's been picky all day."

After a brief pause, he quietly added, "But Director Cao always has high standards—it's understandable."

"Oh right, he's going through a messy divorce with the actress."

Wait—since when were they married?