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Psst! We're moving!
The tone of the thread completely shifted.
After about ten replies, someone pointed out that MangoSago wasn’t a staff member but one of several gossip accounts on Weibo.
Weibo was often filled with gossip “aunts” or “uncles,” pseudonymous users who leaked secrets about celebrities—mixing truth and fiction to attract curious onlookers.
Today, after the variety show trended and officially announced its upcoming filming, this gossip account somehow obtained information and posted a tweet with the abbreviation “css.”
Under normal circumstances, no one would have believed it.
After all, it was already the 21st century, and arranged childhood engagements were rare in urban areas—engagements, maybe, but not childhood matches.
However, when combined with the earlier post from the staff member, it became clear: Chi Suisui had indeed used this reason to reject the dating show.
A thread about an ordinary person’s dating life went viral, remaining pinned to the forum’s front page.
More and more people joined the discussion.
[Chi Suisui, I think you should stop returning to your hometown—ignorance can’t be changed.]
[You’re doing so well now—working at a TV station, looking beautiful, and having plenty of boyfriend options. Why settle for anything less?]
[I actually think she shouldn’t have rejected the offer.]
[+1 to the above. If she hadn’t refused, she might’ve ended up dating an elite man. Rejecting it like this makes it seem like she’s been brainwashed into going home to marry.]
[I’m tempted to tell the production team to try harder to invite her.]
[Once someone is brainwashed, it’s hard to change their mind.]
[From what I’ve seen, she’s been excelling at work lately. Her boss probably wouldn’t want to let her go.]
[If she really wants to quit, who can stop her?]
[Regardless of whether the reason is true, coming up with such an excuse says something. Chi Suisui, hurry up and become independent…]
Some even reposted news stories about successful career women being forced by ignorant families to marry lazy, good-for-nothing men, ultimately wasting away in remote villages.
Previously, when Chi Suisui trended, netizens pieced together evidence to assume she was a girl from a mountain village who worked hard to reach the bustling city of Nancheng.
Though Chi Suisui later held a cash giveaway on Weibo, few people changed their minds because once an idea takes root, it’s difficult to uproot.
Chi Suisui skimmed through half of the thread, unsure what to say.
Her childhood engagement partner—a lazy, scruffy man?
She thought of He Xingwang’s godlike appearance and the countless fans who checked in daily for new photos.
If he were considered a scruffy man, then those beneath him wouldn’t even qualify.
Su Mian had clearly seen this too, utterly speechless yet trying not to laugh: [HAHAHAHA they’re calling Lord He a scruffy man!!!]
Su Mian: [Lord He sends a black question mark face.]
Song Miaoli chimed in during a rare break: [Suisui, it’s time for your interview. Go ask He Xingwang how he feels about being labeled a scruffy man.]
The two played off each other.
Chi Suisui exited the forum without reading further and casually replied: [It’s just stuff from an anonymous forum. Telling him won’t make a difference.]
As an ordinary person, such posts would fade after a few pages.
Su Mian asked about the earlier post where the staff member complained about Chi Suisui’s attitude: [How dare they say Director Chi had a bad attitude?]
Anyone who had interacted with Chi Suisui knew she only retorted when provoked—otherwise, she was gentle and considerate.
Chi Suisui shrugged it off: [If things escalate, I have chat records as proof.]
Unless the staff member was brainless.
Otherwise, someone with concrete evidence against them would likely just seek sympathy on an anonymous forum.
In this era, even telling the truth wasn’t always believed.
Su Mian: [That works. But I bet this isn’t big enough to trend for long. The post will die by tonight, and tomorrow there’ll be new drama.]
This was how netizens consumed gossip—one wave after another.
Chi Suisui thought the same.
But reality took a slight turn.
The thread, which eventually discussed some ignorant behaviors, remained pinned to the homepage like gender-opposing threads.
More and more people joined in, some replying directly while others quietly submitted the thread to influential marketing accounts.
When a million-follower account reposted it, active Weibo users quickly piled on, generating tens of thousands of comments and shares.
Such热度 (buzz) was too tempting for marketing accounts to ignore, and soon, the topic trended again.
________________________________________
The next day was Saturday.
Chi Suisui ate breakfast at home, watched the morning news, and with nothing else to do, decided to play the cello.
There was a music room at home, but today Chi Suisui didn’t feel like using it. Instead, she sat on the living room balcony, bathed in the warm morning sun. Aunt Song was tending to the vegetable garden.
The soft sunlight enveloped her figure, making her silhouette infinitely gentle. The deep, resonant notes of the cello floated through the air and drifted into the house behind her.
