Upon hearing Ling Feng's words, Chu Cheng raised his eyes slightly and spoke in a cold tone, "There must be some clues left, continue the investigation."
"Yes, the problem is there are too many people coming and going, it's hard to identify the suspicious ones." Ling Feng cleared his throat, looking troubled. "With hundreds of people, it's not easy to investigate individually."
"He's only been back for a few days, who would hold a grudge against him?" Chu Cheng put away the medicine, patted the leg where the injured ankle lay, indicating to put it down.
It was Xia Ran, and everyone knew it, but without evidence, it was just empty talk.
Su Lanqiao's bare feet on the ground felt cold, as he looked at Ling Feng's troubled face, and spoke to relieve the pressure, "If it's too much trouble, Assistant Ling, we can leave it. The online talk will die down in a few days."
After all the commotion, he couldn't deny feeling upset, but in this industry, he had to put up with gossip.
In the entertainment industry, one had to have a strong heart, and he was prepared for it.
Ling Feng glanced quickly at Chu Cheng. Since Mr. Chu had spoken, it was quite a tricky situation, but it had to be done. "It's not a bother, moreover, you are our spokesperson, so it's only right to protect your reputation."
The official response left no room for ambiguity, with a tinge of resentment. Su Lanqiao thought, Chu Cheng surrounded himself with cunning people, all with sharp eyes.
There was another knock at the door, and Ling Feng walked over to open it. It was the person in charge of the brand show, with a smile, he reached out to Chu Cheng, "Ah, Chu Zong, I've been too busy to come over and greet you personally, I'm really sorry."
Chu Cheng stood up and shook hands, not saying a word, exuding an indifferent aura.
The person in charge glanced at Su Lanqiao standing nearby, and forced a smile, "Why is Chu Zong here? What do you want for dinner tonight, let me arrange it."
"Just came over to see this injured little child." Chu Cheng had an underlying intention in his words, aiming to improve their relationship, to prevent trouble for Su Lanqiao from the brand's side, as it would make the young model even more aggrieved.
Su Lanqiao, sitting beside him, felt a bit embarrassed being called a "little child" by Chu Cheng, not knowing why he detected a hint of indulgence.
He was five years younger than Chu Cheng, so in comparison, he was indeed a little child.
Su Lanqiao licked his lips and blushed slightly.
The person in charge wasn't naïve and immediately caught the hint in the conversation, and spoke more warmly, "So Little Qiao, you and Chu Zong are good friends, why didn't you tell me earlier? Today's accident is really unexpected, are you hurt?"
"I am hurt, it hurts," Su Lanqiao was straightforward, and this made the person in charge a bit awkward.
This grudge-holding kid. Chu Cheng's mouth quirked for a moment before he resumed his usual indifference, "This matter won't be dropped, if someone is playing tricks, we will find out. We hope to have your cooperation from the brand's side."
"If there's really something hidden, we definitely won't conceal it." The person in charge rubbed his hands and forced a smile, "But everyone here has their own reputation, I hope Chu Zong won't wrongly accuse anyone."
"No problem, first give the backstage footage to Ling Feng." Chu Cheng suddenly asked for something, taking them by surprise.
"Backstage footage..." The person in charge suddenly faltered, of course, he knew who was behind this, and the previous surveillance was intentionally destroyed, they didn't want the already trending topic to escalate further. Now, mentioning the backstage footage, they hadn't checked whether anything inappropriate had been captured, making them a bit flustered.
Ling Feng's eyes lit up; why hadn't he thought of the backstage footage? Nowadays, it was popular to release behind-the-scenes footage on Weibo to accumulate popularity, and now it came in handy for another purpose.
I can tell that he is really Chu's general.
He seemed to feel like his workload had instantly been cut in half, and he reached out to the person in charge with pleasure. "Please, I'll go with you to get the materials. You don't have to worry about Chu's dinner."
"Cough, okay, let's go get them now..." The person in charge's face turned pale, and he could only take Ling Feng to the nearby office to copy the material records.
As soon as they left, the small waiting room was left with only two people, Su Lanqiao and Chu Cheng standing very close, making the air suddenly constricted.
Chu Cheng casually asked, "How are you getting home?"
"I'll call my friend to come pick me up in a little while." Su Lanqiao said, taking out his phone to message Yue Xi.
"Don't bother, I'll take you." Chu Cheng interrupted his actions, "Can you walk on your own?"
Su Lanqiao thought that he could manage to walk with some effort, but at the moment, he felt like being a little disobedient, and his scheming nature surfaced.
