Royal Ch.40

Chapter 40: Legendary Laugh of the Rich

There were no live subtitles for the overseas stream, but even without understanding the language, viewers could hear the tone in Yue Zhaolin’s voice and see the expression on his face.

He looked a little helpless, but his eyes were clearly smiling.

His face was on the big screen, and the close-up alone was already an unreasonable kind of impact. And it was paired with that same gentle and seductive expression.

Overseas comments surged, breaking through the language barrier, syncing perfectly in brainwaves with the wave of fans who were flustered beneath the stage.

— That’s right, yes, we’re dating.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

The other trainees — Fu Xunying, Chu Li, Cen Chi, Tan Shen, Wei Lai, Mao Ding, and Zhou Xiao — all joined in the hype, laughing along.

Part of it was for show, but another part was just genuine excitement.

Like Tan Shen, for example.

But not everyone felt the same way — some hearts skipped a beat.

Duanmu Hongxue judged based on his own thinking: guys who take ab photos, 99% of the time, it’s to show them to girls — to be seductive.

Yue Zhaolin… could he actually be dating someone?

Otherwise, how is he so good at charming fans?

He must have already sweet-talked tons of girlfriends before. Duanmu Hongxue came to a firm conclusion, convinced he had uncovered the truth.

While the other trainees laughed and hyped things up with good intentions, Duanmu Hongxue suddenly felt a sense of smug clarity, like he alone had remained sober while everyone else was drunk.

— Go ahead and scream all you want. When Yue Zhaolin’s image crashes later, anyone who got too close to him will go down with him.

Capital will abandon Yue Zhaolin too.

And when gossip-loving netizens dig into the past, they’ll end up praising the one who stayed pure despite the filth, while trampling Yue Zhaolin into the mud.

…

Hearing the excited noise from the crowd, Bei Yang smiled and tried to keep things on track: “We’ll look at the photos in a bit. Can I ask Zhaolin a few more questions first?”

“Ahhh—”

This time, the wave of voices from below wasn’t pretend disappointment — it was genuine.

Bei Yang wiped some sweat off her brow. She hadn’t wanted to stall either, but that was how the event flow had to go.

Luckily, Yue Zhaolin helped her stabilize the scene, and things didn’t spiral.

Bei Yang: “Zhaolin, here’s a question. Do you prefer cats or dogs?”

Yue Zhaolin picked up a small bottle of yogurt drink, thought for a second, then put it back down and reached for the rum instead. “Cats.”

“What bad habit do you have?”

“I’m grumpy when I wake up.”

Yue Zhaolin glanced at the lemons in the corner. Wait, if he was going to mix a drink later, shouldn’t he mash the lemon and mint leaves together?

Forget it.

He’d just go with whatever felt right — in the glass was already lemon-flavored sparkling water, white rum, and red chunks of strawberry.

“What birthday wish will you make this year?”

Yue Zhaolin gave it a few serious seconds of thought. “If possible, I’d like to buy an amusement park?”

As he spoke, he picked up a lemon slice, planning to stick it onto the rim of his glass — but it didn’t stay in place and plopped straight into the drink.

Beep beep—

Bei Yang: “Time’s up.”

The cameraman leaned in with his camera, giving the custom-made drink on the table a close-up. The big screen also switched to that angle.

Bei Yang let out an impressed “Wow”: “Even though the lemon slice didn’t stay on the rim, just looking at it like this—this drink still looks really good.”

Bei Yang pretended to hesitate: “Originally, Zhaolin was supposed to take a sip first…”

“Abs! Show us the abs!”

Bei Yang grinned widely. “Well, since everyone’s so eager, then… let’s look at the photo first!” This time, she didn’t stall.

A staff member came on stage and handed Yue Zhaolin a phone.

As Yue Zhaolin searched for the photo, the camera didn’t zoom in on his phone screen. Instead, it focused on a side profile of his face.

The trainees seated in the back all craned their necks in anticipation—everyone except Duanmu Hongxue.

Yue Zhaolin looked up and met the camera lens with a glance, prompting the camera to step in closer.

Bei Yang asked, “Hmm? Zhaolin, did you find it?” Just as she finished speaking, the photo of his abs appeared on the big screen.

Yue Zhaolin didn’t bother building suspense. He simply lifted the phone and held it directly in front of the camera—predictably, the impact was instant.

Before the crowd could even start howling, Yue Zhaolin swiped the photo away with a flick of his finger.

He Jia had just started screaming “Ah!”—but her eyes reacted faster than her mouth, pupils contracting in shock.

Because right after the photo…

Was a video that started playing—automatically!

