Chapter 62: Is It Really Okay to Say This Now?
“Is that so?” After hearing Gu Qingxu’s doubt, He Ming’an’s smile remained gentle. He elongated his words, sounding slightly regretful. “So that’s what you think of me in your heart.”
“Speaking of making friends, isn’t it all just about instinctive compatibility?” he paused, thinking over his words, then smiled and continued, “It’s just that I get along well with A Yang.”
Gu Qingxu tugged at the corner of his mouth, and the swollen area on his face hurt so much that even his eyelids twitched.
He had no mood to continue arguing with He Ming’an and didn’t want anyone passing by to see his current disheveled state. With a cold snort, he strode out of the room.
He Ming’an watched him leave and slowly withdrew the smile from his face.
After lingering there for a while, staff from upstairs hurried down to check the equipment. Seeing the storage card on the floor crushed beyond recognition, their expressions instantly soured.
“Sorry, I accidentally stepped on it just now,” He Ming’an said gently. “Make a note, and I’ll compensate at full price.”
It hardly seemed like something that could break from a fall, but fortunately, there wasn’t anything important on it. The staff didn’t comment further, and a contact was added on site, with polite words exchanged.
“It’s no big deal. We’re already extremely grateful that your school allowed us to film here.”
Their low-budget show, which documents Cheng Zishi’s daily life, was originally only for fans. But a prestigious school like Guanli naturally attracted attention, even from audiences outside the fan circle.
He Ming’an smiled again, exchanged a few polite words with the staff, and returned to the classroom.
“Where’s Gu Yang? Where did he go?” Just as he opened the door, he saw Xie Wu clutching a phone, frantically running around the classroom in despair.
He Ming’an paused mid-step, then walked in and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“My brother… my brother got Zhou Qinqin’s contact info!” Xie Wu’s usually mischievous face now showed complete dazed collapse. “It’s over, we can’t stop it—there’s no stopping it!”
“Huh? Then what do we do? We need to stop it immediately! This is hell ahead!” Ying Jiayi frowned. From her previous investigations, Zhou Qinqin’s track record was nothing short of brilliant. Xie Kai was a bit stubborn; she didn’t think he could handle Zhou Qinqin.
“How can I stop him? My brother’s as stubborn as a mule. There are only the two of us at home, and there’s no one above us to intervene.”
“Don’t worry. So far, it’s just adding contact information,” Lu Ji said, trying to calm him. “It hasn’t reached the worst stage. There are still ways to deal with it.”
“For example?” Xie Wu’s eyes lit up slightly. Seeing Lu Ji survive the “True vs. Fake Young Master” ordeal, his abilities were clearly impressive. He wanted to hear some advice.
“Doesn’t your brother like married women? Let’s look for a divorced woman with a child that fits his type and see if we can set him up.”
Xie Wu’s hope immediately died. His eyes became like dead fish.
He almost forgot how chaotic the film set Lu Ji had survived was.
What exactly was he expecting?
While still secretly collapsing, Gu Yang returned at that moment.
Xie Wu, as if seeing a savior, immediately rushed up and hugged Gu Yang’s shoulders.
“Do you know? My brother seems to have fallen in love… and it’s with Zhou Qinqin! The very one whose mother wanted him as a son-in-law for Jiayi.”
Gu Yang thought for a moment and said, “I don’t think that’s appropriate.”
He knew what influence Zhou Qinqin could have on the Xie family, but Xie Wu’s reaction made it clear he realized the seriousness of the situation, so Gu Yang didn’t elaborate.
Xie Wu nodded solemnly. “I think so too.”
Then he buried his head in his hands in pain. “What should I do?”
“Strike first. Since Xie Kai likes married women, set him up according to his tastes.”
Xie Wu: “…”
Why would he expect Gu Yang to give him advice?
As he sank into deeper despair, Gu Yang’s inner voice surfaced:
[In the original storyline, after the Xie family went bankrupt, Xie Wu and Xie Kai ended up on the streets, forced to work. Amid this hellish downfall, Xie Kai unexpectedly met his true love—the second married woman—and they endured the hardest times together.]
[Her name seems to be… Feng Xiaochun.]
Xie Wu’s eyes brightened.
What do you mean, “nodding off, hand me a pillow”?
As a famous person once said: in a room full of people, if you want to open a window and everyone disagrees, but you try to lift the roof instead, people will agree to open the window.
During the Xie family’s bankruptcy, his brother’s slightly niche preferences weren’t a problem anymore.
True love is wonderful—if you can endure hardships together, surely you can walk through prosperity together as well.
He silently noted Feng Xiaochun’s name. A sudden clack came from behind.
A cup on the desk had been knocked to the floor. He Ming’an, standing nearby, displayed a look of unprecedented shock.
His wide, unfocused eyes locked directly with Gu Yang’s.
At the mention of this name, Gu Yang’s mind flipped through relevant characters associated with it.
Outside, Yu Bai’s voice called out: “Whoa, have you seen the trending topics?”
The previously tense atmosphere was revived. The students instinctively pulled out their phones. He Ming’an, realizing his own lapse, lowered his head to check his phone.
Several trending topics were dominating social media:
#TianchenEntertainment# #RealityIsMoreDramaThanFiction#
Among them, #TrueOrFakeYoungMaster# had reached number one, with a small “explosive” tag.
