Jiang Chiyan pulled open the office door. "What happened?"
The moment the words left his mouth.
He saw a long cut across Su Jing's hand, bleeding.
Fortunately, the cut wasn't deep.
Her hand trembling, Su Jing pointed at the package on the floor. "Brother, Sister Yunxing and I went out to buy breakfast this morning. We saw your name on this package, so I brought it in and opened it for you. Inside, inside there were..."
Beside Su Jing, Shen Yunxing had an arm around her shoulders and was badly frightened too.
Jiang Chiyan's expression darkened.
He bent down and picked up the package.
Inside the package...
There was a large handful of sharp razor blades.
There was a stack of bloody photographs.
Jiang Chiyan patted Su Jing's shoulder reassuringly. "Stay in my office for now and don't go out. The firm has security guards, so it's relatively safe."
With that.
Jiang Chiyan stepped around Su Jing to get his car keys and coat.
Su Jing asked, "Brother, where are you going?"
Jiang Chiyan said nothing.
Right now, he urgently wanted to check.
That Xiao Cheng was safe.
At a time like this, spending more time with his younger boyfriend would be good too.
Jiang Chiyan messaged Xiao Cheng. "Where are you?"
It took Xiao Cheng a long time to reply. "At the studio."
At the studio.
After replying, Xiao Cheng asked Lu Ting, "Sister Ting, have all the trending searches been taken down?"
Lu Ting frowned and shook her head. "You're Shen Yunxing's boss. It'll be hard to take down your trending searches this time..."
"Not my trending searches." Xiao Cheng interrupted Lu Ting.
Lu Ting froze.
Xiao Cheng pointed at his phone screen. "Take down all those trending searches and topics attacking Jiang Chiyan."
"Don't let this drag him into it."
Last night.
Because Jiang Chiyan had used his main account to trade insults with Xiao Cheng's haters, clickbait accounts had put him straight on the trending searches.
All kinds of topics attacking him were everywhere.
#Jiang Chiyan swears#
#Jiang Chiyan get out of the legal profession#
#The country doesn't need troll lawyers#
Xiao Cheng stared at those topics, his gaze growing darker and darker, the murderous aura around him growing heavier.
Lu Ting quickly snapped him out of it. "Xiao Cheng! What did your therapist tell you? Don't get angry again. Your condition will spiral out of control."
Xiao Cheng's gaze gradually cleared. "Forget it. No need."
He picked up the computer.
His pale, translucent fingertips flew across the keyboard.
The smear posts attacking Jiang Chiyan on Weibo...
Quickly disappeared, one after another.
As though they had never existed.
Jiang Chiyan soon arrived at Xiao Cheng Studio.
When he arrived.
He happened to hear two junior employees telling Xiao Cheng they wanted to resign.
Xiao Cheng's expression was indifferent as he asked, "Because of the negative news about Shen Yunxing?"
Neither employee said a word.
The manager of Xiao Cheng's rival had given them quite a bit of money.
All they needed to do when they resigned was leak some gossip about Xiao Cheng and Shen Yunxing, making up things about casting couches, drugs, and the like.
Then they could receive a sizable final payment too.
Xiao Cheng glanced indifferently at the two of them.
"If you want to leave, fine."
"Don't work in the entertainment industry again."
"Pack your things and get the hell out of the Demon Capital." Xiao Cheng picked up the fruit knife on the table, twirled it between his fingers, and drove it hard into the tabletop. "If anyone can't keep their mouth shut, they won't be leaving."
"The cemetery on the outskirts of the Demon Capital has pretty good feng shui."
The blade glittered with an icy gleam.
It reflected the cold, dark glint in Xiao Cheng's eyes.
The two employees' legs went weak. "Mr. Xiao Cheng, you can't..."
"Xiao Wu, show them out," Xiao Cheng said indifferently.
When he turned around.
Xiao Cheng saw Jiang Chiyan standing in the doorway.
Instinctively.
Xiao Cheng picked up a baseball cap and put it on.
Covering the hair he hadn't washed for a day.
It was greasy.
Jiang Chiyan smiled, unconsciously letting out a sigh of relief. "My Xiao Cheng really is amazing."
On the way over.
He had actually been quite afraid that Xiao Cheng was being bullied.
After all, Xiao Cheng was so sweet and docile around him.
Rather embarrassed, Xiao Cheng rubbed his nose and pulled the fruit knife out of the table.
