TIL - 37

Chen Cheng didn’t negotiate with the media. He directly called his bodyguards and property management, and these people were simply driven out onto the street by him. Subsequently, he was slandered with false reports, accused of shoving reporters and speaking disrespectfully, his gentlemanly image shattered.

Petty individuals who had had friction with him in collaborations now emerged to watch the drama, speaking sarcastically and taking every opportunity to kick him while he was down.

Chen Cheng’s, and even the Chen family’s, situation was, for a time, ‘controlled’ by public opinion.

He returned to his apartment, saw Tang Junen’s message reassuring him and Jin Ge’s message wanting to see Wen Huo, and immediately went upstairs to change. As he was preparing to leave, a call from his secretary delayed him.

It was already working hours. His several law firms’ faxes began to receive curses and insults like ‘scumbag and tramp die an entire family death.’ Even employees from other companies in the same office building secretly peeked at his office door, wearing expressions of schadenfreude.

Several company inboxes also received malicious photoshopped images, yelling about ‘dog-men and women’ and ‘rotten graves.’

Han Bailu’s fans fanned the flames, adding fuel to the fire, and compiled some ‘solid evidence’ that Chen Cheng didn’t love her. For example, Han Bailu’s condition had worsened day by day after marrying him, she lost weight quickly, lost endorsements, and her acting skills declined.

He didn’t know why her declining acting skills could be blamed on him.

The media cropped Han Bailu’s face with special effects makeup, taking it out of context, claiming this was her true appearance after marrying Chen Cheng.

Easily incited, completely lacking in judgment, and swayed by every wind, netizens saw these photos and collectively came out to sympathize with her, uniformly directing their accusations and foul language at Chen Cheng and Wen Huo.

The stock price of Chen Cheng’s already listed company began to be affected. Several patents his law firm was discussing, the patent owners wanted to cancel their cooperation.

Wen Huo was doxxed. Her personal information, family members, where she went to school, and who her friends were, were all exposed online. Even a small argument she had while queuing was used as a basis to judge her character.

In the online world, where words bear no responsibility, keyboard warriors hide behind screens, unscrupulously publishing subjective but damaging remarks.

Like a bunch of resentful women and men, mere supporting characters in their own lives, they now stepped on others in their stories where they were the protagonists. It’s hard to say if they acted out of jealousy or pure malice, but comments that serve no good purpose have nothing to do with justice.

Self-proclaimed opinion leaders were utterly ridiculous; they attracted nothing but worms like themselves.

These worms gathered in a nest, mutually affirming each other, even believing they could blow up the universe.

With their ‘help,’ Chen Cheng and Wen Huo successfully became public enemies. Chen Cheng was even branded the contemporary Chen Shimei (a historical figure synonymous with being a heartless betrayer of his wife). Han Bailu’s notorious past was thus whitewashed after Chen Cheng’s infidelity.

As the situation continued to escalate, Chen Cheng’s private phone was flooded with calls.

Collaborations fell through one after another. Organizers called to politely terminate contracts for various events he was scheduled to attend.

Finally, even articles published by Wen Huo were questioned, accused of being ghostwritten by Chen Cheng, or that Chen Cheng used his connections, having close private ties with reviewers of several authoritative journals, secretly facilitating the approval of Wen Huo’s articles.

The more they spoke, the more real it sounded. Wen Huo’s intellectually disabled brother even became a reason for them to attack her—with such a brother, how could she be a normal person? Family education and environment were crucial; her whole family couldn’t be good people.

It felt like the whole world was immersed in this carnival of ‘pseudo-justice, true wickedness,’ with only those around Chen Cheng and Wen Huo as anxious as ants on a hot pan, wanting to solve the problem but having no idea how or where to exert effort.

Chen Cheng, compared to these argumentative, manipulative, brain-dead rotten apples, and those around him who were worried, seemed much calmer.

He could still play indoor golf in his spacious office, check the stock market, and review new patent submissions.

Even his secretary thought he had gone mad.

________________________________________

Wen Huo showed some reaction when she saw Ruan Lihong, releasing her gripped legs.

