I asked you to play my boyfriend, not be a decoration

Yi Qiang had poured hundreds of thousands into it, only to find that the buzz had grown rather than died down. He knew then that his sworn enemy, Hongcai Entertainment, had stepped in to buy trending spots for him and was continuing to pump money into it.

Yi Qiang was so furious he wanted to kill someone, but he could not sit by and watch the situation spiral out of control.

He kept asking people to contact Hongcai Entertainment's president. By the time they finally got through, people online had already begun investigating the investors one by one to find out who had kicked Yu Huan off the show.

They had gone through every artist associated with each investor, and were about to trace it back to Xia Corporation's subsidiary.

Yi Qiang finally got hold of Hongcai Entertainment's president. "President Ming, you'd better pull those trending topics right now. Stop buying more. This won't be good for either of us."

Ming Xiafeng had once worked at Yi Qiang's agency. They had never gotten along, fighting over artists and resources, until an artist under her had turned against her and she had lost everything. Utterly disheartened, she had left the company and struck out on her own.

Working alone, combined with Yi Qiang's overt and covert efforts to squeeze her out, had put her through endless hardship.

They had always wanted to destroy each other. Now that she had finally found an opportunity, how could Ming Xiafeng let him off so easily?

"Heh, President Yi, what are you talking about? I don't understand. What trending topics am I supposed to pull? None of our artists have been trending lately."

Yi Qiang nearly had a heart attack listening to her. That bitch was still playing dumb at a time like this. "Ming Xiafeng, stop playing dumb. This isn't the time for petty grudges. Do you even know who kicked Yu Huan off the show? How dare you buy trending spots?"

Ming Xiafeng spread her fingers and admired her fresh manicure. "Let me see. Everyone online is digging into it. Was it Pengcheng? Shenghe? Tianjing? ...Hahaha, surely it couldn't be Yuanfeng?"

Ming Xiafeng listed them one after another, until she reached Yuanfeng.

Yi Qiang did not say a word the entire time. Ming Xiafeng's laughter grew quieter and quieter, until it stopped altogether.

She swallowed. If it were only Yuanfeng, she would not be afraid, and neither would Yi Qiang. Given their relationship, offending Yuanfeng's president was no big deal. But what if it was not Yuanfeng's president, but Xia Corporation, which stood behind Yuanfeng?

At that thought, Ming Xiafeng felt as if she were suffocating. Without another word, she hurriedly hung up.

Yi Qiang snorted. "Bitch. At least you're smart enough to cut your losses before this gets out of hand."

The netizens had been happily enjoying the gossip when they suddenly discovered that any topic or short video even remotely related to Yu Huan getting kicked off the show could no longer be found.

The netizens already knew how to get around trending-topic restrictions and began creating one obliquely named topic after another.

[What's going on?]

[Who has that much clout?]

[Don't ask. If you do, the answer is that they're too powerful.]

But no matter how obscure the names were, the topics disappeared shortly afterward.

As a manager, Lin Sui was following the gossip online too. Knowing the truth, he watched with a worried frown. The more these netizens dug, the more they uncovered, and they were about to reach Xia Corporation.

His heart pounded with fear that they would uncover Xia Corporation and eventually drag Lin Fengmian into it.

At that thought, Lin Sui was exasperated with them. Did these netizens have the memories of goldfish? Had they already forgotten how Xia Qinghe had sued the people who had spread rumors about him online not long ago?

And now they still dared to dig into Xia Corporation.

Some smarter people skipped right over Yuanfeng when they reached it, but certain bloggers, desperate to gain followers and heedless of the consequences, were going all out.

Lin Sui braced himself and kept watching, hoping things would not go the way he feared.

Yi Qiang and Ming Xiafeng both went to work, sacrificing several of their own artists and buying trending spots to push up news about those artists being caught dating, taking on new dramas, and so on. They also spent money frantically suppressing the buzz they had stirred up earlier.

After an entire night, both sporting enormous dark circles, they finally breathed a sigh of relief when the buzz surrounding Yu Huan dropped until he might as well have ceased to exist.

When Ming Xiafeng called Yi Qiang, the two shared an unprecedented moment of peace. "If neither of us mentions it, we can consider this over."

Yi Qiang laughed in anger, but what else could he do? Xia Corporation could wipe them out with a snap of its fingers.

"Open your eyes and take a good look next time. Stop opposing me over everything." Yi Qiang genuinely mourned the money. He had spent millions in one go, and he would have to find a way to earn back twice as much from Yu Huan.

