Qin Auntie, Save Me [Rebirth] 98

Chapter 98

Qin Qianrou had initially thought Wen Yirong’s visit to Meng City would be brief, but she seemed to be settling in at Seven Mansions.

“What, you don’t want me to stay?”

Qin Qianrou put down her coffee cup, “I just didn’t expect you to be willing to.”

Wen Yirong had specifically invited her for afternoon tea today. Ever since their breakfast together, Qin Qianrou had been very protective of Shen Yiqiu, reluctant to bring her along.

“Don’t worry about things at home, your father said he’ll be back as soon as he’s finished with his work.”

Qin Qianrou looked at her, puzzled. “Father is coming back to Hai City?”

Her father, having inherited the family business, usually worked in Kyoto, and their home in Hai City was mostly managed by Wen Yirong, their sudden change of plans must be for an important reason.

“I know you must be surprised. Those photos… they upset your father greatly, he insisted I talk to you.”

Qin Qianrou’s composure finally faltered, but her tone remained calm,

she lowered her gaze, uninterested in the exquisite pastries on the table, simply sipping her coffee.

“Is Father’s attitude… firm?”

“You know his temper, as for whether it’s firm or not, that depends on your actions.”

Qin Qianrou’s stance had been clear, whether it was bringing Shen Yiqiu along or visiting Wen Yirong alone, she hadn’t shown any hesitation about their relationship.

Wen Yirong sighed, “When you were born, I thought you would have a gentle nature, who knew you would become more and more like your father, so incredibly stubborn.”

“Mom, I’m sorry.” Qin Qianrou knew her choice had disappointed and surprised her parents, but she had her own convictions.

“We’re family, there’s no need for apologies, I can’t force you to be with someone you don’t like.” Wen Yirong carefully steered the conversation towards the main topic.

She hadn’t called her daughter here just for idle chatter, she had been making further inquiries these past few days about Shen Yiqiu’s background and her relationship with Qin Qianrou.

She had initially thought she was just an ordinary child with a tragic past, but it seemed there was more to her than met the eye.

“I heard that initially, that child called you ‘Auntie Qin’?”

Qin Qianrou’s hand, holding her coffee cup, froze, almost choking on the last sip.

Wen Yirong observed her discreetly and said, a forced smile on her lips, “Now that you’re together, it does seem a little… inappropriate, if those who sent the photos wanted to cause trouble, the public opinion wouldn’t be in your favor.”

The Qin parents weren’t ordinary people; they had sensed the brewing storm from those anonymous photos.

“Being called ‘Auntie’ by her, I was also… speechless.” As if recalling their first meeting at the hospital, Qin Qianrou couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“Whether she calls you ‘Auntie’ or ‘Sister,’ her father, Shen Zhifeng, isn’t a simple man, I heard you were investigating He Chao recently, and you’ve uncovered quite a bit about Shen Zhifeng as well, why haven’t you told her?”

Wen Yirong usually appeared carefree and unconcerned, but when she wanted to know something, she could uncover every detail within three days.

“There’s no concrete evidence regarding Shen Zhifeng yet, besides, she’s her own person, her father’s research has nothing to do with her.”

“Are you sure about that? Have you never suspected that her… unusual abilities might be related to her father’s work?”

Qin Qianrou’s expression changed, she clearly didn’t want to discuss this.

Wen Yirong, to avoid an awkward silence, changed the subject, “After the incident at the Xinting Hotel, the Cheng family sent people over a few times, but your grandfather dismissed them, it was a blessing in disguise, he hasn’t mentioned Cheng Yan much since then.”

“Cheng Yan was also a victim in that incident.” Although Qin Qianrou wasn’t interested in Cheng Yan, objectively speaking, he wasn’t entirely to blame.

“That doesn’t matter, in your grandfather’s eyes, anyone who can’t protect you is… unsuitable.”

The mention of “protection” made Qin Qianrou think of Shen Yiqiu, the only person who came to mind.

This child, since they first met, had saved her multiple times.

Seeing the warmth in her daughter’s eyes, Wen Yirong didn’t have to ask to know who she was thinking about.

“Be careful, you and her, there will definitely be… repercussions.”

Qin Qianrou’s insistence on producing the program about He Chao, with the increasing amount of evidence she had submitted to the station, and with Li Wan, the new acting team leader, fully supporting her, the project had finally been approved.

Since even the photo incident hadn’t deterred her, there were bound to be even more… drastic measures. Wen Yirong hadn’t explicitly stated it, but Qin Qianrou now understood, her mother’s extended stay in Meng City was to help her.

“Thank you, Mom.”

Wen Yirong truly felt her daughter had changed, she was softer now, more willing to express her emotions.

