Chapter 26

Kong Xiyan didn't run a fever again in the middle of the night. For once, she slept soundly until dawn. When she opened her eyes, her whole body ached as if it had fallen apart.

Just as she tried to stretch, before her hand could even emerge from under the blanket, she met Chi Wanzhao's face, inches away.

Her movements froze.

Only then did Kong Xiyan lower her gaze to notice their position—she was lying on her side, one hand resting on Chi Wanzhao's waist, the other placed on her chest. No wonder she'd felt something soft under her palm while sleeping.

She'd thought she was petting Yanyan.

Kong Xiyan's cheeks reddened slightly as she moved both hands away and slowly edged toward the side. But Chi Wanzhao, eyes still closed, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her straight into her embrace.

Kong Xiyan's nose inevitably bumped into something soft, and a faint fragrance drifted from Chi Wanzhao's half-open pajamas. She felt a little dizzy.

"CEO Chi..."

Kong Xiyan gritted her teeth, trying to push against Chi Wanzhao's shoulders with her hands. Instead, Chi Wanzhao only held her tighter, their bodies pressed flush together, her head buried deep into Chi Wanzhao's chest.

Through the morning light, she caught a glimpse of skin as fair as jade, smooth and flawless, without a single blemish.

Flustered, she averted her gaze and began a second attempt at resistance.

Chi Wanzhao's slightly weary voice murmured against her ear, "Yanyan, don't move. Let me hold you for a bit."

At those words, Kong Xiyan truly stopped moving.

Remembering how thoroughly this person had cared for her last night, and that part of this exhaustion was likely her own fault, she couldn't bring herself to resist.

Chi Wanzhao was clearly exhausted. After that one sentence, she fell back into a deep sleep, her breathing steady. Kong Xiyan shifted back a little and looked up at her.

Unlike when she was awake—always with a stern face, sharp brows and cold eyes, especially those bright eyes that perpetually held a cutting edge—now her features were softened. Weak light filtered through the gap in the curtains, casting onto one side of her face, adding a touch more delicacy.

For a moment, Kong Xiyan forgot to look away.

Just as she was staring intently at Chi Wanzhao's sleeping face, the phone on the nightstand suddenly began to buzz. She quickly broke free from Chi Wanzhao's embrace and grabbed the phone.

When she turned back, Chi Wanzhao was already awake.

A little awkward, Kong Xiyan greeted, "Morning."

Chi Wanzhao only opened her eyes and turned her head, her voice hoarse: "Morning."

Yanyan seized the moment to jump onto the bed, presenting its rear to Chi Wanzhao, and rubbed against Kong Xiyan's wrist, raising its head to wait for a pat.

The phone was still vibrating. Kong Xiyan stroked Yanyan with one hand while looking down at the phone.

It was a message from Fu Qiu.

Before she could read it, she was hit by a barrage of exclamation marks.

"Sister Kong!!!!! Are you awake?!?!?!? Yesterday's events were somehow posted online, and Weibo is exploding now!!!!!"

Sure enough, it was Fu Qiu's usual tone. Kong Xiyan shook her head helplessly and replied: Just woke up, haven't checked. What's wrong?

Fu Qiu started typing furiously upon receiving her reply.

—Sister Kong, you should check Weibo.

—Old Man He is getting blasted this time.

—Ugh, this morning he issued some statement, but it was deleted within two minutes. Fans got screenshots, saying he's trying to shirk responsibility.

—Weibo is about to blow up now. Oh, Sister Kong, just open Weibo and you'll see. It's already trending.

Kong Xiyan had no real interest in dealing with Old Man He's matters, but she noticed that Chi Wanzhao hadn't gotten up at all—she was leaning against the headboard, eyes closed, resting.

Afraid of an awkward silence, she pretended to be seriously studying her phone.

Old Man He was indeed trending.

And not just one topic.

【Breaking the Cocoon】【Old Man He Slaps Someone】

【Breaking the Cocoon】【Guo Yixi Slapped】

【Breaking the Cocoon】【Behind-the-Scenes Footage Exposed】

Three trending topics, all about Breaking the Cocoon. Kong Xiyan tapped the first one to see the headlines.

