IOLYF Chapter 62

Watching Mo Ming leave the building, Wen Ci couldn’t help but find it ironic.

The “accidental” fall into the water was initially just a test to gauge the relationship between Mo Ming and Han Shao Zhou; Wen Ci had no intention of tarnishing Mo Ming’s reputation with a fleeting scandal. After all, as long as Han Shao Zhou believed in and defended Mo Ming, no amount of online criticism would matter.

Wen Ci had even promised Han Shao Zhou that he wouldn’t allow the incident to blow up against Mo Ming. But what “others” did was beyond his control. If the company wanted to use the controversy to his advantage, that was out of his hands.

Thinking about how Mo Ming had casually “bought” the book from him earlier made Wen Ci feel even more uneasy. He had only offered it out of politeness.

As he was about to message his assistant to buy another copy, his phone pinged with a new message. Wen Ci was surprised to see who it was from. Since their official divorce, he and Gao Chen had almost completely cut ties. Gao Chen had promised that their marriage wouldn’t cast a shadow over Wen Ci’s future life or career, and he had also admitted that he didn’t want to maintain a fake friendship after the divorce just to appease the media.

This was likely the first time Gao Chen had reached out to him since the divorce. The last time had been Wen Ci’s doing—he had congratulated Gao Chen when his new song became a hit, but Gao Chen had only replied with a terse “Thanks.” Just as cold as when they first met.

When Wen Ci arrived at the private room in the restaurant, Gao Chen was already waiting.

Sitting by the window, the pale blue light from outside fell on Gao Chen’s fair skin, making him look serene and detached. His hands rested loosely in front of him, his long fingers relaxed…

Wen Ci stared at Gao Chen, a slight frown on his brow.

He had once been madly in love with Gao Chen, who had been as cold as ice to others but as warm and passionate as fireworks to him. Unfortunately, people’s pursuit of romance can be complicated.

After sitting down and exchanging a few words, Wen Ci quickly found himself uneasy.

He couldn’t believe Gao Chen was here to talk about Mo Ming.

At a time when everyone online was siding with him, this man, who had once loved him deeply, had chosen the opposite side.

Wen Ci’s hand clenched on his lap, the smile on his face faint. “When those rumors about you and Mo Ming first surfaced, I dismissed them as tabloid nonsense because I knew you better than that. But now it seems that your relationship with Mo Ming is indeed unusual.”

Gao Chen replied calmly, “If you really knew me, you wouldn’t say something like that.”

Wen Ci’s tight grip loosened slightly as he let out a bitter laugh. “I’m the victim in all this. It’s obvious to everyone, so why do you insist on thinking that I’m the one maliciously targeting Mo Ming? Gao Chen, I almost died because of him, don’t you understand?”

Gao Chen remained composed. “But you can swim.”

“…”

“I taught you two years ago.” Gao Chen said. “You’ve already overcome your fear of water, but since you left the public eye, no one knows that about you.”

Wen Ci stared at Gao Chen. “So, are you saying I fabricated this whole thing to frame Mo Ming? What does my ability to swim have to do with whether or not Mo Ming tried to hurt me?”

“Mo Ming had no motive to harm you.”

“And how can you be so sure?”

Gao Chen closed his eyes briefly. “I came to tell you that Mo Ming never liked Han Shao Zhou, and he certainly never saw you as a rival. I don’t want to speculate on the real reason you fell into the water, but I’m certain it had nothing to do with Mo Ming.”

Wen Ci was stunned. Mo Ming never liked Han Shao Zhou?

“I know what you’re after.” Gao Chen continued. “You realized the truth in the second year of our marriage, so you should understand how much time and effort is wasted when someone follows the wrong path.”

“Why do you say Mo Ming never liked Han Shao Zhou?” Wen Ci asked, staring at Gao Chen. He knew this man wouldn’t make baseless claims.

But if Mo Ming didn’t like Han Shao Zhou, why did they stay together for three years?

