As the reporters burst through the hospital room door, Qin Xian pulled Ji Fei back to avoid getting caught up in the commotion. Mindful of Qin Xian's injured arm, Ji Fei stayed with him in a distant corner to watch the scene unfold.
Despite being on the VIP floor, the incident drew quite a crowd of onlookers. Some medical staff called for security to handle the situation, while others huddled together to gossip. A few happened to be standing right in front of Ji Fei and Qin Xian.
"The ambulance group chat was buzzing earlier. When they picked up those two and did an emergency check in the ambulance, they stripped off their clothes and saw some telling marks. Someone must have leaked the conversation."
"That conversation is nothing. At most it's just wild speculation. The real scoop came from paparazzi who secretly photographed Sun Mo's apartment. They caught Xu Meng on the first floor and then saw a bunch of people carrying Sun Mo and Yang Hong down from the second floor. That's what really got people talking."
"No, the smoking gun was Sun Mo's assistant booking him an appointment with a proctologist!"
"What? So Sun Mo really was..."
"Actually, no. It was probably just an accident while they were... preparing. The assistant panicked during the examination, which is why..."
Although Ji Fei already knew the truth from her Gossip System, hearing others gossiping in person still amused her to no end.
Meanwhile, Qin Xian's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
[What's meant to be will be. Tsk tsk tsk.] Ji Fei thought to herself, trying not to laugh. [Sun Mo's really in a pickle now. Even if it's not shit, it might as well be.]
Qin Xian was put off by Ji Fei's crude analogy, but he had to admit it was apt. He couldn't help but remark sarcastically, "Without Pei Mingxuan, he really is nothing but his acting skills."
After all, with both of them sent to the hospital and so many prying eyes around, the lack of Pei Mingxuan's strict confidentiality measures meant others had been careless.
"You said it," Ji Fei gloated. "For something like this to leak out... just goes to show you can't do shady things and expect to get away with it forever."
Suddenly, someone exclaimed, "They're hugging each other!"
Ji Fei immediately perked up. "What? What?!"
As people rushed forward, Ji Fei realized she couldn't squeeze through the crowd. She started jumping up and down, trying to peek over the top of the doorway.
In the next moment, she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and effortlessly lift her up. Ji Fei's view suddenly improved dramatically.
She let out a small gasp and looked back in surprise to see Qin Xian holding her up with one arm, his expression completely unchanged.
Qin Xian looked up at her, their eyes meeting. Ji Fei's almond-shaped eyes were wide open, like a startled cat with its fur standing on end.
"Don't you want to look?" he asked.
Ji Fei's brain short-circuited for a moment before remembering the juicy gossip at hand. She quickly turned back to watch.
Although she could only see part of the scene, she still caught a glimpse of two male figures pressed together on the bed.
[Hahahahaha~ How is this even possible? What on earth are they doing? Shooting themselves in the foot? Hehehehe~]
Although Qin Xian couldn't see, hearing Ji Fei's internal laughter brought a glimmer of amusement to his eyes.
When the reporters had burst in, they were hoping to get a scoop, but they never expected to witness such an explosive scene before even asking a question. In an instant, everyone forgot about their questions as camera flashes went off non-stop, capturing the image of Yang Hong tightly embracing Sun Mo on the bed from every possible angle.
By the time the people inside reacted, Sun Mo immediately broke free from the embrace. But his mind had gone blank. He was still unaware of the wild rumors circulating about him and Yang Hong, so he was caught off guard by the sudden barrage of questions. His manager and assistant quickly stepped in to push the reporters out.
But the reporters kept firing off relentless questions:
"Sun Mo, if this is the nature of your relationship with Yang Hong, were you just using Xu Meng as a cover?"
"Sun Mo, did you already know about Xu Meng's betrayal years ago? Is that why you stole her boyfriend as deliberate revenge?"
"Yang Hong, you've always dated women connected to Sun Mo. Have you been coveting him all along?"
"Yang Hong, who do you really love - Xu Meng or Sun Mo?"
"Xu Meng, what's your take on the relationship between these two? Did you know you were actually the outsider?"
The rapid-fire questions felt like a series of slaps to Sun Mo's face.
