Qiao Qi and Liang Yan were immersed in the joy of receiving their “meeting gifts,” while someone else was starting to feel uneasy.

Whoever steals will inevitably feel guilty.

He Nianyi had originally imagined that within a few hours of the trending topic going up, the Liang family would surely call Liang Yan back — not to mention Group A’s filming would definitely have to pause.

As a result, the trending topic hung there for an entire night, and the next day the production team worked as usual.

How was this possible?

Was Liang Yan not concerned about his sister at all?

Weren’t they supposed to have an especially close sibling relationship?

He Nianyi couldn’t let it go, and kept pressing Lin Chu: “Are you sure the director didn’t say they’d film your scenes first? That can’t be right. Are you on set right now? Have you seen Liang Yan? How does he seem?”

Lin Chu was even more annoyed than she was. If this matter didn’t develop the way they’d expected, Liang Yan would definitely come after them for it afterward.

When that happened…

Lin Chu sat in a corner of the set, thinking, his gaze drifting toward Qiao Qi and Liang Yan not far away.

These two had been giving off a strange vibe on set just days ago, and today they seemed to have made up completely.

Even more intimate than before, in fact.

More importantly, their chemistry had reached an unprecedented level of harmony—

Qiao Qi lowered her head to look at the script; occasionally a strand of hair would fall across her forehead, and Liang Yan, catching sight of it, would casually tuck it behind her ear.

He must have leaned in to say something too, because Qiao Qi, without even lifting her head, raised a hand to swat him.

Liang Yan laughed so hard his eyes and the corners of his mouth were full of it, then propped his chin on one hand, tilting his head to look at Qiao Qi’s script, pointing at it here and there as if commenting on something.

Finally, having pushed Qiao Qi to her limit, she simply turned around, giving him her back.

In full view of everyone, after being rebuffed several times over, Liang Yan showed neither anger nor sulking — instead he picked through the options his assistant offered and selected a cup of milk tea, personally inserting the straw, all but ready to feed it directly into Qiao Qi’s mouth.

And Qiao Qi accepted every one of Liang Yan’s “gestures of goodwill” as if it were only natural.

Not the slightest discomfort.

Did this look like nothing had happened?

No — clearly, something had happened.

Lin Chu’s mind worked faster than He Nianyi’s; having seen these scenes, he didn’t echo her complaints.

He Nianyi, flustered as she was, didn’t notice that Lin Chu’s reaction was different from usual.

She said, “Forget it — there’s an event tonight anyway, we’ll talk when we see them.”

That evening, several of the Group A actors were flying to Shanghai for an event, and the Group B actors would be there too. The event was being livestreamed, and with Liang Yan caught up in a scandal of this scale, the media wouldn’t let such an opportunity slip by.

Hearing this, Lin Chu offered a warning: “Don’t do anything reckless. It’s not the right time yet.”

He Nianyi pouted, “And who do you think I’m doing this for?”

Lin Chu’s expression stayed flat, though his voice remained gentle enough. “I know. But there’s no rush right now, is there?”

Only then did He Nianyi let out a “humph.” “Fine, I get it.”

After hanging up, Lin Chu gave a cold smile.

Foolish.

He looked again toward Liang Yan and Qiao Qi. Cheng Yueming had drifted over to them at some point, her expression looking rather grave.

Noticing this, Lin Chu got up at once and walked over.

Sure enough, he heard Cheng Yueming ask, “About Sister Mo’s situation… I heard from Aunt Yu.”

Liang Yan made a low “mm” sound, clearly unwilling to keep talking about the topic.

Cheng Yueming could tell, and stiffly changed the subject.

Once Liang Yan and Qiao Qi went off to film, Lin Chu finally got the chance to probe Cheng Yueming.

Cheng Yueming didn’t hide anything from Lin Chu. “It’s… Liang Yan and his sister actually aren’t blood relatives. Some things happened recently, and it’s not looking good — going forward, she probably won’t be considered his sister anymore.”

Lin Chu’s heart skipped, and he asked, feigning indifference, “So the Liang family won’t be dealing with her online scandal, then?”

“Pretty much. They’ll probably want to suppress the news quickly, for the sake of Liang Yan’s career.”

“That’s actually good, in a way,” Cheng Yueming said. “You don’t know this, but Uncle Liang never really wanted Liang Yan going into entertainment. Aside from this matter, Uncle Liang won’t be interfering with him anymore. With this scandal, Uncle Liang will definitely have people suppress it from behind the scenes — that’s practically an olive branch. Their relationship will probably ease up gradually after this.”

Lin Chu understood now.

Which meant that all of He Nianyi’s scheming had done Liang Yan nothing but favors.

