TF01 96

They slept soundly through the night, right up until Ying Ming’s phone jolted the two of them awake with its hysterical ringer. Shi Yi, irritated, fumbled around for Ying Ming’s jacket, while the owner of the phone showed no sign of waking up.

“Speak.” His tone was downright hostile. Shi Yi didn’t care who was on the other end.

There was a pause. “Shi Yi?”

The voice sounded vaguely familiar. It wasn’t Kou Jing. Shi Yi took a moment to place it, then frowned. “Wang Yiqi?”

For a good few seconds, neither of them could remember what they meant to say.

It was Ying Ming, still groggy, who tugged at Shi Yi. “Who is it?”

“Wang Yiqi.”

As Shi Yi spoke, the voice on the other end echoed him, “Put Ying Ming on.”

The commanding tone rubbed Shi Yi the wrong way. He glared at the phone before reluctantly handing it over. Ying Ming pushed himself up halfway and held the phone to his ear, just in time to hear Wang Yiqi’s grave voice say, “Ying Ming, get back here. Something’s happened.”

Since the day he met Wang Yiqi, Ying Ming could count on two hands the number of things that man had taken seriously.

So when he heard that tone, he did not even ask what happened. He confirmed his schedule with the director and left with Shi Yi on the next available flight.

Wang Yiqi and Wang Mengqi were already waiting for them at the airport, their faces ashen.

Once all four were in the car, Wang Yiqi tossed a packet at Ying Ming. “Take a look.”

Shi Yi frowned. Before he could speak, Ying Ming had already opened it and poured out a stack of photographs. Every single one featured Wang Yiqi and Wang Mengqi, clearly taken in secret. Some were on the street, others in rooms. The last few were clear shots of the two of them kissing. The more Ying Ming looked, the darker his expression grew. He glanced at Wang Yiqi. “What the hell is going on?”

He wasn’t asking about Wang Yiqi and Wang Mengqi’s relationship. He was asking why these photos existed in the first place.

Wang Yiqi had been in the entertainment industry for years. How could he not have noticed he was being followed so closely?

“It’s because of this film. More and more people have been tailing me lately. At first, I was cautious, but later on… my mood was pretty messed up too…” Wang Yiqi noticed the doubt in Ying Ming’s eyes and took the initiative to explain. As he spoke, he turned to glance at Wang Mengqi, who didn’t say a word, only furrowed his brows slightly.

“Did you get the negatives back?” Ying Ming could tell Wang Yiqi didn’t want to elaborate, so he didn’t press. But that question made the person in the photos frown.

“These photos… weren’t aimed at me.”

Ying Ming raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, not aimed at you?”

“They were sent to me, yes. But the person who gave them to me was looking for you.”

The other party wasn’t old. Wang Yiqi had initially assumed it was just some rookie reporter trying to blackmail him, but the guy wasn’t interested in negotiating. He had asked specifically to speak to Ying Ming.

Shi Yi, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly cut in, “Who was it?”

“Some young guy. I looked into it. He was just an intern at a tiny local paper, no reputation to speak of.”

But as soon as he said that, both Ying Ming and Shi Yi’s faces darkened.

Coming for Ying Ming. Young. The only person that came to mind was the boy who had shown up at Ying Ming’s home during the whole Mao Yu mess.

“What did he say?”

“He said if I didn’t want the photos made public, Ying Ming had to contact him directly.”

Wang Yiqi was frustrated too.

If it hadn’t been for all the chaos in his family recently, he wouldn’t have let himself get caught in such a compromising situation. The worst part was, the boy didn’t even want money. Wang Yiqi had considered handling it through other means, but the kid’s attitude had been unexpectedly firm.

If it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t have dragged Ying Ming into it.

Paparazzi trailing celebrities always managed to capture things the people involved would rather keep from the public eye. Most of the time, the usual approach was to contact the artist or someone related to them and buy the photos back. These things had a price. After all, even if the reporter took them back to the magazine, the actual payout would be minimal. It was part of the unspoken rules of the entertainment world. No one minded those who were in it for the money, Anything that could be solved with cash was considered a small problem. What truly unsettled people were the ones seeking revenge, the kind who would not stop until they had drawn blood.

Ying Ming knew perfectly well what the other party was trying to do. He turned to glance at Shi Yi. Neither of them spoke.

Since the boy had asked for Ying Ming by name, he simply called the number written on the back of one of the photos. Shi Yi insisted on going too. Ying Ming knew arguing would be pointless, so he let him come along.

The meeting spot was completely out in the open, a restaurant right next to the magazine office.

By the time they arrived, the boy was already sitting there sipping a drink. He didn’t seem surprised to see Shi Yi had come along. When Ying Ming spotted him, the boy leaned back lazily in his chair, wearing the kind of look that said he was waiting for them to settle accounts.

Shi Yi frowned. “Is this brat seriously looking to die?”

He rarely spoke that way, but no one would take being blackmailed lightly, least of all someone like Shi Yi, who had never been threatened in his life.

Back when Wang Yiqi first told him about the situation, Ying Ming learned the boy’s name was Du Zihua. No unusual background came up. He did not even list any relatives on his résumé. His emergency contact was just one person, Mao Yu. Obviously, the two of them were close. Not that Ying Ming needed Wang Yiqi to tell him that. Anyone who would kneel outside someone’s front door in the middle of the night clearly wasn’t just a casual friend.

