A major industry scandal

Feng Ze noticed something was off with Tao Zhiyan and followed his gaze.

The instant the girl realized Feng Ze was looking at her, she panicked, stood up, and hurried out.

Tao Zhiyan watched her all the way out.

Feng Ze looked back at Tao Zhiyan. "Do you know her?"

Tao Zhiyan shook his head. "No."

They stood close enough that when the evening breeze blew past, Feng Ze could even smell the fragrance in Tao Zhiyan's hair.

It smelled like some kind of flower, though he couldn't tell which.

"Then why keep staring at her?" Feng Ze's gaze lingered on Tao Zhiyan's hair before lowering to his eyelashes again. "Do you like that type of girl?"

"What? No," Tao Zhiyan answered quickly, instinctively looking up at Feng Ze. "I don't."

The distance between them closed in an instant.

Their eyes met.

For some reason, Feng Ze remembered the moment their eyes had met on the video call earlier.

Those eyes had moved from his phone screen into reality.

They had become real, and alluring.

"Tao Zhiyan." For a moment, Feng Ze raised his hand, wanting to touch his eyes, but drew it back just before making contact.

Tao Zhiyan's gaze shifted slightly, but he didn't pull away. "Yes?"

"Has anyone ever told you..."

The man's voice was low, like an evening breeze brushing lingeringly against his ear, making it burn.

"Your eyes are beautiful."

At those words, Tao Zhiyan inexplicably tightened his grip on the hem of his shirt.

It was only a few softly spoken words, yet they hit him hard enough to leave him dizzy.

He parted his lips, but didn't know what to say. His heart was about to leap out of his chest.

"What?" Feng Yiqian had heard it too. He drunkenly slumped over the table and tugged at Feng Ze's clothes. "My eyes are beautiful too!"

Feng Yiqian pointed at himself, widening his eyes as far as he could. "Bro, bro! Look! Aren't my eyes pretty?"

Feng Ze turned back.

He was a little annoyed. He wanted to smack his younger brother.

Tao Zhiyan, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief, averted his gaze, and rubbed his nose.

That atmosphere just now was way too strange!

Once the three of them finished eating, they hauled Feng Yiqian, who was drunk to the point of being dead weight, off toward home.

They had been drinking, so none of them could drive.

Feng Ze stood beneath a tree making a call, while Tao Zhiyan supported Feng Yiqian by the roadside and tried to book a ride.

It was nearly midnight, and there weren't many cars around. Tao Zhiyan had been trying for ages, but no one accepted the request.

Feng Yiqian wouldn't stay still in his arms. He was already taller than Tao Zhiyan, and being drunk only made him harder to restrain. After a few struggles, his head pitched toward the ground.

"!"

A pair of slender hands suddenly caught Feng Yiqian, supporting him just in time to keep him from hitting the ground.

Tao Zhiyan hurriedly pulled him upright and thanked the person. "Thank you. I couldn't hold on to him just now. I'm sor-"

The instant he looked up and saw her face, Tao Zhiyan froze.

It was the girl he had seen earlier.

The actress who had been raped.

"It's all right. Are you trying to get a ride?" The girl took off her sunglasses and smiled at Tao Zhiyan. "It's hard to get one here. Let me drive you."

The girl didn't look very old. She was exceptionally beautiful, with eyes that dipped at the inner corners and swept upward at the outer ones. Even with only a little makeup, she looked radiant.

Tao Zhiyan shook his head and declined. "That's all right. We should be able to get a ride soon."

"Please, let me drive you."

The girl pressed her lips together, as though she had finally worked up the courage, and looked up at Tao Zhiyan. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

Just as she finished speaking, Feng Ze ended his call and walked over.

Tao Zhiyan looked at Feng Ze, who raised his eyebrows slightly at him.

Understanding the signal, Tao Zhiyan canceled the ride request.

The girl drove a compact sedan. Three grown men would have been cramped in the back, so Feng Ze climbed into the front passenger seat.

The three of them and one drunk sat in the car, looking at one another.

The girl seemed unsure how to begin. After several minutes, she finally cleared her throat and asked, "...Has Feng Yiqian told you why he was blacklisted?"

Tao Zhiyan shook his head.

Feng Ze gave no particular response from the front passenger seat.

