Chapter 78 Headline News
"Si... Siyan... why don't you put me down? I can walk." Wen Chu was carried out of the club, exposed to the scorching sun and under the gaze of everyone.
There were quite a few pedestrians on both sides of the street. She felt a little embarrassed and confused, and her head was still throbbing slightly.
"Stop being stubborn. You were in so much pain you couldn't even straighten your back, and you still had to act tough in front of him. That Lu Ming guy really went too far this time. Even if he likes Sister Wen Xue, he shouldn't treat you like this." Qi Siyan said angrily with a gloomy face.
Wen Chu felt very uncomfortable after hearing this.
Lu Ming could make it obvious to everyone that he liked Wen Xue, but only she remembered his confession.
She gave a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth. "It's okay, I'm used to it."
"I'm sorry, this time it was my fault. I shouldn't have suggested that you hang out with them... I didn't want to see your relationship with Sister Wenxue become so strained, so..."
Wen Chu smiled nonchalantly and interrupted him, "What's there to apologize for? I'm really fine, I just need a day or two of rest. Besides, I gave them both a ball each, and you're apologizing to me? That's so unfair of you."
Qi Siyan didn't take it to heart: "Everyone has their biases, and I'm biased towards you."
Wen Chu was taken aback for a moment, then coughed awkwardly.
Qi Siyan carried Wen Chu to the car, gently placed her in the back seat, and immediately closed the windows to block out the sunlight, then turned on the air conditioning to lower the temperature inside the car.
Wen Chu slowly lifted her foot, laboriously turned it around to move it, then squinted and hissed.
Unexpectedly, the next second Qi Siyan grabbed her calf and placed it on his knee.
Wen Chu didn't even realize what was happening.
The man lowered his head, strands of hair slightly obscuring his eyes, his face full of concern. He placed his hand on Wen Chu's ankle and rubbed it gently. Wen Chu quickly grabbed his forearm, stopping him, saying, "It hurts, it hurts, stop, stop—"
Qi Siyan frowned even more deeply. "You're saying this isn't serious?"
Wen Chu blushed and tried to pull her leg out of his hand. "It's really nothing, no need to go to the hospital... You don't need to do this, my shoes got your white pants dirty."
Qi Siyan continued massaging her ankle with his head down, saying nonchalantly, "It's its honor."
Wen Chu gently touched her forehead, looking at the person with a sudden sense of helplessness.
"Okay, okay." Wen Chu was held down for two minutes, then awkwardly pulled her foot back from the person's leg. "Um... can you take me home? I really don't need to go to the hospital. I'm too tired after playing ball for several hours. I shouldn't go to work today. I want to go home, take a shower, and get a good night's sleep. Maybe I'll feel better after a good night's sleep."
Qi Siyan said gently, "Okay. If you still feel unwell, be sure to call me."
Wen Chu nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
Lu Ming returned to the company, and no one came into the office next door until the afternoon. He flipped through the documents in his hand, the rustling sound gradually becoming irritating.
He took out his phone and first called someone, but no one answered. He didn't know if it was intentional or if his phone was genuinely not with him. He then sent a text message, but it went unanswered as well.
He couldn't help but recall the last look Wen Chu gave him on the court, a look of utter disappointment that seemed to cause a dull ache in his heart. Unlike before, she no longer yelled and raged when ignored, glaring at him like a cat with its fur standing on end, demanding an explanation. Instead, she let Qi Siyan carry her away.
He couldn't quite grasp what kind of feeling this was—whether it was guilt, resentment, heartache, or anger.
He knew perfectly well that she was faking it, and was probably testing whether he still cared about her, but he was still distracted.
He felt utterly awful. His self-righteous principles and boundaries had become blurred. Although he liked Wen Xue, he felt pity for Wen Chu. This despicable thought could not be exposed, so he selfishly chose to hide it and not reveal it.
He convinced himself that the matter arose because of him, and with a cold face, he made a call to Qi Siyan, which was answered very quickly.
The person on the other end spoke in the same tone he utterly disliked: "Mr. Lu, what's the matter?"
"How is Wen Chu?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself how she is, but instead ask me..." Qi Siyan paused for a moment, then chuckled, "What, she's not answering your calls? That's wonderful."
