The rain pattered in a chaotic yet rhythmic way on Jiang Yuanmu’s large black umbrella. The two of them huddled together in front of her grandmother’s tombstone for a long time until their body temperatures became similar.
Just as the moment of emotion and romance was heating up, a sudden scream broke through, accompanied by the harsh white light of a flashlight, which shattered everything.
Jiang Yuanmu and Mo Lin squinted against the bright light, turning to see a security guard holding an umbrella and a flashlight. He stood rigidly in a horse stance, ready to run at any moment.
“What… what are you doing?”
Mo Lin stepped back from Jiang Yuanmu’s embrace, feeling a bit embarrassed, “Sorry, we didn’t mean to scare you. We’ll leave right away.”
“Leave?”
“I mean go home, don’t worry,” Mo Lin explained, gently tugging on Jiang Yuanmu’s clothes.
The subtle action hinted at intimacy.
Jiang Yuanmu lowered his eyes slightly, then protected Mo Lin’s shoulder, making sure she stayed under the center of the umbrella.
They walked towards the old man. As they got closer, the old man saw them clearly and finally felt relieved. He glanced at the bandage on Mo Lin’s head and the cast on her hand. He didn’t say anything else, just muttered:
“Come during the day. They won’t leave, and it’s quite scary at night.”
Mo Lin couldn’t help but laugh. She looked back at her grandmother’s tombstone, feeling a bit wistful: “Yes, she won’t leave.”
Sitting in the passenger seat of Jiang Yuanmu’s car, Mo Lin was soaked by the rain, feeling sticky and cold. In the May weather, Jiang Yuanmu turned the heater to the maximum and activated the seat warmer. The temperature inside the car rose quickly, making Mo Lin feel much better.
Jiang Yuanmu smoothly maneuvered the car out of the parking spot. As he turned, he seemed to remember something and mentioned, “Your phone is in my pocket…”
Before he could finish, Mo Lin responded with an “Oh” and instinctively reached into Jiang Yuanmu’s pocket to retrieve her phone. Her fingertips were still cold, and as they brushed against Jiang Yuanmu’s waist, he stiffened and hit the brakes. Mo Lin’s body lurched forward, and her hand slid further into his pocket, pressing against his thigh.
One person was cold, the other warm.
Mo Lin pursed her lips slightly, silently withdrawing her hand and taking her phone with her.
Before unlocking her phone, she glanced at Jiang Yuanmu’s profile. It was the same as always, yet somehow different.
Feeling the lingering warmth on her fingertips and the places on her shoulder and back that Jiang Yuanmu had touched, Mo Lin’s mind suddenly filled with thoughts about Jiang Yuanmu, the child, and recent events.
However, these thoughts were still tangled and needed time to be sorted out.
Mo Lin unlocked her phone and saw many missed calls. She replied to each message, expressing her thanks and apologies. She kept typing on her phone, and there wasn’t much conversation between her and Jiang Yuanmu on the way back.
When they arrived at the door, Mo Lin saw Assistant Li sitting on the ground with a doctor and a nurse, playing a game. The intense battle ended the moment Jiang Yuanmu appeared.
Assistant Li sprang to his feet, pocketed his phone, and gave Jiang Yuanmu a thumbs up, “Boss! I knew you’d find her!”
Mo Lin felt a bit embarrassed, “Assistant Li, sorry for making you work overtime.”
“Not at all! This doesn’t count as overtime, I volunteered.”
Jiang Yuanmu looked at the smiling Assistant Li and nodded.
Assistant Li, feeling flattered, rubbed his hands shyly.
Jiang Yuanmu politely addressed the doctor and nurse, “She’s soaked through, her wounds need to be rebandaged.”
“Of course. Mr. Li already informed us, and we brought everything we need.”
Inside, with the nurse’s help, Mo Lin washed up, changed clothes, and had her wounds rebandaged. Everything was taken care of, and amidst Mo Lin’s frequent thanks, Assistant Li led them out.
The room quieted down, leaving only the two of them and the dog.
Mo Lin sat on the sofa. The little Border Collie didn’t understand what had happened tonight, but it clearly knew that Mo Lin was hurt. So, it moved gently around her, rubbing its head against her as if to comfort her.
A cup of warm water was placed on the coffee table in front of her, and Jiang Yuanmu sat down beside her, “Does your head and hand still hurt?”
“A little, but it’s not a big deal.” Mo Lin held the warm cup, remaining silent for a long time before speaking awkwardly, “Thank you so much for today.”
“You’ve said thank you many times tonight.”
“Yes, but especially thank you.” Mo Lin kept her eyes down, looking at the warm water in her hands. Then she looked up at Jiang Yuanmu, her eyes shimmering as if soaked in warm water, “Thank you for understanding me.”
Jiang Yuanmu was momentarily stunned, his heartbeat irregular for a moment.
His index finger twitched uncontrollably, as if a string was pulling it. He wanted to touch her, but just before he could, a dog’s head popped up between them…
The dog’s head pushed his hand away and rubbed against Mo Lin’s hand, whining softly.
