Chapter 138: One Trending Topic After Another

After seeing the notification of the funds hitting his account, Zhao Yang beamed.

"So much money! One million in the bag, hahahaha!"

He stopped laughing almost as soon as he started, glancing around warily before walking away quickly.

Back at home, Xie Jinchuan rubbed his temples, watching Guanyin crying and making a fuss in his arms. He had no choice but to use his spiritual energy to conjure several little spirits to play with her.

"Daddy, did Mommy stop wanting you?"

After playing for a while, Guanyin leaned against the table and gave Xie Jinchuan a cheeky grin.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Xie Jinchuan raised an eyebrow and flicked her forehead lightly. "Aren't you afraid your mommy will come back and spank you?"

Guanyin blinked her large eyes and tilted her head adorably. "In that case, why don't we go find Mommy? Guanyin misses her!"

Xie Jinchuan sighed helplessly as he looked at her. Seeing that the little girl was about to start crying again, he immediately compromised. "Alright, I'll take you to the company to find her."

He scooped her up and headed out. He suddenly understood why people online were saying they didn't want children anymore; it really was quite noisy. Especially when a little girl cried—the sound was nothing short of a disaster.

"Hehehe, finding Mommy~" Her goal achieved, Guanyin turned sweet and obedient in an instant.

Xie Jinchuan shook his head with a resigned smile and started the car, heading toward the Shen Corporation. However, no sooner had he stepped out of the vehicle than he was swarmed by reporters.

"Mr. Xie, are you here to hold someone accountable now that you know about President Shen and Gu Qingming's visit to the OB-GYN?"

OB-GYN? A checkup? Xie Jinchuan looked puzzled. What could have possibly happened in the mere dozen minutes since he last checked the news?

"Mr. Xie, what is your take on President Shen's infidelity, and the possibility that she is pregnant with Gu Qingming's child?"

Pregnant? Xie Jinchuan’s face darkened as he began to piece things together. He frowned and said, "I don't know what rumors are circulating online, but it is absolutely impossible for her to be with Gu Qingming."

"You should all know the price of spreading rumors by now. Don't go looking for trouble for yourselves."

He spoke in a cold voice and tried to push forward, but the reporters had the road blocked so tightly that he found it difficult to move.

"What are you doing to my daddy? Can't you move out of the way?"

Guanyin, who had been shielded in Xie Jinchuan’s arms by his oversized coat, finally couldn't help but poke her head out and shout.

Her voice brought the rowdy crowd of reporters to a sudden, stunned silence.

"Daddy?" Someone in the crowd muttered the word with a strange tone, and the others snapped back to reality. Seeing the little girl in Xie Jinchuan’s arms, who looked almost exactly like Shen Qingli, they were struck with astonishment.

"You called Mr. Xie 'daddy'? Then who is your mother?!"

Someone asked, and Guanyin frowned, clearly disliking the noisy environment. But the next second, her eyes lit up, and she pointed directly toward the entrance of the Shen Corporation.

"Mommy!"

Everyone turned. Seeing Shen Qingli, their suspicions were immediately confirmed. Camera flashes erupted as they focused on the three of them. Shen Qingli took Guanyin into her arms, not saying much else, her brow furrowed and her expression clearly displeased.

"Let's go."

Xie Jinchuan channeled a bit of spiritual energy. The reporters, who had been blocking their path with questions, suddenly felt as if they were hitting an invisible wall, making it impossible for them to move. They could only watch helplessly as the three walked away. As Xie Jinchuan left and his spiritual pressure vanished, the reporters, who had been desperately trying to push forward, fell into a chaotic mess.

Back at the office, Xie Jinchuan saw that everyone was frazzled. Gu Qingming sat nearby, his expression equally grim.

"I'm sorry. I didn't expect them to spread such outrageous rumors this time." Gu Qingming felt nothing but irritation when he thought about the so-called evidence being circulated online.

"None of this is your fault. Besides, isn't that what entertainment is? People just want to consume gossip and news. Since you're the most popular star lately, they have no one else to follow but you." Shen Qingli didn't seem to care; she had grown accustomed to the endless stream of scandals between them.

"Mommy, I like this big brother!" Ever since she saw Gu Qingming, Guanyin’s eyes hadn't left him. She blinked, her face full of smiles.

"This big brother looks so good, and his aura feels warm, just like Mommy's!"

Gu Qingming was shocked by the sudden appearance of the child, but he was even more stunned to hear the little girl call Shen Qingli... "Mommy."

He instinctively looked at the man sitting beside the woman. "Is she yours?" She looked far too much like Shen Qingli.

"How could that be? I'm at the company every day; have you ever seen me pregnant? She's adopted from an orphanage. The fact that she looks like me just shows we were fated to be together." Shen Qingli patted Guanyin’s head. "This child doesn't even get close to her own father, so it's surprising that she has such a connection with you."

Once released, Guanyin immediately ran over to Gu Qingming. After sensing the seal on him, she blinked. She didn't reveal anything, however, and instead leaned into Gu Qingming’s embrace, absorbing the nourishment of his deer-spirit power.

*The seal hasn't been broken yet; I can't tell Mommy and Daddy...* Guanyin muttered to herself, looking up at Gu Qingming with a grin. "Big brother is great!"

Xie Jinchuan, who had been sitting there all along, narrowed his eyes at Guanyin’s reaction. Guanyin didn't just get close to anyone, especially not with such intimacy; she had only ever shown that side of herself to Shen Qingli. And that was only because Shen Qingli possessed the wood-element spiritual energy she loved.

But why... why was she so close to Gu Qingming? Could his identity be extraordinary? Yet, no matter how he looked at it, Gu Qingming seemed like an ordinary human.

Dong Yang walked over, looking surprised by the scene, but he quickly regained his composure. "President Shen, the rumors about you and Mr. Gu tonight have been clarified, but the news about you and Mr. Xie having a child is continuing to ferment online."

In other words, the news about the child had effectively pushed the gossip about Gu Qingming off the trending list. In a way, that was a good thing.

"Just announce to the public that she is adopted. Also, find out who started these rumors. If it's a paparazzo, handle it the usual way. If it's someone else, investigate thoroughly."

With the newcomer press conference coming up in just a few days, it was hard not to be suspicious of this sudden flurry of trouble.

"Don't blame yourself. Given our relationship... we were already at the center of public opinion; it's impossible to remain untainted. As long as your fans believe in you, that's enough. Everyone else is either a troll, a bandwagoner, or a hater. There's no need to care."

Shen Qingli patted Gu Qingming on the shoulder before being called away by Dong Yang, leaving the two men to stare at each other in silence.