Chapter Thirteen: The Woven Truth

Page 1/3

“Bro Meng~ I’m going to run overtime again, what should I do? Can’t help it, hahaha, live drama unfolding!”

A short video suddenly went viral on the local trending search. Through the exaggerated wide-angle selfie lens of a GoPro, a delivery guy in uniform made a comical expression, his fully exposed bright white teeth adding an utterly hilarious effect.

“A three-year-old adorable kid is searching for his family on the street, clinging to a woman’s leg and refusing to let go. The child’s cries are heart-wrenching, calling out ‘Mommy’ with such piercing sorrow that anyone who hears it feels their heart break. That woman, cold-heartedly, just said she doesn’t recognize him!”

The delivery man, Luo Ge, was a regular on the breaking-scene short video app. Wearing a GoPro, he roamed the city from north to south, frequently uncovering social hot topics.

Known as the King of Gossip, his account was even named “Gossip Brother Luo Ge Delivery,” and whenever any incident happened on the street, he would immediately stop delivering and start live-streaming the drama for his followers.

He had no idea how many complaints he’d received or how much money had been deducted from his earnings, yet he remained passionate about it.

“Bro Meng!! The male lead has appeared!! Wow, this guy looks a bit old, could he be the female lead’s father, not the male lead?”

Luo Ge adjusted the camera to avoid showing the faces involved: “No, no, the male lead calls her his wife! Oh my, bro, you look like you’re in your fifties, and the girl can’t be more than twenty, right?”

“Bro Meng! Listen carefully, the man said the woman abandoned him and their child because he’s poor; the woman vehemently denies it, saying he’s mistaken! What a big drama!”

A few bystanders stood at a distance; Luo Ge remained on his electric scooter, keeping a corner’s observer perspective.

Soon, a sleek BMW pulled up by the roadside. The woman involved shook off the old man, clicked her high heels, got into the passenger seat, and drove away with flair.

The video was short and unedited, in line with Luo Ge’s usual one-take style. From start to finish, he made no judgment, as if merely watching a grand performance, then left satisfied.

But the comment section was already in an uproar.

“She’s a heartless woman, always chasing after the new and discarding the old.”

“Isn’t this a classic ‘phoenix woman’? She hooked a rich guy in the big city and abandoned her family back home!”

“Use your brains! How old is the girl? How old is the child? There’s no way she’s the mother! They clearly said it was a mistake — I think it’s just an old lunatic!”

“There are so many women in the city, why single her out? If she were innocent, she’d have shouted it out long ago!”

“It takes two to tango!”

“If I slap your face once, will it make a sound? If there’s really a problem, go report it to the authorities — what’s with this pity play?”

Page 2/3

The video’s popularity remained sky-high. At the top of the comment section, another streamer suddenly posted a photo.

“I recognize that outfit — isn’t that what streamer Coco usually wears?”

The image was a screenshot from Coco’s live stream. The floral dress, high heels, and bracelet perfectly matched the blurry female figure in the video.

Even the hairstyle was identical.

“I’ve followed her before. She said she came from the remote mountains, all alone, chasing her dreams in the big city!”

This revelation stirred a massive wave of speculation.

At this moment, the narrative formed a seamless loop — no one outright stated falsehoods, yet everyone completed the story in their minds.

A beautiful girl escaped from the mountains, dazzled by the city’s splendor, abandoning her husband and child, chasing dreams, breaking free from the cage that bound her, rushing toward a glamorous yet chaotic new world.

Otherwise, why was she previously trending under the label “caged bird”?

Lin Ke watched the video’s views climb by the second and, after several attempts, repeatedly exited the app.

Online, one’s identity is assigned by others.

She understood this well.

All she wanted was the spotlight. The insults had nothing to do with her; they were just strangers hurling baseless curses at a character named “Coco.”

Those words didn’t hurt her, wouldn’t affect her. Real money was about to flow into her pockets, all part of the plan she and her company had long mapped out…

Yet her slightly trembling fingertips betrayed a heart she could not entirely dismiss.

She reopened the screen recording of the video.

“When fairness is impossible, only the kindest must be sacrificed to keep the peace. Once the kindest refuse to sacrifice anymore, they are branded as ‘disturbers of harmony.’ She’s not allowed to escape, not allowed to speak the truth.”

Today, Coco wore exquisite makeup, sat in the passenger seat, casually revealing the BMW logo. Her eyes showed none of the exhaustion or loneliness from that day, but rather a faint sneer and cold smile.

Most importantly, from day to night, she changed her clothes.

Page 3/3

Lin Ke’s new video was taken entirely as a response to the daytime trending incident. The term “phoenix woman” became the new title for the streamer “Coco Love ❤.” Not only did she top three spots on the local trending search, but she also appeared on the overall popularity charts.

“This lower-class world’s stability has always been bought at the cost of countless women’s freedom and happiness.”

“Stop sugarcoating it, fighters. Praising the high and trampling the low, flattering superiors and bullying inferiors — isn’t this just class prejudice?”

“A tiger is cruel but won’t eat its own cubs! She doesn’t even want her own son!”

“Call it betrayal a thousand times, but betrayal is betrayal. Being kept as a mistress is being kept as a mistress. Even a canary is supposed to be noble now.”

The online debate was overwhelmingly one-sided. No matter how many insults or doubts flooded the comments, there was not a single reply.

Thanks to deliberate platform promotion, Lin Ke’s follower count, after stabilizing for days, surged exponentially once again.

Indeed, most people were just there for gossip, wanting to see how this “shameless” streamer changed clothes after getting into a BMW, and how much scandal there truly was in the alleged “abandonment of husband and child.”

Yet it was undeniable that, driven by a multitude of active accounts, the “phoenix woman” topic remained intensely heated. Many streamers jumped on the bandwagon to analyze the event, weaving the story’s cause and effect without a word from those involved.

“Guys, I told you: you reap what you sow. What kind of family would marry off an eighteen-year-old girl to an old geezer and expect anything good?”

“Only 22-year-olds can get married officially. Having a child out of wedlock in the mountains is probably scorned by everyone there. In such a family, if you don’t run away, are you just waiting to die?”

“Everything needs an exam in this world, but bearing children doesn’t? Such parents deserve divine punishment for bullying their own daughters like this.”

“The kindest one is always the one sacrificed. It’s so clear, but some still don’t get it — another ‘sister-supporter’ just using bride price money to feed her brothers!”

With these streamer comments in hand, Lin Ke finally knocked on the door of the technical department.

“Snow… Director, can I ask if it’s possible to limit the traffic on this topic? I see it’s all pushing my original family issues now.”

Ordinary streamers wouldn’t have the privilege to enter here, but Baidie Yunqi was the company’s top project. CEO Wang had said that seed streamers could talk directly with any department director if they had concerns.

Still, no one expected a bold rookie to show up unannounced.