If he wanted money, he could have just sold these photos directly to Jiang Lun, instead of coming to find Xi Nian.

The Xi Nian who now had a mixed reputation and nothing to his name.

Xi Nian didn't speak. His gaze was dark and complex, seeming to hold a past that others could never glimpse. Lu Xingzhe only felt the other's grip on his hand tighten and loosen, almost as if he wanted to crush his wrist bone.

It seemed their past life had also started this way. Xi Nian coveted the shortcuts that came with Lu Xingzhe. Once there was a first time, there was a second, and a third. In the end, they were like two threads tied into a dead knot, impossible to untie or shake off.

Xi Nian desperately wanted to make a name for himself, but in his view, if he got entangled with Lu Xingzhe, the outcome would surely be more or less the same as in his past life.

Hitting a wall once was enough; why was there a need to hit it a second time?

Perhaps it was for his future, perhaps for the thorn in his heart, or perhaps for some other inexplicable reason, but Xi Nian slowly released his grip on Lu Xingzhe's hand. His heart, which had been burning hot with ambition, suddenly turned ice-cold, all within the span of a few breaths.

"I'm sorry."

Under Lu Xingzhe's gaze, Xi Nian took a step back, as if pulling himself out of a deep quagmire. "I don't think I can afford your price. You should sell the photos to someone else."

You don't need to spell things out when talking to a smart person. Lu Xingzhe understood Xi Nian's meaning almost instantly. His body stiffened imperceptibly, and he slowly straightened his back. He habitually tried to curl his lip into a smirk, but after a twitch of his mouth, he failed and simply gave up.

Lu Xingzhe asked, "Is it because I'm a paparazzo who can't step into the light?"

His tone was casual, one could even say it was calm and composed.

That was only one of the reasons, but Xi Nian didn't want to explain. He remained silent, taking it as a tacit admission.

Lu Xingzhe fell silent for an imperceptible moment. "Alright, I get it."

Who knows what he actually got.

Lu Xingzhe bent over and scooped up his camera bag from the sofa. A moment later, when he looked up again, he smiled at Xi Nian. It was his usual frivolous and flirtatious smile, but it had a distinctly forced feeling. "Hey."

Lu Xingzhe said, "Even if the deal is off, goodwill remains. Jiang Lun has his eyes on you. Watch your back."

Without waiting for Xi Nian's reply, he turned and left, clean and decisive. The door closed with a soft bang, and the room fell silent. Outside the window, only the shadows of the trees danced. An occasional cool breeze blew in, causing the curtains to billow.

Xi Nian watched him go, standing motionlessly in place for a long time. It wasn't until his legs felt stiff and numb that he finally sat down slowly on the sofa. His eyes inadvertently glanced at the coffee table, only to find the envelope with the photos lying there quietly, not taken by Lu Xingzhe.

"..."

He probably forgot.

Xi Nian looked away, but he felt no joy at this lucky find. He lay back on the sofa, covering his eyes with the back of his hand to block the glaring light from the ceiling, and remained motionless for a long time.

Human emotions were too complex. The System would occasionally observe them up close. It landed quietly on the sofa's armrest, but before it could analyze anything, a low voice with a hint of warning sounded. "Stay away from me."

Hearing this, the System flapped its wings and subconsciously flew over to the coffee table, somewhat bewildered.

Xi Nian opened his eyes, sat up slightly, and looked at it. "What are you doing out here? Want to electrocute me?"

System: [How did you know?]

Xi Nian: "..."

The System was just joking with him: [On the premise of not violating morals or laws, the System has no right to interfere with the host's emotions or their choice of a partner.]

Xi Nian lay back down. "Even if you don't zap me, I still won't agree."

He wasn't an idiot. In his last life, Lu Xingzhe had turned on him and destroyed his reputation. How could he possibly get close to him again in this life? It was just that the matter concerning Jiang Lun was still tricky.

Popularity in the entertainment circle is fleeting. Just yesterday, Xi Nian had gained a huge wave of fans with his spectacular performance in the Star Games preliminaries. The very next day, Su Ge's management team made their move, frequently releasing press materials. In addition to a newly secured high-end luxury endorsement, there were also several candid photos of him interacting with fans in the rain at the sports stadium. They hyped his talent and how much he pampered his fans, relying on their massive fan base to push Xi Nian's hot search topic down to third place.

In the middle of the night, Lu Xingzhe stepped out of the bathroom after a shower, logged into Weibo, and saw that the entire screen was filled with trending posts about Su Ge.

[QAQ Su Su pampers his fans so much. Signing autographs in such heavy rain, I'm so worried he'll catch a cold.]

[He actually landed the Asia-Pacific endorsement for Oulin! He must be the only male star to do so. I mean, who else!]

[Su Su is such a nice person, his smile is so, so gentle. The day he signed an autograph for me, he kept reminding the fans to go home early and be safe.]

[Look at the prestige of our Su Su! Getting on the hot search is a piece of cake for him, unlike some other male stars who might not get on even once in ten years.]

So arrogant when in power. Lu Xingzhe lit a cigarette. His soaking wet black hair was still dripping, a stray lock falling over his forehead, making his skin look deathly pale. His lips were also pale. He slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, and the surrounding scenery seemed to blur with it.

The phone on the table buzzed for a long time. Lu Xingzhe finished his cigarette before finally answering it. "What is it?"

Jiang Lun's displeased voice sounded from the other end. "Why did it take you so long to answer? Did you get the stuff I asked you to film?"

He meant the dirt on Xi Nian.

Lu Xingzhe narrowed his eyes, grinding the already extinguished cigarette butt into the ashtray again and again. "Didn't get anything. I'm not taking this job."

Jiang Lun seemed unconvinced, his tone tinged with doubt. "Are you sure you didn't get anything?"

