Bai Qingqing woke up in the hospital and cried until she broke down, completely unable to accept reality. She had spent so much effort trying to please Ding Jie, had set aside all her dignity, had made such a fool of herself in front of Xu Ziyan and the others, and in the end, Ding Jie had actually been arrested!
What was she supposed to do? She was already married to Ding Jie and had his child, but now they were a criminal’s wife and child. Wherever they went in the future, people would look down on them. Did they expect her to work hard to raise the child all by herself?
Wait, the child!
Bai Qingqing wiped away her tears and, ignoring the doctor’s advice, checked herself out of the hospital and headed straight for the Ding family’s corporate offices. The receptionist stopped her, refusing to let her in. She placed a hand on her lower abdomen and said, “I’m carrying the Ding family’s eldest grandson. You figure it out!”
The receptionist was shocked. She looked Bai Qingqing over carefully. She’d never seen her before. Who was this? Carrying the Ding family’s eldest grandson? Was she Ding Yao’s little mistress? Coincidentally, Ding Yao stepped out of the elevator and was walking towards the exit. The receptionist hurriedly called him over and explained the situation.
Ding Yao paused mid-step, glanced at Bai Qingqing, said only, ‘Don’t know her,’ and left.
Facing the surrounding mocking gazes, Bai Qingqing said angrily, “I am Ding Jie’s lawfully wedded wife. The child is also Ding Jie’s, which makes him Chairman Ding’s grandson. I’m having pregnancy complications right now. If something happens to the child, will you be responsible?”
They were all just employees. Hearing this, they had no choice but to report it up the chain. Eventually, Chairman Ding’s secretary came down and took Bai Qingqing upstairs.
After leaving the company, Ding Yao went to meet with Xu Ziyan. They had previously agreed to celebrate when they had time. Yang Anni was still on set. Ding Yao had visited her and then returned to handle business. Although Ding Jie had been dealt with, his biggest opponent had always been Father Ding.
After learning about Bai Qingqing’s situation, Ding Yao discussed it with Xu Ziyan. “Can we screw my dad over this time?”
Xu Ziyan asked casually, “How? Find reporters? Hire a water army? Say he didn’t even know his own son got married, that he failed to raise his son properly, that he’s a senile old fool?”
Hearing this, Ding Yao’s eyes lit up. “That might actually work! Didn’t Fu Qixuan say we could attack the Ding family and seize control? A public opinion battle is still a battle. Right, I still have a paternity test report I haven’t used yet.”
As he spoke, he made calls to find people. Thanks to his previous experience managing the entertainment company, his connections in this area were substantial, and he quickly had everything arranged.
Father Ding met Bai Qingqing in his office. His expression was stern, his gaze sharp, making Bai Qingqing somewhat afraid. His first question was, “When did you get the marriage certificate? Who proposed marriage? What does your family do?”
Bai Qingqing took a deep breath and answered each question one by one. Of course, she couldn’t tell the truth. She only said they were deeply in love. She had always been worried that their backgrounds weren’t compatible and it wasn’t appropriate, but Ding Jie had said he wanted to give her a home. Ever since Ding Jie moved out of the Ding family home, they had had their own home, and then they had a child.
Now that Ding Jie had been suddenly arrested, she was terrified. The stress had caused pregnancy complications, and she didn’t know what to do, so she had come here.
Her intention was to soften Father Ding’s heart. After all, Father Ding had never given Ding Jie a proper home and owed him. And she was carrying the Ding family’s only grandchild, and she was having complications. Shouldn’t Father Ding arrange for someone to take care of her and settle her?
She never expected Father Ding to be completely indifferent to her and the child. Back then, he hadn’t cared about Ding Jie even after he was born. He only acknowledged him after Ding Jie grew up and displayed talent. What interest did he have in an embryo that hadn’t even been born yet? He could have as many descendants as he wanted. A grandson with pregnancy complications indicated poor health, and he had no interest whatsoever.
