Chapter 29 – As Expected: She Refused to Lose to Him

After showering and getting into bed, her phone started buzzing rapidly, the rhythm so fast it could almost be a melody.

[yoyo: Damn, He Muya and Yin Qi are hooking up? For real?!]

[yoyo: (Weibo link)]

[yoyo: (shocked.jpg)]

Zhong Yang clicked on the link. It was a post by a paparazzo with over a million followers.

[Detective Little Wang: Come on, guess who these two are? Bold guesses about their relationship are welcome! (Video) (Photo) (Photo)]

The footage showed a hotel hallway in the middle of the night. Yin Qi and He Muya entered the same room one after the other and stayed inside for nearly two hours before Yin Qi left alone.

The post blew up, launching several hashtags to the top of the trending list. Old posts about He Muya’s rumored relationships resurfaced as well.

Two photos, two men. One tall and upright, the other pudgy and plain. Even the visually impaired could tell they were different people.

Netizens began to speculate that He Muya was two-timing—one foot in career, one in love.

[#6: She really has a big appetite, huh. Good or bad, she swallows it all.]

[Yin Qi’s a shareholder at Yuntian Entertainment, and she’s an actress there. No wonder she gets all the good roles—makes sense now.]

[I bet her cool-looking boyfriend is absolutely furious right now.]

[There’s gotta be some misunderstanding. Since when are paparazzi credible? We’ll wait for He Muya’s side—only believe her words!]

[I really thought she was the cleanest in the industry—like a lotus rising from mud. But I’ll wait and see, maybe there’ll be a twist.]

Some netizens bought the paparazzi’s story. After all, a man and a woman in a hotel room at midnight is bound to stir the imagination.

What they didn’t know was that the video was edited.

In the full version, another person was present—Li Jin Xun had entered the room half an hour before He Muya and Yin Qi arrived. His face—front, profile, and back—was all clearly captured.

That night, Yin Qi had tracked down the source of the previous relationship leak and was meeting with Li Jin Xun and He Muya to discuss how to resolve it.

Yin Qi sat on the couch and said, “The photos are with a paparazzo called Liu Liu. He wants 5 million to buy the rights. What do you think?”

“That’s it?” Li Jin Xun snuffed his cigar in the ashtray and scoffed, “Tell him to send his account details. I’ll wire the money tomorrow.”

“Nice. Straightforward.”
Yin Qi figured Li Jin Xun must’ve made quite a bit lately. He paused, then added, “I have a film project in the works—a buzz-worthy romance movie, planning to release it on Valentine’s Day next year. Want to invest?”

“Sure, send the proposal to my email…” Li Jin Xun suddenly remembered something. “By the way, what came of that dinner with Pei Yunzhe? You didn’t mention it.”

“Ugh, don’t even bring it up.” Yin Qi shook his head. “That guy…”

“What about him?” Li Jin Xun chuckled. “I met him once at a gala. Tried to chat, but his assistant blocked me.”

Yin Qi waved it off, “Arrogant as hell. His assistant’s a snob too.”

He Muya, who had been quietly sitting nearby, suddenly spoke up.

“Honey, is Pei Yunzhe the chairman of the Pei Group? The one who invested in Wusu?”

Li Jin Xun thought she was upset again and gently held her hand. “Babe, just consider that movie a gift to that Zhong girl. Yin Qi’s got a new project anyway—how about being the female lead?”

He Muya smiled faintly and nodded.

Yin Qi, watching this from the side, could only sigh inwardly.

He didn’t dare say anything about Zhong Yang and Pei Yunzhe, just like everyone else at that dinner.

They had thought Pei Yunzhe dumped Zhong Yang when they saw her riding the subway to work, and so they let Zhang Yue bully her.

But shortly after, Pei Yunzhe arranged a lead film role for her. Seriously? They were still involved!

Watching the couple’s sweet interactions, Yin Qi exhaled smoke and looked away.

From now on, he couldn’t afford to help He Muya too much—unless it was like this time, where the paparazzo asked for 2 million and he flipped it for a 3-million profit.

---

Meanwhile, with the #HeMuyaCheating scandal still trending, the trio met again.

Li Jin Xun sat grimly in the middle, He Muya looked pitiful beside him, and Yin Qi forced a smile. “This is clearly a misunderstanding. Come on, Old Li, don’t let it bother you. Paparazzi love talking nonsense.”

Of course it was nonsense—Li Jin Xun had been there too and knew it was fake.

But still, having your woman rumored to be with another man left a bad taste in your mouth.

Li Jin Xun leaned back irritably and crossed his legs. “Money’s not an issue. Just clear it up fast—and make sure no one links me to this.”

