◎ Why Not Go Public ◎
Yuan Jingyun had known early on that Song Qingxu would be taking part in this variety show. What she hadn’t expected was that Yuan Lai would follow along.
Originally, she had considered just paying the penalty fee so Song Qingxu wouldn’t have to go on the show at all—but her daughter beat her to it.
At first, she worried that Song Qingxu might suffer there. But now, there was no need to fret. In front of outsiders, even if Yuan Lai had to put on an act, she would at least pretend to be a good partner.
“Linda said Yuan Lai invested money into this show?” Yuan Jingyun asked.
“Yes, Madam,” Wang Ma replied.
Finishing the last document, Yuan Jingyun leaned back, settling comfortably into the sofa, eyes fixed on the livestream.
Because she had just been working, she still had her glasses on and had forgotten to remove them. Behind the lenses, her gaze was locked on the two people on screen.
“You think the two of them are deliberately putting on a show for me—”
The glasses were uncomfortable. She took them off, and Wang Ma quickly stepped forward to put them back into their case, then handed over the eye drops Yuan Jingyun always used.
The moment Yuan Jingyun tilted her head back, Wang Ma skillfully dripped the solution into both eyes.
Blinking away the dryness, she relaxed back into the sofa and continued her unfinished thought:
“—or have their feelings really improved?”
Wang Ma also looked at the two on the TV screen. After a pause, she answered, “Hard to say.”
“If they’re acting just for your sake, it wouldn’t make sense. You normally wouldn’t watch a livestream.” Indeed, the only reason Yuan Jingyun had tuned in was because Linda had mentioned it in passing. That’s how she found out Yuan Lai was also on the show.
Wang Ma added, “Besides, Miss Song Qingxu signed the contract for this show before marriage. Back then, she didn’t even know she’d end up marrying Miss Yuan Lai.”
“To Miss Qingxu, it looks like she’s treating her co-star politely, but with a certain distance. Miss Yuan Lai, on the other hand, seems to have thrown herself into her ‘assistant’ role. She does appear to be paying more attention to Miss Qingxu than before.”
Whether that was real or not, Wang Ma refrained from judging.
Yuan Jingyun watched her daughter on the screen and let out a sigh.
“My fear is that she’s only showing concern because the cameras are on. Once the performance tires her out, she’ll go back to ignoring Qingxu.”
Wang Ma wisely kept silent.
Yuan Jingyun went on, “Those two kids really think they’re fooling me. Every time they come to dinner, they deliberately act close in front of me. Their expressions may be convincing, but their body language gives them away.”
“They think I don’t know? I’ve simply chosen not to expose them,” Yuan Jingyun added.
Wang Ma quickly praised her, “Madam has sharp eyes. They can’t hide anything from you.”
“What’s with those words flying across the top of the screen?” Yuan Jingyun asked, frowning. She rarely had time to watch live broadcasts and wasn’t familiar with such things.
“They’re called bullet comments,” Wang Ma explained. “Viewers type what they want to say, and it scrolls across the screen.”
“I can post one too?” Yuan Jingyun asked.
“Yes,” Wang Ma replied.
Immediately, Yuan Jingyun registered an account. When it came time to choose a username, she hesitated. Should she use her real name, or pick a nickname like the others?
She glanced at the screen and saw a flood of names like 【Song Qingxu’s Wife 123】, 【Mrs. Song Qingxu 967】, 【Big Sis’s Puppy 28】…
Yuan Jingyun made up her mind and chose 【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223】.
Yuan Jingyun hadn’t expected even that name would need numbers at the end to avoid duplicates. It left her puzzled.
“I am Qingxu’s one and only mother-in-law,” she muttered indignantly.