Clicking the video revealed Lu Ran’s face, in surprisingly clear quality—not like typical gossip clips.
Across from him sat someone with a distorted voice.
The conversation started politely, with the distorted-voice person asking how Lu Ran had been.
Lu Ran’s expression was visibly wrong—he looked nervously worn out.
No wonder—being trapped in the Huo family swamp, anyone would struggle to get out, especially someone like Lu Ran, a pampered young master who had never faced society’s dark side.
Lu Ji continued watching.
Lu Ran could no longer endure and rolled up his sleeves, showing bruises across his arms—clearly meant for the other person to see.
The distorted-voice host didn’t respond, merely expressing surprise that it had come to this.
Once that ice was broken, Lu Ran began pouring out his grievances.
He vented about the Lu family’s ruthlessness, the Ho family’s disgusting behavior, and even cursed at Lu Ji, the Lu parents, and Lu Zheng, accusing them of breaking promises. Despite saying Lu Ji would never overstep, they had still kicked him out.
In the process, he casually revealed some sordid secrets behind Lu Company.
The internet, always eager for drama, immediately exploded. Tianchen Media, a veteran entertainment company, placed the Lu family under the spotlight.
Posts claiming insider knowledge about the True vs. Fake Young Master scandal quickly surged.
While this trope is common in novels, it felt fresh in real life.
Netizens even investigated the Ho family. Learning that there was a gambling father and a mentally challenged son left many trolls speechless.
The real young master suffered, yet the Lu family favored the fake one—bizarre.
The fake young master’s current grievances amplified the past injustices the real young master had endured, leaving no one sympathetic toward the usurper.
Online outrage quickly became a trend. Former artists who had terminated contracts with Tianchen remembered past grievances and joined in the criticism.
The Lu family’s online reputation plummeted, with even their listed companies’ stocks falling.
Lu Ji instinctively glanced at Cheng Zishi. Though he had agreed to participate, he didn’t expect the execution to be so… remarkable.
Cheng Zishi’s expression held sharpness and sarcasm: “I got into Class 11 thanks to Lu Ran. He wasn’t well, and Mrs. Lu saw we were the same age, so she placed me here to take care of him. At first, he truly treated me like a servant, but after a while, he became more cheeky. I put him in his place, and then he dared not challenge me anymore.”
For the first time, Lu Ji learned of this past. He sighed at the Lu family’s meticulous care for Lu Ran—he would never receive the same attention now that Lu Ran had been expelled.
It wasn’t resentment—just a little reflection.
“Don’t you think this video, compared to surreptitious filming, looks more like an actual interview?” Cheng Zishi said with intent.
Lu Ji understood immediately. He would cooperate with Cheng Zishi, making the Lu family believe Lu Ran had hired media to smear them out of resentment.
This would isolate Cheng Zishi and make the Lu family despise Lu Ran completely.
Lu Ji had no objections and was willing to cooperate.
He didn’t care about the Lu family’s public image; in fact, chaos worked in his favor.
If the waters remained calm, Lu Zheng would remain the Lu family’s heir, and Lu Ji would have no chance to rise.
Having suffered so much, what he wanted wasn’t just to kick out Lu Ran and take the second young master position.
The spread of this incident was massive. Walking outside, Xia Cheng could hear a couple discussing it.
Next, a sharp male voice scolded the couple—it was Lu Ran, the center of the gossip.
The couple clearly recognized him, exchanged subtle looks, and awkwardly left.
The commotion drew the attention of passersby.
Feeling watched unsettled him. He stiffened, pulling up his collar to hide his face, thinking everyone was laughing at him.
But most people glanced briefly and left.
Xia Cheng, who didn’t avert his gaze, stood out too much.
“What are you looking at?” Lu Ran glared.
Xia Cheng remained silent. The two knew each other—he was signed under Lu’s MCN company, drawn by Tianchen Entertainment’s reputation.
Upon entering, he realized how chaotic the management was—anyone could “fly” in this era, even a pig.
“You’re all here to laugh at me, huh?” Lu Ran sneered. Everything irritated him; he wished to destroy everything.
“You’re just…” Xia Cheng finally spoke, carefully, “…back in your original place.”
“What do you mean my original place? You don’t understand! This is mine! I’m Lu family’s young master!” Lu Ran’s face twisted with obsessive stubbornness.
Xia Cheng paused, then asked in confusion, “…why insist on desiring what you don’t have?”
“Easy for you to say!” Lu Ran gritted his teeth. He knew he was cornered; his pent-up rage found release here.
“Right, someone like you could never understand.” He smiled strangely, oddly. Though he had forgotten all this, since Xia Cheng confronted him, he wanted him to truly feel his predicament.
—
He Ming’an, smiling, asked, “A Yang, what’s wrong?”
“Shouldn’t it be you who’s looking at something?” Gu Yang said, following He Ming’an’s gaze, but He Ming’an gently blocked his view with a menu.
“There was just a couple arguing outside. Nothing interesting.”
“You rarely ask me out for a meal, so don’t divide your attention with irrelevant things.”
Gu Yang responded absentmindedly.
“Do you have something you want to say to me?”
He was about to continue, but then hesitated.
He suddenly thought: is it really okay to say these things now?
The thought was vague, only faintly pressing on his heart.
He didn’t know when he started caring about such matters.
