After Being Bent by Reader

Chapter 87: Pt.1

Only after seeing someone in the reader group mentioning Ange showing support to Xu Chuanchuan on Weibo did Murong Shi remember her Weibo account that she had long neglected. So, she decided to log into Weibo, searched for Ange's post, liked it, and shared it. Then, Murong Shi privately messaged Ange, thanking the other party. While doing so, she also asked about Fragrant Citrus's Weibo account.

"I initially planned to give her a warning, but I found her avatar to be quite familiar, so I clicked into her profile and browsed through it. I didn't think she would also be an internet celebrity," Murong Shi said. Then, while massaging her slightly tired eyes, she asked, "What exactly is her job?"

"She mainly works as a dance streamer, but she also writes novels when she's bored."

"Doesn't this mean there is basically no conflict of interest between you two? Why is she even slandering you?"

This topic involved a past grudge, so Xu Chuanchuan spent some time patiently explaining the whole backstory to Murong Shi.

Murong Shi earnestly listened to the story. However, when she heard that Fragrant Citrus had mistaken Xu Chuanchuan as a third party, she couldn't help but frown in displeasure.

After taking a moment to catch her breath, Xu Chuanchuan continued, "I didn't have any feelings toward women at the time, yet she adamantly insists that I ruined her relationship with Ange. She refused to listen no matter how I explained myself. She's simply delusional and paranoid."

"..." Murong Shi felt as if she had taken a bullet to the chest.

Murong Shi grabbed Murong Shi's phone and looked through Fragrant Citrus's Weibo. Then, she found that Fragrant Citrus's Weibo hadn't had any activity for half a year already. She also recalled that Fragrant Citrus's ongoing novel had gone on a hiatus and lost its monetization already. Piecing these two pieces of information together, Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but wonder if the other party had decided to focus on streaming instead.

Xu Chuanchuan remembered Xu Xiangxiang had previously told her that Jiang Shaohua had poached Sweet Melon from another broadcasting platform. In other words, Sweet Melon wasn't a new streamer, and this added one more point that linked Sweet Melon and Fragrant Citrus together.

Xu Chuanchuan had seen Sweet Melon's picture once before, and she had felt a strong sense of familiarity at the time. Unfortunately, she didn't manage to recall where she had seen the other party before.

Could Sweet Melon and Fragrant Citrus be the same person?

After taking a closer look at the pictures, Xu Chuanchuan found a slight difference between the two. To be precise, Fragrant Citrus's expressions in the selfies she had posted on Weibo didn't look as stiff as the expressions shown in Sweet Melon's selfies.

To avoid any possible misunderstandings, Xu Chuanchuan sent a few pictures of Fragrant Citrus to Xu Xiangxiang and asked, "Is this that Sweet Melon you talked about last time?"

Xu Xiangxiang quickly replied and said, "That's right. Where did you get so many pictures of her?"

Xu Chuanchuan: "Is she still working as a streamer now?"

Xu Xiangxiang: "She streams every night. Don't tell me you're planning to watch her dance?"

Xu Chuanchuan didn't have the patience to explain the whole situation to her little sister. After throwing some bribes to keep her little sister quiet, she put down her phone and looked at Murong Shi, saying, "They're the same person."

However, this situation confused Xu Chuanchuan even more. Since Fragrant Citrus had decided to focus on streaming, why would the other party go out of her way to keep an eye on her novels and slander her?

Meanwhile, Murong Shi sneered and said, "Xiangxiang is right. This woman is indeed quite capable."

"Huh?" Xu Chuanchuan was still a little dazed over the fact that Fragrant Citrus was Sweet Melon, so she failed to keep up with Murong Shi's rhythm.

"Since we know she's the culprit, that makes things easy," Murong Shi said before embracing Xu Chuanchuan and kissing her lover's pursed lips. "Stop looking at that post. Ignore the comment section as well and focus on your work."

There was no way Xu Chuanchuan could simply forget about being slandered and given a bunch of point reductions. However, Murong Shi's words still succeeded in consoling Xu Chuanchuan and relieving her frustration a little.

After this, Xu Chuanchuan stopped paying attention to the slandering post. And while there would still be people coming to give her point reductions from time to time, her passionate readers quickly filled in the gap by leaving positive reviews and point additions.

In addition, Xu Chuanchuan surprisingly found that her new book's income for the past two days had increased by a substantial amount. After thinking over the situation, she felt that it might be because of the slandering post on Clear Water providing her with a certain degree of promotion.

Is this a blessing in disguise?

When Xu Chuanchuan shared this surprising news with Ange, Ange said: "Citrus probably never thought that her slander would end up helping you instead."

Following Ange's Weibo post clearing up her name, Xu Chuanchuan also made a post of her own explaining her relationship with "Passerby Shi."

In her post, Xu Chuanchuan said, "Both 'Passerby Shi' and 'I Love Chuanchuan' are my girlfriend's reader accounts. She began following my works around April. We still haven't gotten together at that time, and only around June did we confirm our relationship. At this point, we have been dating for five months already. Our IP addresses are located in the same district previously because we live in the same district. Oh, by the way, she is also my boss in real life. Later on, our IP addresses became the same because we started living together. I'm not proficient at creating drama, and I only wish to write my novels in peace. The wise man knows he knows nothing, the fool thinks he knows all. I don't think I have to explain anything else. Thank you, everyone!"

