As soon as the visiting fan’s words came out, the entire group exploded!
Messages flew across the screen one after another, so fast that Bai Ying couldn’t keep up. His eyes were starting to blur. He only paused briefly on one comment, and the bottom right corner immediately showed “99+” new messages.
It took a good while before things quieted down. Because the messages had scrolled so quickly, the fan who had broken the news couldn’t even get a word in. Once she realized she needed to give others space to speak, the others tactfully went silent, leaving only one final message: [What’s going on? Hurry up and spill it!]
That was exactly what Bai Ying wanted to ask.
Everything had been fine before the visit, so how had Xie Jin ended up in a relationship after it?
The visiting fan’s message finally wasn’t drowned in the sea of chatter. She hurriedly typed: [You guys absolutely won’t believe what I saw when I visited the set today!]
After waiting so long, that was all she said?
The group’s anger nearly overwhelmed the fan. Bai Ying couldn’t help but tap +1 and repost an emoji of someone fuming with rage.
Visiting fan: [Aiya, this stuff is hard to explain. I’ll just show you the photos!]
She then posted several photos, and the group fell silent. Bai Ying stared at them in stunned silence too.
The crew allowed fans to take some photos as long as they didn’t spoil the film, and Bai Ying knew that. He’d even helped them take several group shots with Xie Jin. But why were there photos involving him?!
The subjects in every photo were very familiar—one was Xie Jin, and the other was himself. How could they not be familiar?
[Xie Jin looking at Bai Ying with a smile.jpg]
[Xie Jin ruffling Bai Ying’s hair.jpg]
[Xie Jin helping Bai Ying fix the collar tucked into his shirt.jpg]
[The two of them carrying bags of fan gifts, smiling at each other.jpg]
Bai Ying thought there was nothing wrong with these photos. He and Xie Jin interacted like this all the time. Besides, they were talking about Xie Jin dating—why were they posting photos of him and Xie Jin?
While Bai Ying was lost in thought, the fan support group exploded again. This time, the messages didn’t scroll as fast, but the emotions ran even higher. Two factions even started fiercely debating.
Fan A: [It’s over, it’s over. Brother Xie is definitely dating. The way he looks at that guy is practically melting!]
Fan B: [Nonsense. Brother’s eyes are just like that. He looks at everyone with affection!]
Fan C: [And ruffling hair? My god, if you took these photos out of context, people would think they were the male and female leads from some idol drama hyping a CP.]
Fan D: [Maybe it’s just a kid from a relative’s family? That other hair-ruffling photo that went viral and nearly crashed Weibo for a day and a night—didn’t they clarify that the girl was Brother Xie’s little sister?]
The visiting fan quickly added: [Not a relative. He called himself Brother Xie’s assistant, and Brother Xie said he’s his little assistant.]
The group went silent for a moment.
After a while, someone finally spoke up: [Tch, “little” assistant.]
A fan said heartbrokenly: [He even added “little” on purpose. I don’t even want to guess what he’s thinking!]
Bai Ying finally caught on.
The fan who said Xie Jin seemed to be dating—did she mean…
The thought that popped into his head scared Bai Ying badly. Did that fan mean that he and Xie Jin were dating?
This was bad. He’d come here to work, not to stir up scandals with the lead actor to drum up buzz for the crew! With shaking hands, Bai Ying typed: [Aren’t you guys overthinking it? It’s just because that staff member is younger than Teacher Xie, so Teacher Xie calls him “little assistant,” right?]
Please, heavens, tell right from wrong!
But the fans completely ignored Bai Ying’s words. At first, a few fans backed him up, but as more comments poured in, even they switched sides.
[Brother Xie is nice, but he usually keeps his distance from others. Ruffling hair is one thing, but fixing someone’s collar? Do you know how lethal that move is? My bestie once straightened my collar for me, and my heart raced.]
[Brother Xie even carried the heavier bag himself. We’ve only seen him do that for female staff before. If that’s not love, what is?]
