"Lingyu, you put a camera in my stuffed toy. Does that mean you also put them in the gifts you gave the other girls in class..."
Ying Ning did not finish, but those who could hear her thoughts and those who could not all caught on. Many of the guests at Ying Ning's coming-of-age celebration were her classmates, and they swarmed forward to beat Guo Lingyu up.
With a ripping sound, Guo Lingyu's clothes were torn apart, and his phone fell out. On it was the evidence of his secret filming.
Holding the phone, Ying An said coldly, "Now we've caught you red-handed with the evidence. Let's see you talk your way out of this."
Guo Lingyu was taken away, and all the victims went to the police station. They did not return until very late. Only Lin Tingyue, Lin Shengyan, Ying An, and Ying Ning remained in the banquet hall.
Lin Tingyue said hesitantly, "Ningning, your coming-of-age celebration..."
[That damned scumbag! Why did he have to cause trouble on Ningning's birthday!!!]
Ying Ning burst out laughing. She smiled at Lin Tingyue. "Sister Tingyue, getting rid of a scumbag just shows that things will only get better now that I'm an adult."
[Ningning is so at peace with herself, and so strong!]
Ying Ning blinked. She would take that as a compliment from Lin Tingyue!
Holding Lin Tingyue with one hand and Ying An with the other, Ying Ning said happily, "Cheer for my coming of age! I, Ying Ning, am all grown up!"
Lin Tingyue smiled. "Congratulations, Ningning."
Ying An also said, "Congratulations, Ningning."
The three looked at Lin Shengyan.
Lin Shengyan huffed. "Nobody's even holding my hand, and you still dream of getting my blessing..."
Before he could finish, Lin Tingyue took his hand.
Helpless against Lin Tingyue, Lin Shengyan looked awkward but said at the top of his voice, "Congratulations, Ningning!"
"Woo-"
Hand in hand, the four ran out onto the lawn. Ying An had prepared fireworks there in advance. They were lit, and burst after burst soared into the sky, forming a sentence-
"Happy eighteenth birthday."
As the fireworks came to an end, Ying Ning and Ying An's parents finally arrived.
Their flight had been delayed, and they had thought they would miss Ying Ning's coming-of-age celebration. Luckily, they made it at the very last moment.
Ying Ning hugged her mother and father, utterly content.
On the third day after her coming-of-age celebration, Ying Ning came to the Lin Family home to see Lin Tingyue.
"Ningning!"
Lin Tingyue started running from far away, raced up to Ying Ning, and threw her arms around her.
Lin Xiawan watched quietly from beside the balcony.
Great, another rival. What was she supposed to do about her little sister being so popular?
"What brings you here today, Ningning?"
"I bought tickets to the aquarium, but my brother doesn't have time, so I wanted to ask if you'd like to go."
[The aquarium?]
[Cute otters, beautiful dolphins, and little fish swimming free~]
Lin Tingyue's eyes lit up. "I'm in."
"Great. Eight tomorrow morning. Be there or be square."
"Okay!"
"Oh, right, Sister Tingyue. I absolutely loved the gift you gave me last time, so I brought you a gift today too."
"Of course I should give you a present on your birthday."
That was what Lin Tingyue said, but the version Ying Ning heard went like this-
[What is it, what is it, what is it?]
She was delighted. Those inner thoughts were just too entertaining. She could hardly imagine it—if Sister Tingyue ever found out that everyone could hear her thoughts, would she die of embarrassment on the spot?
"I've already brought it, so just accept it, Sister Tingyue. Otherwise, I'll get angry."
"All right, all right. Thank you, Ningning."
Ying Ning took a box out of her bag and handed it to Lin Tingyue. Lin Tingyue opened it and found a little doll inside.
Beneath the little doll's bottom was a gemstone carved into a star.
With a restrained air, Lin Tingyue said, "Thank you, Ningning. I love it."
[Aaaaah, it's a gemstone! How much must one this big be worth!]
Ying Ning pressed her lips together and chuckled.
At eight the next morning, Lin Tingyue arrived at the aquarium entrance, only to see... Ying An?
Ying An was fully equipped with a hat, mask, and sunglasses, leaving nothing exposed. If not for his fine physique, Lin Tingyue doubted she would have recognized him.
"Why are you here? Where's Ningning?"
The moment Ying An saw Lin Tingyue, he understood what had happened. He said helplessly, "She probably invited me after inviting you, then stood us both up."
Lin Tingyue was quite optimistic. "Perfect. The aquarium didn't have any pigeons, but now we're its two sitting ducks."
Ying An smiled. "Quite right, Miss Lin."
"Shall we head inside, then?"
Lin Tingyue had long been itching to go.
