Volume One, Chapter 19: The Hypocrisy Trending Online

“What are you doing? I thought you had already left for the office.”

Zhou Xianyu, wearing slippers, came over and curiously peeked at what he was looking at.

Gu Qichuan lifted his dark eyes to her. “Just browsing.”

She leaned in closer on her own, and he couldn’t help but set the book aside and wrap an arm around her waist. Zhou Xianyu knelt on the soft sofa, feeling that Gu Qichuan was becoming more and more clingy these days.

Unconsciously, her fingertips lightly tapped his tousled hair, then she noticed paint on her hand. She raised it, turning it left and right. “Oops, I got some on me…”

Hearing that, Gu Qichuan gently grasped her fingers to take a closer look, then fetched a wet wipe and carefully cleaned it off. His expression was calm, his attention fully focused on her delicate fingers.

Zhou Xianyu was watching him wipe her hand when her phone on the table rang. She glanced at the unfamiliar number, hesitated, then answered.

The voice on the other end was familiar yet irritable. “Zhou Xianyu, take me off your blacklist right now!”

Zhou Xianyu guessed it was Zhou Yizhi. She lazily reclined on the sofa, her right hand held by Gu Qichuan, tilting her head with a languid tone. “What do you want?”

Zhou Yizhi was restless and agitated. Ever since Zhou Xianyu blocked him, he felt something was quietly changing. When did she become like this?

“I already know you pushed Qianqian down the stairs! Come to the hospital and apologize. Do you know what people are saying outside? You’re almost trending for all the wrong reasons!”

Zhou Xianyu chuckled lightly. “Who told you I pushed her? Do you believe everything you hear? Then if I say I didn’t push her, would you believe that?”

Zhou Yizhi sounded disappointed. “Everyone told me. You’re still trying to deny it? Zhou Xianyu, what happened to you?!”

The smile on Zhou Xianyu’s lips straightened as she said with no expression, “Who is everyone? Is everyone only Zhou Qianqian? Is she the only one who can be your sister?”

She suddenly laughed softly. “Luckily, I stopped caring a long time ago, Zhou Yizhi, you fool.”

Her face remained unreadable, but her heart pounded faster. When they were young, her brother was the kindest person to her at home. If her current bad temper was shaped by anyone, it was certainly him.

She could never forget the day Zhou Qianqian returned home, happily clinging to Zhou Yizhi’s arm, saying, “Brother! You’ve been the big brother for so many years. Now it’s my turn, right?”

Qianqian smiled playfully, as if joking, but standing beside them, Zhou Xianyu felt panic and fear. She watched Zhou Yizhi laugh at her sister’s teasing with a bright smile.

No one could understand the terror she felt at that moment—as if the love that belonged solely to her had begun to crumble and was no longer hers alone.

Thankfully, she was no longer the girl who would burst into tears whenever she heard disappointment in Zhou Yizhi’s voice. She hung up on him and calmly blocked the number again.

The Zhou family was no longer her home.

Lost in thought, Gu Qichuan gently lifted her left hand and began to clean it. His dark eyes were deep and his voice steady: “Do whatever you want. Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

On the other end, Zhou Yizhi stared in disbelief at the call being cut off once more. His anger surged uncontrollably. Behind him, Zhou Qianqian lay on the hospital bed, her eyes flashing with scorn but her face looking pitiful. “Brother… if sister doesn’t want to apologize, then forget it…”

Zhou Yizhi had no time to respond. Inside, he was in turmoil. It was the first time he had sensed endless disappointment and calm acceptance from Zhou Xianyu—acceptance of all his fury—and she no longer called him brother.

In the past, when they quarreled, she would block his number, but never for more than a month. They would always reconcile. This time, it felt different.

Zhou Xianyu didn’t stubbornly seek conversation or angrily retort. She simply said calmly and naturally that she no longer cared.

Zhou Yizhi was inexplicably flustered and restless. She no longer cared—no longer cared about what?

Wasn’t she clearly the one who did wrong? How could she speak so confidently?!

Zhou Qianqian’s voice was ignored. She felt uneasy. “Brother, my forehead hurts a bit. Can you call the doctor for me?”

Only then did Zhou Yizhi snap back, looking at her pale face. “Does it hurt? Okay, lie down well. I’ll get the doctor to check on you.”

As Zhou Yizhi left, Zhou Qianqian let out a deep sigh and reopened her phone, glancing at the mounting public pressure on Zhou Xianyu. She felt amused.

—

Zhou Xianyu hadn’t let Zhou Qianqian run wild for long. The public outcry grew within a day, with some even tracking down the official website of Gu Corporation to confront them: “Did you know your CEO married a poison woman?”

Then, suddenly, a video surfaced and quietly surged to the top of the trending list—“Miss Zhou Er’s Two-Faced Hypocrisy.”

Clicking on the video revealed the entire argument between Zhou Xianyu and Zhou Qianqian at the banquet’s second floor. Netizens were stunned by the terrifyingly vicious expression on Zhou Qianqian’s face, falling silent for a moment.

Especially Zhou Qianqian’s fans, who could not accept it at all.

“What’s going on? This video must be fake, right?”

“My Qianqian is so gentle. Who is this in the video? AI face swap?”

“Zhou Xianyu must have bought the trending spot!”

“I knew there’d be a twist. Zhou Qianqian is too scary—so sweet on the surface but so venomous behind the scenes. Why would she want to hurt her own sister?”

“Whether it’s about the inheritance or a man, we have no clue. Stay tuned.”

“What’s with all the chatter? Is this a news broadcast?”

“Some suspect it’s a doctored video, so as a professional, I checked it thoroughly. Sorry, Qianqian’s fans, but this video is original, unedited, no AI, no manipulation. Accept reality!”

In the hospital room, Zhou Qianqian was frantic, her fear reaching a peak. She couldn’t figure out how this surveillance footage was leaked!

Hadn’t she already arranged for the hallway camera footage to be destroyed?!

She widened her eyes, staring intently at the angle of the video, then recalled Zhou Xianyu’s reaction at the time, and fury flared—It had to be Zhou Xianyu!

She had been played by Zhou Xianyu!

What to do, what to do… This was the end!

Zhou Qianqian was so panicked she didn’t know what to do. No, no, she couldn’t let her parents or brother find out! Nor anyone else!

She hurriedly made a call. “Quick! Get that trending topic off the internet! You know which one I mean! I’ll pay you whatever you want! Remove it as soon as possible!”

Hearing the words “whatever you want,” the person on the other end perked up and promised, “No problem, Miss. Trust my skills! Give me half an hour!”

Though Zhou Qianqian had a bad feeling, she urged, “Go quickly!”