Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 436 Scandal Erupts
Upon seeing Qian Zhenyu's message, Cao Sheng didn't hesitate this time and replied casually, "No."

The reason he hesitated before was whether or not to reply to Qian Zhenyu's message. Now that he had already replied to one message, there was no need to hesitate to reply to the second one.

As far as he was concerned, as long as Qian Zhenyu didn't pursue a romantic relationship with him, they could still be friends, since they were old classmates.

Jiang Xiaoshuang: "You're asleep, how can you still reply to my messages?"

Cao Sheng: "I went to sleep, but I couldn't fall asleep."

Huang Qingya: "Happy New Year!"

It was past midnight, and it was indeed New Year's Day, so her New Year's greeting came at a very opportune time.

Cao Sheng smiled slightly and replied, "Happy New Year!"

Qian Zhenyu's message came again: "Not coming back for the New Year? Are you planning to settle down in Huizhou from now on?"

Cao Sheng thought for a moment and replied, "I haven't decided yet. Maybe I'll settle in another city in the future, or maybe I'll go back to my hometown. It's uncertain. Did you go back to your hometown?"

Huang Qingya: "There are fireworks going off everywhere outside, did you set one off?"

Cao Sheng: "No, I just went to bed and I'm too lazy to get up."

Jiang Xiaoshuang: "Oh, I see! Happy New Year!"

Cao Sheng: "Happy New Year!"

Qian Zhenyu: "Well, I'm at my hometown. I was thinking of meeting you in the next few days. It's been so long since we last met, and I wanted to see you. This time when I went back to my hometown, I kept thinking about my high school days and many of my classmates, including you."

Cao Sheng: "Oh, it's a pity I'm not in my hometown. Let's make plans another time!"

He didn't mention that his whole family would be going back to their hometown tomorrow because he didn't want to see her.

For him, the people and events of the past are best left in his memory; there's no need to see them again.

He admitted that Qian Zhenyu was the white moonlight in his heart.

He had a crush on her for a long time.

but……

Even before his rebirth, he knew—she didn't like him.

Otherwise, why didn't she contact him again after graduating from high school in the original timeline?
In this current timeline, the reason she keeps contacting him is simply because he is rich and famous in this timeline.

If that's the case, then what's the point of saying goodbye?

White Moonlight…

For him, it was just a memory.

Even if the beloved herself were to come, it wouldn't compare.

He didn't want to ruin the beautiful impression he had of her.

Of course, the most important thing is that more than 20 years have passed since he and she were separated before and after his rebirth. In such a long time, the affection he had in his youth had long faded, and he could hardly remember what she looked like.

"I'm thinking of going to Huangshan for a trip in a while, shall we meet up then?"

Qian Zhenyu sent me this message.

Cao Sheng was a little surprised and speechless.

It seems she really wants to meet him.

Having said all that, he had no choice but to accept.

After a moment's hesitation, he replied, "Okay, sure."

……

The fireworks and firecrackers outside the window continued to burn until after 2 a.m. before gradually stopping.

As a result, Cao Sheng slept until 8:30 the next morning.

He only woke up when his mother came upstairs to call him.

His parents were very enthusiastic about his trip back to his hometown today. When Cao Sheng came downstairs, breakfast was already prepared: tea eggs and boiled dumplings.

As soon as he came downstairs, his father urged him, "Sheng! Hurry up and wash your face, then eat breakfast. After you're done, let's get going, it's getting late."

The mother chimed in, "Yes! Hurry up!"

After he finished washing up, he went to the restaurant to have breakfast when his father came over, reached out to ask him for the car keys, saying that he wanted to load all the gifts into the car.

Because they had already planned to visit their hometown on the first day of the Lunar New Year, they had already bought the gifts for the visit.

Cao Sheng handed the car keys to his father. His parents went to move the gifts, while Cao Sheng sat at the dining table and ate his breakfast at a leisurely pace.

It was almost 10 o'clock when the family set off.

Because I was going back to stay for a few days, I brought a lot of luggage, mainly some changes of clothes and gifts for various relatives.

Of course, Cao Sheng also brought his laptop.

As a writer, he maintains a daily update schedule even during the Chinese New Year.

This cannot be broken.

This had long been his habit.

Huizhou is mountainous, and the roads in the mountainous areas are not in good condition.

Therefore, Cao Sheng did not drive at a high speed. Although the journey home was only about 150 kilometers, he estimated that it would take at least two and a half hours.

And while he was focused on driving.

The photos, or rather the news, of him and Jiang Xiaoshuang holding hands and strolling on the sidewalk last night have already begun to circulate on the internet.

