Chapter 16

She had a universe-level scandal?!

How did she not know about this?

Thinking about a universe-level scandal… Zhen Ge felt a little excited. But when she clicked on the link, there was nothing there.

The trending topic had been taken down.

Who took it down so quickly?!

First, she ruled herself out. She had money, but she wouldn’t spend it on such things, especially since she wasn’t even close to being infamous yet. She naturally wanted her reputation to be as bad as possible.

Although Zhen Ge couldn’t see the topic anymore, she still searched for it using the title… Zhen Ge’s Universe-Level Scandal.

The whole topic was gone.

Zhen Ge scratched her head. She searched her name again, and this time, she found something—

“Oh my God, is this true about Zhen Ge?”

“The trending topic has been removed, but those who saw it should cherish it.”

“This is so explosive, I can’t even believe it’s real!”

“I can’t, if it’s true, I’m starting to doubt the character of Zhen Ge’s three ex-boyfriends. How could this happen?”

“I don’t think anything really happened, they were just seen coming out of the same hotel. If I stayed in that hotel, someone could have filmed me coming out with them too.”

“I think Zhen Ge’s efforts to clear her name are actually working… before, when people searched for her name, they were mocking her, but now, just a few days later, so many people are speaking up for her. It’s really annoying. This must be Zhen Ge’s self-promotion again, right?”

One of the comments under the post said: What? Just because the trending topic was taken down, does that mean we didn’t see it? Can Zhen Ge force those three men into something?

Zhen Ge: “…” It was quite lively.

After searching around, Zhen Ge finally understood what had happened. Apparently, even though she used the skill This Is Just an Ordinary Passerby! that day, someone still managed to secretly take a photo of her sneaking out of the hotel. Not long after, Song Jianting, Feng Li, and Su Ziyu also left the hotel one by one.

So, the photographer boldly speculated about what might have happened between them.

Zhen Ge: “…” Nothing happened, okay?!

Zhen Ge sighed. Such outdated gossip had wasted half her day and left her in a bad mood.

Just as she was about to leave, her phone suddenly rang.

“Hello, Lan Qin?” Zhen Ge asked, puzzled. “Why are you calling so late? Is something wrong?”

At that moment, Zhen Ge had a bad feeling. “Is something wrong with Er Bao?”

“It’s not about Er Bao! Don’t blame everything on him!” Lan Qin’s voice was a bit rushed. “Hey, baby, you…”

She paused, as if unable to continue.

Zhen Ge instantly understood what Lan Qin was referring to. “You’re talking about the trending topic, aren’t you?”

“You know about it?!” Lan Qin’s voice suddenly rose, muttering, “So, Xiao Ge… that day…”

“Nothing happened that day! Don’t listen to what the trending topic says!” Zhen Ge quickly denied.

She had already forgotten about that night. If it hadn’t suddenly trended, she would have long since put it behind her.

“Nothing happened? So, someone’s just trying to frame you?” Lan Qin sounded angry. “Got it, baby.”

After that, Lan Qin hung up the phone.

Zhen Ge: “…???”

Forget it…

Zhen Ge didn’t want to think too much about it. She secretly asked the system, “System, has the plot been saved a little now? After all, I had such a big scandal?”

[Not really, Host.]

Why did it feel like the system was being sarcastic today?

Zhen Ge replied irritably, “Why not? Didn’t my universe-level scandal just get exposed?”

[Host, that was just exaggerated clickbait, and it was quickly taken down. It won’t have much of an impact on your reputation.]

Zhen Ge sighed and asked suspiciously, “Did you find a new host? Why is your tone so sarcastic now?”

[….]

Forget it. Zhen Ge didn’t want to argue with the system anymore. She sighed and was about to drive away when the system suddenly said, [Host, don’t worry. I believe with your intelligence and talent, you’ll be able to turn the plot around. After all, the current plot has only deviated by ten percent…]

Before the system could finish, Zhen Ge irritably interrupted, “Alright, shut up!”

…

When Zhen Ge parked her car and was about to go home, she saw a man standing at her doorstep.

“You… what are you doing here?” Zhen Ge felt a bit dizzy.

She never imagined that the person standing at her door wasn’t just anyone, but Song Jianting.

Song Jianting didn’t answer Zhen Ge’s question. His expression looked somewhat wronged, and he asked her, “Did you delete my fingerprints?”

“Ah… um.” Zhen Ge awkwardly nodded.

She felt a bit puzzled. Why would Song Jianting ask such an awkward question? After all, the two of them had broken up over two years ago, so of course, she had to delete his fingerprints!

And Feng Li wouldn’t agree to that either!

“Do you need something?” Zhen Ge took a deep breath and asked, trying to sound calm.

Without looking at Song Jianting, she opened the door. After the door was opened, Zhen Ge realized how foolish she was. She had opened the door, so if she didn’t invite Song Jianting in for a drink, wouldn’t that be a little rude?

