It was a weekday, so traffic wouldn’t normally be high, but since it was lunch break, as soon as Wen Huan started her livestream, over thirty thousand people immediately flooded into the room.
The number of viewers kept rising, and the comments section was scrolling so fast it was dizzying:
【Ahhh, sis is live! How can she look just as stunning on stream as in her videos? Her beauty hasn’t changed at all!】
【With a face this gorgeous, why does she even need makeup?】
【Sis, why don’t you bring your hubby-brother into the livestream too!】
Everyone chimed in one after another.
Wen Huan wore a professional smile, answering all the questions she could while applying her makeup. As for questions about Pei Jingyi, she temporarily ignored them.
After all, Pei Jingyi had appeared in public this time to help her, but he was a man destined for a comeback—he couldn’t let the internet derail his life.
Fortunately, the netizens didn’t press the issue. The makeup livestream concluded harmoniously, with Wen Huan creating a pretty, effortless, fresh-faced “oxygen makeup” look. But just as she leaned close to the camera to showcase her face from all angles, a comment seemed perfectly timed to jump right into her line of sight.
【Do you really think Pei Jingyi loves you?】
Wen Huan froze, sensing something unusual about the person asking this question.
Before she could figure out how to respond, Pei Jingyi appeared next, wearing an apron as he carried the freshly cooked dishes out of the kitchen.
Braised pork with tofu skin, asparagus stir-fried with shrimp, and spicy and sour shredded potatoes—all Wen Huan’s favorites.
Seeing Wen Huan’s slightly dazed, upturned face and her beautifully crafted, pure yet alluring eyes, Pei Jingyi’s deep, dark gaze intensified. Pinching her chin, he murmured softly, “Baby, don’t play with your phone during mealtime.”
With that, Pei Jingyi reached out and turned off the livestream.
Though the screen went black, the viewers who hadn’t left the stream grew even more fervent in the comments.
【Baby! He called her baby!】
【Wuwuwu, Boss Pei’s voice is so dreamy, and he looks so dreamy in an apron! The way he looks at sis like he wants to devour her is even dreamier! I have a strong suspicion Boss Pei was so captivated by sis’s beauty that he couldn’t wait to cut the stream and go in for a kiss~】
【And hubby-brother clearly has super possessive vibes. When he’s with sis, he wants all her attention on him. This kind of obsessive, controlling love is the epitome of deep, unconditional, head-over-heels love, okay!】
Zuo Rouya gritted her teeth and slammed her phone down, her chest nearly bursting with rage.
“That vixen Wen Huan!”
Ever since Pei Jingyi helped Wen Huan release that response video, she’d been seething with resentment. Now, after witnessing Pei Jingyi’s meticulous care for Wen Huan during the livestream, it felt like a piece of her heart had been torn out.
It was as if Wen Huan had stolen her husband!
With a dark glint in her eyes, Zuo Rouya picked up her phone again, forced herself to calm down, and found Pei Yi’s number on the cracked screen to make a call.
“Xiao Yi, did you see Wen Huan’s livestream online? Ah, I never expected Wen Huan to cling so desperately to Mr. Pei for her livestream. Isn’t she deliberately trying to ruin his life for her own sake?”
Zuo Rouya knew that with words like these, Pei Yi, the powder keg, would explode instantly.
But to her surprise, after she feigned concern, Pei Yi’s end erupted into chaotic sobs: “Rouya-jie, I’m in trouble this time, big trouble!”
“Last night, I spent some money online to spread rumors about Wen Huan, but I only paid two thousand to hire a few people. Somehow, though, things went wrong, and over a dozen internet trolls showed up, along with a bunch of paid commenters who kept amplifying the rumors and adding fuel to the fire.”
“What’s even scarier is that my brother, Pei Jiaping, somehow found out today that I was behind it. So he just froze my cards and gave me a harsh scolding, demanding that I publicly apologize to Wen Huan online.”
“Wahh, this time I’m going to be humiliated in front of Wen Huan, utterly humiliated!”
Pei Yi spoke with heartache and grievance, feeling like the most wronged person in the world at that moment, and she didn’t even care about her uncle anymore.
Zuo Rouya tightened her grip on the phone, fully aware of the truth, but she only pretended to be concerned and offered a few comforting words.
