Chapter 19 The Strategist of Love
At 9 PM China time, the following post appeared on the forum.
[Thread]: Does anyone know why the live broadcast of "Aces Go Places" was canceled tonight?
OP: As the title says, I just got home from working overtime, ordered takeout, and was waiting to eat when the live stream went black? Does anyone know what happened?
1L: First! OP, are you on 2G? The live stream clips of Best Partners are all over the internet this afternoon, didn't you see them?
2L: Check out the trending topics #GuMingyanIslandOwner##MengXianPassCardInvalid##MengXianYeJinYanEcologicalIslandFireworks#, you'll be amazed.
3L: (OP) ? ? ? Why does the entry say Gu Mingyan is the island owner? Doesn't this island belong to Meng Xian's boyfriend? I just worked overtime, what did I miss?
4L: To put it simply for the original poster: Meng Xian showed off the card given to her by Ye Jinyan in front of the real island owner, Gu Mingyan, only to be humiliated on the spot.
5L: (OP) Hahaha, Meng Xian is being way too awkward, isn't she? But if that's the case, does that mean the fireworks that Young Master Ye prepared can't be set off?
6L: This is the key point. By the time they realized the island belonged to Gu Mingyan, the fireworks had already been lit. Furthermore, because of this action, Meng Xian was suspected of violating the environmental protection regulations of the island's country and has been taken away by law enforcement.
7L: Holy crap, is it this exciting?
8L: Actually, I think Gu Mingyan's handling of the situation was problematic. As the island owner, you could have resolved it privately. Instead, you made Meng Xian lose face in front of the live broadcast, and ended up going to jail. Frankly, wasn't it all about revenge? That shows a lack of magnanimity.
9L: LOL, Meng Xian didn't give anyone a chance to interrupt when she was showing off the card, did she? And the fact that she ended up in jail is even less of someone else's fault. It's not like Gu Mingyan held a knife to her neck and forced her to set off fireworks.
10L: To be fair, this whole mess is really Meng Xian's own fault for being too high-profile. Her fans also promoted the fireworks show at sea extensively, creating a huge buzz that made it hard to ignore. Apparently, now you have to pay bail to avoid going to jail, and the amount is considerable…
11L: Regardless of whether she needs a huge bail, Meng Xian has already embarrassed herself internationally.
*
At this point, Meng Xian and Ding Manni had been sitting in the detention room of a police station in Australia for three hours.
Ding Manni, who was brought in for questioning as a relevant person, gradually became uneasy.
She was pampered since childhood; she had never suffered like this before.
The hard plastic chair made her feel uncomfortable all over, and the cool night made her feel cold, even though she was only wearing summer clothes.
Ding Manni glanced at Meng Xian beside her, and a sense of resentment welled up in her heart for no reason.
It's all Meng Xian's fault for showing off that worthless card in front of Gu Mingyan; otherwise, they wouldn't have been humiliated so badly in public.
Now look what's happened! Not only have we lost all face, but we're also locked up in this cold, hard, godforsaken place.
Ding Manni felt increasingly aggrieved, feeling as if she had suffered an undeserved disaster.
Meng Xian naturally sensed the low mood emanating from Ding Manni, but she herself was not very happy either.
If Ding Manni hadn't always been the one to stir things up, saying things like "Xianxian has face" and "Ye Shao's feelings for you are genuine," creating such a high-spirited atmosphere, perhaps the incident wouldn't have received so much attention.
Both of them had their own thoughts, and each felt that they were the more wronged one.
Just then, Meng Xian's phone vibrated in her bag.
She took it out and saw the words "Jin Yan" flashing on the screen.
Meng Xian answered the phone, her tone conflicted: "Jin Yan..."
On the other end of the phone, Ye Jinyan asked apologetically, "Xianxian, are you alright? I just finished dealing with some urgent matters and only found out about the problem with the variety show."
Hearing his familiar voice, Meng Xian's carefully maintained composure finally crumbled, and she asked with grievance and resentment, "That island clearly belongs to Gu Mingyan, why did you lie to me? You made me lose face in front of Gu Mingyan!"
Ye Jinyan quickly reassured her, "Xianxian, don't get agitated. It's not what you think. The situation is very complicated and can't be explained clearly over the phone in a short time."
