Louis stared at Mo Fei.
Mo Fei stared back. Beside him, Yichen stared at the floor.
Both of them were kneeling in the middle of Yichen's apartment while Louis and Nil stood over them like judgement had finally grown legs.
Louis waved the phone in his hand.
"So, which one of you is going to explain this mess?"
Mo Fei looked up. "Oh. That's actually a perfect shot."
Yichen glanced at the photo. "Nah. My angle's messed up."
"I was referring to myself," Mo Fei said, admiring the picture.
Yichen rolled his eyes.
Louis' expression darkened. "Is this funny to you?"
Mo Fei and Yichen straightened at once. Both shook their heads.
Even Nil felt the heat from that tone.
Yichen leaned slightly towards Mo Fei and whispered, "Is he always like this?"
Mo Fei nodded. "Usually when he hasn't slept."
"I haven't slept in days," Louis said, voice flat, "and this is what I wake up to just when I'm about to rest."
Mo Fei shrugged. "Told you."
"You both messed up," Nil said, cutting in. "One of you could have got hurt."
Mo Fei and Yichen lowered their heads.
The sight of both of them sitting there, quiet and obedient, made Nil exhale through his nose.
"At least get off the damn floor."
They stood at the same time.
Nil turned to Yichen. "You never make mistakes like this. How did this happen?"
"It was an unfortunate accident," Yichen said. "We were fine until the last minute."
"The last minute still doesn't explain this," Louis snapped.
Nil looked at him.
The dark circles under Louis' eyes were brutal. His shirt was slightly wrinkled, his hair was a little out of place, and his patience had clearly died several hours ago.
When was the last time he had rested?
Nil sighed. "I'll take it from here."
Louis looked between Mo Fei and Yichen once more, then stepped back and sank onto the sofa.
Nil faced them.
"This picture of you two is all over the internet with weird captions and tags I don't even want to repeat. It could have been worse if the fans had actually got to you. This isn't a joke. Both of you could have been seriously hurt."
"We got out fine, though," Mo Fei mumbled.
"Mo Fei. Down." Louis' glare cut across the room.
Mo Fei instantly dropped back to his knees. A small tear escaped his eye.
Nil. "..."
Yichen. "..."
Louis was scary.
If even Mo Fei, who usually had a mouth built for disaster, did not dare go against him, then the situation was serious.
"It's just a photo, Nil." Yichen walked towards the bar shelf. "Take a break."
Nil watched him go, then turned back to Mo Fei. "Get up."
Mo Fei looked up at him.
Nil offered his hand. Mo Fei took it and stood.
"Was what you needed so important that you had to risk your image?" Nil asked, he noticed Mo Fei's trembling mouth and wiped the tear gathering near his eye. "Don't cry."
Mo Fei sniffed. "I didn't mean to cause any issue. I didn't know it would end up this way."
Louis' eye twitched as he stared at Mo Fei's face.
There was not a single real tear there. "Drop the act."
Mo Fei immediately swallowed the pitiful expression.
Then he went over to Louis and curled up beside him on the sofa like a wronged cat.
"Louis," he said sweetly, "I haven't seen you in days. You really enjoy working as my manager, don't you?"
Louis looked at him without emotion. "You no longer have anything to offer. You should just retire instead of causing me problems."
Mo Fei. "…"
"That's really mean, Louis." His smile vanished. "Did your lack of sleep affect your usually cheerful attitude?"
Lack of sleep.
Yes.
Anyone could say that, given the current state of him.
Louis leaned back against the sofa. "Yeah. A ghost suddenly appeared in my house."
Mo Fei patted his shoulder. "Damn. Congratulations on finally buying a mirror."
Louis. "…"
He reached over and pinched Mo Fei's nose. "You're extremely lucky your face didn't show up in that picture, you brat." His grip tightened slightly. "Do you have a talent for attracting trouble?"
Mo Fei held his nose in pain.
Louis looked at him for a moment, the irritation in his face loosened.
He released Mo Fei's nose and ruffled his hair instead.
"I know you didn't mean to cause trouble," he said, quieter now. "Just be careful next time."
Mo Fei blinked. Then smiled. "Mm. I will."
Nil, sensing the storm had finally passed, breathed in relief.
"Good. Now that that's over, should we run through the details of the HET Gala?"
Yichen, who was pouring whiskey into a glass, looked up.
Mo Fei also lifted his head from Louis' arm.
"HET Gala?"
They spoke at the same time.
💜———
The HET Gala — officially the Hall of Entertainment & Television Gala — was held every autumn.
At first glance, it was a charity event. That was the polite description.
In reality, it was a battlefield dressed in couture.
Every year, the biggest names in film, television, music and fashion gathered under one roof: actors, singers, idols, directors, designers, producers, editors, luxury brand executives, investors and media figures.
The gala raised funds for arts education, retired industry workers, youth scholarships and public welfare projects, but everyone in the industry knew charity was only half the night's purpose.
The other half was status.
A single successful appearance at HET could revive a fading career.
A single scandal could bury one overnight.
The red carpet was not just a red carpet.
It was a ranking board.
Who arrived first.
Who arrived last.
Who walked alone.
Who shared the camera.
Whose name the reporters screamed the loudest.
Whose outfit trended.
