Chapter 26: The Movie King and the Husky 09

“Support… support you? Yeah.” Tang Bin tried hard to control himself, not wanting to appear completely flustered.

But for some reason, compared to the male lead’s presence, he suddenly felt much smaller.

Even though Lin Moning was not much younger, and he shouldn’t have less experience than him…

Why did he feel like he just wanted to melt into the wall of the restroom right now?

“How does Young Master Rui plan to support me?”

In the middle of his confusion, Tang Bin seemed to hear a light laugh.

But when he looked up again, Lin Moning was still expressionless, and his sharp gaze remained unchanged, looking even more serious.

“Just… let me be your sponsor…” Tang Bin said, casually fiddling with his fingers. “You’ll spend my money in the future, I’ll arrange resources for you, make you an award-winning actor, a superstar…”

“And what else?”

“What else? What else is there?” Tang Bin blinked, unable to think of anything more.

From his understanding of the definition of a patron, it should be like this… Could there be more to it?

“Is that all?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s all.”

Tang Bin said nervously, thinking his flusteredness was subtle, but he didn’t realize that his unconscious finger fidgeting and darting eyes had already betrayed his anxiety.

Fortunately—

“Alright, I understand,” Lin Moning said.

At this point, anyone else might have thought that Young Master Rui was sick, or perhaps just playing with him.

After all, what kind of patron doesn’t ask for anything in return, who casually supports a small star without any conditions?

Even if it wasn’t brought up at the beginning, later on, there would definitely be a need for the supported person to reciprocate.

Lin Moning had ended up in this situation because he refused to be “taken care of” by Luo Rui, so he couldn’t possibly be unaware of such things.

But Lin Moning didn’t seem to care.

His expression seemed to suggest that he didn’t think for a second that Young Master Rui was playing him or that something suspicious would happen later.

He said, “Then I agree.”

Tang Bin: “Great!!”

“So, it’s a deal?” he asked cautiously, studying Lin Moning’s expression.

“It’s a deal,” Lin Moning said.

Tang Bin finally let out a sigh of relief. No matter how difficult or easy, or whether there was anything fishy about it, at least one-third of his task had been completed.

Although this outcome had been entirely unexpected.

He had originally asked just to give it a try, never anticipating that the issue would be resolved so smoothly—Lin Moning had agreed!

Tang Bin was so caught up in his excitement and joy that he forgot he was still trapped between the two walls of the restroom stall, with Lin Moning’s arms keeping him pinned in place. He also forgot how close they were now, how their breaths were intermingling in the tight space…

It wasn’t until Tang Bin came to his senses that he carefully asked, “…Uh, could you let me go first?”

Lin Moning was still eyeing him.

Tang Bin realized that the young man was half a head taller than him.

He didn’t know if it was because Lin Moning was so slim, but Tang Bin had never noticed this before.

The height difference gave him a sense of pressure, and Tang Bin felt like he was being stared at from above. The sharpness in Lin Moning’s gaze made him feel even more so.

“Well…” Tang Bin thought of saying, If there’s nothing else, I’ll just go now.

But before he could speak, Lin Moning suddenly leaned in closer, pressed his hand over Tang Bin’s mouth, and with a swift kick of his long leg, locked the door with his foot.

Tang Bin: ???

“Shh.”

Lin Moning made a shushing gesture and Tang Bin heard hurried footsteps outside.

The sound of leather shoes hitting the floor echoed in the hallway. From the noise, it seemed that more than one person had entered.

And this was the restroom—obviously, the people coming in were here to use the toilet…

But why…?

Why wouldn’t Lin Moning let him make a sound?

In the cramped space, their bodies were pressed close together, and Tang Bin wasn’t sure when it happened.

He was somewhat confused, but since Lin Moning wouldn’t let him speak, and he couldn’t ask any questions, he could only hold it in.

Fortunately, the cleaning staff at the company did their job well, and the restroom was spotless. Even the tiles were shining, and there was a faint hint of air freshener in the air, with a fragrance like chrysanthemums. Being squeezed into the small space didn’t feel stifling or uncomfortable.

The two people who had entered clearly knew each other. From their voices, Tang Bin couldn’t tell who they were.

They chatted for a while, accompanied by the sound of water splashing. Afterward, there was the sound of flushing and hand washing.

It wasn’t until they had finished talking and left that Lin Moning finally removed his hand from Tang Bin’s mouth.

Tang Bin couldn’t help but wonder if it was an illusion, but he felt that the long, well-defined fingers of the other person seemed to gently caress his face just before they completely left his skin.

“Phew, why are we hiding here?” Tang Bin asked after being released.

“Two men crammed in a restroom together. Wouldn’t you find it strange if you saw it?” Lin Moning answered calmly.

“Oh… right,” Tang Bin said, suddenly understanding what the other meant, and nodded in agreement.

It would indeed be strange, since there was only one toilet in each stall, and having two men enter together would probably make anyone feel awkward…

“Let’s go,” Lin Moning said again in his usual calm tone. As the wooden door of the stall creaked open, he slightly moved aside, signaling for Tang Bin to leave first.

Tang Bin stepped out.

Lin Moning followed him.

Just as Tang Bin revealed half of his body, he saw his newly appointed sponsor suddenly stop. Lin Moning looked up, a little surprised.