Mo Lin laughed, put down the cup, and petted the little Border Collie’s head, “Thank you too, little Border Collie.”
Jiang Yuanmu glanced at the little Border Collie, silently clenching his hand into a fist.
“I’m sorry, my mind was a mess today and caused trouble for everyone,” Mo Lin explained softly to Jiang Yuanmu. “At the hospital, I felt dizzy and stuffy, so I went out to get some fresh air. Outside, I saw the cemetery where my grandmother is buried nearby. I wanted to take a taxi there, but when I checked, my phone wasn’t on me. I thought I left it at the studio, and since the cemetery wasn’t far, I decided to walk there. I didn’t expect it to start raining halfway…”
Mo Lin sighed deeply, feeling very guilty.
“I was really confused. I should have told Lulu first. It wouldn’t have caused so many misunderstandings and made such a big fuss…”
“Don’t blame yourself.” Jiang Yuanmu was silent for a while. “I’m not good at comforting people, but in my line of work, our signed influencers have encountered similar things to varying degrees. Ji Ming warned me from the beginning that just because I can accept it doesn’t mean you can. He told me to pay close attention to your emotions.”
Mo Lin nodded, “You did pay attention, coming every noon and evening.”
“Yes, I thought I was paying attention, but it clearly wasn’t enough.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Okay.” Jiang Yuanmu nodded in agreement and looked seriously at Mo Lin. “It’s the first time for both of us, and no one can guarantee to handle it perfectly. If you don’t blame me, don’t blame yourself either.”
Mo Lin was stunned for a moment, then she chuckled, “You’re different from what you said.”
Jiang Yuanmu was puzzled.
Mo Lin smiled at him, “Mr. Jiang is very good at comforting people.”
Jiang Yuanmu also smiled, “It’s my pleasure to serve Ms. Mo.”
At this moment, Mo Lin finally relaxed completely. She slumped on the sofa for a while until Jiang Yuanmu called her, “Go to your room and rest. Have a good sleep, and we’ll deal with everything tomorrow.”
Mo Lin looked at Jiang Yuanmu. Her thoughts about him, the child, and recent events became clearer during the car ride.
But still not completely clear.
“Okay,” Mo Lin nodded, “I’ll go to my room now.”
“Mm.”
Mo Lin got up and walked to the room door, placing her hand on the doorknob without opening it immediately. Instead, she turned and glanced at Jiang Yuanmu.
Jiang Yuanmu’s gaze never left her.
Their eyes met easily, their gazes like spider silk, sticking together.
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
Closing the door behind her, Mo Lin bowed her head in thought.
In the living room, Jiang Yuanmu also sat in silence for a long time.
Their tangled emotions remained unspoken.
The next day, Mo Lin’s studio was bustling with activity. After seeing off the police who came to check the surveillance footage, Jiang Yuanmu and Ji Ming arrived, and Xu Yuan, who delivered coffee, stayed as well.
Mo Lin’s small studio sofa had never been so crowded.
“Let’s close the store for now,” Cheng Lulu suggested, “I’m still worried since they haven’t caught that person. Who knows if someone else will imitate them.”
Mo Lin shook her head, “We’ll hire some security, but the store has to stay open.”
“I agree,” Ji Ming said, yawning and raising his hand. “I’ve been preparing a lot under Jiang’s supervision, and everything was arranged yesterday. We plan to start our ‘counterattack’ today. This is no time to close the store.”
Mo Lin and Cheng Lulu were both stunned. Xu Yuan glanced at Jiang Yuanmu.
Cheng Lulu curiously asked, “What has Jiang been preparing? How come we didn’t hear a thing?”
“From the first day this situation arose, Jiang was ready,” Ji Ming said, glancing at Jiang Yuanmu. He sat up straight on the sofa and took out his phone. “Here, top-secret information, revealed for the first time today.”
Ji Ming played a video.
Mo Lin watched the person in the video, finding the face familiar. Before she could react, the person spoke.
“I remember Mo Lin. She was in my first class. Poor girl, her father passed away early, and her mother disappeared. Her grandmother raised her alone. Her grandmother always came to parent-teacher conferences. The old lady’s shoes were often worn out, but the little girl was always dressed neatly…”
It was her elementary school Chinese teacher, who was also her homeroom teacher.
Suddenly seeing her grandmother mentioned in the video, and knowing that someone understood the truth and was willing to speak out, Mo Lin’s eyes instantly turned red.
In all these days, even when she was squatting in front of her grandmother’s tombstone yesterday, she hadn’t shed a single tear. But now, she couldn’t help but cry, as if… her grievances had finally been acknowledged.
Mo Lin silently shed tears, and next to her, Cheng Lulu’s eyes also turned red. She quickly pulled out a tissue, handing one to Mo Lin and keeping one for herself.
Everyone else remained silent, waiting as Ji Ming played the second video—
It was an old neighbor from Mo Lin’s childhood, someone she hadn’t seen since going to university.
Not just one old neighbor.
There were uncles and aunts who knew her grandmother, and elderly people even older than her grandmother. Faces both familiar and strange awakened memories after memories.
