The Reincarnated Science Whiz

Chapter 40: Exposed

Hengdian, inside a hotel. “Yes! Zhuo Wei pumped his fist vigorously into the air. Seeing how the candid photos he’d taken had sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry, he felt he truly lived up to his reputation as the mainland’s number one paparazzo—this time, he’d dug up some truly explosive exclusive news. His judgment had been spot-on. Although one was just a student and the other a third-tier actress, the commotion this had caused was even greater than a scandal involving a top-tier star. “Hui Zi, you guys in the Magic City absolutely must get the firsthand scoop. With this story, we won’t have to worry about running out of news for half a month!” Zhuo Wei picked up the phone and called his paparazzi team in the Magic City. Ever since joining *Southern Weekly*, Zhuo Wei had assembled a powerful team of paparazzi. This team had uncovered numerous celebrity scoops—for example, in late 2005, they broke the exclusive story about Chen Jianbin and Jiang Qinqin’s romance. Thanks to these numerous exclusive scoops, Zhuo Wei’s career had gone from strength to strength. By now, many celebrity agents had to curry favor with him, afraid he might reveal too much. Zhuo Wei also knows his limits—he understands what can be exposed and what cannot. As a result, he has never faced any real physical threats. Typically, when gossip about a celebrity is exposed, the star’s agent will immediately call to ask if there will be any follow-up reports, and then politely invite him to dinner. Of course, red envelopes are a given during these meals. Of course, the pay for paparazzi news reports isn’t much; the bulk of their income comes from various “red envelopes”—whether it’s hush money from the other party or fees for fueling rumors—that’s where the real money lies. It is precisely these generous bonuses that provide every paparazzo with tremendous motivation; no matter how arduous or exhausting the work—even in the deepest mountains and forests—they never complain. At the airport, Zhuo Wei spotted Qin Yuanqing and Jing Tian holding hands. To other reporters, this didn’t seem newsworthy, but Zhuo Wei keenly sensed the story’s potential. He even took the opportunity to hype up Qin Yuanqing’s song “Fireworks Fade Easily,” creating an even bigger buzz. Shanghai Airport As soon as Jing Tian and her agent emerged from the airport exit, they were swarmed by two or three dozen reporters, all vying to interview Jing Tian. “Miss Jing Tian, we’ve heard you’re in a relationship with Qin Yuanqing, a freshman at Shuimu University. How did you two meet?” asked a reporter from *Huaxia Entertainment Report*. “I heard you met because of *Fireworks Fade Easily*. Is that your love song?” asked a reporter from *Tencent News*. “Miss Jing Tian, as an actress, aren’t you worried about losing fans by dating so early in your career?” “Rumor has it you bought a villa in Hengdian—are you building a love nest for the two of you?” The reporters fired off their questions one after another, leaving Jing Tian completely dumbfounded. What was going on? When did she become this famous? Jing Tian’s agent was also dumbfounded. What was going on? Jing Tian was still just a third-tier star—when had she been targeted by gossip reporters? What left the agent even more stunned—to the point of despair—was that Jing Tian, this young lady, actually naively replied, “I’ve only been dating Qin Yuanqing for a few days. How did you guys find out?” The moment Jing Tian said that, her agent felt like banging her head against the wall. Come on—celebrities aren’t supposed to date, especially female celebrities. The moment they start dating, their popularity goes down the drain. Wow~~ The reporters, however, were thrilled. They hadn’t expected Jing Tian to admit it so directly, without any pretense, so they immediately stepped up their questioning, firing off one question after another in an attempt to get more information. His agent tried to shield Jing Tian and push through the reporters to get outside, but he had underestimated them and simply couldn’t break free. It wasn’t until airport security arrived and dispersed the reporters that he was finally able to pull Jing Tian away—while Jing Tian still looked completely bewildered, with a cute, innocent expression, having no idea what was going on! The agent slapped his forehead—his head was throbbing. What… what was he supposed to do now? He’d finally landed Jing Tian, an actor who seemed to have been sent by heaven itself, and had been meticulously planning how to propel him to stardom and elevate him to A-list status. But now, it seemed like all those plans had gone up in smoke. What female celebrities fear most are scandals—especially those backed by concrete evidence. Unless they’re top-tier stars whose status is already firmly established and who don’t need to worry about such things, losing their innocent, ethereal image spells disaster—they’ll never truly make it big. “Sweetie…” the agent even started crying. This little princess still hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation. Sure enough, people from wealthy families have no idea how hard it is to achieve all this. “Mom~~” At that moment, Jing Tian had no idea her agent was on the verge of a breakdown; she was on the phone with her mother. “Tiantian, what’s this I’m seeing in the news—that you’re dating someone?” Jing Tian’s mom had called specifically about this. “Mom, how did you find out? I haven’t even told you yet.” Jing Tian was stunned—her mom was in Beijing, so how had she heard the news? “Tiantian, what’s this guy Qin Yuanqing like? Is he a good person? When are you going to bring him home so we can meet him?” Jing Tian’s mother’s words left her completely dumbfounded. What!? What is this!? Why does she want me to bring Qin Yuanqing home? Isn’t this moving a bit too fast? Besides, it’s not like we’re getting married—why bring him home? “Tiantian, Mom’s been through this before. Bring him home so I can take a look—I’ll vet him for you! You can’t go wrong.” Jing’s mom grew more and more excited as she spoke. Beijing Capital International Airport Qin Yuanqing was already very familiar with Beijing