This incident escalated rather quickly because the video was posted by a marketing account with over a million followers. While their usual content didn’t generate much traffic, He Lindi’s name was quite well-known in the circle—at least, most celebrity fans knew this photographer. Plus, the account typically posted about celebrities, mostly aiming to incite fan wars.
This post finally wasn’t about inciting fan wars, but the number of onlookers didn’t decrease; in fact, it increased.
When Chi Shuo saw the Weibo post, the retweets and comments were already in the triple digits. People were either expressing shock or cursing He Lindi, with some curious bystanders just passing through.
Chi Shuo frowned as she read. Zhuang Changchang saw her expression and said understandingly, “Don’t worry about me. If you’re in a hurry, you should go first.”
Chi Shuo glanced at her and put away her phone. “Let me take you to eat first.”
“Then let’s eat quickly, no need for a big meal,” Zhuang Changchang said.
Chi Shuo nodded slowly. “Okay.”
An hour later, Chi Shuo appeared at her own doorstep. She had run back from the complex entrance and was now slightly breathless.
She steadied her breathing, then opened the door. She glanced inside first and called out, “He Lindi.” She said, “I’m back.”
Ever since they got together, it seemed that apart from when He Lindi was on business trips, they basically lived together, mostly staying at Chi Shuo’s place recently.
He Lindi’s voice came from the bedroom: “I’m here.”
Chi Shuo quickly changed her shoes, put down her bag, and hurried inside.
He Lindi was sitting in a chair, her laptop placed before her, displaying her Weibo homepage.
Chi Shuo’s heart clenched. She started worrying if He Lindi was upset, but before she could speak, He Lindi turned her head and said, “It’s fine, I’m waiting for this to ferment a bit more.”
Chi Shuo pressed her lips together, walked over, pulled up the chair beside her, and sat down. “But I’m still worried.”
While eating, Chi Shuo had already watched the video. It wasn’t as simple as Xia Zhou had described.
When Wan Xueyi initially confessed on stage with the microphone, He Lindi was below. He continued professing his admiration on stage, then came down wanting He Lindi’s response.
By then, the microphone was gone. This was also the climax of the video.
The lighting at the annual party wasn’t very bright. The video only showed Wan Xueyi holding a bouquet of flowers in front of He Lindi. He Lindi didn’t accept it. He moved slightly closer to He Lindi, and it was unclear what he said, but then He Lindi picked up a drink from the table and splashed it at him.
Their facial expressions weren’t very clear, but He Lindi’s anger was palpable.
The video stopped there. By the time Chi Shuo got home, the view count was already in the tens of thousands.
He Lindi curved her lips at her. “I’ll handle it.” She leaned her head back against the chair and slowly closed her eyes. “Looking back now, I feel I was too gentle.”
Chi Shuo raised her hand, her palm resting on He Lindi’s forehead, then gently smoothed back her freshly dried hair. “What did he say to you then?”
“Him…” He Lindi lifted her hand, placed it over Chi Shuo’s, pulled it down, and held it in her palm. She turned her head, her eyes slightly narrowed, her voice tinged with fatigue. “Can we not talk about it?”
“Okay.” Chi Shuo didn’t force it, squeezing He Lindi’s palm.
Xiyu Company had quite a reputation in the industry. After all, it was a video platform that had hosted many celebrity events. Thus, He Lindi’s well-known photographer tag slowly became “Xiyu Company’s famous photographer He Lindi,” attracting even more onlookers.
—Does being good-looking mean you can do whatever you want? Didn’t the guy just confess? Was it necessary to splash a drink on him?
—So He Lindi is this kind of person, I really misjudged her.
—Could there be some misunderstanding?
The video had spread widely. He Lindi’s Weibo comments were filled with curses. Regardless of gender, many netizens came to attack her, feeling her actions were excessive.
He Lindi didn’t reply to any comments, letting the incident continue to ferment.
Nearly a day passed, and the matter had blown up on major forums. Some people began questioning the authenticity of the incident, feeling there must have been something fishy about what Wan Xueyi said to He Lindi. But such voices were few and even got attacked.
Chi Shuo was working on the department’s performance plan and felt somewhat distracted. But He Lindi kept reassuring her not to worry, that the matter would definitely be resolved perfectly.
Xia Zhou and Zeng Guai relentlessly cursed Wan Xueyi in their group chat. Chi Shuo joined in, calling Wan Xueyi an idiot along with them.
Sunday afternoon, Chi Shuo had just finished the department’s performance plan when she received a call from Zeng Guai.
