As times changed, paparazzi were no longer like they used to be—simply publishing celebrity gossip in tabloid papers. These days, the timeliness of news is more important than ever. Many paparazzi have even abandoned print media altogether, opting instead to release the scoops they dig up directly online.

As early as three days ago, a well-known paparazzo account in Huaxia had posted a teaser on Weibo: A major story involving a top young male star and a trending female singer! See you Wednesday!

After posting the teaser, the gossip account also shared a few keywords, prompting netizens to guess the identities of the stars involved. Phrases like “very young,” “acted in films,” “good track record,” “pop diva”—there were just too many stars that matched these hints. If not ten, then at least five male stars and four female singers fit the profile.

Among them were Rong Xu and Ren Shuzhi.

Still, most netizens maintained a skeptical, popcorn-in-hand attitude:
“Top young actor? Trending female singer? Pop diva? I bet a cucumber that when the scoop drops, it’s going to be about some D-list nobodies no one’s ever heard of.”

You couldn’t really blame them. Paparazzi were known to exaggerate.

There had been many similar cases in the past. Paparazzi would dramatically claim to have caught a super popular male star in a scandal or snagged a juicy story on a top actress. But when the story broke… “Top star”? “Famous”? The names were usually of people no one even recognized.

But this time, at 1 p.m. on Wednesday—just as netizens were brushing off the gossip with disinterest—suddenly! That same paparazzi team dropped four extremely blurry kissing photos!

[@NeighborhoodPup: #RongXuRenShuzhiKissingAtMidnight# @RongXu and @RenShuzhi — is this a case of falling in love on set? Did Lost City play matchmaker? 😏😏😏 Wedding bells soon? Congrats! [Image] [Image] [Image] [Image]]

Netizens: “!!!”

Rong Xu?!

Ren Shuzhi?!

How could it be them?!!!

In less than a minute, Neighborhood Pup’s Weibo post was shared over 5,000 times!

Countless netizens reposted the news in disbelief, flooding the comments. By the time Rong Xu’s fans caught wind of it, the post had been shared over 30,000 times, had over 20,000 comments, and more than 100,000 likes—and it had only been five minutes!

Ren Shuzhi had exploded onto the scene with a rap hit when she debuted. Although none of her later works surpassed her debut track, her career had been steady, her popularity high. Every time she released a new album, it ranked in the top three for sales. She was undeniably a top-tier female singer.

And Rong Xu?

People were even more shocked that the male star in question turned out to be him!

This time, the paparazzi hadn’t exaggerated—they might’ve even undersold it. Rong Xu was currently the most popular among first-tier young male stars. Just yesterday, after a promotional campaign for British fashion house Inyohurt, his fame had skyrocketed. All he needed was a critically acclaimed film to land him a major award and solidify his status in the industry.

And now—he was dating? And there were photos?

The internet exploded. Fans of other male stars, who were just sulking yesterday because their idols couldn’t compare to Rong Xu anymore, suddenly came alive and flooded the internet with comments.

“Rong Xu and Ren Shuzhi? Older woman–younger man? Damn, impressive! Hahaha.”

“I always thought Rong Xu wasn’t as clean-cut as he looked. Dating an older woman, making out without even closing the door? He’s what, 19? Pretty bold. Bet they ‘relieved a lot of stress’ on the Lost City set.”

“Ew, Rong Xu’s dating? Oops, @RongXuFans, you’re welcome~”

Rong Xu’s fans were thrown into chaos.

They had weathered many storms together—battling haters who bought fake followers, fighting smear campaigns, pushing back against stars trying to step on Rong Xu to rise up. They had always united, found proof, and fought back.

But now, suddenly, Rong Xu was in a relationship…

For some fans, it was the end of the world. Some truly couldn’t accept their idol having a girlfriend. Most could accept it—but the news came so suddenly that they were caught completely off guard. Chaos broke out, and haters seized the chance to @ Rong Xu nonstop, pushing #RongXuRenShuzhiKissingAtMidnight to the top of the day’s Weibo trending list.

Beside it, a big red “HOT” icon appeared.

All over the internet, people were discussing the scandal between Rong Xu and Ren Shuzhi. In secret chat groups, fans of rival male stars who disliked Rong Xu laughed and watched gleefully from the sidelines.

Many of Rong Xu’s fans were stunned by the sudden development. Some stayed rational:

“Is that man really Rong Rong? Are they really kissing? The photo is so blurry—you can’t even see their faces clearly. Maybe they were just having a conversation.”

But then, Neighborhood Pup clapped back with a video.

[@NeighborhoodPup: @RenShuzhi entered @RongXu’s room at 2 a.m. Here’s the footage of her going in. She didn’t come out until 5 a.m., hair down and everything. Congrats~ [Video link]]

With video evidence, haters laughed even harder. Rong Xu’s fans were helpless. There was nothing to refute—no signs of Photoshop or editing. Unless they could prove the man wasn’t Rong Xu, there was no way to turn the tide.