Bai Ying didn’t know what this was, but it definitely wasn’t love! He feebly tried to refute in the group, even badmouthing himself: [That assistant is so clueless, making an actor do extra work!]
Bai Ying hadn’t expected his words not only to get no agreement but to draw attacks from the fans.
[Hey, hey, don’t say that. Brother Xie has sternly warned us many times not to attack staff!]
[Yeah, yeah. Brother Xie hates crazy fans. He doesn’t rely on traffic anyway—we can’t act like those idol stans.]
Someone even asked outright: [Sis, are you a girlfriend fan?]
With Xie Jin’s fame, there were definitely girlfriend fans, but Xie Jin had always been a serious actor. Under his agency’s guidance, his fans were mostly career stans. So scandals about romance rarely caused drama. Plus, Xie Jin wasn’t young anymore, and his fans weren’t opposed to him dating. They even urged him to find someone—how could a thirty-year-old never have dated?!
Bai Ying, mistaken for a girlfriend fan, had no way to explain his bitterness.
The little snake rolled around on the bed hugging his phone. A spark of inspiration hit him, and he suddenly sat up to type: [That assistant is a guy!]
Couldn’t anyone realize that?
Bai Ying had completely forgotten that he’d just rejected a confession from a same-sex friend. He subconsciously thought two men couldn’t be together!
The group slowly reacted to his words one by one.
[Even though you say that…]
[But…]
[It’s 5202 after all…]
[Brother Xie never said he doesn’t like men…]
[And this little assistant is really good-looking. He even has a little topknot— so cute…]
Bai Ying nearly lost himself in that “cute” comment again. He quickly pulled himself together and kept lurking.
The fans reached a conclusion: [Feels shippable.]
Bai Ying’s vision went black.
***
The support group’s small chat had only five hundred members, but with that many people, the news couldn’t be contained. The rumor that Xie Jin was dating his little assistant nearby spread from one to ten to a hundred. At first, Bai Ying only saw it discussed in this group. Soon, another fan group he was in with two thousand members was debating it fiercely too. Then Xie Jin’s super topic started getting flooded. Finally, Xie Film Emperor’s brand-new scandal hit the hot search…
The marketing accounts swore up and down: This scandal feels especially real!
Bai Ying’s vision went black again and again. His mind was filled with thoughts of doom. Had he accidentally caused a huge mess? He’d never heard of scandals being positive—only how negative their impact was. For the first time since starting work, Bai Ying had screwed up big time. His imagination spiraled from the boss shaking his head in disappointment, to HR coldly telling him he was fired, to the poor little snake homeless under a bridge, sleeping in cardboard boxes from then on…
No, not this!
Bai Ying spent a full half hour psyching himself up before deciding to go find Xie Jin and apologize while the issue hadn’t blown up too much. He hoped Xie Jin would go easy on him for the sake of their acquaintance.
As for why Bai Ying thought it was all his fault and not Xie Jin’s responsibility too—sigh, that’s just how the lowly subcontractor felt.
Xie Jin lived in the suite upstairs. Bai Ying knocked anxiously, but the one who opened the door wasn’t Xie Jin—it was his agent.
“It’s Little Bai.” The agent welcomed him right in. “Here for Xie Jin?”
Once he knew it was Bai Ying, Xie Jin—who had been sitting on the sofa without moving and just letting the agent handle it—stood up.
He fetched a glass and poured Bai Ying some water. Bai Ying noticed two cups of hot tea already on the living room coffee table. Xie Jin had apparently been talking business with his agent. And Bai Ying figured he knew exactly what kind of business at this hour.
So he didn’t dare sit or drink. Instead, Xie Jin pressed him onto the sofa, then went to the fridge to grab him a small lime-flavored cake. In a gentle voice, he asked, “Why aren’t you resting this late? Did something happen?”
It was ten at night—not late for an overtime workaholic—but the crew had started at six that morning. Bai Ying had bustled around until eight. If not for the scandal breaking, he’d have crashed right then.