"Not really, it hurts a little." As he spoke, he wrinkled his pretty features, looking at the person with pleading eyes, as if he really couldn't walk due to the pain.
Chu Cheng looked at his little tricks, feeling somewhat amused, but didn't expose them, "Do you want me to carry you?"
Carry?! Su Lanqiao didn't want Chu Cheng to carry him, just to lend him some support, to get closer to him, that's all. He didn't expect Chu Cheng to skip this step altogether.
His face suddenly turned red, and his voice softened, "No, you can just help me walk."
"I find it troublesome." Chu Cheng adjusted his coat, slightly bent over, hooked his hand around Su Lanqiao's waist, and whispered in his ear, "Hold steady."
When Chu Cheng wasn't working, he would go to the gym. Su Lanqiao, although tall, was light in weight, so he was effortlessly lifted, it wasn't too much effort at all.
Last time, when he was drunk, he could pretend to be dead, but this time, he was truly sober, feeling the warmth of Chu Cheng's embrace. Su Lanqiao leaned his head on Chu Cheng's shoulder, even feeling the heat coming from his neck, making his heart melt.
Thankfully, the stairs to the garage were right next to the waiting room, and there was no one around.
If Chu Cheng had really carried him out onto the street like that, he would probably trend again today.
Su Lanqiao's hands hung loosely around Chu Cheng's neck, not daring to hold too tightly, and his body was quietly stiff, trying to slightly alleviate the weight on Chu Cheng's hands.
"Relax." Chu Cheng felt his stiff muscles, and laughed, "Carrying you is still a piece of cake."
The little trick was discovered again, Su Lanqiao bit his lip, not daring to make any other moves.
The two remained silent all the way to the car, Chu Cheng placed him in the back seat and got in from the other side.
Su Lanqiao handed the address to Lao Chen, adjusted his posture, and got lost in thought.
He was actually quite conflicted. Chu Cheng obviously didn't like him, he was always so indifferent, not showing any emotions.
But the occasional tenderness made him unable to resist wanting more and more, he was afraid that eventually, he would be the only one hurting.
Giving him hope and then letting him despair, wouldn't it be better to have no tenderness at all?
They quickly arrived at the small neighborhood where Su Lanqiao rented a house. Once again, Chu Cheng carried him up to the apartment and placed him securely on the sofa.
"Thank you, General Chu." Su Lanqiao nestled into the soft sofa, feeling truly indebted this time.
There was a bit of sweat from the back and forth just now, so Chu Cheng took off his coat and hung it up, looking around the small room, "Your place is very close to my company."
"Yeah, I specifically chose it."
To be closer to you, Su Lanqiao thought silently in his heart.
Chu Cheng nodded, turned and walked towards the door, "You rest well, I'm leaving."
"General Chu..." Su Lanqiao grabbed a pillow and squeezed it in his hands, unable to help but speak and stop him.
Chu Cheng turned back, raised his eyebrows slightly, and waited for him to continue.
Su Lanqiao gritted his teeth and still asked, "Why did you come to see the show today?"
"I finished my work and came to see it along the way." Chu Cheng's voice remained unchanged.
"Then... why are you so good to me? Helping me with the spray, helping me catch the troublemaker, and even... carrying me back?" Su Lanqiao's heart tightened and loosened, feeling that he was really too sensitive, but he couldn't help but dig deeper.
He obviously knew that the answer wouldn't be what he expected, it would make him sad and upset, but he still wanted to ask.
Chu Cheng was somewhat surprised by Su Lanqiao's directness, and looked straight at him with his dark eyes, his voice carrying a bit of indifference, "You did well last night, so I'm rewarding you."
【Father, I'm sorry. I kneel naked on the slippery ground and beg for forgiveness.】
.....
Su Lanqiao made funny facial expressions and was almost laughing in anger, these people are so talented, why don't they write skits for a living?
Yue Xifeng hurriedly carried a bunch of food into the house, looking at Su Lanqiao, who was laughing with dimples showing, with a puzzled look, "You're injured and still can laugh so happily?"
"Look at the memes made of me on the internet, I saved a few, do you want me to send them to you?" Su Lanqiao shrugged nonchalantly, carefully moved his feet down from the sofa, imitating the sarcastic tone of the memes, "Life is not easy, let me kneel as a sign of respect."
Yue Xi clicked his tongue twice, thought about the troublesome matter, and sighed again, "You really have a big heart, but I don't know if Mr. Chu can help you clear your name."