It wasn't until hospital security arrived to drive the reporters away and close the door that Sun Mo seemed to breathe again.
"What's going on? What the hell is going on?!" Sun Mo stared at the others, his eyes bulging.
The others appeared equally confused and quickly pulled out their phones to check. As they looked, everyone's expressions turned grim.
Sun Mo hurriedly checked his own phone. The internet was no longer filled with insults about his character or mockery of his gullibility. Instead, it was flooded with news of him being sent to a proctologist and leaked photos of his apartment. All the speculation laid bare the events of last night that Sun Mo found most difficult to face.
Even worse, someone in the group that had just barged in was live streaming.
Viewers in the live stream were losing their minds. They never expected the outrageous rumors to be true, let alone confirmed so dramatically!
"Am I some kind of masochist? Why am I witnessing this love triangle firsthand!"
"I can't help it, my brain is shrinking from this."
"Even I, a mere reader of stories, can't handle this level of plot twists."
"My worldview is shattered!"
"What kind of annual soap opera drama is this!"
"I must have opened this live stream wrong. I'm a seasoned gossip consumer, but this is too much for me to swallow. I'll choke!"
"I thought it was Sun Mo and Xu Meng vs. Yang Hong and Xu Meng. Turns out it's Xu Meng and Sun Mo vs. Yang Hong and Sun Mo. So the winner is Sun Mo, with a partner on each arm!"
"You've dried up my silence. Tell me, you three, how many more shocks do you have in store that I don't know about?"
"Folks, remember last night's live stream of the century reunion? The three of them... turns out it was a throuple all along! No wonder Sun Mo was sitting in the center!"
"I always thought Yang Hong was unusually indulgent towards Sun Mo. I mean, who else would be so generous as to give away their wife and then give them a big break on stage? Yang, you're loving too hard!"
"I suddenly realized that every one of Yang Hong's ex-girlfriends has had a connection to Sun Mo."
"Damn, one of Yang Hong's exes just spilled that he would always ask if they'd ever been involved with Sun Mo during their relationship. This is really hard to judge, it's truly difficult to assess!"
"Before, I only felt sorry for Yang Hong. Now I don't know who to feel sorry for."
"Is Xu Meng actually just a pawn? Being a beard is too pitiful."
"You must have consumed too much gossip and forgotten all the previous tea. These three are all villains, okay?"
"But they're all injured, aren't they? And with the proctology visit, isn't Sun Mo actually the victim here?"
"If you put it that way, Yang Hong forced himself on Sun Mo, which is a crime!"
"So, Sun Mo really was... by Yang Hong?"
"No, what good does it do you to laugh me to death? Are you trying to inherit my credit card debt?"
"I suggest you all send me 50 yuan, or I'll expose all three of you with one click!"
The stream of humiliating comments exploded like landmines, causing sharp ringing in the hospital room.
Sun Mo's gaze fixed on the pale-faced Yang Hong. "It's you! This is all because of you, you sick pervert!"
He then turned to Xu Meng, who was trying to sneak away. "And you, you slut. It's all because of you two. If you had never appeared, none of this would have happened. You've ruined me!"
Sun Mo lunged at them in a frenzy, trying to attack. Some tried to break up the fight while others shouted.
The commotion grew so intense that medical staff had to intervene to separate them. Everyone ended up with injuries.
The expelled reporters managed to capture some evidence of the brawl.
The family that claimed to be in love just last night was now at each other's throats, a complete mess.
Some netizens spliced these videos together with Sun Mo's earnest declarations from the previous night, spawning countless memes.
It was hailed as the fastest self-contradiction case in entertainment history.
[This just goes to show you shouldn't speak in absolutes,] Ji Fei chuckled to herself.
"Someone actually started a poll?" she said aloud.
Qin Xian looked over curiously. "What kind of poll?"
"They're voting on how the three of them will end up paired off," Ji Fei said with amusement. "These netizens are really something else."
She then proceeded to vote.
Qin Xian was surprised to see she had voted for Sun Mo and Yang Hong. "You really think so?" he asked.
Ji Fei waved her hand dismissively. "I just voted for the least likely option. Hahaha!"
Qin Xian thought for a moment, then said, "Not necessarily."
"Huh?"
