Earlier, there had been rumors circulating that the group, “Melon Group,” was going to be featured on the cover of V Magazine. But no one believed it at first. They were mocked, their faces ridiculed, with people saying they might be lucky enough to get an inside page, but the cover? That was just wishful thinking.

Even the fans didn’t believe the rumors. But Su Ning had indeed secured the cover resource, although he had kept it under wraps and hadn’t shared it yet. Keeping quiet about unconfirmed resources to prevent any changes was a basic principle for a mature management team.

In fact, aside from the V Magazine cover, Su Ning had already secured many other resources for the group. However, serious business negotiations take time, and all these details had to be kept confidential until everything was set. Of course, this opened up space for people to criticize, saying Su Ning wasn’t putting enough effort into things.

The statistics for the “Melon Group” fourth-generation Weibo were looking fantastic, so much so that even the internal fan wars were enough to push them to trending topics. It was clear that they were really popular.

It wasn’t surprising that a team about to explode would be able to negotiate for such incredible resources. But when it was finally confirmed, Su Ning also knew it wasn’t easy, and that Little Shen had put in a lot of effort.

Su Ning only found out that Shen Mingzheng had finalized the resource when he returned home that evening. It felt like a timely rain, so he immediately shared the news.

Once the news was released, the fans of the three members who had left immediately jumped in to voice their opinions.

“What’s all this resource talk? Let’s just go shoot the V Magazine cover first.”

“I just watched the live stream. Su Ning seemed easygoing, no need to escalate things like this.”

“Exactly, we can’t afford to lose the big picture over small things.”

Some even directly questioned the situation: “Our fanbase was just recently built. We don’t even have many major fans, and there are a lot of minors in the fanbase. Now you’re openly preparing the money for others? I bet you’re pocketing a lot of cash yourself.”

The online arguments regarding Su Ning took a turn. More and more people started supporting him, but Shen Mingzheng, who was watching closely, was still somewhat irritated by the situation.

He felt more upset by the online critics than the people directly insulting him. However, he knew that Su Ning had his own plans and arrangements regarding this matter. Su Ning had said it didn’t matter, fan squabbles were common, but Shen Mingzheng still quietly reached out to some media outlets to speak well of Su Ning and praise him.

These weren’t even exaggerated praises, just the truth.

Shen Mingzheng was confident about this.

When Su Ning returned home and opened the door, he saw Shen Mingzheng still sitting on the couch looking at his phone. Su Ning was a bit surprised. Looking at the time, it was almost 1 AM. He asked, “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“I was waiting for you,” Shen Mingzheng walked over, casually taking the jacket from him and handing him a cup of warm water. He only said one thing, “It’s settled.”

These few words immediately calmed Su Ning down. He knew that leaving things in Shen Mingzheng’s hands was always the right choice.

Shen Mingzheng didn’t really want to bring up the mess online in front of Su Ning, so he shifted the conversation to something more pleasant. They briefly discussed the details of tomorrow’s magazine shoot and then he couldn’t help but add, “How about I accompany you tomorrow?”

He still needed to liaise with the magazine people, and he had a feeling they might give Su Ning a hard time. After today’s incident with Allen, he thought if he had been there, he could’ve protected Su Ning.

Su Ning smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “What are you worried about? Trust me. You’ve already done more than enough.”

Shen Mingzheng was a little unwilling, rising from the couch to follow him like a clingy dog. But after Su Ning took off his jacket, it seemed like he remembered something, pulling something out from his jacket pocket.

“This is for you. I bought it as a gift.”

Shen Mingzheng looked down and saw a small jar of mint candies.

“I went to Xiangshan Bieyuan today, and when I saw this brand, I thought of you, so I bought you these,” Su Ning said. “I saw you always keep them in your car. The saleslady said this is a new flavor. Want to try it?”

Su Ning was trying to change the subject, meaning to tell him not to worry.

Shen Mingzheng indeed had the habit of carrying mint candies to freshen his mind. He couldn’t have cigarettes or alcohol because of his throat problems, a habit from his previous life that he still couldn’t shake. Of all the brands, he had always preferred the mint candies from a store in Hai Cheng. They were cooling, not sweet, and even had a natural bitterness from the mint, which wasn’t to everyone’s taste.

That store did indeed have a small branch near Xiangshan Bieyuan. It wasn’t online; only the store sold them.

This was a small habit, something Chen Tao knew well.

Chen Tao was an excellent assistant. Ordering the mint candies regularly wasn’t hard for him because he knew Shen Mingzheng’s preferences. So, whenever Shen Mingzheng’s car was stocked with the classic flavor.

Su Ning had often ridden in his car, so he remembered.

Knowing Shen Mingzheng didn’t lack the classic flavor, Su Ning had bought him a small jar of the new lime flavor. It still had that cooling bitterness, but was a bit sweeter than the classic flavor.

Shen Mingzheng: …

He opened his mouth to say thank you but couldn’t get the words out.

That night, the incident at Xiangshan Bieyuan was trending online. Shen Mingzheng had seen the news, and many comments were praising him. He also knew that Su Ning was always thoughtful. But what surprised him now was that this thoughtfulness extended to him as well.

He couldn’t help but think more deeply.

Su Ning came home quite late. Considering the travel time, the store should have already closed, so he must’ve bought the candies on the way there. While he was guiding the little idols around, the jar of candy had been in his jacket pocket and then brought back for Shen Mingzheng.

He must have remembered me.

Shen Mingzheng thought.

Su Ning noticed him lost in thought, then tore open a candy and popped it into his mouth, laughing. “I should’ve given it to you tomorrow. How are you going to sleep with all this coolness at this hour?”

