Campus Ace Girl-Chapter 529 - 530: Scandal Breaks Out! Big Brother Takes Action
Gu Anxi also noticed Gu Mingzhu. Truth be told, she had some understanding of this "princess’s" little schemes. It felt pathetic deep down. Perhaps it was from growing up with Tang Yuan that her choices in every matter were always so peculiar.
Gu Anxi pretended not to see her and gently let go of Shen Congwen.
Shen Congwen hadn’t quite recovered; it wasn’t often that young women hugged him like that.
Gu Anxi waved at him. "I’m leaving now!"
She departed with her laptop, leaving Shen Congwen still seated, his emotions in a complex tangle. He felt a little disoriented.
Gu Mingzhu bit her lip, approached, and sat down. "Brother Congwen."
Shen Congwen was somewhat surprised to see her. "Mingzhu, what brings you here?"
Still reeling from the earlier shock, Gu Mingzhu bit her lip again, looked at the man before her, and asked quietly, "Brother Congwen, are you in love with Gu Anxi?"
Shen Congwen offered a faint smile. "No."
How could she (Gu Anxi) possibly like him? And on what grounds could she like him?
But these were thoughts he wouldn’t share with Gu Mingzhu, nor did he wish to get further entangled with her. He rose to his feet. "I have things to attend to, so I should go."
True to his word, he left, causing Gu Mingzhu to bite her lip, thoroughly angered. Why did Gu Anxi get to hug him, yet he acts so cold towards me?
Gu Mingzhu lowered her head and took out her phone.
It was just two days until King Jingyao’s birthday banquet.
It’s time for everyone to see Gu Anxi’s true colors. She’s just a flirt who’s tricked them all, including Brother Xichen...
Gu Mingzhu opened Weibo, logged into her alternate account, and purchased 100,000 views.
These 100,000 views spread rapidly. Within an hour, all of Beicheng knew about the... unspeakable secret between Gu Anxi and King Jingyao.
Naturally, this kind of news reflected very poorly on King Jingyao. His deputy, Min Xin, had already started spreading insinuations that Gu Anxi had won the COMO award through some kind of illicit deal.
Min Xin’s target, of course, was not Gu Anxi, but King Jingyao.
King Jingyao was no fool; he naturally understood this. He instructed his secretary-general to suppress the matter for the time being, but he himself offered no direct response.
The secretary-general went to handle it. When he returned about an hour later, he leaned in and whispered, "Min Xin is waiting to see you become a laughingstock. He wasn’t the one behind this, though. He’s just kicking you while you’re down, adding insult to injury."
King Jingyao looked at him.
The secretary-general paused before slowly speaking, "It was done by a willful little girl."
King Jingyao immediately guessed. "Gu Mingzhu?"
Wang Jingchuan, the secretary-general, then asked, "Your Highness means to..."
King Jingyao pondered for a moment. "Let it be for now. Oh, and send three invitations to the Gu family on my behalf."
The secretary-general was somewhat puzzled. "You’re repaying malice with kindness? Isn’t that willful girl causing you enough headaches?"
The powerful man appeared calm and composed. "Min Xin will be attending too, won’t he? This is a perfect opportunity to reunite him with Tang Yuan and her daughter. He probably thinks I’m unaware of his own sordid affairs! If I don’t teach him a lesson, he clearly won’t understand his place!"
The secretary-general offered a knowing smile. "Your information is indeed sharp, Your Highness."
King Jingyao chuckled. "Gu Yuanshan is busy with his divinations all day. His wife’s private life, however, is quite colorful."
Min Xin was rather handsome. His connection with Tang Yuan wasn’t one of deep affection—merely a fleeting affair. But there was no doubt that the child was Mr. Min’s.
King Jingyao hadn’t even said anything, yet this Min fellow was already spreading rumors about his private life.
The secretary-general smiled knowingly again. "That Mr. Gu is truly pitiable."
King Jingyao sighed at this. "It’s a good thing that little rascal didn’t grow up in the Gu family. Otherwise, with her unorthodox ways, it would be a miracle if she hadn’t gone astray."
The secretary-general, seeking to please him, said, "If Anxi heard you say that, she’d surely be upset. Who knows how she’d deal with you, her ’old brother’ then."
King Jingyao chuckled. "Alright, alright. Arrange for me to have dinner with her tonight."
Now that those photos are out, what’s there to hide? Dinner it is.
"Oh, and invite Xichen too!" he added.
The secretary-general agreed, marveling inwardly. Mr. Wang was actually incredibly busy at noon today, yet he still carved out time to handle this for the sake of that little rascal’s reputation. Even his seasoned aide was moved.
The secretary-general got to work. He called Gu Anxi to arrange the time, then personally drove to the Gu Residence to deliver the three newly written invitations.
The arrival of the secretary-general made Gu Yuanshan deeply uneasy. This was King Jingyao’s secretary-general, personally delivering three invitations. What could it mean?
In contrast to the delight of Tang Yuan and her daughter, Gu Yuanshan was far more apprehensive. He received the secretary-general with utmost courtesy, attempting to subtly probe for information. "Jingchuan, I wonder why His Highness suddenly decided to send these three invitations..."
The secretary-general sipped his tea and offered a reassuring smile. "Elder Brother Gu, you’re overthinking things. This was arranged some time ago. It was merely overlooked before, so we’re rectifying that now."
Gu Yuanshan remained skeptical. He knew that for an event like Mr. Wang’s birthday, someone of his standing wouldn’t normally be invited. Among the Four Great Families, Mr. Wang held the Bo Family in the highest regard, and even they weren’t invited every year. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦
Now, the entire Gu family was invited. He was rather baffled by the situation.
Coupled with the scandal that had erupted that afternoon, Gu Yuanshan felt this was more of an ominous portent than a good one.
The secretary-general, however, was extremely tight-lipped. Despite Gu Yuanshan’s attempts to pry, not a single truthful word could be extracted. After Wang Jingchuan left, Gu Yuanshan sat with a grim expression, toying with the teacup in his hand, lost in thought.
Just then, Tang Yuan entered. Perhaps due to her good mood, she appeared exceptionally elegant and graceful.
She sat before Gu Yuanshan and asked with concern, "Yuanshan, what’s wrong? You look so troubled."
She placed her hand over his. "Mr. Wang sending three invitations means he values our Gu family. Why do you seem unhappy instead?"
Gu Yuanshan sneered. "Yuanyuan, can you genuinely still feel happy?"
Tang Yuan looked bewildered. "Yuanshan, what is it?"
Gu Yuanshan’s face was as dark as a stormy sky. "Where is Mingzhu? Tell her to come in."
Tang Yuan’s displeasure was immediate. He had hit her last time, and she had endured it for the sake of the family. For days, she had been trying to please him, but he not only failed to appreciate her efforts but was now finding fault with Mingzhu as well.
Tang Yuan was very upset. "What does this have to do with Mingzhu? Yuanshan, aren’t you being incredibly biased? Your precious daughter just caused a scandal this afternoon. You can’t take it out on Mingzhu!"
She shouldn’t have said anything. The moment she did, she herself was stunned.
Scandal... Mingzhu!
She covered her mouth. No... Surely Mingzhu couldn’t have done it. She isn’t that foolish.
After all, opposing Mr. Wang was tantamount to courting death. That man might appear gentle and refined, but there was a reason he had stood unshakable for so many years.
