Chapter 33

Chapter 33: 033 – Was Yan Di Lonely?

Fu Yan Shi’s brows drew together. He glanced at his friend without thinking.

The Xie young lord had grown up with him. One look was enough. He pulled out his phone and made a call, fast.

A minute later, just as the beauty and her assistant turned to leave, the security guard suddenly called them back.

“Sorry, guest.” His tone had changed completely. “Earlier I was only thinking about banquet security. You can drive in now.”

The hotel had its rules. The people attending tonight weren’t ordinary, and the staff had to protect their safety.

Hearing the shift, Qiao Qing Yan paused. Interest flickered across her face as she glanced back.

There had been a car behind her the whole time—she’d noticed it long ago. That was why she’d gotten out herself, invitation in hand. She hadn’t wanted to delay someone else.

So the person behind her had helped.

She lifted the corner of her mouth, gave the car a small nod, and turned without hesitation, stepping back into her own vehicle.

The driver and the Xie young lord both expected her to come over—at least to apologize, maybe to say thanks. Instead, she slid into the nanny van like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The van started up and rolled into the hotel.

More than 10 meters separated them, and parked cars blocked the view, but the Xie young lord could still make out one thing clearly: she was breathtaking.

And that silver dress—like it had been sewn onto her body.

The red mole beneath her eyelid was even more mesmerizing, a tiny dot of temptation that made the whole face hard to forget.

“Brother Shi,” the Xie young lord said, still stunned, “since when does your circle have a beauty like that?”

“Young Master Xie,” the driver said carefully, having seen her more clearly from the front, “I think that was Qiao Qing Yan.”

That face had changed—sharper, brighter, almost too striking—but it was still recognizable.

The driver’s worry rose fast. Qiao Qing Yan’s reputation was notorious in their circles. If she came over and started a conversation and the paparazzi caught it… Yan Di would get dragged into her mess.

But she hadn’t come over. She’d left cleanly.

Unexpected, but welcome.

*

Back in the lounge, the Xie young lord finally heard the driver’s earlier words, clear as a bell in his head—Qiao Qing Yan.

And the photos online didn’t let anyone pretend otherwise. That face, that red mole… unmistakable.

“Old Fu,” he said, dropping his voice as if it might keep the scandal from spreading, “I get it. You’ve been celibate so long you’re lonely. But we still have to find someone clean, right…?”

It wasn’t that he hated Qiao Qing Yan. He just didn’t want someone like her staining Fu Yan Shi.

An ordinary woman? Fine. Anyone else? Fine.

But Qiao Qing Yan, right now—casting-couch rumors, the festival mess, the Wang family… and the way she’d appeared at the back entrance like she was waiting to be noticed.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

“Wait here,” he decided abruptly. “I’ll arrange a few clean ones for you in a bit.”

He pulled out his phone, already scrolling through contacts like he was picking fruit.

A Lang’s heart lurched. He didn’t want Yan Di messing around at all, but if the choice was “clean women” or Qiao Qing Yan…

At least with the clean ones, he could block the news and make sure everyone shut their mouths afterward.

Fu Yan Shi didn’t spare them a look. He opened his script again and turned the page, calm and unreadable, as if none of it could reach him.