Chapter 725: The Lu Qiao Couple (14)

Lu Jinnian typed till this point and then stopped abruptly.

Qiao Anhao couldn’t not admit that his use of the ellipsis at the end was used so well.

He was obviously showing off, yet he didn’t say it with words. Rather, he showed it with the two photos.

At that moment, Qiao Anhao understood the true reason why Lu Jinnian had added Lin Shiyi. First, only friends could see each other’s friends’ circle. Then, he ruthlessly retaliated.

Just as Lu Jinnian was ready to send it, he looked like he just thought of something. Suddenly, he selected Lin Shiyi’s name to notify them to view it. Only then was he ready to send it out. Just then, Qiao Anhao suddenly cried, “Wait.”

Lu Jinnian paused with his head slightly lowered to glance at Qiao Anhao in his hold.

She reached her hand out and yanked the phone from his hand, then added two words to Lu Jinnian’s original message, Today after lunch at ACR, hubby Lu Jinnian took me out shopping to digest the food, and then…

With that, Qiao Anhao raised her head. “Don’t you think this is better?”

“Is there a difference?” asked Lu Jinnian as he stared at those three words “Hubby Lu Jinnian”. The more he stared at them, the more pleased he felt. With his face against Qiao Anhao’s back of the head, he curved his lips into a smile.

It hadn’t even been a minute since Qiao Anhao had sent the message when Lin Shiyi wrote to her. [Qiao Anhao, are you stupid?]

Followed by another message, [What’s the meaning of this?]

Just as Qiao Anhao was considering whether or not to reply, Lu Jinnian stole her phone again. He tapped it a few times, and Qiao Anhao saw the words, [Isn’t it obvious? It’s a slap in the face.]

Those words were pretty direct… Before Qiao Anhao could cry out for him to stop, Lu Jinnian had already sent the message.

Then he tapped onto Lin Shiyi’s profile pic again, immediately blocking her from the friends’ circle.

“Why don’t you just straight up delete her? Perhaps she’s already blacklisted me and blocked my friends’ circle…” said Qiao Anhao.

“When a person competes with another, they will pay attention to them all the time. They won’t block them. So I blocked her in case she decides to say something to piss you off.” Lu Jinnian handed Qiao Anhao her phone back.

She thought about his words for a moment, and felt that what he said was right. This was absolutely how most people would normally react. Honestly speaking, she was really happy that Lu Jinnian helped her stand up like that. However, although she was happy, Qiao Anhao still said unreasonably, “Lu Jinnian, you are really petty to stoop down to a woman’s level. Don’t you know the saying ‘good men don’t fight with women’?”

Having just been called “petty”, Lu Jinnian wasn’t the slightest bit annoyed. In fact, his tone of voice sounded quite assured and arrogant. “So what? As long as it’s about you, I don’t mind being even more petty.”

How could he let others make life difficult for the woman he had always wanted to hold in his hands and protect?

In the past, when he couldn’t get her, he would always think of ways to best look after her behind her back. Now that she was his wife, how could he allow for something like gentrification to make her suffer?

=============================

Chapter 726: The Lu Qiao Couple (15)

Today, to be able to take her as my wife, I have no regrets in life.

My only wish is for her years to be bright and peaceful.

–

In five short minutes after the message being sent to Qiao Anhao’s friends’ circle, Lu Jinnian already received over a hundred notifications.

This was the first time Qiao Anhao had ever had so many people react to her friends’ circle, so when she saw those three figures in red, she leaped in shock. She thought that there was something wrong with her eyes, so she blinked before hurriedly tapping it open. There she saw a series of replies from people both within and outside the entertainment industry, both familiar and unfamiliar.

Iwanabecuteeveryday(Zhao Meng): Mrs. Lu, your Mr. Lu is awesome!

Goodmanthatsme(assistant): 32 likes.

…

Below were a series of replies, [Xiao Qiao, you also sent this to a friends’ circle?], [Why don’t you show off your marriage certificate?], [Qiao Qiao, to be able to marry Mr. Lu, you win in life!], [Congratulations, congratulations. Remember to pass out wedding sweets!], [Requesting red envelopes].

Until finally, Song Xiangsi’s message sent a second ago came up. [Oh! One posts on Weibo, the other posts on WeChat friends’ circle. Mr. and Mrs. Lu Qiao have quite the connection!]

When Qiao Anhao saw this, her finger that was swiping down stopped abruptly. She then realized that there were quite a few people who left comments with the words, “also announces their marriage”. As though having discovered something, she quickly exited WeChat and opened Weibo to find millions of notifications.

The top three hot topics were all about her and Lu Jinnian. Weibo even released an advert saying Lu Jinnian announced his marriage tonight, exposing his marriage certificate.

As Qiao Anhao saw this, she made a vague assumption about something, then hastily tapped onto Lu Jinnian’s Weibo. He had updated it after over five months of inactivity! The post was just like him – straightforward and direct; a heart emoji with a photo beneath it of their marriage certificate that included a photo of the two of them, their names, and a stamp from the civil affairs bureau.

Not long after Lu Jinnian posted on Weibo, he received millions of likes and fifty million comments. What’s more, it was obvious that the numbers were still on a mad rise.

Lu Jinnian actually took the opportunity whilst she was sleeping to silently announce their marriage?

Qiao Anhao turned her head to glance at him. Seeing as he was also staring at his phone, Qiao Anhao stretched her neck out to sneak a peek at his screen to see that he was looking at some news on Weibo.

She only roughly swept through Weibo without even looking at the main stories, so she went back to the entertainment news page and closely studied it for a moment. She realized that as she was staring at Lu Jinnian’s screen for a while, Weibo released more news. It was a compilation of over a dozen photos of her and Lu Jinnian. They were photos secretly taken of them in ACR in the afternoon.

From her meal at the Japanese restaurant to Lu Jinnian’s arrival worn our from his travels, and again when Lu Jinnian pulled her into a kiss in a quiet corridor. Then more of when Lu Jinnian bought bought bought and swiped swiped swiped… till Lu Jinnian finally carried her, massaged her feet, and left with her… And all those photos were also with summarized.

Following the explosive photo post, the topic [The Nation’s Good Husband] quickly shot up the headlines on Weibo.

Qiao Anhao tapped it open. She discovered that the netizens who had cursed her earlier for being a man chaser had now completely switched sides.

=============================

Chapter 727: The Lu Qiao Couple (16)

Qiao Anhao tapped the topic open. She discovered that the netizens who had cursed her earlier for being a man chaser had now completely switched sides.

She saw their collective performance of jealousy, envy, and hatred in their messages’ tones’

[Oh god! Qiao Anhao actually got married to my dream guy.]

[Senior Qiao Anhao must’ve saved the galaxy to be able to marry my husband in this lifetime!]

[Where the fuck did your husband come from? Her is a real husband to sleep with, to touch, to massage her feet and buy handbags…]

[How could my husband be so hot? Did he clean out the whole of ACR?]

–

Earlier everyone was calling Qiao Anhao “man chaser”, “shameless”, “worthless”… How did it become “Senior saved the galaxy”, “won in life”, and “Mrs. Lu” later?

The story turned around a little too quickly. Qiao Anhao felt like it was all a dream, completely surreal.

Her Weibo had endless new followers, and so many people commenting and shared that her phone vibrated non-stop. After a while, she snapped back to her senses and opened Lu Jinnian’s Weibo.

After some time, his comment section skyrocketed from fifty million to eighty million. Qiao Anhao opened it to find one comment with the most likes: [You are my dream guy. Even though I really wanted to marry you, but as long you’re happy, I’m happy].

A comment with the second most liked read: [Dream guy, why did you only show one marriage certificate? Other celebrities have two.]

When Qiao Anhao saw this, she couldn’t help but curve one side of her mouth upwards as she thought back to her ripped up marriage certificate. She had the sudden impulse to tease Lu Jinnian, so she took a screenshot of the comments and sent it to Lu Jinnian in a private message. [Yeah… Mr. Lu, why did you only show one marriage certificate?]

With the sending of the message, she heard Lu Jinnian’s phone ring ‘ding dong’. Knowing that it was her own private message, she bit her bottom lip and sneakily lifted her eyes to check Lu Jinnian up and down. His expression was calm, with no reaction at all.

After half a minute, her phone was still quiet. He didn’t reply to her.

So Qiao Anhao sent him another message. [Mr. Lu, why did you only show one marriage certificate?]

There was still no answer, so Qiao Anhao started to flip through the forum. Not long after, their private chat filled her screen with the words: [Mr. Lu, why did you only show one marriage certificate?]

Lu Jinnian had a lighthearted expression on his face. Just when Qiao Anhao couldn’t help but say something to him, her phone suddenly vibrated. There was a new notification on Weibo. Qiao Anhao tapped to open it and found that Lu Jinnian had @’d her.

She clicked on it and discovered that he had shared the screenshot she had just sent him with message [Dream guy, why did you only show one marriage certificate? Other celebrities have two.]. He had then added a comment underneath it, [Excuse me, Mrs. Lu, did the marriage certificate taste good? @Qiao Anhao]

With Lu Jinnian’s share, Qiao Anhao’s Weibo discussion ran like flowing water with messages one after another.

[Mrs. Lu ate the other marriage certificate?!]

[Mrs. Lu, please reply, what does the marriage certificate taste like?]

[Tomorrow, I want to spend nine cents to buy a marriage certificate and see if it tastes good.]

[Woo woo woo, request to eat…]

Chapter 728: The Lu Qiao Couple?17?

