Chapter 69

Bai Fuzhou had just received definitive news: Bu Kai's proposal to increase foreign troops had passed its first reading in Parliament and was about to be submitted for a full-chamber debate and vote.

Within just a few days of the birthday party, the political landscape had undergone earth-shaking changes.

The Conservative Party, taking advantage of Bai Fuzhou's frantic efforts to push for withdrawal, had used a sleight-of-hand tactic to submit the bill to increase troops in Country B.

Once the vote passed, the expansion of the overseas standing forces led by Country B would be an unalterable fact, and the entire Country A would be chained to the war chariot of the financial oligarchs, flooring the accelerator down a dark, reactionary path—the very last thing Bai Fuzhou wanted to see.

Bai Fuzhou felt a catastrophe looming; her first instinct was to go to Du Yue to secure her support.

The Duke of Tapei was a pivotal figure in Country A's political landscape. He usually kept a low profile but often cast the decisive vote at the last moment. Bai Fuzhou had to rush to the Jiang residence before the situation was set in stone to secure that critical vote.

Without a second thought, Bai Fuzhou charged straight to the Jiang family's old estate to find her confidante. After she delivered an impassioned speech, Du Yue propped her elbow on the desk, her glossy wine-red manicured nail slowly tracing her temple, her gaze dark and brooding.

She murmured low, "That little vixen has some skill. I want to see just what she's made of."

Bai Fuzhou was taken aback by her friend's sudden remark and frowned. "What vixen?"

Du Yue shot her a disdainful glance. "The one on the trending searches, of course. Two men fighting over the same woman—Jiang Yihao is a disgrace to the Jiang name."

She had recently arranged several blind dates for Jiang Yihao, but he had turned them down with excuses of bad weather or feeling unwell, which had infuriated her.

"I set him up with the daughter of the wealthiest man in the country, and he kept making excuses. What else could it be but outside influence? He wouldn't dare otherwise."

"I thought it was just gossip from entertainment media, but now I realize I underestimated that woman. To string along two young masters of prominent families at such an age—she does have some talent."

Du Yue let out a soft sneer, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.

"Is that fair to the girl?" Bai Fuzhou found it grating. She had a straightforward, justice-loving nature, and Du Yue's words struck at her core principle of always defending women first.

Setting aside the matters of state, Bai Fuzhou earnestly reasoned with her friend: "They haven't even admitted to anything, and yet you're speculating wildly and putting all the blame on a girl who may not even exist. That's not befitting a duchess's dignity, is it?"

"Ha, your son hasn't been on the trending searches, so it's easy for you to talk." Du Yue curled her lip coldly.

"Then you're wrong." Bai Fuzhou's eyes were bright and determined as she solemnly declared to Du Yue, "I have never interfered in Bai Xingmiao's freedom in love and marriage. Even if he were to fall for the daughter of a rogue and scoundrel, as long as they love each other, I would support them with all my heart and soul."

Bai Fuzhou knew what was really upsetting her friend—it was simply that Jiang Yihao's rumored love interest was of low status, unworthy of her son.

Knowing the nature of gossip media, if Jiang Yihao's rumored love interest had been a proper miss from within the circle, her full name would have been plastered all over the trending searches long ago. Based on the current situation, if there really was such a girl, she was likely a commoner of vastly different status.

Bai Fuzhou had grown up in the aristocratic circle and knew well that these people weren't opposed to gossip spreading worldwide—they were opposed to the object of the gossip not being qualified enough.

If the other party were an outstanding individual, the cream of the crop among the powerful, they would even leak a little information themselves even if the outside world had no news.

Seeing her friend take the matter so seriously, Du Yue sneered, "There you go with your progressive manifesto again. Jiang Yihao is my son. Whoever he meets or marries must have my approval. In any era, it's only natural for parents to decide their son's marriage, let alone when he's the future Duke of Tapei."

Bai Fuzhou was stumped. In the end, it was the Jiang family's private affair, and as an outsider, she had no right to interfere. Besides, she still needed Du Yue's support for the second reading of the bill, so she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Her eyes shifted slightly. "Fine, your family's matters are yours to decide. But you know me—I can't stand it when people blame the woman first without knowing all the facts. Since Xiao Hao hasn't admitted to what's online, I hope you'll stay calm and not go after innocent people just because of some rumor."

Du Yue caught the warning in her friend's tone and shook her head with a dismissive smile. "You worry too much. There's only so much you can do in this world."

Bai Fuzhou smiled lightly. "I've always had a problem with the strong bullying the weak. Once I see it, I can't help but step in. Every injustice I right is one less in the world and one more bit of fairness. Isn't that good?"

Du Yue didn't answer, her eyes dark and unfathomable.

A few days later, as Bai Xingmiao had predicted, the trending search was promptly and swiftly removed, and after a round of online grumbling, netizens moved on.

It was only as the buzz died down that Ruan Ning realized what had happened on her birthday—someone had spent tens of millions, risking backlash, to throw her a birthday celebration that the whole world envied.

Ruan Ning was stunned for a moment.

She was just one of countless ordinary people—why would anyone go through such trouble to celebrate her birthday?

Online, everyone was saying it was Jiang Yihao and Bu Chen who had specially prepared the birthday surprise. The stories were detailed and convincing. Ruan Ning initially didn't believe them, but the more she saw, the more her conviction wavered. She had to find those two men and hear the truth from their own lips.

Ruan Ning looked up the RQ schedule and saw that Jiang Yihao was due back at the training base soon. She picked an early morning and went to the club specifically to find him.

