A Warm and Cute Strike (GL) - Chapter 14

“Illegitimate daughter?” Chen Yang blurted out, stunned.

Xiang Nan was a rising star director currently enjoying a huge wave of popularity. Since his new film had just finished shooting, the promotional campaign was in full swing, and Chen Yang had seen his name trending on Weibo quite often.

Although Xiang Nan was young, his films had performed well at the box office; one or two had even become massive annual hits, catapulting several obscure, second-tier actors to stardom.

Such a young, handsome, and sought-after director naturally generated plenty of buzz. One of the hot topics was that the great Director Xiang was still a “diamond bachelor”—he kept a clean image and was rarely involved in scandals with actresses.

The reason Chen Yang knew this was because he had found him familiar-looking at the hospital and specifically looked him up. A quick search yielded several articles about him, so he knew the director wasn’t married.

Having a child while unmarried—wasn’t that an illegitimate daughter? This was explosive news!

Qin Xinlan froze upon hearing this and quickly waved her hands. “No, no. Mr. Xiang is married. It’s a child of a legal marriage, not an illegitimate daughter.”

“Oh?” Chen Yang paused. Somehow, the image of Xiang Nan and Ye Feifei together at the memorial service flashed through his mind.

He rubbed his chin and suddenly looked at Qin Xinlan with a guess: “His wife wouldn’t happen to be Ye Feifei, would she?”

Qin Xinlan was startled, her eyes widening. “How did you know?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized her mistake. Wasn’t that question an indirect admission?

Both Xiang Nan and Ye Feifei were public figures; even if Qin Xinlan lived a quiet life, she had heard gossip about them. Although she didn’t understand why they had to hide their marriage, given the relationship between the two families, she had always helped cover it up. She hadn’t expected to let it slip today.

Chen Yang was probably the person she was closest to right now, besides Qin Xuening, so she naturally trusted him. However, this concerned the Xiang couple’s careers…

After a moment of hesitation, she tried to fix it: “Don’t just guess wildly. Mr. Xiang and Miss Ye are famous people; you can’t say things like that lightly.”

However, her defense was weak in Chen Yang’s eyes. Whenever his girlfriend lied, she would start blinking incessantly—she couldn’t hide it from him.

Because of this, a tidal wave of excitement surged in his heart. He hadn’t expected a casual probe to uncover such a shocking secret!

Ye Feifei was currently a superstar at the peak of her fame. He remembered how surprised he was when he first learned Qin Xinlan knew her, even asking for several autographs through her. To think he would discover today that this national goddess was already married! And had a daughter with the great Director Xiang? This was news that could cause an earthquake in the entertainment industry!

Chen Yang couldn’t hide his excitement. He had heard about insiders selling tips for big money. Coincidentally, many reporters had left their business cards with him at Qin Mo’s memorial service; a few had even added him on WeChat. If he sold this massive scoop…

Hahahaha!

Chen Yang’s heart raced; he felt like he was already counting stacks of cash. Moreover, it was a way to kill two birds with one stone: by leaking this secret to the paparazzi, Xiang Nan and Ye Feifei would be too overwhelmed to bother with the affairs of the Qin mother and daughter!

The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. But he needed evidence before he could talk, so he looked at Qin Xinlan sitting beside him.

She sat tall and upright with an elegant, orchid-like temperament—a gentle and lovely woman. But despite her dignified appearance, she was actually quite timid. If she knew his intentions, she would never agree.

Thinking quickly, he leaned in, put his arm around her waist, and spoke with feigned hurt: “Your expression already betrayed you. Heh, do you really not trust my character? You’d rather hide it from me to protect outsiders?”

Qin Xinlan was initially shy at his closeness, but hearing him say this, she grew anxious: “It’s not that I don’t trust you…”

“Then tell me: are Xiang Nan and Ye Feifei husband and wife?”

“This…” Qin Xinlan sighed. Knowing she couldn’t hide it, she nodded in admission. Finally, she urged, “You must never tell anyone. This would ruin Mr. Xiang and the others.”

“It sounds like you’re quite close to them, knowing a secret like that,” Chen Yang continued to probe.

Xinlan smiled. “Not that close, really.”

She then explained the long-standing friendship between the two families. She mentioned she had only met Xiang Nan a few times as a child and hadn’t even spoken to him. After the elders passed away, the families lost touch. However, since the elders were still alive when Xiang Nan and Ye Feifei married, the Xiang family had invited them. That was how she met Ye Feifei.

Back then, Ye Feifei hadn’t entered the industry yet, and Xiang Nan was still an unknown rookie director. For some reason, the wedding wasn’t a grand affair—only the closest people were invited to the banquet.

“Really? Was Ye Feifei as beautiful back then? I heard she had plastic surgery.”

