Due to physical discomfort, Mei Mengran excused herself from last night's celebratory banquet. Her agent was already busy cleaning up the mess, almost overwhelmed, and so let her be.
One dream after another played out in a constant stream.
She was wearing dirty clothes, squatting halfway up a mountain, sweating profusely as she cut grass. The sun hung like a ball of fire above her head, glaring so brightly she could hardly keep her eyes open.
Suddenly, the scene changed. Her grandfather, trembling slightly, led her into a very beautiful garden. She was wearing a white dress, timidly looking at the extremely stern-looking old woman in the house. Her grandfather placed her small hand into the old woman's. "Ranran, from now on, you will be well with your Grandma Zhao."
And what about you, Grandpa? Where are you going? You're leaving Ranran, aren't you?
Grandpa will always be here, always watching you from a place you can't see.
Well then, Grandpa, do you see?
"Congratulations to the winner of the finals of 'China's Best Singer,' Mei Mengran!"
Amidst thunderous applause, she happily accepted the diamond-studded crown and the golden trophy from the presenter. After the host had finished spewing a barrage of congratulations and compliments, "Next, let's welcome our champion to give a speech."
She took the microphone, just about to say something, when a giant whirlpool suddenly rose from beneath her feet and sucked her in...
Mei Mengran jolted upright in bed.
Heh, she wiped away the tears on her face. So it was just a wishful dream.
Today's entertainment headlines were surely dominated by Yu Sheng, weren't they?
How would the outside world discuss her? Tragic defeat? Crying bitterly? Or...
As soon as she got home, she turned off her phone and disconnected from the internet, all to keep the outside chatter from reaching her ears. Yet she couldn't escape the infuriating doorbell.
It rang incessantly, like a damn death knell. Mei Mengran burrowed entirely under her blankets, but the person outside the door seemed determined not to leave until she came out to open it.
A tug-of-war unfolded on this quiet, early winter morning.
Her head was splitting with pain. She threw a coat over herself, not even bothering with shoes, and peered through the heavy security door at the police officers standing outside — one portly, one thin.
It felt as if she had fallen into icy water. Cold from head to toe, her teeth chattered uncontrollably.
After showing his badge, the fat officer peered through the crack in the door, confirmed her identity, and spoke in an official, businesslike tone. "Someone has filed a formal complaint accusing you of creating alt accounts to spread false information... Please come with us."
It was like her feet went from the warmth of spring blossoms to three feet of solid ice. Her entire body was suffused with cold and despair.
A female officer brought her a cup of hot water. Mei Mengran didn't even look at it. From the moment she arrived until now, she had been repeating only one sentence: "I refuse to answer any questions until my lawyer arrives."
It was noon. Neither her agent nor her assistant had appeared. Her lawyer was nowhere to be seen. She huddled on the small wooden chair, famished and utterly depleted of strength.
A slightly older police officer sat opposite her. "Miss, everyone who comes in here is the same. You'd better not waste both our time. I have some information here..."
After Mei Mengran read it, her face was the color of death.
How could this be?! The alt account she had used to leak information to the marketing accounts was created using a phone card bought from a newsstand and immediately destroyed after use. She had handled it so cleanly! How could they have still found such comprehensive evidence?
The situation was like this: In response to the previous two instances of false information, the first had already been properly handled. As for the latter, under Mei Hongyuan's instruction, Secretary Wang had directly filed a police report. The first to face the consequences was naturally the Weibo marketing account that had spread the "illegitimate daughter" information.
After the account operator was apprehended, he provided the original tip-off alt account, Account B. The police followed the trail, but found it suddenly went cold. Coincidentally, they received a phone call from an informant. After multiple verifications of the new lead provided by the informant, they finally zeroed in on Mei Mengran.
The informant, Xia Tiantian, provided another alt account, Account A. Verification revealed that this account and Account B had been logged into on the same mobile phone. Coincidentally, they also discovered traces of Account A login activity on Mei Mengran's own phone, and managed to recover the deleted comment and private message history.
Account A had sent only one private message to a user verified as a famous antique collector: "Mr. Fu, hello... Don't be fooled by Think It Over Carefully's pretty face... She's very vain and even had plastic surgery before..."
Thus, it was irrefutable fact that Account A and Account B belonged to the same person.
While Mei Mengran was stranded, isolated, and deep in troubled waters, some news also "carelessly" leaked out.
"I heard Mei Mengran was dragged to the police station? Oh my god, what did she do?"
"Was she too devastated by her crushing defeat in 'China's Best Singer' last night? Still, no matter how down you are, why go *there*!"
