I'll work hard to be worthy of you

Xie Lin and Fu Yunxi had an engagement. He Jianing knew that.

What he didn't know was when those two had broken it off.

He blinked, looking at Fu Yunxi with concern.

"Yunxi, did Xie Lin cancel the engagement because he fell for President Lu?"

He had cleverly avoided naming the fiancé, yet directed the fire toward Xie Lin.

Fu Yunxi remembered what Fu Yingying had said again.

Xie Lin had met another alpha and turned around and broken off their engagement...

Who was that alpha?

He Jianing hadn't deliberately lowered his voice. Everyone present heard him.

Xie Lin raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Everyone has a duty to dump scumbags. What? You want to pick up the trash I threw away?"

Fu Yunxi spoke instinctively.

"Who are you calling trash?"

"The one I threw away. What? Are you volunteering yourself, Film Emperor Fu? Still, you certainly deserve the title of scumbag."

Xie Lin curled his lips, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"You were already engaged, but you still came on a dating show, with a little sister here and an old flame there. Forget anything else-you really take the cake!"

Fu Yunxi and He Jianing weren't involved yet.

They had come on the dating show to generate buzz as advance publicity for the drama they were about to film together.

Six months later, once filming finished and the drama aired, they would ride the wave for another round of publicity.

Whatever else happened, winning over fans of their pairing would be easy.

When Xie Lin awakened, he had read some of the story.

Those two developed feelings while filming and actually ended up together.

By the time he, the cannon fodder, learned about it, Fu Yunxi had already marked He Jianing in a moment of passion.

Xie Lin glanced at He Jianing again, smiling without a word.

If he wanted to marry into the Fu family, he would have to get past Fu's mother first!

And that woman would accept only Fu Yingying as her daughter-in-law!

[Xie Lin knows all the details? This gossip is getting more and more interesting!]

[It's hard not to suspect that Xie Lin's fiancé is-someone's precious Yunxi!]

The director was so absorbed in the drama that he forgot to prompt the next guest.

Fu Yunxi felt terribly stifled, but there was nothing he could do. After all, he had been the one who refused to go public!

But now, he wanted to take a gamble!

"I'm the Four of Spades. It's my turn."

No one paid him any attention.

He looked at Xie Lin, his voice turning much gentler.

"I owe my fans an apology. I lied before. Actually, I..."

Before he could finish, electricity crackled and flashed. Fu Yunxi convulsed all over, foamed at the mouth, and passed out.

Xie Lin withdrew the stun baton with a vicious grin.

Lu Ye looked at the man lying on the floor, his gaze shifting.

He Jianing paled in alarm, but didn't approach either.

"Xie Lin, we can talk this out. No matter what Yunxi did wrong, you shouldn't hit him. He could get hurt!"

"Blech!"

Xie Lin nearly threw up.

"Worried about him? Then hurry up and help him up!"

He Jianing reached out, but just as he was about to touch Fu Yunxi, he jerked his hand back, as if terrified of getting shocked himself.

[Holy shit, is Xie Lin sick in the head? Why is he targeting our Yunxi?]

[After all this, the production team still isn't calling the police?]

[He carries that stun baton everywhere, and nobody stops him? I have good reason to suspect something shady is going on with the production team.]

The director sprang to his feet and rushed over.

"What are you waiting for? Quick, press the spot under his nose!"

Only after quite a while did Fu Yunxi slowly regain consciousness and glare at Xie Lin.

"You actually did it?"

"Don't believe me? Want another?"

Xie Lin hefted the stun baton and was about to charge again, but the director quickly reached out to stop him.

"Let Film Emperor Fu finish."

"Fine!"

Xie Lin sneered, rested the stun baton on his shoulder, and lifted his chin at Fu Yunxi.

"Go ahead. I'm listening!"

Fu Yunxi stared wide-eyed and panted for a while. As if he had finally gathered enough courage, he spoke one word at a time.

"Actually, Xie Lin and I have known each other for ten years. We got engaged a year ago."

[Oh-ho, Fu Yunxi's fans are going to shatter!]

[He Jianing's fans are going to shatter too!]

[If he's telling the truth, doesn't that mean a certain Ning knowingly became the other man?]

[You believe him just because he said it?]

[Why wouldn't we?]

[Fu Yunxi fans, your idol lied to you! Hahahahahaha!]

