Chapter 340: Don

Just as Xu Yanfeng was about to have someone contact that blogger to delete it, a horde of marketing accounts, like hungry wolves smelling meat, scrambled to screenshot and spread it; in a short time, it sparked discussion among a large number of people.

Where there is discussion, there is heat; the higher the heat, the more it naturally draws attention. The more people pay attention, the higher the heat climbs… falling into a vicious cycle.

Right now, getting someone to delete the Weibo post is of little use.

He Minzhen is a worker in the entertainment circle, knows some inside details; seeing this, she muttered: 'This must be premeditated, right? Otherwise, how could the heat rise so fast, like a rocket?'

For example, last night's hot search—its heat normally needs time to build—how could it spread like this, covering the sky in the span of a breath?

Too terrifying.

Has Xia Xi offended someone?

He Minzhen shivered, silently took the phone Xu Yanfeng handed over, looked worriedly at Xia Xi, her voice hoarse: 'Now… what do we do?'

Unsure who prompted them, many pulled out their phones to look, their expressions varied, as if performing a silent play.

The atmosphere in the private room changed, becoming eerily quiet; then everyone's gazes unconsciously turned to Xu Yanfeng and Xia Xi, their eyes extremely complex—like disbelief, yet also half-belief, half-doubt.

As the focus of attention, Xia Xi could sense the contempt hidden in those gazes; after all, the photo was laid bare before them—whether it was Photoshopped, someone could tell.

"Director Li, sorry, we have something else to attend to, we'll go first."

Xu Yanfeng took Xia Xi's hand, his expression unchanged, showing no trace of panic, calm as if he hadn't seen the online commotion.

Director Li had just been toasted by a circle of people, had drunk a bit too much, his gaze unfocused; hearing this, he looked toward Xu Yanfeng and Xia Xi, still unaware of the online matter, and waved with a smile: 'Okay, okay, General Manager Xu, let's get together again when we have the chance.'

Feeling Xia Xi's fingers icy cold, Xu Yanfeng unfolded his jacket and draped it over her shoulders: 'Is the air‑conditioning too low?'

Xia Xi lifted her gaze to his eyes; his eyes slightly curved, his expression extremely gentle, pressing down the ripples in her heart. He spoke in a voice only the two could hear: 'Don't worry, I'll handle it.'

Xu Yanfeng took her hand and left the private room.

As the two protagonists left, the scene instantly boiled like a pot of water, chatter mingling with the ding‑dong of message alerts, noisy beyond bearing.

"Xia Xi and that internet celebrity Zhou Du? My goodness, how could these two be related?"

"No way, how could Xia Xi possibly cheat?"

"The photo is a bit blurry, but it doesn't look faked—goodness, I've got goosebumps all over; what on earth is going on?"

"As expected of a CEO, he must have seen it already, yet he stays so calm—if it were me, I'd have gone mad by now."

"Stop speculating—don't you think this news exploded too suspiciously? Besides dropping onto the hot search, its ranking is unusually high; clearly it was prepared in advance, a deliberate smear against Xia Xi."

"Who is this, so hateful toward Xia Xi as to post a bed photo? If I were Xia Xi, I'd probably never be able to face people again."

"Even if clarified, such a thing leaves a bad impression; if it's slander, it's truly vicious."

"What if it's true?"

"Wait for a result."

The clamor faded behind them; Xu Yanfeng held Xia Xi as they rode the elevator to the underground parking lot. Xia Xi calmed considerably, took off the jacket draped over her shoulders, hugged it, and smoothed her stray hairs: 'I'm fine.'

Xu Yanfeng opened the rear car door and shoved her in; she had just settled when she remembered something, grabbed his wrist: 'You've been drinking—I'll drive.'

Xu Yanfeng pressed her shoulder, then leaned in to sit beside her: 'I've called a driver; he'll be here shortly.' Her condition wasn't fit for driving.

The car door closed; in the enclosed space with just the two of them, Xu Yanfeng raised his arm to wrap around her shoulder, pulling her into his embrace, while his other hand held the phone as he made a call. His voice showed no urgency, calmly arranging things.

Xia Xi listened quietly, her heart growing steadier, she relaxed against his chest, breathing lightly.