He paused, then downplayed the issue, saying, "But the pass I gave you was indeed valid. I didn't expect Mingyan to be so ruthless as to revoke your access... It was my oversight that caused you to suffer."
This vague explanation, while not completely dispelling Meng Xian's doubts, at least temporarily silenced her questions.
Exhausted both physically and mentally, she only wanted to leave this awful place as soon as possible and had no energy to investigate further. She simply hummed in response with a heavy nasal tone.
"What do we do now? When can I leave here?" That was what she was more concerned about.
"Don't worry, I've already contacted a lawyer, and we'll get you out on bail as soon as possible," Ye Jinyan assured him.
However, the process that followed was not as easy as he had described.
After communicating with the lawyer, they learned that in order to temporarily regain her freedom, Meng Xian would need to pay a substantial bail, as well as a fine for her environmental damage, which would be used to restore the island's ecosystem.
When the lawyer uttered the astronomical seven-figure sum in US dollars, Meng Xian instinctively gasped.
This amount far exceeded her expectations.
Ye Jinyan, on the other end of the phone, felt a real pang of regret.
His recent investments have suffered a series of losses, with several promising projects going down the drain, leaving him with a tight cash flow. This sudden bail payment felt like a knife to his heart.
But Meng Xian is still detained at the police station, so we can't just leave her there.
He could only bite the bullet and say, "...I understand. Money is not a problem. I'll take care of it right away."
Ye Jinyan made up his mind to make Gu Mingyan bear the loss. In the past, as long as he lowered his stance, said a few nice words, and gave her a small, inexpensive gift, she would turn from angry to happy and would grant him any request.
This time will certainly be no exception.
With this thought in mind, Ye Jinyan felt a little relieved and immediately found Gu Mingyan's number and dialed it.
"Beep...beep...beep..."
The phone rang for a long time until it automatically disconnected, but no one answered.
Ye Jinyan frowned, thinking that she was probably busy getting her nails done and her hair done and hadn't heard him, so he patiently dialed again.
Still no one answered.
Undeterred, he dialed several more times, but without exception, all his attempts went unanswered.
*
Where is Gu Mingyan, whom Ye Jinyan is so furious about not being able to find?
She and Yun Qingqing were riding a jet ski, speeding across the dark blue sea!
Fortunately, Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing reacted quickly and resolutely stopped the second half of the fireworks display, thus preventing a greater impact on the island's ecology.
After completing the necessary procedures, Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing offered to help clean up the remnants of the fireworks that had been set off and fallen into the sea.
The island's staff used salvage boats, while the two women opted for the more agile jet skis as their mode of transportation.
Gu Mingyan skillfully controlled the direction, her figure rising and falling slightly with the waves, appearing both dashing and agile.
Yun Qingqing, who was riding a jet ski for the first time, clung tightly to Gu Mingyan's waist, feeling both nervous and excited.
Every time the jet ski accelerated and broke through the waves, she couldn't help but let out a soft gasp.
Just as Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing were riding their jet skis, enjoying the cool sea breeze, a system notification sounded in Yun Qingqing's mind:
[Host, we have detected that the male lead is continuously dialing Gu Mingyan's cell phone.]
Yun asked softly, "What does he want with Mingyan?"
The system stated: "Based on analysis, there is a 99.9% probability that her intention is to demand that Gu Mingyan pay Meng Xian's bail and fine."
Yun Qingqing immediately rolled her eyes, cursing inwardly:
That scumbag really did have something to hide!
She made a mess of her own business, and now she wants her little fortune god to clean it up? Dream on!
Seeing that Gu Mingyan seemed to have noticed something and wanted to slow down to check her phone in her pocket, Yun Qingqing immediately hugged her waist tightly and pointed to a small floating object that bobbed with the waves not far away: "Mingyan, there seems to be some fireworks debris that hasn't been retrieved yet. Let's go check it out quickly, lest it get washed away by the waves!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Mingyan's attention was immediately diverted.
She immediately replied, "Okay! Hurry up!"
As he spoke, he twisted the throttle sharply, and the speed of the sea motorcycle instantly increased, speeding towards the direction Yun Qingqing pointed out.