"..." Knowing Feng Ze wasn't easy to talk to, the girl pinned her hopes on Tao Zhiyan instead. She turned around, her lovely almond-shaped eyes flickering.

"Sir, may I ask your name?"

Tao Zhiyan answered, "My surname is Tao. Just call me Butler Tao."

"A butler..." The girl paused, then turned her head and said earnestly, "Butler Tao, please help Feng Yiqian."

Tao Zhiyan seemed a little puzzled.

The girl drew a breath and finally told them everything. "My name is Su Liran. You could say I'm halfway into the industry."

"The reason Feng Yiqian has ended up like this..." Su Liran bit her lip. "It's all because of me."

Su Liran was a student at the Imperial Drama Academy, currently in her final year.

She had no connections, but she was exceptionally good-looking and willing to work hard. Not long after she enrolled, a director noticed her and invited her to act in a low-budget web series.

The series hadn't cost much to make, but its returns were impressive, and it had even begun attracting attention beyond its usual audience.

Su Liran had thought her life had finally reached a turning point, and that she would go on to shine.

She had never imagined that what awaited her was an endless abyss.

Her agent said she had found her a project by a major director, but competition was fierce, so she needed to meet him at a dinner first.

There were a great many actresses at that dinner.

Most of them were just like her: female students who hadn't graduated yet.

Su Liran stood out among them in both looks and figure. The major director seemed to take a liking to her too, talking to her about the role all evening.

She had thought the director was willing to give her a chance.

She had never imagined that he only wanted her body.

That night, she was drugged, just like four or five other girls.

They lay on beds, completely at others' mercy.

They were conscious, but couldn't fight back. They didn't even have the strength to speak. All they could do was lie there and watch everything happen.

Tao Zhiyan frowned. "They forced you?"

"...Yes." Remembering that night again, Su Liran felt as though she couldn't breathe.

"They didn't just force us."

Su Liran clenched her fists. "They filmed us too. They made us smile at the camera and say we were doing it willingly."

They were all the same kind of people.

None of them had connections.

All of them wanted to make something of themselves.

All of them had thought someone had finally noticed them.

Four or five girls in one room, with more than ten men.

Su Liran didn't even know how she had endured it.

She had attempted suicide, but had been saved.

Later, she had wondered why she should die. Why didn't those rapists die? Could she kill that sanctimonious so-called major director?

The thought grew stronger and stronger in her mind, quickly taking root, sprouting, and consuming her thoughts.

She made all her preparations, took a knife, and charged into the private club, intent on killing the director.

But she had overestimated herself. She was restrained before she could even touch him.

"What happened after that?" Tao Zhiyan asked.

"Then Feng Yiqian saw what was happening and saved me. He was so angry that he hit the director too," Su Liran said, her voice trembling as though she couldn't control her emotions. "The director pressured him, but he refused to apologize or back down."

"But..." Tears spilled from Su Liran's eyes. "But I was too scared. I took the money and agreed to let the matter drop."

She lowered her head, utterly ashamed. "It was me. It was all my fault..."

Feng Yiqian had stepped forward for her sake. To help her, he had offended an industry heavyweight and destroyed his own future.

Yet she had backed down.

Su Liran had watched Feng Yiqian fall from an acclaimed Best Actor in television to a celebrity condemned for breaking the law, a pariah everyone wanted to tear apart.

The tidal wave of insults, slander, and rumors over the past few days had made her realize that if she didn't do something soon, Feng Yiqian might really be forced out of the industry.

"This..." Su Liran held out a USB drive, her fingertips trembling. "This is... footage of those people sexually abusing me..."

"It also contains a recording of them planning to force Feng Yiqian out of the industry," Su Liran said, her eyes lowered. "You can release all of it. Then everyone will know Feng Yiqian is innocent."

Tao Zhiyan looked at Su Liran for a long moment before asking, "Why didn't you go to the police back then?"

Su Liran bit her lip and said nothing.

Seeing her reaction, Tao Zhiyan understood. Even now, she still didn't seem ready.

He pushed the USB drive back toward her and said calmly, "The law is there to protect victims."

Su Liran paused, then finally raised her eyes to Tao Zhiyan.

His voice was gentle, and his eyes held an indescribable tenderness and resolve. "We can handle the third young master's situation."

He said, "Miss Su, don't step forward just because you feel guilty."

"Think it through first."