Shen Qingqing sat in the room, sulking.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Without listening, she knew who it was. Despite not wanting him to enter, Shen Jinxi tugged at her arm.
"Mommy, let Daddy in, please. See what he has to say."
Shen Qingqing glanced at him. "Come in."
Fu Jingshu pushed open the door and walked in slowly, stopping in front of her. "I will resolve this matter."
Shen Qingqing raised an eyebrow and asked with interest, "How do you plan to resolve it?"
"Regardless, you don't have to worry."
"If you don't say anything, how can I believe you?" The smile on Shen Qingqing's face gradually faded. It seemed that every time this woman was involved, he became unlike himself.
"You should leave. I don't want to see you right now."
"I..."
Before Fu Jingshu could finish speaking, the two children ran to his side and pushed him out. In reality, the children's strength was not enough to move him.
But he was still pushed out.
He could only stand at the doorway and watch the door close, almost hitting his nose.
Inside the room.
Shen Jinxi and Chenchen huddled next to Shen Qingqing, looking at her expectantly. "Mommy, are you feeling very upset right now?"
Chenchen was also full of worry.
Actually, Shen Qingqing wasn't that angry. She was just indignant for Chenchen. "Whether Mommy is angry or not doesn't matter. What matters is how you feel in your heart right now."
Chenchen pouted. "I'm not afraid of what others say about something I didn't do."
Shen Jinxi nodded repeatedly.
Shen Qingqing sighed softly, said nothing, and just held the two children tighter.
She still wanted to see how Fu Jingshu intended to handle it.
The next day, the group held a press conference, releasing Chenchen's painting. This painting had received widespread acclaim when it was first unveiled at the Yi Jing exhibition.
Everyone expressed their fondness for it.
Mainly because the painting perfectly matched the theme. Someone had mentioned it was painted by the young master of the Fu family, and people began to praise Fu Tingyi for raising his son well.
However, this praise did not last long. Someone anonymously posted an article online.
—Young Master Fu's work is a forgery.
The post vividly described how he had plagiarized someone else's work and even included the original piece. In an instant, the praising voices turned to condemnation.
A flood of insults poured in.
—What kind of person is this? I even thought their family produced outstanding individuals generation after generation!
—But I don't understand, isn't this their own company? Why would they still plagiarize?
—For the hype.
—You're right about the above. But I think there must be other reasons. That is, they want to gild this young master. Unfortunately, netizens have sharp eyes.
—I never expected a wealthy family like this to do such a thing.
The online comments were just the appetizer; more serious consequences soon followed.
Shen Qingqing, worried that Chenchen would be bored at home and afraid for him to play with electronic devices for fear he would see the comments, took him out for a walk.
Then they were surrounded.
They were at the entrance of a coffee shop. Chenchen coughed, and Shen Qingqing intended to take him to buy something to drink. But when they came out, reporters swarmed them.
Her first instinct was to protect Chenchen.
But the overwhelming insults and accusations still engulfed the mother and son.
"You are Chenchen, right?"
"We'd like to ask, why did you plagiarize? At such a young age, did you do this willingly, or were you taught by someone else?"
Chenchen's face turned a little pale. He was still unaccustomed to so many people surrounding him, especially when their malice was almost overflowing.
He hid behind Shen Qingqing.
Shen Qingqing protected him tightly. Then, the reporters' artillery turned to her.
"And who are you?"
"You're protecting him so fiercely, are you his mother?"
"I know her! It's Shen Qingqing!" Although Shen Qingqing was wearing a mask, someone still recognized her. "You are Fu Zhichen's mother. We want to ask you, your child plagiarized another person's painting, what do you say?"
"Is this how you educate your child?"
"This matter has not been fully investigated yet. I will not answer any of your questions for now." Shen Qingqing was concerned about Fu Jingshu's plans and didn't want to rashly speak and disrupt them.
However, to the reporters, this statement meant that she couldn't provide a reasonable explanation and could only delay.
"I think you taught the child badly, didn't you?"
"Exactly. Young Master Fu was always well-behaved before and never caused any trouble. It's only after you, his suddenly appearing mother, that he's become so bad."
"Get out of the Fu family!"
Someone shouted. By the time Shen Qingqing looked over, that person had already retreated into the crowd and disappeared. But this one sentence was like the fuse igniting a bomb.
One after another, people began to curse her.
Chenchen, who had remained silent throughout the questioning, stepped forward at this moment, his face flushed. He managed to choke out, "You're not allowed to curse my Mommy."
Everyone was surprised.
"So you can speak!"
The reporters pushed forward, and a string of questions came at them like a barrage, leaving no room to breathe.
"So why did you plagiarize?"
"You're still young; you wouldn't do such a thing. Was it an adult who taught you?"
Chenchen shook his head. "No, no."
He was clumsy with his words and wanted to explain but didn't know how. He could only look pleadingly at Shen Qingqing, thinking inwardly how he wished his brother were here.
He was always so capable.
This glance, however, made people think he was afraid to speak because of Shen Qingqing.
"It must be you who taught him."
"How can you be such an irresponsible mother? You're corrupting your child like this. Does Fu Jingshu know? He probably wouldn't allow a woman like you to marry into the Fu family!"
The crowd chattered incessantly, their words excessively harsh. Someone even produced vegetable scraps from who knows where and threw them all at Shen Qingqing.
Shen Qingqing's expression turned cold.
Her peripheral vision caught sight of something arcing towards them. She instinctively hugged Chenchen, and the object hit her directly in the back.
"Slap!"
A foul odor filled the air. White liquid mixed with black and yellowish fluids slowly dripped onto the ground, where shattered eggshells lay.
It was a rotten egg.
One rotten egg was all it took to open the floodgates. Subsequently, all sorts of rotten leaves and small stones were thrown at them.
Shen Qingqing's face darkened. Just as she was about to retaliate, she saw a car pull over to the side of the road. Fu Jingshu got out of the car, his face grim, and pushed through the crowd.
His strength was immense, and the crowd was unable to resist, letting out cries of pain.
Upon seeing his face, the reporters, who had been roaring and arrogant moments before, fell silent. It felt as if a frost had permeated the air.
They exchanged glances, none daring to speak.
"I have noted all your actions today." His gaze swept over them one by one, as if to imprint every face in his memory.
He turned back, embraced Shen Qingqing, and with one hand holding Chenchen's, walked out of the crowd.
His imposing aura made the reporters freeze, not daring to obstruct them.
As they watched them get into the car, someone bravely asked, "Mr. Fu, what are your thoughts on the plagiarism incident?"
"Within three days, I will give you an answer."
He didn't stop walking, brought them into the car, and the vehicle slowly merged into the traffic.