Chapter 81
The cool silver-gray lines of the interior were unlit; natural light streamed in through the wall-length glass.
It was as if a layer of lingering tenderness had been cast over the two standing by the easel, holding hands.
The man’s voice took on a teasing edge.
Qin Mang pinched his knuckles and, when mentioning the code, sounded a bit pleased: “The password is easy to guess, my birthday plus your birthday.”
“Hurry up and tell me, or else…”
“Or what?”
“Otherwise, I’ll hold you accountable for these paintings!”
“You should know that you are currently a criminal caught red-handed by this judge!”
Qin Mang’s eyelashes lifted, indicating for him to look at that row of paintings — these were all evidence of the crime.
She thought of those lewd fantasies spun in the Aurora fan forum.
The fairy blushed!
This person, shamelessly, actually painted it out!
And even posted their CP super-topic.
“So are you going to ‘bribe’ this little judge, Mr. He?”
“I won’t accept…” a bribe.
The two words Qin Mang was about to say never left her lips.
Her willowy, fragile body was pressed against the massive easel beside her.
The easel wobbled.
The next second.
“Clatter—”
The easel, along with all the painting supplies, toppled to the floor.
It landed with a dull thud on the cool gray carpet.
“Mmm.”
Qin Mang was caught off guard and had her lips kissed.
The corners of her eyes grew a little moist as she was distractedly thinking: It sounds like a conference room downstairs?
Did someone hear us?
Accompanied by his muffled whisper: “Objection, overruled.”
There was no longer any chance to be distracted.
Domineering.
Qin Mang mentally grumbled.
..
Before leaving He Corporation, Qin Mang photographed each piece of “evidence” one by one.
She had originally planned to drive over to pick up He Lingji.
Now she handed the driving job directly to He Lingji.
“Even the safe period isn’t safe.”
”
Not next time.”
Qin Mang was pushing away the small blanket He Lingji had handed over.
She wasn’t cold anyway.
Hearing those two sentences abruptly, she turned to him and asked, “What do you mean?”
He Lingji said matter-of-factly, “I don’t want to have a baby for now.”
“???”
Wait a minute?
Qin Mang suddenly widened her eyes and accused, “So you’re going to abandon your wife and daughter?!”
There wasn’t even a baby yet, and another charge was added.
Just as the light turned red, He Lingji casually held the steering wheel and with one hand draped the slipping blanket back over her, “Not at all.”
Qin Mang rebelliously pushed the blanket away again, “Then why don’t you want to bring the baby?”
The light turned green.
He Lingji had no choice but to focus on driving, soothingly saying, “Taking you alone is enough.”
Qin Little Lion, who had just been about to lose his temper,
was easily placated.
Probably thinking he was too easy to coax, he hummed softly and, with a coquettish little face, pulled the thin blanket he had just pushed off back over his knees.
Blocking the air from the fully air-conditioned car, the calves that had already gone cold.
But she didn’t continue to act out.
Qin Mang buried her face in the blanket.
As she prepared to take a short nap, she felt as if she had forgotten something.
Sleepiness washed over her.
Then she couldn’t be bothered to think about it further.
Anyway, if it were important, He Lingji would definitely remind her.
He Lingji glanced sideways at the girl whose eyes were half-closed, a faint curve pressing his thin lips.
*
This Friday, they still had to record two episodes, because the first episode was already in production and, barring any surprises, could be released as early as next week.
To ensure there was enough material, they needed to record an extra episode this time.
This time the theme is “escape room.”
Four couples enter the escape room together, but the couples will be separated and randomly reshuffled.
While solving puzzles, they must also search for their
true partner, and finally escape together.
In short, the setup was ridiculous.
But!
The audience loved it!
When Qin Mang took off the blindfold, she found herself sitting alone in a chair.
A huge screen stood before them.
It was showing the scene over at He Lingji’s side.
At that moment.
He had been paired in a team with top female celeb Qi Songsong.
Handsome men and beautiful women—quite a sight.
The camera cut to Qin Mang, and her previously excited little face suddenly fell.
The tracking director guessed: Teacher Qin must be jealous.
Who would have thought.
The next second.
But then she muttered, “Unfair! Why don’t I have a handsome guy to accompany me?”
The livestream had just started.
The viewers who joined the stream heard Qin Mang’s “ferocious words” right away.
