After Becoming the Live-in Scummy Alpha, I Pamper Her with Real Strength - Chapter 18

After hanging up the phone, He Song finally felt her anxiety ease. Ever since she’d left the orphanage, she had lived alone—and never once had anyone said something like “I’ve got your back” to her.

It felt… surprisingly nice. Especially since the one saying it was Mo Qingran.

After that impromptu mark the other night, He Song suddenly realized that maybe her constant help, instinctive concern, and quiet protectiveness toward Mo Qingran weren’t just because the woman was the female lead of the original story.

Admiration, respect, even infatuation—none of those terms felt quite right.

So… was it love?

It was like a fog had lifted, revealing the faint outline of the truth.

He Song’s fingers unconsciously twisted the ends of her hair, looping and unlooping it again and again. She wasn’t sure if she’d been attracted to Mo Qingran from the beginning or if something had awakened more recently—but either way, she could only go with the flow now.

Just then, Lili suddenly cried out, “He Song, the company just released a statement!”

He Song leaned in. Sure enough, Huanyao Entertainment’s official media account had posted an announcement clarifying that the accusations made by a certain tabloid account were baseless. They urged the public not to spread false information about their artists.

While this didn’t necessarily sway everyone, many rational onlookers began to calm down and wait for further developments.

After all, online narratives getting flipped was practically routine at this point.

He Song gripped her phone tightly. She’d seen too many smear campaigns to count. It was easy to spread lies—clearing your name, on the other hand, was hard. If she kept getting dragged down by unethical media outlets, she’d be the only one who suffered.

In the original plotline, it was a scandal involving Yu Dongdong that had caused Fenghua Chronicle to be shelved. Though she had avoided any interaction with Yu Dongdong this time, she had somehow fallen into a new round of damaging rumors.

Could the story really not be changed?

A chill ran down her spine. She felt like she was being pulled forward by an invisible string. No matter how she tried to deviate, it always found a way to yank her back onto the original track.

After a moment of quiet thought, He Song got out of the car and headed to the set.

The atmosphere within the production team was visibly heavy. People were whispering to each other, murmurs blending into a low hum of speculation.

But when the center of the rumors walked in, the chatter stopped instantly. Everyone glanced at her—then just as quickly looked away.

“Where’s Director Yan?” He Song scanned the area but didn’t see Yan Zhao or screenwriter Wu Qing.

A young woman with short hair pointed toward the indoor conference room. “They’re in there, discussing the shooting schedule. Writer Wu and Film Emperor He are both present.”

He Song nodded her thanks and, under the intense scrutiny of the crew, pushed open the door and went in.

It wasn’t until her figure disappeared from view that people on set began whispering again.

“Do you think that tabloid story is true? Dating a dozen people at once? She’s like… the queen of the sea!”

“I think it’s nonsense. I mean, since filming started, have you ever seen her get close to anyone?”

“Of course not—she wouldn’t dare here. Who knows where she goes once she’s off set?”

“Think about it, bro. Director Yan moves things along so fast, we’re with her almost 20 hours a day. She only gets time to nap in her car. You think she has the energy for anything else?”

“Besides, the rumors were all from last year. Probably during her downtime. People just hate her ‘cause she’s pretty. Can’t beat ‘beauty is justice,’ right?”

“She’s been accused of sexual assault. That’s a crime, man. You should be worried if the drama can even keep going.”

“If a lead actor has a scandal, the show usually gets pulled. It’d be one thing if she were a background extra, but she’s the female lead.”

“Director Yan’s the one to blame. He’s usually so strict when casting. Can’t believe he stepped on a landmine this time.”

…

Inside the makeshift metal conference room, Director Yan and Wu Qing looked at He Song in shock.

“You said what?” Yan asked.

He Song gave a deep bow. “I’m sorry. The scandal’s affecting the production. If you want me to withdraw from the project, I won’t protest.”

Yan leaned back in his chair, his hand resting on the script. “Is there any truth to what the tabloid account said?”

He Song shook her head without hesitation. “No. I admit my private life used to be… a little chaotic, but I’ve never been involved with multiple people at once, let alone anything non-consensual. That’s pure fabrication.”

“Then that’s all that matters. You’re the lead of Fenghua Chronicle. You are Lu Li. Filming isn’t finished, and we won’t let you walk away.”

“But the current public sentiment might stop Fenghua Chronicle from airing,” He Song said, swallowing hard. “If that happens, I’ll reimburse the production for everything I’m contractually obligated to cover.”

Yan sighed and studied her face, then handed her his phone.

It was his Weibo inbox—since the story broke that afternoon, his DMs hadn’t stopped flooding in.

All of them demanding He Song be kicked off the show.

Some were even vowing to mass-report the drama if she remained the lead, forcing it off the air.

He Song lowered her head in guilt, ashamed of the trouble she was causing.

“That’s exactly why,” Yan said, taking his phone back, “we need to keep filming—and do it better than ever. If you didn’t do those things, then why shouldn’t public opinion eventually turn in your favor?”

Arms crossed, Yan looked completely unbothered by the storm outside. His calm confidence surprised He Song. She couldn’t quite understand where it came from.

But Yan did have a reason to be confident. He hadn’t misjudged the woman who had walked beside He Song that day.

Mo Qingran.