Once the account was set up, she played with it like a child with a new toy, eagerly filling the screen with her messages:
【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223: Qingxu is so beautiful ❤❤】
【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223: Sending roses to Qingxu 🌹🌹】
【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223: 👍👍💖💖】
【…What’s going on? The comments up front look like a bot.】
【Did I stumble into a middle-aged auntie’s livestream room?】
【🐶🌹🐶🌹🐶🌹 I’ll join in too.】
【Good morning, friends! ☀☀😘😘】
【Sis, where are you making money these days? 👍🌹】
【Young lady went to the rainforest? Take care of yourself 🌹🌹】
【Travel safely, stay healthy 🌹 be happy 🌹 be safe 🌹】
Some viewers, overwhelmed by the flood of middle-aged chatter, sent a “carnival” gift to clear the screen.
【Stop spamming emojis.】
【Okay boss 👍👍】
【Boss is generous!!!】
The flashy special effects filled the entire screen. Yuan Jingyun’s eyes widened in surprise, instantly intrigued and asked, “Wang Ma, what is this?”
Wang Ma carefully explained the concept of gifting in livestreams.
It was as if a new world had opened up for Yuan Jingyun.
【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223 sent Carnival ×1】
【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223 sent Sports Car ×1】
【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223 sent Private Jet ×1】
【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223 sent Hot Air Balloon ×1】
【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223 sent Heart ×1】
…
Just as the audience thought this user 【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223】 had finally finished showering gifts, she came back for another round.
This time, she multiplied everything by ten. Earlier, it seemed like she had just been curious about each effect one by one.
Now, she went all in:
【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223 sent Carnival ×10】
【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223 sent Sports Car ×10】
【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223 sent Private Jet ×10】
…
【Wow, this sister really has power!】
【That gift animation lasted so long, my eyes can’t even keep up.】
【Song Qingxu’s rich-fan squad is seriously powerful.】
【Rich-jiejie, notice me!】
Yuan Jingyun lowered her head and earnestly typed a reply to the netizens.
【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223: I’m not Song Qingxu’s rich fan.】
【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223: I’m her mother-in-law!】
【Such dedication. I want to learn from this fan.】
【I’m not Song Qingxu’s fan, I’m her wife!】
【I’m not Song Qingxu’s fan, I’m her spouse!】
【I’m not Song Qingxu’s fan, I’m her sister’s dog!】
Seeing that no one believed her, Yuan Jingyun got so frustrated she changed the signature on her homepage to: 【I am Song Qingxu’s one and only mother-in-law!】
But still, nobody took her seriously.
Fortunately, there was Wang Ma.
Wang Ma logged in with her usual drama-watching account to back Yuan Jingyun up.
Her profile picture was a lotus flower, and her nickname was just a string of default letters and numbers.
【I believe her. She really is Song Qingxu’s mother-in-law.】
Still, no one believed it. Instead, the barrage just filled with more “hahaha” comments.
Yuan Jingyun: 【If you believe I’m really Song Qingxu’s mother-in-law, message me privately and I’ll send you a red packet.】
【For real?】
【Holy crap, guys, it’s true! I just sent a message saying I believe you’re her mother-in-law, and I actually got a red packet!】
Immediately, the entire comment section unified:
【Song Qingxu’s Mother-in-law 223 is Song Qingxu’s one and only mother-in-law!】
Feeling smug, Yuan Jingyun turned to Wang Ma: “See, now they all believe I’m Qingxu’s mother-in-law.”
Soon, another comment floated across the screen.
【Didn’t there used to be someone with the nickname “Song Qingxu’s Partner”? Strange we haven’t seen her these past two days.】
【Haha yeah, if you add it up, those two accounts should technically be in a parent–child relationship.】
【“Song Qingxu’s Partner,” come out and meet your mom!】
She only responded because she found it amusing. After spamming for a while, she slumped back onto the sofa with a sigh. “These netizens are actually pretty fun.”
Just as she was watching the livestream, a comment drifted past that made her frown.
【CP shippers, don’t get carried away. Song Qingxu is already married. Shipping her with her assistant—do you guys have no morals?】
Almost like it had been coordinated, a wave of negative comments suddenly flooded in, all deliberately smearing Song Qingxu.
