Chapter 104
Song Fengshi noticed at a glance the way Lin Zhiqiao’s eyes lit up the instant he said those words.
He lowered his gaze slightly, his mood nowhere near as calm as he appeared on the surface.
—At least for now, it seemed his strategy for pursuing someone was the right one.
Perhaps because the huge piece of gossip had added flavor to the meal, Lin Zhiqiao enjoyed this dinner especially thoroughly.
After the meal, Song Fengshi drove Lin Zhiqiao home. Just before they parted, he suddenly called out to Lin Zhiqiao, who had already pushed the car door open.
Lin Zhiqiao turned back to look at him. “What is it?”
Song Fengshi sat in the driver’s seat with the window rolled down. Under the dim light, one could vaguely make out the distinct knuckles of the hand resting on the steering wheel.
He hesitated for half a second before finally asking, “Next time, if you still have time, can we go out for a meal together again?”
Lin Zhiqiao blinked. “To return another favor?”
“No, it wouldn’t be that next time.” Song Fengshi’s Adam’s apple moved slightly. “Just dinner, purely dinner. You can choose Nanjiang Dining House, or somewhere else if you want.”
Lin Zhiqiao subtly noticed that Song Fengshi seemed a little nervous.
“Next time, huh…” A teasing impulse suddenly rose in him, and with a bit of wicked amusement he deliberately dragged out the ending of his words. Just as expected, Song Fengshi’s lips pressed a little tighter.
[So President Song gets nervous too…] Lin Zhiqiao muttered inwardly, feeling a bit amused.
Inside the car, Song Fengshi froze for a second, suddenly realizing Lin Zhiqiao had done it on purpose. Once he realized that, he actually relaxed quite a bit.
Then he heard Lin Zhiqiao say, “Sure.”
Song Fengshi’s heart loosened slightly, and just as a smile was about to appear on his face, he heard the other continue, “But…”
Song Fengshi’s heartbeat immediately skipped again.
Lin Zhiqiao said, “I’m not really sure when the next time I’m free will be.”
“That’s okay,” Song Fengshi said at once. As long as it was not a rejection, that was enough. “Whenever you have time, we can make plans then.”
Lin Zhiqiao asked him, “What if I happen to be free, but you’re busy?”
“I won’t be,” Song Fengshi said with a small smile. “As long as you have time, I can always make time.”
As he said this, he kept looking straight into Lin Zhiqiao’s eyes. The sincerity in those deep black eyes was completely undisguised.
Lin Zhiqiao pressed his lips together, and the tips of his ears suddenly started to heat up.
888 let out a little wow: [Host, does this mean you’re his top priority?]
Lin Zhiqiao did not respond to 888. All he could hear was the chaotic pounding of his own heart.
“Alright then,” he said, then waved at Song Fengshi. “See you next time.”
But Song Fengshi called out to him again. “If you run into trouble in the future, you can contact me anytime.”
“I know,” Lin Zhiqiao nodded. “You told me that last time.”
He meant the time Adeline had “hit on” him. Back then, Song Fengshi had mentioned that if something like that happened again in the future, Lin Zhiqiao could leave it to him.
Thinking of that, Lin Zhiqiao suddenly paused.
At the time, he had assumed Song Fengshi was simply being kind. But now it seemed… could it be that Song Fengshi had already liked him back then?
Song Fengshi clearly remembered that incident too, but what he said was, “Not just that kind of thing. Any kind of thing. Including… certain people you don’t like.”
Lin Zhiqiao froze for a moment, then immediately realized that Song Fengshi meant Lin Mubai—or the Lin family.
Given the capabilities of the head of the Song family, finding out about his relationship with the Lin family would indeed have been effortless. Especially since Lin Zhiqiao had openly mentioned in front of him before that he hated Lin Mubai.
Lin Zhiqiao looked at him and suddenly asked, “Even if I reject your pursuit, can I still come to you?”
Song Fengshi nodded, his tone serious. “There are no conditions attached. If you need anything, you can come to me anytime. I’ll do whatever I can.”
Lin Zhiqiao blanked out again.
This time he really did say goodbye. It was only after he entered the house that the sound of the engine starting came from outside, and the bright headlights beyond the window gradually disappeared into the distance.
888 said in a tiny voice, [Host…]
But Lin Zhiqiao said, [Don’t talk.]
888 asked blankly, [Why?]
[Let me bask in my fluttering heart for a while.] Lin Zhiqiao covered his chest as if holding his heart, a suspicious flush spreading over his face. [It’s not that I’m weak-willed. He’s just way too good at this!]
[Yes yes yes, he’s way too good at this!] 888 echoed, then could not help giggling. [Hehe!]