But seriously, could a paparazzi really mistake the celebrity involved?

The situation escalated quickly—and it reached the set of a variety show taping, leading to the host directly questioning Rong Xu on air.

Meanwhile, across the ocean in Hollywood, at the Huaxia Theater in Los Angeles, a film crew was hosting a promotional event for their movie.

Journalists, critics, and lucky audience members filled the venue as the cast of Stormbringer stood on stage, interacting with the crowd.

Most of the questions were directed at Qin Cheng, who calmly and coolly responded. After the Q&A session, the cast took a group photo with the audience, followed by the screening of the movie.

The crew left the stage one by one. Qin Cheng walked beside the producer—a blond, blue-eyed man enthusiastically chatting about his next investment. Qin Cheng simply listened in silence, his gaze downcast, giving no response.

As they reached the back of the stage, the producer finally said with a wry smile, “Qin, interested in joining my big-budget superhero project?”

The handsome, aloof man looked up slightly and smiled. “Oris, I don’t plan on shooting any superhero movies in the near future. Perhaps next time—we’ll work together again.”

Oris sighed regretfully.

After chatting a bit more, Oris went down to watch the film. Qin Cheng, however, headed to the backstage area and entered his dressing room. He took off the white formal outfit he had been wearing.

Qin Cheng wasn’t fond of the outfit—it was covered in glittering diamond embellishments. But the crew had picked it, claiming this sparkly style was all the rage in the U.S., so he accepted it without fuss.

Now he could finally take it off and change into his own clothes.

He hung the custom outfit—worth tens of thousands—on a hanger and reached for his black trench coat.

Just then, he heard a gasp.

Qin Cheng turned. His agent was sitting on the couch, staring at a tablet with wide eyes, scrolling through something.

Qin Cheng raised an eyebrow. “What happened?”

Xu Jin blurted out without thinking, “There’s a scandal going around in the country today, pretty big one—rumor has it Rong…” His voice abruptly cut off. Xu Jin nervously swallowed, as if he had suddenly remembered something, and gave a dry laugh as he looked up. “It’s nothing. Just a minor scandal, not a big deal.”

Qin Cheng’s handsome brows furrowed slightly, his phoenix eyes narrowing. He looked at Xu Jin with a deep, unreadable gaze as he stepped toward the sofa.

Xu Jin’s body tensed up instantly. His fingers trembled as he tried hard to meet the other man’s eyes. But after barely lasting three seconds, he gave up, raised both hands in defeat, and said, “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you. The rumor going around online says that while filming The Lost City, Rong Xu and Ren Shuzhi’s fake romance turned real—they’re dating now. Qin Cheng, it’s really nothing. I know you had a crush on him but never got the chance, but they’re just dating! Once they break up, you can go after Rong Xu again. I’ll help you! With me by your side, you’ll definitely…”

Bang!

A loud noise cut Xu Jin off. He looked toward Qin Cheng in surprise.

The man had slammed into the coffee table, as if he hadn’t even seen it there—walked straight into it without stopping. A strange feeling rose in Xu Jin’s heart, but he didn’t think too much of it and continued, “I know you liked him. Don’t be too upset. Maybe you’ll still get your chance, right?”

“Give it to me.”

Qin Cheng completely ignored his bruised knee from crashing into the table. He strode over to Xu Jin, his voice ice-cold.

Xu Jin hadn’t caught on. “Give you what?”

Qin Cheng’s eyes narrowed dangerously, his thin lips tightening. He said coldly, “Give. Me.”

The temperature in the room seemed to plummet. Xu Jin shivered involuntarily and quickly held out the tablet with both hands.

Qin Cheng snatched the tablet and started flipping through it. The first thing he saw was a video posted later by the paparazzi. In the grainy footage, a man with short hair opened a door and let a woman with long curly hair into the room. Then the video fast-forwarded to three hours later, showing the woman with messy hair quietly sneaking out of the room, looking around cautiously.

Seeing this, Qin Cheng’s mouth twitched, and his face darkened. But when he scrolled further and saw the so-called kissing photos, his long, narrow phoenix eyes suddenly widened. The next moment, he let out a cold laugh and said, “That’s not Rong Xu.”

Xu Jin froze. “Huh?”

Qin Cheng glanced at him and said calmly, “He might’ve been tricked by Ren Shuzhi into letting her into his apartment. But there’s no way he kissed her.”

The repeated use of “he” and “she” left Xu Jin dizzy. He hadn’t even figured out what was going on when Qin Cheng opened the Weibo page of “Little Neighbor Paparazzi.” The post had over a hundred thousand comments and more than two hundred thousand shares.

Then he opened Rong Xu’s personal Weibo page. His latest post had more than five million shares and comments combined!

An hour ago, it had barely crossed one million. That meant this scandal had exploded—and was affecting Rong Xu immensely. Over on Ren Shuzhi’s side, she too was being flooded with questions. Her Weibo was in shambles.

