Zibo Ming sat in front of his computer, lazily scrolling through Weibo. As a professional paparazzi, his job wasn't just chasing stars with a camera—it also meant staying glued to social media. Watching their updates in real time helped him catch potential scoops, clickbait, and rumors worth spinning into traffic-generating headlines.
It was his turn to stay on desk duty today. The rest of the team was out tailing celebrities. His job was to monitor online chatter.
As he refreshed his feed, one post made him sit up.
Sun Hao's post.
"A guy who looks like Chen Mo?"
The caption was casual, but the name Chen Mo was enough to make Zibo Ming click immediately.
A convincing lookalike could definitely go viral. He was already mentally drafting a clickbait title when he opened the post.
But then he saw the photo.
And froze.
This wasn't someone who looked like Chen Mo.
This was Chen Mo.
To the untrained eye, it might pass as a maybe. But to Zibo Ming, who could recognize A-listers through sunglasses, masks, and ten meters of tinted glass, there was no mistake. Chen Mo might've been wearing glasses and dressed simply, but his posture, features, and bearing were unmistakable.
More importantly… he wasn't alone.
There was a woman walking beside him—intimately.
Zibo Ming's reporter instincts screamed jackpot.
Everyone knew Chen Mo wasn't part of the entertainment world, but he was still a public figure—the public figure. Rumors about his love life had always been few and far between. Most of them were internet gossip: some claimed he was dating Xu Xinxin, daughter of Xu Jiaxin; others guessed Zhao Min, president of Marching Ants. Still others speculated about his mysterious assistant.
But none of these rumors had ever been confirmed.
Chen Mo rarely appeared in public, and the media didn't dare fabricate stories about him lightly. He wasn't like ordinary celebrities. A lawsuit from Chen Mo's camp could destroy a media company overnight.
So everyone stayed cautious.
But now? Now he had a photo of Chen Mo… shopping for jewelry with a woman.
This wasn't just news. This was a thermonuclear scoop.
Without wasting another second, Zibo Ming grabbed his phone and dialed Sun Hao.
"Sun Hao, that Weibo post—about the Chen Mo lookalike—where exactly did you take that photo?"
"Uh?" Sun Hao was still hanging around Marina Square when his phone rang. "You mean the guy who looked like Chen Mo?"
"Yes! Where did you see him?"
"…Why so urgent?" Sun Hao sounded confused.
"This is HUGE, man! It's news gold! You know what I do for a living."
"I mean, the guy did look like him… but you're sure it's really Chen Mo?"
"Positive. Professional verification. That's him."
"No way! Seriously?"
"Dead serious. So tell me, where exactly was this taken?"
"He was on Jewelry Street in Marina Square. Went into a jewelry store with a woman. They looked really close. The same woman in the photo."
"Jewelry Street? Perfect. Chen Mo's girlfriend revealed in public—this is massive. I'm borrowing your photo. Dinner's on me later!"
Without waiting for a reply, Zibo Ming ended the call, saved the image from Sun Hao's Weibo, and turned to the office.
"Everyone, listen up!" he shouted. "Breaking news! Chen Mo was spotted with a woman at Jewelry Street in Marina Square!"
"What? No way!"
"Chen Mo?!"
The team dropped what they were doing and crowded around his screen.
"Here's the photo," Zibo Ming pulled it up.
"…That's him, alright. I'd recognize that face even with a mask."
"And look at how close they are. This isn't just some fan."
"Thousands of girls are crying in the bathrooms right now. Their dream man's been taken."
"Hold on—aren't you on Weibo duty today, Ming-ge? Did you post it yet?"
"Not yet. I wanted everyone to see first."
"Then hurry! We're already late to the traffic party!"
"Okay, okay—here's the plan." The editor-in-chief popped his head out. "Get this on every platform we control: Weibo, news sites, and the media numbers. Use a speculative angle. Something like: 'Chen Mo suspected to be dating, seen shopping for rings with mystery woman.'"
"Don't be reckless. No hard conclusions. Chen Mo hasn't confirmed anything, and this is a passerby photo. Phrase everything as guesswork. If we tick him off, we're finished. Got it?"
Everyone nodded seriously. Then chaos erupted.
Writers rushed back to their desks. Typing sounds filled the room like machine gun fire.
Within three minutes, a dozen different media accounts posted the headline:
#ChenMo'sGirlfriend?
The reposts snowballed instantly. Major media accounts and influencers picked it up. Within ten minutes, Weibo's algorithm flagged it as a trending topic—and pushed it straight onto the Hot Search List.
And Chen Mo?
He didn't have a clue.
Inside the jewelry store, Chen Mo and Xiao Yu had just stepped through the doors when a professionally-dressed saleswoman came over, all smiles.
The moment she saw Chen Mo's face, she froze—eyes widening slightly. That face looked… familiar. Too familiar.
"We'd like to customize a ring," Chen Mo said with a pleasant smile.
The clerk snapped back to reality and quickly bowed with a laugh. "Ah—sorry! You looked really familiar, I didn't mean to stare!"
"Oh? People say that a lot." Chen Mo grinned playfully. "Just don't tell me I look like your boyfriend. That'd be dangerous."
Xiao Yu rolled her eyes and pinched him gently on the arm.
The clerk laughed again, now more at ease. "You're funny, sir. What should I call you?"
"Mr. Chen will do."
"Well then, Mr. Chen, this way please."
She led them to a plush seating area and handed over a thick ring catalog.
"These are our current collections. All our rings are limited edition and customizable. The styles are elegant, fashionable, and popular with young couples…"
As she began her introduction, the clerk couldn't help stealing a few more glances at Chen Mo's face. She knew she'd seen that face before. On the news? Somewhere important.
Meanwhile, Chen Mo flipped through the catalog, then handed it to Xiao Yu.
The designs were indeed impressive—delicate, modern, eye-catching.
"Miss, do you have a preferred style?" the clerk asked.
Xiao Yu looked at Chen Mo.
"We've designed our own," Chen Mo said. "Can we custom-make a ring based on our design?"