[One day, I want to try my marriage certificate as well!]

[Wait no more, try it today! I’ll be waiting…]

Qiao Anhao burst out laughing at that comment.

A large portion of fans that saw the comments couldn’t help teasing Qiao Anhao after seeing the repost from Lu Jinnian’s Weibo. In just a short half an hour, the topic [Qiao Anhao ate her marriage certificate] became the top hit. One of the fans had even made a meme with a photo that Qiao Anhao had posted previously, but the bread that she was eating was edited into a marriage certificate. The moment the photo was posted, it caused a stir.

Just a second ago, the fans were jealous and in envy but the next it all became a joke. But even if she was the subject of the tease, she felt warm and sweet inside, her eyes curved into crescents as she glanced at Lu Jinnian. She used a slightly complaining tone to express her displeasure, “It’s all your fault… Lu Jinnian, apologize to me!”

Her words turned into a whine, and his face softened as a faint smile reached his eyes. He placed his phone down before leaning over to her ears, and in a low sensual tone he said, “How do you want me to apologize? Kneeling?”

A shiver ran through Qiao Anhao, sending her heart trembling. Even though she appeared calm and composed, her voice was shaky, exposing her facade. “Sure, kneel down and apologize…”

“Sure.” Turning, Qiao Anhao was once again below him…

–

Qiao Anhao panted, trying to catch her breath, her entire body limp as she begged. When he finally released her, he pulled her into his arms and leaned down to her ear. “Qiao Qiao, I’ve been kneeling in apology the entire time, I haven’t skived. ”

Kneeling in apology….

Qiao Anhao paused, stunned as she processed his words, the image of Lu Jinnian a moment ago floating into her mind. He was indeed kneeling on her the entire time…

Gradually, she finally understood what he meant.

Ah! Lu Jinnian meant that… he was kneeling on her, using his body to apologize…..

–

At 9 pm, Qiao Anxia alighted from the flight from Japan back to Beijing. While she waited for Cheng Yang in the airport lounge, she scrolled through Weibo, looking at the scandal about Qiao Anhao.

A flame started burning in her heart, but when she clicked onto the header and saw Lu Jinnian’s name, she froze.

The person Qiao Anhao was chasing after is him… The person that had disappeared for five months.

Before Qiao Anxia could fully process the information, Cheng Yang called to inform her that he was here.

Qiao Anxia hurriedly put away her phone, leaving the lounge with her luggage.

The moment she left the airport, she caught sight of Cheng Yang’s car. When she approached, she bent and saw him focusing on his phone.

Chapter 729: The Lu Qiao Couple?18?

Qiao Anxia raised her hand to tap on the window and Cheng Yang turned. When he saw her outside, he hurriedly placed down his phone. He reached for her luggage and placed it in the boot of his car. “Hurry into the car, you aren’t dressed warm enough for the cold.”

Qiao Anxia stood up on the tip of her toes to plant a kiss on his face before entering the car.

After placing the luggage in the boot, Cheng Yang sat back on the drivers seat. Just when he was about to start the car, he realized that Qiao Anxia hadn’t fastened her seatbelt. Bending over, he reached out to do it for her. Qiao Anxia circled her arms around his neck. “Did you miss me?”

Amusement clouded Chen Yang’s gaze, and lowering his head, he lightly kissed her lips. “Yea.”

“How much did you miss me?” she asked with a pout.

Cheng Yang planted another kiss before leaning to her ear, suggesting out rightly, “I’ll you let know when we reach home.”

“Hate you!” Qiao Anxia chuckled, pushing Cheng Yang away.

He laughed softly as he started the car. “What do you want to eat?”

“Hmm, steamboat?”

“Sure,” Cheng Yang replied. “The one near the small road?”

She nodded, and he applied more pressure on the accelerator.

When they entered the highway, Cheng Yang turned to gaze at Qiao Anxia. “Xiaxia, when shall we get our marriage certificates?”

“Didn’t we agree to get them in May? Are you in a hurry?” Qiao Anxia smiled brightly as she gazed at him sideways.

“Yea, I’m in a hurry,” Cheng Yang admitted, “Even Qiao Qiao got hers, as the elder sister, you can’t be left behind, right?”

“Qiao Qiao? Are you kidding?”Qiao Anxia spoke resolutely. “How can I not know about it?”

“You don’t believe me?” Cheng Yang chuckled lightly. “You should check out Brother Lu’s weibo.”

Lu Jinnian had been actively promoting Cheng Yang, so even though Cheng Yang have made a name for himself, he would still call him “Brother Lu” respectfully.

“You must be kidding.” Qiao Anxia remained unconvinced as she reached for her phone. “Just wait, if i find out that you’re lying, I won’t let you off…”

Before she could finish her sentence, she had already entered Lu Jinnian’s weibo. The moment she saw the latest post at the very top, the words got stuck in her throat.

Qiao Anxia froze as she stared at the small post. She enlarged the image and saw the photo of Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao on the marriage certificate that he had posted.

They looked compatible, Qiao Anhao had a gentle expression and genuine smile that came from within while Lu Jinnian had a faint hint of tenderness on his usual frosty expression.

Cheng Yang wasn’t lying, Lu Jinnian was married to Qiao Anhao.

And it had been over twenty days.

This meant that Qiao Anhao was aware that Lu Jinnian had gone to find her when she was unconscious and that she didn’t inform him about it…. Did she also already know that she had pushed her into marrying Xu Jiamu in order to get out of it?

Two days ago, her mother had been furious when talking about how Han Ruchu had murdered Qiao Anhao’s child.

Chapter 730: The Lu Qiao Couple?19?

Qiao Anxia had kept silent as her mother continuously complained about Han Ruchu. That night, she couldn’t fall asleep.

Qiao Anhao must have loved Lu Jinnian…. She only found out last Christmas, two months after Lu Jinnian had disappeared.

That night, Qiao Anhao was drunk, and she kept chanting his name the entire time. On the night before New Year, she had knelt outside Qiao mansion, crying alone as she whispered his name.

They had been in love.

It wasn’t just Lu Jinnian’s one-sided affection.

If last year when Lu Jinnian had asked her about Qiao Anhao’s whereabouts she had told him, would they have not missed out on each other?

A short while after Lu Jinnian had posted on Weibo, his post reached headlines. The entire web community’s attention was placed on him and Qiao Anhao.

After exiting the webpage, Qiao Anxia entered Wechat, wanting to ask Qiao Anhao if she was really married.

But the moment she entered Wechat, the first thing that caught her eye was the post that Qiao Anhao had shared on her newsfeed, [Today after lunch at ACR, hubby Lu Jinnian took me out shopping to digest the food, and then…]

Below the post was two photos, the entire car boot was packed with designer bags, even the backseats were overflowing.

They seemed to be doing well, and Qiao Anhao seemed to be happy…

But Qiao Anxia couldn’t understand what she was feeling as she stared at “Hubby Lu Jinnian”. She felt anxious, and at the same time somehow bitter.

“Hey, why are you dreaming? I’ve been calling you for such a long time!” Qiao Anxia felt a light tap on her head before processing Cheng Yang’s words.

She hurriedly snapped back to her senses and locked her phone before shaking her head. Shortly after, the car stopped. “We’re here, you can grab a seat while I park the car.”

Qiao Anxia turned to glance at the steamboat shop, and felt herself lose all appetite. “I’m a little tired, I don’t feel like eating anymore. Let’s go back to rest.”

Cheng yang paused for a while before nodding. “I’ll send you back first before getting food for you.”

Qiao Anxia nodded silently. She turned and stared out the window at the night skies, her expression dazed.

After sending her home, Chen Yang took his wallet and left the house.

Qiao Anxia slouched on the sofa staring up at the ceiling in a daze. Moments after she reached for her phone, unable to stop looking at Lu Jinnian’s weibo. When she clicked in, their marriage certificate was in full view once more.

She stared in a daze, and didn’t even notice when Cheng Yang came back with the food.

He poured it into plates and placed on the dining table. “Xia Xia, lets eat.”

Qiao Anxia was still in a daze, motionless as she stared at the phone.

“Xia Xia?”

Cheng Yang frowned slightly. He placed the plates down before walking towards her. He reached out to feel her forehead worryingly when he saw her pale face.

Qiao Anxia was startled back to her senses and hurriedly locked her phone. But despite her swift actions, Cheng Yang was still able to get a glance at the screen. It was Lu Jinnian’s weibo.

Chapter 731: The Lu Qiao Couple (20)

Chen Yang was slightly stunned for a moment, then he asked with a caring tone, “What’s the matter? Do you not feel well?”

“I’m fine.” Qiao Anxia smiled and shook her head.

Chen Yang let out an “oh”, then held her hand. “Let’s go have dinner.”

She looked at the table of dishes he had already laid out, and pulled her arm away. “I’m not hungry. I really want to sleep. You eat.”

Chen Yang pursed his lips and stared at Qiao Anxia with bright eyes for a while. Eventually, he nodded and said in his usually warm voice, “Okay, then I’ll go turn the shower on for you.”

“That’s alright. I’ll do it myself,” Qiao Anxia said in a gentle voice.

Cheng Yang moved his lips and nodded. “Alright, you go sleep for a bit first, I’ll keep your food warm for you to eat when you get up.”

Qiao Anxia let out an “Uh huh”.

Chen Yang instinctively lowered his head and planted a kiss between her brows. Just as his lips left her skin, she pulled her hand away, turned around and left.

