Chapter 5

Shen Wenyu was far from the only one shocked.

Sun Shaoyi and Wang Lin seemed to have had their pause buttons pressed at the same time, frozen where they stood.

Then, the next second, they both turned their heads, four eyes fixed on Ning Luo as if they wanted to burn a hole through him.

Their bizarre reactions startled Ning Luo. "W-what is it?"

Wang Lin felt his head throbbing so badly that his vision went dark. With trembling fingers, he pointed at Fu Gangqun, then Shen Wenyu, and finally himself.

Him? Gay? Hooking up with Shen Wenyu??

And his own cousin had exposed it??

Shen Wenyu's face darkened. "Who's spouting nonsense over there? Come out!"

Hearing his voice, Sun Shaoyi was the first to regain her senses. She cast a cold look at Fu Gangqun and the other man. "That's right. Which one of you is lying? You still have time to admit it."

"I'm not—" Halfway through, Shen Wenyu realized something and slowly shut his mouth, disbelief rising in his eyes.

Something really wasn't right.

Logically, once those words had been spoken, everyone should have looked at him.

There was no way they would still be focused on Wang Lin and the others, as though they had heard nothing.

With that interruption, Wang Lin oddly calmed down.

No matter how well Fu Gangqun hid his nature, after dealing with his cousin for so many years, Wang Lin knew there had to be something fishy going on.

He had tolerated plenty before for his aunt's sake, but this time was different. He had repeatedly hinted that Fu Gangqun should stop pulling tricks. Their funding had already been tight, and now they were stretched even thinner.

But what had Fu Gangqun done?

Not only had he refused to listen, he had even gone to the media to spread rumors about him?

No wonder Ning Luo had always thought he was gay.

At the same time, Ning Luo rapidly recalled the original novel.

[Whether Director Wang's case is true or not is questionable, but does Fu Gangqun really like playing with young guys? And isn't he a total bottom?]

The amount of information was too much. Wang Lin, who had just regained his senses, froze again.

[Every good-looking person in Director Wang's crew gets screwed, and he even threatens and bribes them into keeping quiet.]

Shen Wenyu sucked in a sharp breath. He stared hard at Ning Luo, then slowly turned toward the balding middle-aged Fu Gangqun, his handsome face twisting slightly.

[That fat bastard forces bottoms to top and even plays BDSM. Do you know how much damage that does to a bottom? It can give them psychological trauma!]

Wang Lin's chest began to heave violently.

Thinking of this, Ning Luo was filled with righteous indignation.

[Why are there always people willing to throw themselves at scum like this just to climb up? Other than eating and cursing people, this mouth of mine has never even kissed anyone!]

Shen Wenyu: Is that really the point?!

Sun Shaoyi patted Wang Lin's back as he suddenly choked on his breath.

Fu Gangqun had no idea Ning Luo had laid all his secrets bare. He was still putting on a fake show of apologizing to Shen Wenyu. "I'm terribly sorry, Teacher Shen. It was my negligence. This will absolutely never happen again. I won't let some blind fool take advantage of a loophole..."

He rambled on and on, but Shen Wenyu did not respond with a single word.

Fu Gangqun looked over in confusion and saw the other man wearing an expression as disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly, backing away several steps.

Before he could figure it out, Wang Lin called his name from behind in an unprecedentedly cold, heavy tone. "Fu Gangqun."

A bad feeling suddenly rose in Fu Gangqun's heart.

Wang Lin said, "You were so eager to pronounce someone guilty without witnesses or evidence? The problem was with your department, yet you've pushed the responsibility away awfully cleanly."

Fu Gangqun hurriedly said, "Cousin, listen to my explanation. It's not what you think—"

Wang Lin snorted coldly. "You don't need to explain this to me. Let the police explain it."

That was right. He intended to call the police.

If it were only the misappropriation of production funds, Fu Gangqun merely needed to cough back up whatever he had taken. But forced sexual transactions were involved. Wang Lin could not tolerate that in the slightest.

What did Fu Gangqun take his production crew for? A brothel?

Whether it was real or fake, the police could investigate. They certainly would not falsely accuse Fu Gangqun!

Fu Gangqun's face immediately turned ashen.

He had never imagined Wang Lin would truly pursue the matter!

