Chapter 15

Huo Xunzhou stood where he was and did not say anything.

His lips were pursed into a straight line.

When they first met in the hospital, she was like a cat in trouble. She was gentle and weak, but she was still actively seeking help.

This time, she told him not to help her anymore.

She had wrapped herself in a cocoon.

It wasn’t necessarily a butterfly that came out of a cocoon. Sometimes, it could be a moth.

Like a moth flying into the fire, it would bring about its own destruction.

She was extremely inclined to destroy herself.

Lin Shanchu got out of bed and nodded slightly at him. “Goodbye, Mr. Huo.”

When she brushed past him, a strong hand grabbed her arm.

The man’s voice was heard.

“I want to pay my respects to Mdm. Ning.”

Lin Shanchu’s mother’s maiden name was Ning.

“My mother was buried in Xi Shan Cemetery,” Lin Shanchu told him.

Huo Xunzhou still did not let go.

“Is there anything else?” Lin Shanchu asked.

“I’ve never been to Xi Shan Cemetery.” He meant for her to lead the way.

He looked a little stubborn.

Lin Shanchu was silent for a moment. “Do you have time this weekend? ”

Huo Xunzhou replied almost immediately, “I do.”

Without waiting for Lin Shanchu to speak, Huo Xunzhou took out his phone and asked, “What’s your number?”

Lin Shanchu hesitated for two seconds before exchanging phone numbers with him.

When she left, she met Huo Xunzhou’s bodyguard and chauffeur, Li Mo, at the door.

“Ms. Lin, you’re awake.” He may have looked fierce, but his tone was sincere and warm.

“Yes,” Lin Shanchu replied politely.

Having stared at Lin Shanchu’s retreating figure in the distance, Li Mo entered and asked Huo Xunzhou, “Big Brother, are you just going to let Ms. Lin go home by herself?”

Huo Xunzhou looked at him.

His eyes were calm.

Feeling a little confused, Li Mo mumbled, “Don’t you like her?”

“What did Nan Mu tell you?” Huo Xunzhou frowned.

Li Mo had always been a man of few words. The fact that he was asking him this question meant that the talkative Nan Mu must have said something strange to him.

“He didn’t tell me anything. I just have this feeling.”

Li Mo carefully glanced at Huo Xunzhou’s expression. Seeing that there were no signs of anger, he boldly continued.

“The way you look at her is different from the way you look at other women.”

“What’s the difference?” Huo Xunzhou asked.

“When you look at other women, it’s like you’re looking at a person. When you look at Ms. Lin, it’s like you’re looking at a woman,” Li Mo explained.

These words sounded awkward.

But Huo Xunzhou understood what he meant.

At first glance, Lin Shanchu didn’t seem to be anything special.

However, upon closer inspection, one would find that she was full of contradictions and oddities.

It was to the extent that he could not ignore it.

…

After the livestream of the prize-giving session ended, there was a slight change in the direction of the discussion online.

[I can’t believe she really gave her a 30 million dollar vase! She’s winning a lot of hearts here!]

[Honestly speaking, I’ve changed from a hater to a fan.]

[Is Lin Shanchu really sane this whole time?]

[Speaking of which, Lin Shanchu didn’t seem to have done anything bad. Why are so many people criticizing her? Did they hate her just because it was popular to do so?]

[What other reason could it be? Who here benefits the most from the slanders that Lin Shanchu receives from the entire internet?]

The netizens were all conspiracy theorists.

Each one was more eccentric than the other when they started hinting about Tang Qidai.

Tang Qidai’s fans came over when they heard the news.

[I’m going to protect my dear Daidai this time. This Lin nobody not only staged the whole show, but she even used my dear idol as a stepping stone just to rise to fame. She’s definitely inhuman.]

[I don’t know if other people’s money came this easily, but Lu Shiyuan must have obtained his money through easy routes. Otherwise, how could he let Lin Shanchu waste it so casually?]

At first, it was merely a small squabble between the netizens and Tang Qidai’s fans.

However, Tang Qidai’s fans involved Jiang Tang in this mess. [Don’t tell me no one noticed that Lin Shanchu was the one who bribed the arts-and-crafts blogger and staged the whole lucky draw together, right?]

Jiang Tang decided to take things into her own hands.

Sugar Ginger: [What does this have to do with your idol even if Lin Shanchu wants to make this a staged marketing ploy?]

She had eight million followers on Weibo and was a big shot in the arts-and-crafts blogger circle.

The fans attracted by her capabilities were very loyal. Their combat power was not to be underestimated too.

Those fans immediately started a war with Tang Qidai’s fans.

[Our darling Sugar is super badass and has superb moral integrity! I often see people on Weibo saying that they are envious of Tang Qidai’s friendship with Lu Shiyuan. Seriously, that makes me nauseous. Those who claim to be envious should try putting themselves in Lin Shanchu’s shoes!]

[That’s right. Lin Shanchu is the real fiancée here. She’s also well-educated and beautiful. Even if she wants to promote something, it has nothing to do with Tang Qidai!]

[So what if it’s just a marketing ploy? She’s the one with money and talent! There’s no room for haters to spread their b*llsh*t around!]

[Tang Qidai’s already on fire after getting into an affair with someone else’s fiancée. She doesn’t know how to behave herself and even allows her fans to slander the legitimate fiancée everywhere. Is she a Mary Sue?]

Because of Jiang Tang’s entrance, the discussion suddenly changed.

Tang Qidai’s fan page was flooded with comments calling her a Mary Sue with fans that kept butting into other people’s business just like her. People also kept spamming the fact that she was fooling around with someone else’s fiancé and so on.

…

Tang Qidai had a job in the afternoon.

After changing her clothes, she came out just in time for her manager to finish a call.

“We can go now.” Tang Qidai threw her bag to her.

The manager looked like she wanted to speak something. “Daidai…”

“Are you leaving or not?” Tang Qidai asked impatiently.

“They just called to say that the job has been canceled. There’s no need for us to go there today.”

“Canceled?!”

Tang Qidai shrieked in disbelief, “I’m only late by half an hour! With my current status, what’s wrong with making them wait for me for half an hour?! They were the ones who begged me to go!”

With Lu Shiyuan’s support, Tang Qidai could practically do whatever she wanted in this circle. She didn’t care about ordinary people at all.

“It’s not because you’re late. They think that your bad reputation will affect the show. Don’t worry, though. The company is already dealing with it…”

Tang Qidai seemed to have understood something.

She opened Weibo and found out that her fans were arguing with Jiang Tang’s fans.

Not only that but there were also people scolding her for being a mistress on her fan page.

The manager then told her the whole story.

Realizing what kind of idiotic things her fans had done, Tang Qidai screamed angrily, “Those idiots! They only know how to cause trouble for me!”

But the most hateful person was still that woman, Lin Shanchu!

If it wasn’t for Lin Shanchu’s livestream, she wouldn’t have been called a mistress. She also wouldn’t have lost her job.

She took out her phone and called Lu Shiyuan.

The call soon went through. Tang Qidai squeezed out in a wronged tone, “Brother Shiyuan, Shanshan still doesn’t believe that there’s nothing between us…”

…

Lin Shanchu left Yong Shui Pavilion.

As soon as she got in the car, she received a call from Lu Shiyuan.

The first thing he did was to question her.

“You caused Qidai to lose her job. How do you plan on dealing with this matter?”

“What does her loss have anything to do with me?”

Lu Shiyuan took a deep breath as patiently as he could before replying, “You really haven’t changed at all. You still don’t know how to repent!”

Lin Shanchu saw a pharmacy not far away. Her reply came out slow. “Let’s talk when we meet up with each other.”