Chapter 57

The two of them were visibly stunned for a moment upon realizing each other’s intentions, but neither let go of the room card.

Qi Ying had always been the type to strike first, so he spoke up directly, “There are other, more suitable room cards available. Gu ge¹Could be an elder brother in a family, or an older male, why don’t you take a look at those instead?” The implication was clear—someone of your status has access to any room card you want, so why fight over this one with me?

Gu Xi was used to being addressed this way by juniors in the entertainment industry, but Qi Ying had deliberately emphasized the word ‘ge’, as if to hint that they were not of the same generation.

Gu Xi looked at him with reserved politeness. “You must be joking. I may have debuted earlier, but if we’re talking about age, you’re actually older than me.”

Gu Xi hadn’t forgotten that when he first started searching for his benefactor, he had specifically investigated Rong Jing’s background. While going through the university forum, he had come across a detailed profile that mentioned Qi Ying, despite being a third-year student, had repeated two years, making him older than them.

Gu Xi’s words seemed humble on the surface, but beneath them lay a veiled jab—You’re right, we’re not from the same generation. See, we’ve already graduated. Yet here you are, still in school.

Qi Ying felt a surge of irritation. He hadn’t expected Gu Xi, who appeared cold and aloof, to be so precise with his words, striking straight at his sore spot.

“Oh? I never thought someone as important as you would remember such detailed information about a nobody like me. You really know me well.” You don’t have any ulterior motives, do you?

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That’s why he guessed that, during that period, Rong Jing wasn’t just pretending to be broke—he was probably trying to cut ties with the Xie family altogether.

Qi Ying’s words carried weight, but by now, Xie Ling had been reassured by his younger brother so many times that he had developed a certain resistance. He wouldn’t doubt his own sibling so easily.

Still, recalling the emotional history they had uncovered about Rong Jing during their investigations, along with the possibility that his younger brother might have an alpha-alpha relationship preference, Xie Ling wasn’t sure if it was due to heartbreak or sheer disappointment in Omegas.

So he made Qi Ying an offer—he could stay in this production, but if Rong Jing showed no reaction to his attempts at reconciliation, then he had to pack up and leave immediately.

Xie Ling was giving Rong Jing a choice because he had seen his brother’s struggles over the past four years.

He wanted his little brother to completely see through this ex-boyfriend and move on with his life.

To remove that old, festering wound—because if it kept lingering in his heart, it would only turn into an indelible scar.

For Qi Ying, this was undoubtedly a high-stakes gamble.

But as long as Xie Ling still cared about his brother, he had a chance to claw his way back to the top.

Fortunately, he had made the right move!

Qi Ying was just about to shoot back with a retort when director Liu Yu, having noticed the tension between them, stepped in and asked, “What’s going on over here?”

The two of them let go of the room card at the same time, and Liu Yu swiftly pulled it out, indifferent. “It’s just a business suite. The investors are quite generous this time—there are still two more suites on the upper floor, and they’re right next to each other. Perfect for you two Omegas.” After all, they are both Omegas. They should look out for each other.

Gu Xi: “…”

Without another word, Liu Yu grabbed two more room cards from the staff and handed them over, giving the one in his hand to the crew’s lighting technician instead.

For a brief moment, the two locked eyes midair—no sparks, no tension—and then they instantly looked away.

Qi Ying hurried after the director, trying to get him to reconsider.

Gu Xi was about to head toward the elevator with Mo Dian when he noticed Rong Jing walking past, chatting and laughing with a rookie actor.

Ever since that awkward phone call about that thing, their daily conversations had been reduced to brief greetings on WeChat. Gu Xi also had the nagging feeling that he had somewhat broken character back then.

Now, both of them had agreed to act like strangers for the sake of the production.

Rong Jing executed this flawlessly, so of course, Gu Xi had to be even more perfect.

Watching Rong Jing walk away without a single glance in his direction, Gu Xi was about to move on when, just as they brushed past each other, he felt a breeze against his pocket—something light landed inside, then disappeared in a flash.

By the time he snapped out of it, Rong Jing was already far ahead, not even sparing him a glance.

Gu Xi reached into his pocket and pulled out a lollipop. Strawberry flavored.

He knew Rong Jing had a habit of carrying sweets with him.

There had been no physical contact at all, yet his heartbeat was thundering in his chest.

Just as Gu Xi stepped into the elevator, Gu Feng’s voice suddenly rang out, laced with his usual reckless arrogance. “Didn’t you say you were just friends? Then why does it matter to you who stays next to his room?”

