Xu Qingqing browsed through her social media feed while wondering whether Bai Youlan had seen it yet. Even though she had already blocked her, she wasn’t naive—her circle of so-called "friends" was full of two-faced connections. Given her feud with Bai Youlan, she knew those people would definitely relay the gossip to her.
Xie Lianqing watched her dramatic performance with amusement, thoroughly impressed.
During breakfast, Xie Lianqing’s assistant was already waiting nearby. The fact that he had stayed this long just to have breakfast with her was a rare indulgence.
After the meal, Xie Lianqing got up to leave, leaning in to kiss Xu Qingqing goodbye. But she, caught up in some inexplicable mood, dodged him with a glare.
Xie Lianqing, unfazed by her tantrums, simply smiled and said gently, "Feel free to do whatever you want at home. If anything comes up, you can always come to the company to find me."
Xu Qingqing, busy flaunting their relationship on Weibo, waved him off impatiently. "Yeah, yeah, just go already."
With a resigned chuckle, Xie Lianqing left with his assistant.
After breakfast, Xu Qingqing leisurely retreated to her room for a nap. She had stayed up too late the night before and was desperate for some extra sleep.
By the time she woke up, it was already noon.
As usual, she opened Weibo and scrolled through her feed, then checked the influencer group chat she had joined, lurking to catch up on the latest gossip.
The group was buzzing about a variety show—one that had never been particularly popular, featuring games and interviews with a mix of celebrities, influencers, and ordinary people from various fields.
Some members of the group had apparently applied to participate and were now bragging while fishing for intel on their competition.
Then, someone suddenly chimed in—"Did you guys see today’s trending searches? The Xu Group—you know them, right? Bai Youlan is actually the Xu family’s heiress!!"
—"Oh my god, I saw it too! Who would’ve thought an actual rich young miss would enter the entertainment industry? And she kept it a secret for years—only today did the gossip accounts expose it."
—"No way?"
This came from the skeptics. Their circle was full of people flaunting "rich girl" personas, but how much money they actually had was anyone’s guess.
"Seriously, why would I lie? It’s already official!" The person tagged a few girls in the group who had applied for the show, adding with a hint of schadenfreude, "If you get selected, you might end up competing against her!"
"Honestly, what’s with these rich people? They already have everything, yet they still come to steal opportunities from us in the entertainment industry."
Xu Qingqing froze. She had just become the subject of the gossip herself. She immediately opened Weibo to search for the show, only to find multiple trending topics already blowing up.
[The Xu Group’s Heiress]
[Bai Youlan’s Interview]
[The Rich Work Harder Than You]
Clicking in, she found an article from a gossip account, detailing Bai Youlan’s family background with a fawning tone, claiming they had "stumbled upon this bombshell."
—"When I first uncovered this, I was shocked too. Who knew Bai Youlan had been hiding her identity all these years while building her career purely on her own talent? A wealthy heiress giving up her privilege to chase her dreams in showbiz—this is literally a Cinderella story come to life!"
The post included insider photos from high-society events, showing Bai Youlan standing beside Xu Changshan and Bai Yaxiu, all smiling warmly—solid proof of her status as the Xu family’s daughter.
At the same time, someone dug up an old interview clip from Bai Youlan’s early debut days.
On camera, Bai Youlan smiled sweetly, her voice soft as she answered, "Why did I enter the industry?"
She chuckled lightly. "Because I have dreams I want to fulfill too~!"
"What do my parents think about me joining the entertainment world?" She covered her mouth playfully. "They’re very supportive. My dad was against it at first, but my mom runs the household—he couldn’t say no to her or me."
Originally, only her fans had cared about this interview. But now, after the gossip account’s "exposé," the comments were flooded with—
"No wonder she’s a real heiress!!"
Helpful netizens chimed in with explanations:
—[For those who don’t know, the Xu Group is one of China’s largest conglomerates, specializing in jewelry, electronics, and retail. The daily household products you use? Probably theirs. Market cap long surpassed billions.]
—[Bai Youlan is the youngest daughter of the Xu family’s main branch. From the video, it’s clear she’s deeply cherished. Her brother, Xu Tianbao, is the only male heir, so he’ll inherit the business. That makes Bai Youlan the undisputed princess of the Xu empire.]
This poorly reasoned comment somehow got tens of thousands of likes, skyrocketing to the top of the thread.
—[I always knew Bai Youlan came from money. Her bags alone cost over 100k, and her manners are impeccable—totally different from others in the industry.]
—[As a longtime fan, I can confirm she never once flaunted her background. We had no idea. So inspiring (crying into hands)]
—[If even the rich are grinding this hard, what’s your excuse, bro?]
—[Damn, an actual heiress? This isn’t your average "rich girl" celeb—this is next-level aristocracy.]
—[LOL just say that other wannabe-rich-girl actress’s name already.]
The thread quickly derailed as fans of the unnamed actress, minding their own business, suddenly found themselves under attack. They rolled up their sleeves and clapped back, adding fuel to Bai Youlan’s trending fire.
Bai Youlan already had a sizable fanbase, but now her popularity exploded. More and more people clicked into the topic, sending her rankings soaring.
