Chapter 59: I Have A Girlfriend, And There’s No Reason To Keep It A Secret…

However, Qiu Mi’s illusion was not mistaken. By evening, Jiang Qi had once again gloriously made it onto the hot search.  

In other words, he had practically been living on the hot search for the past month without ever coming down. Without the protection of his company or the control of paid fans and water armies, Jiang Qi had essentially become a target for rival companies with vested interests buying negative trending topics, leaving him bombarded with relentless criticism 24/7.  

The internet’s gossip-loving netizens certainly had no shortage of creative ways to tear him apart.  

For example, today, out of the dozen or so media outlets surrounding the “Jiao Si” film set, one managed to capture some photos and videos of the crew retreating from the alley. And as luck would have it, the footage included Jiang Qi standing next to Zhi Qi, with the girl feeding him medicine.  

In the images, Zhi Qi was facing away from the camera, revealing only her slender and graceful silhouette. She wore a knee-length,light yellow dress, her figure elegant and alluring, with her exposed shoulders and slender calves glowing almost luminously, her waist so narrow it seemed one could encircle it with a single hand.

Just from her back, it was clear she was a beauty.  

As for Jiang Qi, whose face was fully captured by the camera, though slightly dirtied, his striking features remained unmistakable—sharp brows, star-like eyes.

What stood out the most, however, was his expression, which was unlike his usual aloof, unapproachable demeanor in front of the camera. Instead, his eyes and the curve of his lips radiated an unmistakable… softness.

And affection. The look of someone in love is impossible to hide.

Netizens who eagerly clicked on the trending topic “Jiao Si On-Set Leaks” couldn’t help but feel a fleeting sense of “I ship it” the moment they saw the photos.

But that feeling lasted only a second. It didn’t stop them from chattering away even as they lowkey enjoyed the moment—  

[= =: Didn’t we already hear Jiang Qi has an out-of-industry girlfriend? This is basically confirmation, right?]  

[= =: Jiang the Actor’s fans asked for proof and got it!]  

[= =: How are Jiang the Actor’s fangirls holding up? That is, if a problematic celeb like him—a violent thug—even has fangirls anymore?]

[= =: LMAO there are fans for everything. At least Jiang Qi is undeniably good-looking.]  

[= =: Oh look, a live Jiang the Actor fan! What’s the point of being good-looking when his character is trash? Personality matters, OK? If you like his face, I hope you end up with someone just like him—enjoy getting beaten up whenever.]

[= =: Getting mad won’t change the fact that people still like him.]

[= =: True. Wasn’t this out-of-industry girlfriend already exposed before? She was there when he got into that fight too. Seems like birds of a feather flock together.]

[= =: Well, it takes one to know one. Though judging from her back, she does seem like a beauty.]

[= =: #What a pity, such a lovely girl with such poor taste#.]

[= =: Don’t drag “lovely girl” into this—would a lovely girl even look at someone like Jiang the Actor?]

[= =: How many times has Jiang the Actor been caught now? Still too scared to publicly admit the relationship? Don’t worry, even if you do, no one’s gonna feel like their idol “betrayed” them.]

[= =: Is this what they call #Collapsed House, Zero Casualties#? LMAOOOO]

[…]

After the hashtag #JiangQiSuspectedMysteryGirlfriendVisitsSet# trended, it sparked another wave of heated discussions.  

The online haters were a strange bunch—they despised Jiang Qi, hurling vicious insults at him with no shortage of venom, yet they couldn’t help but obsessively follow his every move. Even when there was no news about him, they would scrape the bottom of the barrel for things to mock, as if they were determined to drag his name through the mud 24/7. What kind of mentality was that?  

Every time Zhi Qi saw these relentless haters targeting Jiang Qi, she couldn’t help but wonder:  

Did their lives improve by cursing him? Or did Jiang Qi actually suffer because of their words? If they truly hated him, shouldn’t they just ignore him altogether? Why waste energy on someone they claimed to despise?  

At first, seeing these self-proclaimed “justice warriors” spew hate used to infuriate her. But now, she just found it laughable.  

Even being dragged into the mess and insulted alongside Jiang Qi this time didn’t bother her. In fact, she almost felt a twisted sense of satisfaction—she had always wanted to stand by his side, and if that meant weathering the storm together, so be it.  

But Jiang Qi? He wasn’t having it.  

