Power lines crisscrossed overhead, and the noisy sounds from Yi-f Mansion could still be heard in the distance.

The nickname “Lingling” had been made up by her from the beginning. She thought the name her adoptive parents called her in her hometown was ugly and worried Wen Liang would mock it, so she changed it to Lingling when she told him.

He rarely called her that, most of the time addressing her by her full name.

Perhaps because this nickname had been fake from the start, Chen Die didn’t know how to react.

She pushed Wen Liang away, gave him a deep look, then turned and left.

Walking back to Yi-f Mansion, Fang Ruan was still angrily arguing with Zhu Qicong about something, but Zhu Qicong stood firmly in front of her, refusing to let her pass no matter what she said.

Chen Die walked up and called Fang Ruan’s name.

Fang Ruan was startled, then immediately ran over: “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Chen Die shook her head. “Let’s go home.”

Since Fang Ruan hadn’t been drinking at the dinner table and didn’t want Chen Die to continue being exposed to this environment, she quickly took Chen Die home.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Wen Liang returned to Yi-f Mansion a step later than Chen Die.

The commotion earlier had already brought the mansion’s owner hurrying over, but he hadn’t seen Wen Liang until now. Upon seeing him, the owner immediately bowed and apologized profusely.

Wen Liang unfastened a shirt button with his hand, his expression gloomy, showing no interest in responding to the mansion owner.

He only turned his head and quietly instructed Zhu Qicong to deal with Qu Fang, then looked at the mansion owner and made it clear that tonight’s surveillance footage absolutely could not be leaked.

The surveillance videos from Yi-f Mansion indeed didn’t leak out, but that night, another video silently shot up the trending topics list.

Chen Die, who had been wildly popular during the Spring Festival, now had new dirt added after the casting couch accusations.

It was no longer an ambiguous photo, but a video.

The video was filmed secretly, with shadowy figures around the edges, but the faces of the two people were visible and undeniable.

It was only ten seconds long, capturing the moment when Wen Liang pushed her against the car door and bent down to kiss her.

What’s going on? There’s too much gossip about this Chen Die!

Wait, is this man the same Chen Shao who drove her home last time??? Although… honestly, either way, they’re both quite handsome… If I had Chen Die’s face, I would shout out loud, “I’m available!!!”

Damn, this drama is getting more and more confusing. So has Chen Shao been cheated on now?? Will Chen Die be blacklisted???

Can someone dig up who this handsome guy in the video is? Judging by his clothes, he must be rich or noble, probably another big shot. Maybe he even knows Chen Shao. Could this be some “I cheated with my brother’s woman” drama?

Hahahahaha, I’m not even angry anymore. I just want to see what Chen Shao’s reaction will be!

True comedy comes from real life [thumbs up] [thumbs up]. This drama is even better than “Hairpin Flower”!! I can’t wait to see what happens next!!

What’s wrong with everyone’s reactions? Isn’t Chen Die two-timing? Why isn’t anyone criticizing her?

What two-timing? After sleeping with Chen Shao, she already got the benefits, right? It’s just that this lady changes sugar daddies rather quickly, but as long as emotions aren’t involved, it’s still OK, I guess. Just not something we ordinary people can accept.

Whispers are sugar daddies of such high quality these days…?

I think so too, and I’m even a bit tempted… especially the one in the video, my heart races just watching it (sorry, I’m too weak-willed)

…

Compared to the bystanders’ entertainment at the spectacle, Chen Die’s fans faced a greater shock from this news.

OK, fine. I used to be a fan of Zhan Xiao, but now I’m a fan of Chen Die. Asked for the hammer and got double-killed [smile]. Just as her career was taking off, she started dating. I don’t understand what Die-mei is thinking.

If you don’t come out and explain, I’m unfollowing you. What kind of drama is this day after day?

Die-mei, I’ll always believe in you!!

To the person above, I used to say the same thing in Wang Yunxi’s comments.

I’m truly fed up. If you want to maintain a cool, aloof image, at least be consistent! But now you turn out to be just boy-crazy.

Everyone, let’s be rational. I don’t think Die-mei is that kind of person.

The video is out there. What’s there to defend?

…

Fang Ruan was nearly driven insane.

At the same time, the investigation she had sent people to conduct, to find out who was throwing dirt behind the scenes, finally yielded an answer.

“I should have known it was Wang Yunxi! Now that she’s dragging you down, the discussion about her scandal instantly decreased. Right now her company is desperately trying to delete the malicious entries from before!”

The fans in Chen Die’s Weibo comments, though angry, didn’t use overly crude language.

But on the marketing accounts, it was different.

It was shocking and unbearable to read.

Chen Die had also lived at the center of gossip back in school and was no stranger to being insulted, but the scale of the two situations was completely different. Such overwhelming insults and mockery couldn’t be without impact, like an invisible knife.

Chen Die read through those comments repeatedly, showing no emotion on her face.

After a moment, she looked up and asked Fang Ruan: “Should I clarify things first?”

“Clarify what? That Chen Shao was simply giving you a ride home, and that Wen Liang didn’t kiss you in that video?” Fang Ruan glared at her. “Just try it and see if you don’t get even worse insults.”

