Chapter 26: Brother An Yi
Huo Beixing held the wallet in his hand, and because he was afraid the camera wouldn’t capture it clearly, he deliberately lifted it a little higher so the cameraman could get a better shot.
Looking at the group with bright, lively peach blossom eyes, he said spiritedly, “Well? Isn’t he beautiful? Like chocolate.”
The paparazzo in front nearly blacked out on the spot when he saw the photo.
So black. So very black…
Forget whether he was beautiful or not—even after looking several times, he still hadn’t really made out the person in the photo. All his attention had been seized by that mouthful of little white teeth.
Seeing that the paparazzo wasn’t answering for a long time, Huo Beixing pouted, a hint of playful amusement entering his narrowed eyes. He figured the man simply hadn’t clearly seen his wife’s beauty, so he stepped forward and pressed the wallet right in front of the paparazzo’s face.
Now he ought to be able to see clearly.
Huo Beixing bent slightly with his tall frame and asked, “Beautiful?”
He lowered his voice a little, giving the paparazzo another chance to praise his wife.
The paparazzo, whose eyes were being smothered by the wallet: ……
What was this, forced-feed marketing?!!
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to answer, but did Huo Beixing even see what the person in the photo looked like? Black as a lump of coal—he hadn’t even seen the features clearly, and yet the man was asking whether he was beautiful!
But you were rich, so whatever you said went.
Caught between conscience and money, the paparazzo chose the latter and transformed into a barking seal, clapping wildly. “Of course, biu-tiful~”
Only then was Huo Beixing satisfied. After that, he looked toward the others.
His intention could not have been more obvious.
Paparazzi Number One through Number Three, along with the young paparazzo, all shivered in unison.
“Oh my god, so handsome.”
“Biu-tiful~ biu-tiful~”
“So gorgeous, the very embodiment of a handsome guy.”
“First time in my life I’ve seen someone this good-looking. This life hasn’t been wasted.”
“Hope my next life won’t be wasted either.”
The driver standing nearby: ……
This was the first time in his life he had heard so many words spoken against one’s conscience.
It was practically a large-scale fraud scene. This was the power of money.
At first, he had assumed the photo in their young master’s wallet must be Young Master An Yi’s. An Yi was good-looking, with bright eyes and white teeth, like some neighborhood boy. When he smiled, he looked sunny and adorable. Anyone who saw him at first glance would say he was handsome.
Who knew that once the photo came out, the expressions on those people’s faces would all turn strange. The driver found it odd—the reaction was completely different from what he had imagined. Had public taste changed now? Did people no longer like pretty faces? Curious, he craned his neck and took a look too.
His vision went black.
Every impression he had ever had of An Yi instantly collapsed into that one mouthful of white teeth.
Seeing everyone else praising his wife, the corners of Huo Beixing’s lips lifted slightly, and even his peach blossom eyes curved upward. He took the wallet back and lowered his head to look at An Yi in the photo.
After a brief moment of spiritual rescue, the paparazzo quickly returned to work mode. After all, adults didn’t get the luxury of collapsing. How else were they supposed to live? They just had to grit their teeth and keep going.
Watching Huo Beixing gaze at the photo in utter infatuation, he sucked in a breath. Among all the companions Huo Beixing had previously been photographed with, which one hadn’t been bright and lovely in appearance? Every type had appeared—just never an ugly one.
But now? The most eye-catching thing about the person in the photo was that set of teeth. Who was even looking at the features?!
Or perhaps the man had simply eaten too much delicacy and seafood, and now wanted to switch to something lighter.
The paparazzo stepped forward with his little microphone. “President Huo, may I ask whether the two of you are currently in a romantic relationship?!”
Huo Beixing froze for a moment after hearing that.
The paparazzo thought he hadn’t heard clearly and repeated himself, “Are the two of you lovers right now?”
Huo Beixing said, “Does that even need asking?”
The paparazzo sighed inwardly, feeling like there probably wasn’t any hope. Huo Beixing had always been surrounded by gossip, with countless companions at his side, yet he had never personally admitted to a single one of them.
A textbook scumbag.
Who knew that just as the paparazzo was about to change the subject and ask something else, he saw Huo Beixing lift the wallet beside his own cheek, his smile brilliant as sunlight fell over his broad shoulders.
