AM: Chapter 73

Pei Shaoze heard Cheng Xia’s frank confession and it felt like his hard and cold outer shell was being gently peeled off by Cheng Xia. The young man’s slender fingers carefully touched the deepest part of his heart and scratched gently.

His heart became numb and an electric current swept through his body. Even the pores on his back opened comfortably. Was this the feeling of being confessed to by someone you liked?

‘In my heart, there has always been only you’—this was really the best sentence Pei Shaoze had ever heard.

Pei Shaoze reached out and gently hugged the young man on his lap. He wrapped one hand around Cheng Xia’s waist and raised Cheng Xia’s chin with his other hand, gently kissing this person. Cheng Xia’s entire body was lifted up and he sat on the alpha’s strong thigh. This posture made his heart thump and redness spread all the way from his cheeks to the base of his ears.

Cheng Xia was kissed and hurriedly reached out his hand to nervously cling to Pei Shaoze’s shoulder to prevent himself from falling. Pei Shaoze’s kiss was particularly gentle, delicate, and warm. It was like kissing the tip of his heart and Cheng Xia almost melted. Cheng Xia gasped and responded shyly, “Mm… Pei… Brother Pei… um…”

He didn’t know why but today’s Pei Shaoze was different from the usual calm President Pei. Cheng Xia was dizzy by the kiss but he still had some doubts in his mind. Was there something wrong with what he just said? Didn’t Brother Pei know that Cheng Xia had a crush on him?

After being kissed for 10 minutes, Cheng Xia felt the hand on his waist slightly loosened. He looked up and found the alpha staring at him intently, dark eyes full of tenderness. Pei Shaoze’s thumb gently rubbed the corner of Cheng Xia’s wet lips as he said, “It turns out the person you like has always been me.”

The dazed Cheng Xia nodded. “Yes.”

Pei Shaoze realized that he had fallen behind a long time ago. He hadn’t been able to keep up with Cheng Xia’s thoughts and felt jealous for no reason.

In fact, he had always been the only one in Cheng Xia’s heart. He was really dull. The good impression that exceeded 90 points was enough to show that Cheng Xia liked him yet he stubbornly equated the ‘good impression’ value with ‘trust value.’ It seemed that after Cheng Xia was injured and Pei Shaoze went to visit him late at night, Cheng Xia was moved and his good impression rose rapidly.

Pei Shaoze kissed the young man’s forehead and whispered, “I like you too.”

This was the first time he directly said ‘I like you’ to someone so Pei Shaoze’s expression wasn’t natural. Cheng Xia heard it and his eyes lit up. He immediately hugged Pei Shaoze and buried his face in the alpha’s arms.

Cheng Xia listened to the ‘thump thump’ of the heartbeat from the alpha’s chest and was so happy he was about to faint. The always indifferent Brother Pei actually said that he liked Cheng Xia. Cheng Xia might know that Brother Pei always doted on him but it was different personally hearing it!

[Cheng Xia’s good impression of you +1 +1.]

This time, it shot to 99 points in one breath. There was only one point left.

Pei Shaoze rubbed the head in his arms and thought that he wouldn’t let anyone harm his baby again.

Pei Shaoze hugged Cheng Xia tightly. The posture of the young man sitting with his back against him, made Pei Shaoze a bit unable to continue holding on. Pei Shaoze took a deep breath to suppress the impulse and let go of Cheng Xia. He leaned toward Cheng Xia’s ear and whispered, “Now I need you to act in a play with me.”

Cheng Xia listened carefully before smiling and nodded. “Yes, I know what to do!”

***

Early the next morning, Cheng Xia was woken up by a call from Zhou Yan. “Cheng Xia, look at Weibo!”

Cheng Xia thought, ‘It really came. The action of the other person is fast.’

He quickly got up and opened Weibo. He saw a hot topic floating on the front page.

#Explosive gossip# A certain omega actor deliberately injected a pheromones release agent to enter the estrus period and seduce his boss. He exchanged his body for resources. It’s astounding!

The Weibo that broke the news was small and only followed by a few hundred water army forces. There was obviously a professional promoter behind it if the revelation of a small and invisible Weibo page could actually enter today’s hot search in such a short period of time.

The blogger released the information one by one. First, they used ‘omega newcomer.’ Then they pointed out ‘the one who has been particularly popular lately.’ Once the third article came out, they almost directly named him. [His first work, he acted as the protagonist of a school drama. He tried to get a wealthy backer by any means and it worked. The poor alpha boss lost control due to the pheromones and got involved with such an omega with a bad heart.]

Intentionally injected a release agent to seduce the boss—how was this method any different from alphas taking advantage of an omega’s estrus period?

Many onlookers who clicked onto the hot search were disgusted, especially the omegas. [This is a scumbag omega.]

[Oh my god, using the estrus period to seduce the boss is too cheap. Wouldn’t it be a mess if all omegas do this?]

[It’s shameful to treat the body as a commodity.]

Some people curiously asked, [Who is it?]

The direction of the blogger was so obvious that the comments area quickly guessed it. [Last name is Cheng, right?]

