Chen Die didn’t immediately see the video Ye Chuqing sent her because the film crew had already changed into costumes and were preparing to go on stage, with all phones turned off.

Meanwhile, the hashtag #WenDieRelationshipExposed# quickly surged, surpassing the original #Fanny’sVlog# to reach number one trending.

The next few trending topics were:

#WenLiangSuccessfullyPursuedWife#

#TorturousLoveStory#

#ChenDieKissingExposedInTheater#

By the time Fang Ruan noticed this trending topic, Chen Die had already gone on stage.

Fans, determined to verify if the person kissing Chen Die was Wen Liang, transformed into microscopes, creating numerous analysis posts.

When the man in the Vlog raised his hand, his sleeve retracted slightly, revealing a watch. Fans quickly discovered that Wen Liang had worn the same watch during a previous financial interview.

After enlarging and comparing, everyone found that the style appeared to be identical.

Someone else compared their heights and concluded that the man’s height in the Vlog matched Wen Liang’s.

It must be Wen Liang! It must be Wen Liang! It must be Wen Liang! It must be Wen Liang!

It happened during the final season of “Three Meals a Day,” which was several months ago, even before the Film and TV Night. But they seemed so tortured at the Film and TV Night!!

Damn, how can my cold and aloof Die-mei be so soft in the video?

Ahhhhh all major relationship observation variety shows should invite them now!!

Living long enough to see this—is this my Wen-Die ship giving us fan service??

Wuwuwuwuwu Die-mei is too low-key to be trusted. I’ve already gone crazy tagging the Wen Yuan official account. Please, please give us some sugar to eat, we’re starving here.

…

Chen Die knew nothing about all this fermentation as she went on stage laughing with the film crew.

Huang Sheng stood in the middle, with Chen Die and Xue Mu standing on either side of him.

After the host’s routine opening and introductions, he turned to Chen Die with a smile: “When everyone watched the trailer, we saw Xiao having a very heartfelt confession. Could we ask our Chen Die to recreate that scene with Xue Mu right now?”

Such questions about the male and female leads were very common during film promotions.

Chen Die knew about this question in advance and had re-memorized the lines. She walked to the center of the stage with Xue Mu.

She held the microphone and delivered her lines while looking at Xue Mu.

Just as she finished, a fan suddenly shouted from below: “Wen-Die is real!!”

Chen Die: “…”

Although most of her fans shipped the CP and her dedicated fans didn’t seem to mind her dating, they generally respected boundaries in public settings.

What was happening today…?

Immediately after, someone else shouted: “Chen Die, you’re heartless!!”

Instantly, the audience erupted in laughter.

Not just Chen Die’s fans, but also other actors’ fans who knew the situation joined in laughing.

Chen Die: ??

Had she lost her memory?

What exactly was happening?

Beside her, the host knew something, smiling ambiguously. But just as he was about to speak, a piercing alarm suddenly rang throughout the campus, followed by flickering lights and the ground beginning to tremble.

Chen Die, wearing thin high heels, lost her balance and began to fall.

Xue Mu was standing next to her and quickly reached out to steady her.

Yan City was known as a romantically blessed area with almost no natural disasters, so Chen Die was unfamiliar with this sensation. The host, being a local from S City, immediately realized what was happening and announced into the microphone: “It’s an earthquake! Everyone, please evacuate in an orderly manner following the safety passages. Don’t stampede!”

Fang Ruan ran onto the stage and grabbed Chen Die: “Let’s go.”

Chen Die had no time to think as Fang Ruan pulled her outside.

The lights on the auditorium ceiling shattered during the tremors, breaking into glass fragments on the ground, successfully eliciting screams from everyone.

Fortunately, just outside the auditorium was an open area, and soon more students poured out from another teaching building.

Fang Ruan, still catching her breath, turned to ask Chen Die: “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Chen Die shook her head: “I’m fine.”

As she turned her head, she saw that Zeng Liya’s leg had been cut by flying glass shards, opening a gash with bright red blood flowing down her ankle.

Not just her, but many fans were also injured as the earthquake continued.

Wen Liang, on a business trip to another province, had just gotten off the plane and was about to send Chen Die a message when he received a news alert—S City was hit by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake.

He paused, his expression darkening.

Zhu Qicong stopped alongside him and asked with confusion: “What’s wrong, Mr. Wen?”

Without answering, Wen Liang directly called Chen Die, but after several rings, there was no answer.

The earthquake was affecting airport operations. With aftershocks still continuing in S City, all flights to S City had been canceled.

