Xia Xixi stared blankly at the employee soliciting customers, then turned to look at Li Quyin. So… Li Quyin was this kind of person?
Being gazed at by Xia Xixi’s clear black-and-white eyes, Li Quyin could clearly read his thoughts.
He opened his mouth to explain, but before the words could come out, he swallowed them back down. At this moment, no matter what he said, it would only seem like an unnecessary cover-up.
Annoyed, he turned to glance at the nearby employee. His deep, icy black eyes made the employee’s smile freeze instantly, and with an awkward chuckle, the employee quickly retreated back into the store.
It was already past ten at night, and couples frequently passed in and out of the hotel. Every time this happened, people would glance curiously at the two of them standing at the entrance.
Xia Xixi had thin skin and couldn’t take the embarrassment for long. He quickly turned to leave.
Seeing this, Li Quyin hurried to follow.
“That message was actually sent by my friend while I wasn’t looking,” Li Quyin explained.
He felt a little guilty and kept sneaking glances at Xia Xixi while speaking, afraid that he wouldn’t believe him.
In truth, Xia Xixi already believed him for the most part. After all, even before coming, he had thought the message was a little out of character for Li Quyin—something about it felt off.
But just thinking about how he had stood at the hotel entrance, becoming the center of attention like some spectacle, Xia Xixi decided to ignore Li Quyin.
With a cold face, Xia Xixi walked silently down the street.
The neon lights from nearby storefronts interlaced with the glow of passing cars, forming a river of light that blurred Xia Xixi’s silhouette.
“I didn’t think you’d actually come…” Li Quyin looked at the sulking person beside him and tried to explain.
Xia Xixi looked quite cute when he was angry. His cheeks were puffed up—it made Li Quyin want to poke them.
Xia Xixi’s footsteps faltered for a second. So, was this his fault now?
“That’s not what I meant.” Li Quyin realized he was just making things worse the more he talked.
It was strange—he wasn’t exactly silver-tongued on a regular basis, but he could at least express himself clearly.
Plus, as a public figure, he had undergone plenty of training in communication.
So why was it that, when facing Xia Xixi, everything he said seemed to come out wrong?
“How about I buy you dessert?” Li Quyin lowered his voice, his apology sincere.
Xia Xixi still ignored him, keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead as he walked on.
But Li Quyin, with his sharp eyes, noticed the slight bob of Xia Xixi’s Adam’s apple—he was tempted.
Li Quyin couldn’t help but chuckle. Quickly, he added, “I heard there’s a really great dessert shop nearby. I was planning to bring you there sometime later, but since we’re already close, why don’t we check it out?”
Xia Xixi’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, but he still refused to acknowledge him. He was angry. And someone who was angry couldn’t be bribed by a mere piece of dessert!
“I heard they have all kinds of desserts—chocolate, cream cakes, traditional Chinese-style ones, even international selections. You could try them all one by one, and once you figure out your favorite, we can just come straight here next time.” Li Quyin barely managed to suppress his laughter.
“Really?” Xia Xixi hesitated, finally turning back.
“Hm?”
“There are a lot of choices?” Xia Xixi asked with great difficulty.
If there were a lot of options…
“Really, I heard they have lots of new items. You might even find some you’ve never had before.” Li Quyin held back his amusement and nodded earnestly.
Xia Xixi’s eyes darted around before he put on a serious face. “Next time, don’t do this again. I don’t like being messed with.”
Li Quyin immediately promised, “There won’t be a next time.”
“Alright then!” Xia Xixi finally relented, all for the sake of dessert.
Li Quyin quickly went to hail a cab, afraid that if he didn’t find something to do, he would be unable to hold back his laughter.
If that happened, Xia Xixi would definitely get mad and might ignore him again.
After getting into the car, the two of them drove off.
At the hotel entrance—
On the roadside, within the temporary parking zone, a woman with red nail polish anxiously snatched the phone from the person beside her. “Well? Did you get the shot?”
“Relax, I got it,” the man in the driver’s seat replied. “I’m sending it out right now. This is big news—Best Actor Shen Bailou meeting a mysterious man late at night…”
“Are you stupid?” The woman, Yi Gupan, rolled her eyes at him in frustration. How could he be so clueless?
The man was confused. “If we’re not going to expose it, then why go through the trouble of secretly taking these photos?”
“I can’t be bothered to explain. Just leave it to me, and don’t mess things up. Remember, you can’t tell anyone about this.” Yi Gupan glared at him warningly.
“Got it, but what exactly are you planning?”
***
By the time Xia Xixi was dropped off at his neighborhood, his stomach was already round and full.
As he walked home, he rubbed his belly, his eyes squinting into happy crescents.
The place Li Quyin had found was indeed excellent.
It was a newly opened dessert shop that hadn’t gained much fame yet, but the pastry chef’s skills were remarkable. The desserts were exquisite and delicious, and it was only a matter of time before the shop became popular through word of mouth.
Xia Xixi licked his lips, still tasting the sweetness, and thought about visiting the shop a few more times with Li Quyin before it became so popular that reservations would be required.
Just as he was thinking about it, Old Liao suddenly appeared from the side.
“Xia, come here,” Old Liao beckoned him over.
Xia Xixi rubbed his stomach and obediently walked toward him.
As soon as he reached the entrance, he saw several uniformed officers inside Old Liao’s house.
“Is this about the car vandalism case?” Xia Xixi asked.
Old Liao’s expression was grim. He quickly explained, “No, it’s something bigger. Do you remember that Tang Dynasty porcelain someone asked you to appraise?”
Xia Xixi nodded. He had an impression of it.
Just half a month ago, a collector had come to him, requesting an appraisal for an early Tang Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain vase.
