"Caught them," Qing Muye replied truthfully.
"Oh."
Everything was within expectations, and Meng Jingwei did not show much emotional fluctuation. "That… the video…"
She pursed her lips and tilted her head, looking at Qing Muye. "...It wasn't me."
Meng Jingwei was not good at explaining things, but she knew it was necessary to explain to Qing Muye.
"I know."
"You know?"
"The video has a date on it. I checked the hotel surveillance, and the only people who appeared at the hotel that day were Xiao Cheng and Li Yun'er." He stood up, poured a glass of hot water, turned, and walked to the bedside. Holding a spoon, he scooped up some water and fed it to Meng Jingwei.
The considerate gesture made Meng Jingwei a little unaccustomed to it. She blinked her bright eyes, her gaze complexly fixed on Qing Muye.
The man, however, smiled warmly. "What are you staring at, silly? Drink some water."
"A Ye, thank you."
Meng Jingwei was deeply touched.
"Don't ever say 'thank you' to me again," he emphasized once more.
Meng Jingwei couldn't help but chuckle. "Actually, you could… use a straw."
She guessed that Qing Muye had probably never taken care of anyone, so he hadn't thought that it would be more convenient for a patient to drink water with a straw.
As expected, when Meng Jingwei said this, she precisely caught the fleeting embarrassment on Qing Muye's face.
But Qing Muye said with a straight face, "I'm afraid you'll drink too much, so using a spoon is better."
He fed Meng Jingwei a few spoonfuls of warm water. Meng Jingwei's thirst was quenched. Lying on the bed, she thought about the videos exposed on the news and fell into deep thought.
"Let's… have a secret marriage."
Meng Jingwei suddenly suggested.
Qing Muye was stunned for a moment by this sudden change in attitude. He paused his hand holding the cup, his deep gaze fixed on Meng Jingwei…
After a while, he finally smiled. "A secret marriage is good. But I prefer to have a proper, public wedding."
How could the intelligent and wise Qing Muye not understand Meng Jingwei's thoughts?
Her hesitation was partly due to the fact that less than half a year had passed since he broke off his engagement with Li Yun'er. On the other hand, with the video content exposed, even with public relations handling, it was likely to cause gossip.
If they had a secret marriage, outsiders would not know that Meng Jingwei was married to him, and the Qing family would not be subjected to gossip.
"I…"
Meng Jingwei's eyes flickered. "I don't like being flamboyant. It's better to be low-key and have a secret marriage. If you don't agree, then let's not get married."
"No. I'll listen to you. After you recover and are discharged from the hospital, I'll take you to get the certificate."
Regardless, getting married first was more secure.
Otherwise, Qing Muye truly feared that Meng Jingwei would change her mind and refuse to marry him later, and then it would be too late to regret it.
"My phone is still with Xiao Cheng. Could you trouble Lü Sen…"
"I've already said that he approved your leave."
"I just signed a contract with their company and then this big incident happened. Lü Sen must be very angry."
"Your matters have been handled properly. Don't worry." Qing Muye reached out and pinched her cheek. "You should rest well these few days. I have some things to attend to this afternoon and might come back later to accompany you."
"Don't worry about me, go and handle your business."
Meng Jingwei nodded.
Knock, knock, knock—
Suddenly, someone knocked on the hospital room door.
Qing Muye put down the cup. "You lie down for a while, I'll go and see."
"Mm."
She responded.
Qing Muye got up, walked out of the room, and closed the door.
Outside the door stood Song Ci.
He handed the DNA test results to Qing Muye and said in a low voice, "The results show that Miss Meng is not the child of Mr. and Mrs. Li Fu'an."
Song Ci was quite surprised.
If Meng Jingwei was not the child of Mr. and Mrs. Li Fu'an, then Li Yun'er was also not the child of Mr. and Mrs. Li Fu'an!
Qing Muye looked at the results in his hand, his expression growing more somber.
As expected.
He handed the test results to Song Ci. "Take this and destroy it."
"Yes, boss." Song Ci responded.
Qing Muye then said, "Immediately arrange for a few bodyguards, preferably female. They should be on duty 24 hours a day, watching even when nurses go in."
Before, he had only guessed at Meng Jingwei's identity. Now that it was confirmed she was not the child of Mr. and Mrs. Li Fu'an, Qing Muye felt increasingly uneasy.
A sense of loss lingered around him.
Qing Muye returned to the ward and stayed with Meng Jingwei for a while longer before hurrying out of the hospital.
Lancang City.
Because Xiao Cheng exposed the video, the internet was flooded with popular posts about Meng Jingwei. No matter how fast Qing Muye acted, in the era of developed telecommunications, any piece of news could be quickly known by netizens.
Especially with Qing Si Huai behind the scenes, fanning the flames and pushing the matter to a fever pitch, constantly brewing and fermenting.
Moreover, with Meng Jingwei being the Li family's long-lost 'daughter' and the adopted granddaughter of the Qing family's old madam, she naturally garnered immense attention and was the focus of public scrutiny.
Weibo's trending searches and the headlines of major search engines were dominated by keywords such as Meng Jingwei, Xiao Cheng, Li Yun'er, and the Qing family.
#Meng Jingwei and Xiao Cheng's passionate video exposed#, #Xiao family exposes Qing family's adopted granddaughter's sexy video as revenge against Qing family#, #Xiao family's despicable revenge tactics#, #Innocent Meng Jingwei becomes a victim of wealthy family feuds#, #Woman in the video suspected to be Li Yun'er#…
Qing Muye initially intended to suppress these videos, but in the end, he chose to let the situation continue to ferment, even deliberately pushing the development of events from behind.
Since someone wanted to play, he would play along until the end.
Meanwhile, at the Li family's residence.
Li Yun'er was placed under house arrest in her room by Mr. and Mrs. Li Fu'an and forbidden to leave.
From the moment the incident broke out, Li Fu'an, who was furious, slapped Li Yun'er directly and scolded her, "Look at the mess you've made! Your mother and I worked so hard to raise you, not to become a harlot. Messing around with this man today and that man tomorrow, where do you expect your mother and I to put our faces?"
Li Yun'er, who was hit, laughed instead of getting angry. "Hahaha… Can you blame me? Blame that bitch Meng Jingwei! It's her, it's her who monopolizes Qing Muye. If I don't find a way to get pregnant, how can I marry into the Qing family? But Qing Muye won't touch me, so I had to find other men to get pregnant. But… hehe, in the end, Qing Muye ruined me and even took away my qualification to be a mother."
She slumped to the ground, tears streaming down her face. "It's all Meng Jingwei's fault, she ruined me. I want revenge! Never mind just the video with Xiao Cheng, I even impersonated her and slept with other men. Then I'll expose everything and let the whole world think that she, Meng Jingwei, is a cheap slut that everyone has slept with, hahaha…"
"Shut up, you idiot!"
Li Fu'an kicked Li Yun'er fiercely. "All our efforts and intentions are wasted. Look at you now, how can you compare to Meng Jingwei? How?!"
His hysterical roar was tinged with loss and helplessness.
Regarding Li Yun'er, Mr. and Mrs. Li Fu'an had doted on her excessively, precisely because she was destined to be Meng Jingwei's sacrificial pawn.