Rose Manor: Tycoon's Relentless Chase
Chapter 24 - 21: Scandalous News

Chapter 24: Chapter 21: Scandalous News

On the bed behind her, Yin Shuyao was crying uncontrollably, clutching the quilt. Her thick black hair spread across the pillow, tears soaking a corner of the pillowcase. Her muffled voice came through, "I don’t know, I don’t know..."

Qin Fan walked to the center of the room, found his shirt and put it on. As he buttoned it, he paced back to the bed, laughing angrily, "You damn gave me the room card, told me to wait here. I woke up and found you lying in my bed, and then you say you don’t know? Who are you trying to fool?"

He yanked the quilt away, startling the heartbroken Yin Shuyao. A tear hung at the corner of her eye as she looked at him in fear.

Qin Fan pinched her chin, forcing her to lift her face. His beautiful almond eyes no longer showed gentleness or affection, only cold darkness.

"Yin Shuyao, isn’t it that you want to be the young mistress of the Qin Family yourself, using your cousin as a guise to set me up?" Qin Fan gave her a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. His gentle tone held a hint of threat, "Let me find out you’ve cheated me. It’s gonna be bad for you."

Yin Shuyao’s body trembled, tears streaming down.

"What do you take me for?" She shook off Qin Fan’s hand, her chin aching from his pinch, not as much as her heart, "Like those women in the pleasure houses you summon and dismiss at will?"

Her despair didn’t seem like an act. Qin Fan suppressed his anger and pointed at her, demanding, "Then tell me, how did you end up in my bed?"

His words were contemptuous and hurtful. Yin Shuyao bit her lip until it bled, crying, "I sent you a text message, told you my cousin changed her mind last minute and wouldn’t be coming. You didn’t reply. I was afraid you were waiting at the hotel, so I came to tell you. Who knew... who knew..."

She covered her mouth, her eyes reddened, voice choked to the point she couldn’t finish a sentence.

Qin Fan, eager to know the truth, impatiently said, "So what happened, say it."

Yin Shuyao wrapped the quilt, sat up, and said to him, "As soon as you opened the door, you hugged me and kissed me. I told you I wasn’t Shen Jianian. You didn’t listen, kept calling me Jianian. You were drunk, so strong, I tried pushing away several times but couldn’t, and you dragged me all the way to bed..."

Qin Fan furrowed his brow. Did he really get drunk and mistake her for someone else?

To verify Yin Shuyao’s words, he picked up his cell phone from the coffee table. There were several unread messages, one sent by Yin Shuyao at 9:40 PM last night.

Reflecting for a moment, back then he had already drunk several glasses and was in a daze from alcohol, not noticing the phone notification.

Even if he heard it, in such a state, he likely didn’t have the energy to check messages.

Yin Shuyao observed his contemplative expression, calculating inside, burying her face in the quilt, aggrieved, "What should I do now? I’ve never had a boyfriend. If my mom finds out... what should I do?"

"Alright." Qin Fan’s face compared to earlier appeared somewhat softened, "I’m at fault for this matter. Whatever you want, feel free to say it. If I can, I won’t shirk from doing it."

Yin Shuyao’s breath caught, a lump stuck in her chest. Was he intending to move on without taking responsibility?

Seeing her stay motionless without speaking for a long time, Qin Fan fastened his wristwatch and calmly said, "Can’t think of it, ponder slowly. Got an answer, contact me anytime. It’s late, I’m leaving."

Upon hearing footsteps heading out, Yin Shuyao hurriedly got up, her sore muscles aching. She frowned slightly but didn’t care, and quickly put on the skirt at the foot of the bed and chased after him.

As the suite door opened, a group of reporter-like people in the corridor, equipped with cameras, whispered as they waited.

"Be sure to take good pictures later, don’t tremble and blur them. The movie star just came back; we got an exclusive."

"Are you sure it’s this hotel?"

"Of course, news from the upper circles isn’t wrong."

Qin Fan, with one hand still on the doorknob, was startled by the spectacle in front of him.

For a moment, the air was silent. Someone among the reporters recognized Qin Fan, and couldn’t help but whisper, "Isn’t this the Crown Prince of the Qin Family? What’s he doing here?"

Yin Shuyao caught up from behind, seemingly unaware of the reporters and cameras outside the door, she hugged Qin Fan’s arm with both hands, mumbling, "Wait a minute, I have something to say."

Several pairs of eyes outside were like light bulbs, suddenly brightened.

They came to watch the secretly returning movie star, unexpectedly gaining this explosive surprise.

The woman behind Qin Fan was barefoot, revealing part of her smooth calves, and above, the hem of a pink skirt rolled up, with numerous suggestive creases on the silk fabric.

More suggestive were the kiss marks clearly visible on the skin near her neckline, unmistakable to an adult.

In an instant, those wielding cameras turned their lenses towards them, swiftly capturing evidence of the intimate scene.

The news delivered right to the door, so sensational, would only be ignored by a fool.

Click-click-click—

With the sound of photos being taken, the flashes of cameras sparkled like stars.

Qin Fan thought to raise his hand to block his face, already too late, as several photos had been taken. He angrily pointed at them, "Who dares to offend me, don’t want to survive, is that it?"

The questioning voice echoed through the empty hallway at dawn, they took enough photos, retreating while apologizing.

They were seasoned veterans in the gossip industry, belonging not to companies or studios, but rather to an unseemly small workshop, ready to reopen after shutting down, thus not intimidated by him, only seeking to make quick money from traffic, lacking a long-term plan.

*

With the high-resolution photos, the woman’s identity wasn’t hard to uncover. With a bit of effort, it was found out she was the Yin Family’s daughter.

The public was unaware of the crisis within the Yin Family, only perceiving Yin Family as albeit not as massive as the Qin Family, still a newly prosperous noble family, barely respectable to join with the Qin Family.

A gossip piece, a few images, spread widely online that morning, occupying a top spot on trending searches. Due to the stature of both families, the headline was conservatively framed.

—The Qin and Yin Families are rumored to be aligning, a promising union approaching.

Hu Yuzhi saw the news while lying at the beauty salon, having a facial treatment, phone held up to her face. Due to extreme shock, it accidentally slipped down and hit her chin.

She bounced up instantly, frightening the nearby beautician, whose mud-covered hands froze mid-air, asking with concern, "Madam, what’s wrong?"

Hu Yuzhi picked up her phone and dialed Yin Shuyao’s number.

The dial tone persisted for a long time, indicating no response.

With half her face covered in gray-green mask, the other half clean, Hu Yuzhi’s anxious expression was unhidden. She told the beautician, "Quickly wash off the mask from my face."

The young beautician smiled and reminded, "Madam, the mask has just been applied halfway, there’s still..."

Hu Yuzhi couldn’t wait. She raised her palm to signal stopping, "Wash it off now, I have urgent matters."

"Don’t worry, I’ll wash it off." Powerless, the beautician pressed her shoulders to lie her down, "Let me inform you, since part of the mask has been used, the remaining part easily oxidizes and can’t be used for other customers. The fee likely can’t be refunded this time."

"Understood."

In her heart, Hu Yuzhi was impatient, desperate to get home immediately, no bandwidth to fuss over such trivial money.

The woman in the photograph, she wouldn’t mistake, it was her beloved daughter Yaoyao.

How could she appear outside a hotel suite with the young master of the Qin Family early in the morning, with such visible marks on her neck, impossible to be fiction from some marketing account? Had she been bullied? Or was there another reason? It must be clarified promptly.