Drunk On The Night Breeze - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ruan Lingfeng had originally intended to leisurely cook some congee, but he was no longer in the mood. He took a quick shower and changed his clothes—for some reason, even though he had been in an air-conditioned room, he had woken up drenched in sweat. After that, he hailed a ride via an app and grabbed two slices of bread to eat on the way.

He was going to help Tao Zhi.

Tao Zhi’s manager had called to ask for his help, explaining a situation that was almost identical to the rumors online.

“The man who was hit reported it to the police,” the manager said. “He insists that the two of you were just having a lovers’ quarrel, and that a big celebrity suddenly intervened with unprovoked violence… He’s making quite a scene.”

Ruan Lingfeng asked, “Is there no surveillance footage?”

“We checked. The footage is inconclusive, and that man produced a lot of old photos and chat logs to prove that you really were a couple.”

Ruan Lingfeng rubbed his temples, still feeling a lingering headache. “I’m on my way,” he said.

“Thank you so much…”

“It’s only right,” Ruan Lingfeng replied. “The trouble started because of me.”

Currently, Tao Zhi was at a disadvantage. Based on just two photos, the internet was in an uproar. If the incident was officially categorized according to Xu Mao’s narrative, an overwhelming wave of negative public opinion would instantly crush Tao Zhi.

Normally, Tao Zhi’s reputation was none of Ruan Lingfeng’s business. Having spent several years in this industry, Ruan Lingfeng considered himself an insider; he had seen too many stars rise on the winds of public favor only to be smashed into the abyss by that same sentiment. It was all very common.

If it were anyone else, Ruan Lingfeng would, at most, offer a sigh of sympathy. Moreover, Tao Zhi was so high-profile and annoying that plenty of people were waiting for a chance to pull him down. Being attacked relentlessly the moment a weakness was found was entirely predictable.

However, despite their unpleasant interactions, Tao Zhi had fallen into this mess specifically to help him. Putting that aside, while working on the proposal lately, Ruan Lingfeng had been listening to Tao Zhi’s songs on loop. He recognized the man’s talent and knew he would shine even brighter in time. Out of both morality and reason, Ruan Lingfeng didn’t want this star to sink into darkness just as it started to glow.

However, after meeting Tao Zhi in person, those sympathetic thoughts evaporated instantly.

He arrived in a hurry, but before he could even get a word out, he was met with a blow to the head from Tao Zhi’s attitude.

The man still wore an expression as if the whole world owed him money. Seeing Ruan Lingfeng arrive, his eyes widened slightly, but his brow quickly furrowed again. He snapped at Ruan Lingfeng, “What are you doing here? Who told you to come?”

The manager replied, “I asked Mr. Ruan to come—”

Tao Zhi cut him off immediately. “What were you thinking? There are definitely people lurking outside. I went through all that trouble specifically so a civilian wouldn’t get dragged into this mess! And now you’ve brought him here, and…”

Ruan Lingfeng didn’t even bother to process the rest of the day’s events. He only remembered sitting numbly in the police mediation room. The person he was trying to help hadn’t offered a single word of thanks; instead, he had showered him with criticism. Meanwhile, his self-righteous ex-boyfriend kept shouting that this was just a “family matter.”

Ruan Lingfeng’s mood hit rock bottom.

What “not wanting the star to go dim”? Right now, Ruan Lingfeng wished this man was just a shooting star—burning out and falling fast, a mere passerby in his life who would stop being an eyesore in his night sky.

Fortunately, after a full afternoon and evening of rest, Ruan Lingfeng’s mental state had recovered. He wouldn’t react undignified to such a scene.

Maintaining a composed smile throughout, he explained to the police that he had been harassed by Xu Mao, an Alpha, and that Tao Zhi’s intervention had saved him from harm.

In today’s society, Omega rights are highly protected. Once the involved Omega spoke up, the matter was settled. Xu Mao was the party at fault, and Tao Zhi’s actions were deemed as “acting bravely for a just cause.” However, Ruan Lingfeng didn’t want to invite more trouble and chose not to pursue charges, so Xu Mao faced no substantial punishment.

After giving his statement, Ruan Lingfeng didn’t want to stay a moment longer. Following the mediation, he walked out quickly, but trouble refused to let him go.

First, Xu Mao chased after him.

Ruan Lingfeng wanted to ignore him, but this time Xu Mao was relatively restrained, not trying to touch him but blocking his path. “I just want to talk to you. I think there’s a misunderstanding between us…”

Ruan Lingfeng was exhausted and had no energy left to deal with him. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

He tried to step around Xu Mao, but the man followed him step for step, buzzing in his ear. Just as Ruan Lingfeng was about to lose his cool, a shadow fell over him as another person stepped in front of him.

He heard Tao Zhi say in a nonchalant tone to Xu Mao, “You’re like a piece of dog-skin plaster (a persistent nuisance).”

Xu Mao’s attention immediately shifted to Tao Zhi. He snapped, “What does this have to do with you? We’re at the police station entrance. You want to start trouble again?”

Tao Zhi smiled. “At least you have some self-awareness regarding your behavior. I didn’t even say who the ‘plaster’ was, and you rushed to claim it.”