Gao Chen didn’t answer Wen Ci’s question. Instead, he said, “This public scandal is more like a clown’s performance. Letting it drag on any further will only harm you.”

Wen Ci smiled as he leaned back in his chair. “Fine, I’ll listen to you.”

They didn’t talk much after that. When Gao Chen stood up to leave, Wen Ci spoke softly again. “On our wedding night, you promised me that no matter what mistakes I made in the future, you would always stand by me…”

Gao Chen hesitated.

Wen Ci looked at Gao Chen’s back, his eyes cold. “Han Shao Zhou made even more promises to me, but what’s happening with both of you now…”

Gao Chen remained silent, closing his eyes briefly.

“I never saw Mo Ming as a rival. I just found him disgusting. He got involved with two men who deeply loved me… And now, I hate him even more.”

After Gao Chen left the private room, Wen Ci grabbed a teacup from the table and smashed it against the wall, anger and frustration etched across his handsome face.

By the afternoon, the hashtag #WenCiApologizes was trending at the top.

At that moment, Gao Chen was on his way to the company when he saw the hashtag on his phone and immediately knew something was wrong. When he clicked on it, he realized that meeting with Wen Ci had backfired.

He had only wanted Wen Ci to get the company to stop the scandal, but Wen Ci’s actions had only added fuel to the fire.

In his apology statement, Wen Ci briefly explained what had happened, saying that it was his first time trying such a game, and since the harness was too complicated, he had asked Mo Ming for help. He claimed that Mo Ming had only tried to help out of kindness and that the mistake was unintentional. He expressed his belief that Mo Ming meant no harm and blamed himself for not being familiar with the game.

At the end of the statement, Wen Ci apologized for any negative impact the incident might have had on Mo Ming…

This sincere yet seemingly humble apology reignited the controversy.

The “offender” had remained silent, while the “victim” was now apologizing. This only fueled the public’s outrage.

[Brother, don’t apologize! It breaks my heart.]

[You think people are that simple-minded? We all know Mo Ming did it on purpose.]

[Why should you apologize? You didn’t do anything wrong!]

[This is such fake kindness. If you really believed Mo Ming was innocent, you wouldn’t have posted this.]

[Mo Ming’s fans are just as vicious as he is, attacking the victim even when the evidence is clear.]

The comments were overwhelmingly harsh, with many demanding that Mo Ming apologize immediately. The scandal continued to gain momentum. Zhao Cheng had been monitoring the situation online, following it like a soap opera. When Wen Ci’s apology came out, he couldn’t help but contact Han Shao Zhou.

After all, Han Shao Zhou had been involved in the incident. However, thanks to his earlier intervention, no gossip sites dared to drag him into the mess, focusing all the attention on Mo Ming and Wen Ci instead.

At that moment, Han Shao Zhou was in another city at a branch office. He had left Chuanhai the day after his birthday, still feeling like there was a weight on his chest. The past couple of days had been unsettling, and he had been in a foul mood, snapping at everyone.

He had racked his brain, trying to figure out why Mo Ming had broken up with him. Eventually, he gave up. If they were going to break up, so be it. It wasn’t worth his energy. It was just a fling, after all—if he wanted, he could always find someone new…

But even as he thought this, he couldn’t shake his frustration. He was genuinely agitated, lying awake at night, feeling increasingly angry, confused, and finally, empty…

The reason for the breakup didn’t really matter. What mattered was that Mo Ming was gone, and he could no longer hold his little sweetheart as they slept.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt an inexplicable sense of loss and panic, coupled with a gnawing resentment toward the one who had thrown his emotions into disarray.

When Zhao Cheng’s message came through, Han Shao Zhou was in the car on his way to the branch office.

Zhao Cheng had sent him a link, explaining that Wen Ci and Mo Ming were “fighting.” The link led to an article summarizing the entire situation. Han Shao Zhou glanced at it for a few seconds before closing the page.

