I Married My Heartless Ex-Wife’s Black Lotus Sister - Chapter 34

Normally, Song Qi’an was quite easygoing.

Since she was relatively young, she always listened humbly and sincerely to the opinions of the senior executives when it came to major decisions. Over time, many of them became inflated with self-importance and began to dismiss Song Qi’an as nothing more than a figurehead.

So, what if she was the head of Ding Rui? At the end of the day, she was just a kid.

When faced with thorny issues, she still had no idea how to handle them and had to turn to them—the powerful, high-ranking adults—for help. Even if their advice wasn’t the best, she would treat it like gold, eagerly following their lead to resolve problems.

Human greed knows no bounds. Without Song Qi’an realizing it, their desires had been nurtured to the point where they quietly began building their own factions, abusing their power for personal gain and reaping benefits from all sides.

Thus, without anyone noticing, these people started carrying themselves with an air of superiority in front of Song Qi’an, as if they were the true masters of Ding Rui.

Until today, when this illusion was shattered by their own hands.

Song Qi’an’s gaze was sharp as a blade, her eyes locked onto the senior executive who had made the suggestion. “Speak.”

The undercurrents swirling in her eyes were too turbulent, freezing everyone in place. The meeting room fell deathly silent, as if they could hear the frantic pounding of their own hearts.

After a long pause, someone feigned composure and said, “Zheng Yili is the owner of Xing Yue and the show’s biggest investor. If Meng Sulan dared to brazenly pull such a harmful stunt on the program, it’s very likely she was acting on Zheng Yili’s direct orders.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Song Qi’an turned her head toward him, her voice low. “Evidence.”

“If you’re claiming Zheng Yili instructed Meng Sulan to push Lin Xiaoxiao, then I ask you—where is the audio, video, or written proof to back this up?”

The man fell silent, realizing that something was off about Song Qi’an today, and didn’t dare speak recklessly again.

When no one answered, Song Qi’an couldn’t help but sneer. “Don’t tell me you think you can just flap your lips and successfully pin this filth on someone else.”

The room remained quiet, as most had sensed Song Qi’an’s inexplicable fury and didn’t dare provoke her further.

They cursed inwardly—wasn’t it rumored that Song Qi’an and Zheng Yili’s relationship had soured? Why was she defending her so fiercely now?

Flying off the handle at the slightest provocation—she was like a rabid little dog.

Song Qi’an clenched her fingers so tightly that her knuckles turned white. If not for today’s meeting, she wouldn’t have known that these people in the company dared to slander and trample on others so casually.

With a cold laugh, she shattered the suffocating atmosphere. “Who put you up to this?”

“Shen Yun?”

“Or Lin Xiaoxiao?”

Her voice was calm, but it carried an unmistakable undercurrent of rage.

No one dared answer. After all, whether it was Shen Yun or Lin Xiaoxiao, neither name could be carelessly spoken.

Shen Yun was Song Qi’an’s own mother, and Lin Xiaoxiao was their current cash cow. As long as they had any sense left, they knew better than to keep arguing with Song Qi’an at a time like this.

And so, the room fell into silence once more, everyone staring down at the table in front of them, not uttering a word.

“Why is everyone silent? Have you all lost your tongues?”

Song Qi’an’s gaze swept slowly across the room before landing on one person. “You. Come here. Weren’t you the one just now loudly insisting on suing Zheng Yili? Explain to me the logic behind that.”

The man didn’t dare.

He had merely been going with the flow, seizing the chance to attack Xing Yue, hoping to dismantle it so Ding Rui could acquire the company in bankruptcy. As a high-ranking executive, he stood to gain a share of the spoils.

Now, singled out by Song Qi’an in front of everyone, his face turned deathly pale.

He had never been particularly capable, having climbed to his position through family connections. Otherwise, how could he have enjoyed years of prestige as one of the elites?

But today, it seemed he was about to ruin his own future.

