Chapter 75.1: The Abusive Adoptive Mother Goes Viral

Content Warning: This chapter contains depictions of child abuse and violence. Reader discretion is advised.

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　　Over the past couple of days, Su Qi had completely taken over Weibo’s list of trending topics, her name popping up everywhere.

　　Her portrayal of the Immortal Lord received rave reviews, and as soon as the official character photos for Immortal Mist were released, Shu Yi’s images shot to the top of the trending topic list. Fans flocked in droves, and Su Qi transformed from an unknown nobody into a rising star with five million followers.

　　As her fan base grew, her fans eagerly awaited new posts from their idol. Yet, her most recent post was merely a repost of the official Immortal Mist announcement from yesterday. Unable to hold back, they inundated the comments, pleading for something new.

　　“I wanna see some pretty pics, Sweetie!”

　　“Can you post more of Shu Yi’s character photos, please? Ahhhh, I’m craving more! Please, we need more!”

　　“Didn’t Immortal Lord finish filming the ad? Are there any behind-the-scenes clips? I really want to see them!”

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　　“Pke Follvkl rspv vseyu? Lsrl, dsv ulv!”

　　Gp vbl qydp caynle vblxplzhlp qsa y zsdt eyu sq oykvkdt, vblka kesz pwarakple vblx okvb y dlo rspv aktbv yv dkdl kd vbl xsadkdt.

　　“RGxDkysCk ✔: Tso nswze vblal cl pwnb y vlaakqukdt yesrvkhl xsvbla? Rp vbl nbkze sjyu? R bsrl vbl ywvbsakvklp okzz kdhlpvktyvl vbkp vbsaswtbzu! @KwpvknlFlljla #5-Zlya-Xze Jsu Gcwple cu Gesrvkhl Ysvbla# [Akels]”

　　Ebld vbl dsvkqknyvksd qsa vblka kesz’p zyvlpv rspv rsrrle wr, vbl qydp awpble shla lytlazu, lmrlnvkdt vs pll tsatlswp rknvwalp. Ms vblka ekpyrrskdvxldv, kv vwadle swv vs cl y alvollv sq y hkels. Gv qkapv, vbl vsrkn zlqv vblx wvvlazu cyqqzle, cwv yqvla oyvnbkdt kv, qwau ktdkvle kd dlyazu lhlau sdl sq vblx, vblka ydtla qzyakdt wr zkjl okzeqkal.

　　Rd vbl hkels, y caktbvzu ealpple, pvuzkpb osxyd vokpvle vbl lya sq y qkhl-ulya-sze csu, pdyazkdt yv bkx okvb qwau. Tkp qynl qzwpble caktbv ale yp bl pvyale okvb okel, kddsnldv czynj lulp, blzrzlppzu ldewakdt bla nwaplp. Br vs vbkp rskdv, vbl hklolap bye ulv vs taypr vbl plhlakvu sq vbl ycwpl, cwv vbl pnldlp vbyv qszzsole iwknjzu ktdkvle y pvsax sq swvaytl.

　　Ekvb y cassx kd byde, vbl osxyd zypble swv yv vbl csu xlankzlppzu. Xdzu y bydeqwz sq zypblp, yde bl oyp pldv prayozkdt vs vbl taswde. Zlv, pbl pbsole ds pktd sq pvsrrkdt, pokdtkdt vbl cassx esod ytykd yde ytykd. Mbl csu nwazle kdvs y vktbv cyzz, pbklzekdt bkp blye yp clpv bl nswze. Fvkzz, pbl pllxle qya qasx pyvkpqkle yde zkqvle bla zlt kd y hknkswp jknj. Mbkp vkxl, vbl csu alxykdle xsvksdzlpp, lkvbla rypple swv sa vss clyvld vs alprsde.

　　“EMW!? Ebyv kp vbkp!? Tl’p fwpv y zkvvzl jke! Tso nswze pbl lhld cakdt blaplzq vs es vbkp!?”

　　“XYQ! XYQ! G osxyd zkjl bla eslpd’v elplahl vs cl y xsvbla yv yzz!”

　　“Wait a minute, she’s the adoptive mother? If she went through the trouble of adopting the child, why treat him so cruelly?” 

　　“Where are they? Has anyone called the police yet? When did this happen? Hurry, someone save the child!”

　　“I’m so worried that something terrible has happened to that child! I have a little one the same age, and I adore him too much ever to lash out. How can anyone bear to scold or strike a child so cruelly?”

　　“The first segment seems to be shot inside an animal hospital. It looks strangely familiar…”

　　“Everyone, go check out @JusticeSeeker’s Weibo page! They’ve uploaded a new video! F*cking hell! God, it’s beyond appalling! They’re worse than animals and deserve to rot in hell!”

　　“I’ve already helped pay to boost this trending topic!”

　　“Good thing Sweetie reposted it! With how little traffic the original post got, it probably would’ve just died off.”

　　“I know that animal hospital! It’s just around the corner from my place in Sylvan Willows Town, just south of City H!”

　　“Eh? Sylvan Willows Town? Sylvan Willows Town? Oh, I remember now! Isn’t that the town where my idol resides? It’s so close to Mount Phoenix!”

　　“@CityHInternetPolice @CityHWomenFederation Are you really going to turn a blind eye to child abuse?”

　　With each new repost and comment, the #5-Year-Old Boy Abused by Adoptive Mother# topic climbed steadily onto the list of trending topics on Weibo. More and more netizens flocked to join the heated debate, and within an hour, the video of the adoptive mother abusing her adopted son had gone viral across the internet. Some had even shared it in QQ and WeChat groups, sparking a rapid public outcry. Sensing a breaking story, the media and marketing accounts quickly jumped in to fan the flames.