Truly foolish.

Cheng Yueming, realizing partway through that she’d said too much, saw Lin Chu notice and deliberately steered the topic away.

Whatever needed to be known was already known, in any case.

His thoughtfulness in doing so made Cheng Yueming’s heart flutter uncontrollably.

She was still just a young girl at heart, after all — always more drawn to a man who handled things with such effortless composure.

For the first time, she found herself wanting to make their relationship public.

She couldn’t resist testing Lin Chu’s thoughts. “Can you tell that Qiao Qi and Liang Yan are dating?”

Lin Chu smiled. “Of course. You can’t hide it when you like someone.”

The way he said it made Cheng Yueming immediately apply the words to herself.

He must be saying that he couldn’t hide his feelings for her either.

Cheng Yueming’s ears flushed red without her meaning them to, and her eyes brimmed with a satisfied smile.

“My dad even asked me when the two of them are going public. How would I know? You actors… do you all mind going public that much?”

Lin Chu paused, and in almost a single second understood exactly what Cheng Yueming meant.

A young girl’s intentions were never hard to see through for someone deeply experienced in worldly matters; her careful probing was like a chain of emotion laid bare. She was handing the controlling end of that chain to the man of her own accord, and a man had no reason to refuse it.

So Lin Chu looked straight into Cheng Yueming’s eyes and said, “Honestly, the ones in this industry who go public usually have some mutual benefit involved — it makes it easier to promote a pairing, share resources. Someone you truly care about, you can’t bear to put them in front of the public to be judged and picked apart. And besides, most young girls don’t have much sense of security — if she’s the sensitive type and reads too many outside comments, it’ll affect her.”

“If a relationship starts and the woman ends up worse off for it, it’s always because the man didn’t protect her well enough.”

At that point, Lin Chu, timing it perfectly as if he’d just now caught on, asked, “Do you want to go public?”

Cheng Yueming was still lost in what Lin Chu had just said.

From those words, she felt like some cherished little princess, doted on and protected.

Lin Chu probably thought the same way her father did.

He didn’t want her exposed to the public eye, not really.

He was truly so thoughtful, so considerate.

Exactly the type of older, dependable male lead she was drawn to.

So faced with Lin Chu’s question, Cheng Yueming quickly shook her head. “I don’t want to. It’s enough that we know.”

“And…” she said quietly, “I know you’re doing this for my own good.”

Lin Chu smiled, his eyes seeming to hold endless indulgence, and he reached out to stroke Cheng Yueming’s head.

This was the first time Lin Chu had shown her such affection on set.

Cheng Yueming, who had never quite felt secure in this relationship’s approval, felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction in that moment.

She even felt, once she came back to her senses, that she’d been thoughtless to have entertained the idea of going public at all.

How terrifying.

Lin Chu’s career was still on the rise — how could she cause him trouble?

To make up for it, Cheng Yueming decided that after the event that evening, she’d give Lin Chu a surprise.

— Formally introduce him to her father.

If not public, then at least her family should know.

That way she could show her respect for him, and how seriously she took this relationship.

But how should she bring it up?

Cheng Yueming didn’t have anyone around her currently dating, or dating an actor — well, if there was one, it was Qiao Qi.

So that afternoon, boarding the flight to Shanghai, Cheng Yueming chose to swap seats with Liang Yan.

Naturally, Liang Yan’s response was: “No.”

Cheng Yueming was speechless.

Just moments ago at the airport he’d been all smiles for the fans, and the second he boarded the plane he’d reverted right back to his insufferable “boy-next-door” persona.

“I have something to talk to Qiao Qi about. What would you even talk to her about? Why does it have to be you sitting there?”

Liang Yan didn’t even lift his eyelids. “What’s it to you?”

Qiao Qi, seeing Cheng Yueming’s expression change, laughed and gave Liang Yan a push. “Just switch with her.”

Liang Yan turned and accused her, “You’re abandoning me the moment someone new shows up!”

Cheng Yueming’s teeth ached from the sourness of that. “Don’t worry, I’m just borrowing him for ten minutes. I’ll give him right back.”

Liang Yan ignored Cheng Yueming, turning back to Qiao Qi instead. “Then give me a kiss.”

Without a word, Qiao Qi picked up a baseball cap and jammed it down over his head.

Before leaving, Liang Yan muttered a low threat: “Fine. Tonight, just wait.”

Just those few words made Cheng Yueming’s face go red.

Qiao Qi saw her blush and knew immediately what she was thinking. “No, we didn’t—”

Halfway through explaining, seeing that Cheng Yueming didn’t look inclined to believe her anyway, she suddenly felt how weak her own words sounded.

