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Chapter 91: I told Yu Nian everything
Hearing that, Shi Rou quickly glanced at the photo, and her words became somewhat stuttered, “This photo… must be Photoshopped, for sure!”
Recalling seeing Zheng Zhaoxi in the parking lot, she carefully observed Yu Nian’s expression, pursing her lips, unsure of how to console him properly.
Meng Yuan frowned as he took the phone, examining the picture carefully. After about ten seconds, he concluded, “This photo isn’t Photoshopped, but if you look closely, you can see that it’s a visual illusion created by the angle. The two figures happen to overlap perfectly, and the angle is cunning. Along with the poor image quality, it gives the illusion of them kissing at first glance.”
After he finished speaking, he looked at Yu Nian, who had a grim expression, and offered some advice, “Nian Nian, this must be someone intentionally trying to provoke you and make you misunderstand President Xie. After all, in a relationship, the thing most feared is doubt and mistrust.” He added, “Don’t fall into this trap.”
Shi Rou chimed in, “Yes, in those idol dramas, isn’t it often portrayed this way? The protagonist sees their loved one with the wicked supporting character and feels heartbroken, leading to a breakup. But in reality, it’s all the wicked character’s scheme!”
Yu Nian put down his phone and didn’t look at the photo again. He leaned back in his chair and touched the ring on his finger, saying, “I don’t doubt Xie You, and I trust him. I’m just angry that he’s intentionally hiding things from me.”
At that moment, Meng Yuan’s phone rang. He answered, “President Qu?”
Not knowing what was said on the other side, Meng Yuan replied, “He’s not busy right now.” Then, he handed the phone to Yu Nian and whispered, “Nian Nian, President Qu is looking for you.”
Qu Xiaoran? Yu Nian took the phone and said, “Hello, this is Yu Nian.”
Qu Xiaoran’s voice came through the receiver, sounding somewhat hesitant, “Um, I’ve been struggling for a while, and I think I need to see you in person.”
They didn’t make an appointment outside, and Yu Nian went directly with Meng Yuan to Xingyao Entertainment. Afterward, they took the elevator to the 51st floor of the Xingyao Building.
Knocking on the office door, Yu Nian walked in. Qu Xiaoran was originally sitting on the blue sofa but hurriedly stood up when he saw Yu Nian enter. He suddenly remembered the messy comic books, game consoles, and headphones scattered on the sofa and quickly bent down to tidy them up.
After grabbing a couple of cushions and covering up all the mess, Qu Xiaoran pretended as if nothing had happened, smiling and greeting Yu Nian, “Hey!”
Yu Nian returned the smile, “Long time no see.” He then took a seat opposite Qu Xiaoran.
“It has been a while! My brother has been dragging me around, so I haven’t been able to come here recently. Look,” Qu Xiaoran pointed to the top of his head, “See, my hair has turned white? It’s been tough!”
Yu Nian tried not to laugh, “Isn’t that just dyed?”
“Is it that obvious? I was planning to fool my brother!” Qu Xiaoran thought of something and sat up straight on the sofa, pouring a cup of tea for Yu Nian, clearing his throat, “By the way, Xie Xiaoyou said you don’t like coffee and prefer tea or fruit juice, so I had my secretary prepare some green tea.”
Yu Nian took the tea cup and sipped, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Qu Xiaoran said casually, “Speaking of which, I was chatting with Xie Xiaoyou before, and he mentioned you in almost every other sentence. How good your calligraphy is, how delicious your cooking is, and how amazing your soup tastes… always showing affection every second!”
Seeing Yu Nian listening quietly, Qu Xiaoran paused, “Or maybe I should just get to the point without beating around the bush.” He tentatively asked, “Yu Nian, do you know why I’m looking for you?”
Yu Nian replied, “Does President Qu want to talk about Zheng Zhaoxi?”
“No need to call me President Qu, that feels strange,” Qu Xiaoran waved his hand and then realized Yu Nian’s second half of the sentence, “You really know about this!”
Excited, Qu Xiaoran almost knocked over the coffee cup but quickly stabilized it, “I knew it! Xie Xiaoyou is hiding something, and it’s definitely going to cause trouble!”
Yu Nian’s hand holding the teacup paused, “What is he hiding from me?”
“About Zheng Zhaoxi!” Qu Xiaoran sat back properly, “Have you noticed that Zheng Zhaoxi has been having a hard time lately?”
Being asked this question, Yu Nian shook his head, “I’ve been really busy lately, so I haven’t paid much attention to his situation. I’ve heard Brother Meng mention something, but what happened to him?”