[——

In the video, the weather was perfect—sunlight like golden gauze spilled over his hair and skin, blending into a warm, honey-gold glow.

Yue Zhaolin set up the phone and stepped back until his whole body fit within the frame.

He was wearing a thin long-sleeve shirt and wide-leg pants. He lifted his arms slightly and glanced at the camera again, as if checking how the outfit looked on him.

“Hmm?”

He suddenly looked confused.

The sunlight was coming from behind him, so it easily filtered through the thin shirt, outlining the contours of his waist and abdomen.

From chest to lower belly, the shape was a very distinct inverted triangle. The narrowing lines tapered off neatly at the crease just above his hips.

The loose wide-leg pants exaggerated the contrast with his slim waist visually.

Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, slim hips—and when he twisted his torso, it was clear just how slender his waist was. Yet his chest muscles were still full and perfectly shaped.

But Yue Zhaolin seemed a bit puzzled. He pinched his waist over his shirt, almost like he was checking how thick or thin it actually was.

He looked again, murmured something to himself, then walked over and stopped the recording.

——]

Just judging from the outfit, it was obvious the abs photo was taken right after this video, as a close-up.

“Ahhhhhhh—!!”

Amid the wave of screams, He Jie had completely lost her mind. Though she’d always considered herself a girlfriend-type fan, she honestly didn’t think she was that thirsty.

She wasn’t…

She wasn’t, but now she was being forced to be!

How could someone’s body be this perfect—waist, hips, chest, and muscle lines that looked like they were sculpted in a 3D model?!

Beautiful sexual tension.

Hearing the screams from the audience, Yue Zhaolin assumed the frenzy was for the ab photo, and casually glanced at the big screen beside him.

“?”

Yue Zhaolin: “…”

Back then, Yue Zhaolin had bought a few men’s outfits online. Since he didn’t have a full-length mirror at home, he planned to record a video to see how the clothes looked.

It was during that video that Yue Zhaolin first noticed the strange proportions of his figure and ended up taking a bunch of photos.

But now that he saw it again… it just looked vain.

That was why he had previously said the photo didn’t come out well and didn’t want to show it to the fans. Not because it was shameful—but it did feel a bit unnatural.

And so, in He Jie’s camera shot, you could see a faint flush spreading from Yue Zhaolin’s neck to the back of his ears.

Bei Yang smiled and asked, “Everyone satisfied?”

Many in the audience were still stunned, so the responses were scattered and sparse.

Bei Yang raised her voice and repeated the question. This time, the crowd responded loudly—and in much better sync.

Bei Yang: “Then let’s move on to the next segment. Zhaolin, let’s have you share a bit of your custom drink with the other eight trainees.”

It was a big glass, but divided among nine people, that meant just a sip each.

Bei Yang was about to ask Fu Xunying how the drink tasted, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Tan Shen had already downed his in one go.

“Tan Shen, that bold?!”

The rum had been diluted by the sparkling water, but the alcohol itself still had a strength of over 40%.

A rush of heat surged up Tan Shen’s throat, and his face scrunched up—but instead of panicking, he actually let out a breath of relief. Good, now he could calm down.

It was the first time Tan Shen had seen Yue Zhaolin’s upper body so clearly, with every muscle line defined—and it had nearly scared the life out of him.

Bei Yang: “……” Let’s just chalk it up to good variety effect. She smoothly shifted the topic to Fu Xunying.

Meanwhile, Yue Zhaolin was sipping his portion of the custom drink. The first taste that hit his mouth was the sweet and sour of the strawberry pulp, followed by a light hint of alcohol.

Yue Zhaolin found the flavor acceptable, and without realizing it, he finished the whole thing.

Bei Yang went down the line, asking each trainee for their impressions—until the tone abruptly shifted with Duanmu Hongxue. He gave a polite smile and said, “Sorry, I’m allergic to alcohol.”

Bei Yang: “?”

Allergies and dietary restrictions had already been confirmed in advance, hadn’t they?

She had double-checked with all nine trainees just yesterday. So if someone had an allergy, alcohol wouldn’t have even been included in this segment. What was he on about?

Duanmu Hongxue noticed the camera was focused on him, which meant the audience would see his refusal clearly on the big screen.

He had just rejected Yue Zhaolin’s custom drink. Tide fans would probably scold him for being ungrateful, right?

The harsher the backlash, the better—because once Yue Zhaolin’s image eventually crumbled and he became a discarded tool of capital, Duanmu Hongxue would be the one to rise, showered with sympathy.

Internally thrilled, Duanmu Hongxue kept a carefully restrained expression of refusal, ears perked up to catch any murmurs from the crowd.

