CHAPTER 140: 140: WHAT?! JIANG NUO CHEATED

At first, Xu Ruoxuan was patient, putting on a clear "I admire you greatly, hurry up and kneel to welcome me" stance. But gradually, she noticed Jiang Nuo’s cold expression, and immediately became displeased.

The dissatisfaction hidden in her eyes—"I’ve lowered myself and you, a mere ant, still dare not to flatter me"—was instantly exposed: "Jiang Nuo, what do you mean by this?"

See? She’s so furious she’s calling him by his full name.

"What do you mean what do I mean?" Jiang Nuo was a little confused.

She’s the one who came over to block him, rambling on and on without getting to the point. If anyone has a right to be mad, it’s him, isn’t it?

"You’re something else!" Xu Ruoxuan huffed, her expression reading loud and clear: "You’ve offended me, and I won’t let this slide." Then she stormed off angrily.

Jiang Nuo turned his head and asked his assistant, "Do you know why she’s angry?"

"Probably because you rejected her?" The assistant wasn’t too sure either. "But, Brother Jiang, it seems like you’ve offended another person again! Women have such small hearts."

"Well, it’s not the first time. Whatever. Let’s go; Sister-in-law Jiang is still waiting for me at home." Thinking of his wife back home, a blissful smile spread across Jiang Nuo’s face.

The assistant winced, feeling like she had a toothache: How is it that the male idol didn’t say anything, yet she still felt like she’d been force-fed dog food?

No! How could she be the only one suffering? If there’s dog food to share, everyone has to partake.

Immediately, the assistant logged into her work-related Weibo account, picked out an old work photo of Jiang Nuo, and added a caption: [Male idol rushing home after work to be with his wife, what should we do about this onslaught of dog food?]

Fans: [We’re already used to being fed dog food!]

[Hahaha... Assistant, you’re just discovering this now? Our idol’s favorite thing is feeding us dog food.]

[Blogger, dare to post more handsome photos of the male god? No photos, no mercy!!!!!!]

[(⊙o⊙) Wow! My Jiang Bro is so handsome, he’s out of this universe! I want to have his babies!]

[Get lost, upstairs! The male god belongs to our @Mu Qiuniang. Original pair for life!]

[Support the original pair, mistresses step back!]

[Support the original pair, mistresses step back!]

[Support the original pair, mistresses step back!]

...

Then, suddenly, online headlines morphed into: "Jiang Nuo suspected of cheating, fans plead for original pair""Want to know the name of the star Jiang Nuo allegedly cheated with? (Exclusive reveal!)""Exclusive list of ambiguous women in Jiang Nuo’s life""Jiang Nuo cheats, marriage on the rocks", and more.

Although Mu Bai has been immersed in a lot of acting roles recently, she still pays close attention to news about her uncle and aunt. From time to time, she picks up her phone to scroll.

One quick glance, and she spat her milk tea all over the place: "Brother Lu! Brother Lu! Trouble! Something huge happened!"

"What huge thing?" Lu Mingchen, still on the phone coordinating Mu Bai’s next variety show, sighed in exasperation.

Unexpectedly, although Sister-in-law Jiang is so calm, her grandniece turns out to be such a lively one, making a fuss at the slightest thing. Dealing with her antics daily was enough to give him a headache.

"Uncle cheated on Aunt! What’s going to happen to Aunt now?" she said, panicking.

"..." Lu Mingchen fell silent for a moment. "Where did you hear that nonsense? With how glued Jiang Nuo is to your aunt, practically clinging to her legs every chance he gets, do you think he’d actually cheat?"

"That’s true, but everyone online keeps saying it’s true!" Mu Bai sobbed and showed him her phone.

Lu Mingchen took a look and furrowed his brow: "Wait a second. I’ll call Jiang Nuo and ask him what’s going on. I only left him alone for a single day, and now there’s such big news?"

Jiang Nuo was having breakfast when he got Lu Mingchen’s questioning phone call. Hearing the accusations, he was completely dumbfounded: "I cheated? How come I didn’t know?"

Lu Mingchen rubbed his temples: "You’re showing quite the talent for getting into trouble lately. Were you too well-behaved before, and now you’re hitting your rebellion stage? Check the internet and call me back later once you figure out what’s happening."

"I’ll look online first. I don’t even know what you’re talking about right now."

Jiang Nuo felt quite unlucky about the whole situation, wondering whether he’d become cursed lately. Should he visit a temple to petition for better fortune?

Checking online, Jiang Nuo couldn’t help but feel both amused and frustrated. Where did this nonsense even come from?

"Wife, look, I’ve cheated!" He intentionally presented his phone to Mu Qiuniang.

"When did you cheat?" Mu Qiuniang asked blankly.

"I’d like to know that too! But wife, what’s your reaction to seeing this news?"

Mu Qiuniang thought seriously for a moment: "It’s absurd."

"Hehe, wife, you trust me this much? Seems like I’ve been doing very well all along." Jiang Nuo grinned smugly.

Mu Qiuniang remained calm. She could say that if he ever did cheat, she’d know immediately, right?

Well, when she agreed to his marriage proposal back then, she’d even prepared for the possibility of leaving him. She’d taken precautions—the moment he fell for someone else, she’d sense it.

But sadly, all these years, that sense had never triggered.

Actually, without needing Jiang Nuo’s input, Lu Mingchen could figure out the cause based on the "evidence" mentioned in the articles.

Once he saw that the so-called "proof" was nothing more than fans joking among themselves, he couldn’t help but find the situation ridiculous: "Such baseless rumors can be published just like that? The entertainment tabloids really don’t hold back when chasing headlines."

He even tapped Mu Bai on the head and handed her the phone: "Look carefully at where Jiang Nuo’s cheating rumors came from. Don’t make a fuss over nothing next time. For news that’s baseless like this, don’t even give it a second glance..."

Although her head hurt from the tapping, Mu Bai’s worries eased upon understanding the situation.

"I was just overly concerned about Aunt! The entertainment industry is so full of temptations; what if Uncle had a momentary lapse in judgment..."

"Relax, even if *you* had a lapse in judgment, your uncle—a diehard wife-devotee—definitely wouldn’t. He knows your aunt’s temperament better than you do. Do you think he spends all these years avoiding any intimate scenes with female stars for no reason? Instead of worrying about others, you better focus on yourself. Look at all those NGs from the scenes you shot yesterday! Do you dare call yourself Jiang Nuo’s relative with this level of performance?"

"Others messed up even more than I did," Mu Bai retorted defensively.

"Others are others, and you’re you. Why do you think people say, ’Oh, that actress? I know her—she’s Jiang Nuo’s grandniece’?"

Mu Bai bit her lip, staying silent. Of course, she didn’t want that. The whole reason she entered the entertainment industry was to shake off the label of being the Capital City Mu family’s young mistress. She wanted to be Mu Bai—not the Mu family’s young mistress, not Jiang Nuo’s grandniece, not anyone’s anything. Just Mu Bai. The Mu of Mu Bai. The Bai of Mu Bai.

"If you just want to be Mu Bai, then hone your acting skills." Having spent some time with her, Lu Mingchen understood this woman. Though she looked delicate, her ambitions ran sky-high.

If she genuinely wanted to be solely Mu Bai, he’d help her out. But if she turned out to be a lost cause, then too bad—even if she were Jiang Nuo’s grandniece, he wouldn’t hesitate to let her go.

"I’ll practice." Mu Bai straightened her posture, taking a deep breath and focusing on her energy from her Dantian.

"Alright then. I’ll find a few acting coaches for you. When the time comes, make sure to learn well; got it?"

"Got it."

...