Upon arriving at the hotel, they discovered a crowd gathered outside.
The driver glanced at the situation and turned to ask Xiao He and Liu Rulan: "I can't drive any further inside. Should we circle around to the back entrance?"
It was only a few steps away, hardly worth making a detour. Xiao He took the initiative: "It's fine, we can get out here."
This driver had been specifically assigned by Zhuang Hongyi to transport them. Now that the task was complete, there was no need to trouble him further.
"Okay, thank you."
The driver smiled.
Xiao He put on his mask and hat, then followed Liu Rulan out of the car.
The car slowly drove away after changing direction, giving the two of them a chance to observe what was happening at the hotel entrance.
The hotel they chose was one of Beijing's famous high-end luxury establishments, located right next to commercial districts and office buildings. With convenient transportation and an excellent location, many celebrities often stayed here, making it a top choice for many in the industry.
At that moment, a group of people had gathered near the entrance. Most were young girls holding support signs and wearing light-up headbands, looking expectantly toward the hotel entrance while occasionally whispering among themselves. They appeared to be waiting for some celebrity.
However, fans often gathered here, so this situation wasn't particularly unusual.
What surprised the two of them was the police car parked by the entrance.
It seemed something had happened inside the hotel.
"What's going on here?" Xiao He wondered aloud.
Even Liu Rulan's curiosity was piqued.
"Let's go inside and see..."
As they talked and walked, perhaps because Xiao He's current outfit made him look like some male idol, the moment they stepped onto the sloped platform at the entrance, the girls erupted in excited screams and started shouting toward Xiao He.
At first, Xiao He didn't realize they were screaming at him. It was Liu Rulan who noticed first, reminding him: "They seem to have mistaken you for someone else."
"Huh? They're calling for me?"
Xiao He glanced sideways, and sure enough, the screams grew even louder.
Xiao He broke out in a cold sweat: "Seriously? They can mistake me too?"
Liu Rulan shrugged: "To be fair, with a hat and mask on, anyone could be a celebrity idol. Since they can't tell who it is anyway, the mysterious beauty has its own appeal."
Xiao He: "...That... actually makes some sense."
They didn't pay much attention to the incident and entered the lobby, where they happened to run into Xiao Chen.
Xiao He casually asked: "Xiao Chen, do you know what's up with the police car outside?"
Xiao Chen's voice immediately became excited: "I actually do know about this!"
"Oh? Tell us quickly!"
"A very popular boy band has been staying at this hotel recently, and they have tons of stalker fans. Just now, one of the idols was attacked by a fan while taking a shower. It scared him half to death, and he called the police on the spot."
Xiao He: ?
Liu Rulan: ?
Wait, hold on—
You mean, while he was showering?
——
"How can we just let this go? Why should we drop it?"
In the hotel corridor, Liang Cheng's voice kept rising in pitch, even carrying a hint of tears in its tone: "I was spied on, and I can't even hold her responsible?"
God knows how terrifying it was!
At the time, he was applying shampoo to his hair while scrubbing his body and humming a song, when suddenly a female voice beside him complimented his physique. He was scared out of his wits on the spot.
And as everyone knows, when you have shampoo in your hair and can't open your eyes, that's the most terrifying moment.
As Liang Cheng barely cracked his eyes open, he saw a long-haired "female ghost" standing beside him. In that moment, he even thought about where his funeral would be held seven days after his death, immediately letting out a horrified scream.
Because the shampoo running into his eyes stung too much to keep them open, Liang Cheng could only rinse his face with water while screaming, then found himself being tightly hugged by the other person.
Good news: It was a living person.
Bad news: It was a living person.
And he was completely naked, for heaven's sake!
Liang Cheng could only use one hand to push the other person's face away while using his other hand to wipe the foam from his face, all while emitting sharp cries for help, feeling utterly helpless and terrified.
However, the hotel's soundproofing was too good, and no one heard Liang Cheng's cries for help. In the end, he barely managed to pull his underwear back from the stalker's grasp, supporting the shampoo foam on his head with one hand while pushing the stalker away with the other, finally escaping into the corridor where he was rescued.
By the time he successfully washed the shampoo out of his hair, Liang Cheng didn't know if it was his eyes hurting or the delayed fear hitting him. When he saw his bandmates and manager, he cried while telling his story—a six-foot-tall man reduced to tears on the spot.
But to be fair, it was genuinely terrifying. Fortunately, the other person was only obsessed with his body and didn't engage in more extreme dangerous behavior. If it had been someone more extreme and dangerous, who knows what horrible things Liang Cheng might have encountered tonight.
Yet after the manager arrived and understood the situation, he advised Liang Cheng not to press charges. After all, this stalker was ostensibly his major fan and fan site operator, one of his most important supporters. If they held her responsible, it could significantly impact his future career development.
Simply put, the manager wanted to sweep everything under the rug.
Liang Cheng couldn't accept this at all and immediately started arguing with his manager in the corridor.
After overhearing the entire story while passing by, Xiao He quietly asked Liu Rulan: "Sister Liu, if this were your situation, how would you handle it?"
Liu Rulan crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow slightly: "What? Testing me?"
Xiao He: "Hehe, just curious."
This poor guy certainly deserved sympathy, but the whole incident was also somewhat hilarious when described.
Xiao He really couldn't help finding it amusing.
Liu Rulan thought for a moment, then replied: "Of course I'd insist on pressing charges. And this hotel has always had excellent privacy protection—that's a major reason why so many artists choose to stay here. How did she get in? Was she a guest here, or did she enter through other means? She managed to sneak into the hotel room and hide in the artist's room, which means she at least had the room key. So where did the key come from? Who gave it to her? And who has the authority to use such high-level room keys to open doors?"
"If it were me, I wouldn't just go after the child—I'd go after the adults too."
Everyone would be held accountable, no one would escape.
Basically, the other manager simply didn't want to hold the stalker accountable and didn't dare to confront the hotel, so they could only try to calm Liang Cheng down.
"Sister Liu, aren't you afraid of making enemies?"
Liu Rulan glanced sideways at Xiao He: "They're not afraid of offending me, why should I be afraid of offending them?"
"Besides, we can always go tattle—" Liu Rulan cleared her throat lightly, "I believe Director Zhuang has shares in this place. Since we're already on the same boat, it wouldn't hurt for him to lend a hand, right?"
Xiao He: "...Impressive."
Climbing the social ladder by any means necessary—making connections really is about being shamelessly persistent. That's so like you, Sister Liu.
As they talked, they returned to Xiao He's room.
"I've already had Xiao Chen download the original 'Yu Ye' comic on the tablet. Take these next couple days to read it carefully and study it. We'll wait for Director Zhuang to send us the detailed time and location, then immediately go meet Yu Ye's director."
"Okay."
Just as Xiao He finished speaking, he suddenly frowned.
Strange...