Lu Ming's expression turned even colder: "I just need to know that she's alright."
"Of course she's fine. What could possibly happen to her? As long as she's with me, nothing will happen."
"Where is she now?"
"Is it necessary to tell you this? We're not your subordinates, so we don't need to report everything to you, right?"
us.
They're still together.
She still won't answer his calls.
Lu Ming's hand on the table tightened involuntarily: "You like her?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Qi Siyan retorted, "I'd like to ask you when you plan to release her. You already have Sister Wen Xue, so you don't want to keep Wen Chu around, do you? Mr. Lu, who has always had a good reputation in the industry and is known for his integrity, could he actually be a fickle playboy who wants both things?"
Lu Ming's brows furrowed with anger: "My affairs with her are not at the point where I need to explain them to unrelated people."
There was no anger on the other end of the phone: "I know what you're worried about, but it's okay. You have your plans, and I have mine. We each get what we need, so there shouldn't be any conflict."
Just as Lu Ming was about to ask what the other party wanted, Qi Siyan said goodbye to him and then hung up the phone.
Lu Ming slammed his phone onto the table.
Wen Chu returned home and slept until late at night, only to be woken up by hunger. She sat up, moved her ankle, and felt much better, though it still ached slightly.
She threw back the covers, picked up her phone, and went downstairs, intending to eat while browsing some meaningless short videos. However, when she unlocked her phone, the notification bar was filled with messages, which startled her.
The text message Lu Ming sent six hours earlier had long been ignored amidst these more eye-catching messages.
Her mother called her six times, and her father sent her many text messages. Wen Heng's latest message was filled with question marks, while Qi Siyan's latest message said: "[Sorry, it seems I've caused you some trouble.]"
This all suggests that something significant must have happened during the few hours she was sleeping in silence.
Her heart tightened, and she quickly called her mother back. As soon as Yang Lan answered, she said, "Where have you been? Why did it take you so long to answer the phone!"
"I'm sleeping."
"Really sleeping? Siyan said you were sleeping, but I didn't believe her."
"What's wrong, Mom? Why are you calling me so many times?" Wen Chu's heart was in her throat, clenched tightly.
"Look what your dad sent you!"
Wen Chu quickly opened Wen Shiyang's chat window again and clicked on the link at the top. This hurried scene seemed familiar.
#The daughter of the Wen family and the CEO of Baiyue Group have apparently broken up long ago! They have both started new relationships!
This news was published as an entertainment headline four hours ago. The article contained a lot of seemingly reasonable speculations and analyses, along with photos. One photo showed Qi Siyan wiping her sweat at the club, another showed Qi Siyan carrying her to a car and leaving, and the last photo showed Lu Ming and Wen Xue entering and leaving public places together. However, the photos were blurred so that Wen Xue's face was not clearly visible, but people who knew them could still recognize them.
This news was widely reposted on various platforms, as if the whole world had rushed to pay attention to their new relationship.
The comments section below has tens of thousands of posts.
Bystander A: Rich people's relationships really do change in an instant.
Netizen B: I can't tell what's true and what's false, I'll never ship couples randomly again.
Netizen C: I think these two new couples are a good match!
Netizen D: It's normal to break up if you're not compatible! Why not break up with other people? They're rich, they don't have to compromise or swallow their pride, of course they can break up whenever they want, without even asking us.
Bystander E: Love is like a tornado, it blows away and then it's gone.
Wen Chu scrolled through the comments one by one, her expression growing colder with each reading.
Yang Lan's question came through the phone again: "Are you really having an affair with Siyan? If so, that's really—that's wonderful! Your dad and I have been so worried about you and Xiaoxue these past few days. I know you don't want to come back because of your sister, but if you can figure things out yourself and stop being so fixated on Lu Ming, I won't care what people say outside!"
"Mom, I'll tell you later."
Wen Chu couldn't listen to what the other person was saying anymore. She hung up the phone, her mind buzzing. She immediately called Lu Ming back. In the ten or so seconds it took for him to answer, she closed her eyes and tried to suppress her anger.