—"Dedicated" Old Man He practices on actors, addicted to hitting people.

—You can know a person's face but not their heart. Playing up a persona will backfire eventually—full story of Old Man He's hitting.

—So this is what "dedication" means? I heard Old Man He has done this "practice on people" thing before.

—Rank which celebrity's "dedicated" persona crumbles the fastest.

Kong Xiyan opened one of the videos. It was edited together, showing Guo Yixi and Wu Qing—especially at the end with Guo Yixi getting hit, where the image was clear enough to make out Old Man He's facial expression.

It was ferocious.

She clicked on the comments and saw many fans cursing each other.

—Holy crap, using my Yixi as practice? Screw you!

—And Qing Qing too? This Old Man He has no shame! Acting like a senior just because he's old! Does he think he's above the law just because He Wei's backing him?

—Wait, let's keep things separate. What does "backed by He Wei" mean? What does this have to do with our Wei Wei?

—How is it irrelevant?! Everyone knows where Old Man He got his role! Isn't it all because of He Wei? Otherwise, how could he keep up that "upright" persona?

—Um... let's not. I actually like Old Man He's acting. He seems like a serious and upright person, and he really is dedicated to his craft. He has no scandals either. Let's wait for an official statement.

—I'm so done with these blind fans. Even after he hit someone, they still want an official statement? What, you think this is a movie? This is real hitting! Our Yixi could sue him and win!

—Exactly! And he hit our Qing Qing too. Just thinking about it hurts. All you whitewashers, get lost!

—Old Man He, go die!

—Everyone defending Old Man He, get out!

—Apologize! You must apologize! Don't think some cryptic statement is enough. Dream on! "Practice on people"? Where did you come up with that!

—Would the person above please calm down? Nothing's been confirmed yet. It's just a small video. No one knows the full story, okay? No wonder they say Guo Yixi has too many delusional fans. And so it is.

—What's wrong with that? I'm Yixi's delusional fan! If you have the guts, get your Wei Wei to stand out and let our Yixi slap her a few times for practice?

—I'm just a bystander, okay?!

—If you're a bystander, then first unfollow He Wei, you idiot!

—Oh, the He family dogs are out whitewashing again.

Kong Xiyan opened several topics—all were the same kind of mudslinging. Many fans even went to the official Weibo accounts, demanding a full account of what happened.

But the official accounts remained silent.

The situation on Weibo escalated. Guo Yixi's fans and Wu Qing's fans overran Old Man He's Weibo page, and every post was filled with abuse.

Although Old Man He was a veteran actor, his follower count was nowhere near Guo Yixi's or Wu Qing's. His own fans were quickly overwhelmed and silenced, leaving those fans to dance all over his comments, hurling vicious words.

Kong Xiyan clearly didn't want to join in. After scrolling through Weibo for a while, she turned to ask Chi Wanzhao something, only to realize the woman had already left the room at some point.

She pursed her lips, got up, and went downstairs holding Yanyan.

During breakfast, she kept glancing at Chi Wanzhao, looking like she wanted to say something but holding back. Chi Wanzhao acted as if she hadn't noticed, eating her breakfast as usual. After the meal, she went upstairs to change into formal wear. Seeing that Kong Xiyan was still staring at her, she said coolly, "Miss Kong, don't forget to send me your schedule."

Kong Xiyan nodded blankly: "Oh."

She wanted to say more when the doorbell rang. Chi Wanzhao brushed past her, walked to the door, and opened it. Zhou Sheng was standing outside. Kong Xiyan followed behind Chi Wanzhao, and Zhou Sheng lowered his head in greeting: "CEO Chi, madam."

"Let's go."

Chi Wanzhao said those two words flatly and walked away. Zhou Sheng gave Kong Xiyan a slight nod and followed.

The large apartment suddenly felt empty. Yanyan wisely padded over to Kong Xiyan, rubbing against her pant leg.