*
While everything on Lin Zhiqiao and Song Fengshi’s side was peaceful and sweet, the internet had already exploded into chaos.
Jing You’s livestream had started abruptly, but his fanbase was not small. A lot of fans who had notifications turned on entered the moment the stream went live.
Everyone had assumed it was some surprise bonus livestream. They thought Young Master Jing would, as usual, chat with everyone casually, or maybe drag his fiancé, Eldest Young Master Tian, into the stream to shower everyone with some sweetness.
Instead of sweetness, however, what they got was a full-blown spectacle of an enraged fiancé catching the “adulterer” and beating up the scumbag.
Since it involved the highly popular CP “Tian-Jing Couple” and Lin Mubai, the number one popularity king among the new generation of actors, the whole thing shot onto the trending lists almost immediately.
As the saying went, good news never spread far, but bad news spread a thousand miles. The screen recording of the livestream confrontation among the three of them quickly spread across the whole internet.
‘Damn, another pair collapsed [dead inside.jpg]’
‘I really thought they’d grown up together as childhood sweethearts and were already engaged, so their relationship should’ve been super stable…’
‘What the hell do you mean “I only ever saw you as a little brother”? What kind of scumbag line is that, Tian dog?! My heart hurts for our Young Master Jing, wuwuwu.’
‘Those three slaps really satisfied my soul.’
‘Passerby turned fan. I just love Young Master Jing’s clean, decisive personality. I’m in love.’
‘Lin Mubai is so tea. He knew perfectly well that Eldest Young Master Tian already had a fiancé, and still kept things ambiguous with him. So this is knowingly being the third party, right??’
‘Taking my Xiao Bai away. Xiao Bai is a victim too, okay? He saw Young Master Tian as a friend. He didn’t know the scumbag was secretly coveting him!’
‘I checked— that “Eternal Love” cufflink was worth several million. If someone gives a gift that expensive, could Lin Mubai really not tell what Tian Jing felt for him?’
‘Lmao. If he doesn’t directly expose it, he can just pretend not to know, then enjoy someone else’s fiancé showing him affection with a clear conscience. I don’t even need to spell out what kind of mentality that is [eye roll.jpg]’
‘There really are people who are dense about feelings though… And to them, several million probably doesn’t count as much money, right? Isn’t it perfectly normal for friends to exchange gifts? Didn’t Tian Jing himself say Lin Mubai didn’t know anything? So why are people still hanging onto this?!’
‘Just a passerby, but I honestly think Lin Mubai really got hit by a disaster out of nowhere this time.’
‘No matter what, Young Master Jing really got it the worst [feeling pity.jpg]’
…
With a loud smack, Lin Mubai threw his phone onto the table. His fair, elegant face was now completely flushed—from anger.
The comments online were a filthy mess. Although quite a few fans were still willing to believe him, Lin Mubai—who had possessed the Heartthrob System and sailed smoothly ever since debut—had never once experienced being doubted, accused, and even insulted by so many people like this.
The Heartthrob System comforted him: [It’s fine, it’s fine. Getting scolded is only temporary. Internet attention comes fast and goes fast too. Once your new drama airs and the Heartthrob Halo takes effect, no one will remember this anymore.]
The Heartthrob Halo on Lin Mubai worked in a very broad way. Watching dramas he acted in was also one of the ways to collect favorability points.
The new drama the Heartthrob System referred to was the one he was currently filming: Director Tang’s A Panorama of Mountains and Seas.
But A Panorama of Mountains and Seas was still in production. Even after filming finished, who knew when it would officially air? Before that, the online “crusade” against Lin Mubai would very likely continue the entire time.
Lin Mubai’s voice was practically squeezed out from the back of his throat: [That’s too long.]
The Heartthrob System still wanted to comfort him, but Lin Mubai cut in first: [Aren’t you supposed to be able to monitor the real-time situation around me? Then why didn’t you warn me that Jing You had arrived? Why didn’t you tell me he’d had the livestream on from the very beginning?!]
The sudden accusation stunned the Heartthrob System. Only after a long moment did it answer: [Monitoring real-time conditions consumes a huge amount of energy converted from favorability points. But recently, Host, your favorability points have been in short supply, so I didn’t dare use them casually.]
Lin Mubai fell silent at once. Of course he knew very well that his favorability points had been tight lately!
Ever since the last hair-loss incident, after discovering that many of his targets’ favorability had begun dropping slightly, Lin Mubai had already started emergency action to raise favorability again.
If not for the fact that Tian Jing’s favorability had also shown signs of falling, the date with him should have happened a month later, not now.
And yet it was precisely this rushed “damage control” move that had pushed him into such an impossible predicament.
Lin Mubai took a deep breath and decided to call Tian Jing.