[I knew there'd be a twist. Who's chasing whom is still up for debate!]

[Scumbag Fu is such a turnoff. He never stepped in to clear things up when Xie Lin was getting dragged before. What's the point of saying it now?]

Xie Lin's expression didn't change. He merely gave a quiet "Mm."

"Keep going!"

"That's all!"

"That's all?"

Xie Lin scoffed and shoved the stun baton into Lu Ye's arms.

"Since you can't understand plain language, I don't mind giving you a refresher!"

Then he took out his phone, swiped the screen a few times, and played a recording.

"Are you done making a scene? Yingying's pregnancy is acting up, and my mom's angry."

"What the hell does her being angry have to do with me? It's not my grandchild!"

"Taotao, I don't blame you for missing Yingying's birthday yesterday, but you shouldn't have said that about her today."

"Feeling sorry for her? Then marry her. Your mom would love that!"

"Fu Yunxi, go home."

"The engagement is over. It wasn't public anyway. Just go home and let your family know."

The recording cut off abruptly there.

Xie Lin put his phone away and raised his eyes to Fu Yunxi, his gaze icy.

Fu Yunxi's face was deathly pale, his lips trembling.

"You actually recorded it? How could you record it!"

Lu Ye's cold voice slowly rang out.

"Let me clarify something for Xie Lin. Film Emperor Fu's 'little sister' isn't related to him by blood. Before they got engaged, his mother wanted to set him up with his sister."

Yue Lan caught the implication, raised an eyebrow, and scoffed.

"So you're saying Film Emperor Fu's mother never thought much of Xie Lin at all?"

"Exactly."

"Film Emperor Fu is a mama's boy too?"

"Right on the mark, Miss Yue!"

The two played off each other, Lu Ye's face expressionless.

"If Xie Lin weren't S-rank, that engagement would never have happened. Even if it did, they would never have made it to the wedding!"

Fu Yunxi stared fixedly at Xie Lin, still immersed in the shock of having been recorded. He hadn't heard what they were saying clearly at all.

"You actually recorded it? We were engaged!"

"Not anymore!"

"I still have the item!"

"Then please return it!"

Lu Ye didn't even lift his eyelids as his thin lips parted.

"That doesn't matter! As for the item, I'll send someone to collect it!"

Fu Yunxi's eyes turned bloodshot. Like a rabid dog whose tail had been stepped on, he roared.

"It doesn't matter just because you say so? We've had ten years together..."

"You said it yourself. Ten years together."

Lu Ye finally looked up, his gaze ice-cold.

"Where were you when he was kidnapped the day before yesterday?"

Fu Yunxi froze.

"What kidnapping?"

He suddenly remembered the call for help he had hung up on, and his face turned as white as paper.

So Xie Lin hadn't lied to him?

Lu Ye snorted coldly, anger and heartache churning in his eyes.

"You were celebrating your sister's birthday. Hah! If I hadn't happened to pass by, the kidnappers would have killed him!"

Yue Lan shook her head with a tut, her voice dripping with mockery.

"A scumbag like you really is one of a kind!"

[Wait, let me get this straight. Film Emperor Fu and Xie Lin have known each other for ten years and got engaged a year ago.]

[Yesterday, Xie Lin was kidnapped, and Film Emperor Fu was celebrating his unrelated sister's birthday instead of saving his omega.]

[Is that right?]

[Girl, that's right!]

[I'm a Fu Yunxi fan. Unfollowing him right now. Go die, you disgusting man!]

[Even so, are we saying Xie Lin did nothing wrong?]

[What did Xie Lin do wrong? He's a vulnerable omega who got kidnapped. Is that his fault?]

[Am I the only one wondering who kidnapped Xie Lin?]

Lu Ye didn't mention that the kidnappers in the abandoned factory had been alphas.

He was afraid that if he did, some people would maliciously speculate that Xie Lin had been raped.

That was something he didn't want to see.

The omega he had finally found-from the moment they met, he would be the one to protect him.

Xie Lin remained expressionless.

"You can't even protect your own omega. Fu Yunxi, you're not good enough! You don't deserve me!"

Fu Yunxi came back to his senses, a trace of anger rising on his face.

"How am I not good enough? In what way? Is President Lu good enough? Does he deserve you?"

"I don't deserve you either."

Lu Ye turned to look at Xie Lin.

"But I'll work hard to be worthy of you!"