The Koenigsegg vanished down the tree-lined drive, leaving Xia Yingying standing in its wake. "A man of few words indeed" she mused, the sting of his transactional "marriage certificate" reminder sharp against the night's victories. Her triumph over Hu Mingyou felt hollow for a moment. "That woman would hemorrhage if she knew she'd hired her own downfall."
Upstairs, Xia Yingying pulled out a burner phone, dialing a secure number. "Status?" she demanded without preamble. "Good. Upload the Mi Wegin and Salome slander footage immediately. Let it lead the morning headlines." A cold smile touched her lips. "An eye for an eye? No. I believe in taking both eyes. Make it devastating." She ended the call. Hu Mingyou's tactics in her past life had been poison; Xia Yingying's reborn vengeance was napalm.
*******************************
**F. Caluqua Hotel - Presidential Suite**
Soft candlelight danced across polished silver and crystal, casting intimate shadows over Xia Ligue and Wen Ming. The air hummed with quiet contentment, a stark contrast to the city's brewing storms.
"Darling," Xia Ligue murmured, swirling his wine, "what whirlwind has our little hurricane set loose tonight? That glint in her eye... it worries and thrills me."
Wen Ming smiled, a mother's fierce pride warring with gentle concern. "She's found her spine, Ligue. Grown into the storm she was always meant to be." She reached across, her hand covering his. "No longer chasing shadows, but casting her own light."
Xia Ligue squeezed her hand. "Thank the heavens she's shed that Tang Qing obsession. The boy always reeked of opportunism." His expression softened with affection. "Though she did mention wanting a baby sister..."
Wen Ming choked on her champagne, a blush staining her cheeks like rose petals. "Xia Ligue! Twenty-eight years, and you still–!" His booming laughter filled the suite, warm and rich. Their daughter's spirit, her playful audacity – it was pure Wen Ming.
---------------------------------------------------------------
**Hu Family Mansion - Hu Mingyou's Room**
The silence shattered like glass. "AAAAAGHHHH!" Hu Mingyou's scream ripped through the opulent room, followed by the violent crash of a priceless Ming vase against the wall. Porcelain shards rained down like tears. "XIA YINGYING! WHY?! WHY DOES SHE GET EVERYTHING?! LU QUINZUE! THE GLORY! IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MINE!" She swept an arm across her vanity, sending perfumes and cosmetics flying.
Song Lan burst in, eyes wide with alarm, freezing at the threshold as her daughter's words registered. "Youyou... did you say... Lu Quinzue? With Xia Yingying?"
"YES!" Hu Mingyou whirled, chest heaving, mascara-streaked tears carving dark rivers down her cheeks. "He looked at her like... like she hung the moon! After she destroyed me!"
Song Lan's blood ran cold. Lu Quinzue. The name was a ghost from her own failed ambitions – the son of the man she'd tried and failed to seduce decades ago, blocked by the indomitable Tian Xie. History couldn't repeat itself with her daughter. "Youyou," she hissed, stepping over the debris, gripping her daughter's shoulders. "If that little upstart can claw her way to Lu Quinzue's side, why not you? You are my*daughter! We will remove the obstacle. Permanently."
Hu Mingyou wrenched away. "Remove her? Look at me, Mother! Xia Yingying is grace incarnate! She has the face, the voice, the talent! She's Ku Zining, for heaven's sake! I'm... I'm just the scandal-ridden fool now!" Despair curdled into another guttural scream.
Song Lan recoiled, then steeled herself. "Hysterics solve nothing! Calm yourself!" Her voice turned syrupy, manipulative. "Follow my lead, my precious. Mommy will fix this. We salvage what we can. For now... cling to Tang Qing. He's weak, pliable. Use him."
Later, in the suffocating dark, Hu Mingyou dialed Tang Qing. She hadn't washed; the tear tracks were deliberate theater. "Brother... Qing?" Her voice was a broken whisper, thick with manufactured tears. "I... I'm so sorry. For everything. For ruining you. Maybe... maybe we should end it? What will become of me? Wu wu... I don't want to live..." The performance was Oscar-worthy.
A weary, irritated sigh came down the line. "Youyou... just... stop."
"I need you! Promise me... promise you'll still marry me?" She injected desperate hope.
"Marriage? Now? With the family stocks in freefall? The scandal? Be realistic!" Tang Qing's voice was cold, pragmatic. "We focus on damage control. Not fairy tales." The line went dead.
Hu Mingyou stared at the phone, the last fragile thread of her plan snapping. With a feral cry, she hurled it against the wall, the screen exploding into a spiderweb of cracks. That night, while Xia Yingying slept the deep, satisfied sleep of vengeance fulfilled, Hu Mingyou twisted in her silk sheets, devoured by rage and fear.
**The Next Day - Midday**
Hu Mingyou woke to a world ablaze. Her mother stood in the doorway, face ashen, clutching a tablet like a death warrant. "Youyou..." Song Lan's voice trembled.
Before Hu Mingyou could respond, a call came through on the landline – Mi Wegin, her voice raw with sobs. "Y-Youyou... check the news! They've destroyed us!"
Song Lan thrust the tablet forward. The headlines screamed:
MI WEGIN & SALOME SUED FOR DEFAMATION BY XIA HEIRESS & LU QUINZUE! LEGAL NIGHTMARE LOOMS!
SOCIAL MEDIA PURGE: ACTRESSES LOSE MILLIONS OF FOLLOWERS OVERNIGHT!