Chu Cheng will achieve what he wants.
It just takes time.
"So the company has no intention of speaking out, right?" Su Lanqiao pursed his lips, absentmindedly tied up his loose hair with a hair tie, and slowly walked to the dining table.
Yue Xi took the takeout out of the bag and set it on the table, "The company wants to generate more discussion online, and besides, you and Xia Ran are both from Xingyu. Who do you think the company will lean towards?"
"Bottom-tier employees have no rights." Su Lanqiao nodded, self-mockingly laughed, pulled out a chair and sat down, looking at the takeout box with bright eyes, "The Chengdu braised dish from Wudaokou?"
"Yeah, I specially drove an hour to buy it for you, to comfort you, poor thing," Yue Xi handed over the chopsticks, and put on a gossipy expression, "I didn't have a chance to ask you the other day, what's the deal with you and Mr. Chu, how could a big shot like him suddenly come to help you?"
Su Lanqiao slowly nibbled on a rabbit head, and in a calm tone, said, "I slept with him, he felt good, so he helped me out."
Indeed, Chu Cheng did say such a thing two days ago. Although his tone sounded like a joke, he closed the door and left after saying it, but he felt that Chu Cheng really thought so.
"Slept with him??? Do you mean slept as I think it means?" Yue Xi widened his eyes, raised his voice by eight degrees, and even forgot to eat the duck neck, presenting a dazed look.
Su Lanqiao gave an affirmative sound, not stopping the movement of his hands, "Otherwise, what could it mean."
"Mr. Chu is gay??? Damn!!! This news is too explosive, my goodness, I need a moment to process this." Yue xi simply took off his gloves, excitedly pulled Su Lanqiao's sleeve, "I knew you were gay, did you turn him?"
The chili in the rabbit head made Su Lanqiao's mouth a little red, he lowered his head and took a sip of water with the straw, and then said in a leisurely manner, "I don't know if I turned him, or if he had been with anyone else before, we just slept together twice, that's all."
"Got it, Friends with benefits. But why does your words sound so sour, hey, you don't happen to be falling for him, do you? He's a big shot, and if you like him, you won't really get anywhere, I advise you not to entertain this idea." Yue Xi's brain worked fast, and he quickly accepted this explosive information, analyzing it thoroughly.
He was right, Su Lanqiao also knew that this kind of liking was endless, but how could one resist liking someone.
Liking someone, wanting to get close to him every minute and second, wanting to do anything for him, wanting to give his life to him.
Su Lanqiao sighed slightly, his heart aching, not saying a word.
Yue Xi sensed that something was off, started eating the duck neck again, and brought up a new topic, "But weren't you always whining about that mysterious brother, sounded like you were madly in love with him, how did your body suddenly betray you."
"Bro, you're really good at hitting sore spots, Mr. Chu is that brother." Su Lanqiao was really amazed by his friend, it felt like he was poking a knife into his heart, again and again, making this meal very uncomfortable.
Yue Xi successfully widened his eyes again, and exclaimed, "Mr. Chu is the guy you've been talking about for years??? So when you stood me up, you went home with him? Wow, TV dramas wouldn't dare to write like this, this, this is really so fateful."
Su Lanqiao pulled the corner of his mouth, what kind of fucking fate was this, it took eight years to meet.
He felt a little exhausted, and slumped in the chair, mechanically nibbling on the braised dish, the taste he liked, but he had no appetite.
The bitterness in his mouth, that bitter taste spread from the bottom of his heart to his internal organs, infiltrating his nerves.
Unrequited love is really too bitter.
They silently finished their meal, Yue Xi patted his stomach, sat cross-legged, and started checking Weibo, "Damn, Xia Ran posted your memes! This person is really toxic."
"Hmm?" Su Lanqiao leaned over, took the phone and looked at Xia Ran's Weibo, the caption was just one sentence, "Today's shoot lasted from nine in the morning to nine at night, finally I can rest."
The picture was Su Lanqiao's meme [I kneel for you], and there were already over a thousand comments.
"Ran ge truly follows the latest fashion trends, using memes now."
"Xia Ran, this is such a low blow... working in the same company."
"The commenter above is a fan of Su Lanqiao? Can't even handle their primary job, yet mocking others?"
"Ran Ran is genuine, what's wrong with using memes?"
"Ran ge worked hard, shot all day, much better than someone falling during a fashion show."
"Maybe many others are privately criticizing, Ran ge, be yourself, stand tall!"