**

Shen Yiqiu, as usual, after class, was preparing to go to the library to reserve a seat, then grab lunch at the cafeteria. She had two hours of self-study in the afternoon, she wanted to finish her homework so she could enjoy a happy evening with Jiejie.

Actually, they had become much more restrained recently, Qin Qianrou having forbidden her from… overexerting herself every day, and Shen Yiqiu, not wanting to upset her, had simply… extended the duration of their… activities, maintaining the total amount of… pleasure.

Since discovering that Li Wan had recommended that particular brand, Shen Yiqiu had been discussing the various products in their range with her, but the experiences of the user and the… recipient were clearly different, and through their conversations, they had both subtly figured out each other’s… roles.

The classmate who used to have a similar schedule to hers had been unusually busy lately, which Shen Yiqiu hadn’t thought much of. She had a lecture in the auditorium today, a large class with students from different majors and years.

As she entered the lecture hall, she felt countless gazes upon her, which made her uncomfortable, it was reminiscent of when she had first started university.

A few of her classmates, those she was relatively close to, kept glancing at her, seemingly wanting to say something. This made Shen Yiqiu even more puzzled.

At the library entrance, she ran into Zhang Meng.

“Senior, what are you doing here?”

Zhang Meng wiped the sweat from her brow, slightly breathless, “I came specifically to find you, I messaged you, but you didn’t reply, so I thought I’d try my luck at the library.”

“Is something urgent?”

Zhang Meng’s main focus this semester was her internship and job hunting, she no longer needed to spend much time at the university, coming here specifically to find her must mean something important.

Zhang Meng looked around and pulled Shen Yiqiu aside.

“You haven’t seen… what’s been posted online, have you?”

Yesterday? Shen Yiqiu tried to recall, she had had four English classes in a row yesterday, she had been tired, she had come home and made a new dish for Jiejie, which had been a success, and as a reward, they had had a… new experience in the bedroom.

Oh, she had used the lemon-flavored one last night,

nothing else unusual had happened,

Shen Yiqiu suppressed her excitement and tried to maintain a calm expression.

“Seeing your reaction, I knew you hadn’t seen it.” Zhang Meng took out her phone, opened the university forum, and quickly found several trending posts.

Their popularity was moderate, not exactly front-page news, but the number of views was still quite high.

“What is this?” Shen Yiqiu glanced at the titles, still puzzled.

“Just read it yourself.” Zhang Meng handed her the phone.

She found a post with a particularly high number of views, the title: Distorted Psychology After Family Tragedy Leads to Unnatural Relationship with Older Woman.

Shen Yiqiu felt a surge of unease, and clicking on the post, she saw blurred photos, but she recognized the figure: herself.

The post insinuated that the car accident had caused her psychological trauma, leading to an unnatural relationship with an older woman, a classic case of seeking a replacement for her lost mother.

There were a few other similar posts, all condemning the negative impact of such an “unnatural” relationship. The posts themselves were relatively subtle, but the anonymous comments were truly vicious.

Shen Yiqiu stared at the malicious words that devalued her love for Qin Qianrou, calling her a pitiful pervert, the most cruel comment, however, was, Living such a twisted life, you might as well have died with your parents,

and it had received numerous likes, Shen Yiqiu hadn’t realized human nature could be so cruel.

Zhang Meng hadn’t gone far, worried Shen Yiqiu might be upset, but she was simply biting her lip, her hand clutching the phone tightly, silent and still.

“Are you okay?”

Shen Yiqiu found a few more posts with similar titles, glanced through them, then returned the phone to Zhang Meng, her voice tight, “Put that away, before I smash it.”

Zhang Meng took the phone, smiling, “If that will make you feel better, I don’t mind you smashing it.”

The genuine concern in Zhang Meng’s eyes, her sincerity, warmed Shen Yiqiu’s heart, the earlier coldness from those online comments dissipating slightly.

“Thank you, Senior.”

“No need for thanks, these posts started appearing a few days ago, there weren’t many at first, and no one really paid much attention to them, but since last night, the number has increased significantly, practically a new post every few minutes, stirring up everyone’s emotions.”

That explained the strange looks she had received when entering the lecture hall today.

They were looking at her like a freak again, but unlike before, when there had at least been some pity and sympathy, this time, there was only disdain.

“You need to tell Reporter Qin about this, although the photos are blurred, they’ll eventually figure out who it is.”

The posts, appearing on the university’s internal forum, targeted Shen Yiqiu directly, vaguely mentioning the age of the older woman she was involved with, her image blurred, so no one had identified Qin Qianrou yet.

“I’ll message her immediately.”

Shen Yiqiu took out her phone, started typing, then stopped.

“Senior, are these posts… anywhere else besides the forum?”

Zhang Meng shook her head, she hadn’t seen them anywhere else.

