The moment they left, the sales assistants couldn't help but start chattering again.
"My goodness, that was intense. Over fifty minutes."
"Such stamina, I'm a little envious."
"Exactly, the longest my husband and I last is half an hour."
"Who do you think was the top and who was the bottom?"
"Alas, the Qing family's century-old foundation is likely to be ruined by this president. Being with a man means no heirs, won't the foundation crumble?"
"What's the point of you all, earning three thousand yuan a month, discussing someone worth billions?"
"Hahaha, it's just gossip, for entertainment."
"But I really like that guy with the short silver-gray hair, he looks so cool."
...
Meng Jingwei didn't hear their discussions.
As Meng Jingwei walked out with Qing Muye, she wished she could shake off his hand and run, putting as much distance between them as possible.
But Qing Muye held her hand tightly, refusing to let go.
Meng Jingwei's hair stood on end, and she glared at him furiously, "Qing Muye, are you trying to die? Do you know where we are? A mall, a mall! Are my three rules of agreement not valid?"
What three rules of agreement?
They were utterly useless.
Meng Jingwei suddenly felt like she had dug a pit and jumped into it herself.
Seeing her flying into a rage, Qing Muye simply smiled faintly, reached out, and pulled up the mask that had fallen to her chin, covering her face.
They had both pulled their masks down to their chins after entering the clothing store, and in the heat of the moment, Meng Jingwei had forgotten all about them.
"What can be done? My A'wei is just too charming," he said softly.
"Charming my foot!"
Meng Jingwei, both angry and annoyed, pointed at Qing Muye's face, "I warn you, it's a three-month trial period, three red card warnings. One earlier, and one today. You have one last chance."
Qing Muye was completely unfazed, "Oh, really?"
He took a step closer to Meng Jingwei, a mischievous smile on his face, "When did I ever know there were three red card warnings? Perhaps A'wei can't bear to leave me, so she added these warnings?"
"You..."
Meng Jingwei was momentarily speechless.
Damn it.
Qing Muye had actually discovered her little thoughts.
Qing Muye raised his hand and cupped the small hand pointing at him, "A'wei, don't be angry. From now on, I'll listen to you."
"You said that last time. No, you said that the time before last as well."
Indeed, a man's mouth is a deceptive ghost.
"This time I'll be serious."
His eyes were sincere, and there was no reason to doubt him.
Meng Jingwei pulled her hand away and snorted, "I'll trust you one last time."
After saying that, she suddenly remembered the movie tickets and raised her wrist to check the time, "Oh no, the movie is about to start, we're late."
They had an hour to wait initially, but they had spent some time shopping for clothes and then nearly an hour in the fitting room. The movie's start time had long passed.
Meng Jingwei couldn't be bothered to argue with Qing Muye anymore. The two of them, wearing masks, quickly went upstairs and entered the cinema.
The movie was a foreign sci-fi blockbuster, but apart from some special effects, the plot was terrible.
Meng Jingwei sat beside Qing Muye. In their haste to get inside, they hadn't even bought popcorn or drinks.
As she watched, her eyelids grew heavy, and she eventually leaned on Qing Muye's shoulder and fell asleep.
Seeing that she was sleeping soundly, Qing Muye let her rest her head on his lap, propping her head with his arm to make her more comfortable.
He knew that she was likely tired from their earlier exertions, which was why she had fallen into a deep sleep.
Buzz buzz buzz—
Midway through the movie, Qing Muye's phone began to vibrate incessantly.
He hung up on those people to avoid disturbing Meng Jingwei's sleep.
But his brothers and Song Jun sent him WeChat messages.
Song Jun: [CEO Qing, something's wrong, you... are trending.]
Tang Si: [Damn it, second brother, since when did you like men?]
Han Yu: [You, what's going on?]
Lu Yanming: [Muye, you kid, did your confession to Meng Jingwei fail, leading you to fall for a man out of despair?]
Song Jun: [CEO Qing, reporters know you are in the mall and are heading your way.]
As Qing Muye was reading the messages, Meng Jingwei, who had been sleeping on his lap, woke up. Seeing his grave expression, she asked, "What's wrong?"
The man didn't hide anything and directly showed Meng Jingwei one of the messages from Song Jun.
Meng Jingwei read the message, and her heart skipped a beat. She immediately said, "Let's go, let's go quickly. If reporters find us, we'll be finished."
"Yes, that sounds good."
Qing Muye nodded.
The two of them got up, quickly left the cinema, and took the elevator directly to the second basement level to drive away.
Because they were trying to avoid Qing Sihui and Shu Yao at the Qing family's old residence, Qing Muye had asked Song Jun and the others to drive their cars away and park a new car at the back entrance.
The new car was an affordable sedan, very inconspicuous.
As they emerged from the second basement parking lot, they saw quite a few reporters at the mall's entrance, but a group of bodyguards was blocking them.
Meng Jingwei and Qing Muye knew perfectly well that these security guards were likely sent by Song Jun.
Their purpose was to stop the reporters and give Qing Muye time to leave.
Qing Muye glanced in that direction and stepped on the gas, driving away.
Meng Jingwei's phone had run out of battery and was turned off. She took Qing Muye's phone and opened Weibo.
Instantly, the title on the top trending topic was: #Qing Muye's Boyfriend's Frontal Photo Exposed! # Bombshell!
Trending Topic Number Two: #CEO Qing Cancels Engagement with Li Yun'er, Turns Out He Likes Men# Bombshell!
Trending Topic Number Three: #CEO Qing and Boyfriend Intimate in the Fitting Room# Bombshell!
It wasn't a big deal to scroll through Weibo, but as soon as she opened it, of the fifty trending topics, news about Qing Muye and his mysterious 'boyfriend' occupied twenty-two of them.
Meng Jingwei casually clicked on a trending news item. It featured images of her and Qing Muye at the mall, even including intimate kissing photos from inside the clothing store.
Looking at these photos, it was clear they were taken by a sales assistant in the clothing store earlier.
The comments below were mixed.
"Damn it, I never followed celebrities, so I became a fan of CEO Qing, and now I find out he's fallen."
"I thought CEO Qing could like anyone, but I never expected him to love men."
"I'm crying. My male god actually has a boyfriend."
"As an unmarried woman, what else can I say? Please don't let the proportion of single women increase further."
"Who's the top and who's the bottom?"
"Who is CEO Qing's boyfriend?"
"I need to calm down!"
"It's good that Li Yun'er wasn't married, otherwise, she would have wasted her life."
"Support. In this day and age, this kind of thing can be accepted."
...
Seeing this news, thankfully, there was no vulgar cursing, so Meng Jingwei's anxious heart calmed down a little.
However...
She tilted her head, looked at Qing Muye beside her, and sheepishly rubbed her nose, asking, "Um... do you want to come forward and explain?"
"How should I explain?"