After taking a shower, Xia Yuan came out and found that Meng Xiyue was not on the bed, nor was she anywhere in the bedroom.
“…???”
Wrapped in a towel, she went out and looked downstairs. The first floor was pitch black. Wiping away the water droplets falling from her forehead, Xia Yuan walked to the study, gently knocked on the door, and pushed it open. She saw Meng Xiyue’s hand move, and the reflective computer screen instantly dimmed.
“Why didn’t you dry your hair before coming over?”
Xia Yuan squinted at her and said matter-of-factly, “You usually dry it for me.”
Meng Xiyue touched her wet hair. “I was handling some things. Let’s go back, I’ll dry your hair.”
Xia Yuan asked curiously, “What were you handling?”
In her impression, Meng Xiyue never brought work home. She kept her personal time and work time very separate.
In a few steps, they were back in the bedroom. Meng Xiyue plugged in the hairdryer, her fingers moving through Xia Yuan’s hair. The warm wind hovered over her head, the sound not too loud.
The buzzing sound made her drowsy.
Just when she thought Meng Xiyue wouldn’t answer, a cool voice sounded above her:
“I was looking into someone.”
One sentence made Xia Yuan alert. She blinked, “Who?” Who could it be that made Meng Xiyue take such action, handling it late at night?
Meng Xiyue lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on the exposed curves of Xia Yuan’s chest. She quickly looked away, her ears unconsciously turning red from the sight of that soft white skin, and said something unrelated, “Why aren’t you wearing pajamas?”
Usually, Xia Yuan would come out of the bathroom already in her pajamas.
Xia Yuan tilted her head slightly, staring at Meng Xiyue, pouting a bit with a small, willful complaint, “I didn’t bring my pajamas. I was going to ask you to get them, but you weren’t there.”
Meng Xiyue brushed aside the wet hair on her forehead, “Next time, I’ll remind you to bring them.”
Xia Yuan’s eyes curved into a smile, “Meng Xiyue, you’re so good.”
Her voice was soft, making Meng Xiyue’s lips curl up, the tenderness in her eyes clearly visible under the light.
Seeing this, Xia Yuan’s heart fluttered. She pouted slightly and said straightforwardly and naturally, “Kiss me.”
The sound of the hairdryer stopped with a hum, and a shadow fell before her eyes. Soft strands of hair brushed against her cheek, and her lips were gently touched.
It wasn’t a deep kiss, just a light touch.
Yet, Xia Yuan felt a warm and tender intimacy.
Restrained, yet affectionate.
The hairdryer buzzed to life again.
Xia Yuan maintained her upward gaze, looking at Meng Xiyue.
Meng Xiyue lowered her eyes slightly, her brows and eyes filled with gentleness. “Hmm?”
Her tone was soft and a bit tingly, causing Xia Yuan to curl her toes unconsciously. She averted her gaze and continued the previous topic, “Who are you investigating?”
It was probably information about a business partner, maybe a significant collaboration.
Otherwise, why would Meng Xiyue, who never worked from home, make an exception?
The answer she received was unexpected.
“Gu Yan.”
Xia Yuan was momentarily stunned, then she reacted, a sweet smile appearing on her face, though she still maintained her composure. “Oh, I’ve already dealt with him. Why are you still investigating him?”
This jealousy, it really made her… like it.
Meng Xiyue twirled a strand of hair around her finger, slightly damp. The room had underfloor heating, so it wasn’t cold even in the chilly winter, but Meng Xiyue always dried Xia Yuan’s hair.
Seeing the smile Xia Yuan couldn’t hide and the faint blush on her earlobes, Meng Xiyue explained, “He threatened you. I can’t be at ease.”
Xia Yuan made a sound of acknowledgment, staring at her. Seeing her lower her dense eyelashes, covering her eyes, she said, “Gu Yan can’t stir up any trouble.”
“I’ve already given my brother a heads-up.”
She continued, “As for Gu Yan, with that video suppressed, I don’t think he dares to release it. He must know my identity.”
Xia Yuan wasn’t foolish. Gu Yan’s flattering actions all made sense now; he had known her identity from the start and wanted to gain benefits from her.
However, she found Gu Yan pretentious and killed his plan from the start.
“I would never be stupid enough to expose our relationship.”
But there’s always that 1% chance. However, Xia Yuan has always been arrogant. If she were to go public, it would definitely be on her own terms.
“So, Meng Xiyue, let’s find a time to go public.”
With her hair dry, Meng Xiyue turned off the hairdryer and put it down, her expression calm. “I’ll follow your lead.”
Xia Yuan was delighted. She needed to find a good day to make it public.
Casually, she asked, “By the way, did you find out anything?”
Meng Xiyue thought of the information in the files, her eyes turning cold. Besides the usual dirty tricks, forcing many artists into silence, at least two of the female stars who tried to ride on his fame were actually planted by him. Apart from that, he was also being kept by a wealthy woman, a relationship that had just ended recently.
Clearly, he had set his sights on Xia Yuan.
The private detective today was also tipped off by Gu Yan to the press, aiming to expose her relationship with Xia Yuan through someone else’s hand.
Meng Xiyue briefly mentioned a few things, making Xia Yuan feel disgusted. Meng Xiyue smoothed Xia Yuan’s hair. “He won’t have another chance to appear in front of you.”
Xia Yuan nuzzled Meng Xiyue’s hand. “Okay.”