“Of course we are.”
The driver was not surprised in the least. Why did Huo Beixing, with the mentality of an eight-year-old, know about dating? Because Runaway Bride, Where Are You Escaping To had taught him, of course. As a loyal daily viewer, he had always watched with the attitude of a student.
The hand holding the microphone trembled.
B-big news!!
For a moment, it even felt as though the air he was breathing had become fresher.
Wouldn’t this crush the gossip that had just broken next door into dust?!
This month’s top headline was guaranteed to belong to them. Before, looking at that little-white-teeth photo, he had felt it was a bit hard on the eyes. But now the person in the photo was nothing less than the God of Wealth reincarnated.
“Congratulations, President Huo.”
“Wishing your relationship a long life.”
“Congratulations, congratulations, many congratulations.”
As Huo Beixing left, the paparazzi smiled and watched him get into the car.
Once Huo Beixing was gone, their glory and riches were about to arrive too.
“Boss, we’ve turned things around!!”
“Did you record it all? Hurry back to the company.”
The paparazzi rushed back without stopping, scrambling into the car to return to the company to edit the video, write the captions, and contact all the major marketing accounts, determined to drag the rival gossip off the number one spot.
Two hours later, the news that Huo Beixing had admitted to being in a relationship parachuted directly to the top of the rankings. The ten-minute video left viewers utterly amazed.
“Fuck! Who exactly managed to make President Huo admit it!!”
“Forget that—after watching for ten minutes, I still couldn’t see what the person looked like. Way too dark.”
“Don’t say that, the teeth are pretty white.”
“President Huo looks insanely good in that tracksuit! Ssshhhaaa!!”
“I nearly died laughing when he threatened those people. Not praising his partner wasn’t even an option.”
“The main thing is, this time sister-in-law is just a tiny little bit below standard.”
“Spread it around, President Huo has changed tastes again. This time he likes dark-skinned hotties.”
“Hahahahaha, President Huo really has a sense of humor. If people don’t praise his partner, he just slaps the photo right onto their eyeballs.”
“My god, I’m so into this. Did you all see the way he looked down at that photo?”
“I could feel the reporters’ helplessness through their tone.”
“Say it plainly—they were defeated by money. The way they spoke was dripping with financial oppression.”
“Damn it, scumbags really are fragrant. To us it’s just dark skin, but in his mouth it becomes chocolate. No wonder he has so many partners.”
“He really knows how to talk. Calling someone chocolate—even if nobody else says they’re pretty, his mouth is still full of ‘beautiful, beautiful.’”
“The reporters were forced to change their standards of beauty hahahaha.”
“Huo Beixing! What’s wrong with you! Why are you engaging in aesthetic bullying?!”
“Huo Beixing, you bad man, aesthetic bullying!!!”
“President Huo is far too flirtatious. I’ve never thought he was a good man, but when he admitted the relationship and said ‘of course we are,’ my heart really did pound. Maybe this time he’s serious?”
“I don’t think it’ll last long. People have guessed that President Huo was serious fewer times than they’ve guessed he wasn’t. Not one person has ever made him settle down. Even though this is the first one he’s admitted to, I remember that two months ago, the one he was feeding ice cream to in the little park was not this person.”
“Right, right. How could anyone fall in love that quickly in just two months?”
“Don’t ask. President Huo loves every single one—he just loves them very fast.”
“Huo Beixing, you bad man!!”
“Oh my god, what about my ship? Help!”
“No idea how many CP fans are going to have their hearts broken today.”
“It’s okay. I trust President Huo’s fickleness. Sooner or later there’ll be another one. As long as the two parties don’t get married, my ship still has a chance to rise from the ashes.”
“Fuck fuck fuck! Lu Mingnan posted on Weibo!”
“Ahhhh my Bei Ming You Yu!!!”
Half an hour after Huo Beixing’s hot search went up, Lu Mingnan—a current popular young actor whose hit drama had just finished airing—updated his Weibo.
There was no text.
Just a broken-heart emoji.
Lu Mingnan had debuted as the center of an idol survival show and already had a solid fan base. Two years after debut, he began transitioning into acting, and the very first drama he appeared in exploded in popularity. Now he was on the fast track to becoming top-tier.
