Chapter 28 — President Hua’s Scandal Hits the Trending List

At this moment, Yan Dun felt extremely awkward as he looked at the hoodie An Zao was wearing, now stained with spilled coffee.

An Zao sighed lightly and said, “Why are you always so careless?”

Yan Dun stammered, “This time it really wasn’t—”

An Zao raised an eyebrow. “So last time it was...?”

Realizing anything he said would be wrong, Yan Dun simply admitted defeat.

“My fault, Boss An. This time it was my mistake...”

An Zao, however, was easygoing about it.

“It’s fine. You didn’t do it on purpose. But the production team has run out of spare clothes, so I’ll have to borrow the hoodie you’re holding.”

“Of course, no problem.”

Feeling responsible, Yan Dun immediately offered up the hoodie he had just taken off with both hands.

“As long as Boss An doesn’t mind.”

Smiling, An Zao accepted it and asked:

“You didn’t sweat in it today, did you?”

Yan Dun hurriedly replied:

“No! The venue’s air conditioning was strong! I only wore it for a little while—it’s practically new. There’s definitely no smell.”

As if verifying the claim, An Zao lifted the hoodie to his nose and took a sniff.

Then he smiled.

“No smell.”

Yan Dun’s cheeks instantly heated up.

“R-right... naturally...”

An Zao chuckled.

“Why are you so nervous? I’m just teasing you.”

Yan Dun laughed dryly to cooperate with the chairman’s joke.

An Zao waved a hand and was about to go change clothes when he suddenly turned back.

“You gave me the hoodie. What about President Hua?”

“I’ll explain the situation to him,” Yan Dun replied. “I’m sure he’ll understand.”

But An Zao said:

“I imagine he just wanted a similar hoodie. I heard Sister Li say she wasn’t planning to take hers home. Why don’t you ask her for one?”

Following the suggestion, Yan Dun went to find Sister Li. Sure enough, she cheerfully gave him her hoodie.

Although Sister Li was one of the female contestants, she weighed 180 pounds and wore the men’s size anyway.

Yan Dun had her hoodie sent to Hua Daimao.

Hua Daimao immediately put it on.

And then something shocking happened—

Hua Daimao and Sister Li ended up in a dating scandal that trended online.

Earlier on the show, other contestants had teased Sister Li:

“Hey! Isn’t that a men’s-size hoodie?”

As a comedian, she was used to being teased and wasn’t offended.

Grinning, she replied:

“Who says it’s men’s size?”

Then she took a marker and wrote the character ‘女’ (female) on the hem.

Hua Daimao hadn’t noticed when he put it on.

The paparazzi, however, certainly noticed.

To them, it was like discovering a new continent.

That hoodie with the “female” character on it—wasn’t that Sister Li’s hoodie?

Why was Hua Daimao wearing her clothes?

The reporters immediately snapped photos and published articles with headlines such as:

“Hua Daimao Turns Straight? Romance With Sister Li Allegedly Exposed!”

When Hua Daimao saw the trending topic, he was stunned.

But then he thought:

I’m handsome, rich, famous, and successful. Why would people think I’m dating Sister Li? Besides, everyone knows I’m gay. Surely nobody would believe something this ridiculous.

Then he clicked into the topic.

And froze.

Damn it.

People had already created a CP fan community for them.

The ship name was:

Li-Hua.

Damn it!

There were even fan-made music videos.

Are these people insane?!

Grumbling, Hua Daimao clicked on one of the videos.

The editing was terrible.

The footage didn’t match.

But the song was surprisingly good.

He even downloaded several tracks onto his phone, including songs like “Truth Is Real” and “Truth Is False.”

His secretary happened to glance over and nearly died from shock.

Holy crap.

Did I just see that?

President Hua is shipping himself with Sister Li?!

──── ୨୧ ────

Sister Li was equally bewildered by her sudden trending fame.

She immediately called Yan Dun.

“Hey, Yanyan, that hoodie you asked me for the other day...?”

Actually, Yan Dun had already planned to explain.

Feeling guilty, he said:

“I’m so sorry! I had no idea things would turn out like this. The truth is that President Hua said he liked the hoodie and wanted one. He didn’t care whether someone had already worn it. I heard you didn’t want yours, so I gave him yours instead. I never expected it to cause such trouble. I’m really sorry.”

“What trouble?” Sister Li burst out laughing.

“I never dreamed I’d end up in a scandal with a rich, handsome CEO and trend online because of it! This is fantastic! I can brag about this for the rest of my life!”

Then she added:

“I should be thanking you!”

Sister Li’s agent also contacted President Hua’s PR department.

Together, they released a statement explaining that Hua Daimao had merely borrowed someone else’s clothes after his own got dirty, and that there was no romantic relationship.

Honestly, the public hadn’t seriously believed Hua Daimao and Sister Li were dating anyway.

Most people were just having fun with the ship.

