The area around the university was bustling at night, with groups of young people chatting and laughing. Tong Zhao had only graduated a year ago, but seeing this scene still touched him deeply.
Shan Song took a snack and handed it to Tong Zhao. Seeing Tong Zhao staring blankly at the students singing live by the lake in the distance, Shan Song asked, "Did you ever go out with friends during college?"
Tong Zhao snapped out of her reverie and shook her head: "There weren't many opportunities, and later I went straight to filming, so I went back to school less often, and I wasn't very close to my roommates."
Shan Song didn't offer any opinion after hearing this, but pulled Tong Zhao's scarf up a bit and led her into the crowd, saying, "Let's go take a look."
A circle of colorful lights surrounded the lake, reflecting the brightly lit high-rise buildings on the lake's surface. The singer's face appeared and disappeared intermittently. On the steps, a group of people sat, some of whom were local residents taking a stroll, while others were young couples in love. When the flashbulbs went off, it created a particularly atmospheric scene.
Tong Zhao forgot to wear a hat. He thought that no one would recognize him, and it was nighttime, so it wouldn't matter. But Shan Song still bought him a fluffy rabbit fur hat and put it on him. He then held him tightly in his arms, covering him up completely. He didn't look out of place among a group of young couples.
Tong Zhao sat on the steps, nibbling on a small bowl of shrimp paste. He glanced at the alpha next to him, picked up a piece, and held it to his lips: "Shan Song."
Dan Song opened his mouth and took it: "You eat this, is this enough?"
"That's enough." Tong Zhao smiled, and after a while, she looked up and said with a sigh, "Life like this is wonderful."
Upon hearing this, Shan Song pulled the person closer to him again: "How come you're still so easily satisfied?"
Tong Zhao felt that he had a misunderstanding about being content. Anyone with so much money, free time, and a perfect partner by their side would be content, right? He never dreamed that he would live such a life several years later.
As Shan Song listened to the soothing love song, he stared at Tong Zhao's bright eyes for a while, then lowered his head and kissed Tong Zhao's forehead: "Yunling will be very lively on New Year's Eve. I'll take you out to watch the fireworks then."
"OK."
Shan Song pulled Tong Zhao's scarf even tighter: "We'll go back after sitting for a while; it's getting a bit cold."
Tong Zhao nodded, ate the last two shrimp balls, and packed up the trash: "Let's go."
"What do you want to do tomorrow?" Shan Song asked as he led the group back.
Tong Zhao didn't care; he felt he could go anywhere with Shan Song.
"You're such a love-struck fool," Shan Song said with a smile.
Seeing Tong Zhao staring at him silently, Shan Song raised an eyebrow: "Not convinced?"
"No." Tong Zhao pursed her lips and said softly, "I just think you are too."
Dan Song smiled, lifted his robe to cover half of the person's body, blocking the draft from the passageway: "Let's go back."
That was an irrelevant answer. Tong Zhao grabbed Shan Song's still-warm clothes and moved even closer.
Five days isn't a long time, and Tong Zhao was still feeling unsatisfied when the director told him to go back and prepare to film his final scenes.
"You actually moved it up by two days? Did you talk to the director about it?" Tong Zhao asked curiously. Making it two days ahead of schedule seemed a bit too much.
Shan Song smiled without saying a word. After a moment, he patted Shan Song's head and changed the subject: "You can go home after filming is over."
The possibility of the director being threatened is extremely high, Tong Zhao thought to himself.
Shan Song personally stayed with Tong Zhao on set for a few more days until filming wrapped up, and things remained calm. However, Tong Zhao always felt that Qin Chong was up to something, and after discussing it with Shan Song, the two decided to be more cautious.
On the day of the wrap party, Shan Song instructed his bodyguards to make arrangements near the hotel, while Tong Zhao went to the wrap party under the care of Uncle Tie and Wen Wen.
"Are you full? Go inside and drink less alcohol. Just go through the motions, exchange pleasantries with the director and a few others, and make an appearance. I'll come pick you up in a bit. I'll contact you if anything happens outside. You can go with Uncle Tie for now."
"I'm full." Tong Zhao nodded. "You also need to be careful. Although Qin Chong doesn't dare to do anything to you because of Qin Siyuan's orders, he is good at using his influence over public opinion. He might arrange for paparazzi to come near the hotel and take some photos of you out of context to post online. You'll get scolded."
