"Go to the Shen residence. Bring my wife home."

With a pale face, Jasper Zhong clicked onto Weibo, only to be greeted by an avalanche of vitriolic comments. Just as she was scrambling to find something—anything—to salvage her image, a new post popped up: crystal-clear, high-resolution photos of her cozying up to an investor a few days ago were now plastered across the internet.

Exactly the same way she had exposed Elena Shen that morning.

Staring at the image and the cruel, merciless commentary beneath it, Jasper's composure shattered completely.

Eyes reddened, she shakily dialed Grace Su's number.

She trembled like a leaf in a storm.

The moment the call connected, she rushed to plead for help:

"Grace, please... I need your help, I—"

"How exactly am I supposed to help you?" Grace's voice cut in like a blade—sharp, frigid, and saturated with disgust. She didn't let Jasper get another word in before pushing all responsibility away with calculated precision:

"Jasper, did I tell you to launch an online assault on Elena Shen? Why the hell did you even do that on your own initiative?!"

"And now you come crying to me? Thanks to you, the endorsement I spent months securing fell through! Not to mention the new role I already signed for—trashed, all because of you!"

"Jasper, where do you even get the nerve to ask for my help?!"

Jasper stood frozen.

In her mind, Grace had always seemed approachable—even after she'd latched onto Adrian Jiang and climbed her way into the spotlight. Whenever she visited university, she never acted aloof or arrogant toward her former classmates or dormmates. Jasper had once even expressed envy over Grace's current life, and Grace had, in return, introduced her to a few producers…

Now, faced with Grace's sudden shift in tone, it took Jasper several long seconds to process what had just happened.

But with the internet exploding with accusations of her seducing investors, she had no time to think. Swallowing her pride, she softened her voice and begged:

"Grace… I thought she was just some ordinary girl. I didn't know she had ties to the Shen Group. You're always saying there's something off between her and Ethan Jiang—that she's always standing between the two of you. I was just trying to defend you, to vent on your behalf when I posted that picture…"

"But everything's spiraled out of control. And now my pictures with Mr. Li has gone viral too. Grace, please… help me get in touch with him. I can't reach him anymore…"

Grace let out a cold laugh, her disdain for this liability of a friend reaching its breaking point.

"And everything those netizens are saying about you—isn't it true?"

Jasper stared, stunned. "You… what did you say?"

"Don't play innocent," Grace snapped. "When I introduced you to Mr. Li, didn't I clearly tell you he was married? And yet you still chose to throw yourself at him, offering your body like a cheap commodity. What does that make you if not a mistress?"

Jasper's eyes widened. The fury and panic she'd been suppressing surged uncontrollably. She wanted to scream that Grace was the one who'd introduced her to Mr. Li—that she had no right to just toss her aside like trash now that things had gone south.

But Grace didn't give her the chance to speak. Her voice grew colder, laced with threat, and then the line went dead. Jasper found herself blocked.

"You chose to become a mistress. Don't drag others down with you."

"And as for Elena Shen—don't pretend you did it for me. You were jealous. Jealous that she landed a better backer than you ever could. Keep my name out of your mess. If you dare drag me down with you again, every dark secret of yours will be exposed for the world to see."

As the scandal continued to dominate trending searches, fueled by official responses from both Tiansheng Group and the Shen Corporation, even Mason Meng—who was traveling abroad on a yacht with her clique—caught wind of the debacle.

Leaning casually against the yacht's railing, Mason let out a dry, scornful chuckle as she skimmed through the comment threads.

"What a dumb bitch. Who still uses such low-rent tactics to frame someone in this day and age?"

"And what kind of blind fool believes Elena Shen comes from a humble background, trying to climb the social ladder? Every one of those custom couture pieces she wears costs eight figures. Poverty? Give me a break."

Standing beside her, Chen Leyi—usually Mason's most sycophantic shadow—remained completely silent today.

Ever since Elena had slapped her across the face at the Gu family banquet, the sting still burned whenever she thought about it.

She didn't dare provoke Elena again. Not when Elena had both the returning, notoriously protective Aurel Shen behind her and the powerful head of the Jiang family, Ethan Jiang, with whom she was already legally married.

At Huaihai University, the school forum was exploding in tandem with the internet. Thread after thread sprang up, forming towering comment chains. The fury and ridicule flooding those posts rivaled anything seen on Weibo.

But Elena Shen no longer paid any attention to any of it.

She was chatting casually with Annie Gu, exiting Weibo just as a message from her brother, Aurel Shen, came in.

She was about to respond when her screen lit up again—this time with a call from Ethan Jiang.

Annie peeked at her phone and teased:

"Both your husband and your brother messaging at the same time? Who gets the honor of being answered first?"

Elena glanced down at the name Ethan blinking insistently on her screen—it felt like silent urgency wrapped in digital light. She hesitated only briefly, then followed her heart.

"Ethan?" she answered softly.

His voice, deep and steady, came through with its usual calm. After two days of not seeing him, even speaking with him made her breath hitch just a little.

"Will you be home for lunch?" he asked.

Elena glanced at the time and replied, "I have to be in the lab this afternoon. I'll stay on campus."

"What about dinner? Will you come back to Yushan Residence?"

She paused longer this time.

Her eyes flicked to her brother's latest WeChat message:

[Come by the company after class. I'll show you around each department.]

She gripped her phone tightly.

Torn between fulfilling her duties as a wife at Ethan's estate and learning the ropes of the Shen Corporation under Aurel's guidance, she struggled for a moment… and ultimately chose the latter.

But she didn't reject Ethan outright.

Her voice was as gentle and tactful as possible as she hinted that she might not be returning that evening.

At Tiansheng Group headquarters, Ethan sat at his desk, eyes downcast, listening to her soft refusal. He glanced briefly at the time on his wristwatch.

He didn't press her further.

Instead, he changed the subject. "Where will you be eating lunch?"

"On campus," she replied.

"I'll send you lunch from your favorite restaurant. It'll arrive at Huaihai University by 11:30. Don't skip your meal."

Elena agreed softly.

After the call ended, Ethan summoned Eric Chen.

As he uncapped his pen and began signing documents, he instructed evenly:

"Cancel everything scheduled after seven this evening."

Eric glanced at the jam-packed calendar that extended well past midnight.

He hesitated, then asked cautiously, "Mr. Jiang… wasn't there something important planned after seven?"

Ethan's voice remained calm, firm:

"I'm going to the Shen residence. To bring my wife home."