MARKET CRASH: TANG & HU FAMILY FORTUNES PLUMMET! BANKRUPTCY RUMORS SWIRL!
TOP TRENDING: #HuMingyouExposed – VIXEN, THIEF, BULLY!
HOT SEARCH: "HU MINGYOU & TANG QING SEX TAPE LEAKED – SHOCKING HOTEL FOOTAGE!
Hu Mingyou's blood turned to ice. She tapped the video link. Instantly, the room filled with the unmistakable, graphic sounds of her and Tang Qing, their faces horrifyingly clear, interspersed with damning hotel receipts and timestamps. The comments were a slaughterhouse:
"Always knew she was a gutter slut"
"Tang Qing's 'pure angel'? More like a paid escort"
"Xia Yingying was a SAINT to put up with this".
"Where's the bleach for my eyes?"
"BREAKING NEWS: HU FAMILY HEAD DECLARES COMPANY FOR SALE AMID SCANDAL!"
Then, another trending topic: #XiaYingyingIsKuZining – TALENT UNMASKED! The comments there were a knife to Hu Mingyou's heart:
"Stunning AND talented? Goddess!"
"Forget Lu Quinzue, I volunteer as tribute for Xia Yingying!"
"BLOSSOMING LOVE SEQUEL WHEN? KU ZINING IS PERFECTION!"
Nausea, violent and sudden, overwhelmed Hu Mingyou. She barely made it to the bathroom before retching violently.
Song Lan hovered, a flicker of desperate hope replacing despair. "Youyou... could it be...? Are you pregnant?"
Hu Mingyou wiped her mouth, the idea igniting like a flare in the darkness.
Pregnant. Tang Qing's heir. A lifeline. "Mother... we need to see a doctor. Now."
**Happy Dine Restaurant - Later That Day**
Tang Qing looked like death warmed over – haggard, unshaven, dark circles bruising his eyes beneath a baseball cap and rumpled sweats. He slumped into the chair opposite Hu Mingyou, ignoring the menu. "Make it quick. The family's imploding."
Hu Mingyou forced sweetness, placing a hand protectively over her still-flat stomach. "Brother Qing... I know things are terrible. I'm so sorry. But... I'm not alone anymore. We're going to be parents."
Tang Qing froze. The color drained from his face, replaced by a storm of fury and panic. "What?" The word was a venomous hiss.
"Pregnant. Your child" she whispered, leaning forward.
His hand slammed on the table, making cutlery jump. "Get rid of it." The command was absolute, glacial.
Hu Mingyou recoiled as if struck. "What?! But–"
He leaned in, his voice dropping to a terrifying whisper, eyes burning with malice. "You heard me. Abort it. If you try to use this against me, Hu Mingyou, I will ruin what's left of you so thoroughly, you'll wish you'd jumped to the river." He stood, contempt radiating from him. "Don't contact me again unless it's to confirm the termination." He stalked out, leaving her statue-still, the world crashing down around her. "No" she thought, a feral determination hardening within her. 'This child is my weapon. I keep it.'
**Xia Residence - Late Afternoon**
Tang Qing had stewed for an hour in his stifling Mercedes under the relentless sun, seething at the indignity of waiting at Xia Yingying's gate like a supplicant. Finally, the ornate gates groaned open.
Xia Yingying awaited him on the shaded veranda, cool and composed in a flowing floral skirt and sleeveless top, a picture of effortless elegance. "Tang Qing," she greeted, her voice devoid of warmth. "To what do I owe this... unexpected visitation?"
He approached, the humiliation burning. "Why the wait? I came to apologize."
"Apologize?" A single, sharp, humorless laugh escaped her. "For what, precisely? For your affair? Your betrayal? Your pathetic attempts to ruin me? Save your breath. I orchestrated everything you saw online. Every headline. Every leak. I exposed your sordid little world."
Tang Qing staggered back as if physically struck. Her? Not Lu Quinzue? The sheer, terrifying scope of her power dawned on him. "You...?"
"Lu Quinzue?" Xia Yingying arched a brow, a predator toying with prey. "He hasn't even begun. If he snapped his fingers, your 'aristocratic' family would be dust before sunset. Remember that." She let the terrifying implication hang, savoring the dawning horror on his face. The boy she'd once loved was a hollow, broken shell.
"Oh," she added, her voice dropping to a chillingly casual tone, "congratulations on the baby. Saw Hu Mingyou at the clinic." The mention of the child sent a visceral pang through her – a ghost of her own lost baby, a wave of bitter resentment. But harming an unborn child? That was Hu Mingyou's depravity, not hers. The pain of loss of a child was a burden she wouldn't inflict, even on her enemy.
Tang Qing blanched further. How did she know? The woman before him was an enigma, terrifying and untouchable. He knew forgiveness was a fantasy. With a final, defeated glance at the stranger who wore Xia Yingying's face, he turned and fled.
As his car vanished, Xia Yingying pulled out her phone. "Surveillance on Hu Mingyou and Tang Qing. Full coverage. Especially track her medical appointments." She ended the call, a frown creasing her brow. A pregnancy? That wasn't in the original script of her past life. Her child with Lu Quinzue had been the one lost early before Hu Mingyou ever became pregnant... Rebirth was rewriting the timeline, twisting the threads of fate. She'd planned for vengeance, not unexpected life. Adaptability was key. She would watch, analyze, and strike when the moment was right. The game had just become infinitely more complex.