She picked it up, nuzzled it, and said, "Come on, let's go home and make you breakfast."

Yanyan's eyes gleamed with excitement.

The Weibo episode was quickly pushed to the back of Kong Xiyan's mind, but she hadn't expected that she would be mentioned.

By the official Weibo account, no less.

She opened the official page, and the top comment under the pinned post had already changed. No longer about Breaking the Cocoon, nor about her being a homewrecker—now it was about Old Man He hitting people.

—Official account, please explain! You can't just cover up the hitting!

—Apologize! You must apologize to Yixi!

—If you won't do anything, we'll keep making noise every day, until everyone knows the Breaking the Cocoon cast uses people for practice and hits them!

—Boycott Breaking the Cocoon! It's badly made anyway! And now they're hitting people! Damn it, unacceptable!

—Hey, haven't you noticed something? That clip should be of Kong the Mistress and Old Man He facing off in the drama, right? So why does the clip only show Old Man He hitting Yixi and Wu Qing, but not Kong the Mistress?

—From upstairs, now that you mention it... I suspect Miss Kong got in with Old Man He to make him do this? After all, Yixi and Kong the Mistress had a spat not long ago—there's bad blood!

—It seems Kong the Mistress and Guo Yixi fought over the Chu Qian role. But isn't Old Man He He Wei's uncle? How could he go after Kong the Mistress?

—You know men, right? If they can keep it in their pants, are they even men? Ha! Kong the Mistress is such a slut. She even fooled Wei Yan before. What's the big deal about fooling Old Man He now? That woman's playing on a whole other level.

—Right, something's fishy!

Under the official account's post, these kinds of comments were flooding the page, and Kong Xiyan got dragged into it.

The official account that mentioned her had a pinned post.

The claim that Old Man He slapped people on set last night is not true. He was simply discussing acting techniques with Miss Guo and Miss Wu. It's not what's being rumored—"using people for practice." As for that clip, it's not what the rumors say either. Attached: 【Video】.

Kong Xiyan clicked the video. It was the segment of Old Man He hitting her. His mouth curled upward, and after the slap, he looked pleased. Especially when she fell into the water, his brows lifted with delight and his lips curved into a smile.

That frame was quickly screenshotted.

—What the hell? "This is acting"? I was actually wondering if Kong Xiyan had gotten in with Old Man He to make him target Guo Yixi. But looking now, it's obvious he hit Kong Xiyan even harder!

—Exactly. Especially after she fell into the water, he was still smiling?!?!? That's terrifying!

—Does this Old Man He have some problem? That smile gives me the creeps.

—Me too... What can we do? Just looking at him now makes my hair stand on end!!!

These comments were soon pushed down, replaced by—So it's just "discussing acting"? But he actually hit people?

—Official sarcasm is the worst kind. After watching this clip, I think Old Man He is totally abusing his seniority.

—Bullying people with power, right? Everyone knows about the He Wei backing him.

—Ugh, so disgusting. I don't want to watch Breaking the Cocoon anymore. Let that old geezer get killed off quickly.

—Just a passerby here, but... Old Man He really has issues.

The official account's denial not only failed to quell the incident, but made it worse, sending the "Old Man He hit people" topic to new heights.

Old Man He's Weibo was so overrun that even the official statement was useless.

The "upright and dedicated" persona he'd cultivated instantly crumbled. Now, whenever his name was mentioned, fans associated it with hitting people. A few small fans even slipped into Kong Xiyan's Weibo, sending her private messages of comfort.

Kong Xiyan looked down at her phone. Fu Qiu leaned in: "Sister Kong, time to change."

Fu Qiu had been grinning from ear to ear since yesterday, even more so after the video of Old Man He hitting people surfaced online. She didn't know who was behind it, but it was so satisfying!

Thinking about how Old Man He had taken advantage of his seniority to slap Sister Kong yesterday made her furious. But now the tables had turned, and luck had come to them so quickly.

How could she not be happy!

