After Transmigrating into a Novel, I Am in a Relationship with My Scummy Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother - Chapter 27.2

In the photo, Huo Qingzhuo had her eyes closed, leaning in a young man’s arms. The young man’s eyes were full of tenderness and attachment; the two looked extremely well-matched.

Shu Yueqing’s face darkened. Continuing to scroll, she found that the rest were all photos of the two of them: holding hands, hugging, even a princess carry. The most irritating one was a shot where Huo Qingzhuo was holding the young man’s neck while looking down, the two of them just a tiny bit away from kissing!

Throwing her phone aside, Shu Yueqing could watch no more.

The loud noise startled the assistant. “President Shu, is something wrong?”

Shu Yueqing opened her phone and turned it toward the assistant. “How can they let a minor film such things?”

“Uh…” Looking at that photo, the assistant guiltily rubbed her ear; she had just excitedly discussed with a friend that this photo was the best-looking. “President Shu, they are both adults. And this is acting. The character Zu Ran in the modern setting is nineteen, and in the ancient setting, even thousands of years old. You can’t conflate the two.”

“Adult?” Shu Yueqing’s memory was still stuck on the time she saw Huo Qingzhuo previously. At that time, Huo Qingzhuo was already over seventeen; she was indeed an adult now.

Putting down her phone, Shu Yueqing gave the assistant a cold look. “During working hours, do not discuss gossip.”

Assistant: …Wasn’t it you who spoke first and asked, Boss?

On the other side at Lao Jiu’s house, everyone gathered again. It had to be said that having such high popularity at the premiere exceeded their expectations.

“The heat is still rising, mainly thanks to the looks of these two. According to this development, the next step of promotion can be arranged.”

Song Jue was also somewhat excited as he watched the click counts of Nine Mysteries gradually climb on various platforms.

Today, on the first day, eight episodes were released. After that, it would update at a frequency of six episodes per week until completion. This period was the peak of popularity and a good time for promotion.

“Arranging behind-the-scenes footage, merchandise, and celebrity-effect promotion. Also, the CP topic should be established. Interviews on various platforms, variety shows and reality shows next week, as well as a talk show—get them all arranged. The path is paved; it depends on whether you two can seize the opportunity.”

Lao Jiu also breathed a sigh of relief. She bet she would win, bet that Nine Mysteries would be a hit, so all subsequent relationships had been settled. As for further development, it depended on Huo Qingzhuo and Jing Bai.

“Let’s mainly focus on promoting Qingzhuo. It doesn’t matter for me; I don’t plan to enter the entertainment industry anyway.”

Jing Bai also didn’t expect he could become famous so suddenly and had already begun to worry about whether he could still go back home.

Lao Jiu had long since become “a dead pig not afraid of boiling water” (shameless). “Don’t worry, once this wave of promotion is over, you can go back. It’s mainly that if we only promote Qingzhuo, I’m worried there will be unfavorable comments about her. Most of the heat is already on Qingzhuo’s side; reducing yours might easily cause a backlash.”

“Okay, for Qingzhuo’s sake, I’ll hold on a bit longer.” Jing Bai nodded with mock seriousness. Just as he finished speaking, he was nearly swatted by Lao Jiu’s slipper.

The popularity of Nine Mysteries grew higher by the day. Huo Qingzhuo and Jing Bai’s activities were also so busy their feet barely touched the ground. Even if the two didn’t deliberately act close during activities, the popularity of their “Ancestor CP” was increasing day by day.

In just three short weeks, Huo Qingzhuo gained millions of followers. Just as she finished multiple activities and her momentum was at its peak, trouble arrived. Someone “leaked” information, saying that Huo Qingzhuo had participated in school bullying and that a case had even been filed.

Although the identity of the person leaking the info was unknown, the marketing accounts spoke with reason and evidence, even producing blurred documents as proof. Coupled with the matching school, age, name, and place of origin, the wind shifted instantly. The whole internet denounced Huo Qingzhuo; malice was overwhelming.

Fame brings trouble; Huo Qingzhuo had anticipated this. In her past life, she had gone through countless such incidents. Previously, she was thinking that as such a “clean” newcomer, what was there to blacken her name? She hadn’t expected this could also become a target.

Lao Jiu contacted the company’s PR team and sent over the evidence Huo Qingzhuo had kept back then. She easily spread her hands toward Huo Qingzhuo. “I thought the other side was just delivering their heads on a silver platter. What could they leak instead of this? Do they really think they can control everything and turn black into white?”