The strong sea breeze almost made it impossible to open one's eyes. Amidst the enormous roar of the engine and the sound of the waves, the insignificant ringtone of the cell phone was completely drowned out and could not be heard at all.
"Mingyan! The jet ski is so fast! It's much more exciting than driving!" Yun said with a smile.
Gu Mingyan turned around and smiled at her: "Hold on tight! I'll take you to chase the waves over there!"
The two enjoyed the feeling of freedom as they cleaned up the cannon wreckage floating on the sea.
Once the two felt they had cleaned up enough and had had their fill of fun, they drove their jet skis back to shore.
After taking a shower, Gu Mingyan picked up her phone, which had been silent for a long time, while drying her hair. She then discovered that the screen was covered with missed call notifications, all from "Brother Jin Yan".
"What's wrong, Mingyan? You look so worried." Yun Qingqing pretended to come closer, but she knew exactly what was wrong.
Gu Mingyan showed her her phone screen: "Qingqing, look, Brother Jinyan called me so many times, but I didn't answer... He must be angry because I haven't talked to him for so long."
Yun Qingqing secretly sneered, wishing he would die of anger, but she hypocritically comforted him, "Oh, don't worry, he definitely won't! Young Master Ye is broad-minded, kind and loving, how could he get angry over such a small thing?"
Gu Mingyan listened and felt that there seemed to be some truth to it, and her brows relaxed slightly.
But she was still a little hesitant: "Then...should I call him back now, or send him a message to explain that I was busy and didn't hear it?"
"Absolutely not!" Yun Qingqing adopted the air of a relationship expert, analyzing with great seriousness, "You don't understand, do you? Men don't like women who are too proactive, too clingy, and report everything to you. You need to maintain a bit of mystery, keeping them guessing, that's how you'll get their attention!"
Gu Mingyan looked at her with a skeptical expression: "Really? There's such a saying?"
Yun closed her eyes and flattered herself: "Of course! Let me tell you, I used to be the chief love strategist in our group of girlfriends. I've helped countless couples find love..."
Yun Qingqing casually fabricated a few of her own glorious "strategist achievements," leaving Gu Mingyan completely bewildered.
Seeing that Gu Mingyan was wavering, she pressed her advantage: "Mingyan, think back carefully, don't you have this feeling—sometimes the more enthusiastic you are towards him, the more indifferent he becomes? The more proactive you are towards him, the more distant he becomes?"
"It seems... there is a little bit," Gu Mingyan said hesitantly.
In fact, she wasn't completely oblivious to Ye Jinyan's perfunctory attitude towards her.
"That's right!" Yun clapped her hands gently. "Think about it, Young Master Ye is so busy with business, and his social engagements in the business world have already taken up a lot of his energy. How could he possibly have the energy to take care of his girlfriend?"
"So, as a qualified and considerate girlfriend, we should learn to reduce contact and try not to bother him. That way, when he's busy with work, he'll miss you terribly!"
[...] The system silently complained: [A hefty fine with no one to help pay it—of course it's driving you crazy!]
Yun smiled gently without saying a word, concealing her merits and fame.
Gu Mingyan, on the other hand, was completely convinced by Yun Qingqing's seemingly logical and self-consistent explanation.
The confusion in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by a bright and enlightened look.
Yes, Qingqing is right!
She might have been too clingy before, which put pressure on Jin Yan. From now on, she wants to be an understanding girlfriend who doesn't cause trouble for others!
"Qingqing, thank you for reminding me." Gu Mingyan's worried expression vanished, and she happily pushed the phone away. "Then I won't contact him anymore! Let him focus on his work!"
*
Ye Jinyan was ultimately unable to contact Gu Mingyan.
With no one to help clean up the mess, Ye Jinyan frantically borrowed money from all sides, and it took him another day to barely scrape together the bail and fine that had caused him so much pain.
When Meng Xian and Ding Manni walked out of the police station, both of them looked haggard.
Meng Xian's exquisite makeup had long since faded and peeled off. After the foundation was gone, she was revealed to have tired dark circles under her eyes, and she looked more disheveled than ever before.
Ding Manni's situation wasn't much better. The two of them stood at the entrance of the police station, and the sea breeze made them shiver.