As he said this, he was unbuttoning his shirt to go to the guest room for a shower. By the time he reached the third button, the door gently closed behind him.

Shen Mingzheng: “… I want to try it.”

He wanted to see what it tasted like, something he hadn’t tried before.

He leaned against the wall, looking at the door. Su Ning hadn’t shut it completely; there was a small gap. The mint candy didn’t seem as cool now, and he felt a bit warm inside.

Halfway through the candy, Shen Mingzheng received a phone call. He frowned, then walked over and knocked on the bathroom door.

He knew Su Ning’s shower time and that he was probably almost done. Sure enough, after knocking, Su Ning came out in a bathrobe, asking, “What’s up?”

“I just got a call from someone at Orange Video. They said they borrowed a phone from one of their assistants because Zhou Heng’s phone had been confiscated. He didn’t know our contact info, so he had to rely on his memory to contact the program team. Then the people from Melon Group found me,” Shen Mingzheng explained. “They said they hope you can go pick them up. They didn’t expect the company to do this to them. Now they just want to rejoin the team as soon as possible.”

Shen Mingzheng’s eyes never left Su Ning as he spoke, not once diverting his gaze.

Su Ning silently listened, then responded, “I’ll take care of it soon.”

Su Ning was in charge of all these matters, and Shen Mingzheng wouldn’t interfere. So he nodded without asking any more questions.

But the mint candy was at its most flavorful now, and he realized Su Ning also had that same flavor—like the mint and lime-scented body wash he’d smelled before.

Shen Mingzheng looked at Su Ning, then slowly bit through the last layer of candy.

That night, the two of them, of course, still slept in separate rooms. But Shen Mingzheng stayed awake for a long time before falling asleep.

The next morning, Shen Mingzheng listened to Su Ning and didn’t follow him throughout the day. But he did drive him to the Xiangshan Bieyuan villa.

This place already felt like a filming site.

When Su Ning got out of the car, the four young idols were already awake. The director team had set up the cameras, getting ready to film the first scene of their group variety show.

Yesterday’s live stream had only served as a warm-up; today was the official start, so it wasn’t live anymore, just recorded.

The director team announced, “I’m sure everyone has received today’s schedule.”

“In the afternoon, we’ll be shooting for V Magazine. The theme of the first episode is directly linked to this shoot.”

As soon as the topic of the shoot was brought up, the four of them felt uneasy.

They knew the shoot was a big deal, and appearing on the V Magazine cover was a fantastic opportunity. But at the same time, they were worried—yesterday’s interview was missing people, but they had been able to manage. Today, however, three members were still missing, and they had no idea how to handle it.

The team’s resources wouldn’t be worth much if they weren’t all there.

The director continued, “Do you know what the theme for the V Magazine shoot is?”

The four of them honestly shook their heads.

The director answered, “Hidden City.”

“Coincidentally, this is also the theme for our first group variety show.”

By now, the four of them understood the situation—three of their members had been tricked by their company, taken away, and were now unable to return.

This was a violation of the contract. But with the people in the other company’s hands, calling the police for illegal detention wasn’t good for the image of new idols. It could cause a lot of negative publicity.

This was something they often had to deal with in the entertainment industry: negotiations and delays, and the uncertainty of whether they would get the people back.

But Su Ning didn’t have time to waste with them.

When an idol group is incomplete, it’s a joke to try and run it. He had already given the other party some face. As he said, if they didn’t come back on time, Su Ning would go and pick them up himself.

If the other party didn’t know shame, Su Ning wouldn’t hesitate to be ruthless.

He knew exactly where those three members were this morning. According to some fan leaks, they were in Hai Cheng shooting an ad, with Pinnacle Agency having secured a short-term promotional resource for them.

While this deal seemed good, it clashed with the V Magazine shoot and another long-term endorsement Su Ning had been negotiating. Pinnacle didn’t have much experience with managing idols and always focused on short-term profits, never considering the long-term income from managing a group.

Su Ning wouldn’t let them take this resource by crossing contractual lines. That’s why he had to step in today and take action.

The term “rescue” might not be accurate, but “snatching” would be.

However, going about this the wrong way could cause unnecessary trouble.

If the opponent thought you were an easy target, they’d come at you aggressively. But this wasn’t a society where one could rely on brute force, so Su Ning needed to find a different approach.

Why not wrap this up in a more official way, making it part of the show and filming it properly?

In front of everyone’s eyes, with the cameras rolling, the team, and the management team doing the planning, how could this be called “snatching”?

After all, many variety shows filmed survival games or zombie crises. Those were just part of the show’s script.

Su Ning thought this could be an interesting twist for the group variety show. He couldn’t just do things according to the book. Keeping the idol group’s momentum was important, especially with the first episode. Today’s exciting theme fit his needs perfectly.

It was like a rare opportunity that fell right into his lap.

Maybe fans and the public knew what he was actually doing. But the contracts were signed, and as long as the idols were under his management, Su Ning would not harm them.

He had already said, this was a “Hidden Game.”

And he was right—this was a proper variety show.

So that morning, while Zhou Heng, who had been deprived of his phone by Pinnacle and was getting anxious in the makeup room, suddenly felt someone bump into him.

He turned around and was handed a note.

The person who bumped into him was disguised, wearing a mask and sunglasses, like an agent.

Zhou Heng:?

Wait, was this some strange movie plot?

He carefully opened the note. It read: “10 AM, bathroom at the end of the second floor. We’ve come to rescue you!”

Signed—The Phantom Thief.

Zhou Heng: …

He recognized the handwriting. It was Li Chu’s.