Chapter 45: A Life Cut Short

As a result, an old photo from Yue Su’s university days surfaced online.

The angle of the photo wasn’t great, and the resolution wasn’t high either.

A man stood in front of Yue Su, his broad shoulders encircling her waist with one arm, while the other hand cupped the back of her neck.

She tilted her head back, almost entirely nestled into his embrace, her face tilted upward as she leaned into his kiss. Her elegant swan-like neck stretched into a seductive curve.

In this photo, even the man’s side profile was hard to make out, but the overwhelming presence of raw hormones and power made it impossible to look away.

“So hot! I knew Yue Su would be perfect for a romance film!”

“No, I think she’d be better suited for a shamefully racy short drama.”

“He must be Yue Su’s boyfriend from university, right?”

“Yes, that’s the big handsome guy who passed away!”

“Huh? He’s dead??? I thought I recognized him for a second.”

Director Liang looked at the online debate, thinking that Shen Junzai was a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.

He had previously built such a high image for himself, always portraying himself as the “perfect husband.”

Once that image crumbled, the backlash would be proportional to the amount of fame he had enjoyed.

Even his star power could be affected.

As a result, the show was paused for a day to assess the situation.

Just as Qian Man informed them about the suspension, Yi Xia handed Yue Su her phone.

“Look.”

Yue Su: “…”

Was there no one else in the entertainment industry? Why did everyone have their eyes on her?

“Is this your late ex-boyfriend?” Yuan Jin leaned over.

Yue Su sneered. “Yeah, the grass on his grave is taller than me now. I go dancing on his grave every year.”

Yuan Jin scratched his nose, muttering, “I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.”

It felt vaguely familiar.

Yue Su shrugged lightly. “He’s just another ‘everyman’ face, looks like a dog. It’s no surprise if you think he looks familiar.”

Yuan Jin stared at the man in the video, feeling certain he couldn’t be an “everyman” face.

Wasn’t everyone calling him a big handsome guy?

He held the phone up to Fu Xijin’s face. “Fu Zong, do you think this guy has a common face?”

Fu Xijin: “…”

He might not recognize others, but would he not recognize himself?

When he regained his memory, the first thing he did was have Han Si investigate what had happened during his memory loss.

The past between him and Yue Su was all relayed to him by Han Si.

He had never seen the relevant photos or information.

As an observer, seeing the couple in the photo so intimately entwined felt like a fire scorching through his chest, leaving waves of burning heat wherever it passed.

Even though he wanted to deny it, he couldn’t ignore that past.

It didn’t exist in his memory, but it seemed to have taken root deep in his bones.

When spring came, it would bloom.

“Fu Zong, Fu Zong?”

Yuan Jin called out several times when he didn’t respond.

Fu Xijin snapped back to reality, turning his gaze away.

“What did you just say?”

Yuan Jin repeated, “Do you think this is a common face?”

“No.”

Yuan Jin snapped his fingers. “I agree! Ah, what a pity.”

Fu Xijin: “What’s a pity?”

Yuan Jin clicked his tongue and shook his head. “He died young. If he were still alive, he might have competed with me when I was younger.”

Fu Xijin smiled.

Yuan Jin thought he didn’t believe him and patted his shoulder.

“I’m not lying. When I was young, I was just as handsome as you.”

Yue Su laughed. “Brother Yuan, don’t scare people. After hearing you, no one would dare get old.”

Yuan Jin: “…”

He blinked and scooted over to Yue Su’s side.

“But how did your boyfriend pass away?”

Yue Su gave him a sideways glance. “To be precise, he wasn’t really my boyfriend.”

Yuan Jin’s eyes widened. “What’s that then?”

Yue Su lifted the corner of her lips. “He was my sugar baby.”

He ate my food, drank my drinks; calling it ‘sugar baby’ isn’t an exaggeration.”

Yuan Jin was stunned. “Damn, you were already looking after a young stud back in university?”

“Yeah, but sadly, it didn’t last long. He died just like that.”

Yuan Jin rubbed his arms, feeling particularly unsettled by Yue Su’s calm tone.

“How did he die?”

Yue Su sneered. “He got hit by a car. I guess he’s reincarnated now. Who knows, he might have become someone’s dog.”

Yuan Jin: “… There’s no need to be so cruel when someone’s already dead.”

Yue Su smiled. “Some people are better off dead than alive.”

Fu Xijin felt like every ounce of patience he had in his life had been drained by this show.

It felt like being mocked right to his face, yet he couldn’t respond.

Yi Xia asked, “What should we do about this photo?”

“Don’t worry about it. Can they even dig him up and take him to his grave?” Yue Su was unbothered, knowing that even if she ignored it, Fu Xijin wouldn’t let public opinion spiral out of control.

Fu Xijin took his phone. The mischievous friends in his group chat had already started making jokes.

Zhi Yue: [Photo] “This angle, hard to not recognize.”

Shi Si: “This T-shirt on Taobao is 39, Ah Jin must have suffered human hardships too.”

Shang Congji: “?”

Fu Xijin: [Smile]

He exited the group chat just as Han Si’s message arrived.

Han Si: “Fu Zong, do you need the relevant photos deleted?”

Fu Xijin: “Guess.”

Han Si: “The public relations department suggests not to interfere. Everyone thinks Yue Su’s ex-boyfriend is already dead.”

Fu Xijin: “Africa is short on people lately.”

Han Si: “What’s Africa got to do with it? Fu Zong, did you buy a mine? Are you digging diamonds?”

Fu Xijin: “Taming monkeys [Smile].”

Han Si: “I’ll have the hot search withdrawn right away.”

Yue Su didn’t care about the gossip online. Her private messages were flooded with comments, but she didn’t respond.

Her popularity was so high that people temporarily forgot about Shen Junzai’s scandal.

But not long after, all the related search terms were deleted, and the hot search was removed.

Shen Junzai and his sister-in-law’s scandal resurfaced again.

Lu Ying almost crushed her phone, her face twisted in anger.

“How should we respond? Who removed the hot search?”

“I’m having people investigate…”

Before her assistant could finish speaking, she received a slap across the face from Lu Ying.

“Useless! You’re all useless!”

The assistant dared not say anything, clutching her face and sobbing.

Seeing the message pop up on the screen, she had to respond.

“They said it’s from Jingye, Han Assistant took care of it.”

Lu Ying’s heart skipped a beat. “What do they have to do with Yue Su’s scandal?”

The assistant shook her head. She had no idea about that.

Lu Ying exhaled sharply, rubbing her fingertips in a dazed manner.

Shen Junzai was still unreachable, and she had no one to discuss this with.

“The board of directors has major objections to Mr. Shen and is calling for a board meeting.”

They couldn’t reach Shen Junzai and thought he was avoiding responsibility, so they turned to Lu Ying.

“What are we going to do? Quickly contact the show!”

“I’ve contacted them, but they said Mr. Shen’s getting an IV and hasn’t recovered yet.”

The assistant played a video for her.

Shen Junzai was hitting people in one moment and laughing foolishly while calling his sister-in-law in the next.

In this state, there was no way he could attend the board meeting.

Lu Ying’s expression turned cold. “What about Lu Qing?”

The assistant shook her head. “We can’t reach him.”

She sneered. “Call my parents and have them contact Lu Qing. If I don’t see him tonight, I’ll cut off his allowance!”