The man's movements were incredibly gentle, and Su Qi gradually relaxed. Perhaps it was the steam from the hot water, but Su Qi's mind was still hazy when she emerged from the bathroom. After drying herself, she lay back down on the bed. Her stomach felt heavy, forcing her to sleep on her side.
She had initially been lying on her side facing the edge of the bed. After the man finished showering and got into bed on the other side, he simply pulled her towards him and turned her in the opposite direction.
Su Qi felt a tightness in her chest and let out a breath, "Huo Tingyun, let me go."
Xu Lin Yun was also pregnant. This man wasn't tending to Xu Lin Yun but was instead being intimate with her.
She understood the man even less.
"I want to, what's the problem?"
The man's words left Su Qi speechless.
It was fine if he wanted to, but why was he dragging her into this?
Su Qi was displeased but could only endure it, sleeping in the man's embrace.
At the Steing Hotel.
After Huo Tingyun took Su Qi away, the entire banquet hall fell silent for a long time before hushed whispers began. The media reporters and guests below were all murmuring to each other.
Perhaps the discussions were unfavorable, but Xu Lin Yun's ears were buzzing, rendering her unable to hear anything. Her body went limp, and she collapsed onto the ground. Seeing this, Xu Ru Yun was heartbroken and hurried over, helping Xu Lin Yun up and holding her daughter.
"Mom will take you home. Don't worry, this won't get out, absolutely not..."
As Xu Ru Yun spoke, she turned and instructed the servants beside her, "Quickly seal off the scene. Not a single piece of information must leak out!"
Beneath the stage, a man silently pressed the pause button on his phone's recording function, then put away his phone. Like a phantom, he arrived and departed without a sound, leaving no trace.
Xu Ru Yun handled the situation promptly, and no media dared to upload any reports of the incident.
After all, this was not just the Xu family's scandal, but also the Huo family's. No media outlet dared to publish the Huo family's scandals.
The Huo family's public relations department also mobilized, and within half an hour, order was restored at the scene, allowing the media and guests to leave gradually.
Qin Xue and Huo Qing Rang also returned to the car. Qin Xue's hands were clasped over her chest, still unable to calm down.
"Let the children handle their own matters. You should be happy, Su Qi's child is a son, five or six months along, due in about half a year." Huo Qing Rang's words finally made Qin Xue react. She excitedly clasped her hands together, tears welling up in her eyes, "I'm going to have a grandson..."
Heaven knew how long she had longed for this grandson.
Upon learning of Xu Lin Yun's pregnancy, a constant stream of tonics was sent to the Xu family, all in the hope that Xu Lin Yun would give birth soon.
Whether the child was born to Su Qi or Xu Lin Yun, these two women were merely distinguished by their status. One held a more noble position, while the other was an ordinary person.
The Huo family was the foremost prestigious family in Shencheng, a blue-blooded aristocracy, and even within the country, they were among the top households. While Xu Lin Yun was a wealthy young lady, the Huo family did not need such a marriage for support, as the Huo family was already powerful enough.
Regardless of whether the grandson was born to Xu Lin Yun or Su Qi, he would be Qin Xue's grandson.
Since Su Qi and Huo Tingyun had not divorced, it perfectly fulfilled her dream of becoming a grandmother.
Qin Xue was overjoyed and grasped Huo Qing Rang's hand, "Old Master, we finally have a grandson. Thinking back to when Tingyun was little, how adorable he was. Now that he's grown, I feel we mothers and sons are growing more distant. I wonder if our grandson will resemble Tingyun when he was young. By the way, where is Su Qi living now? Is she still in Deep Water Bay? I must go and see Su Qi tomorrow."
Qin Xue couldn't wait to go right away.
She had only glanced at Su Qi at the banquet.
Her belly was already so large.
She hadn't even seen the baby's ultrasound, nor had she touched Su Qi's belly.
"It will happen, don't be anxious."
Huo Qing Rang signaled the driver to start the car and then subtly withdrew his hand from Qin Xue's.
Qin Xue was ecstatic and didn't notice the anomaly in the man beside her, only eagerly anticipating tomorrow and planning to go to Deep Water Bay first thing in the morning.
The engagement banquet dispersed. Xu Ru Yun saw Xu Lin Yun into the car, instructing Xu Lin Chuan to take Xu Lin Yun home, and then to handle the remaining matters.
She had thought the evening's events were handled perfectly, with no hint of information leaking out.
However, as Xu Ru Yun boarded the car home, she received a call from Xu Lin Chuan just as she reached her doorstep.
"Mom, open your phone and take a look—"
Someone had leaked the night's events onto the internet. Weibo was rapidly trending, with not only photos but also videos.
For the vast number of netizens who loved to gossip and enjoyed a good spectacle, this was an earth-shattering piece of gossip.
Especially when this gossip involved the well-known actress Xu Lin Yun.
Who was Xu Lin Yun? A renowned film empress, she and Huo Tingyun were childhood sweethearts, a relationship envied by many in the entertainment industry.
The video from the engagement banquet, once released, quickly attracted heated discussions from countless gossip-mongers.
Within an hour, the Weibo post that broke the news had tens of thousands of comments, millions of likes, and hundreds of thousands of shares, topping Weibo's trending list as the most explosive and dramatic news of the year.
Clicking on Weibo, the headline of the leaked post read:
"Renowned Film Empress as the Other Woman, Original Wife Appears with a Five-Month Pregnant Belly, Engagement Banquet Becomes a Farce—"
Opening the video, it was indeed footage from the engagement banquet, even recording from the moment Su Qi started speaking.
The angle was extremely concealed, making it appear as if...
The comments below were utterly不堪入目 (unbearable to look at). There were those who were merely spectating, fans who were heartbroken, those who were cursing, and those who were gloating, a wide variety of reactions.
After a single glance, Xu Ru Yun shut off her phone, the last trace of color draining from her face.
The Huo family had deployed their strongest public relations team to handle the matter. She had also remained at the scene to ensure no evidence or videos were leaked.
Who was this person?
Based on the timeline, the Weibo post was sent out before the engagement banquet had even concluded.
Within this hour, public opinion had already rapidly fermented.
Even if the trending topic were to be removed now, countless people would have already learned of this scandal.
Xu Ru Yun's expression was grim. She tightly gripped her phone, trembling violently. Leaning against the car door, her body felt weak, almost collapsing.
If Xu Qing Feng hadn't been in a car accident, he would have handled this matter now, leaving her with no worries.
But now, with Xu Qing Feng's accident and Xu Lin Yun's pregnancy, and her only son remaining detached from worldly affairs, she was the only one left to bear the burden of this situation.
She forced herself to calm down, and after a long while, Xu Ru Yun managed to regain a sliver of consciousness.
The Huo family must have seen this as well. This matter not only affected the Xu family but would also impact the Huo family.