【She’s married and still selling this kind of lesbian CP hype? Not a good look.】
【So forced. Just artificial sweetener.】
【So fake, so fake. How can anyone even ship this?】
【Cringe and sickly sweet, unbearable to watch.】
【There’s nothing real here. Every frame looks like they’re “acting” for show.】
A few rational viewers tried to leave neutral comments, but they were quickly drowned out by the organized flood of vitriol.
【Did Song Qingxu offend someone recently?】
【Who’s spending so much money just to blacklist her? Isn’t that overkill?】
The more Yuan Jingyun read, the tighter her brows knitted, anger faintly surfacing on her face.
She immediately made a call.
These days, Ge He of Weizhi Culture hadn’t even been showing up at the company, instead hiding at home. Her biggest cash cow had actually bypassed her and terminated her contract with the company.
She didn’t believe the company would willingly let go of such a money-maker. She also didn’t believe Song Qingxu could afford the astronomical penalty fee.
So she went straight to confront the higher-ups—only to be met with silence. Not a single leader would give her an answer, and none of them even wanted her to bring the subject up again.
In front of the executives, Ge He had put on a cooperative face. But once she got home, the more she thought about it, the more furious she became. Unable to swallow the insult, she immediately began her retaliation.
All those slanderous comments on the screen? Every one of them was her doing. Having survived in the entertainment industry for so many years, no one knew better than Ge He how to destroy a person.
Whether the accusations were true didn’t matter. As long as enough people hurled abuse, it would start to feel like the truth—until you became a criminal in the court of public opinion.
Ge He was also watching Song Qingxu’s new program and had noticed her so-called “new assistant.”
Her thoughts turned vicious: Since you two are so close, then I’ll tie you together and let you both taste the price of black-and-red scandal.
She knew about Song Qingxu’s marriage. She didn’t know who her spouse was, but in her eyes, that person clearly didn’t care at all.
After all, the news of Song Qingxu’s marriage had been something she herself had sold to the media. The other party hadn’t reacted in the slightest, not even with a complaint. Clearly, there was no real affection there.
So if she made her take another hit this time, she probably wouldn’t even face retaliation.
Just like Song Qingxu herself.
Ge He sneered. Two soft buns marrying each other—utterly laughable.
Soon, the tag 【Song Qingxu cheating with her new assistant】 shot onto the trending list.
Nobody knew who leaked it first, but soon rumors spread online that one of the guests partnered with Song Qingxu was actually her lover, and that the “assistant” identity was nothing but a cover.
The rival camps naturally seized the chance to add fuel to the fire. If this could bring Song Qingxu down, all her resources would be up for grabs. Why not?
The two photos that had gone viral earlier were quickly dug up and reposted, though this time the paparazzi hurried to clear their names.
“Jie, I swear I’m a professional paparazzo. I gave you all the negatives. This time it really wasn’t me.”
“Alright, I know.”
After hanging up, Xiao Li relayed: “Linda-jie, it wasn’t from the paparazzi side.”
Hearing this, Yan Linda kept her composure and instructed calmly, “Priority now is to get those photos taken down.”
Just then, her phone rang. She was about to reject the call when she saw the name on the screen. She gestured for Xiao Li to wait, then picked it up.
Even through the phone, her voice carried utmost respect. That alone made Xiao Li curious about the person on the other end.
“Director Yuan, what can I do for you?”
“Do the show’s staff not know that Song Qingxu and Yuan Lai are married?”
“No.”
Receiving the confirmation, Yuan Jingyun drew in a deep breath before asking again: “Why keep it from the production team and the audience? Whose idea was it?”
In her heart, she already had a faint guess.
Seeing Yan Linda hesitate in silence, Yuan Jingyun didn’t press her further. “Alright, I get it.”
Her silence had already given her the answer. Who else could it be, if not that troublemaker Yuan Lai?
This matter—she would handle herself!