Ouyang Hao turned over, ready to continue sleeping. He thought the knocking at the door would stop after a short while, but to his surprise, the person outside was persistent, the knocks becoming more urgent.
Ouyang Hao flipped over in annoyance, "Is this never going to end?"
Knowing that the person outside wouldn’t give up until they accomplished their goal, Ouyang Hao kicked off the covers in frustration, got out of bed, threw on a robe, slipped into his flip-flops, and walked towards the door.
He opened the door and unsurprisingly saw Xiao Mu standing there. Ouyang Hao glanced at the dawning sky outside and complained, "Sis, the sun isn’t even up yet. Whatever it is, can’t it wait until I’m awake?"
Ouyang Hao yawned and was about to close the door, but Xiao Mu pushed it open and handed him her phone, saying coldly, "Look at this news first, then go back to sleep."
At that moment, he realized he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep anytime soon.
"What news could be so serious?" Ouyang Hao glanced at her and took the phone. The drowsiness vanished from his face in an instant.
Ouyang Hao stared intently at the photo on the phone. It was a picture of him kissing Lin Yixun. Although the image was blurry, anyone with a sharp eye could recognize who the two people were.
"Right now, this photo is on the front pages of all the major newspapers, and on Weibo’s trending topics, nine out of ten are about you and Lin Yixun’s scandal. Ouyang Hao, have you forgotten? You’re still dating Li Yun’er!"
"Sis, you should know, Li Yun’er and I are just pretending. It’s not real."
"Pretending?" Xiao Mu scoffed, "But others don’t see it that way. Even if you and Li Yun’er are just acting, the public sees you as a couple. But you got involved with another woman during this time. Do you know what kind of impact this has on your public image? Have you forgotten about Li Yinan’s lesson? He was so popular before, but he still fell from first-tier to bottom-tier because of his cheating scandal. Are you planning to follow in his footsteps?"
"I’m not him." Ouyang Hao replied calmly. Right now, he wasn’t concerned about any of this. He was only worried about whether Lin Yixun was affected.
Thinking this, Ouyang Hao acted immediately. Without saying a word, he bypassed Xiao Mu and headed straight to Lin Yixun’s room.
Xiao Mu instantly understood his intention and said coldly, "You don’t need to look for Lin Yixun. She’s already returned to the country."
Ouyang Hao stopped abruptly, his eyes wide in disbelief, "Sis, you actually let her return at this time?"
"She asked me to change her ticket. She wanted to go back herself. No one forced her." Finally, Xiao Mu explained in a deep voice, "I didn’t know this would happen beforehand. If I had known, I would’ve..."
Ouyang Hao had no patience to listen to Xiao Mu anymore. He turned back to his room, changed clothes, and called his assistant, "Book me a ticket back to the country, direct flight, as soon as possible!"
Fans now are crazier than ever. Ouyang Hao couldn’t imagine what Lin Yixun might face after returning home.
Sure enough, Ouyang Hao soon saw news on the internet in his country, a news video lasting a minute, enough to make his heart pound.
He stared at the computer screen. The news video was shot with a phone, a bit shaky but clear. He watched as Lin Yixun was pelted with eggs, pinned down, and abused by people, but he could do nothing.
Ouyang Hao tightly clenched his fingers, the joints creaking from the force. He stared fixedly at Lin Yixun’s indifferent, numb little face, yet he could still see the helplessness and hurt in her eyes.
It felt like a sharp blade stabbed into his heart, the pain piercing. In his lifetime, this was the first time.