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"He's more infatuated with me."
The video that surfaced online focuses mostly on the dolls in the shop window.
Only at the very last moment of the video did the camera quickly pan across the two main characters, capturing the woman's face and half of the man's body.
Soon, enthusiastic netizens took screenshots and made comparisons, confirming that the woman in the video was indeed Ning Yuxuan.
As for the man she was talking to, since his face wasn't captured in the photo, it was difficult to identify him without any reference points.
Compared to the less than one-second clip, the video did capture several sentences of conversation between the two.
Besides the line "It's Mengmeng and I who are sorry to you, but love doesn't discriminate based on who came first," there are several other lines.
However, none of them were as clear as this sentence. Netizens turned up the volume and repeatedly dragged the progress bar, but they could only barely make out what two sentences were saying in the noisy environment.
One line is spoken by a man: "The reason I got together with you in the first place was because you kept pursuing me relentlessly."
Another quote is from Ning Yuxuan: "If you don't like me, you can just break up with me directly, instead of continuing to treat me with the silent treatment, and standing me up five minutes before our date to go buy Cen Meng's favorite snacks..."
Only these few sentences were audible, but they were enough to deduce the whole picture of the event.
Ning Yuxuan and this man used to be boyfriend and girlfriend, but this man fell in love with Cen Meng and broke up with Ning Yuxuan.
Cen Meng was the third party.
All of this was admitted by the man in the video.
Some observant netizens compared the few frames in the video where the man appeared with the man's hand in Cen Meng's photo, confirming that the man speaking in the video and the man in Cen Meng's toasting photo are the same person.
It was Saturday night, and while office workers and students were resting, the comments section was buzzing with discussion.
Half of the people were criticizing the male protagonist of the story.
[This guy is such a jerk! He's dating one girl while showering attention on his true love at the other. What a scoundrel!]
[And he actually said that they only got together because the woman kept pestering him! He's utterly despicable, completely shirking all responsibility. What a pure and innocent white lotus man!]
【Huh? Love doesn't care about who came first, and I'm doing this for your own good?? I want to slap this guy!】
[Does anyone have any idea who this guy is? I can't stand it anymore, this disgusting man is still hiding his identity.]
The other half of the onlookers were simply marveling at how the situation had taken another turn.
This is so dramatic! Even TV dramas wouldn't dare to portray something like this!
[As expected, you can't take sides until the very end. At first, I thought Ning Yuxuan was in the right, then I thought she was the one who broke up someone else's relationship, but in the end, I found out that Cen Meng was the real mistress!]
[Luckily, the blogger recorded this when taking pictures of that shop window, otherwise Ning Yuxuan would have been unfairly slandered. Many people had been so confident in their attacks on Ning Yuxuan, using incredibly vulgar language.]
[Actually, I felt something was off at the time. Those two photos of watches didn't prove anything at all. I don't know how so many people were so convinced that Ning Yuxuan was the third party.]
[This Cen Meng is truly deceiving; she looks quite innocent, yet she became a mistress and then turned around and accused others?]
...
As the video went viral, several new topics appeared on the real-time trending topics list.
#Cen Meng the mistress#
#Cen Meng's non-celebrity boyfriend#
#Ning Yuxuan angrily denounces the scumbag#
The popularity of these topics is constantly rising, but they haven't climbed to the top of the trending topics list yet, so they haven't attracted the attention of anyone in the production team.
The guests' phones were all collected and kept by staff during the live broadcast, making it even less likely that they would discover the truth.
The only indication is that a small number of netizens, after getting their hands on the gossip, managed to access the live stream.
In the live broadcast room, the dinner segment had just ended, and the day's filming was drawing to a close.
The staff announced that, based on the voting results from the previous gift-giving session, everyone could choose their rooms for the night in turn.
There are three rooms to choose from in total, two on the second floor and one on the third floor.
After visiting the three bedrooms, Ning Yuxuan chose the one on the third floor.
Ningfei has trouble sleeping and needs a very quiet environment to fall asleep; the noise level is relatively lower on the third floor.
Moreover, this room on the third floor is the largest of all the bedrooms, with a bathroom, a balcony, and two single beds.
The room was decorated simply yet warmly, and the furniture was clean. Ning Fei was very satisfied with it.
Ning Yuxuan is someone who can fall asleep anywhere, so as long as Ning Fei is happy, she certainly won't be picky.
Jiang Ning'an and Cen Meng each chose one of the two bedrooms on the second floor.