Kong Xiyan, by contrast, was much calmer. That morning when she acted with Old Man He, he seemed more subdued, frowning the whole time, looking at her as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. Fu Qiu whispered in her ear, "Sister Kong, I bet he's about to beg for mercy."

Begging for mercy wouldn't help anyway.

She had no idea who had released that video.

She'd wanted to ask Chi Wanzhao that morning, but seeing those sharp brows and cold eyes, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

Besides, it might not have been her.

It had already been rare enough that she'd stepped in to help yesterday. She probably wouldn't go this far for her.

Fu Qiu led Kong Xiyan off to change clothes. The makeup artist and hairstylist came over together, chatting in low voices.

"It can't be... Even if Guo Yixi bought bot accounts, Director Sun would have to agree. You saw how anxious he was."

"Then who is it? Isn't Guo Yixi just playing the victim here? She benefits the most. Haven't you seen how fast people are warming up to her?"

"I really don't know. But in this matter, Guo Yixi definitely benefits the most. Probably soon she'll be playing up the poor little me angle."

"Oh! Isn't she going to Director Li's place? Might as well hype up her new drama while she's at it, for free."

"But Old Man He..."

"Ugh..."

The two walked up to Kong Xiyan, greeted her, and began working on her. Kong Xiyan let them fuss without showing any reaction, her gaze dropping slightly at the words they'd just said.

Could those bot accounts really not be Guo Yixi's doing?

But if not, who else would target Old Man He so deliberately?

In any case, Old Man He's incident never got suppressed; it only grew more intense. In the end, He Wei personally posted on Weibo to support her uncle, expressed apologies to Guo Yixi and Wu Qing, and promised compensation.

Her post was quickly shared by Wei Yan, who added that they could reach out to him if they needed anything.

Weibo exploded a second time.

Everyone knew Wei Yan had hinted at reconciling with He Wei before, but never explicitly—only saying "anything is possible." Now, with his post, many fans of their couple went wild.

He Wei had been in the industry for seven years but never really famous. She'd played countless supporting roles. Then she landed the lead in an idol drama, met Wei Yan, who played the male lead, and they quickly married, making a name for themselves as a power couple.

Their fans had happily dubbed them the "He Yan" CP.

Too bad that CP didn't last long. Three years ago, when she learned of Wei Yan's mistake, she immediately filed for divorce, moved out that same night, unfollowed Wei Yan on Weibo, and posted a statement saying from then on, marriage and divorce were each their own business, never to interfere again.

That's when the fans really went into overdrive.

Because that idol drama had been hugely popular, with a large following for the CP, many fans dug into the reason behind He Wei's statement. That's how Wei Yan's affair with Kong Xiyan was uncovered.

He Wei gained a lot of casual fans from this. Because of her decisive, no-nonsense attitude, even former anti-fans became devoted ones, and many of Wei Yan's own brainless fans switched sides to stand with her, united in outrage.

Her career also began to take off from that point.

As for the three-way entanglement: Kong Xiyan was blacklisted and kicked out of the industry; Wei Yan went into semi-retirement out of guilt; only He Wei began to rise steadily.

Within a year, she'd shot two TV dramas and a movie, earning rave reviews and back-to-back awards. Her career soared, and her fanbase grew into the indestructible He Wei guard.

So when He Wei now stood up for Old Man He, her fan armies mobilized as well, turning Weibo into a bloodbath.

And in the middle of all that, Wei Yan even voiced his support.

No wonder those fans were losing their minds.

When Kong Xiyan finished her scenes and sat in the car, she pulled out her phone to check Weibo. Just as she opened it, she saw Guo Yixi's post.

—As for yesterday's matter, we're handling it privately. Sorry to have worried you all.

Fans immediately replied: "Yixi, don't be scared! We're all behind you!"

—That's right, Yixi, be brave. If Old Man He really hit you, we won't let him off!

—The one above, would you stop? As they say, if you can't respect the monk, respect the Buddha. Wei Wei has already apologized on Old Man He's behalf and promised compensation. Why are you still harping on it?

