The President Made Me Trend

“Of course, darling. Mother is quite lonely at the nursing home, so I’ll keep her company for the night and be back tomorrow, okay?” Lu Yucheng coaxed gently.

Despite the lingering doubts in Mo Qinghuan’s mind, she was left with no choice but to nod and agree, “Alright then, take good care of mother-in-law, and we’ll talk tomorrow.”

After hanging up, the smile on Lu Yucheng’s face vanished. He sighed, knowing that the bruises on his face would be noticeable to Mo Qinghuan, and certainly to Mother Lu as well. It seemed he would have to find a hotel to stay at for the night.

On the other side, Mo Qinghuan listened to the busy tone from the phone, feeling a tightness in her chest. She sensed a hint of evasiveness in Lu Yucheng’s voice, something he had never shown before. What could have happened?

“Older sister, isn’t brother coming home for dinner?” Little Bun’s appearance interrupted Mo Qinghuan’s wandering thoughts. The little guy had been quite shaken earlier, but thanks to Mo Qinghuan’s comforting, he had stopped crying and, after a nap, seemed much better.

“Yes, tonight it’s just you and me for dinner,” Mo Qinghuan said, hugging Little Bun and checking his forehead for fever. Thankfully, he hadn’t caught a fever from the fright.

A look of disappointment crossed Little Bun’s face as he said to Mo Qinghuan, “But I miss brother.”

“Trust me, brother surely misses you too. But he has to keep grandmother company and promised to be back tomorrow. Then you can tell him all about how much you missed him, okay?”

Mo Qinghuan tried her best to comfort Little Bun, though she herself felt uncertain. She was worried about Lu Yucheng, as he had left in such a hurry earlier, without clearly stating where he was going.

After finally persuading the little guy to eat dinner, Mo Qinghuan found herself unable to sleep due to her worries, so she turned on the TV. However, a news report made her shiver.

The news anchor said, “According to police confirmation, the late Miss Shen Meng was indeed assaulted before her death. The assailant is reportedly a well-known private investigator in the industry, who was allegedly hired by Mo Qinghuan to secretly follow Shen Meng…”

Mo Qinghuan couldn’t hear the rest of the words. Her mind was consumed by the statement that a private investigator had assaulted Shen Meng. How could this be? Even if Shen Meng was incredibly beautiful, would a private investigator really risk his future to assault her? Was he hiding to avoid responsibility?

Unable to continue her wild speculations, Mo Qinghuan grabbed her phone and quickly called Huo-Jie. At that moment, Huo-Jie had just walked out of the traffic police station. Upon receiving Mo Qinghuan’s call, Huo-Jie thought she was being asked about her own situation and began to reassure her:

“Qinghuan? I’m fine, really. Those traffic cops may look intimidating, but they were quite nice to me. It’s all thanks to you. They said they love watching your movies, and once they found out I’m your agent, they kept asking me about you.”

“Huo-Jie, listen to me first,” Mo Qinghuan’s voice sounded anxious, which made Huo-Jie sense that something was off. She stopped in her tracks, and not far away, a screen was broadcasting news about Mo Qinghuan hiring a hitman to kill someone?

Her heart skipped a beat, instantly understanding why Mo Qinghuan was so tense. She frowned, momentarily unable to process it all, until Mo Qinghuan called her name several times, asking, “Huo-Jie, is what the news says true? Did that private detective really assault Shen Meng and kill her?”

Mo Qinghuan couldn’t believe it was true, but she didn’t know the detective’s character or temperament well enough to guarantee he wouldn’t commit such a heinous act.

“Qinghuan, calm down first. I don’t know if the news is true either. Give me some time to investigate,” Huo-Jie said, hanging up the phone first. She began to feel uneasy; the thing she feared most had finally happened.

Seeing the news, which had revealed the private detective’s photo, she couldn’t help but curse at the image, “You beast in human clothing! You’ve not only ruined yourself but also dragged Qinghuan down with you. If I find you, I’ll fight you to the end!”

But with the news already out, Huo-Jie’s curses were futile. She had no choice but to call everyone she knew to discreetly inquire about the case’s progress.

Unbeknownst to her, the moment the news broke, netizens exploded with outrage, openly accusing:

“I thought Shen Meng just had a bad reputation, but Mo Qinghuan turned out to be a demon, hiring a hitman to kill! It’s terrifying!”

“The Best Actress is indirectly a murderer? I strongly urge the police to take this case seriously and bring the culprit to justice!”

“What did poor Shen Meng do to deserve such a fate? Was the assault before her death arranged by Mo Qinghuan too? She’s a beast in human skin!”

Even those who were previously skeptical and sided with Mo Qinghuan began to condemn her, believing she was petty and hired a hitman because of her bad relationship with Shen Meng.

Moreover, Mo Qinghuan’s social media was flooded with comments, cursing why it wasn’t her who died and urging her to turn herself in to the police, claiming her facade was now widely known.

Closing her laptop, Mo Qinghuan, despite believing she had a strong heart, felt overwhelmed by the avalanche of insults. From her debut until now, she’d been hurt by rumors more than once, but this time, the sheer volume was hard to bear.

Biting her lip, she gazed at the night outside the window, unable to fathom how things had spiraled to this point. She had hired the private detective to investigate the mastermind behind the scenes, but instead, she found herself trapped in a quagmire, struggling or surrendering, unable to escape being swallowed whole.

Later, Huo-Jie called, her voice trembling, “Qinghuan, what do we do? It seems the news is true. Shen Meng was indeed assaulted by that private detective before her death. I never imagined this would happen. That scoundrel must have been blinded by desire to commit such a vile act.”

“Huo-Jie, cursing won’t help now. The key is to find that person and ask what really happened that night,” Mo Qinghuan said, forcing herself to remain rational despite her pounding headache. If she collapsed now, the accusation of hiring a hitman might truly stick.

She rubbed her aching temples and instructed Huo-Jie, “Don’t think about anything else. Use all your resources to find that person’s hiding place. Only then can I clear my name.”