In reality, Huizhou TV's "Morning News" also reported on it this morning.

Although Huizhou TV broadcast this news in its morning news program, it did not have a significant impact.

Because the influence of such a municipal television station is limited, people in more distant areas generally do not watch Huizhou TV. The local people who are used to watching the "morning news" are usually elderly people who get up early or shop owners.

How many young people watch the morning news?

Therefore, although Huizhou TV's "Morning News" reported that Zhongyuan Yidianhui was seen walking hand-in-hand with a beautiful woman on the street on New Year's Eve, not many people paid attention.

Many people did not react when they saw this news.

Who is Zhongyuan Yidianhui?

Is walking down the street with a beautiful woman news?

Who cares who it is!
Of course, some people who knew about Zhongyuan Yidianhui saw the news and, out of curiosity, glanced at it a few more times, but didn't react much.

Because the photos of Zhongyuan Yidianhui in the news were not very clear, and the beautiful woman holding his hand and walking down the street was also blurry, it was obvious that the photos were taken at night.

Some people subconsciously assumed that Zhongyuan Yidianhui and his girlfriend were taking a walk.

……

but……

This news quickly went viral after it appeared online.

Firstly, the main internet users these days are young people, and 99% of them know who Zhongyuan Yidianhui is. Young people have the strongest curiosity. Zhongyuan Yidianhui was seen holding hands with a beautiful woman on New Year's Eve? What's going on? Was it with his girlfriend?

Secondly, there are many fans and colleagues of Cao Sheng online.

Whether they are book fans or colleagues, everyone is very interested in the gossip surrounding Cao Sheng.

On various news websites.

The headlines given to this scandal varied.

For example: "Shocking! A wisp of gray in the Central Plains held hands with a beautiful woman on New Year's Eve!"

"A touch of gray in the Central Plains doesn't change his romantic nature; he seems to have changed girlfriends on New Year's Eve!"

Who is holding hands with someone on New Year's Eve in the Central Plains?

"Is 'A Touch of Gray in the Central Plains' suspected of having fallen for someone else?"

…… etc.

As more people saw these news reports, they were shared on various forums, and more and more netizens began discussing the matter.

Someone posted: "The beautiful woman in the photo doesn't look like Huang Qingya, does she?"

Someone posted: "It's the Lunar New Year, why aren't you staying home? Are you that busy?"

Some people say, "Does it really work for a novelist to pick up girls?"

Some people say, "It's so good to be rich! He can change beautiful women like he changes clothes. I probably don't have as many girlfriends as I do clothes."

……

Cao Sheng, who was driving on the highway, was naturally unaware that he was involved in another scandal.

He did hear his phone ringing intermittently.

He assumed they were just normal New Year's greetings calls and text messages, and since he was driving, he didn't have time to answer or reply, so he completely ignored them.

Around the same time, Jiang Xiaoshuang at Huizhou TV station was quite silent. Her colleagues, who were working overtime with her during the Spring Festival, were excitedly discussing the news of Zhongyuan Yidianhui holding hands with a beautiful woman on New Year's Eve. She listened quietly, almost without saying a word, only offering a brief comment when her colleagues asked for her opinion.

She was somewhat relieved that the photos in the news didn't capture her face clearly; otherwise, she would definitely have been the focus of the station that morning.

If that happens, she'll probably become the focus of the station's interviews, and all her colleagues and leaders who didn't get a day off will probably be asking her all sorts of questions.

She was also very depressed.

She never dreamed that one day the TV station she worked for would report on her scandal.

The key point is that she was completely unaware of this scandal before it was reported.

If you think about it carefully, it's normal.

After all, she's just a newcomer at the station, and it's already quite an achievement for her to have established herself. How could the station possibly have received such a tip through her? She's not a leader at the station.

She pretended to go to the restroom and made several calls to Cao Sheng, but Cao Sheng didn't answer any of them.

This left her feeling very unsettled.

I'm worried that the whistleblower might have even clearer photos.

If today's revelation is just an appetizer, and there are even clearer photos to come, what kind of situation will she find herself in if her face is clearly captured in the photos?
Will the station fire me?
Will I be labeled as a "mistress"?
She desperately wanted to talk to someone about it, but reason told her: she had to keep it to herself! She couldn't tell anyone except Cao Sheng.

But for some reason, Cao Sheng kept ignoring her calls and messages.

……

Huang Qingya was in a similarly bad mood.

Early in the morning, after she had breakfast, she was on her way to visit her uncle with her older brothers and others when she suddenly received a call from an old classmate.

It was her college roommate calling.

We were quite close back in college.

