Outside the hotel, Evan Lin and Stella Huang stepped out together.
Not far away, in a shadowy corner, Lynn Chen stared blankly, watching the entrance for a long time.
Her body was slightly stiff as she stood frozen in place, her eyes lingering on Stella Huang, who was chatting and laughing with Evan Lin. Inside, her feelings were a tangled mess.
Earlier that morning, Lynn Chen and the others had left the lobby in embarrassment, and later, Yujie Yu and his group left with dark faces. Lynn had planned to go home, but when she thought of Evan Lin, her heart was still in turmoil.
Almost as if driven by fate, Lynn Chen turned back and waited at the entrance. She herself couldn't say exactly what she was waiting for.
She waited until deep into the night—past midnight, nearly one o'clock.
Finally, Lynn Chen saw Evan Lin come out of the Shangri-La Grand Hotel, but Stella Huang was still by his side.
A hotel, a woman, in the middle of the night—unless there was something special going on, why would they stay so late?
A wave of loss and confusion washed over Lynn Chen's eyes. Only after Evan Lin and Stella Huang's figures disappeared from view did she finally turn and head home.
Meanwhile, in the nearby shadows, someone quietly aimed a camera at the entrance of the Shangri-La Grand Hotel and pressed the shutter.
The person snapping the photo was one of the reporters who had previously looked down on Stella Huang and encouraged her to go interview Serena Tong. He'd expected Stella to be harshly scolded by Serena's agent, but instead, Stella somehow ended up inside the Shangri-La!
This instantly made him feel especially resentful.
"Tsk tsk tsk, national superstar Serena Tong stepping out of the Shangri-La Grand Hotel late at night, hand in hand with an unknown man—this photo is a headline-grabber for sure."
The man in the corner curled his lips into a sly, triumphant grin, his eyes glinting with satisfaction.
He looked down at the photo on his camera: you could just make out a man and a woman stepping out of the main entrance of the Shangri-La Grand Hotel.
The man was tall and lean; the woman, graceful and slender.
Even from a distance, the male reporter could vaguely tell the woman wasn't Serena Tong, but since the photo was so dark, you couldn't see her face clearly at all.
Besides, everyone knew Serena Tong was staying at the Shangri-La. This late at night, if the story broke—even if it wasn't actually her—calling her Serena Tong would make plenty of people believe it.
That's the value of entertainment news. As long as the photo could be linked to Serena Tong, it was guaranteed to draw a ton of attention.
"Done! Tomorrow, get ready for the top headlines—ha!"
The man excitedly packed up his camera and hurried off, rubbing his hands together, ready to go home and write up his big scoop.
Stella Huang and Evan Lin went home together.
When they got back, Irene Xu was sprawled on the sofa in a simple pajama top, watching TV—she hadn’t even bothered with anything underneath.
She heard the door open, turned to look, and saw Evan Lin and Stella Huang walk in. With an exaggerated gasp, she said, "Wow, Stella, you two actually went out on a date behind my back!"
"Come on, confess—did you do anything shady while I was gone these past few days?"
Hearing Irene Xu's voice, Stella Huang blushed and shot her a glare. "What are you talking about? 'Shady things'? You weren't even supposed to be back for a few more days!"
As she spoke, Stella Huang changed her shoes, her bag holding the interview draft she'd written that night.
"Last-minute shift change, so I came home early."
As Irene Xu spoke, her eyes darted back and forth between Stella Huang and Evan Lin, as if trying to spot something suspicious.
Ever since Evan Lin had saved her face at Stonebird Teahouse, Irene Xu had been in a great mood. Even the way she looked at Evan now carried a hint of something deeper.
"I'm heading to my room."
Evan Lin went straight to his room.
Irene Xu didn't dare tease him. Once Evan was gone, she grabbed Stella Huang and started bombarding her with questions.
When she found out they'd come back so late because Stella had been interviewing Serena Tong—and not out on a date with Evan Lin—Irene let out a long sigh, saying Stella had wasted a golden opportunity.
Stella was left totally confused by all this, but once home, she washed her face and immediately started polishing her interview draft, determined to submit it to the station the next day.
Meanwhile, in a cheap motel next to the Shangri-La Grand Hotel, Liz Ji's face was dark as she stared at the tiny room. The stench of urine and feces filled her nose, the bathroom was completely clogged, and worst of all, cockroaches scuttled everywhere.
Every now and then, the roaches scared her half to death.
Liz Ji had never stayed in such a filthy, rundown place. She wanted to leave, but the burly men guarding the door looked mean and wouldn't listen to a word she said.
For her, this night was pure torture.
What made her headache even worse was that the next morning, a piece of news was spreading all across Capitalview.
"National goddess Serena Tong spends the night with a mysterious man! After midnight, the two step out together from the Shangri-La Grand Hotel for a late-night snack!"
The news was accompanied by a photo: a man and a woman, late at night, with the unmistakable backdrop of the Shangri-La Grand Hotel.
As soon as the news broke, countless men across Capitalview were left heartbroken.
When Stella Huang brought her finished draft to the station that morning, she happened to see the news—and couldn't help feeling weird about it.
The photo was clearly her and Evan Lin, but even if she explained, almost no one would believe her.
The director who Evan Lin had knocked down yesterday went to complain to the station chief. But when the chief saw Stella Huang's professional interview with Serena Tong, he immediately scolded the director and praised Stella to the skies.
Meanwhile, after a sleepless night, Liz Ji finally returned to the Shangri-La, and without a moment's pause, took Serena Tong and Queenie Tong back to Oceanport.
As for that news, it was enough to make her furious—she hadn't even figured out how to explain it to a certain someone.
Liz Ji also noticed that Serena Tong and Queenie Tong were now wary of her, their guard clearly up.
Amidst all these swirling rumors and hidden currents, Evan Lin—the man at the center of it all—was sitting quietly in his classroom at Capitalview First High School, having just finished a whole science test in an hour.
This time, it was just a simple pop quiz.