I woke up to find I have a child - Chapter 87
While Han Feixu was trending on social media, Ye Mingxin was at home, watching their kid and chatting with Lin Yi. She had already introduced Jiang Lingyuan to Lin Yi some time ago and, as the intermediary, she was curious about how Lin Yi felt about her.
And it was Lin Yi who informed her about the incident at Pinko’s high-end fashion show.
Han Feixu arrived home after ten only to find Ye Mingxin sitting quietly in the dining room. Hearing Han Feixu come in, Ye Mingxin raised her eyes to look towards the door.
Ye Mingxin’s gaze was too calm. She sat with her arms crossed at the empty dining table.
No need to ask, she obviously knew what had happened.
Han Feixu walked over silently and said, “I was wrong.”
Ye Mingxin slightly raised her eyebrows, “Wrong about what?”
“I shouldn’t have been impulsive or acted blindly,” Han Feixu honestly admitted her mistake and then tried to explain herself, “Regardless of what she’s done, she’s still just a young girl, and I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. Yes, she’s a bad person, and I don’t like her. If she stood before me now, I would still want to scold her. But I helped her not for her sake, but for my own conscience…”
Ye Mingxin patiently listened to her until she finished, then tapped the seat next to her, “Sit down first.”
“….”
Han Feixu felt like she was about to be interrogated.
She sat down and after staring silently at her for a while, Ye Mingxin finally spoke, “I know your personality and understand why you did it. So I can understand and sympathize with your actions.”
Han Feixu blinked and started to smile, but before she could fully smile, Ye Mingxin’s expression turned serious, “But you shouldn’t have stepped out to shield her from danger. Do you know how I felt when I saw those photos? Han Yiren might be all alone, but what about you? You have a daughter and a wife and you just had to step forward. What if the attackers had been more dangerous? What if they were terrorists? If something happened to you, what would you expect me to do?!”
Startled by her sudden stern tone, Han Feixu stuttered, “I….”
Before she could continue, Ye Mingxin interrupted her, “Even though you’re unharmed, from now on, wherever you go, Wei Xun must follow you. He must be with you 24/7 whenever you’re not at home, even if I’m by your side. I will not accept any arguments!”
Han Feixu quickly agreed. Seeing her quick acceptance and good attitude in admitting her fault, Ye Mingxin decided to let her off the hook, for now.
As they retreated to their bedroom, Han Feixu lay on the bed and decided to browse Weibo. Before opening the app, she held her phone and closed her eyes, praying silently.
Ye Mingxin, lying beside her, listened as she muttered, “Please don’t let there be too many people cursing me, please don’t let there be too many people cursing me, please don’t let there be too many people cursing me…..”
Ye Mingxin: “….”
After finishing her little prayer, Han Feixu opened Weibo with a resigned look, as if she were bravely facing her demise.
Thankfully, Liang Zhu’s timely intervention in this incident actually had a positive effect on her online reputation. Most comments praised her for being a genuinely good person. Someone loyal and magnanimous, who is willing to let bygones be bygones.
As Liang Zhu had predicted, Han Yiren topped the trending searches, and Han Feixu came second. Since the incident occurred near the entrance, where journalists were present, numerous photos had been leaked and were now impossible to take down even if they wanted to. Moreover, many celebrities had been frightened during the incident, so their fans also paid a lot of attention to the matter.
Discussion online centered around two main issues: the poor security at Pinko’s event and the identity of the attackers.
It was late by the time Han Feixu finished browsing the internet’s reaction and then started reading comments about herself. Seeing Han Feixu about to get absorbed in her phone, Ye Mingxin took the phone out of her hands, “Go to sleep. Someone at the company is keeping an eye on it for you. Don’t worry, this incident has caused a huge stir and public opinion will ferment for at least two days. So you’ll have plenty of time to check again tomorrow.”
With her phone taken away, Han Feixu had no choice but to listen to Ye Mingxin.
The next morning at the breakfast table, Han Feixu was still glued to her phone. There were many new updates overnight.
