Chapter 30

The news caused a stir among the crowd.

“Five years of advertising contracts with the Yan family? The Yan family’s annual advertising budget must be in the tens of millions. Xia Ling, you’re incredible.”

“Xia Ling, I suspected you were the Yan family’s young mistress. Your boyfriend is Yan Feng, and the Yan family’s heir is also named Yan Feng. Last time you said it was just a coincidence. No more excuses now, right?”

“Xia Ling just wants to keep a low profile. Unlike you all, who can’t wait to announce every small deal with a loudspeaker.”

The entire conference room was full of praise for Xia Ling.

The Yan family was one of the top enterprises in Rongcheng, and their advertising budget was equivalent to that of dozens of smaller companies.

Moreover, Xia Ling had signed a five-year contract.

Even the station head would probably come personally to celebrate with champagne.

And obviously, Xia Ling was the Yan family’s future young mistress. Supporting her now would surely bring future benefits.

So for the moment, no one cared much about Jiang Ciyou.

Jiang Ciyou knew well that this place was inherently cold and driven by interests.

After the meeting, Tang Fei came over to offer a symbolic consolation. “Ciyou, I still have high hopes for you. Your shows have always been the highest-rated on our station. I believe you won’t lose to Xia Ling in this regard. This hosting competition is just a formality.”

Indeed.

In the following week, Jiang Ciyou and Xia Ling took turns as prime-time hosts.

The station also organized a popularity vote for the prime-time host.

Today was Sunday, the final day of the competition between the two.

Previously, they had each hosted for three days.

From the data, Jiang Ciyou had been crushing Xia Ling.

Today, the station arranged for a dual-host broadcast.

The audience would vote to decide who would be the prime-time host.

According to the current data, the position undoubtedly belonged to Jiang Ciyou.

Both in appearance and professionalism, Jiang Ciyou was impeccable.

She also had a group of fans from her previous noon news anchor role.

So from the start of the news broadcast, Jiang Ciyou’s vote count was far ahead of Xia Ling’s.

Just when everyone thought the prime-time host position was definitely Jiang Ciyou’s.

An unexpected event occurred.

During their news broadcast, a trending topic shot up on Weibo, quickly claiming the top spot.

The trending topic was #Prime-time Host Jiang Ciyou’s Murderer Mother#

It turned out that the person in question was Yin Ruyun, the suspect in the sensational husband-murder case from three years ago.

The internet exploded.

Criticism of Jiang Ciyou flooded in.

【A murderer’s daughter becoming a prime-time host? She doesn’t deserve it!】

【Her mother is a murderer, not her. That’s a completely different matter, okay?】

【Like mother, like daughter—if the mother killed her father, the child’s psyche must be twisted, right?】

【Having to watch the murderer’s daughter on the news every day will give me psychological trauma.】

Within ten minutes, the voting results shifted dramatically.

Jiang Ciyou’s vote count almost stopped rising.

Instead, Xia Ling’s votes soared rapidly.

Jiang Ciyou could see the voting process while broadcasting.

Given the abnormal situation, she suspected something was wrong.

But she continued to broadcast professionally and calmly.

After the broadcast ended, Jiang Ciyou and Xia Ling left the studio.

Everyone looked as if they wanted to say something but held back, their gazes towards Jiang Ciyou were extremely complicated.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Ciyou asked.

Camera operator Zhao Yuan spoke up, “Sister Jiang, please check Weibo’s trending topics.”

Jiang Ciyou immediately picked up her phone and opened Weibo.

Her expression gradually turned cold.

Assistant editor Xiao Zhao cautiously asked, “Sister Jiang, is what’s being said online true?”

Others gathered around as well.

“Sister Jiang, is your mother really Yin Ruyun?”

“By the way, I heard that you were also at the scene when your mother killed your father?”

“Sister Jiang, you never seem to talk about your family or parents…”

“Stop asking these questions. It’s not Ciyou’s fault.”

Xia Ling came over with a concerned expression, looking at Jiang Ciyou. “Ciyou, are you okay? You don’t need to worry about the online rumors. Your parents’ lives don’t define yours.”

It seemed comforting, but it also confirmed the fact that Jiang Ciyou was the daughter of a murderer.

Jiang Ciyou turned off her phone, raised her head, and though her smile deepened, her gaze was terrifyingly cold.

“Xia Ling, did you do this?”

Xia Ling’s expression turned to one of surprise and hurt. “Ciyou, what are you talking about? I only found out from the news just now.”

Jiang Ciyou’s smile grew colder. “It better not be you, or you know my temper.”

Xia Ling tried to explain, but Tang Fei had already come over.

Tang Fei’s brow was furrowed, his face serious. “Jiang, your family issues are not your fault, but this matter has blown up too much. The public’s backlash is severe, and I have to consider the station’s impact. For now, the prime-time host position will temporarily go to Xia Ling. We’ll adjust things after the situation calms down.”

Jiang Ciyou maintained her composure and elegance with a lightly smile. “Alright, I’ll follow the Director’s arrangement.”

Tang Fei sighed in relief. “You haven’t taken a vacation in a while. I’ll give you a week off. Rest well.”

Jiang Ciyou left the station and returned to the Green Hills villa.

The light was on in Bo Jinxiu’s study.

Jiang Ciyou went straight to the study.

The man was sitting at his desk.

He had clearly taken a shower and changed into a gray pajama set.

He was focused on his computer, his slender fingers moving the mouse. His handsome face showed no expression.

Those hands were so attractive.

That was Jiang Ciyou’s first impression.

She walked in on her high heels, then sat on the man’s lap.

She leaned in to Bo Jinxiu’s ear and lightly sniffed. “What shampoo did you use today? It smells so good.”

Bo Jinxiu’s arm naturally wrapped around Jiang Ciyou, drawing her close.

Seeing the woman in his arms looking like a pampered and lazy cat, his gaze deepened.

“Bad mood?”

From the moment Jiang Ciyou appeared at the door, Bo Jinxiu had sensed that something was off with her mood.

Jiang Ciyou nibbled lightly on his Adam’s apple. “Yes, so I need some comfort.”

If it had been any other time, Bo Jinxiu would have taken the initiative. But today, he held Jiang Ciyou’s mischievous hand that had ventured into his clothes.

“Is it because of the posts online?”

Jiang Ciyou was a bit surprised and chuckled. “Even the busy prince has time to surf the web?”

Bo Jinxiu wrapped one arm around Jiang Ciyou’s slender waist and used the other hand to open the computer on his desk.

“I’ve already found out who posted it. Take a look.”

Jiang Ciyou was surprised and looked at the computer.

On the screen was a video of a woman wearing a baseball cap posting in an internet cafe.

The content of the post was the top trending topic.