Because she was so excited, Xiao Yao woke up early.
She crawled out of bed and sat down at her computer desk, ready to inspect the results of her work from the previous night.
She could hardly wait to see the heartbroken reactions of all those people on the forum once they discovered Ming Jing’s true nature.
This was exactly the sort of thing a gloomy creature that lived in the shadows—ahem, an evil yet beautiful villain—looked forward to most.
Xiao Yao opened the forum.
As expected, the threads she had posted the night before had all become trending topics.
Thousands of replies had accumulated beneath them.
At the same time, her private messages had exploded with activity. There were so many notification dots that she could barely click through them all.
Excitedly, she opened the threads and headed straight for the top comments.
Generally speaking, the most-liked comments were always the harshest.
The first top comment:
[A Little Yellow Flower]: Husband, stop smoking and smoke me instead!
The wicked smile on Xiao Yao’s face froze.
She felt certain she had opened the forum incorrectly.
She backed out and entered again.
Scrolling down, she found that the top comment was still that outrageous statement from Miss Little Yellow Flower.
The comment had already received over twenty thousand likes, while countless girls below were telling her to put her pants back on.
Unwilling to give up, Xiao Yao continued scrolling to the second top comment.
[Big Cucumber]: I live for this kind of contrast—restrained and proper in public, wild and uninhibited in private. Isn’t that ridiculously attractive?
The replies below immediately agreed.
[Reply]: Sister, you really know good food! Recommend similar novels, please! If I can’t find something to replace this, then all my wonderful qualities—my appearance, my figure, my social etiquette, my virtues, my personality, even my soul—will be destroyed!
[Ming School Heartthrob’s Little Toe]: AI?
[Ming School Heartthrob’s Little Toe replying to Ming School Heartthrob’s Little Toe]: No. I’ve fallen in love.
Expressionless, Xiao Yao continued scrolling.
Then she finally saw a comment she liked.
[Loves Eating Candy]: What’s so surprising about someone like Ming Jing being exposed? He’s fake, pretentious, self-righteous… (one thousand vicious adjectives omitted) …You idiots defending him should hurry to a hospital and get your brains checked.
What a vicious comment.
Her hands trembled slightly.
She was nearly moved to tears.
At last.
A normal human being.
Judging from the triumphant tone, Xiao Yao was almost certain that this person was a veteran Ming Jing anti-fan.
Excitedly, she opened the replies beneath the comment.
[Loves Coriander]: I don’t know. My figure is very graceful.
[Don’t Go Online If You’re Triggered]: Obvious heterosexual behavior. Bro, you’re jealous.
[Look, You’re Getting Worked Up Again]: Bro, I know your girlfriend liking the School Heartthrob makes you anxious, but calm down first.
Scrolling further down, Xiao Yao discovered that Loves Eating Candy had single-handedly argued with everyone for several hundred replies.
The latest comment had been posted at four in the morning.
It was safe to say this person genuinely hated Ming Jing.
Expressionlessly, Xiao Yao backed out.
Out of several thousand comments, ninety percent were shameless fangirling.
Even the occasional criticism was completely drowned beneath the overwhelming flood of obsessed fans.
Was this truly a cursed world that judged everything by appearance?
Xiao Yao couldn’t bear reading any more.
She exited the thread and opened her private messages.
There she discovered that Loves Eating Candy had followed her account and sent her a direct message.
The person’s private-message personality was completely different from their venomous comment-section persona.
After expressing that they also disliked Ming Jing, they complimented Xiao Yao’s photography skills and even sent her a cute sticker of two girls hugging.
They seemed like an adorable young woman.
Xiao Yao followed them back and replied with a hugging sticker of her own.
Apart from that, half her messages were people begging for high-resolution originals.
The other half were people accusing her of meddling in things that didn’t concern her.
Unable to resist, Xiao Yao started arguing with them.
Eventually, she became so angry that she logged off.
When Ming Jing came downstairs, he saw his cheap little brother and stepmother sitting on either side of Father Ming.
The villa’s butler stood nearby with a polite smile.
The scene was incredibly unpleasant to look at.
As though they were the real family.
And he was merely an unwelcome outsider.
At the dining table, Ming Tang enthusiastically placed food onto Father Ming’s plate.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed someone descending the staircase.
Looking up, he saw his gentle and beautiful older brother.
His brother truly looked like a born aristocrat.
Exquisite features.
Elegant bearing.
Not a single flaw anywhere on him.
Unlike himself.
A bastard.
The blood flowing through his veins was dirty and illegitimate.
No matter how hard he worked, he would probably never surpass his brother.
At that moment, Ming Tang noticed Father Ming’s gaze upon him.
He lowered his head obediently and smiled.
But he was a favored bastard.
Ming Jing approached.
“Brother!”
Ming Tang called out sweetly before Ming Jing could even speak.
