The old lady's words were truly unexpected for Jian Ruoxi.

She couldn't have heard wrong, could she? The old lady actually offered to help her?

"Don't be too surprised, and don't get carried away. I'm not helping you entirely for your own sake."

Seeing Jian Ruoxi's surprised expression, the old lady spoke up to remind her.

"Don't worry, Madam, I understand why you did this, and I won't presume to know better."

After her initial surprise, Jian Ruoxi quickly composed herself.

How could she not understand the old lady's reasons for doing this?

First of all, as the old lady just said, she is not someone who would ignore other people's feelings. The sacrifice that Jian Ruoxi had to make to make this decision was obvious. The old lady has always been shrewd and could not possibly not see it, so she naturally had to give her the corresponding feedback.

Of course, more importantly, she is currently pregnant with the Lu family's child. No matter how much the old lady disapproves of her, she wouldn't disregard the child's safety. It seems that Li Anran's words during the day truly resonated with the old lady. She was genuinely worried that she would abandon the child for her career, which is why she was willing to help her, lest the child suffer any harm.

It's ironic, really. She had already refuted Li Anran's words to her face during the day and made her stance clear, but the old lady still didn't believe her and was still very worried about the matter. She was even willing to step in to help her ensure the child's safety.

Forget it, she already knows how the old lady treats her, so what is there to be disappointed about now?

The old lady had been watching Jian Ruoxi's expression closely. Seeing the subtle changes in her expression several times, she roughly understood what Jian Ruoxi was thinking. The old lady lowered her eyes slightly and waved her hand at Jian Ruoxi, saying, "Alright, I have nothing else to say. It's getting late, you should go now."

"Okay. Good night, madam."

Jian Ruoxi nodded and walked out of the room.

"I did this not entirely for the sake of the children."

After Jian Ruoxi's figure disappeared outside the room, the old lady looked in the direction of the door and murmured something softly.

"Madam?"

The maid leaned closer, her eyes revealing a hint of concern.

"I did this primarily for Lu Shen's sake."

The old lady calmly finished her sentence.

"Then why didn't you explain this to Miss Jian just now, Madam?"

The maid asked, puzzled.

"There's no need for that. She's already made up her mind about the reason, so why should I say anything more? Besides, I'm too lazy to explain. It's not a big deal, so let her think what she wants."

The old lady answered calmly.

She's this age, so what if she's too lazy to explain? Do we really expect her to explain everything clearly?

While the old lady remained calm and composed, Jian Ruoxi was in a complete uproar.

Because Jian Ruoxi had not responded or even shown her face, the online criticism against her intensified. Seeing the related hashtag trending high on the hot search list, Jian Ruoxi couldn't resist clicking on the relevant content to see what netizens were saying.

It's fine if you don't look, but once you do, you'll be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of hostility on the screen.

Netizen A: "It's been a whole day, where is Jian Ruoxi? Where is she hiding?"

Netizen B: "Other companies either issue statements or send lawyer's letters when they get involved in this kind of news, so why are they silent when it comes to Jian Ruoxi?"

Netizen C: "Is it possible that everything else is just rumors, but hers is the truth? [doge]"

Netizen D: "Be more confident. Remove the 'is there a possibility' and the 'dog head' part. If the person who posted it has disappeared, it must be true."

Netizen E: "@JianRuoxi @JianRuoxi @JianRuoxi, come out and respond quickly! What are you doing, disappearing into thin air! Can't you just give an explanation whether it's true or false? What's the point of hiding like a coward? Do you really think the internet's memory only lasts three seconds?"

...

Jian Ruoxi read a few comments and then left the comment section feeling exhausted. She opened her own fan page and, as expected, the fans were all unable to contain themselves and were eager to go out and have a passionate argument with the haters.

Jian Ruoxi felt she could no longer sit idly by.

Ran Jie only said that she could not respond to the matter and could not appear in public, but she did not say that she could not come forward to persuade her fans.

So Jian Ruoxi switched to a secondary account and began to patiently persuade her indignant fans in the super topic.

"Everyone, calm down and don't lose your temper because of the current public opinion. This matter has been incredibly hot, and if we go out and argue with those haters and bystanders now, it will only make the heat rise further. The best approach now is to handle it calmly, ignore it, don't ask questions, and don't respond. Ruoxi is already in a very awkward situation. If we act impulsively and rush out, it will only make things worse and play into the hands of the haters, making the matter even more impactful. This will not only make things more difficult for Ruoxi but also affect her future career and public image. Does anyone want people to think of her as someone who was pregnant out of wedlock and whose fans are crazy in the future?"

After posting this long message, Jian Ruoxi contacted several big fans to calm them down and then asked them to help persuade the overly excited fans in the super topic and fan groups.

She had to control the situation; if the fans really started attacking her, the matter would escalate rapidly. She didn't want things to get out of control before she could take any action, otherwise, she would have no chance of escaping unscathed.

After she and her big fans worked together to persuade the fans to calm down, Jian Ruoxi leaned against the headboard and sighed wearily.

Sigh, when will this ever end...?

"What happened? Why are you so distressed?"

Lu Shen's voice suddenly came from the doorway of the room.

"Lu Shen? What brings you here so late?"

Jian Ruoxi looked up at Lu Shen as he slowly approached and suddenly realized that she had been surprised a lot today.

She suddenly felt that life was better when it was simpler; too many "surprises" were really tiring.

"Did you go to see Grandma just now? What happened? Why did you go to find her?"

Lu Shen sat by her bedside, asking a question instead of answering.

How did Lu Shen know I went to see the old lady?

Jian Ruoxi narrowed her eyes almost imperceptibly, then suddenly gave him a playful smile: "It's a secret. You'll find out when the time comes."

Lu Shen was rendered speechless by her smile: "What's so mysterious that you have to go to Grandma? Can't you just ask me?"

"no."

Jian Ruoxi blinked, denied it, and then quickly changed the subject before Lu Shen could speak again, "By the way, Lu Jin told me that the new script will be finished soon. So, esteemed Young Master Lu, who do you think should play the male lead in my new drama?"