Married in a Daze - Chapter 97
Chapter 97
Qin Zhenzhen didn't speak to Lu Ruyun the entire way back. When the car reached the apartment entrance, she got out by herself and went inside. Lu Ruyun watched her stubborn figure retreating in high heels and lowered her eyelids.
By the time Lu Ruyun entered the apartment, Qin Zhenzhen was already in the bathroom washing up. Listening to the sound of running water coming from inside, Lu Ruyun felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
She had genuinely been afraid that Qin Zhenzhen would leave in a fit of anger.
Lu Ruyun sat on the sofa, waiting for Qin Zhenzhen to come out of the bathroom. She waited for over half an hour. The water had stopped long ago, but Qin Zhenzhen still hadn't emerged.
She got up and walked to the bathroom door, knocking gently. "Zhenzhen?"
Qin Zhenzhen's voice sounded weak and drained. "Coming."
She shifted from her spot on the toilet seat, opened the door, and saw Lu Ruyun standing there with a face full of concern. Wrapped in her bathrobe, she brushed past Lu Ruyun. Lu Ruyun reached out and grabbed her wrist, pressing close behind her back. "Still angry?"
Her tone was cautious, with a hint of placation.
Truth be told, Qin Zhenzhen hadn't been angry on the way back. After venting, she felt much better. If there was even the slightest bit of impropriety between Lu Ruyun and Zhang Yiyao, she would never have brought herself along. And recently, with Zhang Yiyao's condition fluctuating, it was impossible for Lu Ruyun not to visit. So, dragging her along was actually meant to reassure her.
She never expected a single gesture to cause her to completely lose her composure and explode.
Thinking this, Qin Zhenzhen shook her head. "Not angry anymore."
Hearing this, Lu Ruyun wrapped her arms around Qin Zhenzhen from behind, resting her chin on Qin Zhenzhen's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Zhenzhen. It was my fault."
Qin Zhenzhen glanced at her sideways. "It's not your fault. My pressure has been too high lately, I didn't manage my emotions well."
Seeing Lu Ruyun about to speak again, Qin Zhenzhen gave her a slight push. "Alright, go take your shower. I'm going back to the room first."
Lu Ruyun could only nod. "Okay."
After returning to the bedroom, Qin Zhenzhen lay on the bed. Hearing sounds at the door, she turned over, pretending to be asleep. Lu Ruyun walked to the bedside and saw Qin Zhenzhen with her eyes closed, breathing evenly, clearly asleep. But her long hair wasn't completely dry. Lu Ruyun took the hairdryer from the coffee table and knelt beside Qin Zhenzhen's bed, drying her hair for her.
The buzzing sound and warm air washed over her. Qin Zhenzhen hadn't rested properly for days, and after the emotional outburst, she was physically exhausted. Listening to the sound now, she grew drowsy. By the time Lu Ruyun got into bed, she was already asleep.
Lu Ruyun held her, and the two of them slept embraced.
The next day, Lu Ruyun was awakened by her phone. She opened her eyes in confusion, hearing the familiar ringtone persistently blaring. Qin Zhenzhen made an impatient sound. "Answer the phone!"
As she spoke, Qin Zhenzhen kicked her leg. Lu Ruyun was thoroughly jolted awake and answered the call.
He Shuangshuang, hearing her voice, was silent for a few seconds. "Not awake yet?"
Lu Ruyun moved the phone away, rubbing her eyes to check the time. It was already past seven. She sighed. "What is it?"
He Shuangshuang got straight to the point. "You were secretly photographed with Yaoyao. There are a lot of malicious speculations online. Your reputation is taking a hit all over the web right now."
It had happened suddenly. She only found out about it this morning. The news had already blanketed the internet. Speculations were countless: Lu Ruyun dating a mysterious woman, Lu Ruyun frequently visiting the mysterious woman's home... He Shuangshuang could see that marketing accounts were clearly driving the narrative.