Lu Xingzhe blurted out a lie. "I was in a car accident a few days ago. Broke my leg."

After saying that, he couldn't be bothered to deal with the old fox anymore and hung up directly. He tossed his phone onto the desk with a clatter. Beside it lay a small, black USB drive. Lu Xingzhe stared at it for a long while, his gaze silent.

The identity of a paparazzo not only came with a rotten reputation but was also something that had to be kept in the shadows, something unpresentable.

He had known that for a long time.

Lu Xingzhe had many anonymous accounts online that he used for leaking stories. He sat in silence for a long time before finally opening Weibo and logging into his "Big V" account with the largest number of followers. Then, he plugged the USB drive into his computer and imported the video he had already edited.

It was already late into the night, the time when night owls were most active. As fangirls of various celebrities were busy boosting their idols on the leaderboards and voting, a video began to spread rapidly and silently.

The person who posted the video was a verified "Big V" in the entertainment section of Weibo. Although their identity was unknown to the public, every celebrity scandal they exposed was backed by irrefutable proof, making them highly credible.

When netizens discovered that he had posted an update, they rushed to his Weibo to spectate, all in the supreme spirit of "eating melon." However, after seeing the content, the "melon" they were eating was smashed to bits.

The video was less than two minutes long, and its two protagonists were familiar to everyone: Xi Nian, who was currently enjoying the spotlight, and the popular idol Su Ge.

Both of them were in a locker room. The content of their conversation... or to be precise, the sound of Su Ge speaking one-sidedly, could be heard with perfect clarity by everyone.

—Congratulations, first place.

Su Ge walked to the water cooler and filled a cup.

—You're very pleased with yourself?

Xi Nian ignored him, shouldering his bag to leave, but Su Ge blocked his way.

—What time is it that you're already planning to leave? Not staying to watch the rest of the competition?

The Su Ge in the footage was like a completely different person from how he appeared before the media. His tone was cold and sinister, his words barbed. Netizens were utterly astonished, but before they could even express their shock, they saw the Su Ge in the video stumble, pretend to fall while grabbing Xi Nian's arm, and throw the entire cup of water onto him.

The melon-eating netizens: ????

Just from watching the video, some people still didn't understand what was happening. However, as the view count skyrocketed, people gradually began to notice the details.

[HOLY SHIT!!! I'm not seeing things, am I! Su Ge threw boiling water! BOILING WATER!!]

[I saw it, I saw it! He used the red faucet at the water cooler!!!]

[Throwing that cup of water on him would burn his damn skin off! I can already feel the pain for Xi Nian, wuwuwu.]

[Isn't that too damn vicious? Su Ge has always maintained an innocent, sweet little brother persona. I can't believe he's like this in private. How did Xi Nian even offend him?]

[Look at the top-right corner of the video. There's a date and time stamp. It's from when Su Ge was eliminated by Xi Nian in the Star Games. Do you even need to ask? He obviously held a grudge and wanted revenge.]

Perhaps because Su Ge's marketed persona was usually so successful, the sudden revelation of this incident made people feel as if their entire worldview was shattering. But that wasn't all. The original poster followed up with several close-ups of Su Ge's hands during the competition, comparing them to the injury photo on his Weibo, providing concrete proof that he had faked his injury.

Netizens: !!!!

So shocked they couldn't breathe. How could there be such a scummy person like Su Ge in the world? Faking an injury for sympathy was one thing, but to actually throw boiling water on someone! Xi Nian had it too rough. Not only was he constantly cyberbullied by Su Ge's fans, but he also had to compete while injured. What a tragedy!

Even casual observers were this angry and sympathetic, let alone Xi Nian's fans. Upon hearing the news, they were so furious they felt like they could die on the spot, wishing they could pull out an eighty-thousand-meter-long sword and sacrifice Su Ge to the heavens.

Such a scumbag, a total scumbag.

So vicious, way too vicious.

How did Su Ge have the audacity to appear before the media with a clear conscience after burning Xi Nian? Didn't he feel guilty? Did he feel no shame? Xi Nian giving him the cold shoulder was getting off lightly; he should have given him a slap!

The news quickly became known throughout the entire web, reaching Su Ge's fans. Unlike their usual aggressive dominance in online flame wars, this time, they fell into a rare silence, quietly digesting the shocking and disappointing news.

They had watched Su Ge since his debut...

From an unknown trainee, he had clawed his way to where he was today, step by step. Back then, Su Ge was young and far away in Korea, constantly bullied and isolated. When his group members averaged several minutes of camera time, he would only get a few seconds.

The fans' hearts ached for him, but there was nothing they could do.

Later, Su Ge's popularity exploded, and his online traffic soared. More and more people got to know him. His fans were both happy and relieved, because in the entertainment circle, you wouldn't be bullied once you had popularity.

But as it turned out, people change...

The video was ironclad proof. This time, the fans couldn't even explain it away or whitewash the situation for him. One could claim pictures were photoshopped, but a video couldn't possibly be fake, could it? Besides, there had been no shortage of negative rumors about Su Ge in recent years; it was only because there was never any solid proof that the fans refused to believe them.

They wanted to protect Su Ge, but they had unknowingly become the knife in his hands, hurting so many people without distinguishing right from wrong. How was that any different from the people who had bullied Su Ge in the first place?

The news swept across the entire web like a storm.

The more rational fans began to leave the fandom one by one. One of the major fan support accounts changed its profile picture to black. As the incident continued to gather heat and eventually topped the hot search rankings, some casual observers became anti-fans, and some fans became casual observers. Still, there were those who refused to believe Su Ge could do such a thing. The two sides became polarized, arguing endlessly as flame wars erupted.

In short, Su Ge's career had collapsed.