Just a few days after debuting as center, rumors of an affair between him and Huo Beixing surfaced. His already high heat received another huge push and burned hotter and hotter.
Huo Beixing’s conditions were superior. In terms of looks alone, he was not the slightest bit inferior to anyone in the entertainment world, and he instantly attracted a huge batch of CP fans. Although Huo Beixing continued to have endless scandals afterward, the Bei Ming You Yu CP fans still stubbornly held their ground.
Now Huo Beixing had just publicly admitted to a relationship, and Lu Mingnan posted a broken-heart emoji right after. It was hard not to let one’s imagination run wild.
“What’s going on? Is he heartbroken because President Huo went public?”
“I feel like yes. He really does seem sad. Back then President Huo never responded to the rumors.”
“Does my Bei Ming You Yu still have a chance of getting back together?!”
“As long as they’re not married, there is!!”
“Why are the CP fans acting crazy? Lu Mingnan shines alone. Don’t drag him in.”
“Who’s dragging him in exactly? Nobody mentioned him at all when President Huo admitted the relationship. He jumped out by himself, okay?!”
“I have a feeling that next up is going to be a war between CP fans, solo stans, and haters.”
“As a passerby, I’m just here eating melon.”
“Same, I’m just a passerby. Can someone explain what’s going on?!”
“Everyone disperse. It’s probably just a coincidence. Nan Nan has a fashion show event today—please support that more.”
“Debuted as center, has a breakout hit drama, invited to a luxury-brand fashion show—there’s no need to chase clout. Lu Mingnan doesn’t need it.”
“He may not need the attention now, but back when he first debuted, wasn’t that whole rumor campaign milked for over half a year?”
“The CP fans didn’t provoke anyone. It was the marketing accounts pushing the CP topic.”
Weibo’s hot search list was burning up, and the CP name for Huo Beixing and Lu Mingnan quickly climbed the rankings.
—
On the other side, the Pink Crystal Maiden Heart Studio got out of the taxi. Today they were dressed neatly and fully equipped, facing the rising morning sun and stepping forward with buoyant youthful energy as they slowly made their way to the side entrance where various design studios were being received for the fashion show.
The three of them wore access badges around their necks. Only after entering did they realize that quite a few studios had come. They were all young faces, newcomers to society, but if one looked more carefully, it became clear that these people were all either rich or noble, with obvious backgrounds. Most of them wanted to carve out their own world while still backed by powerful families, so although they were new and unknown, they could still come participate in a fashion show like this.
Pink Crystal Maiden Heart was also half a catty against eight taels compared to them.
Others relied on family ties.
They relied on sisterhood.
Don’t ask. The answer was simply that sweet girls and socially awkward people left a deep impression.
But at the same time, they were also the most insignificant existence among this group.
There was not a single person they could afford to offend.
Gu Lingling smoothed out the white dress on her body. Nervous, her hands kept clenching into fists, yet the other two weren’t nervous in the slightest, craning their necks and looking here and there.
Like country mutts entering the city for the first time.
“Lin Jiu, look at that one, it’s so special~”
“It really is. Specially ugly~”
Gu Lingling: ……
Seeing Lin Jiu stretch out a hand and poke a doll on one of the display stands, Gu Lingling panicked and hurriedly yanked him back, dragging An Yi back with her as well.
An Yi: ???
Lin Jiu looked at Gu Lingling’s tense expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Why had she suddenly dragged him back?
There were quite a few people around, so Gu Lingling lowered her voice. “This is the first time our little studio has come to such a big occasion. We absolutely must watch our words and actions.”
As she spoke, she lifted Lin Jiu’s paw. “Control your hands. Don’t touch things randomly.”
Lin Jiu said, “It’s not like I did it on purpose. I just thought that doll looked ugly and weird.”
Hearing that, Gu Lingling and An Yi both turned to look. The doll had one eye big and one eye small, and it was showing two huge front teeth.
Gu Lingling: ……
An Yi: ……
It was a little weird.
But Gu Lingling didn’t care about that. “Anyway, just be careful in everything. Speak like a human when you meet humans, and speak like a ghost when you meet ghosts.”
An Yi and Lin Jiu nodded and answered in unison, “Understood.”