The tension in the room was suffocating. Finally, one of the shareholders spoke up. “Enough. If it wasn’t Zheng Yili, then it wasn’t Zheng Yili. Why take it out on them?”

“Our priority now is dealing with Lin Xiaoxiao’s situation,” he pressed. “Qi’an, you’re not going to let this slide just because of your past ties to Zheng Yili, are you?”

Lin Xiaoxiao suffering a little humiliation was one thing, but Meng Sulan’s actions were a blatant slap in the face to Ding Rui’s leadership.

Unbearable. Even if Song Qi’an refused to act against Meng Sulan today, they would quietly reclaim their dignity. No one could stop them.

In response, Song Qi’an let out a low chuckle. She rose slowly. “That’s all for today. Meeting adjourned.”

Without another word, she strode out on long legs, ignoring the stunned reactions behind her.

Left in the room, the executives exchanged bewildered glances. The issue remained unresolved—how could Song Qi’an just walk away? Should they follow her lead or stay and continue plotting against Xing Yue?

No one had the answer.

Alone in her office, Song Qi’an sat on the sofa, her expression obscured in the dim light.

She reclined for a long time, her emotions unreadable.

Finally, she stirred. Summoning HR, she tossed several files onto the desk. “I don’t care how you do it. Within a week, I want these people out of Ding Rui.”

The HR manager picked up the documents, trembling after just a glance. “President Song, this—”

“Is there a problem?” Song Qi’an lifted her eyes, her tone indifferent.

The manager hesitated but didn’t dare question the decision. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “I’ll do my best, President Song.”

She had little confidence in pulling this off, but she knew one thing for certain—between her and the people on that list, only one side would remain. If she failed to remove them, she would be the one packing her bags.

To keep her job, she had no choice but to go all out.

With a headache, the HR manager left the executive office.

The employees Song Qi’an wanted fired had been with Ding Rui for years. Their positions weren’t the highest, but they weren’t insignificant either. Normally, compensation would suffice, but each of them had powerful backers.

What should have been straightforward personnel change quickly spiraled into a scandal, spreading like wildfire across the city.

Zheng Yili had been meticulously planning how to deal Lin Xiaoxiao a fatal blow when she heard the news. She froze for a long moment, utterly bewildered.

Logically speaking, Song Qi’an should have been passionately entangled with Lin Xiaoxiao by now. Yet, not only had she handed Lin Xiaoxiao over to her agent to manage, but she had also purged several top executives of Ding Rui in one go.

Zheng Yili furrowed her brows, unable to decipher what game the other party was playing.

Still, the internal chaos at Ding Rui wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for her. The busier Song Qi’an and Ding Rui’s higher-ups were, the less time they’d have to clean up Lin Xiaoxiao’s messes.

A faint smile curled at Zheng Yili’s lips. Lin Xiaoxiao had trampled over her to reap countless benefits—now it was time to pay it all back, with interest.

As the dating show aired, the online backlash against Meng Sulan grew increasingly fierce. Hashtags like “Meng Sulan, get out of the entertainment industry!” and “Xing Yue Entertainment should shut down!” remained at the top of trending searches for half a month without dropping.

Zheng Yili added fuel to the fire by instructing the production team to include the unedited footage of Lin Xiaoxiao’s fall and her subsequent manipulative words in the final episode, successfully driving ratings through the roof.

Lin Xiaoxiao’s fans were already furious about Meng Sulan’s evasive attitude and Xing Yue’s deliberate silence and cover-up. Now, seeing the dating show exploit the incident to milk Lin Xiaoxiao for views and buzz, they were incensed. They immediately stormed the show’s official accounts and comment sections, turning the internet into a battlefield.

Meng Sulan huddled on the sofa in Zheng Yili’s office, trembling. “This is terrifying! Who knew a third-tier celebrity like Lin Xiaoxiao could have such a rabid fanbase?”

She sighed wistfully. “When will my fans ever be this powerful?”