[Han Shao Zhou]: Don’t send me stuff like this anymore.

[Zhao Cheng]: You replied so quickly. Did you even read it? It’s about Mo Ming.

[Han Shao Zhou]: Listen, we’re done.

[Zhao Cheng]: You should at least understand how much this is affecting him.

[Han Shao Zhou]: It’s got nothing to do with me.

He had to manually block out everything related to Mo Ming, or else he wouldn’t be able to control his emotions.

Just coming to terms with the breakup was exhausting enough.

Around 4 p.m., while lying on the couch reading, Mo Ming received another message from Cheng Jing.

[Cheng Jing]: What’s going on with your company? I’ve always heard that Xingci’s PR team is top-notch.

[Cheng Jing]: This situation is looking really bad for you. Whether it was an accident or not is up for debate, but I believe you.

[Cheng Jing]: Is your company trying to make you infamous?

[Mo Ming]: So tired, going to sleep.

[Cheng Jing]: …

About five minutes later, Cheng Jing sent another message.

[Cheng Jing]: Whoa, Zhao Li is amazing. Supporting you publicly in the middle of all this.

Mo Ming frowned slightly and then picked up the tablet on the coffee table to check the latest news.

Sure enough, Zhao Li had openly expressed her support for Mo Ming on her social media account, which had over nine million followers. She said that based on her brief time working with him, she believed Mo Ming was too smart and decent to do something like that.

Immediately, a flood of negative comments swarmed Zhao Li’s post, dragging her into the controversy.

A few minutes later, Mo Ming received another message from Cheng Jing.

[Cheng Jing]: You owe me and Zhao Li dinner.

Before Mo Ming could respond, Cheng Jing had already reposted Zhao Li’s post with the caption: “Same here.”

With over thirty million followers, Cheng Jing was far more popular than Zhao Li. His repost sent the internet into a frenzy, with even his highly organized fanbase struggling to keep the comments under control.

Zhao Li and Cheng Jing were suddenly treated as if they had committed an unforgivable crime, with the entire internet condemning them.

[Cheng Jing]: My manager just confiscated my account.

[Cheng Jing]: He tried to kick me, but I dodged it. [Hehe]

Mo Ming looked at Cheng Jing’s messages, then at the chaotic mess online. He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on.

He hadn’t expected Zhao Li and Cheng Jing to get involved…

Mo Ming didn’t reply to Cheng Jing. Instead, after a moment’s thought, he made a phone call.

“No need to wait until tonight.” Mo Ming said. “Start the operation in half an hour.”

“Got it, Mr. Mo.” the person on the other end replied.

After hanging up, Mo Ming sent a brief message to Cheng Jing and Zhao Li: “Thank you.”

In the afternoon, Wen Ci had no work, so he returned home to have dinner with his family. Some relatives were visiting, including Shen Xixi and her parents.

Shen Xixi excitedly told Wen Ci about what was happening online, delighted by how things had turned out. Wen Ci just smiled without saying much.

As the family gathered in the living room to chat, Shen Xixi remained glued to her phone. She was the first to see the photos going viral online and quickly shared the news with everyone else.

Just ten minutes earlier, a self-proclaimed “justice warrior” had claimed to have found proof that Wen Ci was lying and had intentionally framed Mo Ming. This statement was rapidly reposted by numerous gossip accounts, keeping everyone on edge until the user finally uploaded a photo.

The photo showed five people in raincoats, smiling for the camera on the banks of the “Raging Rapids.” Wen Ci stood in the center, with the faces of the other four blurred out. In the background, a small wooden boat floated on the river, eerily similar to the setup in the video of the “incident.”

Wen Ci stared at the photo in disbelief, only faintly recalling that it was from a trip to Zhong’an City with Han Shao Zhou and Zhao Cheng.

It had to have been at least five or six years ago.

