Chapter 166: The So-Called Damaging Secrets

“Um…” After a brief silence, Shen Jing furrowed his brow and pointed at himself, asking, “Does that mean I count as a childhood friend?”

“Well, at least you were classmates in high school,” Shen Jing said weakly, glancing into Lu Wenchuan’s dark eyes before lowering his head, unwilling to continue.

Lu Wenchuan smiled slightly. “Just high school classmates, and you only met once.”

He was referring to Sang Yijia’s side of things, not counting Shen Jing’s one-sided encounters.

This completely deflated Shen Jing. “I’ll pass that on to my brother.”

“But both of you are so petty,” he added.

Shen Jing’s older brother, Shen Hong, and Lu Wenchuan had been classmates before. Their relationship wasn’t particularly close, but not bad either.

Especially since their families were similar in status. After Lu Wenchuan returned to China to take over the Lu Group, Shen Hong began managing the Shen Group. They cooperated in business, which gradually turned them into friends.

By chance, Shen Hong had fallen for a girl who had a childhood sweetheart. Traditionally, the childhood friend always had the upper hand.

But Shen Hong couldn’t surpass the childhood sweetheart and was repeatedly rejected.

When Lu Wenchuan learned of this, he advised Shen Hong to let go and wish her well. But Shen Hong refused, persistently clinging to her and even offered her childhood sweetheart a ten-million check to leave.

The childhood sweetheart took the money and ran off. When the girl found out, she became even less willing to accept Shen Hong.

Now, the girl had started going on blind dates and met another man.

This time, Shen Hong couldn’t offer a check to make the man leave because he was from the same circle and was wealthy.

Shen Jing, recalling the situation, still found it absurd and hard to believe. “Lu Ge, you know my brother’s current situation, right?”

“Not the time to get involved,” Lu Wenchuan replied. “But I’ll say this again: the girl isn’t interested in your brother, or she would have fallen for him by now.”

Shen Jing didn’t dare relay this to Shen Hong. “Alright, I won’t disturb you anymore. I’m heading back.”

Lu Wenchuan glanced at him, said nothing further, and turned to leave.

“What a hassle,” Shen Jing muttered, rubbing his nose. “Both of them have love on the brain.”

Especially his own brother, who had caused so many embarrassing moments over a woman, with no telling if he’d ever marry her.

Shen Jing sighed heavily and opened the door to his room. “Thank goodness I’m not like that.”

——

Sang Yijia returned and took a hot shower, then drank the hangover soup Aunt Zhang had prepared. She felt more alert and refreshed.

She no longer felt sleepy and held a cup of warm water on the balcony of her room. This side didn’t overlook the sea, only a view of towering skyscrapers.

The moonlight was bright tonight, and Sang Yijia thought again about Lu Wenchuan’s reaction earlier. “He seemed really anxious.”

“But why?”

Only a few days had passed since they confirmed their relationship, and suddenly he was talking about marriage.

Sang Yijia’s mind was in turmoil; she couldn’t understand and even wanted to avoid the issue by breaking up.

But… she didn’t want to break up.

She’d never been in a relationship before, completely clueless about how two people should get along. Now, trapped in this story, even after countless repetitions, marriage had never crossed her mind.

Only the last awakening had an accident—she was kidnapped, along with Lu Wenchuan.

Staring at the full moon, fragmented memories surfaced but soon scattered again.

Then, a question struck her.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

Her thoughts were interrupted. After a few seconds’ hesitation, she went inside to answer. The caller ID showed her manager, Mo Yani.

“Jiajia, you’re trending on social media,” Mo Yani’s voice was anxious. “It’s your old scandal.”

“Is all this true?” Mo Yani couldn’t believe it but, thinking of the old Sang Yijia, felt she might well be capable of such things.

“What?” Sang Yijia frowned. “I haven’t checked yet.”

“Wait a moment.” Just as Sang Yijia was about to look, there was a knock on the door. It was Chen Luo’s voice.

“Sister Jiajia.”

“Come in.” Sang Yijia frowned and let her in.

Chen Luo handed over a tablet. “Sister Jiajia, these are your scandals.”

“What do we do now?” Chen Luo was anxious, refusing to believe Sang Yijia would do such things.

“I’ll have a look.” Sang Yijia glanced at the top trending topic, her brow only slightly furrowed, showing no emotional reaction.

Then she tapped into the posts which had several subtitles:

#Sang Yijia bullies classmates during school days#

#Bullied classmate committed suicide#

#Sang Yijia’s parents refuse to compensate#

#Victim’s family seeks help but meets a wall of silence, suspected cover-up#

“These are all lies.” Sang Yijia returned the tablet to Chen Luo and spoke to Mo Yani on the phone, “Report to the police and get a lawyer. I’m going to sue whoever is spreading these rumors.”

——

“I never did those things.”

Neither the original owner nor herself ever had.

Mo Yani was relieved. “Okay, I’ll report it now and issue a public statement to clarify.”

“Mm.” Sang Yijia’s brow remained tight, puzzled over how these scandals had appeared and who was behind them.

Who had she offended?

Sang Yijia pondered deeply, her expression serious. Chen Luo dared not speak.

After a while, Aunt Zhang knocked and said, “Jiajia, Mr. Lu is here.”

“Mm, got it.” Sang Yijia had just started to piece together some clues before these events interrupted her.

“Sister Jiajia, I’ll head back now.” Chen Luo’s room was on a lower floor, and with Lu Wenchuan here, it wasn’t appropriate to stay.

“Mm.” Sang Yijia nodded. “Rest well. Don’t worry about this.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Chen Luo nodded firmly. “I’ve always believed in you, Sister Jiajia.”

“You would never do something like this.”

Sang Yijia hummed in agreement without further comment.

Chen Luo left, and Lu Wenchuan came in.

“Jiajia,” Lu Wenchuan said. He hadn’t known about the social media uproar until his assistant, Guan Zijin, sent him the link. “I’ll handle this.”

“I really want to know who’s targeting me.” Sang Yijia’s dark eyes met his. “Why?”

She couldn’t understand.

“We’re already investigating.” Lu Wenchuan stepped forward and embraced her. “It’ll be fine.”

“I’m fine. I’m just curious.” Sang Yijia shook her head gently. The two leads were here, and she wasn’t involved in the film, so there was no conflict of interest—but still, why?

“You’ll know soon enough.” Lu Wenchuan guided her to sit on the sofa. “Stop thinking about it. Let’s talk about something else.”

Sang Yijia’s heart skipped a beat. “About what?”

(The end of this chapter)