The troublemakers who had entered weren’t just random intruders who crashed a party, but people invited to the event.
The high-end fashion show had several hundred guests, including celebrities, fashion industry figures, key Pinko customers, and some business partners. The troublemakers had invitations meant for key customers, which didn’t require identity verification. Hence, they were allowed in.
Usually, those who receive customer invitations are big spenders like Han Feixu, who purchase millions or even tens of millions worth of goods annually. Such wealthy individuals wouldn’t sell their invitations to random strangers like these attackers, so there was speculation online that the invitations were stolen.
Han Feixu suspected there was more to it. After discussing it with Ye Mingxin, who was feeding Yiyi some vegetable porridge, Ye Mingxin casually replied, “Do you need to steal those? Just ask your friends, and they’ll give them to you.”
Han Feixu looked at her dumbfoundedly, “Do you know who’s behind this?”
Ye Mingxin looked at her, “Don’t you know?”
Realizing her hint, Han Feixu frowned, “Didn’t Chang Hao’s wife already teach her a lesson?”
“Han Yiren is quite a capable person. Among all the exposed mistresses, she’s the only one who has withstood Mrs. Chang’s attacks and is still brazenly involved with Chang Hao,” Ye Mingxin said with a hint of sarcasm, “Although I wonder if she can withstand Mrs. Chang’s second onslaught.”
If it was Mrs. Chang, then the source of the invitations made sense. She was a major customer of all high-end fashion brands, and so were all of her old friends. She could have easily coaxed the invitations off her friends just by treating them to a meal.
So this incident was the result of a wife teaching the mistress a lesson.
Han Feixu suddenly felt disgusted, as if she had just eaten something vile. If the revenge was for some other reason, her defending Han Yiren would have been justified. But knowing the real reason, she now understood Liang Zhu and Ye Mingxin’s feelings from the night before.
She had indeed done something pointless* = =
(T/N: technically the phrase used here was “????” which is an idiom that translates to “eat until full and then overdo it” and is used to describe when someone takes unnecessary actions.)
She clicked out the searches about Han Yiren and decided to look at the hot posts about herself. Her eyes widened in shock when she clicked on them.
The first post about her had changed and was now a derogatory article by a marketing account blogger insinuating that her behavior the previous night was an act. The post accused her of using this incident to her advantage, that she did all this to portray herself as a pure-hearted wealthy second-generation when in fact, all of it was fake. The blogger even suggested that Han Feixu herself might have orchestrated the whole incident.
This was the first time Han Feixu saw someone so skillfully twist the truth. The blogger, a self-proclaimed journalist, wrote very logically and coherently enough that it was convincing to anyone unaware of the truth.
To support his claims, the blogger highlighted several key points with photos, each marked with red lines to emphasize the important information.
Key Point One: The troublemakers ran away immediately after hearing her words. The blogger then questioned, would people be daring enough to cause chaos at a high-end fashion show just to be scared off by a mere light threat?
Key Point Two: Look at Han Feixu’s clothes – she was completely unscathed. She was very close to Han Yiren the whole time yet didn’t get any eggs on her, nor was she mistakenly hit. What does this imply? It suggests the troublemakers knew she was their boss and deliberately avoided hitting her, and she also knew in advance when the incident would occur, so she was more prepared than others.
Key Point Three: Han Feixu claimed she was very wealthy, yet the outfit she wore was a Pinko 2018 Fall/Winter special edition, showcased recently at Paris Fashion Week. Except for the model’s piece, the designer only made nine, each custom-made for Pinko’s loyal customers, unattainable even by those with money. The design was well received during the fashion week, and many knock-offs were made after. The fabric of Han Feixu’s dress was coarse and stiff, so clearly a counterfeit.
“……”
“Ah, what kind of logic is this! It’s infuriating!”
Han Feixu suddenly lost her temper. Ye Mingxin and Yiyi looked over in shock. Yiyi’s little nose was still red from her cold. Sniffling, she asked with a nasal voice, “Mama, who made you angry?”