Gu Xi replied calmly, “It’s because we trust each other as friends that I can’t just stand by and watch him walk into a wolf’s den. Could you not make it sound so sus?”

Gu Feng: “Sure, I’ll wait and see how long you can keep this up.”

The rookie actor chatting with Rong Jing was none other than an old acquaintance, Ji Leping.

He had only landed a small supporting role, confirmed in the last few days of casting.

But Ji Leping had always kept one thing in mind—making sure no Alpha got too close to Rong Jing. That was the real priority. Whenever he had a free moment, he made it his mission to rush over.

“You? In this production? What happened to the last one?”

“That was just a minor role, it’s already wrapped up. Since we’re familiar with each other, I figured I’d rather stay here,” Ji Leping suddenly remembered something and grinned. “By the way, someone’s been asking about you lately. Bet you’ll never guess who.”

As far as Ji Leping knew, the two of them had no connection whatsoever.

“Ji Jiongjie or Xie Jisheng?” Rong Jing raised an eyebrow. His nicotine craving kicked in. He reached for a lollipop, only to recall that he had just given the last one to Gu Xi. He should have kept one for himself. Oh well, I’ll buy another box later.

“How did you know? It’s Ji Jiongjie. You have to understand, coming from a family like his, he’s always held himself above people like us—he’s never even acknowledged us before. This time, it’s like the sun rose from the west.”

The two hadn’t seen each other in a while, so they got caught up in conversation. Without thinking much about it, Ji Leping followed Rong Jing into his room.

Inside, Zhou You was already in the middle of unpacking a suitcase in the living room. Since this was a business suite, it had a small sitting area.

Zhou You had a naturally intimidating poker face. The Zhou brothers had always modeled themselves after Xie Ling, and at the sight of someone cut from the same cloth as Xie Ling, Ji Leping immediately straightened up and greeted him with extra caution.

Zhou You glanced at him, gave a brief nod, and went back to organizing Rong Jing’s clothes and shoes—everything from Xie’s latest collection, meticulously arranged into coordinated outfits. The boss had made it clear: since the young master wanted to venture into the entertainment industry, he had to serve as the best walking advertisement for their company. Promoting the family business was his duty as a member of the Xie family.

Under the pressure of his older brother’s authority, Rong Jing dared not complain. The only area where he retained any semblance of control was his choice of casual wear.

Coming to the set was, in part, an escape for him.

Now that Xie Zhanhong’s health was improving, even though he was still in the hospital, he had already started arranging blind dates for Rong Jing. Somehow, he had gotten wind that Rong Jing preferred Alphas over Omegas and had been working tirelessly to introduce him to well-educated, well-mannered Omega candidates.

He wanted to drill into him that AO pairings were the natural order—that AA was nothing but a ridiculous deviation.

Rong Jing firmly insisted that since his eldest brother hadn’t married yet, he couldn’t do it first. With this excuse, he naturally escaped to the film crew.

In his past life, he had reached the right age and genuinely wanted to settle down. But in this life? He wasn’t even sure he’d live to see the next sunrise—how could he have the mind for romance?

Ji Leping had just sat down when he saw Rong Jing, completely at ease, casually take off his jacket and switch into a more relaxed T-shirt. His back, with its smooth yet powerful muscle definition, was covered in a thin layer of taut muscle.

Rong Jing had never slacked off in his training, naturally fine-tuning his body to an optimal state.

As a fellow Alpha, Ji Leping couldn’t help but swallow. This guy’s physique was insane—too damn sexy.

And there was no doubt—he was a straight Alpha, showing absolutely no sense of shame about his half-exposed body. He was so nonchalant about it, as if letting another man see him like this didn’t matter in the slightest.

“So, how did you respond to him?” Rong Jing asked.

“Just said I don’t know you that well. It’s not like he can’t look it up himself.”

“You didn’t come to this production because he asked, did you?”

“You’re overthinking it. Him? Please. I may be from a branch family, but our business has nothing to do with the main house anymore. Like hell I’d care about that disrespectful piece of trash.”

From how he spoke, Ji Leping clearly had zero fondness for Ji Jiongjie.

Then, as if recalling something, Ji Leping added, “Oh yeah, by the way, he also asked if you and Gu Xi are close. Wanted to know what kind of relationship you two have.”

Rong Jing lounged back into the sofa chair, his entire posture utterly relaxed.

He lowered his head as if playing on his phone, opening the Pear app’s backend and spotting a blue dot overlapping with his own location.

Rong Jing blinked, glanced at the ceiling, then said slowly, “No relationship. Not close.”

