"No, no." Su Yurou waved her hands repeatedly. "He and I are just business partners so far. He is my boss, and I am his employee."
"I saw in the comments that no one has ever seen a boss carry an employee into a hotel."
Su Yurou looked shy. "That was because..."
Her daughter, Sisi, had finished washing up, and Aunt Li was carrying her downstairs. Lin Qian blocked the television.
"Come here, baby. Let Mommy smell you—did you rub on your lotion so you smell nice today?"
Sisi nodded, wiggling her soft body to break free from Aunt Li's arms and running toward Lin Qian.
"You're already as lazy as your mother, sleeping until now. What are you going to do when you start kindergarten next year?" Sun Meijuan handed her a piece of chocolate.
"Mom, Sisi hasn't had breakfast yet. Let her have the candy after she eats."
"Who are you putting that sour face on for?" Sun Meijuan unwrapped the chocolate and shoved it back into Sisi's hand. "Go ahead and eat it. Grandma has your back."
How could a child resist the temptation of candy? Sisi stopped in her tracks, glancing at her mother a short distance away. She wanted it, but didn't dare take it, her little mouth pouting downward.
Lin Qian forced a smile. "Go ahead and eat it, but we have a deal—just this one. After you finish, you have to eat plenty of vegetables, okay?"
"I promise, Mommy!"
Sisi’s two round dimples appeared, and her grape-like eyes curved into two lines.
The breakfast was tasteless.
After the meal, Sisi pestered her mother to play with her twisting car. Aunt Li spent a long time coaxing her before finally taking her out to the yard to fly a kite.
Lin Qian opened her phone and used a burner account to enter the *News Weekly* live stream.
Su Yurou was earnestly sharing her secrets on how she became a popular livestream influencer.
However, the comment section was no longer as harmonious as before. Words like "homewrecker," "meddler," and "morally bankrupt" appeared from time to time.
"Bad publicity" was only suitable for new streamers with no fan base to gamble on.
With her current fan base, for her to engage in such sleazy scandals—it was hard to say which company's PR team came up with such a foolish plan. No wonder her competitors were exploiting it.
Lin Qian exited the stream and opened her chat with Su Yurou. The last entry was the audio file she had forwarded to her last night.
"Yurou, regardless of the company's arrangements, I suggest you stop the scandal strategy. This path of 'bad publicity' is too damaging for you."
She clicked send.
A red exclamation mark appeared.
Blocked?
Lin Qian first suspected a network issue. She turned off the Wi-Fi and sent it again using mobile data.
The exact same red exclamation mark appeared.
She really had been blocked.
This was the first time they had completely lost contact since they became friends in college.
Lin Qian re-entered the stream. Su Yurou was still speaking vaguely with the host, dropping hints about a different kind of relationship between her and Gu Chenxi.
Lin Qian quickly drafted a text message and sent it, telling her to call back after the broadcast ended.
"Thank you all for your support today. We'll see you next week." The *News Weekly* host waved at the screen.
Lin Qian waited patiently for quite a while, but her phone remained silent.
Instead, after Su Yurou returned to her own channel, she began selling goods with a frenzy, her viewership more than double the usual.
Lin Qian grabbed her coat, ready to head out, when Gu Chenxi called. "I'll be home soon."
"Why are you coming back now?" She held the phone between her shoulder and ear, crouching down to change her shoes.
"Don't worry about leaving the house. I'll handle the matter regarding Su Yurou."
"How did you know?"
Lin Qian jerked her head around, staring at the camera in the corner of the living room. Its dark, circular reflective surface looked as eerie as a pupil without an iris.
"Set your mind at ease, Mrs. Gu. The house surveillance is saved locally; it's not connected to the internet."
"So she told you?"
"I don't have that much free time. In any case, the company has already intervened. As long as you can keep your temper and don't go looking for a confrontation, this storm will be properly resolved."
Gu Chenxi's tone had no fluctuation, cold as an uncalibrated GPT.
So, the only thing that needed to be "resolved" was her emotions, is that it?
Lin Qian was annoyed. "By what right?"
"Reporters are following my car. You have five minutes." Gu Chenxi hung up.
A suffocating feeling gathered in her chest.
Lin Qian paced in front of the doorway twice in anger, eventually tossing her coat aside and fishing a makeup mirror out of her bag.
Sisi’s bright voice came from the doorway. "Is that Daddy? Daddy! I missed you so much..."
Lin Qian opened the door. Suddenly, a swarm of reporters appeared, their camera lenses practically shoved in her face. Camera flashes flickered one after another.
"Sisi, let Daddy come in first." Lin Qian turned her face away to dodge the glare.
"No, I want to fly the kite with Daddy!"
Gu Chenxi was wearing a rare casual outfit, yet still maintained his usual minimalist style.
He wore gold-rimmed glasses, a black turtleneck sweater resting right below his Adam's apple, dark blue jeans, and black sneakers. Combined with the tight, toned muscles he maintained from years of exercise, he looked both fresh and sharp.
"Alright, Daddy will join you." Gu Chenxi picked up Sisi, his eyes filled with gentleness.
"Great! That's great!" Sisi giggled incessantly.
"Do you want to join us?" Gu Chenxi extended a hand toward Lin Qian.
The gardener had just finished trimming the grass, and a soft breeze carried the scent of fresh clippings.
The swallow-shaped kite in Sisi's hands was blown away. She chased after it with her little arms outstretched, while Gu Chenxi followed, shielding his daughter from behind.
Lin Qian glanced at the reporters busy filming nearby, then turned around and headed back inside.
By lunchtime, the food was almost cold before Gu Chenxi sat at the table.
"Did the audience clear out?" Lin Qian poked her chopsticks at her rice.
"They left a long time ago." Gu Chenxi scanned the dishes on the table and frowned. "No wonder you're getting thinner and thinner."
Lin Qian glared at him. "Even kids Sisi’s age don't pick at their food anymore."
Gu Chenxi raised his hand to summon the chef. "Are these the same dishes served when I'm not home?"
"Yes, yes. The Mistress specifically instructed that your favorite dishes should be ready whenever you return. Is there something about today's cooking that isn't to your liking?" The new chef smiled apologetically, bowing slightly.
Gu Chenxi made no comment. He stood up and pulled Lin Qian up with him. "Let's go. We'll eat out."
Lin Qian shook off his hand and headed upstairs. "I don't have the time to play-act with you."
Gu Chenxi chased after her, blocking the door. "The audio was synthesized."