Chapter 68: Settling Accounts After Autumn

This sudden compliment did not surprise Jiang Ciyou in the least.

After all, the top trending topic on every major media outlet that morning was #BurningRoseHearts.

A dazzling display of red fireworks had rained down through the night beneath the vault of the sky!

Just then, Xia Ling happened to walk by. As she passed Jiang Ciyou, she lowered her head and quickened her pace, intending to hurry to her desk.

But someone called out to her.

"Xia Ling, you took leave last night as well. Don’t tell me you secretly went to Ciyou’s birthday party without telling us?"

In the eyes of everyone at the TV station, the relationship between Jiang Ciyou and Xia Ling was rather odd.

The two were high school classmates. Xia Ling’s boyfriend, Yan Feng, seemed to be well acquainted with Jiang Ciyou too.

Yet the two women had fought openly and in secret over the interview with Bo Jin Xiu and the coveted golden host slot, resorting to every trick.

Everyone knew that the revelation of Jiang Ciyou’s identity as a fake heiress had been quietly leaked by Xia Ling.

And it was Jiang Ciyou who orchestrated the scandal when Xia Ling’s mother caused a scene at the TV station.

At this moment, everyone was simply watching the drama unfold.

Xia Ling stopped and turned around.

Jiang Ciyou met her gaze and saw that her eyes were swollen like peaches—clearly, she had cried all night.

Jiang Ciyou sneered inwardly.

There had been many reporters present at the scene last night.

Logically, Xia Ling’s attempt to frame her at Jiang Xiaoxiao’s birthday banquet should have been the talk of the town by morning.

Yet now, across all major media and online hot searches, there wasn’t a single mention of her framing incident.

Jiang Ciyou knew—the Jiang family had suppressed the trending news.

Perhaps Yan Feng had intervened as well.

Jiang Jinhui cared deeply about appearances. He would never let the events of last night make it into the public eye.

Jiang Ciyou hadn’t seen a single article about “tearing the dress and breaking off kinship.”

This time, the Jiang family had truly gone all out.

In protecting Jiang Xiaoxiao’s reputation, they’d also inadvertently shielded Xia Ling.

But Jiang Ciyou had no intention of letting them off so easily.

She flashed a brilliant smile at Xia Ling. “Xia Ling, you took quite a fall in the banquet hall yesterday. Is the baby all right?”

In that instant, every gaze in the office landed on Xia Ling.

“Xia Ling, you fell yesterday? How careless!”

“You’re three months pregnant now, that’s a crucial time. You mustn’t be reckless!”

“You took a tumble and still came to work today? Why not rest at home for a few days?”

“What’s wrong with your eyes, Xia Ling?”

Everyone started talking at once.

Xia Ling’s mind was already in turmoil. Yan Feng hadn’t come home all night.

She’d called him again and again, but he never answered.

She felt as if the only pillar she could lean on had been chopped down by Jiang Ciyou herself.

She looked at Jiang Ciyou, her expression complicated.

“Ciyou, what happened yesterday was my fault. I know I was wrong. For the sake of our past friendship, can you forgive me just this once?”

Xia Ling understood that if Jiang Ciyou exposed what had happened last night, her reputation at the station would be ruined.

“Our past friendship? How dare you mention that!” came a sharp voice. “My little You treated you so well back then! When you couldn’t afford tuition, she paid your fees; when your mother abused you, she begged the teacher to arrange a dorm for you; when you were harassed by thugs, she shielded you and got stabbed for it! Who would have thought you’d turn out to be a thankless wolf? Ungrateful, repaying kindness with malice—stealing her boyfriend, and last night pretending to fall, framing our little You for pushing you. Your actions are unworthy of a human being and certainly undeserving of forgiveness!”

Everyone was stunned.

A lavishly dressed, bejeweled woman had entered from the doorway and was now berating Xia Ling, pointing a finger at her nose.

Following her was Tang Fei, the station’s news director.

Xia Ling froze for a moment when she recognized the woman—it was Yan Feng’s mother, Feng Yuping.

But she quickly collected herself, placed a hand protectively over her belly, and called out, “Aunt Feng.”

Feng Yuping glanced at her slightly rounded abdomen and snorted coldly. “Don’t call me Aunt, and don’t think you can get by with what you’re carrying. I don’t acknowledge it now, and I never will. If you want to give birth, that’s your business and your child—I have no right to interfere. But if you think you can use this child to get anything you don’t deserve, let me tell you, there’s no way. Whether it’s the Yan family fortune or the position of young madam, you can forget it.”

The office fell silent.

Everyone stared, wide-eyed in shock.

The amount of information in the words of this elegant lady was overwhelming.

For a moment, no one could process it all.

And most importantly—

Who was she, exactly?

After her outburst, Feng Yuping walked over to Jiang Ciyou’s side, looking her up and down with obvious concern.

“My dear You, are you all right? Mrs. Yao called me last night—I was so angry I didn’t sleep a wink. If I had been there, I would never have let you suffer such injustice. The Jiang family is getting more and more out of hand. If you want to sever ties, so be it. If not for your sake, I’d have cut them off long ago.”

Jiang Ciyou felt her nose tingle. “Mom, thank you.”

The jaws of everyone around them nearly dropped in shock at this exchange.

What did Jiang Ciyou just call this distinguished lady?

Mom?

At that moment, the editorial director hurried over, smiling, and introduced her to everyone.

“This is Mrs. Yan of the Yan Group.”

That made everyone even more confused.

Mrs. Yan, mother of Yan Feng.

Why would Jiang Ciyou call her mother, while she showed nothing but disdain toward Yan Feng’s girlfriend, as if she couldn’t stand her?

Before anyone could figure it out, Feng Yuping suddenly turned to Tang Fei.

“My little You has been the daughter-in-law I chose since childhood—she’s called me mother since she was little, and she and my son grew up together. But my son was blind, a fool, bewitched by a shameless vixen—our Yan family had no such luck. Now, though she’s not my daughter-in-law, she’s like my own daughter. As a mother, I won’t tolerate anyone scheming against her or bullying her.”

Feng Yuping’s gaze turned cold as she looked at Xia Ling.

“My son once signed a five-year advertising contract with the station, but today I’ve learned it was done in Miss Xia’s name. Sorry, but that contract cannot stand. We only agreed because Yan Feng deceived us into thinking it would be signed under Ciyou’s name.”

Fear flashed in Xia Ling’s eyes.

Tang Fei’s attitude toward Xia Ling turned icy as well.

That very morning, Mrs. Yan had gone to the station head, insisting on withdrawing from the five-year advertising contract.

The station head had called Tang Fei, sounding extremely angry, and ordered him to resolve the matter.

If this five-year contract was lost, Tang Fei’s own job as news director would be at risk.

He was anxious. “Mrs. Yan, is there any way we can discuss the contract again?”