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“Shi Min, I apologize,” Luo Mingjing said softly, holding the kitten in his arms.
“It’s understandable,” Shi Min wasn’t bothered at all. “When I came back earlier, I knew you’d definitely be angry. These past two days, your emotions have been unstable. I could tell you really wanted to lash out at your sister, but you didn’t. Before you explained, I thought you felt guilty toward her—you looked like someone who had done something wrong and was now trying to atone for it. But after hearing everything, it turns out it’s her fault. I understand you, but I don’t understand how the two of you handle things.”
Luo Mingjing cradled the trembling kitten in his arms and quietly said, “How can I not be angry? This time, she almost pushed me back… If you weren’t here, I might have just given up. But every time I wanted to seize the chance to get angry with her, to discipline her, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
Luo Mingjing continued, “Shi Min, you’ve probably never seen parents like that. They decided to send their daughter to her uncle’s house—that’s abandoning her. At the time, Qianqian had just started second grade. She knew it was wrong, so after school, she walked home, knocked on the door, but my uncle and aunt stayed silent inside. She didn’t have any money. Such a young child, she walked until nightfall to reach our doorstep. She didn’t dare knock, so she just squatted outside… In the dead of winter, my father found her when he returned home late at night.”
Shi Min sighed faintly.
Luo Mingjing went on, “She knew what her parents did was wrong, but she had no choice. When the school asked for tuition fees, she went to my uncle. Can you imagine how a father would treat his own daughter? My uncle took out five yuan, threw it on the ground, and told her to pick it up, calling her a ‘money-losing brat’ and telling her to leave. Qianqian came to our house. My father is a man of few words, and she wasn’t close to him. My grandfather always opposed her staying with us, so she didn’t dare ask for anything. My mother… she couldn’t give her money either. The next morning, as soon as she stepped out the door, she cried and asked me, ‘Brother, do you have any money? Today’s the last day, the teacher wants me to pay the tuition fee.’ I asked her, ‘Didn’t Dad give you money?’ She said, ‘Dad threw five yuan on the ground and told me to leave…’”
Shi Min truly hadn’t heard such a story before. She exclaimed incredulously, “Are they her biological parents?”
“Yes, they are,” Luo Mingjing replied. “You said I feel guilty, and I do… Qianqian is only a year younger than you. Normally, she should have graduated from university last year, but I delayed her by a year. When our family fell apart, she was about to take the college entrance exam, but because of me, she didn’t sit for it that year. Your family likely hasn’t dealt with these kinds of issues, so you may not fully understand… She has many small flaws—she’s competitive, vain, and wants to claim everything good for herself. I know all this, but every time I want to scold her or lecture her, I remember how she squatted outside our door, wearing a dirty old shirt, looking up at me with tears and snot streaming down her face… She’s a girl abandoned by her family. Our home isn’t much of a home either—besides money, we had nothing. For her to grow up and become who she is today, I’m genuinely relieved. She’s a good-hearted child who didn’t turn bad despite her environment… I know she made mistakes, but I can’t bring myself to be angry with her. I know what she’s like, what she wants most. It’s not indulgence—it’s pity… Back then, when our family fell apart, she gave up the college entrance exam for me. You haven’t experienced such times… She clung tightly to me, crying and saying, ‘Brother, I only have you left…’ Both of us, at that time… were abandoned by everyone. I had no future, and neither did she. We had nothing, our paths completely destroyed.”
“Shi Min, what else can I do?” Luo Mingjing smiled bitterly. “During the hardest, most helpless times, it was my sister who stayed with me. Everyone else in my family was gone. The only one who didn’t kick me while I was down—who, despite being in a mess herself, burdened by her own troubles with her parents demanding money—was my sister. She’s not beyond saving. In the future…”
After a long silence, Shi Min exhaled deeply and said, “I can begin to forgive you. As for your sister, I’ll deal with her later. Mingjing, let’s change the subject…”
Luo Mingjing smiled slightly and asked, “What do you want to eat tonight?”