When she finally stopped playing and turned around, she discovered Qi Xincheng standing behind her, listening.
“Beautiful,” Qi Xincheng smiled warmly. “Just as beautiful as your mother’s playing.”
He had fallen in love with her mother at first sight during a performance years ago.
Chi Suisui had wanted to learn many instruments as a child, and he supported her—from guitar, piano, violin, to cello. In the end, the cello became her lifelong companion.
“I remember when you were little, shorter than the cello, yet you insisted on playing,” Qi Xincheng reminisced. “We were all amused.”
The little girl would sit on a chair to reach the cello. She loved showing off and was incredibly proud, performing every new piece she learned for others. Even He Xingwang, who was also young back then, was forced to listen whenever he visited.
Afterward, they would lift her down from the chair.
Now that he thought about it, Chi Suisui didn’t have many male friends growing up—just He Xingwang. Song Chengrui only entered her life because of Song Miaoli.
“Dad, don’t you have to go to the company today?” Chi Suisui set down her bow.
“Yes, I do,” Qi Xincheng said, then suddenly suggested, “Since you’re not working today, why don’t you come with me?”
He only had one son and one daughter. Eventually, the family business would belong to her, and since she was getting married soon, it wouldn’t hurt to get familiar with it early.
Chi Suisui thought for a moment and agreed. “Alright.”
She hadn’t been to the family company in a long time.
Qi Corporation’s headquarters was in Nancheng, originally founded in the snack industry. Snack logos and illustrations could be seen everywhere in the office.
The company was generous to its employees, so many people desperately wanted to join—even if they couldn’t work at headquarters, there were branch offices.
Chi Suisui and Qi Xincheng took the private elevator straight from the parking lot to the executive floors, bypassing the areas where employees worked.
Watching the elevator numbers climb, Chi Suisui suddenly chuckled.
Qi Xincheng glanced over. “Are you this happy to come to the company?”
“No,” Chi Suisui smiled. “I just remembered some plotlines from Weibo dramas where the protagonist randomly bumps into the CEO all over the office.”
In reality, the ones who roamed the office were mostly personal assistants.
For instance, Qi Xincheng rarely inspected the premises, maybe once a year. Most of the time, assistants relayed messages.
Qi Xincheng didn’t fully understand these references, but he still said, “That’s impossible. The 20th floor is off-limits to unauthorized personnel.”
To prevent data theft.
Very few employees worked on the floor with the CEO’s office.
Aside from the chief assistant, there were several secretaries in the secretary’s office, each busy with their own tasks—after all, this was the group headquarters.
Seeing a young woman accompanying President Qi, everyone grew curious.
After closing the office door, the chief assistant returned to his own office, only to be stopped by others: “Chief Assistant, who’s that girl with President Qi?”
Everyone knew President Qi and his wife had a strong relationship, so bringing a young woman today naturally sparked speculation.
The chief assistant glared at them. “If you want to keep working on the 20th floor, drain the water from your brains.”
“...”
The group stiffened and left.
Though they didn’t get an answer, it didn’t stop them from guessing. If it wasn’t what they assumed, the most likely explanation was that she was his daughter.
President Qi did have an undisclosed daughter.
Today, bringing her to the company likely meant that he was preparing to start grooming a successor. They speculated that the young miss might soon “parachute” into the company.
Qi Xincheng had a lot of work every day. Documents related to key projects from various subsidiaries under the group ultimately required his review.
Chi Suisui had read all kinds of news—financial, management-related—and could mostly understand the documents.
After spending an entire day there, she left early.
As she drove down in her father’s car, the road was smooth until something seemed off near the parking lot exit.
A young girl stood there.
The parking lot was dimly lit, but the headlights illuminated the license plate clearly. Moreover, only President Qi drove this particular car in the company.
“President Qi!”
Chi Suisui heard the voice outside and raised an eyebrow.
“President Qi, my car broke down... Could you give me a ride? If it’s inconvenient, just drop me off at the intersection!”
The girl didn’t look at the car window and headed straight for the driver’s side.
Through the tinted window, no one could see who was inside.
After hearing all this, Chi Suisui courteously rolled down the window and turned to look at her. “Don’t people check who’s inside before stopping a car?”
The girl clearly hadn’t expected anyone other than President Qi to be inside, let alone a beautiful young woman around her age.
“Who are you? Why are you driving President Qi’s car?” Her heart raced, but she feigned calmness as she questioned Chi Suisui.
