A Twisted Love Affair-Chapter 103: Mr. Zhou’s face was extremely black.

The black business car sped towards the airport, merging onto the ring road expressway as the driver accelerated.

Zhou Luchen, in the midst of a phone call, leaned back in his seat, flipping through documents. His shirt collar was casually open, revealing the graceful lines of his neck and the hint of his collarbone, presenting an angular, sexy appeal.

The phone on the work tray was on speaker, displaying an unsaved contact number.

He slowly stirred the ice cubes in his glass. "Which place?"

"She’s the champion."

Mr. Zhao on the call, also a judge for the Pipa competition, said, "The girl was injured but insisted on performing. She didn’t cry or make a fuss; it was a commendable performance."

Luchen remained silent.

Mr. Zhao added, "We will severely punish the offender with a lifetime ban. It’s just a shame about that girl’s hand; it won’t heal anytime soon. The tissues in the backstage trash can were blood-soaked."

He spoke softly, "Please take care of it, Uncle Zhao."

"Not a problem. The police have arrived."

Luchen reached out, ended the call, then leaned over and added two slices of lemon to his ice water.

When the police came to investigate and gather evidence, Shen Jing directly handed over the recording. "It doesn’t matter if she spreads rumors about me, but Mr. Zhou Xiangqun is a man of integrity. His future shouldn’t be affected by such wild talk. This borders on slander and defamation, and my young heart has already suffered severe damage."

Lu Yi was stunned. My God, why does this sound more serious the more she talks?

Luckily, Shen Jing didn’t mention that her pipa strings had been tampered with; thankfully, the evidence had already been destroyed.

Lu Yi looked at the officer. "I didn’t spread rumors; it was just a joke."

Shen Jing’s eyes suddenly reddened. "I personally value my reputation and do not accept any jokes made without evidence."

The more she spoke, the more pitiful she appeared, as if on the verge of tears.

Lu Yi was dumbfounded, looking at Shen Jing in disbelief. There’s no need to cry over this, surely. It’s such a trivial matter. Is all this really necessary?

As the dispute continued, Shen Jing bit her lip and spoke softly, "Think carefully. During the finals, Mr. Zhou Xiangqun didn’t even participate in the scoring."

This was unexpected, Shen Jing thought. That old schemer must have anticipated his opponent’s predictions, all to protect me from any scandal of nepotism.

This was a fact; everyone present could attest that Zhou Xiangqun hadn’t been involved in the scoring. freewёbnoνel-com

After a moment, Shen Jing added, "You may look down on me for coming from a teahouse, but the judges are all respected artists and teachers in the industry. Are you implying, in front of them, that they don’t respect cultural arts?"

Those judges, mostly over fifty with graying hair, were clearly implicated by Shen Jing’s words.

No matter how Lu Yi tried to explain, he couldn’t clear his name, and two of the senior judges left the scene of the dispute with stern faces. Having reached their status, they highly valued their prestige and reputation. This felt like a direct slap in the face.

Shen Jing was eloquent and exceptionally good at playing the victim. If she were allowed to continue, she might drag the entire organizing committee down with her. The championship was their decision; if anyone suspected foul play, it would surely be blamed on the organizers. It couldn’t possibly be her fault.

This was going a bit too far, Shen Jing.

"Zhou Xiangqun and you are having an affair," Lu Yi continued to argue. "I saw Zhou Xiangqun’s assistant hanging a bag on the door of Room 6022 every morning."

Everyone’s gaze turned towards Shen Jing.

Upon hearing this, Shen Jing pursed her lips. "We do know each other. The bag contained fried dough sticks and tofu pudding."

Not far away, Zhou Xiangqun, upon hearing those words, turned and left, his face as dark as thunder.

The assistant gathered their things and followed Zhou Xiangqun. How could Miss Shen reveal everything? Is she worried people don’t know Mr. Zhou is stingy, just because he provided a few fried dough sticks?

After a long while, the Hongqi L5 left the parking lot.

