"Give them a love story," Wen Qi had said.
"But never forget someone out there wants it to end in blood."
Tang Yueru didn't sleep that night.
The photo had gone viral.
Even people she hadn't seen in years were suddenly messaging her, asking—Is it true?
Was it?
She didn't know anymore.
Because what started as a performance now lived behind her ribs like a heartbeat.
---
In the Lu Corporation's executive floor, security swept the PR wing.
Access logs were being reviewed.
Files cross-checked.
And behind it all, He Ruo stood like a ghost—watching. Listening. Connecting the dots no one else could see.
---
Meanwhile, in a luxury café near Central Plaza…
> Zhou Linwei leaned back in his seat, a smirk playing on his lips.
Across from him, a tabloid editor paled.
"You—you said it was just a rumor dump. I didn't know you had real footage—"
"I never lie," Zhou said, sipping his coffee. "Just bend the truth until it breaks."
He leaned in.
"Tell your boss I want another headline. And this time…"
His fingers tapped a document on the table.
"…use her real name."
---
Back in the penthouse, Shenyan stared out the window as Yueru paced behind him.
She finally asked, "Do you think this was my fault?"
He turned.
"What?"
"The leak. The attention. If I hadn't—"
He crossed the space in two strides and took her face in his hands.
"You're the only part of this I don't regret."
Her breath hitched.
His voice lowered.
"I've buried too much behind control. But you… you keep dragging it out."
Yueru whispered, "Is that a good thing?"
He didn't answer.
He just kissed her—again.
This one slower. Deeper.
Like an admission.
---
But the moment shattered when his phone buzzed.
UNKNOWN SENDER. ONE FILE ATTACHED.
He opened it.
A scan of the contract. Stamped. Signed. Highlighted.
Except now…
Tang Yueru's signature was forged.
---
"She never signed it?" He Ruo asked an hour later, stunned.
"She did," Shenyan said. "But this version's different. Someone altered it."
Yueru looked up, pale. "Why would someone fake a contract that already exists?"
"To make it seem like you forged it," He Ruo replied. "They're setting you up."
---
The next day, the board sent a formal letter.
> Internal Investigation: Misrepresentation of Marriage Documentation
Yueru was now officially under scrutiny.
And the marriage that saved her father's company—
—might now cost her everything.
---