The most urgent thing now was to find a way to make Tian Jing shoulder all the responsibility himself, while Lin Mubai remained the innocent white lotus who knew nothing.
This was not the most perfect solution, but it was the only one available to put out the fire for now. Even if some people afterward would still think he was brainless, it would still be far better than being blamed by thousands like he was now.
Tian Jing’s favorability toward him was high enough. There was no way he would refuse to help with something this small.
But things did not go in the direction Lin Mubai had hoped for.
Lin Mubai called Tian Jing five full times before the other man finally answered.
Yet before Lin Mubai could explain why he was calling, Tian Jing spoke first: “Mubai.”
His tone was low in a way it had never been before, and Lin Mubai’s heart immediately sank with a bad premonition.
He forced himself to stay calm and asked gently, “Are you okay?”
Tian Jing replied with a question: “What do you think?”
—Clearly, not very okay.
After something this huge happened and even hit the trending topics, Tian Jing’s engagement with Jing You was naturally finished. Not only that, his credibility with his father must have plummeted even further, and the balance in the family inheritance struggle would naturally tilt toward the second young master of the Tian family.
His reputation was gone. His inheritance was gone. Even his love—
Tian Jing laughed at himself softly. “I know why you’re calling me.”
Lin Mubai fell silent for a second. “Brother Tian, I just wanted to know how you’re doing right now.”
“We’re all adults. There’s no need for empty pleasantries anymore,” Tian Jing said softly. “Mubai, tell me honestly. Did you really know nothing?”
Lin Mubai’s heart jolted. “Brother Tian, what are you talking about? What do you mean ‘know or not know’—”
“These past two days, the more I’ve thought about it, the stranger it all feels,” Tian Jing cut him off. “You’re so smart, so attentive. You can notice even the smallest shifts in other people’s emotions right away. How could you possibly not have seen how I felt about you?”
Tian Jing murmured, “They always say the person involved is confused while bystanders see clearly. And I actually only realized now…”
His voice got lower and lower until Lin Mubai could no longer hear clearly what he was saying.
“Lin Mubai,” he said. “Let’s stop here. Let’s not keep in touch anymore.”
The sharp beeping sound pulled Lin Mubai back to himself. Tian Jing had already hung up.
Lin Mubai had not even managed to say, Let’s meet in person.
—And only if they met in person could he use the Heartthrob Halo on him.
Lin Mubai clenched his phone, and his expression twisted for a moment.
The Heartthrob System’s voice sounded beside his ear: [Host, Tian Jing’s favorability has already dropped below sixty.]
Lin Mubai had actually guessed that already, but he still could not understand how things had ended up like this.
He asked, [Didn’t you say the Heartthrob Halo wouldn’t fail easily?]
[Under normal circumstances, it really wouldn’t.] the Heartthrob System answered.
Clearly, this was no longer a normal situation.
Lin Mubai bit down hard, knowing full well that the emergency solution he had hoped for would not work anymore.
[Calm down and focus on acting well. Once the new drama airs, things will get better.] The Heartthrob System paused, then added, [If you’re really that anxious, you can take a variety show in your spare time. Appearing on screen more will help you.]
Lin Mubai nodded, accepting the system’s suggestion.
The next day, he returned to the set of A Panorama of Mountains and Seas.
He had thought he had already adjusted his mindset and was ready to accept the temporary “condemnation” from people online.
But only after returning to the set did Lin Mubai realize that the thing he found hardest to endure was not the online comments at all, but the looks from the people around him.
Maybe those looks did not carry open malice, but the curiosity, the doubt, the thoughtful glances… all of it tormented him even more than direct accusations would have.
“Cut!” Director Tang’s voice suddenly rang out. “Lin Mubai, what are you doing?!”
His expression was extremely ugly, and his tone was practically accusatory. “How did you even get the lines wrong in a scene this simple? What on earth is going on in your head?!”
Everyone around immediately fell silent. No one dared say a single word at a moment like this.
Director Tang’s harshness was well known, and that harshness multiplied several times over during filming. Nearly every actor who had ever worked with him had at some point been scolded bloody by him.
The word nearly was used because there had once been one exception—
Lin Mubai.
Ever since their first collaboration, Director Tang had praised Lin Mubai nonstop. Whether in private or in front of the media, Director Tang had never once been stingy with his compliments, and his attitude toward him had always been unprecedentedly kind and pleasant.
People in the industry all said that Lin Mubai was Director Tang’s heaven-chosen lead.
But this time, that one and only “exception” was shattered by Director Tang’s own hand.
Director Tang’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot. “Can’t get into the role, can’t catch your scene partner’s performance—fine. But now you can’t even remember the most basic lines anymore?!”