“Apply for a private flight route to S City immediately,” Wen Liang ordered with a stern face.

Chen Die hadn’t answered Wen Liang’s call simply because all the phones of the cast members who had gone on stage were left in the backstage rest area. When the earthquake hit suddenly, everyone had evacuated from the auditorium and gone directly to the hospital.

Zeng Liya’s leg wound had been bandaged.

The hospital continued to receive new injured people.

S City was prone to earthquakes, so rescue efforts were prompt, and residents’ earthquake awareness was relatively high. Fortunately, there weren’t too many serious consequences.

Chen Die made several trips back and forth, helping injured fans get treatment. Only when she finally sat down to rest did she realize she was still wearing those high heels. The back of her foot was rubbed raw, showing blood marks, and her ankle was slightly swollen from twisting it earlier.

The event had been so sudden that she hadn’t even noticed the pain until now.

There were too many injured people, some with frightening head injuries and bleeding. All the doctors and nurses in the hospital were busy, and Chen Die didn’t want to bother anyone with her minor injury, so she just sat in a chair to rest.

Fang Ruan returned with two cups of warm water and sat down beside Chen Die.

“I don’t have my phone either. The aftershocks have subsided a lot. Fortunately, the school buildings are all earthquake-resistant, so hopefully, no fans were seriously injured,” Fang Ruan said. “I’ve asked someone to try to retrieve our phones from the backstage room. Don’t worry.”

Chen Die nodded.

Compared to the previous kidnapping incident, this natural disaster made Chen Die more fearful.

Especially seeing the continuous stream of injured people arriving at the hospital, filled with the smell of disinfectant and children’s heart-wrenching cries.

“Oh right, there was something I didn’t get to tell you before you went on stage,” Fang Ruan suddenly said.

Chen Die refocused: “What?”

“Your relationship with Wen Liang has been exposed.”

“Huh?”

Fang Ruan had already seen the fans’ reactions and wasn’t too worried about this. Although it would inevitably give black fans something to gossip about, with Chen Die’s current popularity, there was no avoiding discussion no matter when the relationship was revealed.

Fang Ruan explained everything that had happened and then said: “I guess it can’t be hidden anymore. Think about how you want to go public with your relationship.”

Chen Die: “…”

No wonder the fans reacted that way during the film promotion.

Ah, right.

Wen Liang.

Chen Die suddenly paused, finally breaking free from thoughts of the earthquake to remember Wen Liang, who should already be in another province.

She wasn’t sure if he had landed yet or seen the news about the earthquake.

Looking around, she noticed a public phone at the nurse’s station desk, though many people were already waiting in line.

Chen Die excused herself to Fang Ruan and went to stand at the end of the queue.

Amid an earthquake, people seeing Chen Die didn’t get too excited. Standing in the crowd didn’t cause much disruption, though it did attract sideways glances.

A middle-aged man in front of her was calling his elderly parents to check if they were safe.

He seemed unable to get through, and tears suddenly streamed down his face as he redialed, covering his mouth and sobbing uncontrollably.

Chen Die couldn’t bear to watch and shifted her gaze away.

Unexpectedly, she saw someone she thought she might never see again in her lifetime—

Lin Quan.

Lin Quan had also sustained minor injuries and was being helped in by two nurses with one leg bent. As soon as she looked up, her eyes met Chen Die’s.

Chen Die was the first to look away.

After waiting another quarter hour, it was finally her turn to use the phone, but no one answered Wen Liang’s phone either. Chen Die frowned slightly, but with many people still waiting in line, she didn’t feel right making another call.

Chen Die went to get water, and just as she filled a cup, a voice behind her said: “Chen Die.”

She recognized Lin Quan’s voice and turned around with an unchanged expression.

Compared to before, Lin Quan looked much more disheveled, with her clothes stained, messy hair at her temples and neck, and her leg already bandaged.

Chen Die glanced at her and calmly handed her the cup of water she had just filled.

Lin Quan hesitated, took the water, and said softly: “Thank you.”

Chen Die didn’t respond and took out another disposable cup to fill for herself.

“Can I talk to you?” Lin Quan asked.

Chen Die: “I don’t think we have anything to talk about anymore.”

Lin Quan faltered, her expression changing momentarily, before reaching out to grab Chen Die’s wrist.

With so many people watching, Chen Die couldn’t just pull away. Instead, she frowned and asked quietly: “What do you want?”

Most of the time, Chen Die had a good temper and was rarely seen being so impatient with people.

But she didn’t want any more entanglements with Lin Quan.

Lin Quan stepped closer to her, her voice pleading: “Just for a moment.”