Today, my roommate called and immediately asked, "Xiaoya! Did you break up with that guy, Zhongyuan Yidianhui?"

Huang Qingya was surprised and frowned, asking, "Yanzi! What are you saying? On the first day of the Lunar New Year, you call to ask this kind of question. What do you want?"

Yanzi: "Uh, I'm sorry, Xiaoya! That's not what I meant. Don't you know?"

Huang Qingya: "What? You don't know anything?"

Yanzi: "Your boyfriend's been involved in another scandal, didn't you know? The news said he was seen holding hands with a beautiful woman on the street last night, there are even photos. The woman in the photos doesn't look like you at all, so I couldn't help but call to ask if you broke up with him. What? You're still together?"

Huang Qingya: "???"

While driving, Huang Qingfeng glanced at Huang Qingya in the rearview mirror. After Huang Qingya finished her call, Huang Qingfeng asked, "Who called? What happened?"

He noticed that his sister, Huang Qingya, looked rather pale after finishing the phone call.

"nothing."

Huang Qingya didn't want to talk about it.

Huang Qingfeng glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror again, but didn't ask any further questions.

But more than an hour later, he still learned about Cao Sheng's scandal.

He received a call from a friend who asked if his sister had broken up with Zhongyuan Yidianhui.
Later, under his persistent questioning, he learned about Cao Sheng's scandal.

To verify the truth of the matter, he went to his uncle's house, borrowed his cousin's computer to go online, found Cao Sheng's scandal, and read it silently.

The photos in the news weren't very clear.

But he could still recognize Cao Sheng's face and build.

In the photo, the woman walking next to Cao Sheng is holding his hand.

This news made Huang Qingfeng's face turn ugly.

He silently lit a cigarette, took a few puffs, and couldn't help but take out his phone and dial Cao Sheng's number.

But Cao Sheng, who was driving, did not answer his call.

This made Huang Qingfeng's expression even more unpleasant.

After finishing his cigarette, he got up and went downstairs. He found his younger sister, Huang Qingya, sitting quietly drinking tea in the living room. With a stern face, he walked up to her and said in a low voice, "Qingya! Come with me to buy something!"

Huang Qingya, who was in a bad mood, glanced at him and shook her head. "I don't want to go out. Why don't you ask your second brother to go with you?"

Huang Qingfeng stared at her and said in a deep voice, "Stop talking nonsense! Come out with me!"

His unusual behavior made Huang Qingya frown slightly. She turned to look at him and saw that his face was very sour. She realized something, said nothing more, put down her teacup, got up and silently followed her older brother out of their uncle's gate and into his car.

Huang Qingfeng drove onto the road outside.

He remained silent the entire way.

He drove all the way to a viewing platform on the edge of a cliff before stopping the car, opening the door, and getting out.

Seeing this, Huang Qingya remained silent for a few seconds, then opened the door, got out of the car, and came to her brother's side.

The brother and sister gazed at the lake and mountains below the cliff in silence for a long time before Huang Qingfeng finally broke the silence, "Do you regret it? I was firmly against you being with him back then, but you wouldn't listen. Do you regret it now?"

Huang Qingya squinted at the front, seemingly not hearing what he said.

After a long while, she said softly, "A little bit!"

Huang Qingfeng turned to look at her, "He's too young! You can't protect him!"

This time, Huang Qingya remained silent.

This wasn't the first time Cao Sheng had been involved in a scandal, so she had long known she couldn't keep him.

only……

Previously, there had never been any photos of him holding hands with other women in the scandals, so those scandals didn't really bother her.

She had thought she could tolerate his youthful philandering.

But seeing the photo of him holding hands with Jiang Xiaoshuang today, she felt a little uncomfortable.

Yes.

She had already seen the photos of Cao Sheng's recent scandal.

While her older brother was using his younger cousin's computer to look up Cao Sheng's scandals, she also borrowed her older cousin's computer and saw Cao Sheng's scandals.

Moreover, although the photo was not clear, the woman in the photo had met Jiang Xiaoshuang before, so she recognized the woman in the photo as Jiang Xiaoshuang.

She was also aware of Jiang Xiaoshuang's conditions.

She's quite pretty, was once hailed as the most talented woman at Huizhou Teachers College, and is about the same age as Cao Sheng. She now works at a television station.

In other respects, she didn't think she was inferior to Jiang Xiaoshuang.

Only age.

Besides all that, another thought lingered in her mind: You're Zhongyuan Yidianhui, the number one online novelist, but I'm not bad either, am I? I'm also a top-tier author on Hongxiu, so why are you treating me like this?
(End of this chapter)