CHAPTER 34 (PART 1)

Sister Wang had never been so overwhelmed before.

She handed a screenshot of a post to Dong Jiayu. “…The post was deleted a long time ago, which is why we didn’t notice it. But it must have been the trigger.”

Dong Jiayu lowered her head and took a look.

The post was full of fabricated scenarios about how Cheng Yue had treated her with incredible kindness.

These were things she could only dream of having… but for Cheng Yue, such claims were absolutely revolting.

“Did you find out who posted it?”

“No, the IP is hidden.”

Dong Jiayu’s chest tightened.

Jiang Su? No, impossible. She didn’t have that kind of ability. If she did, she wouldn’t have been provoked into jumping into a river with just a few words…

…Unless—unless even that was an act.

If so, it was just another of Jiang Su’s schemes. She had been waiting for this day, waiting to cry to Cheng Yue and stir up his sympathy.

“There’s no way to get to the post now… What did Mrs. Cheng say?” Sister Wang asked.

Dong Jiayu didn’t dare to answer.

Her hair was a mess, and her face was pale as she sat on the bed. She was genuinely sick. She had a congenital illness that had finally been treated, yet she spent every day scheming and plotting…

To the original Jiang Su, she was a thorn.

But to her, the original Jiang Su was just as much a thorn.

Especially after seeing the new Jiang Su, that thorn dug even deeper, hurting even more.

Dong Jiayu murmured, “If I had known this would happen, from the first moment I saw her in that variety show… I should have made sure she died again.”

Sister Wang was frustrated. “She caught everyone’s attention from the very first round of the show. All the focus was on her. She’s riding high right now… How are you supposed to ‘make her die again’? What’s the point of saying this now?”

“Your phone.” Sister Wang tossed the device to her, unwilling to deal with this mess anymore.

The call was from Ding Xuan, who spoke with a mocking tone, “No wonder you disappeared on the night of the group debut, Miss Dong. Turns out all that talk about having a say with President Cheng was just nonsense…”

“Haven’t you already debuted? What are you complaining about? You used one blurry photo to secure your position, and you’re still not satisfied?” Dong Jiayu retorted coldly.

She had fallen from grace, but it wasn’t Ding Xuan’s place to mock her.

The more she spoke, the angrier she got. “You and your company are absolute idiots. The vote manipulation was so obvious that it riled everyone up. And now look, their backlash has caused Jiang Su’s magazine to sell out completely… You ended up helping her instead!”

“Who’s to blame? If you, Miss Dong, hadn’t backed out halfway, would I have needed to rig the votes at the last minute?”

The two immediately started arguing.

Ding Xuan blamed Dong Jiayu for not putting in enough effort and deceiving everyone.

Dong Jiayu thought Ding Xuan was a fool, a total liability.

Neither of them believed they were at fault.

Sister Wang, exasperated, simply left the room.

She had thought Dong Jiayu was skilled at enduring, but a single Jiang Su had completely torn apart all her careful calculations…

When Dong Jiayu finally hung up, she lifted her head, full of resentment, gritting her teeth. “I want to see Cheng Yue.”

“You’re going to see him now, just to be humiliated again? And publicly this time,” Sister Wang said.

Dong Jiayu weakly shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. He’s the type of person who… likes seeing others beg him, cry in front of him… The more I avoid him, the more heartlessly he will… crush me.”

The latter half of the conversation was something Dong Jiayu forced herself to say, suppressing the shame that came with it.

After all, she had always believed that she was somewhat special to Cheng Yue. How could she have ended up like this?

“Ding Xuan’s photo…” Dong Jiayu bit her lip. “I want to give it to Cheng Yue.”

If all of this was Jiang Su’s scheme… then just how terrifying was that seemingly delicate, melancholic, and fragile girl?

Since you don’t want me to survive, then don’t think you can win Cheng Yue’s favor either!

Dong Jiayu steadied herself against the edge of the bed and called for her assistant to drive her.

Sister Wang sighed and left as well.