Capital International Airport; he’d been here many times over the past year. As soon as he got off the aircraft, he headed to the baggage claim area—he had quite a bit of luggage, so he’d checked it in. Qin Yuanqing naturally received the same treatment as Jing Tian—a huge crowd of reporters swarmed around him, asking all sorts of questions. Qin Yuanqing’s eyes darted about; since he didn’t know the specifics, he couldn’t just blurt out anything. When reporters asked about Jing Tian, Qin Yuanqing talked about calculus; when they asked how the two had met, he pulled out a scrap of paper from his backpack and started drawing diagrams and writing down a bunch of formulas. The reporters were completely baffled. Seeing that Qin Yuanqing wasn’t cooperating at all—and with their heads spinning from all the strange symbols and rows of unrecognizable formulas he’d thrown at them—they finally threw in the towel and slipped away without a word! You little punk, trying to get a confession out of me! I’ll make sure you guys pay for this. Qin Yuanqing smiled smugly, grabbed his luggage, and hailed a cab to leave the airport. In the taxi, Qin Yuanqing closed his eyes slightly. He hadn’t expected that just by going to Hengdian, he’d end up losing his bachelor status—it was truly beyond his expectations and plans. Originally, Qin Yuanqing had planned to spend the next few years studying hard at Shuimu University, being a top student, and showing off a bit. But now that there was someone else in the picture, he’d have to buy a place in Beijing—they couldn’t possibly stay in hotels every time, after all. Shuimu University is located in Wudaokou, across the street from Yan Da University, and surrounded by other prestigious institutions such as Beijing University of Science and Technology, Huaxia Renmin University, Huaxia University of Mining, Huaxia Forestry University, and Huaxia Agricultural University. It’s safe to say this area is a hub for Huaxia University and serves as Beijing’s university district. Right next to Shuimu University are the Old Summer Palace and the Summer Palace. Zhongguancun is also nearby. Since the start of the semester at Shuimu University hadn’t arrived yet, Qin Yuanqing checked into a hotel near the campus. Once in his room, he opened his laptop, connected to the broadband, and logged into QQ. Ding-ding~~ As soon as he opened QQ, his profile picture began flashing nonstop, and notifications kept popping up. Qin Yuanqing saw Jing Tian’s profile picture flashing continuously—there were already hundreds of messages. Qin Yuanqing hurriedly clicked on it—this lady was not someone to cross, or else things would get really bad if she got angry. After reading through all the messages from start to finish, Qin Yuanqing was left both amused and exasperated. It turned out that Jing Tian had tried to call him, but his phone had died, so she’d sent him a message instead. She told him that their relationship had been exposed by the paparazzi and warned him not to say anything reckless. Then, in a fit of frustration, she lamented how stupid she’d been—she’d been tricked into admitting their relationship at the airport, driving her agent to the brink of a heart attack. “You’re just now realizing how stupid you are! Qin Yuanqing was speechless inside. To be a celebrity and still get tricked into spilling the beans—no wonder he couldn’t become famous no matter how much they promoted him or how many resources they threw at him. Qin Yuanqing replied to Jing Tian, telling him that if it’s out in the open, so be it—it’s no big deal. If he can’t make it as a star, he’ll just support her himself in the future. But the moment he sent the message, Qin Yuanqing thought of the young lady’s head-to-toe designer outfits—a single handbag costing hundreds of thousands, and clothes that were clearly high-end—and realized that supporting her would be an enormous burden. Qin Yuanqing rubbed his temples with a headache. Being in a relationship sure was a headache. Women really are a hassle! Qin Yuanqing shook his head, plugged his phone into the charger, and opened Baidu to search for nearby housing—preferably around Shuimu University. Unlike Lushi Island, housing prices in the Haidian District area now hover around 16,000 yuan per square meter—far higher than on Lushi Island. But that’s to be expected: with so many universities, and Beijing being the capital of Huaxia as well as its political and cultural Center, boasting a permanent population of over 20 million, it’s only natural that housing prices remain strong. In another ten years, housing prices like this will be found in Yanjiao. As for here, prices start at at least 100,000 per square meter! Qin Yuanqing looked at a newly released villa priced at 18,000 yuan per square meter, with a usable area of 300 square meters. That came to 5. 4 million yuan. Since he only had 3 million yuan in his bank account, Qin Yuanqing couldn’t help but feel a bit daunted. That’s quite a gap! “Wait a minute, how could I be so dumb? I can pay the down payment first and then make installment payments!” Qin Yuanqing slapped his forehead. He’d gotten a little dim-witted since he’d found a girlfriend—how could he have forgotten something so obvious? Buying a house right now was definitely a surefire way to make a profit. Even if he didn’t stay in Beijing in the future, he could easily sell it and make a hefty profit. Qin Yuanqing contacted the real estate agent to schedule a viewing, and when he saw his phone was at 30 percent battery, he called Jing Tian back. He answered QQ messages while on the phone—this took up almost no time at all, practically none. After chatting for twenty minutes, Jing Tian mentioned that the event had started, so he hung up. Qin Yuanqing then called his parents to let them know he’d arrived in Beijing and was staying near Shuimu University, waiting to register for the new semester. He assured them not to worry—he’d take good care of himself. After chatting for over ten minutes, he noticed his parents hadn’t mentioned Jing Tian at all. Clearly, living in the countryside, news didn’t travel as quickly, and since his parents never read gossip columns, they were still unaware of the situation.