Xu Zifan glanced at the time on his phone; there were still ten minutes until midnight. He led Qiao Zixin for a slow walk along the lake and asked her, "What are your New Year's wishes?"
Qiao Zixin was somewhat surprised that someone of his personality would think of such a thing. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Yes, I hope we... can both be well. May our careers be more successful, our lives more enjoyable, and our bodies healthier—in short, may things get better and better."
"Hmm, I've heard that if you make a wish upon a shooting star, it will come true, but there are no shooting stars right now."
Qiao Zixin glanced towards the city and said with a smile, "Actually, making a wish while looking at the fireworks is fine too. We didn't walk through the city center just now, so they might have already started setting off fireworks over there..."
Before she could finish speaking, her eyes lit up as fireworks burst across the sky, their crackling sounds filling the air.
Qiao Zixin excitedly grabbed Xu Zifan's sleeve and pointed to the sky, exclaiming, "Zifan! So many fireworks! So beautiful!"
"Do you like it?" Xu Zifan had never seen so many fireworks before and thought they were quite beautiful. He looked down at Qiao Zixin and asked.
Qiao Zixin stared wide-eyed in disbelief, "You did this?"
"Hmm." Xu Zifan nodded. "Many people online say that when girls are unhappy, seeing fireworks makes them forget all their troubles. Zixin, no matter what your family is like, you still have me, your fan team, and countless fans supporting you. You don't need to be sad for those people."
Qiao Zixin blinked hard, holding back her tears, and put on a bright smile. "I'm not sad at all now, really. This is the happiest New Year I've ever had!"
Looking at her captivating smile, Xu Zifan felt a stirring in his heart. Perhaps it was because he was starting to consider romantic relationships, but he looked at Qiao Zixin from a different angle and discovered that she was truly beautiful. Her large eyes were incredibly bright, as if they were filled with stars. Her high, straight nose was slightly red from the cold because she wasn't wearing a scarf, which added to her charm. And her rosy lips looked soft and tender. For the first time, he realized that Qiao Zixin possessed an extraordinary attraction to the opposite sex!
He quickly looked away, gazing at the sky with Qiao Zixin. He hadn't made up his mind yet, but he could start looking at Qiao Zixin as a man would at least see her. If he fell for her, he would spend the rest of his life with her. If he couldn't, he would find ways to find her other good men to choose from, accompanying her like a shadow. He wouldn't let anyone know his thoughts until he made his decision.
"Xu Zifan!"
Xu Zifan reflexively turned his head and saw Qiao Zixin holding up her phone, snapping a photo of the two of them. Qiao Zixin, wearing high heels, was half a head shorter than Xu Zifan. In the photo, she leaned slightly towards him, smiling and making a peace sign. Xu Zifan, hands in his pockets, looked at her sideways, a rare smile on his face. With fireworks as a backdrop, the photo was exceptionally beautiful!
Qiao Zixin posted a Weibo post using this photo.
[Qiao Zixin v: In the new year, let's go even further. Xu Zifan]
[Kitten: ??? Am I dreaming? My dream man and goddess teaming up for New Year's Eve???]
[Wind Without a Trace: Ahhh, what a surprise! This is the best New Year's gift!]
Fans immediately saw her Weibo post and started clamoring for official confirmation, asking her what was going on.
Qiao Zixin lowered her head, not daring to look at Xu Zifan's expression, and smiled, "I hope we can make more and better movies, and that the company can take another step forward." Her heart was pounding, wondering how Xu Zifan would react, and whether he had noticed her attempt to hide her true feelings. She wanted their company to take another step forward, and even more so, she wanted their relationship to take another step forward!
Xu Zifan took out his phone and forwarded her Weibo post: [Xu Zifan v: Immediately preparing for a major production. // Qiao Zixin v: In the new year, let's take it a step further. Xu Zifan]
[Phalaenopsis Orchid: Hahaha, that's so Xu Zifan!]
[MoMo: 666 President Xu is as domineering and straightforward as ever, haha]
[Falling Snowflakes: Mr. Xu, you're destined to be single forever! Let our Zixin come and save you! Happy New Year~]
Qiao Zixin's eyes flickered, and she looked up at Xu Zifan. Xu Zifan put away his phone, showing no reaction. Qiao Zixin felt a little deflated, took a step forward, and gazed absently at the beautiful fireworks in the sky. The next moment, a coat was draped over her shoulders.
"Are you cold? Wear another layer."
Qiao Zixin instantly felt much warmer, but when she saw that Xu Zifan was only wearing a fleece underneath, she frowned and said, "No, you'll catch a cold."
"It's okay, I'm not cold." Xu Zifan buttoned up the top button of her coat, not letting her take it off. "Let's watch the fireworks, they're almost over. We'll go back after they're done."
"Mmm." Qiao Zixin pulled her coat tighter, still warm from Xu Zifan's body heat. Watching the fireworks, she gently closed her eyes and sincerely made a wish in her heart. She hoped... that she and Xu Zifan would fall in love in the new year.
The next day, they took an early morning bus and left the city, then flew back to Yanjing. Their phones rang incessantly as soon as they turned them on; they went straight to the company without even going home.
The internet was in an uproar. "Life Is Beautiful" had just been released and was already number one at the box office, with Qiao Zixin and Xu Zifan generating a lot of buzz. Then, someone found a video on a small-town forum. The video was shaky, but it clearly showed Qiao Zixin arguing with someone. The video description claimed that Qiao Zixin was ungrateful, materialistic, and even disowned her own mother.
This video was immediately shared widely on Weibo and has now climbed to eighth place on the trending topics list! The only somewhat comforting thing is that after the previous six months...