Cheng Yang, who had waited for Qiao Anxia’s plane, hadn’t eaten, so he was actually pretty hungry. It was now nine o’clock, but at that moment, he lost his appetite. He chose not to rush back to the bedroom, but instead sat at the table for over half an hour before getting up. He wrapped the dishes in cling film, put them in the thermal food box, and then walked back into the bedroom.

He pushed open the door and saw Qiao Anxia on the bed all of a sudden shove her phone under the duvet and shut her eyes.

He stopped there at the door for a moment, then lightly walked over to the side of the bed. He knew that she was obviously not asleep, but he pretended not to know. After attentively pulling her covers up, he went into the bathroom.

After coming out of the shower, Chen Yang turned the lights off and lay down by Qiao Anxia’s side without disturbing her. He shut his eyes but wasn’t at all sleepy.

He didn’t know how long had passed when he felt her slightly shift around beside him, turning her phone on. Although he had his eyes shut, he could still sense it light up.

After a long while had passed, the phone screen darkened, and in the still of the night, he could clearly hear the on and off muffled cries of the woman by his side.

Chen Yang’s eyelashes flickered twice, but he still didn’t move an inch, pretending to be in deep sleep.

The sound of crying continued for a long time before it disappeared. After who knows how long had passed again, Qiao Anxia’s breathing became soft and long, as though she had fallen asleep. Only then did Chen Yang opened his eyes and turned his head. Under the pale yellow lights in the bedroom, he saw that her eyes were swollen from crying.

He gulped and his eyes fell on her phone. He hesitated for a moment before picking it up. He entered the passcode and went to Weibo to see Lu Jinnian’s page open.

About four hours ago, Lu Jinnian had sent out a new post, [Excuse me, Mrs. Lu, did the marriage certificate taste good? @Qiao Anhao]

No matter how one saw it, such a short phrase made people feel like the couple was covertly showing off its happiness.

However, as Qiao Anhao’s older sister, Qiao Anxia actually cried for most of the night over her happiness…

In his heart, Chen Yang felt like he understood something. He always gave Qiao Anxia her personal space, but for the first time, he opened her phone contacts. After looking through them for a long while, he eventually found the name “My Love”. He tapped it to find that his number wasn’t saved under that name, but another number he was very familiar with.

Chapter 732: The Lu Qiao Couple (21)

Lu Jinnian’s phone number..

Eleven digits confirmed his suspicions.

So his girlfriend who he had announced he was dating for over half a year now… the girlfriend he was about to propose to in a few days time on the fourteenth of February… the girlfriend who he had been dating for eight months now… the person who she actually loved, wasn’t him.

–

After Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian publicly announced their marriage, this news dominated the headlines for a full week. In that week, people didn’t fail to secretly take photos of Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian out on the streets or eating a meal.

With those very candid photos of the week, another topic rose to the Weibo top searches: [Unconventionally Warm Man Lu Jinnian].

The reason for this was simple – the Lu Jinnian in the photos appeared cold and distant, but he would always do something thoughtless that would reveal his true inner feelings.

For example, there was a video of Qiao Anhao choosing towels where Lu Jinnian wore a dull look on his face and stood far away, swiping his phone screen as though he wasn’t concerned. However, in just forty short seconds of the video, he sneaked a glance over at Qiao Anhao twelve times. According to people online, the shortest glance lasted under a second, and the longest was over five seconds.

For another example, there was a photo taken by a fan of Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian in an elevator. When the elevator got a little unbearably full of people, Lu Jinnian stood with a cold look on his face, but his eyes never looked towards Qiao Anhao’s smiling face. No one knew what Qiao Anhao was jabbering on about but he never once opened his mouth to speak. Instead, throughout the elevator journey, he kept his hand raised around Qiao Anhao’s head. His gesture could be seen as him being afraid that someone might accidentally bump into her head in the crowded elevator.

In the topic [Unconventionally Warm Man Lu Jinnian], there was one particular comment that got over three hundred likes: [He’s not a cold person, you’re just not the person he wants to be warm with.]

–

Eventually, the headliner that overshadowed Lu Jinnian and Qiao Anhao’s news was the polls.

This year, Hollywood’s major picture needed to cast a female celebrity from China, and the character was going to be chosen with the poll method.

There were some things Qiao Anhao might’ve casually said… yet Lu Jinnian clearly remembered that her dream was to become the queen of the silver screen.

If a celebrity wanted to make it big, to become a queen of the silver screen, then they needed to have determination and a portfolio of works. It was impossible to do so without several years under their belt.

This time, Hollywood’s poll was the chance for a female celebrity to undoubtedly propel their career.

Since Qiao Anhao had already completed a few projects, if she got this role, she wouldn’t be far off from becoming the queen of the silver screen.

So Lu Jinnian signed her up for it.

Qiao Anhao didn’t know about it until she was sent a letter to Mian Xiu Garden informing her that she’d been shortlisted.

In truth, Qiao Anhao didn’t really want to be the queen of the silver screen when she entered the entertainment industry, all she wanted was to become the best screen couple with Lu Jinnian. Now that they were husband and wife, she had achieved more than she’d ever dreamed.

She was considering to stop filming, but then Lu Jinnian had already signed her up and she also got shortlisted. If she was to outright reject it, then she’d be taking Lu Jinnian’s wishes for granted. What’s more, after he stopped production for “Love at First Sight”, Qiao Anhao had been quite free, and so she decided to give this Hollywood casting poll her all.

Chapter 733: The Lu Qiao Couple (22)

After all, Qiao Anhao right now didn’t represent just herself. She was also Mrs. Lu, and she couldn’t embarrass Lu Jinnian.

The Hollywood casting selection was no different from most of China’s variety show competitions. There were three stages; the selection process, the top eight, and the finals.

There were many people participating, and so there was very little time for each contestant. You had to make the judges see your brightest talent in the shortest amount of time to keep you.

There wasn’t a dress rehearsal for the selection, it was all live. Contestants were lined up in an alphabetical order according to their surnames. Qiao Anhao’s surname began with a ‘Q’, which was neither close to the start or end of the twenty six letters of the alphabet. Among over a hundred contestants, Qiao Anhao’s name was forty-ninth.

The female celebrities shortlisted for selection did have some acting skills and they weren’t bad looking. The competition looked extremely fierce. As the thirtieth person went up on stage, Qiao Anhao started to feel a little nervous.

When contestant number thirty-eight was called, Qiao Anhao started to prepare. As the number kept coming closer to hers, she wasn’t nervous, on the contrary, she gradually started to calm down.

As she was taking deep breaths in front of a mirror to calm herself, she couldn’t help but turn her head when the presenter called contestant number forty’s name. There she saw a well-dressed Lin Shiyi step onto the stage in her high heels.

Although Qiao Anhao was backstage, she could still see the broadcast of Lin Shiyi on the televisions backstage. Lin Shiyi sang an English song. Although she came from an acting background, she had a good set of pipes. The moment she hit a high note, the audience and the judges started to clap their hands.

Four out of five judges put Lin Shiyi through to the next round, the top eight.

Lin Shiyi returned from the stage with far more confidence on her face than when she got on. So much so, she glanced over at Qiao Anhao with an extremely provoking expression in her eyes.

Qiao Anhao pretended as though she didn’t see it and turned her head with a calm expression. She ran through the lyrics she’d memorized in her mind again, straightened her waist and back, and raised her chin high up.

She remembered well the words that Lu Jinnian had told her. The more Lin Shiyi wanted to compete with her, the more she had to pretend as if nothing had happened. Because it’s just as Edison Chen said, “Pretending as if nothing happened is the cruelest revenge.”

When number forty-seven finished performing, Qiao Anhao received Lu Jinnian’s text. It was just two simple words “Good luck!”, but they filled her with boundless confidence.

When the presenter said “Welcome number forty-eight Qiao Anhao on to the stage”, She handed her phone to Zhao Meng and stepped onto the stage.

Qiao Anhao had chosen to sing a song. But what was different from other actors was that she didn’t dance, play the piano, the guitar, and couldn’t hit a high note. She just stood at the center of the stage and calmly and clearly sang every word of the song she had chosen, “So What”.

This was a song she had accidentally stumbled upon in the car last year.

At the time, she didn’t know where Lu Jinnian was and had searched for him for a long time. When she heard the song, she just felt like the lyrics mirrored the thoughts in her heart, so she listened to it repeatedly and learned it by heart.

Chapter 734: The Lu Qiao Couple (23)

“It’s just hiding alone to be sad,

“It’s just not having anyone to talk to when you’re hurting,

“It’s just that this time I’ve been hurt too badly,

“I’m not afraid to love but I’m afraid to love so deeply.”

The memories of her and Lu Jinnian came to mind one frame at a time like in a slow motion video whilst Qiao Anhao sang. At that very instant, she wasn’t singing for the competition but simply for their romantic journey together.

She remembered the good times when she secretly had a crush on him, and how difficult it was because she didn’t dare to tell him. Happiness is to be able to turn around and smile. Every time they thought they were getting closer, they ended up farther away. They were clearly too timid to dare love, yet it was so deep-rooted in their bones.

“It’s just spending the dark nights alone,

“It’s just a kitchen without you and I,

“It’s just not having a song to play before sleep,

“I can still live on my own…”

They were now married and she wasn’t in pain like before, so she felt like she was quite fortunate whilst she sang this song again.

She was fortunate to receive blessings from heaven… to be able to find him, and hold hands with him again.

It was this kind of fortune that gave the song a very special feeling when she sang. It started to sound really emotional and it gave people a feeling of underlying hope.