“…”

In the current situation, it was clear that the other party had organized a premeditated plan to frame her, even hiring online commenters to control public opinion. Chen Die’s verbal clarification would only trigger a backlash.

“What’s the deal with you and Mr. Wen in that video?”

Chen Die sighed: “Yesterday I was being harassed by Qu Fang, right? He got angry with me, and then it turned into that scene in the video.”

“And then?”

“I pushed him away.”

Fang Ruan frowned: “The part where you pushed him away definitely won’t be released. I’ve checked that there are no surveillance cameras around that area.”

Since they didn’t know how much material the other party had, Fang Ruan had no choice but to postpone any clarification.

By the afternoon, the “Hairpin Flower” production team specifically posted a Weibo message for Chen Die—

@MovieHairpinFlowerOfficial: Recently there have been many false rumors about Ms. Chen Die. We hereby clarify that Ms. Chen Die signed on as the female lead for “Hairpin Flower” in June of last year when Ms. Chen Die had not yet joined Yiming Entertainment.

As soon as the official Weibo was posted, the gossip crowd mobilized again.

One point for the whitewashing team, gossipers please continue your efforts!

The official account missed the latest gossip. We’re more interested in that video now.

But I don’t think Chen Die is that kind of person. Don’t ask me why, just call it intuition.

However, just as public opinion started to shift, another bombshell piece of news dropped.

“Chen Die’s boyfriend during university was a big shot who drove a Bentley. They broke up quickly after she entered the entertainment industry!”

Below were posts from the school forum discussing how Chen Die had broken up on graduation day.

People dug deeper and deeper, even uncovering Lu Chuan’s posts defending her on the school forum.

Sorry, after following all this gossip, I’m a bit envious.

Being beautiful lets you do whatever you want…

Can Chen Die publish a man-hunting handbook? All these ex-boyfriends that have been revealed are top-tier bigshots.

At the same time, information about the man in last night’s video was also dug up by netizens.

Wen Liang, 29 years old, Chairman of the Wen Yuan Group, worth billions, with five major business sectors including commercial real estate, luxury hotels, tourism investment, cultural industries, and chain department stores.

They also attached photos from his financial magazine interview last month.

The man was in a suit, with a commanding figure, broad shoulders, narrow waist, deep-set eyes, and chiseled features.

Damn!!! I’m available!!! Kiss me!!!

Low resolution causes misunderstandings! Being kissed by such a man isn’t selling yourself for money—I would pay for him to kiss me, waaaah T.T.

This gossip isn’t enjoyable; it just makes me more insecure.

It does make you insecure. Chen Die is 23 years old with ten million Weibo followers, her debut film grossed over a billion, while Wen Liang is 29 years old, worth billions, and handsome enough to make people drop their pants…

Forgive me for saying this, but I want to see them in a romantic drama together…

It’s exactly like Handsome Patron x Beautiful Starlet. I find it kind of exciting.

Wait, I checked Wen Yuan Group’s businesses, and that food court Chen Die endorsed earlier is one of Wen Yuan’s assets?

What a generous sugar daddy, waaaah!

Hold on, shouldn’t the food court endorsement have been signed even earlier? So she knew Wen Liang back then, then Chen Shao at the beginning of the year, and now Wen Liang again yesterday. She’s playing wildly! Usually, it’s the sugar daddy playing with the starlet, but with Chen Die, it’s become the starlet playing with sugar daddies.

Hahahahahahahahaha playing with sugar daddies, I’m laughing so hard I’m dying.

Chen Die: “…”

How did the public opinion change so quickly?

At this moment, Chen Shao finally finished his vacation in the Southern Hemisphere.

This vacation had driven Chen Shao nearly crazy, thanks to Chen Die. He constantly received calls from various magazines and newspapers inquiring about the situation.

After enduring a fifteen-hour flight, he finally got a moment of peace, but as soon as he turned on his phone after landing, another call came in.

“Fuck,” Chen Shao cursed under his breath.

He rejected the call and dialed Chen Die instead.

Chen Die had just finished showering when she received Chen Shao’s call. She was drying her wet hair with a towel, wiped her hands, picked up the phone, and pressed the answer button.

“Hello?”

Chen Shao: “Chen Die, why do you cause so much trouble?”

Chen Die reacted very quickly: “Are you sick in the head?”

“Do you know how many people have called me about your petty drama??”

“Aren’t you part of that drama? Would it kill you to explain that you’re simply my boss?” Chen Die met force with force, not bothering to be polite.

The two argued back and forth for several rounds, until finally Chen Shao angrily said, “Just wait, I’ll explain,” and hung up the phone.

After collecting his luggage, Chen Shao had just walked out of the airport when he was surrounded by a group of reporters, questions erupting chaotically.

“Mr. Chen, is your relationship with Chen Die as rumored?”

“Do you know Mr. Wen?”

“Did Chen Die cheat between you and Mr. Wen?”

Chen Shao: “…?”

How ridiculous—in just the time of one flight, Chen Die and Wen Liang had joined forces to forcibly put a green hat on him?

“Come, everyone gather around,” Chen Shao raised his long arm, taking control of the situation. “Are all the cameras on?”

He scanned the crowd, looked into the cameras, and said: “Chen Die is my cousin. By blood.”