“It’s not delivering their heads,” Huo Qingzhuo was also familiar with these things. “The other side thought I hadn’t signed with a company yet and was alone and helpless. They could blacken me however they wanted, not expecting that I’d already signed under your company and had a professional PR team.”

“That’s true,” Lao Jiu agreed with a nod. “But taking this opportunity, your popularity will rise another wave. It’s a perfect chance to unbind from Jing Bai. This time his fans have scolded you quite severely; unbinding is perfectly reasonable.”

“Then I, who was scolded so badly while defending Qingzhuo, taking this chance to exit the entertainment industry is also perfectly reasonable, right?” Hearing this, Jing Bai also perked up.

“Reasonable,” Lao Jiu thought for a moment. “My goodness, I almost thought we leaked this ourselves. So many benefits!”

“This is because what we are losing are things we don’t care about, like Jing Bai’s retirement or our unbinding. If this were someone else, wouldn’t the impact be especially huge?”

Huo Qingzhuo looked up from her textbook. She hadn’t even gone online these past two days; after all, those words scolding her were better left unseen.

Lao Jiu and Jing Bai deeply agreed with Huo Qingzhuo’s words.

The company’s processing speed was also very fast. After organizing various pieces of evidence, they released a clarification statement, and the entire online sentiment reversed again.

But it didn’t end there. Soon after, someone released the original case records and the police report for this defamation. It even prompted a post from the police, educating about spreading false information, distorting case judgments, intentionally slandering others’ reputations, etc., completely proving Huo Qingzhuo’s innocence while promoting laws and regulations.

Next, without any hesitation, they directly took dozens of marketing accounts to court. All lawyer’s letters were made public, showing a determined attitude.

This reversal was so unexpected it nearly “strained the lower backs” of the melon-eating public. While marveling at the magnitude of this reversal, they were also discussing how “hard” this newcomer Huo Qingzhuo was, even being able to get an official post; her background must be quite substantial.

Even Lao Jiu was a bit shocked. She called the company to ask what exactly was going on, as this wasn’t the original plan.

“Boss, you say you’re confused, but we’re confused too! We didn’t do all that. It seems there are other companies operating these things. Then the head office sent an order for us to sue all those defamers. We don’t know what’s going on either. Do you know, Boss?”

Hearing the bewildered explanation from the PR department, Lao Jiu slapped her forehead, hung up the phone, and roughly guessed what was happening.

“Qingzhuo, are you… very familiar with Shu Yueqing?” Lao Jiu sat cross-legged on the sofa, looking at Huo Qingzhuo with a face full of confusion. She had always thought Huo Qingzhuo and Shu Yueqing were just in a classmate-parent relationship, but looking at it now, would a parent do all this for their child’s classmate?

“Or is there really something between you and Shen Junfu?” Even now, Lao Jiu was sticking to her own intuition.

Huo Qingzhuo’s good mood from Lao Jiu’s first half-sentence was completely destroyed by the second half. “I’m telling you again: Shen Junfu and I have no relationship at all. We’re not even classmates now. Stop guessing blindly. Maybe someone is just simply being kind-hearted.”

“She, kind-hearted? When have I ever seen her be kind-hearted? Kind-hearted my foot. Doing things over my head by using her rights on the board without even saying hello—you call that kind-hearted?”

Lao Jiu rolled her eyes. If it weren’t for this incident, she would have almost forgotten that Shu Yueqing was still a major shareholder of her company.

“You know each other?” Huo Qingzhuo finally confirmed. Previously, she felt Lao Jiu seemed to know Shu Yueqing quite well—knowing she graduated from A University, and being able to quickly guess that Shu Yueqing was behind this incident. The two certainly weren’t as unfamiliar as they appeared.

“I’d rather not know her,” Lao Jiu was full of anger at the mention of Shu Yueqing. “I’ve never seen someone so ‘inhuman.’ Back when we partnered to open the company, she was the one who proposed it. After the two of us finished financing, it was agreed: I only needed to provide money, and she would manage it. In the end, just one year after the company opened, she ran back to inherit the family business and threw the mess to me! What use is giving me the majority of shares? I’m a writer—making me manage a company?!”

“From then on, I completely broke off relations with her. There’s no such thing as being friends like that.”

“Uh…” Huo Qingzhuo looked at the indignant Lao Jiu, unable to tell for a moment if this counted as “humble bragging.”