Ying An said, "All right."
The two went to watch the dolphin show first.
[Aaaaah, so beautiful.]
[Can I touch it?]
[I touched it!]
[Can I kiss it?]
[I kissed it!]
[Can I...]
Perhaps Lin Tingyue was too greedy. The dolphin left, splashing water all over her face as it went.
Lin Tingyue: "..."
Ying An handed her some tissues.
Then they went to see the otters, and Lin Tingyue even got to enjoy shaking hands with one.
[Ooooh, my heart's melting.]
[Huh? I'm supposed to give it food? Sorry, baby otter. I thought we were just shaking hands.]
Lin Tingyue placed the food in her palm, and sure enough, the little otter took it. She turned to Ying An beside her in amazement.
Ying An gave her a thumbs-up.
Lin Tingyue asked, "Mr. Ying, would you like to try?"
Ying An shook his head. "I'll pass."
"Don't you like otters? It's really fun."
Faced with Lin Tingyue's enthusiastic recommendation, Ying An ventured, "Then shall I give it a try?"
"That's more like it."
Lin Tingyue took Ying An's hand, placed some food in his palm, and urged him to hurry and feed the little otter.
Even when the otter took the food from his hand, Ying An's thoughts were still lingering on the moment Lin Tingyue had held his hand.
"Mr. Ying?"
Ying An adjusted his sunglasses. "Miss Lin."
Lin Tingyue leaned into Ying An's line of sight and examined him closely. "Completely enchanted by the little otter, aren't you?"
Ying An nodded.
In truth, his eyes held only Lin Tingyue.
Chapter 41
There was a restaurant inside the aquarium. Sitting there, one only had to turn one's head to see the colorful little fish underwater.
Lin Tingyue watched with her chin propped on her hand, marveling at nature's wondrous palette.
[There's even a mermaid show???]
Lin Tingyue stood, almost pressing herself against the glass. Shimmering ripples of light played over her face as she stared without blinking.
The performers were two mermaids, one male and one female.
[Ooh, their figures are way too good.]
Ying An, who had risen with Lin Tingyue and stood beside her, could not help lowering his head to look at himself.
When he looked up, he found that Lin Tingyue was no longer watching the mermaids. Instead, she was staring straight at him.
Ying An asked awkwardly, "What's wrong?"
Suddenly, an earth-shattering wail came from behind him, startling even the staff member playing the violin in the restaurant into stopping.
Only then did Ying An notice that Lin Tingyue was not looking at him, but at someone kneeling on the floor behind him.
Ying An took a look and frowned. "What's he doing here?"
Lin Tingyue asked, "You know him?"
Ying An pulled out Lin Tingyue's chair. Only after she sat down did he return to his own seat. He nodded. "You could say that."
"Is he in the entertainment industry too?"
Ying An said evenly, "Yes. He's worked with both me and your second brother."
[That attitude of Mr. Ying's... could this be a rival of his?]
[My second brother and Mr. Ying should both count as A-list stars. If this man can work with them, is he an A-lister too?]
Ying An explained, "He was blacklisted just a couple of days ago."
Lin Tingyue said, "Huh?"
Meanwhile, after dropping to his knees and wailing, the man grabbed the trouser leg of the man facing him. Snot and tears streaming down his face, he said, "I'm begging you, Director Yu. Please give me another chance. I won't do it again. You can't blacklist me over a little mistake, Director Yu."
It was mealtime, and quite a few people were in the restaurant. The sight set them all talking.
"What's going on?"
"Hey, isn't that Lu Zhuosong, the actor who was blacklisted a couple of days ago?"
"Huh? He was blacklisted? What happened?"
"Seeing him like this, could there be more to the story?"
"My god, he's already an A-list star, and the money behind the industry can still quietly blacklist him?"
Hearing those comments, Lu Zhuosong put even more effort into his performance. He said pitifully, "You can't just do this because I offended you..."
Sure enough, his loaded pause led everyone astray.
"Wait, just because he offended a director?"
"Is the entertainment industry this terrifying now?"
Unbeknownst to everyone, the scene was being livestreamed.
[Aaaaah, I knew Songsong must have been framed.]
[The money behind the industry is seriously out of control now. They can just blacklist someone for offending them??? Does that mean they can make someone disappear too?]
[If even celebrities get treated like this, what about ordinary people?]
[This is terrifying. There needs to be a thorough investigation. Look how calm that man is. It feels like he's done this plenty of times.]
[My god, nobody's investigating this?]
Investigate? Of course it was time to investigate.
Lin Tingyue had not expected to stumble across juicy gossip even while eating at the aquarium. She had already taken out her phone to dig into it.