She had already suppressed a lot of it since morning, but the spread of the comments was too wide, so she couldn't completely quash it. She had no choice but to call Lu Ruyun.
After hearing her out, Lu Ruyun was completely awake. She said to He Shuangshuang, "I'll call you back in a bit."
He Shuangshuang grunted in agreement.
As soon as Lu Ruyun hung up, Qin Zhenzhen opened her eyes and turned to look at her. "Who was it?"
"Shuangshuang."
Qin Zhenzhen mumbled. "What did she want?"
Lu Ruyun had already opened Weibo. She saw numerous photos posted in the trending topics, all of her and Zhang Yiyao. Several were of her carrying groceries into Zhang Yiyao's apartment.
The wording from the marketing accounts was uniform.
—Isn't this Director Duan's girlfriend? It came out before. What's going on now? How could she and Lu Ruyun be together?
—I heard Director Duan has been filming out of town lately.
—So there's a bit of green involved?
—They even went out to play together. Of course it's green. I just feel a bit sorry for Qin Zhenzhen. The grass is always greener on the other side, indeed.
Seeing these marketing account comments, Lu Ruyun's bright eyes darkened slightly. She quickly called He Shuangshuang back. "Did you find out which outlet broke the story?"
He Shuangshuang replied, "We did. It's a small tabloid. They had their eye on you since you and Qin Zhenzhen went to Yaoyao's apartment before. They've been tailing you for several days."
Lu Ruyun nodded. "Suppress it first, then issue a statement."
He Shuangshuang bit her lip. "Ruyun, Yaoyao just said she wants to explain it personally."
Lu Ruyun paused. "Her explanation?"
"Yes. I think Yaoyao's account would be more persuasive."
Half an hour later, Zhang Yiyao posted a statement clarifying the rumors. She first revealed her identity—she was indeed Duan Qiuhan's girlfriend. However, she had recently broken up with Duan Qiuhan, which was why her good friend Lu Ruyun had been coming to keep her company. The situation speculated by netizens absolutely did not exist, and she asked everyone not to make baseless conjectures.
Initially, netizens were skeptical of her statement. Then, a fan of Qin Zhenzhen revealed that they had recently run into Qin Zhenzhen and Lu Ruyun right at the entrance of this very residential complex. This proved they really were friends. Who brings their wife along when looking for an affair?
Subsequently, Qin Zhenzhen's fans and Lu Ruyun's fans began tearing into the marketing accounts, accusing them of reporting without factual evidence and being liable for lawsuits.
The marketing accounts then quickly changed their tune.
The headlines shifted from "Lu Ruyun Dates Mysterious Woman" to "Duan Qiuhan Breaks Up with Girlfriend."
By noon, the farce had finally ended. Qin Zhenzhen still found out—Lu Ruyun told her herself.
Actually, it wasn't a big deal to begin with. Even if Zhang Yiyao hadn't issued the statement, Lu Ruyun could have resolved it before noon. Moreover, it was just a rumor, harmless in the grand scheme.
But thinking of Qin Zhenzhen's loss of composure last night, she still told her the whole story from beginning to end.
Sitting at the dining table, Qin Zhenzhen took a bite of food and said, "So you were followed for several days?"
Lu Ruyun: "Probably, yes."
Qin Zhenzhen pouted. "So clumsy, not even noticing."
Lu Ruyun was momentarily speechless, then nodded in admission.
After finishing their meal, Qin Zhenzhen browsed Weibo for a while. While saying she didn't care, she actually wanted to see how things were being spread online. Seeing photo after photo of Lu Ruyun and Zhang Yiyao appear on the screen, she felt she was just torturing herself for no reason.
After scrolling through the photos, she looked at the comments below.
—Thank you, Miss Zhang, for clarifying things for our Cloud Fairy. Cloud Fairy is truly fortunate to have a friend like you.
—Has anyone dug into why this Miss Zhang and Director Duan broke up?
—Who cares why? All I know is they broke up! My Duanbao is a free man now! Time for the older sister fans to rise!
