Chapter Seven

An hour later, Xie Tingsi lay sprawled on the floor while his father and older brother were still going strong, ramping up the intensity of their workouts.

Xie Chengyue shook his head. "Don't celebrities need to stay in shape?"

Xie Zhiyu tossed a towel onto his younger brother's face. "Don't lie down right after exercising. Get up."

Xie Tingsi struggled to his feet and lifted his shirt to prove he had abs. "I have abs! I do stay in shape!"

Xie Chengyue looked at his two visible abs and burst out laughing.

Xie Zhiyu laughed too. "Those abs of yours are almost just one."

"Everyone has those!"

Xie Tingsi had beautifully defined muscles. He was neither too thin nor overly bulky, and he kept to a strict fitness regimen.

He could control his weight, but he couldn't control how fast his muscles grew. Building muscle was a slow, painful process.

Xie Tingsi was furious. "For all I know, I have more abs than either of you!"

He was so angry his head felt swollen.

Xie Chengyue and Xie Zhiyu obliged him.

It was bad enough that his brother had six perfectly defined abs. Why did his dad have them too?!

It wasn't fair.

Xie Tingsi was deeply envious. "How did you do it?"

Xie Chengyue said, "Exercise more."

Xie Zhiyu promptly laid out a fitness plan for him. "Eat plenty of protein every day and do several hours of strength training..."

"If you want, I'll arrange for a personal trainer to travel with you. In less than three months, you'll have the muscle you want."

Xie Tingsi was tempted. "Promise?"

Xie Zhiyu nodded. "Promise."

Even after all these years, Xie Chengyue was still amazed by his eldest son's knack for soothing his younger brother.

The two workout groups finished their separate routines and somehow met up in the living room. Butler Lin was there too.

Everyone was chatting when hurried footsteps broke the calm.

"Butler Lin, something terrible's happened! The eldest and second young masters are on Trending Search!"

Before Xie Tingsi could react, Little Butler Lin's next words left him stunned.

"People online are saying the second young master likes men—and that the eldest young master is paying to keep him as a lover?"

A question mark slowly formed in Butler Lin's mind.

He knew every word in that sentence. Why did they stop making sense when put together?

Chapter Seven

Shen Baili and Shen Wan exchanged a look. They understood—or perhaps they didn't. Both tacitly kept quiet.

Xie Chengyue asked calmly, "What's on Trending Search?"

Only then did Little Butler Lin notice that his boss was also in the living room.

He froze. "It's... it's... Trending Search says..."

Butler Lin came to his rescue. "You rushed in without thinking because you were worried. Calm down and explain what happened."

Little Butler Lin pinched his palm and gathered his thoughts.

It was simple enough.

When Xie Zhiyu went to pick up Xie Tingsi from a private room at a club, a paparazzo happened to spot them. He snapped a few photos, posted them online, and gave them an explosive headline.

#Xie Tingsi Kept by Wealthy Man# At the time, Xie Tingsi had nearly fallen, and Xie Zhiyu had steadied him. The photographer had a talent for making the scene look suggestive, as though Xie Zhiyu had intimately pulled Xie Tingsi into his arms. Xie Tingsi's face was perfectly clear, his eyes hazy and alluring. Xie Zhiyu's face was obscured, but his height and build weren't. And the photos had been taken at a famous entertainment club.

The provocative headline, the insinuating description, the glitzy location—every detail invited speculation.

The entertainment story shot onto Trending Search like a rocket.

Xie Tingsi's fans, haters, and curious onlookers all flocked to it. Weibo was in an uproar.

[Xie Tingsi likes men and is being kept??? What kind of world is this?]

[He has such a short temper. He seems straight to me.]

[That's one hell of a bombshell. I still haven't recovered.]

[I was wondering why Xie Tingsi was so arrogant. Turns out he has a rich male patron. The world really is going downhill.]

[I feel so bad for Xie Tingsi's fans. First their idol comes out, and then it turns out he's being kept?]

[Wait, my fave came out??? Is he a top or a bottom??]

[Looks like a bottom.]

[On a side note, those photos have a great vibe. My fave's patron has an incredible build and presence. He must be gorgeous.]

[Does anyone have a photo of the patron's face?]

[Get that filthy gay guy out of showbiz!!!]

[Xie Tingsi sure gets around. Showbiz is fascinating.]

[Xie Tingsi's finished. He's definitely getting blacklisted.]

[I downloaded his dramas overnight before they disappear.]

[I'm so sick of these overpaid celebrities. Can't they take care of their reputations? Now this scandal might leave me with no dramas to watch.]

[Can you all calm down? You're condemning Xie Tingsi over a few blurry photos?]

[I'll wait for Xie Tingsi's explanation. I believe him.]

[He was the first celebrity I ever liked. I believe he's a good person.]

[Why assume someone's keeping him? Couldn't they be in love? Honestly, they look pretty good together in those photos.]

There were plenty of uglier comments. Xie Chengyue read a few pages, then stopped.

Shen Baili was stunned. Had this happened in the original novel?

A scandal about two brothers? Was this going to turn into incest?

Were authors really that far ahead of the curve these days?

Xie Chengyue's expression darkened, and his voice turned stern. "Xie Tingsi, you caused this. Deal with it yourself."

This was why he disliked the entertainment industry: it thrived on sensationalism.

With that, Xie Chengyue went upstairs, in no mood to clean up his second son's mess. Before he left, he had Shen Wan and Shen Baili go with him.

Only Xie Tingsi, Xie Zhiyu, and the two butlers remained in the living room.