When Ye Jinyan came to pick them up, he felt sorry for Meng Xian when he saw her like this, but he was more heartbroken by the huge financial loss. He only offered a few words of comfort before hurriedly arranging for them to find a place to rest.
However, just when Meng Xian thought that after paying the money, this nightmare could finally be over, something even worse was waiting for her.
It's unclear who it was, but they directly uploaded the footage of her setting off fireworks on the eco-island to overseas video platforms and social media.
The video quickly went viral, attracting widespread attention and outrage from many international netizens.
Especially after someone discovered that this ecological island was originally established by the famous botanist Ms. Xu Manhua as a scientific research and ecological protection base, which she devoted half her life to, public opinion exploded.
[How ignorant! Setting off fireworks in such a pristine place? Is that all the vulgar romance they have in mind?]
Ms. Xu Manhua is a scholar I greatly respect, and her works have had a profound influence on me. Seeing her hard work treated this way fills me with deep sorrow and anger.
These two people should be blacklisted! They don't deserve to set foot on this beautiful land!
[Chinese netizens are all mocking them; it seems they're not popular even in their own country.]
The criticism from overseas websites had already made Meng Xian feel ashamed, and the domestic public opinion only made matters worse.
How could marketing accounts let go of such a great opportunity to generate traffic?
Someone created various hilarious face-slapping clips by showing off her pass with confidence, only to be slapped in the face by Gu Mingyan's iris unlock, accompanied by a catchy, meme-like music. These clips went viral on various social media platforms.
[Hahaha, one more time a day, goodbye to embarrassment! Watching Meng Xian earnestly showing off her plant knowledge, only to get the names mixed up, is both a little pitiful and funny.]
[I'm just watching for fun, but this woman has truly delivered one of the most embarrassing moments of the year.]
Although I'm indifferent to Gu Mingyan, I have to admit, I felt a thrill when she revealed her identity as the island's owner.
Doesn't anyone find Yun Qingqing's line, "Who has time to care about your petty love affairs?" satisfying?
[I initially thought Meng Xian was quite smart, but this time she really seemed to have lost her mind; this editing makes her look even more adorably silly.]
Meng Xian looked at the funny clips of herself being played repeatedly on the screen, and she trembled with anger, feeling both ashamed and annoyed.
She debuted and became famous as a pure goddess with the image of "national school beauty". She has a heavy idol image and has never suffered such humiliation of being ridiculed by the whole Internet.
She immediately contacted her company, Huaguang Media, hoping the company could conduct emergency public relations to remove the trending topics, delete the videos, and control the comments, sparing no effort to suppress this public opinion storm.
However, the attitude of Huaguang Media's senior management was surprisingly consistent—to give it the cold shoulder.
The company's response was very official, essentially saying that given the current intense public scrutiny, any further response would only worsen the situation and provoke a stronger backlash. They advised Meng Xian to keep a low profile and wait for the controversy to subside naturally.
However, Meng Xian could not understand the public relations department's decision.
In her view, the cold treatment was clearly a sign of the public relations department's incompetence and inaction!
If she had a better agent, how could things have escalated to this point? They would have definitely removed the trending topics from the internet long ago.
Meng Xian never imagined that it was precisely her smooth-sailing debut experience that made her lack the ability to cope with crises.
She felt wronged, angry, and extremely upset.
Meanwhile, Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing had already packed their luggage and were preparing to return to China the next day.
The two of them sat on the terrace facing the sea, each holding a fresh coconut with a straw inserted, chatting idly.
"I promised you we'd come to the island for a vacation after filming this episode, but I didn't expect you to come earlier than planned." Gu Mingyan took out her tablet and opened the photo album. "In that case, take another look and see if there's any other place that interests you. We can go there next time."
The album contains photos of Gu Mingyan traveling around the world, with picturesque scenery, many of which are beautiful sights that Yun Qingqing has never seen before.
Yun looked through the pages with great interest, occasionally letting out a gasp of amazement.
Suddenly, she swiped her finger, and the style of the image on the screen changed abruptly.
The magnificent scenery has vanished, replaced by a rather simple photograph. The background resembles a lecture hall or auditorium, where a slender young man in a clean white shirt stands on a makeshift award stage, bowing slightly as he accepts a certificate from the host.