The top trending topic across all of Weibo was: #RongXuRenShuzhiLateNightKiss. Second place was #RongXu, third was #RenShuzhi. Because of the gossip, The Lost City was now getting massive attention as well.

As Qin Cheng read through the comments under Rong Xu’s post, his eyes grew darker. His fingers clenched tighter around the tablet, the sound of plastic creaking under pressure.

A moment later, Qin Cheng abruptly closed the tablet and looked up at Xu Jin. He spoke slowly and clearly, “Go clarify the truth. I want this cleared up and the real story published within an hour.”

Xu Jin had originally wanted to ask, What does this have to do with us? Why do I need to get involved? But looking at the man’s face, so cold it could freeze someone solid, he could only nod obediently and head toward the door.

Just as he reached the exit, Xu Jin turned back and asked seriously, “I know paparazzi sometimes post fake news, but that’s rare. Qin Cheng, how are you so sure the man in the video and photos isn’t Rong Xu? Those paparazzi were using telescopic lenses—it’s clearer than video footage. They wouldn’t mistake someone, right?”

The cold and sharp-faced man raised the tablet and pointed to the lower-right corner of the surveillance video where the timestamp was displayed.

Sometimes, once one clue is confirmed, a whole chain of details that were previously overlooked becomes obvious.

Qin Cheng’s expression remained indifferent as he looked at his manager and said flatly, “That night, he was with me.”

Xu Jin’s eyes widened. A moment later, as realization dawned, he immediately turned and left.

—

Meanwhile, the interview program had finished recording. When asked about the photos and videos, Rong Xu didn’t even ask to see them. He simply smiled calmly and said, “I’ve never had any intimate interaction with her. It’s probably a misunderstanding. I don’t have a girlfriend.”

He said it with such calm and composure—because he wasn’t lying.

During the filming of The Lost City, he and Ren Shuzhi barely had scenes together. His character, Xue Jiazhe, had no romantic plotline at all. The female lead was there to drive the story forward, not for romance.

Off-set, Ren Shuzhi had tried multiple times to get close to him, but he had always firmly rejected her at the door. Forget kissing—there wasn’t even a hug between them. The two kept a very distant relationship. How could there have been anything intimate?

As for the part about not having a girlfriend…

That wasn’t wrong either. He had a boyfriend, not a girlfriend.

After his answer, the host still tried to probe for more details, but Director Xu interrupted, saying the interview had already covered everything and they could wrap up.

Rong Xu left the stage with Director Xu and Xiao Zitong. Director Xu didn’t ask him anything about the scandal, but Xiao Zitong couldn’t help whispering, “Is it true?”

Rong Xu gave a wry smile and said, “It’s fake. I swear, it’s fake.”

Xiao Zitong nodded. “I thought so too. If you really started dating someone, I’d be heartbroken—hahaha.”

Rong Xu didn’t take her words seriously. He didn’t know this top-tier actress had already become one of his die-hard fans. Meanwhile, fans at the recording site were flooding social media after hearing his answer:

[I just attended the Whispers of Yucheng taping. The Silent cast was the guest. The host directly asked Rong Rong whether he and Ren Shuzhi were dating. He said no! I believe him. If he said no, then it’s no!]

[Exactly! I believe him too. He didn’t just deny dating—he said they’ve never even kissed. What’s up with those photos and that video?]

[If Rong Rong says it didn’t happen, then I believe him 100%.]

But outside their circle, those fan comments barely made a ripple. Many fans stood firm, choosing to believe Rong Xu. But the haters weren’t having it. They mocked online:

[Photos and video are out, and he’s still denying it? It’s just dating. What’s the big deal? Now Rong Xu wants to pretend he’s pure and won’t take responsibility.]

[Exactly. Ren Shuzhi’s had her share of rumors but never actually dated anyone. They’re both single—what’s wrong with dating? Are Rong Xu’s fans seriously saying she’s not good enough? What, you think your idol’s too precious? What’s next—you’ll say it was just a hookup? Hahaha, that’s even worse than dating.]

Everyone only listens to the version they want to believe. Rong Xu’s fans defended him. His haters hoped he would crash and burn.

In just over an hour, the scandal had already caused some fans to leave. Many of them weren’t that loyal to begin with—just casual fans who bolted the moment they thought their idol was in a relationship, as if the sky had fallen. Some even began to trash him after unfollowing.

But true fans didn’t care. They flooded Rong Xu and Luo Zhentao with private messages, begging them to release an official statement as soon as possible.

And at that moment, unbeknownst to everyone, the other party involved had just gotten off a plane and received the shocking news.

When her assistant showed her the photo and video, Ren Shuzhi’s face changed drastically, and she stood frozen in place. Inside the VIP channel of the airport, she stared wide-eyed at the screen, stunned for a long time. Then suddenly, she screamed:

“Ma Qi?!”

That’s right—the man in the video wasn’t Rong Xu at all.

It was Ma Qi.