“Would you like to come in for a drink?” Zhen Ge blurted out without thinking.

As soon as she said that, she wished she could bite her own tongue off.

She saw Song Jianting smile slightly and nod. “Sure.”

Then, without hesitation, he entered the house with Zhen Ge.

Zhen Ge took a bottle of mineral water from the fridge and placed it on the table. “This is the only water I have at home, is that okay?”

“That’s fine.” After entering, Song Jianting scanned the room and then sat on the sofa.

Dabao, the cat, was sneakily hiding behind the curtains, watching Song Jianting. Song Jianting quickly noticed and waved his hand at Dabao, saying, “Dabao, come here, good boy.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Dabao ran over with small steps and obediently rolled over to show its belly.

“Dabao still remembers me!” Song Jianting teased the cat.

“It’s not that. It likes all handsome men.” Zhen Ge responded without thinking.

She still didn’t understand why Dabao, clearly a male cat, acted like this.

Song Jianting: “…”

It was awkward.

An awkward atmosphere filled the air.

“Ahem!” Zhen Ge cleared her throat, placed the half-empty glass of water on the table, and asked curiously, “So, Mr. Song, what brings you here today?”

“Can’t I come find you if I don’t have anything to do?” Song Jianting retorted.

Zhen Ge: “…”

Oh my, Zhen Ge could almost feel goosebumps crawling up her arms.

She felt something was off, really off.

The plot was supposed to be coming to an end, and she had already broken up with the three men, but why did it feel like things were getting deeper and more complicated now?

Just as Zhen Ge was thinking about this, Song Jianting glanced at her and spoke up, “Alright, I’m not teasing you anymore. The reason I’m here is…”

Before Song Jianting could finish, the doorbell of Zhen Ge’s house suddenly rang.

“Wait a second, I’ll go answer the door…” Zhen Ge rushed to the door, almost as if escaping.

Who could it be at this hour? Lan Qin? She seemed pretty angry earlier; maybe she’s here to talk things over? Or maybe it’s because Er Bao was too mischievous, and Lan Qin couldn’t handle it anymore and was bringing him back.

Zhen Ge sighed.

But no matter what the reason was, as long as Lan Qin arrived, things between her and Song Jianting wouldn’t be so awkward anymore. Plus, she hoped Song Jianting would have the sense to leave on his own.

With that thought, Zhen Ge opened the door.

“What are you doing here?” Zhen Ge’s voice involuntarily rose when she saw who was standing there.

“Who is it?” Song Jianting, having heard Zhen Ge’s voice, curiously peeked his head over.

Zhen Ge’s scalp went numb. She didn’t know why this was happening.

“It’s…” Zhen Ge felt her throat burning with frustration. Someone, please save her!

“It’s me.” Feng Li spoke calmly.

His gaze passed over Zhen Ge and landed on Song Jianting in the room.

Zhen Ge bit her lip, hoping that Feng Li would notice the situation and leave.

But unfortunately, it seemed like Feng Li didn’t see Song Jianting at all. He withdrew his gaze and asked, “Can I come in?”

“You…” Zhen Ge of course wanted to say no.

“Can’t I come in?” Feng Li repeated his question.

Under Feng Li’s gaze, Zhen Ge couldn’t bring herself to say no. She nodded.

Feng Li then entered without hesitation.

After entering, he patted Sanbao on the head, and Sanbao obediently allowed him to do so.

This was really infuriating! Why didn’t Sanbao spit at him?

Zhen Ge handed Feng Li a bottle of mineral water. She now felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. If she could, she would ride a llama and run away right now.

Oh God, maybe she should text Lan Qin.

Zhen Ge felt the atmosphere was becoming even more strange. Just as she was about to text Lan Qin, the doorbell rang again.

The three men, who had been silent until now, all turned their gazes toward the door.

The door was opened directly.

Damn it!

Zhen Ge suddenly had a bad premonition.

Because, aside from her, there was only one other person who knew the door’s fingerprint password.

And that person was her recently broken-up ex-boyfriend… Su Ziyu.

Zhen Ge silently cursed herself for being so forgetful. Why hadn’t she cleared that important thing earlier?

But… but she hadn’t expected Su Ziyu to come. After all, she remembered making herself perfectly clear the last time he came.

Just as Zhen Ge felt the sweat on her palms, the door opened once again.

As expected, Su Ziyu’s face appeared behind the door. It seemed like he hadn’t yet realized what was happening.

As soon as Su Ziyu stepped inside, he naturally started changing his shoes and said, “Zhen Ge, today…”

Before he could finish, he suddenly sensed something. Looking up, he saw Song Jianting and Feng Li both in the room, both of them staring at him.

Su Ziyu was momentarily stunned, and blurted out, “Zhen Ge, why are they here?!”

---