Chen Die looked at her for a while before finally acquiescing.

The two walked to a deserted corner.

“I’ve decided to divorce… Chen Ke,” Lin Quan said, pausing before adding, “I should say I’m divorcing your father, but after all these years we never fulfilled our obligations to each other, so it’s better to put it this way.”

Chen Die had no objection to how she phrased it and found it strange that Lin Quan would bring this up with her.

Did she look like someone who would care about their divorce?

“When I married Chen Ke, it wasn’t because of love, just a business arrangement. Over the years, our personalities clashed, and we never developed any real feelings.”

The content hidden behind these words wasn’t explicitly stated, but Lin Quan knew Chen Die would understand.

Because there was no love, Lin Quan also had no attachment to their biological daughter as a “fruit of love.”

Perhaps, after raising Chen Shuyuan for 16 years, the mother-daughter bond had developed through their daily interactions, so when she learned about Chen Die’s existence, she didn’t feel much turmoil.

Lin Quan and Shen Yunshu were two extremes.

“After that incident, I finally understood what kind of person Chen Shuyuan is.”

“I went to visit her in prison later.”

Chen Shuyuan had a furious outburst at Lin Quan.

She had given up, having fallen so far, dragged to the police station by Chen Shao. Neither Old Master Chen nor Chen Ke had done anything for her, and neither had Lin Quan.

She accused the Chen family of kicking her while she was down, trying to get rid of her so Chen Die could rightfully return to the Chen family—that everything was for Chen Die.

She even said Lin Quan had never treated her like a daughter.

Lin Quan was furious at these words.

She was already angry that Chen Shuyuan had secretly contacted her birth parents and transferred money from the Chen family to them, and then to be accused of having no gratitude infuriated her further. She left immediately with a cold face.

Lin Quan, now approaching fifty, suddenly gained clarity.

Divorce, no children, and no longer wanting the Chen family’s assets, she planned to start anew in S City using her family’s connections but unexpectedly encountered the earthquake.

Lin Quan leaned against the wall and took a sip of water: “I only realized later that Chen Shuyuan had bullied you back in high school. I never knew…”

Chen Die raised her eyes slightly, curling her lips in self-mockery, still not responding.

“At that time, I only heard Chen Shuyuan’s side of the story… which was completely different. So I was prejudiced against you. I apologize to you—I’m sorry.”

Chen Die suddenly laughed: “What, did Chen Shuyuan tell you I bullied her?”

“She was only in high school then. As an adult, didn’t you have the judgment to see through that? Even if you didn’t know me, you should have known what kind of person your daughter was. You just wanted to cover for her, and everyone else didn’t matter to you. What’s the use of coming here now with your grand apology?”

Lin Quan was stunned.

She never expected Chen Die to say such things.

They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and that is applied to Chen Die and Chen Shuyuan as well.

Back at the train station, Chen Shuyuan had cried and collapsed on the ground, while Chen Die remained silent.

All these years, Chen Die had always been like this.

Lin Quan had grown accustomed to it, no longer considering Chen Die’s feelings—after all, she never cried.

Chen Die lowered her eyes, her voice even: “My whole life has been disrupted by all of you.”

“But standing where I am now and looking back, it’s fortunate that Chen Shuyuan came to the station, which led me to meet Wen Liang and go with him. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

“I know you never considered me your daughter. I’m quite stubborn—if you don’t treat me as your daughter, I’ve never treated you as my mother either. That seems fair.”

“So from now on, let’s just maintain this relationship.”

Chen Die took a sip of water, which had grown cold, along with her palms: “Having you as a birth mother, I’d rather have been an orphan from the beginning.”

Lin Quan was stunned, not knowing what to say.

Chen Die spoke calmly, still not crying, as if stating a fact. But Lin Quan suddenly realized how wrong her past actions had been.

“Chen Die…”

She reached out to grab Chen Die again, but Chen Die moved her hand to avoid it.

Chen Die lowered her eyes to look at the bandage on Lin Quan’s leg and finally said, “With your leg like that, you should go sit down,” before pushing the door open and leaving.

Chen Die didn’t want to forgive her.

After Old Master Chen apologized to her, she could now face him quite candidly, but with Lin Quan, she just couldn’t.

The Chen Die who once lived in Wuxi might have softened and forgiven Lin Quan, but this proud spirit had been nurtured by Wen Liang.

She had lived with Wen Liang since she was sixteen, and now much of her temperament had been influenced by him.

She was not a kind person. Lin Quan had never shown her any kindness, so why should Chen Die to forgive her for a meaningless “sorry”?

