After the empress transmigrated, she became the judge of the entertainment industry.

Chapter 124 Consider this my doing a good deed for the day

Everyone was hungry, so they gathered around the refrigerator and picked through the vegetables. In the end, they decided that it wasn't good to make anything too complicated at midday, so they decided to just stir-fry a couple of meat dishes in addition to the fish.

Lunch was over quickly, and no one planned to go out again.

Nearly half of the people were not in the courtyard, and the rest of them didn't need any special schedules arranged for them; a leisurely afternoon was perfectly fine.

Taking advantage of the rare moment of leisure, Ye Sanqing simply went back to his room to read, while everyone else dispersed to do their own thing.

Gong Yao held his phone, ready to respond to any situation from Pan Hongyu at any time.

The others found something to do, and Yin Xiangming went back to his room.

He entered the room and closed the door. The first thing he saw was Pan Yongfu's suitcase and the unmade bed.

Yin Xiangming had stayed at other people's places for two nights and hardly ever stayed in this room. When he first saw these things, he felt a surge of nausea.

He walked straight to the window and opened it.

Then he slid down to sit on the ground, close to the wall.

The wind was cold, and the heater was only turned on at night, which made the indoor temperature drop several degrees. Yin Xiangming, however, seemed oblivious, leaning against the wall in a daze.

Only in this way could he feel that the air in the room was fresher.

Although he could throw Pan Yongfu's things out, he was so disgusted that he didn't want to go near them at all. Even the wall he was leaning against was the foot of the bed that was originally reserved for him.

In the morning, he followed the crowd listlessly, but after lunch, he seemed to regain some vitality.

This matter won't be resolved so quickly. Although Gong Yao is definitely reliable, Yin Xiangming can't truly put his mind at ease until the official announcement is made.

At the very least, we should wait until tomorrow...

He sat on the ground, recalling the previous conversation in his mind.

When Pan Hongyu had a heart-to-heart talk with him, she said at the end, "I hope you can forgive your mother."

Yin Xiangming said at the time, "Mom, I have never blamed you."

He had long since given up hope; he would not blame, and therefore would not forgive.

Upon hearing this, Pan Hongyu's expression was ambiguous, whether it was relief or helplessness.

This conversation didn't have a good outcome; we just had to deal with Pan Yongfu first before we could talk about anything else.

So Yin Xiangming held his nerve until today when he announced the next arrangements, or more accurately, until he went inside and closed the door, before he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the nausea returned.

He took a deep breath, letting the cold air fill his lungs, and closed his eyes, no longer looking at the pile of filthy things.

As the nausea subsided and his mind cleared, he belatedly realized:

From today onwards, he will no longer be troubled by nightmares.

No more hands will "accidentally" touch him, and he will no longer hear the door open in the middle of the night.

He was finally able to get a good night's sleep.

Even during lunch, Gao Feibai kept talking, occasionally making sarcastic remarks to Deng Lingxuan, just like before.

Ji Wan advised him to say less, but he wouldn't listen at all. Fortunately, Deng Lingxuan didn't take it to heart at all.

"Go ahead and say it," she thought. "I hope you can still speak when you're broke."

After the meal, Deng Lingxuan made an excuse to go see if the farmhouse she had visited needed any help, and went out with Ji Wan.

Gao Feibai certainly wouldn't get involved in such a thing; he went back to his previous spot and continued playing the game.

Meanwhile, at the hospital—

The examination revealed that Tong Wuyu had a fractured shinbone, while Ye Wanyin was unharmed, suffering only minor cuts and bruises.

Even so, Cheng Yanye was still cursing and wanted to settle accounts with Tong Wuyu, but he was stopped by Mu Zimo as soon as he arrived at the ward door.

"Hmph." Cheng Yanye saw him and snorted disdainfully.

In Cheng Yanye's eyes, Mu Zimo was just a homeless man who came from who-knows-where and picked up his leftovers.

No, it wasn't picking it up, it was robbing it!

He was very confident in his charm, and Tong Wuyu had hinted that he had no choice in the matter, but for some reason Cheng Yanye didn't understand it correctly. He thought that Mu Zimo was using his power to force Tong Wuyu to accompany him.

There were no cameras around right now, so Cheng Yanye didn't even bother with the pretense of politeness, if he had one.

"Cousin, why aren't you spending time with your wife Wanwan? What are you doing here?" Mu Zimo said calmly.

He didn't intend to protect Tong Wuyu, but he couldn't let Cheng Yanye interfere at will.

"Isn't this all because you didn't keep a close eye on your woman?" Cheng Yanye said angrily.

"Really?" Mu Zimo looked him over for a while longer, then asked curiously, "Are you really brainless, or do you just love it?"

"What did you say?" Cheng Yanye didn't understand what he meant.

"Anyway, it's no use you coming to see her. I'm more concerned about something else: you know Ye Wanyin isn't her biological daughter, right?"

Cheng Yanye didn't know why he asked this, but he nodded in response.

"Have you considered the possibility that, since there's no blood relation, her pool of potential partners might be quite broad?"