“Since they’re targeting me, they must want to ruin my reputation at Meng Da, just the online forum isn’t enough.” Shen Yiqiu decided against going to the library, stuffing her books into her bag, she decided to check the flea market.

The so-called flea market was an open space behind the teaching building, on the way to the gymnasium, with a long row of bulletin boards where people could post announcements and advertisements. On weekends, it was filled with the latest information about second-hand goods exchanges, and some people even brought their items to sell directly, it had gradually become one of the busiest spots on campus after classes and on weekends.

Shen Yiqiu walked quickly, and Zhang Meng struggled to keep up.

“Your long legs are truly impressive.” Shen Yiqiu had grown taller, her legs even longer, her youthful energy evident.

“If I had a pair of those magical wind-fire wheels, I would be even faster.”

Seeing she could still joke, Zhang Meng’s worries eased slightly.

The flea market was relatively empty at this time of day, just a few people posting advertisements, leaving immediately afterwards. Shen Yiqiu carefully examined each bulletin board, and on the second to last one, she found it.

She pulled it down, a printout from the forum, the most popular post,

“This is truly malicious, not only posting it online, but also here.” Zhang Meng was indignant, how could such things happen on their campus?

“Someone is deliberately doing this, trying to pressure me with public opinion.”

Zhang Meng watched as Shen Yiqiu calmly folded the paper and put it in her bag,

surprised. “You’re keeping it?”

Shouldn’t she be angrily tearing it to shreds and throwing it in the trash?

This wasn’t following the usual script.

Shen Yiqiu scoffed, “Such a valuable clue, why would I throw it away?”

She couldn’t be certain, but she wanted to try,

to take it home and use her ability, perhaps she could find out who was behind this.

Seeing her calmness, her seemingly well-thought-out plan, Zhang Meng didn’t offer any further advice.

“Everyone knows about this now, what are you going to do?”

The next step would be a meeting with her advisor.

Shen Yiqiu had always disliked such things, but she wasn’t the same Shen Yiqiu anymore, facing the malicious stares and whispers, she no longer just wanted to avoid them.

“I’ll discuss it with her and decide on a plan, after all, this concerns both of us, but now, I have to go and stop them from spreading this further.”

Shen Yiqiu went to the advisor’s office without hesitation, she had to get those posts removed today.

“Aren’t you afraid of your advisor questioning you?”

“Questioning me? There’s no rule against dating in university, is there?” Even marriage and having children were allowed now, romantic relationships were even less of a problem.

Zhang Meng hesitated, unsure what to say,

but Shen Yiqiu seemed unfazed, continuing as they walked, “There are many same-sex couples on campus, the teachers know about it.”

“But your age gap…” It wasn’t just a matter of gender, but also age and seniority.

“A woman marrying someone twenty years older is considered finding a reliable partner, and a girl can’t date someone older?”

Shen Yiqiu found the double standard ridiculous.

Zhang Meng, enlightened by her words, said,

“Don’t worry, I’m on your side.”

She had thought Shen Yiqiu would be angry, panicked, even upset, but she had been surprisingly calm and composed, not at all affected.

“Seeing you like this, I understand why Reporter Qin chose you.”

“Hmm?” Shen Yiqiu looked at her, clearly interested.

“You’re young, but you have a reassuring presence.”

Gu Chao, in his earlier years, had been prone to impulsive and immature behavior, often frustrating Zhang Meng, Shen Yiqiu’s unwavering determination, however, was reassuring, she didn’t have to express it explicitly, it was evident.

“I hope I can become even stronger, to give her a greater sense of security.”

Recalling Qin Qianrou, her face flushed as she slept peacefully in her arms, Shen Yiqiu wished she was Superman, she wanted to protect Jiejie from everything, shield her from all harm.

The posts were temporarily removed, but the advisor’s gaze was still slightly disapproving. Shen Yiqiu calmly sat in her office, watching her make calls, contacting the network administrators, discussing the matter. She wasn’t worried about being questioned, and she hadn’t intended to reveal Qin Qianrou’s identity.

“The posts have been deleted, and there won’t be any similar content appearing on the forum for now.” The advisor took a sip of tea, her throat dry from all the phone calls.

“Thank you.”

“Shen Yiqiu, wait a moment.”

Shen Yiqiu put down her bag and sat back down.

“I want to understand the situation, the claims in those posts, are they true?”

Although the posts had been removed for violating privacy regulations, it didn’t mean the university approved of Shen Yiqiu’s relationship.

“Which aspects?”

“Your partner.”

Shen Yiqiu thought for a moment, her expression calm and composed, without any hint of guilt or shame, she didn’t think she had done anything wrong.

“There’s no rule against dating in the Meng Da student handbook, is there?”