To most people in the entertainment industry, her name was unfamiliar. She wasn’t the CEO of some media conglomerate or a famous star.

But Yan knew the truth: the Mo family’s business empire owned dozens of entertainment companies—including Huanyao itself.

And the person with real control over it all… was Mo Qingran.

The Mo Corporation wasn’t just involved in the entertainment industry. It had its hands in virtually every sector—pharmaceuticals and healthcare, food and beverage, fashion and apparel—you name it. A true titan of industry, in every sense of the word.

Yet its heiress, Mo Qingran, remained notoriously low-profile. She refused all business magazine interviews and rarely appeared in public. The most circulated photo of her online was a blurry paparazzi shot taken during her appearance at a major real estate investment event.

Internally, the power struggles within the Mo family were growing increasingly fierce. Just how bad things had gotten, Yan Zhao only knew in vague terms from passing comments made by his elders. Publicly, though, Mo Qingran was still recognized as the current figurehead.

A puppet propped up by others? Or a lone warrior surviving between the cracks?

Only today did Yan Zhao finally get his answer.

Still reeling from the sudden onslaught of scandals surrounding He Song, he received a call from an unknown number. A low and pleasant female voice came through the line—and only then did he realize it was Mo Qingran.

Before he could even process how she had gotten his number, Mo Qingran got straight to the point: she didn’t want He Song to be removed from the production.

“I’ve looked into her before,” Mo said calmly. “I can guarantee that the so-called exposé from that media account is completely false.”

Yan Zhao raised an eyebrow. Someone had come to vouch for her? “Do you have any proof to back that up?”

“Yes,” Mo replied, “but now isn’t the time to reveal it. Besides, wouldn’t a little controversy be good publicity for your new show, Director Yan?”

“Well, if Miss Mo is willing to make a personal call to defend her, then of course I have no objection. I’m just curious—how did He Song come to know someone like you?” To him, He Song and Mo Qingran belonged to two entirely different worlds.

“That’s not something Director Yan needs to concern himself with,” Mo replied lightly.

Yan Zhao chuckled. “He Song is incredibly serious about her work, and she has real talent. I respect her a great deal. If she were to leave the cast, not only would we have to reshoot every single one of her scenes, we’d also never find a better Lu Li.”

After the call ended, Yan Zhao immediately convened a meeting. The shooting schedule would proceed as planned. Everyone on set was strictly prohibited from commenting on the scandal in public.

Stay quiet. Stay steady. Let the situation evolve on its own.

What He Song didn’t know was that right after Mo Qingran finished reassuring her over the phone, she had immediately called Yan Zhao to handle the rest.

Since the director insisted there was no issue, He Song could finally breathe easy.

________________________________________

By noon the next day, the online buzz intensified—until a few prominent influencer accounts simultaneously reposted a Weibo thread titled “Chain of Evidence.”

The post laid out detailed timelines of He Song’s (or Jiang Weiran’s) past relationships, complete with start and breakup dates.

Some relationships lasted only a week, others stretched to five months.

Rather than proving she had dated a dozen people at the same time, the post clarified that the relationships were sequential—not overlapping.

Soon after, several of Jiang Weiran’s ex-girlfriends stepped forward to share their own experiences. Each confirmed that during their time with her, there was no cheating and no third-party involvement. Some even posted screenshots of old chat logs and WeChat Moments as evidence.

Netizens were stunned.

They hadn’t expected her exes to come forward en masse to clear her name.

“The so-called victims just came out and said she never two-timed anyone. That alone should shut down the rumor. Looks like she wasn’t the only one getting exposed—some shady gossip accounts are going down too.”

“Totally off-topic, but is it just me or did all her sweet nothings sound… identical?”

“Ugh, someone said what I was thinking—her pickup lines are so cliché.”

“So why did so many people fall for it? Is it just the power of a pretty face?”

“She really needs to freshen up her game.”

People even started replying to the ex-girlfriends, asking why on earth they’d ever been into Jiang Weiran.

Almost all of them gave the same answer: “She was gorgeous. It was worth the ride.”

Fair enough. So long as Jiang Weiran kept her mouth shut, who wouldn’t want a beautiful and affectionate girlfriend?

But not everyone was ready to move on:

“Stop dodging the real issue, okay?”

“What about the second accusation? That she assaulted a female idol from a girl group? Isn’t that far more serious? Why hasn’t that been clarified yet?”

Huanyao Entertainment quickly responded with a public statement:

“We are currently verifying the details surrounding the incident. We ask for everyone’s patience while the matter is investigated.”

In reality, the company had spent the entire day trying to locate the supposed victim.

They even questioned He Song about it, but she couldn’t provide any concrete information—not the name of the girl group, not the name of the idol, not even a clear memory of the girl’s appearance.

She wasn’t lying. Jiang Weiran’s memory of the incident was vague and hazy. Even asking her directly yielded no answers.

Mo Qingran had been pressing the company hard for answers. No one dared take it lightly—an accusation of sexual assault was no small matter. Mishandling it could destroy the company’s reputation entirely.

All day, every department was frantically searching for the alleged “victim.”

Then, exactly at midnight, Lin Xue—the youngest member of the hit girl group Deep Sea Girls—posted a lengthy blog entry.

It immediately shot to the top of the trending chart.

The very first line read:

“It was a sunny day. A perfect day to record a song…”