This night was torture for Song Qinian, every minute and second a torment.
As dawn approached, a piece of news exploded online, marking the first major event of the morning.
A-list star Lin Qiutong’s romance exposed, secret hotel rendezvous with boyfriend.
Just as everyone was getting ready for work, reporters, drawn by the news, had already surrounded room 8223 of the Hao Ge Hotel.
At the same time, Song Qinian and Li Junshen's affair was also revealed. An insider claimed Song Qinian had eloped with Li Junshen for two years, leaving Ding Sheng Group's CEO Shen Chi Yan wearing a cuckold's hat for two years, with the paternity of his son Song Zansheng remaining a mystery.
With both news items breaking simultaneously, Weibo exploded.
Shen Chi Yan remained unreachable. Song Qinian called Li Nan Xun, instructing the Ding Sheng Group's PR department to step in and suppress the news.
Coupled with a directive from Old Mrs. Shen, the media dared not act rashly, content to watch the drama unfold from the sidelines.
After all, as long as there was news and traffic, they could make money.
When Song Qinian received Gao Kunlun's call, she had just left the hospital. Having been awake all night, her complexion was terrible, and she looked exhausted.
For nearly ten hours, there had been no news of Zansheng, nor of Shen Chi Yan. If they couldn’t be found, she feared she would go mad.
Just then, Gao Kunlun’s call came through, "Young Madam... we've found the boss."
There was news of Shen Chi Yan?
"Where is he?"
"He... he..."
Gao Kunlun was a mix of panic and urgency, unsure how to break the news to Song Qinian. From yesterday until now, his desperation to find Shen Chi Yan had been overwhelming, and now that he had, it felt like the sky was about to fall.
Hearing Gao Kunlun's hesitant voice, Song Qinian's brow furrowed deeply. "Where is he exactly? Gao Kunlun, Zansheng is still missing, time is of the essence, we can't afford delays."
Upon hearing this, Gao Kunlun steeled himself and said, "He... he's at the Hao Ge Hotel."
At this point, Song Qinian was unaware of Lin Qiutong's romance being exposed. Hearing that Shen Chi Yan was at the Hao Ge Hotel, her anger surged. "Why isn't he answering his phone if he's at a hotel? Have you seen him yet?"
"Not yet... I..."
Gao Kunlun's stammering clearly indicated he was hiding something. Song Qinian's expression turned cold. "Send me the address, I'll go find him."
By the time Song Qinian arrived at the hotel, the reporters who had been guarding it had been driven outside. However, entertainment reporters were ubiquitous these days, and even when driven away, hidden cameras were plentiful in the bushes or inside cars.
When Song Qinian reached the door of room 8223, Gao Kunlun was pacing anxiously outside. Seeing her, he ran towards her. "Young Madam..."
Shen Chi Yan glanced at the closed hotel door. She looked calmly at Gao Kunlun. "Who is he with?"
Song Qinian's expression was calm, not at all like someone angry, but the calmer she appeared, the more uneasy Gao Kunlun became.
"I... I'm not entirely sure, but it seems to be Miss Lin."
"Lin Qiutong?"
Gao Kunlun nodded with a worried expression.
"Knock on the door!"
"...I've knocked several times, but no one is opening it."
Song Qinian let out a deep breath. "Go to the front desk and get a room key!"
Gao Kunlun handed the room key he had obtained from the front desk to Song Qinian.
When Gao Kunlun heard Song Qinian say time was of the essence, he had no time for anything else and had rushed downstairs to get the key from the front desk. However, he didn't know the situation inside and dared not rush in, so he could only wait for Song Qinian to arrive.
Without hesitation, Song Qinian took the room key and swiped it open.
Even though she had prepared herself mentally on the way, seeing the scene inside still caused her heart to ache intensely, as if a knife had been mercilessly plunged into her chest and then salt was rubbed into the wound.
On the large bed, Shen Chi Yan was shirtless, embracing Lin Qiutong, who was also embracing him. Clothes were scattered all over the floor, indicating the intensity of their encounter, and Lin Qiutong's clothes were torn.
Although the quilt covered their private parts, one could imagine the disgusting scene beneath.
"Mmm..."
The sound of the door opening might have startled Lin Qiutong on the bed. She let out a lazy, tired sound and slowly opened her eyes. The moment she saw Song Qinian, she seemed to be startled and let out a scream, "Ah..."
Then, she glanced at Shen Chi Yan beside her, her face filled with disbelief and terror. "A... A Yan... This..."
The dosage of the drug administered by Shen Qiwen was potent. Shen Chi Yan was jolted awake by Lin Qiutong's scream. As he just began to regain consciousness, his head throbbed as if it were about to explode.
"What's all the noise?"
He growled irritably, his hand instinctively reaching for his throbbing temples.
"A Yan, why are you in my room? Last night, we..."
Hearing Lin Qiutong's voice clearly, Shen Chi Yan suddenly sobered up. Seeing the scene before him, he abruptly sat up, his brows furrowed, his face dark. "How did you get in my bed?"
Lin Qiutong's face was filled with panic. "This... this is my room. I got drunk last night and slept here. I don't know how you..."
Before Lin Qiutong could finish speaking, Shen Chi Yan sensed another person in the room. He instinctively looked back, meeting Song Qinian's expressionless face and cold eyes. Shen Chi Yan's heart skipped a beat. His mind hadn't processed what was happening, and he instinctively wanted to get out of bed to go to Song Qinian...
But he was pulled back by Lin Qiutong behind him. Lin Qiutong, blushing, said awkwardly and shyly, "A Yan, you... you're not wearing pants!"
"Don't touch me!"
Shen Chi Yan violently shook off Lin Qiutong and anxiously tried to explain to Song Qinian, "Song Qinian, it's not what you think, I..."
Before he could finish, Song Qinian interrupted him. "I'll give you five minutes!"
With that, she left the room without another glance at either of them.
Lin Qiutong had been completely ignored by her from beginning to end.
After Song Qinian left, she closed the door. Lin Qiutong, thinking of Song Qinian's distraught and despairing expression, felt an extreme sense of satisfaction. But when Shen Chi Yan looked at her, she put on an innocent and helpless act. "A Yan, we..."
"Nothing happened between us!"
Hearing this, Lin Qiutong's tears began to fall. "We've already come this far, and you still want to deceive yourself? I know you like Song Qinian, and I wouldn't expect you to take responsibility for me, but you... mmph..."
Before Lin Qiutong could finish, Shen Chi Yan violently grabbed her by the neck. His dark, cold eyes stared at her, as if he wanted to devour her. "I'll say it again, nothing happened between us! Do you understand?"