Chapter 20 – Sorry, I’m the Evil Female Side Character

Although the reality show Working Professionals had only aired one episode, its ratings were sky-high thanks to its star-studded cast and the “Overbearing CEO” aura of the An Corporation. Even though Yan Dun barely had any screen time, his “universally adored protagonist” halo still attracted plenty of fans just from his looks—

⤷ Even the back of his head is unbelievably beautiful!

⤷ Every frame is heart-stopping!

⤷ I could admire this face forever!

⤷ Someone forgot to close the fairy tale book—the prince escaped!

Of course, Yan Dun’s beauty alone wasn’t enough to get him trending.

The trending topic was:

#YanDunAndAnChi#

Yan Dun never dreamed that one day he’d end up in a romance scandal with An Chi and trend online because of it.

Completely stunned, he opened the topic with trembling fingers and discovered there were actual photos as “proof” — pictures of him and An Chi fooling around and feeding each other cake at The Best Dessert Shop in Town.

The shots were clearly taken from outside the shop. Since they had been sitting by the window that day, it was easy for paparazzi to photograph them from the street. The photographers were skilled enough to capture several especially suggestive angles, making the two of them look extremely intimate.

And in the public eye, An Chi was always a stern, cold, domineering CEO. Who would have imagined him joking around like that with someone else?

Yan Dun’s identity was quickly dug up too: originally An Chi’s secretary, he had somehow become a rookie entertainer and joined Working Professionals. Everyone knew the show was funded by the An Corporation, and An Chi was the only judge on the program, effectively controlling every contestant’s fate.

Rumors exploded online instantly:

Yan Dun and An Chi were supposedly a “Domineering CEO and Pretty Secretary” couple. Yan Dun had gone from secretary to lover. An Chi was using his entertainment company to push his lover into showbiz, signing Yan Dun and sending him onto a hit reality show. Yan Dun was apparently the predetermined champion.

Some gossip accounts even confidently claimed that An Entertainment would soon cast Yan Dun in a major IP drama series.

The rumors got more and more outrageous.

Netizens happily devoured the gossip:

⤷ I could watch this domineering CEO and pretty secretary plot for a hundred episodes!

⤷ An Chi looks so cold and domineering usually—who knew he’d feed someone cake in private? I’m dying from sweetness!

⤷ A romance novel has come to life!

Yan Dun was already overwhelmed by the flood of rumors, and his phone wouldn’t stop ringing. Everyone in his contacts — close friends and distant acquaintances alike — was calling to probe whether the scandal with An Chi was real.

He was startled, but also genuinely confused.

Normally, if two men were just fooling around together, people wouldn’t immediately assume they were dating, right?

Customer Service popped up helpfully:

In BL novels, if two male celebrities get photographed doing basically anything together, netizens will assume they’re romantically involved. Even if it’s just a celebrity and a rich businessman eating together, drinking together, or going to a hotel together, people online will instantly conclude it’s a sugar-daddy relationship. Things that wouldn’t make any waves in the real world always become top trending scandals in webnovel worlds. That’s just the world of BL novels, Dear Customer

Yan Dun:

“…The world of domineering-CEO novels really is magical.”

“But what am I supposed to do now?” he asked miserably.

Customer Service answered:

Nothing. As the universally adored protagonist, you just wait for the domineering CEO to make a move, Customer. 

Still uneasy, Yan Dun called An Chi.

“President An… have you seen the trending topic?”

“You know I never pay attention to gossip like that.”

Yan Dun’s heart skipped a beat.

“I think you should take a look.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re trending.”

“Oh? Is it because of my handsome face?”

As he spoke, An Chi opened the trending page, and his expression visibly changed.

“Which media outlet took these photos?”

“We don’t know yet.”

“They must be blacklisted!” An Chi snapped angrily. “They made me look blurry, and the angle was terrible.”

“…”

Yan Dun was speechless for a long moment before finally asking:

“Wouldn’t this kind of scandal be bad for you? Aren’t you currently going on blind dates with Miss Bai?”