It nearly killed them laughing.
“Hahahahaha, your husband heard that!”
“You’re done for, goddess, your husband is jealous!”
“Eh, Qin Mang didn’t know they could see over there too?”
That’s right.
He Lingji also had a huge screen over there at first.
However, from Qin Mang’s angle, he couldn’t see the screen—he could only see the two of them standing not far away.
But very soon.
The screens on both sides went dark.
A prompt indicating the start of the quiz appeared.
“You have to answer the questions correctly to unlock the other person’s route instructions.”
What was even more malicious was the production team.
They gave Qin Mang a question related to finance and economics.
They assumed Qin Mang knew nothing about this.
After all, she was a female celebrity.
How could she possibly know about these things.
Qin Mang glanced at the question, then looked back at the camera with a faint expression: “Who set this question?”
The director grinned, sitting in the control room, answering through the loudspeakers: “It’s me. Teacher Qin, is there a problem?”
“You can ask for outside help if there’s a problem, but there’s only one help lifeline for each puzzle.”
Okay.
Qin Mang: “You didn’t do your homework.”
The director looked at the screen suspiciously.
Then—
She solved each puzzle one after another with effortless ease.
Director: “???”
At this moment the viewers in the livestream: “???”
“Damn, I couldn’t understand a single question, and she just solved them?”
“The point is she got them all right!”
“Did the show’s producers leak the answers to her?”
At that moment, the fans finally arrived to spread the word—
“Fun fact: Qin Mang graduated from Qing University, the top-ranked finance department of China’s Double First Class universities!”
“What the hell?”
“Holy shit!!!”
“What the actual—!!!”
“Qin Mang actually graduated from Qing University, and from the Finance Department?!”
“Mom! That’s the National Tsing Hua University Department of Finance!!!”
“Are you sure it’s not… Qingda Vocational and Technical College? (just kidding)”
“You can find it on Tsinghua University’s official site—she’s truly amazing! And genuinely low-key!”
“Qin Mang must have taken the lead female role. Back when the whole internet was saying she was just a pretty face, if she’d flashed her diploma she could’ve completely reversed public opinion. Instead she didn’t do that; she relied on outstanding acting and broke through in the entertainment industry, earning recognition.”
“Hahaha. The director gets the drumstick—gave a question without doing his homework!”
which almost caused Qin Mang to be suspected of cheating on the test.
When it came to academic credentials, they had never thought anyone would fake them.
Because it was too easy to see through.
Especially from a top-tier school like that.
The livestream was full of praise.
The director finally understood what Qin Mang meant by that remark.
The control room fell silent.
The director looked dejected.
The assistant comforted him, “It’s okay, it’s okay, there’s still President He’s side.”
Thinking about President He over there.
The director finally came back to his senses.
He feared President He would complete the task, but
he feared even more that President He would fail to complete it.
A few seconds of silence.
The director decided to bow to the financiers.
“If anything goes wrong on Mr. He’s side, make sure to immediately shut down the livestream in advance.”
Post-production can be edited.
But livestreams…
The assistant notified all departments to be ready to shut down the livestream.
That’s right.
The director, having no regard for personal boundaries, handed Mr. He—the finance guy—an art question.
At first it was just some basic art-related questions.
As long as the readership is large enough, almost anyone could get it right.
Until the very last one—
A colorful oil painting appeared on the screen, depicting vast swathes of brilliant sunflowers.
You could only view it for five minutes.
Then you had to reproduce the painting exactly as it was within forty minutes.
No one can do it.
Unless they are very familiar with this painting and are a professional painter skilled in drawing.
It’s very difficult for anyone to reproduce it one-to-one purely from memory.
In short, it exists solely to put contestants in awkward positions.
And what’s worse, there are punishment measures.
If you still can’t reproduce it, you’ll have to play an intimate game with the partner beside you.
For example.
Have your partner sit on your back while you do push-ups.
For example.
Confess your love to your partner for thirty seconds.
Then send the recorded video to… each other’s lovers.
They’re clearly the kind who can’t resist stirring up trouble for the sake of a spectacle.
He Lingi’s partner was Qi Songsong, who had always been uninhibited.
The moment she heard she could get up close to the male idol.
Whoa!
There’s even such a good thing.
She didn’t mind, really.
But a few seconds later.
