Forcing Me to Be Reborn?!
Chapter 620 - 452: Are Cheng Zhu and Shen Qingning Together? (Part 2)

Chapter 620: Chapter 452: Are Cheng Zhu and Shen Qingning Together? (Part 2)

Inside the Xinhang Apartment, Shen Qingning was recalling those words, and she found herself drifting off in thought.

This memory was like sugar wrapped in shards of glass.

She savored it carefully, finding it both sweet and painful.

Still, she was deeply engrossed in it.

Those words were like a key, unlocking all the sweet memories that Shen Qingning was reluctant to revisit.

Lin Lu noticed her unusual demeanor and thought she was in a bad mood, even blaming herself, so she couldn’t help but speak out, "Ningning, Ningning, what are you thinking about?"

The prideful young girl snapped back to reality, unable to help but purse her lips slightly.

She was feeling particularly awful now.

The sweet memories of the past seemed to turn incredibly sharp at this moment.

They cut into her heart one after another.

And in truth, these memories could prove one thing.

From Shen Qingning’s perspective, at the time, it seemed that Cheng Zhu was the one who took the initiative to flirt with her.

The logic here was clear.

If he had anything going on with Lin Lu at the time, then naturally Lin Lu wouldn’t have played such a prank, having Shen Qingning go to welcome the newcomers.

So it turns out, I was first in everything, all of it started with me...

She looked towards Lin Lu and spoke up to explain, "It’s nothing, I was just a bit stunned."

Both women were caught in a mix of similar yet distinct emotions at this moment.

Lin Lu felt that it was her own fault that such a rumor had started.

Shen Qingning felt that the way this relationship ended was also her own doing.

After a while, Lin Lu then said, "Ningning, should I ask Cheng Zhu to find a way to explain this?"

She believed that for a single girl, to suddenly be involved in such widespread rumors would have a significant impact.

Shen Qingning was rational and knew well that you just can’t control what others say.

It takes only a mouth to spread rumors but a marathon of efforts to refute them.

People love to follow rumors, but many tend to ignore the retractions.

However, she couldn’t possibly share these thoughts with Lin Lu; she simply nodded slightly and said, "Okay, go talk to him about it."

"Mhm, I’ll go to my room and give him a call."

"Mhm, I’ll also head to my room; I’m a bit tired today," Shen Qingning nodded.

After returning to her room, she collapsed onto the soft bed and slowly closed her eyes.

Meanwhile, Lin Lu immediately phoned her boyfriend.

"Hello, Cheng Zhu, big trouble has happened!" Her voice urgent.

"What’s up?" Cheng Zhu asked. "Let me guess, is it about what I just saw?"

He didn’t pretend to be unaware; he chose to act as if he had... just found out!

"Is it because there are rumors online about me and Shen Qingning?" Cheng Zhu said.

"Yeah, you saw it, right? It’s the top comment now; I can’t believe it got over forty thousand likes, and there are over 4000 replies!" Lin Lu anxiously said.

"Yeah, some people are really bad!" Cheng Zhu kept the conversation going, cussing a few times under his breath.

"Exactly!"

"Then I’ll have the official Youu Tea Weibo post something about it, and I’ll send the wording to Shen Qingning first to have a look," Cheng Zhu said.

"Okay, okay; just make sure to be quick, okay?"

"OK! Mission accepted!" said Cheng Zhu.

A few minutes later, he sent a WeChat message to Shen Qingning with a screenshot.

"How about we explain it like this, do you think it’s okay?" he typed.

The image showed the content Youu Tea’s official Weibo was going to post, which was in a rather lighthearted tone: Our lady shareholder is single, folks.

There would be a picture attached at the bottom, along with a screenshot of the viral comment to refute the rumors.

Lying on her bed, resting with her eyes closed, Shen Qingning was still immersed in memories, when she rolled to one side, curled up on the bed, her long legs drawn up high, stretching the fabric of her pants taut.

Holding her phone in her hands, she looked at the WeChat message from Cheng Zhu and felt a small pang in her heart.

—He was helping to dispel the rumors about their relationship.

Shen Qingning let out a bitter laugh, her face paling a bit.

Her fingers were somewhat stiff as she typed, replying with just one word: "Okay."

After a while, she saw that Cheng Zhu was typing again.

"I’ll have someone quickly deal with this matter, trying my best not to trouble you. Thanks for what you did at the concert; it’s been a big help to our brand," Cheng Zhu said.

Shen Qingning read his message and remembered the tacit agreement they had reached earlier.

Her reply, the content of which caused Cheng Zhu to feel a twinge in his heart, as if he had been choked.

"No problem, Business is Business."

...

...

Cheng Zhu quickly made arrangements, having the editor post the content and then control the comments section below.

Any content that disclosed personal information had to be deleted.

In fact, he was well aware that this clarification would be somewhat effective, but it could only go so far.

Especially for those who love to ship couples, acting like lunatics.

It was as if a show had aired where the male and female leads were not actually together in real life, but people insisted they were, using a clichéd line like, "XX and XX are real!"