When the call connected, Wen Chu didn't rush to speak; she was still trying to compose herself.
The other party seemed to have anticipated her call, but remained silent, showing no intention of explaining their actions.
Finally, Wen Chu broke the silence with a soft laugh, "Did you do this? Because I wouldn't let you say 'break up' directly, so you used this method? Was it you, or Wen Xue?"
There was still silence on the other end. Wen Chu finally shouted, "Speak! You dare to do it but not admit it?"
"It's come to this, there's nothing more to say." A cold voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Aren't you afraid I'll retaliate against you? Do you think that will make you happy together?" Wen Chu said angrily, then suddenly stopped, feeling a chill run down her spine.
Her chest heaved slightly, unable to believe that she seemed to be becoming more and more like the original character—vicious, irritable, unreasonable, and unable to get the love she desired.
Without any system control, she had already said those words on her own.
It turns out that anyone who stands in such a position and is treated with such disregard would become abnormal.
Her hand holding the phone trembled slightly. She bit the inside of her lip tightly, trying her best to keep her voice steady: "You and she are so eager? You seized the opportunity and immediately put it to use. You'd rather sacrifice your reputation in the industry than be so quick to distance yourself from me?"
"It seems they've each already started new relationships..." Wen Chu murmured, then sneered, "What a clever headline! To minimize the damage to you, Baiyue, and Wenxue's reputation, they're dragging me into this, labeling me with a so-called new relationship. It's clearly you and her who have the problem! Lu Ming, do you even have a heart?"
The person on the other end of the phone spoke calmly, seemingly mocking her foolishness and giving her an opportunity to take advantage: "Didn't you choose to go with him? You gave someone else the chance to take pictures, is that my fault? Maybe your new relationship will be confirmed even faster than mine."
Wen Chu could hardly believe that the other person could say such a thing. Her body temperature seemed to drop in an instant, tears blurred her eyes, and she swayed precariously.
Her throat was dry and bitter. She took a deep breath and asked in a calm tone one last time, "Lu Ming, I'm asking you one last time, have you thought this through? Are you really sure that the person you like isn't me?"
The caller replied coldly, "I'm sure. I've said it so many times, I've never liked you."
Wen Chu hung up the phone.
In the empty living room, one second, two seconds, three seconds passed...
Silence.
The surrounding air seemed to have been sucked out, making it impossible to transmit sound.
Wen Chu lowered her eyes, her thumb gently stroking the bracelet on her left hand. The pink diamonds on her hand were still dazzling, and even a large tear falling on it could not dim them in the slightest.
She remained silent for a very long time, until the night outside the window had become as dark as ink, before she murmured, "You liar."
You've forgotten me, and you'll never love me again.
That sunny, beautiful, dreamlike day has irrevocably become a thing of the past.
She watched it disappear, never to reappear, until one day, even she herself forgot about it and began to doubt whether they had ever truly expressed their feelings to each other or made any promises.
It seems that Lu Ming, who loved her, is truly gone forever.
Wen Chu didn't know what to do next. The bond between them had been completely severed. The person involved wanted to distance herself, her parents wanted her to distance herself, and public opinion was on the other side.
It seems like she's the only one left in the whole world who's still holding on.
If she had known this would happen, she should never have gone to that restroom that day. She should have said goodbye to Lu Ming properly, or at least gotten to the bottom of what he liked about her and asked him for an answer.
Unfortunately, their relationship was quite unexpected, and their breakup was even more abrupt.
Like a shooting star, it vanishes in an instant, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
She didn't know what Lu Ming liked about her in the past, nor did she know how to replicate it.
Wen Chu stroked the bracelet, a bitter and powerless smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
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Author's Note: It wasn't intentional to torture Wen Chu; it's related to the main plot that was planned long ago. Although I was also very sad writing this [crying emoji] (I will definitely think twice before coming up with plot ideas in the future [crying emoji]). There are probably about ten more chapters of the death escape story. Overall, the length isn't very long, and Wen Xue's presence becomes less and less prominent later on. If you're not happy with the reading, you can skip ahead [pity emoji][pity emoji][pity emoji]. But for the sake of the plot's completeness, I still have to finish writing this while crying.
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