Zhong Xiran hung up and immediately opened Weibo. The number one trending topic was #HuoXin'sSecretRendezvousWithOldFlame#. Next to the hashtag was a bold, red character: [VIRAL]. Clicking on the topic revealed the top post, which had already been retweeted over ten thousand times. It was a video showing Huo Xin and Zhong Xiran entering and then exiting a private room, one after the other. Although the two showed no physical intimacy, the combination of a name like Huo Xin and a term as loaded as "old flame" was more than enough to send the public's imagination running wild. Everyone on the internet knew who Huo Xin was. He was only twenty-six, but three years ago, he had founded the short-video app T-Video in the United States. In just three short years, it had secured a spot in the top ten American app charts, with the company's valuation soaring to over ten billion dollars. He himself had catapulted into the top ten of Forbes’ young billionaires list, a bona fide new titan of the business world. Add to that his gentle, universally appealing looks and the fact that he was single, and it was no surprise he had amassed a legion of fans online back home, with countless female admirers affectionately calling him their "husband." He had given numerous speeches and interviews over the past two years but had never touched on his private life, keeping his romantic affairs a mystery. That all changed a month ago when, during an interview with domestic media to announce his expansion into the Chinese market, Huo Xin suddenly dropped a bombshell: he had an old flame, someone he’d never gotten over. They had broken up after college for certain reasons, but his love for her had never faded. The interview instantly ignited a firestorm of discussion across the internet, with everyone speculating about the identity of this old flame. After all, who doesn't love the drama of a dominant CEO still pining for the one that got away? But for some reason, the interview was quickly taken down. When it was re-uploaded, the entire segment about his old flame had been scrubbed clean. But the internet never forgets. The moment this new hashtag went viral, netizens were quick to dredge up the original, unedited interview they had saved. Paired with the new video, Zhong Xiran’s identity was swiftly uncovered by the internet’s sleuths—she was none other than the wife of Qi Sinian, the head of the Qi Corporation?! The revelation pushed the gossip to a fever pitch. While Qi Sinian kept a low profile and few photos of him circulated online, the ones that did exist showed a man with a cool, refined elegance and an extraordinary presence—the very definition of top-tier. What's more, Qi Sinian’s resume was even more impressive than Huo Xin's. An MBA from MIT, he had led the Qi Corporation to dominate its industry in the country for years. And he was only two years older than Huo Xin. What kind of once-in-a-century, messy, high-society love triangle was this! Who on earth was this Zhong Xiran? Did she save the galaxy in a past life to have captured the hearts of two such titans? Someone posted Zhong Xiran’s high school graduation photo online. The comments poured in—it wasn’t that she’d saved the galaxy; she was just genuinely beautiful. In a perfectly ordinary group photo, she stood out instantly. Even at that young age, she was stunning, her eyes holding a hint of innocence that created the exact kind of pure-yet-seductive allure that men found irresistible. Then, a burner account on Weibo suddenly dropped another bombshell. @GossipPedia: Qi Sinian was forced by his family to marry Zhong Xiran. It was a business arrangement, a contract marriage. There are no feelings between them. In an instant, #ZhongXiranHuoXinsOldFlame# and #ZhongXiranQiSinianContractMarriage# shot to the top of the trending list. Zhong Xiran stared at the tidal wave of gossip, her fingertips trembling. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself and immediately called Qi Sinian to explain. A mechanical female voice answered: "Sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off." She immediately tried Jiang Zheng, but his phone was off too. Unsure if they were busy or deliberately ignoring her, she decided she would have to try again later. Back inside, Zhong Xiran first texted Yin Tai, apologizing that she couldn't make their meeting, then opened her chat with Qi Sinian. CiCi: "I'm sorry. I can explain. It’s not what you think." The message had barely been sent when a call came in from Zhong Guangcai. His voice crackled with poorly suppressed rage. "Did you really meet with Huo Xin? Haven't I told you never to see him again? Do you have any idea what you're doing? You're a married woman!" Zhong Xiran tried to explain, "I just wanted to…" Zhong Guangcai cut her off. "I don't care what you wanted. You will apologize to Sinian right