Meanwhile.
In an unnoticed corner of the internet, a trending topic was slowly climbing up the charts.
【EXPLOSIVE! Top-tier actor Lu Rang hospitalized while carrying a mysterious man, ambiguous behavior, hurried expression! Photos included!】
Huh? Why is it Lu Rang? I heard rumors he’s gay—could it be true? Hubby, no!
No wonder he’s had so few scandals since his debut. Are they a couple?
Don’t believe everything you hear; they’re just close friends. Let’s focus on my idol’s new work instead~
The person involved hasn’t even responded yet, and fans are already claiming they’re just friends?
Mysterious man? How mysterious? Someone outside the industry? What can you even tell from a side-profile photo?
Holy crap, girls, Lu Rang is carrying him bridal-style. I’m shipping them already.
The related hashtags also included photos of Lu Rang buying dinner for Luo Ying. Indeed, no matter how private a hospital might be, there’s always someone lurking for gossip.
Xia Xi was frantically busy in front of his screen. Since yesterday, he had called Lu Rang countless times.
The response he always got was, “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care.”
What was even more shocking was that after the last call, Lu Rang outright said that if necessary, he could publicly reveal his relationship with Luo Ying.
Was he insane?!
Fortunately, after Xia Xi spent a whole day panicking, the exposed photos were quietly deleted by marketing accounts.
Even the topic that had been trending all day plummeted in popularity, as if someone was deliberately suppressing it.
Deleting photos and lowering search rankings—whoever was behind this must have spent a fortune.
Whoever this living saint was, Xia Xi wished he could go worship them.
On the other side, the living saint Pei Mingyang had just gotten off the plane when he saw an annoying trending topic.
He scrolled through the photos—all of Lu Rang carrying Luo Ying, and Lu Rang buying dinner for Luo Ying.
And under these photos, there were even people saying they looked good together and shipping them as a couple. Buying dinner counted as heartwarming?
Was Luo Ying sick? Damn it…
If he hadn’t just gotten off the plane, what would Lu Rang have to do with any of this?
How dare such a boring trending topic appear before his eyes!
Pei Mingyang strode forward with his long legs, his face dark as he boarded a van.
Back when they were studying, he was too young and didn’t dare come out or confess.
As a result, Lu Rang beat him to it.
Now he was back in the country, and he had grown up.
This time, he was going to take back his boyfriend from Lu Rang!
Lu Rang was called back to the company by Xia Xi to handle some matters. With nothing else to do, Luo Ying stayed home alone playing video games.
A simple monster-fighting, level-clearing game.
The game character on the TV screen jumped and fought. After dying countless times, Luo Ying tossed the controller aside, bored.
The evening light spilled through the floor-to-ceiling window behind him, casting a crimson glow over the furniture in the living room.
Unable to find anything else to pass the time, Luo Ying’s gaze drifted aimlessly before landing back on the folder Lu Rang had given him.
Lu Rang had given him a lot—nine apartments in the city alone, three villas in the suburbs, and so many property deeds from his hometown in Jiangdu that Luo Ying couldn’t be bothered to count them.
As he flipped through the folder, a folded contract slipped out, nearly sliding under the sofa.
“Why is there a contract hidden in here?”
Muttering curiously, Luo Ying opened it and froze when he saw the words inside.
—Haimoer Land Reclamation and Island Connection Cooperation Agreement.
Haimoer? Land reclamation and island connection?
Luo Ying flipped directly to the signature page and, as expected, found Wen Qian’s signature at the very bottom.
Unlike the contract signed with Luo Xiaohe, this one from Lu Rang involved a tripartite relationship between Party A, Party B, and Party C.
And the Jiangdu Jujian Group represented by Lu Rang was precisely that third party.
Clearly, this Jiangdu Jujian Group was Lu Rang’s family business.
How could this project be connected to Lu Rang?
And why was the contract he had seen earlier different from this one?
Luo Ying’s breathing grew increasingly rapid, his palm cold and clammy as he gripped the contract.
No wonder he had run into Lu Rang on the very day he became homeless.
No wonder Lu Rang had never asked about his father’s bankruptcy.
Luo Ying had initially thought it was because Lu Rang was considerate, afraid of upsetting him by bringing it up. He had even thought this person was giving him face.
But now it seemed that Lu Rang might be the one who knew the most about his father’s disappearance and his entanglement in debt disputes!
So, what was Lu Rang’s motive for doing all this?
Was leaving this contract tucked inside the property deed a deliberate move to make him see it?