She had more than just Dong Jiayu under her management—there were others, like Wang Jiayu and Liu Jiayu, who still depended on her.

Now that Dong Jiayu was no longer useful, there was no need to concern herself with her anymore.

Sister Wang sighed internally.

Back then, she thought a girl from the mountains would be easy to control. And indeed, she was—except all that gentleness, elegance, and intelligence had been nothing but a façade. The moment she faced a real challenge, it all crumbled apart…

Dong Jiayu had no idea that she had lost yet another ally.

Even more so, she didn’t realize that, had everything gone according to its original course, she wouldn’t have made it far anyway. She had just managed to maintain her poised and graceful image a little longer. But the moment her true desire—to marry Cheng Yue—was exposed, Cheng Yue would have ruthlessly shattered all her illusions.

The real obstacle in her path had never been the original female lead. The truth was, Cheng Yue had never liked her to begin with. That was the real problem.

Stepping out into the world again, Dong Jiayu immediately felt the immense humiliation that came with her public downfall.

She made it into Cheng Corporation without a hitch, but the way people looked at her had changed.

By the time she reached the upper floors, the glances from the secretarial department were even more unbearable.

She forced herself to endure it and raised her hand to knock.

The secretary quickly led her inside.

Coincidentally, someone else had also come to see Cheng Yue at that moment. The man smiled at Cheng Yue awkwardly and said, “Sir… the magazines you wanted.”

Then, bowing slightly, he carefully placed two thin magazines on Cheng Yue’s desk. “These are from the heads of FIGARO and GQ themselves. They personally set these aside for you.”

Cheng Yue: ?

He had only casually mentioned wanting a copy.

But his subordinates knew his temperament—if he asked for something, he expected to get it.

So how could they dare tell him that they hadn’t managed to buy one? Instead, they had immediately contacted the magazine publishers in private.

The magazine executives had been equally surprised—

Mr. Cheng wants it? Well, of course, we have to give it to him!

And so, they quickly set aside two copies, even sacrificing issues that the photographers had intended to keep as samples.

Cheng Yue casually flipped through the two thin magazines. “Hmm? They sold that well?”

“Yes,” the man nodded, carefully choosing his words. Since Mr. Cheng had asked, he figured he had to provide as much detail as possible. So, he started explaining enthusiastically, “The magazine publishers were all smiles when they mentioned Miss Jiang. This issue’s sales figures must be insane. Each magazine is priced at either twenty or forty—”

Listening from the side, Dong Jiayu felt like she was suffocating.

So it was true!

Jiang Su’s magazine had sold out, and Cheng Yue had even specifically sent someone to get a copy!

Back when she was acting, had Cheng Yue ever bought any of her merchandise?!

The man reporting to Cheng Yue didn’t care about Dong Jiayu’s suffering. He just kept talking, and every word was another stab in her heart.

Everyone kept telling her how excellent, how beloved Jiang Su was…

“I see,” Cheng Yue interrupted.

The man nodded and finally left.

Cheng Yue pushed the magazines forward slightly.

The whole thing felt odd…

One cover showed Jiang Su staring straight at the camera, beckoning with a finger, as if she had chosen every reader as someone special.

The other cover portrayed Jiang Su curled up and vulnerable, evoking the instinct to reach out and touch the mermaid in the water…

To sum it up, these two magazines were both things that made people itch to look and itch to touch.

A strange thought suddenly crossed Cheng Yue’s mind—

If the magazines sold this well, how many people out there were now keeping a collection of her beauty?

“Mr. Cheng.”

Dong Jiayu’s voice pulled him back from his thoughts.

Cheng Yue lazily shifted his gaze to her. “Speak.”

Dong Jiayu spoke with emotion, “You’ve met Jiang Su, haven’t you? I knew from the start that you might fall for her. She’s right under your nose, so beautiful, so delicate… Even women can’t help but feel protective of her, let alone men.”

Cheng Yue’s expression remained completely unreadable.

Him, liking Jiang Su’s delicate and frail appearance?

Now, that was truly laughable.

