Chapter 64

Chapter 64

On the entertainment section of Kuangye A's trending list, a topic suddenly shot to the top spot.

#Qiao Yuexun Encounters Wen Family Member in Sanjin City#

The topic's lead-in was written rather ambiguously: "It is reported that today, the crew of 'Postcards from Afar' was invited by Ms. Wen Lanyin to her private residence in Sanjin City for supplementary footage filming. Coincidentally, a young alpha from the Wen family happened to visit the family elder. During a break in filming, Qiao Yuexun briefly chatted with the alpha in the tea room, and the mood was warm. Previously, Qiao Yuexun had multiple interactions with Aegis executives regarding the Aegis 7th-Gen Inhibitor project. Does this 'coincidental encounter' hint at more possibilities?"

The accompanying image was a photo taken from outside a window, at a deliberately sneaky angle.

In the reception room, Wen Yanxu and Qiao Yuexun sat facing each other, a side table between them.

Wen Yanxu's profile was coldly defined, seemingly listening. Qiao Yuexun wore his usual gentle smile, lips slightly parted, as if speaking.

The photographer had clearly used the surrounding environment to conceal themselves, carefully framing only the two of them, making the reception room look like an intimate private space. The presence of everyone else had been completely erased—Wen Jueqian's figure happened to be blocked by Wen Yanxu. The entire photo exuded a subtle, tense atmosphere.

As soon as the trending topic appeared, the comment section below was flooded with all kinds of comments.

"A Wen family member? An alpha? Who else could it be other than WYX?"

"With that kind of vibe, who's going to believe nothing's going on? And Wen Yanxu's fiancé is a Beta, right? Their family backgrounds aren't even close. Can the Wen family really be satisfied with that? Qiao Yuexun is at least an Omega and a celebrity. Standing next to Wen Yanxu, he clearly looks like a better match. [Sneer]"

"Focus on the artist's work, stay out of their personal life, thanks."

"Honestly, the gap between the WYX and WJQ families is too big, and Wen is a Beta. It's hard to say how long this engagement will last. Now that a more suitable Omega has appeared, WJQ might not even marry into the family."

Public opinion continued to churn, with speculation and controversy escalating.

Just as the topic was peaking, a new post with images was published directly to the topic's discussion page.

The publisher was an entertainment gossip account. The caption was blunt, practically dripping with sarcasm:

"Get the full story before you start gossiping, alright? Some people see one weirdly angled, blurry photo and immediately lose their minds? Take a look at another photo taken the same day: Wen Yanxu personally carrying his legitimate fiancé Wen Jueqian out of the villa. The image is HD and clear, with CEO Wen's face fully visible. I ask you—what's more intimate: chatting across a table, or being princess-carried in someone's arms? That day, Wen Yanxu and Wen Jueqian went together to visit Ms. Wen Lanyin, and just happened to run into Qiao Yuexun and others who were there for work. How did that become 'Wen and Qiao meeting in private' in some people's heads? [Picking nose]"

The attached image was indeed a high-definition photo, shot at the villa's main entrance. Wen Yanxu wore the same outfit, his tall frame radiating a fiercely protective posture as he carried someone horizontally out of the door.

The person in his arms—Wen Jueqian—had his face buried in the crook of Wen Yanxu's neck and chest, only a small portion of his profile and soft ink-blue hair visible, his arms wrapped dependently around Wen Yanxu's neck.

Wen Yanxu tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on the person in his arms. The expression on his face was a world apart from the calm, listening look in the other photo.

The moment this post went up, the comment section exploded, and the tone shifted dramatically.

"Damn! The reality check came fast! Princess carry! If that's not solid proof, I don't know what is! CEO Wen's arm strength and posture—he's husband goals!"

"LMAO dying of laughter. One second people are shipping Wen and Qiao, the next, the man himself carries his fiancé out. How's that face feeling now? [Crying with laughter]"

"As a neutral observer: they're already engaged and clearly very much in love. They're inseparable even on business trips visiting elders. Aren't certain shippers and gossip accounts being a bit unethical, forcing a pairing for clicks?"

"Some fans might as well become pimps. To get their idol attached to a rich family, they'll make up anything, practically trying to deliver him to a sugar daddy's bed. Too bad the man in question only has eyes for his fiancé—didn't even spare your idol a glance. [Mocking]"

"Why was Qianbao being carried out? Is he not feeling well?"