The only reason he agreed to see Bai Qingqing was to clarify the matter of Ding Jie’s marriage. If Bai Qingqing’s family background was decent, it could still count as a beneficial marriage alliance and might help the Ding family’s business. However, Bai Qingqing’s family was poor. Father Ding lost all interest in talking and directly called for someone to escort her out.
Bai Qingqing was unwilling to give up and said anxiously, “Dad, since I married Ding Jie, I’m part of the Ding family. With such a big thing happening, please let me help.”
Father Ding sneered. “If you had a family background like Xu Ziyan’s, you could help. Someone like you? Help with what? Stop pretending in front of me. If you were truly anxious, you’d run to the detention center to see Ding Jie, not come here acting clueless. You and your child are only related to Ding Jie. I don’t even acknowledge Ding Jie anymore, let alone the two of you. Get out!”
Bai Qingqing was grabbed by the arms by two secretaries and escorted out of the company. It was utterly humiliating, and she had to endure the stares of the receptionists and others. She felt she had never been so embarrassed in her entire life. Just as she was about to hail a taxi, a group of reporters surrounded her.
“We heard you’re Mrs. Ding? May we ask who your husband is?”
“You’re carrying the Ding family’s eldest grandson? Will he be the future heir of the Ding family?”
“Did they throw you out because you were lying?”
“I’m not lying!” Bai Qingqing was furious. Annoyed that she couldn’t leave, she blurted out, “The child in my belly is indeed the Ding family’s eldest grandson, but Chairman Ding is so high and mighty he won’t even acknowledge his own grandson. So cold-blooded, no wonder the company is on a downward slide!”
Mention of the company made the reporters’ questions more pointed. “Is the Ding family on a downward slide? So it’s true that the Ding family instructed someone to steal trade secrets?”
“You’re Ding Jie’s wife, you must know a lot of inside information, right? Was Ding Jie’s crime masterminded by Chairman Ding?”
Bai Qingqing said deliberately, “I’m not sure, but the Ding Jie I know is a very good person. He definitely wouldn’t commit a crime on his own initiative.” She suddenly choked up, her eyes red. “Ding Jie is so pitiful, having such irresponsible parents. What’s wrong with him wanting recognition from his birth father? If his father told him to do something, of course he had to do it.”
Her words were ambiguous, seemingly confirming that Father Ding had instructed Ding Jie to commit the crime. Bai Qingqing thought viciously to herself that she hadn’t actually said anything definitive. Father Ding wouldn’t be able to sue her even if he wanted to. The old bastard refused to acknowledge her and wouldn’t give her any benefits? Then no one would get off easy.
After exhausting all her strength to climb into the clouds, only to suddenly fall back into the mud, with no one willing to reach out a hand to pull her up, Bai Qingqing now just wanted to go crazy and drag everyone down with her. She even considered whether she should bring up Xu Ziyan and imply that Xu Ziyan had seduced Ding Jie to be her mistress?
Before she could say it, Father Ding, who had already gotten wind of the situation, sent security to drive the reporters away. The crowd became chaotic, everyone pushing and shoving.
One young reporter shouted, “Be careful, don’t push Mrs. Ding! She’s pregnant!”
This was very effective. Everyone immediately took a few steps back, clearing a space around Bai Qingqing. At that moment, someone with sharp eyes spotted a paternity test report on the ground and immediately picked it up, exclaiming in shock, “A paternity test between Ding Jie and Chairman Ding? They’re not father and son?”
Everyone looked at Bai Qingqing in astonishment, all assuming it had fallen from her bag. This was huge news! That Ding family illegitimate son who had been talked about for so long, who had almost snatched the heir position, Ding Jie, actually wasn’t Father Ding’s biological son!
Even more explosive was the fact that Ding Jie was the son of the big star, Song Jie. Song Jie had been exposed as a mistress, withdrawn from the entertainment industry, and fled abroad. Now it was revealed her son wasn’t a Ding? Didn’t that mean she had cuckolded Father Ding?!
Entertainment gossip and scandalous news were always more captivating than corporate warfare. The reporters on the scene snapped photos of the test report. Soon, various reports appeared online.