Dong Jiayu didn’t notice his reaction. She let out a bitter chuckle and continued, “That’s why I was afraid… why jealousy and envy clouded my judgment. I was the one who told her how close you and I were, how well you treated me… I didn’t expect the little girl couldn’t handle hearing such things.”

Her throat tightened, and she hated having to expose her own missteps. But she had no choice.

She could no longer deceive Cheng Yue. Rather than wait for him to deal with her mercilessly, it was better to surrender first.

Dong Jiayu: “I didn’t expect… that she would take it so hard and jump into the river.”

Cheng Yue finally paused and looked at her.

So this was what Jiang Su had meant by “a dog biting someone”?

“You really enjoy playing mind games, don’t you?” Cheng Yue asked coolly.

Dong Jiayu didn’t dare answer. She merely turned her head slightly and murmured, “The day she jumped into the river, Zhao Qiuying happened to be passing by…”

Even now, thinking about it filled Dong Jiayu with resentment.

How did Jiang Su have such good luck?

Both of them were girls from the mountains—Dong Jiayu had only received sponsorship from Cheng Yue’s mother, while Jiang Su had been a homeless wanderer who just so happened to run into Cheng Yue and have him personally save her.

Even in her attempt to drown herself, it was Zhao Qiuying who saved her!

Yet, at that birthday party, Dong Jiayu had to carefully and attentively keep Zhao Qiuying company, just to win his favor.

Hiding the twisted emotions in her eyes, Dong Jiayu took a step forward, placed the photo in front of Cheng Yue, and with tears streaming down her face, choked out, “I know you hate me now, but I still love you. So I have to warn you—Jiang Su… she already has someone she likes. Zhao Qiuying helped her often during the show. She even used his VIP dressing room… Their relationship is very close.”

Zhao Qiuying?

Zhao Bo’ang’s younger brother?

Cheng Yue finally remembered him—oh, right, he was sitting at the mentor’s table on the night of the finale.

Cheng Yue looked at the photo—

Jiang Su was stepping out of a room, the door behind her just about to close. Through the narrow gap, Zhao Qiuying’s face was faintly visible.

He was watching Jiang Su’s departing figure, his expression carrying a hint of a smile—somewhat helpless, somewhat indulgent.

They seemed to be very familiar with each other.

A faint sense of discomfort rose within Cheng Yue.

Zhao Qiuying was her mentor? That meant she had to sweetly and properly call him “Teacher Zhao” every day?

And what about him?

All he ever got from her was a scoff.

The more Cheng Yue thought about it, the more annoyed he felt.

Dong Jiayu, having spent enough time with Cheng Yue, quickly picked up on his shift in mood.

Cheng Yue was unhappy.

His brows and eyes darkened significantly.

But instead of feeling victorious, Dong Jiayu felt a chill in her heart.

Cheng Yue’s displeasure… didn’t that just prove he really did have some feelings for Jiang Su?

“Are you finished?” Cheng Yue asked coldly.

Dong Jiayu’s heart sank. She had no choice but to continue listing everything she had done over the years.

But Cheng Yue had already lost patience. “Do you know how to livestream? Start one and tell everyone yourself.”

Dong Jiayu was stunned.

He was still this ruthless?

“If you don’t know how, someone will teach you.” Cheng Yue said, picking up the photo and tucking it into the magazine.

A shiver ran down Dong Jiayu’s spine, cold sweat breaking out on her back.

Her legs went weak, and she didn’t even dare to look at Cheng Yue’s expression as she stumbled out.

Only after getting back into the car did she finally lose her composure from the past few days, covering her face as she clenched her teeth. “If I can’t have peace… Jiang Su shouldn’t even think about it either.”

She had already proven with her own failure—no matter how many men admired her, Cheng Yue would never be jealous. He would only find her tricks cheap and detestable.

Then what about Jiang Su? If Jiang Su got close to Zhao Qiuying, would Cheng Yue also start seeing her as just another manipulative woman, just like her?

Dong Jiayu cried, yet she also seemed to be laughing, her breathing uneven, making her assistant wonder if she had lost her mind.