There were a lot of spectators keeping an eye on this drama for the past few days. Shortly after Xu Chuanchuan published her Weibo post, she received a lot of replies.

I knew it! Lord, your new work really is a story between you and Darling Shi!

I've been following your works since you started writing yuri, so I know you're a hardworking author who dislikes causing drama. I never thought there would be someone who would stoop so low as to slander you. Jealousy really is a scary thing.

Lord, I'll give you hugs! Also, I hope you and Tycoon Shi will have a happy life!

I support you, Lord! Ignore the haters and just focus on your work! I'll be waiting for your updates every day!

Not only are you writing yuri, but you even managed to get yourself a girlfriend. I'm dying from envy.

Xu Chuanchuan felt gratified when she saw the replies.

Xu Chuanchuan was currently on a toilet break, so she didn't have time to read through all the replies. After turning off her phone and exiting the stall, she came across Linda washing her hands. Then, she joyfully asked, "You who returned so soon?"

"Return?" Linda was confused. "But I never left the company?"

There was no one else in the restroom. Even so, Xu Chuanchuan still spoke in a whisper, asking, "Did you not go out together with Murong?"

"No," Linda said, turning on the faucet and washing off the soap bubbles on her hands. Then, she continued, "Miss Murong says she has some private affairs to deal with, and she told me not to follow her."

Xu Chuanchuan had received a call from Murong Shi around four o'clock, and the latter said that she was leaving the company for some business. So, Xu Chuanchuan assumed Murong Shi was busy with company affairs.

While making her way back to her office, Xu Chuanchuan messaged Murong Shi on WeChat and asked the latter what she was doing. However, Murong Shi mysteriously replied: "I'll tell you once I'm back."

After putting down her phone, Murong Shi turned the steering wheel and drove her car towards a high-end office building.

Bright Grid Real Estate Corporation Limited.

Murong Shi was very familiar with this place. She walked into the lobby with the scorching sun over her head, her tall figure instantly attracting the attention of many people.

When the receptionist saw someone entering the building, she followed procedure and stood up to greet the new arrival. "Hello, welcome to Bright Grid Real Estate. May I know ifHuh? Miss Murong?"

Although Murong Shi had not returned to the company for over half a year now, the receptionist remained unchanged. So, she walked forward and greeted, "You look skinnier than before."

The receptionist blushed in embarrassment. Then, she said, "Actually, my weight is still the same as before Miss Murong, you are still as beautiful as before. By the way, have you decided to come back?"

Murong Shi chuckled. Then, she casually said, "I'm here to look for Jiang Shaohua."

"Y-Young Master Jiang?!" The receptionist's expression changed. "Ah, please wait a moment, I'll call him for you"

"Why are you so nervous?" Murong Shi asked as she watched the receptionist hurriedly reaching for the landline phone. Then, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is Jiang Shaohua hiding some shameful secret in his office?"

The receptionist's eyes wandered around in a panic as she stuttered, "T-This"

Feeling intrigued, Murong Shi nonchalantly asked, "Don't tell me he's hiding a woman?"

The receptionist revealed an embarrassed look. Then, she put down the phone and timidly nodded.

Murong Shi revealed a look of surprise upon hearing this answer.

While carefully observing Murong Shi's expression, the receptionist hesitantly said, "Both the director and your father are absent, so Young Master Jiang brought a woman here today. Some people are saying she is his new assistant, but others say that...she is Young Master Jiang's new girlfriend"

Before Murong Shi had left Bright Grid, everyone in the company knew that she and Jiang Shaohua were a couple. The receptionist naturally knew about this, too. According to the receptionist's understanding, Murong Shi and Jiang Shaohua had been betrothed to each other since young. For the sake of their two families' benefit, the two of them would definitely get married to each other in the future. However, for some strange reason, Murong Shi had suddenly vanished from the company around half a year ago, and nobody knew where she had gone. From the rumors circulating in the company, most people guessed that she had gone abroad to further her studies.

However, the fact that Murong Shi and Jiang Shaohua had long since broken up wasn't made known to the public. The receptionist naturally did not know about it, either. So, when she heard that Murong Shi was looking for Jiang Shaohua, she couldn't help but panic.

"New girlfriend?" Murong Shi raised an eyebrow. "What's her name?"

"I think I heard Young Master Jiang calling her Sweet Melon."

A deep smile formed on Murong Shi's face when she heard the receptionist's answer. Then, she said, "Thank you. You don't need to call him for me."

"Very well," the receptionist obediently complied.

However, Murong Shi did not walk away after saying so. Instead, she picked up her phone, looked up Xu Chuanchuan's number, and called it.

The call quickly connected, and Murong Shi got straight to the point and said, "Are you busy right now? If not, apply for a one-hour leave from your department chief."

"What for?" Xu Chuanchuan asked in confusion. First, Murong Shi had mysteriously left the company. Now, she had called her to tell her such a thing.

Revealing a soft smile, Murong Shi said, "You'll know in a moment. Once you're done applying for leave, take the railway and come to Bright Grid. I'll wait for you at the front desk."