“I’m sorry.” Bai Ying felt deeply guilty. The cake Xie Jin gave him was lime-flavored—his favorite, prepared for him originally—but he didn’t dare eat it now. “I didn’t expect others to misunderstand… You guys know about it too, right?”
The agent sat back on the sofa and teased Xie Jin with a glance. Xie Jin sighed helplessly in his heart.
Bai Ying clearly had no other intentions toward him.
“We know.” Xie Jin nodded. “I should be the one apologizing. Sorry, I ruined your reputation.”
…Huh?
Bai Ying, who hadn’t dared look at Xie Jin, finally lifted his head and stared at him in a daze.
Shouldn’t Xie Jin be blaming him for tarnishing the film emperor’s reputation and figuring out how to fix it? Why was Xie Jin worried about ruining his reputation instead?
No matter how you looked at it, this affected the public figure Xie Jin far more, right?
Xie Jin’s words completely threw Bai Ying off. None of the apology lines he’d rehearsed on the way worked. He’d even prepared to resign, but now Xie Jin was saying…
“Don’t worry,” Xie Jin said. “It’s all fake news. I’ll suppress it. But it’s already affected you—what compensation do you want?”
How had it flipped to Xie Jin compensating him?
“No need, no need.” Bai Ying shook his head frantically. “But those photos are real… Can they still count as fake news?”
Xie Jin looked into Bai Ying’s eyes. “Does Little Bai like me?”
Bai Ying nodded, then quickly added, “But not in the way they mean.”
A bitter taste rose in Xie Jin’s heart, but he kept his usual expression. “So, it’s fake news.”
The photos were real. The affection in his eyes when he looked at Bai Ying wasn’t fake. The unconscious intimacy and tenderness when he ruffled Bai Ying’s hair wasn’t fake. The lingering affection in his heart when he called Bai Ying his little assistant wasn’t fake.
But Bai Ying didn’t like him.
What the fans guessed, what the marketing accounts fabricated, what he hoped for most—mutual love—was fake.
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle everything.” Xie Jin shoved the cake and spoon into Bai Ying’s hands. “Eat something sweet and get a good sleep. You’re upright, so you have nothing to fear from shadows, right? Don’t overthink it.”
Xie Jin convinced him. Bai Ying had come in full of worry but left lighthearted after the cake.
After he left, Xie Jin stared at the empty seat for a long time before telling his agent, “Pull the hot search. Suppress the news. Delete unfriendly comments about Bai Ying, ban accounts as needed.”
“Got it.” The agent asked, “Need me to clarify for you? That you and Little Bai are just friends?”
Xie Jin was silent for a long time before saying, “No clarification.”
There was no need.
People couldn’t hide their feelings, just as paper couldn’t wrap fire. He hadn’t been especially close to Bai Ying in front of fans—it was all because he couldn’t help himself. Clarifying now would be pointless; it’d be a lie easily exposed.
The agent said confidently, “You like Little Bai the way they say.”
Xie Jin smiled silently. “Haven’t you known that for a while?”
The agent wasn’t optimistic about him and Bai Ying. He’d been Xie Jin’s agent for over a decade, and they always spoke frankly without hiding things—that was key to their smooth cooperation all these years. Right now, the agent was blunt: “Have you thought about what happens if you really get together with Little Bai? Fans aren’t reacting much now because it’s just a rumor. But if you confirm it, the backlash won’t be small. Your career won’t escape unscathed. And even if you get past that, you’re so busy with work—you’d barely see your partner. Over time, won’t Little Bai have complaints?”
“None of that’s an issue,” Xie Jin said. “I’ve long planned to go behind the scenes. If I get married, I’ll definitely focus on family.”
He spoke without the slightest hesitation. For the first time, the agent realized that Xie Jin was actually a lovesick fool and stammered, “I didn’t expect you to be such a family-oriented good man.”
Xie Jin leaned back on the sofa, gazing at the glaring lights overhead.
“So there’s only one problem left,” Xie Jin murmured. “How can I get Xiao Bai to be with me.”