He rarely checked his phone, but after wrapping up for the day, as they rode home in the company van with Qiu Mi at the wheel, he noticed Zhi Qi scrolling through her phone with a focused frown. Glancing over, his eyes landed on the headline—#JiangQiSuspectedMysteryGirlfriendVisitsSet#—and his expression darkened instantly.  

“Suspected” mystery girlfriend? What kind of nonsense was that? She was his girlfriend—no “suspected” about it.  

His irritation flaring, he snatched the phone from her hands.  

“Hey—!” Zhi Qi startled, instinctively blurting, “Don’t look at that…”  

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it. Telling him not to look only made it seem like she was hiding something.  

She bit her lip, but it was too late. Sure enough, Jiang Qi’s brows furrowed deeper as he scanned the screen, his face growing stormier by the second.  

Jiang Qi was practically a relic of the 2G era when it came to internet usage, but even he could piece together from the reactions of those around him that he was constantly being trashed online. Normally, he couldn’t care less—he knew his actions invited criticism, and he had long accepted that.  

But this time? These bastards had dragged Zhi Qi into it.  

And that was unacceptable.  

“These people,” Jiang Qi gritted out between clenched teeth, his fingers tightening around the phone until his knuckles turned white, “have way too much free time on their hands.”  

They were like a bunch of nosy aunties, desperate to dig into every private detail of others’ lives.  

Up front, Qiu Mi flinched at the icy tone, assuming Jiang Qi was just upset about the usual hate comments. Trying to lighten the mood, he offered, “Bro, it’s ’cause you’re famous! They can’t resist digging up dirt. Just ignore ’em, yeah?”  

But as he spoke, even Qiu Mi sensed something was off this time.

After all, he knew Jiang Qi never paid attention to online comments—so why was he suddenly looking today?

“Jiang Qi, Qiu’s right,” Zhi Qi tugged at his sleeve, gently pulling her phone back from his grip. “Why bother with them? The internet is just a playground for keyboard warriors—ignorance breeds boldness.”

Jiang Qi’s chest heaved visibly, his teeth clenched. “They’re insulting you.”

“Where did they insult me?” Zhi Qi couldn’t help but laugh at how worked up he was. She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “The media didn’t even get a clear shot of my face. They don’t even know my name—how can you call that an insult?”  

…  

She wasn’t wrong, but Jiang Qi’s anger refused to dissipate. His fists remained tightly balled.  

“Alright, enough,” Zhi Qi softened, never having seen him this furious before—especially not over something as trivial as online hate directed at her. “You need to keep your emotions in check, okay?”  

Not caring that Qiu Mi was still in the car, she tossed her phone aside and cupped Jiang Qi’s face with both hands, tilting it toward her. Rising slightly, she pressed a series of light kisses along his tense jaw and the corner of his lips. “Be good. Stop being angry, alright?”  

With her soothing him like this, even Jiang Qi’s fiercest temper would melt into submission. How could he stay mad?

Yet those comments—”How many times has he been caught now? Still too scared to publicly admit the relationship?”—gnawed at him like a persistent itch.

The wording made it sound like he was avoiding acknowledging Zhi Qi, as if he refused to give her the recognition she deserved.

Scared? Since when did he ever fear a bunch of online nobodies?

He nipped at her lower lip, relishing her soft whimper before releasing her, then kissed her again in apology. Only then did he finally let her go.

His long fingers fished out his own phone from the side. With a dark expression, he opened the app store, downloaded the long-abandoned Weibo app, and logged into his account—dormant for what felt like centuries.

That taunt—”still too scared to publicly admit”—echoed in his mind like a cursed mantra, fueling his irritation.

Almost as if defying the accusation, he ignored the flood of notifications and painstakingly located the “Post” button (the app had updated too many times; he barely remembered how to use it).

Without hesitation, he typed out a message:  

“Have a girlfriend. Zero reasons to hide it.”

The moment he hit send, a wave of satisfaction washed over him.

Honestly, he should’ve done this sooner—officially declaring to the world that Zhi Qi was his.

As she asked what he was doing, the corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk. Tossing his phone aside, he pulled her back into his arms, resuming their interrupted kiss.

“Mmm,” he murmured against her lips. “Going public.”

He might be clueless about most internet slang, but he’d learned this term well enough.

Going. Public.

Yeah, that sounded right.

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