HEIFEIGU -Chapter 86

Recently, Meng Zezhou had been in City C preparing for a new film, where he would play a firefighter.

The formerly fair-skinned little Meng had tanned into a strong, dark-skinned man.

His hair, once delicate and stylish, was now a more masculine buzz cut, and he had started working out.

The past few days had been intense—he had bulked up noticeably.

Xie Jixing turned around and barely recognized him.

How little time had passed for the adopted son to become such a hunk?

“Nice biceps!” Xie Jixing complimented.

Meng Zezhou gave Xie Jixing a bro hug, then pulled out his phone and held it high. “Come on, come on, let’s take a photo together!”

“Here,” he rolled up his sleeve and proudly showed off his well-built arm. “Feel it.”

After a few clicks, he mysteriously opened a social media app. “I recently found something good…”

Meng Zezhou pulled up the fan community for the Xingzhou CP and handed it to Xie Jixing.

After “Hi, Let’s Go Wild!” ended, without the high-intensity interactions, the “Never Alone CP” and “Xingyun CP” sank into the Arctic Circle.

Only their Xingzhou CP remained in the top 10 of the rankings due to their long-standing connection.

Previously, Meng Zezhou had been uneasy about Ling Peng exploiting CP content, so Qi Zhen had mentioned it to him.

After all, the top-quality videos circulating were still edited by themselves to control public opinion.

Meng Zezhou was delightfully hypocritical: filial to his adopted father—how could that be called exploitation?

But why was his ranking in the fan community sometimes up, sometimes down? That wasn’t right—a hunk like him should never be at the bottom.

His competitive spirit ignited!

He would hype it up, even personally sharing “sweet moments.”

The selfies he was taking were for posting cute couple content.

“The implication here is…” Xie Jixing scrolled through several fan works at lightning speed, feeling shocked. “You and I… are dating?!”

“Yes,” Meng Zezhou adjusted his angle. “Our CP ranking has dropped a bit recently, but we’ve even made it to the top three before!”

“Come closer, look at the camera—I’ll post a status to promote us.”

“Shouldn’t we be keeping a low profile?” Xie Jixing asked, puzzled.

“No, trust me. Only straight guys would enthusiastically promote!”

Although he didn’t understand, Xie Jixing still leaned in, letting Meng Zezhou get a perfect 3×3 photo grid. Meng Zezhou edited the captions while grinning. “Our previous dynamic wasn’t clear enough. Now with this look, I feel my ‘top’ status is more secure.”

Truly, these were things only straight men would care about.

Super macho Meng Meng: @Xie Jixing, visiting the set! (Peace sign) Photo ×18

In the photos, dark-skinned buzz-cut Meng Zezhou and Xie Jixing in high ponytail costume stood close together. Several shots even looked like Meng Zezhou was holding Xie Jixing in his arms.

The moment the post went live, CP fans swooped in immediately.

“Clearly a pairing, as a dream-star fan I acknowledge it!”

“Perfect match! Just passing by.”

“Meng Meng’s boyfriend energy is off the charts!”

“CP fans, please enjoy privately—don’t dance on the original account.”

“There’s a sense of brotherhood here, even makes me think Meng Meng is like Xing’s silly son.”

“We’re posting sweet content ourselves—why can’t we dance along?”

The CP fans and the toxic fans argued fiercely, instantly boosting the heat.

Xie Jixing’s own fans joined in, searching for the “missing person” and urging promotions.

“Post some photos too, promote a bit,” Meng Zezhou nudged him.

Xie Jixing led him to the chauffeur car. Meng Zezhou’s eyes widened—so luxurious!

“Nice car!”

“Thanks, Meng!” Xie Jixing elongated the word mockingly. “When are you joining the crew? I want to enjoy this a few more days.”

Meng Zezhou’s mind raced. What did he mean by that? Why thank me?

This shiny paint, brand-new interior, automatic lift screen, fully reclining seats—it was all alien to me!

Meng Meng was confused.

He seemed to hear again, “Brother, be smart.”

“This is my car…” Meng Zezhou tested.

Hmm?

Noticing Xie Jixing’s doubtful expression, he quickly added, “Yeah.”

“We’re brothers—you can use it as long as you want!”

Although he didn’t understand, clever!

If I could really use it after, that would be amazing!

Xie Jixing’s filming was done for the day. Qian Shuyun still had more to shoot, so since they were in the car, they headed back to the hotel.

In the hotel room, Meng Zezhou, unused to such sights, exclaimed, “Wow, you live in a presidential suite?!”

“Qian told me that’s the standard whenever he goes on set, but there are too many rooms inside. To save company costs, he had me move in with him.”

Meng Zezhou: ???

What a weird reason. Why not just book two standard rooms to save costs?

Since its founding, Tingyun Entertainment had never done anything special. This also reflected Qian Shuyun’s personal habits.

Meng Zezhou loved visiting Qian Shuyun’s set as a child, which inspired his acting career.

Back then, his brother already had movie king awards, yet lived in whatever room the crew booked. Sometimes conditions were poor—he didn’t even have a sofa, had to sleep on the floor.

When did he develop this habit of needing presidential suites?

He, Meng Zezhou, a popular talent and cousin of Tingyun Entertainment’s boss, had never received this treatment.

People’s hearts changed; company culture had gone bad!

Upon entering, Meng Zezhou was even more shocked.

