A girl stood in front of the male influencer raising her chin slightly. “It seems that Chi Shao ^[1]Young Master Chi only said you could come up, not that you could change clothes.”

The male influencer glared at her fiercely. They’re both in the same industry and both in the same game; what gave her the right to speak to him like that?

“Who the hell do you think you are, you bitch? Crawling up to those bigwigs in the rankings, thinking you’re so clean?”

He started hurling insults, but the girl was completely unfazed. She’d been insulted by plenty of people before. She earned her money through her skills, without stealing or lying. If people wanted to spend money on her, it was a testament to her abilities. Unlike this ugly, vile man who tricked young girls—even daring to go after underage fans from school.

“No matter what, I’m still cleaner than you, especially right now. Let’s all be honest here—did Chi Shao give you permission to change clothes?”

“I think staying wet suits you just fine. Don’t you always show off how great your body is? Well, now’s your chance to show it off even more.”

The girl casually sat down on the couch, leaning against the railing. Everyone around exchanged looks, sensing that this was a chance to pick sides. Who should they support?

Since Chi Shao wasn’t around to see this, some people began to hesitate.

On the other side, Xue Zhongming and Chang Feng were watching the drama unfold. Xue Zhongming shook his head. “When there are too many people, there’s always going to be a drama.”

“But it’s entertaining, right?”

Compared to the others, their status was higher here. There was no real equality when you were paid to be somewhere—there would always be an imbalance.

“Hey, wearing wet clothes must be uncomfortable. I say, just take them off. You’ll feel better that way.”

“And don’t put them back on until they’re dry.”

With Xue Zhongming’s words, everyone turned to him. His meaning was clear. There was no need to pick sides anymore. Anyone who dared to stand with the influencer would be directly opposing Xue Zhongming, Chi Shao, and their group.

The girl burst out laughing, her voice light and carefree as she provoked him on. “Go on, take them off!”

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you strip quickly enough for your fans? Why so reserved now?”

“What? No fans here to watch you?”

“I’m his fan!” A quiet girl with a ponytail raised her hand, her eyes gleaming mischievously despite her gentle appearance.

“There you go! You’ve got a fan, now you can strip.”

Everyone’s eyes were now glued to the male actor. He was still dressed, but in that moment, he felt utterly humiliated. He suddenly wished he had stayed in the water—it would’ve been better than this.

“Whoooo!”

The crowd cheered and blocked his path when he tried to jump back into the water.

With no other choice, the influencer slowly removed his clothes, piece by piece. He kept his last layer on, but it didn’t really make a difference at this point.

“Tsk tsk tsk. I thought there’d be more to see. But it’s just this?”

The girl who had started the whole thing stared down at him.

“Look! A needle(Pertaining to the Actor’s d*ck)Everyone, check out that tiny needle—his assets are seriously lacking!”

The mischievous girl and the instigator, goad^[2]stimulate some action or reaction. each other on, and the whole crowd focused on the half-naked celebrity.

Xue Zhongming couldn’t help but laugh as well.

Some people on the boat smiled awkwardly, feeling slightly offended by the “needle” remark, but no one dared to step forward, not wanting to end up stripped themselves.

Meanwhile, Chi Yao had been peacefully napping in his room for almost an hour. When he woke up, the boat had already reached a small island in the middle of the sea.

The island had no residents, just a dense forest.

Chi Yao stepped out of his room and immediately spotted a half-naked man, which instantly soured his mood.

Xue Zhongming approached and gave him a quick rundown of what had happened earlier. Chi Yao was surprised at how entertaining these people had turned out to be.

“So, is his clothes dry now?”

“They’re dry, but without your say-so, he doesn’t dare to put them back on.”

“What do you think? Should he wear them?”

Xue Zhongming’s heart skipped a beat. Why did he feel like this was a trap? Was he going to end up stripping too?

“There seem to be a lot of shrimp near the island. Since he’s already undressed, why not send him into the water to catch some?”

“Shrimp? Sounds good. Let’s leave that to him.” Chi Yao smiled coldly, his gaze icy as he looked at the half-naked influencer.

They got off the yacht and walked along the beach. Xue Zhongming headed off to make arrangements for shrimp-catching.

After just a few steps, someone called out to Chi Yao. When he approached, a man threw an arm around his shoulders. This guy was outgoing and, while they didn’t interact often, he and Chi Yao got along well.

“I think this island is great. How about we build a resort here? What do you think?”

Buying the island would cost a lot, and while Qu Liang had the money, it was the networking that posed a challenge. If Chi Yao invested, even just by lending his name, the connections would instantly be sorted out.

After all, Chi Yao’s grandfather was a powerful figure. Even the mayor would bend slightly in his presence. Although the old man was retired, many still sought to curry favor with him—if not directly, then through Chi Yao.

Chi Yao had never been interested before, but suddenly, he seemed to be now.

“A children’s amusement park sounds better.” Chi Yao suggested.

“What? A children’s amusement park? Come on, Yao-ge^[3]Ge, gege, is a term for someone older, Yao-ge practically means, brother Yao, you’re really going to let a kid tie you down at such a young age?”

“By the way, does Shen Ling know about this?”

Qu Liang doubted that Shen Ling had any clue about the whole situation.

“Why would he need to know?” Chi Yao asked indifferently, his lips curling into a cold smile.

Qu Liang scrutinized Chi Yao. What was going on? Wasn’t Chi Yao head-over-heels for Shen Ling? He used to act like a mad dog, viciously attacking anyone near Shen Ling. Why didn’t he seem to care anymore?

When Qu Liang reached out to touch Chi Yao’s head, Chi Yao swatted his hand away immediately.