Mommy, don't be afraid, I'll bring you blind boxes and scam you out of a wealthy family to

To avoid worrying the old man, Duan Hetong didn't tell his family about Wen Li's hospitalization.

But Xie Lin still found out from Pei Ji, and came to offer his condolences with bags full of nutritional supplements, toys, snacks, and children's products.

And, here's some bad news.

@EntertainmentTrends:

[Hot Topic] The conflict in front of the Duan Group building continues to escalate. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media, showing a pregnant woman falling to the ground in slow motion.

The video has now been viewed over 100 million times, and the related hashtag #HeiressCausesPregnantWomanToFall# is currently trending at number one on the hot search list.

>>Click to watch the video

@Live Tan City:

[Latest News] According to sources, the pregnant woman showed signs of miscarriage after being admitted to the hospital and is currently receiving emergency treatment, which may result in irreversible damage.

#Pregnant woman pushed appears to have miscarried##Full video of the incident released#

@LawOnline:

For minors under the age of eight who cause harm, their guardians are liable. The key questions now are: Was there physical contact between the parties? Was there a causal relationship between the contact and the fall? It is recommended to await the police investigation.

@Baby's Healthy Growth:

As a fellow pregnant woman, I felt so sorry for her after seeing the video. She was heavily pregnant and fell in the rain. The perpetrator was at fault, but the indifferent bystanders were not innocent either!

@老张_阳光灿烂_0721：

This child is too young to do such a thing. You've been misled by malicious individuals.

@momo：

Haha, what era are we living in? There are still people who believe children can't do evil? Also, we've been refreshing the page for so long, but the trending topic ranking just won't go up. Duan's PR is amazing, their capital is amazing!

Xie Lin scrutinized Duan Hetong's expression, took his phone back, and sighed, "I thought I'd seen enough nonsense in the entertainment industry, but I never imagined the power of the people was so great..."

Duan Hetong glanced at the little baby on the hospital bed: "Keep your voice down."

Xie Lin made a gesture as if he were zipping up his mouth.

Duan Hetong's phone vibrated, and he went outside to answer it.

The head of the public relations department said in a somber tone, "Mr. Duan, the public opinion is still escalating, with eleven new trending topics."

The investment department also stated, "Shengming and Yuanxin, the two partners, have suspended project cooperation, saying they want to... 'wait and see' for a while."

Xie Lin, who followed him out, clicked his tongue and said, "You're pretty quick."

That's how the business world works: when there's profit, everyone's a friend; but when there's risk, everyone runs away faster than anyone else.

Pei Ji looked at the financial app: "The stock price dropped by 2 points after the market opened, and the market value has probably evaporated by..."

Xie Lin gestured for him to stop talking.

The two looked up and saw that Duan Hetong had hung up the phone at some point and even turned it off.

He returned to the ward, carefully and calmly covering the baby with the blanket that had been kicked off, showing no sign that the building was about to collapse.

Xie Lin smiled and shook his head: "Brother Tong is really..."

Stock prices, trending topics, and business partners are all irrelevant to Duan Hetong right now.

All he cared about was the little one who was fast asleep.

However, that's not all.

A call came to Pei Ji's cell phone. He was stunned. It was the butler of the Duan family's old mansion. How urgent must the matter be for him to come to him when he couldn't find Duan Hetong?

As soon as he answered the call, his face darkened: "I understand. I'll tell Brother Tong right now."

Xie Lin frowned: "What's wrong?"

Duan Hetong happened to be looking over.

Pei Ji took a deep breath: "Your grandfather just saw the news, felt unwell, and has been taken to the hospital."

-

First Hospital, VIP ward.

Duan Yuanzhou was indignant, glaring at the doctor and saying, "I'm perfectly fine, why do I have to be hospitalized? I don't want to stay, I want to go home!"

The doctor reassured him gently, "Sir, you recently had heart surgery, and your blood pressure fluctuations are quite dangerous. Staying here for observation will put your family at ease, won't it?"

