The Second Rule

Zhang Bing kept his gaze fixed on Elena until she disappeared from his sight before he drove away.

Elena shook off all the water from the umbrella before opening the door to her apartment room. Like always, Mila was sitting on the couch in front of the television while hugging a tub of ice cream close to her chest.

"You're back!" Mila turned off the television and walked over while closing the ice cream tub.

"Why did Zhang Bing take you out to lunch today?"

Elena shook her head in confusion, "I don't know, but the food was good."

Elena looked up at Mila, who frowned.

"Why didn't you pack some food for me? Where did you go?"

"A Korean barbecue place that's only about three blocks down from here. It's really good, it's better than some of the restaurants in Korean."

Mila's eyes brightened, "Let's go together sometime."

Elena nodded and took out her phone while walking to the couch. Mila joined her and turned on the television again.

Like that, they both focused on separate screens for some time. After the reality show episode finished, Mila turned off the television and also began looking at her phone.

Suddenly, Mila let out a small gasp as she reached for Elena's hand.

"You're in trouble, Elena."

Elena looked up from her phone and questioned Mila's comment.

"What do you mean?"

Mila handed her phone over to Elena and a news article showed up in front of her eyes. Elena scrolled up and furrowed her eyebrows together when she read the title of the article.

'Famous Singer Zhang Bing Goes on an Intimate Date With Popular Korean Idol Elena'

Elena quickly scrolled down, reading through all of the contents in the article. At the bottom, there were two pictures included.

One was of Elena looking up at Zhang Bing with a smile while holding onto the umbrella with him. The second picture was Zhang Bing helping Elena into the car while holding the umbrella for her.

They looked pretty close in both pictures, and outsiders reading the article would easily assume that they were in a relationship.

After looking through the article, Elena immediately clicked out and entered the most popular search engine in all of the Jin Province. The article was already on the list of the top ten searches and the most popular news articles of the week.

Elena bit her lips as she heard Mila say, "I'm just saying, you might get some hate for this. Zhang Bing is really popular here in China. You should know, fans don't really like the thought of their idol dating someone."

Elena nodded, she knew better than anyone. When she was in Korea, she had a male friend who was also an idol. His popularity was on the rise when news of him dating suddenly came out. His popularity greatly decreased, and he became one of the major targets for cyber and verbal attacks.

The teenage girl he was dating also received a lot of hate, and much more than the idol. She wasn't famous or powerful, so she didn't have anyone to defend her in the situation.

Elena gave Mila her phone back and picked up her own. Just as she was dialing Zhang Bing's number, she received a call.

"Hello, Zhang Bing."

Zhang Bing was casually sitting on the couch in his apartment while his manager was nervously pacing around the room.

"Did you see the news yet?"

Elena sighed, "I saw it."

Zhang Bing leaned forward on the couch as he said, "Don't worry about it. It will pass in a while."

"What if it doesn't?" Elena challenged.

"Trust me. I will protect you."

Elena raised one eyebrow at the comment. When were people in the entertainment industry ever willing to give up their so-called-bright future to protect someone else?

"Okay. Thank you, Zhang Bing."

Zhang Bing smiled and hung up the phone. Although he was also surprised when the news came out, he wasn't against it. His record for scandals has always been clean, and this was his first dating scandal.

Zhang Bing smiled, he was satisfied with his scandal partner.

---

The world outside had started to rain again, and the gloomy skies were pretty similar to Lu Chenjun's mood right now.

He slammed his phone face down onto the table, causing a slight crack to run down the screen.

Did she forget the second rule? They haven't broken up yet, so she couldn't be in a loving relationship with another man.

Were they really dating?

Lu Chenjun rested his head back onto the chair and narrowed his eyes. He tugged at his tie impatiently, trying to let some air through.

Lu Chenjun felt like throwing something across the room. But why was he so mad? Was he just being overly possessive and a control freak?

Lu Chenjun picked up his phone and dialed a number, not bothering to examine the crack that he just made.

"Hello, Grandpa Li." Lu Chenjun heard laughter from the other end of the phone as Grandpa Li picked up.

"Let me guess, is this call about the news of Jin Yinghui dating?" Grandpa Li asked with an amused expression on his face. He had seen the news earlier too.

"Yes."

Grandpa Li's smile disappeared and he sighed, "You know, this is a great time to just break up with Jin Yinghui. Although I'm not sure if the news is true, if Jin Yinghui actually found someone she loves, and you also decided on the person you love, just let her go."

Lu Chenjun's face darkened at Grandpa Li's persuasive words and he frowned, thinking about what he should do.

Like a child, Lu Chenjun let out five words.

"But I don't want to."

Grandpa Li chuckled at Lu Chenjun's stubbornness, but there was one thing he was not certain of.

"Chenjun, are you certain you love Chu Hua?"

"Why would you ask that?"

Grandpa Li decided that he needed to tell Lu Chenjun what he truly thought.

"Lu Chenjun, I'm going to be honest with you. I don't live in your heart, so I'm not certain about this. However, I don't think you still love Chu Hua. At least not like nine years ago anymore. On the other hand, I think you developed feelings for Jin Yinghui. Or else, based on your personality, why would you care about who Jin Yinghui likes, and why would you be so indecisive about breaking up with her."

Grandpa Li cleared his throat, "This won't be very pleasing to the ear, but I have to tell you. Chenjun, what you are doing right now is wrong. If you truly like Chu Hua, break up with Jin Yinghui now. If you don't, let Chu Hua leave and cut ties with her. Make your decision. Chenjun, love isn't like a game. You don't get multiple chances. You only have one chance to make your decision. . . so follow your heart. That's what I did, and I'm very happy right now."

Lu Chenjun heard a feminine laugh from the other end of the phone, and he assumed it to be Grandpa Li's wife.

Lu Chenjun thought about what Grandpa Li told him.

"So you are saying that I like Jin Yinghui?"

Grandpa Li immediately shook his head, "I'm not saying anything. I don't know who you like, only you know who you like. However, I can tell that Jin Yinghui liked you. I don't know if she still likes you, but she did. Chu Hua. . . I don't know. Stop waiting for her, Lu Chenjun. I don't think she will tell you the truth."

Lu Chenjun knit his eyebrows together. It was true, Chu Hua didn't seem like she would be telling Lu Chenjun the truth anytime soon.

"Okay, thank you Grandpa Li."

"No problem." Grandpa Li hung up the phone and looked lovingly at his wife who was sitting across from him. His heart made the right decision.