It was like sadness, but it wasn’t really sad.

The moment Qiao Anhao’s singing came to an end, the entire audience fell silent. Half a minute passed. She didn’t know who started to clap, but like a coming tide, the applause from below the stage came rushing in. The judges snapped to their senses and also started to clap along. After waiting for the applause to stop, Qiao Anhao received compliments from all five judges and all five votes to go through to the next stage

–

Lately, Han Ruchu’s mental condition wasn’t that great. Since Qiao Anhao released the recording of her and Lu Jinnian at the charity gala, it shrouded the Xu family in ashes. Xu Wanli had been ignoring her recently, and he’d often didn’t come home to sleep. Sometimes he would come home late. At times, he wouldn’t sleep in the master bedroom but head straight for the guest bedroom to go sleep.

The year Xu Jiamu turned three, Han Ruchu learned that her husband had another child with someone else. It was at that very moment when she poured her entire life into Xu Jiamu. In those years, she and Xu Wanli appeared courteous with one another, but that was just a show for outsiders. In reality, when they closed the bedroom door, the two of them didn’t talk much. So much so, it had been almost ten years since she and Xu Wanli had lived a regular life as a married couple.

So when Xu Wanli treated her coldly, she didn’t really feel much. She only cared about her son, Xu Jiamu.

Since that night when he drove off from the entrance of Beijing Club, it had been over a week. He never returned her texts and when she went to the company to see him, his assistant would just give her excuses.

At six o’clock tonight, Han Ruchu tried to call Xu Jiamu several times again. As usual, no one picked up. The housekeeper got the dinner ready, but she wasn’t the slightest bit hungry. She got angry and went upstairs.

She shut herself in her room and blanked out for four hours. When she went downstairs to get some water, the two servants in the house were watching TV.

It looked like they were watching some kind of variety show, so she didn’t pay much attention to it. After she waited for a servant to pour her a cup of water, she heard Qiao Anhao’s name from the TV as she was just about to take her cup upstairs with her.

Chapter 735: The Lu Qiao Couple (24)

Han Ruchu subconsciously halted. She turned her head and looked over at the television screen that was as large as half the wall.

There was Qiao Anhao holding a microphone and giving a self-introduction in front of everyone. Then she quietly stood at the center of the stage and started to sing.

Her voice was pure and soft. She sounded beautiful and pleasant to listen to.

Not to mention the live audience and the judges, even the two servants watching the TV were transfixed by her song.

When Qiao Anhao finished singing, the judges were obviously surprised and excited. They were always picky, but this time they surprisingly couldn’t stop complimenting Qiao Anhao. The woman herself stood at the center of the stage, composed and graceful, with a smile that made her eyes curve.

That smile pierced Han Ruchu’s eyes.

If it weren’t for her, how could her son, Xu Jiamu, ignore her, his mother?

If it weren’t for her, how could she lose her reputation in Beijing’s business industry? And have her good relationships with her lady friends ruined to the point they all alienated her.

If it weren’t for her… how could she, Han Ruchu, be in such an embarrassing state today?

So she was participating in a selection show? So her performance was shocking? So she wanted to be famous online? So she wanted to look perfect in everyone’s eyes?

Alright… Since you now gained a name and garnered enough attention on yourself, I’ll use what you won and ruin your reputation. I’ll make you carry the name of a fickle woman!

With that thought, Han Ruchu curved her lips into a cold smirk. She suddenly cried the housekeeper’s name, “Aunt Yun.”

She didn’t know what the woman was doing in her bedroom when she heard an “Ai”, and she was late to come out. Han Ruchu then screamed with a higher pitch, “Aunt Yun!”

“Madam…” The housekeeper ran out of her room in a hurry. “Madam, I was just on the toilet.”

Han Ruchu didn’t even say a word. She only shot a look towards her room, then strode up the stairs.

The housekeeper immediately followed.

After they went into the bedroom, the housekeeper closed the door. “Madam, you were looking for me?”

Han Ruchu gave a cold nod of the head, then made a hand gesture at the housekeeper and whispered a few words into her ear. “You got it?”

The housekeeper nodded frantically. “Got it, madam. Don’t worry, I’ll go do as you ask now.”

–

This time, the organizers for Hollywood’s casting selection set up a poll on Weibo to add points for the next round of top eight contestants.

Qiao Anhao knew that her performance last night really stood out, but she never imagined that the day after the competition, she’d casually go on Weibo to find that her name was in top place among those in the poll, leading with almost ten million votes over the holder of the second place.

After breakfast, Lu Jinnian was busy, so he had to leave the house.

After the competition for the top eight contestants was set for Monday, Qiao Anhao spread out in front of the computer and racked her brain over what she could do in the next competition to make the show more outstanding.

She thought about it for the whole afternoon, and before it finally reached four o’clock, she thought of the most spectacular idea. Just as she gleefully picked up her phone, ready to call Lu Jinnian and tell him the results, she suddenly received a call.

The incoming call was from an anonymous number.

Qiao Anhao paused for a moment before taking the call and politely said, “Hello.”

“Hello, am I speaking to Miss Qiao Anhao?” a woman said quickly over the phone.

Chapter 736: Decision (1)

“Hello, am I speaking to Miss Qiao Anhao?” a woman said quickly over the phone.

It was someone Qiao Anhao didn’t recognize. She hesitated for a moment, but still retained her manners. “Uh huh, that’s me. May I ask, you are…”

Before she could finish speaking, the woman on the phone rushed to get the first word in. “Miss Qiao Anhao, I am a reporter for HF. I’m calling to interview you for a moment…”

The reporter didn’t ask for Qiao Anhao’s opinion, but continued with another question. “Is it true that you and the current CEO of Xu Enterprise Xu Jiamu were once married?”

As Qiao Anhao held the phone and heard those sudden words, she couldn’t quite register what the woman had just said.

Very few people knew that she and Xu Jiamu were married, so how would a reporter suddenly bring this up to her?

In the midst of Qiao Anhao’s suspicions, the reporter asked a series of questions over the phone. “Miss Qiao Anhao, for what reason did you and Mr. Xu Jiamu get a divorce? Did it have something to do with Lu Jinnian? Did you really have an affair with him while being married? Did you really, as the online news says, fool around with both brothers at the same time? Miss Qiao Anhao, why are you so silent? Does your silence suggest you admit to the claims?”

Towards the end, the reporter’s tone of voice had clearly become pressing and demanding.

At that very moment, Qiao Anhao finally understood what was happening. She used her most composed tone of voice and hastily told the reporter on the phone, “Apologies, I don’t accept interviews.”

Then she didn’t wait for the reporter to ask any more penetrating questions and hung up.

Qiao Anhao completely forgot that she had picked up her phone to call Lu Jinnian before. She rushed over in front of the computer and opened Weibo. As expected, her name was in the headlines.

She clicked onto it and saw the wedding photo of her and Lu Jinnian as Xu Jiamu at a small wedding venue. Then there was another photo of her walking with linked arms with ‘Xu Jiamu’, and other photos from the reception.

Later, there were a few photos of her and Lu Jinnian having a meal together. Lu Jinnian was on the phone as she fed him a shrimp.

Qiao Anhao remembered… those photos were taken by who knows who not long after Xu Jiamu woke up but before they had gotten a divorce. At the time, those photos were sent to Han Ruchu. Because of them, that woman even went and caused a scene at the Qiao family estate.

The final photo was a relationship chart which read that Lu Jinnian was Xu Jiamu’s step brother from a different mother, and Qiao Anhao was the latter’s ex-wife and the former’s current wife. There was also a note that said that before she and Xu Jiamu got divorced, she was already fooling around with Lu Jinnian…

Just as Qiao Anhao read the news about this, the doorbell suddenly rang on the first floor.

She hurriedly let go of the mouse and rushed downstairs. Before she opened the door, she raised her head to look over at the surveillance cameras on the wall out of habit. It was hard to say when they came, but now there were several parked cars and a flurry of reporters gathered outside the door. Everyone carried their own cameras and microphones, some of which flashed endlessly. There were even some reporters who had already started explaining into their cameras that this was her and Lu Jinnian’s home.

Chapter 737: Decision (2)

So it turned out to be reporters barricading the door…

Qiao Anhao immediately pulled her raised hand back.

She was the only one in Mian Xiu Garden. If she opened the door, she would definitely be surrounded to death by those savage reporters!

The doorbell rang incessantly. It went to the point that the reporters started to shake the iron gate of the courtyard. The sound of banging from the surveillance monitor traveled through Qiao Anhao’s ears, scaring her witless. She instinctively took a step back, then ran upstairs.

She pushed open the study room door, and heard her phone ring. From the ringtone, she recognized that it was Lu Jinnian calling.

–

Today, the person Lu Jinnian had a meeting with was Chief Wei of Wei Enterprise, who was mainly responsible for precious gems and pearls and jewelry. Lu Jinnian and Chief Wei had only met once at a dinner party, over twenty days ago. At the time, Huan Ying Entertainment was making preparations for a new TV drama. The drama required a few gems, and so Chief Wei gave him his business card in hopes of a cooperation.

For the past few years, Huan Ying Entertainment’s productions have had a set of brands in charge of the accessories and clothes, so at first Lu Jinnian didn’t think too much about his words. After he got into the car, he threw his business card into a box and didn’t bother with it.

Actually, Chief Wei didn’t think he had a shot at working with Huan Ying Entertainment, when suddenly Lu Jinnian personally called him one night last week to invite him for tea.