“Oh, right.” An Chi nodded. “Then I’ll have the PR department deal with it.”

“Okay.”

Seeing how calm An Chi was somehow calmed Yan Dun down too. Emotions really were contagious.

An Chi truly didn’t care much. As a domineering CEO, he felt completely unaffected by public gossip.

So even though the internet was in chaos, reality still went on. Yan Dun still had to go to work.

He returned to the Working Professionals filming set as usual. Though nobody openly said anything, their attitudes toward him had clearly changed. Feeling awkward, he hid in the dressing room.

He shared the dressing room with An Zao, and when he entered, An Zao was already sitting there.

Seeing Yan Dun come in, An Zao slightly raised his head.

“You’re here?”

“Yeah, Boss Zao.” Yan Dun nodded.

In a casual tone, An Zao asked:

“You trended?”

The moment it was mentioned, Yan Dun became uncomfortable all over again.

“Ugh! I don’t even know how this happened! We just ate cake together — how did that turn into dating?”

An Zao asked calmly:

“If you were just eating cake, then why were you feeding him with your hands?”

Yan Dun froze.

“Uh…”

After two seconds of painful silence, he weakly explained:

“Bai Lisu said it tasted better that way.”

“Bai Lisu?” An Zao looked surprised. “She was there too?”

“Yeah.” Yan Dun nodded.

“Then why isn’t she in the photos?”

After being reminded of that, Yan Dun also found it strange. Every leaked photo had been carefully framed to include only him and An Chi. Bai Lisu wasn’t visible anywhere.

Scratching his head, Yan Dun said:

“Isn’t that how paparazzi work? Even if it’s a group gathering, they’ll force it into looking like a two-person date.”

An Zao nodded thoughtfully.

At noon, the An Corporation released an official statement saying Yan Dun and An Chi merely had a normal employer-employee relationship.

Netizens responded with disappointment and suspicion.

Then Bai Lisu approached An Chi, tearfully saying:

“People don’t really believe the clarification. Why don’t we just tell everyone we’re dating?”

Although An Chi was a domineering CEO, he was also kind of an idiot.

So he agreed.

Soon, the number one trending topic changed to:

#BaiLisuAndAnChiRelationshipOfficial#

The internet exploded again.

That morning people were saying An Chi had something going on with his male secretary — now suddenly it was a female celebrity?

Then another trending topic started climbing:

#YanDunHomewrecker#

The story had now become:

Bai Lisu was An Chi’s official girlfriend, and Yan Dun was the shameless “other man” secretary. After photos of Yan Dun and An Chi leaked, the An Corporation rushed to deny the affair, while Bai Lisu publicly asserted her “main girlfriend” status — all to slap Yan Dun, the male homewrecker, in the face.

Netizens immediately began attacking Yan Dun:

⤷ Miss Bai really suffered here. She guarded against women but never expected her boyfriend’s male secretary to be the mistress!

⤷ Shameless people are invincible. Pretty girls really can’t compete against shameless male sluts.

⤷ Such a beautiful world, yet Yan Dun insists on acting slutty in it.

⤷ Stop insulting him. If someone can be a homewrecker, they obviously have no shame already. Just boycott him directly!

In a single day, Yan Dun experienced the highest highs and lowest lows of his life.

When he woke up that morning, he was the “pretty secretary.”

After lunch, he had become the “disgusting homewrecker.”

Squatting in the dressing room, Yan Dun stared blankly at An Zao.

An Zao looked back at him thoughtfully.

“Did you offend Bai Lisu?”

That one sentence instantly woke Yan Dun up.

“You think Bai Lisu framed me?”

An Zao smiled faintly.

“How would I know?”

But the more Yan Dun thought about it, the more convinced he became.

Unable to resist, he texted Bai Lisu:

『 Was this you? 』

Bai Lisu replied:

『 Sorry. I’m the evil female side character. 』