Shengda Group had built several large amusement parks across the country, with nearly identical attractions. The photo was from the park that had opened in Zhong’an City six or seven years ago.

If it hadn’t been for the photo, Wen Ci would have forgotten all about it. At that time, he had already gained some fame, and his private activities were kept strictly confidential. So how had someone managed to dig up such an old, private photo?

A cold sweat trickled down Wen Ci’s temple.

The photo was enough to prove that Wen Ci had lied. He wasn’t a novice to the “Raging Rapids” attraction, as he had claimed in his statement.

When a seemingly airtight story starts to crack, doubts spread like wildfire.

The photo had barely been online for a few minutes when several major influencers, each with millions of followers, reposted it, prominently displaying the word “Reversal.” Many of the accounts that had previously focused on painting Mo Ming as malicious suddenly did a swift about-face.

[So Wen Ci’s played this game before, huh? Then why did he say it was his first time?]

[So he lied? Maybe he knows how to fasten the harness but pretended not to so Mo Ming would help.]

[This is getting creepy. I’m staying silent for now and waiting for the truth.]

[This isn’t much of a reversal. Wen Ci nearly drowned, didn’t he?]

[Where did this photo come from? Who are the blurred-out people?]

Meanwhile, at the bar, Zhao Cheng had been closely following the drama. When he saw the photo, he instantly straightened up on the couch.

The photo seemed vaguely familiar to him, despite the blurred faces of some of the people. He could recognize himself in it.

Rubbing his chin, Zhao Cheng quickly opened his social media feed. Scrolling down frantically, he eventually found a post from six years ago and was stunned.

As he had suspected, the photo had been pulled from his old social media post. He didn’t need to think too hard to figure out that someone had gone to extreme lengths to comb through everything related to Wen Ci online, leaving no stone unturned. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have dug up something as obscure as his six-year-old post.

“Damn…”

A shiver ran down Zhao Cheng’s spine. He quickly opened his contacts list. The only person who could have gone through his social media like that had to be someone on his friends list. And it was obvious who had benefited from the photo going public.

Staring at the contact labeled “Mo Ming” Zhao Cheng narrowed his eyes.

Mo Ming’s profile picture was of a little white lamb, holding a tuft of green grass in its mouth and gazing innocently and sweetly at the camera.

In Zhao Cheng’s mind, Mo Ming had always been as harmless as that lamb…

Biting his fingernail, Zhao Cheng squinted. If things were really as he suspected, there were probably more photos where that one came from.

Damn, this is exciting.

As Zhao Cheng predicted, just as everyone was buzzing about the first photo, another one quickly circulated among the top influencers.

This time, they didn’t just post the photo; they also shared the link to its source.

It was a photo posted two years ago by Wen Ci’s mother, Shen Peiling, on a foreign social media platform. Her account mainly featured posts showcasing her daily life as a wealthy woman. In this photo, she was wearing a floral dress, standing by a bright blue swimming pool, taking a selfie. In the background, you could see a beach, palm trees, and the outdoor pool of a resort hotel.

The key detail in the photo, however, was the two people swimming in the pool—one face was blurred, but the other was clearly Wen Ci.

When Shen Peiling saw the photo, she was stunned. She had been following the online drama closely, keeping tabs on Wen Ci.

The photo was enough to prove that Wen Ci could swim, making the video of him struggling in the river seem like a joke.

Shen Peiling suddenly wished she could undo what she had done. She had only wanted to show off her dress… And she barely had any followers on that account, which had been inactive for over a year. She couldn’t believe someone had managed to find it.

“Wenwen, I didn’t mean to…” Shen Peiling stammered, flustered.

Shen Xixi’s expression turned sour. “These influencers are crazy! They change their tune so fast—did someone pay them off?”

Wen Ci’s face was pale as he recalled Mo Ming’s earlier comment about the backlash of public opinion. He could barely keep his composure as he quickly stood and headed for the door. “I need to go back to the company…”