novelraw Chapter 220 Public Opinion Storm
Chapter 220 Public Opinion Storm
The live stream was abruptly cut off. Song Zhihe was helped away from the camera by her manager; her back was thin and fragile, her shoulders slightly hunched, like a flower battered by rain. But no one saw that the moment she turned around, the corner of her mouth slightly turned up. It was so light, as if nothing had happened.
Her agent helped her into the lounge, closed the door, and an assistant outside blocked anyone who tried to approach. Song Zhihe sat down, picked up a water glass from the table, took a sip, and then looked up at her agent.
"Is it trending on social media?"
"We're in. Number one." The agent looked down at his phone, his fingers flying across the screen, typing names. "Gu Yanbo's side has everything arranged; several influential bloggers will start digging into the timeline next."
Song Zhihe nodded, put down her water glass, and leaned back in her chair. She looked at the ceiling; the light was so bright it made her eyes sting. She didn't close her eyes, just stared at the light, and as she stared, her vision blurred.
She recalled fifteen years ago.
She first met Gu Yanshen fifteen years ago. She was visiting the Gu family's old residence with her elders. He stood alone in a corner of the garden, neither speaking to nor looking at anyone. While other children laughed, played, and tried to please their parents, he was like a tree blown into a corner by the wind—silent, aloof, radiating an aura of "don't come near me." His back was ramrod straight, his chin slightly raised, as if he cared nothing at all.
She was deeply attracted to his domineering aura. She couldn't explain why. After that, every time she visited the Gu family, she couldn't help but look at him. He never looked at anyone, including her.
Until that one time. He went to the back mountain, and she, with a courage she didn't know she possessed, rushed in and pulled him out of the snake pit. His gaze towards her finally changed slightly—no longer empty indifference, but with a touch of warmth, a hint of gratitude. That was the first time he truly looked at her.
Later, she went to America. He came too. He treated her differently from others—not with gentleness, not with intimacy, but with a polite, restrained distance, a little closer than a stranger. When others approached him, he would frown, back away, using that "stay away from me" look to drive them back. When she approached him, he didn't back away, he just looked at her and asked, "Is there something you need?" There was no warmth, but no rejection either. She thought it was an opportunity. She thought that as long as she was patient and tried hard enough, one day he would take her into his heart.
She was wrong.
That time she was drunk, she wasn't unaware of what she was doing. She thought that once she slept with him, he would have no choice but to take responsibility. But she failed. In the end, Gu Yanbo used the drugs she had given him to get her to be with him.
The pregnancy was unexpected. She told Gu Yanshen that the child was his. He believed her. Those were the happiest times of her life. He would ask her if she was eating well, have people bring her supplements, and occasionally sit beside her for a while, without saying a word, just sitting there. He even took her to meet his grandmother, wanting to marry her. She deceived herself, believing that once the child was born, he would truly fall in love with her.
Until that car accident. In that instant, guilt and desperation intertwined, and she decided to take a gamble—she shielded him with her body. She won. Gu Yanshen, out of guilt, treated her exceptionally well. But she knew clearly that it wasn't love.
She never expected that Gu Yanshen was Gu Qishan's illegitimate son, and that the Gu family had already decided to exile him to the United States. As the illegitimate daughter of the Song family, the shadow of being ostracized by her family instantly overwhelmed her. She accepted Gu Yanbo's outstretched hand and completely became Gu Yanbo's tool.
"Zhihe?" Her agent's voice brought her back to reality. "People online are starting to dig up the timeline."
Song Zhihe took the phone and looked at the posts. Someone had compiled a timeline of her and Gu Yanshen's relationship—from their meeting in the US ten years ago, to her miscarriage for him, to his return to China, to his marriage to Lu Xiran, to her return, to their engagement, to Lu Xiran's return to China, to her pregnancy, to his choice of Lu Xiran. Each entry had "evidence"—photos, screenshots, and "insider" revelations. The evidence was a jumbled mess of truth and falsehood, impossible for anyone to unravel. But netizens didn't care. They just needed a story, a story that could move them, anger them, and bring them to tears. And Song Zhihe had given them that story.
"President Gu knew Song Zhihe first; they're childhood sweethearts!"
"They were together in the US, and she even had a miscarriage. Who does Lu Xiran amount to?"
"Lu Xiran is a homewrecker! She interfered in someone else's relationship and still had the nerve to get pregnant?"
"Song Zhihe is so pitiful. She gave up her career for him, had a miscarriage for him, and in the end, a woman who came later stole her man away."
"Lu Xiran's methods are too cunning. She got pregnant and then used that to climb the social ladder. Isn't that just a case of a mother gaining status through her child?"
"I feel sorry for Song Zhihe. It's been three years, and she hasn't said a word. She's still trying to protect his image."
The barrage of comments and bullet screen messages flooded in, drowning out all the dissenting voices. The hashtag #SongZhiheHadAMiscarriageForGuYanShen# shot to the top of the trending topics list at lightning speed, with the word "Explosive" following it in a glaring red. Second was #HeartacheForSongZhihe#, and third was #LuXiranTheMistress#. These hashtags were like three mountains, weighing heavily on Gu Yanshen and Lu Xiran.
Online opinions instantly split into two camps, arguing fiercely.
One group firmly believes that love is about first come, first served. Gu Yanshen has always loved Song Zhihe. His marriage to Lu Xiran five years ago was a result of Song Zhihe's career-driven lifestyle; Gu Yanshen married Lu Xiran as a substitute out of spite. This time, it was also because Song Zhihe was too focused on her career, leading to frequent separations, that Lu Xiran seized the opportunity to use underhanded tactics and become pregnant. Lu Xiran has been the mistress from beginning to end.
"Think about it, if Gu Yanshen really loved Lu Xiran, why did he get engaged to Song Zhihe? They were engaged for three years, and then he changed his mind as soon as Lu Xiran came back? What else is that but a scumbag?"
"Song Zhihe lost her child for him, and he turned around and had a child with another woman. Does he have any conscience?"
"If Lu Xiran is truly innocent, why is she still harassing me after the divorce? It's because she's been plotting this for a long time!"
Another group believes that Gu Yanshen truly loved Lu Xiran, which is why he married her. Although he was engaged to Song Zhihe, he realized that he had always loved Lu Xiran after she returned, so he got back together with her. Love has no order of arrival; it's only about love and its absence.
"What does the timeline show? It shows he never loved Song Zhihe! If he really loved her, why did he divorce his wife to marry Lu Xiran? Why didn't they get married after three years of engagement? Isn't it because he didn't love her?"
"You believe everything Song Zhihe says? She says she had a miscarriage, so it's true? She says she's known her for ten years, so it's true? Where's the evidence?"
"If Gu Yanshen really owed her something, why would he use all the 'GG' signs in the city to confess his love to Lu Xiran? Wouldn't that just be telling the whole world who he loves?"