MQSP - Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Baiye and the others had just gotten home when Lin Yuqing returned as well.

"Auntie Lin, how did it go?"

"It's fine. The internet will probably be in an uproar for a while, but I'm not afraid of anything now. Let them talk." Lin Yuqing was very unconcerned.

"How's lunch coming along?" Lin Yuqing rolled up her sleeves and entered the kitchen.

"Almost ready. I know Xinran can't eat greasy food, so it's all light, home-cooked dishes." Xia Xiaozi plated the last dish.

"Did the reporters find you?"

"Heh, my phone rang until the battery died."

Tsk, how clever!

"Auntie Su, you're here! We were just waiting for you." Baiye heard a knock, hurried to open the door, and welcomed Su Yu inside.

Seeing Lin Yuqing setting the table, Su Yu gloated a little. "Well, well, what do they say? Arriving early isn't as good as arriving at the right time."

"Come on in. By the way, did you bring the tape?"

Su Yu pulled a videotape case from her bag and shook it. This was the broadcast version of 《Half a Lifetime of Peace》. They just hadn't found a distribution channel for it yet. Since Xiao Ye said Xinran wanted to see it, she had brought it over.

Xiao Ye hugged the tape as if it were a priceless treasure. This was her first project, and one she had filmed with Auntie Lin!

"Alright, let's eat first. We can watch it together after lunch." Lin Yuqing hurried to get everyone seated, placing Xinran in her usual seat at the head of the table while she herself sat down next to Xiao Ye.

"It's been so long since we've eaten at home," Baiye remarked with emotion. Half a year had passed in the blink of an eye. Time really flew!

She poured a glass of wine for each of the elders and a glass of water for Xinran.

"Here's to celebrating Mom's discharge from the hospital. From now on, you can live with us without any worries. I'll take good care of you, okay?"

"Mm." Xinran smiled. "It's not a discharge, it's a rebirth."

"That's right! A rebirth!" Su Yu added, and everyone raised their glasses in celebration.

"Mom, eat more. Auntie's cooking is amazing, much better than mine!" The little one served Xinran some food, and after taking care of her, she also put some on Lin Yuqing's plate.

"Mm."

After the meal, everyone gathered to watch TV. As the disc started playing, Su Yu suddenly gave a mischievous grin. Lin Yuqing was taken aback; her intuition told her Su Yu was up to no good.

The first half of the opening sequence featured stills of An Xi's childhood, with Xiao Bao playing the young An Xi. At first, everything was fine, but the further it went, the more off it seemed. The clips featuring Xiao Ye were either of her riding a horse with Lin Yuqing, nestled in her arms, or being carried by her bridal style. There was also the scene where the little one was lying on the bed with her back bare, and Lin Yuqing kissed her back while applying medicine. Toward the end, it was practically a compilation of their kisses. When the opening theme finally ended, the frame froze on Xiao Ye lying in Lin Yuqing's arms, their eyes meeting, as Lin Yuqing leaned down to kiss her soft, pink lips.

"Ahem…"

Lin Yuqing's old face flushed red. That Su Yu, what the hell kind of edit was this!

She subconsciously glanced at Xinran beside her. Thankfully, she didn't have any extreme reaction. The little one on her other side, however, was blushing as if she'd been boiled, which was rather cute.

"Auntie Su, what is… what is all this! Who puts so many… uhm… shots like this in the opening credits?"

"But it's beautiful, don't you think? Anyway, with this kind of show, the people who like it will really like it, and the people who don't won't even watch it. It won't cause any discomfort~"

"But have you considered the single dogs?" Xia Xiaozi quietly retorted.

"I didn't even include the more explosive clips. I cut them out, didn't dare put them in the final version."

"Send them to me secretly later," Xia Xiaozi muttered under her breath.

"You two, be quiet!" Lin Yuqing scolded, displeased.

"Okay."

"I want them too," Fang Yi added, a beat too late.

"Pfft…" Su Yu and Xia Xiaozi exchanged a smile. Lin Yuqing was speechless, and Xiao Ye was terribly shy. Only Xinran watched the TV silently, saying nothing.

Baiye glanced at her, wanting to say something, but in her peripheral vision, she saw Auntie Lin shake her head. So she remained quiet, hugging Xinran's arm and holding her hand as she watched TV with her.

The series had thirty-three episodes in total. The first twelve were scenes from An Xi's childhood. Su Yu wanted to fast-forward for her, but was stopped.

Lin Yuqing was still a little nervous having Xinran watch her act. After all, Xinran was an expert, and she was the one who had coached her acting back in the day. It felt like turning in an exam paper and waiting for the teacher's grade, leaving her feeling anxious.

Just as everyone was watching intently, a phone rang.

"Sorry, sorry." Fang Yi quickly got up and stepped aside to answer the call.

Lin Yuqing glanced at her and saw her brow furrowed in worry. When Fang Yi looked back at her, she figured it must be about her and quietly got up to join her.

