The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship

Chapter 498 - 444 I Believe in You

Zhuo Yuqing was dumbstruck momentarily, suddenly realizing that this news must be spreading nationwide. If she had seen it, so could her parents. Her mom liked browsing the internet, while her dad wasn’t much interested in online stuff. Hence, as long as her mom didn’t mention it, her dad wouldn’t find out immediately. Seizing this time to let Bai Chengxi minimize the impact of the situation was the only solution.Zhuo Yuqing hadn’t yet had the chance to call Qiao San when Qiao San’s call came through.

Looking at the familiar caller ID, Zhuo Yuqing took a couple of deep breaths before answering the call.

"Mom."

"Yuqing, I saw the news. What happened? Is Chengxi really involved with that woman? Did you know about this?" Qiao San’s tone was severe. She had picked up her tablet early in the morning to read the news, only to find her son-in-law making headlines. What angered her more was that the reporter with ’Z’ surname had targeted her beloved daughter.

She was getting angrier as she read and nearly smashed the tablet. Only with great difficulty did she calm down and her first action was to call Zhuo Yuqing.

Zhuo Yuqing knew that what was bound to come would eventually arrive. Though finding out Bai Chengxi’s ex-girlfriend was Su Yingluo was hard for her to digest at the moment, Bai Chengxi had already confessed this past relationship to her. He was even prepared to tell her who this person was before she stopped him from saying it out loud. So, in this matter, he was not at fault. Who doesn’t have a past? He didn’t even know her back then; was he expected to remain chaste for someone he might not even meet?

Zhuo Yuqing had also felt some initial shock and jealousy when she saw the photos, and she was somewhat angry. But, upon calming down, she knew that at this moment, she should stand by Bai Chengxi without any hesitation.

"Mom, Chengxi had told me about this," Zhuo Yuqing walked to the window and drew the curtains. The day was just dawning, and the bustling city was waking up.

"You knew?" Qiao San was taken aback, but it sounded like she also breathed a sigh of relief, "What do you think?"

"Mom, Chengxi broke up with her ten years ago, and over these ten years, they had no contact whatsoever. She returned to the country this time, and Chengxi had no interaction with her. For Chengxi, she is just an old friend, nothing as exaggerated as the internet makes it out to be. The photos were also taken over a decade ago."

These were all speculations by Zhuo Yuqing; in reality, she didn’t know whether Bai Chengxi and Su Yingluo had been in contact over these ten years. But she had a strong determination to trust Bai Chengxi, trust his character, his feelings for her, his promises - even though they didn’t have the twenty-year history with Su Yingluo, real feelings couldn’t be measured by time. She believed, with as much love as she had for Bai Chengxi, he loved her just as much, even though he had never verbally admitted it.

Qiao San sighed, "Since you don’t mind, I won’t say much either. But this matter must be kept from your dad for now. He’s not as easy to talk to, and I’m worried he might confront Chengxi directly. I’ll handle it from this side and try to keep it from him. You sort that out quickly from your end."

"Understood, thank you, mom."

Just after Zhuo Yuqing hung up the phone, the bedroom door was pushed open. Before she could turn around, she was enveloped in a tight embrace from behind, as if fearful she might suddenly vanish.

Zhuo Yuqing could feel his fear merely by pressing against him. It wasn’t a fear of the overwhelming news, but rather a fear she might get angry, like a child who had done something wrong, fretting about the impending punishment and consequences.

Zhuo Yuqing placed her hand over his and gently rubbed it, "It’s all stuff between you and her from before. After she came back, nothing happened between you two, right?"

Bai Chengxi clasped her hand tight, answering with no hesitation and utter certainty, "Yes, my dealings with her are all from ten years ago. I have absolutely no relation with her now."

Zhuo Yuqing wanted just such an answer. She turned to face him, her clear eyes searching his, "I trust you."

Those simple four words moved Bai Chengxi so profoundly he was left speechless. At this moment, no languages seemed adequate to express his gratitude towards her. What was more important than her trust? What could be more dependable than her support in his times of turmoil?

Bai Chengxi hugged her tightly, "Wife, don’t worry, I will handle this matter as soon as possible. You can stay home from work these next few days."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"I’ll clean up the mess I made. You just stay home and get some rest."

No sooner had Bai Chengxi finished speaking than his phone rang. He said, "It’s from my assistant, I’ll take this."

Zhuo Yuqing nodded, "I’ll go freshen up."