"Am I the only one who thinks that maybe she knew she'd end up in that place, and the anxiety is what led to her defeat? Wow, that logic is airtight! I need to rewatch the broadcast!"
"Isn't anyone going to explain what the hell happened? Before, her agent and PR team were unstoppable, weren't they? Why do they seem totally useless now?"
First, the exposure of old plastic surgery photos. Then, a severe underperformance causing her to miss the championship of "China's Best Singer." And now, getting dragged to the police station for unknown reasons. Drama upon drama, enough to make your head spin.
The buzz around "Mei Mengran" could almost hold its own against the popularity of Yu Sheng. Her fans squatted on Weibo, closely following news about her.
Soon, a Weibo user claiming to be Mei Mengran's former assistant, Xia Tiantian, posted a lengthy Weibo. She began recounting her experiences, almost weeping as she narrated: Presumably, everyone still remembers the massive media uproar surrounding Think It Over Carefully's plastic surgery incident. I must admit, I was also a victim of that incident. Without my knowledge, Mei Mengran secretly used my phone to register an alt account and spread this rumor. Afterward, she herself walked away clean, while I had to bear the consequences of this completely fabricated accusation. At that time, I knew I had become their sacrificial pawn. When I was at my most desperate, the most unexpected person appeared. She came specifically to bail me out and said to me, 'I know you're innocent.'
However, just such a good person has had bucket after bucket of dirty water thrown on her in recent days. First, a mistress, then an illegitimate daughter. Yes, you've probably guessed by now. The person I'm talking about is Mr. Mei Hongyuan's daughter, Mei Ran.
You simply cannot imagine what kind of heart Mei Mengran, the person you idolize and adore, truly possesses, nor how she repays kindness with hatred. If you think clearly about this, then you'll naturally understand why she showed up at the police station this morning.
I wonder if big stars get special privileges in terms of administrative penalties for creating alt accounts to illegally spread rumors and damage others' reputations?
...
As her former, fully devoted assistant, I'd like to give Mei Mengran a message: seeing your reputation utterly ruined puts my heart at ease.
Finally, this world may not be fair, but... good and evil are clearly divided.
Comments under that Weibo piled up as high as the heavens, roughly dividing into three camps:
First: Mei Mengran's die-hard fans staunchly defended their goddess, claiming Xia Tiantian was motivated by personal grievances and malicious revenge.
Second: Holy shit! Creating alt accounts to smear people and making your assistant take the fall?! Mei Mengran, can you get any more disgusting?
Third: What's the relationship between Think It Over Carefully and Mei Ran?
Within an hour of the long Weibo being posted, topics like "Former Assistant Exposes Big Star" and "Mei Mengran Get Out of the Entertainment Industry" were trending. For some unknown reason, despite the huge uproar, Mei Mengran's agent and PR team didn't utter a single peep. Her over fifty million fans decreased at a visible rate. Those originally in the first camp, seeing the situation turning sour, all clammed up.
Thus, the hottest comments were all taken over by Mei Mengran's haters.
Not much later, the "Truth Seekers" from the third camp returned after verifying their theories. They had captured a valuable screenshot from last night's "China's Best Singer" finals rebroadcast, confirming the real-world identity of Think It Over Carefully.
The screenshot featured three people: Mei Holdings Group President Mei Hongyuan, next to him the young woman he had recently publicly acknowledged as his daughter, Mei Ran. And beside her sat a man captured only in profile. But his features were too distinctive — it was unmistakably Fu Shijin!
She was smiling lightly, waving at the camera, while he had turned his head to look at her. The dazzling stage lights illuminated the deep affection in his eyes, leaving it nowhere to hide.
That was clearly the way a man looked at the woman he loved.
Aside from Think It Over Carefully, the only person he followed, what other woman in this world could be honored with such a gaze?
If this deduction couldn't withstand scrutiny, then how to explain Mei Hongyuan sitting beside her? And how to explain that even the Mei Holdings Group's official Weibo account followed Think It Over Carefully?
Therefore, there was only one truth.
Mei Ran *was* Think It Over Carefully!
As if to confirm their speculation, within less than ten minutes of this topic emerging, the Mei Holdings Group official Weibo fittingly reposted the video from the day before yesterday's press conference where Mei Hongyuan made his statement, adding a comment:
She is indeed our Mei family's eldest young lady, without a doubt, Think It Over Carefully.
The fans' hearts shattered into pieces.
One matchless noble gentleman, one wealthy heiress... this was a power couple pairing! Are you even giving us a way to survive? [Sob]
The fans on Fu Shijin and Think It Over Carefully's Weibos were chirping away, the commotion almost reaching the heavens.