Han Feixu’s expression froze for a moment before she set down her phone and smiled as if nothing happened, “No, Mama isn’t angry. Yiyi, are you full? Be good at home today, okay? Mama will be back by noon.”
After breakfast, as they prepared to leave, Han Feixu suddenly went back upstairs. She rummaged through her closet and finally found the delivery notes and receipts for this year’s clothing purchases.
Taking these documents with her, she entered the car only to find Zhong Yuanyuan and Wei Xun in there. Puzzled, she asked, “Where’s Liang-jie? Didn’t she say she’d come to the set with me today?”
“She’s still busy. She didn’t sleep all night and only got two hours of sleep this morning. When she woke up, people had started smearing your reputation online, so she’s been monitoring that all day. She might come in the afternoon though. Why, do you need something?”
Han Feixu nodded, “She’s been working so hard, tell her to rest at home this afternoon. I did want to ask her something, but you might already know about it. know too. Did you see that post by that blogger, chicken-something?”
The blogger of said Weibo post is named Seven-Seven Chicken, which sounds like a cute account name, but the content they posted was despicable, and they often twisted facts and confused right with wrong. Seven-Seven Chicken is quite the slippery individual. In a previous high-profile case on Weibo, where a young girl was the victim of a celebrity criminal. Seven-Seven Chicken wrote a series of articles with passionate words and tearful sentences and portrayed themselves as the girl’s savior. Seven-Seven Chicken wrote that if they didn’t say anything, the girl would’ve been killed.
However, later news broke to reveal that the girl was a wealthy, influential, and obsessive stalker fan who concocted a scheme to tarnish this celebrity’s reputation because he had insulted her idol. Seven-Seven Chicken knew from the start it was a lie, as the girl provided no evidence and was vague about details, claiming she couldn’t remember much of the crime, but such a clumsy lie was blown out of proportion by Seven-Seven Chicken and almost ruined the falsely accused celebrity’s life.
Zhong Yuanyuan looked at Han Feixu sympathetically, “Of course I saw it. You’re really unlucky to have attracted the attention of that mad dog.”
Han Feixu silently looked at her and after a moment, pulled out a bunch of papers from her bag, asking seriously, “Can I use these to fight back against him?”
Zhong Yuanyuan, arms stuffed full of papers, “…..”
Well, at least you know to ask before fighting back now. At least that’s progress = =
Zhong Yuanyuan looked at the pile of papers in her arms and mumbled, “This… I’m not sure. How about I ask Liang-jie first?”
Han Feixu nodded, “Please ask quickly. If we don’t respond soon, we’ll miss the prime time to counterattack.”
Soon the call was made and Liang Zhu picked it up. After hearing what Zhong Yuanyuan said, she was silent for a while before asking, “What does she want to use to fight back against this account?”
Zhong Yuanyuan, flipping through various receipts, said, “She’s got a bunch of clothing and accessory delivery notes, receipts, and invoices, all in foreign languages. I can’t understand them.”
Liang Zhu rubbed her forehead, glanced at her computer, and then at her busy staff. After a pause, she said, “Go ahead and fight back. Ever since Han Feixu said those words yesterday, the “Since Han Feixu made that statement yesterday, the label of being a ‘wealthy heiress’ can’t be removed anymore. We might as well own it. But remember to tell Han Feixu to just take photos of these documents, post them, and then tag Seven-Seven Chicken. Don’t you dare add a single word or punctuation mark more! Got it?”
Zhong Yuanyuan agreed repeatedly. After relaying the message to Han Feixu, she also readily agreed, happy to have the opportunity to respond. As long as she was allowed to reply, she didn’t care about anything else.
The task of taking photos was given to Zhong Yuanyuan, who was almost a professional photographer by now.
Eight photos were taken to evenly display all the papers, with a special focus on the black dress’s delivery receipt, customization sheet, and thank you letter, which were featured in the center of a nine-grid layout.
After carefully arranging the photos and tagging that provocative blogger, Han Feixu immediately felt better after she clicked the ‘post’ button.
