You can never wake someone who is pretending to be asleep, let alone a heartbroken woman trapped in the whirlpool of a toxic relationship who refuses to walk out.
“So you plan to just keep dragging this out like this?” Liu Lanci asked, completely baffled. At this rate, when would it ever end?
Li Xiao remained silent, sighing inwardly: Actually, I already regret this marriage, but there is no way for me to pull away now, unless either he dies or I die.
Sigh. Li Xiao only dared to vent her frustrations in her heart. If she ever said it out loud, Lu Ming would go crazy. It would not matter if he hurt her, but if anyone else got hurt, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Liu Lanci took a deep breath. “Since that is the case, you should have a serious talk with him, or come to me. I can try to help you.”
“Ah? You?” Li Xiao was stunned, staring at Liu Lanci in disbelief, as if she could not believe he could actually help her.
“What? Do not you believe my words?” Liu Lanci raised an eyebrow, his expression turning solemn as he began to think things over.
Will what I just said bring trouble to Shen Nanxian? he thought, suddenly feeling a bit regretful. Yet, Li Xiao seemed to desperately need help.
“Never mind, no one can help me. Thank you for your good intentions! Your own situation is not much better than mine!” Li Xiao shook her head and turned away, her retreating figure looking bleak and lonely.
Liu Lanci sighed as he watched Li Xiao walk away. It seemed he had just been acting like a smart aleck. But what did she mean by that remark? His own life could not be more comfortable; his only worry was his mother’s illness.
The moment of interaction between the two was spotted by a bodyguard keeping watch on Li Xiao from the shadows, who immediately reported it.
Upon learning of this, Lu Ming punched a tree in fury, startling a flock of birds. Several of them dropped a few loads of bird droppings right onto Lu Ming’s face as they flew away.
“President Lu, are you all right?” The bodyguard stared at the white mess on Lu Ming’s head, wanting desperately to laugh, but for the sake of his paycheck, he held it in.
“I am fine,” Lu Ming said, taking a deep breath to steady his emotions.
The bodyguard helped Lu Ming into the car, closed the door, and drove off, keeping quiet the entire way since Lu Ming was in a terrible mood today.
Looking out at the scenery, Lu Ming decided he was going to give Liu Lanci, the man who dared to get close to his woman, an unforgettable lesson.
By evening, Liu Lanci learned that Lu Ming and Li Xiao had quit the variety show. He was a bit surprised. Why did they suddenly decide to drop out of the program?
Liu Lanci brought the matter up to Shen Nanxian.
After hearing about it, Shen Nanxian did not seem surprised at all. “That guy Lu Ming is out of his mind. You have talked to Li Xiao several times lately, so he is probably already holding a grudge against you.”
“I did not do anything! I was just chatting with her, he must have misunderstood.”
“Do not pay attention to him. He is like a mental patient who only knows how to overthink every little thing. Anyone who gets close to Li Xiao gets treated as a love rival.”
Shen Nanxian complained without sparing any politeness. That was just Lu Ming’s nature, all thanks to the world’s consciousness, a jealous, yandere man who ignored all logic and rules.
Fans watching the live broadcast were extremely unhappy about the news of yet another withdrawal from the show. If they were not ready to participate in a variety show, why even bother coming? Quitting in less than three days was far too willful.
Liu Lanci also saw those comments, but the thing that shocked him was yet to come! When he saw the post published by Lu Ming, he was so angry he almost coughed up blood.
The Lu Group will no longer cooperate with the Shen Group in any capacity from now on. After all, I personally do not appreciate people playing dumb while trying to seduce a married woman.
This statement directly pushed Liu Lanci into the spotlight. A small portion of his fans immediately turned on him, calling him fake and accusing him of seducing another man’s wife! How shameless!
Liu Lanci felt his entire world collapse. How could there be such a person when he had clearly done nothing at all?
When Shen Nanxian heard about it, he figured that the plot fabricated by the world’s consciousness was not about a yandere, jealous male lead, but rather a downright psychotic male lead complete with delusions.
Hate comments combined with paid internet trolls hired by Lu Ming went wild, bombarding him with malicious bullet comments and endless streams of ugly vocabulary and vicious curses:
Little slut, trying to seduce someone else’s wife. I hope you fall down a sewer the moment you step outside!
Green tea bitch, vixen, get the hell out of the entertainment industry!
Selling a fake bromance, so shameless! You already have such a rich husband, yet you still go around seducing a married woman.
Shen Nanxian directly issued a statement: “My partner is bright and kind-hearted. The variety show is broadcast live from start to finish, and President Lu’s partner was actually the one who took the initiative to approach my partner. I hope netizens will open their eyes and not be played for fools.”
Liu Lanci did not issue a statement; instead, he directly tagged Li Xiao’s social media account, asking her to step forward and explain. To his surprise, once Li Xiao came out, she directly splashed dirty water right back onto him.
“My husband and I have a great relationship. I truly cannot understand why Teacher Liu actually urged me to get a divorce.” In her heart, Li Xiao apologized to Liu Lanci, but she had no other choice!
Liu Lanci was furious about this, yet he could not do a single thing to her because he had no proof. He had done a good deed out of the kindness of his heart, only to be bitten back in return.
As it happened, the live recording of the show had not captured the exact moment the two of them were talking alone, otherwise, there would have been solid proof.