After hurriedly hanging up the call, she knew she couldn’t rely on Pei Yi for help anymore.
“Fortunately, Wen Huan, even if you’re gloating now, you won’t be able to for much longer.”
Having been reborn once, Zuo Rouya clearly remembered that not long after Pei Jingyi went bankrupt, he would face a life-threatening danger.
But Wen Huan was poor and would abandon anyone for profit. Seeing that Pei Jingyi’s severe injuries would require money, she would undoubtedly run away without a second thought, disappearing without a trace.
And when Pei Jingyi was at his most helpless and heartbroken, if Zuo Rouya appeared before him with money and care, offering warmth and salvation, he would surely see her as the only light in his life!
…
Meanwhile, in the rented apartment where the livestream had just ended, the strawberry-red lip gloss Wen Huan had applied earlier for her makeup tutorial had already been completely kissed off by Pei Jingyi.
Afterward, with slightly swollen lips, Wen Huan finished her meal, and Pei Jingyi washed the dishes before returning to work.
But just as Wen Huan relaxed and went to check the livestream data from her hastily ended broadcast, she noticed a prominent “@” notification. The sender was none other than Pei Yi.
This little princess of the Pei family, who had been at odds with her for three years, had—for some unknown reason, likely under pressure—recorded a teary-eyed video apologizing to her and admitting to the despicable act of spending money to spread rumors about Wen Huan.
Since Wen Huan’s situation was already a hot topic, Pei Yi’s video immediately attracted widespread attention as soon as it was posted.
Logically, a video like this, where someone admits their mistakes—even if Pei Yi’s actions were indeed disgraceful—would still garner some leniency from a portion of the netizens.
But to her surprise, when Wen Huan opened the comments section, she found that Pei Yi’s comment section was even more brutal than hers had been the night before!
The vicious comments directed at Pei Yi were so harsh that even Wen Huan, as the victim, felt they were a bit too cruel.
Of course, Wen Huan wasn’t about to turn into a saint and come to Pei Yi’s rescue.
Because the moment Pei Yi decided to spread rumors and harm her last night, she should have been prepared to face the backlash.
So, watching Pei Yi tearfully take full responsibility, Wen Huan actually felt a small sense of relief.
“So, the rumor-spreading had nothing to do with the female lead. It was just Pei Yi putting on a one-woman show.”
No wonder, after all, the female lead Zuo Rouya was the embodiment of purity, kindness, and beauty in the book.
How could she possibly do something so vicious and competitive?
That would make her even more malicious than this villainess!
With all her worries cast aside, Wen Huan hummed a tune as she scrolled through her backend, hoping to see if any generous sponsors had already quietly reached out.
But just then, Wen Huan’s phone rang—it was Yu Mixue calling, clearly also aware of the online turmoil.
“Huanhuan, Mr. Pei is really so good to you~”
Yu Mixue’s tone was dripping with sarcastic envy as she watched Pei Jingyi’s “520” clarification video, which she had replayed countless times on her phone. She truly envied Wen Huan.
That lucky girl, she’s really got it good!
Wen Huan understood Yu Mixue’s hidden mentality—wanting her best friend to do well, but not too well—so she put on an affected tone and said, “Oh, my husband did this because he’s just a genuinely good person.”
Genuinely good?
Yu Mixue inwardly scoffed, feeling even more sour.
Pei Jingyi, who had only ever told her to “get lost, get lost, get lost,” could hardly be called good in any way.
However, Yu Mixue hadn’t called Wen Huan today just to let her gloat. Lowering her voice, she said to Wen Huan, “Huanhuan, don’t you think the rumors about you online were cleared up so quickly, and even that spoiled princess Pei Yi apologized to you… Could it be that Feng Wen is helping you behind the scenes?”
How could that be possible!
Although Wen Huan and Feng Wen were close, she immediately denied it without a second thought: “Don’t ever say something like that again.”
Yu Mixue wondered why she couldn’t say it—could it be that someone else was around Wen Huan?
But before she could voice her question, Wen Huan truly saw the tightly closed door of the rented room being pushed open. Pei Jingyi, who had left earlier, now stood in the doorway once again—