Since the previous night, various celebrities have been voicing their concerns and consolations. Those not present at the event condemned the troublemakers and comforted their colleagues, while those who were there reassured their fans they were okay and sympathized with Han Yiren, the most affected. Han Feixu was the only one who had not yet made a single sound.
Upon seeing her post, people initially thought she was also going to say something along the lines of, “I’m fine, and thank you, everyone, for your concern.” However, after viewing the photos, they fell silent.
Although they knew Han Feixu’s intention was to refute Seven-Seven Chicken, their focus shifted to something else. Their focus was now on the fact that Han Feixu’s words yesterday were the truth.
Maybe, probably, most likely….the only thing she doesn’t really lack is money…
When Han Feixu had read Seven-Seven Chicken’s post, it had been only about five minutes since it was posted. About half an hour passed before Han Feixu replied with her own post. So in less than an hour, Seven-Seven Chicken’s face was slapped into smithereens.
It was really….refreshing!
Netizens had long had issues with Seven-Seven Chicken, with numerous reports against said blogger, but their account remained unaffected. Now, finally, a victim had stood up to refute Seven-Seven Chicken, slapping this blogger in the face at the speed of light!
The enemy of an enemy is a friend – a principle that applies even in the emptiness of outer space. Han Feixu instantly gained many random fans just from this. Seizing the opportunity, Liang Zhu promoted her further, and soon she surpassed Han Yiren in becoming the top trending topic.
Liang Zhu didn’t care about Han Yiren’s current state at all. She intentionally took over the top trending spot to steal her limelight and give her a taste of what it’s like to have something snatched away.
While Liang Zhu strategized in the company, Han Feixu arrived on set. The first thing people did upon seeing her was to express concern, followed by a few light-hearted jokes.
Han Feixu had become even more famous in just one battle. Although she was already well-known before, now she is even more famous! Now she is regarded as the second most fearsome actress when it comes to counter attacks with just one move.
Of course, the number 1 actress for a long time now is Chi Qiu. No one can shake the status and dignity of a former war journalist = =
Liang Zhu expected the incident to cause a sensation for three days, but by the second evening, its intensity began to wane as a result of the Chang family’s intervention. They didn’t want the issue to escalate. After all, if netizens traced the matter back to Mrs. Chang and then to Chang Hao, their company’s stock value would plunge again.
Liang Zhu was content to let the matter rest, having achieved her goal. That is, embarrassing Han Yiren while bolstering Han Feixu’s popularity. Things couldn’t have ended better for her.
Liang Zhu was happy with the outcome and so was Han Feixu. With the incident now over, she could now return to her previously low-profile private life. Yiyi’s cold had finally disappeared, and she would return to kindergarten in a few days. As for Pinko, due to the negative impact of the incident and Han Feixu gaining the most positive attention, they moved up the endorsement deal signing by a month.
With three pieces of good news, Han Feixu felt like she was finally seeing the moonlight after the storm.
After finding a free day in her schedule, the two parties prepared to sign the endorsement deal. On the day of the signing, Han Feixu sat at the breakfast table drinking milk while Ye Mingxin was opposite her, putting a little yellow hat on Yiyi.
Ye Mingxin had taken care of Yiyi the most during her cold, possibly due to guilt for not being able to be there for her in the past. Now, she was determined to make up for it by spending more time with Yiyi.
Having taken nearly a week off, Ye Mingxin planned to personally take Yiyi to school on her return day.
With no scenes to shoot today, Han Feixu was scheduled to sign the endorsement deal in the morning and would be back by afternoon just in time to pick up Yiyi from school.
Once Yiyi was all dressed, Ye Mingxin held Yiyi’s hand and softly said, “Say goodbye to Mama.”
Yiyi turned around and waved, “See you this afternoon, Mama~”
Han Feixu smiled, “See you later, my little baby. Be good at kindergarten and listen to your teacher.”
