Chapter Ninety-One: Who Is the Mastermind Behind It?

The two of them had grown very close recently, chatting on WeChat every night before bed like a pair of lovers in the throes of passion. Lin Fan would tell her about his work each day, while Zhang Yi would teasingly ask how many beautiful streamers he’d managed to charm. Though Zhang Yi often insisted she had no right to meddle in Lin Fan’s private life, her waning affection whenever the subject arose made it clear she minded a great deal.

Surrounded by stunning women every day, Lin Fan couldn’t claim to be immune to their charm. Yet he wasn’t afraid of Zhang Yi’s jealousy; on the contrary, the more jealous she became, the closer and more frequent their exchanges. What he truly feared was Zhang Yi growing indifferent to his work and life, leaving him hanging in suspense.

Take Su Juanmo for instance—even when Ouyang Qi openly flirted with him in front of her, Su Juanmo’s fondness for him never changed; it had stayed at thirty points, meaning she saw him as nothing more than a friend.

“No matter how beautiful another woman may be, no one can take your place in my heart. When I finally make something of myself, I’ll marry you with all the pomp and circumstance you deserve!” Lin Fan confessed his feelings once more.

“Hmph! You’ve grown so glib lately. I never realized you were this kind of person before,” Zhang Yi replied, adding a disdainful emoji.

Lin Fan shot back right away: “Can’t help it. When a man comes into money, he turns bad—I’m no exception. If you were in my shoes, you’d lose your grip too.”

“As if you’re not at fault! Is it all the fault of money, corrupting your heart? If you just controlled your desires, you wouldn’t be tempted by beauty, would you?” Zhang Yi retorted in all seriousness.

Lin Fan didn’t deny it. Without money, he doubted he’d ever have even dreamed of pursuing someone like Zhang Yi.

“I can’t control it… It’s precisely because I can’t control it that I fell for you against my will, hehe!” Lin Fan replied, thinking on his feet.

“Rascal! I’m done talking to you. I’m going to shower and get ready for bed. Bye!” With a flying kiss emoji, Zhang Yi ended the conversation for the night.

However, Lin Fan noticed through the system that her affection for him had climbed back up to sixty.

“As expected, sweet words can indeed raise someone’s affection for you, at least to some degree… Looks like I need to prepare well for the National Day holiday. When I meet her parents for the first time, the gift must be generous.” Lin Fan couldn’t help muttering narcissistically to himself.

The next day at noon, as Lin Fan was leaving the Binhai villa district, he once again spotted that van parked at a distance by the roadside.

The moment he stepped out through the main gate, he saw someone inside the vehicle grab a camera and start snapping pictures of him furiously, which filled him with anger.

The night before, he had sent a message to Li Li, asking her how to deal with paparazzi. Li Li’s reply had surprised him: she actually suggested that he should either warn the paparazzi off or pay them to leave, since they were notorious for fabricating stories and spreading malicious rumors. As a major shareholder in Starlight Live, if they uncovered his identity and exposed it, it would harm the company’s reputation.

Starlight Live was now a listed company, and even a single news article could cause stock price fluctuations. Su Juanmo had warned him about this as well—he needed to be constantly mindful of his public image. Moreover, these paparazzi could seriously affect his peace of mind and daily life; many celebrities had seen their careers and reputations ruined by rumors that had no basis in reality.

Lin Fan was all too familiar with this. He’d been maliciously slandered by Chen Yanzi before, and her videos were still up and circulating after nearly two months. The first video she posted continued to attract numerous comments every day urging her to expose the “jerk.” Yet, for reasons unknown, she hadn’t released any new videos lately, as if she’d vanished entirely.

Lin Fan kept a close eye on Chen Yanzi’s movements. Ever since Su Daqiang had announced the end of their partnership, she had stopped both her live commerce streams and video postings. Frankly, Lin Fan was relieved to see her disappear.

Originally, he’d planned to eat at a restaurant opposite the villa district, but remembering Li Li’s warning, he changed direction and walked straight toward the van.

The two inside hadn’t expected Lin Fan to double back. Just as they were about to start the engine and drive off, Lin Fan appeared in front of their car.

“Running somewhere? Who sent you to secretly photograph me?” Lin Fan’s gaze was like a blade, sharp and piercing as he stared them down.

“What are you talking about, man? You must have us mixed up with someone else. We’re just passing through, taking selfies,” they replied, feigning ignorance and denying everything.

“Selfies? Do you take me for a fool? You don’t think I can tell you’re paparazzi? Out with it—who put you up to this?” Lin Fan was quickly losing patience. These paparazzi were truly insufferable, their acting skills rivaling those of the female streamers at his company.

“We’re just tourists from out of town, here to visit Hang City for a few days. Maybe you’re mistaken?” one said.

“Yeah, we’re just taking landscape photos. We didn’t photograph you at all. You’re welcome to check our phones if you don’t believe us…” they chimed in, working hard to conceal their identities, even offering their phones for Lin Fan to inspect.

But Lin Fan didn’t take the bait. He knew better than to fall for such a trick.

“I’d advise you to be careful. Don’t say I didn’t warn you—unauthorized photography is illegal,” Lin Fan said, refraining from making threats. He knew they might be recording the conversation and had to leave them no room to catch him out. He settled for an official-sounding warning and then turned to leave.

After his warning, the two didn’t follow him anymore. Still uneasy, Lin Fan messaged Li Li again to report the incident.

Li Li soon replied that these two were probably not entertainment reporters. With her wide network in the industry, paparazzi rarely dared to cross her. More likely, these two had been sent by some other party to follow Lin Fan—probably a business rival.

Suddenly, Lin Fan remembered last night’s events. After dinner, instead of heading straight to the company, he’d gone to Su Juanmo’s office.

Though Su Juanmo was also the general manager of Starlight Live, her office was located within a hotel owned by her family. A few days earlier, she had stepped down from her position as hotel general manager to work behind the scenes but hadn’t moved to the Starlight Tower to serve as a full-time manager. She continued to handle Starlight Live’s affairs remotely from her own office. Besides Shi Jie, she had also assigned her secretary to Starlight Entertainment to help manage things.

Jitu Chain Hotels was an asset under the Su Group, with branches in several cities around Hang City. Although not large in scale, their late entry into the market and the recent downturn in the hotel industry had led to severe losses for Jitu over the past year.

Even after Su Juanmo became general manager and implemented new measures, the company failed to turn a profit. In response, the Su family patriarch, Su Yan’en, proposed a solution: whoever could secure financing and resolve the crisis would become general manager. Alongside Su Juanmo, Su Mingxuan was also actively seeking connections and funding.