After the storm of controversy and Xu Zifan's repeated humiliations, netizens have developed a high level of trust in Qiao Zixin. Their first reaction upon seeing the news is not to question what she did wrong, but rather to wonder why she did it.
Some parts of the video were muted, leaving only Qiao Zixin's angry words to her elders, demanding she sever ties with them, which attracted a lot of criticism. This polarized netizens, with most believing that Qiao Zixin is a kind person and wouldn't attack others without reason; they felt those people must have done something to her for her to retaliate. Furthermore, the expressions of those people in the video didn't seem friendly, so they felt they had to side with Qiao Zixin.
A small minority of people believe that elders are elders, and how kind can someone be if they can sever ties with their own mother? These people criticize Qiao Zixin for being unfilial, bringing up her low education level and speculating that she looks down on her family now that she has money, and even threw a tantrum at them during the New Year. Furthermore, the photo Qiao Zixin posted at New Year's Eve makes them even more disgusted; after a big fight with her family, she went on a date with a man to watch fireworks, and she was laughing so happily—truly the epitome of unfilial piety!
Now that these two groups are at odds, Xu Zifan has just returned to Beijing, and the public relations manager quickly reports to him to see if he has any thoughts.
Xu Zifan only knew that Qiao Zixin had broken ties with her family, but after watching the video, he realized how much she had suffered. In the video, more than twenty people stood in the house Qiao Zixin had bought, righteously condemning her as if she were some heinous criminal. These people used Qiao Zixin's money, despised her job, and wanted to trample on her dignity. Who gave them the audacity?
The atmosphere in the office was tense. The secretary and the public relations manager stood by, watching Xu Zifan's increasingly furrowed brows, not daring to breathe. It wasn't until Qiao Zixin patted Xu Zifan on the shoulder and said reassuringly, "It's okay, I really enjoyed confronting them back then. Like I told you, if I wasn't afraid they would gang up on me, I really would have hit them."
Xu Zifan relaxed his brow, but his expression remained blank. "You should tell me, they think they can have a peaceful New Year while bullying you, sending you all this nonsense? Do they really think we won't do anything to them?" He looked at Qiao Zixin, "Do you remember the specifics of what you said back then?"
Qiao Zixin nodded, "It matches up to the video, pretty much."
"Alright, tell Lina the conversation between you and those people in the video. Lina, you double-check it against the video. The PR department should have someone release it, saying it was translated by someone who understands lip reading, to restore the truth. Find the right moment to guide public opinion, and don't let the mudslinging fall on Zixin. Also, prepare a press release. When public opinion is in the right place, release an announcement that Zixin and her family are keeping to themselves, emphasizing how much property she gave to the Qiao family, and when she started supporting Qiao's mother in her old age." Xu Zifan quickly came up with a plan and arranged it methodically.
Just as the company began its operation, Qiao Zixin's fans took action first. Some had slept in late over the New Year, while others had visited relatives and missed the latest news, causing Qiao Zixin to be attacked by trolls again. They had been waiting for a chance to perform and join the team, and as soon as they saw someone attacking Qiao Zixin, their fighting spirit exploded, and they began to show off their skills in their respective areas of expertise.
The first to have an effect was a fan who could read lips. She accurately translated every sentence and every word in the video, and everyone who saw her translation could match the lip movements in the video. This immediately sparked even greater attention: Qiao Zixin's father and brother weren't actually related by blood? Her mother was a sex addict? And all these people using Qiao Zixin's money were forcing her out of the house during the Chinese New Year?
And that second aunt of hers, she actually talked about celebrities like chickens, not only humiliating Qiao Zixin, but also forcing Qiao Zixin to marry her nephew as if her nephew was some kind of high-class person. This family is so bizarre, it's truly unbelievable.
Many people are criticizing them for being psychologically twisted, while others say they know people like that, and some even vent that their relatives are just like the Qiao family, and that getting along with them is like torture.
At this point, another of Qiao Zixin's fans traced the poster's IP address, hacked the person's phone, and then used the phone's chat history to hack other accounts. The fan didn't expose their identities, but posted numerous chat logs, even clarifying their interpersonal relationships. The chat logs included a cousin scolding Qiao Zixin for not introducing her to Xu Zifan, a younger brother scolding her for not giving him money to buy a school district house, and Zhang Hao telling his friends that he would sleep with Qiao Zixin sooner or later, then abandon her after playing around, and that a woman like that who showed her face in public didn't deserve to be his wife.
Netizens were astonished, vehemently condemning the Qiao family and widely sharing the story, saying they would make them famous so everyone could avoid them. Meanwhile, the Qiao family was in complete disarray. The father, who had always valued his reputation above all else, had lost everything! His cousin, who posted the video, was forced to apologize, and Zhang Hao and Qiao Zhipeng quickly followed suit. But it wasn't enough. Such appalling behavior was comparable to that of old feudal society. What era are we living in? How could they dare to treat people like this? Did they really think an apology would suffice?!
At home, Mrs. Qiao was scolded so badly she couldn't lift her head. Everyone said she hadn't raised her daughter well. She cried and felt wronged. How could it be that she, who had always thought of the Qiao family, was the one at fault? Wasn't it them who drove Qiao Zixin away? Just then, she suddenly received a call from Qiao Zixin. A strange sense of relief washed over her; she felt much more confident and had the nerve to face the Qiao family. But as soon as the call connected, Qiao Zixin said, "I told you before I left, if you mess with me again, don't blame me for being ruthless. Since you didn't listen, then I'll settle the score with you. Tell everyone to pay back all the money they owe me and return the jewelry they took immediately. Otherwise, the police will be coming to you for questioning. I mean what I say!"