Chapter Eighteen: Apology

Everyone present last night, including Jin Jianyi, had been told by her that she’d simply been careless—she’d fallen and injured her knee in her haste to catch up with Song Wanning. Now, with Shen Yue saying something different, if she admitted to it, wouldn’t she be contradicting herself?

Though Jian An’an was inwardly irritated by how foolish Shen Yue could be, she held her annoyance in check, given that Shen Yue was still on her side. She forced herself to appear as pitiful and wronged as possible.

Song Wanning, putting on a show of being frightened, took a step back. “I’m only stating the facts. Why are you raising your voice at me…?”

The viewers in the live stream were starting to feel uncomfortable watching the scene unfold.

“To be honest, though I usually dislike Song Wanning, I don’t think she did anything wrong this time.”

“Yeah, I think Jian An’an is going a bit too far.”

“She’s the one who misled everyone in the first place. If Song Wanning hadn’t spoken up, wouldn’t we all have been fooled by Jian An’an?”

“Jian An’an doesn’t seem as simple as she looks.”

“Sigh, Jin Jianyi is really unlucky to be partnered with someone like her.”

The tide of public opinion in the comments had turned completely, with even those who previously criticized Song Wanning now condemning Jian An’an. These so-called champions of justice online never needed any real evidence or correct outcomes—they only needed an outlet for their emotions.

Li Weiwei frowned as she read these fickle barrage of comments, and was about to speak when Wen Jingxing strode over and positioned himself protectively in front of Song Wanning.

He said little, simply casting a cool glance at Li Weiwei. “Director, I need an explanation for this.”

During filming, Wen Jingxing would not address Li Weiwei as “sister-in-law,” instead maintaining a professional tone. But Li Weiwei knew that once Wen Jingxing spoke up, this matter would not be easily resolved.

She gestured to one of the staff. “Go and bring the doctor who treated Jian An’an yesterday.”

“Yes, Director, right away.”

Song Wanning looked up in surprise at the tall figure shielding her. Why would he speak up for her? Hadn’t Wen Jingxing always disliked the original her? After all, he’d never intended to marry, and now, because of a verbal agreement between elders, he was being forced to wed a woman he didn’t love—a woman who always talked back, stirred up trouble, and constantly suspected him.

Meanwhile, Shen Yue, still clueless about the real situation, clung to Jian An’an’s arm and declared, “An’an, don’t worry. Even if Song Wanning is making things difficult for you, I’ll always stand by your side! I won’t let her bully you.”

Even Jiang Mingzhao, an outsider to the drama, could see what was happening. Watching his partner rush headlong into disaster, he could only rub his forehead and quietly distance himself from the scene, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

Jian An’an squeezed Shen Yue’s hand, but turned to Li Weiwei and said, “Director, this really is my fault. There’s no need to call the doctor over again. I’m sorry, Ningning… I truly didn’t mean it. My knee just hurt a bit this morning, but it’s already feeling better now, which is why I could walk so quickly.”

As she spoke, tears began to fall.

Jin Jianyi, who’d been pretending not to notice, felt a pang of sympathy when he saw Jian An’an crying. What if she truly hadn’t meant any harm?

He walked over, gently patted her back, and offered her a clean tissue from his pocket. “Come now, it’s not such a big deal. Why are you crying?”

“I never imagined that my careless words would cause such a misunderstanding for everyone. I feel terribly guilty…”

The previously one-sided live comments began to polarize again.

“I don’t think Jian An’an did it on purpose. After all, she and Song Wanning have no real feud—why would she frame her?”

“Exactly, maybe Jian An’an just expressed herself poorly.”

“Are you people brainless? Can’t you see Jian An’an did it on purpose?”

“A serious injury doesn’t just get better in a moment!”

“Exactly, especially with what Jian An’an said. If Song Wanning hadn’t spoken up, we’d all think she’d deliberately harmed Jian An’an.”

…

Li Weiwei watched as Jian An’an wept, thought for a moment, then said, “That’s enough for now. I’ll get to the bottom of this and give everyone an answer. Let’s not delay today’s shoot.”

Seeing that the matter wasn’t settled to her satisfaction, Jian An’an clenched her fists in secret. She absolutely could not sit back and wait for disaster.

“Brother Jianyi, thank you for still believing in me…”

Jin Jianyi replied, “Really, it’ll be fine. It’s just a small matter.”

Blinded by her beauty, he failed to see anything amiss. He even handed her one of the identity cards. “Here, take it. I drew this for you.”

Jian An’an glanced at the card, her expression freezing as she read the words: “Delivery Personnel.”

This role mainly entailed carrying supplies from the foot of the mountain to the top.

Even with an elevator, it was still a long, arduous haul.

Noticing her reaction, Jin Jianyi asked with concern, “What’s wrong, is something the matter?”

She shook her head. “No, thank you.”

Shen Yue, thinking they’d come out on top, looked smugly at Song Wanning. “Just you wait. When the truth comes out, you’ll see how it feels to be utterly humiliated!”

Song Wanning only shrugged indifferently at her provocation and gave a dismissive snort. “Childish.”

Shen Yue, her punch having landed on nothing but air, was furious but couldn’t lash out here, so her dislike for Song Wanning only deepened.

“Just wait!” she spat, grabbing her identity card and marching off.

Song Wanning also headed for her assigned work area, Wen Jingxing following behind. “Don’t worry,” he said, “the director will get to the truth and clear your name.”

She nodded and smiled. “Alright, thank you.”

Her smile was bright and sweet, made even more radiant by the sunlight, leaving Wen Jingxing momentarily dazed. He quickly collected himself and changed the subject. “What were you doing by the tree just now?”

Song Wanning paused. “Hmm… I caught a cute bug!”

Wen Jingxing’s eyelid twitched. That half-palm-sized, hairy black spider—was that what she meant by “cute”? Not terrifying?

“How did you know she was afraid of it?”

With the camera crew nearby, Wen Jingxing didn’t elaborate, but Song Wanning instantly understood what he meant.

“I think anyone would be afraid, right?”

Wen Jingxing looked her up and down again. Did that mean she herself wasn’t afraid? He seemed to recall that Song Wanning had nothing in her hands at the time. So, she’d caught the spider bare-handed?