Shen Bin had never seen Chen Huaixiao so angry before.
He strode ahead with each step seeming to carry vigorous anger.
Shen Bin wasn't sure if he should follow him or if Chen just wanted to be alone.
He looked to Bai Yin beside him, seeking help from her.
Bai Yin shook her head: "Don't follow him."
Shen Bin said in a low voice to Bai Yin, "When I went into the room this morning, the CEO was already awake, silently looking through the comments bursting out on his phone, reading them for a full half hour, and then..."
"Then what happened?"
"Then the phone and the wall had another intimate encounter."
"..."
Shen Bin continued, "He had just broken the screen on his old phone and gotten a new one, and now after just a couple days the screen on the new one is cracked too."
Bai Yin quickened her pace to catch up with Chen Huaixiao and apologized to him: "This whole thing is because of me getting you involved, making you get scolded like this."
Chen Huaixiao suddenly halted his footsteps: "What do you mean?"
"Previously you already admitted we were married, but I insisted on not making it public, afraid it would impact my career prospects. That day in the elevator... I took the initiative, causing trouble and getting you scolded as a scumbag."
Bai Yin never shied away from taking responsibility when it was her fault. It was her mistake, so it was her mistake. She wouldn't push the blame onto others.
Seeing her take all the responsibility onto herself, Chen Huaixiao became even more furious.
He had just read over half an hour of comments in his room, seeing so many people online scolding her, saying those horrible words, calling her a shameless homewrecker who should die.
Just thinking about those filthy words being used to describe her, thinking about how hurt she must feel seeing those... Chen Huaixiao felt his heart was being ripped apart.
But she didn't understand at all. She only felt that he was angry because his reputation was ruined.
Bai Yin had misunderstood. She lowered her head and said, "Originally I wanted to clarify things later, after people scolded enough and vented their anger, then do a reversal, which would be even better for me. But that's too selfish, I can't get you scolded with me. I'll clarify things now and get this whole incident explained clearly."
After saying this, she took out her phone.
Chen Huaixiao suddenly grabbed her slender, fair wrist, gripping it tightly so she couldn't move.
Bai Yin looked at him in confusion: "Chen Huaixiao..."
Chen Huaixiao kissed her gently again, licking and caressing her with all his tenderness to cover her completely.
"I'll give you one more chance to tell me - who exactly am I angry for?"
His hot breath mingled with hers at her ear.
Bai Yin's hand gripped his clothes tightly. She had an awkward expression and said in a very soft voice, "Brother, I actually know, my heart is the same as yours."
Admitting you like and deeply love someone isn't shameful.
At this moment when their hearts connected, it was already better than countless beautiful scenes.
Chen Huaixiao was relieved.
Now nothing around him mattered anymore. He just wanted to keep this woman in his territory and properly protect her.
That very night, Chen Huaixiao immediately used all power he could wield to completely delete all the mocking and abuse on the internet, banning and suing wherever needed.
After doing all this, he posted a photo using his personal account.
This was a screenshot of his phone's home screen and lock screen.
The photo showed Bai Yin wearing beautiful, pure white bridal wear, standing on a red carpet strewn with white rose petals. She had a slender waist and soft posture, warm, charming and enticing.
Chen Huaixiao wore a black groom's suit, tall and straight, his arm wrapped around the woman's slender waist as he leaned down to kiss her.
The woman's posture leaned back, seeming to evade, but the corners of her mouth clearly held a happy smile.
This photo was a moment captured by Chen's elderly father who had been fiddling with his DSLR camera from below the stage at their wedding.
Chen Huaixiao used this photo as his phone's wallpaper.
He liked this photo because Bai Yin's smile was so sweet then, as if marrying him was the happiest moment in her life.
As soon as this wedding photo was posted, it instantly exploded online. Netizens were thoroughly shocked—
"My god! Extreme reversal!"
"Chen Huaixiao and Bai Yin actually held a wedding ceremony! Can scumbags and mistresses hold weddings now too?"
"Please, he dares announce this marriage so boldly, how can they still be called scumbag and mistress? Clearly Bai Yin is his wife!"
"So...so...the real Mrs. Chen is Bai Yin, not Qin Yao?"