[My guess is Cheng Xia who acted in Folding Paper!]

[The most popular omega recently is him. I felt it was strange that he could get a leading role in his first work.]

[I couldn’t see it. He played Qin Nian and is so sunny and cute yet he is actually this type of scheming O?]

[F*k, my serious, hard-working, and lovely Qin Nian is actually played by this type of person?]

Zhou Yan looked at the netizens in the comments area that were following an obvious rhythm with a slightly ugly expression.

Fortunately, President Pei had reminded her not to do anything no matter what happened. She took a deep breath and told Cheng Xia, “President Pei told me not to fight back and let the opposite side release all their evidence. President Pei will help you in person this time. Don’t worry and shoot the drama well. Leave the rest to us.”

If Pei Shaoze hadn’t warned him in advance and Cheng Xia suddenly saw the dirty water poured on him then he would definitely be frightened. However, after last night, he was now very calm and even wanted to laugh. Brother Pei had long expected this so let the explosion be more violent! The more it exploded, the harder Brother Pei would slap them in the face.

Cheng Xia logged into Weibo and posted a message. [Good morning everyone. I’m ready to go film. [Jiayou][Jiayou]]

He didn’t seem to care about the rumors.

Many fans commented on this Weibo post. [Xia Xia, is the omega they’re talking about you?]

[There is no evidence of the nonsense. I believe in Cheng Xia!]

[I think an actor who can play Qin Nian so well won’t be such a person.]

[Cheng Xia’s acting skills are good and there is no need to sell his body in exchange for resources. There are many directors who would appreciate his acting skills. This is definitely because the competitors aren’t convinced by Folding Paper rushing to number one. They are deliberately discrediting him.]

Due to the popularity of Folding Paper, many people had been attracted by Cheng Xia’s Qin Nian in the past few days. They followed him and became his fans. Therefore, many fans stood up for him when Cheng Xia was questioned this time.

Of course, there were also many black fans who gloated. [Cheng Xia is really overturned!]

[I told you. How could he get the role of Xu Ziyang as an omega? He must’ve got it in exchange for climbing into someone’s bed.]

[An omega has an innate advantage in this aspect. They have a soft body and won’t be too uncomfortable being f*king. In any case, as long as he isn’t pregnant then he can use his body to climb the beds of a few more bosses and exchange for resources!]

These people spoke very badly. Cheng Xia ignored these comments and turned off Weibo.

Meanwhile, Cheng Yiming woke up and opened Weibo, wanting to see fans praising his son. Turning on Weibo had been his daily routine for the past few days. He was especially proud every time he saw fans saying that they liked Cheng Xia.

As a result, he opened Weibo today and was stunned by the tens of thousands of comments. He clicked in to take a look and was so angry that his hands and feet were shaking. He hurried to find Jiang Qiong. “Our son was splashed with dirty water. Some people are saying that he got the role of QIn Nian by seducing the boss and crawling into the boss’ bed!”

Jiang Qiong was so shocked that she dropped a bowl. She hurriedly wiped her hands and took the phone. The two people followed the comments and entered the topic. They read the bloggers’ breaking news and their expressions became uglier. Just then, Cheng Yiming’s phone rang. The caller ID showed an unknown number. He picked it up suspiciously. “Hello? You are?”

The other person’s voice was deep, nice, and very polite. “Hello, Uncle Cheng. I am Pei Shaoze, the current president of the Tianxuan Group.”

Pei Shaoze—it was said on the Internet that his son crawled into Pei Shaoze’s bed to seduce him!

Cheng Yiming’s expression changed and his voice was cold. “President Pei, what do you want from me?”

Pei Shaoze wondered, “Have you seen the topic on Weibo?”

Cheng Yiming’s expression was gloomy. “I saw it! They said my son crawled into your bed and asked for resources!”

Pei Shaoze told him, “There is no such thing. The score of Folding Paper is so good that competitors are jealous and are deliberately splashing dirty water to tarnish Cheng Xia. Rest assured, I will protect my artist and prove Cheng Xia’s innocence. Next, no matter what happens on Weibo, just ignore it. Many of the news is deliberately fabricated by the competitors. As Cheng Xia’s father, you should believe that he won’t do this type of thing.”

Cheng Yiming sighed with a bit of relief. “Of course, I believe in my son! He would never do such a thing!”

“That’s good. In the next few days, it’s better not to look at Weibo so as to not get angry by this matter. I asked a tour guide to take the two of you on a trip. Wait a few days for this matter to be resolved and you can check the result on Weibo.”

Cheng Yiming laughed. “President Pei, since you say this then I am relieved. There is no need for a trip or anything!”

“The results of Folding Paper are very good and this is the company’s reward for Cheng Xia. I have arranged it with a travel agency and there will be a private tour guide to take the two of you on vacation. You can have fun and send your son a lot of photos so he can feel at ease in the crew.”

Cheng Xia was worried about what his parents would think about this matter and called his father. As a result, there was a lot of noise on the phone and even a broadcast that said, ‘passengers on flight XX can start boarding.’ He was apparently at an airport.