Facing He Lingji’s gray-blue eyes, cold to the bone.
Qi Songsong quietly pulled away.
Just as expected.
Gods are not something ordinary girls like them can provoke.
With that face, she doesn’t deserve it!
Let alone sitting on the deity’s
lap.
Wouldn’t the fans tear her apart?
The director’s voice grew lower the more he spoke.
Because he could already feel the nearby pressure growing colder through the screen.
He swallowed, then shifted the blame:
“These are the ones netizens liked the most!”
They were simply respecting the audience’s opinion.
Don’t even say the director was a little flustered.
Mèng Tíng, who had been sitting in front of the monitor, suddenly stood up. No—
Swear to defend the innocence of their family’s young mistress’s husband to the death!
Just about to go argue with the director.
Reproducing a painting in just five short minutes—aren’t you making it impossible for people?
First, you have to have a photographic memory; second, your painting skills must be extraordinary.
This is an oil painting!
It’s very difficult!
Even getting the colors right is hard.
Meng Ting had long idolized He Lingji as a male deity, so she naturally thought she knew him well; in terms of painting skills, President He had never shown any hint of such a talent.
Unexpectedly, Secretary Cong held him back, calm as ever: “It’s nothing.”
“What do you mean?”
Meng Ting wasn’t stupid. Hearing Cong Zhen’s tone, she turned to look at him. “President He can paint?”
Cong Zhen lifted his chin, signaling him to keep watching the screen.
Meng Ting glanced over instinctively.
On the screen, the tall, long-legged man with an intense presence had already picked up the paintbrush.
Calmly and unhurriedly adjusting the colors.
Meng Ting: “President He can paint?”
“I’ve studied a little.”
Secretary Cong was humble.
That much.
But it was taught by the legendary Young Master Rong of Ling City, whose paintings were said to be hard to come by.
Oh, and there’s also Xie Fozǐ, who is exceptionally skilled at richly hued oil paintings.
Especially.
President He has a photographic memory; it’s not just talk.
At this moment, in the livestream room—
“Woa, woa, what other skills do this couple have that we don’t know about???”
“The deity’s painting skills are amazing,
the colors are matched perfectly!”
“Exactly the same!”
“They’re all exactly the same, family!!!”
“I’m going crazy, the Aurora couple are forever legends!!!”
“The director is probably going to be baffled again hahaha, the prep work wasn’t done right.”
“This is hilarious, we meant to put them on the spot but it turned into their show-off moment.”
“Is it possible that there’s nothing this couple can’t do?”
“Wah wah wah, He Shenqi is so cold and cool when he paints!”
“A man who’s serious is the most attractive!”
“Hahaha, Qi Songsong’s expression is so funny… totally an easy win.”
“Wow wow wow, Qin Mang over there finished the puzzle and is coming over!”
“Looking forward to it…”
Just as He Lingji finished the final stroke, the camera cut to a close-up.
Right at that moment.
The live stream ended.
The remaining suspense is left for the main feature.
The audience howled in anger.
Frenziedly tagged the show crew, cursed the director a dog!!!
The director is like a dead pig—unafraid of boiling water.
The harsher the insults, the more people will watch the final cut!
Is this even insulting?
This is all about the ratings!
..
At first everyone was cursing the producers for being inhumane and calling the director a dog.
But it didn’t take long.
CP fans from the Jiguang super-topic spotted a blind spot and screenshotted the oil painting He Lingji had just recreated on the livestream.
“What’s up?”
“His divine painting skills are extraordinary!”
“It’s not just that his painting skills are outstanding—does he have a photographic memory or what? Five minutes, and he completely reproduced such a complex sunflower oil painting??? Even the veins on the leaves are identical, unreal! I’d believe it was photocopied!”
“No, ladies, that’s not the point! Look at the bottom right, that cursive ‘h’!”
“Huh, this original painting seems like
No, did the god draw it wrong?”
Ship fans were excited like something, and of course netizens were playing a “spot the difference” game between the two paintings.
Quickly typed:
“#Aurora SuperTopic# Click into this SuperTopic, check the highlights — the major content creator GarbledLord’s painting!!! Go look!!!”
Netizens clicked in with baffled faces.
Then they came out stunned and with delighted, gossiping smiles.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Groundhog scream!”
“No way, no way, no way!”