Public opinion shifted rapidly. The originally ambiguous trending topic turned into a mockery of the Wen-Qiao rumor and a hot topic about the Wen-Wen relationship.

When Wen Jueqian opened the trending link that Zou Xingzhu had sent him, he was on the private airship heading back from Sanjin City to Yinmian City.

The two contrasting photos and the sudden reversal in the comments were all exactly as he'd expected.

He'd been on guard the whole time, deliberately preventing any one-on-one contact between Wen Yanxu and Qiao Yuexun, even going so far as to cling to Wen Yanxu, pretending to be drunk. Yet someone had still managed to snap such a perfectly angled photo.

That photo of the private chat looked casual at first glance, but the composition, lighting, and expressions were all captured with precision, maximizing the illusion of ambiguous intimacy.

There was no actual intimate contact, so Wen Yanxu couldn't exactly deny it. The post didn't name anyone directly, leaving enough wiggle room for those who wanted to believe to imagine whatever they wanted.

But the photo he'd prepared in advance and had Zou Xingzhu release at just the right moment completely shattered that ambiguity.

Against the backdrop of a more intimate image with the real fiancé, any suggestive ambiguity didn't stand a chance.

This confirmed to him that the whole chain of events that was supposed to happen—Wen Yanxu being impressed by Qiao Yuexun's performance in front of the elder, Qiao Yuexun's airship breaking down, Wen Yanxu giving him a ride back, Qiao Yuexun going into heat mid-flight, Wen Yanxu giving him a temporary mark, paparazzi catching it, and the scandal blowing up online—had been completely derailed by him.

Whether that "future" had ever really happened or not, the deviation he'd caused was real.

From his 99 past experiences with gaining world energy, changing the future usually caused ripples in fate. The world energy should have already flowed back to him by now.

He just hoped this shift in fate was big enough to give the sleeping 99 enough energy to wake up again.

Wen Jueqian closed Kuangye A and tapped the small glowing orb icon for 99 on his optical computer's desktop.

The little "Zzz" sleep symbol in the corner of the icon was gone.

He tapped it twice, and a progress bar quietly appeared above the icon.

Wen Jueqian relaxed slightly, sinking into his seat, his eyes fixed on the jumping progress bar as he waited patiently.

At that moment, the world seemed to go quiet. The only thing that mattered was the steadily growing progress bar.

After who knows how long, he felt something and looked up. Wen Yanxu, across from him, had apparently set aside his work at some point and was quietly watching him.

Those ice-blue eyes gave nothing away, but it was clear he'd been watching for a while.

Wen Jueqian set down his optical computer—the progress bar had already hit 60%.

He spoke first, breaking the silence. "Another trending topic about you showed up on Kuangye A."

The words carried an unspoken expectation of an explanation.

He remembered Wen Yanxu saying once that the Wen family's PR team wouldn't let negative news that hurt the family's image spread unchecked.

But the rumor about him and Qiao Yuexun had already hit number one on the trending list.

If he hadn't had Zou Xingzhu release that photo, who knows how Wen Yanxu would have handled it.

Wen Yanxu gave a low hum of acknowledgment, his tone flat. "I saw it. Already had someone handle it."

He paused, his gaze landing on Wen Jueqian's face, then added quietly, "Qiao Yuexun and I have nothing between us."

Even when explaining things to his own fiancé, CEO Wen kept that same businesslike, matter-of-fact tone.

Wen Jueqian heard this but kept his face neutral, even deliberately curving his lips into a magnanimous smile. "I know. I trust you."

With that, he lowered his eyes, his gaze landing on the ring on his finger. His thick lashes cast a small shadow under his eyes, and the smile at the corners of his lips quickly faded, his mouth pressing into a slight pout—the perfect picture of someone swallowing their hurt and pretending to be understanding and considerate.

Yet the faint trembling of his lashes and the slightly tight line of his jaw gave away that he wasn't entirely unaffected.

And yet, Wen Jueqian wasn't drunk this time. He'd even considerately said he trusted him.

But as Wen Yanxu watched that restrained expression on his face, he inexplicably flashed back to last night in the garden—to the Wen Jueqian who had made demands with such righteous confidence, the more difficult, more authentic version.

