Chapter 352: What she never expected
On official brand pages, her face was quietly removed.
Banners changed.
Captions edited.
As if she had never existed.
The message was unmistakable.
This wasn’t a scandal that could be weathered. This wasn’t something to apologize away with tears and silence. There would be no comeback arc. No redemption interviews. No carefully staged return.
This was the kind of fall that crushed bones.
When the sun rose, Chen Li finally saw the news.
She sat frozen, phone trembling in her hand, eyes scanning headline after headline as if staring hard enough might make the words rearrange themselves into something else. Her breath came shallow. Her chest hurt.
She rushed to Hua Ling’s room.
The door slammed open.
Hua Ling was still disoriented, makeup smeared, eyes dull, her body heavy with the remnants of the night before. She barely had time to lift her head.
The slap came sharp and loud.
It echoed through the room.
Hua Ling staggered sideways, stunned, her face burning, ears ringing.
Chen Li’s hands shook with fury and disbelief.
"You slut!" she screamed. "Do you know what you’ve done?!"
She had never, not even once hit her daughter yet seeing her face all over the tabloids and seeing her videos made her so angry that she forgot all decorum!
Chen Li stared at her daughter as though she were looking at a stranger. The girl she had painstakingly nurtured, polished, and pushed into the limelight had become something she could no longer recognize. Rage burned in her eyes as she lifted her hand and slapped Hua Ling hard across the face, the sound echoing sharply in the room.
Hua Ling clutched her cheek in disbelief, shock rippling through her. "Mom... you slapped me?" she whispered, her voice trembling. Before she could process what had happened, another slap came crashing down on her other cheek. Chen Li’s chest heaved as she roared, "If I slapped you, so what?! You deserve it!"
She glared at Hua Ling with bloodshot eyes, every suppressed emotion spilling over. "Why did you have to destroy everything we worked so hard to build? Do you think success falls from the sky? Do you know how many years I spent planning your path, step by step?!" Her voice cracked, then hardened. "And Hua Jing! You wanted her to trample over you? To laugh at you like this?!"
Still dazed from the blow, Hua Ling barely processed her mother’s fury. But the moment Hua Jing’s name was mentioned, something twisted inside her. Her eyes lit up unnaturally, a smile creeping onto her lips. "Hua Jing?" she asked eagerly. "Mom, it’s finally over, right? Did you see the tabloids this morning? She’s done for. She’s finished!"
The excitement in her eyes made Chen Li feel sick. For years, mother and daughter had schemed together—calculating, manipulating, crushing anyone who stood in Hua Ling’s way. Everything had been done to suppress Hua Jing. Yet now, their own schemes had rebounded onto them with ruthless precision.
"You think you caught Hua Jing?" Chen Li sneered. She grabbed her phone and hurled it straight at Hua Ling. "Then tell me what THIS is!"
The phone struck Hua Ling’s shoulder and dropped onto the bed. She picked it up with trembling hands, her pupils shrinking as she stared at the screen. Videos, screenshots, live-stream recordings—her face, drugged and disoriented, entangled with a man. Her world spun violently as her complexion drained of color.
Blue Entertainment had tried desperately to suppress the footage, but the internet was merciless. Screen recordings spread like wildfire. Clips were reposted endlessly, and no one cared about lawsuits or threats. They only wanted the spectacle. Hua Ling’s fingers shook uncontrollably as she muttered, "No... no... this can’t be happening..."
Her nails dug into her scalp as hysteria consumed her. Then she screamed, "Hua Jing! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!"
She grabbed her own phone and turned it on, only to be met with dozens of missed calls—her manager Mao Li, company executives, unknown numbers demanding explanations and accountability.
Blue Entertainment’s stocks had plummeted overnight. The company was bleeding heavily, and Hua Ling had been their biggest asset. Most of their revenue depended on her. Now, brands were terminating contracts, canceling endorsements, and activating compensation clauses. Because the fault lay entirely with her, the company was forced to pay massive penalties, pushing them toward the brink of debt.
Artists began leaving in droves. Those whose contracts were ending refused to renew, and some even paid breach fees just to escape the sinking ship. No one wanted to be dragged down with her. The empire Hua Ling once stood upon was collapsing, brick by brick.
Her body slowly slid down the bed as she stared blankly at the floor. "Everything... everything is lost..." she muttered in a daze. Yet beneath her vacant expression, her eyes sharpened, burning with cold hatred. "Hua Jing..." she whispered again and again, each syllable dripping with venom.
Suddenly, she turned to her mother. "Mom," she said hoarsely, "I want revenge."
Chen Li froze. She was furious, deeply disappointed, yet she was still a mother. No matter how angry she felt, she couldn’t bring herself to abandon her daughter. After a long silence, she said quietly, "I’ll help you. But your father’s company has also been affected. He’s furious. You can’t stay here anymore."
Hua Mingrong’s stocks were crashing, and the scandal had spread like poison through his business circles. Chen Li didn’t need to imagine his anger—she could already feel it. She grabbed Hua Ling’s arm firmly. "You’ll leave first. Rest somewhere safe. We’ll plan later. You’ll follow my instructions."
Before Hua Ling could object, Chen Li had already instructed the driver. The private car waited downstairs. Hua Ling was ushered inside, still dazed and trembling. The door shut, and the car drove away.
Chen Li stood at the gate, watching it disappear into the distance. Her expression darkened, her eyes turning cold and dangerous. "Hua Jing..." she murmured with a chilling smile. "You have no idea what kind of trouble you’ve just dragged yourself into."