Xu Yanfeng lowered his head, his lips brushing her forehead; the call had ended, he casually set the phone on his thigh: 'What are you thinking? Tell me.'

"I'm wondering who's so bored as to bad‑mouth me—what do they gain?" Xia Xi snapped, "Back in school I hated most those who pull petty tricks behind your back; if you have an opinion, why not confront me directly?"

Xu Yanfeng gave a humored chuckle: "Not everyone has your level of awareness." He stroked her face: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

"I'm not afraid, and I don't think this could actually bring me down—I'm just angry!" The more she spoke, the more agitated she became; she sat up straight, pulled away from Xu Yanfeng's embrace, turned sideways to look at him: "I know what's behind that photo, and you do too, but millions of netizens don't; they're like fools, used as weapons without realizing it, launching attacks on strangers."

"Don't be angry—getting worked up isn't worth it." Xu Yanfeng's hand slid down to lightly rub her back: "You also said those are strangers, irrelevant; just shut off the internet, don't look, looking at me is enough."

However, Xia Xi's words gave him an important clue: that photo was taken seven years ago, with few people present—besides him, the rest were just a few friends from that day's gathering.

Fu Li, Tang Yizhou, and Luojinnan could not have done such a thing.

Who else could it be?

Then the driver arrived, greeted Xu Yanfeng, opened the driver's door and got in; the headlights lit up, he drove out of the parking lot and merged onto the brightly lit main road.

Zhou Du knew nothing of what was happening outside; he was focused on his livestream when suddenly a crowd of oddballs flooded the chat, the rapid‑rolling bullet comments leaving him bewildered.

"Here to gawk at the male lead of the photo scandal."

"Photo scandal, hahaha."

"Brother, you've hit the hot search."

"Dude, you're insane—you can even snag the CEO's woman."

"Don't say it—this face is genuinely handsome, on par with any star."

"Give me tips—how do I hook up with the CEO's woman?"

"Stop hawking goods, spill some gossip instead!"

"Who understands the agony of hopping about in the melon field? Please, class rep, give me a summary of the key points!"

"The class rep has arrived. Xia Xi's appearance on a show flaunting her love with the Xu Clan Group's CEO went viral; as everyone shipped them, Nan Da alumni said they'd been dating since college, making fans ship them even harder—after all, who doesn't love a romance from campus to wedding dress? Then came a shocking twist: someone couldn't stand it and leaked that while Xia Xi was dating the CEO, she had a foot in two boats, cheating, and the other party is none other than the person right here."

"My goodness, what an outrageous story."

"Zhou Du, did you hide this huge thing from us?"

"Who would believe such fake gossip? Do they really think the CEO is an idiot?"

"Fake? What fake? The photos are out there—100% genuine!"

"Zhou Du, won't you say a couple of words?"

Zhou Du's brows relaxed; through the bullet comments he learned the origin of the matter, yet a knot of doubt lingered in his heart—he didn't understand how this had come to light, as only a handful of people knew.

Just then, his assistant frantically gave him looks from the side, holding a tablet—clearly having seen the online gossip about Zhou Du and Xia Xi, anxious and flushed.

Zhou Du curled his lips, gave a light smile, his usual carefree unrestrained self, and explained to the livestream audience: "This isn't what you're seeing; don't hype it up, and don't let those with ulterior motives use you as a tool. Xi didn't cheat; we're just friends. As for the details, I can't reveal them here, but the CEO knows Xia Xi is innocent. In short, please stop malicious speculation and slander."

He paused, propped his chin, and chatted: "Take this chance to say a few more things—aren't there enough similar examples online? People never learn; whenever a controversial issue pops up, a mob goes berserk in condemnation, only when the truth finally emerges do they realize they were deceived, had blamed the wrong target, yet how many sincerely apologize to the victims? Never mind that—we're all adults, so don't blindly follow trends; online matters are a mix of true and false, so cultivate independent judgment."

Zhou Du's psychological quality is strong; he was not affected by the sudden situation, simply said a few sentences and then continued the broadcast.

Not long after, the phone on the table rang; Zhou Du stretched his neck to glance at the caller ID, seeing it was a call from Xia Xi, so he picked it up and made a pause gesture to the audience in the live broadcast room: 'sorry, I'll take a call.'