Before, Wang Lin had always just found some excuse to brush things off. Why had that stopped working this time?

What if, what if they really uncovered something...

Fu Gangqun's hands and feet went icy cold.

Without giving him a chance to refuse, the police arrived quickly. The people involved were taken away for questioning, and the scene became chaotic. Wang Lin was irritated too, so he gave the crew a temporary half-day break.

Xiao Song watched the entire farce with Ning Luo and scratched the back of his head. "Brother Luo, should I take you back?"

There was nothing to do if he stayed with the crew anyway, so Ning Luo nodded.

Seeing him about to leave, Shen Wenyu strode after him.

But before he could reach him, Sun Shaoyi stopped him.

"Shaoyi? Wait a second. I need to talk to Ning Luo."

Sun Shaoyi said, "I know what you want to say, but you'd better not go."

"You can too...?" Shen Wenyu remembered that Sun Shaoyi had cut him off back then.

Sun Shaoyi nodded and pulled him into a corner, telling him about what had happened at the dinner gathering that day. "...Director Wang and I discussed it. This is a little strange. Bringing it up abruptly might not be a good thing. It's best not to act rashly. It's for Ning Luo's sake too."

Shen Wenyu fell silent for a long while before finally nodding. But when he thought of Fu Gangqun spreading rumors about him and Director Wang in private, his expression turned ugly. He stared coldly at the middle-aged man being questioned by the police from afar, narrowing his eyes.

Did Fu Gangqun really think he was some easy target?

Meanwhile, Ning Luo had already left the set and gotten into the van back to the hotel.

Thinking that he had gained half a day off and that the toxic tumor in the crew was about to be removed, Ning Luo secretly made a V sign in his heart. Delighted, he used his phone to scour every magazine featuring Lu Tingzhou, preparing to buy them all so he could admire that face every day.

This was the new husband he had just fallen head over heels for. He was still at the height of his obsession. If he were not a celebrity himself and worried people would photograph him using Lu Tingzhou's photo as his phone wallpaper and accuse him of shamelessly riding Lu Tingzhou's coattails, he would have changed it already.

A call from that borderline-thirst-trap male bodhisattva interrupted his passionate appreciation of Lu Tingzhou's face.

Ning Luo clicked his tongue in displeasure and decided to pretend he had not seen it.

But the other person kept calling.

Then it was not his fault.

Ning Luo cleared his throat before answering.

When he spoke again, his voice carried hidden pain and a sigh. "Xibai, I told you not to call me again. We shouldn't stay in contact."

"I'm your brother." He deliberately emphasized the last words.

The perfect smile at the corners of Ning Xibai's mouth cracked inch by inch, nearly impossible to maintain. But Ning Father was sitting opposite him, watching him make this call, so he forced a smile. "Second Brother, stop joking with me. I don't know what I did wrong to make you toy with me like this. I apologize. Please forgive me, Second Brother, okay?"

By the end, his eyes had reddened. His pearly teeth lightly bit his lip, his voice trembling as though he had suffered an immense grievance.

His lowered eyelids concealed the flicker in his eyes.

Ning Xibai knew he was good-looking, and he knew how to use his advantages.

Whenever he put on this display in the past, even stern Ning Father would soften and coax him kindly, readily agreeing even if Ning Xibai asked for the stars from the sky.

Ning Father's expression did indeed change.

It became exceptionally grave.

That tearful expression, that pitiful, resentful voice holding back his grievances—

—wasn't it proof that his third son had fallen deeply in love with his newly acknowledged second son?!

He could not even keep up the act in front of his own father anymore!

Alarm bells blared in his mind. He was so furious that his lips trembled and he could not speak.

Ning Xibai was being far too outrageous!

For the past few days, Ning Xibai had repeatedly explained in front of everyone that he had nothing to do with Ning Luo, that Ning Luo had simply said nonsense while drunk. Ning Father had believed him, yet a single phone call had exposed his true colors.

Thinking of this, Ning Father could no longer endure it. With a livid face, he snatched the phone away.

Then he heard Ning Luo's grand, impassioned declaration of love from the other end.

"You did nothing wrong. I was the one at fault. My indifference hurt you. I can't return feelings equal to yours."

Practice made perfect. Ning Luo was already an experienced professional, and he had even found it entertaining. Sitting up straight, he advised him with pity in his eyes.