“You…” Under normal circumstances, Xu Mao was wary of Tao Zhi. But because the internet scandal had put Tao Zhi at a disadvantage earlier, Xu Mao assumed Tao Zhi wouldn’t dare do anything else. His voice grew more confident. “I told you, this is a private matter between Xiao Feng and me.”

“Yeah, yeah, I don’t want to manage your private life,” Tao Zhi said, gesturing to Ruan Lingfeng. “But we have work to handle. Can you stop obstructing our business?”

He helped me out again, Ruan Lingfeng thought.

Since they were putting on a show, following Tao Zhi was clearly the better option than arguing here.

They walked to where the car was parked and stood in silence for a moment before Ruan Lingfeng spoke. “Thank you again.”

Tao Zhi’s face remained stiff. “I should be the one saying thanks… and sorry. You came to help and I barked at you. It’s not that I’m ungrateful, it’s just that I felt… dammit, forget it.”

Tao Zhi seemed to want to explain something, but he couldn’t bring himself to say the words, as if an apology would burn his tongue.

Ruan Lingfeng didn’t know how to respond. To be honest, he had never met someone like Tao Zhi—someone who could infuriate you the moment he spoke, yet whose actions seemed filled with good intentions.

He stiffly changed the subject. “It’s fine… where’s your manager?”

“Oh, he’s handling something else,” Tao Zhi paused. “There are a few paparazzi nearby. He went to make sure they don’t leak whatever they caught tonight… He’s better at handling that than I am.”

“So when you found out you were being filmed this morning, you handled it yourself?” Ruan Lingfeng asked casually.

Tao Zhi’s face turned impatient again. “Why are you asking so much? … Where do you live? I’ll drive you back.”

Ruan Lingfeng: “?”

Tao Zhi leaned slightly to the side, pointing toward where Xu Mao was. “That idiot is just going to follow and harass you again. Fck, the reason I didn’t want you to come was because I was afraid your shtty ex would target you if you spoke up for me. To be honest, you’re not just… a bit too casual, your taste in men is also terrible.”

Hearing the first half of the sentence, Ruan Lingfeng’s heart had softened slightly. By the second half, his anger flared up again.

Ruan Lingfeng maintained his smile and waved his phone. “Thank you for the offer, but my ride is already here. I can get back on my own.”

Tao Zhi “tsk-ed.” “Suit yourself… anyway, you don’t look like you did this morning…”

Ruan Lingfeng asked, “What happened this morning?”

Tao Zhi had been relatively calm, but at this question, he became like a lit fuse. “You have the nerve to ask? Just get lost.”

With that, he climbed into his car and ignored Ruan Lingfeng completely.

Ruan Lingfeng: “…” Idiot.

Too much had happened in one day. Sitting in the taxi, Ruan Lingfeng watched the streetlights blur into streaks of light as his mind went blank, until his phone buzzed.

It was his sister. Ruan Lingfeng answered. “Xiao Yu? What is it?”

Ruan Xinyu sounded relieved. “I’ve been messaging you all day and you didn’t reply. I thought you died.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Busy with work?”

“A bit,” Ruan Lingfeng said, deciding not to mention his dizziness or the deep, unconscious sleep he’d had. “Just a little. Is something wrong?”

“Nothing, just worried,” Ruan Xinyu said. “Also, I’ve been following the drama all day. Want to hear it?”

Ruan Lingfeng humored her. “What drama?”

“Tao Zhi! I sent you links this afternoon about him hitting someone. You were probably too busy to look… but holy crap, there was a plot twist tonight! Another tabloid posted a video of Tao Zhi talking to the paparazzi.”

“After Tao Zhi hit the guy, he realized he was being filmed and dragged the photographer out. In the video, it looks like he’s going to hit the paparazzi too, but then he says: ‘I hate you people following me all day, but usually I don’t care. This time is different. You saw it—that Omega being harassed is an innocent bystander. I hope you don’t drag a civilian into this. You can say whatever you want about me being violent.’”

“He also said: ‘I’m a public figure, it’s normal for people to watch me. But if that person gets harassed just for being associated with me, is that fair? Especially since they’re an Omega—it’s a huge problem if some creep targets them again.’”

“I’m just paraphrasing,” Ruan Xinyu continued. “In reality, Tao Zhi was cursing out the paparazzi in the video. Then he snatched the camera and apparently deleted all the photos and videos of the ‘mysterious civilian Omega’.”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…” No wonder there wasn’t a trace of me on the trending topics.

Ruan Xinyu: “So he was acting for a good cause. He hit that guy to save a harassed Omega.”

Ruan Lingfeng recalled the awkward, stubborn face Tao Zhi had made when asked if he handled the paparazzi himself. It suddenly clicked. This “younger brother” had a weird temper and a strange way of thinking, but he was indeed a good person.

Just as he was about to agree, Ruan Xinyu added: “But it’s so ridiculous that nobody believes it. The internet is mocking him now, saying Tao Zhi filmed a fake ‘behind the scenes’ video just to wash his name clean. Some people say he shouldn’t be a singer, he should be an actor.”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…”

Ruan Xinyu said again: “Brother, I think you were right. This guy is an idiot. He’s not worth my fangirling.”