Volume One, Chapter 14: Two Types of People Who Can’t Share a Bed
As Tang Ruan stepped out of the elevator, still outside the office, she already heard voices of discussion from within.
“Ah, it’s infuriating! How can Lu Green Tea be so good at pretending? Not even a plastic bag can match her act!” came the voice of Secretary Xiao Lian.
Lu Green Tea?
Tang Ruan subtly slowed her pace.
“It’s blatantly that shameless mistress Lu who intruded between our young Master Tang and Young Master Huo. Yet now it’s made to seem like our young Master Tang abused his power to snatch Young Master Huo away.”
“You saw it too? I saw it on my feed last night. It really makes me mad. I don’t even understand how she has the nerve to say that only those unloved are mistresses.”
“She claims her love for Young Master Huo is true, and our young Master Tang is the mistress—what a joke! When our young Master Tang was with Young Master Huo, she was probably still playing in the mud somewhere.”
“Exactly! When Young Master Huo was with our young Master Tang, she was still buried in her studies preparing for high school. Yet she has the audacity to say that our young Master Tang was the interloper.”
“If she had any shame, she wouldn’t do such things.”
“You’re right. Only men would be so blind, thinking she’s pure and delicate—the innocent white flower.”
“Better to gouge out those eyes she’s blessed with!”
A male employee raised his hand in defense. “Don’t tar all men with the same brush. I’m her hater.”
“As long as your eyes work properly, no gouging for you,” came the retort.
...
“Shh, stop talking. Young Master Tang should be arriving soon at this hour.”
The chatter gradually died down. After a while of silence, Tang Ruan finally entered.
She greeted everyone as usual, but once inside her office, she let her smile fall away.
From the staff’s whispers, it seemed Lu Xiaorou had posted something.
She took out her phone and opened the short video platform. As soon as she typed “Lu Xiaorou,” several related entries appeared:
“Lu Xiaorou and True Love Young Master Huo Broken Apart”
“Lu Xiaorou Tang Ruan”
“Lu Xiaorou, the Delicate White Flower”
...
Tang Ruan casually selected one entry to search. The first video was one recorded by Lu Xiaorou, posted at 10 p.m. last night.
She clicked on the first video and watched it silently for a long moment afterwards.
Pressing her brow, she finally understood the meaning behind the phrase “two kinds of people can’t share one bed.”
Huo Yanchuan’s mind was abnormal; Lu Xiaorou’s was even more so.
---
Lu Xiaorou’s video showed her eyes red-rimmed throughout, holding back tears three times and breaking down crying twice before abruptly ending the recording. The entire message was that Tang Ruan abused her status as the Tang family heiress to do as she pleased, stealing away Huo Yanchuan, whom Lu claimed they both loved.
To emphasize Tang Ruan’s abuse of power, she listed examples like being made difficult at her coffee shop part-time job and how her exemplary roommate lost her scholarship because she spoke up on Lu’s behalf—all allegedly due to Tang Ruan’s retaliation.
Before meeting Huo Yanchuan, Lu Xiaorou’s pure appearance had gained her a modest online following of under 100,000 fans as a small influencer. After the scandal with Huo Yanchuan broke, her popularity surged to over 500,000 followers.
Evening and morning were peak hours for traffic on short video platforms.
Since posting, the video had amassed over 500,000 likes and more than 300,000 comments.
Tang Ruan casually opened the comments section.
Scrolling down, she noticed that any comment supporting or showing sympathy for Lu Xiaorou was liked by Lu herself.
But comments speaking fairly or siding with Tang Ruan were ignored or even deleted.
Indeed... a blatant double standard.
After browsing the comments for a while longer, she put down her phone, bored.
She was past the age of indulging in celebrity gossip, especially since she had been dragged into it as one of the parties involved.
She sent the video link to the PR manager, signaling for the department to handle it quickly.
Soon, the PR manager sent back a video.
The protagonist was not unfamiliar.
It was Zhou Qing, the student whose Tang family scholarship had been revoked by Tang Ruan.
In the video, she was dressed plainly, eyes red as she spoke of her impoverished background and diligent studies, explaining that she had gained admission to A University from a small county through her own hard work.
She never expected that just for standing up for a friend and saying a single word, she would incur Tang Ruan’s wrath, leading to the cancellation of her scholarship.
That scholarship money was meant to cover her entire tuition for the coming year.
Unlike Lu Xiaorou, Zhou Qing did not cry repeatedly, but her eyes were red, lips trembling—her forced composure was heartrending.
[Young Master Tang is easy to deal with compared to Lu Xiaorou. The latter is clearly the mistress who intruded and now plays the victim. The public can see clearly, few are supporting her.]
[But the matter with Zhou Qing losing her Tang family scholarship is turning public opinion against us.]
Zhou Qing’s poor family background made her the natural underdog. Coupled with her excellent academic record, such a combination often earns sympathy.
Outsiders felt sorry for her and naturally saw Tang Ruan as the villain for revoking her scholarship.
[Do you have any solution?]
The PR department was experienced in such matters and should handle it with ease.
[Sometimes, Young Master Tang is just...]
[But speak freely.]
[I’ve uncovered some dirt on Lu Xiaorou and Zhou Qing, but more digging is needed. I suggest holding off on any response until we have solid evidence to strike confidently.]
---
Tang Ruan pondered for a moment, then replied, [Do as you suggest.]
From Zhou Qing’s side, watching her followers and likes surge over two days, she was inwardly anxious, fearing retaliation from Tang Ruan and the Tang family.
But time passed quietly; her followers grew from a few dozen to fifty thousand, yet neither Tang Ruan nor the Tang family made any move.
Like... a turtle retreating into its shell.
Gradually, Zhou Qing grew bolder, accepting sponsorships for tuition and living expenses from kind strangers, and posting multiple videos daily to ride the trend, even advertising products.
She realized for the first time how easy it was to make money.
Far easier than her hard-earned part-time wages.
Clutching her phone, staring at her bank balance, she beamed with joy.
After her happiness, she tied up her hair, washed her face, and prepared to film today’s videos.
Today’s videos contained two hidden advertisements—one worth six thousand, the other four thousand—a total of ten thousand yuan.
Ten thousand a day, thirty days a month—that’s three hundred thousand...
“Compared to Zhou Qing, Lu Xiaorou has been relatively restrained lately, but Zhou Qing has been posting videos like crazy to capitalize on her popularity, two to three videos daily, each containing hidden ads,” the PR manager sighed each time she received notifications of Zhou Qing’s new posts.
She finally understood the saying, “One can never earn money beyond one’s awareness.”
Still, she enjoyed watching the spectacle.
The more brazen Zhou Qing acted, the louder the eventual comeuppance would be.
She even arranged to spend money boosting Zhou Qing’s videos to increase their reach and heat.
To bring someone down, first make them go mad.
Let Zhou Qing indulge in her madness for a while.
The PR manager placed a file in front of Tang Ruan. “Young Master Tang, here are the scandals we uncovered about Lu Xiaorou and Zhou Qing.”
She added, “All verified.”
She had investigated thoroughly to ensure absolute truth before presenting it to Tang Ruan.
One could say that appearances are deceiving—some who look glamorous on the outside are already rotten and putrid within.
Tang Ruan finished reviewing and fell silent.