Su Wanyan savored the last bite of the crepe, letting the sweet and soft cream and fresh strawberry linger on her tongue. A satisfied smile spread across her face as she chewed slowly, eyes half-closed in pure contentment. She wiped her hands carefully with a napkin, then dabbed at the corners of her lips before crumpling the tissue and tossing it into a nearby bin. Finally, she reached for her bottle of water and took a long, refreshing sip, the cool liquid soothing her throat.

"Satisfied?" Mo Xingxue asked, her voice soft and warm. A gentle smile played on her lips as she watched Su Wanyan, the afternoon light catching the subtle elegance of her features.

"Yep," Su Wanyan replied, returning the smile with equal ease. The sunlight kissed half of her face, highlighting the soft warmth in her eyes and the gentle curve of her lips. It was a simple, unguarded expression—kind, content, and quietly dazzling.

Mo Xingxue’s eyes contracted slightly. For a moment, she felt completely mesmerized. The way Su Wanyan looked right then—bathed in golden light, smiling so naturally—made something in her chest flutter unexpectedly. She couldn’t look away, lost in the quiet beauty of the moment.

"Oh yeah," Su Wanyan said suddenly, remembering her responsibilities back at the villa. "What do you want to eat for lunch and dinner later?" She asked with an easygoing, carefree smile, completely unaware of the effect she was having.

Mo Xingxue, still a little dazed, simply stared at her.

Su Wanyan waited patiently at first, but the prolonged gaze made her shift uncomfortably. "Wh—what’s wrong?" she stuttered, touching her cheek self-consciously. "Do I have something on my face?" She quickly pulled out her phone, opened the front camera, and checked. Nothing. She looked fine—actually, better than fine, with that post-meal glow and soft sunlight on her skin.

She lowered the phone and looked at Mo Xingxue again. "Xuexue?"

Mo Xingxue finally snapped out of her daze, blinking rapidly. "Oh, I was.. daydreaming. Sorry, what were you saying again?" A faint blush colored her cheeks as she realized she had been caught staring. She felt embarrassed admitting she had been completely enamored by something as simple as Su Wanyan’s smile.

Su Wanyan nodded, a little hesitant, but repeated gently, "What would you like to eat?"

Mo Xingxue’s brain short-circuited for a split second. "You," she blurted out.

"Huh?" Su Wanyan blinked, momentarily stunned.

Mo Xingxue’s eyes widened in horror as she realized what she had said. "No! I meant—you decide!" Her voice rose higher with every word, embarrassment flooding her face.

Su Wanyan let out a visible sigh of relief. For a terrifying second, she had wondered if Mo Xingxue was secretly a cannibal. "Okay," she said, smiling again, completely oblivious to the deeper meaning behind the slip.

Mo Xingxue stared at her for another beat, then mentally facepalmed. Right.. Yanyan’s dense. Memories from their high school days resurfaced—countless people deliberately flirting with Su Wanyan, only for her to interpret it as friendly kindness. Nothing had changed.

Mo Xingxue decided to distract herself and opened Weebo on her phone. Her name was trending at the very top.

She frowned and clicked on one of the hot searches. The headline hit her like a cold splash of water. Her expression darkened further as she read. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

|Mo Xingxue Bought Her Career?!|

The post was filled with speculation and venom: accusations that her awards, roles, and fame were all purchased by the powerful Mo family. Comments below piled on, some suggesting she had slept her way to the top, others mocking her child as "proof" of her supposed indiscretions.

Mo Xingxue’s grip on her phone tightened. Her career had been built through relentless hard work and perseverance. The Mo family had never supported her—not once. In fact, they had abandoned her when she needed them most.

She scrolled down, heart sinking. One side of the comments agreed with the hate, spreading vile rumors. Her fans fought back valiantly with logic and evidence of her talent, but the tide of negativity was overwhelming.

Mo Xingxue sighed and rubbed her eyebrows, a clear sign of distress.

Su Wanyan noticed immediately. "What’s wrong?" she asked, worry lacing her voice.

Mo Xingxue snapped her head up and forced a small smile. "It’s nothing." She didn’t want to burden Su Wanyan with this gloom.

Su Wanyan frowned. Whenever Mo Xingxue rubbed her eyebrows like that, it meant she was truly distressed. She glanced at Mo Xingxue’s phone, and her own thoughts clicked into place. Without a word, she opened Weebo on her own device. Sure enough, almost every trending topic revolved around Mo Xingxue.