Especially those fans of boys’ love, the harder they shipped male characters together, the more stubborn they were, convinced that hell or high water, these characters were an item!

People will always believe what they want to believe.

The reason Cheng Zhu asked the official Weibo to say the female shareholder is single was because he was well aware of the art of language and its ability to guide thought.

"If we had said, Shen Qingning and I are not together, the effect definitely wouldn’t be good."

"But since she’s pretty, saying she’s single would have some guiding effect."

"A lot of the people who are fans of her looks will focus on the fact that this beautiful and rich beauty is single."

The only problem now was that the content of the leaks had such strong imagery.

The whole senior and junior, the aloof girl personally welcoming newcomers at the school gates, the poor boy and the wealthy girl... it’s like a mishmash of romantic tropes, hitting all the trendy spots of the day!

Talk about a stroke of luck!

Cheng Zhu even suspected that there would be fanfiction about the two of them on the internet...

After he had arranged everything, he received a call from Jiang Wanzhou.

"Cheng Zhu, big trouble!"

Checking the time, since the concert had ended quite a while ago, Cheng Zhu couldn’t help but smirk, "I’m already taking care of it, but what about you, have you broken up with Ji Shiwen?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Jiang Wanzhou’s voice sounded guilty, and then he said, "Well, good if you’re taking care of it, I’m going to hang up now, I’m dead tired!"

The conversation was as sudden in its beginning as in its end.

Cheng Zhu was a bit confused whether Jiang Wanzhou had just separated from Ji Shiwen or if he was currently lying in bed with Ji Shiwen.

Both possibilities were equally likely in his mind.

Cheng Zhu knew full well that people like Jiang Wanzhou and Shen Minglang would definitely contact him.

But the chain reactions he expected were not on them.

"This is blowing up bigger than I thought, and it’s not just the vast number of netizens who are seeing it."

"Little Lu’s parents will see it."

"Ningning’s father and stepmother will see it."

"And... my own parents!"

"Silly netizens really know how to stir things up," Cheng Zhu laughed wryly.

Of course, he wasn’t too worried in his heart since he wasn’t new to big waves and storms.

"Who knows, it might even turn into a good thing?" he mused to himself.

But the situation’s developments were ultimately unknown, and it would depend on how Little Lu and Qingning would handle it.

After a while, Cheng Zhu opened his phone to check the comments section under Youu Tea’s official Weibo.

"As expected..." Cheng Zhu glanced at the top comment, touching his forehead with a helpless expression.

The top comment under the clarifying post had already quickly surpassed a thousand likes.

It read, "I understand, I understand."

And it was followed by a laughing emoji!

...

...

Silly netizens are abundant in joy, and they don’t care about what the real subjects of the rumor are feeling.

For netizens, we’ve already shipped them from beginning to end.

Those who are inclined to believe something will do so.

Those who are skeptical will think "I understand, I understand," implying a secret romance!

Many celebrities do the same; at the start of a relationship when it’s not stable and they don’t want to be disturbed, they usually start with denials.

Especially since Youu Tea has just started becoming popular.

The "poor boy" has just crossed social classes.

His story with the top-class wealthy girl has just begun!

It’s really better to keep a low profile, I get it, I get it, oh look, we all get it~

Who hasn’t been in love before, teehee!

And just like that, another new entry reached the top of Weibo’s hot search list—[Youu Tea Denies Rumors].

You could say that Youu Tea’s traffic exploded overnight!

Occupying three spots on the hot search list, they were almost akin to top-tier celebrities in the entertainment industry.

Which other tea brand has received such treatment?

Curious onlookers one by one were thoroughly engrossed, very vigorous in their engagement.

This unparalleled promotional effect was indeed more powerful than spending a large sum of money on advertising!

At least from a business perspective, this was a massive win!

Back in her room at Xinhang Apartment, Shen Qingning curled up on her bed, looking at the content released by Youu Tea’s official Weibo.

While there were indeed many comments focusing on her single status, praising her beauty and elegance with discussions about the beauty of the fairer sex, she ignored them all.

Her gaze was fixed on that top hot comment!

Then, a slightly embarrassed and amused expression emerged on her cheeks that were faintly pale.

She too wished it were as the netizens said, that she and Cheng Zhu were in a low-profile romance with no need to report to the public.

But in reality, it wasn’t so.

She began to scroll unceasingly through the comments, becoming more and more engrossed.

She felt somewhat like an observer, yet she was the female protagonist in these discussions.

She watched as netizens vividly depicted the scenes from the day of the event, mingling truths and fabrications.

She was also observing as they invented stories like witnessing the two of them holding hands on campus.

The entire comments section had enough material for a whole novel.

Shen Qingning, the protagonist of this fabricated novel, was also a reader at that moment.

The haughty girl unwittingly immersed herself in this exceptionally delicate sensation.

She kept looking, continuously.

A faint smile occasionally appeared on her face.

...

(ps: Second release, asking for monthly tickets at month’s end!)