"What do you mean? You don't believe in my sincerity?" Sun Mo's face instantly turned cold, as if he had been insulted. "I will only propose once. If you miss this chance, there won't be another."

Pei Mingxuan looked at Sun Mo in utter disbelief.

Meanwhile, Qin Xian noticed that Ji Fei, who was leaning against him, had been shaking uncontrollably since earlier, as if having a seizure.

Qin Xian glanced at her. Well, she was trying very hard to hold back her laughter. Her face was red from the effort, and if you looked closely, tears were about to fall from the corners of her eyes.

It made Qin Xian curious too. What could be so funny?

Unfortunately, the person in question was focused on laughing and didn't transmit any thoughts.

After a while, he seemed to hear Pei Mingxuan take a deep breath.

"This transformation is crucial for us! You're causing relationship drama at a time like this—are you trying to lose a massive number of fans?"

Hearing that Pei Mingxuan was still considering his career, Sun Mo's expression improved somewhat. He knew how much Pei Mingxuan loved him and figured she was probably too focused on his future to dare accept his proposal. This softened Sun Mo's heart, making him even more determined to marry Pei Mingxuan and give her a commitment.

After all, if Xu Meng had agreed to marry Yang Hong, why couldn't he marry Pei Mingxuan? Pei Mingxuan had sacrificed so much more for him than Xu Meng ever did.

He should marry the woman who was good to him, not that hateful woman...

Qin Xian noticed that Ji Fei in his arms was shaking even more violently now, causing both him and the door behind them to tremble slightly.

He was really worried that Ji Fei might suffocate from holding in her laughter.

"Don't worry about that aspect. If I have to be so cautious about everything I do at my current level of fame, I might as well quit. Do you think I rely on fangirls? I rely on my work! Stop underestimating me all the time."

Pei Mingxuan's expression turned difficult for a moment, but she still forced herself to continue, "Sun Mo, we've come so far with such difficulty. Give me one reason why you have to make your career more challenging."

But Sun Mo wouldn't listen to reason. "What's wrong with getting married? Yang Hong can use it as a weapon, why can't I?"

"That's a double-edged sword. Even if they fail, he has the backing of his family's capital and can get work opportunities without relying on any fans. But we're not in that position. Even if we want to transform our image, we still need to rely on fans for support. This is the price idol-type actors have to pay for the benefits they enjoy. Moreover, their relationship is considered official, so they have some assurance. Otherwise, the company wouldn't have agreed."

At this point, Sun Mo couldn't bear to hear that he was inferior to Yang Hong, and his eyes instantly turned cold. But he knew that what Pei Mingxuan said made sense.

In the end, he said coldly, "Fine, if you don't like it, I won't propose on stage. But I must beat Yang Hong."

Pei Mingxuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "If you want to win, then listen to my arrangements."

Sun Mo eventually stopped arguing, which was taken as tacit agreement. As Pei Mingxuan turned to leave, Sun Mo suddenly realized that she had twisted her ankle. Without waiting for her reaction, he stepped forward and picked her up in a princess carry.

Startled, Pei Mingxuan cried out, "What are you doing?!"

Sun Mo replied, "Didn't you sprain your ankle? I'll carry you out."

"Are you crazy? If someone sees..."

It's unclear if Pei Mingxuan said anything else as the door closed, finally ending the bathroom meeting.

The black business car was filled with all seven members of the Qin family.

Having disappeared for so long, they naturally had to provide an explanation.

Ji Fei began to share the gossip she had consumed throughout the entire process. Of course, she could only share what had actually happened in reality.

So as soon as Ji Fei finished speaking, still holding back her laughter, they heard Qin Zhao say with a gloomy face, "No wonder I saw that scene."

This sentence immediately piqued everyone's curiosity. "What scene?"

Qin Zhao's mouth twitched as he said, "When I went to look for you guys just now, I saw Yang Hong holding Xu Meng in his arms and kissing her."

Although they were the official couple, somehow this sounded so awkward. Remembering what Ji Fei had just said about Xu Meng passionately kissing Sun Mo in the bathroom, and then immediately after...

[So they just went out and... used the same mouth for two people? Does Yang Hong know he's tasting Sun Mo's saliva?]

Hearing this, everyone didn't know whether to feel disgusted or sympathetic towards Yang Hong.

But Qin Zhao continued, "And then Sun Mo walked by carrying Pei Mingxuan."

[Damn, the drama even had a sequel? If only I had followed them out immediately. It's all Qin Xian's fault, taking so long with his pants!]

The Qin family members who were waiting for Qin Zhao to spill the tea: !!!! What did they just hear?!!!

