Chapter 23: Saving the PUA’d Supporting Female Lead (23)

Mother Luo arranged to meet Luo Xue three days later. The three days passed in a flash. Tang Qi accompanied her to the arranged club. Just as they got in the car, the System popped up, its tone excited: “Host, the Trashy Male Lead made his move!”

Tang Qi raised an eyebrow, not expecting him to be so impatient.

At that moment, the top trending topic on Weibo was distinctly a video from Li Chengyu. His eyes were red-rimmed, containing tears as he tearfully recounted everything he’d suffered. He dodged the main issues and slung mud at Tang Qi and Luo Xue: “I thought they came to apologize to me, but I never expected Tang Qi would use her status as a senior to bully me, and even… hit me.” He revealed the left side of his face, which was bruised and red.

He rolled up his sleeves; there were red and swollen marks on his arms too.

“She invited me to dinner. I thought it was just a simple meal. I even said I wouldn’t pursue past matters. But she and Luo Xue wouldn’t let it go and assaulted me! I had no ability to resist and could only choose to speak out. Please, everyone, help me.”

Li Chengyu made a tearful, dramatic plea. Tang Qi watched with keen interest. Luo Xue, lying in her arms, finished watching the video: “You knew he would do this?”

“I knew.” Tang Qi put away her phone. “I’ve been waiting for him!”

She wouldn’t proactively act against the World Line’s Male Lead—that was her principle.

But counter-attacking was no problem!

The System mocked her: “Host, don’t you think you’re being a hypocrite? Saying you won’t make a move, but then…” Before it could finish, it was mercilessly thrown into the Dark Room.

Tang Qi felt she generally followed her principles, but occasionally breaking them wasn’t a big deal.

This time, Mother Luo unexpectedly arrived early for the meeting. Seeing Luo Xue, she even uncharacteristically came over to greet her. What surprised Luo Xue was that Mother Luo had brought along Yang Yirui, her half-sister from her mother’s second marriage.

Previously, Mother Luo had been unwilling to let them interact.

Seeing Tang Qi, Yang Yirui’s eyes lit up. Whether intentionally or not, she bypassed Luo Xue and walked a few steps towards Tang Qi’s direction, showing off her attractive figure: “Sister Tang Qi, I’m your fan. Could you give me an autograph?”

Mother Luo smiled indulgently: “This child. Can’t you wait until we’re seated? Is she going to refuse you an autograph?”

Tang Qi’s gaze darkened. She tilted her head to look at Luo Xue: “Luoluo, should I give her an autograph?”

Luo Xue shrugged: “Better not.” She turned to Mother Luo: “Sorry, Tang Qi is too popular, and there are too many weird fans. As her agent, I need to be cautious.”

Her sarcastic tone instantly turned Mother Luo’s face the color of pig liver. Luo Xue ignored her reaction and walked straight to the sofa and sat down: “Just say what you came to say.”

“What kind of attitude is that?” Mother Luo was displeased, but thinking of something, she swallowed her anger: “I came to ask you, were you together with that Li Chengyu before?”

“I was.” Luo Xue nodded. There was no need to hide it.

“How did I end up with such a shameless daughter? Being with someone and then breaking up. Being so unchaste, you’ve shamed me and your Uncle Yang.” Mother Luo immediately started accusing: “Get ready. You’ll marry Li Chengyu soon. After marriage, don’t go out showing your face in public. Stay at home, support your husband, raise your children, and live well with Li Chengyu.”

Luo Xue was stunned, completely unprepared for her mother to say such things. Even if she didn’t care much for familial affection, her heart still stung faintly at this moment.

“You… do you even know what kind of person he is, and you’re telling me to marry him?”

Mother Luo was dismissive: “Isn’t he just a bit stingy? That’ll change after marriage. For someone like you, marrying him is a blessing. Still being picky?”

Yang Yirui spoke up: “Sister, Mom is sick with anger because of you. Just agree!”

Tang Qi’s gaze fell on Yang Yirui. Seeing Tang Qi looking at her, Yang Yirui immediately pretended to be shy and lowered her head.

Luo Xue clenched her fists, taking a few deep breaths to suppress her anger: “Madam Yang, what right do you have to control me? We signed the Severance of Relations Document.”

“What do you mean by that? I’m your mother. I carried you for ten months. Why can’t I control you?” Mother Luo flew into a rage. “If others hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t even know you were so shameless. I’m telling you to get married, isn’t that for your own good?”

Tang Qi spoke: “Madam Yang, I’m afraid you don’t know that Luoluo is already with me.” Her voice was low and cold, her eyes dark and somewhat frightening.

Mother Luo shivered involuntarily but stubbornly insisted: “A girl must be loyal to one man. She can only marry Li Chengyu.” She softened her tone: “Tang Qi, Auntie knows you’re capable. Look, she’s damaged goods. Giving her to you shortchanges you. To compensate you, how about I give you my younger daughter instead?”

She even wiped her tears: “It’s all because she has no shame. This is the only solution I could come up with. Yirui, for her sister’s sake, is willing to sacrifice herself.”

So saying, Mother Luo pushed Yang Yirui forward.

Both Luo Xue and Tang Qi were shocked by her words. Apart from Li Chengyu, they had never met someone so shameless.

Tang Qi was silent. Mother Luo kept rambling: “Tang Qi, my younger daughter is younger than her and prettier. You won’t lose out on this deal.”

Luo Xue was trembling with rage, her eyes reddening involuntarily. Her lips turned purple from anger, but she didn’t know how to retort. Subconsciously, she called out: “Little Seven!”

She never knew that swords from kin could hurt even more than those from Li Chengyu.