So the “scandal” died down quickly.

Since Sister Li had a cheerful personality, an approachable image, and strong goodwill from the public, nobody accused her of using the incident for publicity.

In fact, it gave her more exposure and stories to tell.

Just as she had said—it was actually a happy occasion.

──── ୨୧ ────

Still, Hua Daimao felt something about the situation was strange.

So he ordered someone to investigate whether the trending topic had been manipulated behind the scenes.

Soon, the PR manager reported back:

“This trending topic may have connections to the An Corporation.”

Hua Daimao pondered for a long while before finally calling Yan Dun.

In a slightly aggrieved tone, he said:

“Little Yan, how could you set me up like this?”

Hearing a domineering CEO speak in such a pitiful voice nearly gave Yan Dun goosebumps.

Rubbing his chilled arm, he forced a smile.

“I don’t understand what President Hua means.”

Hua Daimao replied:

“I asked you for a hoodie, and you gave me one with the character ‘female’ written on it. Then someone bought trending topics to create a scandal between me and Sister Li. Weren’t you deliberately trying to make me miserable?”

Yan Dun frowned deeply.

“I absolutely did not do anything like that.”

Internally, he thought:

What kind of bizarre CEO logic is this? Who would go through such a ridiculous, roundabout scheme? If I didn’t want to lend you a hoodie, I could have simply refused. Why would I help create a dating scandal? Do I look that bored?

But Hua Daimao persisted.

“How can I trust you?”

Yan Dun desperately wanted to say "Believe it or don’t", but Hua Daimao was basically an untouchable lunatic, so he didn’t dare offend him.

After some serious thought, he said:

“When I buy cupcakes at convenience stores, I only buy the half-price ones near expiration. How could I possibly spend money buying trending topics?”

Hua Daimao was convinced.

──── ୨୧ ────

Although he now had suspicions about who the true mastermind might be, he chose not to mention it.

Instead, he said:

“Even if you didn’t do it, the whole thing started because of you. You should still bear some indirect responsibility.”

Yan Dun wanted no responsibility whatsoever, but he didn’t dare argue.

So he simply responded:

“Yes, yes, that’s true. I’m terribly sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”

Hua Daimao smiled.

“Then buy me dinner.”

“Sure. No problem.”

Yan Dun agreed immediately.

Hua Daimao laughed.

“You’re not afraid I’ll bankrupt you with the bill?”

Yan Dun replied:

“Isn’t this supposed to be my apology? The fact that President Hua is willing to honor me with his presence is already my good fortune. Why would I think about whether I’m being fleeced?”

Hua Daimao found the smooth talk amusing.

“But didn’t you just say you only buy discounted cupcakes? Are you really willing to treat me?”

“Of course. I can inconvenience myself, but I can’t inconvenience you.”

Yan Dun sounded utterly sincere.

Hua Daimao was genuinely touched.

What Yan Dun was actually thinking, however, was:

Dinner with you counts as a business engagement. I’ll report it to the company and get reimbursed afterward. Do you think I’m stupid?

Even though he now earned over a million a year, Yan Dun remained the same frugal, money-loving person as ever.

If he didn’t have to spend money, he wouldn’t.

If the company could pay, he definitely wouldn’t use his own.

That was his philosophy:

“A member of the proletariat should live like one. Don’t imitate those bourgeois types.”

──── ୨୧ ────

After hanging up, Yan Dun went to report the matter to An Chi.

“Tonight I have a business dinner with President Hua...”

The moment An Chi heard this, he frowned.

“What are you socializing with that flirtatious man for?”

Yan Dun improvised:

“It’s just some follow-up work regarding the game project.”

From experience, Yan Dun knew An Chi was an idiot and usually easy to fool.

But after thinking for a moment, An Chi said:

“No. Hua Daimao is way too seductive. If you go alone, it’ll be dangerous. I’m coming with you.”

“There’s really no need,” Yan Dun replied.

“I’m a very upright person. Surely I’m not going to be seduced to death.”

An Chi thought about it.

“You might be upright, but you’re not straight.”

“...”

After a long pause, Yan Dun finally answered:

“Even if I’m not straight, I still have standards.”

An Chi nodded.

“I know. Hua Daimao is shameless and flirtatious, but lots of gay men are into that type. I’m worried you won’t be able to resist the temptation.”

Yan Dun could only reply:

“I won’t. He’s not my type.”

Suddenly curious, An Chi asked:

“Then what is your type?”

Yan Dun fell silent for a moment before answering:

“I like someone mature and steady, successful in their career, handsome and elegant, intelligent and talented, upright in character, and despite being old enough to have plenty of experience, somehow still innocent at heart. Someone who’s worldly yet pure—like a fruit liqueur: sweet and intoxicating.”

In reality, he had just described An Zao’s character profile almost word for word.

But after hearing it, An Chi was horrified.

What?!

Yan Dun actually likes me?!