Blaming Qin Xian? Messing with pants?

Weren't you just eavesdropping in the bathroom?

Did you do something else?

Faced with everyone's fiery, inquisitive gazes, Qin Xian looked bewildered, as if he had been falsely accused.

[If his clothes weren't so expensive, I would have torn them off right there!]

The Qin family: Wait, stop, we don't want to hear anymore. This kind of intimate detail between you two as a couple is not something we should be privy to.

Qin Xian's face turned red.

Fortunately, in the next second, Ji Fei didn't keep them in suspense and directly revealed the truth.

[Wasted so much time untangling it, only to finally get the part caught on the doorknob free. Don't know how he managed to get it hooked there in the first place. It delayed my gossip-gathering time.]

The Qin family members withdrew their gazes: Clickbait, selling fake gossip, too much!

Qin Xian: ... It was all because she kept moving around at the time, causing him to shift as well...

Ji Fei, unaware that her momentary distraction had almost sparked an even bigger gossip frenzy, simply contained her disappointment and quickly asked Qin Zhao for more details about what happened next.

Qin Zhao coughed, "There's not much else."

Just that when someone approached, Xu Meng hastily withdrew from Yang Hong's embrace, too embarrassed to look at anyone.

As for Sun Mo, he only paused briefly before resolutely carrying Pei Mingxuan past them.

Yang Hong even expressed concern.

Sun Mo just said, "Xuan's foot hurts. I can't bear to let her walk." Then he was about to leave.

"Oh, right, Pei Mingxuan seemed to want to struggle to get down, but Sun Mo just stopped for a moment, kissed her forehead, and said 'Be good, don't fuss.' Then he forcibly carried Pei Mingxuan out of the venue." After finishing, Qin Zhao shuddered, as if disturbed by the memory.

Everyone listening let out a sigh, lamenting what a self-destructive four-way relationship it was.

"Yang Hong may be unlucky, but Sister Pei is even more unfortunate," said Qin Rong, who was quite familiar with Pei Mingxuan after becoming an assistant due to the previous gossip incident.

Recalling Ji Fei's earlier narration, everyone felt sorry for Pei Mingxuan.

"This Sun Mo is really shameless, isn't he? He kisses his ex-girlfriend and then turns around to propose to another girl," Qin's Mom sighed.

"Selfish bastard, betraying that girl's true feelings," Qin's Father scoffed.

"He's just using Sister Pei as a tool," Qin Rong couldn't help but say. "Sister Pei is really nice. She took good care of us assistants backstage before. Will she agree? Should we tell her the truth? I feel like she's a bit pitiful, being proposed to by someone she's been with for so many years just to provoke another woman."

Qin Yan frowned even more. She hated men like this the most and couldn't help but speculate, "Maybe after marrying his manager, he'll still maintain an on-and-off relationship with his ex-girlfriend. He's just dragging an innocent woman into hell."

As they were talking, they noticed that Ji Fei hadn't expressed any opinion and couldn't help but look over at her. They saw that Ji Fei's expression was somewhat unnaturally stiff, as if she was holding her breath.

Soon they heard hysterical laughter.

[Hahaha, I can't hold it anymore. Why is everyone just like Sun Mo? They all think Pei Mingxuan likes him.]

The Qin family was shocked. What? She doesn't like him?

Qin Xian had pretty much guessed it earlier when he saw Ji Fei laughing like that.

[Does a manager's dedicated work for their artist, taking care of them in every aspect, treating them like an ancestor for many years, never leaving or abandoning them, automatically mean it's love?]

[If we disregard gender, then Brother Gao must be deeply in love with Qin Zhao too, hahaha.]

Qin Zhao almost choked, thoroughly frightened.

However, this shocking comparison also awakened everyone else.

Oh, right. A high-quality manager is exactly like Pei Mingxuan.

It's just because she's young, beautiful, and working with a male artist that people easily associate it with romance.

"Ahem, I think Pei Mingxuan is just a professional manager, she probably doesn't like Sun Mo," Qin Zhao couldn't help but add.

Ji Fei's smiling eyes looked over. [Smart kid.]

[If Sun Mo had half your brains, I wouldn't have almost died laughing tonight.]

[He assumed Pei Mingxuan had always liked him, which is why she did so much for him. In the eyes of this narcissist, a woman who could devote herself so much to a man must be in love with him!]

[But is there a possibility that she simply loves the empire she built for herself? She doesn't see you as a man, she sees you as a son she's raising. She's just 'tiger parenting' you, okay? She just didn't expect you to turn out to be an ungrateful child!]