After the rooms were booked, all the guests gathered in the living room on the second floor of the villa to say goodbye to the audience.
[Waaaaah, is it really over already? I'm so sad!]
[Anyone else like me who started watching the live stream as soon as it started and stayed up all night?]
[I'm so excited! This season is even better than I expected! It's packed with family moments, laughs, and drama!]
[This episode made me a fan of Teacher Ning and Ning Yuxuan. I'm looking forward to seeing more of their daily life together tomorrow!]
See you all tomorrow morning!
The live stream chat was filled with farewell messages from viewers.
Occasionally, a comment from a bystander would float by, asking what exactly happened with Cen Meng being a third party, but it didn't cause any stir.
The timing of the show's end was too perfect; if it had ended an hour later, the live stream would likely have been overrun by a large number of viewers.
The special guests will not continue recording tomorrow. After the live broadcast ends, Ning Shiyue, Pan Wenyan, and Guan Cheng can leave the villa.
Ning Shiyue didn't leave immediately. Instead, he took something from the car and went to Ning Yuxuan and Ning Fei's bedroom.
Ning Yuxuan looked curiously at the bag in Ning Shiyue's hand: "What's this? Besides that pile of meat, did you bring another gift?"
Ning Shiyue tossed the bag onto the small coffee table in the room and replied irritably, "How dare you mention buying meat? I was already in a rush to get here from the airport, and I almost ran myself ragged in the supermarket trying to buy everything on your list!"
Ning Yuxuan couldn't help but point out the truth: "Actually, you didn't buy everything. You're missing a few things, such as..."
She wisely stopped talking before she could finish.
Because Ning Shiyue was looking up in disbelief, staring at Ning Yuxuan.
Seeing that Ning Shiyue was about to explode, Ning Yuxuan knew when to stop: "I was just kidding! Thanks to the meat you bought, we can have a big meal tonight. Ning Shiyue, you really are my brother, you're amazing, so great! I love you so much!"
Ning Shiyue: "..."
Originally, Ning Yuxuan was so angry that her ears suddenly felt hot after hearing Ning Yuxuan's exaggerated words.
What a load of nonsense! I have no idea where she learned those words.
Ning Shiyue turned his head away: "At least you said something sensible."
Ning Fei shook her head with a smile and asked, "Xiao Yue, what exactly is in here?"
Ning Shiyue cleared his throat and explained the whole story: "Today I met President Xie at the airport in Xingcheng."
Ning Fei asked in surprise, "You mean Zhi Yan?"
Ning Shiyue nodded.
Neither of them noticed that Ning Yuxuan, who had been curiously examining the bag, paused noticeably after hearing those words.
Ning Shiyue continued, "President Xie gave me some local specialties that were gifts from clients, and asked me to take them home for you to try."
He glanced at Ning Yuxuan and said, "I thought you didn't have any snacks in the villa, so I brought them up. Take a look, leave anything you want, and I'll take the rest home."
The sound of plastic packaging rubbing came from the side; Ning Yuxuan was already checking what delicious food was inside.
Ning Fei asked Ning Shiyue, "How did you end up meeting Zhi Yan?"
Ning Shiyue: "I bumped into him by chance in the lounge. His flight was only twenty minutes later than mine."
Ning Fei pondered for a moment: "Zhiyan has been busy with work these past two years. Xinmei said she can only see him once or twice a month, and I haven't heard from him in a long time either. It's quite a coincidence that a few days ago, Zhiyan came to my house with Xuanxuan, saying he wanted to invest in Huayuan, and then he ran into you again."
This time it was Ning Shiyue's turn to be surprised: "Xie Zhiyan came to our house? When did this happen? How come I didn't know?"
Ning Fei recalled for a moment: "It was Tuesday night, the day before you went on your business trip."
Ning Shiyue pondered for a second, then turned to stare at Ning Yuxuan.
Ning Yuxuan was rummaging through the bag and pulled out a bag of dried bean curd when she saw him and glanced at him: "Why are you looking at me?"
Ning Shiyue: "So that Bentley parked in front of our house that day was Xie Zhiyan's car?"
Ning Yuxuan studied the flavor of the dried tofu, replying absentmindedly, "Right?"
Ning Shiyue frowned: "Then why didn't you tell me back then? You made me overthink..."
Ning Yuxuan finally turned her gaze away from the packaging of the dried tofu: "What are you thinking about?"
Ning Shiyue: "...Never mind, it's nothing."