Tang Bin froze in place, caught in a stare-off with the two men who had just entered the restroom. Both of them were now staring at him with their mouths agape, clearly shocked to see him and Lin Moning emerging from the same stall.

“Rui… Young Master Rui…” Fang Zhenggang, who had years of experience in the business world, felt caught completely off guard for the first time. Beside him, the new manager Lin Moning had been assigned, Shi Renqiao, pretended not to notice anything.

“…”

Tang Bin also felt at a loss.

However, when the other person called him “Young Master Rui,” he at least remembered his identity and the words 3376 had told him before.

—He was Luo Rui, and whatever he did was right in the eyes of others.

So Tang Bin tried to act cool, responding with a detached, nonchalant “Mm.”

He then took the lead, brushing past Fang Zhenggang.

Lin Moning automatically followed him, his head slightly lowered. As they passed the two men, he softly greeted them, looking like a well-behaved, slightly embarrassed young idol.

“Tsk tsk.” Once the two of them had exited the restroom, Fang Zhenggang finally came back to his senses and thought, Young Master Rui is truly Young Master Rui, so eager and quick to bring someone in… But the restroom setting was a bit too shabby, wasn’t it?… This really is the blood of youth.

Meanwhile, Shi Renqiao, standing next to him, once again revised his opinion of Lin Moning. He thought to himself, If Young Master Rui was willing to bring someone into the restroom like that… it must mean that person is really favored, very favored indeed.

Although Fang Zhenggang had repeatedly emphasized Lin Moning’s importance, seeing it firsthand was a different matter. It seemed that he needed to shift his focus to Lin Moning for the foreseeable future!

As the two men were left to contemplate their own thoughts while using the restroom, Tang Bin, who had done nothing wrong, didn’t feel much embarrassment about being caught.

Aside from the initial awkwardness, after they came out, he quickly regained his composure.

Tang Bin handed Lin Moning a card, telling him to feel free to use it and to get himself properly outfitted first.

The colorful card didn’t have any particularly fancy or unique design, but it was, after all, a high-tier credit card from a major bank. When Lin Moning took it, he immediately recognized its significance.

He wasn’t polite about it.

“Thank you, Young Master Rui,” Lin Moning said.

“Mm, then I’ll leave you to it. I’m done here,” Tang Bin waved, signaling that he was leaving.

For him, the task for today was already completed, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to disturb the main character any further.

Upon hearing this, even Lin Moning, who had calmly accepted being kept by Young Master Rui, was slightly surprised. He then shrugged nonchalantly and said, “Then I’ll be on my way. I really do have some things to take care of.”

“Mm, go ahead,” Tang Bin said with a pleasant nod.

Just as they were about to part ways, Tang Bin hesitated for a moment before saying, “Uh… if you need anything, just give me a call.”

“I know,” Lin Moning said with an ambiguous smile. “After all, you’re my sponsor now… in every way.”

Tang Bin didn’t understand. “Hm?”

Unfortunately, Lin Moning didn’t offer any explanation.

With a simple “Goodbye, Young Master Rui,” Lin Moning turned and left.

He was smiling as he walked away.

Tang Bin only then realized that when Lin Moning smiled, he didn’t look fierce at all—quite the opposite, he actually looked quite good-looking…

【Congratulations to the host for obtaining 18 landmines and 34 grenades.】

At this moment, 3376 sent a message to report today’s progress.

“Ha ha.” Tang Bin finally breathed a sigh of relief, especially after hearing that there was some profit for the day, which lifted his mood even higher.

He eagerly shared his achievement with 3376: “3376, did you see? I’ve completed the first task!”

3376: 【…】

Should it cruelly crush the host’s happiness by telling him that he seemed to have misunderstood the requirement for the task regarding “keeping someone,” or perhaps, misunderstood the entire concept of “keeping someone”?

Who keeps someone without asking for anything in return?!

But, well, since the host was so happy, maybe it wouldn’t be wise to dampen his spirits…

Anyway, the current outcome wasn’t bad at all.

—For a series of reasons, the strong-willed, little “puppy” character didn’t reject the host’s request.

But, the direction of the story was quite confusing to the system… 3376 sighed, quickly tallying up the recent tips: 【Congratulations to the host for earning another deep-water bomb… Hmm? Another one.】

【Wow… not just one, but ten! Hey hey hey? Another one?】

Tang Bin: “…”

In the midst of 3376’s barely contained excitement, Tang Bin was a bit confused.

He still couldn’t understand what the criteria for these tips were…

He let 3376 quietly continue its tallying while he returned to Fang Zhenggang’s office. At this time, Fang was still away, likely taking a break. Tang Bin had gone back mainly to fetch his dog.

He pushed the door open and, hah, there was a dog sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window, wagging its tail. It looked completely serene, as though the years had been kind to it. With the high-rise buildings outside providing a backdrop, it almost gave the impression of someone contemplating grand matters.

In short, it was nothing like those destructive dogs.

“Haha!” Tang Bin ran over. When no one was around, he couldn’t help but show his true side, and with everything going so smoothly today, especially with his little pet by his side, his guard couldn’t help but relax.

At this moment, he just wanted to bury his whole face in Haha’s fur. Tang Bin nuzzled it and said, fully satisfied, “Haha, let’s go home!”