Fang Yi pointed upstairs, and the two of them went up together.

"Yes, I know about that."

"What? Is it that serious? Okay, I'll go take a look first. Yes, just leave it for now."

Fang Yi hung up and immediately opened Weibo.

"What is it?"

"It's you, of course. Dropping such a bombshell all of a sudden. The internet is in an uproar again."

"Didn't I say to just let them make a fuss?"

Fang Yi ignored her, her finger sliding up and down as she scrolled through Weibo.

"The main thing is, people are actually coming forward to defend you now. It's no longer a one-sided barrage of insults." Fang Yi's face lit up with delight as she held the phone out for Lin Yuqing to see.

Lin Yuqing was surprised. Someone was actually defending her?

She took the phone and looked.

The news of her marriage had, unsurprisingly, made it to the trending topics and was being frantically reposted and commented on.

Lin Yuqing scanned down. Well now, among the top ten hot comments, the number of people cursing her and supporting her was actually tied! She was dumbfounded. She had only been in seclusion for half a year; had times changed that quickly?

"Hey, look at this one. They actually said they envy me! They've got some nerve. Aren't they afraid of getting flamed?"

Seeing her actually laughing, Fang Yi was exasperated. "How are you acting more and more like a child the older you get?"

"Hm? It's called having a good mindset. What, is there something wrong with how I am now?"

"It's good. You're carefree."

Lin Yuqing smiled. She had seen through it all. Nothing mattered except for Xiao Ye.

Fang Yi took back the phone and refreshed the page. "Eh?" she let out a soft gasp.

"Oh, no wonder people are sticking up for you. Look, is this one of your fans? They're speaking up for you."

"Hm?" Lin Yuqing looked. The first thing she saw were the photos below. They were from the disaster relief: pictures of herself, of Xiao Ye, of everyone busy at work, and of the group huddled together, sleeping by a bonfire, exhausted. There was also one from the market at the foot of Mount Kema, of her helping Xiao Ye put on a scarf. But in every part that involved Xiao Ye, her face was pixelated, which put Lin Yuqing at ease.

Hey, that's strange, this photo…

Lin Yuqing thought for a moment. This photo was taken by that young reporter named Qiao Zhen when she had taken Xiao Ye shopping. She had clearly made her delete it at the time, but she hadn't?!

The other photos must have been taken by her as well. So she was the one who had posted the disaster relief photos that people had accused of being a publicity stunt. This person… she seemed to recall her saying she was also gay and very supportive of her.

Lin Yuqing then read the text of the Weibo post.

【The person you're all cursing is on the front lines, doing everything she can to save innocent lives. And you people? You not only stand by and watch coldly, but you also attack her with vicious words. I took these photos secretly myself and posted them without Lin Yuqing's permission. I just wanted some of you disgusting keyboard warriors to see that even when the whole world is malicious toward them, they are still willing to repay the world with kindness. This world is inherently beautiful, but it has been uglified by certain people. She is a lesbian, but that doesn't stop her from having a kind heart that wants to save people. When it's time to step up, they never back down. Some of you aren't lesbians, but all you can do is engage in armchair criticism and slander others. How does that make you superior?】

"That's a true fan."

"It's that young reporter. I vaguely remember her." Lin Yuqing scrolled through her Weibo feed again and saw that she had uploaded more than twenty photos from the disaster relief. When had that girl sneakily taken so many pictures? She hadn't noticed at all at the time.

As she was scrolling, Lin Yuqing's finger suddenly froze. She was completely stunned.

"What's wrong?"

"This one… this photo captured Xinran's face!" Lin Yuqing panicked, quickly pointing at the photo to show Fang Yi. The picture was focused on her, but behind her, Xinran was squatting down to pick up a dropped scarf, her face completely exposed to the camera. Lin Yuqing recognized her instantly.

"Contact this person quickly! Tell her to delete this photo!" Fang Yi said urgently.

Lin Yuqing immediately grabbed her own phone and sent a private message to the blogger from her own account, hoping she would see the message and reply as soon as possible.

"It's okay. Xinran has been out of the public eye for so many years, it's unlikely anyone will recognize her. Besides, there are so many people in the world who look alike; we can explain it away." Fang Yi thought for a moment. It was best not to lose their composure.

"Mm. Tsk, this person is really something else," Lin Yuqing said, growing anxious.

"She was probably just trying to speak up for you."

The two of them waited for a while but received no reply. There was no activity at all; she probably hadn't seen the message yet.

"This won't do. We can't just wait like this. The longer we wait, the more people will see the photo." Lin Yuqing frowned, thinking. "Ask your friends in the media circle if anyone knows this Qiao Zhen. I remember she's a new reporter, in her twenties, wears black-framed glasses. Ask them to help find her."

"Okay, I'll start asking." Fang Yi nodded immediately and began calling her acquaintances to inquire.

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