Zhou Xiangqun, sitting in the backseat, massaged his temples and instructed his assistant in a slow voice, "Later, pick her up for dinner at the old house. The Zhou Family’s chefs can do more than just those two dishes. The Zhou Family isn’t poor—we still have rice and meat."

The assistant remained silent for a long time, unable to muster a single word in reply.

「With the matter settled.」

The officer, armed with surveillance footage, reprimanded Lu Yi.

Lu Yi bowed deeply. "I’m sorry."

Shen Jing didn’t listen and turned to leave.

「That noon.」

The official Weibo account for the Beijing Cultural Cup event posted: "We thank all sectors of society for their support and attention to this competition. During the event, individual competitors @Lu Yi and @Qin Xiaofan targeted others. This behavior gravely violated the competition rules. We will strengthen supervision and management in the future and hereby impose a lifetime ban on participants @Lu Yi and @Qin Xiaofan."

「Back at her hotel room.」

Shen Jing looked at the trophy on the table and then out at the snow falling outside the window.

People are like that, she mused. A bag of fried dough sticks can fuel wild speculation, and a simple conversation can be misconstrued as pulling strings.

If Lu Yi hadn’t deliberately stirred things up, she never would have considered switching to her left hand. Back then, she’d only thought Grandma Xu was rushing her to learn so she could leave sooner, impatient for her to master it and depart. Her left-hand fingering had developed muscle memory, which was why she hadn’t panicked on stage.

Xing Fei had agreed to stay and have some fun in Beijing with her, so neither was in a hurry to go back. They also paid no attention to the online drama. They ate and drank as they pleased, even went to a ski resort in the suburbs to ski, soaked in hot springs, and had hot pot.

Upon returning to the hotel, she saw Zhou Xiangqun’s assistant from afar, standing perfectly upright under the porch.

Shen Jing didn’t greet him, as they weren’t well acquainted.

After a mutual glance, the assistant approached and stopped her.

"Mr. Zhou would like to invite you to the Zhou family home for dinner. He has been greeting you frequently of late, and he deeply apologizes that this has led others to spread rumors and cause you so much trouble."

Trouble? Shen Jing thought. Without the direct evidence Zhou Xiangqun had found, she wouldn’t have been able to refute Lu Yi’s underhanded tactics anyway. At most, she had recordings to accuse Lu Yi of spreading rumors. She hadn’t even had a chance to thank him.

The assistant had already opened the car door. "Please, get in."

Shen Jing sent Xing Fei a text message and got into the car.

The snow was falling heavily. Shen Jing leaned against the window. She didn’t know the way or where they were going and remained quiet the entire journey.

The assistant focused on driving, careful not to disturb her as she watched the snow. Do all southerners love snow this much? he wondered.

「Upon arriving at their destination.」

The assistant got out to open the door. "Please go in first. I’ll park the car."

Shen Jing nodded and got out of the car, looking up at the wide-open red gates. Twin stone lions flanked the entrance.

Shen Jing walked up the steps leisurely, stepping through the historic gates.

At the end of the year, in the winter quietude, snow blanketed the green tiles and red walls of the large courtyard, making the mansion seem deep and expansive.

The Zhou Family’s servants were clearing snow from the branches of a Chinese flowering crabapple tree in the courtyard. The snow rustled as it fell and was then shoveled away.

Was this the Chinese flowering crabapple tree Luchen had mentioned? Shen Jing thought. What a shame she hadn’t come at the right time to see it in bloom.

Following an usher, Shen Jing walked through colonnades to the rear courtyard. Just as she arrived, she heard a burst of boisterous laughter from an elder in the main hall.

"Knock a little softer! Grandma’s shoulder always gets sore when it snows. Grandma is truly getting old."

Behind an antique screen, adorned with an upside-down character for "luck," came a man’s light, soft laugh.

Shen Jing listened to the laughter, her footsteps feeling unsteady as she moved forward. Something felt off.

The usher noticed her hesitation and patiently waited. "Miss Shen, please come this way. The Eldest Young Master said you are his invited guest, so there’s no need to be so formal today."

Shen Jing brushed the snowflakes off her coat and nodded.

Perhaps she had imagined it was him, she thought.