And he could not just let that bitch Ming Xiafeng off, either.

Ming Xiafeng hung up in irritation. She had been clever all her life, only to make one foolish mistake. She had never expected what should have been a chance to bring Yi Qiang down to end with her running into a brick wall, wasting millions without gaining a thing.

Several of her artists had suffered for it too.

Lin Sui had slept poorly all night. Waking with a start early in the morning, he immediately opened his tablet to check. When he saw that the top trending topics were about artists from two well-known entertainment companies, while those about Yu Huan had vanished completely, he let out a great sigh of relief.

After this incident, no one in the industry dared to fill the vacancy Yu Huan had left, afraid that netizens would fabricate rumors and attack them, bringing disaster upon them for no reason.

The director and producer of Empire Singer were so anxious they developed mouth sores. How were they supposed to record this episode if they could not find a replacement?

Postponing it was out of the question, but no matter how much money they offered to get someone to step in, no one was willing. Everyone hinted that the situation was too difficult. They did not dare risk the good public image they had worked so hard to establish just to be a stand-in guest with little to gain.

Someone who knew the producer well could not bear to see him so anxious and offered a suggestion. "Instead of looking among popular celebrities like us, why not try washed-up stars who want a comeback? They won't care about this. As long as there's work, they'll grab it and never let go."

The producer thought it over seriously. That did make sense, but who should they ask? That would take some careful consideration.

Spring was warm, the flowers were blooming, and the sun shone brightly. At Xia Qinghe's request, Lin Fengmian had dressed as if he were attending a formal dinner.

He swayed on horseback. He must have been kicked in the head by a horse to agree to come along as a third wheel.

To be honest, Fan Jing and Xia Qinghe really did look pleasing together. The man was tall and handsome, the woman poised and gracious. The more he looked, the better matched they seemed.

Even with Xia Qinghe wearing a sour expression and barely giving Fan Jing a pleasant look, they still made an attractive pair.

Faced with Xia Qinghe's foul temper, Fan Jing had not shown displeasure or lost her temper once. She listened attentively to the basics of riding, completely unaffected by the sour face of Xia Qinghe, who had been forced into being a riding instructor.

Every so often, she even looked up and smiled at Lin Fengmian.

She did not let him feel left out.

On the surface, at least, Lin Fengmian thought Fan Jing was quite nice.

Lin Fengmian held the reins and ambled along.

The horse he rode was exclusively his, a Thoroughbred Xia Qinghe had imported from abroad. It had reportedly cost 600 million and was a pair with Xia Qinghe's horse.

The parents of both Thoroughbreds had been registered with the designated organizations and undergone DNA parentage testing, and neither horse had been bred through artificial insemination.

Lin Fengmian did not really understand any of that. If there was a horse, he would ride it. Whether it had been conceived artificially or naturally had nothing to do with him.

But he quite liked his horse. Its reddish-brown coat was like satin and felt incredible to the touch.

It ran as if it were flying, without the slightest jolt. There was a reason it cost so much.

As the horse ran, it stirred up a light breeze that made him even sleepier.

Lin Fengmian rode a lap with his eyes closed, planning to slip back to the villa while Xia Qinghe was not looking, find somewhere to hide away, and take a nap.

But his horse missed her husband and trotted over with the layabout on her back. The moment Lin Fengmian opened his eyes, he saw Xia Qinghe's lowered brows and the volcano churning in his eyes, ready to erupt at the slightest trigger.

Lin Fengmian: "..."

The sight of Lin Fengmian looking as if his mind were wandering in another realm made Xia Qinghe grit his teeth in anger. "Get down."

"No."

"Get down." Xia Qinghe's tone grew firmer.

"No." Lin Fengmian's tone did not change at all.

Xia Qinghe hauled him over with one hand and settled him in front of himself, then clasped his waist and leaned close to his ear. "I asked you to play my boyfriend, not be a decoration."

He was furious.

This guy had arrived before him, then ridden far away from him and Fan Jing, watching him make a fool of himself the whole time.

He had reached the end of his patience. There was no need to endure it any longer.

He had to get this rejection out today.

"Miss Fan, actually..."

Lin Fengmian twisted around and clapped a hand over his mouth, frantically signaling with his eyes. Fan Jing really is nice. Please stop sabotaging yourself. If you drive away such a good woman, you really will be a bachelor for the rest of your life.