Security grabbed the test report and rushed to the top-floor office. Father Ding frowned impatiently. “What is it now? Is it so hard to deal with one random woman?”
The security guard stammered, “N-no, Chairman, you—you should look at this. It fell out of Bai Qingqing’s bag. Ding Jie… he’s not your biological son!”
“What?” Father Ding snatched the report and quickly flipped through it. It was immediately clear. It was written plainly, a test from several months prior. Ding Jie was not his son. They shared no blood relation at all!
Father Ding shot to his feet. Unable to withstand the successive shocks of the past two days, he fainted on the spot.
The security guard panicked and immediately called for an ambulance! Downstairs, Bai Qingqing wore a blank, confused expression, still explaining that the test report wasn’t hers. But who cared anymore? The content of the report was the main point.
The reporters hadn’t yet dispersed when they saw the ambulance arrive. Under Ding Yao’s instructions, photos of Father Ding being loaded into the ambulance quickly spread online, shooting to the top of the hot search.
Netizens felt the way they were consuming this saga today was somehow off. Otherwise, how could they see such absurd hot search topics? Song Jie’s son wasn’t Old Man Ding’s? Then whose was he? They had originally thought Song Jie had betrayed the Mrs. Ding who sponsored her, climbed into a rich man’s bed, and willingly been his mistress for so many years. Turns out she had actually cuckolded the rich man?
All those dramas she filmed weren’t for nothing—she was acting out a TV plot in real life!
The most outrageous part was that this illegitimate son had almost snatched the heir position and inherited the Ding family. And he had dared to steal trade secrets and kidnap the legitimate son’s fiancée? A genuine lawbreaker.
Just as everyone learned Song Jie’s son was a lawbreaker, they found out he had been completely exposed and arrested. Furthermore, his secretly married wife failed to reach an agreement with Old Man Ding. The moment she was thrown out of the company, she exposed the huge news that he wasn’t Old Man Ding’s biological son, which directly caused Old Man Ding to faint from anger!
This series of events was just too dramatic! Did this really happen?
Netizens consumed the saga with skepticism, only to discover it was all true. Public opinion exploded instantly, and the Ding family’s reputation plummeted to rock bottom. Father Ding, still unconscious, became a universally mocked, cuckolded old man. Who knew if he could handle the shock when he woke up.
The development of events proceeded with unusually smooth success. Ding Yao raised a glass to Xu Ziyan and said, “You really are a Lucky Star. Whenever I follow your advice, everything goes smoothly. From now on, I’ll call you Sister Yan. If you have any good opportunities, bring me along. If you want to make any investments, come find me. I guarantee it’s a sure thing. I don’t have much else, but I have plenty of money.”
Xu Ziyan joked, “Alright then, I definitely won’t stand on ceremony with you. In the future, let me have a titular role in your projects. I’ll guarantee smooth sailing for you.”
“No problem!” Ding Yao wasn’t joking. He truly felt Xu Ziyan was a heaven-sent lucky star who had rescued him and Annie from dire straits. She was a lifesaver. Although he couldn’t mention hearing her inner thoughts, he remembered this debt of gratitude and was determined to repay it.
Moreover, perhaps because hearing those thoughts had made him dependent on and trusting of Xu Ziyan, now he only felt a sense of security when he was near her. Even though he couldn’t hear anything anymore, he still wanted to be close. So he decided to collaborate with Xu Ziyan frequently in the future. That entertainment company absolutely had to be run well. Only then could he live in peace.
Ding Yao also asked Xu Ziyan to invite Fu Qixuan over so they could discuss how to seize the Ding family business, taking advantage of Father Ding’s collapse.
With nothing left for her to do, Xu Ziyan thought such major news shouldn’t be kept from the person involved. She immediately had her driver take her to the detention center to visit Ding Jie.
Ding Jie never expected the first person to visit him would be Xu Ziyan. His face was cold. “What are you doing here? To laugh at me?”
Xu Ziyan laughed. “Yes, to see your grand comedy.” She showed Ding Jie her phone screen. “Look, fresh off the press today, the hot search news. You are the undisputed main character! Surprised? Shocked? Hahaha!”