“Holy shit, this is the exact same thing! It’s totally his habitual signature!”
That’s right.
In the lower right corner of the images that Garbled Guy posted in the super topic, there’s the exact same cursive ‘h.’
“Momma, what huge secret have we uncovered!”
“Oh my god, if it really is He Shenzhi, that’s… so freaking cool?!”
“Every time He Shen, he manages to refresh my understanding of how lovestruck he is.”
“Upstairs hahahaha dying of laughter, he’s really got a love-struck brain!”
“The one who was supposed to be cold, indifferent, with a pure and ascetic temperament, a unreachable beauty—this? A god-tier love brain I never imagined I’d see in him!”
Some passersby who didn’t know the whole story thought they were speaking in riddles.
Then they clicked into the trending forum.
came out screaming “aow aow” the same.
No one can escape a god-level lovesick brain!
“Who the hell… the main characters are feeding CP stans ahhh!!! Aurorafan stans are the happiest CP stans in the world, right?”
“Aurora pink fans are fainting with joy!”
“I never imagined, not in this lifetime… the main person is producing content for us.”
“The key point is that this main person is a deity from the heavens!”
“Before, the deity said ‘the light took pity on me’—I had a feeling about it, not some twenty-year love-struck nonsense.”
If it hadn’t been for words like that, now… sure enough, it came true…”
“Hahahaha, twenty years of being love-struck, unbelievable!”
“But I have a question…”
“Does the username szgmlwx have a meaning? I could only make out the two characters ‘gm’ meaning ‘radiance’!”
“!! Really?!”
“Upstairs, you’re so clever!”
“I have a feeling—here comes another wave of PDA.”
Little Watermelon chirped: “You just voiced my thoughts! @He Lingji, heartthrob, your cover’s blown, might as well go all the way, right?”
“Hahaha, Little Watermelon is still the bold one!”
“Wait, didn’t Little Watermelon already know the idol’s alt account all along?”
“?! @LittleWatermelonQuackQuackQuack”
Wu Yuxi admitted it.
LittleWatermelonQuackQuackQuack: “It’s really torture keeping a secret by myself, thank goodness, from now on we’ll all fangirl together when there’s tea!”
Qin Mang only found out that He Lingji’s cover was blown after the show ended.
Backstage lounge.
She glanced at the man sitting on the sofa, composed and noble in demeanor.
Finally remembered—last time she left He Group, she had forgotten something.
They were clearly only a short distance apart.
Qin Mang slowly lowered her gaze, logged into her main Weibo account, typed a line of text, and clicked publish.
Qin Mang V: “No more guessing! What on earth does szgmlwx mean! If you don’t say it, you’re sleeping on the couch tonight!”
As soon as the Weibo post went live.
Netizens immediately started riffing.
“So it turns out the deity has been producing content on the super-topic, and even hid it from his wife.”
“Deity: it’s about saving face.”
“What face? Love wins over keeping face.”
“Hahaha, upstairs, who are you trying to kill with laughter?”
“Letting the fans guess is one thing, but making your wife guess too? Bold!”
“The wife is personally going online to warn you, @贺泠霁.”
You’re the first one!”
“@He Lingji, do you want to sleep on the couch tonight?”
“@He Lingji, do you want to sleep on the couch tonight?”
“@He Lingji, do you want to sleep on the couch tonight?”
That sentence went viral among netizens.
Qin Mang scrolled through the Weibo comments.
Then she stuck out a small foot and kicked the man’s long leg. “Tell me.”
At that moment, in the spacious lounge.
Everyone turned in unison to look at the person who had been exposed.
He Lingji showed no shame at being unmasked.
His neat, refined features remained calm and composed.
The gaze that was usually cold to the bone toward others, when directed at Qin Mang, was like gentleness from the deep sea—serene and indulgent.
After a moment, the man’s voice carried a hint of amusement, “Okay.”
Cong Zhen timely handed He Lingji’s personal phone over.
Half a minute later.
He Lingji reposted the Weibo post from two years ago about the yacht “Tianguang.”
Two years later, the unfinished words were fully laid bare.
He Lingji V: Who knew the radiance would disorder my heart. // He Lingji V: I never intended to gaze at the light, photo.jpg
The comma I used to be.
The period I am now.
szgmlwx
Who knew the light would disorder my heart