In Ning Shiyue's eyes, Ning Yuxuan was a hopeless romantic; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so easily fooled by Gu Yunhao.
That day, when he saw Ning Yuxuan meeting a man driving a luxury car in front of her house, he subconsciously worried that Ning Yuxuan might be out of her mind after being heartbroken, and had been deceived by some random man again.
Now that he knew it was Xie Zhiyan who was there that day, Ning Shiyue felt a sense of relief.
It's hard to explain why, but perhaps his childhood experiences made him subconsciously feel that Xie Zhiyan was a reliable person who wouldn't take advantage of Ning Yuxuan.
"Have you made your choice yet?" Ning Shiyue changed the subject.
Ning Yuxuan waved the bag of dried bean curd in her hand: "I'm only staying one night, one bag of this is enough for me."
“Okay.” Ning Shiyue nodded. “Mom, I’ll go back now.”
Ning Fei smiled and said, "Yeah, you must be tired after rushing to catch a flight and recording a show today. Go back and get some rest."
She escorted Ning Shiyue to the stairwell, but Ning Shiyue insisted that she didn't need to see him out any further.
"It gets chilly outside at night," Ning Shiyue said. "Besides, I'm a grown man, I don't need to be driven."
Ning Fei agreed, but sighed inwardly.
One of her children is too independent, and the other is too worrisome; she can't let go of either of them.
Back in her room, Ning Yuxuan patted the chair beside her: "Mom."
Ning Fei walked over: "What's wrong?"
Ning Yuxuan: "Let me help you take your hair off."
Today, the stylist gave Ning Fei a braided hairstyle, which looked elegant and delicate, but a lot of clips and elastics were used to secure it, making it difficult to remove.
Ning Fei paused for a moment, then nodded after two seconds: "Okay."
She sat down in the chair, and the next moment, Ning Yuxuan's fingertips gently caressed her temples.
"Mom, close your eyes and rest for a while. I'll call you when I'm done taking it apart."
Ning Fei: "...Hmm."
Ning Fei's eyes welled up with tears from her daughter's simple words.
Ning Yuxuan found a small box and took out a small pair of scissors.
If the small elastic bands used to secure braids are too tight, it's easier to just cut them with scissors.
Ning Fei's hair in her youth could be best described as being as black as clouds, thick and smooth.
Now that she's over fifty, Ning Fei has some gray hair, but she still has a lot of hair.
She dyed her hair specifically for the show, and she looks almost the same as when she was younger.
Feeling her daughter standing behind her, gently running her fingers through her hair, Ning Fei was filled with emotion.
Long ago, she used to comb her daughter's hair from behind like this.
At that time, Ning Fei was still acting and often only got a break every few days.
Every time I come home, my daughter immediately pesters me to tie her hair.
Ning Fei still remembers asking her daughter at that time: "Don't we have a housekeeper at home who can do all kinds of pretty hairstyles for you? Why do you still like to have your mother do your hairstyle?"
The daughter answered with bright, sparkling eyes: "Mom's hairstyle is different from everyone else's!"
At the time, Ning Fei only thought that girls speak without restraint, but now, looking back, she has a different feeling.
The crisp metallic sound of scissors rang in Ning Fei's ears, interrupting her thoughts.
Ning Fei suddenly remembered what had happened between her daughter and Cen Meng during the day.
At dinner, my daughter acted as if she was completely unaffected by what happened during the day, chatting and laughing with the others.
But after all, her daughter had only recently broken up with her boyfriend, and Cen Meng had some unclear entanglements with her.
Ning Fei wanted to comfort her daughter, but she was afraid that bringing up these upsetting things would make her daughter even more upset.
After thinking it over, Ning Fei softly called out her daughter's nickname: "Xuanxuan".
Ning Yuxuan kept working with her hands: "Hmm?"
"No matter what happens..." Ning Fei carefully chose her words, "Mom will always stand firmly by your side. So if anything is bothering you, please tell Mom, okay?"
Ning Yuxuan smiled and said, "I know. But nothing's bothering me right now, Mom, you don't need to worry about my love life. If I had to say something... I have a lot of ideas about opening a new store. Shall we talk about it after the show?"
Ning Fei lowered her eyes: "Okay."
After a moment of silence, Ning Fei said solemnly, "I'm very happy that you're willing to help me manage Huayuan, and I will definitely support you wholeheartedly. As for your feelings, I also respect your thoughts."
Ning Yuxuan took the last hairpin and placed it in her palm, half-jokingly asking, "Mom, don't you want me to settle down and start a family soon?"