At the time, Chief Wei was in Africa, so the two of them scheduled a meeting a week later.

Chief Wei had already caught wind of how swift and decisive Lu Jinnian was and how he never acted unprofessionally. So Chief Wei expected that when he met Lu Jinnian, he would go straight to the fun and breakdown their collaboration without waiting for him to reply, and put a contract in front of him. He would give Chief Wei three days to consider the offer, and if he agreed then he’d go and find Lu Jinnian with signed contract.

However, Chief Wei never imagined that Lu Jinnian would meet him to leisurely drink tea for two hours, and chat a few words about their private lives and history, but not about a collaboration. Then, in the afternoon, Lu Jinnian would treat him to dinner in good spirits and invite him for a round of golf.

Chief Wei was a golf enthusiast who was quite the professional. They even played a friendly match. In the end, Chief Wei won, but he knew that Lu Jinnian had deliberately let him win. Otherwise, he believed that he would have wiped the floor with him.

When the competition ended, Lu Jinnian and Chief Wei sat in the break room.

The winter sunshine in the afternoon shone brightly through the glass and onto the table, giving people an everlasting feeling of tranquility.

The waiter served them two cups of coffee, then smiled, hugged the tray, gave a bow, and left.

Lu Jinnian slowly raised his coffee and took a sip. Then, he lifted his wrist and glanced over at the time. It was already two in the afternoon, and so he finally started the topic Chief Wei had waited half a day for.

“Huan Ying Entertainment’s latest drama on production is about a story surrounding the launch of a jewelry company. I believe Mr. Wei is already aware about it, right?”

Lu Jinnian paused for a moment, then said, “Regarding our partnership, I’ve thought of a great proposal. Would Mr. Wei be interested in hearing it?”

Chapter 738: Decision?3?

Mr. Wei nodded. “Mr Lu, please.”

Lu Jinnian took a sip of his coffee, and leisurely, he placed the cup back down on the plate with a soft crisp sound . In the quiet lounge area, the sound was unusually sharp. “I would like the main lead’s company to be called Wei Enterprise.”

Mr. Wei’s eyes brightened instantly.

Wei Enterprise… That would be an enticing advertisement for his company.

Lu Jinnian continued, “I would also change the main lead’s surname to Wei.”

Mr. Wei became visibly excited.

With such a background, Wei Enterprise’s name would have a stronger influence on the audience’s mind, and this would definitely be beneficial to Wei Enterprise’s jewelry.

This was definitely an enticing condition.

But what was the price…

“I have no complaints about the conditions you are offering, but I would like to know, what’s the minimum price you’re asking for? If it’s within the capability of the company, we can sign the contract now, if not, I would have to discuss this with the board.”

Lu Jinnian remained silent, raising one finger up.

“One billion?” Mr. Wei asked in astonishment, one billion wasn’t a small sum but the conditions that he was offering were indeed enticing… but no one could predict the popularity of the drama, hence this advertisement fee was too much. “Mr. Lu, I understand that Huan Ying Entertainment’s production would definitely garner a large following but we haven’t seen the drama yet so I would only be able to offer fifty million right now. After we have signed the contract, we can add on a clause stating that Wei Enterprise would be liable for the additional fifty million if there is a visible increase in the sales. If we both were to work at it, I’m sure the profits would be more than fifty million…”

“Mr. Wei, you’re mistaken, I’m not talking about one billion but ten billion,” Lu Jinnian interrupted faintly.

Mr. Wei trembled, clearly shaken by his words. “Ten billion? How is that possible? I’m afraid…”

“I’ll give you ten billion,” Lu Jinnian added.

Mr. Wei froze, staring at Lu Jinnian incredulously. The coffee in his hands shook, sending burning droplets onto his fingers.

The heat from the coffee seemed to have snapped him back to senses, and he smiled. “Mr. Lu, are you kidding?”

Lu Jinnian shook his head, staring straight into his eyes. “I’m serious.”

Mr. Wei froze, staring at Lu Jinnian for a long while before realizing that he was indeed being serious. Confused, he asked, ” Mr. Lu, why are you giving me money when you’re already helping me advertise? Won’t this be a disadvantages business on your part?”

Lu Jinnian remained impassive. Silently, he retrieved a check from his pocket and pushed it over.

Mr. Wei stared at the long string of zeros on the check, he counted carefully and realized that it was indeed ten billion.

As a businessman, he knew that there was definitely something up. He hesitated slightly. “Mr. Lu, do you plan on taking over Wei Enterprise?”

“No.” Lu Jinnian shook his head. He picked up his coffee and took another sip before continuing, “But for such an enticing condition, I’m indeed looking for a return.”

=============================

Chapter 739: Decision?4?

Mr. Wei remained silent, waiting patiently for Lu Jinnian to continue.

“The return I am looking for is something that Mr. Wei has.”

Mr. Wei seemed to have thought of something. “Mr. Lu, you mean…”

Without waiting for him to finish his sentence, Lu Jinnian nodded. “You’re right, I want Eternal Heart.”

Eternal Heart is one of the ten top diamonds in the world. Thirty years ago, Mr. Wei’s grandfather bought it for one billion RMB in an auction in England. Ever since, it has been placed in Wei Enterprise.

During the years, many people have come forward to ask for the Eternal Heart but not one of them had offered such an astonishing sum as he had.

Mr. Wei smiled. ” Mr. Lu, you seem like you want it at any cost?”

Lu Jinnian remained calm, a decisive glint flashing in his distant eyes. “Yea, at any cost!”

Regardless of what conditions the other wanted, he was determined to get the Eternal Heart!

“Mr. Lu, I’m sure you know that Eternal Heart is not for sale.”

“If you think the conditions aren’t enough, then let me add on something else.” Lu Jinnian retrieved a contract from the folder he carried around and pushed it over.

Mr. Wei opened the contract and realized that it was blank, with only Lu Jinnian’s signature at the bottom of the page.

Startled, he exclaimed, “Mr. Lu, you’re giving me an empty contract? Which means I can add on my own conditions?”

Lu Jinnian nodded, continuing without hesitation, “Mr. Wei, I’m sure this contract will be enough to move you so why don’t we just come to a conclusion, and as for the conditions, you can take your time to think and I’ll try my best to fulfill them.”

Mr. Wei stilled, he knew that Lu Jinnian was determined to get the Eternal Heart, but he never expected him to go so far.

He sunk into silence for a moment. “Mr. Lu, can you tell me the reasons behind your desire?”

Lu Jinnian didn’t try to beat about the bush, in a faint tone that was filled with emotion, he said, “Because my wife likes it.”

Yes, Qiao Anhao liked it.

It was high school when he found out that she liked the Eternal Heart.

At that time, the school had organized a dinner, and Qiao Anhao, Qiao Anxia and Xu Jiamu had planned an event, but they were missing an actor hence they approached him.

He had never been into these activities, but through it he would be able to practice with her so he agreed.

Qiao Anhao was the scriptwriter for the event and she named it “Eternal Heart”.

In the script, she acted alongside Lu Jinnian. That night, after they had practiced their lines, it started to rain heavily. They both waited inside the classroom since they didn’t bring their umbrellas.

Lu Jinnian was always a person with few words, especially now that he was with someone who he had loved for so long.

She sat at the desk in front of him with a crayon in her hands, doodling.

He stared at her back. She had a slender waist that fit perfectly in her uniform, her hair was tied into a high ponytail, the ends lightly brushing against her graceful neck. As she doodled, the sound of the crayon merged with the rain, bringing about a calming atmosphere.

=============================

Chapter 740: Decision?5?

Lu Jinnian thought for a topic to talk to her. “Eternal heart” was one of the top ten diamonds in the world but it wasn’t the best or the most expensive. At that time, he asked her why she didn’t choose a more well known one such as “Ocean’s Heart” or “Africa’s Heart”.

She seemed nervous when she heard his voice, and after hesitating for about half a minute, she turned. She didn’t respond immediately, instead, her lips curled into a tender smile that made her look adorable. He had even blushed, hurriedly turning away, only allowing her to see half his face. That’s when he heard her say ” I like ‘Eternal Heart’.”

She then added that it was too expensive so it was just a fantasy.

At that time, he was still a poor student, but since he knew that she liked it, he went online to search it up. He then soon found out that the sum was too much for him.

Now he had married her in a rush, without confessing, dating, proposing, an engagement ceremony, or even a wedding.

Even though she had never mentioned anything to him, but how could he allow her to be deprived off something so essential?

Besides, after he had contacted Mr. Wei and entered the bedroom, he clearly saw envy and a slight dim in her eyes when she saw a scene where a main lead proposed to a female lead.

–

“Because my wife likes it.”

Mr. Wei was left speechless by Lu Jinnian’s simple answer.

Because my wife likes it… That meant that he can just spend such a large sum for a diamond?

This was indeed a rich man’s world…

Mr. Wei flipped the empty document before pushing it back to Lu Jinnian. Lu Jinnian frowned. “You are not satisfied?”

“No.” Mr. Wei picked the check from the table. “I think this is enough, as for the additional conditions, I don’t need them.”

Lu Jinnian indeed had a talent for negotiation, even though he always kept a low profile, Mr. Wei was aware that he had close ties with people from Hollywood.

Rather than ending their ties on a deal, Mr. Wei would much rather have a friend like Lu Jinnian by his side which could be useful in sending Wei Enterprise to a global scale.

A good businessman would always think further.

Mr. Wei glanced at Lu Jinnian, who was sitting gracefully in front or him. “I’ll sell the “Eternal Heart” to you, if you’re free now, you can head over to Wei mansion with me to get it.”