Zeng Guai: “Shuoshuo! Quick, quick! Look at Weibo trending!” She was very excited. “There’s been progress.”
Only then did Chi Shuo realize that, focused on the plan, she hadn’t looked at her phone much. She quickly opened Weibo and saw “Xiyu Company Statement” trending. The company had stepped in to resolve the matter.
Chi Shuo quickly clicked in and saw Xiyu Company’s official Weibo pinned a solemn statement at the top. The gist was that the truth had been investigated. He was a department manager at the company, but was actually a corporate spy, pretending allegiance while secretly loyal elsewhere. His confession to the company photographer at the annual party seemed proper, but offstage, he used obscene language, including phrases like “How much for a night?” and “Little bitch.” The comments section even had screenshots of his past threats to new company interns, the content extremely damning.
In short, Wan Xueyi likely wanted to use the tactic of ruining He Lindi’s reputation to tarnish Xiyu Company. After all, industry competition was fierce now, and opponents would use any means necessary to affect other companies in various ways.
He Lindi generally had good relationships within the company. Many colleagues supported her this time. Now that the statement was out, people came forward one after another, stating He Lindi was definitely not that kind of person.
Public opinion shifted instantly. He Lindi’s Weibo comments were filled with comforting messages again. However, some people refused to believe the facts and continued cursing He Lindi, using very unpleasant language. If He Lindi hadn’t instructed them not to engage, Chi Shuo might have battled them in the comments for eight hundred rounds.
Now that things were clarified, it was good. Chi Shuo’s attention couldn’t shift away from the truth. She finally understood why He Lindi didn’t want to tell her what Wan Xueyi had said. In that moment, Chi Shuo felt a surge of things she wanted to say to He Lindi, but He Lindi had gone out that morning.
He Lindi said she was going to meet a friend. Chi Shuo casually asked who, and the answer was: “The girl who got cheated on by a scumbag but stayed with him.”
Chi Shuo instantly knew who it was, just didn’t know her name. She heard He Lindi sigh, “She’s already gone crazy. Now the scumbag is being ambiguous with another girl. Her first thought isn’t to break up, but how to make him stay with her longer.”
Chi Shuo: “…”
Chi Shuo: “That’s not crazy, that’s beyond saving.”
So He Lindi went out and hadn’t returned yet. They kept in touch via WeChat, but after Chi Shuo finished the plan, He Lindi hadn’t sent any more messages.
Chi Shuo sniffled and sent He Lindi a WeChat message: 【I finished the plan.】
He Lindi replied instantly: 【I’m coming back too.】
【Don’t come back yet.】 Chi Shuo pursed her lips and typed this line.
He Lindi was confused: 【?】
【Let me take you somewhere.】
Forty minutes later, the two appeared outside the amusement park.
He Lindi couldn’t stop laughing. “You kept me guessing the whole way, turns out you brought me to the amusement park?”
Chi Shuo nodded. “Let’s go buy tickets, there’s still time.”
Chi Shuo knew Yuncheng Amusement Park’s closing time; it was 11 PM. It was around 6 PM now. Although the sky had already darkened, many rides were probably closed, but Chi Shuo still brought He Lindi here.
The reason was simple: this place was great for relieving stress.
Xiyu Company’s statement had come out, clearing He Lindi’s name. He Lindi herself had also reposted it. But thinking about the nasty words in the statement, Chi Shuo felt heartache for He Lindi.
He Lindi guessed her thoughts. Buying the tickets and entering with Chi Shuo, she smiled into Chi Shuo’s eyes and held her hand. “I want to ride the carousel first.”
Chi Shuo naturally wouldn’t refuse. “Okay.” She patted the camera slung in front of her. “I’ll take pictures for you.”
“Taking pictures for me?”
“Yeah.” Chi Shuo tightened her grip on her hand. “I’ll create an album for you. From now on, it’ll be filled with photos I took of you.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Chi Shuo raised an eyebrow, then heard He Lindi say, “Just a bit later than I thought.”
Chi Shuo stopped walking. “What do you mean?”
“It means…” He Lindi deliberately dragged out the word, “…I’m not telling you.”
The nighttime amusement park offered a different kind of scenery. The lights reflected on the central lake, fallen leaves danced with the wind on the ground, and the remaining visitors wore smiles, some happy, some tired.
It was late January, and the night wind was still not gentle.
The two had reached the carousel. He Lindi stood there, not moving. She said, “Chi Shuo, change how you address me.”
They still called each other by their full names.
“What?” Chi Shuo didn’t react immediately. “Change to what?”
“Think for yourself.”
“I just found out today that your nickname for me is ‘DJ’.”
Got caught.
