Chapter 518 - 517: Trending Yet Again

"What’s wrong? What happened?"

For Qin Sitong to be this anxious, Yun Zijin subconsciously assumed something major had happened.

"Quick, look at the trending topics on Weibo!"

Hearing Qin Sitong’s words, Yun Zijin took out her phone and opened Weibo.

"Number one on the trending list."

Qin Sitong added a reminder as Yun Zijin opened her phone.

Yun Zijin tapped on the trending topics and immediately saw #SituYunliangClarification, #SituFamilyYunZijin, and #HowRichIsYunZijin.

There were three consecutive topics about Yun Zijin on the trending list.

The first topic didn’t have Yun Zijin’s name, but clicking on it revealed that it was also a video centered around her.

"When was this interview video from?"

Yun Zijin hadn’t heard a peep about this before. She never expected Situ Yunliang to personally come forward to speak out and vouch for her.

Yun Zijin even clicked on the video in the topic. She listened as a reporter asked if Yun Zijin had returned to the Situ Family and whether the Situ family was now responsible for her lifestyle, which had been captured in recent trending photos. Hearing Situ Yunliang’s response, Yun Zijin’s feelings were a little complicated.

"Judging by the time, it must have been recorded just this morning. I heard the interview was a livestream, but it’s over now.

This video clip on Weibo was edited from a segment of the livestream."

Hearing Qin Sitong’s words, Yun Zijin didn’t say anything else.

"What’s wrong with you? The online sentiment has been really against you lately. Someone from the Situ family stepped up to clarify things for you. Shouldn’t you be happy?"

For a moment, Qin Sitong didn’t think too much of it.

"This will only keep public opinion from being completely one-sided. It’s not enough to make everyone believe it."

Still, deep down, Yun Zijin was grateful that Situ Yunliang had dared to step forward and clarify things for her.

However, remembering that Lu Yunque had a meal scheduled with Situ Wenze that afternoon, Yun Zijin sent him a message. She told him to look at the trending topics and reconsider whether he should still meet with him.

After all, one clarification was enough. If two people came out to defend her in one day, netizens would just start overthinking things again.

You have to understand, netizens sometimes really do watch all kinds of videos, TV shows, and movies with a magnifying glass.

If even the slightest thing seemed off, the audience might not buy it.

"This is still very good. It’s better than having the Situ family label attached to everything you do."

Just then, the bell signaling the end of class rang. The teacher at the front of the room promptly concluded the lecture, packed up their things, and prepared to leave the classroom.

"The renovations for the shop on Xinghua Street are finished today and it’s time for the final inspection. Do you want to go together?"

Qin Sitong had been keeping a close eye on the shop’s renovation progress. With all the online drama recently, Yun Zijin had almost forgotten about the branch store.

Now that Qin Sitong brought it up, Yun Zijin suddenly realized another week had passed.

"Yeah, let’s go. I’ll go with you."

They were opening the shop together. Even if Yun Zijin wasn’t going to be involved in the subsequent management, she still needed to complete the initial work with Qin Sitong.

The two girls walked shoulder to shoulder down from the academic building, got into a car, and left the school.

「The Xinghua Street branch store.」

A silver-white commercial vehicle slowly pulled to a stop in front of the shop. A bodyguard got out first to open the door, and Qin Sitong and Yun Zijin stepped out one after the other.

Mr. Zhou and Qin Sitong had already arranged for the inspection today. When he saw Yun Zijin and Qin Sitong arrive, the anxious feeling he’d had while waiting in the shop finally subsided.

"Miss Yun, Miss Qin, you’re here. We’re all ready. You can begin the inspection at any time."

Yun Zijin and Qin Sitong walked into the shop together. The newly renovated space, with its color scheme of white and various shades of green, gave off a vibrant atmosphere the moment they entered.

The two of them meticulously inspected everything, inside and out, from top to bottom. They ended by confirming the fire escape routes, the fire safety equipment, and whether the electrical appliances were functioning properly.

After confirming there were no issues, Yun Zijin and Qin Sitong each signed their names on the final acceptance form in the recipient’s section.

"Everything looks good. The final payment will be transferred to your account within the day. You can look out for it today."

"Okay, thank you, Miss Yun!"

Hearing Yun Zijin say this, the smile on Mr. Zhou’s face deepened until another wrinkle appeared.

’Heaven knows how lucky I am to have a client who is so easy to talk to, doesn’t give confusing instructions, and pays so promptly.’

’If I tell my colleagues about this, who knows how long they’ll be jealous.’

Yun Zijin and Qin Sitong were unaware of Mr. Zhou’s inner thoughts. After inspecting the shop’s renovations and confirming there were no problems, Qin Sitong wanted to start preparing to find an auspicious date for the grand opening.

Mr. Zhou returned the shop keys to Yun Zijin, and after getting the signed acceptance form, he left the shop with his men.

However, to avoid any potential security risks, Yun Zijin and Qin Sitong decided to hire someone to change the lock.

"Alright, now that the shop inspection is done, I have to go. I still need to get to the nursing home."

"Let’s go. You can drop me off at my store."

At that moment, Qin Sitong’s desire to buy a car reached its peak.

Since Yun Zijin had driven her here, she would of course drive her back.

「Lu Group.」

It was half an hour later when Lu Yunque saw Yun Zijin’s message.

Although half an hour had passed, the Weibo topics were still trending.

He randomly clicked on one of them. After watching the video, Lu Yunque was lost in thought.

However, his meeting with Situ Wenze was a private one, and the specific content of their discussion wasn’t set in stone.

Since Situ Yunliang had already released a clarification video, Lu Yunque no longer planned to discuss Yun Zijin’s situation with Situ Wenze.

This would be a good opportunity to communicate with Situ Wenze about the project they were currently collaborating on.

At the nursing home, Lu Yunzhou had spent the whole day either lying down or sitting up. Utterly bored, he picked up his phone and started scrolling.

And just like that, Lu Yunzhou happened to click on the trending topics about Yun Zijin.

Lu Yunzhou had seen Situ Yunliang from a distance at the welcome banquet last time, so he recognized him instantly in the video.

"So he only came out to speak for Yun Zijin today..."

Lu Yunzhou hadn’t expected Situ Yunliang to step forward either. After all, the direction of public opinion over the past two days had been very favorable for the Situ Family.

An action like this from Situ Yunliang... he was essentially backstabbing the netizens who had been speaking up for the Situ Family these past two days.

Lu Yunzhou was engrossed in scrolling through the trending topics and enjoying the drama when Yun Zijin arrived.

Lu Yunzhou quickly put down his phone, not wanting Yun Zijin to know he was looking at trending topics and browsing gossip.

As a mature and steady older brother, doing something like scrolling through Weibo just for the drama would damage his righteous and dignified "big brother" image.

Lu Yunzhou still had a bit of an image to maintain.

"You’re here. Sit!"

After spending this period of time together, their relationship had become very familiar.

"It’s fine, we can start the acupuncture directly. Brother, are you ready?"

"Of course! Whenever you’re ready, we can start."

’Although the medicine after the acupuncture is bitter, I can endure any hardship for the chance to stand up again.’