Some were even charmed by the revelation that the Xu Group’s CEO was a "henpecked husband"—this down-to-earth detail made Bai Youlan even more likable.
A few dissenters questioned why a rich heiress would bother becoming a celebrity, calling it "stupid," but their comments were swiftly drowned out by furious fans.
Riding the wave of her newfound "heiress" status—and a subtle dig at her rival—Bai Youlan’s Weibo gained hundreds of thousands of followers in a single day. Her agency was flooded with offers and casting invitations.
After reading all this so-called "exposé," Xu Qingqing was stunned.
What the hell is this? She had stopped Bai Youlan from taking the Xu surname, yet this plotline still unfolded.
The realization made her blood boil. She immediately commented: "You’ve got it all wrong! Bai Youlan’s last name is Bai—she’s not part of the Xu family!"
She doesn’t even share the Xu name—how could she be their "princess"?
But in the sea of comments, Xu Qingqing’s reply sank without a trace. Only much later did one of Bai Youlan’s fans bother responding.
——【You probably didn’t know this, right? Xu Changshan’s beloved wife is named Bai Yaxiu. They have a son and a daughter together—their eldest daughter, Bai Youlan, took her mother’s surname, while their younger son, Xu Tianbao, took his father’s surname. For a wealthy family to go this far, it’s clear that President Xu Changshan truly loves Madam Bai Yaxiu!】
——【Just a case of being henpecked! We all know how it is!】
——【Damn, even the rich and powerful have true love?! I’m so jealous, wuwu.】
Xu Qingqing: ……???
She watched in disbelief as these people casually chatted among themselves, speaking with such conviction as if it were all true.
The words "true love" made Xu Qingqing furious. Back when that bastard Xu Changshan wanted to divorce her mother, he kept going on about how Bai Yaxiu was his "true love." If her mother hadn’t been strong-willed, she might have died from the sheer anger.
Xu Qingqing glared at the comment and replied, "Bai Youlan isn’t even Xu Changshan’s daughter, okay? What nonsense are you spouting?"
Perhaps her persistence annoyed the other person, because instead of responding, they simply threw out a screenshot of an encyclopedia entry.
The image showed Xu Changshan’s biographical details—under "spouse," it listed Bai Yaxiu, and under "children," it named Bai Youlan and Xu Tianbao.
Xu Qingqing fell silent. She had been lying on her bed, frantically typing out rebuttals, but now, aside from anger, she felt a deep confusion.
Why wasn’t her mother’s name listed on Xu Changshan’s profile?
Her mother had never divorced that bastard Xu Changshan—she remained Madam Xu until the day she died. So why was there no trace of her existence here?
Xu Qingqing lost the will to argue. She went back to the encyclopedia, studied it for a while, and then, alone, began submitting corrections—adding her mother’s name and details to Xu Changshan’s spouse section.
No matter what her mother had felt in life, since she had refused to divorce, Xu Qingqing would make sure her name stayed beside Xu Changshan’s.
Her head spun, thoughts jumbled. She had never done this before, and as she filled in the details, the task grew more overwhelming. She searched for her grandparents’ backgrounds and painstakingly added them to her mother’s information.
Her mother was the daughter of the Lin family, Lin Jiangxue—a refined, well-educated lady from a distinguished household. A thousand, no, a million times better than Bai Yaxiu.
Just as she was about to submit the edits, her phone screen lit up with endless Weibo notifications. Xu Qingqing didn’t notice—her finger slipped, and the page refreshed, erasing everything she had just written.
Xu Qingqing took a deep breath.
The page she accidentally opened now showed countless people tagging and replying to her.
——【Lawyer’s letter incoming.】
——【What, no reply now? LOL, this is the fastest I’ve seen a hater back down.】
——【Get ready to be sued, hater.】
——【Sue them! Sue them into the ground! This is the first time I’ve seen a fandom stand their ground so hard—no more holding back!】
Xu Qingqing skimmed past the mocking and hateful comments. She stared blankly for a long time before realizing what had happened.
Just moments ago, the official Weibo account of Xu Industrial, a subsidiary of the Xu Group, had reposted a comment questioning Bai Youlan’s identity, adding: "Miss Bai Youlan is the only daughter of General Manager Xu. We urge certain netizens to stop spreading rumors. The Xu Group reserves the right to pursue legal action."
Most of the other critical commenters had already deleted their posts out of fear. But Xu Qingqing’s earlier, now-silent comment had been dug up and was being wildly shared.
Some people even found their way to Xu Qingqing’s personal Weibo. She had always used it to vent about whatever was on her mind. Not long ago, she had even proudly declared herself the "one and only heiress of the Xu family."
Underneath, Bai Youlan’s fans sneered:
——【Oh, so that’s why you’re losing it. Delusional much?】
——【If you’re sick, go take your meds. Stop harassing the actual heiress. Know your place.】
——【Ugh, this person is disgusting.】
——【Typical green-eyed monster. Must be so miserable in real life that they take it out online. So much hate for our Youlan—probably just a broke loser eating instant noodles in some rented dump.】
Xu Qingqing’s account didn’t even have a profile picture. Half of her dozen followers were system-generated bots. Against the overwhelming tide of public opinion, the backlash was completely one-sided.