"Apparently Xia Ran is really managing his Weibo, hahaha"
......
Su Lanqiao snorted coldly, this person really left no room for him, isn't he afraid of being embarrassed in the future?
He silently took a screenshot of this Weibo, and then a new Weibo from Xia Ran popped up, "But the big shot treated me to a meal, rewarding me for my hard work today (happy) (happy) (happy)"
With two pictures, one was a behind-the-scenes photo of the shoot, and the other was a picture of the dining table's food.
Why is this person flaunting everything on Weibo, and showing off his relationship with a big shot in a veiled way, treating Weibo as if it were his Moments.
Su Lanqiao rolled his eyes in his mind, casually clicked on the picture to enlarge it, and his eyes suddenly narrowed when he saw the second picture.
That marble-white dining table, he was more than familiar with it, it was Chu Cheng's villa.
Listening to Xia Ran's tone, was it Chu Cheng who took the initiative?
What will they do at home?
Is he going to stay late like him?
If Chu Cheng is willing to sleep with him, can he also do so with someone else?
All kinds of crazy thoughts were growing in his mind, and Su Lanqiao felt like his head was about to explode. He really wanted to rush to the villa immediately to find out the truth, but the timing wasn't right, and neither was his status.
What difference would it make if he saw? If it turns out to be true, wouldn't he ruin their chances?
Thinking about this made him so frustrated that the anger went straight to his throat, making him even more uncomfortable. He went into the bathroom to avoid his wound and took a shower, then lay back on the bed, tossing and turning for a few hours, feeling wide awake.
It was already 2 a.m. when he opened his phone to find Chu Cheng's WeChat and typed: [Why did you invite Xia Ran for dinner today?]
No, that tone was a bit too accusatory.
[I saw Xia Ran's Weibo, how did he end up at your place?]
Hmm, why does it have a scent of catching someone in the act?
He silently deleted the text, then re-entered: [Xia Ran said you invited him for dinner, is that true?]
Too stupid, his Weibo already said that.
With his eyes downcast, Su Lanqiao felt a surge of annoyance whenever he touched on matters concerning Chu Cheng; his composure vanished completely.
He absentmindedly typed on the keyboard, "Damn, so angry, angry, angry, angry…"
His hand slipped, and he accidentally hit the send button, sending that mess of words directly.
Frantically trying to retract it, he pressed twice before hitting the right spot. Seeing the retraction prompt below, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was already 2 a.m., and Chu Cheng should be asleep.
Su Lanqiao let out a sigh, placed his phone on his chest, half-closed his eyes, and suddenly his phone vibrated. A question mark appeared on the screen.
This startled him wide awake. Damn it, not only was Chu Cheng awake at 2 a.m., but he also replied to his message. Exciting.
Su Lanqiao grabbed a pillow to prop against his lower back, gritted his teeth, and replied, "Sorry, sent the wrong person, retracted. Rest early, goodnight, Manager Chu."
As he sent the message, he couldn't help but sneer at himself. He had intended to clear things up, but why did Chu Cheng back off with just a question mark?
The man's presence was just too overpowering; just a punctuation mark made his legs feel weak even through the screen.
After two minutes, Chu Cheng replied with: [What's wrong?]
Damn, Chu Cheng saw the retracted message. Su Lanqiao didn't dare to breathe, halted for two seconds, then sent a pouting child emoji. At this moment, he matched the expression of the emoji, like a wife who had been cheated on.
[Okay, I saw Xia Ran's Weibo, so you brought him home.]
Chu Cheng replied immediately: [Do you think I brought him home for anything?]
This beat-around-the-bush attitude again, this scumbag!
This way of passing the buck back made Su Lanqiao's anger flare up from the bottom of his heart. Regardless of their disparate statuses, he retorted sourly.
[Mr. Chu, of course, can bring home whoever he wants and do whatever he wants.]
The other side fell silent.
Ten minutes later, Su Lanqiao began to regret it. After working so hard to ease the tension with Chu Cheng, this outburst of anger would set them back to square one.
Their relationship indeed hasn't reached the point of prying into the private matter of who they brought home. He had overstepped the line.
Chu Cheng still didn't reply.
He pursed his lips, forcefully tossed the phone onto the bedside, and couldn't recall how long it took before he drifted off into a dazed slumber.
—
When he woke up, the sun was glaring, and the clock hands pointed to eleven.
He hadn't slept soundly, and Su Lanqiao sat up, massaging his pounding temples. He found his phone beneath the pillow with the conversation with Chu Cheng still displaying, his mockery of the other party remained the last sentence.
