CHAPTER 283: CHAPTER 283 ORIGINAL SIN 92

Originally, it was just Liu Zhen experiencing domestic violence, which wasn’t a big deal because while the news wasn’t pleasing, it wasn’t too negative for Liu Zhen.

So after discovering it, Liu Zhen didn’t pay much attention and immediately contacted her agent to deal with it, telling the public that she accidentally fell and hit her forehead.

Then Liu Zhen turned her focus to Liu Cheng, who was extremely unstable due to impending bankruptcy, racking her brains on how to comfort Liu Cheng, who was at the lowest point of his life! Of course, if she could take this opportunity to develop feelings and make Liu Cheng marry her, that would be even better.

But the next day, an explosive revelation instantly plunged Liu Zhen into Hell! Before the news of Liu Zhen’s domestic violence had even subsided, another shocking headline appeared, written in blood-red letters: Siblings or Lovers! The accompanying photo was of Liu Zhen and Liu Cheng looking at each other with smiles! The photo looked cozy and complete, like the happiest and most ordinary couple in the world!

This headline attracted countless curious onlookers who all clicked on the news, and then all of Liu Zhen’s privacy was laid bare!

Liu Zhen’s family went bankrupt and was adopted by Liu Cheng’s parents. Liu Zhen fell in love with Liu Cheng to the point of attempting suicide. After Liu Cheng’s wife had an accident, Liu Zhen lived with Liu Cheng and his daughter as if they were a married couple.

Everyone who read the news could see that the interaction between Liu Zhen and Liu Cheng went beyond sibling intimacy, especially since Liu Cheng refused to remarry after his wife’s disappearance and had no scandals. What was thought to be a perfect man was clearly not the case now!

The two of them conspired to fool everyone by hiding their illicit relationship under the guise of siblings! As for why they still had to hide after his wife’s death, it was simple—they wanted to please the in-laws and aim for their company!

There’s been a lot of debate about this online, with harsh words being said, including from many of Liu Zhen’s fans. Only a few die-hard fans still supported Liu Zhen, but they were just tiny waves in a big storm, soon to be muted.

It wasn’t until this point that Liu Zhen realized the severity of the situation, withdrawing her attention from Liu Cheng, and immediately contacted her agency to issue a clarification.

However, the incidents concerning Liu Zhen were true, and the evidence provided online was too compelling to refute. Although the agency deployed a PR team, it had little effect, and the number of people cursing Liu Zhen online continued to grow.

If the agency put in a lot of effort, they might be able to clean Liu Zhen’s image a bit, but the problem was that the evidence of Liu Zhen’s wrongdoings was irrefutable. Even if they cleared her name, it wouldn’t be complete, and it would only result in a lot of work for little gain. Of course, the main reason the agency didn’t want to put in the effort was that Liu Zhen was not a dedicated employee.

Liu Zhen worked sporadically, relying on Liu Cheng’s wealth. Basically, whether it was choosing scripts or participating in shows, she made her own decisions, which didn’t allow the agency to earn much profit from her.

Although Liu Zhen was an A-list star, she generated less profit for the agency than a B-list star, which was the reason the agency didn’t want to go all out for Liu Zhen’s issues.

With the agency weak on her defense, online speculation grew closer to the truth. Many people began to speculate conspiracy theories, questioning why Liu Cheng’s wife’s disappearance was so suspicious. The benign suspicion was that Liu Zhen killed Liu Cheng’s wife to fly off with him, while more people suspected that Liu Cheng and Liu Zhen, as deceitful partners, conspired to murder his wife.

Unfortunately, during this time, Liu Cheng was overwhelmed with the company issues. Even though he knew about the online events, he was already struggling hard to ensure his company didn’t go bankrupt, so he couldn’t spare time to clarify matters for Liu Zhen or himself!

Liu Cheng’s attitude left excited netizens believing he tacitly admitted guilt out of a guilty conscience! This led to even more abusive remarks online, and even some extreme individuals barged into Liu Zhen’s hospital room to assault her!

Fortunately, there were many doctors and nurses at the hospital who quickly pulled the attacker away, but Liu Zhen was still unlucky and had her wounds torn open. After diagnosis, the doctor stated that the secondary trauma would definitely leave a scar, and given the length of the wound, the scar wouldn’t be small. Unless Liu Zhen spent a lot on surgery, she would essentially be disfigured!

Liu Zhen made a living off her looks; although she valued Liu Cheng above her career, that didn’t mean she didn’t care about her career. If her reputation was ruined, she could find a way to clear it, but if her face was destroyed, she could no longer be a star!

This was something even the usually calculating Liu Zhen couldn’t handle. After an angry outburst, she insisted on hiring a lawyer to sue the person who barged into her room and caused her permanent disfigurement, and to sue the hospital for failing to protect her safety as a patient!

Although Liu Zhen wanted to sue the attacker, the person wore a mask and a hoodie, and after hitting her twice and seeing others approach, quickly ran off without exposing their face. It seemed this person had previously planned, completely evading the hospital’s surveillance on their escape route.

Liu Zhen was full of anger with nowhere to vent. As for the doctors who were blamed, the hospital merely compensated Liu Zhen a little money, but when the paparazzi exposed this incident online, even more people cursed Liu Zhen!

After all, the doctors and nurses aren’t bodyguards, why should they specifically protect and care for someone who stirred public outrage? Her misfortune was self-inflicted, and it’s not like any other patients were being attacked!

The new drama couldn’t be filmed, and being injured and hospitalized by the hand of the man she loved most terrified and panicked Liu Zhen. Adding to her fear was the exposure of her ambiguous relationship with Liu Cheng, with her reputation ruined beyond repair!

What saddened Liu Zhen the most was being disfigured by Liu Cheng’s blow, yet apart from sending her to the hospital, Liu Cheng hadn’t visited her once all these days, which particularly saddened Liu Zhen!

In fact, it wasn’t that Liu Cheng didn’t care about Liu Zhen; he just didn’t have the time. He was under tremendous pressure, scrambling to find money to plug holes. The Liu Family behind him also suffered a significant financial loss, and although it wasn’t damaging enough to hurt their foundation, they did lose a substantial amount of working capital and couldn’t provide funds for Liu Cheng to get through his crisis in the short term.

Moreover, the head of the Liu Family wasn’t Liu Cheng’s father but an old patriarch who controlled the overall situation. Liu Cheng’s father was just one of many heirs. Although Liu Cheng’s father was previously the most likely to inherit the Liu Company, Liu Cheng’s uncles were always eyeing the heir position, ready to pull Liu Cheng’s father down and take his place.

Inheriting the Liu Family’s legacy was no easy task; first, one needed to start their own business. The company could be big or small, but it had to prove their capabilities. Only then could they merge it into the family company and qualify to compete for the heir position of the family business.