now. Get on your knees if you have to, but you will make him forgive you. We absolutely cannot let this affect the Zhong family's business." Zhong Xiran felt a wave of helplessness. "His phone is off." "Then keep calling until it’s on," Zhong Guangcai said coldly. "Can't you tell he's deliberately icing you out?" After Zhong Guangcai finished, it was her mother, Yu Shulan's turn to berate her. "What kind of trouble are you trying to stir up? Are you tired of your comfortable life? Why must you always be so rebellious?" … Her uncle, her aunt, and a parade of relatives from the Zhong family called one after another to "educate" her. The last time she had felt this kind of pressure was when she had eloped with Huo Xin. She sat on the sofa in a daze, waiting until nightfall. Qi Sinian didn't reply to her message. His phone was still off. He never took more than half a day to get back to her. This time, he must be truly angry; otherwise, he wouldn't be ignoring her for so long. Gazing at the heavy darkness outside, she stood up and left for the Qi Corporation headquarters. She had to see him first, no matter what. The receptionist’s eyes were filled with an unmistakable mix of gossip and scrutiny. "Mr. Qi is busy," she said. "He won't be coming to the office for the next few days." She knew exactly what "busy" meant. Back in her car, Zhong Xiran was suddenly at a loss. Qi Sinian was cold, but he had never been angry with her. If he was determined to avoid her, she knew that with his resources, she would never be able to find him. Messages in the family group chat were flooding in, one after another, everyone asking for an update. She thought to herself that if Qi Sinian really decided to divorce her, forget everything else—the Zhong family would be the first to tear her apart. She let out a self-deprecating laugh just as a call came from Xie Yu. "Xixi, have you seen Qi Sinian?" "Not yet. He's not at the office." Xie Yu paused for a moment, then said through gritted teeth, "You're going to find out sooner or later anyway. A media outlet got an inside tip. They're saying Qi Sinian is going to divorce you. They're breaking the story at 10 PM tonight." Zhong Xiran closed her eyes and leaned back, her head thudding softly against the headrest. "Understood." It was only natural that Qi Sinian would divorce her. When Qi Sinian had married her, undeterred by the fact that she had once eloped with another man, many in the Zhong family assumed he had feelings for her. That couldn't have been further from the truth. Before the wedding, Qi Sinian had told her they had been engaged since childhood. Letting someone else poach his fiancée would be a blow to his pride. There was another reason: he was too busy with work to go through the process of getting to know someone new. She knew perfectly well he didn't have an ounce of affection for her. But she couldn't quite name the feeling stirring inside her now. She hadn’t wanted to marry him back then, yet the thought of divorce now seemed just as unwelcome. Her life had been stable these past few years, and she had grown fond of that stability. At 10 PM that night, the news broke. The hashtag #QiSinianZhongXiranDivorce# exploded again. The next day, as soon as the stock market opened, the Zhong Corporation’s shares plummeted, hitting their limit down by 3 PM. Zhong Guangcai was a nervous wreck, hounding her to go and apologize to Qi Sinian. She couldn't find him. It was only then that she realized how frighteningly little she knew about him. Outside of his company, she had no idea where else to even begin looking. Should she call Qi Sinian's parents? The thought alone made her cringe with shame. Besides, after such a huge scandal, the fact that his parents hadn't called her clearly meant they were leaving the young couple to sort it out themselves. On the afternoon of the third day, Zhong Guangcai could wait no longer. He summoned her home to discuss a strategy. The moment Zhong Xiran stepped inside, she was met with a living room full of people: her parents and a circle of relatives from the Zhong clan. Even her younger sister, Zhong Wanzhi, a senior in college, had made a special trip back. The second Zhong Wanzhi saw her, a look of utter contempt crossed her face. "Could you be any more shameless?" she spat. "What happens to the Zhong family if Brother Sinian divorces you over this? What about my tuition for studying abroad?" Zhong Xiran's gaze turned to ice. She knew she wasn't well-liked in this family, but she never imagined that her own sister—who lived off her generosity—would kick her while she was down. She raised her hand and slapped Zhong Wanzhi hard across the face. "The clothes on your back, the things you use, your university tuition—every last dollar of it comes from me," she said, her voice dangerously low. "Who the hell are you to lecture me?"