Gu Chen slammed his phone down in front of Lu Lianning with a loud “bang.”
Lu Lianning, sitting across from him on the sofa, lifted his eyelids to glance at the screen.
The photo showed him standing extremely close to Chen Miao at the entrance of the underground garage after their wrap-up party. At first glance, it looked less like Chen Miao was supporting a drunk Lu Lianning and more like he was the one holding Chen Miao.
He wore a long brown plaid coat and black trousers, which made him look tall and straight. One hand rested firmly on the head of the person beside him, pressing down the black hat. His gaze, cold and filled with warning, was directed straight at the camera.
The figure next to him, dressed in a black cotton jacket, was only visible from the chin down. Half a head shorter than the commanding Lu Lianning, he appeared thin and almost like a shadow, blending into the background in his black outfit.
Lu Lianning swiped down on the phone and saw comments:
“Wow, Young Master Lu has switched partners again!”
“Look at that gaze, it’s oozing boyfriend energy!”
“So alpha! I can’t handle it! I was there in person, and I swear it was that hat! Young Master Lu’s hand must’ve been so warm.”
“Who on earth is this? Are they from the same crew since the photo was taken after the wrap party?”
“This is too messy. Changing partners like changing clothes.”
“…”
Lu Lianning pushed the phone back towards Gu Chen, who glanced at him and said, “It would’ve been better not to hide anything. Even if Chen Miao had been photographed, so what? An assistant helping a drunk boss home is perfectly normal. Trying to cover it up only makes people suspicious.”
Lu Lianning responded with casual indifference, “Well, as you said, I was drunk.”
Gu Chen was infuriated by his carefree attitude as if he was avoiding responsibility. “Do you think your reputation is in good shape right now?” He put his phone away, unable to tell if it was sarcasm or something else. “Last time you got drunk, didn’t you beat up the paparazzi who were secretly photographing you? So why cover up your assistant’s face this time?”
“You should’ve covered your own face instead. The photo is so clear no one could deny it’s you. Even if you explain it’s just your assistant, who’s going to believe that now?! Why would an assistant be scared of being photographed with you!”
Irritated by the lecture, Lu Lianning stood up and said, “I’m tired.”
In the end, Gu Chen stormed out in rage, not even bothering to stop the photo from spreading online, allowing it to circulate freely.
Lu Lianning finished filming just before the end of the year, but Gu Chen didn’t schedule any new work for him. On New Year’s Eve, Lu Lianning drove home. The night sky was filled with dazzling fireworks, and the air was alive with the spirit of harmony and celebration.
He spent the evening in his room, playing games at full volume as if the noise could drown out the festive sounds from outside.
At one point, he heard something downstairs but thought he had misheard. However, when he opened the door, he saw Chen Miao standing in the living room, holding two bags of trash.
Their eyes met, and Chen Miao reacted first, quickly heading towards the door with the black trash bags while mumbling, “Lu-ge, I’ll be going now. I just came to take out the trash.”
Chen Miao hadn’t expected that on New Year’s Eve, Lu Lianning would be here alone with no work. In his mind, Lu Lianning should have gone home to spend the holiday with his family.
“Stop!” Lu Lianning called out.
Chen Miao had no choice but to stop just as he reached the door, though he didn’t dare turn around, keeping his back to Lu Lianning.
This self-deceptive attempt wouldn’t truly help him escape anything.
Lu Lianning walked over step by step, then turned Chen Miao around to face him. His gaze swept over Chen Miao’s entire body with an oppressive intensity.
Finally, he spoke, as if now certain of something. “You stole my clothes?”
Startled by the accusation, Chen Miao shook his head vigorously. “No, no, it’s the one you told me to throw away.”
It was a thick down jacket. Lu Lianning, always one for dressing stylishly, refused to wear such a bulky coat even in winter. After wearing it twice, he tossed it to Chen Miao to get rid of.
Chen Miao couldn’t bring himself to throw away such a nice jacket. But knowing Lu Lianning’s temper, he never dared to wear it in front of him. Instead, he secretly took it home and kept it under his thin blanket at night.
He had assumed Lu Lianning would be gone by New Year’s Eve, but instead, he was caught red-handed.
As expected, Lu Lianning was displeased. “I told you to throw it away, not keep it for yourself!”
His words stung, making it clear he would rather see the jacket discarded than let Chen Miao have it.
To Lu Lianning, Chen Miao’s behavior seemed absurdly petty. Gu Chen wasn’t a stingy person, and Chen Miao had been receiving his salary for months now. Yet, he still wore the same few shabby outfits all the time.
He hadn’t cared much about the jacket initially, but seeing Chen Miao wearing something he had once worn felt weird.
The jacket looked oversized on Chen Miao and nearly covered his entire backside.
Suddenly, Lu Lianning felt a mischievous urge to tease him. He met Chen Miao’s embarrassed, evasive eyes and asked, “So, how did you handle my underwear when you cleaned my room?”
“You didn’t steal those and wear them too, did you?”
Chen Miao’s face flushed bright red, and he stammered in a panic, “No… no, I didn’t…”
“You think just saying ‘no’ makes it true? Take them off and let me check.” With that, he actually reached out to pull down Chen Miao’s pants.
Chen Miao was so terrified he dropped the trash bags and desperately clung to his waistband. “I swear, I didn’t! I just… I washed them for you!”
“What!?” This time, it was Lu Lianning who was shocked.
“They’re in the laundry room on the balcony. If you don’t believe me… if you don’t believe me, you can go check.” Chen Miao struggled out of Lu Lianning’s grasp, pulling up his half-lowered pants.
Lu Lianning actually went to the laundry room. He had never done laundry himself as there was always someone else to handle it, so he had no reason to go there.
As soon as he stepped inside, he was greeted by the fresh scent of lavender detergent. On the drying rack, three pairs of his underwear hung side by side: black, white, and gray.
Chen Miao quickly followed, squatting by the storage rack. He opened a drawer and showed him. “I’ve cleaned the rest and put them here.”
Lu Lianning asked, “You washed these with the washing machine?”
Chen Miao shook his head and said, “No, I hand-washed these.” He then added, “The clothes were washed in the machine.”
Looking at the three pairs of underwear fluttering in the breeze and listening to Chen Miao’s earnest explanation, Lu Lianning’s face turned red—though he was unaware of it himself.
Feeling both mortified and angry, he cursed, “Chen Miao! What the hell is wrong with you!”
Then he warned, “You better stop having those filthy thoughts about me!”