Ruan Lihong saw the redness and bruises on her arm, and heartache spread across her brows, then her gaze sharpened, turning to Jin Ge, her face demanding: ‘I’d like to see how you’re going to explain this to me.’

Tang Junen explained: “Um, the doctor has seen her and said it’s nothing serious, just... from... the lovemaking being too intense.”

He tried his best to make it sound like Chen Cheng and Wen Huo were just a young couple playing around, hoping to quell Ruan Lihong’s anger.

Ruan Lihong ignored him, walked up to Wen Huo, knelt down, and carefully reached out to touch her hand. The icy cold sensation made her retract her fingers. How could her daughter, whom she had cherished for so many years, be reduced to this state?

She absolutely would not listen to a single word from Chen Cheng!

Explanations, compensation, apologies—she wanted none of it. She only wanted Wen Huo to retaliate exactly as Chen Cheng had treated her!

She softly called her: “Huohuo...”

Wen Huo looked at her face. She hadn’t seen her in a long time. She hadn’t realized it until she saw her, and then she missed her terribly. She opened her mouth, but her lips were stuck with blood, tearing a piece of skin. Soon, fresh blood seeped from the wound.

Ruan Lihong’s heart ached terribly. She hugged her, yet feared hurting her, so her hands didn’t dare press too hard: “Does it hurt? It must hurt a lot, doesn’t it? How did it get like this?”

Wen Huo often suffered from insomnia, so a night without sleep wasn’t a big deal. However, she had gone through too much that night, she had cried, and she was injured, so she was a bit swollen, mainly around her eyes. Her swollen eyes, bloodshot and blurring her emotions, whispered: “Mom.”

Ruan Lihong released her, gently pushed her stray hairs behind her ear, and nodded: “I’m here.”

Wen Huo didn’t want any more involvement with people or things related to Chen Cheng. Even if she died, she wanted to die as far away from Chen Cheng as possible. Her lips trembled as she said: “I want to go home.”

Suddenly, Ruan Lihong no longer wanted explanations, compensation, or apologies. She even abandoned the idea of revenge. All she wanted now was for her Huohuo to be well. She nodded: “Yes, Mom will take you home. We’re going home.”

Tang Junen couldn’t let them leave. He admitted: “You are Wen Huo’s mother, and it’s understandable that you want to take her. But I promised Chen Cheng to take good care of her, and I must fulfill that. When he asks for her, I can’t...”

Ruan Lihong didn’t let him finish: “Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning for saying that? Take good care of her? What part of her did you take good care of?”

Tang Junen had something to say too, but Jin Ge stopped him: “You can take her.”

Ruan Lihong was very proud: “Of course! She’s my daughter!”

Tang Junen watched Ruan Lihong take Wen Huo away, already imagining the grim face he would have to deal with. Chen Cheng was so petty; he would surely reclaim any advantages Tang Junen had gained from him.

He turned to Jin Ge and said: “Godmother, you have to put in a good word for me. I can’t explain this to Chen Cheng.”

Jin Ge had initially thought things could be negotiated, but seeing Wen Huo’s injuries, what could she negotiate with?

She belatedly realized that Chen Cheng seemed to be hiding something from them.

His refusal to spend extended time with them might not be due to emotional distance, but rather that he was unwell.

She was startled by this thought. Years of peaceful life suddenly fell apart, without any warning.

When mistakes are made, no matter how long it takes, retribution will come knocking. Jin Ge now understood.

________________________________________

Han Bailu was locked in her home. She didn’t know what was happening outside, and Chen Cheng didn’t allow her to talk to her parents. Her parents couldn’t reach her, so they thought about calling the police, but then reconsidered, as they still relied on Chen Cheng for much of their business, and hesitated.

Chen Cheng seemed unfazed by the slander outside; his composure was abnormal.

While employees at his various law firms and companies began considering resignation, he remained as before: handling work and playing golf in his office. He changed clothes daily and never skimped on meals.

The only difference was that he started checking his phone frequently, seemingly waiting for someone’s message, but each time, he was only checking the time.

It seemed perfectly normal.

But he was clearly wearing a watch.

