Chapter 4

Tang Ruochu and Song Anyi had something to eat in the afternoon before they returned back to the office.

The moment they walked through the door, they saw quite a few of their colleagues engaged in a heated discussion as they stood in front of a computer.

"My God, is this really the man I looked up to? I didn't expect this from him!"

"All it took was one glance for me to know that things must have gotten hot and heavy inside!"

"Ji Yinfeng must have been too careless. How could he let himself be the subject of such scandalous photographs? I'm afraid that this will cause irrevocable damage to his public image."

"Hey, Ruochu, Anyi, come and take a look. There has been this huge exposé titled 'The Young Master of the Ji Group Brought a Girl from a Nightclub to a Hotel, Only Emerging 3 Hours Later'."

Their colleagues waved excitedly at Song Anyi and Tang Ruochu and gestured for them to come over.

Tang Ruochu and Song Anyi paused for a moment before they quickly headed to join their colleagues.

The news of Ji Yinfeng and the mysterious girl spread like wildfire online. The photographer who released those photographs had caught him in several compromising positions, which included him passionately kissing the woman, wrapping his arms around her, and other intimate behaviors.

As the young master of the Ji Group, Ji Yinfeng had always acted like a gallant gentleman in public, so he was idolized by many socialites and was very popular on social media platforms, such as Weibo.

"Hmph, he is such a terrible man." Song Anyi glanced at the posts and sneered. Then, she turned to Ruochu and said, "Let's go. We shouldn't let these posts hurt our eyes."

...

Tang Ruochu returned to her seat without uttering a single word even though she had been very affected by these posts.

It wasn't long before she received a call from Ji Yinfeng.

Tang Ruochu hesitated for a brief moment before she picked up his call but she didn't even have the chance to speak before Ji Yinfeng spat out furiously, "Tang Ruochu, I would never have expected this from you. Is this how you're planning to exact revenge? Did you release these photographs deliberately to get back at me for getting together with your sister?"

Tang Ruochu was bewildered by his accusations and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Drop the act, Ruochu. Ruoruo has already told me everything! I know that you're aware of our relationship, so you must have leaked the information to the press, right? Ruochu, I might have let you down but you shouldn't have done this. Ruoruo is your elder sister, so you shouldn't have labeled her as a woman from a nightclub. More importantly, you shouldn't have made this news public when she is pregnant," Ji Yinfeng said. He sounded very disappointed in Tang Ruochu's actions as he chastised her.

...

Tang Ruochu couldn't believe what she had just heard. It was a warm and sunny June day but she felt cold all over as though she had fallen into an icy cave.

"Ha, what a joke!"

He was the one who had cheated on her but he didn't even apologize or offer up any explanation when he called her. Instead, he was just berating and hurling accusations at her.

This was the man whom she had loved for more than 10 years...

Tang Ruochu felt extremely pathetic.

"Yes, I wanted to get back at the both of you," Tang Ruochu said coldly and expressionlessly even though her heart was being torn to pieces as she spoke. "Ji Yinfeng, why don't you ask yourself if I have ever betrayed you during the time we were together? You were the one who turned your back on me first, so I don't see what's wrong with what I've done."

...

"I was wrong about you. I would have never thought that you were such a vindictive woman," Ji Yinfeng said with a voice full of disappointment.

...

"I would have never expected you to get together with Gu Ruoruo either," Tang Ruochu said with a smirk. "Ji Yinfeng, you should've told me earlier if you didn't think I was a good match for you, and I would've left you then and there. Yet, you've humiliated me in this manner, so who do you think is more savage?"

...

"Hmph, there's no use in bringing this up now. Ruochu, you will regret your decision!" Ji Yinfeng said before he cut the line.

...

Tang Ruochu's lips curled into a contemptuous smile as she stared at her phone.

They used to be childhood sweethearts, but now, their relationship had become a joke and she realized that she had been such a fool.

"Ruochu, you shouldn't have admitted to his earlier accusations when you didn't leak this news to the press..." Song Anyi blurted out. She had overheard the entire conversation and she resisted the urge hurl curses at Ji Yinfeng when she heard him making such baseless accusations earlier.

...

She swore that she would've skinned him alive if he were to appear in front of her right now.

However, she was more concerned that her friend wouldn't be able to take this blow that she had been dealt and would have a mental breakdown.

"I'm fine. This just makes it easier for me to get over him," Tang Ruochu said as she took a deep breath and pasted a smile on her face.

...

She refused to let herself be affected by their actions, no matter how upset she felt.

Both Ji Yinfeng and Gu Ruoruo deserved to get their comeuppance!

"They've really gone too far this time. There's something suspicious about the timing of this piece of news since there was nothing reported on their relationship earlier. It seems as though the person who was behind this wants Ji Yinfeng to assume that you had leaked this to the press," Song Anyi said through gritted teeth, for she felt upset on behalf of her friend.

...

Tang Ruochu froze for a moment and realization dawned on her after she gave the matter some thought.

"You might just have a point," she said.

"Huh?" Song Anyi asked in confusion because she had said those words without giving them much thought earlier.

"Ji Yinfeng wasn't aware that I had found out about his relationship with Gu Ruoruo, but now, he has turned around and accused me of going to the press. Gu Ruoruo must be behind this! She wanted Ji Yinfeng to hate me and erase any measure of goodwill he felt toward me. She has succeeded!" Tang Ruochu said bitterly.

...

Song Anyi was outraged and said furiously, "She's absolutely despicable, shameless, and devious! I can't believe she would resort to such underhanded means to get her way. She even put her reputation on the line this time! She's way too shameless! Ah, I'm so angry. I swear I'll skin this shameless couple alive..."

...

Meanwhile, as Tang Ruochu's world was being turned upside down, Mu Ling entered the Chief Executive Officer's office at Thunderbolt Entertainment Group and placed a stack of documents on Lu Shijin's desk.

"Sir, these documents contain everything you wanted to know about Mrs. Lu," he said.

...

"Oh?" Lu Shijin turned away from the computer and flipped through the documents on his desk.

...

The documents contained detailed information on Tang Ruochu's background and covered everything from her childhood, family background, relationship and employment history, and details on her friends. No stone was left unturned, and everything about her was stated clearly.

Lu Shijin placed the documents back on the desk a while later. His brows were knotted in a deep frown and there was a cold glint in his eyes after reading through those documents.

Mu Ling's heart dropped and he could sense Lu Shijin's displeasure from where he was standing.

His usually indifferent boss was clearly angered by whatever he had read earlier.

This was the first time Mu Ling saw Lu Shijin take such an interest in a woman. He hastily continued to deliver his report and said, "Sir, I'd like to highlight an incident that happened this afternoon as well. Times Entertainment News dropped a bomb on Ji Yinfeng's relationship status this afternoon, and after some digging, I've discovered that Gu Ruoruo had leaked the information to the press. I'm afraid that she was trying to pin the blame on Mrs. Lu. The Ji Group is already holding a press conference to address this issue, so I wonder if this will affect Mrs. Lu negatively?"

Lu Shijin's face darkened and his eyes narrowed as he asked, "Where is she right now?"

"She's currently in her office," Mu Ling said truthfully.

Lu Shijin thought for a moment before he suddenly rose to his feet and picked up his jacket from the coat hanger. "Get the car ready and contact the Managing Director of Times Entertainment News. Tell him that I'd like to speak more about the details of investing in a movie he mentioned previously," he said and issued a series of instructions.

"Very well, Sir!" Mu Ling nodded and immediately left his office.

...