Now, Li Xiao stood firmly on the moral high ground. No matter how much of a fuss was made, nothing could touch her anymore!
The marital status of Li Xiao and Lu Ming appeared entirely loving to outsiders, who remained completely unaware of the reality behind closed doors.
Netizens’ abusive remarks kept rolling in, and Liu Lanci’s public image was completely ruined.
Shen Nanxian’s clarification post was extremely concise: he directly uploaded the audio recording between Li Xiao and Liu Lanci. Right and wrong were clear at a glance; the public was not blind, and no extra explanation was needed.
In response, Liu Lanci directly announced his retirement from the entertainment industry. He had never liked the scheming and deceit of the industry anyway, and retiring now felt like true freedom.
With this, the backlash of public opinion completely reversed toward Lu Ming and Li Xiao. Fans of both sides joined in boycotting Lu Ming’s behavior, a paranoid lunatic paired with a green tea bitch, truly a match made in heaven.
The online insults grew increasingly fierce, and because of this incident, Lu Ming and Li Xiao’s reputations hit absolute rock bottom.
Lu Ming was not the only child in his family; he had an unknown number of illegitimate half-brothers and sisters. Because of this scandal, his position as the corporate heir began to shake.
Instead of showing any remorse, Lu Ming directed all his hatred toward Shen Nanxian.
Shen Nanxian was not someone to be trifled with either. Hurting Liu Lanci crossed his bottom line, so he bluntly declared that if the Lu family did not change their heir, he would fight the Lu family to the bitter end.
The head of the Lu family had already grown tired of Lu Ming anyway, a son who somehow held more authority in the company than his own father was completely intolerable. He immediately announced a change of heir, naming his youngest son, whom he favored the most, as the successor.
Having lost his status as the heir of the Lu Group, Lu Ming did not feel heartbroken. He still had Li Xiao; as long as his beloved was by his side, power did not matter.
Seeing Lu Ming’s power shrink and witnessing Shen Nanxian’s terrifying influence firsthand, Li Xiao recalled Liu Lanci’s previous words. After making various inquiries and spinning countless lies, she finally managed to get Liu Lanci’s contact information.
Having exited the variety show, Liu Lanci was at home packing his luggage when Shen Nanxian was planning to take him out to clear his head, and his phone suddenly rang.
“Hello?” Liu Lanci answered the call. “Hello, who is this? Speak up.”
“Liu Lanci, it is me, Li Xiao. I have something to tell you.”
Li Xiao’s voice sounded very anxious. But Liu Lanci had no desire to listen to her nonsense and said coldly, “You and I have nothing to talk about. Goodbye!”
Liu Lanci hung up the phone. Not long after, the phone rang again, and it was still Li Xiao calling.
“Hello? What on earth do you want?” Liu Lanci’s patience was reaching its limit, his tone turning even colder. “If nothing is the matter, I am hanging up, and do not call me again.”
Li Xiao hurriedly stopped Liu Lanci from cutting off the communication. “Wait, Liu Lanci, listen to me! I am the one who wronged you, but I had my difficulties too! I did not mean to, can you please forgive me?”
“No. I will never forgive you.” Expressionless, Liu Lanci hung up the phone once more.
Just as Shen Nanxian walked back into the room, he caught sight of Liu Lanci’s chilly expression. He had just managed to coax his little rabbit into a happy mood, so what on earth happened during the short moment he was away to make him gloomy again?
“What is wrong, baby? Why are you unhappy?”
“Li Xiao called me and apologized,” Liu Lanci said, a faint, fleeting smile finally touching the corners of his lips.
“Oh? Did you forgive her?”
“Of course not,” Liu Lanci said without the slightest hesitation. “I will never forgive her in this lifetime. She is a bad person.”
“All right. Are you all packed? Once you are done, we can head out,” Shen Nanxian reminded him gently.
“Mm, almost done.” Liu Lanci stuffed the remaining items into his bag, left the house with Shen Nanxian, and got into a car bound for the airport.
On the plane, a wave of sleepiness washed over Liu Lanci, and he drifted off to sleep leaning against Shen Nanxian’s shoulder. When he opened his eyes again, they had already cleared customs at Country H’s international airport and boarded a commercial van, which was driving them toward the city center.
Arriving at their pre-selected residence, Liu Lanci stepped out of the car first. As he pushed open the front door of the villa, he immediately spotted Mother Liu.
Seeing Liu Lanci walk in, Mother Liu hurried over to greet him, taking his hand with tear-filled eyes. “Zhizi, you have put on a lot of weight! How was it, was the trip tiring?”
“It was not tiring, Mom. How have you been doing lately?” Liu Lanci’s eyes turned slightly red, and a sour ache pricked at the bridge of his nose.
“Very happy. I have never been this happy before,” Mother Liu said with a warm smile.
Dragging two suitcases behind him, Shen Nanxian walked over and greeted politely, “Hello, Mom.”
Mother Liu nodded affectionately, looking at Shen Nanxian with a beaming smile. “You are here! Come on inside, I have cooked dinner, let us eat.”
Liu Lanci and Shen Nanxian carried the dishes out from the kitchen, and the three of them gathered around the dining table.
Picking up his chopsticks, Liu Lanci placed a piece of fish into Shen Nanxian’s bowl. “You should try this. My mom’s cooking is amazing, way better than mine.”