Yin Qi gave his guarantee. “No problem. I’ll coordinate with the team right away. It’ll be gone by morning.”

He Muya sighed, her eyes moist. “I don’t know what’s going on lately. Did I offend someone?”

“It’s okay.” Li Jin Xun patted her head. “Don’t think too much. I’m here.”

Yin Qi, who knew the truth, stayed silent.

---

Elsewhere…

Zhong Yang was gossiping with Xu Youyou when she got a call from Su Mingzhu.

“Hey, Xiao Yang, did you see the trending news?”

“I did…” Zhong Yang suddenly had a hunch. “Sis, don’t tell me you were behind it?”

Su Mingzhu chuckled. “Smart girl. Yup, I sold it to the paparazzi. Took it out of context—fighting fire with fire.”

She added, “And there’s more good news. Assistant Zhang found another crucial piece of evidence. I’ll send it soon. But for now, I’m not planning to go public with it—we’ll have to let you suffer a bit longer.”

Zhong Yang quickly said, “No problem! I’ll follow your pace 100%!”

After the call, she received a one-minute-two-second video.

The footage was grainy, no sound. It was late at night in an empty parking lot. A black Ferrari sat quietly on the right—the same one she had been filmed in.

A few seconds in, a man in a mask and black T-shirt carried an unconscious Zhong Yang to the front passenger seat.

Her brows furrowed.

Then, a slightly overweight middle-aged man in a suit got into the driver’s seat, posed intimately with her, and flashed an OK sign toward the camera.

In a matter of seconds, the photo op was complete. They moved her to the back seat and drove off.

The video ended, looping back to the beginning.

Zhong Yang clenched her phone. As expected.

A staged setup. Dirty tricks.

He Muya, Li Jin Xun, Yuntian Entertainment… they had almost destroyed her.

Now, the evidence chain was almost complete. The truth would soon come to light. They’d face consequences.

And all of this—without Pei Yunzhe’s help…

Thinking of him, Zhong Yang suddenly flopped face-first into her blanket and sighed.

The wild winds of the grasslands had cleared her head. Looking back at that night, she realized maybe she overreacted.

She had kissed him first, lost control, enjoyed it—then hesitated and rejected his confession.

Wasn’t she just stringing him along?

So maybe Pei Yunzhe’s temper was understandable.

Since arriving at Jindian, she’d been telling herself: if Pei Yunzhe came to make peace, said something sweet, she’d maybe forgive him.

But days passed.

And that black profile icon? Silent. Buried somewhere in her chat list.

Today, she even half-hoped he came to find her. She’d awkwardly waited, expecting him to greet her…

Ridiculous. He treated her like air.

Thinking of his cold, indifferent face, Zhong Yang rolled over and turned off the light.

Why should she be the only one bothered by this ambiguous relationship?

She refused to lose to him.

Her hidden hopes had long turned sour after a week of disappointment. She lay there thinking aimlessly, unable to sleep.

So, she grabbed a blanket, slipped on her new cute white cat slippers, and stepped out onto the terrace.

She just wanted some fresh air—but couldn’t help glancing next door.

Pei Yunzhe’s cabin hadn’t drawn the curtains. From her vantage point, she could see his bedroom desk, a laptop open on top. No sign of him.

Just as she was wondering why he was even in Jindian, a black silhouette appeared in the corner of the window.

Zhong Yang immediately ducked, peeking through the railing.

Pei Yunzhe pulled out a chair, sat down, one hand on the mouse, the other on his lips, eyes focused on the screen—deep in thought.

Zhong Yang sighed in relief and resumed her earlier speculation.

Was he here to supervise the crew? But wasn’t he too busy for that?

Vacation? Jindian wasn’t in season for tourism.

Visiting someone? Who? Definitely not her.

She watched that serious, cold man, then secretly flipped him off with her middle finger. “Treat me like a stranger? Fine. Then we’re strangers. I’m not forgiving you…”

Thud.

Her heart skipped. Her words caught in her throat.

Wide-eyed, she locked eyes with Pei Yunzhe.

Three seconds.

Zhong Yang retracted her middle finger, lips clamped shut, toes curled in embarrassment.

Busted for the stolen kiss. Busted for spying. Her weirdo image was solidified…

Thankfully, Pei Yunzhe quickly looked away and resumed working.

Zhong Yang gulped, darted back to her room, dove under the covers—ostrich mode activated.

Haha. If failure were a sport, she’d be a champion…

Buzz.

She reached out to grab her lit-up phone.

The long-lost black profile icon shot back to the top of her chat list, with a single red “1” beside it.

She sat up straight, staring at the message.

[ . : See you at the stables tomorrow. ]