Chapter 296: A DELIBERATE PLOT

The phone vibrated again in Fu Pei’s hand.

This time, neither of them needed to look at the screen to know who was calling.

Fu Pei silently passed the phone over.

Guiying lowered his eyes to the familiar name for several seconds before answering, quietly lifting the device to his ear as he leaned against the edge of the bedside cabinet, closing his eyes to steady his breathing before speaking.

"...Liuxian."

His voice was still slightly hoarse, though it no longer carried the helplessness from moments earlier.

On the other end of the line, Liu Liuxian didn’t waste time asking whether the rumors were true.

His first question was whether Guiying was alright, the concern in his voice impossible to conceal despite the thousands of kilometers separating them.

Guiying listened quietly until Liu Liuxian finished speaking, his grip around the phone gradually loosening as the concern in the man’s voice traveled through the receiver.

He didn’t need to hear the words I’m coming back to know they were already sitting on the tip of Liu Liuxian’s tongue.

Ever since they had gotten together, that man had never once hesitated to choose him over everything else, and under normal circumstances, Guiying would’ve selfishly welcomed it.

This time was different.

A faint smile curved against his lips before disappearing almost as quickly as it came.

"You’re already looking at flights, aren’t you?"

"...Yes."

The answer came without hesitation.

Guiying couldn’t help but let out a helpless chuckle.

"I knew it."

"You know I won’t stay here while you’re going through this."

The certainty in Liu Liuxian’s voice softened the words rather than hardening them, making it painfully obvious he had already made up his mind before placing the call.

Guiying lowered his gaze, quietly collecting his thoughts before speaking again.

"Don’t."

Silence settled over the line.

"I know why you want to come back, and I’m not going to pretend everything’s alright because it isn’t. But you went to HWI for a reason, and those things still need you. Stay where you are, finish what you need to finish, and leave this to me."

Liu Liuxian exhaled slowly.

"Guiying."

There was helplessness in that single call of his name.

"I don’t like this."

"I know."

"I should be there. With you."

"You should." Guiying smiled to himself.

His fingers tightened briefly around the phone before relaxing again. "But not this time."

"I’m not asking you to ignore me. I’m asking you to trust me."

Another silence followed. Guiying didn’t interrupt it.

He knew exactly what was happening on the other end of the line. Liuxian wasn’t deciding whether to trust him. He was trying to convince himself that trusting Guiying didn’t mean abandoning him.

"I’ve spent too long letting other people decide who I am," Guiying said quietly. "If I hide behind you every time something happens, then I’ll never really leave that part of my life behind. Let me deal with this myself."

Liuxian remained silent for a long moment before finally asking, "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Very."

"And if you can’t handle it?"

Guiying’s smile became gentler.

"Then I’ll call my husband."

That finally drew a quiet laugh from the other end.

"...You really know how to make it difficult for me."

"I learned from the best." Liuxian sighed, the sound carrying equal parts resignation and affection.

"...Alright."

The word came reluctantly, but Guiying understood what it meant.

"I’ll stay."

A warmth slowly spread through Guiying’s chest.

"When everything’s over," he said softly, "come home."

"I will."

"And don’t worry yourself sick over me."

"I’ll try."

Guiying laughed. "I know that’s probably impossible."

"It is. But I’ll manage, and I’ll send whatever resources you need as well."

The smile on Guiying’s face lingered for another moment before he reluctantly ended the call, remaining where he was until the screen went dark.

Only then did he let out the breath he’d been unconsciously holding, rubbing the bridge of his nose as the exhaustion he’d hidden throughout the conversation quietly settled back over him.

He turned towards Fu Pei.

"...It’s fucking time to start calling people back."

Fu Pei was already unlocking his phone.

"Where do we start?"

Guiying glanced at the growing list of missed calls before lifting his eyes again, the hesitation that had clouded them earlier replaced by the composure that had carried him through every storm life had thrown at him.

"Tell me what needs my attention first."

Fu Pei glanced through the information he’d already collected before answering, "Call Bai Feng first. We’re going to need him for the legal side, and I want every trace of this preserved before those accounts realize they’ve left enough evidence behind to bury themselves."

Guiying took out his phone, called Bai Feng, explained the situation without wasting time on irrelevant details, then sent over the original post and the screenshots Fu Pei had collected.

Bai Feng remained silent for a while as he went through everything, and when he finally spoke, his voice was calm enough to make it clear that the accusations themselves hadn’t caught him off guard.

"Don’t respond to anything yet. Preserve the original post, the attached photographs, the comments, and the reposts exactly as they are. I’ll separate the account that created the allegations from the people who knowingly helped spread them. We’ll decide who needs to receive a letter before anyone has the opportunity to disappear."

Guiying leaned against the desk, watching another wave of comments appear beneath the original post. "What about a statement?"

"You should make one, but don’t waste it defending yourself against every accusation. Once you start answering individual rumors, you’ll spend the rest of the day chasing whatever nonsense someone decides to invent next."

"I wasn’t planning to."

"I assumed as much." Bai Feng paused before adding, "Give me the facts you want acknowledged, and I’ll make sure the wording doesn’t interfere with the case. After that, you can say whatever you want within those boundaries."

Guiying glanced towards Fu Pei, who was already working through the accounts on his own phone. "I’ll send everything over."

"Good. And Guiying?"

"Mm?"

"Stay away from the comments."

A faint smile appeared on Guiying’s lips.

"I’ll try."

"I know you."

The call ended, and Guiying slipped his phone back into his pocket as Fu Pei turned his own screen towards him.

Several accounts were displayed side by side, their posting times arranged in chronological order.

One had reposted the original accusation only minutes after it appeared; another had added details not in the first thread. At the same time,e a third had uploaded an old photograph of Guiying with a completely different story attached.

"They were prepared," Guiying said.

Fu Pei nodded. "More than prepared. They had people waiting."