So she simply shut up.

Cheng Yueming really was blushing, but for another reason too.

She and Lin Chu had been together for a while now, and hadn’t done those things yet — was that not moving too slowly?

“What is it?” Qiao Qi, seeing her face grow redder and redder, figured she’d better change the subject herself.

Cheng Yueming, interrupted by Qiao Qi, snapped her thoughts back on track.

She let out an “oh,” leaned in close to Qiao Qi, and lowered her voice. “What kind of surprises do you usually prepare for Liang Yan?”

Qiao Qi felt too embarrassed to admit that they’d only just gotten together and hadn’t had a chance to prepare any surprises yet.

But with Cheng Yueming asking this way, Qiao Qi’s thoughts jumped straight to Lin Chu.

She asked, feigning nonchalance, “Does a friend have a birthday coming up? Boy or girl?”

Cheng Yueming made an “um” sound, looking somewhat troubled.

Qiao Qi pressed on, “Hm? A boy?” She deliberately added, “Someone you’re interested in?”

Cheng Yueming laughed, embarrassed. “No — it’s my boyfriend.”

Qiao Qi feigned surprise. “Your boyfriend? You have a boyfriend? Is his birthday coming up?”

Cheng Yueming grew even more embarrassed, eyes darting around, raising a finger to her lips. “Shh, keep your voice down.”

Qiao Qi laughed. “Why so mysterious? Are you dating some big star?”

Cheng Yueming paused, wondering how Qiao Qi kept guessing correctly.

She’d only hesitated for a second, but Qiao Qi seized the opening at once. “Seriously, is he a celebrity?”

Cheng Yueming now knew there was no escaping it. “Fine… I’ll tell you, but don’t tell anyone else first.”

Qiao Qi only smiled, giving no direct answer.

But Cheng Yueming took her silence as agreement, and whispered, “It’s Lin Chu.”

Qiao Qi feigned surprise. “I never would have guessed.”

Cheng Yueming’s eyes curved with a smile. “He’s worried it’ll affect me.”

Qiao Qi’s expression stayed unchanged on the surface, but inside she was sneering repeatedly.

Whose interests he was really worried about protecting was anyone’s guess.

“Is his birthday coming up soon?” Qiao Qi asked.

“No, it’s just…” Cheng Yueming, fidgeting, recounted what had happened on set that day. “I’m worried he thinks I’m being inconsiderate. I wanted to… coax him a little.”

“…”

Qiao Qi looked deeply at Cheng Yueming.

Cheng Yueming, puzzled, asked, “What’s wrong?”

Qiao Qi smiled faintly. “Nothing.”

Such a naive child.

Qiao Qi had actually been trying to figure out how to tell Cheng Yueming about Lin Chu, since after all, they didn’t have any solid evidence, and Lin Chu could easily deny everything.

On top of that, Cheng Yueming was currently head over heels, her emotions clearly entirely in Lin Chu’s grip.

If Lin Chu really wanted to make use of Cheng Yueming and Director Cheng’s resources, he might well abandon whichever other side pieces he had and focus solely on Cheng Yueming. By then, exposing this scumbag’s true face would be even harder.

Seeing how much Cheng Yueming cared for Lin Chu right now, Qiao Qi genuinely found herself in a bind.

She hesitated, then said, “Why don’t you look through his phone? See what he’s saved in his Taobao shopping cart — works whether it’s for a guy or a girl, catering to his tastes matters most.”

Cheng Yueming’s eyes lit up, then a few seconds later she frowned. “Isn’t it kind of wrong to go through someone’s phone?”

“Hm? What’s wrong with it?” Qiao Qi said, deliberately casual. “You’re not looking at anything else — just a shopping cart. It’s nothing.”

Cheng Yueming thought about it and agreed; having settled on a direction, she relaxed considerably.

Once she happily walked off, Young Master Liang came back.

Once back, he leaned right against Qiao Qi’s shoulder, whining, “Why didn’t you cater to my tastes?”

Qiao Qi asked offhandedly, “What are your tastes?”

“I like lust.” Liang Yan said this without so much as a blush, “Lusting after you.”

Qiao Qi: “…”

Serves you right for running your mouth!

Serves you right for asking!

Did she not know her own boyfriend’s shameless nature by now?

Author’s Note: A bit of an early heads-up. This is indeed the final arc — once this storyline wraps up, the main story is over. At least for me, once the plot thread concludes, the main text is done. But don’t worry, there are extras coming. All the mindless everyday romance will be in the extras. Besides what I want to write, feel free to tell me what you’d like to see — I’ll pick and choose what to record.