“We’re going home for dinner tonight,” Shi Min replied. “Mom’s cooking. She wants you to come back.”
As the two-month-old kitten nestled in his arms, Luo Mingjing asked Shi Min where she had found it. Shi Min answered, “In the flower bed. I got lucky. I was thinking about what to get you to cheer you up, and it just appeared.”
While waiting at the pet hospital for the kitten’s deworming treatment, Shi Min’s phone rang. She glanced at it, then stepped outside to answer.
The veterinarian approached and asked, “Have you decided? What do you want to name it? I’ll write a tag.”
Luo Mingjing answered, “President.”
The call was from Xiao Pi. Shi Min listened intently, her expression darkening.
“Luo Meishi’s grandson?”
“Yes, absolutely. The Luo family is quite famous locally. I casually asked around Haishi, and almost everyone knows about them. Their reputation isn’t good. They say that after Luo Meishi died, Luo Heqiang kept mistresses and third wives, and his first wife jumped off a building. They also say that Luo Mingjing was a typical spoiled rich kid who drank, gambled, and partied—all sorts of vices—and that his mother dying was well-deserved. Some even blame bad feng shui on their family grave… The rumors keep getting more exaggerated, sounding like anti-rich sentiment.” Xiao Pi continued, “I just came out of the police station. I can confirm that there’s a record of Luo Mingjing being detained for 15 days. I’m heading to the studio now. The people at the station said that Luo Mingjing once ran a studio in Haishi, but after an incident, he transferred it to someone named Li. I’ll call you back after I find out more.”
“Not just 15 days—he himself told the doctor it was three months,” Shi Min interjected, glancing back into the hospital. “Find out the truth. I’m furious right now. Don’t give me useless hearsay. Give me concrete information. I’ll take Fiona’s call first.”
If Fiona was calling at this moment, it couldn’t be good news.
“Sis…” Fiona began, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry… Someone posted a Weibo thread last night—it’s… it’s an old marketing plan we scrapped. They said that sis’ husband didn’t graduate from university and that this market launch is a big scam to cheat fans out of money. They also claimed that sis’ husband signed with Yang Ying’s film company and is debuting… It’s already been retweeted 6,000 times. Though not a huge number, it hit the trending topics list. We discovered it this morning and thought it seemed too targeted, like a rival’s move. But after checking the IP, it’s not from a competitor. We contacted customer service, and they gave us the blogger’s phone number. No one answered when we called.”
“Send me the content.”
“I don’t dare…” Fiona whimpered. “I’m afraid you’ll get mad.”
“Hurry up!” Shi Min snapped. “Isn’t the marketing plan your responsibility? Shouldn’t scrapped plans be destroyed?”
“They found out,” Fiona whined. “Sorry, boss! I’m investigating who leaked the plan. The PR team is analyzing the blogger’s Weibo posts, and we’ll have results soon. By latest, we’ll have a PR strategy ready by this afternoon. For now, tell sis’ husband not to post on Weibo or go live…”
“By 2 PM, tell me the solution,” Shi Min said, hanging up.
She found the exposé thread on Weibo. It was posted by a user named Zeus-Thunder-In-Hand, with over a thousand followers, registered six months ago and having posted over a thousand tweets. After quickly scrolling through a few pages, Shi Min formed a preliminary judgment.
“A colleague.”
Most of the user’s posts were retweets and comments about fashion design, using professional terminology but with an arrogant tone. Occasionally, there were original posts venting frustrations about work.
He referred to people by single-letter initials, calling “A” a useless millennial and cursing actress “Y” for being blind and pretentious. One post, from November before the New Year, lamented fate, saying that a classmate he once despised was now a third-rate online female clothing influencer.
Zeus-Thunder-In-Hand: Fate and I clearly share the same taste. A classmate I once loathed for being overly pretentious, claiming to be the best in the world, is now a third-rate online female clothing influencer selling herself for laughs, just like a pretentious woman reduced to prostitution. This isn’t fate—it’s karma! Serves her right for being so pretentious!