“Come sit down. Mrs. Zhang made crab roe buns today. They’re so fresh—you’ll definitely love them!”
As he spoke, he picked one up and stuffed it into his mouth.
His cheeks puffed out adorably.
Looking up at Ming Jing, he smiled until his eyes curved into crescents, appearing completely innocent.
Ming Jing smiled back.
“Little Tang is still a child. You make food look delicious when you eat. No wonder Father enjoys watching you.”
After speaking, he sat down opposite the three of them.
Ming Tang’s chewing slowed.
A trace of gloom flashed through his lowered eyes.
Crab roe buns were his favorite food.
Ming Jing, on the other hand, hardly ever touched them.
He had deliberately used them to provoke his brother.
Yet the other man responded with nothing but warmth and tolerance, making Ming Tang feel like a ridiculous clown performing on stage.
Father Ming failed to notice the undercurrents between the brothers.
Compared to the indulgent affection he showed Ming Tang, his gaze toward Ming Jing was much more severe.
“Jing, your brother will be attending A University when school starts. Make sure you look after him.”
Ming Jing nodded with a gentle smile.
“Of course. Don’t worry, Father.”
Ming Tang bit lightly on his chopsticks.
Suddenly, he remembered the forum posts from the previous night.
His eyes shifted thoughtfully before he smiled at Father Ming.
“It’s okay, Dad. I’m already grown up. I can take care of myself.”
Then he added softly,
“Brother has been under a lot of pressure lately. I shouldn’t trouble him.”
Ming Jing’s hand paused slightly around his chopsticks.
Father Ming didn’t notice anything unusual.
He snorted.
“Why are you being polite with your brother? From what I can see, he has plenty of free time. He even attended some Qin Family party yesterday instead of focusing on proper matters.”
Ming Tang obediently nodded.
Then he spoke in a small voice.
“But if Brother isn’t under pressure, then why is he smoking? He was even photographed…”
He looked at Ming Jing innocently.
“Brother, I don’t mean anything by it. I’m just worried about your health.”
Father Ming immediately raised his head.
His aged eyes sharpened as they landed on Ming Jing.
“What your brother said—is it true?”
From last night until this morning, countless people had sent Ming Jing the anonymous forum posts.
He already knew what had happened.
Originally, he had assumed the incident would damage his reputation to some degree.
Strangely enough, however, most of the comments had been positive.
Perhaps he really ought to thank his own face.
As for Ming Tang’s behavior, none of it surprised him.
That little bastard never missed an opportunity to step on him, even when there was nothing to gain.
Ming Jing’s expression remained unchanged.
“Yes.”
Father Ming set down his chopsticks.
Judging from Ming Jing’s calm demeanor, it didn’t seem like a major issue.
“Show me the post.”
Ming Jing complied.
After reading it, Father Ming’s expression remained displeased, but he said nothing further.
Ignoring Ming Tang’s ongoing attempts to fan the flames, he addressed Ming Jing in a stern voice.
“Do not let there be a next time. Your actions represent more than just yourself—they represent the entire Ming Family.”
With that, Father Ming stood and left the dining table.
The woman beside him immediately followed.
Soon only Ming Tang and Ming Jing remained.
Ming Jing calmly continued eating.
Ming Tang raised his head and stared boldly at him.
He possessed an obedient and gentle appearance.
Soft brown hair rested against his forehead.
Round eyes.
Fair cheeks.
The sort of face that made people want to bully him.
He looked remarkably similar to his mother.
In Father Ming’s eyes, both of them were obedient people.
And obedient people could only ever become pets.
Father Ming loved him.
But he would never hand the Ming Family over to him.
As though completely unaware of the burning gaze directed at him, Ming Jing finished the food on his plate one bite at a time.
Then he smiled and nodded toward Ming Tang.
“Enjoy your meal.”
Afterward, he rose from his seat and left.
Once everyone else had gone, Ming Tang could no longer maintain his obedient facade.
He grabbed a fork and slammed it violently onto the table.
At present, it was still the Female Lead’s summer vacation after the college entrance exams.
There were about six weeks left before A University’s semester began.
According to the story, this was the period during which the Female Lead would find her part-time job at a bar, be rescued by the Male Lead, and fall in love with him at first sight.
Xiao Yao had no idea when the second secret-photography mission—capturing the Male Lead drunk and disgraced—would occur.
The system was equally clueless.
The original novel’s summary focused entirely on the Male Lead and Female Lead.
The stories of supporting characters were barely mentioned.
As for a cannon fodder character like the original Xiao Yao, she was lucky to have her name appear at all.
The novel only stated that Xiao Yao secretly photographed the Male Lead four times.
She succeeded three times.
The fourth time, she was caught red-handed and gloriously exited the story.
As for how exactly she exited, the novel never explained.
To avoid missing any important turning point—
And to create more opportunities to get close to the Male Lead—
Xiao Yao made a major decision.