Rong City.
At the Xue family home, Xue Kai sat on the sofa, scanning online public opinion while his secretary brought him some documents.
It was the weekend, and Ye Rong was at home, having also seen various comments online that morning.
Initially, this was just an unfair embroidery incident, and at most they were concerned about whether Shen Yin had bribed someone.
Because of their connection to Xue Jingrui, they had watched Xu Xiuhe grow up. They didn't know much about Shen Yin, but during Xue Jingrui's wedding, they heard that the toast outfit worn by Qi Ji was designed by Shen Yin, which had earned them considerable face during the toasts.
So they had a good impression of Shen Yin, believing her to be talented, and naturally assumed she deserved to win the championship.
Now, surprisingly, it turned out that the person who actually bribed the judges was Qi Yan.
Who was Qi Yan? She was Qi Shengwu's daughter, which made Xue Kai and Ye Rong pay extra attention.
Qi Yan, as the daughter of Rong City's deputy mayor, had actually bribed the judges.
This would have a significant impact on her father, Qi Shengwu.
"They've brought this upon themselves. Hasn't Qi Shengwu been making moves lately? The party secretary is already set to go to Hua City at the end of this month."
"Do you think the higher-ups will come to investigate Qi Shengwu?" Ye Rong asked.
"It's hard to say, but they might," Xue Kai took a sip of tea. This incident was good news for him.
This Qi Shengwu was cunning and had always wanted to surpass him, even trying to bring him down. Fortunately, over the years, he had conducted himself properly and uprightly, not giving that old fox any leverage.
In the past, their relationship was decent, and he had even considered having Xue Jingrui marry Qi Yan. But Xue Jingrui always said Qi Yan didn't like him, so he didn't pursue it.
It wasn't until there was movement from above, saying that Rong City's top leader was to be transferred, that Qi Shengwu's behavior became increasingly suspicious. If he didn't understand the reason now, he'd be a fool.
At the Qi family home.
Qi Shengwu knew that Qi Yan had been spending more time with her sister Qi Shengwen these past few days. At first, he thought they were just getting along well and didn't think much of it. After all, Qi Yan had an impulsive personality and acted on her whims, so he didn't ask too many questions.
Now, with the incident trending at the top of Weibo and Qi Yan being cyberbullied, he began to regret not paying more attention. If he had, such a big issue might not have occurred.
This was happening at a crucial time in his career advancement. His sister and his daughter had caused such a big problem – how could he not be angry?
Neither of them was reliable. Qi Shengwu sat at his desk, holding an iPad, his entire body trembling with rage.
Qi's mother came in from outside. She had gone for a morning run and just had a shower, completely unaware of what was happening online.
"Honey, what's wrong? Your hands are shaking," Qi's mother asked as she entered the study.
"You have the nerve to ask? Look at what your daughter has done." Qi Shengwu threw the iPad at his wife.
Qi's mother stepped back in fright.
She took out her phone, glanced at it, then looked up guiltily and said, "Yan Yan is still young, she didn't mean to."
Qi's mother knew about Qi Yan spending money to buy off the judges. Qi Yan didn't dare tell her father about this, but her own money wasn't enough, so she had to tell her mother.
At first, Qi's mother was reluctant, saying this couldn't be done now as her father was at a crucial point in his career. If it was exposed, it would cause trouble.
But Qi Yan repeatedly assured her that it wouldn't be exposed, that her father wouldn't find out, and that it would benefit her studio once it succeeded.
Qi's mother was already soft-hearted, and with Qi Yan's coaxing, she couldn't resist and gave her 10 million yuan.
"What's with that expression?" Qi Shengwu asked.
This question made Qi's mother even more nervous.
"Were you also involved in this?" Although Qi Shengwu's tone was questioning, he was already certain.
Qi's mother didn't dare speak.
Qi Shengwu wiped his face, tears streaming down. He couldn't afford an investigation from above. Right now, he needed to erase all previous bribery records that could be erased.
Online, the situation continued to escalate.
Shen Yin no longer wanted to pay attention to it. In any case, because of this incident, she had become the victim and received quite a bit of sympathy.
Of course, most of the comments were praise.
"When are we going back to Rong City?" Shen Yin asked.
"The flight is this afternoon. We'll go down for lunch first, rest a bit, then head straight to the airport."
"So soon?" Shen Yin asked.
They had arrived the day before yesterday and participated in the competition yesterday. She thought they might be able to spend some time sightseeing in Hua City after the competition. Hua City had quite a few attractions, and she hadn't had a chance to properly look around since arriving.
"Is it too early for you? If you haven't had enough fun, we can come back to Hua City specifically for a trip in a while. It's not possible this time. You've just won a big award and are trending online. The buzz is still high, and there will definitely be reporters if we go out. Also, your status has risen to a new level. Not only do people in Rong City know you, but your national recognition has also increased. When we get back, your studio will probably have a lot of orders that the girls can't handle on their own."
Xu Xiuhe's logic was clear, and Shen Yin realized he was right. If she didn't go back soon, the girls at the studio would be overwhelmed.
"Zheng Zheng, we're going back this afternoon!" Shen Yin called out as she walked from the bedroom to the living room.
Xu Yunzheng was engrossed in watching cartoons and only looked up when Shen Yin came closer.
"Mommy, Paw Patrol," the little one pointed at the TV.
Shen Yin glanced at the TV and said, "Yes, Paw Patrol. But Zheng Zheng has been watching for a long time now. The puppies are tired and need to rest for a while. So, let's turn off the TV and let the puppies sleep, okay?" Shen Yin hadn't watched this cartoon and didn't know what it was about; she was just making it up.
She thought the little one might resist, but after a few seconds of consideration, Xu Yunzheng took the remote control and turned off the TV.
"Okay, let the puppies sleep, but Zheng Zheng is not sleepy," the little one climbed down from the sofa and hugged Shen Yin's leg.
The bedroom door was open, and Xu Xiuhe, who was replying to Liu Bo's message, heard the conversation between mother and son and smiled.
One was making things up, and the other believed it. How should he describe this mother and son pair – logic geniuses or innocently adorable?
"Mommy, Zheng Zheng is hungry."
Shen Yin checked the time. It was mealtime. One good thing about children was their very accurate biological clocks – they slept on time and got hungry on time.
"Call daddy and ask him to come down with us."
Xu Yunzheng let go of Shen Yin's leg and scampered into the bedroom, hopping and skipping.
"Daddy, Zhengzheng is hungry. Mommy told Zhengzheng to call Daddy for dinner," Xu Yunzheng said, once again wrapping his arms around Xu Xiuhe's leg.
Xu Xiuhe put away his phone and tried to pick up Zhengzheng, but the little one refused.
He just kept hugging Xu Xiuhe's leg, not letting go.
"Zhengzheng, Daddy needs to walk now."
"Walk."
Xu Xiuhe took a step forward, and the little one, still clinging to Xu Xiuhe's leg, started walking along with him.