________________________________________

Wu Guo and Yang Yinlou were somewhat dismayed by this result, feeling a mixture of emotions they couldn’t articulate. Wu Guo genuinely admired Wen Huo and respected Chen Cheng even more. Emotionally, he found it harder to accept than Yang Yinlou.

Yang Yinlou felt more guilt. He thought if it weren’t for his selfishness, things might not have escalated to this point.

He didn’t know what exactly had happened, but his intuition told him that the situation’s escalation had a lot to do with his loose tongue.

He only wanted to get to know Chen Cheng and communicate with him. He had no other intentions and wasn’t a malicious person. Now, this situation gave him a sense of guilt, like ‘I didn’t kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me.’

Things not going as planned always led to melancholy.

Yang Yinlou had been somewhat distracted these past few days.

________________________________________

Wen Huo’s mentors and classmates were all dispirited. They were familiar with Wen Huo, yet not intimately so, but they didn’t believe Wen Huo was such a person. Those who had always looked down on Wen Huo, however, were different; they spread rumors everywhere, adding fuel to the fire.

Qiu Mingyun’s phone was also bombarded with calls. Everyone wanted to confirm the truth through her, yet they wouldn’t accept her saying it was all false.

In other words, they only wanted to hear, ‘Yes, Wen Huo is a b*tch, a mistress. She destroyed someone else’s family.’ Any other explanation was deemed false.

Qiu Mingyun had been arguing with them these past few days. Her fiery temper would not allow Wen Huo to be so disgraced and slandered.

Even though she didn’t actually know whether Wen Huo had truly interfered in Chen Cheng and Han Bailu’s marriage.

Women were like that; the level of their morality depended on the target.

________________________________________

Wen Bing learned from a colleague that something had happened to Wen Huo and wanted to take leave to see her, but the editor wouldn’t approve it. She didn’t know who told her that Wen Huo was the one who previously exposed their mistreatment of employees, and with Wen Huo’s current situation, her attitude towards Wen Bing worsened.

Wen Bing insisted on leaving, so the editor said she could, but the work had to be completed, and then subtly implied that others should hand their work over to him. It was all work he hadn’t done before, making it very difficult. But thinking of his sister, he no longer found it difficult.

He worked overtime all night, just so he could go see Wen Huo the next day. However, the next day, he suffered facial nerve damage and facial paralysis.

Wen Xinyuan took him to the hospital, and it was halfway there that he heard from Wen Bing that something had happened to Wen Huo. He suddenly realized why his neighbors had been looking at him differently these past few days.

Although he instinctively favored Wen Bing, Wen Huo was also his flesh and blood. When she suffered injustice in matters unrelated to Wen Bing, he also felt pain. But this time, despite his heartache, he still felt Wen Huo was wrong.

Destroying someone else’s family was wrong.

He was not like Ruan Lihong, who thought ‘my child is always right.’ He was only like that with Wen Bing; with Wen Huo, he was much more objective.

________________________________________

Wen Huo was taken home by Ruan Lihong.

She stopped speaking, and Ruan Lihong dared not disturb her, fearing she disliked being bothered.

Outside, the uproar was fierce, from online to reality. Wen Huo’s involvement in Chen Cheng and Han Bailu’s marriage was truly causing a city-wide sensation. The reason was simply that Han Bailu was an actress, and she had just won the Best Supporting Actress award and displayed affection with Chen Cheng.

Who knew that before the awards ceremony even ended, there was a dramatic reversal? With the ‘assistance’ of malicious people, the scandal grew larger and larger.

Ruan Lihong spent a lot of money to remove the trending search, but what was already common knowledge couldn’t be undone by simply taking it off the trending list.

Initially, she didn’t care about such things. She believed one should live freely; anyway, people would talk about both good and bad individuals. Being good meant making everyone happy, while being bad only required making oneself happy. Why couldn’t one just be a bad person?

But she didn’t want Wen Huo to suffer.

She had brought Wen Huo back from Tang Junen’s place several days ago, but the image of Wen Huo’s bruised body hugging her legs still hadn’t left her mind.

She had stewed black chicken for her and steamed rice cakes, both her childhood favorites. She brought them to Wen Huo, but she wouldn’t eat, just leaned by the window, hugging her legs.