Chen Die walked out.

Saying those words made her feel much lighter, but perhaps too light, leaving her heart feeling empty in a way she couldn’t quite describe. It was as if there was a hole with howling winds passing through, leaving her fingertips gradually growing cold.

She kept her eyes down, not noticing the commotion outside.

Suddenly, she was pulled back forcefully, nearly falling backward from the momentum, only to be caught firmly by the waist.

She was tightly embraced by a pair of warm arms, instantly dispelling that empty feeling.

Chen Die’s eyes widened—Wen Liang’s sudden appearance startled her. People around them were already taking photos.

“You…” Wen Liang couldn’t help cursing. “Why do you always have so much going on?”

Chen Die: “…”

Seeing his reaction, Chen Die understood—he must have rushed over after seeing the news.

But what kind of greeting was that?

Chen Die temporarily forgot about their surroundings and slowly wrapped her arms around his back, patting it twice reassuringly: “Why did you suddenly come here?”

“Couldn’t reach your phone,” Wen Liang mumbled against her neck.

“Ah… my phone was left in the auditorium where we were doing the promotion. I called you from the hospital phone, but you had your phone turned off then.”

Wen Liang had just arrived at S City airport and turned on his phone to find a missed call from an unknown number, but when he tried calling back, the line was constantly busy.

Wen Liang stroked her hair, his anxious heart finally calming upon seeing Chen Die.

Ever since the kidnapping incident, Wen Liang would become extremely anxious whenever he couldn’t contact Chen Die, filled with the same emotions as back then.

“Are you hurt?”

“No,” Chen Die shook her head, then remembered something and lifted her foot to show him. “Ah, right, this side got rubbed raw.”

Wen Liang frowned: “Why hasn’t it been bandaged after all this time?”

With his stern face and furrowed brow, he looked quite fierce. Chen Die blinked and told the truth: “The doctors were all busy earlier, and then I forgot.”

“Go sit down,” Wen Liang said solemnly.

Chen Die obediently nodded.

Then she stopped.

Reality dawned on her.

Everyone around was watching them, some taking photos. Undoubtedly, many pictures had already been uploaded online.

Although she had just learned that her relationship with Wen Liang had been exposed, Chen Die wasn’t prepared to have so many people watch them hugging and embracing.

Her face heated up, and she instinctively wanted to escape, lowering her head and quickly running back to the rest area.

Wen Liang followed her in immediately. He had taken disinfectant alcohol, gauze, and tape from the nurse’s station. He knelt on one knee in front of Chen Die, grabbed her ankle, and placed her foot on his knee.

Chen Die felt awkward and tried to pull back, but Wen Liang pulled her foot back.

He looked up, his eyelids creating a shallow crease, appearing somewhat impatient: “Don’t move around.”

Chen Die pursed her lips, keeping her head down and not daring to look to the side as she watched Wen Liang take cotton soaked in alcohol to disinfect her wound. Chen Die immediately hissed in pain.

She wanted to pull her leg back but it was firmly held in his grip.

“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Be gentler!” Chen Die complained.

Wen Liang snorted derisively, mocking her: “Now you know it hurts? Why wear such high heels for no reason? Your instep is all swollen.”

“That’s because the earthquake happened suddenly during the promotion. When would I have had time to change shoes?” Chen Die, irritated by his comments, grumbled and tried to pull her foot back again. “Did you come all this way just to scold me?”

Wen Liang couldn’t be bothered with her, letting her pull her foot back. He went out and returned with a box of medicated patches.

Chen Die’s instep was swollen, initially just a small area she hadn’t paid attention to. But after continuing to walk around in high heels, it now had a bluish tint and a large raised bump, though the pain was still manageable.

Chen Die watched as he took out a patch, peeled off the backing, and couldn’t help wrinkling her nose in complaint: “It smells bad.”

Wen Liang didn’t waste words with her and directly applied the patch to her foot.

“How spoiled are you? You cry when disinfected, complain about the smell of a medicated patch—who’s spoiling you like this?”

Chen Die extended her index finger and gently poked the patch on her instep: “Who else is spoiling me?”

Wen Liang chuckled softly.

Chen Die kept her head down, unaware of how many people were pointing cameras at them, but since their relationship was already exposed, Chen Die had nothing more to hide.

Her girlish thoughts secretly emerged, and for once, she felt like showing off their affection.

She gently puffed her cheeks and said again: “But it stinks.”

Her words were soft, seemingly complaining but more like acting coquettish.