He tried to patch up his shattered persona. "Um... I wasn't actually going to do anything to them. I was just scaring them."
Jiang Chiyan pulled over a chair and sat down somewhat wearily.
He didn't respond to Xiao Cheng.
Xiao Cheng continued explaining. "I don't usually play with fruit knives either... Hey, what are you doing?"
Before he could finish.
Jiang Chiyan caught Xiao Cheng's wrist.
An immense force pulled him down onto Jiang Chiyan's lap.
Jiang Chiyan wrapped an arm around his waist.
His fingertips traced a circle along Xiao Cheng's waistline.
Xiao Cheng was ticklish.
The moment Jiang Chiyan touched him, he dodged as if by reflex.
Jiang Chiyan's dark eyes were full of amusement as he said, "I really never thought I was this manly before."
Xiao Cheng clenched his fist and punched him.
He had worked out for years and had also trained specifically with a martial arts instructor for action scenes.
His fist slammed into Jiang Chiyan's shoulder without holding back, hurting so much that Jiang Chiyan's expression changed.
Xiao Cheng froze too. "Why didn't you dodge?"
Jiang Chiyan held Xiao Cheng's hand and kissed the back of it. "I won't dodge."
"My little tyrant can hit me however he likes."
"He's my little tyrant. I'll spoil him."
Xiao Cheng noticed the bloodshot veins in Jiang Chiyan's eyes, as well as his dark circles. "You didn't sleep all night?"
Jiang Chiyan murmured an assent. "I talked to Shen Yunxing about the case. The chances of winning the lawsuit... are about seventy or eighty percent."
Xiao Cheng struggled to get up. "There's a bed in the lounge. The bedding is mine. Go get some sleep."
Jiang Chiyan didn't move.
His large hand restrained Xiao Cheng's waist, pressing him more tightly into his arms.
"Don't move."
"Let me hold you for a while."
Jiang Chiyan's voice was thick with exhaustion.
Xiao Cheng couldn't bring himself to move again.
Jiang Chiyan slowly closed his eyes.
His chin rested on Xiao Cheng's shoulder as he fell into a deep sleep.
Xiao Cheng didn't dare move at all.
He carefully picked up the phone on the table.
On his phone was a message from a woman who had been his senior at school.
Her name was Nan Qiao. She was a moderately well-known variety show personality with a fairly straightforward disposition.
Nan Qiao had married a young director.
After their marriage, both of them had taken good care of Xiao Cheng.
Nan Qiao: "Little Cheng, there's a legal variety show called The Warmth of Legal Professionals. Do you want to come?"
Nan Qiao: "The first episode got quite a lot of attention. It's on its second episode now."
Xiao Cheng: "Could you give me two spots?"
Nan Qiao: "Sure. Are you bringing a newcomer from your studio?"
Xiao Cheng: "He's not a newcomer. He's not in the industry." He's family.
Xiao Cheng: "I'll ask him whether he wants to come first."
Nan Qiao: "A legal professional? That might not work. The production team has very high standards for guests with legal expertise. Why don't you give me your friend's name? I'll give it a try."
Xiao Cheng: "Jiang Chiyan."
Nan Qiao: "...!!"
Nan Qiao: "Xiao Cheng, even if you have to tie him up, you have to bring your friend over!"
Nan Qiao: "Jiang Chiyan is a god at the very top of the legal world."
In her extreme excitement.
Nan Qiao sent Xiao Cheng a voice message.
Xiao Cheng accidentally touched the phone screen and hit play.
-"Xiao Cheng, you're so awesome! I love you to death!"
Both of Nan Qiao's children were already a year old, and she knew Xiao Cheng's sexual orientation, so she wasn't particularly guarded about what she said.
However...
Just as the seven-second voice message finished playing.
Jiang Chiyan slowly opened his eyes.
He narrowed them, looking at Xiao Cheng with a half-smile.
His hand restraining Xiao Cheng's slender waist suddenly tightened.
"You're awake?" Xiao Cheng reached out to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Jiang Chiyan nodded and gripped Xiao Cheng's chin. "Look at me."
Xiao Cheng's gaze settled on Jiang Chiyan's face. "What's wrong?"
Jiang Chiyan said sarcastically, "Do you think I look different from before?"
Xiao Cheng: "...I don't think so."
Jiang Chiyan: "Can't you see the whole prairie of cuckold green on my head?"