The unexpected compliance seemed to have caught Lu Jinnian off guard, but he quickly understood Mr. Wei’s intentions. He was clearly trying to sell a favor to deepen their cooperation.

Lu Jinnian never liked taking favors but he agreed, signaling to a waiter for the bill.

After they left the golf course and prepared to enter the car, Lu Jinnian’s phone rang, it was a call from his assistant. He excused himself before walking a distance to answer.

“Mr. Lu, there’s trouble! Miss Qiao’s past marriage with Mr. Xu has been exposed, the entire web is in a frenzy. Someone has even exposed the location of your house, Mian Xiu Garden is now flooded with reporters.”

=============================

Chapter 741: Xu Jiamu’s Decision (1)

Lu Jinnian tightly furrowed his brows at the thought of Qiao Anhao alone in the villa at Mian Xiu Garden. After working in the entertainment industry for so many years, he fully understood just how crazy the reporters could get.

He didn’t wait for his assistant to explain every detail of what happened before saying in lightning speed, “Got it, I’m on my way back right now.”

With that, he hung up and looked over at Chief Wei. He pulled open the car door. “Apologies, Mr. Wei. I have some urgent matters to attend to which require me to step away for a moment. I’ll come back for ‘Eternal Heart’.”

Seeing as Lu Jinnian got off the phone with a rushed expression, Chief Wei wanted to offer him a few words, but in the end, the man had already gotten into the car. With a “Pa!”, he slammed the car door shut hard.

The car window scrolled down and Lu Jinnian very politely and majestically said “Goodbye”. Then he brutally stepped on the accelerator. Not long after, the car jumped and he sped out of sight.

Lu Jinnian ceaselessly stepped on the accelerator with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on his phone. He tapped onto Weibo. With his mind on the road ahead, he stared at the headlines to find the earth-shattering reality of the entire internet practically cursing Qiao Anhao.

His lips twitched, and he hastily dialed her. After it rang for a long time without anyone picking it up, Lu Jinnian grew anxious. Just as he was ready to hang up and call the home phone, Qiao Anhao finally picked up the call. Her voice sounded soft, as though she was in shock.

“Lu Jinnian, there are loads of reporters outside our house.”

Lu Jinnian looked straight at the road ahead and used his calmest tone of voice to say, “I’m on my way home. I’ll call the property management in a minute to drive the reporters away. Before I get there, no matter what, do not go outside and remember to shut all the windows…”

He gave detailed instructions for Qiao Anhao to pay attention to, then hung up. With both hands on the steering wheel, he sped even harder.

–

After Qiao Anhao finished her call, she purposefully ran down to check the doors and windows. When she confirmed that they were all locked, she then glanced over at the floor-to-ceiling windows to see that there were more reporters than before.

This was a scene she had seen before on TV and in entertainment news magazines. In the past, she had also heard of reporters barricading quite a few celebrity homes for days after a scandal broke out. She had never imagined though that there would be a day when this would ever happen to her.

After looking for quite some time, she went upstairs. Just now, because someone had pressed the doorbell, she only looked at the news reports, but she never saw the responses from people online. From how crazy the reporters were acting, she had an inkling that the internet discussions must be even more unbearable.

Rationality told her that what the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over. However, her emotional side couldn’t help but take a seat in front of the computer.

People online were certain that she had played both guys; during her marriage with Xu Jiamu, she was fooling around with Lu Jinnian, seducing both brothers. They said that her innocent face had done the worst thing on earth. It was so bad, some people directly called her a bitch, a whore… All in all, the words were as nasty as nasty could get.

=============================

Chapter 742: Xu Jiamu’s Decision (2)

Eventually, everyone named her Pan Jinlian 1 . They said she was his modern version.

When she woke this morning, she was complimented by netizens for her rendition of “So What” during last night’s Hollywood casting selection. So much so, that netizens voted her out as number one. In eight short hours, her name was in tatters. She’d become the representative for despised, fickle women.

Qiao Anhao knew that this time the scandal was far more serious than when she was called out for pestering Lu Jinnian and being named a man-chaser.

There was a high possibility that because of this she would probably never get any more commercial deals or movies. Every time someone thought of her, they would probably call her easy to get. Most importantly, this would also drag Lu Jinnian down.

Because according to netizens, she was fooling around whilst married, so Lu Jinnian was the third wheel.

In an instant, the Lu Qiao couple had become the trash guy and cheap woman.

However, Lu Jinnian’s fans were too strong. At this moment, everyone thought about ways to protect their revered dream guy, and so discussions created to curse Lu Jinnian quickly turned to discussions to save him. Some fans who were overly in love with him inevitably focused their anger on Qiao Anhao.

They thought that she was dragging their idol down, and so ceaselessly left comments on her Weibo: [You’re not worthy of my husband] ,[Please leave our dream guy alone], [We won’t allow you to trample all over the man we deeply love]. These type of messages were also sent privately to Qiao Anhao. There were also some Lu Jinnian’s fans who wrote lengthy discussions pleading for her to leave and stop ruining him like this.

One of Lu Jinnian’s fan posted the line, [It’s you every time. You taint our god! Please leave our dream guy.] on Weibo and accumulated millions of likes.

Actually, it was just the innocent thoughts of a fan, but they pierced Qiao Anhao’s eyes.

The fan wasn’t wrong. Since Lu Jinnian broke into the industry ten long and glorious years ago to now, he had never had anyone expose such terrible news about him. With every step she took to get to today’s success, he was attacked several times. The biggest time was last year when everyone tried to say she smoked drugs and he used the truth about him being an illegitimate son to cover up the scandal.

Qiao Anhao shut the computer in a somber mood. She laid on the computer desk with her eyes shut and a heart washed over by a tide of guilt and pain for carrying him down with her.

In many people’s eyes, Lu Jinnian was the perfect god, but she had to drag him down to the dirt and sully his name.

She loved him, but she brought upon him so many disasters.

At that thought, Qiao Anhao’s eyes started to water a little.

Through the window, she could still hear the faint sound of chattering from the reporters outside and the endless ringing from the doorbell.

–

Lu Jinnian must of called the property management to action. After an hour, the reporters outside the courtyard were all ushered away by the security.

The whole world fell silent.

Qiao Anhao let out a sigh of relief, stood up, and then walked over to the window. She saw that it was completely empty outside the gates. All that was left were some leftover rubbish on the ground.

Lu Jinnian was rushing home from the golf course in the western suburbs, so he wasn’t going to be home for over half an hour.

Now that the scandal had become so big, it wouldn’t be easy to go out at night anymore. To stop herself from thinking about the things online, Qiao Anhao went downstairs to cook dinner.

=============================

Chapter 743: Xu Jiamu’s Decision (3)

Just as Qiao Anhao walked into the dining room, before she could open the fridge, she heard the doorbell ring.

She got so used to ignoring the incessant ringing just now, that only after a while did she remember that the reporters had been ushered away by the property management. After shutting the fridge door, she walked over to the entrance and glanced over at the security monitor. There, she saw someone dressed in a delivery person’s uniform, wearing a baseball cap, so Qiao Anhao pressed the speak button. A voice came from the monitor, “Delivery.”

Qiao Anhao had actually bought some things online a few days ago, and the delivery person was all on their own, so she opened the door and stepped out.

She walked along the long courtyard of pebbles, pulled the door gate open, and casually reached her arm out to take her package. Suddenly, a surge of several people came from behind the wall beside her. Microphones were shoved in front of her face and lights flashed endlessly in front of her face. The reporters also questioned her without stop.

“Miss Qiao Anhao, are the photos online real?”

“Miss Qiao Anhao, did Mr. Xu Jiamu divorce you because you and Mr. Lu Jinnian betrayed him?”

Qiao Anhao was about to take two steps back and reach her arm out to shut the door when those reporters rushed past the iron gates, one step ahead of her. She was surrounded, with microphones practically stuck to her face.

“Miss Qiao Anhao, we all know that Mr. Lu Jinnian and Mr. Xu Jiamu are stepbrothers on their father’s side. I want to ask you, out of the two of them, who do you love most?”

Qiao Anhao was so suffocated by the crowd of reporters, she couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. With all her strength, she tried to break free from the mass of reporters, but because it was so chaotic, someone ended up tripping her over. Without any warning at all, she stumbled to the ground.

Not one of the reporters went over to help her up. Instead, they frantically took photos of her embarrassing position on the floor.

Qiao Anhao instinctively raised her arm to cover her face while hearing ceaseless questions being asked by the reporters.

“Miss Qiao Anhao, did Mr. Lu Jinnian and Mr. Xu Jiamu’s relationship break down because of you?”

“Miss Qiao Anhao…”

Just as the scene reached its most uncontrollable point, a reporter suddenly shrieked. “Who dragged me so hard?”

Closely following this, someone crouched down at Qiao Anhao’s side and reached their arm out to pull her up from the ground. They hugged her shoulders and asked, “Qiao Qiao, are you alright?”

Qiao Anhao shook her head, still in a state of shock. She turned her head to find Xu Jiamu’s furious face.

“Ah, isn’t this the CEO of Xu Enterprise, Mr. Xu Jiamu?”

With that reminder, the reporters immediately grew interested. They raised the microphone and flocked over to Xu Jiamu and Qiao Anhao.

“Mr. Xu Jiamu, how are you suddenly here?”

“Mr. Xu Jiamu, is this to say that you still love your ex-wife, Miss Qiao Anhao?”

