On her flight from Beijing to Shanghai, Hui Yin opened her phone and scrolled through the news that was constantly popping up on the screen.
Three days ago, a respectable newspaper had released millions of copies with the headline 'CEO Lu's Mysterious Fiancée?' across the country. It featured a picture of the couple, with the easily recognizable handsome face of Lu Shen and a girl by his side wearing a black dress, his hand wrapped possessively around her waist.
The face of the girl was blurred, which greatly frustrated the public. There were numerous comments on the website owned by the newspaper agency, all of them demanding one thing:
"Show us her face!"
The newspaper agency had curiously stayed silent about her identity, not willing to reveal her face, or even her name. This was due to Luo Lan, who approached the head of her agency with a picture and a statement that shook him to the core: "CEO Lu approved it."
And it was indeed so. They immediately contacted the Lu Corporation, and it was revealed to them that the big boss had really given this reporter his consent.
The head could only wonder at Luo Lan's luck. Did she know CEO Lu? Maybe they could get an exclusive interview?
But Luo Lan was firm on her request. She told him that it was because the fiancée had persuaded CEO Lu, which was why she had managed to get his picture.
The fiancée's only request was not to reveal her identity to the public. After all, CEO Lu's face on their newspaper garnered enough publicity and profit. Who else could boast that they had managed to post a picture of CEO Lu and had not faced bankruptcy? Their subscriptions would surely soar!
This headline alone would have raised their reputation, and maybe even help their newspaper agency on becoming the sole number one across China.
But only a day had passed after the newspaper had been circulated into the public when another picture shook the whole internet and nearly shut down the whole platform.
It came from an anonymous source, and the picture quickly became viral.
It was another shot of CEO Lu, and he was kissing a girl. This time, none of the faces were blurred, so they could easily identify her.
She was also a public figure, so how could they not recognize her face?
It was Nian Zhen!
Nian Zhen, the rumored 'female friend' that CEO Lu was close to!
Was she actually the fiancée?
But wait, why is her dress white? The one on the headlines had worn black?
Nian Zhen was not the fiancée!
Knowledgeable people who knew about Wang Yong's birthday party revealed the pictures taken before the party began, showing Nian Zhen in different poses wearing the same familiar white dress.
Netizens commented one after another, each of them arriving on the same conclusion. Hard as it might be to believe, it was the only explanation.
Could it be?
That CEO Lu and Nian Zhen were both cheating behind the back of the mysterious fiancée?
A battalion of fans that supported CEO Lu vehemently denied the claims, saying that the picture might have been edited. Another surge of fans coming from Nian Zhen's side announced that their goddess wasn't like that, and although she and CEO Lu looked like a good couple, she would never try to steal another girl's fiancé.
Their goddess was pure after all! She couldn't have stolen another girl's man!
But as the wise proverb goes, the more one covers up the truth, the more it'll be exposed.
Because the scandal this time was about the Great Dragon King who everyone secretly admired, a lot of professionals shared their thoughts about this photo.
One commentator who used a fake online account posted, "As a digital image forensics expert, I can guarantee that this photo is a hundred percent real. The clothing and the landmarks match the image, and it would be difficult even for an expert to truly imitate the dress Nian Zhen is wearing. Also, you can check the file and the metadata. Any digital photo contains it."
When several people had liked this statement, another fellow expert replied to him.
"I agree with the poster above. There are no repetition of pixels, no halos of image enhancements, no nothing. There are no problems with the shadows, reflections, and perspective lines. This is clearly a genuine photo! I admire both Miss Nian and CEO Lu too, but cheating can't be condoned."
After these two experts spoke up, all of those who were keeping quiet to avoid the backlash finally voiced their own thoughts. The way they delivered their opinions varied, with some of them retaining their calm while others responded with angry capital letters, but each of them decided that after looking at the hard evidence, the truth had to be known to all.
That while it was hard to believe, CEO Lu had indeed cheated on his fiancée!
And with the esteemed daughter of the Nians, no less!
Hui Yin thought of the whirlwind that swept up her life for the last three days, which began after Lu Shen had gone to his business trip.
He hadn't answered her question and only ordered her to go back to her room. He then fired every guard that was on the villa that night, and replaced them with new ones. Their numbers had nearly tripled, and each area in the villa had been mounted by a CCTV.
He had told her not to leave the villa under any circumstances, which of course Hui Yin ignored.
The moment the second photo had been leaked, Hui Yin paid a visit to her 'dear' parents-in-law.
Hui Yin smiled when she recalled the reaction of the two Lu elders.