Chapter 14

The video circulating online mostly focused on the dolls in the shop window. Only in the final moments did the camera quickly pan past the two main figures, capturing the woman’s full face and the man’s half-profile.

Soon after, some attentive netizens took screenshots and compared them, confirming that the woman in the video was indeed Ning Yuxuan herself.

As for the man speaking with her, his face was never fully shown, making it difficult to identify him without any reference.

Though the clip barely showed him for less than a second, several sentences of their conversation were recorded.

Aside from the phrase, “It’s me and Meng Meng who owe you an apology, but love doesn’t follow order,” there were a few more sentences afterward.

However, none were as clear as that one. Netizens amplified the audio and repeatedly dragged the progress bar, barely making out two other sentences amid the noisy background.

One was a male voice saying, “The reason I got together with you in the first place was because you kept pestering me relentlessly.”

The other was Ning Yuxuan’s voice: “If you didn’t like me, you could have just broken up, instead of treating me with cold violence, standing me up five minutes before our date so I had to go buy snacks that Cen Meng likes...”

These were the only clearly audible sentences, but they were enough to piece together the whole story—

Ning Yuxuan and this man had been a couple, but he fell for Cen Meng and broke up with Ning Yuxuan.

Cen Meng was the real third party.

All of this was admitted by the man himself in the video.

Astute netizens even compared the man’s hand visible in a few frames with the hand in a photo of Cen Meng’s boyfriend during a toast, confirming they were the same person.

It was a Saturday night, with office workers and students off work, and the comment section was ablaze with discussion.

Half the people were slamming the male protagonist.

“This guy is such a jerk! Dating a girlfriend on one hand while fawning over his true love on the other. What a scumbag!”

“And he actually said they got together because she kept pestering him? That’s the height of trash behavior, shirking all responsibility like a pure white lily!”

“What? ‘Love doesn’t follow order,’ and ‘I’m doing it for your good’? Makes me want to slap this guy!”

“Can someone figure out who this man really is? I can’t stand it that such a disgusting guy is still hiding.”

The other half of the onlookers were marveling at the plot twist.

“This development is so dramatic, even a TV show wouldn’t dare write it this way!”

“Definitely can’t pick sides until the end. At first I thought Ning Yuxuan was right, then I thought she was the homewrecker, and now it turns out Cen Meng is the real third party!”

“Good thing the blogger caught this on camera at the shop window, otherwise Ning Yuxuan would have been falsely accused. So many people were slandering her before, calling her all kinds of names.”

“I always felt something was off. Those two watch photos proved nothing. How did so many people just assume Ning Yuxuan was the other woman?”

“Cen Meng really can’t be judged by her appearance. She looks so innocent but turns out to be the mistress who even flipped the blame.”

...

As the video went viral, several new topics appeared in the trending list:

#CenMengMistress

#CenMengBoyfriendOutsideTheCircle

#NingYuxuanCallsOutScumbag

These hashtags steadily climbed in popularity, though they hadn’t yet reached the top trending list, so no one on the production team had noticed.

The guests currently live-streaming had their phones confiscated and kept by staff, making it even less likely they’d find out.

The only sign was that a few netizens who caught wind of the gossip managed to find the live stream room.

---

At that moment, the dinner segment of the live stream had just ended, and the day’s filming was winding down.

The staff announced that based on the earlier vote during the gift presentation segment, the guests could now choose their rooms for the night.

There were three rooms available: two on the second floor and one on the third floor.

After touring the three bedrooms, Ning Yuxuan chose the one on the third floor.

Ning Fei had trouble sleeping and needed a very quiet environment, and the third floor was relatively quieter.

Moreover, the third-floor room was the largest, with an en-suite bathroom, a balcony, and two single beds.

The room was simply yet warmly furnished, with clean furniture, and Ning Fei was very satisfied.

Ning Yuxuan could fall asleep anywhere, so as long as Ning Fei liked it, she wouldn’t be picky.

Jiang Ning’an and Cen Meng each picked one of the second-floor rooms.

Once the rooms were settled, all the guests gathered in the villa’s second-floor living room to say goodbye to the audience.

“Aw, is it over already? I’m so reluctant to leave!”

“Anyone else been watching since the live stream started and stuck with it all evening?”

“Me! This season of the show is even better than I imagined—family love, humor, drama, it’s all there!”

“This episode made me a fan of Teacher Ning and Ning Yuxuan. Can’t wait to see more mother-daughter moments tomorrow!”

“See you all tomorrow morning!”

The chat was flooded with farewell messages from the viewers.

Occasionally, a spectator would ask about Cen Meng’s involvement as a third party, but it didn’t stir any major controversy.

The timing of the show’s end was just right; had it ended an hour later, the chat room might have been overrun by gossip-hungry netizens.