Muttering to herself, she scratched her head. If she had such a devoted following, she wouldn’t have to skulk around like a sewer rat, afraid to even film a short drama without hiding, lest Lin Xiaoxiao’s extremist fans retaliate.

Zheng Yili glanced at her mid-conversation, her tone calm. “We live in a society governed by law.”

Without the moral high ground, even if Lin Xiaoxiao had a million die-hard supporters, it wouldn’t matter.

Comforted, Meng Sulan immediately brightened, gazing at Zheng Yili with starry-eyed admiration like a devoted fangirl.

Zheng Yili chuckled and turned her attention back to her phone, texting Song Lin: “Xiao Lin, could you arrange for the police statement to be released?”

Song Lin replied with a simple “Okay.” Soon after, Zheng Yili saw the official blue-checked accounts on Weibo, Douyin, and other major platforms post the investigation results—just a single, straightforward image.

Naturally, Lin Xiaoxiao’s fans and sympathetic onlookers refused to believe it, mocking the announcement:

“Wow, Xing Yue must have some serious connections to even buy off the authorities.”

“Attempted murder, followed by malicious distortion of facts—is this some kind of mafia operation?”

“Xing Yue is truly something else. Who knew we’d still see such blatant disregard for human life in the 22nd century? Everyone, let’s mass-report them!”

“Exactly! No matter what, we must demand justice for Xiaoxiao!”

Zheng Yili found these comments amusing, but before she could react, Meng Sulan sneered in disgust. “Do these people have no brains? They’ve never even met Lin Xiaoxiao, yet they defend her like this?”

She truly couldn’t understand what kind of bewitching potion Lin Xiaoxiao had fed them to make them so infatuated with her.

Zheng Yili blinked, finding no rebuttal, and had no choice but to personally post the surveillance video evidence on the official account. “One person’s words may be doubted, but three can create a tiger. Public opinion can melt metal, but the innocent will remain clear.”

Lin Xiaoxiao’s fans had been relentlessly cursing in the comments section of Xing Yue’s official Weibo, so the moment the video was posted, they quickly discovered it.

They didn’t bother watching the content of the video, only reacting with fury at Xing Yue’s new move. The accumulated anger of the past days erupted in full force, spewing forth an endless stream of vile and unspeakable insults.

Meng Sulan was seething with rage and immediately created a burner account to covertly engage in a verbal battle with Lin Xiaoxiao’s fans.

Zheng Yili had endured patiently for days, all for the sake of shattering Lin Xiaoxiao’s facade of kindness in one decisive blow. Mimicking Lin Xiaoxiao’s tactics, she directly deployed a flood of paid commentators. Soon, hashtags like “Lin Xiaoxiao staged it all herself,” “Lin Xiaoxiao’s scheming,” “Lin Xiaoxiao framed Meng Sulan,” and “Meng Sulan is innocent” began climbing at an astonishing speed, swiftly overtaking the previous trending topics.

Due to the prominent placement of these hashtags, some clueless bystanders clicked in and, after being briefed by the hired commentators, immediately grasped the full context of the incident.

Those with even a shred of a sense of justice promptly stepped in to defend Meng Sulan and Xing Yue. As more and more people joined in, their numbers eventually swelled to an uncontrollable magnitude.

The immense benefits Lin Xiaoxiao had reaped over these days now came back to bite her with equal ferocity.

Netizens weren’t fools, and they hated being used as pawns even more. Once the hired commentators stirred up the discussion, it took less than half a day for the public to spontaneously condemn Lin Xiaoxiao’s actions.

“I actually defended her so much, only to find out she deliberately framed Meng Sulan?”

“Poor Meng Sulan—being cursed at for so long must have left her traumatized. Thank goodness Xing Yue and CEO Zheng stood by her and didn’t force her to apologize to Lin Xiaoxiao without reason.”

“With a boss like CEO Zheng, Meng Sulan is bound to thrive in the future!”

