Wen Zhi's smile froze. She tried to steer the conversation away. "I was just saying Professor Wen gets along well with the opposite sex."
Wen Yin tilted her head, lips parting in a slow, deliberate smile. "I'd say your luck with men isn't half bad either," she replied, glancing her over. "You're on good terms with Xiao Mo, Jiang Shihuai, and Lu Ziqiu, aren't you?"
"We're just jealous," Wen Yin said, the smile on her face half-meaning it, half-mocking. Wen Zhi's retort died in her throat.
Shao Yinan couldn't help the little curl at the corner of his mouth.
That sly little fox.
Online viewers went wild. Comments cascaded under the livestream like popcorn: So why did Wen Zhi bring this up? Is she trying to set someone up—and fall into her own trap? Hilarious, it's clear now! Wen Zhi must've been hinting that Wen Yin is into men, but Wen Yin turned it inside out. Talk about double standards... Wen Zhi barely meant it—stop overanalyzing! Wen Yin's fans are something else; they always defend their idol and read everything as malice.
The second episode wrapped up with the art show, and the stream ended—but the noise only amplified. Wen Yin was the breakout star: a single photo in classical makeup had gone viral, and some fans even clipped closeups of Wen Yin and Shao Yinan and plastered them across fan forums.
Back at the Heartflutter house, the drive home was a silent, awkward thing. With the cameras off, everyone shrank into themselves; no one wanted to talk. Wen Zhi shot Wen Yin a glare. Today, every little triumph of hers had been interrupted—by Wen Yin, again—and she was the one losing followers.
Her fingers hovered over Weibo; the comments under her posts had already erupted into a brawl. Some people had even started calling her the "female sea-king." She nearly laughed and cried at once, then slammed the phone down in frustration. It was all Wen Yin's doing.
The guests packed their bags and drifted away in small clusters. Qian Shuzhi lingered on the stairs until the last possible second, gazing up at the balcony. From her angle she could see Shao Yinan standing there, his head bowed. The setting sun painted a thin halo of gold around him, as if a god had slipped down to stand on the edge of the world.
"Come on," an assistant hissed into Qian's ear, pulling her toward the car. Qian bit her lip unwillingly and climbed in. She had never stopped believing she'll make it—one day she would.
When Wen Yin came down the stairs she spotted Jiang Shihuai collapsed on the sofa and instantly looked away. One second of eye contact with Jiang Shihuai was one second too many.
"—Wen Yin."
She tried to walk around him, but Jiang got up quickly and blocked her path, as if he'd been waiting.
"Wen Zhi is still upstairs. Excuse me," Wen Yin said coolly, lifting her lashes. Her eyes slid over him like a cold breeze.
Jiang pursed his lips. "I came to see you. You and Lu Ziqiu—"
Wen Yin had already decided to cut him off. She lifted her chin, an impish smile playing on her lips, and leaned in until she was practically nose-to-nose. Jiang could smell the faint, clean scent of her shower gel—soft, inoffensive, impossibly pleasing. He found himself shifting his gaze away, uncomfortable under her stare, yet he didn't step back.
"You're looking for me?" she asked, voice low and almost musical, every word like a small brush teasing his chest.
That gentle, syrup-smooth tone tickled him where he didn't want to be tickled. "Then I'm even busier than ever."
Without an apology, she snapped her suitcase closed and headed for the door. Jiang had come to ask about Lu Ziqiu—he'd assumed Wen Zhi was doing something behind her back—but Wen Yin had no interest in the conversation. The exhaustion from the two-day livestream had flattened her desire for small talk.
Jiang stood dazed on the carpet until she had put some distance between them. Only then did the moment snap back into place: she was already gone.
Heartthrob aired for only two episodes, but it was doing well. The hottest trending topic by far was Wen Yin—she was dominating search after search.
#WenYinArtSchoolGrad
#WenYinShaoYinan
#WenYinCenterStage
#WealthyDaughterWenYin
#OnlyHeartbeat
#WenYinWenZhi
Wen Zhi's name, absent from the trending list since yesterday's scandal had been removed, finally reappeared—unfortunately right after Wen Yin's. When Wen Zhi clicked through and saw how her name had been edited into the same clips as Wen Yin, she nearly suffocated with anger. The comparisons were blatant, and the comment section kept accusing her of hypocrisy and pretension.
Rage climbed through her like a fever. Her long nails bit into the palm of her hand until she felt the sting. After a long, cold laugh she made a decision.
If Wen Yin loved the spotlight so much, Wen Zhi thought, then she'd make sure Wen Yin stayed on it—permanently. She wondered whether Wen Yin could bear the fallout.
Not long after, a different tone began to take over under #WenYinShaoYinan. Fans and bystanders started pushing back.
"Wake up, Shao Yinan's fans—this is clearly Wen Yin riding his wave!" one commenter wrote. "Think about it: why was she so close to him on the show if she wasn't chasing a trending actor?"
"She’s been good at this—okay at grabbing heat. Before this show she was soaking up Wen Zhi's attention; now she’s found someone bigger."
"Does Wen Yin really like Shao Yinan? Does she even deserve him?"
"@WenYin, go look in the mirror. Are you serious? Manipulative much?"
"Just watched the replay. She sticks to Shao Yinan like glue!"
The adoring pairings waned. The cheers dwindled into venom. Other searches tied to Wen Yin filled with scorn—praise sections turned malicious, and Wen Yin's small but fervent fanbase was scrambling, trying to defend her. Strangely, their attempts to correct the record kept getting invisible—comments that should have been there were somehow hidden.
Rumors about Wen Yin riding Shao Yinan's coattails spread like a stain. The goodwill she'd worked up with the public was starting to fray.
Curiosity finally drew Wen Yin to her Weibo. The red notification bubble read 99+, and she tapped it, expecting the usual flutter of adoration. Instead, she found the feed full of curses and accusations. Her face remained placid. She lifted an eyebrow and scrolled, and then she saw something that changed the tone of the whole fight.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard and she typed, then posted.
@WenYin: Seriously working—men only slow down my career.