Tang Qi took Luo Xue’s hand, leaned back, and narrowed her eyes at the mother-daughter pair: “Her?”

Mother Luo nodded repeatedly. Tang Qi scoffed: “Is she worthy?” She usually wouldn’t speak ill of a girl, but today…

The System had checked them out; Tang Qi naturally knew: “Miss Yang has quite the reputation. Does Madam Yang not know? I heard anyone will do… isn’t that right? Besides, Madam Yang is also a remarried woman. Are you cursing yourself? You consider yourself damaged goods.”

Tang Qi held Luo Xue close: “Although Luoluo was with Li Chengyu, she remains pure and innocent. In my heart, she is the best. Compared to you all… the difference is like clouds and mud.”

Yang Yirui suddenly looked up, her pale face a picture of pitiful distress: “Sister, I do like Tang Qi, but you shouldn’t slander me like this in front of her.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. Who do you think you are? She doesn’t even remember someone like you.” Tang Qi pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag: “Did you hear about my net worth and come looking? Wanting to swap the person by my side?”

For a moment, the embarrassment of being found out flashed across Mother Luo’s face.

“Did you think I’d stoop to anything? Sending someone to disgust me?” Tang Qi pulled Luo Xue to her feet, her contemptuous gaze sweeping over Yang Yirui: “If I find out you’ve made any moves or hear any unsavory words spreading, I can’t guarantee where photos of Miss Yang might end up!”

Finishing, she stubbed out the cigarette she’d only taken two puffs from: “I recall your company was seeking investment. I doubt you’ll be finding it now!”

Mother Luo stood up in shock: “What do you mean?”

“The literal meaning?”

The System silently grumbled inwardly. Tang Qi really had that “Sky’s cold, let the Wangs go bankrupt” aura.

After leaving the club, Luo Xue’s mood remained low. She clung tightly to Tang Qi’s arm, afraid Tang Qi would disappear the next second.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here for everything.” Tang Qi rubbed Luo Xue’s head. Luo Xue nodded with a sob. She suddenly felt so useless. Besides following Tang Qi’s side, she couldn’t do anything.

Tang Qi saw through her thoughts and pinched her cheek: “Don’t overthink.”

Back home, Tang Qi coaxed Luo Xue to sleep before going to the study and turning on the computer. She first organized the evidence she had collected, then carefully reread the Book of the World.

She went over it meticulously, looking for issues she might have missed before.

“System, when you were monitoring Li Chengyu, did you find out who sold him that song?” Tang Qi asked.

“Don’t know. They traded secretly. You know, if I don’t know who the other party is, I can’t check them,” the System explained. Tang Qi nodded: “Go check the account number Li Chengyu wired money to now. See if there’s any connection to Yang Yirui.”

She didn’t go out for the next few days, keeping a close eye on online opinion. Because of the previous reversals, people were eating their melons cautiously now.

But Li Chengyu’s fans didn’t care about any of that. They frantically abused Tang Qi and Luo Xue, all kinds of horrible words flooding out. The company even had funeral wreaths delivered to it.

Following his agent’s advice, Li Chengyu borrowed money to buy large numbers of internet water army bots and incited his fans to take the lead. He figured no matter how capable Tang Qi was, she’d be stunned facing such intense public opinion.

Tang Qi’s fans weren’t weak either, questioning how Li Chengyu, a man, could be beaten up like that by a woman? Many people also didn’t believe it.

But these voices were quickly drowned out by Li Chengyu’s water army.

Li Chengyu looked at the seemingly one-sided online commentary and was overjoyed. He felt his agent was right—this was his biggest chip. No matter how powerful Tang Qi was, she wouldn’t have the ability to reverse this.

At this time, Li Chengyu was disheveled and unkempt, sustaining himself daily on others cursing Tang Qi and Luo Xue. Even when the Female Lead, Zhou Ling, came to see him, he turned a blind eye.

Tang Qi waited until public opinion reached its peak, then posted a video on her Weibo.

The video was the surveillance footage from the day of the dinner. She cut out the part where she announced her relationship with Luo Xue, leaving only Li Chengyu’s ranting and the segment where she hit him.

Everyone was astonished to see the usually gentlemanly Li Chengyu showing such a side. In the video, he was arrogant, spewing wild boasts, even demanding Tang Qi kneel and kowtow.

And when Li Chengyu told Luo Xue to stay behind, his expression was so lecherous, watching it felt like eating feces.

Seeing Tang Qi kick him flying, many people secretly cheered, even feeling the kick was too light. Once they heard Tang Qi’s words clearly, everyone was dumbfounded.

It wasn’t that Luo Xue was a gold-digger who despised poverty and loved wealth, so she broke up with Li Chengyu? Why did Tang Qi say Li Chengyu was a blood-sucking kept man?

“Six hundred twenty thousand in one year, is that true?”

“Li Chengyu’s smug, villainous expression is too disgusting. If Tang Qi weren’t capable, what would have happened to Luo Xue? Unthinkable.”

“Has everyone noticed? Tang Qi only kicked his shoulder. What he showed in his video was his face and arm?”

The Li Chengyu in the video was too subversive of everyone’s perception of him. Many people couldn’t accept it for a while.

Yet some still stood by Li Chengyu: “No matter what, Tang Qi hitting someone is a fact.”

“Right, assault is illegal and wrong.”

Many people who liked Li Chengyu directly commented telling him to report it to the police. Li Chengyu was in a bitter predicament. He had considered reporting to the police, but when he went to the hospital for a forensic examination, he was shocked to find he wasn’t injured.

Except for some redness and swelling on his shoulder, there was nothing wrong with him. It didn’t even qualify as a minor injury.