Mu Ziming phrased his words rather subtly, but his eyes clearly conveyed, "Are you really comfortable with her being alone with other men, even if that man is her nominal brother?"

Cheng Yanye retorted without hesitation, "That's impossible. They are siblings."

"Only those who are related by blood are called siblings. What are we called if we're not? My Chinese isn't very good. Could you teach me?" Mu Zimo said with a smile, genuinely looking for help.

"...I believe Wanwan, she's not like what you say!" Despite saying that, Cheng Yanye still turned the corner and went back to Ye Wanyin's ward.

As Mu Zimo watched his retreating figure, he thought, "I'm really sorry for this attempt to shift the blame, Ye Siqing."

He returned to Tong Wuyu's hospital room, closed the door, and then said to Tong Wuyu, who was lying on the bed, "Speak."

"..." Tong Wuyu hesitated for a moment whether to expose this matter. How should she put it... this was not something to be proud of.

However, given that they are currently in a cooperative relationship, it is highly unlikely that it will develop into a romantic relationship. Tong Wuyu knew in her heart that she had already taken sides, and rather than not clarifying things and then having to deal with it awkwardly when Ye Wanyin exposed them, it was better to lay it all out now.

“She has indecent photos of me. Don’t ask why, I don’t know either,” Tong Wuyu said honestly.

"Is that so?" Mu Zimo wanted to smoke again, but remembering that this was a hospital room, he stopped reaching into his pocket.

Seeing his expression, Tong Wuyu was afraid he would blame her for not telling him sooner about the potential problem, so she explained, "I didn't even know these photos existed. I only remembered the possibility after she mentioned it. Then, in a fit of anger, I pushed her, but it turns out she had planned this all along!"

"How old are the photos? What else did she say?"

"It must have been four or five years. She also said... that the photo was circulated everywhere back then." Tong Wuyu recalled Ye Wanyin's words.

"So, it hasn't been fully exposed for so long, and you haven't been exposed even after becoming an internet celebrity. Have you ever thought about why this is?"

"Maybe it's because I had plastic surgery, so they wouldn't have guessed it was me when it was exposed." Tong Wuyu was quite frank, but then she also felt something was off, "But according to what she said, shouldn't the person who took the photos have seen that I've become an internet celebrity and then come to me to blackmail me?"

“Yes, that’s the problem,” Mu Zimo took out his cigarette case, put a cigarette in his hand, and held it there. “Is the person taking this picture some kind of exceptionally virtuous person?”

If he were him, it wouldn't be possible for the story to spread everywhere, or even for it to be filmed.

If he isn't, then how do you explain why he didn't come looking for you?

Even if he's just a photography enthusiast sharing his work, didn't any of the many people whose work was shared realize he was trying to become an internet celebrity? Are all of these people of good character? There was no extortion, but what about the reverse? No one warned him? Is that reasonable?

Tong Wuyu considered the possibility that she wasn't famous enough for a second, then dismissed it.

Sometimes, the online celebrity profession is even more recognized than that of a celebrity.

Even though she didn't think everyone should know her, the man was her college classmate, and their social circles overlapped to some extent.

"You mean... Ye Wanyin is bluffing me?" Tong Wuyu concluded, looking up at Mu Zimo with some uncertainty.

Mu Zimo flicked the unlit cigarette.

“It’s obvious!” he said, then looked at Tong Wuyu. “I’ll give you a piece of advice: in the future, whatever you hear, you’d better figure out the logic behind it first. But if you’re not sure, you can always try to verify it.”

“To verify…” Tong Wuyu fell into thought.

Since Ye Wanyin was using this trick to deceive her, it was clear that she wouldn't admit it. If pushed too far, she might produce some AI-generated head-swapping photos, which she wouldn't be able to disprove.

After all, a lot of time has passed, and her own memory has become a bit blurry. Besides, who would remember what positions they used?

But Ye Wanyin spoke with such certainty that it's very likely she really does have some kind of leverage over someone.

But why not just present it directly? Why go through the trouble of fabricating non-existent photos?

Tong Wuyu racked her brains but couldn't figure out what Ye Wanyin's other intentions were.

Mu Zimo had already gone out for a smoke. When he came back and saw her still deep in thought, he suggested, "How about I help you verify it? Consider it my good deed for the day."

His main concern was that he didn't want any problems to arise in the future. Tong Wuyu was only inconvenient to move around due to a bone fracture, but it was hard to guarantee that Ye Wanyin wouldn't go even further.

If they go abroad and into his sphere of influence, he can at least guarantee the safety of the other party's life.

"Do you want to verify this with that guy? How?" Tong Wuyu sent him her contact information and asked.

"Want to learn? You'll have to pay tuition." Mu Zimo said, and then the person raised their hand to initiate a transfer.

Thank you, boss! Wait, why did you send me a red envelope?

Mu Zimo's friend request was for "Tong Wuyu," which was accepted instantly. The other party also accepted the transfer immediately before remembering to ask a question.

I'm her boyfriend. I heard you have photos of her. Name your price.

[What are you talking about? What boyfriend? What photos? Dude, did you pick up a used woman and come here to flaunt it? You've got the wrong guy.]

Have you watched "Walking Hand in Hand"?