These were people who didn’t voice their opinions online, but they all appeared in the interviews prepared by Jiang Yuanmu and his team.
“We’ve been collecting these interviews over the past few days,” Ji Ming said, putting away his phone.
Cheng Lulu, with red eyes and a stuffy nose, asked him, “You had the videos edited and ready, why didn’t you show them earlier?”
“Ah, this involves my expertise. Public opinion has its direction, and I have to choose the most favorable time for us to release it. Otherwise, the interviewees might get affected too.”
“Is now the most favorable time?” Mo Lin asked.
“When the news of malicious harm is reported, our account will follow up,” Ji Ming replied. He hesitated, feeling a bit regretful, “The person who committed the harm hasn’t been caught. Otherwise, he could be the target for criticism, diverting everyone’s attention to him.”
“He’ll be found,” Xu Yuan chimed in.
Everyone in the store looked at him.
Xu Yuan focused on Mo Lin, “I asked a friend for help. It should be soon.”
Ji Ming raised an eyebrow. The police had just left, and his friend probably wasn’t a police officer. At that moment, Ji Ming thought of what Jiang Yuanmu had said—a young person managing to open a shop in this area without any backing was indeed not simple.
“There can’t be any malicious harm,” Jiang Yuanmu reminded Xu Yuan, “He has to be the perpetrator.”
“I know.”
Cheng Lulu blinked, a bit dumbfounded.
“So, Mo Lin and I should just wait without doing anything else?”
“No,” Mo Lin said thoughtfully, “I want to start a live stream.”
The store fell silent, and Cheng Lulu was the first to jump up, “No! I don’t agree! Their news hasn’t spread yet, and if you start a live stream now, you’ll just get criticized!”
Xu Yuan also frowned and advised, “Mo Lin, you can stay behind the scenes for now.”
Ji Ming smacked his lips, “I don’t have any objections.” He said this while looking at Jiang Yuanmu.
Jiang Yuanmu asked Mo Lin, “Why?”
“Yesterday, I thought about many things. One thing I realized is that perhaps the one thing I did right during this turmoil was not responding. By not responding, the issue loses its heat, and viewers’ enthusiasm wanes. The internet quickly forgets.”
Ji Ming nodded repeatedly.
“I’m not a young person full of passion anymore. I know how to assess the situation, weigh the pros and cons, and understand that sometimes enduring can solve many problems. But yesterday, I also thought that the person who threw the brick at the store and me might have given me an opportunity. An opportunity to turn from a cold woman who abandoned her birth mother into a victim. I can fight back in public opinion.”
Ji Ming continued nodding in approval.
“But I haven’t figured out how to do it yet, and I was hesitant. Today, I wanted to discuss it with you and get some advice. But…” Mo Lin looked at Jiang Yuanmu, “you’ve already arranged everything.”
Jiang Yuanmu smiled, “I’ve heard thank you many times already.”
“So I don’t plan to say it again.”
Jiang Yuanmu raised an eyebrow slightly.
Meanwhile, Xu Yuan, watching the two who seemed to be speaking in riddles, looked slightly gloomy. After a moment, he glanced at Mo Lin, giving a helpless, self-mocking smile.
Mo Lin and Jiang Yuanmu didn’t notice him. Mo Lin continued speaking to Jiang Yuanmu:
“After this matter is resolved, if there are any profits, I’ll share them with you.”
“Hmm?” Cheng Lulu was confused, “What profits?”
Xu Yuan was also puzzled.
Only Jiang Yuanmu and Ji Ming understood.
Ji Ming laughed and exclaimed, “Boss Mo is just as shrewd as Boss Jiang.”
Jiang Yuanmu, however, raised an eyebrow and looked at Mo Lin, “How much?”
“15% at most,” Mo Lin said calmly, “Although seeing the interviews you prepared made me certain about starting the live stream, if we carefully calculate it, you can be considered my PR team, and our profits don’t support giving you more.”
“Why are you discussing business now?” Cheng Lulu was a bit frustrated, “Aren’t we talking about how to reverse public opinion?”
“Yes. We’re discussing how to reverse public opinion, but Lulu, we’ve been taking all the criticism lately.”
“Ah… yes…”
“If I come forward to clarify the facts now, I will certainly become the target of criticism.”
“Yes!”
“But as their interviews are released, public opinion will inevitably reverse. I will become a victim of violence, both online and offline. The worse I am now, the more attention I will get then.”
Cheng Lulu was stunned for a long time before she finally understood, “You want to use yourself for traffic?”
Mo Lin looked back at the things in the store, “Lulu, we opened this store to make money.”
After the depression and pain, you still have to stand tall and move forward.
If someone uses a knife of violence to hurt you, why can’t you use that knife to reap the fruits? Even if they are fruits of pain, grievance, and anger.
They are still fruits.
Cheng Lulu was silent for a long time, then quietly gave Mo Lin a thumbs up, “That’s you, you’re back in form. Mo, with feelings, Ms. Lin, it’s time for you to make money.”
![Dissatisfied [e-sports]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/4997572.jpg "Dissatisfied [e-sports]")
