Good heavens!
This barrage of muffled thunder left everyone utterly speechless.
Turns out, the clown was me all along?!
Previously, everyone thought Xia Qingtian's affair with Xia Honglang was earth-shattering gossip, a definite case of a morally corrupt celebrity. But it turns out they were father and daughter!
Before, it was thought that Xia Qingtian's anti-fan committee was a group of people who disliked Xia Qingtian, focused on ruining her career and forcing her to retire. But the leader of this anti-fan group turned out to be Xia Qingtian's own father!
It was believed that the anti-fans' goal was to bring down the artist. Now, it seems some people are forcing artists to retire to inherit family businesses!
It was thought that anti-fans existed to mess with an artist's psyche, but unexpectedly, it was the anti-fans who ended up having their psyches messed with!
It was thought Xia Qingtian had abundant resources due to a sugar daddy, but it turns out the "sugar daddy" was an anti-fan constantly urging her to come home?
This whole affair is truly bizarre.
Xia Qingtian physically embodies a truth: what you think is what you think, right? Well, not really!
Before everyone could recover from the successive shocks, two more earth-shattering news items dropped onto the trending topics.
[Xia Qingtian Assists Police in Solving Human Organ Smuggling Case, Rescuing Victims.]
[Xia Qingtian Selected as Z Country's Top Ten Youth of the Year; Award Ceremony to be Held in Kyoto Next Month.]
Good heavens, this sent netizens into a frenzy.
[What exactly does Xia Qingtian do? I thought she was a popular young star backed by a sugar daddy. Turns out she's the Xia family's heiress playing in the entertainment industry. I thought she was just a pampered heiress, but this person repeatedly assists the police in solving cases...]
[Are Xia Qingtian's trending topics on an annual subscription? Please extend it for several more years, thank you!]
[It's all you anti-fans causing trouble. Now you know how amazing our sister is!]
[Sister worked hard to descend to the mortal realm...]
...
Meanwhile, Xia Qingtian had just received a call from a director she knew. It turned out that the private hospital she had destroyed during her kidnapping incident was actually a black-hearted hospital involved in human trafficking.
After the police rescued Yinyin, who was trapped in the secret room with her, they learned about the entire process of her being tricked from Yinyin. This led them to capture Aunt Zhang, who had lured her, and dismantle a new human trafficking ring.
This was a significant achievement. It would take time to fully crack the case. To avoid alerting the criminals, the police waited until they had apprehended all suspects before reporting it and then informed Xia Qingtian.
Therefore, Xia Qingtian learned about this matter only three to five minutes before the netizens.
However, she had more important things to attend to now.
After hanging up the phone, Xia Qingtian returned to the living room and sat down.
Aunt Liu was now sitting alone in the main seat of the sofa. Xia Qingyu and Xia Shang were seated on the single sofas to the left, while Xia Qingtian occupied the one on the right.
Xia Honglang stood before the coffee table, awkwardly rubbing his hands.
"The president of the Xia Qingtian Anti-Fan Committee, is it?" Aunt Liu raised an eyebrow and asked Xia Honglang, "An anti-fan is one thing, but you're the president!"
"Even if you don't support her, you shouldn't cause so much trouble! All these incidents, and they even affected Xia Corporation's stock fluctuations! You've hoisted yourself by your own petard!" Xia Qingyu said, crossing her arms and putting on a stern face.
She had a significant number of Xia Corporation shares, and after Xia Corporation secured the opportunity to cooperate with Gu Corporation on new energy, she had invested heavily.
She had to support her sister; earning money wasn't easy.
If you can't help, at least don't mess things up for me!
"Stare..." Xia Shang's eyes were fixed on Xia Honglang. Although he said nothing, his gaze clearly conveyed a message: You can't, or at least you shouldn't!
Xia Honglang was at a loss for words.
Just what he feared had come to pass!
He had initially feared being discovered by Xia Qingtian, so he thought he would just contribute money and stay out of everything else. If he didn't know, didn't understand, and didn't care, then he wouldn't be implicated.
Who knew that later on, some madman would anonymously report him for money laundering? The authorities issued a statement clearing him, and by sheer coincidence, a screenshot of that specific fund flow was captured...
That's how he was exposed.
So frustrating...
Especially now, being subjected to a three-way interrogation, it was as if he was awaiting the judge to declare him guilty.
So sad...
"Shouldn't you say something to Qingtian now?" Aunt Liu asked Xia Honglang, her face stern.
Xia Honglang then looked at Xia Qingtian, stammering for a long time without being able to say anything coherent.
Finally, Xia Honglang moved his lips and said, "Qingtian, you... do you want to buy a bag?"
"..." Aunt Liu.
"?" Xia Qingyu.
"Stare..." Xia Shang.
Xia Qingtian didn't know where to begin with the complaints.
Was this the time to talk about buying bags?
But seeing the blush spread from Xia Honglang's face to his neck, and how he fidgeted restlessly, rubbing his hands, even daring to look at her with a hint of timidity.
Xia Qingtian knew Xia Honglang was apologizing in his own way.
Fortunately, it hadn't led to any major disaster, and the matter could be considered resolved at this point.
"Ai..." Xia Qingtian sighed helplessly, "Speaking of which, I haven't bought a bag since the New Year."
"Then let's buy a bag!" Xia Honglang's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this. "Buy whatever you want! Dad will wire you the money first thing tomorrow morning."
"Alright, then that's settled," Xia Qingtian said, standing up. "I'm going back to my room now. You all should get some rest too."
Seeing that Xia Qingtian wasn't going to pursue the matter further, Aunt Liu and Xia Qingyu also sighed in relief.
"Qingtian is good in every way, but sometimes she's too soft-hearted and sensible," Aunt Liu murmured, watching Xia Qingtian's retreating back. "What will happen if she's bullied in the future?"
"Who dares to bully my daughter!" Xia Honglang, having received Xia Qingtian's forgiveness, suddenly regained his assertiveness, puffing out his chest, showing no trace of his previous awkwardness and nervousness.
"Stare..." Xia Shang maintained his stare at Xia Honglang, then silently extended his index finger, pointing in Xia Honglang's direction.
"..." Xia Honglang's mouth twitched slightly, and his shoulders slumped in response.
"I'm going back to my room to rest too. You all should get some rest early," Xia Qingyu said as she headed upstairs. She made a special trip to Xia Qingtian's room, silently looking at the closed door, Xia Qingyu clenched her fists at her sides.
Sister, wait for me a little longer, just a little longer...
From now on, she would never let Xia Qingtian fall into such a difficult predicament again.
Absolutely!
No one could bully her sister, no one, not at all!
Behind the closed door, Xia Qingtian was unaware of Xia Qingyu's inner thoughts. She was in front of the mirror, trying on clothes for tomorrow.
Tomorrow morning, she had to go to Xia Corporation with Xia Honglang.
She had to fulfill the second thing she promised Mr. Gu.
"Using provocation... Hmph hmph hmph... Who's afraid of whom!" Xia Qingtian narrowed her eyes, looking at herself in the mirror. "Alright, I'll wear this set!"
Once she could easily achieve it, she wanted to see what Mr. Gu would say then.
Hmph!