She's almost twenty-five, which is not the age to rush into marriage.
However, I can now frequently see wedding invitations and wedding photos posted by my high school and college classmates on social media.
Not to mention that when she was with Gu Yunhao, she often heard about wealthy young ladies of similar age marrying heirs of various corporations.
Ning Fei gently shook her head: "If you meet the right person, that's great, but if you don't want to get married, your mother won't pressure you."
Ning Fei, who was 25 years old at the time, believed in the supremacy of love, which is why she chose to retire from the entertainment industry at the peak of her career to get married and have a son and a daughter.
But now that she's older and has gone through a failed marriage, she has long since changed her mind.
The hair had been taken down. Ning Fei stood up and reached out to tuck a stray lock of her daughter's hair behind her ear.
“Mom is telling the truth,” Ning Fei said. “Even if you never get married, Mom is willing to support you for the rest of your life.”
Ning Yuxuan blinked: "Then I want to be a mama's girl forever. Will you dislike me, Mom?"
Ning Fei couldn't help but chuckle and tapped her daughter's nose: "I don't mind."
Ning Yuxuan also smiled.
Ning Fei looked at her daughter's hair: "Let me take your hair down too."
Ning Yuxuan's hairstyle today wasn't as complicated as Ning Fei's, but since it was for the camera, the stylist used some small clips as an aid.
She did as Ning Fei asked and switched places with her, sitting in a chair.
Ning Fei removed the hair clip from her daughter's head while pondering what her daughter had just said.
When my daughter was with Gu Yunhao, she was determined to marry into the Gu family as soon as possible.
And now? What is your daughter thinking?
It was a rare opportunity to have a heart-to-heart talk with her daughter. After hesitating for a long time, Ning Fei finally asked, "Xuanxuan, what are you thinking now? Do you still want to date... or get married?"
Gu Yunhao was her daughter's first love and the person she cared about most.
Ning Fei worries that her daughter, having experienced hurt and betrayal, will begin to resist intimate relationships.
Ning Fei doesn't have to get married, but she hopes her daughter can be happy.
Ning Yuxuan remained silent for a few seconds.
Ning Fei thought she didn't want to answer and was about to change the subject.
Ning Yuxuan suddenly said, "Actually, recently... a man with good prospects has been pursuing me, and I'm considering it."
Ning Fei was stunned.
She hadn't expected her daughter to answer like that at all, and subconsciously repeated, "Not bad conditions?"
Ning Yuxuan hummed in agreement: "Young, rich, good-looking, and with a great figure."
As she spoke, she mentally reviewed Xie Zhiyan's appearance and was quite satisfied with her description: concise and precise.
Ning Yuxuan added, "However, there are also drawbacks, namely that he is quite busy with work and may not be able to spend much time with me."
This is an advantage for her, but to appear more authentic, it's natural to mention some "disadvantages".
I'll have to tell Ning Fei about my marriage to Xie Zhiyan sooner or later, so I might as well lay the groundwork now.
Ning Fei was completely dumbfounded.
She was still thinking about her daughter's lingering feelings for Gu Yunhao, so how did her daughter start talking about new suitors?
Ning Fei tried to keep up with her daughter's train of thought: "Then...do you like him?"
Ning Yuxuan shamelessly patted herself on the back: "He's so-so, he's more infatuated with me."
Anyway, Xie Zhiyan couldn't possibly hear these words, so Ning Yuxuan spoke without any qualms.
Ning Fei didn't know what to say for a moment.
“In that case…” Ning Fei hesitated, “Why don’t you think about it again? Don’t agree to their advances just because of a momentary impulse.”
Having argued with her daughter too many times about her relationship before, Ning Fei learned her lesson and didn't ask too many questions at once.
Ning Yuxuan: "Yes, I will."
Her hairstyle was much simpler than Ning Fei's, and it was already taken down while she was talking.
Ning Fei is used to going to bed around 10 p.m. every night. Calculating the time, it's time for her to wash up now.
Ning Yuxuan took the scissors from Ning Fei: "Mom, go take a shower and remove your makeup first. I'll tidy up the room."
The bedding in the room was newly changed, and the staff had already helped move the luggage into the room, but it still needed to be tidied up a bit.
They also need to find a place to store the pile of gifts they bought during the day, and take them home after the recording ends tomorrow.
Fortunately, the room was spacious enough to fit all the things the two of them had bought.