“That’s all nonsense,” Qin Xinlan frowned, recalling carefully. “While Miss Ye has certainly become more beautiful, her features are the same. It’s mainly a change in temperament.”

“Is that so? I don’t believe it. People online describe it so vividly; it’s very convincing!”

“They’re just talking nonsense…”

“Do you have proof?” Chen Yang finally stated his goal. “Photos or something? There must be group photos from the wedding.”

“There are some…” Xinlan hesitated.

“Then let me see?”

Qin Xinlan was afraid he would ask that. She waved her hands with a stiff smile. “Better not… it’s someone else’s privacy, after all…”

“Looking at my girlfriend’s photos—how is that someone else’s privacy?” Chen Yang leaned in with a mischievous grin.

Qin Xinlan blushed. She was even less willing to show the photos now. They were taken years ago when she was just a young girl, and she looked quite ugly in those group shots. She still wanted to maintain her image in front of her boyfriend.

She shook her head and hurriedly fled: “Let’s talk about it next time. I need to call Mr. Xiang first to turn down the offer about Xuening.”

Chen Yang knew the priorities and had to let her go.

Once she left, Chen Yang was alone in the large living room. He sat on the sofa, rubbing his chin in thought. If he remembered correctly, Ye Feifei had said Su Yuyan was her friend when they were introduced. In that case, it was very likely Su Yuyan had photos of Ye Feifei too!

Decision made, Chen Yang stood up and tiptoed to the second floor. After confirming Qin Xinlan had entered her room, he crept toward the door of Qin Mo and Su Yuyan’s room. He pushed the door open and slipped inside, quietly closing it behind him.

Creak—

At that exact moment, the neighboring door opened.

Wheels rolled as a girl in a wheelchair emerged slowly from her room. Both of her legs were in casts, clearly not yet recovered. As she passed her parents’ room, the movement from inside made her stop. She turned and saw a crack in the bedroom door that should have been shut tight. Her brow furrowed.

Is there a thief?

Qin Xuening wasn’t afraid. She skillfully turned her wheelchair, placed her small hand on the door, and gently pushed it open a bit further to peer inside.

In her parents’ room, a man’s figure was moving back and forth, rummaging through things as if looking for something.

It was Chen Yang. Xuening clenched her fists, hatred flashing in her eyes.

In her past life, the Chen family had bullied her because she was weak and voiceless. They not only privately disposed of the assets her parents left her, but they also sold her favorite piano. Even this house was mortgaged by him for gambling money…

Since her rebirth, Xuening had been thinking of how to escape the swamp of the Chen family. The best way was undoubtedly to make Qin Xinlan break up with Chen Yang. However, she had already lost faith in this aunt; in her past life, even when Chen Yang had done every evil deed imaginable, she had never mentioned divorce. How much more so now?

Xuening bit her lip. Seeing her enemy rifling through her parents’ belongings naturally made her angry, but she held it back. The girl turned her wheelchair gently. Her movements were so practiced that the wheelchair seemed like an extension of her body. She didn’t alert Chen Yang; like a ghost, she quietly left the spot.

She went down the hallway, turned a corner, and reached Qin Xinlan’s door. Her hearing was sharp; from a distance, she had heard Xinlan pacing and muttering in her room.

“Why is Mr. Xiang’s phone off?” Xinlan said to herself inside. She had called twice and only gotten the automated message. Just as she was wondering whether to call Ye Feifei, there was a knock on the door.

She hurried to open it and was surprised to find her niece, Qin Xuening! She was beyond flattered. Since the accident, Xuening had been like a different person, never speaking to her, let alone seeking her out.

“Xiao Ning, what is it?”

When Xinlan walked out, Xuening tugged at her sleeve and signaled for her to follow. Though confused, Xinlan followed. At the corner, Xuening reached out and pointed toward her parents’ room, looking up at her aunt to urge her to look.

Xinlan couldn’t understand what the girl was up to, but seeing her pointing and tugging urgently, she felt something was amiss. On closer inspection, she realized her brother’s bedroom door—which was usually kept closed—was now open. Was Xuening wanting her to see something?

Xinlan walked briskly forward, with Xuening following slowly behind.

Inside the room, Chen Yang had been rummaging around and finally found an old photo album on the bookshelf. He had only wanted to find a wedding photo of Xiang Nan and Ye Feifei, but as he flipped through, he unexpectedly found a group photo of them holding a small infant!

That infant was likely their daughter—a total windfall for Chen Yang. He quickly pulled out his phone, aimed it at the photo, and took several high-definition pictures.

Done, he closed the album and stuffed the thick book back onto the shelf. But at that moment, a woman’s voice came from behind:

“What are you doing?”