"Don't worry," Shan Song said softly. "My wife isn't afraid, so how could I be so cowardly? Let her scold me. I've been scolded a lot in this industry over the years. As long as you're safe, that's all that matters."
Dan Song touched Tong Zhao's face: "I've placed more than half of the bodyguards at the banquet. Geng Keli won't be there, but I'm worried that some of Qin Chong's extreme fans or haters might sneak in and disrupt the order. Keep the listening device on your ring constantly. If you detect anything amiss, come pick you up immediately."
"Okay." Tong Zhao patted the back of his hand to indicate, "If you're free, you can wait for me in the car, okay? It won't be long. The investors will probably give a speech, the main actors will say a few words, and then we'll take a group photo. I won't eat. It won't take more than an hour."
Seeing the worried look in his eyes as if he were about to be scolded, Shan Song couldn't help but let out a smile: "Okay, promise Zhao Zhao, go ahead."
When Tong Zhao arrived at the scene, Qin Chong, as the lead actor, was surprisingly not late this time, arriving even earlier than Tong Zhao. He was socializing with several directors. Tong Zhao pushed open the door and met his narrow eyes. Tong Zhao gave him a cold glance, greeted the directors first, exchanged pleasantries, and then sat down in his seat.
He was a minor supporting actor, and his seat wasn't far from the main actors' table. While waiting for the proceedings on stage, he was also secretly observing whether there were any strange people around him.
If it were just a regular fan who had snuck in, they would probably be sitting in the staff area, where most of the bodyguards Shan Song had arranged were also. He spotted several of them, but hadn't seen anyone suspicious yet.
Looking at Qin Chong, he seemed quite normal as well.
Even so, Tong Zhao remained extremely vigilant. When he saw the man go on stage to speak and glance at him several times, Tong Zhao suddenly had a bad feeling. What if this man called him up on stage?
Tong Zhao quickly thought for a moment and sent a message to Shan Song.
As soon as the message was sent out, Tong Zhao heard his own name. Qin Chong used very subtle words, revealing his identity with veiled praise, and then took the opportunity of introducing him to some investors to invite his brother to the stage. Combined with the previous rumors that were hard to distinguish between true and false, this time everyone had to believe what they should and shouldn't believe. It was truly a clever move that made it hard to dodge a direct attack.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Tong Zhao slowly stood up, pondering his words before going on stage. He knew the recording of today's event would inevitably leak out; he hadn't originally wanted him and Shan Song to be filmed in this kind of setting…
Tong Zhao walked onto the stage unhurriedly, looked directly at Qin Chong, took the microphone, and said a few polite words to buy time.
But Qin Chong clearly didn't want to give him a chance. Before he could say two words, he deliberately lowered his voice and interrupted, "Brother can take this opportunity to clarify some recent false information."
How much lower could he lower his voice as he spoke into the microphone? Tong Zhao looked coldly at his insincere face.
What are you trying to clarify? Are you trying to clarify that I'm not the wicked illegitimate child who stole your fiancé, or the child of a mistress's mother, and that Shan Song isn't a scumbag who fell in love with someone else, or an obstacle preventing you from reaching your true love? Or are you trying to clarify those rumors about me being kept by someone, which you spread around the set because I blocked your pursuit of Geng Keli without my knowledge?
Tong Zhao only recently learned that what happened back then was not only the work of Geng Keli alone, but also contained Qin Chong's revenge.
No wonder I disliked him so much when we first met. He thought it was just a simple dislike for illegitimate children, but the truth is so absurd. But he was the one who was being harassed.
Tong Zhao pursed his lips. Regardless of the truth, Qin Chong could judge him from a moral high ground. His identity was the original sin, even if his mother was deceived, even if she immediately withdrew after discovering the deception and cut all ties, raising him alone until her death, even if he was still being judged online.
He wasn't without his grievances.
But now is not the time to feel aggrieved. Tong Zhao said seriously, "Today is a day for everyone to celebrate the wrap party. Let's not talk about personal matters and spoil everyone's mood. Since we are all here by chance, let's congratulate all the main creators on their continued success, and wish the crew a successful wrap party and great ratings."
After speaking, he took a step back, bowed, and turned to leave.
I wonder if his actions will make people think he's so guilty he's about to slink away from the stage, or if he'll receive even worse insults and doxxing.
Tong Zhao didn't care anymore. He handed the microphone to the host, returned to his seat, and waited for everyone's attention to be drawn away from this little incident before calling Uncle Tie to prepare to leave.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com