Bai Chengxi took the phone out onto the balcony. He had also only found out about the issue this morning. Although the public relations department had acted as quickly as possible, it still hadn’t stopped the spread of the fire.

It was no wonder, given the influence of Su Yingluo and him in the industry, it was normal for such a major uproar.

"Mr. Bai, we found the ID of that Weibo account. Tracing it back leads to an internet café. We are currently retrieving surveillance footage from that period."

"I’m heading over now." Bai Chengxi looked out the window, a trace of cold light flashed in his narrow eyes, this incident was definitely spread deliberately by someone, and there was only one beneficiary he could think of--Su Yingluo.

Bai Chengxi briefed Zhuo Yuqing and then drove out to the internet café mentioned by his assistant. When he arrived, the assistant and the café staff were checking the surveillance footage. Normally, the person would leave the café after posting the message, so the surveillance mainly focused on those who left the café after two o’clock.

"Mr. Bai." The assistant, upon seeing Bai Chengxi arrive, hurriedly stepped back.

Bai Chengxi walked over, did not sit down, but stood watching the screen. The internet café did good business in this area, and even after two o’clock in the morning, there were quite a few people coming and going.

The café employee’s eyes were sore from watching, but Bai Chengxi stayed still, intently watching the screen. Around three in the morning, a person wearing a cap left the cafe, looked around after pushing the door, and then walked away.

"Pause it." Bai Chengxi suddenly spoke.

The employee, nearly dozing after watching for almost two hours, suddenly perked up and hurriedly pressed the pause button.

"Zoom in." Bai Chengxi leaned on the table with his arm and moved his face close to the screen.

"Okay." The employee continuously enlarged the image. It was a bit unclear as it was taken at night, but that did not prevent Bai Chengxi from recognizing the person in the surveillance footage; it was the journalist named Tong Bi.

Bai Chengxi left without a word, and the assistant hurriedly followed him, knowing that Bai Chengxi must have figured out who was responsible.

～

Tong Bi didn’t go to work today and stayed home surfing the internet and reading the news. When she saw the news she had posted yesterday had gone viral, she couldn’t help but smile triumphantly.

She scrolled through the comments below, all of which supported Su Yingluo in taking back control, with some netizens even demanding the doxxing of the Z-surnamed female journalist.

With Su Yingluo’s large fanbase, there was no need to hire stooges to create a big impact.

This matter even attracted the attention of some celebrities, obviously those on the side of Orange Light, and in no time, the situation blew up, dominating the various headlines of the entertainment industry.

"Zhuo Yuqing, I want to see how you’ll turn things around this time." Tong Bi sneered as she left a comment using a newly registered secondary account. Thıs text ıs hosted at novelhall.com

"This Z-surnamed female journalist, I have heard of her. We are in the same company. Recently, she’s been arranging her wedding with Su Yingluo’s boyfriend, that Z-surnamed female journalist is..."

Before Tong Bi could finish typing, there was a sudden rush of knocks on the door, and she had to get up to open it.

"I’m from the property management of the complex." The man announced loudly.

Seeing him in the uniform of the property management and recalling his slightly familiar face, Tong Bi hesitated for a moment before opening the door.

As soon as the door cracked open slightly, a strong force pushed her backward, and suddenly, four or five tall men appeared in the room. She was pushed directly to the table, her lower back hitting the edge of the table, causing her to break out in a cold sweat and feel extremely frightened.

"You..." Before she could finish speaking, she saw Bai Chengxi walking past the group of men. He wore a deep gray stand-up collar coat, black casual trousers, with one hand in his jacket pocket, striding in without a sideways glance.

"Mr., Mr. Bai." Tong Bi lowered her eyes, feeling guilty, and quickly thought of a strategy in her mind.

She had made sure everything was foolproof. To avoid her IP address being traced, she had gone to an internet café to post the message and had also registered dozens of secondary accounts to repost the content. There are so many internet cafes in Aus City, and countless people entering and exiting every day, how could they possibly find her so quickly?

Tong Bi was sure that they had no evidence and just wanted to frighten her.

With that thought, Tong Bi calmed down a bit, her voice not as panicked as before: "Mr. Bai, entering a house privately like this, I can immediately call the police."

Bai Chengxi paid no heed to her, his eyes stopped on the computer on the table, glancing at the screen which still displayed an unfinished comment.

Tong Bi saw this, her face paled, and she moved to close the computer,