The bottom right corner of the photo also bears the watermark of the "Yuncheng University Youth League Committee" official WeChat account, clearly indicating that it was saved directly from a post.
"Gu Xubai?" Yun Qingqing stared blankly at the person in the photo.
Gu Mingyan glanced at the screen and immediately became uncomfortable.
She reached for the tablet and quickly swiped the photos over: "Cough, you didn't see anything."
Yun Qingqing: "..." This attempt to cover up the truth is too obvious!
As the two were talking, a cell phone suddenly rang.
Yun gently took out her phone, and an unfamiliar number appeared on the screen.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously frowned.
The system told her: "Don't worry, host, this isn't a call from your original vampire mother."
Yun gently shook her head: "Tong'er, you still don't understand me enough. Is that what I'm worried about?"
system:【? 】
"I'm worried about being charged roaming fees for transoceanic calls, they're ridiculously expensive!" Yun sighed softly.
[...]
"Who is it? Another spam call?" Gu Mingyan, who was next to Yun Qingqing, noticed her serious expression, leaned over to take a look, and then said casually, "Oh, it's Gu Xubai."
This time, it was Yun Qingqing who was confused: "Gu Xubai? How did he get my number?"
Gu Mingyan took a sip of coconut water and said matter-of-factly, "I gave it to you."
Yun Qingqing was even more puzzled: "Why did you give him my number?"
“We’re still blocking each other, right? I told him that if he needs anything, he should call this number,” Gu Mingyan said.
Yun Qingqing: "..."
She absolutely had to find a way to get Gu Mingyan to reimburse her roaming charges.
The phone was still ringing. Yun gently pressed the answer button and put the phone to her ear: "Hello?"
A clear, cool young male voice came from the other end of the phone: "Yun Qingqing? This is Gu Xubai."
"It's me. Is there anything I can help you with?" Yun asked softly.
Gu Mingyan leaned closer and listened intently.
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone before Gu Xubai's voice came through again: "Is Gu Mingyan next to you?"
Yun Qingqing glanced at Gu Mingyan, who silently mouthed, "Ask him what he wants!"
Yun Qingqing had no choice but to comply: "She's here. What do you need her for?"
There was another brief pause.
Gu Xubai seemed to carefully choose his words before asking in a rather indifferent tone, "Ask her if her island is alright?"
Although his voice sounded somewhat cold and hard, Yun Qingqing could detect a hint of concern in it.
Yun Qingqing couldn't help but have an outrageous guess: Could it be that he saw the trending topic and called specifically to see if Gu Mingyan had been wronged?
Considering Gu Mingyan's proud act of keeping the photo of her brother receiving the award, Yun Qingqing suddenly felt that the two of them were not as incompatible as they seemed on the surface.
As soon as this thought arose, many fragments of the original book's plot began to involuntarily piece together in her mind.
Yes, upon closer reflection, in the original story, Gu Xubai, who later became completely corrupted, was ruthless and almost destroyed the Gu family's business, driving Gu's father to the brink of despair. However, he never seemed to have truly harmed Gu Mingyan.
The ending where Gu Mingyan is sent to a mental hospital by the male lead only happens after Gu Xubai has gone insane and died.
Even when Gu Xubai was still alive, even someone as ruthless and cruel as the male lead Ye Jinyan dared not go too far with Gu Mingyan because he was afraid of Gu Xubai's existence.
Thinking this, Yun lightly tapped her finger and pressed the hands-free button.
“Gu Xubai,” Yun said softly, “your sister is right here, you can talk to her yourself.”
There was a longer silence on the other end of the phone, as if they hadn't expected to face Gu Mingyan directly.
Gu Mingyan stiffened and silently protested to Yun with her mouth, "Why are you on speakerphone?"
Gu Xubai also said to Yun Qingqing, "...Please pass on my message. I can't even exchange two words with her before we start arguing."
Gu Mingyan snorted coldly: "Tell him that you can just pass on the message, but who cares about talking to him?"
Gu Xubai retorted, "Tell her that if it weren't for the annoying trending topics, I wouldn't bother calling her either."
“Tell him…”
“Tell her…”
Yun Qingqing: "..."
Okay, looks like she was overthinking it. These two are natural enemies!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com