* * *

　　Sylvan Willows Town Animal Hospital

　　Zhang Man cradled the freshly spayed Ragdoll in her arms, her face brimming with tender affection as she showered it with kisses.

　　“Oh, baby, you’ve been through so much! When we get home, Mommy’s gonna make you something tasty!”

　　With utmost care, she placed the Ragdoll cat into the carrier bag. Just as she was about to leave the lobby, she suddenly caught numerous strange gazes aimed her way. People holding their phones whispered behind cupped hands, discreetly pointing fingers in her direction.

　　Their eyes held nothing but hostility, making her skin crawl.

　　Zhang Man furrowed her brows, tugging at the straps of her new sundress. I hope my bra straps aren’t showing… She had picked transparent ones, so there was no way anyone could see them, right?

　　When a girl sauntered past, she curled her lip at Zhang Man. “Vile woman.”

　　Zhang Man’s anger flared at the words. “Who are you calling vile?”

　　Her eyebrow arched in challenge as she quipped, “Whoever answers is the one!”

　　Zhang Man had had enough and lunged forward, her hand outstretched to grab the girl’s wrist. But the girl was quicker, sidestepping and retreating right behind her boyfriend. He loomed over Zhang Man like a mountain, shooting a menacing glare at her. She hesitated, fear prickling down her spine as her body trembled with frustration and defeat.

　　“What gives you the right to insult someone for no reason?” she demanded, pointing her manicured finger accusingly at the girl.

　　The girl held up her phone and played the video. “Look, aren’t you the woman abusing the child in this video?”

　　Zhang Man stared at the screen, her face paling in horror.

　　In the video, she twisted the boy’s ear and spat out the insult, “Bastard.” Then, the scene suddenly shifted to her living room.

　　Zhang Man stepped back, covering her face with both hands.

　　Two days ago, she had indeed brutally beaten that worthless bastard Fang Qi, and somehow, someone had secretly filmed the whole thing?!

　　How could this happen? Who filmed me? And how the hell did they get away with it?

　　“Are you the woman who abused the child?” the girl pressed once more.

　　“That’s not me!” Zhang Man blurted out without thinking. Clutching the cat carrier bag tight, she spun on her heel and bolted.

　　Breathless and rattled, she burst out of the animal hospital, barely managing to find her car in the parking lot. No sooner had she slipped inside than a swarm of reporters flooded through the hospital doors.

　　Her hands quivered as she started the car, and with a rush of adrenaline, she peeled out of the parking lot in a frantic escape.

　　Damn it!

　　Damn it!

　　Damn it!

　　Who the hell is out to get me? Who dares to post that video of me beating that little bastard?

　　Wait a second! Only he had the footage of me at the animal hospital!

　　Zhang Man’s eyes gleamed with malice.

　　It had to be him!

　　Up ahead, the traffic light glowed red. Zhang Man slammed her foot on the brakes, her car skidding to a stop just inches from the vehicle ahead. She quickly shifted into neutral, her jaw tight with barely restrained anger.

　　All of a sudden, her phone rang, jolting her back to reality. Glancing at the screen, she saw it was a classmate calling and quickly pressed the Answer button.

　　“Zhang Man, I just saw a video in my WeChat Moments of someone abusing a child, and the woman in it looks so much like you!”

　　Zhang Man’s face drained of color in an instant. Panic flared in her eyes as she blurted out, “You must have gotten it wrong! It wasn’t me! Sorry, I’m driving right now!”

　　Before the other could say a thing, she hung up on them.

　　However, no sooner had she ended the call than another one came through; the phone ringing insistently in her hand.

　　“Hello, Aunt, what’s the matter?” she inquired.

　　“Lili just showed me a video. Listen, Xiao Man, no matter how angry you get, you can’t ever hit the kid! If you hurt them badly — or worse — you could end up in jail yourself!”

　　“You’ve got it all wrong, Aunt! That has nothing to do with me! It really wasn’t me!” Zhang Man snapped, her voice sharp as a knife.

　　“I may be getting on in years, but I’m not blind. I can still tell that it’s your living room!”

　　“I swear it wasn’t me, Aunt! Anyway, I’ve got to go, so I’m hanging up now!”

　　Zhang Man ended the call once more. An unsettling chill crept through her body as a buzz droned in her head.

　　Honk, honk, honk!

　　The light had turned green, and the cars behind her blared their horns impatiently.

　　Feeling lost and disoriented, she shifted gears and slammed her foot on the accelerator.

　　The phone rang yet again, and she could hardly bring herself to answer it. The ringtone sounded ten times before falling silent, only to start up again within five seconds.

　　At the next red light, she could no longer take it and switched off her phone. Cold sweat poured down her back like a waterfall, soaking her sundress until it clung to her skin, nearly turning transparent.

　　Meow! came a soft cry from the cat carrier bag. The Ragdoll inside seemed to have been roused from its slumber by the ringing phone.

　　Zhang Man wiped her face, forcing herself to calm down. As soon as the light turned green, she floored the accelerator, and the car shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.

　　Had it not been for the inheritance from Fang Qi’s parents, she would never have been kind enough to adopt a child who brought nothing but misfortune. Providing him with food and shelter was already more kindness than he deserved, and now he dared to dream of living like the young master he once was? Not a chance!

　　The boy was eccentric from the start. On his very first day, he did not utter a single word, not even a simple “Mum.” Trying to get a response was like talking to a lifeless statue. Instead, all he did was fix her with those pitch-black eyes, as if they could peer right through her soul. The intensity of his gaze made her skin crawl and her temper flare, making her want to lash out at him.