Ji Leping let out a sigh of relief. “Good. You have no idea—he’s been weird since childhood. Back in elementary school, he became obsessed with an Omega girl and ruined her family, pushing them to the brink of bankruptcy and nearly causing her to commit suicide. Just recently, he planned to gift 9,999 roses to someone he admired and mobilized half his company’s employees to scour the globe for those rare Bulgarian morning dew roses. In short, anyone who gets tangled up with him is doomed. The guy’s a sanctimonious scumbag.”

Rong Jing thought for a moment, then looked out at the sky. “Who knows? Maybe this time, he’s the one who’ll be doomed.”

The future? Who could say what would happen?

*

Gu Xi arrived at his floor and checked the room number. Only then did he notice—1307. Wasn’t that… right above Rong Jing’s room?

A twist of fate had landed him with an unexpected outcome. Gu Xi suppressed the upward curve of his lips, careful not to let Qi Ying notice his good mood.

As if deliberately slowing down, Qi Ying walked at a sluggish pace.

By the time Gu Xi reached for his door handle, Qi Ying was mirroring his movement at his own door.

Their eyes met. A slight nod. None of the earlier tension remained.

Watching Gu Xi’s retreating figure, Qi Ying was reminded of the mix-up at the crew’s group dinner.

At the time, he’d been worried about Gu Xi’s safety as the entertainment industry’s most beautiful Omega, and in the process, he’d overlooked something else—Gu Xi, who hadn’t been drunk, had practically collapsed into Rong Jing’s arms as if on purpose.

It seemed impossible. Qi Ying had only assumed Gu Xi was part of Rong Jing’s friends and family circle, which would explain his hostility toward an ex-boyfriend like himself.

And then there were the rumors—Gu Xi was completely uninterested in Alphas. No matter how high-ranking or powerful, every Alpha who had ever tried to pursue him had failed before they could even make a move.

Qi Ying had just noticed another detail. Gu Xi had been led upstairs by an Alpha crew member, but the entire time, he subtly avoided physical contact. Even when the Alpha got a bit too close, Gu Xi would shift away without making it obvious.

So those rumors about Gu Xi’s rejection of Alphas? Definitely not baseless.

An Omega like him… falling for an Alpha? It was practically impossible.

But an uneasy feeling lingered in Qi Ying’s heart. During his time in the production crew, he planned to observe carefully before making any further judgments.

As soon as Gu Xi entered his room, he made a call to the friends he had previously asked to look into Rong Jing’s camera phobia.

The person on the other end told him truthfully, “We’ve shown you his practice videos before—he’s been working really hard.”

Hearing the tone of their voice, Gu Xi could already predict the inevitable ‘but’ that would follow. And sure enough…

“But he still has moments where he underperforms. When he’s fully immersed in the scene, he’s almost completely fine. But if he suddenly remembers that he’s in front of the camera, the symptoms resurface intermittently. The severity has lessened a lot, though. When you’re acting together, try to draw him into the scene so he forgets about the camera.”

Draw him into the scene?

What kind of scenes could immerse someone the fastest? The most intense scenes, of course.

The most intense…

Gu Xi flipped through the script beside him. Kissing scenes, forced kisses, being pinned down, moments of hesitation and unspoken desire in bed scenes…

Scene 37. Scene…!

Smack.

Gu Xi slammed the script shut.

What the hell am I thinking?

That night, Gu Xi sent a message to Rong Jing: How’s your preparation going? Do you feel ready for tomorrow?

Rong Jing hadn’t responded yet—he was probably busy.

Gu Xi sent another: There’ll be some entertainment reporters on set tomorrow, but they’re pretty impartial. Don’t be too nervous, just do your best.

Before Rong Jing could reply, Gu Xi vaguely heard the sound of a door closing next door.

The noise came from the right side. Gu Xi quietly moved over and cracked open his own door just a sliver. Through the gap, he saw Qi Ying stepping stealthily toward the emergency exit, wearing an oversized coat that barely covered his lower body, his smooth, bare legs fully exposed.

Seriously? Two can play this game, so why pretend to be some innocent little fox spirit?

There was no way Qi Ying was wearing anything underneath—or if he was, it wasn’t much!

Where was he sneaking off to?

Gu Xi’s right eyelid twitched slightly. Wasn’t there an old saying—left eyelid twitch for fortune, right eyelid twitch for disaster?

After a brief moment of thought, Gu Xi made some quick adjustments to his outfit and, under Mo Dian’s shocked gaze, shut the door behind him.

He was simply going to check if disaster lay ahead.

Nothing more, truly.

***

Xi: You sly fox, where do you think you’re running off to?