The craftsmanship, artistry, and condition of the vase were all top-tier, and it was very well preserved.
Moreover, it had come from a small but well-known workshop, a family that had even made imperial porcelain for the emperor. That family had long since disappeared in modern times, making their works exceptionally rare.
Because of all this, the vase was of significant value, and Xia Xixi had found it particularly memorable.
“The item was a fake,” Old Liao smacked his thigh.
“What?” Xia Xixi was shocked. “How is that possible?”
“You’re Xia Xixi?” A police officer stepped out from inside.
“I am. But how could the item be fake? That’s impossible.” Xia Xixi couldn’t accept the possibility.
In their line of work, the worst thing that could happen was misidentifying an item.
Just one mistake, and all the credibility and reputation built over the years would be completely destroyed.
Xia Xixi’s inability to accept this wasn’t because he was worried about his reputation—he simply couldn’t believe he had made an error in judgment.
Since entering the industry, he had never made a single mistake.
“The item is indeed fake. We’ve had experts verify it,” the officer said.
“The problem now is that both the collector and the buyer have reported it to the police, so we have to investigate.”
“You know that for antiques like this, the amounts involved are usually huge. The estimated value given by other experts is already in the tens of millions.”
“With such a large sum, this isn’t just a simple fraud case. So we need you to cooperate with the investigation…”
After listening to the officer’s explanation, it took Xia Xixi a long time to fully grasp what had happened.
Previously, someone had indeed come to him for an appraisal of the vase. Xia Xixi had completed the evaluation and had even had an official certification issued through the association.
After the appraisal, the original collector encountered financial trouble and needed to liquidate assets quickly, so he sold the vase.
However, not long after the buyer acquired it, he showed it to a friend, who immediately realized it was a fake.
The buyer then sought another appraisal, which confirmed that the vase was a poorly made counterfeit.
After that, the buyer confronted the original collector, and the two parties got into a heated dispute, leading to a police report.
Once the authorities launched their investigation, they quickly traced the matter back to Xia Xixi.
At this stage, the police had not yet officially classified the case as fraud. They were still gathering information. But if Xia Xixi had indeed issued a false appraisal certificate, he would bear a significant portion of the responsibility.
Not only would his career in the industry be over, but he might also face legal consequences.
After cooperating with the police and answering their questions, Xia Xixi finally saw them off. However, before he even had a chance to return home, he received a call from his family.
The Xia family had been in this field for generations, and no one had ever made such a grave mistake.
If this incident truly fell on Xia Xixi’s shoulders, then the reputation their ancestors had built over the years would be completely ruined.
After explaining everything to his family, Xia Xixi finally made it home. It was already past one in the morning.
Exhausted, he collapsed onto the sofa. Just as he was going over the events of that day in his mind, his phone rang again.
He thought it was another call from his family, but when he checked, it was a news notification from a video platform.
[Shocking! Best Actor Shen Bailou caught in a late-night hotel rendezvous with a lover! Sources say the woman is an actress from his recent film. The two were seen in an intimate embrace…]
Xia Xixi felt irritated the moment he saw the name "Shen Bailou." Without even finishing the headline, he deleted it.
Sitting up from the sofa, he planned to wash up and rest. But just before putting down his phone, he noticed a few unread messages.
They were from Li Quyin, sent right after he had dropped Xia Xixi off at his neighborhood.
But as soon as he entered the neighborhood, Old Liao dragged him to his house to talk about the appraisal certificate, so he hadn't noticed the messages.
Li Quyin: "Rest early, don’t stay up late."
Li Quyin: "I heard they’ll be launching new desserts in a couple of days. I’ve already reserved a spot—I’ll take you there again."
Xia Xixi licked his lips, still faintly tasting the sweetness. He felt healed.
Xia Xixi: "Okay."
Xia Xixi: "Did you see your brother’s news?"
Xia Xixi was overwhelmed with troubles and had no intention of sleeping.
He didn’t have much hope for a response, considering it was already past 1 a.m., but Li Quyin replied almost instantly.
Li Quyin: "That’s fake."
He was anxious.
He didn’t want Xia Xixi to misunderstand that he had some late-night rendezvous with a female celebrity. Even if the person Xia Xixi misunderstood wasn’t him but Shen Bailou, it still wouldn’t do.
Xia Xixi already hated Shen Bailou enough.
Li Quyin: "Actually, he already has someone he likes, and they’re already dating."
Xia Xixi was shocked. "As expected, what a scumbag! He has someone he likes, and they’re even in a relationship, yet he still sneaks around behind his boyfriend’s back, booking hotel rooms with other women and toying with their feelings?!"
What kind of new breed of trash was this?
At that moment, Li Quyin felt like crying.
The moment the news came out, he instantly recognized the photos—it was him and Xia Xixi at the hotel entrance.
But the person behind it was smart, deliberately blurring the focus and adding a mosaic effect. Even with comparisons, it was impossible to tell exactly where the photos were taken.
The picture didn’t capture Xia Xixi’s full face, only his side profile.
From the public’s perspective, it looked like Best Actor Shen Bailou was taking his lover into a hotel late at night.
Li Quyin really wanted to tell Xia Xixi that the person in the photo was him. But he wasn’t Shen Bailou—he was Li Quyin.
So there was no way he could possibly know Shen Bailou’s personal matters.
Unless he admitted that he was Shen Bailou.
But that was obviously impossible.
Yet if he didn’t admit it, how was he supposed to prove it was a misunderstanding?
After thinking for a long time and finding no solution, Li Quyin could only respond with grievance.
Li Quyin: "That’s right, Shen Bailou really is trash."