She only wanted Wen Liang to patiently coax her, but this guy not only had no concept of patience but also had long forgotten how to sweet-talk someone after winning her over.

Wen Liang glanced at her: “Keep being this spoiled and I’ll stick it in your mouth.”

Chen Die: ???

What the hell?

Is flirting with you just asking for humiliation??

Chen Die rolled her eyes, not wanting to deal with him anymore. She turned her face to the other side, shifting her body away as well, completely drawing a line between herself and Wen Liang in her actions.

Wen Liang observed her movement with amusement, thinking it was like a schoolchild drawing dividing lines.

He raised his hand, and pulled her back: “Tired?”

“None of your business,” Chen Die said quickly.

Wen Liang: “Speak properly.”

“You flew all this way just to scold me, huh.”

Wen Liang didn’t continue this topic but instead said: “Do you have anything else to do here? If not, let’s head back soon.”

After an earthquake, resuming the promotion was impossible.

“Nothing else,” Chen Die asked, “Are we leaving now?”

“Wait a bit. Zhu Qicong will come over.”

“Didn’t he come with you?”

Wasn’t Zhu Qicong always with Wen Liang? It seemed like half of Wen Yuan practically belonged to Zhu Qicong.

“Mm, he stayed behind to meet with the representatives before coming over.”

Chen Die paused: “Did you not sign the contract yet?”

“No,” Wen Liang appeared quite composed, focusing intently on playing with her fingertips. “Just after landing, I saw the news about the S City earthquake.”

“So you came straight here?”

Wen Liang glanced at her: “What else would I do?”

Soon, the film crew’s phones from the rest area were brought over.

The school auditorium had withstood the earthquake, but the ground tremors had caused many items to shake and fall. Chen Die’s phone screen had a crack but otherwise had no other issues.

Before long, Zhu Qicong arrived with a bag in hand. Wen Liang took it, finding a pair of flat shoes inside. He bent down to place them by Chen Die’s feet: “Put these on.”

Chen Die slowly slipped them on.

The unpleasant emotions she had felt earlier because of Lin Quan quickly dissipated.

Zhu Qicong said from the side: “The boxed meals for everyone are outside.”

“Mm, bring them in and distribute them to everyone.”

Chen Die paused, asking: “What boxed meals?”

Wen Liang took her hand as they stood up: “Can you walk on your own?”

Chen Die nodded: “It doesn’t hurt much.”

Wen Liang led her into the elevator before answering her previous question: “Aren’t there still many of your fans here? I had Zhu Qicong buy some food. Everyone on that floor should get some.”

Chen Die blinked: “Wen Liang, you seem almost human now.”

Wen Liang: “…”

The two got into the car.

S City wasn’t far from Yan City, so Wen Liang drove back.

A call came in midway, likely from the partners he was supposed to meet today. Wen Liang connected his earpiece and explained the day’s events to them.

In the end, he smiled: “Mmm, it’s not a rumor. It’s real.”

Chen Die: “…”

Chen Die plugged in the car’s USB charging cable, and several messages immediately popped up asking about her current situation. After replying to each one, she opened Weibo. The top trending topic was now the S City earthquake, but several topics below were about her and Wen Liang.

As she clicked to check them, she asked Wen Liang who had just ended his call: “Will the contract be affected?”

“It’s fine. I’ll go again in a few days.”

Chen Die nodded. After the earthquake in S City, the signal wasn’t very good, but eventually, the page loaded.

Her fingers froze, and she felt a bit desperate.

As expected, their scene at the hospital had already been posted by netizens.

Chen Die went back to check the hashtag—

#WenLiang DaddyTypeBoyfriend#

Chen Die’s vision went dark.

What’s happening? What’s happening? Our fans were shipping angst so well, why is there suddenly so much sugar!!

I’m going to get diabetes ahhhhh!!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh as a long-time Wen-Die CP fan, I’m dying right now_(xз」∠)_

Hahahahahahaha I used to think Mr. Wen was pathetic, but now I’m being slapped in the face. Let’s savor Wen’s quotes: “Now you know it hurts,” “How spoiled are you,” “Who’s spoiling you,” “Keep being this spoiled and I’ll stick it on your mouth.” Impressive, he’s a tough one.

I want to know how Wen and Die date. Does anyone have insider info to share??

Wen Liang, a daddy-type boyfriend who talks harshly but acts sweet—this is a stern father with a sharp tongue but a soft heart!!!

Chen Die: “…”

Right then, her “stern father” raised his hand to tap her forehead and suddenly asked: “By the way, are we out of condoms at home?”

“?”

Is this the sort of behavior a stern father should have?