"I knew it, Chen Huaixiao can't be a scumbag. Wah, my faith is restored."
"I'm really jealous now. Although, Bai Yin's wedding photos are just too beautiful!"
"The elevator video, Bai Yin was clearly seducing Chen Huaixiao, but didn't you notice, Chen Huaixiao's eyes were full of doting!"
"This is just a married couple's intimate playfulness. It's too malicious for it to be leaked like this."
"Despicable."
"Maybe my focus is a bit off, but Bai Yin being Chen Huaixiao's wife means her fame was all manufactured right? She got way more resources than peers at the same level."
"Right, the resources she got are much better than other artists at the same time."
"You say Bai Yin's fame was all manufactured, did you not see her amazing performances?"
"Indeed, I still remember her stunning scenes in 'Nichang'."
"Objectively, Bai Yin does have ability."
...
After the official announcement, this famous and accomplished marriage emerged. Along with it came the inevitable doubts about Bai Yin's resources and fame gained along the way.
Previously Bai Yin cared a lot about this.
Chen Huaixiao was like the sun blocking her in front. His brilliance was too strong, she hid behind him, and others only saw her as Mrs. Chen rather than the artist Bai Yin.
But now, Bai Yin wasn't afraid anymore.
She no longer needed this to prove herself. She had the ability to stand at the most dazzling pinnacle without fear of others doubting her. She had works that could be thrown in the face of those who doubted her, unapologetically.
She even changed her Weibo name from "Xiao Xiao Bai who will never drink Orange Juice again" to "Xiao Xiao Bai who likes drinking Orange Juice again".
Her name change sparked another wave of speculation from netizens—
"So...orange juice is Chen Huaixiao!"
"Damn! How did I not catch such an obvious reference before!"
"Bai Yin has used this name for years already. Wow, they really did know each other a long time ago!"
"There's still lingering resentment to resolve?"
"I ship this CEO couple!"
...
Compared to the official announcement, Bai Yin was more interested in—how exactly did this get exposed and escalate?
Clearly, the perpetrator was confident she wouldn't dare make her marriage public.
Either her reputation as a mistress would be cemented, or she'd have to admit she rose by clinging to Chen Huaixiao.
Either way, it would be a fatal blow to Bai Yin.
It showed how much the leaker hated her.
Regarding how the internal elevator video fell into the hands of gossip bloggers, Chen Huaixiao told Shen Bin to get to the bottom of it no matter what, to make up for his previous mistake...turn failure into success.
With this chance, Shen Bin naturally did his utmost.
As the crew was nearing completion of filming at Mingfeng Mountain, Shen Bin had already uncovered the inside details.
The elevator video must have been leaked by internal management staff, so following this lead, Shen Bin caught the manager on duty in the monitoring room that day.
This manager faced being sued. Shen Bin's series of stern accusations scared him witless. He hastily confessed the person who had bribed him.
...
At dusk, Shen Bin brought the document signed by the manager to Bai Yin.
Bai Yin looked over the document and asked Shen Bin: "You don't dare show this document with Qin Yao's name written on it to Chen Huaixiao?"
"Um..." Shen Bin hesitated and said, "I'm not too clear on the relationship between Qin Yao and Master Xiao. I dare not rashly show it to him."
Shen Bin spoke cautiously, fearing that he might offend Bai Yin.
"I also can't figure out Master Xiao's thoughts. Mainly, Madam seems a bit sensitive about her..."
Bai Yin: "With which eye do you see me being sensitive to her?"
Shen Bin: "Your servant pleads guilty!"
Bai Yin was too lazy to bother with this workplace sycophant's convoluted thoughts.
Shen Bin wasn't sure if Chen Huaixiao would be conflicted after finding out. Similarly, Bai Yin also couldn't grasp what position Qin Yao held in his heart.
What if he really wanted to protect her? Bai Yin would be scolded for no reason!
She wasn't the kind of person who could take insults and swallow blood. She was the kind who retaliated tooth for tooth, eye for eye.
The "mistress scandal" had brought her so much scolding, with hundreds of thousands or millions of comments full of vicious curses and malicious defamation. She wanted to reclaim all this harm tenfold, a hundredfold.
...