“Am I the only one curious why Lin Xiaoxiao would do this? She and Meng Sulan had no prior interactions—no grudges, no conflicts…”

“What else could it be? She’s Song Qi’an’s rumored fling, while Xing Yue’s CEO Zheng is his official fiancée. Put two and two together.”

Upon reading this, netizens collectively had an epiphany. “Oh, so that’s it!”

The discussion quickly shifted from “Lin Xiaoxiao framed Meng Sulan on a show to gain fame” to “Lin Xiaoxiao, the jealous mistress, schemed to ruin CEO Zheng Yili’s reputation.”

Melodramatic love-hate stories were always a favorite among gossip-loving netizens, so this narrative spread like wildfire in no time. The higher-ups at Ding Rui couldn’t even step in to control the situation.

Someone with a livid expression confronted Song Qi’an: “Aren’t you going to step in and handle this?”

Song Qi’an lifted his eyelids lazily. “Handle what?”

“The online rumors have escalated to this point. If you continue to let them spread, Ding Rui’s stocks will plummet to rock bottom,” the man fumed. “Do you think you’ll still be able to keep your position when that happens?”

Song Qi’an remained unmoved, calmly meeting his gaze. “Wasn’t it Lin Xiaoxiao who misunderstood in the first place?”

“Does that matter? Do you think Lin Xiaoxiao’s fault means anything compared to Ding Rui’s falling stocks? Song Qi’an, if you want to die, don’t drag us down with you!”

“If you really don’t want this position, then step aside and let your sister take it!”

Song Qi’an’s gaze sharpened instantly. After a long pause, she let out a soft laugh, enunciating each word clearly: “Are you threatening me?”

The other party met her stare unflinchingly. “Step in and resolve this issue for Lin Xiaoxiao, and I’ll continue supporting you as Ding Rui’s CEO—peacefully and steadily.”

Song Qi’an smiled, neither agreeing nor refusing, remaining silent.

The development of the online backlash was something Zheng Yili hadn’t anticipated. She had merely wanted to expose Lin Xiaoxiao’s hypocrisy and ruin her reputation—she never intended to get dragged into it herself, nor to have her private history with Song Qi’an exposed to the public.

Staring at the netizens’ fervent claims of “fiancée” and “official girlfriend,” Zheng Yili felt nothing but irritation.

She had long since severed ties with Song Qi’an. There was nothing between them anymore…

Lost in thought, she was suddenly interrupted by calls from Zhou Jiaoyuan and Feng Ying. “Lili, leave this to us. We’ll do everything we can to clear your name and make sure that scumbag Song Qi’an doesn’t take advantage of you.”

Feng Ying chimed in, “Yeah, Song Qi’an just won’t give up, will she? Using such underhanded tricks to tie you to her.”

“But these petty tactics won’t work on us!”

“Exactly! Jiaoyuan and I are rolling up our sleeves to knock her teeth out today!” Zhou Jiaoyuan declared energetically. “Just wait for our good news!”

Without giving Zheng Yili a chance to respond, they hung up and charged into battle with their alternate accounts. Zheng Yili stared blankly ahead for a long moment before a faint smile curved her lips, warmth spreading through her chest.

Why was she upset? She had friends—friends who had always stood by her side unconditionally.

Zheng Yili lifted her hand, slender fingers gliding across the screen until they hovered over a certain number she had blacklisted.

After taking a deep breath, she made her decision.

When the call connected, Zheng Yili asked tonelessly, “Song Qi’an, aren’t you going to address the rumors online?”

Song Qi’an’s lashes lowered. “What rumors?”

“The ones about me being your fiancée.” Zheng Yili enunciated each word coldly. “We broke up and called off the engagement long ago, didn’t we?”

Song Qi’an fell silent, her heart gradually turning to ice.

She didn’t respond for a long time. The only sound on the line was the uneven rhythm of her breathing in the dead air. She could even hear her own frantic heartbeat, pounding against her chest as if the sky were about to collapse—as if it were trying to break free.

