Chapter 40 Scandal

Chapter 40: Scandal

Jiang Cheng's apartment had been vacant for months, gathering dust. By the time Lu Jingtang finished helping him tidy up, it was already noon.

Jiang Cheng had initially planned to order groceries online and cook for himself, but at Lu Jingtang's strong insistence, he opted for fried chicken instead.

Having not indulged in fried food for a long time, Lu Jingtang's face lit up with a blissful smile.

*Pfft!*

Sipping cola and scrolling through her phone, Lu Jingtang choked and spat out her drink upon seeing the content on her screen.

She stammered, "Uncle, we're trending."

The trending headline read: "Socialite Princess in a Steamy Romance with a Screenwriter Over a Decade Her Senior."

*Yikes*, that phrasing—was the person who wrote this from Taiwan?

Jiang Cheng was startled and quickly opened Weibo to see what was happening.

It turned out that paparazzi, who had been following him, happened to catch Lu Jingtang returning to his apartment with him, leading them to assume the two were romantically involved.

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"The princess has rather peculiar taste."

"Whether it's poor boys or older men, the princess's choices are straight out of a TV drama. Life truly imitates art."

"But would the Fu family really approve of them being together? If she were my daughter, I'd disown her."

The trending topic was flooded with netizens. Due to Jiang Cheng's fame and public curiosity about the Fu family, the topic garnered 100 million views in less than half an hour.

Suddenly, the trending topic vanished from the rankings entirely. Many netizens, like lost marmots, found themselves without a gossip source to feast on.

It was clear that Fu Nanyu had arranged for its removal.

"What's going on? Why did the trending topic disappear so suddenly?" someone asked on the homepage.

Another replied, "It must have been taken down by that big shot. After consuming this 'melon,' I suddenly feel like I'm radiating the scent of agarwood!"

Fu Nanyu had severely underestimated the power of gossip enthusiasts.

In less than ten minutes, another trending topic emerged: "Princess, please look at your humble servant!"

Lu Jingtang clicked on it and burst into laughter at the hilarious netizens.

Some posted their profiles, others showcased talents like brick-breaking, and one even shared a video of themselves chugging a six-liter bottle of cola in one go.

Lu Jingtang sent a WeChat message to Fu Nanyu.

[Lu]: "Bro, did you remove the trending topic?"

[Yu]: "Yes."

[Lu]: "Sugar daddy, I've caused you trouble." *kowtowing emojis*

Fu Nanyu looked at the kowtowing emoji on his phone, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

[Yu]: "It's fine. Come home soon."

*Your bank card XXXX has received a transfer of 2,000,000 yuan.*

Lu Jingtang stared wide-eyed at the transfer notification.

[Lu]: "What's this?"

[Yu]: "Since you called me sugar daddy, I had to live up to the title."

[Yu]: "Sugar daddy wants you to be good."

"Am I not well-behaved enough?" Lu Jingtang muttered, her face burning, her eyelashes fluttering. She didn't dare continue the conversation.

Fu Nanyu was so hard to please.

Jiang Cheng was utterly frustrated. He couldn't openly state that he was Lu Jingtang's uncle, as it might lead to nosy people digging into her background.

But he also couldn't let the misunderstanding persist indefinitely.

He logged into Weibo and posted a photo of himself at nineteen, holding an infant Lu Jingtang. In the picture, the young man in a white shirt with black hair gazed tenderly at the baby.

The caption read: "Close relatives cannot marry."

The moment it was posted, his Weibo was instantly flooded.

"Wuwuwu, I knew someone as good as Screenwriter Jiang wouldn't deceive a young girl."

"Close relatives? How close?" someone questioned.

"Wow, Screenwriter Jiang in this photo is a total campus heartthrob!"

"Screenwriter Jiang, can you tell the princess I'm her long-lost husband?"

Netizens were practically all comedians. Lu Jingtang couldn't bear to look anymore.

She opened WeChat and noticed that Ji Ruyan had sent her a question mark an hour ago, followed by another message a minute earlier.

[Yan]: "Is Screenwriter Jiang your relative?"

After the banquet, the two had politely added each other on WeChat, without even introducing themselves, and had left the contact to gather dust in a corner.

Lu Jingtang replied, "Yes."

[Yan]: "What's the relationship?"

Lu Jingtang thought for a moment and replied, "She's my aunt."

[Yan]: "…"

Ji Ruyan, smoking a cigarette in a red halter dress, surrounded by a haze of smoke as if in a magazine photoshoot, choked on her smoke upon reading those two words.

Nonsense clearly meant it was off-limits. Ji Ruyan tactfully refrained from pressing further.

[Yan]: "Let's be friends. I'll take you to a hot spring another day."

Lu Jingtang thought for a moment and typed quickly, "My family's hotel has a hot spring."

Ji Ruyan's lips twitched. What a privileged brat. Remembering the look Lu Jingtang had given Lu Xiao at the banquet, she swiftly sent over a few pictures.

Ten minutes later, Lu Jingtang replied: "Sis, when are you free? Let me treat you to the hot springs."

With an excited heart and trembling hands, Lu Jingtang saved each of the shirtless pictures of those buff guys from the chat, one by one, preserving the original versions.

In this life, she never stole, never robbed, stayed away from vices like gambling and drugs, and even donated to underprivileged children in mountain villages from time to time. Surely, the Goddess Matsu (a Chinese sea goddess) would understand her appreciation for good looks.

Ji Ruyan thought handling this would be a breeze.

As the birthday banquet approached, Ye Xixi dragged Lu Jingtang to try on dresses all afternoon, leaving her worn out, seeing spots, and weak-limbed.

Truth be told, no matter what she wore, it would be useless—she would only end up as a foil to the female lead, becoming the butt of jokes.

"These aren't working. Bring some new ones."

After trying on nearly twenty outfits, Ye Xixi was still unsatisfied and called to have a new batch of dresses delivered.

Lu Jingtang leaned against the back of the sofa, resting her chin on her elbow, and without realizing it, fell asleep sitting up.

When Fu Nanyu entered, he saw Lu Jingtang curled up on the sofa. The sofa was spacious enough to accommodate her small frame comfortably, but her delicate, pretty face was creased with distress, as if she were having a nightmare.

He draped his suit jacket over her.

In her dream, Lu Jingtang was back at the birthday banquet, falling onto shattered glass, surrounded by a pool of blood.

But no one came to help her. Everyone looked at her with scorn, while Ji Yunyin, surrounded by admirers, looked triumphantly at her disheveled self through the crowd.

Suddenly, she felt a warm, familiar presence envelop her.

Who was it?

She jolted awake from the nightmare, tears welling in her eyes as she looked up, dazed, at the person before her.