Just as Huo Qingzhuo and Lao Jiu were chatting, Huo Qingzhuo’s phone rang. Glancing at the huffy Lao Jiu, Huo Qingzhuo tactfully took her phone back to her room.

The call was from Shu Yueqing. Because of the online events of the past two days, she was truly somewhat worried. She originally intended to wait for Huo Qingzhuo to take the initiative to ask for help, but there had been no word.

With the previous incident of the recommender in mind, Shu Yueqing did not hesitate this time. With thunderous methods, she settled the matter first.

Huo Qingzhuo didn’t hide what Lao Jiu told her either. She first thanked Shu Yueqing. This instead made Shu Yueqing a bit uncomfortable; she helped Huo Qingzhuo only because she wanted to, not intending to tell her. As it turned out, that fellow Lao Jiu had already spilled the beans.

“Then President Shu, can I treat you to a meal? Consider it a thank you for your help this time. Okay?” Kicking off her slippers, Huo Qingzhuo looked at herself in the mirror. Sitting before the vanity, she put on a well-behaved look.

“Okay,” Without checking her schedule, Shu Yueqing agreed directly. After agreeing, she paused, still unable to resist asking, “Why do you always call me President Shu now?”

“Because I’m afraid if I call you Sister Shu too much, you’ll really treat me as a sister.” The Huo Qingzhuo in the mirror smiled harmlessly, even though the other person couldn’t see her current self.

“Hmm?” Shu Yueqing didn’t understand Huo Qingzhuo’s meaning.

“I mean… I don’t lack sisters, and I don’t want to be a younger sister. Alright, President Shu, if possible, can we meet tonight?” Huo Qingzhuo was like a small beast inadvertently showing its sharp teeth, as if clumsily and naively revealing a bit of her ambition.

“Okay…”

Shu Yueqing was a bit dazed by this direct ball from Huo Qingzhuo. Even after hanging up the phone, her heart rate hadn’t recovered. After coming to her senses, the cold face she had held for so long vanished like melting snow, unintentionally revealing some irrepressible smiles. She shook her head slightly helplessly. “This kid is still unrepentant.”

The dinner for the evening was set. Huo Qingzhuo circled in her room and began to select a suitable place. First, given Shu Yueqing’s status, it absolutely couldn’t be crude, nor could it be too conventional with no novelty. It had to have good privacy, good safety, and be unique.

It was indeed not easy to choose, but Huo Qingzhuo still found one: a private kitchen with excellent flavor that protected privacy very well. Jing Bai had recommended it to her before; the dishes were superb.

After booking the place, Huo Qingzhuo changed into a low-key set of black clothes. Checking the time, she carefully put on makeup. After being fully equipped, she first had her assistant send her over; she had to prepare something different for Shu Yueqing.

While Huo Qingzhuo was busy here, things on Shu Yueqing’s side were not optimistic.

After answering Huo Qingzhuo’s call, Shu Yueqing wondered if the Huo Qingzhuo who was so bold on the phone would turn into a little white rabbit again upon seeing her.

Thinking this, Shu Yueqing had never looked forward to getting off work so much. Even during the regular meeting, she was somewhat distracted, leaving Vice President Li in charge of everything.

Finally, the meeting ended. Just as Shu Yueqing was about to leave, she was intercepted by her assistant.

“President Shu, where are you going?” The assistant held documents and looked at Shu Yueqing, who had already put on her coat.

“I have an appointment to eat with a friend. Why, is there something else?” Glancing at the time, Shu Yueqing didn’t understand why the assistant was stopping her.

“Have you forgotten your own itinerary?” Sensing something was wrong, the assistant looked at Shu Yueqing carefully.

“If there’s an itinerary, just push it back. I recall there’s nothing major these two days.”

Shu Yueqing didn’t want to waste time and was becoming somewhat impatient. This assistant, who was usually observant, for some reason insisted on stopping her today.

“President Shu, what are you saying? How can you forget such an important thing tonight? If you have a private dinner, push it back first. The one tonight is really important and cannot be pushed. Old President Shu has already instructed me three times, and you personally agreed to it.”

The assistant was also on the verge of tears; being in this position was truly pitiful.

When the assistant mentioned “Old President Shu,” Shu Yueqing remembered. It indeed wasn’t some major work matter, but her own family dinner.

At the mention of this, Shu Yueqing became even more impatient. Her brows furrowed as she stood in place for a long time, but in the end, she didn’t walk out.