He gave Xiao Song quite a fright.

He also gave Ning Father quite a fright.

"Xibai, you need to make peace with yourself. Learn to let go of your love for me. From now on, we can be good brothers, brotherly and—"

If Ning Father listened any further, his blood pressure would skyrocket. He interrupted, "Xiao Luo, it's Dad."

Huh?

Ning Luo froze like a squeaky toy chicken whose neck had been grabbed. "Dad?"

Dad??!

Ning Father hummed in acknowledgment. He still did not say anything harsh to this son he had only recently acknowledged, afraid of pushing their already distant relationship even farther apart.

Besides, Xibai was the one harboring unrequited feelings. Xiao Luo had done nothing wrong.

"You..." He awkwardly asked in a negotiating tone, "Today is Friday. If you have time, could you come home?"

Only after hanging up did Ning Luo slowly come back to his senses. His breathing stopped, and the string in his mind snapped with a crack.

What the hell had he just babbled?!

In just one second, Xiao Song watched his entire face and neck turn crimson, his ears so red they looked ready to bleed. If there had been animated effects, steam would have been rising from his head. You could have cracked an egg on him and cooked it instantly.

Then a soft murmur sounded in the car, his voice shattered. "Let me die..."

Xiao Song: "..."

He secretly examined the young man lying motionless in the back seat with his face covered by one hand through the rearview mirror. If not for his chest rising faintly with each breath, he would have looked as though he had truly ascended to heaven.

In short, dead beyond dead.

Suppressing his curiosity about the phone call, Xiao Song knew there were things he should not ask. He only said, "Brother Luo, are we still going back to the hotel?"

After a long time, a flat voice came from the back seat. "No."

"Xiao Song." Ning Luo lowered his hand and stared blankly at the car ceiling.

Xiao Song answered.

"How about you step on the gas, and we drive off the overpass?" Ning Luo sincerely suggested. "I heard that people produce endorphins during free fall, which relieves anxiety. Don't you want to try it?"

Xiao Song was horrified. "I-I-I, should I try it?"

Ning Luo looked perfectly calm, calmly losing his mind. His lips moved, pulling into a smile. "Hehe, I was joking. Why aren't you laughing?"

The six-foot-three burly man forcibly squeezed out a faint smile, looking exactly like an innocent maiden forced into prostitution.

Ning Luo only smiled once before he could no longer smile. He curled back into the rear seat and said dully, "Not the hotel. Take me home."

Yes, his brain had crashed just now, and he had agreed to Ning Father's request.

Ning Luo truly wanted to slap himself a few times.

Just because you have a mouth!

Two hours later, the van stopped in front of the Ning Family villa. Xiao Song turned around. "Brother Luo, we're here."

Ning Luo remained motionless, still covering his face. He sounded weak as a thread. "Wait."

He needed to prepare himself mentally.

Ning Luo quietly loosened his hands and peeked at the Ning Family villa through the gaps between his fingers.

The next instant, he abruptly sat upright.

He opened the door, got out, and shut it.

All in one fluid motion.

Ning Luo looked up at the mountainside villa, grand enough to be called a vacation estate, and held it in for a long time before blurting out, "Holy shit."

"They're so rich!"

He had known the Ning Family was rich, but he had not known they were this rich!

Beyond the European-style wrought-iron garden gate, cool gray marble paved the road, winding past reclining rocks and artificial hills. A babbling stream curled around them. In the distance stood a wicker swing, a stone table and stools for tea, and a white domed gazebo...

As Ning Luo stared eagerly at the villa, a car slowly stopped behind him. The Ning Family's eldest son, Ning Yang, stepped out. Upon seeing Ning Luo, he frowned.

Just as he was about to speak, Ning Luo suddenly spread his arms wide, tipped his head back, closed his eyes in contentment, and took a deep breath, his expression blissful.

[Ah, why are my eyes always filled with tears?]

[Because the stolen rich second-generation life that belonged to me has finally been returned!]

[Heavens! You've finally started treating me like your own grandson!]

Ning Yang seemed rooted to the ground and did not take another step for a long time, his face twitching.

He had only known Ning Luo to be of poor character—willful, hot-tempered, and utterly without redeeming qualities.

But he had not known that his second younger brother had mental problems!