Soon, netizens' focus of attention shifted from Bai Yin and Chen Huaixiao's secret marriage, to Qin Yao herself—
"I want to know, just what is the story with Qin Yao?"
"Yeah yeah, and Qin Yao even reposted that Weibo accusing Bai Yin of being a mistress!"
"To be blunt, she's playing too many games."
Of course Qin Yao had deleted that repost at the first chance: "I've known Huaixiao Ge since we were little. When I came back this time, I heard he was married, but didn't know his wife was Bai Yin. Seeing that elevator video, I was shocked and also very angry. No one is a saint, I think everyone has moments of impulse, especially since Huaixiao Ge was my childhood companion."
The reply was very appropriate, clearly prepared in advance. It shifted the firepower back towards Bai Yin—
"What what, Qin Yao and Chen Huaixiao were childhood sweethearts?"
"Whoa damn, so Bai Yin was actually the third party who wedged in and succeeded in her status?"
"This this, it's such an extreme plot twist!"
"Of course! Qin Yao and Chen Huaixiao were originally lovers. Bai Yin wedged in and stole Chen Huaixiao away. Qin Yao is full of grievances but was mistaken for the mistress."
As this drama had played out, the two people involved—Bai Yin and Chen Huaixiao—had not said a single word.
But after Qin Yao's sarcastic words, the two seemed to simultaneously post statements on Weibo at the same time.
Chen Huaixiao: "We weren't childhood sweethearts, I'm tired of repeating it! My wife is @OrangeJuiceIsMyFavoriteLittleBai. [Heart] [Heart]"
Chen Huaixiao's clearly irritable Weibo showed he was truly angry.
At the same time, this post also caused this man, who had always seemed aloof like a god or buddha in fans' and onlookers' eyes, to fall from his pedestal and become a real, flesh-and-blood, henpecked husband—
"Irritable Master Xiao is so cute hahahaha."
"You can tell Chen Huaixiao really loves his wife."
"Like with the previous Meng Qianqian false accusation incident, and now Qin Yao's incident, Chen Huaixiao's '[Don't provoke me]' meme graphic has really gone viral. [Laughing while crying]"
"You could say he really wants to survive."
Qin Yao clenched her phone tightly, shaking slightly.
Chen Huaixiao's Weibo post directly slapped her face, leaving her absolutely no leeway or dignity.
But before she could even digest Chen Huaixiao's rebuttal, the counterattack from Bai Yin made her anger double, as if plunging into hell.
Unlike Chen Huaixiao's verbal rebuttal, Bai Yin was neat and decisive. Without a single wasted word, she went straight for the jugular with an audio recording.
It was a conversation between her and Qin Yao—
Qin Yao: "Sis Yin, I have a past with Huaixiao Ge that you could never understand..."
Bai Yin: "So?"
Qin Yao: "So...I hope you'll let us be together."
Bai Yin: "Do you know why Su Anning left the industry? Because her reputation stank. Why did her reputation stink? Because her mom was a mistress. You've come back to fulfill your entertainment dreams, but if you become a mistress, how will you still chase your dreams? Or could it be your so-called dreams aren't worth mentioning compared to a married but rich scumbag man?"
Qin Yao: "That's not it. Huaixiao Ge and I were childhood sweethearts, it's not as indecent as you say!"
Bai Yin: "Qin Yao, I don't mince words. If you hadn't said this to me today, maybe in the future I would divorce him and let you be together. But your words have changed my mind."
Qin Yao: "What...what do you mean?"
Bai Yin: "When I was little, there was a classmate I especially hated who always wanted my handmade doll. Actually I didn't even like the doll that much, but I hated her even more. So I threw the doll into the clutter room to rot and get dirty and broken, rather than give it to someone I hated. So you see, I've changed my mind. I will never divorce Chen Huaixiao. Even if I discard him, I'll never let you benefit."
Qin Yao: "What about him? Can you guarantee he won't ask you for a divorce?"
Bai Yin: "But isn't that why you came to talk to me today—to seduce my husband into divorcing me? I'll wait and see. These years, it's rare to see a mistress as elegant, refined, and shameless as you."
...
This audio recording was of a conversation between Bai Yin and Qin Yao on the first day Qin Yao came to Mingfeng Mountain for the crew.