Cheng Xia was stunned. “Dad, what are you doing at the airport?”

Cheng Yiming laughed. “President Pei told us to go to the seaside for a holiday. We are going to board soon and will fly to Ya’an today. Once we get there, we will go to the crew to visit you!”

Cheng Xia, “……”

Jiang Qiong grabbed the phone. “President Pei is very good. He called us to comfort both of us and told us not to think too much. He said he will protect Tianxuan’s artists and prevent you from being wronged.”

Cheng Yiming said softly, “Son, Dad believes in you! I have seen too many black fans in the industry. As long as you don’t do anything shameful then it’s useless for them to blacken you!”

Cheng Xia’s heart warmed and he nodded. “Mom, Dad, I know. You can rest assured.”

Cheng Xia hung up the phone and felt really warm. Brother Pei was so careful that he even took Cheng Xia’s parents into consideration. What else was there to say about such an alpha? He really couldn’t let go of Brother Pei for the rest of his life.

In fact, Pei Shaoze had been worried that the plot of the original novel would be repeated. In the original novel, Cheng Yiming was so angry after seeing Cheng Xia being scolded by netizens that he had a heart attack and the rescue failed. Cheng Yiming had a weak heart. The black fans might not have sent dead rats to his home this time but Pei Shaoze didn’t want to take even the slightest risk of Cheng Xia losing his beloved father.

The next pieces of news revealed would be more and more terrible. Sending the two elders to travel in advance was a type of protection for them.

Sure enough, the blogger broke more news in the afternoon. It was a short video. In the underground garage, Cheng Xia was brought into a black car and Pei Shaoze also got in the car. It was different from the surveillance video that Pei Shaoze found at the time and was more likely taken by a dashcam recording passing by from another angle. In the video, the faces of Pei Shaoze and Cheng Xia could vaguely be seen.

This was closely followed by a receipt from the hospital. The signature column of the purchaser of the pheromones release agent clearly had the words ‘Cheng Xia’ written on it. This was almost iron-clad proof! 70% of netizens who saw this started to believe that Cheng Xia took a pheromones release agent to seduce the boss. They even jokingly called it the omega release agent scandal.

Next, the blogger released the surveillance area of the Binhu Villa area the next night of Pei Shaoze driving away. Pei Shaoze was in the driver’s seat and looked serious. Next to him was Cheng Xia. Pei Shaoze’s car dropped him off at the intersection of Cheng Xia’s house and Cheng Xia wore Pei Shaoze’s down jacket.

Netizens could naturally imagine what happened that night.

After a whole day, the #explosive gossip# topic was ranked first due to a large number of onlookers. At the same time, topics like #Cheng Xia injected release agent#, #release agent scandal# and #character problem of the Folding Paper star# made it into the top 20 of the hot searches.

Cheng Xia’s Weibo was instantly filled with swearing.

The fans who originally believed in Cheng Xia started to waver in front of what seemed to be ironclad evidence once after another. [I really didn’t want to believe that someone like you could play that cute Qin Nian. How can you be this type of person?]

[Cheng Xia smiles really brightly. If he really is this type of scheming O then I am really blind]

[I heard that in the entertainment industry, there must be a reversal in three days. Wait and see.]

[Xia Xia, explain quickly. What is going on?]

The day passed but Cheng Xia didn’t provide any explanations.

The next day, the blogger released another video on Weibo. [A certain omega actor surnamed Cheng didn’t forget to run to the boss’ room during filming. He is really hungry. This is a video taken on the night of August 7th when the boss flew to Ya’an to visit the set.]

In the video, a young man wearing a white t-shirt and a cap entered the room. Pei Shaoze was standing in front of the French windows and looking at the scenery. After hearing the sound of footsteps, he turned to look at the person. Then he pulled the person into his arms, lowered his head, and kissed this person’s ear.

Immediately afterward, the curtain was pulled shut by Pei Shaoze’s slender hand and they could imagine what happened next. The t-shirt and cap were both worn by Cheng Xia on the set in the photos that Cheng Xia had previously posted on Weibo.

The fans, “……”

There were more and more people on the brink of removing their fan status.

The public opinion went downhill. In the comments area of Folding Paper on Linghu TV, many viewers who purchased the drama changed their five-star rating to one star. The original rating of 9.5 instantly dropped to 6.5. There was a large-scale boycotting of this ‘tainted actor’ and Folding Paper.

However, netizens were confused about something. Linghu TV didn’t act and the homepage still had the poster of Folding Paper on it. Folding Paper’s official Weibo also didn’t give an explanation. The director, screenwriter, and original author of Folding Paper as well as the two main characters of the scandal were all quiet. It was as if this matter wasn’t happening at all.

The reporters who had been in the entertainment industry for many years keenly smelled a different scent. Surely there couldn’t be a rebuttal? Was it because this was the truth that Cheng Xia was stunned silent? Or was this the calm before the storm and the team behind Cheng Xia was quietly preparing a more violent counterattack?

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Proofreader: Cat