Chapter 9: Not a Substitute, but a Performance

A video featuring Yun Chuxia was quickly released online.

With exquisite makeup and a sincere gaze, she admitted to the camera that the three years she spent with Si Haochen were nothing more than an act.

The two of them were merely in a professional partnership, with the sole purpose of helping the young master of the Si family win back his true love.

There was no such thing as abandonment, no sudden change of heart, and certainly no rivalry between women. The person Si Haochen intended to marry, from beginning to end, was always the daughter of the Su family, Su Muxue.

Yun Chuxia even remarked with emotion that over these past three years, she had clearly seen how devoted Si Haochen was, and that she would forever be a fan of the couple formed by him and the Su heiress.

Lu Yao stood off-camera with her hands in her pockets, trying to detect even a flicker of reluctance on Yun Chuxia’s face.

Excellent. There was none.

Her eyes were filled with convincing sincerity, as if she were desperate to draw a clear line between herself and the pair.

Regardless of whether it was genuine or just acting, with her cooperation, the PR firm Jiutian had once again completed the Si family’s mission swiftly and successfully.

It even saved a significant amount in public relations fees.

As soon as the video went live, the story of Si Haochen and Su Muxue’s childhood romance was also released online.

Public opinion shifted, and Si Haochen’s image transformed from that of a philandering cad to a devoted romantic of the elite class.

*Snap.*

Si Haochen slammed his phone down, an indescribable sense of suffocation tightening in his chest.

He had expected the Si family’s PR team to approach Yun Chuxia, but how could she speak words of blessing so quickly and without a hint of resentment?

Looking at Yun Chuxia’s radiant, smiling face on the screen, he felt an intense sense of irritation.

Had she really let go of three years of affection so easily?

Did she have no genuine feelings for him at all?

Or was it possible that she had been acting all along—perhaps to make her life in the Yun family easier, or to help the Yuns gain some benefits from the Si family?

Yun Chuxia, you really are something else.

Si Haochen stood up abruptly, determined to find her and get to the bottom of it.

The online audience, meanwhile, was focused on the protagonists.

"Why does it feel like the 'villainess' hasn't turned evil, but the male lead is about to?"

"Honestly, the scenes with the main couple are making me so sleepy. Can’t they just talk? One won't ask, and the other won't explain."

"To the person above: isn't a lack of communication the standard trope for a tragic romance?"

"Is this a 'retreat to advance' tactic by the female supporting character, just to provoke the male lead into looking for her?"

"The male lead is going to find her! Follow along!"

"Haochen, where are you going?" Su Muxue saw the furious Si Haochen and reached out to grab him.

The moment Si Haochen saw her, the hostility in his expression softened significantly.

This wasn't right. The person he had always wanted was Su Muxue. Now that Yun Chuxia had taken the initiative to clear their names and even wished them well, wasn't this the best possible outcome?

Why was he so angry?

He looked at Su Muxue’s pristine white gown and suddenly found it jarring.

That dress should have been worn by Yun Chuxia.

Yet she had given it away to someone else without a shred of attachment, even using the card he had written to her.

Si Haochen calmly pulled his arm away from Su Muxue’s soft grip and said indifferently:

"There’s something at the company. I have to go out."

After a moment’s thought, he added gently:

"You aren't feeling well, so don't wander around. I’ll pick you up for dinner tonight."

Su Muxue nodded obediently without asking further questions.

She watched Si Haochen’s retreating figure with a touch of displeasure.

After the banquet, many people had told her that Yun Chuxia was merely her substitute.

But why did she feel that it wasn't that simple?

Had Si Haochen really not felt anything at all over these three years?

She clenched her fists, silently steeling herself. Now that she was back, there was no way she would surrender the position of the young mistress of the Si family again.