The mention of family members only fueled the old man's anger: "One after another, how dare they hide such a big thing from me... Where's the girl? Where is she now? And Duan Hetong, tell him to come here! Cough, cough cough..."

Duan Shimi hurriedly stepped forward to pat him on the back and help him catch his breath: "Oh, Dad, don't worry, your health is the most important thing! Li Bao has her brother to take care of her, so don't worry."

The old man raised his eyebrows: "Relax? If he really knew how to take care of children, would something like this have gone wrong?"

Duan Shimi winked at Duan Xianchen, who immediately smiled ingratiatingly: "That's all exaggerated and nonsense online, don't believe it, it's not that serious..."

The old man wasn't so easily fooled; he also scolded the two of them, who were his aunt and uncle.

The siblings were both innocent and helpless: the old man was the one who was most opposed to the little guy coming into the family; now, the old man is still the one who is most protective of his child regardless of the consequences.

Even her own children couldn't handle it, and the advice from doctors, nurses, and maids was even less effective.

Just as the old man's monitoring device was about to alarm again, the ward door was pushed open.

"grandfather……"

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound.

Duan Hetong stood at the door, his shoulders still suffused with the damp, cold, and fishy smell of the rain outside, holding Wen Li in his arms.

The little baby had a fever-reducing patch on his forehead, and his dark, grape-like eyes were misty. He looked tired and sleepy, like a ball of weak cotton.

Duan Shimi was taken aback and ran over: "Why are you here?"

Duan Xianchen stood up and made way for the cot.

Duan Hetong put Wen Li on the bed. The little girl unconsciously grabbed his clothes and said softly to the old man, "Grandpa, Li Bao has come to see you."

The old man forcefully suppressed the anger that welled up in his chest, frowning as he asked, "Has the fever subsided?"

Wen Li nodded slowly: "Li Bao is not uncomfortable anymore, Grandpa, don't worry."

The old man sighed heavily: "Lie down quickly."

Wen Li blinked: "Is Grandpa sick too?"

"...No." Neither the grandmother nor the grandson wanted to worry the other. "I'm just here for a medical check-up."

Duan Hetong covered Wen Li with the blanket and sat up.

He had never looked so unkempt before: his shirt was wrinkled, there were faint dark circles under his eyes, and stubble was sticking out.

"Dad, I'll leave Li Bao with you here so you can look after her. I still have some things to take care of at the company."

The old man was practically ready to throw his cane at his head: "The company! All you ever think about is the company! Your child's in this state, what kind of father are you?"

"Dad," Duan Hetong interrupted him, her tone flat, "I'm leaving now."

He bent down and planted a kiss on Wen Li's forehead: "Wait for me to come back."

Then, without looking at anyone, he left.

The old man's mood worsened, and those around him did everything they could to comfort him.

The little bundle of joy gripped the edge of the blanket with both hands, covering half of his face, and quietly watched Baba disappear into the distance.

Duan Hetong's back view remained as always: tall, aloof, and sharp, exuding the composure and nobility of a superior.

Only Wenli could tell that Baba was so tired, so very tired.

Are bad people bullying him?

...Is it because Li Bao did something wrong?

-

Duan Hetong, Xie Lin, and Pei Ji drove together to the Duan Group.

On the way, Xie Lin glanced at his account and clicked his tongue: "I've lost almost 20,000 followers."

Pei Ji asked, "Because of the message you posted?"

"Yeah. Just for speaking up for fairness and justice, so many people can't stand the truth." Xie Lin said casually, "Whatever, just consider it filtering out normal fans."

Upon hearing this, Duan Hetong opened Weibo and found Xie Lin's account.

[@XieLin_XiaoXie welcomes you:]

Emotions are understandable, but they cannot replace evidence. The internet is not a courtroom, and no one should be judged prematurely by public opinion.

