Brother Gu's virtue was at stake

With that, filming was officially over. All that remained was editing and submitting the necessary paperwork.

The crew also held a wrap party for Gu Ze. In truth, it wasn't just for him, but for everyone, so this one was even livelier than Ye Qing's.

After what had happened last time, Gu Ze kept a close eye on how much Ye Qing drank. This time, Ye Qing finally managed not to get drunk.

Xie Quan teased him, though. "Gu Ze, you look like you're taking care of your own son."

Ye Qing vehemently objected. "Brother Xie, just look at Brother Gu. Could he possibly have a son my age?"

Xie Quan laughed and said you never knew.

After a lively evening, the wrap party came to an end.

The hotel wasn't far away, so the three of them walked back together.

Once they arrived, they headed to their own rooms, which were all on the same floor. Ye Qing saw Gu Ze into his room before going back to his own.

Gu Ze sat down on the sofa as soon as he entered. As one of the evening's main attractions, he'd inevitably had a lot to drink and needed a moment to recover.

Perhaps it was all the alcohol, but his mind felt especially foggy. Before he knew it, his eyes had closed.

Not long after returning to his room, Ye Qing realized he'd taken Gu Ze's key card with him.

He must have slipped it into his pocket out of habit after opening the door for Gu Ze.

Ye Qing considered returning it the next morning. Gu Ze probably wouldn't need it again tonight anyway.

Still, he sent Gu Ze a message. When no reply came after a while, he thought it over and decided to return it that night after all.

Knock, knock, knock. The sound brought the people inside to a halt.

"Brother Gu, are you asleep? You left something with me," Ye Qing called through the door.

There was no answer.

Ye Qing called a few more times, wondering if Gu Ze had already fallen asleep. He could tell that Gu Ze was a little drunk tonight.

"Brother Gu, are you asleep?" Ye Qing was getting worried. He'd seen news reports of people falling asleep after drinking and never waking up. Though he knew Gu Ze was probably fine, he couldn't help worrying.

"Brother Gu, say something, or I'll worry." Only after a long while did a very quiet voice come from inside. "I'm fine. I just fell asleep."

"Then come to the door and get your things, Brother Gu."

"No need. I'll get them tomorrow."

"All right, then."

The person pressed against the door listened to the footsteps fade, then quietly signaled to the other person, who finally relaxed.

The two stood in front of Gu Ze. "That drug of yours won't hurt him, will it?"

"No. It's just an ordinary sedative. It'll wear off soon, so we need to hurry."

"Fuck, that guy scared the hell out of me."

"It's fine. At least he's gone."

A beep sounded at the entrance as the door opened, but neither of them seemed to register it.

When Ye Qing entered, he saw a young man and a young woman standing in front of Gu Ze. Neither looked very old. Gu Ze was leaning against the sofa with his upper body exposed.

[Aaaaaah! My Brother Gu's virtue has been ruined!]

[How could something like this happen to my Brother Gu?]

Ye Qing hurried past them to Gu Ze and shook him hard. There was no response.

Ye Qing turned toward the pair, his gaze as fierce as a raging storm, blazing with anger. "If anything happens to him, neither of you will get off lightly."

So what if they were minors? The law protecting minors wasn't a shield they could hide behind forever.

The girl was clearly frightened by Ye Qing, her eyes brimming with tears. "H-he'll be fine. It's just an ordinary sedative."

Ye Qing didn't listen. He tried to wake Gu Ze, but he wouldn't come around. Unable to hold back, Ye Qing shouted, "Do you have anything that'll wake him up sooner?"

"Y-yes."

"Where is it?"

Trembling, the girl took out the antidote. Only after watching Gu Ze swallow it did Ye Qing's anger subside a little.

Noticing that the two wanted to escape, he said flatly, "Don't bother looking. I locked the door. We're on the thirteenth floor, unless you have a death wish."

"This is unlawful confinement, you know," the young man said to Ye Qing.

Ye Qing nearly laughed in fury. "Unlawful confinement? Get your facts straight. This is Gu Ze's room."

"And you could pretty much call it my room, too."

"You two are the intruders, and you're accusing me of unlawful confinement? Even if that's what I'm doing, so what?"

The boy said confidently, "We're minors. You can't do anything to us."

"So what if you're minors? Juvenile detention exists, doesn't it? And you have parents, don't you?"

"If you can't take responsibility, your parents can take it for you."

As Ye Qing spoke, he noticed the girl kept glancing his way. Then he looked down and realized he hadn't covered Gu Ze up.

!!!

In fact, only a few buttons of Gu Ze's shirt had been undone, exposing a broad expanse of his chest. His collar had been pulled down to his shoulders, and the alcohol had left a faint flush on his face, making him look especially vulnerable and endearing.

At least, that was how Ye Qing saw it.

"Close your eyes! Don't look!" He quickly pulled Gu Ze's collar back up.

[To be fair, Brother Gu really did look so delicate and pretty just now. Even I almost couldn't resist.]

Gu Ze, who had just woken up in time to hear that: ...

Seeing him awake, Ye Qing finally relaxed. "Brother Gu, thank goodness you're all right."

"What happened to me?"

[Nothing much. You just almost lost your virtue.]

Gu Ze looked down at himself, then at the two people standing nearby. He thought he understood what had happened.

"Brother Gu, should we call the police?" Ye Qing asked.

His first instinct had been to call the police, but this concerned Gu Ze, so he hadn't taken it upon himself to decide. If Gu Ze wanted to settle it privately, wouldn't he only be making things worse?

That was why, despite his anger, he hadn't mentioned calling the police. Perhaps that very attitude had given the pair the impression that this wasn't serious.

Apart from being startled by his raised voice earlier, neither of them had seemed to care.

Gu Ze rubbed his forehead. "Call the police."

The two immediately panicked, especially the girl. She stepped forward and looked at Gu Ze. "We're your fans, big brother. How could you treat us like this?"

The boy chimed in, "Exactly! We work so hard making posts for you and boosting your rankings, and this is how you treat us?"

Gu Ze looked at them, his expression unreadable. In a slightly lowered voice, he said, "My fans would never do something like this. There's no need to call yourselves my fans."

"I don't know how you got in. All I know is that what you've done is illegal."