“It’s not just something, it’s quite bad,” Qu Xiaoran waved his hand, “Zheng Zhaoxi is in a tough spot. He lost two acting roles, three endorsement deals, his single has been blocked from approval, and he’s been exposed for his promiscuity. Recently, he’s been dating three unknown minor celebrities at the same time, and his private life is in total chaos. He was originally following the path of a popular idol, with most of his fans being female, but now his public image has almost completely collapsed. This caused a massive loss of fans, and coupled with a decrease in exposure, his popularity has plummeted.”
Yu Nian understood what Qu Xiaoran was pointing at, “Is it Xie You’s doing?”
Qu Xiaoran nodded repeatedly, “Yes, it’s Xie You!”
After thinking for a few seconds, Yu Nian asked again, “When did Xie You take action?”
“It was after you and Zheng Zhaoxi had a conflict in the rest area. When Xie Xiaoyou found out that you were so angry that you actually hit someone, he had someone investigate Zheng Zhaoxi. The investigation revealed some unusual things.”
Before Yu Nian could ask, Qu Xiaoran continued, “To begin with, they found out that Zheng Zhaoxi intentionally scratched Xie Xiaoyou’s car!”
Yu Nian’s mind quickly connected the dots, “Was it on Xie You’s birthday?” He remembered that day; he sent a message to Xie You asking when he would return, and Xie You’s reply was much slower than usual.
With that in mind, Yu Nian pulled out the photo he received that day and showed it to Qu Xiaoran.
“Oh my god, they can do this with photos? There are photos like this?” Qu Xiaoran said urgently, “Yu Nian, don’t be fooled by the photo! At that time, Xie Xiaoyou was planning to come to you right after work, but his car was scratched soon after it left. He was in a hurry to see you, so he had another car sent. When Xie Xiaoyou got out of the car, the owner of the other car also got out and apologized, repeatedly offering compensation. Xie Xiaoyou didn’t care and let his bodyguards handle it. After the new car arrived, he got in and left. I guess this photo was taken at that time.”
Yu Nian nodded, “So, they found out that Zheng Zhaoxi intentionally scratched the car initially, then what happened?”
“After that, things got mysterious. Zheng Zhaoxi got kicked by you, but the injuries couldn’t be detected. It seemed like he felt he had lost face, so he held a grudge against you. Later, somehow, someone approached him and asked if he wanted to get back at you. Zheng Zhaoxi wasn’t stupid; he knew that Xie Xiaoyou was backing you, so he thought of taking a couple of photos to irritate you. He’s daring enough to play tricks within the entertainment circle, and he dared to play around with the idea, but anything more, he didn’t have the guts.”
Yu Nian listened attentively.
Qu Xiaoran continued, “However, that person who approached him said that he only needed to do one thing, and the rest would have nothing to do with him.”
“What did he need to do?”
“You guys were supposed to perform together at the Cultural Month event, right? Singing on stage. That person asked Zheng Zhaoxi to bring you somewhere after the event, and then his part would be done, and it would have nothing to do with him. Zheng Zhaoxi agreed.” Qu Xiaoran took a sip of water, moistening his throat, “As a result, Xie Xiaoyou discovered that Zheng Zhaoxi was in contact with Ding Zhaoxian’s former subordinate for a long time.”
Yu Nian’s back subconsciously straightened, “Ding Zhaoxian?”
“Yes, that old fox, Ding Zhaoxian!” Qu Xiaoran’s expression also darkened a bit, and he gritted his teeth when mentioning Ding Zhaoxian. In a measured tone, he continued, “That person wanted to use Zheng Zhaoxi to kidnap you and then threaten Xie Xiaoyou.”
Yu Nian picked up the conversation, “But Xie You investigated Zheng Zhaoxi, and in the process, this matter came to light.”
Qu Xiaoran nodded, “Exactly, the conspiracy was accidentally revealed. They traced the connections and found the person trying to kidnap you. Xie Xiaoyou handled it personally, but as for how he dealt with it, I don’t know. But I know what happened on Zheng Zhaoxi’s side.”
Qu Xiaoran’s mouth felt dry, so he drank a few more sips of water and continued, “Although Zheng Zhaoxi was unaware of the conspiracy, he did have malicious intentions, which almost led to harm coming your way. So Xie Xiaoyou took action. Zheng Zhaoxi noticed something was amiss, and the company’s attitude towards him was ambiguous as they were supporting others to take his place. He was truly panicked this time and wanted Xie Xiaoyou to give him a way out.
Xie Xiaoyou didn’t see him, and Zheng Zhaoxi’s agent even came to me, pleading for mercy, saying that Zheng Zhaoxi couldn’t stand you being better than him, and he was competing with you for the Daibo endorsement, so he wanted to mess with you.”
Yu Nian understood the whole story and asked, “Did Zheng Zhaoxi go to see Xie You again last night?”
Qu Xiaoran was taken aback and shook his head, “I don’t know about that, but there’s a possibility, though Xie You definitely won’t see him.”
Yu Nian nodded without saying anything.
