Upon hearing that piece of delicious gossip, the fans all squealed and began to whisper among themselves. One of the girls asked him immediately, "Linzhi Oppa, stop joking! I've liked you for almost three years, and I have never seen you with anyone romantically! Did your entertainment company coerce you to say such a thing? If so, all of your fans' support groups shall rather around you and ask them to leave you alone!"
The girl's words clearly represented the mindset of all of his fans. In their hearts, Wu Linzhi would never never get old or marry anyone. In this way, he could be someone they could fantasize about forever. So, when they heard that he was suddenly going on a blind date, they simply could not accept it!
"Hahaha, Wu Linzhi is just joking with you, of course! He was afraid that it would be dangerous if you guys stayed out much later, and that's why he said such a silly thing in hopes that you might head home safely..." At that moment, Dong Manman, who was still in a sleepy daze moments before, suddenly jumped up to placate the fans with a fabricated excuse.
Her words were welcomed by the fans. After all, they were more willing to believe that Wu Linzhi was just teasing them than to accept that their beloved idol was dating someone!
"Oh, I understand now. It seems like we really are lucky to have such an idol as Wu Linzhi. In fact, I'm the happiest person to have such an idol, who cares so much about his fans!" one of the girls exclaimed with delight.
"Me too!" another agreed. This was followed by several other girls, who all nodded their heads.
"Thank you for letting us know how much he really thinks of his fans," one of the girls then turned to sincerely thank Dong Manman.
Dong Manman smiled as she received the thank you. If not for her career and for the presence of Leng Jin, she really couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't have completely lost her temper in that moment, thus showing these silly little girls what a roar from an old auntie sounded like!
As the fans were so busy scrambling to pledge their loyalties to Wu Linzhi, no one noticed that Wu Linzhi's gaze had remained fixed upon An Qi, not once wavering from her beautiful face.
His heart had been hanging in mid-air, not knowing what kind of response An Qi would give him. Even now, as Dong Manman had sent his fans away with kind words, he still couldn't read anything from An Qi's expression.
He even felt that this unbearable silence was far more cruel and disappointing as compared to An Qi's outright refusal. By the time Dong Manman had sent every last one of his fans away, Gu Xiaonan and Yu Hao had already left without anyone noticing.
They must have slipped out while Dong Manman was still asleep. Hence, they did not know how embarrassing and funny the situation became. However, according to Leng Jin's recollection afterwards, Dong Manman had almost died laughing.
"I guess I should call you 'Linzhi Oppa' from now on…" As soon as Dong Manman returned to the table, she mimicked the soft voices of the fans, reminding Wu Linzhi of their nickname for him.
She then added, "Your current popularity is all because of your fans. So, if you don't placate them, your career is in serious danger of suffering the consequences."
Wu Linzhi finally tore his gaze away from An Qi as he looked at Dong Manman and thanked her. Leng Jin, who had been silent all this time, had seen all of this.
Suddenly, he began to have doubts. He wondered whether it was a wise move to introduce Wu Linzhi to the public this early in the game. It was not until all of the small group's attention turned back to An Qi that she suddenly reacted and exclaimed, "Oppa?"
All of the people present were at a loss as to what to think about the nickname that Wu Linzhi's fans had given him. That was, until An Qi added with a chuckle, "Isn't it a kind of bread that can be eaten?"
Upon hearing this, everyone froze on the spot. An Qi was indeed a foodie, so if anyone would know about such a thing, it would be her!
After hearing that An Qi's first words were not those of a rejection to his proposal, Wu Linzhi looked slightly relieved. He gathered from her current behavior that it was not that An Qi did not want to accept his proposal, but that she had clearly not received his hint at all!
As he pondered this, Wu Linzhi stretched casually. It was a movement that was exceptionally pleasing to the eyes.
Dong Manman wrapped her arms around An Qi's shoulder and said, "Come on, let me tell you about the true origin of the nickname Oppa!"
The four of them then split up as they left Strolling Through Tokyo. Leng Jin had originally insisted on accompanying An Qi back to her home. But, An Qi refused his offer when she remembered that Leng Yuchen was still waiting for her there.
The midnight breeze was a little chilly, so Leng Jin draped his blazer around An Qi's shoulders in a gentlemanly manner. This scene happened to be photographed by Gu Xiaonan and Yu Hao, who had been lying in wait for just such an opportunity in the side street for quite a long time.
Dong Manman's driving skills were very good. In fact, An Qi sometimes had her suspicions that her friend was not really a girl at all! Having been single for so long, Dong Manman could do nearly everything that a man could do, including changing a light bulb and repairing water pipes with ease!
"Hey, when did you move out of your old house? Why didn't you give me a call? You could have stayed with me. After all, it'd be better to move to my house than to a hotel!" Dong Manman chewed on some gum as the car raced along, while a rhythmic pop song played on the radio.
With all of this distraction, she hadn't seen that there was a black SUV, which had been following her all this time. As she looked in her rearview mirror, she noticed it for the first time. It just so happened that Leng Jin and Wu Linzhi were the ones in the black SUV.
"Hehe, it used to be that tabloid reporters chased my car. Now, because of An Qi, I'm the one turning into the paparazzi! This is really a turn of events!" Wu Linzhi, who was in the front passenger seat of the black SUV, said to Leng Jin with a chuckle.
"You're saying it like I do this kind of thing often." Leng Jin responded, while raising an eyebrow. From the tone of the two men's voices, one could feel that the relationship between them was not normal.
"Well, it's certainly not women who make our dream lover Leng condescend...It's power. Specifically, the power to take charge of the entire Leng Empire." Wu Linzhi's remarks were very eloquent.
Since he'd reached a consensus with Leng Jin, he'd always believed that the reason Leng Jin had approached An Qi was simply because of the Leng Group and its success. And… Since everything he did was for An Qi, it seemed that they were both getting what they wanted, without obstructing each other.
However, unbeknownst to them, things had already changed. Leng Jin didn't know what was wrong with him. As he spent most of his days with the old people in the company, there had been few chances where he could meet with An Qi. But, An Qi could still ignite such a crazy feeling in him every time he saw her.
She was like a muse or goddess to Leng Jin's soul. An Qi could bring him endless creativity during his sleepless nights…
In the car in front, Dong Manman, who still did not know what had happened, was puzzled as to why An Qi had left home. To be honest, when she was a child, a fire had taken her parents away.
Then, when Dong Manman went to live with An Qi's family, she'd always envied the paternal love that An Qi's father gave. This was the reason that she had not dared look into An Qi's father's eyes until now, as she could not deny that he was an absolutely qualified father.
"Heart Lake Villa." After enduring Dong Manman's incessant chattering and noisy behavior, An Qi couldn't bear to see her friend drive in the wrong direction any longer.
So, even though she was afraid of gossip, she couldn't help but tell Dong Manman Leng Yuchen's address.
Screech!
The car braked sharply, and if it hadn't been for An Qi's seat belt, she might have been flung out. of the car entirely!
"An Qi, did you win the lottery, or did daddy An give you your inheritance in advance? After all, you live in Heart Lake Villa! Gee, do you know its status in the city?" Dong Manman was clearly shocked.