Bo Yan laughed, "Third Brother, you’re focusing on the wrong thing here."
"What’s wrong with it? Nobody could stop you back then, you just wanted to become an artist, and now that you’re so successful, you say you’re going to retire—what do you mean by that?
Do you realize, Grandpa will definitely smack you for this."
"That’s not right. If there were children, Grandpa wouldn’t want his great-grandchildren to be exposed to the public eye."
Bo Yan’s Third Brother: "...Where does this sense of superiority in your words come from?"
Bo Yan snorted with laughter, "I originally intended to put it more subtly, to spare you brothers some embarrassment, but it seems you don’t mind."
Bo Yan, "Third Brother, I’m the youngest in our family, and I got married first; I might even be the first to have kids. Aren’t you guys envious?"
"Xiaoqi, don’t go too far."
"It’s overstepping to tell the truth? I haven’t even started on the really excessive stuff yet."
Bo Yan’s Third Brother: "..."
Suddenly, he really didn’t want to admit he had such an annoying, punch-worthy cousin.
Bo Yan: "Are you particularly not wanting to talk to me right now? And not wanting to hear me speak?"
Bo Yan’s Third Brother ground his teeth, "You have some self-awareness, at least. Talking about children who are not even on the horizon, why are you so proud?"
"They’ll come eventually, anyway, sooner than someone who doesn’t even have a girlfriend."
Bo Yan’s Third Brother: "...Damn."
After ending the call with his Third Brother, Bo Yan felt refreshed. Turning around, he saw Yuran emerging from the bathroom in a bathrobe. He went in with a smile, and Yuran raised an eyebrow.
"Qi Ge, you look quite happy."
Bo Yan nodded, "Indeed, I just had a phone call with Third Brother, hm, exchanged a few jests."
Bo Yan’s teasing was met with reservations from Yuran, who refrained from commenting.
She urged Bo Yan to take a shower, and just as he was turning with his clothes, Yuran called out to him, "Qi Ge, were you and Third Brother talking about what happened today?"
Bo Yan hummed in acknowledgment, "Just mentioned it briefly."
Yuran chuckled, "Qi Ge, can you not get involved in this matter? There’s no need for Third Brother to do anything either."
Yuran, "There are certain matters I need to handle myself, to better solve problems in the future."
Bo Yan got it instantly. He pondered for a moment, then nodded, "Alright, I’ll talk to Third Brother."
Yuran smiled, "When should we invite our brothers and sisters for a meal? We’ve been married for quite a while now, and haven’t had a meal together."
"How about this weekend? We can invite them to the old mansion. I’ll talk to Mom."
Mom had been looking forward to their visit for a long time, but Yuran was busy with her studies, and Bo Yan had been on the set, so they hadn’t managed to find the time.
Yuran had no objections, "Then let’s tell Mom first."
The word Mom was hesitant, yet not jarring.
Yuran believed that because of Bo Yan’s presence, even if these prodigal sons wanted to spread some rumors, they wouldn’t speak recklessly.
Indeed, the gossip did not start from the prodigal sons’ mouths, but three days later, a piece of juicy gossip surfaced at Diwai.
On the school’s forum, an eye-catching topic appeared.
[Shocking! A Sophomore Girl from the Arabic Language Department with Surname Y, Suspected of Being Kept as a Mistress.]
Below the flashy header were attached pictures of luxury cars, a mansion, and some intimate photos with the opposite sex.
Without overthinking, the distances with the opposite sex in the photos were normal; with a bit more thought, they seemed intimate.
Of course, there were many who preferred to overthink.
Students at the school quickly pinned this campus news to the most prominent position.
Qi Nian, furious as a pufferfish, grabbed her cell phone and ran to Yuran’s class. At that moment, everyone was indignant on behalf of Yuran.
The students from the Arabic Language Department are particularly supportive of each other, and having been around Yuran for so long, they don’t need outsiders to tell them what kind of person Yuran is.
They have more right to speak out, and since they are all adults, they should have some ability to think for themselves, right!
Qi Nian rushed to Yuran’s side, as if she herself was the one being gossiped about, "What are these people thinking, do you look like someone who’s kept?"
"Indeed——" Yuran’s classmates nodded one after another.
Someone explained, "A good figure, good looks, that’s exactly the most popular type to be kept."
"You guys, you guys..." Qi Nian was so upset she couldn’t even utter a single word; she wanted to explain that Yuran was not like that, but she didn’t know how to articulate it.
She was so upset she was nearly in tears.
Yuran, caught between laughter and tears, pulled her over to sit down, "Don’t worry, don’t worry, they’re just joking."
As she said this, Yuran’s classmates all burst out laughing. At first, they did not have a good impression of Qi Nian, so they were not very welcoming towards her.
But as they spent more time together, they found this girl quirky yet charming, and they really liked her coming to their class to chat.
Qi Nian puffed up angrily, "Your class is so good at bullying people."
Someone reached out and poked Qi Nian’s puffy cheek, "Don’t be mad, none of us believe that news."
Changing the subject, someone asked Yuran, "Yuran, what are you planning to do about this? Don’t worry, all of us in the class are standing by your side.
Even though you look like you might be someone’s kept woman, you definitely are not."
Yuran: "...Liao, I feel like your explanation is something I can’t clear up even with a hundred mouths."
The classmates grew even more curious, gathering around, each voicing their thoughts, "So what exactly do you plan to do?"
Yuran thought for a moment, then turned her head to look at Qi Nian, "Niannian, help me report it to the police."
"What?" The whole class was shocked.
Qi Niannian felt her brain struggling to catch up, stammering, "Report... report it to the police?"
"Yeah." Yuran nodded, "Report it, find the person who made the post, and then continue to pursue responsibility."
The classmates were somewhat confused, "What do you mean?"
Yuran, "Just take a look at what’s happening online now. How many insults are there against me? How are they insulting me?"
The classmates all took out their phones, opened the official Weibo account, and then saw that five out of the top ten trending topics were about Yuran being kept.
Clicking in, the language used was extremely vulgar and explicit.
Not only that, but there was also all sorts of slurs and defamation, a burden no man could bear without crumbling under such baseless suspicion and humiliation.
Everyone was at a loss for words.
Instinctively, they looked at Yuran’s face. Yuran’s expression was full of smiles, as if they weren’t discussing her situation at all.
Some classmates murmured about her psychological endurance.
And what about her reaction?
Neither angry nor sad, but instead wearing a smiley face.
Everyone was worried about her, but Yuran urged them on, "Worried that I’ll be upset? There’s no need for that. External forces are not sharp enough to hurt me."
"So... so we’re reading it now!"
Someone chipped in uncertainly.
Yuran smiled and nodded, "Read it, haven’t we already agreed on this before?
Don’t worry, I am not fragile, none of these words can hurt me."