“I can drive this car because I have the keys.” Chi Suisui spoke slowly. “What? Did you think I was someone else?”
The girl was speechless.
She wanted to guess if Chi Suisui was a mistress, but it was obvious she wasn’t, and President Qi had never been involved in such scandals.
“I... my car broke down.” The girl took a step back. “I didn’t mean to stop your car—I won’t bother you anymore.”
She turned to leave.
Chi Suisui glanced down and noticed the name tag on the girl’s uniform—it had a nice-sounding name.
Looking up again, she saw the girl’s innocent appearance.
“With such ulterior motives, you’d probably be better suited for another company,” Chi Suisui said casually, her gaze indifferent. “Qi Corporation isn’t right for you.”
She didn’t interfere with others’ choices, but when those choices involved her, they crossed a line.
At the same age, their mindsets couldn’t be more different. The act of flagging down the car itself stemmed from questionable intentions, and being publicly exposed brought humiliation.
After Chi Suisui drove away, the girl bit her lip, holding back tears.
Outside the parking lot, it was bright.
When Chi Suisui stopped by the roadside, she immediately sent a message to Qi Xincheng to handle the matter, then put on a Bluetooth headset.
Before her father replied, Su Mian called.
“Director Chi, do you remember the leaked guest list for that variety show last night? It’s trending today!”
Su Mian rattled off without pausing: “And the discussion is all about you rejecting them! Everyone’s saying stuff like ‘don’t listen to your family about the childhood engagement’ or ‘you deserve better than some scruffy guy.’”
She was shocked when she saw it trending this morning. Were netizens really that bored? How did this become a hot topic?
Later, she realized it was likely pushed by marketing accounts or the variety show team to generate buzz—a pre-release hype.
“I know. Don’t worry about it for now.”
Chi Suisui immediately sensed something was off.
As an ordinary person, she hadn’t done anything scandalous. This was clearly being pushed by someone behind the scenes, with netizens unknowingly used as pawns.
“Director Chi, are you home now?”
“No.” After replying, Chi Suisui suddenly joked, “Maybe I should go console the so-called scruffy guy himself.”
Su Mian nearly burst out laughing.
Chi Suisui had originally planned to return to Bai’an Mansion.
But since this matter also involved He Xingwang, she decided to head directly to the Shooting Sports Center instead. Perhaps she could use the opportunity to make things public.
In the afternoon, everyone at the center was training.
Thanks to prior arrangements, likely made by He Xingwang or Coach Zhu, Chi Suisui entered smoothly this time.
Though not very close, she could still hear the continuous sound of gunfire, distinct from what was depicted in movies.
Chi Suisui didn’t disturb their training and went straight to He Xingwang’s room. The door had a password lock, which he had shared with her last time.
Once seated on the bed, she sent him a message.
[“I’m here today, waiting for you in the room.”]
After sending it, Chi Suisui felt a bit awkward.
For some reason, the message seemed ambiguous. She suspected Su Mian and Song Miaoli’s frequent teasing had influenced her phrasing.
Putting her phone aside, she played with the darts.
Not long after, the sound of the keypad unlocking came from outside. She stopped and watched as He Xingwang pushed the door open.
He was still wearing the national team uniform, strands of hair falling by his ears. His dark eyes, calm from holding a gun, met hers.
Chi Suisui was momentarily entranced.
“Why are you back so soon?” She set the dart down and walked over. “Does Coach Zhu think I’m disturbing you?”
“No.” He Xingwang replied.
Chi Suisui handed him a wet wipe. “Wipe your hands.”
She watched as He Xingwang took it, his slender fingers moving gracefully—an action that was unexpectedly alluring.
Just as Chi Suisui was lost in thought, He Xingwang suddenly looked up, catching her wrist and pulling her toward him.
Caught off guard, she stumbled into his arms.
Before she could raise her head to ask, a shadow fell over her face as he kissed her deeply, stealing her breath.
Chi Suisui didn’t have time to react.
When she finally came to her senses and gasped for air, she pushed gently against his chest.
That push caused her lip corner to be lightly bitten.
He Xingwang released her. Both of their breathing was uneven, but he remained remarkably composed.
Chi Suisui touched her lip corner. “Be careful, or I’ll expose you on Weibo. My hundred thousand followers are mostly active ones.”
“You can try.”
Seeing his unruffled demeanor, Chi Suisui pouted. “Or perhaps you’d prefer to appear in an interview?”
He Xingwang tilted his head, thoughtful, and slowly asked, “Can something like this even be published in a news article?”
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