“Mr. Xu Jiamu, after Qiao Anhao betrayed you, do you not bear any grudges against her?”

Without thinking twice, Xu Jiamu didn’t bother with the reporter’s questions, and walked Qiao Anhao into the house with her protected in his arms.

Chapter 744: Xu Jiamu’s Decision (4)

The reporters would not stop pestering them. As the crowd followed them, they continued to ask questions.

With the same impassive attitude, Xu Jiamu embraced Qiao Anhao’s shoulder and hastened his pace whilst protecting her from falling over in the tight squeeze.

When they were about to reach the center of the courtyard, the reporters, following right beside Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu, suddenly barged forward, creating a domino effect of people falling forward. One of the reporters staggered from the sheer force from behind, which resulted in him loosening his hand that supported the camera on his shoulder. The camera slipped forward, surging right towards Qiao Anhao’s shoulder.

Xu Jiamu, who was stood beside her, was first to see what happened from the corner of his eyes. He subconsciously let out the word “Careful!”. Then, he raised his arm and covered Qiao Anhao’s shoulder.

The camera smashed onto Xu Jiamu’s arm, then fell hard to the ground, the lens shattering.

The camera was extremely heavy, so the immediate pain as it crashed into Xu Jiamu’s arm had stopped him in his tracks. He held that blocking position for a whole minute, before gritting his teeth and dropping his arm.

Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu were surrounded once again by the reporters.

They came flocking with questions once more.

Xu Jiamu endured the pain in his arm, and brushed the reporters blocking the way in front of him. He dragged Qiao Anhao back to his side to protect her, and pushing the reporters in front of him aside, he continued to rush into the villa.

Having seen Xu Jiamu protect Qiao Anhao like that time and time again, the reporters couldn’t help but raise a microphone in front of her.

“Miss Qiao Anhao, you’re already divorced with Xu Jiamu, why does he treat you so well? Do you and Mr. Xu Jiamu secretly have some kind of shady relationship right now? Which goes to say, are you still lingering around both men, and playing with their feelings?”

Xu Jiamu was already annoyed with those pestering reporters. Now, hearing them say such nonsense, he suddenly erupted in rage. He didn’t hesitate to grab the reporter’s microphone and throw it brutally to the ground. “What the f*ck did you just say? With which eye did you see us having a shady relationship?”

With an angry roar, he erupted in a slew of swear words.

Xu Jiamu’s reaction was so intense, it shocked the reporters into a momentary silence.

No one could say who it was, but someone in the crowd abruptly cried, “How could you hit someone?”

With those words, the reporters slowly snapped back to their senses, and grew increasingly more erratic. “Yeah, how can you just casually shout at people?”

“Even if you’re mad from being embarrassed, you can’t hit people!”

“Please apologize to us.”

“Who the f*ck hit anyone? Who did I hit?”

Xu Jiamu felt that the reporters were being unreasonable. He looked to his left and right with a red face full of anger, then realized that in the midst of the chaos, the reporters had charged their way into Lu Jinnian’s courtyard. Suddenly, without thinking twice about it, he pulled out his phone and made a call. “Hello, is this 110? I’m at Second Ring Road, Mian Xiu Garden, Unit 106. There are people trespassing on private property.”

As Xu Jiamu said this, the reporters realized just where they were.

Xu Jiamu put his phone away and said in the same outraged tone, “Go ahead and cause trouble. I’ve already called the police.”

Chapter 745: Xu Jiamu’s Decision (5)

Xu Jiamu put his phone away and said in the same outraged tone, “Go ahead and cause trouble. I’ve already called the police.”

The reporters cowered from Xu Jiamu’s roar, and they clearly slowed down their rushed footsteps.

Taking advantage of this, Xu Jiamu dragged on Qiao Anhao’s wrist and rushed into the house and viciously threw the door shut.

–

Because of all the commotion in the courtyard just now, Xu Jiamu didn’t think too much about it, but now that it was just the two of them in the room, he suddenly thought back to the night of the charity gala. The thought of it instantly made him feel so ashamed that he couldn’t quite face his friend.

Qiao Anhao stood at the door, still in a state of shock. She took two deep breaths before she could calm down. As she took a glance over at Xu Jiamu beside her, she said, “Brother Jiamu, thank you.”

Those words “Brother Jiamu” made Xu Jiamu feel increasingly more guilty. Not daring to look into her eyes, he lowered his head and gave a nod.

Qiao Anhao bent over and helped him grab a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet. “Come in and sit for a while. The reporters outside haven’t left yet.”

Then, she turned around and walked into the house.

Only then did Xu Jiamu relax his tensed up body and leaned against the door. He looked like he was in a daze.

Qiao Anhao came out of the kitchen with two cups of water. When she saw Xu Jiamu still blankly standing at the door, she called, “Brother Jiamu?”

Xu Jiamu snapped back to reality with a little delay, and glanced over at Qiao Anhao. When his eyes met her pitch-black yet clear line of sight, he immediately turned his head away. He slowly changed his shoes and stepped into the house.

“Sit.” Qiao Anhao pointed at the sofa.

Xu Jiamu said “Thanks” in a low voice, and took a seat.

Qiao Anhao put a cup of water in front of him.

He said “Thanks” again in a slightly hard to understand voice.

With that, his eyes gazed directly at the cup of water.

After a long silence, he spoke up. “I saw the news online that you two got married. Is it true?”

“Uh huh,” Qiao Anhao. gently responded

Xu Jiamu instinctively wanted to ask “My brother… is he alright?”, but when he opened his mouth, the words got caught in his throat. In the end, he focused on his cup of water and lowered his head.

The room fell silent again, but this time Qiao Anhao was the first to speak. “Brother Jiamu, there weren’t many people who knew that we were married, how did news of it break out?”

Xu Jiamu suddenly tightened the grip on his cup.

“Also, Brother Jiamu, that photo of Lu Jinnian and I having dinner together… only both our families have it. How did it get leaked online?”

Qiao Anhao’s voice was clearly just as innocent and soft as before, but Xu Jiamu felt like her two questions were like two ruthless slaps to his face.

He found out about the news half an hour ago from Song Xiangsi.

The moment he saw it, he was in a complete daze. In his heart, he knew who was behind this.

Coincidentally, he was staying at Mian Xiu Garden last night, and because he felt so down about the news, he went out to the balcony for a smoke. That’s when he saw Qiao Anhao open the gates and get surrounded by reporters.

Without a second thought, he put out the cigarette, ran down, jumped over the fence between their villas, and rushed over.

Chapter 746: Xu Jiamu’s Decision (6)

Now that Qiao Anhao asked him, how could the photos have been leaked online when there were so few people who knew about them?

How should he respond to that?

That night at the charity gala, the truth about his mother killing her child was already made clear. Now that this happened, it was clear who did it.

Yet, he didn’t know how to tell her… that it was probably his mother’s doing.

Xu Jiamu subconsciously wanted to change the topic. Then he remembered that he had helped Qiao Anhao up from her fall and asked, “Qiao Qiao, where are you hurt?”

As he said this, he raised his head and saw that her arm was grazed and bleeding.

He hurriedly put his cup down, stood up, and took out the first aid kit from underneath the coffee table. “You’re hurt. Let me take care of the wound.”

Qiao Anhao had known that Han Ruchu would never leave the matter at that. She would definitely do something.

But she never imagined that it would all come so quickly.

Even if Han Ruchu wanted to ruin her reputation, she could forget about being able to calmly watch her suffer in agony.

Qiao Anhao knew that she was too harsh. Xu Jiamu had just thoughtlessly come to help her with no concern for his own personal safety, and yet she was now using him to attack Han Ruchu. But then again, she had no other options.

Han Ruchu used Lu Jinnian’s weakness to defeat him, so all she could do was do the very same; use the woman’s weakness to retaliate.

Qiao Anhao silently stared at Xu Jiamu taking a cotton bud from the first aid kit with lowered brows. She was conflicted for a moment but finally opened her mouth to say, “Brother Jiamu, you obviously knew that the only reason why I agreed to your mother’s suggestion was because you’re my friend. At the time, you got into a car accident and fell unconscious, so I wanted to help you.”

Xu Jiamu suddenly stopped moving with the iodine in his hands.

That’s right. At first Qiao Qiao wanted to help him, but her kindness ended up becoming her downfall.

“But, Brother Jiamu, I really didn’t think things would turn out like this…” With those words, her eyes became a little wet and a single tear rolled down from the corner of her eyes. “Brother Jiamu, did you know? Everyone online is shouting at me. I’m finished. For the rest of my life, I’m finished… At first it was to help you, but in the end I ruined the rest of my life. Not only did I ruin mine, but I also dragged Lu Jinnian down…”

Qiao Anhao was just venting to Xu Jiamu… but Xu Jiamu felt like she was completely blaming him, making him unable to lift his head up in front of her.

He tightly clutched onto the iodine with enormous strength, and finally opened his mouth to say, “Sorry.”

“Brother Jiamu, what are you apologizing for? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

At that very moment, Xu Jiamu really hoped that she would stand up, rant at him in rage, get mad at him for having such a mother, and call him an ingrate.

He felt like that would make him feel better somehow.

He clearly knew that the word “Sorry” was so bland and useless in comparison to the colossal disturbance Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian now had to face.

But as he thought about it, all he could do was say that word. “Sorry, Qiao Qiao. I’m so sorry. Sorry.”

Then, at that moment, the door burst open. Lu Jinnian’s cold voice had a hint of anxiousness when he called, “Qiao Qiao?”