He was back to being the gentle, considerate fiancé.

As his publicly announced fiancé, Wen Jueqian rarely appeared alongside him except for the official engagement announcement and a handful of select events.

Add in the gap between their family backgrounds and the mismatch in their secondary genders, and speculation about how fragile their relationship was had never stopped.

At times like this, any Omega who seemed like a better match appearing at his side was bound to stir up speculation and gossip.

Wen Yanxu did something rare: he actually reflected on things.

The contract said Wen Jueqian had to accompany him to required public events and fulfill his duties as a fiancé, but it didn't say how to steady the ship when outside factors dragged their relationship into negative press.

He'd never thought of this as something that needed special attention.

"Don't worry," Wen Yanxu said, his voice a little softer than usual, with a soothing edge, "the public chatter will die down soon. Your position isn't going to be shaken by this."

Wen Jueqian looked at Wen Yanxu's calm, assured face, but a flicker of disagreement crossed his mind.

He thought, that's not necessarily true.

Wen Yanxu had underestimated how complicated the public discourse around Qiao Yuexun really was.

The logic behind the rumors about Wen Yanxu and Qiao Yuexun didn't follow any normal rules of news propagation at all. They might look like they'd be easily put out by a clarification or two, but in reality, they were like wildfire—given the slightest spark, they'd flare up again, even worse than before.

Wen Yanxu didn't catch Wen Jueqian's subtle mood shift; his mind was already wandering elsewhere.

He was thinking about whether he should add more public appearances with Wen Jueqian by his side, to reinforce the image that their relationship was stable. That might be the most direct, effective way to handle this kind of public scrutiny.

Just then, a question surfaced in his mind like a bubble drifting up from deep water, gently nudging at his consciousness: Why had he originally picked Wen Jueqian—someone so far off from the ideal marriage match for the Wen family heir in family background, secondary gender, and personality—to be his contract fiancé?

Given who he was, even for a transactional marriage, he should've picked someone more qualified, someone who could bring more to the table.

Wen Jueqian didn't seem to fully fit the bill.

But the question lingered for only a moment, like a breeze skimming a still lake—the ripples had barely started to spread before they faded away without a trace.

His attention soon snapped back to the more practical matter of scheduling public appearances with his partner.

Two hours later, the airship reached Silver Crown City's airspace.

A faint feeling of weightlessness came with the descent, jolting Wen Jueqian out of his thoughts.

He'd dozed off without realizing it while lost in thought, and now, as he opened his eyes, he realized his head had somehow ended up resting on Wen Yanxu's shoulder.

He'd probably been in that position for a while.

And Wen Yanxu had never once pushed him away.

Even when he sat up in a slight fluster, Wen Yanxu just rolled his shoulder casually, his expression unchanged, with no sign of irritation.

Maybe it was because the function that kept fabricating false perceptions had been broken by 99, and its hold on Wen Yanxu was slowly fading.

Even though Wen Yanxu's memory recovery was still slow, with memories only coming back when Wen Jueqian triggered them, he no longer treated Wen Jueqian with the cold, dismissive attitude he'd had in the early days of his amnesia.

Instead, in small ways, he was slowly becoming the Wen Yanxu he'd been before the memory loss.

Wen Jueqian rubbed his stiff neck and shoulders, his gaze instinctively drifting to the light-screen sitting nearby.

Progress bar: 90%.

After returning home, the progress bar should be full.

This realization lifted his spirits.

The shift in his mood didn't escape Wen Yanxu's notice. He glanced at Wen Jueqian's visibly brighter eyes, a faint trace of confusion passing through his mind.

Just moments ago, he'd seemed so down and subdued over those rumors, tired enough to pass out. How did he wake up, glance at his light-screen, and suddenly look so happy?

Who had sent him a message?

Still, the thought merely crossed his mind. He believed their current relationship was far from the point where they needed to share their moods with each other.

He didn't need to care about who brought Wen Jueqian happiness in private.

So, Wen Yanxu asked nothing, and after the airship landed smoothly, he returned to Jing'an Mansion together with Wen Jueqian.

==========Author's Note:==========

Wen Yanxu: I. Don't. Need. To. Care.