Twisting his hair, Qu Xiaoran looked distressed, “To be honest, I wanted to talk to you. It was my own decision, and Xie You doesn’t know about it.”
“Mm,” Yu Nian replied, “He wanted to keep it from me.”
“Exactly, he wanted to keep it from you. But I think, if he really keeps things from you, it will lead to problems!” Qu Xiaoran said, “Like now, I can tell that you’re in a bad mood.”
“Thank you.” Yu Nian smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes, “I asked him about Zheng Zhaoxi, but he avoided answering. He wanted to keep it from me—not about Zheng Zhaoxi, but something related to Ding Zhaoxian’s subordinate, right?”
“Yes, that’s right!” Qu Xiaoran was impressed that Yu Nian had figured it out. However, seeing Yu Nian sitting across from him, showing no signs of emotion, Qu Xiaoran felt a sense of responsibility to ensure his brother’s relationship didn’t fall apart.
He swallowed and carefully chose his words, “Xie You used to be different. He was the youngest in the Xie family, and his father and older brother treated him well. When he was younger, he was much bolder; even if he accidentally broke expensive antique vases worth millions, he had the courage to admit it because no one would blame him.”
“As he grew older and wanted to pursue a lifetime of playing the piano without getting involved in the family business, he would openly say it, and the family would support him. So back then, Xie You expressed his emotions freely, spoke his mind, and did what he wanted to do. He had his family’s support and backing.”
Yu Nian nodded, “I understand.”
“Really? Haha, then it seems my communication skills aren’t as bad as my brother claims!” Qu Xiaoran sighed in relief and continued, “Then later, his family had an accident, and since then, Xie You couldn’t be like that anymore.
At first, I didn’t understand and felt that he had changed, becoming very distant. Then my brother gave me some insight, asking me to put myself in his shoes. I realized that he indeed couldn’t remain the same. He became the one in charge of the Xie family, and emotionally, he couldn’t express himself casually because so many eyes were watching him.
Also, he couldn’t say whatever he wanted because some subordinates, whom he might show appreciation towards, could be fired by Ding Zhaoxian the next day, using any excuse. When he got back home, only his mother was left, and he couldn’t confide in her about his grievances; he had to suppress and handle them on his own.”
Qu Xiaoran poured more hot water into his cup and added some to Yu Nian’s cup as well.
Yu Nian took a sip of tea, feeling a bitter taste on his tongue.
“Therefore, Xie You’s words decreased, and his heart became like a tightly closed shell. Nobody could figure out what he was thinking,” Qu Xiaoran continued. “Did you notice that he never contacts you during your work?”
Hearing this, Yu Nian recalled that it was indeed true.
Qu Xiaoran didn’t hold back and revealed his brother’s secrets, “He wanted to come and see you at your workplace several times but was afraid of bothering you, so he always stayed in his office.”
“Have you noticed that when he sends you messages, it’s not much?” Yu Nian nodded again, “It’s always me who initiates the conversation, and then he replies and starts chatting.”
Qu Xiaoran slapped his thigh, excitedly, “That’s right! Let me tell you, if you ever visit Xie You’s home, make sure to check the room next to his bedroom! There’s a wardrobe full of clothes custom-made for you, but he’s afraid you won’t like them, so he hasn’t given them to you. There’s also a box of accessories, all chosen according to your preferences, and a bunch of random stuff like brushes, inkstones, and Xuan paper.”
Yu Nian’s fingers slowly tightened as he asked softly, “Is he afraid that I won’t like them, so he doesn’t dare to give them to me?”
“Exactly!”
Qu Xiaoran slapped his thigh, and suddenly remembering something, he continued, “And there’s something else. He had planned to confess to you and wrote a proposal on several large sheets of paper with dozens of different ways to confess, but it seems none of them were put to use.”
With a sober expression, Qu Xiaoran poured himself a cup of coffee from the coffee pot, and after a while, he said, “When you two weren’t together, he secretly admired you. After you get together, he’s still cautious, afraid of making you unhappy, afraid of you breaking up with him, and afraid that you might reject him. A simple kiss from you would make him happy for a long time. Do you think he’s foolish?”
Remaining silent, Yu Nian touched the ring wrapped around his finger and quietly replied, “He’s foolish.”
At that moment, the sound of the doorknob turning was heard, and the office door suddenly opened. Xie You walked in, but hesitated to approach. His chest heaved, as if he had hurried here, his hair slightly disheveled.
Qu Xiaoran looked at Xie You standing at the door, hardened his heart, and said, “You came too late. I didn’t keep anything; I told Yu Nian everything, and he knows now.”
Hearing that, Xie You’s pupils constricted suddenly, and he anxiously glanced at Yu Nian. The blood drained from his face, and he said, “Nian Nian…”
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Thank You for the new chapter -ω(´•ω•｀)♡