C39 I Can't Admit to Something I Didn't Do 

Furrowing her eyebrows, Moo Nuannuan immediately dialed Shen Liang's number. Her fingers drummed against her keyboard. "Hello?" An exhausted voice came from the other end of the line, and if she leaned in a bit more, she could hear endless chatter in the background. "Is something wrong? Did something happen?"

"Well, not exactly." She pursed her lips. If Shen Liang was the one who had bought more promotion tools to make it shoot up the charts, then she'd be bursting with pride and joy right now. "Were you the one who got it up the trending list? On Moo Wanqi, I mean?"

"I thought you wouldn't let me buy them...Unless you've changed your mind?" Shen Liang said excitedly, clapping her hands together. "Wait, if you want me to do it, I could contact my friends in the business to get all eyes on de–"

"No, it's not that. I just saw that her videos had gone up the trending search bar again. I thought you were the one who paid the site to get it up there," she quickly explained, gazing at the screen. No matter how far she had scrolled, it was as if Moo Wanqi's dilemma wouldn't leave her alone. It kept popping out in every corner of the screen, haunting every user in sight.

"Wait, it's up again?" A few distant sounds echoed from the speaker, and Moo Nuannuan leaned back against her seat. It sounded as if her friend was already logging into her Weibo.

After a few seconds, she burst into laughter. "Although I didn't do this, I'll send some flowers to whoever did," she said, in between her laughs. Her voice was filled with mirth. "As I've said, karma's going to get her one day. I just didn't expect that it would be this fast!"

Even as Moo Nuannuan hung up the phone a few minutes later, she still couldn't get her mind off the trending list. She stared at her screen. How could it have gotten up there again even after the suppression of the Moo family?

Who would've been responsible for this? Could Moo Wanqi have offended other people? Perhaps they were the ones who paid to keep it up, wanting to give her a taste of her own medicine? Her lips pursed suddenly as she slowly nodded.

That wasn't impossible. In all her years of living in the Moo estate, she had seen how her sister would act. From being a large immature brat to an impatient and self-centered woman, she had offended quite a lot of people throughout her entire life. And some of them were even members of the upper class as well. It was possible that they'd all gang up on her.

"Well, what's done is done," she murmured to herself, not bothering to dwell much on this matter. Glancing at her watch, she felt that Mu Tingxiao should've finished his meal by now, so she headed to his study. Besides, they had quite a lot to talk about.

They didn't have time to even discuss the matters of what had transpired in the Interview, and with everything that had happened on the Internet, it was best that she present herself to him. Just to make sure that everything was clear with him.

As she got to the study, she noticed that the door was tightly shut. Hesitating, she raised her hand and knocked on the hardwood.

"Come in." A hoarse voice came from the inside.

Moo Nuannuan pushed the door open and walked into the study. Just like always, the man was still sitting behind his desk, with his back facing her. She furrowed her eyebrows, catching sight of his long arms and broad shoulders.

Although she was used to this appearance, she couldn't help but be a little puzzled. Mu Tingxiao had continually stated that he didn't want her to see his face, yet he still bothered to head out when needed be. Didn't that mean that he was allowing the rest of the world to see his face?

From her knowledge and according to plenty of rumors, Mu Tingxiao was an extremely isolated person. Not only did he not go out, but he also hated socializing. The man was said to lock himself in his estate for years, never going out...yet, from what she had observed, that wasn't exactly true. So why was he still hiding his face from her?

"What's the matter?"

Moo Nuannuan tilted her head. "Do you know what happened online recently? In Weibo?"

There was silence for a couple of seconds before he finally responded, "There's no need to mention what had happened in the past. You're Young Madame Mu. You should feel more at ease. Nobody can touch you here." Although his voice was cold, there was a sense of comfort in his words.

She pursed her lips upon hearing him. Somehow, there was something about his voice that sounded very similar to Mu Jiachen. If his voice was less hoarse, they might even sound the same. Perhaps it was because they were cousins.

"Thank you." As she walked out, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Mu Tingxiao was a little strange when it came to his appearance, he wasn't psychotic as some people who had been injured for life. Plus, he gave her enough space to do whatever she wanted. The corners of her lips twitched up. Somehow, even in isolation, he already gave her ten times than what her own family had given her.

She walked downstairs to the dining room, only to see that it was empty.

Perhaps Mu Jiachen had already left.

The next morning, Moo Nuannuan changed into more formal clothes and left for her interview.

Finally, she was doing something productive. She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes as she hung her bag on her shoulders. These past few days, she had done nothing but go through with Moo Wanqi's requests–as if she hadn't been doing it for the past twenty years. Even when married, she still couldn't shake her off! It was a waste of time.

All in all, her day went quite well. As she had graduated from a famous academy with high marks, the two company she had interview appointments with already expressed their willingness to hire her. "We could really use someone like you on the team," they said happily, greeting her farewell once she had left the premises.

Her heart thumped in her chest as returned their bright smiles. Back then, Xiao Chuhee had prevented her from engaging in any professional job after her college graduation. Not only because she didn't want her to succeed over her stepdaughter, but also because the woman had other plans for her–one of them included marrying her to Mu Tingxiao. Now that she wasn't under their roofs, she had all the freedom in the world, with equally plenty of options to choose from.

Planning to give herself a break, Moo Nuannuan decided to have lunch while looking over the company information for her next interview. Her fingers drifted down to the brochures stacked on her desk as she analyzed their priorities, wanting to make a great first impression.

