Just as Qin Mingyuan expected, Gao Qing’s actions against Yun Yuexian weren’t ending anytime soon. So far, she hadn’t resorted to outright dirty tactics like spreading scandals or hiring internet trolls to insult him, but she was silently making his life difficult.

All the work he had lined up, whether it was invitations to film projects or endorsements, called to inform him that they had found better candidates. Even the contracts he had already signed were getting canceled, backed by excellent legal teams handling the breach of contract issues.

There was no doubt who was behind all this.

Even one of the subsidiaries of the Qin Corporation had been contacted. The person in charge called Zhou Yang to confirm whether this had Qin Mingyuan’s approval. Seeing this was handled for him, Qin Mingyuan was happy to oblige and gave them the go-ahead to negotiate.

So far, Gao Qing’s target was only Yun Yuexian, and the Yun Corporation was still unharmed. But if Yun Yuexian didn’t wise up, things could change quickly.

In A City, when the head of the Liang family wanted to bring someone down, they didn’t need to lift a finger. Plenty of sycophants eager to curry favor would handle it for them. By the time Gao Qing was done, she might not even have to get involved directly, and the Yun Corporation would be beyond salvation.

But if Yun Yuexian could just bow his head and settle for being the young master of the Yun family, stop reaching for what wasn’t his, he wouldn’t be Yun Yuexian.

Fans quickly noticed that their idol’s workload had decreased during his rise, and his exposure had nearly vanished. It was as if Yun Yuexian had disappeared from the entertainment world entirely. How could fans not be suspicious?

At first, they didn’t think much of it, assuming he was busy filming and had turned down other work to focus on his role. They even trended the phrase, “Yun Yuexian loves acting, a bright future ahead.”

However, when a fan at the set reported that Yun Yuexian had left the crew after just a little over a week, suspicions started to rise, and fans began @-ing Yun Yuexian’s agency, demanding an explanation.

With pressure from the Liang family, the agency didn’t dare to say much. Their explanation was that Yun Yuexian was dealing with some personal matters and would be taking a break, with no further details provided. They asked fans not to worry or speculate.

Though fans grudgingly accepted this explanation, deciding not to pry into his private matters, they waited anxiously for his return.

But just at this moment, Yun Yuexian posted a new Weibo update. It was just a single sentence, with no picture: “I don’t know who I’ve offended, but someone is really going after me…”

That post lasted less than a minute before it was quickly deleted. The hasty deletion was so obvious that it looked like the agency was controlling the situation.

Fans were immediately outraged. They stormed the agency’s official account, demanding answers and accusing them of aiding in covering things up.

The comments section of the agency’s official Weibo was flooded with insults, and their private messages were on the verge of exploding. Some fans even called the company to curse at them. The agency was in total chaos.

In Qin Mingyuan’s view, Yun Yuexian was smart not to directly point fingers at the Liang family. He knew that while his fans could rage at his agency, going up against the behemoth that was the Liang family was like a bug trying to move a tree.

He didn’t dare confront Gao Qing head-on, nor could he. His strategy was to let the fans put pressure on the agency. At the very least, he wouldn’t suffer all this in silence.

Among his fans, most were “CP fans” who shipped him with Liang Zichen. Yun Yuexian believed that sooner or later, someone would bring up Liang Zichen in connection with his troubles.

Sure enough, comments started appearing, saying things like, “Haha, whoever’s coming for our Yun Yuexian better have a strong backer—are they stronger than the Liang family?” and “Come on, it’s not like people don’t know Yun Yuexian’s husband is the heir to the Liang family,” and “Whoever’s messing with Yun Yuexian should think twice—unless they want to end up with nothing left.”

At first, it was just CP fans stirring things up, but soon even Yun Yuexian’s solo fans began to realize this could be a way to pressure his attackers. More comments involving Liang Zichen appeared, although the wording changed slightly, implying that even as friends, Liang Zichen should step in to help.

Liang Zichen’s fans quickly joined the fray, telling Yun Yuexian’s fans not to engage in moral coercion, claiming the two were just former colleagues who had worked together.

With both sides taking different stances, arguments escalated and eventually spilled over onto the trending topics list. Soon, curious onlookers began to take notice of the situation.

Yun Yuexian’s fans took advantage of this opportunity, promoting the idea that Liang Zichen and Yun Yuexian were incredibly close during filming and promotional events. Ignoring him in this situation would be hypocritical.

The uninformed public started to sympathize with Yun Yuexian, with some even venting their resentment toward the wealthy, making underhanded comments about Liang Zichen.

Sensing the situation turning against them, Liang Zichen’s fans rallied to control the narrative, trying to drown out the negative comments. But this only fueled the reverse psychology of the onlookers, who began to spam the discussion even more.

At this point, Yun Yuexian had achieved his goal. By dragging Liang Zichen into the mess, he knew Gao Qing wouldn’t sit back and let her son’s reputation suffer.

As for who caused this mess in the first place? Well, it was just the fans jumping to conclusions on their own. It had nothing to do with him. He was still an innocent “little white flower” in Liang Zichen’s eyes.

“Based on what I know of Yun Yuexian, he’ll probably call Liang Zichen next, shed a few tears, and apologize, saying he was just upset and posted without thinking, never intending to drag him into this.” Yun Pei was scrolling through the comments on his tablet. He glanced up at the man holding him.

Qin Mingyuan nodded in agreement. Now sitting back as an observer, having removed himself from the situation, Yun Yuexian could watch the chaos unfold, entirely unscathed.

“He might even make Liang Zichen feel guiltier, pushing him to confront his mother again,” Qin Mingyuan added.

“Do you think President Gao will relent?” Yun Pei asked, unfamiliar with the woman who was nearly as powerful as Qin Mingyuan.