Ning Fei went to the bathroom to take a shower, while Ning Yuxuan stayed in the room to tidy up her things and also opened and ate the bag of dried tofu.
After finishing the last piece, Ning Fei came out of the bathroom, having just changed into her pajamas.
After Ning Yuxuan finished washing up, the two turned off the lights and went to bed.
The mobile phones and other electronic products have been collected by the production team and will be temporarily kept and returned to the guests after the recording ends tomorrow.
Ning Fei suffers from chronic neurasthenia, and even when she goes to bed on time, she often has difficulty falling asleep.
However, today, hearing her daughter's soft breathing in the darkness, Ning Fei felt exceptionally at ease.
As her eyelids grew heavy, in the half-awake, half-asleep moment before falling asleep, Ning Fei vaguely heard Ning Yuxuan's voice.
"Mom, this time, I will never lose you again."
Her body was gradually sinking into a deep sleep, and in her drowsy state, Ning Fei answered her daughter's question in her heart—
Silly child, how could your mother leave you?
.
The live stream will resume at 10 a.m. the next morning.
At 9:45, Cen Meng and Qiao Yazhen were the first to arrive at the living room on the second floor of the villa.
A few minutes later, Jiang Ning'an and Qin Man also arrived.
Cen Meng wore exquisite makeup and had a sweet smile on her face.
After witnessing public opinion begin to turn in her favor last night, her mindset improved significantly.
The thought that Ning Yuxuan would be condemned by everyone today gave Cen Meng a chance to vent her pent-up resentment, and her complexion improved considerably.
The only thing that made her feel it wasn't perfect was that when she tried to borrow the intern's phone again this morning, she was refused.
The intern said that last night the director suddenly notified all staff members that they must strictly manage the guests' electronic devices.
No staff member may give communication devices to guests without permission. In special circumstances, the director must be notified.
The phones that the intern was responsible for keeping had already been handed over to other people, so there was nothing he could do to help.
After hearing this, Cen Meng had no choice but to give up.
She guessed that the production team must have noticed the trending topic and was trying their best to keep Ning Yuxuan from finding out about it in order not to affect the recording of the show.
The production team was so cautious that they not only kept Ning Yuxuan and Ning Fei under strict control, but also prevented her from using her phone.
Fortunately, I had already explained everything that needed to be explained to them, so there was no need to contact them again.
Moreover, before the live stream ended yesterday, the hashtag "Ning Yuxuan is a mistress" had already climbed the trending list.
Given netizens' interest in the love-hate relationships within the entertainment industry, coupled with the popularity of this variety show, public opinion should have largely settled by now, and there shouldn't be any major deviations.
Cen Meng smiled and waited confidently for Ning Yuxuan to appear.
At 9:55, Ning Fei, dressed in a blue traditional cheongsam, came downstairs.
Fifty-one-year-old Ning Fei maintains an excellent figure, and the tailor-made haute couture perfectly outlines her curves.
Seeing that only Ning Fei had come down, Cen Meng stood up on her own initiative.
"Good morning, Teacher Ning," Cen Meng said. "Did you rest well yesterday?"
Ning Fei frowned slightly but did not answer.
She no longer felt any affection for Cen Meng, but her deeply ingrained upbringing still prevented her from saying anything unpleasant to a young girl in public.
Ning Fei ignored Cen Meng and went straight to the sofa to sit down.
Cen Meng was displeased, but her smile remained unchanged: "Teacher Ning, why hasn't Yu Xuan arrived yet? Is she feeling unwell?"
Before he could finish speaking, footsteps came from the stairs.
Ning Yuxuan walked into the second-floor living room and looked at Cen Meng coolly: "What? You seem happy that I didn't come?"
Cen Meng's smile widened: "How could that be? Yu Xuan, you're overthinking it. I was just worried about you because you hadn't shown up yet."
After all, without Ning Yuxuan, her performance would be missing one person, and she wouldn't be able to sing.
At 10:00 AM sharp, the director himself struck the clapperboard, announcing the official start of the second day of filming for the first episode.
According to Cen Meng's prediction, after the program airs, a large number of netizens who "know the inside story" will flood into the live broadcast room.
The show was about to begin. Cen Meng adjusted her expression and gave the camera a gentle smile.
She doesn't need to do anything; as long as she appears innocent and kind, plenty of righteous netizens will naturally rush to her defense.
At that moment, as the live stream started, the first comment did indeed appear.
[Ugh, I can't stand it! Why is Cen Meng's face the very first scene?!]
...
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