—"Harping on it"? Are you admitting Old Man He hit her? I can't tell if you're a real fan or an anti-fan!

—The person above is an anti-fan of Wei Wei. Please report!

—Ha! You say anti-fan, and you're right? I've seen plenty of He Wei's brainless fans!

—Don't be so rude. What "brainless fans"? You Guo Yixi fans have enough brainless ones.

—You He Wei worshippers, get out! This is Yixi's Weibo. Who invited you to interfere? Stop yapping!

Kong Xiyan looked at her phone calmly, her expression unchanged. Fu Qiu, however, couldn't help muttering, "Sister Kong, do you think Old Man He will eventually apologize?"

Without waiting for Kong Xiyan's answer, she continued, "I think it's coming soon. They've torn him apart on Weibo. And Sister Kong, look at the official account—even more people are cursing him there."

Kong Xiyan hadn't bothered to follow the official account's aftermath.

Hearing Fu Qiu's words now, she slowly replied, "He won't. Old Man He will never apologize."

Fu Qiu let out a "Ha?": "Why? The incident is so big now, can it really be suppressed?"

Kong Xiyan let out a light laugh.

Suppressed? Not exactly. But buying off Guo Yixi and Wu Qing would be much easier.

Everyone knew He Wei's status in the industry over the past two years. With her mediating behind the scenes, this matter would blow over quickly.

Sure enough, three days later, Guo Yixi and Wu Qing posted clarifications, bringing the matter to a close. But the damage to Old Man He's reputation over those three days was permanent. His online ratings were terrible. When Breaking the Cocoon aired on Tuesday, Kong Xiyan watched the bullet comments—people were cursing Old Man He from start to finish.

The incident hit Old Man He hard. Kong Xiyan heard that several advertisers had terminated their contracts, and for those that hadn't, Guo Yixi's fans were harassing their official accounts daily, demanding a statement.

Old Man He used to be respected on set—now he was only whispered about. He grew more and more glarey and hostile toward others.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; when the wall crumbles, everyone pushes it down. After Old Man He's unsavory side was exposed, small scandals and leaks popped up online from time to time.

Mostly gossip about Old Man He—small mistakes from the past blown up out of proportion, put on display in the glaring sun by those with a grudge.

Nowhere to hide.

He Wei tried her best to keep a lid on it, but no matter how good her PR, someone was determined to muddy the waters, and she couldn't guard against every angle.

Old Man He retreated into silence, no longer daring to act out on set, afraid that one slip would cause another scandal.

The only upside was that public attention on Breaking the Cocoon was huge, so ratings didn't drop—they actually rose. And He Wei's public support of her uncle doubled as a promotional boost for the drama. Combined with Wei Yan's repost, Breaking the Cocoon's fame instantly shot up several notches.

Guo Yixi also took the opportunity to play the victim, from her Weibo to press conferences, every move radiating pitiful fragility.

Her fan count kept growing. As for He Wei, despite her many fans, her high profile brought a corresponding increase in haters, who slipped into Guo Yixi's comment sections to stir up sympathy and boost Guo Yixi's "poor little thing" image.

Since Guo Yixi's new drama was about to start filming, she was naturally happy to see the situation play out.

Learning how it had all ended, Fu Qiu grumbled to Kong Xiyan: "Sister Kong! Tell me, Guo Yixi ends up the most pitiable one!"

"Besides, anyone with eyes can see Old Man He deliberately targeted you. That day on set, he hit you the hardest of all. But then He Wei only apologizes and offers compensation to Wu Qing and Guo Yixi."

"Why should they?!"

Kong Xiyan just smiled without speaking.

Why.

Because she was still the "homewrecker."

So even though people knew she was the one who'd been wronged, no one would step forward for her.

Fu Qiu, not getting a response from Kong Xiyan, kept muttering dejectedly: "Hmph! I think they're just bullies who rely on their power. I'll just wait until Sister Kong is a big star!"

"What makes you so sure I'll become a big star?"