He had messed up again.
As he stared at the screen, an onslaught of notifications popped up. He realized that his Weibo was about to explode.
Su Lanqiao logged into Weibo and was swarmed with countless @ mentions, a spectacle that even made the small model feel inexplicably flattered. When did his traffic become so hot?
Clicking on the trending topic, the hashtag #Xia Ran's Apology# surged to the top.
Xia Ran had posted a video on Weibo, looking red-faced and shaky-voiced.
"After thinking for a few days, I decided to sincerely apologize to Mr. Su Lanqiao. Due to an impromptu prank, I tampered with the shoes Mr. Su Lanqiao wore to the show, causing him to fall on stage and subsequently sparking doubts about his professional abilities among netizens. I feel very uneasy about this. This behavior was immature, and it was a moment of confusion for me. For this series of events, I sincerely apologize and am willing to take full responsibility for my actions."
The comments were refreshing at a rate of dozens of posts per second.
"Wow, what a big drama! So Xia Ran was the one stabbing in the back?"
"God, am I deaf? So Su Lanqiao was framed?"
"Perhaps he didn't anticipate such severe consequences at the beginning; it was just a trick, after all. He's come forward to apologize."
"Fans can really be manipulated, I promote you, and then apologize? It's too ridiculous."
"Sulan Qiao is the one who's truly innocent. A few days ago, no one would believe her, but luckily Xiaran spoke up for herself."
"Xiaran is so disgusting!!! Apologizing like a hypocrite, blackening their name for life. What a shame."
"My brother is still a kid, he knows his mistake and is changing. We still love you!"
"Xiaran's fans are here to apologize to @Sulan Qiao. This time, it's my brother's fault."
"Sulan Qiao is the most pitiful this year. If Xiaran doesn't have a conscience, would she carry the stigma for a lifetime?"
"Little Qiao's fans are crying. It's clear now, my little Qiao is so pitiful..."
…
Sulan Qiao paid no attention to her own reputation reversal at the moment, she only noticed the background wall in the video, it was in Sucheng's house.
If she wasn't mistaken, Sucheng had Xiaran come over for dinner yesterday with feigned sincerity just to set up the continuation of this video?
After all, it is safest to talk about someone outside, rather than at home, it must be like this.
He had really wronged someone.
Sulan Qiao felt her hands shaking. She directly called Sucheng's WeChat phone, wanting to quickly prove that her idea was not wrong.
The call connected, and on Sucheng's end, her voice was very low, "What's wrong?"
"Manager Chu, I saw the apology on Weibo, it was you who made the move, right?" Sulanasked in a low voice, "How could you let such an arrogant person record something like this?"
There was a snap, and Sulan Qiao heard some cigarette sound from the other side, Sucheng's voice was very indifferent, "We demanded the footage we wanted from Leng Feng last time, and finally caught the scene where Xiaran stole shoes for her assistant in a corner."
He paused, and continued, "I brought her to my house and used some means to elicit a confession, and this person confessed to everything. We recorded all our conversations, and released the video and publicly apologized. Guess which one she chose?"
Forced to reveal the dirt and confess, if Xiaran had a little bit of intelligence, she would choose to come clean and have an ending with reforming her ways.
It was for the best, by focusing on Xiaran's apology, it naturally restored Sulan Qiao's innocence, no need to say more.
Sucheng's actions were really clever.
"Thank you, Manager Chu, for helping me clear my name." After Sulan Qiao sorted out the twists and turns inside, she couldn't help but scold herself.
What was she doing last night?!
They were helping her, and she was staying up late to argue with them.
, Sulan Qiao almost regretted not being able to turn back time to two in the morning and start over.
"Right, doesn't he have business dealings with Chu's? Will it affect?" It wasn't until now that Sulan Qiao thought about this relationship.
"The contract is about to expire, it won't affect." Sucheng's side fell silent for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Sulan Qiao, I've restored your innocence, will you restore mine?"
"Huh? What?"
"What happened last night, when you falsely accused me on WeChat." Sucheng didn’t change his tone, gently reminded.
Sulan Qiao moved the phone away, with the screen paused at the last conversation between the two. The bright green dialogue box clearly displayed the text:
"Of course, Manager Chu can take whoever he wants and do whatever he wants."
Damn, waiting for settling the account, wanting to die.
Sucheng spoke in a deep voice, “I don’t bring just anyone home for the night.”