The fingernail had been lifted clean off. It wasn’t really a big deal.

No matter how painful it looked, in essence, it was just a fingernail.

You could describe it that way.

But Zhou Lan knew that was all an excuse.

He was Zhou Yun’s boyfriend. When Zhou Yun got hurt, he should have rushed to her side at the first possible moment.

That was what he ought to have done.

Because she was the woman he loved.

But once he’d calmed down, he canceled his flight.

On the other side of the ocean was the woman he loved.

On this side of the ocean was a film in the middle of shooting, a crew of over a hundred people running on schedule, a big-budget production burning through nearly a million a day.

Zhou Lan knew he should be hurrying to Zhou Yun’s side, but in the end he forced down that impulse.

He shouldn’t do that. Rationally, that’s what he told himself.

Five minutes before Zhou Lan returned to the set, Zhou Yun’s studio issued a statement briefly explaining the circumstances of Zhou Yun’s injury while filming in Australia. The specific condition didn’t match what was circulating online; Zhou Yun was indeed injured, but it wasn’t serious. She had already received treatment at the hospital. The entire crew and her team were very concerned about her, and everyone was asked not to worry.

Once Zhou Yun’s fans knew she was basically fine, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Sister Lan also let out a breath.

But barely a minute after she put her phone down, someone from the online public-opinion monitoring team called again.

"Sister Lan, the news about Yuk Chu being pregnant is trending."

Sister Lan snapped upright in her chair as if jolted.

"What?"

"Yin Zhou took her to the hospital, and someone photographed them," the person from the monitoring team said. "There’s a lot of discussion and attention online. The sentiment isn’t great. Everyone thinks she’s having a child out of wedlock."

"Got it. I understand. Keep following the online chatter," Sister Lan said.

After hanging up, she immediately called the PR team.

"Online meeting in ten minutes. Get the previous contingency plans ready—the ones for when Yuk Chu’s pregnancy and marriage get exposed. Yin Zhou went with her to the hospital for a checkup, they were photographed and it’s been posted online. It’s trending now."

"Okay, I’ll prepare right away."

Once she’d given those instructions, Sister Lan called Yin Zhou.

Yin Zhou picked up quickly.

"Sister Lan."

"You’re trending. How were you this careless? How did you still get photographed going to the hospital for a checkup?"

"It was an emergency today. Yuk Chu saw the news about Xiao Yun getting hurt and was triggered. Her stomach suddenly started hurting, very badly," Yin Zhou said. "We just got back."

"Is it serious?" Hearing that Yuk Chu was having physical issues, Sister Lan was startled. She’d thought they were only going in for a routine prenatal exam.

Yin Zhou said, "The doctor said it was brought on by emotional agitation. She’s better now and is sleeping."

"Okay, don’t wake her yet. I’ll handle this," Sister Lan said. "But, Yin Zhou, now that the two of you being together has been photographed, it has to go public. I’m about to have a meeting to decide how to respond. You should sit in too."

"Alright." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"And don’t worry. Everything’s under control. We’ve long anticipated this day," Sister Lan said.

"Thank you, Sister Lan."

Sister Lan smiled.

After she hung up, there were still six minutes left before the scheduled meeting time.

In those six minutes, she sat alone and thought about what lay ahead for Yin Zhou and Yuk Chu.

Previously, because Yin Zhou wanted to quit the industry, he had negotiated with Yuehai to stop arranging acting work for him.

But now that Yuk Chu was pregnant and he was about to become her husband and the father of her child, he was going to have to shoulder a lot of responsibility and pressure.

He had inherited his father’s factory, but it was still barely enough—whether for his father’s medical treatment or for supporting a family.

Yuk Chu had said that he didn’t need to worry about the finances at home, that she could cover it all.

Starting from over a year ago, Yuk Chu had gradually become known. After Deep Sea aired early this year, her popularity suddenly broke out. She had indeed made some money; getting through the next few years wouldn’t be a problem.

But Yin Zhou was a man; there was no way he could be at ease simply living off Yuk Chu.

Recently he’d been running between his father and Yuk Chu, trying to take care of both sides, with no energy left to think about his future career development. But sooner or later, that would have to be addressed.

Sister Lan was considering that if Yin Zhou eventually returned to work in the entertainment industry, she would have to figure out a way to get him out from under Yuehai.