He set his jacket aside and gestured for Shi Yi to take the inner seat. He stared at Du Zihua straight in the eye and said, “Name your price.”

He couldn’t even be bothered to beat around the bush.

Du Zihua looked at Ying Ming and gave a small smile, taking another sip of his orange juice with an unhurried air. “You’re not even going to ask how I got those photos?”

“Not interested.”

“Heh.”

The boy raised his brows, grinning with undisguised malice. His eyes sparkled with mocking amusement. “You and Wang Yiqi hyped that film up so high, dozens of people were just waiting to snap something juicy behind your backs. I didn’t think I’d actually catch anything this explosive. You’ve only got yourselves to blame for being so careless.”

Ying Ming didn’t get angry at that. He simply tapped the table, a little impatient. “What’s the price? Just say it.”

If Du Zihua wanted to hold something over him, then he was determined not to give him the satisfaction.

Du Zihua’s expression darkened. “Ying Ming, you’re still playing tough at a time like this? Do you even realize which one of us needs a favor right now? You want the photos of Wang Yiqi? Easy. Give me the ones of you and Shi Yi in exchange.”

Shi Yi frowned. “Say that again?”

What kind of nonsense was this? Was the kid trying to pull a tiger’s whiskers while riding on its head? This brat had guts if nothing else.

Du Zihua was clearly intimidated. He instinctively clenched his glass under Shi Yi’s sharp glare, but in the end, he forced himself to look up and meet his eyes. “I said it clearly. If you want Wang Yiqi’s photos, then give me yours. I know what kind of relationship you two have. The magazine never dared to follow you directly, so no one’s ever gotten anything solid. I pitched the idea of tailing Wang Yiqi hoping to get shots of him with you and stir up some shit. But who’d have thought I’d end up with pictures of him making out with his own brother in broad daylight?” Du Zihua let out a cold laugh. “A scandal like ‘Incest in a Traditional Opera Family’—honestly, only a second-gen military princeling screwing a C-list porn actor could compete with that.”

That line about a “C-list porn actor” clearly hit a nerve. Shi Yi jabbed a finger right at Du Zihua’s nose. “You think it’d be hard for me to deal with you?”

“I know what you’re capable of.” Du Zihua’s expression was rigid. “You had someone beat up Mao Yu. Handling me would be just as easy. But let me tell you something. Those photos are still in my hands. I haven’t submitted them to the magazine, so don’t think suppressing the publication will be enough to shut this down. The fact that I’ve come to you at all means I’ve already made up my mind. You can beat me to death or cripple me, go ahead. But I will make sure those photos get out. When they do, Wang Yiqi’s name will be destroyed, and the entire Wang family will go down with him!”

His voice twisted with resentment, almost venomous.

Du Zihua turned to glare at Ying Ming. “Back then, I begged you to lend some money to Yu-ge. It wasn’t even that much for people like you. But you just watched him die. He wanted to explain what happened, but you never gave him the chance. His parents were both sick, buried in medical debt. Yeah, he did you wrong in the past, but you already beat him up, you already cussed him out. Was it really so hard to hand over a few hundred thousand to save his life? Do you even know what kind of state he’s in now? Have you ever asked? Have you ever cared?”

His voice cracked as he spat out the last words.

“You heartless bastard. Yu-ge pulled you out of your lowest career slump, and you just stood by and watched him go under. You couldn’t even reach out one hand to save him!”

By the end, Du Zihua was practically shouting. He stood up, glaring daggers at Ying Ming. If not for the fact that he knew he was no match for either of them, he might’ve already thrown a punch.

“They crippled his fingers! He’s never going to play guitar again in his life!”

Mao Yu had been into rock, and a hell of a guitarist. Ying Ming had actually learned a bit of guitar from him back in the day, though it had only been surface-level stuff, nowhere near Mao Yu’s skill.

Ying Ming frowned. He looked up at Du Zihua and said, “I can arrange for him to go abroad for treatment. It might not be hopeless.”

“Ha!”

The boy laughed coldly. “Now you care? Where the hell were you when it actually mattered?”

“This isn’t about caring.” Ying Ming’s voice turned sharp. “Let’s get something straight. Mao Yu ended up like this because of his own choices, not because of me. If his family was in trouble back then, he could’ve told me. But he didn’t. He took the money and disappeared without a word. As far as I was concerned, that was the end of our so-called friendship. Whether he paid me back later or tried to explain, I didn’t see the point. And I still don’t.

He went to loan sharks. No one forced him to. And don’t talk like he was repaying me. I never asked for that money back. Even if I had taken it, the fact he borrowed high-interest loans has nothing to do with me.

The only reason I’m here today is because of the photos of Wang Yiqi. This has nothing to do with guilt. The consequences he’s facing are his own. And the same goes for you. Whatever you’ve done today, you’ll have to take responsibility for it. Got it?”

It wasn’t often that Ying Ming spoke so much.

When he finished, he rose to his feet. “I’ll think about the photos. And you should do the same. Think long and hard about whether this is really the path you want to take. Let me leave you with this. Everyone answers for the choices they make. One day, you will regret everything you’ve done today. I promise you that.”