Chapter 34

Chapter 34: 034 – Two Elders Bringing Warmth

When the city lights came on, the last trace of daylight was swallowed by neon and glass.

The leak about Qiao Qing Yan hit the banquet like a thrown match. When she’d won an award before, people had whispered, but without proof, no one dared point a finger at the judging panel or the organizers.

Now there were photos. Now there was audio.

Naturally, some people couldn’t sit still.

One after another, they stirred, anxious to force the truth out of the organizers’ own mouths.

The incident didn’t just alarm the senior executives of the festival—it also reached the ears of the Film and Television Association.

On the second floor, inside a private room kept quiet from the noise outside, two elders in their seventies or eighties received the news as well.

At the tea table, an elderly man cradled a teacup and asked softly, “Wan Qing went downstairs to pick up that girl, didn’t she?”

Across from him sat one old and one young.

It was rare to see this master and disciple together. People in the circle loved to gossip, so rumors had always swirled—some said they’d fallen out. Some even claimed it was over a female celebrity. The uglier versions went as far as calling her the elderly man’s illegitimate daughter, saying he would sacrifice his disciple’s future just to push her.

To the few who knew the truth, it was all nonsense.

Their relationship was fine. “Fallen out” was too far.

But Old Ji did carry a quiet kind of guilt.

The elder beside him nodded. “Yes. I’m leaving next week. Before I go, I want to see her.”

Old Ji didn’t hide the personal weight in his voice.

The young man sitting near him curled his fingers, knuckles whitening. He wanted to speak, but whatever was in his throat never made it out. In the end, silence swallowed it.

“You saw the news online?” the elderly man asked.

Old Ji nodded, unhurried. “Real or fake, you know how it is. The entertainment industry has always been like this. You should be used to it by now.”

The elderly man chuckled. “I’ve just always been curious. The girl everyone keeps believing in—what is she really like?”

He lived overseas. When he came back in past years, his visits were brief. And Old Ji had been too busy, only gradually freeing up time these past two years.

He’d only seen that “minor celebrity” through the internet. He’d never met her.

“Do you know who the noble lady in those photos is?” he asked.

Old Ji lifted his eyes, waiting.

The elderly man took a slow sip of tea. “You’ve heard about the Wang family’s mess, right?”

Old Ji’s Ji family had roots in the Capital as well. Of course he’d heard a thing or two.

The young man beside him lifted his gaze slightly at the mention of the Wang family.

The elderly man smiled at him. “Looks like Xiao Qian knows?”

Xie Yu Qian nodded once. “I’ve heard some of it. The Wang family’s Third Young Master got arrested a few days ago for messing with something he shouldn’t.”

“Yes.” The elderly man’s smile faded. “They blocked the news in time, but anyone paying attention still noticed.”

“That second madam said her son went to a bar with his girlfriend, passed by a friend’s private room, and didn’t participate in anything.”

“Those young people wouldn’t dare offend the Wang family, so they went along with Madam Wang and admitted it.”

He set the cup down gently. “Now all they need is that so-called girlfriend to step forward and testify. Once she does, he’ll be released.”

“I heard the paperwork’s already being processed.”

Old Ji’s brows knitted with unmistakable displeasure.