After the league season started, the club enforced a strict closed-management system, keeping all fans outside the gate to avoid disturbing the players and staff.

When Ruan Ning arrived at the RQ training base, the entrance was packed with fans.

Most of them were young, lively female fans who had come specifically for Jiang Yihao. RQ was on a three-game winning streak, and Jiang Yihao's performance had been especially outstanding, skyrocketing his popularity. Fans praised him as a rising prodigy, making him the undisputed crowd favorite.

The girls held banners and wore matching T-shirts, gathering in groups along the entrance path, waiting excitedly on both sides of the road, eyes fixed wide, eagerly anticipating Jiang Yihao's arrival.

"Do you think Zhang Hao will come?"

"I've asked around—he definitely will. Don't worry."

"Good. I took special leave to see him. He has to show up."

"He's so handsome. When he appears, remember to take photos for me with this camera. It takes clearer shots."

Ruan Ning walked past these expectant girls, her face flushing slightly. She tucked her arms in, carefully squeezed through the crowd, looking left and right for a good spot where she could get a clear view of Jiang Yihao.

All around her were rabid fans, pressing in tightly. Ruan Ning couldn't help but worry—amidst such a sea of people, would Jiang Yihao even be able to see her?

As training time drew near, the crowd stirred, and RQ players' cars appeared one after another, slowly driving through the training base gate.

RQ players who weren't big stars were approachable, driving themselves to work. Every time a familiar player appeared on the road, the fans would cheer and shout his name, and the player would wave from the car window.

Ruan Ning watched the cars pass one by one, her heart pounding with growing tension.

Before long, the crowd erupted as if struck by an earthquake. The girls around her went wild, leaping and pushing toward the road. They waved their banners and shouted in unison, "Zhang Hao! Zhang Hao!" The chorus was deafening, making Ruan Ning's ears ring.

Her body tensed as she strained to see. But the crowd was too dense, jostling and jumping, and she could barely catch a glimpse.

Amidst the eager anticipation of the masses, Jiang Yihao's car slowly approached.

He gripped the steering wheel, his expression solemn as he greeted the fans lining both sides of the road.

Jiang Yihao's recent mood was a mix of joy and sorrow.

RQ's three-game winning streak had him on cloud nine, with four goals scored. Every day, a large crowd of fans came specifically to cheer him on, filling him with indescribable happiness.

His favorite part of the drive to work was this stretch before the gate; he'd deliberately slow down to soak in the thunderous cheers of the crowd.

But that was all in the past.

Jiang Yihao glanced at the rearview mirror. In the back seat sat a burly bodyguard in sunglasses, arms crossed, warily eyeing the outside.

After Du Yue confiscated his phone last time, she had assigned someone to shadow him all day, claiming it was for his protection but in reality to monitor and keep tabs on his every move.

Every time they went out, the bodyguard would offer to drive, but Jiang Yihao ordered him to sit quietly in the back and not show himself.

Lao Fang didn't find it odd that there was suddenly an extra person around Jiang Yihao. It was common for star players to hire bodyguards once they gained some fame, to fend off sudden fan attacks. So Jiang Yihao, with a perpetually grim face, now went everywhere with this encumbrance.

"Hmph." Jiang Yihao sneered, continuing to wave at the fans outside.

The shouts outside were deafening. Each face beamed with bright, enthusiastic smiles, forming an endless wall of people screaming his name at the top of their lungs.

Jiang Yihao had initially found the strangers' praise a bit awkward, but he gradually got used to their passion and adoration, driving through the crowd at a snail's pace.

Suddenly, amidst the wall of faces, he spotted a familiar, timid face. Jiang Yihao slammed on the brakes.

His eyes widened. Why was Ruan Ning here?

His gaze, like a magnet, pierced through the crowd and locked onto that shy, cowardly girl.

The girls near where he stopped erupted in frantic screams—"Zhang Hao! Zhang Hao!"—drawing jealous looks from the neighboring section. Regular fans who came to see him arrive and leave knew that Jiang Yihao always drove straight in without ever stopping on the road. So they screamed his name even more excitedly, thrilled by this anomaly.

The girls in Jiang Yihao's line of sight scrambled to scream at him, pushing the timid Ruan Ning to the back. The frail Ruan Ning, like a petal tossed in a storm, furrowed her brows and instinctively stepped back.

Don't go, Jiang Yihao shouted internally.

"Young master, what's wrong?" the bodyguard in the back asked.

Jiang Yihao snapped back, gritting his teeth. "Turn around. None of your business."

Ruan Ning's head was spinning from the girls' screams. She didn't understand why everyone suddenly jumped for joy, even stepping on her feet.

She stomped in pain and then noticed Jiang Yihao's car stopped right in front of her. With one hand on the window, he was staring intently at her.

Her eyes lit up. She was angry at first, but then her face broke into a brilliant, sunlike smile.

She had planned to confront Jiang Yihao, to ask why he had acted on his own and nearly got her onto the trending searches. But seeing his sincere, handsome face, all her irritation melted away.

Ruan Ning struggled through the crowd, waving her hand and shouting excitedly along with the others, "Zhang Hao! Zhang Hao! I'm here!" Jiang Yihao's scorching gaze lingered on her face for a moment through the dense crowd, then he drove off without looking back.

The girls around her shrieked in dismay—"Zhang Hao, don't go!" "Zhang Hao, wait for me!"—sending another tremor through the crowd.

Only Ruan Ning stood there in shock, watching his car disappear through the gate, and muttered blankly, "He clearly saw me... so why did he leave?"