18 2.3 Tears

While A-Xuan was asleep, the whole Empire and the netizens were buzzing after a video was released anonymously. The video went viral on a few different platforms until it was picked up by the news media.

At the beginning of the video, there was a text saying:

"I watched Heir Hunters yesterday and I was heartbroken after hearing A-Xuan's difficult life after encountering those poisonous Zhus. Since most people think he lied, I decided to make this video to prove to you that his every word was true."

After that text, the first thing you could see was Zhu Zhanjie threatening a seemingly younger A-Xuan not to tell anyone about his affair.

Then it cut to Zhanjie and Yawen insulting and shouting at A-Xuan for ruining their life by exposing Zhanjie's affair and throwing him out.

After that, there was a picture of a document asking for the termination of a partnership, you could see that the documents were drawn by Zhu Zhanjie and his name was signed at the bottom.

It ended with a clip of a small Omega selling his story to a reporter. You could see his face clearly, it was the Omega Zhu Zhanjie had an affair with.

When the netizens saw the video, they flocked to Heir Hunter's site to apologize and support A-Xuan.

The netizens:

@Flower: I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the words I used, I insulted you based on words from a person I don't even know.

@Christie: I'm sorry too, we never even gave you a chance to say your side of the story.

@Danny: What's so heartbreaking is that A-Xuan didn't even tell his side of the story to get sympathy or clear his name, he only said it because he seemed to need someone to talk to.

@Dolores: I know I keep thinking about that and it breaks my heart, he thought if he said his side of the story no one would believe him and he's right, a lot of comments insulted him for being a faker and a liar.

@Jakethestar: I know right no wonder he stayed silent all this time. Anyway, now that we know the truth we'll support you always.

@Penny: Yes, we all have your back so don't cry anymore.

A-Xuan woke up to a few thousand of these kinds of messages, his Weibo profile was filled with apologies.

Heir Hunters is a TV reality that is watched by the whole Empire, so turning A-Xuan's reputation was always going to be easy, particularly since he was innocent, to begin with.

Now that he dealt with his reputation, he needs to deal with the protagonist and that Alpha Cai Lu. Cai Lu is the person who allowed Yawen to finish his revenge on A-Xuan.

Even if it wasn't on purpose, he has too much power, and with him at Yawen's side, he's sure to be overpowered.

He needs to make sure that those two don't end up together. They've already started to get closer, and their CP name was trending two days ago on Weibo. Thankfully nothing happened yet, and A-Xuan plans on keeping it that way.

He first needs to win the competition and then destroy Zhu Corporation. He will fulfill the original father's dying wish of making Nie Tencent one of the most successful companies, but he won't be able to fulfill the other.

The Zhus are going down one way or another. A-Xuan took the cover off his head and went to take a shower. When he got out, he put on his clothes silently so he wouldn't wake up the others. He went downstairs and started breakfast.

The participants have to make their breakfast, which always ends up being a disaster since they all have personal chefs. They would usually end up eating cereals.

A-Xuan put on an apron and started to walk back and forth in the kitchen. He had multiple pans on the stove. When the other participants woke up, they were immediately drawn by a wonderful fragrance floating out of the kitchen.

They all came down and stood there and watched as an Omega with his back to them kept coming and going. When A-Xuan finally turned around, he immediately jumped in fright.

His cheeks immediately turned red, and he said timidly:

"Sorry, I didn't hear you guys come in."

Xiao Nei, an Alpha, came closer and said with a smile on his face:

"We smelled your food from upstairs. You can cook?"

"I'm okay."

Yawen gave a discreet signal to Gaochi. Understanding, he said disdainfully:

"If I were you, I wouldn't eat his food unless you want to end up sick. Just because it smells decent doesn't mean it's good. How can he possibly know how to cook when we all grew up with chefs."

Cai Lu watched Gaochi feeling disgusted. After hearing his words, a few participants nodded and seemed to agree with what Gaochi said. He smiled mockingly at A-Xuan.