A bitter taste gradually spread in Song Qi’an’s mouth, her pale face faintly revealing a sickly pallor.

She parted her lips slightly, swallowing back all the words she wanted to say—the explanations, the excuses, the accusations—until only one sentence remained: “I’ll handle it.”

“That’s good to hear.” Zheng Yili let out a relieved sigh. “I hope you’ll keep your word.”

Zheng could have clarified things herself, but since this mess was caused by Lin Xiaoxiao, she saw no reason to spend her own money. Lin’s current behavior was entirely due to Song Qi’an’s indulgence and favoritism, so naturally, Song should be the one to clean up after her.

As Zheng silently calculated the profits she’d earned from the dating show, her mood finally improved.

Lin Xiaoxiao had put her all into this sympathy-grabbing publicity stunt, but in the end, it only benefited Zheng Yili, the investor who reaped the rewards.

So far, Zheng had already pocketed three hundred million, and with additional income from advertisements and distribution channels, her earnings could easily double.

In just a few months, Zheng’s pockets had swelled considerably.

Her mood was so good that she wasn’t even as angry anymore about being forced into this situation with Song Qi’an.

While Zheng was overjoyed, Lin Xiaoxiao couldn’t bring herself to smile. After working hard for one or two months, only to have someone else take all the credit—how could she possibly swallow this anger?

Lin nearly smashed everything in the room, while Liang Xin stood to the side, not daring to breathe too loudly.

“Xiaoxiao…” Liang called out weakly, mustering the courage to comfort her. “I know you’re angry, but you still need to think about your health.”

Seeing Lin slow down her destruction, Liang sighed in relief and quickly added, “Let’s sit down and calm ourselves first, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you figure out a solution.”

After her violent outburst, Lin’s rage had subsided. Now, exhausted, she collapsed onto the floor. “Ah Xin, what should I do now?” she sobbed. “My reputation is ruined. What producer would dare hire an actress with a tarnished image like mine?”

“Now, in everyone’s eyes, I’m just a liar—a scheming, vicious woman who would do anything for fame and Song Qi’an.” Tears streamed down her face. “It’s all over. My future is completely destroyed.”

In just one day, her and Meng Sulan’s public images had completely reversed.

Meng had Zheng Yili protecting her, so despite her ruined reputation, her career continued. But Lin was different. Because of Zhou Jiaoyuan’s loud accusations, Song Qi’an had already weighed the pros and cons and abandoned her, distancing herself.

Now, with this new scandal, Song would never risk offending Zheng and Zhou just to help her.

Lin couldn’t help but feel utterly hopeless.

“No, that won’t happen.” Seeing her reddened eyes, Liang rushed over and hugged her tightly. “Xiaoxiao, I won’t let that happen. Believe me!”

With determination, she declared, “I’ll go beg Song Qi’an for you. I refuse to believe she’d be so heartless as to abandon you completely.”

“President Song clearly… had feelings for you before.”

Lin Xiaoxiao didn’t argue upon hearing this, just offering a bitter smile. “A-Xin, as you said, that was before.” She curled her lips self-deprecatingly. “Now, she probably detests me to the extreme and won’t even see me anymore.”

“No.” Liang Xin firmly grasped her shoulders, speaking with absolute conviction, “Xiaoxiao, do you trust me?”

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded without hesitation.

A joyful smile spread across Liang Xin’s face as he enunciated each word clearly: “Then take me to find Song Qi’an. I’ll take full responsibility for everything—it won’t involve you at all.”

Lin Xiaoxiao immediately objected, but Liang Xin stopped her and continued, “Just say you knew nothing about this matter, and that everything you said earlier was what I told you to say.”

“Then cry a little, shed some tears. As long as you put on a pitiful enough act in front of Song Qi’an, she’ll definitely soften.”

“She can’t bear to see girls cry—especially you.”