After Yiyi responded, Ye Mingxin led her out. The two of them were dressed in white and orange outfits and looked like a proper mother-daughter pair
Han Feixu watched them leave, then sat back and watched some TV dramas for a while. When it was time, she got into the car and headed to Pinko’s office.
Upon entering Pinko’s VIP room, Han Feixu was surprised to find Chloe also there. Her steps halted, and Chloe’s expression changed too.
Clearly, neither of them knew the other would be there.
It was only during the signing that they found out Pinko had moved up all their endorsement activities due to their currently poor public image. So, consequently, the contract signing with Marie Claire was also scheduled for today.
After signing the contract, the deputy branch manager smiled at Chloe and Han Feixu, saying, “Both of you are outstanding in your respective fields. I believe this collaboration will be auspicious.”
Han Feixu was silent for a moment and about to agree when she suddenly heard a gasp from behind.
Turning around, they saw that the sound had come from Zhong Yuanyuan. Liang Zhu shot her a reproachful look, but despite Liang Zhu’s gesture, Zhong Yuanyuan, still wide-eyed and shocked, exclaimed, “Liang…Liang-jie, something big has happened…”
Liang Zhu’s heart sank. She quickly stood up, took Zhong Yuanyuan’s phone, and after seeing its content, her reaction mirrored Zhong Yuanyuan’s.
Everyone else was confused, and the branch manager kept asking in French what had happened.
Han Feixu instinctively thought her reputation had been slandered again, but after Liang Zhu and Zhong Yuanyuan exchanged a glance, the first person they looked at was Chole and not Han Feixu.
Meanwhile, Chole, who was on the receiving end of their stares, was completely clueless.
Liang Zhu chuckled awkwardly, “Since we’ve finished signing, we’ll be leaving now. Sorry, something’s come up at our studio. It’s not a big deal, but we need to get back quickly. We really apologize.”
The deputy branch manager quickly stood up, “No problem, no problem, you should go back if you’re busy. We’ll assign a special staff member to contact you at a later time in the future.”
After another round of awkward laughing, Liang Zhu hurriedly pulled the still confused Han Feixu and left the VIP room. Once outside, Liang Zhu practically raced out, almost like an arrow flying from the bow, and at a speed that could match a professional speed-walking athlete.
In the car, Liang Zhu took a couple of breaths before seriously saying to Han Feixu, “Something big happened.”
Han Feixu’s heart sank, “I know that, but what exactly happened? I’m dying of anxiety here!”
“Ye Mingxin and Yiyi were ambushed by paparazzi on their way to kindergarten. It looks like they’ve been camped out for several days and then after taking photos, they immediately posted them online, and they didn’t blur Yiyi’s face.”
“Fu*k!” Han Feixu couldn’t help but curse and immediately sat up straight. “I’m calling Ye Mingxin. How could there be paparazzi there? How did they even find out?”
Liang Zhu stopped her, “No need to call her, everything has been reported onto Weibo. Apparently Ye Mingxin lost her temper with the paparazzi. As she tried carrying Yiyi back home, someone kept shoving a microphone at her, and she turned around and knocked the paparazzi’s camera to the ground. The camera lens even shattered into pieces.”
“She took Yiyi home?” Han Feixu frowned deeply. “Wei Xun, drive home quickly.”
Wei Xun started the car as instructed. She lowered her head, anxious with worry. She forced herself to calm down, pushing down her chaotic thoughts. She looked up at Liang Zhu, “No matter the cost, all photos of Yiyi must be taken down. Even if they are kept privately, we must get all copies! And if anyone dares to post them again, sue them!”
Liang Zhu patted her shoulder, “Don’t worry. Qi Yu is already handling it. The photos are being taken down quickly. The only one still circulating is blurred, but…”
At this point, Liang Zhu was still hesitant to tell her everything, and Han Feixu nearly lost her patience, “But what? Just say it!”
Startled by her shout, Liang Zhu hurriedly replied, “But, lots of people have already seen Yiyi’s face. Now they’re saying that Chloe is Ye Mingxin’s secretly married wife.”
…What the hell.