A video quickly shot onto the trending searches.
Netizens clicked on it thinking, "This time, Shi Wei is definitely done for." Sure enough, they saw surveillance footage from another angle.
First, Shi Wei stood by the pond, and Xu Xirui walked over to chat with him. For some reason, Shi Wei grew increasingly agitated.
But the next scene stunned them.
Shi Wei turned to leave, raising his arm, and Xu Xirui fell into the pond a second later. It was exactly like the video released earlier, but the problem was-
Shi Wei hadn't touched Xu Xirui!
He hadn't touched him!
Although Shi Wei had raised his hand, unless his domineering aura had spilled out or his arm hair was too long, there was no way he could have touched Xu Xirui!
The video was enlarged, enhanced, and analyzed, but none of that changed the facts.
It turned out that the first video had only made it look as though Shi Wei had pushed Xu Xirui because of the camera angle.
"Holy shit! An actual reversal!"
"Where are the people who were telling Shi Wei to die just now? Your faces must be swollen from that slap."
"That's why you should just enjoy the gossip without taking sides, let alone insulting people. Careful it doesn't bounce back on you!"
"Are you all fucking idiots? Even if Shi Wei didn't push him, he watched our little Xirui struggle in the water without even thinking of saving him. Are you saying he did nothing wrong?"
"The person above is really bending over backward to whitewash this. What if Shi Wei can't swim? You want him to go get himself killed?"
This juicy reversal was practically exhausting the melon-eating badgers. The spectators kept hopping back and forth between Shi Wei's and Xu Xirui's Weibo pages.
The resounding face-slaps sounded almost like applause. Shi Wei happily discovered that he had gained tens of thousands of followers, and quite a few people had apologized to him.
As he browsed, a comment suddenly caught his eye: "The video's gone! Is someone out to get you, Shi Wei?"
Shi Wei's heart sank. He immediately clicked into the trending searches and discovered that the second video, the solid proof that had still been there just now, had become a dead link.
It seemed Xu Xirui's side was quick with their PR.
Let's see how you whitewash your way out of this one! Shi Wei was just about to take action when he refreshed the page and discovered that the damning video was back.
Shi Wei: ???
Which bro is helping me?
"I didn't expect there to actually be a reversal." Sitting in the car, Feng Wan looked at her phone and murmured.
There had clearly been suspicious points in the video, but they had all assumed from the outset that Shi Wei was a bad person and had easily let the marketing accounts steer their opinions.
Come to think of it, Ji Hanchuan seemed to have spotted it on his first viewing.
Feng Wan turned her head. Ji Hanchuan was studying his documents intently, unmoved.
Under her burning stare, Ji Hanchuan looked up before it could burn a bald spot into his head. "If you have a question, just ask."
"No questions." Feng Wan shook her head. "I know you wouldn't do anything this pointless."
Besides, as a manager with connections everywhere, she could tell at a glance which company the blogger who posted the video belonged to.
It seemed one of Xu Xirui's rivals had simply happened to get hold of the damning video and slapped him in the face with it.
Things like this were commonplace in the industry.
They hadn't reached their destination yet, so Feng Wan continued browsing her phone.
"Huh? Why is that video with the solid proof gone?" Feng Wan exclaimed softly.
"Gone?" Ji Hanchuan asked.
Feng Wan showed him her phone. The video was nowhere to be found.
Ji Hanchuan said mildly, "Get someone to put it back."
"All right." Feng Wan immediately contacted someone. Only after she finished did she ask, "Hanchuan, what's this about?"
"A divorce perk."
"Oh, I see..." Feng Wan understood immediately.
Ji Hanchuan lowered his eyes. The paper in his hands was as snow-white as the skin of Shi Wei's neck.
Without meaning to, he crumpled the paper in his grip.
Somewhat irritated, Ji Hanchuan tossed the documents aside.
That evening, Ji Hanchuan didn't come home.
To celebrate the divorce and the face-slapping, Shi Wei had hot pot at home by himself. The table was covered in meat, without a speck of green in sight.
After gulping down a bottle of beer, Shi Wei went right back to swishing meat in the pot, eating with gusto.
The system had never seen such extravagant eating and couldn't help reminding him.
[Host, you need to exercise restraint.]
"It's fine. I'm happy today." Shi Wei's mouth was red from eating, but his hands never stopped moving.
His mouth was happy, but his stomach was decidedly unhappy.
That very night, his stomach took its revenge, routing him completely.
After taking stomach medicine, Shi Wei lay on the couch rubbing his belly, unable to keep little groans from escaping.
When the pain finally eased, he no longer felt like getting up. He closed his eyes, feeling drowsy.
Suddenly, the light made him squeeze his eyes shut.
"Why are you sleeping on the couch again?"
Shi Wei struggled to lift his eyelids and saw Ji Hanchuan's tall figure approaching, blocking out everything.
He was still a little weak, and Ji Hanchuan's sudden appearance frightened him until his limbs went soft. With his stomach bothering him too, he stood up in a rather strange posture.
One hand supported his lower back, while the other covered his belly.
Ji Hanchuan: ?
He gave Shi Wei a cold look. "Congratulations. May you soon be blessed with a son."
Shi Wei: ...
He looked down at his pose. He really did look the part!
"This is because..."
[Host, be careful not to break character.]
Shi Wei paused.
Right, I can't drop the ball at a critical moment like this. Am I supposed to tell Ji Hanchuan I was so heartbroken after he abandoned me that I ate hot pot by myself?
Shi Wei smiled bashfully. "That's right. I'm already carrying your flesh and blood. Hubby, you can't divorce me now."
Ji Hanchuan sneered. "Are you pregnant with Nezha?"
"You were so mighty and valiant back then, hubby. It's entirely possible." Shi Wei felt himself radiating maternal warmth. "Darling, shall we call our child Ji Zhazha?"
"..."
I think you're more like a chirping piece of trash.
Ji Hanchuan didn't keep spouting nonsense with him. "Don't even think about running away tomorrow, or I'll..."
Shi Wei finished the sentence for him. "Chase your disobedient little runaway pregnant wife to the ends of the earth and bring me back?"
"Send you to a psychiatric hospital to cure your delusions."
The words "psychiatric hospital" successfully made Shi Wei clamp his mouth shut.
Not knowing why, Ji Hanchuan turned and went into his room.
The next morning, the lawyer arrived on time.
Dressed in a simple, solid-colored casual outfit, Ji Hanchuan sat with relaxed elegance, unhurriedly waiting for Shi Wei to finish reading the divorce agreement the lawyer had drawn up.
Shi Wei was dressed entirely in white, his face haggard.
"Hubby, do you really not want me anymore?" Shi Wei looked at Ji Hanchuan with reddened eyes. "But if I leave you, I'll never believe in love again."
Ji Hanchuan looked straight into his eyes.
-"How much does love sell for per pound? If it's worth anything, I could bundle up this bastard and sell him off."
Ji Hanchuan's fingers tightened, his brows drawing together slightly as he said ruthlessly, "Enough nonsense. Sign it!"
Oh-ho, what a heartless man!
I really have no choice but to mess with you.
Shi Wei clutched his stomach hard. "Then what about our child? What about Ji Zhazha?"
Ji Hanchuan: ...
The lawyer looked between them in horror. "Mr. Ji, this..."
Ji Hanchuan was utterly calm. "Don't listen to his nonsense."
"Urgh!"
Shi Wei suddenly went pale and covered his mouth, but a dry heave still escaped.