Her expression darkened as she read the hateful comments. One in particular made her blood boil:

[How many alphas did she sleep with to get where she is now? Heh, her baby must be born from one of them, lol.]

Dozens of replies agreed, mocking and belittling Mo Xingxue. Su Wanyan’s jaw tightened. Why wasn’t Mo Xingxue’s company suppressing this? Then she remembered the original plot—Mo Xingxue was currently in a feud with her agency over contract renewal, and her current agent and managers were deliberately incompetent.

Her blood pressure rose. Then, a brilliant idea struck her.

Following the original owner’s memories, she scrolled through her contacts and made a call. She stood up quietly, excusing herself with a gentle nod to Mo Xingxue.

Meanwhile, Mo Xingxue was left wondering where Su Wanyan had gone with such a dark expression. But her attention was quickly pulled back to her own phone.

She gritted her teeth, feeling deeply wronged but unwilling to show it. She hardened her expression and dialed her agent, Chen Lin.

"What do you want?" Chen Lin’s annoyed voice snapped through the speaker.

Mo Xingxue kept her tone calm. "Help me suppress the hot searches."

A cold scoff answered her. "Why should I? You’re about to leave the company soon anyway, so why should I bother?" The mocking tone was unmistakable.

Before Mo Xingxue could respond, Chen Lin hung up.

Mo Xingxue ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. Just then, her phone rang again. It was Mo Fangyue.

She answered immediately. "Hello?"

"Big Sis! Are you okay?" Mo Fangyue’s voice was hurried and filled with worry.

Mo Xingxue smiled faintly. "I’m okay." She tried to sound reassuring.

"I’m so sorry, Big Sis," Mo Fangyue continued, guilt heavy in her tone. "If only I hadn’t run my noisy mouth and—"

"It’s not your fault," Mo Xingxue cut in gently.

Mo Fangyue fell quiet, but the guilt remained. "I’ll find a way to shut them up. How dare they run their mouths about the first young lady and young miss of the Mo family?" Her voice grew fierce. "I’ll post an official statement—"

"Don’t," Mo Xingxue interrupted again. "If you do that using your account, it’ll only confirm I’m connected to the Mo family. They’ll post even more hate."

Mo Fangyue paused, conflicted.

"It’s fine, Mo Fangyue," Mo Xingxue said softly, glancing at the peacefully sleeping Mo Yan in the stroller. "This will subside on its own."

Mo Fangyue knew her sister’s stubborn nature too well. She sighed. "Okay.. if you say so."

Mo Xingxue’s smile softened. "What you should worry about right now is getting home safely. You’re still in the car, right?"

"Yeah," Mo Fangyue replied. "I’ll call you when I get home, Sis."

They said their goodbyes, and Mo Xingxue ended the call. She refreshed Weebo again and froze.

The hateful hot searches were gone.

She stared wide-eyed at the screen. Refreshing once more showed only positive or neutral topics praising her. The vicious rumors had vanished as if they had never existed.

"What....?" she whispered.

Just then, Su Wanyan returned to the table. The gloomy expression she had worn earlier was completely gone, replaced by her usual gentle smile.

Mo Xingxue narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Where did you go?"

Su Wanyan smiled innocently and pointed toward a nearby tree. "There."

"And what did you do?"

Su Wanyan felt cold sweat trickle down her back. She looked away. "You know.. the usual."

"Usual?" Mo Xingxue pressed, eyes sharp.

"You know.. stuff." Su Wanyan said laughing awkwardly.

Mo Xingxue stared at her silently.

Just as Su Wanyan was about to crack and confess, one of the staff members approached them. "Teacher Su, Teacher Mo, we’re ready."

"Oh, look," Su Wanyan said quickly, relief flooding her voice. "They’re done packing up. Let’s go?"

Mo Xingxue didn’t want to let the sudden disappearance of the scandal slide, but she also didn’t want to hold up the staff. She nodded. "Let’s go."

Su Wanyan smiled brightly, grabbed the stroller handle, and hurriedly led the way toward the van, practically fleeing the conversation.

Mo Xingxue watched her retreating back with a small, knowing smile. Celebrate while you can, Yanyan. I have plenty of time to question you later.

Su Wanyan felt goosebumps rise all over her body. She had the distinct feeling that something was amiss.

No way.. probably just my imagination, right?