Bai Yin had a habit of carrying a recording pen with her at all times, especially when negotiating with opponents, knowing it would come in handy one day.
This move was taught to her by Father Chen back when he was "training" her.
Since Qin Yao was a chess piece found by Father Chen, using this move against her was like beating someone at their own game.
When Qin Yao heard this recording being released, all the blood drained from her body.
Shaking, at a loss.
The conversation was very explicit. Qin Yao knew she was a mistress yet still asked Bai Yin to let her have Chen Huaixiao. This left the netizens nauseated.
However they had scolded Bai Yin in the past, they now scolded Qin Yao tenfold, a hundredfold in retribution.
Father Chen sat before a chessboard, playing against himself.
On the TV entertainment news, they were reporting on Qin Yao's scandals and gossip as well as the Qin family's thorough bankruptcy.
He shook his head and removed the discarded white chess piece.
Looking up, on the opposite wall still hung an embroidery of <Painting of Mountain Dwelling in Spring> that Bai Yin had personally stitched for him when they moved houses, the meticulous needlework...threaded through with sincere gratitude and filial piety from those years.
And now it had developed into this situation of grandchildren estranged and opposed. Was this really what he wanted?
...
Thus, the matter was finally laid to rest.
Bai Yin and Chen Huaixiao did not bring it up again during filming at Mingfeng Mountain. They had considerable tacit understanding in this area.
At night, Bai Yin lay on the sofa in Chen Huaixiao's room reading a script, frowning as she pondered the character's emotions.
Chen Huaixiao finished a call out on the balcony and came back into the room. He said to Bai Yin, "Grandfather said after we finish filming here, to come home for a meal."
"I'm not going." Bai Yin covered her face with the script and lazily said, "It's clearly a trap, if I go I'll surely be locked in the basement again."
"So I declined." Chen Huaixiao sat down next to her on the sofa.
"You declined?"
"Mm."
Bai Yin sat up on the sofa and looked at him. "What, you rejected without even asking me?"
"Didn't need to ask. I knew you wouldn't want to go, and I don't want you to face Grandfather again either." Chen Huaixiao said coolly, "You're my wife. As long as you stand behind me, I'll take all the outside pressures and family burdens for you."
"Are these...Chen Huaixiao's sweet words?"
Chen Huaixiao smiled faintly and rubbed her head. "They're true words that only you get to hear."
Bai Yin leaned against him. After thinking for a bit, she muttered, "Whether to go or not, I'll decide after I finish filming. It depends on my mood."
"Oh right, Grandfather said you wanted to know about my mother's matters? If you're willing to go, he'll tell us everything."
Bai Yin was shocked and looked at Chen Huaixiao. "Really?"
"Mm."
Not only did Bai Yin want to know, Chen Huaixiao was even more eager to understand everything related to his mother.
"Then...should we go?"
Chen Huaixiao pinched her cheek. "Up to you."
Bai Yin looked at Chen Huaixiao's phone screen, which was nearly shattered into bits, the touch screen basically unusable, only barely able to make calls.
Shen Bin didn't know what was wrong with him to smash his phone when he got angry.
"Haven't gotten a new one yet?"
"Everything is closed off in the mountains, I'll get a new one when I go back."
Bai Yin handed her phone over: "If you need to use one urgently, you can use my phone first."
Chen Huaixiao took her phone without hesitation: "Can I look through it?"
Bai Yin generously said: "Go ahead, I don't have a bunch of trade secrets on my phone like you do."
Chen Huaixiao went straight into WeChat and pulled up his own chat window.
Seeing the situation was not good, Bai Yin tried to take her phone back, but it was too late.
Chen Huaixiao saw the contact name she had saved for him: Skirt Chaser.
Bai Yin was speechless.
This guy, the first thing he did when he got her phone wasn't to look at photos or chat contacts, only to see what she had named him...
Chen Huaixiao waved her phone in front of her face with his beautiful slender hand, his voice slightly raised: "Skirt chaser?"
"I was just..."
"Just what?"
"Messing around."
The corners of his lips turned up and he moved closer, nuzzling near her ear for a moment. His hand fell to her slender waist, caressing it lightly.
"What are you doing!"
He said in a sexy voice: "Being your skirt chaser."