She still deduced formulas, read literature, watched documentaries on physicists, or experimented with applied physics.

She didn’t seem sad, but she simply lacked any vitality.

She hadn’t slept for the past few days since returning, and it felt like she was draining her life force. Ruan Lihong was both worried and anxious, her face never losing its troubled expression.

Wen Huo, seeing her so distressed, finally spoke: “I’m fine, I can handle it.”

It was a double entendre.

She was referring to her insomnia and also to the news involving Chen Cheng.

________________________________________

Kiritsushi.

Tang Junen finished ordering and glanced at Chen Cheng, who was sitting beside him at the long table. He looked like he had lost weight and his complexion was noticeably worse. He turned his eyes to a plate of lobster salad in front of him and said: “If you miss her, just call her, even hearing her voice would be good.”

Chen Cheng’s tone was faint: “How could I miss someone who approached me with a hundred tricks?”

Tang Junen said: “I didn’t say it was Wen Huo, you’re the one making assumptions.”

Chen Cheng fell silent.

Tang Junen had only barely learned some things about Chen Cheng and Wen Huo recently. Chen Cheng was tight-lipped and wouldn’t say anything unless Tang Junen traded information about what Wen Huo’s mother and Jin Ge had said to him.

Anyway, he now knew about Wen Huo’s deal with Han Bailu, and he also knew she had insomnia and was just using Chen Cheng for sleep. He still hadn’t figured out one thing: “I think you should be happy. At least you have a function to coax her to sleep.”

Chen Cheng took a sip of nameko mushroom soup and said: “If you can only sleep after sex, then it means you can sleep with others too.”

Tang Junen understood. Chen Cheng was bothered by this: that Wen Huo made a deal with Han Bailu and incidentally used his body for sleep, and he only knew one of the conspiracies, feeling that things were not entirely under his control, leading to humiliation and anger.

Of course, he would care so much also because he discovered that Wen Huo had every reason to sleep with him, except for loving him.

This man, caught in the game, couldn’t see himself clearly.

Tang Junen didn’t expose him but rather provoked him: “Alright, well, you’ve broken up anyway, so let’s leave it at that. If she can only sleep after sex, she’s probably already found someone else by now. You don’t need to worry anymore. Now just focus on how to handle this scandal.”

Chen Cheng stopped eating. He seemed unbothered, but his presence was unsettling. His expression remained deadpan, but the surrounding air pressure was so low that Tang Junen involuntarily shivered.

Seeing that he was about to suffer internal injuries, he sighed: “Why bother? You fight with her, but what do you gain if you win? You lose your heart.”

Chen Cheng was holding a press conference tomorrow. This farce could only escalate so far. He was going to publicly do things under these circumstances.

He was never unprepared, and he never did anything that would harm his own interests.

It seemed that he wouldn’t lose this unexpected turn of events; he would even win, and win beautifully. But what did it matter? He suddenly realized something had been taken from him.

This made him feel no joy from his impending victory.

He picked up his phone again, opened WeChat, and saw that the familiar profile picture’s Moments had become just a horizontal line. He then opened his photo album, looking at the screen full of Wen Huo’s photos he had taken, feeling a slight ache.

It was clearly this liar who played him, and he was merely retaliating. How could she still be feeling wronged?

He gave her a car, gave her a house. He used to give them secretly, then explicitly stated they were hers. When had he, Chen Cheng, ever treated a woman like this? Yet she was still unsatisfied, still felt wronged, and even said she never wanted anything to do with him again, wishing he would die...

Is that how logic works?

How could she be so wronged? Wasn’t she the one who came to scheme against him with a black heart? Wasn’t she planning to use him for sleep anyway?

He really couldn’t understand. He placed his phone face down on the table.

Tang Junen watched him from the side, witnessing almost his entire process of torment. He didn’t know if this was love, but Wen Huo’s significance in his heart was definitely far greater than he had imagined.

Less than half a minute later, Chen Cheng picked up his phone again and opened the photo album.

He repeated this simple action from the beginning of their meal until the bill was paid. He just kept looking at her, doing nothing else, just looking.