In the comment section, several fans who traced the post expressed anger, calling the blogger vulgar.
Fairy-Doesn’t-Exist-Cup-C: A third-rate influencer? Are you talking about my Fairy? [Crying emoji] How disgusting…
Fairy’s-Great-Sword-Team: Blogger, must be living a hard life, jealous of others’ success.
President-Close-The-Car-Door: Damn, did this person eat poop? Such a foul mouth!
Pick-Up-Fairy-And-Run: Your mom exploded! Did you hear that?! So angry!!
Zeus-Thunder-In-Hand replied to Fairy’s-Great-Sword-Team: Thanks for your concern. My mom is alive and well. The one whose mom is dead is your idol. Get lost, brainwashed fan. Don’t act high and mighty in my comments. I don’t have brainwashed fans—I make money just fine. Bunch of ignorant fools.
It seemed he had disabled comments. Suddenly, Shi Min remembered someone. After the Three-Terrace New Year’s Eve gala, during the wrap-up meeting, Wang Zhenyu from Huan Yu Design had argued with the stage director, using similar language and tone.
Wang Zhenyu… Chinese Crane, Clear Sky Cranes… Luo Mingjing.
Shi Min frowned. Could it be him?
She sent a text to Fiona, then put the matter aside, changing her mood. She called Ms. Zhang: “Make something good. I’m bringing Luo Mingjing home for dinner tonight.”
“Min, are you trying to kill your poor mother…?”
“I just found out that my boyfriend had a tough childhood—a jerk dad and no mom. Prepare some maternal warmth. Hurry up.”
Ms. Zhang was stunned. “Then come home early tonight. I’ll start steaming rice.”
After the kitten’s vaccinations, Luo Mingjing happily tucked it into his arms and climbed into the car. Pointing at the cat, he asked Shi Min, “Guess what his name is.”
Shi Min replied, “Fairy.”
“How could it be Fairy!” Luo Mingjing laughed. “It’s President! It’s a male cat. The doctor said there’s a pet store two stops east, with toys for sale.”
Shi Min nodded and turned the car around.
The phone rang.
Shi Min said, “Speak.”
Fiona shouted, “Sis!! His sister just posted on Weibo!! It’s sis’ husband’s sister! She posted all his transcripts and certificates and @’d this Zeus blogger!! What do we do? They’re fighting!”
“Send it to me.”
Shi Min stopped the car. Luo Mingjing asked what was going on, but Shi Min pushed him away and said, “I’ll tell you later.”
Smiling-Qianxi: Can’t stand it anymore. I’m the sister of the exposed Fairy. @Zeus-Thunder-In-Hand, are you implying that my brother’s low education means his designs are scams? I’m a fourth-year student in the Fashion Design department at T University. I’m a professional. Let me tell you, only the blind wouldn’t recognize the brilliance of this design. My brother dropped out because of those despicable teachers and students. Do you have the right to mock his education? Do you know he scored 627 points to get into T University? If you’re不服气 (unconvinced), post your transcript! To avoid bullying you, I won’t just use his college entrance exam scores—I’ll post his university transcripts and award certificates. Open your dog eyes and look. Stop tripping people up because you can’t succeed! My brother doing marketing? If he were doing marketing, he’d have been famous centuries ago! Stop Photoshopping crap to slander people. If you’ve got guts, post your official stamped contracts and planning documents! [Images]
Xu Qianqian posted nine long screenshots—very long ones. She practically uploaded all of Luo Mingjing’s transcripts and certificates, blurring out surnames but leaving names intact.
Shi Min exhaled in relief and told Fiona, “Let the PR team follow up.”
Fiona said, “Feels good to fight back. I was so frustrated this morning. Sister-in-law is amazing…”
Luo Mingjing grabbed her phone and said, “Sneaky, browsing Weibo again. What are they saying now? And you didn’t even let me know…”
He glanced at it and stopped laughing.
“Isn’t this Qianqian’s Weibo? What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing,” Shi Min said. “A small matter. Don’t worry about it.”
Luo Mingjing’s expression darkened.
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