Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I had Secretary Wang send Shi Jin a message, offering five million to buy out the photo.

Shi Jin replied: Why are you still cleaning up his mess for him!

I flicked ash from my cigarette.

Because I had known what kind of person Zhou Xi was all along.

It was only a sugar arrangement.

He served me very well.

Who he had followed in the past, I did not care.

But Shi Jin seemed unable to accept it.

He blocked Secretary Wang.

The photo appeared online the next day.

Very quickly, it spread everywhere.

Zhou Xi had only just become popular.

In fans’ words, he had touched the cake of many rising stars waiting to explode.

The moment there was a bit of dirt, countless paid trolls rushed forward one after another.

When Zhou Xi came back, I was cooking steak myself.

Butter sizzled.

The range hood made almost no sound.

The Maillard reaction looked very tempting.

The charred aroma of the meat slipped into my nose.

Zhou Xi seemed to know he had made a mistake.

He circled me from behind and rested his head on my shoulder like a puppy.

“Sis, did you see it…”

My breath caught.

I had actually doubted whether that photo was real.

But Secretary Wang had checked. There were no traces of photo manipulation.

She had investigated the source. It had been in an envelope Shi Jin received one day.

But Zhou Xi had told me I was his first sponsor.

And his technique the first time had been poor enough to reassure people.

Secretary Wang had roughly checked his past as well.

His small eighteenth-tier county city was too far away, and I had not made Secretary Wang fly there just for such a trivial matter.

But after Zhou Xi came to A City, he had indeed only eaten my soft rice.

So I had not really believed it.

Perhaps there was some misunderstanding.

Until now.

Zhou Xi spoke guiltily. “Sis, I didn’t mean to lie to you.”

So it was actually true.

He really had lied.

I really was not his first sponsor.

I took a deep breath and steadied my emotions.

“Let’s eat first.”

I stepped out of Zhou Xi’s arms.

He froze, his arms still hanging there.

“Sis, are you unhappy?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“I just feel it’s a little dirty.”

Zhou Xi’s pupils constricted abruptly. He stared blankly at me.

“Sis, what did you say…”

Calmly, I cut into the steak and said, “I’ve already had Secretary Wang handle the news online.”

I ate two bites of steak. When I reached the third, Zhou Xi suddenly hoisted me over his shoulder.

The two bites I had just swallowed nearly got squeezed back out.

“Sis, how can you think I’m dirty? How can you do that?”

There was a sob in his voice, but his movements were not gentle at all as he carried me upstairs.

“I’m not the same as other people!”

“I used to keep myself clean. I never attended that kind of party. I–”

“Zhou Xi!”

I shouted, cutting him off.

“Put me down.”

Zhou Xi did not move.

“Don’t make me say it a second time.”

Zhou Xi sniffed, stubbornly carried me into the bedroom, and placed me on the bed.

Smack!

I raised my hand and slapped him.

After freezing for a moment, he came over and rubbed against my hand.

“Sis, does your hand hurt?”

“If it hurts, I’ll blow on it for you.”

A red mark appeared on that face praised endlessly by marketing accounts, and his peach-blossom eyes held tiny tears.

I was certain that the second things ended between us, he would be able to find a new sponsor.

“Sis, after what you said last time, I asked Secretary Wang what the medicine was.”

“I bought it. I’ve already taken two pills.”

As he spoke, he pulled off his hoodie and threw it to the floor.

I kicked him in the abs.

“I want to eat first.”

Suppressing my anger, I said, “I’m hungry.”

Zhou Xi looked on the verge of tears. He tried hard to read my expression, and finally sat dejectedly by the bed.

“All right, sis. Then I’ll wait for you.”

I went downstairs alone and ate dinner.

Today’s steak was not as good as yesterday’s.

It had been flown in from Australia early in the morning, just the same.

But somehow, the taste was wrong.

I thought of the times Shi Jin had stood me up before.

I had not been angry, since I was busy too.

But today, I was angry.

In the past, I had indulged Shi Jin again and again.

Now, facing Zhou Xi, did I still have to indulge him too?