But in reality, the two of them were leisurely browsing a shopping mall. Mei Ran's phone suddenly rang. As soon as she answered, her assistant's choked sobs came through. Startled, she quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
"Senior Sister," Tian Tian sniffled, "my heart is a total mess right now."
So many questions she wanted to ask, but didn't know where to begin. The shock in her heart was too great! The gentle and approachable senior sister she knew all along was hiding another identity. How hadn't she noticed before?
And the most mind-blowing thing was that she *was* Think It Over Carefully! To hide even this... could they still happily be senior and junior sisters?
Mei Ran chuckled softly. "Go back and check your fan list."
Five minutes later, the assistant's phone call attacked again. "AHHHHHHH! When did you follow me?! How did I not know?!"
Listening to her roar her voice hoarse, Mei Ran felt a bit guilty. "I'm still outside. We'll talk more when we meet."
"When are you coming back to work, Senior Sister?"
"Next Monday," Mei Ran said.
Earlier in the morning, the Vice President had personally visited. First, he explained it had all been a misunderstanding, that the decision to place her on "leave without pay" had been made too rashly. Then, he tactfully suggested she return to work.
After hanging up, Mei Ran put her phone back in her coat pocket, picked up a ball of yarn, and squeezed it. "Shijin, what color do you like?"
Winter had arrived, and she'd been relatively free lately, so she planned to knit sweaters for him and her father.
Fu Shijin smiled. "You decide."
Mei Ran shrugged and continued browsing. In the end, she chose smoky gray for him, and a more stable, dignified maroon for her father.
At checkout, a soft "click" sound suddenly echoed in the store. Seeing the man next to her walk toward a corner, Mei Ran also curiously looked over. He was talking to two girls who looked like middle school students. One girl's face suddenly flushed bright red, then she tapped something on her phone.
Mei Ran heard his slightly cool voice. "Thank you."
Mei Ran understood. So that girl had just been taking a picture of them. He had gone over to get them to delete it.
The girl must have been his fan, right?
Mei Ran put the change back in her wallet. Turning around, she saw the man was holding a pen, writing something in a notebook. Surely not... an autograph?
The girls, excited, took the notebook from his hands and then walked over in Mei Ran's direction.
Ah, for her too?
Wasn't that a bit over the top? They weren't celebrities.
One girl looked earnestly at her. "We really, really like you guys! Please, just a signature. It won't take long, I promise."
Mei Ran felt her scalp tingle slightly, unable to resist their enthusiasm. Next to the man's flowing, flamboyant signature, she wrote the two characters: "Mei Ran."
The girls smiled broadly and said in unison, "We wish you everlasting happiness!"
Slightly embarrassed, Mei Ran watched them leave the store. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of them taking out the notebook and drawing something over their signatures — a shape drawn in one continuous, fluid stroke. Could it be... a heart?
"What are you thinking?" The man considerately took the paper bag from her hand.
"Actually, having my identity public doesn't seem all that different," Mei Ran said thoughtfully. "Aside from the attitude of people I must interact with in daily life changing, the world still moves forward according to its own rules. No one changes their life trajectory because an ordinary Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor suddenly becomes the daughter of a wealthy family."
Boundless, boundless warmth filled the man's eyes. He suddenly leaned in close, their breaths beginning an intimate, intertwining dance. "Even if you weren't a wealthy heiress, in the future you would undoubtedly be a Fu (wealthy) Mrs."
Though so full of suggestion, Mei Ran understood his meaning instantly. She looked at him, her gaze gentle.
Everything was said without words.
Back at home, Mei Ran pulled out her knitting needles. After briefly recalling the stitches, she got to work.
The man stood casually behind her, his slender fingers winding through her long hair, playing with it repeatedly. The fair, seemingly glowing nape of her neck nestled within the black strands. He parted her hair to expose that patch of skin completely and caressed it lingeringly.
Mei Ran glanced back at him. "That tickles."
He chuckled lightly, replacing his fingers with softer lips.
"Why aren't you knitting mine first?"
A wave of warm, slightly disordered breath brushed past her cheek. Mei Ran straightened up. "Because I don't have your measurements yet!"
His kiss grew heavier. "Then take them now!"
How to take them? They didn't have a measuring tape at home.
The man's gaze suddenly grew profound. He took her hand and placed it on his chest. "Use this."
Mei Ran shook her head. "I can't measure with my hands."
How could she not?
The measurements he personally provided, little by little with his hands, for Old Master Yu to use in making the wedding dress!