The special guests wouldn’t be filming the next day; once the live stream ended, Ning Shiyue, Pan Wenyan, and Guan Cheng could leave the villa.

Ning Shiyue didn’t leave immediately but went to retrieve something from the car, bringing it to Ning Yuxuan and Ning Fei’s room.

Ning Yuxuan looked curiously at the bag in Ning Shiyue’s hands. “What’s that? Besides the meat, did you bring any other gifts?”

Ning Shiyue dropped the bag on the small tea table with a tired tone: “You still dare to mention the meat? I barely made it from the airport in time and almost ran myself ragged in the supermarket trying to buy everything on your list!”

Ning Yuxuan couldn’t help but point out, “Actually, you didn’t get everything—there were a few things missing, like…”

Before finishing, she wisely stopped.

Ning Shiyue looked up in disbelief, glaring at her.

Seeing Ning Shiyue about to lose it, Ning Yuxuan quickly backtracked, “I’m joking! Thanks to the meat you bought, we get to have a feast tonight. Ning Shiyue, you really are my amazing little brother! Love you so much!”

Ning Shiyue: “...”

Initially irritated by Ning Yuxuan, hearing her exaggerated praise made his ears flush.

Where did she even learn all those ridiculous phrases?

He turned his head away. “At least you said something sensible.”

Ning Fei shook her head with a smile and asked, “Xiao Yue, what exactly is in that bag?”

Clearing his throat, Ning Shiyue explained the whole story: “Today at Xing City airport, I ran into President Xie.”

Ning Fei was surprised. “You mean Xie Zhiyan?”

Ning Shiyue nodded.

Neither of them noticed that Ning Yuxuan, who had been curiously examining the bag nearby, visibly froze at the mention of that name.

Ning Shiyue continued, “President Xie gave me some local specialties from clients to bring back for you all to try.”

He glanced at Ning Yuxuan. “I figured you had no snacks at the villa, so I brought some up. Take whatever you want, and I’ll bring the rest home.”

The sound of plastic rustling came from the bag as Ning Yuxuan began inspecting the goodies.

Ning Fei asked, “How did you happen to meet Zhiyan?”

Ning Shiyue replied, “Just bumped into him in the lounge. His flight was twenty minutes after mine.”

Ning Fei thought for a moment. “Zhiyan has been busy these past two years. Xinmei said she only sees him once or twice a month. I haven’t heard from him in a while either. But recently, it’s been a coincidence—he came to our house with Xuanxuan a few days ago, talking about investing in Huayuan. And now he runs into you.”

Ning Shiyue was surprised. “Xie Zhiyan came to our home? When was that? How did I not know?”

Ning Fei recalled, “I think it was Tuesday night, the day before your business trip.”

Ning Shiyue pondered for a second and then stared at Ning Yuxuan.

She was pulling out a bag of dried tofu from the package and glanced at him. “What are you looking at?”

Ning Shiyue asked, “So that Bentley parked outside our house that day—that was Xie Zhiyan’s car?”

Ning Yuxuan absentmindedly replied, “Yeah.”

Ning Shiyue frowned. “Then why didn’t you tell me back then? You made me worry…”

Ning Yuxuan finally tore her eyes from the tofu packaging. “Worry about what?”

Ning Shiyue: “...Never mind, it’s nothing.”

In his eyes, Ning Yuxuan was always caught up in love drama; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so easily fooled by Gu Yunhao.

Seeing her meet a man with a luxury car at the doorstep, he instinctively worried she was emotionally vulnerable and being deceived by some random guy.

Now knowing the man was Xie Zhiyan, Ning Shiyue felt relieved.

He couldn’t explain why, but childhood memories made him subconsciously trust Xie Zhiyan as a reliable person who wouldn’t take advantage of Ning Yuxuan.

“Have you picked what you want?” Ning Shiyue changed the subject.

Ning Yuxuan waved the bag of dried tofu. “Just staying one night, this pack is enough.”

“Okay.” Ning Shiyue nodded. “Mom, I’m heading back now.”

Ning Fei smiled. “Mm, it’s been a long day with flying and filming. Get some rest.”

She saw Ning Shiyue off at the stairs, but he insisted on going on his own.

“It’s chilly outside tonight,” Ning Shiyue said. “Besides, I’m grown up now, no need to see me off.”

Ning Fei agreed but sighed inwardly.

These two kids—one too independent, the other too worrisome—never let her fully relax.

Back in her room, Ning Yuxuan patted the chair beside her. “Mom.”

Ning Fei came over. “What is it?”

Ning Yuxuan said, “Let me help you take down your hair.”

The stylist had done an elegant and delicate braided hairstyle for Ning Fei, but it was fixed with many clips and elastics, making it difficult to undo.

Ning Fei hesitated for two seconds before nodding. “Okay.”