A familiar, kind aunt brought over a plate of cut fruit. “Oh, Meng Meng’s here?”

The watermelon slices were even cut into star shapes.

“Wait, Auntie will cut another plate for you.”

Isn’t this Aunt Wang?

The one from the Qian family mansion who cooked so well—how did she get here?

“She… this is?” Meng Zezhou stammered.

Xie Jixing popped a star-shaped slice into his mouth. “Qian said he just recovered and needs to pay attention to nutrition, so he specially hired Auntie.”

What a load of nonsense!

Meng Zezhou cursed internally. Previously, during project meetings, he ordered takeout in the office every day.

So abnormal!

His brother wasn’t possessed, right?

Meng Zezhou quickly turned to Xie Jixing.

Something was off. Very off.

“Auntie will bring it soon—why are you staring at me?” This watermelon was crisp and sweet. Xing protecting food.

Meng Zezhou had no appetite—he was thinking, the person in front of him might not be his adopted father, but his sister-in-law.

So all those previous photos, all that promotion, all teaching people about CP fan communities—was it all in vain?

The post had already gotten over 100,000 likes; CP community ranking jumped two places. Now it was too late to hide it.

Meng Zezhou wanted to cry—one really shouldn’t show off, or it boomerangs.

Was Qian Shuyun going to bury him now?

“Once Qian returns, we’ll have dinner together.” Xie Jixing was carefully arranging dinner for his anxious friend. “Do you want hot pot or barbecue?”

“I…”

Maybe I should just slip away. As long as I don’t appear in front of my brother for now, I should be safe.

“I just remembered, I still have an event in C City, so I’ll skip dinner. Anyway, once you guys get back to the company, we can eat anytime.”

Maybe later, at a family gathering at my house, we could even eat together.

“I’ll go first. When my brother comes back, could you tell him for me?”

“Aunt Wang, bye-bye!”

After saying that, Meng Zezhou slipped away. Aunt Wang came out carrying a plate of freshly cut fruit, only catching a glimpse of his tailing figure.

This kid… he’s getting more and more daring.

When Qian returned to the hotel in the evening, he didn’t see his younger brother, but he did see a table full of sizzling teppanyaki.

“He said he still has an event in C City, and he couldn’t wait for you, so he left first.” Xie Jixing was snapping photos of the perfectly grilled meat, “Hehe, tricking the fans a bit, filling a 3×3 grid.”

Qian Shuyun leaned closer to look. The grilled meat photos just completed the last corner of the square.

Inside were also photos from the afternoon at the film base, star-shaped watermelon slices, and the last two rows were all selfies of Xie Jixing and Meng Zezhou together.

The middle photo was taken in Xie Jixing’s chauffeured van—Meng Zezhou and Xie Jixing each holding a cup of iced coffee, their faces almost pressed together.

He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. At your current position, you can’t openly go beat up Meng Zezhou.

Mobilizing 100% acting skill, Qian Shuyun forced a fake smile and asked, “Did you take these this afternoon?”

“The fans nowadays are quite…”

“Don’t you want to choose something less intimate…” the old schemer tried to advise.

Xie Jixing sent it without a second thought. “I know, Meng Meng said it’s for fan service.”

“Look,” he even held up the phone to show Qian Shuyun, “after he posted the group photo this afternoon, our CP super topic jumped three ranks.”

Qian Shuyun took his phone and clicked into the post Meng Zezhou made earlier.

18 photos, each one beautiful, Qian Shuyun’s eyes grew wider and wider.

Why did Xie Jixing pinch Meng Zezhou’s arm? Couldn’t he pinch him instead?

Why did he let Meng Zezhou pinch his face? Couldn’t he pinch him?

Finally, seeing Xie Jixing leaning against Meng Zezhou’s chest, Qian Shuyun took a sharp breath.

Stay calm—they’re just good friends.

No. He has to go beat up Meng Zezhou now.

Who cares about identities?

An older brother beating up his younger brother is perfectly natural.

For this dinner, Qian hadn’t really eaten properly. He felt like a pufferfish, all puffed up then poked, full of pressure.

Know yourself, know your enemy—never be defeated.

He had never cared about CP (couple pairing) hype before, but it’s not too late to start caring, starting with the Xingzhou super topic.

Today they were posting sweet moments, and the CP fans were all going “ahhhh.”

Besides these trivial things, Qian Shuyun also found analysis of sweet moments and fan fiction.

Especially that fan fiction—was this even legal?

Was the internet really lawless?

Never mind, let fans watch what they like; that’s their freedom. No interference.

Qian Shuyun advised himself internally.

But if the main actors deliberately guide it, that’s wrong. When he returns, he’s going to beat Meng Zezhou twice!

After exiting the Xingzhou super topic, he scrolled down—how come he couldn’t find the Qian Shuyun–Xie Jixing CP topic?

Logically, they’d had interactions on the variety show before.

Top 10? No.

Top 20? No.

Top 30? Still no.

Finally, Qian Shuyun found the super topic called “Xingyun CP” at rank 39. He had never been ranked this low in his life.

Recent posts were either check-ins or shouting “Arctic Circle is so cold.”

Fine, fine! No serious fans at all, huh?

Wait, people like fan fiction, but nobody cooks?

No matter, Qian comforted himself. This drama is a good opportunity.

Once the dual-starring photos are released, he’ll do major promotion and hype up the CP!

Posting sweet moments?

Who doesn’t do that?