The picture was a photo of Song Sheng kissing her in the parked car after his interview at Empire Entertainment.
Qian Meigui began to weep on the spot, trying to m.u.f.fle her sounds, as she realized that someone else knew what was going on between them. She wasn"t ready for it. They haven"t fully prepared. She fell to her knees, holding one hand against her mouth, and the other against her aching chest.
They couldn"t be exposed. Not now. Not when Song Sheng is currently the CEO of an entertainment company, and the last thing she would want is to ruin his reputation. She couldn"t imagine what people would say if they find out about this. It would be the biggest scandal ever. Many will misinterpret their relations.h.i.+p, and they wouldn"t care if she was Qian Meigui. They would ignore the fact.
Qian Meigui heard the water stop. She quickly wiped away her tears, trying to mask her heavy heart with a neutral expression. Song Sheng came out of the shower, drying his hair with a towel. He paused. "What"s wrong?" Song Sheng asked her. Qian Meigui"s heart sunk as how he knew her so well, it hurt.
She shook her head, smiling. "Nothing. Just feeling under the weather."
Song Sheng approached her, kissing her forehead lightly, hugging her against his body.
Qian Meigui held onto him tightly as he picked her up and they went to bed. Song Sheng rested his head under the crook of her neck, wrapping his arm around her body. He snuggled into her embrace, instead of the other way around for once. Qian Meigui held his head against her chest, attempting to sleep. But she felt her throat tighten, preventing herself from crying.
Pictures of Song Ren and Su Feng appeared all over the media in the morning. Song Ren received phone calls from Song Rui bombarding her with messages telling her to come home.
Song Ren rubbed the s.p.a.ce between her eyebrows, leaning back into her chair. She already called Song Sheng, and he"s using his best efforts to divert the attention. But this was something people craved. The alleged fiancée of Long Huojin was seen with another man. And the other man was the illegitimate son of Su Liang.
Many netizens online called her a s.l.u.t and a wh.o.r.e for cheating on their prince. Song Ren didn"t give a f.u.c.k. She was more worried about what her father was going to do now that the word had spread than what any people behind screens had to say about her.
Song Ren then spoke to Yang Minzhe and informed him that she was going to leave work early when she received a phone call from an unknown number.
She answered the call, "h.e.l.lo?" she asked.
"President Ren?" the other voice said. It was a female. It was Xue Guangli.
Song Ren leaned back in her chair. "h.e.l.lo, Xue Guangli," she responded enthusiastically.
"I saw the news. Are you all right?" Xue Guangli asked her.
Song Ren smiled. "I"m quite all right. Why?" she questioned.
"People online are trying to rip you apart," she began, "And I know that you told me earlier that you had someone else," she said.
"Hmm. Yes. " Song Ren answered. "But I don"t give a f.u.c.k about what people think of me. I want to be with the man I like," she said.
There was a pause.
"How can you be so strong?" asked Xue Guangli curiously.
Song Ren chuckled. "Harden your heart as thick as iron and stone, and it will never break. Or at least pretend to."
Xue Guangli chuckled from the other line. "You do sound all right."
"Mhm," Song Ren laughed again. "Thanks for calling," she said before hanging up.
Song Ren had enough pretending. She picked up her keys from her desk and headed towards her car. She drove to the Long Mansion, announced.
Long Huojin met her in the foyer of his home, wearing a pair of sand-coloured trousers and and a white long sleeved s.h.i.+rt. His clothes brightened the arctic blue of his eyes, clear and transparent. He had his arms crossed over his back, guiding them to the living s.p.a.ce of his home.
"I saw the latest news," he said.
"I want to call off the engagement," she blurted out.
Long Huojin chuckled. "We"re not engaged," he responded.
"I know," she began. "But I want to stop pretending."
Long Huojin nodded. "So the man you love is Su Feng?" he asked her.
Song Ren nodded, confirming. Long Huojin then smiled, "Great choice."
Song Ren smiled back at him. This man really is something. "I hope we can be friends," she said.
"I have never had many female friends," he responded. "But I would like that." He then reached up to shake her hand. "I hope to see you soon, Dr. Song."
"Oh, you will, Mr. Long," she said finally before turning her heel, leaving the house and heading home. Song Ren began to feel the weight of her future lighten from her.
Song Ren then decided to visit her father.
At Song Mansion, she walked in where her father was reading in his study, smoking a thick cigar. She knocked when Song Rui glanced up at her through his round gla.s.ses.
She took a deep breath, trying to determine her fate as she stepped into the room further.
"I am prepared to lose everything to be with Su Feng," she said to him by way of greeting. Song Rui exhaled the smoke before he rubbed his temples.
Song Ren knew that her father wouldn"t care who the others were with because she was the face of Song Corporation, not Song Sheng, nor the twins. Therefore, it is vital that she picked the right marriage for business. She knew that since the beginning, and yet she still ended up falling in love with Su Feng, and nothing would change it.
Song Rui nodded. "I can"t let you marry him and be president," he said. A tear slipped from her eye, but she stood tall, trying to maintain her composure. "I understand," she said. Song Rui placed the cigar in his mouth once more, "Then you are dismissed," he said, pointing out the door.
Song Ren smiled with welling tears before she turned and headed to Su Feng"s house. She basically resigned her position by committing to Su Feng, but she didn"t care.