Whose seat was placed near which producer.
Everything meant something.
If you were important, you were there.
If you were not there, people asked why.
Nil looked between them.
Louis slowly closed his eyes.
For one peaceful second, he considered pretending he had never heard the question. Maybe if he kept his eyes closed long enough, the entire entertainment industry would collapse and he could finally sleep.
Unfortunately, when he opened them, Mo Fei was still there.
So was Yichen.
Worse, Mo Fei was staring at him.
Louis exhaled.
"The HET Gala," Mo Fei said slowly. "It's here?"
"Yes," Nil said.
Mo Fei turned to Louis, his expression softening slightly. "What does it have to do with me?"
Louis gave him a look.
Mo Fei's expression stiffened.
"It is charity on paper," Mo Fei said.
Louis leaned back against the sofa. "And a battlefield dressed in couture."
Mo Fei sat up properly.
Yichen, who had been about to drink from his glass, paused.
"Every autumn," Louis continued, "the HET Gala gathers the biggest names in the industry. And you have been mostly absent from that world for far too long."
"So…" Mo Fei slowly narrowed his eyes. He did not really care about things like this. To him, the HET Gala sounded like a fancy party where rich people wore expensive clothes and pretended they cared about children.
Louis stared at him.
Mo Fei smiled at once. "I'm listening."
Nil rubbed his temple.
Yichen leaned against the bar shelf. "If you're important, you should be there."
Louis pointed at him. "Exactly."
Finally.
Someone sensible in this room.
Mo Fei turned to Yichen. "You seem to like it."
"I've attended a lot," Yichen said. "It's noisy."
"Yet you attend every year," Mo Fei muttered.
Yichen's gaze slid to him. "Unlike you, some of us take our careers seriously."
Mo Fei, "…"
Louis pinched the bridge of his nose.
Nil stepped in before the two of them could derail the discussion completely. "Just remember this. It's in two days. Attendance matters. Arrival time matters. Who you walk with matters. What brand dresses you. Who greets you on the red carpet. Where you sit"
Mo Fei slowly looked down at himself, as if checking whether his body was ready for such responsibility.
Louis' gaze sharpened. "Don't joke. At HET, everything means something."
"Everything?" Mo Fei asked. "Do I have to go?"
"Yes," Louis said.
"But I don't know anyone there. What if I freeze up?"
"You can come with me," Yichen said. "I'll make sure you don't embarrass us all."
Mo Fei gave him a smile full of disdain.
Louis lifted his phone again and showed Mo Fei the headlines from earlier.
ZHANG YICHEN SPOTTED WITH MYSTERY COMPANION
SUPPOSED DATE? FANS QUESTION YICHEN'S SECRET OUTING
WHO IS THE PERSON BESIDE ZHANG YICHEN?
Mo Fei's mouth twitched.
"You're both fixing what you did," Louis said.
"Well, technically, they don't know it's me," Mo Fei defended.
"Yet," Louis said.
Nil looked at Yichen. "And technically, they will know it's you. Louis and I came up with an idea to divert the gossip before it grows teeth."
Yichen took a calm sip of whiskey.
Nil's face darkened. "Put that down."
Yichen lowered the glass without argument.
Mo Fei glanced at him, impressed.
So Nil also had divine authority against Yichen.
Rare occurrence. He had to tell Chen Yu later.
Louis tapped the phone screen.
"Your face didn't show clearly, which is the only reason I'm not currently drafting three apology statements and a funeral speech for my career. But people are already speculating."
Mo Fei raised one finger. "Question."
"No."
"But—"
"The quickest way to pull attention away from Yichen's little street adventure is to attend the gala and give the crowd something else to talk about," Louis said firmly.
"Do I have to help him?" Mo Fei cried.
Louis and Nil both nodded.
"But Yichen is already so famous. If he attends the gala looking devastatingly handsome, won't everyone forget this ever happened?"
Yichen looked at him for one second. Very unfortunately, he seemed to consider it. "He's right, though."
Louis caught that immediately. His eyes narrowed.
"Do not encourage him."
Yichen looked away. Mo Fei smiled faintly.
Nil continued, "You'll both attend. Together, if necessary. Take a few pictures, create a cleaner talking point, and pull the internet's attention elsewhere."
Mo Fei's fingers stilled against the sofa, the room quietened.
Louis added, "One successful appearance could stabilise your comeback. One scandal could set fire to it."
Mo Fei looked up again. "Define scandal."
Louis did not blink. "You."
Mo Fei placed a hand on his chest. "I am a peaceful person."
Yichen scoffed.
Mo Fei pointed at him.
"You are not allowed to comment. You willingly came with me to Café Café."
"I regret it."
"You ate nothing and still put me in this situation. That is not my fault."
"You made me wear sweatpants," Yichen said through his teeth.
Mo Fei glanced away. "For national safety."
Yichen smiled coldly. "You made me jump a fence."
"For survival."
"You almost cried over ice cream."
"It was limited edition."
Nil and Louis watched them argue, neither spoke.
Nil slowly turned to Louis. "When did they become like this?"
Louis' face remained blank. "No fucking idea. Apparently, this is my punishment for wanting stable employment."
Mo Fei straightened as if nothing had happened.
"Anyway, who else is attending?"