When Xu Tingyu was a well - known figure across the country back then, the internet was far less developed than it is now.
Moreover, after she got married and withdrew from the spotlight, Liu Ning had all of her online videos deleted.
She also complained about Xu Tingyu behind her back.
"She's just a dancer. It's not a very prestigious profession. Do you think my son will be dragged down by her?"
"Since she's not dancing anymore, what's the use of keeping these videos and false reputations?"
"If someone wants to disgrace her and spreads these videos everywhere, I'd like to see how embarrassed she'll be."
"I've spent so much money to get them deleted. She should be secretly happy about it."
...
Xu Tingyu didn't understand why dancing wasn't a prestigious profession.
She also couldn't figure out why watching videos of her dancing was considered disgracing her.
But since these words weren't said in front of her, she didn't feel it was appropriate to ask and just pretended not to know.
At that time, she never thought that after three years, there would still be people who remembered her.
And just from one dance, they could recognize her.
Words couldn't describe how wonderful she felt at that moment.
Even the shadow brought by the memory of "Reflection of Flowers in the Mirror and Moon on the Water" faded a bit.
However, when she was happy, there were always others who weren't.
When Qi Shifeng returned to his office after a meeting, he saw Xie Yu and her agent, Hong Hao, sitting on the sofa.
He frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly.
Hearing the noise, Xie Yu looked up. When she saw him, her eyes welled up with tears even before she said a word.
"What's wrong?"
His expression changed slightly, and he strode over.
Xie Yu held back her emotions, hesitating to speak.
Hong Hao beside her couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Mr. Qi, right now, there are rumors on the internet saying that Miss Xie deliberately made things difficult for Miss Xu out of jealousy after realizing she was no match for her."
"But you know Miss Xie is kind - hearted and lively. She has helped so many junior dancers. And since she knew it was Miss Xu, how could she possibly make things difficult for her?"
"Moreover, Miss Xie has won all the major awards in the dance world. Now that her focus has shifted to the film and television industry, there's no way she would be jealous."
"I think someone must be deliberately guiding this situation to ruin both Miss Xie's and Miss Xu's reputations."
Hong Hao knew that Qi Shifeng and Xu Tingyu didn't have a good relationship.
But no matter how bad their relationship was, it wasn't his place as an outsider to comment.
So he focused on Xie Yu.
After his speech, Xie Yu's eyes became even redder.
Qi Shifeng glanced at the trending list, but his eyes landed on the words "He Loves Her Deeply".
He remained silent, and the oppressive atmosphere filled the room.
Hong Hao thought there was something wrong with his well - thought - out speech, so he looked at Xie Yu.
They exchanged a quick glance and then averted their eyes.
Xie Yu spoke up. "Brother Feng, my reputation is secondary. Miss Xu's reputation is very important."
"This Sheng Man is so presumptuous. Just because he's from the same school as Miss Xu, he's been trying to get close to her."
"Miss Xu is so innocent. Having been spoiled and protected by the Xu and Qi families, she doesn't know how sinister people can be. I'm afraid she'll be deceived and get a bad reputation."
Xie Yu had never said a single bad word about Xu Tingyu in front of Qi Shifeng.
Every time she mentioned Xu Tingyu, she always politely called her "Miss Xu".
Now, her words seemed to be for Xu Tingyu's own good.
However, Qi Shifeng still kept his head down, looking at his phone, as if he hadn't heard a word.
After waiting for a few seconds, Xie Yu gritted her teeth and took out her phone, opening a video.
"I saw this by accident. I pleaded with the show for a long time and even mentioned you before they agreed to delete it."
"Sheng Man has ulterior motives towards Miss Xu. I'm not just talking nonsense."
She showed the video to Qi Shifeng.
It was the scene where Sheng Man played the accompaniment of "Reflection of Flowers in the Mirror and Moon on the Water" and invited Xu Tingyu to dance together.
The video clearly showed that Xu Tingyu was in a daze when she heard the accompaniment.
After Sheng Man invited her to dance, a look of pain flashed across her eyes, and there was a glimmer of water in them.
Then the video ended abruptly.
Qi Shifeng's eyes landed on Xu Tingyu's face.
His handsome and cold eyes were full of disdain, and his anger was almost out of control. The air pressure in the office dropped even lower.
Xie Yu took back her phone and exchanged another glance with Hong Hao. They both saw the satisfaction in each other's eyes.
Then she put on a reluctant and patient look and looked at Qi Shifeng.
"Otherwise, you should persuade Miss Xu to withdraw from the competition."
...
When Xie Yu and Hong Hao left the CEO's office of Qi Corporation, the smiles on their faces were very obvious.
Jiang Li walked in with some documents and felt as if he was being stared at by two sharp gazes. A thin layer of sweat broke out on his forehead instantly.
"When did my office become a reception hall?"
Qi Shifeng was standing in front of the floor - to - ceiling window, his back to the light. It seemed as if there were layers of shadows pressing down, accompanied by the faint rumbling of thunder.
Jiang Li's face turned pale, and he lowered his head, not daring to look at him.
"I'm sorry, Miss Xie came to see you while you were in a meeting. I thought, I thought..."
He had been promoted to the CEO's office and had been working with Qi Shifeng for almost a year.
He was highly regarded because of his outstanding work ability.
Xie Yu had returned from overseas training half a year ago.
The gift Qi Shifeng gave her for her return was prepared by him.
After that, all her award - winning events, performances, etc., also went through his hands.
Even the few times Xie Yu came to the company, he was the one who received her.
In Jiang Li's opinion, his boss treated Xie Yu differently—after all, even the boss's wife had never come to the company.
This time, Xie Yu and her agent came with serious expressions.
He thought something serious had happened, so he directly arranged for them to wait in the office.
Now that he was reminded, he came to his senses and was sweating even more.
The CEO's office was a very important place.
How could it be open to anyone?
Before he could explain clearly, Qi Shifeng had already walked impatiently towards the door.
"Remove the trending topics and prepare for public relations."
Just as he was about to reach the door, he stopped and glanced at Jiang Li.
His eyes were full of warnings, with a powerful and overwhelming force that made people not even dare to raise their heads.
Jiang Li didn't even dare to breathe loudly. He secretly cursed the netizens in his heart.
Why did they have to talk nonsense? It made Miss Xie suffer grievances, and he, the assistant, was implicated!
Qi Shifeng actually had another meeting, but he skipped it and went straight home.
But Xu Tingyu wasn't back yet.
He waited patiently, but it wasn't until nearly twelve o'clock that the woman still hadn't returned, and there was no phone call either.
When Aunt Zhang called her, the phone was turned off.
Before they could reach Xu Tingyu, Liu Ning called.
"Shifeng, divorce that bad - luck woman right away."
"She's getting bolder and bolder. She dared to appear on TV without telling us and caused such a mess of news."
"Does she have to disgrace the Qi family completely before she's happy?"
It was obvious that Liu Ning was almost crazy with anger.
Actually, she didn't usually watch TV, let alone live broadcasts.
This time, someone reminded her, so she checked the news.
She immediately recognized the woman "showing off her charm" on TV as her "good daughter - in - law".
"I've told you before that she's of no use to us anymore."
"Now, since she's made such a disgraceful joke, it's a good time for you to divorce her. You can also explain it to the old man."