“No,” Qin Mingyuan answered without hesitation. “Yun Yuexian’s tricks are nothing but overconfidence. Gao Qing has weathered far worse storms than this. She won’t be manipulated by him.”

On the contrary, the more Liang Zichen went to his mother to plead Yun Yuexian’s case, the more Gao Qing would loathe him. As someone who knew what it took to hold the reins of the Liang family, she couldn’t stand the idea of her son being emotionally swayed so easily by a minor celebrity. How could he ever secure his position if he was blinded by someone like that?

This kind of frustration would only make her want to crush Yun Yuexian more, to ensure he never appeared before them again.

However, Gao Qing was too smart to completely sever ties with her son. She would likely agree to give Yun Yuexian a break, allowing them both to breathe a sigh of relief, but in reality, none of the grudges would be forgotten.

“Huh? Why did the trending topic disappear?” Yun Pei refreshed the page, noticing that the hot topic had vanished, and searching for it brought no results.

Qin Mingyuan casually flipped through his phone, “Gao Qing probably pulled it.”

By removing the trending topic, fewer outsiders would get involved. Liang Zichen’s fanbase was large, and once they started cleaning up the comments and shifting the narrative, the public would soon forget the whole thing.

After all, this wasn’t a serious scandal, just some speculative chatter. It wouldn’t have a long-lasting impact.

Yun Yuexian, proud and unwilling to bow to Gao Qing, had tried to use tricks to pressure the head of the Liang family. But in the end, it was a futile effort.

He thought that Liang Zichen’s feelings for him would make Gao Qing hesitant to act too harshly, afraid of hurting her son’s heart. That’s why he never confronted her directly, always playing the victim and leaving Liang Zichen to deal with his mother.

Yet this was exactly the approach that irritated Gao Qing the most. What had been just an attack on Yun Yuexian could soon turn into an assault on the entire Yun family.

Knowing all this, Qin Mingyuan wondered if Yun Haowei would still love his younger son as much once he realized what Yun Yuexian had been up to.

Qin Mingyuan glanced down at the person in his arms and kissed his forehead gently.

When Gao Qing finally made her move, he wouldn’t mind giving her a little push. After all, they had bullied his little “Mimosa” for years, and it was time for them to pay the price.

After browsing for a bit, Yun Pei lost interest and set the tablet aside. He looked up at the man who had been by his side the whole time. “Isn’t your work busy today?”

“I have a lunch break too,” Qin Mingyuan replied, rubbing Yun Pei’s hair. “Not watching anymore?”

“Watching them argue is boring,” Yun Pei replied, leaning back into his embrace.

Since Yun Yuexian had no work lately, he spent most of his time at home. Whenever he was in a bad mood, he would throw sarcastic jabs at Yun Pei.

In the past, Yun Pei would have happily retaliated and left Yun Yuexian fuming. But now, he just found it dull. Most of the time, he ignored Yun Yuexian, spending more time outside or going to see Qin Mingyuan. Even if they didn’t talk much, just painting while he worked was enough.

Speaking of painting, after Yun Pei’s first visit, Qin Mingyuan had thoughtfully stocked his office with a full set of art supplies—his favorite brands of paints and brushes. He had even arranged a set for his apartment.

In addition to art supplies, Qin Mingyuan had purchased plenty of everyday items and clothes in Yun Pei’s size, covering all seasons, and packed them into his wardrobe, which had originally reflected his simple and monochrome style.

Now that Yun Pei visited the Qin Corporation more frequently, Qin Mingyuan had stopped hiding their relationship. Almost everyone in the company knew their boss had a boyfriend, though not many had met him in person.

Their love story had even become a popular topic among employees, with several versions circulating around. Yun Pei suspected that Zhou Yang was behind some of them, as he often caught him secretly observing him and Qin Mingyuan.

Qin Mingyuan held him quietly for a while before saying, “Actually, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“What is it?” Yun Pei leaned against his shoulder, not overly concerned, his eyes closed in relaxation.

“Yesterday, Zhou Yang brought me some information,” Qin Mingyuan said, gently patting his shoulder as if to soothe him in advance. “It’s related to your mother.”

Yun Pei’s eyes shot open, and he sat up straight, his gaze fixed on Qin Mingyuan. “Is there progress?”

Qin Mingyuan didn’t deny it. Instead, he asked, “Do you remember telling me that you saw your family’s old driver on Qingming Festival?”

Yun Pei nodded, a sense of foreboding rising in his chest.

“And do you recall the celebration dinner, when we saw a car near a private hospital that looked like Huo Lijuan’s?” Qin Mingyuan continued, holding Yun Pei’s hand. “It was her car. I had someone investigate both the hospital and your family’s driver, and we’ve uncovered why they’ve been in contact.”

Before Yun Pei could speak, Qin Mingyuan went on, “I was planning to meet with him myself, to learn more about what happened back then…”

“I’m going too!” Yun Pei interrupted, his voice firm.

Qin Mingyuan squeezed his hand reassuringly, bringing it to his lips for a kiss. “I know, that’s why I’m telling you now. I wanted to ask if you’d like to come with me.”

Yun Pei nodded immediately, lowering his eyes with a hint of sadness. “If he was really involved in the accident, I want to ask him why. My mother was always so kind to him.”

Qin Mingyuan didn’t respond, simply caressing his cheek.

They both knew that greed was often the driving force behind people’s actions, but still, there was a yearning for answers.

Yun Pei leaned into Qin Mingyuan’s palm, feeling his warmth, which helped him find some peace. “Will you be with me?”

Qin Mingyuan’s hand moved to the back of his neck, gently pulling him back into his arms, his chin resting on top of Yun Pei’s head. “I’ll always be with you.”