Chapter 747: Xu Jiamu’s Decision (7)

The moment Xu Jiamu heard that voice, his entire body trembled.

He distinctly heard the sound of Lu Jinnian’s voice behind him draw closer, then stop on the spot.

He figured Lu Jinnian must’ve seen him by now.

Xu Jiamu was crouched down in front of the coffee table with his back towards the entrance. He didn’t dare turn his head to glance at the person behind him.

Lu Jinnian’s face looked distinctly anxious, but he was seemingly frozen the very instant he saw Xu Jiamu. As he stared at his back for quite a long time, he then turned his line of sight down to Qiao Anhao. His lips moved but he didn’t say a word.

This was the first time the two brothers saw each other since Lu Jinnian acquired Xu Enterprise.

Qiao Anhao clearly felt that the atmosphere in the room was a little off. She put the cup in her hands down and stood up. “I was stopped by reporters just now. It was Brother Jiamu who helped me.”

Lu Jinnian slightly nodded, but didn’t say a word.

The house slipped into silence.

Qiao Anhao stared at Lu Jinnian, and then at Xu Jiamu. “How about you both sit down?”

“That’s alright,” said Xu Jiamu, as though he’d snapped back to reality. He pulled a smile and looked over at Qiao Anhao. “There’s no reason for me to stick around, so I’ll be off.”

As he said this, he put the iodine in his hands down on the table. Without turning around to see Lu Jinnian, he spoke again. “Qiao Qiao fell over just now.”

Even though Xu Jiamu didn’t say his name, but the people in the room knew who he was talking to

Lu Jinnian stood on the spot for a long while with a calm expression and let out an “uh huh”.

Xu Jiamu didn’t speak again, but stood up from his crouched position. As he got up, he furrowed his brows and felt the immense pain in his arm where the camera had crashed into it. Without a single grunt, he acted as though it was nothing, then said “Goodbye.”

Before Lu Jinnian said anything, Qiao Anhao opened her mouth to say, “Goodbye.”

Xu Jiamu turned around and walked right out the door. When he walked past Lu Jinnian’s side, he wanted to raise his head to glance over at him, but in the end, his footsteps never stopped, and he sped out of the villa.

After Xu Jiamu left, the room was silent for a whole minute before Lu Jinnian suddenly strode over to Qiao Anhao. “Are you alright? Qiao Qiao?”

As he said this, he scanned Qiao Anhao up and down to find that she had grazed her palms. He furrowed his brows, then helped her take a seat. He picked up the cotton bud and iodine Xu Jiamu had put on the table, and helped Qiao Anhao clean the wound.

“Didn’t I tell you you not to go outside? Why didn’t you listen and still went out there?”

“The reporters left. Then a delivery came to the door, which is why I went out. I never imagined that the delivery person was a reporter in disguise. As soon as I opened the door, reporters came rushing in and surrounded me.”

“Apart from the graze on your wrist, are you hurt anywhere else?”

“Nope,” said Qiao Anhao in a delicately sweet voice, then burrowed herself into Lu Jinnian’s arms.

He reached his arm out to hug her, then lowered his head and kissed her hair. With a slight hesitation, he asked, “What about Jiamu? Why was he here?”

“I don’t know either… I was squashed between the reporters on the floor. They surrounded me and no matter how I tried, I couldn’t get up. Then Brother Jiamu appeared…”

Chapter 748: Xu Jiamu’s Decision (8)

Qiao Anhao paused for a moment and made a guess. “Brother Jiamu probably saw what happened from the courtyard next door and rushed over here.”

So that’s what happened… Lu Jinnian assumed that because she liked Xu Jiamu in the past, she naturally turned to him for help in a dire situation.

It seemed like he was too nervous and over-thought things.

“This time, it’s all thanks to Jiamu.”

Qiao Anhao didn’t notice how strange it was for Lu Jinnian to question her about what happened. She nestled herself into his arms, and obediently nodded her head.

–

When Xu Jiamu returned to his villa, he didn’t even enter the house. Instead, he got straight into the car, started the engine up, and left.

There were quite a few cars on the road, so his car stopped frequently en route. In the end, he turned into the neighborhood of the Xu family estate.

Just as he turned into the road of his house, Xu Jiamu saw the housekeeper in the courtyard sending a person out. He didn’t know what they were saying, but in the end, he saw the housekeeper hand that person an envelope. As he was quite a distance away, Xu Jiamu couldn’t quite make out what it was.

But whatever it was, that person seemed delighted. He wasn’t sure what he said to the housekeeper, but the man then walked in the direction of this car when finished. The housekeeper stood at the gate for a while before heading back into the courtyard.

Xu Jiamu instinctively slowed the car down, paying close attention to the person with the envelope. The person looked quite familiar to him, as if he he’d seen him somewhere before, but he couldn’t quite remember.

The person walked up to a tree by the road, and stopped under it with his back against the road. He opened the envelope.

Xu Jiamu was slightly closer to the stranger now, and he clearly saw him take out a thick wad of cash and swiftly count the notes.

What did this person do? Why did the housekeeper give him so much money?

With a heart filled with suspicion, Xu Jiamu parked the car and stared at the person counting cash for a while. The longer he stared, the more certain he was that he’d seen him before. After thinking back carefully about it for a long while, he thought back to the delivery man he’d seen just then at Lu Jinnian’s villa.

Xu Jiamu furrowed his brows in sudden realization… He was the guy dressed as the delivery man!

In that instant, Xu Jiamu pushed open the car door in a rage and rushed over to him. “Why did Auntie Yun give you money?”

The person sheepishly counting his money jumped in shock from Xu Jiamu’s sudden move. When he heard what was said, he realized that the person before him was no other than the young master Xu.

Xu Jiamu’s patience was extremely awful. Seeing the man take so long to speak up, he suddenly snatched the envelope from his hands, took out a lighter and aimed it at the thick wad of cash. “You going to talk? If you don’t talk, believe me I’ll take all this money now and burn it for you!”

“Young master Xu, Auntie Yun called me over to fix something in the house…”

Xu Jiamu wasn’t having it. With a flick of the lighter, the flame jumped out, immediately scaring the guy to change his tone. “I’ll talk! I’ll talk!! Young master Xu, Madam Xu gave me the money.”

With that, Xu Jiamu loosened his grip of the lighter. He looked at the guy, as though he was was waiting for him to continue.

Chapter 749: Xu Jiamu’s Decision (9)

With that, Xu Jiamu loosened his grip of the lighter. He looked at the guy, as though he was was waiting for him to continue.

The guy stared at the wad of cash in Xu Jiamu’s hands and hesitated for quite a long time. Without so much as an utter of a word, Xu Jiamu flicked the lighter again, which promptly made the man speak up.

“Young master Xu, no matter what, please don’t make any sudden moves. I earned that money for gathering a bunch of reporters to Mian Xiu Garden and tricking Miss Qiao on Madam Xu’s request…”

Xu Jiamu halted. His face instantly froze over. “And then?”

The guy said just two words, “That’s all…”. Without batting an eyelid, Xu Jiamu pulled out a single red note, flicked the lighter, and set it alight. The guy shrieked “No!” with a regretful expression. The burning note fell from Xu Jiamu’s hands and instantly turned to ashes as it fluttered to the ground.

Xu Jiamu didn’t even give the guy a chance to react before pulling out more money. This time, it wasn’t just one note but a thin wad.

At that moment, the guy couldn’t care anymore, and laid it all out without a second thought. “Madam Xu had me leak Miss Qiao’s home address. Just as Miss Qiao was surrounded by reporters, Madam Xu wanted me to take that chance to trip her up. Then, in the midst of the chaos, she asked me to crush her with the camera. The camera is so heavy, it alone would definitely crush Miss Qiao half to death… Madam Xu said that after it was done, she’d give me fifty million as a reward, but in the end, you, young master Xu appeared, so I ended up with just this much. Please… I beg you give it to me…”

“So you tripped Qiao Qiao? When the reporters chased us down, the only reason why everyone pushed forward was because you did it?” Xu Jiamu’s gaze instantly reached a freezing point.

The guy was so frightened by Xu Jiamu’s expression, he backed up against the tree. With a trembling voice, he said, “Young master Xu, it wasn’t me. It was Madam Xu… Madam Xu’s idea… I recently lost money to gambling and have been hounded down like crazy by some people. Auntie Yun and I are from the same hometown, so she came to find me. Fifty million… I’ve never seen that kind of money in my whole life, so I agreed to do it. Young master Xu, I won’t ever dare to do such a thing again. I really didn’t want to do those kind of things. I was just listening to Madam Xu and Auntie Yun’s orders…”

“After taking their orders, you could do those things? Fifty million? Fifty million is what it takes for you to kill someone? Do you fucking know that this is illegal? If I hadn’t seen you this afternoon, and you really crushed someone to death in that chaos. It’s not just the two of them, but you too! All of you would have to go to prison… to prison! Do you understand?!”

Xu Jiamu boiled with a demonic rage from his anger, making the guy’s legs start to tremble in fear. But just as Xu Jiamu wasn’t paying attention, the man didn’t think twice and grabbed for the envelope in his hands.

Some money scattered to the ground. The guy bent over and frantically picked up a few notes. As though he was afraid Xu Jiamu would chase him down, he eventually legged it like he was running for his life.

Xu Jiamu didn’t chase him down. Instead, he awkwardly stood on the spot for quite some time, then raised his hand and rubbed his face.

He thought… His mother was just upset, so she leaked the information. He even had a slither of hope to go home and try to convince her to let go.