The comments section was in an uproar.

The fans in the front row naturally offer their unconditional support:

—My brother is right. We support rational expression and reject cyberbullying.

—Protecting the best Linlin in the world! Aren't there enough unexpected twists and turns already? We must believe in the rule of law!

However, there are also many doubts:

—Oh my, a big star is taking sides now. Are you really a rational and objective person, or is it because you're close to the Duan family?

—You've mistaken me for someone else. I'm unfollowing and no longer a fan. Goodbye forever!

Xie Lin has been in the industry for over a decade and has developed a set of wise ways to protect himself, always managing to stay afloat amidst countless reshuffling events.

At this crucial moment, going against the public only makes one a target for attack.

Duan Hetong was deeply moved: "A friend in need is a friend indeed," he thought.

He had just looked at Xie Lin and hadn't said anything when the latter reached out his hand: "Hey, stop—don't thank me, especially don't cry your eyes out, I can't bear that."

Duan Hetong: "..."

Duan Hetong: "Don't worry, I have no such plans."

Xie Lin curled his lip: "Oh, then I guess I was just being presumptuous."

Pei Ji said calmly, "Twenty thousand followers, let Brother Tong compensate you."

Xie Lin opened one eye: "How are you going to compensate me? Make him buy me more followers?"

"Have him invest in a movie for you."

Xie Lin closed his eyes again: "Then let's just use face powder. Filming his movies will shorten our lives by a few years..."

Before Pei Ji could say anything more, he received a message and instinctively sat up straight: "Brother Tong, there's been progress on the little princess's mother's matter. It can be confirmed that she only had her identity information after she turned three, and someone accompanied her throughout the registration process."

Duan Hetong's eyes darkened: "Let's talk at the company."

He will clear Wen Li's name.

He won't let Wen Guoliang and Chen Xiulan off the hook either.

He doesn't need to prioritize these two things or make a choice between them.

He can do it all.

He can do both.

-

hospital.

Children recover quickly; once their fever has completely subsided, they soon can't stay in bed anymore.

The maid carried her down and let her sit on the sofa in the suite's living room to watch TV.

The cartoons that were usually fun were no longer appealing to her today; she was more worried about her grandfather.

After the visitor left, the doctor checked the old man's data again, and it was still stable, so the old man finally had a chance to get some sleep.

The maid brought a lot of things from home and is tidying them up in the living room.

Wen Li squatted in front of the huge suitcase, which could almost fit her whole body, and asked softly, "Auntie, is Grandpa's heart aching again?"

She saved her grandfather's heart with blind boxes, but it wasn't a permanent cure.

While folding clothes, the maid muttered absentmindedly, "Oh dear, my young lady, it's all because of all the trouble you've caused outside... The internet is rife with insults directed at you and the Duan family."

"The old man has lived his whole life and is very concerned about his image. When he got anxious, his blood pressure spiked and he almost fainted..."

"Those people, just because they can type doesn't mean they're anything special. They just spout nonsense... Ugh, what kind of mess is this!"

After she finished speaking, she seemed to realize that her words were too heavy for a three-year-old child, and she closed her mouth with some regret, picked up the clothes and went into the inner room.

The little bundle of milk was left frozen in place.

So... did Li Bao make Grandpa angry?

Did Pear Baby make Grandpa sick?

Her little head was fuzzy, and for a moment it seemed as if she had returned to that helpless downpour, where everyone was blaming her, saying that it was all her fault.

It was because of her that Aunt Bai fell down.

Because of her, many people are criticizing the Duan family.

Because of her, I'm so tired.

Because of her, Grandpa's heart has fallen ill again.

It's all Pear's fault...

The little bundle of milk squatted there, thinking about rain and umbrellas, when suddenly a strange thought popped into its head:

I wish I were a mushroom.

That way, Baba won't have to pick herself up and take her home.

None of the bad things that happened later will happen.