—This Miss Zhang gives off a very cultured and reasonable vibe. Probably broke up with Director Duan due to personality differences. Wishing both can find their own happiness soon. Blessings from a Cloud Fairy fan.
Qin Zhenzhen browsed a couple of pages before switching topics. However, with even the marketing accounts changing their tune, no matter where she looked, it was still the same few comments. She simply exited Weibo.
Lu Ruyun finished washing the dishes and came to sit beside Qin Zhenzhen. Seeing Qin Zhenzhen still looking at her phone, she asked, "What are you looking at?"
Qin Zhenzhen raised her phone towards Lu Ruyun. "Nothing."
Lu Ruyun saw the viewership ratings summary on the screen and lowered her gaze. She had been keeping an eye on the news about Cold Palace. The ratings had been fluctuating between third, fourth, and fifth place. It certainly couldn't be called a smash hit, but it was doing alright. Strangely, however, the production side hadn't promoted it at all so far. She had searched the official Weibo account before; the last post was from the day before it premiered, with no updates since.
This was very unusual. Putting aside promotion for the drama itself, after airing, marketing accounts and hired commenters were unavoidable. But there were none. None of that. The official account wasn't even releasing any news. Lu Ruyun actually had a vague suspicion in her heart but had never dared to tell Qin Zhenzhen, worried that Qin Zhenzhen would get her hopes up for nothing.
Seeing Lu Ruyun silent, Qin Zhenzhen retrieved her phone and leaned back on the sofa, idly scrolling through her phone again. She saw a message from Meng Xin on WeChat reminding her that promotional activities would start tomorrow morning.
She had a small WeChat group with only Ji Lu and Meng Xin in it. Qin Zhenzhen had once thought about adding Lu Ruyun but held back, thinking they sometimes discussed private work matters. Now she was glad she hadn't added her, because she was currently venting about Lu Ruyun.
—Ah, so annoyed!
Meng Xin: What's wrong, Zhenzhen?
Qin Zhenzhen thought for a moment: A friend of mine texted me. She said she doesn't like her partner's friend. Asked if I had any solutions.
Meng Xin: Which friend? Is the partner publicly known? How's your relationship with her? If it's not public, could it implicate you?
Qin Zhenzhen: ...
Qin Zhenzhen: Focus, okay? The point is, my friend doesn't like her partner's friend. What should she do!
Meng Xin: What else can she do? Either endure it or break up.
Qin Zhenzhen felt like a sledgehammer had hit her chest. She was indignantly about to close her phone when she caught sight of a message from Ji Lu.
Ji Lu: Zhenzhen, you can advise your friend. Finding someone you like isn't easy. Why break up over a friend? It's not worth it. Besides, if she doesn't like the friend, just see them less in the future. It's not like she's dating the friend anyway.
Qin Zhenzhen re-read her sentence several times before understanding her meaning.
On second thought, it made sense. Her dislike for Zhang Yiyao stemmed from her own prejudice against Zhang Yiyao. But Lu Ruyun didn't share that prejudice. Not only did they have over a decade of friendship, but they also shared the bond of going through a difficult time together, coming out of the hospital. Asking Lu Ruyun to suddenly make a choice was simply asking too much.
But asking her to let Lu Ruyun and Zhang Yiyao interact alone was also asking too much of her.
Qin Zhenzhen sighed, caught in a dilemma.
Lu Ruyun noticed her action and asked, "What's wrong?"
Qin Zhenzhen lowered her gaze. "Nothing."
Lu Ruyun glanced at her, then looked down. "What time are we going over this afternoon?"
Qin Zhenzhen thought of the wrap party that afternoon. "Four o'clock. If you're busy, I can have Ji Lu accompany me."
Her expression was normal, her voice the same as usual. Lu Ruyun looked down, a wave of nervousness rising in her heart. "I'm not busy."
Qin Zhenzhen blinked. "I know you're not busy. I was just being polite."
Lu Ruyun: ...
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