…
In the middle of the night, Weibo crashed.
#SugarDaddy, Gu Yan#
#Famous Heartthrob’s Image Shattered#
#Reversal, Gu Yan Riding the Wave of Fame#
The explosive news, especially with pictures as evidence, shocked everyone. No one expected that Gu Yan, who always smiled so sweetly on the big screen, could be so terrifying in private.
Retweets and comments blew up Weibo.
Gu Yan was still asleep when the loud ringtone of his phone woke him up with a headache. He picked up the phone with a dark expression, looking at the caller ID.
His manager.
Calming himself down, as soon as he answered the phone, a roar came from the other end: “Gu Yan, you really are something, hiding so much from me. You better tell me what else you’re keeping from me.”
The manager never expected that the obedient artist in his eyes was actually a two-faced person. He was well-behaved and honest in front of him, but terrifying in private. Moreover, he hid everything from his manager so well that if it weren’t for the sudden exposure of so many things, he might never have known that Gu Yan had another side.
After a round of yelling, Gu Yan was fully awake, realizing something big had happened. “Brother Li, what happened?”
The manager sneered, “Gu Yan, your mess has crashed Weibo.”
“This time, even PR can’t save you.”
In the industry, these things weren’t considered major issues, but being exposed so blatantly, with black and white evidence, there was no way to argue. And…
Gu Yan had clearly offended some big shot.
Otherwise, how could so much dirt come out overnight?
“Brother Li…” Gu Yan only managed to call out once before the other party hung up. Gu Yan didn’t have time to think much and quickly opened his phone. Weibo crashed several times before he could open it.
The headline was his name. He clicked on it.
Looking at those photos and content, Gu Yan felt a chill all over. He quickly opened the comments.
“That woman must be over forty, right? Gu Yan actually went for it, truly impressive.”
“Didn’t expect Gu Yan to be such a green tea guy, stirring up hype and letting innocent stars take the fall.”
“Terrifying, this person is too terrifying.”
“I knew it, a year ago he was just an extra who hadn’t even shown his face, how did he suddenly become famous? Turns out he was being kept.”
“Unfollowing…”
“……”
Seeing these comments, Gu Yan’s heart trembled. He had worked hard to maintain his image, doing everything flawlessly to achieve today’s success. How could he be willing to be knocked back to square one overnight? His fingers scrolled down:
“It’s all fake. Our Yanbao is so well-behaved and pure, how could he be such a person.”
“I don’t believe it, Yanbao. We believe whatever you say, and we’ll fight for you until the very end.”
“The photo must be doctored. We’ve all seen Yanbao’s hard work.”
“……”
Seeing these die-hard fans, Gu Yan slowly calmed down. He still had fans. As long as he handled the PR well, everything would be fine.
Thinking of this, he quickly called his manager. The other party answered swiftly, “Brother Li, help me.”
The manager paused for a few seconds, “Gu Yan, be honest with me. Who did you offend?”
The top trending post on Weibo couldn’t be taken down.
The company also sent in internet trolls, but it didn’t make a splash at all.
Gu Yan was stunned, then immediately thought of Xia Yuan. Besides her, no one else would make such a big move.
He choked up, reported the name, and explained Xia Yuan’s identity.
After listening, the manager only left him with one sentence: “Take care of yourself.” The implication was that he was being abandoned.
Gu Yan sat dazed on the bed. After a moment, he opened the saved video on his phone. In the video, two women shared a beautiful and sweet kiss. Watching this scene, Gu Yan’s eyes turned red, looking like he wanted to devour someone.
In the end, he still didn’t send it out.
He knew that this Weibo incident was just a warning to him.
If he did anything more, he might end up even worse.
……
＊
Xia Yuan found out about this matter after nine in the morning, thanks to Zhong Le.
Today, she was going to learn cooking, so she brought Zhong Le and Lin Qi along.
Hearing Zhong Le’s words, she opened her phone, glanced at Weibo, and snorted, “Serves him right.”
Zhong Le quickly asked, “Sister Xia, was it you?” With such a big move, it was clear to anyone that Gu Yan had offended someone.
Apart from this young lady, Zhong Le couldn’t think of anyone else who could pull off something like this.
Xia Yuan crossed her legs, “No.”
As soon as she said that, Lin Qi, who had been quietly observing, couldn’t hold back anymore, “Could it be that Gu Yan has offended some other big shot?” That would be too reckless.
Xia Yuan curled her lips into a slight smile, “My girlfriend.”
Meng Xiyue.
Zhong Le and Lin Qi: “…”
In an instant, they understood. This was President Meng standing up for Xia Yuan. They were constantly witnessing the affection between these two.
For example, learning to cook was something Xia Yuan did for Meng Xiyue.
Unable to hold back any longer, Zhong Le asked, “Sister Xia, when are you and President Meng getting married?”
In her view, Xia Yuan and Meng Xiyue were so inseparable that they must still be in the honeymoon phase. Once they got married, things might settle down.
Xia Yuan didn’t hide it, “After the New Year.”
Zhong Le counted the days; it wasn’t long. She felt relieved. Finally, this phase was coming to an end.
Lin Qi quickly asked, “Sister Xia, who proposed between you two?”
Propose?
The first to bring it up was Meng Xiyue, but officially, it should be her. She had already secretly asked Ji Shi to make a ring.
“It was me.”
