He Wanted to Drag Him Down Too and Catch Them All in One Net

Song Mingzhou rubbed his stinging hand and smiled apologetically at everyone. "Sorry, we had a bit of a disagreement."

Then, under everyone's shocked gazes, Song Mingzhou gave Gu Yanting a faint smile. "You still owe me money. If you don't pay me back within a week, I'm going to start going crazy. When the time comes and we tear off all pretenses, don't blame me. After all, someone barefoot isn't afraid of someone wearing shoes."

He was implying that he had dirt on Gu Yanting.

Actually.

Song Mingzhou had no evidence at all. The male lead did have blemishes and flaws, but he would never be so easily caught by the weakness by a villain.

He had only said it to intimidate Gu Yanting.

After saying that, Song Mingzhou calmly walked into the private room.

Gu Yanting was furious. Everyone could clearly see the slap mark on his face. Just as the director was about to step forward, Shen Qing was the first to rush over. "Yanting, are you okay?"

[Ding, host Song Mingzhou's key plot point has been successfully corrected. Current task progress: 19/100.]

Gu Yanting turned his head. "I'm fine. It's nothing."

"How is that nothing?" Shen Qing's face was full of anger and indignation. "He hit you, and so hard too. That's completely out of line."

Someone muttered softly, "Exactly. No matter what, he shouldn't have hit someone. That was way too much."

Song Mingzhou smiled. "A dog I threw away came back to harass me. What's wrong with giving it a slap? Tsk, someone's feeling sorry for him?"

"You..."

"Shen Qing." Gu Yanting grabbed Shen Qing, his face livid. "I'll go deal with this first. Take care of things here."

"Okay."

Gu Yanting apologized to everyone before leaving. Shen Qing stared at Song Mingzhou, grinding his teeth audibly.

The director was still the one who stepped in to smooth things over.

After several rounds of drinks.

Shen Qing finally couldn't take Song Mingzhou's repeated glances any longer. He braced himself, picked up a glass of wine, and walked over. "What are you trying to do now?"

Song Mingzhou shrugged. "How about we talk?"

"Talk about what?"

"About Gu Yanting." Song Mingzhou stood and moved closer, lowering his voice so that only the two of them could hear. "Don't you want to know about things related to Gu Yanting?"

"?"

Shen Qing looked at him warily, but there was obvious curiosity and hesitation in his eyes.

Actually, Shen Qing and Gu Yanting had not truly gotten together yet. Though there was something ambiguous between them, they had never broken through that final layer and given it a name.

For some reason, Gu Yanting had his reservations, and Shen Qing was somewhat uneasy as well.

"Well?"

Shen Qing looked into Song Mingzhou's eyes. As if possessed, he still nodded. "Fine. We'll talk after things end tonight."

"Let's do it now."

"?"

"Gu Yanting will be back in a while. After this ends, won't you need to keep him company? The director can handle things here. Gu Yanting will be back soon."

"..."

He had actually guessed right.

"Fine, I'll go let them know."

"Sure."

The corner of Song Mingzhou's lips curved up slightly. As he typed on his phone, he thought that this foolish, sweet little bottom really did seem like he wasn't very bright.

Ding.

Cheng Xin replied with a thumbs-up and a cheering sticker. Further up in the chat was the room number and password for a room at this luxurious restaurant.

Food and lodging all in one place. Convenient, and the excuse was perfectly sufficient.

Shen Qing soon returned. The two of them walked together to a less crowded spot, and Song Mingzhou casually asked a waiter for two glasses of wine.

As his cuff brushed past, a fast-dissolving pill dropped into one of the glasses. Hidden by the dim lighting and passing figures, it was difficult to notice.

Song Mingzhou handed one glass to Shen Qing. "Here."

Shen Qing accepted it without much caution, but he did not drink right away. Instead, he asked directly, "What do you want to tell me?"

"Why the rush? Let's have a drink first."

"Stop keeping me in suspense. If you don't say it, I'm going back now."

Song Mingzhou took a sip first. Seeing Shen Qing's expression, he suddenly laughed. "Look at you, acting like a little wife. I really don't know what you two see in each other. You don't actually need to treat me like a thorn in your side."

"What do you mean?"

"Gu Yanting and I were together before." Song Mingzhou said faintly, "He approached me back then because I could give him resources and money. Now that I've fallen on hard times, that's why he kicked me aside."

Strictly speaking, the original host and Gu Yanting had never actually been together. Gu Yanting had made promises, but once he became famous, he never fulfilled them.

Shen Qing frowned. "So what? You were the one who couldn't keep him. Aren't you just trying to break us up?"

"How could I be?" Song Mingzhou stared at the necklace around Shen Qing's neck and sneered. "By the way, I paid for that thing around your neck too. I still have the receipt. Using an ex's money to support the current one, while still trying to entangle the ex. Tsk, tsk."

"Is there any point in saying this?"

"There is."

Song Mingzhou took another sip and blinked innocently. "I just can't stand seeing you get deceived. Isn't that a big deal?"

Shen Qing turned to leave.

"You're really leaving? Your mental resilience is that weak? I couldn't tell. I thought you'd be able to hear it all without changing expression."

"..."

"I can help you, Shen Qing."

Shen Qing gritted his teeth. He did not know what he had thought of, or perhaps he had been bewitched. Distraught, he drank the remaining half glass of wine in one go.

"I can help you."

Song Mingzhou said it again.

Shen Qing wanted to say something, but his head suddenly spun violently. He had barely taken one step before everything went black, and he nearly fell.

"Shen Qing?"

Song Mingzhou hurried forward to support him, his tone anxious. "What's wrong? I'll go get Gu Yanting right now."

Shen Qing did not know what was wrong with him either. Before he could answer Song Mingzhou, he passed out.

His head lolled to the side, and he completely lost consciousness.

The worry vanished from Song Mingzhou's face in an instant. He picked up the coat he had prepared beforehand and draped it over Shen Qing, then half-supported and half-dragged him to the room Cheng Xin had specified.

[Little 7, my key plot point in this part is just helping him back, right?]

527 shook its head. [I'm not sure. If there's no prompt, then that should be it. If there's a task, there'll be a prompt.]

[Okay.]

Out of the corner of his eye, Song Mingzhou caught the flashing red light at the end of the corridor. A camera. Cheng Xin wanted to drag him down too and catch them all in one net.

Interesting.

Song Mingzhou helped Shen Qing into the room. Two minutes later, he came out and ordered a glass of water to be delivered inside. When he came out again, he made a phone call.

His steps were hurried, and he looked extremely anxious.

By the time he returned to the private room, Cheng Xin happened to get up to leave. They brushed past each other and exchanged a look. Cheng Xin was about to go.

"Wait."

Song Mingzhou stopped her without giving anything away and reminded her quietly, "The remaining payment."

Cheng Xin glanced at him. "Don't worry. Once I see him with my own eyes and the job is done, you won't be shorted. I'll even pay you extra."

After saying that, Cheng Xin hurried away.

She was in a hurry.

But she should not have been.

Song Mingzhou watched her walk away with an amused look, then turned and went back into the private room to take his seat. Gu Yanting had already returned and was toasting everyone, the atmosphere warm and cheerful.