Lin Mubai closed his eyes, his face turning pale. “I’m sorry, Director Tang. It’s my fault. I haven’t rested well these past few days, so—”
Director Tang cut him off with a wave of his hand. “Don’t give me reasons! I don’t need reasons—I only care about results!”
Lin Mubai quickly said, “I’m sorry, Director Tang. Let’s do it one more time.”
“Forget it,” Director Tang said. “We’ll shoot the next scene first. Go adjust your state. Continuing to drag this out is just a waste of time.”
Lin Mubai’s face turned even paler. “Yes.”
He lowered his eyes and turned toward his dressing room, forcing himself not to pay attention to everyone’s looks, but the surrounding whispers still kept drifting into his ears.
“This is the first time Director Tang’s ever lost his temper so badly at Teacher Lin, right?”
“Isn’t it? Before this, Director Tang used to talk to him so kindly that his eyes practically disappeared when he smiled…”
“If it were me, I’d be mad too. He even got the lines wrong. A scene this simple has already had so many takes. It’s honestly pretty absurd.”
“Well, he did just hit the trending topics because of that a couple days ago. Not being in the right state is pretty normal.”
“But letting personal matters affect work and dragging down the whole crew’s schedule too? We were supposed to wrap at five today. Now who knows how late we’ll have to drag this out!”
“Come to think of it, what do you all think about this…”
Lin Mubai quickened his pace. The dressing room door shut behind him, cutting off the annoying whispers outside.
[System, what exactly is going on?!] Lin Mubai called the system in his mind, anger seeping into his tone.
The Heartthrob System said nothing. It simply pulled up a status panel showing the values of all his buffs in his mind.
Lin Mubai had many buffs on him—acting, lines, looks, physical condition, and many more, covering nearly every aspect of him.
Once these buffs were exchanged for and activated, they still needed to be maintained and nurtured continuously with favorability points.
And now, many of the numbers on that panel were flashing in a dangerous red.
Lin Mubai clenched his teeth. What was there left not to understand?
What had happened over the past few days had not only brought him countless accusations, but had even affected the buffs on his body. The massive loss of favorability had directly caused his abilities to decline!
Without those buffs, the acting people praised nonstop, the face called “god-tier visuals”—all of it would disappear.
Lin Mubai started to panic.
[Host, I’ve told you many times already—you rely too much on the system and the power of the buffs.] The Heartthrob System sighed. [If only while using buffs to gain favorability, you had also spent more effort improving your own real abilities, things wouldn’t have become like this now.]
Lin Mubai’s expression turned ugly. [So you’re saying this is all my fault?]
[I’m not saying that…]
[Then what are you saying?!] Lin Mubai’s voice turned shrill and piercing. He was clearly on the verge of a breakdown. [You’re the one who appeared in front of me in the first place! You’re the one who lured me into binding to the system! Even exchanging for buffs was something you taught me step by step! You taught me all of it!!!]
The Heartthrob System fell silent.
Lin Mubai’s breathing was unsteady now, and his eyes had reddened from the violent surge of emotion.
As if even that was not enough to vent his fury, he strode over to the makeup table in two steps and swept all the bottles and jars on top of it onto the floor with one violent motion.
A harsh burst of shattering glass rang through the room.
Outside the door, Director Tang’s brows furrowed, and the hand he had been about to use to knock froze in midair.
Was that… a tantrum?
Director Tang felt uncertain.
Lin Mubai’s public image had always been gentle and refined. Not to mention a senior like Director Tang—even when dealing with new junior actors, Lin Mubai had never once said a harsh word.
Director Tang’s hand silently lowered onto the doorknob.
The dressing room was not locked. He pushed the door open a crack, and before he could even see the scene inside clearly, another loud crash rang out.
Inside the room, Lin Mubai had knocked over the things on another table too.
The floor was already in chaos, but he did not care in the slightest. He kicked aside the shattered glass bottle fragments blocking his way, then planted both hands heavily on the tabletop, breathing hard and fast.
In the mirror in front of him, his twisted, vicious, almost terrifying expression was reflected with perfect clarity.
And Director Tang saw that scene completely.
He suppressed the shock in his heart and quietly closed the door again.
That savage expression completely overturned the image Lin Mubai usually presented.
Director Tang’s brows drew tightly together. Originally, he had come to the dressing room because he felt his own words had been too harsh just now, so he wanted to come talk to Lin Mubai and help him recover his acting state.
Who would have thought he would see something like this instead?
—Could this be what Lin Mubai was really like? Had his usual gentle, elegant manner all been an act?
When Director Tang thought of Lin Mubai’s usual image—calm and clean like bamboo—and then compared it to that face full of rage, twisted almost to the point of madness…
A chill rose in his heart, followed by deep wariness.
If that really was the case, then Lin Mubai’s scheming mind…was simply far too frightening.
