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Chapter 62: Caught in a Public Scandal
In the eyes of the school leaders, Qi Yanjing had always seemed like the type of person who led a quiet, unambitious life. He rarely even accepted speaking engagements outside of campus. To accuse him of being a “gold-digging leech” seemed utterly unbelievable.
But there was always the lingering fear: what if he was just very good at hiding it?
“His family background is decent; he doesn’t need to stoop to that level,” one remarked. “Being good to Zhixian and her parents—shouldn’t that be expected?”
Indeed, his family was “decent.”
Qi Yanjing lived in Zhixian’s house simply because she preferred it there. If it were a matter of the house, they could just as easily move into his place.
The issue was Gu Yuchen’s inability to compromise. To him, Qi’s actions looked like calculated pretense.
Gu Yuchen was clearly unhinged, always looking for an excuse to lash out.
The school leaders didn’t press the matter further, offering Qi Yanjing a few words of comfort before hurrying off to catch up with Gu Yuchen.
Meanwhile, a few students nearby had dispersed, though they all seemed excited—this incident would undoubtedly be a hot topic for some time.
Qi Yanjing massaged his arm where he had been hit. Zhou Chuyu finally spoke up, “Was what Gu Yuchen said true? About stealing his fiancée, I mean.”
He trusted Qi Yanjing’s character, but the suddenness of Qi’s marriage, with no prior hints, had indeed been surprising.
“It’s not true,” Qi replied firmly.
Hearing this, Zhou Chuyu chuckled. “I thought so. Then what’s the deal with you and Zhixian?”
“They were indeed planning to get married,” Qi explained. “But before they could, Gu Yuchen got physical with Zhixian. That’s when she ended things with him.”
Zhou Chuyu was shocked. “Gu Yuchen hit her? I never would’ve thought he was that kind of person.”
Qi’s expression darkened. “They grew up together.”
Zhou Chuyu was even more astonished. “And he still hit her?!”
“Exactly. So how does ‘stealing a fiancée’ even come into this? It’s pure nonsense,” Zhou scoffed. “Gu Yuchen is shameless, plain and simple.”
The two walked side by side back to the office. Zhou Chuyu suddenly adopted a conspiratorial tone. “Do you think it’s possible Gu Yuchen agreed to come here and give that lecture just to confront you?”
“He definitely came for me,” Qi said calmly. Ever since Gu Yuchen found out about the marriage, he’d been seething. But if he were to escalate things too far, Zhixian’s parents would be difficult to appease.
So, it was all talk, with maybe a few bruises thrown in—nothing life-threatening.
Zhou Chuyu recalled their previous conversation about Gu Yuchen. Qi’s attitude back then suddenly made a lot more sense.
“Still, you should be careful on your way home. Who knows what Gu Yuchen might try.”
“He won’t be that obvious,” Qi reassured him.
What seemed like a minor midday incident initially appeared to blow over—but by afternoon, it began to snowball.
At her shop, Wen Zhixian finished her tasks early and returned home at four, planning to decide on dinner. Qi Yanjing had cooked the night before, so tonight it was her turn.
She lounged on the couch for a while before getting up to fetch ingredients from the fridge. Once the soup was simmering, her phone on the living room table began ringing incessantly.
After washing and drying her hands, she picked up the phone. It was a message from Zhou Qishi.
Curious, she opened the chat. What could Zhou Qishi possibly want to tell her at this hour?
Zhou Qishi had sent her a video along with some screenshots and a message:
[Boss, isn’t that President Gu from last night? And the one standing across from him—isn’t that your husband?]
Zhou Qishi had been curious about the odd dynamic between her and Gu Yuchen the night before. Today, after chatting with Yue Qi and Lili, everything clicked. It turned out that Zhixian and Gu Yuchen were childhood friends who had dated for two years. Zhixian had treated him very well, but they’d eventually broken up.
Yue Qi had secretly revealed that the breakup happened because Gu Yuchen had hit Zhixian. Zhou Qishi was both shocked and relieved—breaking up was absolutely the right choice!
Wen Zhixian had a sinking feeling as she clicked on the video. In it, Gu Yuchen and Qi Yanjing had a physical altercation, though Qi didn’t fight back.
Then she heard the words Gu Yuchen had spoken, sending a chill down her spine.
The video ended with Gu Yuchen’s scornful remark: “I’m ashamed to share a school with you.”
There was no follow-up.
Her immediate thought was that Gu Yuchen had done this on purpose. Going to the school was nothing more than a setup to target Qi Yanjing.
Zhou Qishi messaged her:
[The trending topics are all over the headlines—Boss, maybe don’t look at them. They’re pretty harsh.]
Zhou had been shocked too. Gu Yuchen’s ability to distort the truth was astounding. Truly a product of elite capital—terrifyingly effective.
If this wasn’t suppressed, Qi Yanjing would undoubtedly be wrongly accused. With Gu Yuchen applying pressure, it was likely that her husband could face suspension from the school, pushing him just a step away from complete ruin.
“Power really does make a difference,” Zhou thought to himself.
Wen Zhixian opened Weibo, and her heart sank further. The top five trending topics were all about Qi Yanjing, Gu Yuchen, and Hua A University. Her fingertips gripping the phone turned pale.
As a prominent 985 institution, Hua A University naturally attracted attention, but having so many trending topics at once? Someone had clearly paid to push them.
Wen Zhixian clicked into one of the trending topics. The comments were ruthless:
Wen Zhixian then checked the trending topic on Qi Yanjing. People were digging into his background, uncovering nothing but stellar achievements: accelerated studies, recommendations to top programs, published papers, projects, and books—flawless.
Yet no one could find anything about his family background. Some wondered why his history seemed so inaccessible.
Despite this, Gu Yuchen’s influence was overwhelming, and public opinion largely favored him. The comment section of Hua A University’s official Weibo was flooded with demands to address Qi Yanjing’s conduct, forcing the university to temporarily disable comments.
Wen Zhixian’s heartbeat quickened. She took several deep breaths. Why couldn’t Gu Yuchen just let it go? Li Chaomu had already returned, so why was he still interfering in her life?
Was it because she had initiated the breakup, bruising his ego, that he was targeting her and Qi Yanjing?
He simply didn’t want to see her happy.
Qi Yanjing’s previously peaceful life had been disrupted because of her. He could have continued his quiet, undisturbed existence, but now he was mired in trouble—all because of her.
She called Qi Yanjing, but there was no answer.
As the root of the conflict between them, she knew it was her responsibility to reveal the truth rather than sit here feeling helpless.
She had never posted anything on Weibo before. She hadn’t expected her first post would be to combat public opinion and stop the spread of harmful rumors.
Although she disliked airing her history with Gu Yuchen to the public, the situation left her no choice. Gu Yuchen was using public sentiment to destroy Qi Yanjing, and she couldn’t let it continue.