Not long after she sat down, she noticed a woman wearing a mask and a cap walking towards her. Before she could react, the masked woman grabbed the glass water in front of her and poured it down Moo Nuannuan's head. The water splashed everywhere, drenching her suit.

"Moo Nuannuan!"

She closed her eyes and wiped the water from her face.

It was only upon closer look did she realize that the masked woman was none other than Moo Wanqi.

With her current stature in Weibo, Moo Wanqi needed to disguise herself before heading out. That was the only way for people to not recognize her wherever she'd gone. Otherwise, the hate she'd receive even just by walking down the street would be immeasurable.

"If you have something to say, then just say it. Don't beat around the bush." Moo Nuannuan raised her head. Her expression was extremely calm, and there was no jot of resentment shining in her eyes.

Moo Wanqi's face contorted into one of anger and disgust. Glancing at the people surrounding them, she immediately lowered her voice to a whisper. "You're the one who posted the video all over the internet," she accused fiercely. "I won't let you off that easily!"

Hm...Guess she really had underestimated her sister. Moo Nuannuan didn't expect her intuition to be this good.

But it's not like she'd admit it.

"I...What video?" Her eyebrows furrowed together.

"I bet that you were just faking it all these years, weren't you?" Moo Wanqi's eyes narrowed dangerously as her long fingernails dug against her palm. "You weren't stupid at all. You're just waiting for the right time, weren't you?"

Finally, Moo Nuannuan smiled. "I guess you know me better than my parents."

Moo Liyan and Xiao Chuhee probably still thought that she was nothing more than a fool. After all, she had played her part for so long that even if she were smart from the start, they wouldn't have believed it. For them, this entire thing must just be purely coincidental. Because how could their stupid daughter be manipulative enough to release these types of information to the media unscathed?

Besides, even if they had an inkling that she was smart all along, it would hurt their pride more if they admitted to being played by the daughter they've abandoned. The shame that came along with it must be humiliating for them.

"You bitch!" Moo Wanqi raised her hand and was about to hit her.

Moo Nuannuan was about to duck her head and dodge it when she saw a familiar figure walking over from the opposite side of the restaurant. The corners of her lips curled up and she gazed up at her sister. This was going to be fun.

With eyes flashing, her head swung to the side after receiving her sister's slap.

Shen Chuhan had just stepped into the restaurant when he saw Moo Nuannuan being slapped in front of all these people. Before the masked woman could do it again, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back, glaring at her.

Only then did he realize who she was. "Moo Wanqi?"

"Chuhan!" The anger in her voice faded almost immediately, and her eyes shone with joy. It was as if they were faced with a completely different woman. "I–please, listen to me. The videos and photos you've seen online–they were all posted by this slut! She's just jealous that I'm with you; I...Do you really not trust me anymore?"

Moo Nuannuan covered her swollen face and lowered her gaze, pretending to be the weakling everyone thought she was.

Honestly, she couldn't help but admire Moo Wanqi's self-centeredness. In her mind, the entire world revolved around her, and every woman in the street envied her. Just the thought it was ludicrous, yet it was enough to keep her sated.

Tightly biting her lips, Moo Nuannuan shook her head. "I didn't!"

Please, she wasn't jealous of her sister to begin with!

"You're lying!"

"Enough!" Shen Chuhan gritted his teeth.

The two of them had yelled much louder this time, attracting the attention of the other customers. Although they couldn't see who the masked woman was, some of them tried to peer a little bit closer–just to get a sense of the drama unfolding in front of them.

Concerned about his reputation, Shen Chuhan quickly ducked his head. "Let's go to a more private room and talk," he said coldly.

Then, he turned to Moo Nuannuan. His tone was much softer this time. "You too."

Moo Nuannuan originally didn't want to follow them, but upon seeing her sister's desolate features, she couldn't help but nod and agree with them. Anything to see Moo Wanqi being looked down on so miserably. 'How the tables have turned,' she thought.

When the three of them had finally entered a more private room, Moo Wanqi pointed a finger at Nuannuan's nose. "Everything that you've seen was done by her," she accused. "I'm innocent! The videos you saw? The photos? They were all photoshopped by this bitch!"

Having lied all these years, Moo Wanqi really came up with a clumsy excuse this time around.

Shen Chuhan gazed at her for a long time, as if this was the first time he had come across her. His face was filled with disappointment, and he sighed. "Even up to this time, you're still lying!" He shook his head and drew away from her hold.

Dissatisfied with the situation, she pulled Moo Nuannuan forward. "Tell him what you did! Tell him that you're the one who photoshopped it!"

Although Moo Wanqi had a feeling that Moo Nuannuan was playing dumb, she couldn't help but still be convinced of how easily bullied her younger sister was. Seeing the way she readily accepted her slap a few seconds ago gave her the illusion that she was still in control.

The young woman gazed up at Shen Chuhan before shaking her head. "I can't admit to something that I didn't do."

Shen Chuhan had a good impression of Moo Nuannuan all these years, taking her for a woman who easily followed through with her family's commands. In his mind, she could do absolutely no wrong. Seeing Moo Wanqi forcing her like this, he quickly pulled the young woman behind his back. "If you still won't take responsibility, then I suggest you leave," he said coldly. "Stop following me around."

Moo Wanqi had been contacting him for the past two days. He didn't want to talk to her, so he ignored all her calls. What he didn't expect was for her to follow him like some type of stalker!