A-Xuan smiled sadly and said:

"I didn't grow up with a chef. My mother loved to cook, and when she was pregnant with me, she told my father she would make sure I become a great cook as well."

After saying that, A-Xuan stopped smiling and said with difficulty:

"He passed away without being able to teach me, so my father taught me the basics, and over time we learned more together to fulfill my mother's wish."

The Netizens Watching:

@Debbie: Oh my god, this is the saddest and sweetest thing I've ever heard. Am I the only one who thinks A-Xuan is adorable when he blushes?

@Paris: A-Xuan's father seemed to have been an amazing person. You can see how much he loved his wife and son. No, you're not, he's truly an angel.

@Mathieu: I know right, no wonder A-Xuan felt so terrible yesterday for not being able to fulfill his father's wish.

@Axuanforgiveus: Am I the only one who wants to slap Gaochi? You don't know anything about anything why don't you just zip it?

@Thetexan: Just because you grew up spoiled with a chef doesn't mean everyone has.

Cai Lu watched as those golden eyes brightened at the beginning and then dimmed at the end. He watched him intently, the Omega was truly beautiful with his almond-shaped eyes and his defined cheekbones.

Weirdly, he had this familiar feeling in his heart that his eyes should always be sparkling.

A-Xuan could feel among the looks directed at him an intense one. He searched and his eyes fell on a tall man, just from his stature and build it was clear that he was an Alpha.

He had raven black hair, a chiseled jawline, and beautiful sea-rover blue eyes. So this is Cai Lu, the big thigh? He looked next to him and saw Yawen looking at him with ridicule.

He turned to look at Gaochi and the few people who agreed with him and said:

"Don't eat the food I made, there's cereal on the cupboard have at it."

Xiao Nei passed behind the counter next to him and asked excitedly:

"What did you make?"

A-Xuan smiled at him and said:

"I made soup, shrimp dumplings, century egg congee, and lean pork. Do you want to try it? Everything's ready."

Xiao Nei immediately nodded with a few other participants.

"Set the table and I'll bring everything so we can eat together."

The participants excitedly ran to set the table while A-Xuan and Xiao Nei brought the food to the table. After 5 minutes all you could see are chopsticks flying to pick dishes after dishes.

Everyone was sitting eating contentedly while Yawen, Gaochi, and two other participants ate cereal at the end of the table.

Yawen couldn't help but feel hate seeing them all fuss about A-Xuan's cooking. He thought with everything he said about him, people would stay away, but all it took is one breakfast for them to run to him.

What made him even angrier is the fact Cai Lu ate his food. Cai Lu is interested in him, and when he said how horrible A-Xuan was to him, he immediately said that he would help him with anything he needs. But now he's sitting in front of A-Xuan eating his food.

After filling his stomach, Xiao Nei looked at A-Xuan who was sitting next to him and said seriously:

"You're an amazing cook, I'm sure your father is proud of you."

When the participants heard what Xiao Nei said, they all echoed his sentiment. A-Xuan looked at them.

His eyes were shining with unshed tears and he said with a smile:

"Thank you. I haven't had the chance to cook for anyone in a long time, so I'm glad you all like it."

The participants and netizens' hearts softened when they heard that. They all felt like this person was truly adorable and that there was no way he did all the things people say he did.

A-Xuan's tears fell, and before he could wipe them, Cai Lu reached from the other side of the table and wiped them.

A-Xuan felt electrified after that action and looked at him dumbfoundedly. That action felt familiar because Wu Jing would always wipe his tears for him.

He looked at Cai Lu feeling complicated. Cai Lu felt just as tangled; he doesn't know what took over him, but when he saw A-Xuan cry, he immediately reached out without thinking; it was a reflex.

He just felt in his heart that this person should never cry or be sad. Yawen watched from the end of the table, his eyes full of hatred.