“……”

But even when Bei Yang moved on to ask Mao Ding, Duanmu Hongxue hadn’t heard a single reaction.

Because, quite simply—no one cared.

The tickets for this fan meeting had been distributed through both flash sales and raffles. Most of the attendees were Tide fans, and their numbers were about the same as during the first public stage performance.

All the Tide fans were busy recording Yue Zhaolin. As for the rest of the audience, most of their attention was on popular trainees like Cen Chi, Fu Xunying, and Chu Li.

Who had time to look at him?

Duanmu Hongxue sat there, completely ignored for a long while, his face turning green with frustration.

After that, the other eight trainees took turns playing a game—answering questions while mixing drinks, then letting the others try their concoctions.

Before long, Yue Zhaolin’s speech slowed slightly, and his blinking became more sluggish—not that he noticed.

But Tan Shen did. The moment he saw it, he knew the alcohol was starting to hit Yue Zhaolin.

Tan Shen asked a staff member for a bottle of mineral water and had Yue Zhaolin take a few sips.

Once the Q&A and drink-mixing segment ended, the staff cleared the tables to prepare for the next activity: Lip Reading Challenge.

The crew brought out some cards. One person would describe the phrase, and the other would guess it. The team that guessed the most within the time limit would win.

“The winner of the last round gets to choose their partner.”

The one who answered the most questions in the last round was Tan Shen. Bei Yang smiled and asked, “So, Tan Shen, have you picked your teammate?”

Tan Shen: “Yue Zhaolin.”

Hearing his name, Yue Zhaolin stood up, reacting a bit slower than usual. Cen Chi reached out behind him in a subtle gesture, ready to support him if needed.

In truth, Yue Zhaolin was still clear-headed.

His ears were warm, his head felt flushed, but he was fully aware of what he was doing.

He sat down across from Tan Shen and put on the headphones that were playing music. As he did, he caught a glimpse of the card above Tan Shen’s head.

If you looked closely, Yue Zhaolin’s subtle changes were easy to spot—enough that He Jie was starting to feel a little worried.

“Is that… a cat?”

A Tide fan nearby suddenly spoke up.

He Jie: “Huh?”

She had been filming close-ups of Yue Zhaolin the entire time and hadn’t seen any cat. She looked up—and saw a black blur darting up onto the stage.

The staff hadn’t expected a cat to appear either. But staying professional, they immediately tried to catch it.

The cat wasn’t small—slim, agile, and clearly very nervous. The staff’s attempt to surround it only seemed to frighten it more.

Yue Zhaolin, with headphones on, couldn’t hear anything—but he could see. A blur of black fur was sprinting straight toward his right hand.

“—”

There was some noise behind the cat, and it fluffed up in fear, hissing and glancing back.

Yue Zhaolin quickly reached out and pressed down gently on the cat’s body to keep it from running again.

Then, following online advice he’d once seen, he grabbed the loose skin behind the cat’s neck with one hand, and supported its back legs with the other.

The staff grew nervous, afraid the cat might scratch him. They tried to take the cat from Yue Zhaolin, but the black cat refused to cooperate.

When they tried to pull it away, it not only clung to Yue Zhaolin’s clothes with its claws, it also swatted a few times at the jeweled snakehead on his collar.

Finally caught by the staff, the cat twisted helplessly in their grip—docile yet rebellious. It kept turning back toward Yue Zhaolin, mouth wide open, baring its sharp fangs as it yowled loudly:

“Meow!” It’s all your fault!

Yue Zhaolin: “…Hmm?”

From the audience, Ettienne burst into laughter. “Hahahaha!”

The person sitting next to him glanced over—Was this… the legendary laugh of the rich?

—

[Melon Eats Melon Group | Li Tao: A Celebrity Damaged Haute Couture—Shouldn’t They Compensate?]

—

[Original Post]

RT.

Just some thoughts after watching the livestream.

[1F] Depends on the contract. If the damage is serious, of course they’ll have to pay. Fiona Liu had to compensate once, and she’s an international film queen.

[3F] Are we watching the same livestream?

[7F] Yes, the same one. What can I say—he’s a favorite in this gossip forum. The entertainment scene is so dead lately, a lot of us ended up watching the stream.

[11F] But are we sure that piece he was wearing is actually haute couture?

[17F] After years of watching red carpets in C-ent, we’ve developed sharp eyes. That shirt could very well be haute couture.

Plus, Lao Sheng is truly a darling of Xingqiong—might really have pulled some strings for a one-of-a-kind piece.

[22F] If a luxury brand saw their couture shirt snagged by a cat claw, they’d be livid. Lao Sheng really let the excitement get to his head this time—this might be the start of his downfall.

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