Had Lu Rang pretended to spend money to keep him, sincerely claimed to want to be together forever, only to then drop this contract and quietly reveal his masterful control over the situation?
With trembling hands, Luo Ying dialed Lu Rang’s number, only to be met with endless busy tones.
Damn it!
He wasn’t even answering his phone!
What could possibly be so important?
Suppressing his anger, Luo Ying called Fei Yan instead.
As the mechanical ringtone echoed in his ear, he desperately wished the contract in his hand was a fake.
“What’s wrong, Luo Ying?”
Hearing the call connect, Luo Ying’s hand trembled slightly.
“Fei Ge, any updates on the contract investigation from last time?”
“What contract?”
Fei Yan paused, as if recalling something. “The land reclamation and island connection project? I still… still have no leads.”
Luo Ying closed his eyes in frustration. He had already given Fei Yan Wen Qian’s information—how could there still be no progress after all this time?
“What about my dad? Has he contacted you?”
The line went silent for a moment, with faint murmurs of conversation in the background.
A few seconds later, Fei Yan coughed heavily and replied in a low voice, “There’s still no news from President Luo.”
“Seriously…”
Luo Ying gritted his teeth, holding back his rising anger. He didn’t even know who to direct his fury at.
Right now, he needed to find Lu Rang and get answers, not waste time with Fei Yan.
Seething with anger, Luo Ying grabbed his jacket and rushed downstairs.
As he exited Guangxin Tower, a delivery guy he’d never seen before was waiting by the cabinet near Lu Rang’s apartment. Spotting Luo Ying stepping out of the elevator, he hurried over.
“Hello, this is a cash-on-delivery package for the penthouse. Could you please sign for it?”
What kind of package had to be delivered to the apartment instead of the office?!
Luo Ying’s irritation spilled over onto the innocent delivery guy, his expression dark as he paid.
When the payment app showed insufficient balance, Luo Ying grew even more annoyed and casually switched to paying with his bank card.
After settling the delivery fee, Luo Ying tucked the package under his arm and hailed a cab to Lu Rang’s company.
The sunset slowly sank, casting a crimson glow through the rear window onto Luo Ying’s face.
He closed his eyes to steady his emotions, his long lashes casting intertwined shadows on his cheeks like a tangled, angry web.
This was all too damn dramatic.
The person who might have caused his father’s bankruptcy could actually be Lu Rang.
And he had foolishly slept with him all this time!
It was rush hour, and traffic on the elevated highway moved slower than walking pace.
His phone rang beside him—it was Lu Rang returning his call.
Luo Ying irritably pinched the bridge of his nose. At that moment, he would rather talk to Lu Rang face-to-face than waste time dragging out pointless chatter over the phone.
After hanging up several calls in a row, Lu Rang finally stopped calling and simply sent a brief message on WeChat, asking him what was wrong.
“What’s wrong?!”
Luo Ying sneered at the message—how dare this guy even ask!
He swiped across the screen and happened to notice an unread message in the SMS inbox.
Luo Ying had a bit of an obsessive streak; he hated seeing those little red notification dots on his apps.
He tapped in and saw it was a bank notification confirming a successful payment.
Twenty-eight yuan—the shipping fee for the COD package he’d just received.
He’d have to ask Lu Rang to reimburse him for that later!
Fuming, Luo Ying stuffed his phone back into his pocket. Not only had he let Lu Rang have his way with him lately, but now he was even out twenty-eight yuan for shipping.
Outside, the blaring horns grew increasingly urgent, as if trying to force their way into Luo Ying’s mind, grating on his nerves.
Luo Ying bent over and ran his hands through his hair. If only he hadn’t accepted that package—then he’d at least feel a bit better.
Wait…
Hold on…
Shouldn’t all his bank cards have been frozen?
How did the payment go through?
A sudden realization flashed through Luo Ying’s mind, and he quickly pulled out his phone again.
He hadn’t misread it—the payment had indeed been made from his bank card. Aside from the twenty-eight yuan deduction, the balance remained unchanged.
What was going on? Had his bank card been unfrozen?
Was the appeal processed that quickly? But he hadn’t even repaid his debts to the bank yet!
During his time with Lu Rang, Luo Ying had been living off Lu Rang’s money for all his expenses.
So, he had no idea that his bank card had already been unfrozen.
To double-check whether the card was usable, he transferred a small amount to another one of his accounts.
Two notification tones chimed in succession—both of Luo Ying’s bank cards showed updated balances.
As traffic slowly crawled forward, Luo Ying stared at the cold, stark figure of five billion yuan in his bank account and gradually sank into deep thought.