Chapter 41: Public Opinion Storm

Ye Xuan nodded helplessly. This girl seemed to be paying extra attention to his past lately.

After a round of emergency treatment, White Snake was finally out of danger. However, due to massive blood loss, his body had taken a severe toll and required a period of rest and recovery.

After this kidnapping incident, Ye Xuan didn’t dare to relax in the slightest. He spent almost every waking moment with Yang Bingyu. Even when he went out to meet Zhu Hui and the others, the two were inseparable.

When the media saw this, they immediately conjured up a romantic drama. Saying they were passionately in love was putting it lightly. Some overly imaginative reporters actually dug up Ye Xuan’s identity as Lin Aoxue’s ex-husband. They even claimed that Ye Xuan’s affair with Yang Bingyu during his marriage was the reason Lin Aoxue divorced him.

Worse yet, they painted Ye Xuan as a deeply scheming man who had used his relationship with the Lin Family’s patriarch to force Lin Aoxue into marrying him. Then, five years later, they claimed he had grown tired of the old and enamored with the new, eagerly jumping at the chance to divorce her once he had latched onto the high branch that was Yang Bingyu.

"What is all this nonsense! We are completely innocent! Besides, whatever happened between you and Lin Aoxue was her fault to begin with. How did it end up with these people painting you as an ungrateful, heartless scumbag?

"I’m so mad! I’m going to have all these media outlets blacklisted! Let’s see if they dare to spout nonsense then!"

Looking at the various articles attacking Ye Xuan, Yang Bingyu was so furious that she crumpled the newspaper into a ball, threatening to shut all of the media down. Of course, with the capabilities of the Yang Family, taking down a single media company was a piece of cake. But right now, it wasn’t just one media outlet fabricating stories about Ye Xuan; almost the entire media circle was twisting the truth. Yang Bingyu might be able to silence one person, but could she silence them all?

"It’s fine. The truth will speak for itself." As the person in the center of the storm, Ye Xuan was much calmer. He didn’t take these rumors to heart at all.

He had originally thought that as long as he ignored the public opinion, things would eventually blow over. Who knew the situation would only escalate? When those people saw that Ye Xuan wasn’t responding to their insults, they actually turned their spears toward Yang Bingyu. They cursed her as a shameless homewrecker who relied on her family’s wealth and power to steal Lin Aoxue’s husband.

In short, the insults were as ugly as they could get. When Yang Zhennan saw the news, he was so furious that he smashed things on the spot and nearly fainted from a lack of breath. This gave the Yang Family a terrible scare. For a time, their company’s stock prices took a hit, and the Yang Family was thrust right into the teeth of the storm.

If Ye Xuan still couldn’t see something fishy going on by this point, he truly would be a fool. Someone was definitely fanning the flames behind the scenes, and this person was clearly on the Lin Family’s side. After all, the entire incident was designed to whitewash Lin Aoxue while dragging Ye Xuan and Yang Bingyu through the mud.

Naturally, Yang Bingyu had thought of this too. Ignoring Ye Xuan’s attempts to stop her, she stormed directly into Lin Aoxue’s company and confronted her in front of everyone.

"Lin Aoxue, have you no shame? You were the one who insisted on divorcing Ye Xuan, no matter what! What, are you jealous now that you see him and me getting close? Playing these dirty tricks behind our backs?" SMACK. Yang Bingyu slammed the latest edition of the newspaper in front of Lin Aoxue, her pretty face full of anger.

Lin Aoxue furrowed her brows into a tight knot, looking at Yang Bingyu in bewilderment. "I have no idea what you’re talking about. Ye Xuan and I haven’t had any relationship for a long time. I don’t care what happens between you two. We are in the middle of a morning meeting, so please leave immediately."

It was early in the morning, yet Yang Bingyu had barged into the company, disrupting the order and yelling at her like a shrew. Even if Lin Aoxue had the best temper in the world, she would still be angry. Moreover, she was no pushover.

Ye Xuan stood to the side, watching the two women exchange intense fire. He felt incredibly awkward. It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to persuade Yang Bingyu. But whenever he mentioned Lin Aoxue’s name, she would flare up, accusing him of still having lingering feelings for her and feeling sorry for her.

What could Ye Xuan do?

And knowing Lin Aoxue’s personality, she wasn’t the type to swallow her anger either. With Yang Bingyu throwing a tantrum in front of everyone, she was absolutely going to bite back.

"A meeting? I’ll give you a meeting! Let’s see you hold a meeting!" In a fit of rage, Yang Bingyu physically lashed out, sweeping all the documents and laptops off the conference table and onto the floor.

Lin Aoxue’s expression darkened completely. She immediately called for the company’s security guards and even contacted the authorities.

"Well... Miss Lin, I’m sure Miss Yang didn’t do it on purpose. Why don’t you two settle this privately?" The official in charge from the regulatory bureau looked at Lin Aoxue and Yang Bingyu with a massive headache. Why did Miss Yang the Elder have to cause a scene at someone else’s company? And causing a scene was one thing, but to actually get physical? How was he supposed to handle this now?

"No. I’m going to take legal action. I will absolutely not settle." This time, Lin Aoxue was dead set on fighting Yang Bingyu to the bitter end. She flatly rejected the official’s suggestion for a private settlement, insisting on suing her.

Upon hearing this, Yang Bingyu let out a cold snort. "I haven’t even sued you yet, and you’re the one threatening lawsuits. Fine. Let’s first settle the score regarding how you framed Ye Xuan and me."

From the sound of it, Yang Bingyu was intending to sue Lin Aoxue for bribing the media and deliberately fabricating public opinion.

He had originally hoped to use mediation to turn a big issue into a small one, and a small one into nothing. But who would have thought it would only escalate? The official in charge felt like tearing his hair out. Could someone save him? Why did these two privileged young ladies have to clash so fiercely? Couldn’t they both just take a step back?

"Uh... stop fighting, both of you. It’s not worth taking legal action over something like this." Looking at the two women fuming at each other, Ye Xuan was filled with utter helplessness. He never imagined things would escalate to this point, and he was completely at a loss on how to deal with them.

"What do you mean, not worth it? If Lin Aoxue hadn’t played her little tricks behind our backs, would we have become the adulterous couple in everyone’s mouths? She certainly knows how to build up her image, playing both the victim and the hero all by herself!" Hearing Ye Xuan’s words, Yang Bingyu turned her head and immediately scolded him, leaving him speechless. Left with no choice, he could only turn to persuade Lin Aoxue.

But the latter didn’t seem to have any intention of backing down either. She snorted coldly and shot back without mercy, "You claim that I played tricks behind your back and fabricated all this public opinion. Do you have any proof? Yang Bingyu, if you spout nonsense without evidence, I will sue you for defamation."

She herself was still wondering how Yang Bingyu and Ye Xuan had ended up trending in the news. She certainly hadn’t expected Yang Bingyu to come causing trouble at her doorstep today.