Kong Xiyan turned to tease her. Fu Qiu flushed and stubbornly replied, "Definitely! Look at the whole industry—whose acting skills are better than yours!"

Fu Qiu's exaggerated praise made Kong Xiyan laugh. Fu Qiu edged closer and asked, "Sister Kong, aren't you angry?"

Fu Qiu was furious.

She'd thought that Assistant Zhou getting back at Guo Yixi and Wu Qing that day had been satisfying, and then someone had leaked it online, ruining Old Man He's reputation. She'd been happy for all of two days.

And now He Wei had salvaged some of Old Man He's reputation.

Guo Yixi had also ridden the wave of playing the helpless victim, her fan count growing instead of shrinking.

As for Wu Qing, the least prominent one, she'd simply reposted Guo Yixi's clarification and gained a reputation for being magnanimous. Meanwhile, Sister Kong, the actual victim, had gotten nothing—on the contrary, she was being dragged through the mud online.

It was maddening!

But Kong Xiyan didn't seem angry at all. Every day she showed up on time for filming, ignored the Weibo drama, and rarely even checked it.

Fu Qiu could never reach that state of detachment.

Kong Xiyan thought about Fu Qiu's question.

Angry?

Of course she was angry.

She wasn't a saint without a temper, capable of being free of desires and ambitions.

But what good did anger do?

Kong Xiyan sighed and left the rest area. Just as she stepped out, she came face to face with Tong Yue.

Tong Yue was walking fast, accompanied by her assistant, wearing a small suit that exuded capability. Her short hair, chin-length, lifted slightly in the breeze. Seeing Kong Xiyan about to head out, she asked, "Done filming?"

Kong Xiyan met her eyes: "Mm, just finished. I'm about to head back."

Tong Yue nodded lightly: "Come on, I'll walk you to the car."

While they spoke, Fu Qiu wisely fell half a step behind, walking alongside Tong Yue's assistant. Faint snippets of the two women's conversation drifted back.

"Mm, take care on the way home."

"You sure you don't want me to come along?"

"It's fine."

The conversation ahead came and went. Tong Yue walked Kong Xiyan all the way to the car before Fu Qiu caught up. Tong Yue instructed her to take good care of Sister Kong and to contact her if anything came up.

Fu Qiu had an overwhelming sense of admiration for Tong Yue, so she snapped into a crisp salute: "Yes, Sister Tong!"

Tong Yue glanced at her, smiling lightly, then waved at Kong Xiyan and left.

Fu Qiu stared after her and asked, "Sister Kong, I heard you tell Sister Tong you're going back?"

Only then did Kong Xiyan remember she hadn't told Fu Qiu yet. She nodded: "We're leaving in two days. Oh, and by the way, you'll have a week off too."

Fu Qiu hadn't been apart from Kong Xiyan for that long since she'd started working for her. Reluctantly, she asked, "Sister Kong, where are you going? Want me to come with you?"

Kong Xiyan shook her head: "No need."

Fu Qiu's eyes sparkled: "Really sure? I can do anything! I'm good in the kitchen and can play hostess, shoo away thugs by day, and warm your bed at night. Sister Kong, won't you reconsider?"

"Oh! And I can take care of the cat!"

Kong Xiyan reached out and tapped her forehead: "No, I..."

She paused mid-sentence. She was going to be away for a week, and she still hadn't told Chi Wanzhao. These past two days, Chi Wanzhao had been coming home especially late due to overtime.

If she kept working late for the next week, who would take care of Yanyan?

She glanced at Fu Qiu. The girl was loose with her words, but diligent and reliable in her work. Maybe she could entrust Yanyan to her.

At that thought, Kong Xiyan changed her tune: "Actually, there might be something I need to ask you to help with."

Fu Qiu's eyes brightened even more: "Sister Kong, what is it?"

Kong Xiyan's eyes curved in a smile: "I'll tell you once I've figured it out."

Fu Qiu's sense of mission deepened: "Alright! For you, Sister Kong, I'd go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Kong Xiyan: ...