Only after finishing her instructions did Gu Lingling finally calm down a little, silently hoping that everything would go smoothly today and that Pink Crystal Maiden Heart could study in peace.
Just then, the door to the studio reception hall was opened from outside. The brand’s logistical work had been outsourced to people sent by the investors.
The lead man wasn’t particularly high-ranking or low-ranking. Broadly speaking, he was just a logistics employee. He had no voice among those at the top and wasn’t even from the brand itself, but rather from one of the investors involved in this fashion show. Though his authority wasn’t great, he had quite a few people assigned under him, so naturally he had to show a bit of prestige.
As it happened, the director’s assistant from the brand side had asked him to come greet the studios who had received access passes. He looked down on the idea in his heart. What was there to greet about these unknown, no-name studios?
But the important guests and celebrities at the front who were preparing to watch the show weren’t people he had any chance of approaching, so he inevitably carried a bit of resentment.
When he came in and saw that some people were dressed in ways that didn’t seem ordinary, implying they likely had some background, his tone immediately became much more polite.
When he reached Gu Lingling, however, and looked at what she was wearing, the tone in his mouth shifted back to normal. His attitude was still passable.
“Does your studio have anything to say about this show?”
Gu Lingling was a little nervous. “I think the style of this show is a brand-new breakthrough. It breaks many established concepts and innovates upon them.”
After hearing that, the man smiled. “Exactly. Our mascot this time is like that too.”
As he spoke, he pointed. “That’s it.”
Gu Lingling looked at the ugly doll, the corners of her brows twitching, and smiled. “It really is very excellent.”
Actually, when people came to see a show, they usually wouldn’t pay attention to things like mascots or surrounding merchandise, because those sorts of items had almost nothing to do with the actual designs. They were usually just things added in by collaborators or investors.
Lin Jiu and An Yi had still been looking around elsewhere. Seeing Gu Lingling talking to someone, they walked back together. The moment they returned, they heard the two of them discussing some mascot issue.
“What mascot?” Lin Jiu followed the direction of the man’s finger. “You mean that ugly doll?”
That man: ……
Gu Lingling: ……
An Yi: ……
Ten minutes later, Pink Crystal Maiden Heart Studio stood outside the side entrance, their gazes deep as they looked out toward the distance.
An Yi kindly reminded them, “Don’t forget to open your mouths in ten seconds.”
Gu Lingling: ?
An Yi tilted his head toward the sky. “The first gust of northwest wind this autumn is coming.”
Gu Lingling: ……
Lin Jiu: ……
Who could have guessed that they would get thrown out because of the phrase “ugly doll”? But then again, it made sense. Their studio had neither background nor capital, making them obviously easy to bully. That man had already come in full of resentment and judging people by appearances, so they just happened to be the perfect studio for him to use as a display of authority.
They could only accept that they were unlucky.
Lin Jiu felt a little guilty. “Sorry. It’s all because I talked carelessly.”
An Yi patted him. “Actually, it’s not really your fault.”
Lin Jiu: ?
Gu Lingling continued, “That doll really was ugly.”
“……”
Gu Lingling had already expected things wouldn’t go so smoothly, so she didn’t blame Lin Jiu. After all, that man had judged people by appearances from the start. The way he spoke to her compared to the others before had been like two entirely different attitudes. It was just a pity. Such a good opportunity.
Ten seconds later, under this brilliant autumn light, Pink Crystal Maiden Heart opened their mouths and took in the first bite of northwest wind of the season.
An Yi closed his mouth and offered a tasting note. “A little dry.”
Gu Lingling said, “Who says it isn’t?”
Just as they were preparing to head home, a large bus pulled up beside the lawn, followed by several nanny vans parking not far away.
The bus doors opened, and pairs upon pairs of long legs passed before the three of them, then entered through the side door and headed backstage.
These were the models coming for today’s show.
The unknown ones came in by bus, while the famous supermodels arrived in nanny vans.
Looking at all those long legs, the three of them felt that those legs were longer than their own lives.
A female model stepped out of one nanny van wearing sunglasses. Even though it was autumn, her assistant and bodyguards still held up parasols to shade her from the sun.
Just as she was about to enter through the side door, the corner of her eye swept over something and she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
A stunned look crossed her face, and she spoke in disbelief.
“Brother An Yi?”
